Australia - The National Institute of Dramatic Arts has invested in Shure ULX-D digital wireless systems as well as Furman Power Conditioners, to ensure that their students have the latest and best in technology at their disposal.

"We're expanding our acting course to include a larger stream of musical theatre and so we knew we'd need some wireless headsets," commented Felix Kulakowski, audio & video supervisor at NIDA. "Jands allowed us to trial a unit of Shure ULX-D and the specs and cost, particularly for 24 channels, were great. Obviously being digital the wireless distribution is so much easier than analogue.

"For 24 channels of analogue wireless you'd need a hell of a lot of distribution and the Parade Theatre is appalling for RF. Wireless distribution has been a dream because you can theoretically have sixteen channels on one Shure wireless distribut

USA - Saint Louis University's newly opened Centre for Global Citizenship is both a practical initiative to bring several campus services under a single roof, and a strongly symbolic move that represents the school's commitment to its internationally diverse student body, drawn from 101 nations around the world.

When this wide-ranging group assembles in the new Centre, it needs powerful and highly intelligible sound, and that's exactly what is provided by RoomMatch loudspeakers and PowerMatch amplifiers from Bose Professional Systems.

TSI Technology Solutions, a division of TSI Global, the integrator used by the University to design and install the Centre's AV systems, assembled a system consisting of six RoomMatch loudspeakers (three RM9020 and three RM9010 modules) and two RMS215 subwoofers, all powered by three Bose PowerMatch PM8500N amplifiers.

The Centre for Global Cit

USA - Lighting Designer Scott Warner is utilising four of Robe's new Robin Cyclones for the award-winning Swedish DJ duo, Icona Pop, while they perform as the opener for Miley Cyrus on the US leg of her much anticipated Bangerz world tour.

The Cyclone units - a product developed by Robe after an initial design idea by Warner - are being supplied by Theatrical Media Services of Omaha, Nebraska and are making their touring debut after being launched at PLASA London 2013.

The functionality of the Cyclone is very similar to what its name suggests. "It's a high-powered LED wash light with a built-in DMX-controlled fan," enthuses Warner, who is quite literally "blown away" by the fact that he is using four for the first time on this tour.

The Cyclone is an innovative moving head integrating lighting (a ring of 24 high powered RGBW multichip LEDs) and a f

UK - Fran Healey, the lead singer of Travis, and Marti Pellow, the lead singer of Wet Wet Wet, are the latest in the growing list of vocalists to switch to DPA Microphones' d:facto Vocal Microphone. In both cases, the artists made the change on the recommendation of their live sound engineer, Tom Wiggans.

"I have no problem recommending DPA's new d:facto microphone because I'm so impressed with the results it has delivered for Fran and Marti - and for Dougie Payne, Travis' bass player, who is also using one for his backing vocals," says Wiggans. "Before I tried d:facto, I had tried quite a few vocal microphones that made big promises, but always ended up comparing to the microphone that people have been using for over 40 years.

"However, the d:facto's clarity and ability to capture the true sound source without extraneous background noise has made a real di

UK - HSL supplied lighting equipment and crew to the recent Avicii tour, once again working with tour director Curly Jobson and production manager Robin Scott following a successful collaboration for the Swedish House Mafia.

Says HSL project manager Mike Oates, "We were very pleased to be involved in this tour with another leading EDM artist with an awesome stage show and high production values right at its core."

The stunningly visual Avicii show was designed by Simon Barrington and Ian Tomlinson, both renowned for their innovative and stylish work in the EDM genre. The show was directed live by video artist and VJ Harry Bird, and was a high-octane collage of lighting, video visuals, pyro, special FX and lasers, energized together in real-time with Avicii's invigorating set.

The overhead lighting was rigged on two 20ft front trusses and a 65 ft back truss which al

UK - Liverpool's Everyman Theatre, whose acting alumni includes Pete Postlethwaite and Julie Walters, has undergone a complete structural and artistic renovation thanks to the Everyman creative team, architects Haworth Tompkins and theatre consultants Charcoalblue.

In 2005 the Liverpool and Merseyside Theatres Trust enlisted Haworth Tompkins and Charcoalblue to consult on the complex and ambitious project.

Having just celebrated their 10th Birthday, Charcoalblue's managing partner, Andy Hayles, observed that for nine of those years the Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse Team has been their most determined client.

