UK - The 32nd Henley Festival proved to be a logistical triumph for the event's long term PA contractors, RG Jones Sound Engineering, and a sonic one for the Martin Audio system they were deploying for the first time at the event: the MLA Compact.

On the upside, the organisers had overturned the decision to relocate from the wonderful site on the banks of the Thames that has been their permanent home for three decades - meaning that RG Jones could call on pre-existing site data; on the more arduous side, their Martin Audio MLX subs had just returned from the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury Festival and gone straight on to a Tour de France event in Trafalgar Square.

The theatrics of Arcade Fire at Glastonbury had filled the grilles with pyrotechnic residue, necessitating the grilles of the subwoofers to be resprayed. Given the tight turnaround time between Trafalgar Square and the

UK - CBeebies TV show Swashbuckle is back for a new series. The idea is for the audience to join Gem and her teams of Swashbucklers as they try to win her jewels back from the naughty pirates - Captain Cook, Line and Sinker.

Aimed for children who are at a key developmental stage, the show includes games, songs, stories, learning and lots of fun.

This bright and colourful set, which includes it's very own pirate ship (and real life parrot), is seriously big budget!

Lit by LD Lee Allen, it was 'all hands on deck' from Richard Martin Lighting (RML) who 'shipped' VL3000 Spots, VL1000TS, Stage Zoom 1200's and Alpha Wash 1200's up to Dock 10 Studios in Salford where Swashbuckle is currently being filmed.

(Jim Evans)

Denmark - Light and water have always made for an excellent mix; dynamic light and water even more so. At Fredericia Sportscenter in central Denmark, Elation's high-powered ELAR EXTQW Flood HP LED Par fixture is being used to colour wash the facility's 50m-long swimming pool in a variety of colour looks from every-day white light to colourful dynamic mood lighting. Twenty-four of the IP65-rated fixtures, supplied by SoundstoreXL.com, work from beneath the water line behind small windows on the sides of the pool.

Fredericia Sportscenter is a multi-use facility that serves sport, culture and the business community with an assortment of activities in the heart of Denmark. With sports halls, stadium, training areas, meeting rooms, bowling alley, café and more, the Sportscenter's recently upgraded swimming pool area is one of the more popular attractions.

A feature of the po

UK - Chilfest 2014 - the three day music extravaganza staged in the picturesque Hertfordshire, UK countryside, and produced by leading production industry technical solution specialist Universal Event Productions (UEP) - was another resounding success.

Company founder Steve Butcher maintains a cutting edge inventory of lighting, sound and video equipment, which he showcases at this event, and several months ago he invested substantially in SGM's SP-6 SixPack pixel blinders, XC-5 RGB colour strobes and P-5 wash lights. These were deployed in production lighting designer Simon Maddison's imaginative concept, along with four of SGM's award-winning high powered G-Spot profiles.

The latter were placed on the PA wings either side of stage to boost low level front lighting across the crowd - which also served as a great atmosphere builder. As one of the most exposed fixtures, its IP6

Denmark - The AV Center and Panasonic provided a superb visual experience for the crowd at The Eurovision Song Contest.

Eight projection screens measuring 6.5m each and 130 flat panel displays were installed in the auditorium, green room and off-stage areas, to ensure waiting contestants and the audience didn't miss a single note or vote from the show.

Audio-visual solution specialists, AV Center, were given the task of creating the innovative display set-up for the event, won this year by Conchita Wurst.

Mikkel Behrend, rental manager at AV Center, said, "In close collaboration with Panasonic, we managed to meet the organiser's high expectations by providing a reliable, state-of-the-art technology solution at an extremely competitive cost. We hope to work with Panasonic again when delivering such visual solutions for large-scale events."

Karoly Neumann, Nordic c

USA - The Columbia Performing Arts Centre in Columbia, Missouri is a private, not-for-profit dance school for children founded in 1998, and its students range in age from toddlers through college age. The school recently completed a major addition including four new studios. The addition replaced the nearby, but separate, studio annex allowing them to have all eight studios under one roof creating a safer environment for the students.

Local A/V integration firm Sound Concepts, was hired to design and install high-fidelity sound systems, both for the new studios and to preemptively replace the older components in the existing studios. Sound Concepts delivered an impactful, energy-efficient sound system centred on the Ashly nXp8002 two-channel Network Amplifier rated at 800W per channel with a built-in Protea DSP processor. All nX Series amplifiers can be programmed to trigger a d

France - As a leader in voice alarm technology and public address systems, ATEÏS France has been commissioned to design and supply a sophisticated PA/VA system to RATP for the extensive refurbishment of Chatelet-Les-Halles.

