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 - 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

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

UK - Fulbridge Academy in Peterborough is a primary school that was recently judged as 'outstanding' by Ofsted. A culturally and socially diverse school with children from more than 25 countries, it is renowned for its creative approach to the curriculum.

In keeping with its pioneering, forward thinking ethos, Fulbridge has enhanced its internal surroundings with a thought-provoking series of themed areas that relate to specific topics being studied by its children. The school contacted integrators Playfords, with a view to adding a carefully manageable audio element to the project and they, in turn, consulted with Audiologic as to the best way to meet the requirements of the project.

The school wanted to add a separate audio element to each of 23 themed areas in three separate corridors and one to a communal hall. Each of three separate corridors running away from a main corr

UK - From its award-winning venue, to its business only focus and change in opening hours, PLASA 2015 has its sights firmly set on providing a show that delivers on every level.

"This will be our third year at London's ExCeL," says Christopher Toulmin, director of Events Division at PLASA. "Relocating events is never an easy decision to make but the closure of Earls Court made it inevitable. Our move to ExCeL- the only venue in London that can fully support the technical requirements of our industry- has proved the right decision and has enabled us to pursue our exciting plans for development."

With a track record of hosting world-leading events such as PLASA London, ExCeL is the UK's largest exhibition and conference venue and a compelling destination for business professionals. Part of a 100 acre campus, ExCeL boasts easy transport links to central London

UK - As one of Prolyte's distributors for the UK, AED Distribution UK are uniquely placed to provide a raft of solutions to Prolyte users by combining services from the AED Toolbox with the Prolyte trussing & staging offering.

First of those solutions is free product training and support. On 22 and 23 April a Prolyte Campus was held at the Distribution UK facility located in High Wycombe.

Over 20 professionals attended during the two days, taking away a variety of hands-on experience and real-life experiments.

The Campus is a Prolyte Group driven initiative to support its customers with the best and most up-to-date knowledge available. Providing the tools and training to use the Prolyte Group products safely and in compliance with applicable standards and regulations will help them in performing better.

Prolyte Campus offers a complete programme of learning activities to c

USA - In order to remake itself as a premier destination for all manner of educational, cultural, and artistic activities, the new $422m home of the Whitney Museum includes more than 13,000sq.ft of designated event space including four outdoor terraces, a restaurant, café, public gathering space, educational centre, library reading room, and on the sixth floor, a flexible, multipurpose theatre which will give the Whitney the freedom to host live music, theatrical performances, lectures, movie screenings, social events, and more.

The 2,300sq.ft theatre is a collaboration between Theatre Projects, design architect, Renzo Piano Building Workshop, and executive architect, Cooper, Robertson & Partners. The flexible performance space features a retractable seating system, six catwalks, a variable acoustic ceiling, and an all LED performance lighting system-one of the first all-

Mexico - They may be on a smaller scale than the Olympic Games but the 22nd Central American and Caribbean Games packed just as much glitz and glamour into their opening ceremonies in Veracruz, Mexico. Lighting designer David Grill, of David Grill and Associates, Inc. (DGA) in Mahwah, New Jersey, used grandMA2 lighting consoles to illuminate the festivities.

The Central American and Caribbean Games are held every four years with athletes from the region competing in a variety of sports, some of which qualify them for the Pan American Games. The Games were staged in the newly refurbished Estadio Luis 'Pirata' Fuente in Veracruz where more than a million people watched approximately 5,700 participating athletes.

Lighting director Paul Sonnleitner programmed the lighting using two grandMA2 full-size consoles, two grandMA2 light and a MA onPC command wing as well as a MA onPC fade

USA - Ariana Grande's 77-show Honeymoon Tour is the breakout artist's first tour to deploy a Meyer Sound Leo and Lyon linear sound reinforcement system. According to FOH engineer Toby Francis, the system has proven to be the perfect vehicle for delivering Grande's potent voice over the sound of screaming fans in sellout arenas.

"I can't say enough about the Leo system," says Francis, who has previously mixed Aerosmith, ZZ Top, Kanye West, and New Kids on the Block. "Ariana's vocals sound absolutely amazing through it. I've had some visiting engineers comment on how 'in-your-face' the sound is from LEO, like you can almost reach out and touch it. Every small, subtle move I make in the mix is clearly audible. I can't believe it sometimes - it's almost like sitting in a studio."

For most shows, the system comprises main front hangs of 14-each Leo-M and four Ly

USA - The Perelman theatre in Philadelphia's Kimmel Centre for the Performing arts is primarily a recital room but also serves as the venue's cinema.