"When a project takes this long to get through funding hoops and complex site negotiations, the sense of achievement experienced when opening such a sensational building is particularly poignant," says Hayles. "The client and design team have become clo

USA - Jacksonville, Florida's Celebration Church - one of the nation's fastest growing churches - is utilising over 100 Chroma-Q Inspire premium performance, colour-changing LED house lights to provide an 'immersive' environment during its worship services.

With attendee figures of more than 12,000 per week, the services held in Celebration Church's state-of-the-art, newly constructed worship arena feature an energetic, next generation praise and worship experience that infuses diverse genres and styles.

The Church wanted to make the audience feel a part of the onstage experience through lighting.

Featuring an installation of 96 Chroma-Q Inspire fixtures above the auditorium's seating areas, the unit's extensive RGBW colour-mixing palette provides a seamless lighting transition throughout the room, from the stage to audience.

Synched via DMX with the stage lighting and con

UK - This February, the Royal Opera House in London's Covent Garden, introduced, for the first time into its theatre, a Hippotizer Rackoon, the new six layered HD Rackmount, to provide video control on a Royal Ballet production. With video production by Florian Baeumler, Programmer, the Rackoon was chosen for its wide range of capabilities with PixelMapper and ease of use in a 1U Rackmount.

Tectractys- the Art of Fugue received four performances as part of a mixed programme of work bringing an exhilarating fusion of contemporary ballet and baroque music to the stage.

Using PixelMapper, set and costume designer Tauba Auerbach, worked with Florian Baeumler to create pixel-mapped shapes using lines and colours providing a very simple and contemporary sculpture design as a backdrop to the production.

Using six layers of the Rackoon, Florian was able to pixel map seven dif

Austria - Channel 4's popular celebrity winter sports series The Jump wowed audiences during February with ski jumps lined with 400m of IntelliFLEX LED systems, controlled by Avolites Media's Ai Server Infinity EX Series.

The show, presented by Davina McCall and Alex Brooker, took place in the Tyrolian Alps near Innsbruck, Austria, and saw 10 celebrities, including Sinitta, Sir Steve Redgrave, and Joe McElderry, compete against each other in a range of winter sports, including three ski jumps of increasing size.

Lighting director Roger Williams worked alongside set designer Patrick Watson to specify the Ai Media Server as the control system for the impressive lighting concept.

The technology was executed by lighting programmer David Bishop, alongside LI technicians Ben Vaughan, Anders Akermo and Joe White.

"The Ai server coped admirably in the conditions, being

Germany - Backstage Academy says a lack of industry training provision in countries outside of the UK - and particularly outside of Europe - has resulted in a number of enquiries for overseas courses.

The Academy runs degree courses and short courses that cover the variety of creative and technical skills needed to work backstage in live events production. Based at state-of-the-art facilities in Wakefield, North UK, it also offers custom training programmes for entertainment industry professionals seeking to boost their knowledge or career prospects, with training in rigging, event safety, temporary electrical systems, stage pyrotechnics and much more.

The Academy launched to a European and global audience at the Prolight+Sound show in Frankfurt last week.

Said PR & marketing manager Rachel Esson, "In the first two days of the show we took enquiries for training from pr

UK - The Royal College of Music is one of the world's greatest conservatoires, training gifted musicians for international careers as performers, conductors and composers. The RCM's buildings, facilities and location are the envy of the world, as much for their aesthetic beauty as for their location directly opposite the Royal Albert Hall.

So when new acoustic panels were installed in the iconic building's Amaryllis Fleming Concert Hall, Unusual Rigging was brought on board by Arup Theatre Consultants to devise a solution for installing them without impinging on the beauty of the hall.

Matthew Nicholl, head of estates at the Royal College of Music, said, "The Amaryllis Fleming Concert Hall is a performance space of the highest international standard which can accommodate large orchestral and choral concerts. It's an exquisite space with a beautiful barrel shaped roof and

Germany - Robe once again enjoyed a massively busy and successful Prolight+Sound exhibition at the Messe in Frankfurt ... launching a selection of new innovations and presenting another eye-catching lightshow on the booth in Hall 11, which attracted huge numbers of visitors to the stand and created a buzz which resonated throughout the entire trade show.

Other highlights involved the inventive Robin MiniMe winning the Prolight+Sound International Press Award (PIPA) for 'Lights FX' [sic], and for the second year, the Robe team was joined on the stand for one day by Czech MotoGP rider Karel Abraham and his bike. Robe is one of the sponsors of the 2014 season.