Chatelet-Les-Halles is not only the biggest underground train station in the world, but also the main commuter hub of Paris. Every weekday in the region of 750,000 passengers pass through the sprawling transport complex that encompasses three lines of the RER regional rapid transit service and five Metro routes.

This major building project, overseen by public transport operator RATP, began at the end of 2012 and is due to be completed in 2016. There are three main components to this work: to improve accessibility, increase the standard of service and passenger comfort and make improvements to fire safety and evacuation arrangements.

ATEÏS was a natural

UK - With the arrival of the new JBL Professional VTX V20 line array system in the UK this month, UK distributor Sound Technology Ltd hosted a listening event at LH2 Studios London on Tuesday 15th July, presented by the designer of the system, Paul Bauman.

An impressive number of leading UK rental companies and engineers were in attendance to see and hear the next generation line array which features numerous technical innovations and 'extraordinary attention to detail' designed for touring sound and fixed installations.

The event kicked off with Paul Bauman describing the development of the VTX system, highlighting in particular the revolutionary D2 HF driver, Differential Drive woofers, high component density, lightweight and flexible design, and completely redesigned super-fast suspension and transport system.

Visitors were then able to listen to the system and evaluate t

USA - The 79-year-old Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) in Ashland has chosen Meyer Sound MIna line array loudspeakers to anchor the first full reinforcement setup in its 1,190-seat, outdoor Allen Elizabethan Theatre. With a stage house and thrust stage originally built for non-amplified performances, the theatre now benefits from an architecturally pleasing audio solution that heightens vocal clarity and musicality for the audience, while making performing easier for the actors.

"The Meyer Sound system has completely changed the experience for both artists and audience," says Bill Rauch, artistic director of OSF. "The amplification is so subtle in the Shakespeare plays that the audience often cannot tell the actors are amplified, but they appreciate hearing and understanding every word."

The move to a full reinforcement system was prompted by several facto

UK - Vaughan Sound Installations Ltd (t/a PAI Group) have completed an impressive, large-scale audio-visual integration project for the Life Sciences Hub Wales in Cardiff Bay.

The client required a substantial array of specialist future-proof technology, with the Welsh Government supporting the fit-out as well as the rental cost for the first five years as part of its £100m Life Sciences Investment Fund. Occupying an entire 12,000 sq. ft. floor, state-of-the-art solutions were needed across areas including a presentation space, boardroom, four meeting rooms, CEO office, and multimedia pod.

Integral to the £2.2m fit-out works, Vaughan Sound was tasked with specifying and installing a range of audio, display, projection, centralised video recording, live streaming and video conferencing systems, along with all dedicated cabling and infrastructure, to deliver a full t

USA - After putting a new K2 loudspeaker system through its paces - including a recent trek on Vampire Weekend's North American tour leg - Thunder Audio, Inc. has expanded its inventory with a large-format K1 system from L-Acoustics.

According to Thunder Audio business development manager Greg Snyder, the company is currently taking delivery of 48 K1 enclosures, as well as bringing the rest of its total L-Acoustics inventory up to 36 K2 and 24 KARA elements, 18 K1-SB and 34 SB28 subs, six ARCS II and 22 LA-RAK, each loaded with three LA8 amplified controllers. An additional 48 K2 are also on order for the first quarter of 2015.

"K1 has become the industry's first choice for live audio reinforcement systems, but K2 is the reason we finally became a member of the L-Acoustics family," says Snyder. "It's a stellar system for arena tours, like Vampire Weekend, as wel

UK - The PLASA Foundation has announced the formation of Behind the Scenes UK to provide financial assistance to entertainment technology professionals, or their immediate family, who are seriously ill or injured. Grants may be used for basic living costs, some medical related expenses, transportation, retraining, or funerals. Since issuing its first grant in the spring of 2006, Behind the Scenes in North America has provided almost half a million dollars to our colleagues in need. These grants have brought help and hope to these individuals during some of their darkest hours.

Behind the Scenes has a very wide remit. Anyone is eligible for assistance who has earned their living in the industry for at least five years, whether behind the curtain, behind the camera, on the road, or working for companies that manufacture or supply entertainment technology products and services. The

UK - The annual British Army Household Division's Beating Retreat ceremony is a spectacular pageant of music, military precision, horses, cannon and fireworks. Dating back to the 1690s, nowadays the most modern production technology is used on the event including, this year, a DiGiCo SD8.