David Conner is the centre's audio department head: "We have just completed a significant investment in the Perelman cinema system, this is now full 4k specification, a 32,000 lumen Barco projector, 40ft wide Stewart Filmscreen, and a bespoke 7:1 audio system using d&b audiotechnik V-Series and E-Series, designed and implemented by Pete Cosmos at systems integrator, Acme Professional.

Seating 650 and with two shallow balconies above the stalls/ orchestra, Cosmos considered the room to be generally sound reinforcement friendly: "It has a variable acoustic and can be softened for cinema sound reinforcement. We had already installed a surround sound system using d&b E8 loudspeakers, but to complete the system some weight w

Italy - Creative technology expert Realtime Environment Systems Ltd (RES) has completed an 18-month project, working in collaboration with media agency Innovision and content creators Immersive, to design, install and pixel map 1000s of LEDs for two of four giant metal LED sculptures created for Expo Milano 2015.

Situated in the heart of the Expo, in the Piazza Italia sponsored by Siemens, the four 10m-high shimmering tree-like sculptures anchor the four corners of the central square.

Conceived by Polish-American artist and architect Daniel Libeskind, each structure's dynamic form spirals out of the ground and spreads into two branches spanning 10 metres above the square. Crafted from brushed aluminium and fitted with a grid of innovative LED technology, the sculptures' 'Wings' animate the public space with a constant flow of pulsating patterns and imagery that relate to the t

Denmark - After much speculation in the pro audio industry, Uli Behringer's Music Group has announced its acquisition of TC Group, one of the largest groupss of companies in the pro audio industry. The deal has been signed and it is expected to close within days.

Headquartered in Denmark, and with offices worldwide, TC Group owns well-known brands Tannoy, Lab.gruppen, Lake, TC Electronic, TC Helicon and TC Applied Technologies.

Music Group adds Tannoy, Lab.gruppen and Lake to its professional install and touring sound offerings, alongside Midas, Klark Teknik and Turbosound, while TC Electronic and TC Helicon guitar effects and voice processing products will complement Music Group's Bugera guitar tube amplifier brand and the Behringer prosumer division. TC Group's focus on innovation and IP creation is further demonstrated by their TC Applied Technologies company, which is inve

USA - Alternative artist Børns didn't just perform for fans who turned out for Lucid Candy in Culver City, a pre-concert event celebrating his Candy EP, he took them on a dream-like journey reminiscent of Alice's fantastical walk through the Looking Glass. Lighting designer Rachel Miller used a collection of fixtures from Chauvet Professional to add to the evocative power of the event, which was created by 72U and Mophonics Music & Sound.

The magic Miller worked with lights was evident in the event's mesmeric tunnel entrance, which visitors walked into after being presented with intriguing pill vials filled with M&M candy. With dry ice produced fog rising from the ground and flowing fabric covering the walls and ceiling, the tunnel gave visitors the feeling of walking into a dream. This effect was accentuated by Miller's use of COLORado 1-Quad Tour RGBW LED wash fixtures

USA - Fresh off a stadium tour supporting One Direction, Australian punk pop band, 5 Seconds of Summer (5SOS), embarked on a promo tour of the USA with Allen & Heath's Qu-16 digital rackmount mixer managing the live acoustic performances.

Comprising a series of radio and store appearances, the tour culminated in the band's Derp Con fan convention, where lucky fans were handpicked and flown from all over the world to LA to meet the band, watch a live acoustic performance and take part in a Q&A.

FOH engineer, John Delf, and monitor engineer, Ben Booker, selected the Qu-16 to mix the 10 inputs and 4 wedge mixes for the shows, and additionally record a multi-track of the Derp Con performance.

"With only a limited time to soundcheck, the Qu-16 was really quick to set up and get everything sounding nice, and the recording set up was very simple and worked flawlessly. We used

Finland - Jutel is one of the world's most experienced suppliers of radio station automation and digital radio broadcast solutions worldwide. In an interesting departure from their usual field of activities, the company has recently implemented the world's first all audio-over-IP AES67/Ravenna-based system into the newly refurbished Restaurant Nallikari in the Finnish city of Oulu.

Oulu is reputed as a major high-tech centre, particularly in IT and wellness technology. Restaurant Nallikari combines both. Benefiting from the most glorious setting right on Nallikari beach, Restaurant Nallikari is a flexible, modern and completely modular space offering high quality restaurant services as well as up to eight separate meeting/private event zones. There are also spa facilities for up to 60 people as well as an outdoor Jacuzzi on the private terrace.

The brief was to provide a high

USA - With their new album, Future Hearts, at the top of the charts, Baltimore-based punk/pop band All Time Low will be touring heavily throughout 2015. As always, the entire band will be using Sensaphonics in-ear monitors on stage.