Robe's CEO Josef Valchar says, "The show was fantastic! It is currently the best of its type in Europe for attracting quality international and leading professional visitors, and is a great showcase for our brand."

Stones Cancel - The Rolling Stones have cancelled the first date of their Australian tour after the death of Sir Mick Jagger's girlfriend L'Wren Scott. The celebrated US fashion designer was found dead in her New York flat on Monday, in an apparent suicide. The British band were due to play in Perth on Wednesday. Their promoter said no further information was available. They are scheduled to play five more concerts in Australia. The next is due to take place on 25 March in Sydney.

Monty's Off - The West End version of The Full Monty is to close after five weeks, two-and-a-half months earlier than planned, due to poor ticket sales. The play, which was adapted from the hit 1997 film about hard-up Sheffield steelworkers, opened on 20 February and was due to run until 14 June. But its last performance at the Noel Coward Theatre will now be on 29 March. Producers David

Europe - Nuage, the flagship integrated system from Yamaha and Steinberg, has brought a new and very welcome approach to audio post-production. Some of Europe's premier post-production studios have invested in it and are enjoying the many benefits that it brings.

"Nuage seamlessly marries dedicated Yamaha control and interface hardware with Steinberg's Nuendo 6 DAW software, delivering unprecedented creativity for professionals in the broadcast, advertising, film and games industries," says the company. "Combining cutting-edge technology from two of the professional sound industry's biggest hitters, Nuage signifies a radical re-defining of what is possible in audio post-production."

Studios which have recently invested in Nuage include The Soundshack in Hamburg, Germany; Stone Post production in Bratislava, Slovakia; Mediaset in Cologno Monzese, Italy; Temp

USA - Headquartered in the heart of the nation's capitol, Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is committed to reducing poverty and inequality in Latin America and Caribbean countries by providing much needed loans, grants, technical assistance and research.

In 2005, when the organization first opened the IDB Conference Centre at 1330 New York Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., its 500-seat Enrique V. Iglesias Auditorium was slated to host films, seminars, lectures, and town hall meetings, so the original PA system was primarily designed to accommodate spoken word and cinema playback.

In 2012, however, the decision was made to better utilise the facility for the presentation of concerts and other cultural events featuring live entertainment by Central and South American artists, musicians, and dancers.

Tasked with transforming an existing auditorium into a place for colorful li

UK - POLARaudio has launched a new website in keeping with its recent expansion. Having secured distribution for more major brands such as Mackie and Ampeg to complement existing giants like beyerdynamic and Biamp, this timely move reflects POLARaudio's determination to move forward on every front with the emphasis on quality, says the company.

With a completely fresh look, the new site offers a full online catalogue for both MI and installation product ranges. The catalogue offers detailed information and pricing and is browsable by product type, brand or application. This intuitive navigation characterises the user-friendliness of a site that possesses a high degree of functionality. Further to this, the site's advanced search facility ensures that every possible angle is covered in ensuring immediate access to specific information.

Fundamental to the core business is a full

UK - This year Richard Martin Lighting (RML) will be celebrating 30 years in the Industry. Part of the key to the company's success has been evolving with changes in the Industry and building relationships with other rental houses and their staff.

"Those relationships have always been something that is very important to us, as is the whole ethos of working together to get the job done well," says the company. "So when we were approached by Wise Productions to assist them in lighting a special anniversary dinner at the British Science Museum, we jumped at the chance.

Pixel Par 90's were used to wash the walls, in fact almost every surface, and, they gave a real depth of colour and richness to the room.

The Pixelrange Pixel Par 90 is a high output solid state lighting projector designed to deliver a symmetrical beam angle. The Pixel Par 90 contains 30 red, green

Germany - Major has introduced its new dedicated website (www.major-lighting.com)

to make finding all details of products and custom-made solutions quick and accessible. For example, the product section has a concise overview of all major product segments (Dimmers, Luminaires, Rigging + Safety Ropes, Power Distribution, Cables + Connectors and Colours + Effects), or in the Navigation header visitors can discover more about the company and its renowned service.

Major puts a main focus on clarity and accessibility. By clicking on the website's multiple links, visitors can drill deeper into a subject and get additional information.

Major is Lightpower's own brand. Major products are built in Germany and have earned themselves a great reputation on multiple international projects over the years. They offer bespoke solutions where no appropriate products are available. "Rega

UK - With the programme for Theatres Trust Conference 14: Community Theatres in place, and a strong line-up of contributors confirmed, including Stephen Williams MP, Peter Stark OBE, Chairman of Voluntary Arts Network, and Sir Peter Bazalgette, Chairman of Arts Council England, momentum is building as delegates take advantage of the generous Early Bird delegate rates.