This year's ceremony took place in London's Horse Guards Parade on the evenings of 11 and 12 June, featuring music from the Massed Bands and Corps of Drums of Her Majesty The Queen's Household Division, combining 250 foot guards and mounted cavalry musicians with the gun carriages of The King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery. Choral accompaniment was supplied by the Royal Choral Society, with guest appearances from The Troupe de Marine Band and Band of the Legion d'Etrangere (Foreign Legion) from France and Canada's Vancouver Police Pipe Band.

The event's guest of honour and salute taker was Col

UK - To support their tenth album, American rock band Pearl Jam has taken to the road for their international tour Lightning Bolt.

Working with video director Blue Leach for Pearl Jam Inc. Creative Technology (CT) provided the video equipment to complement Blue's visual directing for the 12 date European leg of Pearl Jam's international tour. Until this tour, Pearl Jam has never toured with cameras and screens, however Blue quickly established a creative connection with the band after warm up shows in London, Ontario and Wrigley Field in Chicago last July (2013).

Renowned for having a streamlined stage presence and historically performing with no video support until now, the superb live photography element captured Pearl Jam's explosive stage performance which featured predominantly black and white camera shots.

To visually enhance the shows CT provided IMAG Screens w

USA - Recently, The Sextant Group, a national independent technology consulting firm specializing in the planning and design of learning, communications and entertainment facilities and systems, was contracted to specify a sound system for the new Convocation Centre at Mount Aloysius College in central Pennsylvania. The Sextant Group selected an option that was new for them: a RoomMatch sound system from Bose Professional Systems.

The system consists of 17 RoomMatch loudspeakers divided into one five-speaker array (RM5505, RM7010, RM9010, RM9020, and RM12040 modules) that covers the main floor, and six separate two-module RM7040/RM9020 arrays covering the bleacher seating on both sides of the floor. The speaker arrays are all powered by five PowerMatch PM8500N amplifiers and were installed by the Pittsburgh office of Cleveland, Ohio-based SoundCom Systems.

The school's new Con

The Netherlandds - Commissioned by the Basel-based Anne Frank Foundation, Anne is the first production at the new, purpose-built Theater Amsterdam. Only the second time that one of the most famous and poignant accounts to emerge from the Second World War has been adapted for stage, Yamaha and Steinberg technology is ensuring the impact of the sound matches that of the large scale visuals.

Anne relates the story of the Jewish Frank family's hiding from Nazi occupiers in Amsterdam, as told through the famous diary of their teenage daughter, using life-sized, 75 ton reproductions of the Frank family's original Amsterdam home and the annexe where they hid for 26 months.

The show continues an emerging tradition in the Benelux countries of theatre productions on a huge scale. Sound design is by Jeroen ten Brinke, who took theatre sound to new levels with the revolving

Germany - On 15 July 2014, the football world champions landed at Berlin's Tegel airport. They were given a rapturous welcome by the waiting fans and journalists. World champion sound as the players left the plane and on the visitors' terrace was provided by eight LSP 500 PRO from Sennheiser.

At 10:08 precisely, the specially chartered Lufthansa Boeing 747 from Rio de Janeiro with the 23 German world champions on board touched down in Berlin. The triumphant national squad was given a rapturous reception by Tegel Airport staff, airline employees, journalists and hundreds of jubilant onlookers.

Eight Sennheiser LSP 500 PRO supplied by Bärlin Team operating on behalf of Berlin Airports ensured that the welcome addresses for the players could be clearly heard by all those present. Four LSP 500 PRO were located on the apron area and a further four were set up on the visitors' terr

USA - Everyone knows that the focus of Nevada hotels is on gambling, right? That is, of course, unless that establishment is the new Whitney Peak Hotel in Reno. The absence of gaming may be unusual in a Nevada hotel, but then again, how many luxury boutique hotels feature the 164-foot-tall exterior climbing wall and interior climbing boulders found at Whitney Peak?

Occupying a building that once housed the iconic Fitzgerald's Hotel and Casino, a Reno landmark, Whitney Peak is the result of an extensive, carefully planned and well-executed renovation that relied heavily on lighting throughout the facility to create a transformative and memorable experience for guests.

The spacious first floor that been occupied by slot machines and table games when the site was Fitzgerald's, now houses Heritage, a farm-to-table restaurant that features locally sourced food and is inspired by Re

UK - UK Live is a new series of one-day festivals held during June at three locations around the country. Capital Sound was tasked with providing audio systems for both the NE Live and SW Live sites.

NE Live was held at Sunderland's Stadium of Light football ground with around 30,000 attending, whilst SW Live was held on the beach at Weston Super Mare for 15,000 with the crowds at both sites enjoying sets from headline act Jessie J, along with Jason Derulo, Rizzle Kicks, The Saturdays, The Vamps, Union J, Katy B, Rixton and Neon Jungle.

"We supplied large MLA systems at both venues," explains Paul Timmins, Capital's general manager. "At Sunderland we deployed a four-hang MLA rig and a twin-hang MLA rig at Weston-super-Mare with out-hangs of MLA Compact. Control was via twin avid Profile consoles at FOH and twin Yamaha PM5d consoles on monitors."

Capital a

Mexico - Elation Professional's Mexican partner, ADIMSA, has supplied Elation LED lighting fixtures to Inbursa Aquarium (Acuario Inbursa) in Mexico City, fulfilling product specification, on-site supervision, and lighting fixture programming duties for the world-class aquarium in collaboration with lighting designer Cynthia Ortiz.

Owned by Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim, Inbursa features 230 species of sea life across 11,500sq.ft of space and is one of the largest aquariums in the world. Officially opened in June of this year, the building consists of four levels, all but one underground. The tour begins at the lowest floor, which represents the bottom of the sea with pirate ship and sharks, and ascends through coral reef and a manta ray pool to the Beach and Rainforest, culminating on the ground floor at one of the venue's main attractions, the Penguinarium.

Lighting designe

Italy - The first Radio Italia Live concert was held in 2012 to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Radio Italia. On that occasion, the well-known radio station organized the show in Piazza Duomo in Milan for the first time. An amazing 150,000 plus people turned out for the event, which was broadcast live on Radio Italia and Video Italia and repeated on Italia 1.

Since then, the organisation has decided to turn the Radio Italia Live concert into a regular event at the beginning of Milan's summer calendar, and today it is one of the few public showcases for Italian music with top-ranking performers. In 2014, Biagio Antonacci, Laura Pausini, Elisa, Negramaro, Edoardo Bennato, Emma, Claudio Baglioni and Alex Britti were on stage.

Giancarlo Toscani, who was in charge of the lighting design, graphic design and art direction, explained reports, "The first to the third years were

UK - Lighting and visuals rental specialist HSL supplied equipment for a bold, vibrant interactive lighting installation work, Control t'force, created by lighting designer James Bawn, that illuminated the 330m high Emley Moor Mast in west Yorkshire UK, which is the tallest freestanding structure in the UK, an iconic local landmark and the main UHF transmitter for most of the county.

Specially commissioned by TG Events on behalf of Kirklees Council as part of Hypervelocity, the five-day grand final of the 100-day 2014 Yorkshire Festival, the Control t'force project which ran over two evenings, also celebrated the start of the 2014 Tour de France cycle race in Yorkshire.

James has been involved in some previous architectural lighting projects for the council and when his ideas for lighting the Emley Moor broadcast transmitting station mast (currently owned

Brazil - When Spanish tenor and conductor Plácido Domingo took to the stage for the Concert in Rio, honouring the close of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, television audiences received a crystal clear sound thanks to DPA Microphones' d:dicate recording microphones. Performing at the HSBC Arena Stage in Rio de Janeiro on Friday, 11 July, Domingo was accompanied by Puerto Rican soprano Ana María Martínez, Chinese pianist Lang Lang and the Brazilian Symphony Orchestra.

With the entire world watching, Grammy Award-winner Jesse Lewis, audio producer for the live international broadcast of the concert, knew he needed reliable microphones for the broadcast of the performance, which was aired live from the massive arena. He turned to DPA Microphones for its range of d:dicate mics, including the 4006 Omnidirectional, 4011 Cardioid and 4041 Large Diaphragm solutions.

"For a venue of th

Switzerland - A Nexo Geo S system has been installed into the new BCV Concert Hall in Lausanne, a classy new addition to the Swiss music education scene.

BCV Concert Hall is part of the HEMU University of Music Lausanne, the 152-year-old music school, founded in the Romandy district of western Switzerland in 1861 as the Conservatoire de Lausanne, which is renowned for its highly qualified faculty members, challenging programme of studies and firm commitment to music on regional, national and international levels.

Designed by prominent Swiss architects Burckhardt and Partners, the hall is sponsored by the Banque Cantonale Vaudoise (BCV) Swiss bank and other local arts patrons, and is located in the Flon in central Lausanne, a district which underwent extensive rehabilitation in the late nineties and now throbs with life and culture.

The 300-capacity hall is to be shared betwe

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