This year the annual conference is taking place on Monday 28 April 2014 in Leeds, at the famous Grade II* listed City Varieties Music Hall. Early Bird delegate rate runs to Friday 28 March. The community theatres conference is co-locating alongside PLASA Focus: Leeds, the popular regional entertainment technology trade show that runs the following day at the Royal Armouries on Tuesday 29 and Wednesday 30 April.

Mhora Samuel, Director of The Theatres Trust sa

Germany - Elation Professional enjoyed an "outstanding" Prolight+Sound show in Frankfurt with a bustling stand that was on the go from start to finish thanks to a broad line-up of attractive products that included a few surprise world premiere preview products, as well as an exhilarating light show that attracted throngs with every showing.

A range of new products for professional stage applications included the unveiling of four all-new luminaires in Elation's popular Platinum and Satura range of professional moving heads - two discharge lamp-based and two LED-based - the Platinum BX, Platinum SBX, Platinum Profile LED, and Satura Spot CMY Pro.

Both the Platinum BX and Platinum SBX are compact fixtures that combine new lamp technology from a Philips MSD Platinum 17 RA 350W lamp with a new optical system to kick out 20,000 lumens of power. The Platinum BX is a beam l

Germany - TUI Cruises, Europe's leading travel group, began its operations in spring 2009 with the liner Mein Schiff. The second cruiser liner was commissioned in May 2011 and is named Mein Schiff 2.

Further growth is now signalled by the subsequent expansion of the fleet with two new vessels. Mein Schiff 3 will be launched in May 2014, with sister ship Mein Schiff 4 following one year later.

For the cruiser liner MS2 the evacuation system design was carried out by the engineering company Michael Creydt in co-operation with the acoustical design company, Carsten Fromm and installed Lellman.

To assure a high quality speech transmission, the operator decided to install salt-waterproof digital steerable loudspeakers. After testing several different systems the final decision was made for the Pan Beam series of Pan Acoustics, the Pan Beam PB04-SW.

(Jim Evans)

Switzerland - At the Berner Rathaus (Bern Town Hall) in Switzerland, voice intelligibility has been greatly improved with the installation of two steerable Meyer Sound CAL 64 column array loudspeakers. The system is implemented in the Grossratssaal, the acoustically challenging main legislative chamber of the 15th century Gothic structure. Project design was handled by Daniel Zurwerra of Suhr, Switzerland-based Virtually Audio.

"Voice reinforcement in this space is challenging for several reasons," recounts Zurwerra. "First, the reverberation time is more than two seconds, and even higher at some frequencies. We have high background noise levels, and because of aesthetics and historic preservation requirements, loudspeaker placement and positioning is highly restricted. It was clear that beam-steering columns would offer the best results.

"The sound quality

UK - A new version of the Purple Guide, which aims to help organisers deliver successful events safely, has launched this week. The Guide, which was originally published in 1992, is expected by The Events Industry Forum (EIF) to be indispensable to regulators at local authorities, emergency service personnel, and the various contractors and sub-contractors who help make events happen. Like its predecessor, it is also expected to help keep Britain's expertise at events at the forefront on the world stage.

"The original Purple Guide, published by the HSE in the 1990s, had a huge impact in helping to bring a safer and more cohesive approach to event management," says Jim Winship, Secretary of the EIF and who has been co-ordinating the project. "It also helped to put the UK events industry on the map worldwide as the standards set in the Guide rapidly became adopted a

Russia - Housed in an impressive purpose built complex in the North of Moscow, Russia's CineLab SoundMix studio complex is considered the flagship for sound in the Russian cinema post-production industry. The complex boasts a variety of studios including three Dolby Premier mixing theatres, built around Avid System 5 consoles and Pro Tools DAWs. One of the mixing stages was recently upgraded to the new Dolby Atmos format.

O M Network owner Michael Tovkalo, responsible for the installation, explained, "The whole setup demanded uncompromising signal quality. We have always found Van Damme cables extremely reliable which is why we immediately decided to use Van Damme cable solutions."

The installation required connected patch panels and dynamic processing devices using digital multicores for which Van Damme Green Series Digi Grade AES / EBU 110 Ohm UP-OFC was chosen. Fo

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