"We've all used Sensaphonics for years now, and they have never let us down," notes guitarist Jack Barakat. "I've had problems in the past because of the amount I run around on stage, but with Sensaphonics I've never had an issue with a perfect seal and a perfect sound. Whether in the studio or touring around the world, I'm never without my Sensaphonics."

The group is currently on tour in the US, again working with production manager and monitor Daniel Nickleski of Sound Works Productions. Guitarist Barakat, lead singer Alex Gaskarth, and drummer Dawson all use the Sensaphonics 2MAX, while bass player Zack Merrick has opt

USA - Passion plays, traditional theatrical depictions of the life and death of Jesus, have been an Easter season staple for centuries and the modern-day touring production The Thorn with a full Elation lighting and LED video package, is arguably one of the best.

The Thorn,which has been staged yearly since 1998, breaks from ritual and adopts a more dramatic form, fusing Cirque du Soleil-type aerials, martial arts and state-of-the-art entertainment technology with emotionally powerful performances.

This year, the play raised the visual drama even further through use of a dynamic package of Elation Platinum Series and LED-based moving heads, LED Par and effect lights, and LED video displays with haze and special fog effects from Antari.

Illuminate Production Services of Sacramento provided nearly all of the lighting equipment, labor and production management for

USA - South Biscayne Church in Florida's North Port is a faith and Bible believing, Southern Baptist Convention church that offers a high energy, always exciting worship experience for all ages.

Bringing quality audio and video functionality to the church's worship experience was a particularly challenging endeavour because the space was originally developed as a shopping centre and, hence, not optimized for its current purpose. With careful planning and the right equipment however, services are a vibrant, contemporary experience-thanks in no small part to the sonic excellence delivered by loudspeakers drawn from the catalogue of Valencia, Spain-based D.A.S. Audio.

GC Pro (Guitar Center Professional Division) of Atlanta, GA - working in conjunction with Tampa, FL-based Event Resource Group - ultimately designed and deployed a sound reinforcement system at the church utilizing

France - The renowned Lille National Orchestra (ONL) under conductor Jean-Claude Casadesus has become Europe's first orchestra to go fully digital. With a recent investment in a Sennheiser and Neumann microphone set-up, the orchestra now boasts a fully digital signal chain from sound pick-up to recording. Their mobile studio comprises a total of 33 digital Neumann microphones, 24 digital Sennheiser microphones, all on active stands and booms, and six DMI-8 interfaces.

Also included in the studio are a six-channel Sennheiser wireless system and a full Neumann monitoring set-up. Managing Director François Bou, who feels people have become overly concerned with the visual aspects of performance, sees the new system capturing the ears of his audiences, taking them on a deeper, immersive journey into the richness and variety of the music.

"For us, the fully digital mobile stu

UK - Orbital Sound has recently completed a major installation project at the University of Wolverhampton's Arena Theatre, a 150-seat studio space, involving a Cat 6 network and d&b audiotechnik E-Series system.

Host to a wide variety of touring acts, as well as a series of jazz events, the Arena Theatre specified the E-Series ultra compact system after a comprehensive on-site evaluation by d&b audiotechnik, identifying it as the best match to the venue's requirement. The new system comprised d&b E12d cabinets, combined with E15X subs and E6 delays for the main theatre, complemented by E8 speakers for the studio/rehearsal space. It was installed as part of a major refit, which included an 80-line Cat 6 data network.

The Arena Theatre has a full-time technical team of three, headed up by senior technician Stephen Payne who commented, "We had originally shortlisted the T-Se

UK - Since Ambersphere Solutions welcomed Ayrton into its family of quality distributed brands, the proliferation of Ayrton fixtures has been one of the company's many success stories.

A dozen of Ayrton's Magicpanels can currently be seen on the lighting rig for Olly Murs' latest outing. Famously just the runner-up in the X-Factor of 2009, his current UK tour includes four nights at The O2 in London before heading to Europe and then on to Australia. At the recent Manchester Arena show, the set list was put on hold to accommodate filming Olly and his audience by the X-Factor team in preparation for his debut on the show as a judge. Not a bad result for a performer many thought would be consigned to the Butlins summer season after losing out to Joe McElderry.

Production designer Paul Normandale has combined a set, video and lighting rig that places the audience focus firm

USA - University of Utah's Jon M. Huntsman Centre, a 15,000-seat arena that serves as home to the school's Runnin' Utes basketball, Utes volleyball and Red Rocks gymnastic teams, recently wrapped up a massive $6m renovation project.

When the dust finally settled, U of U's largest sporting and entertainment venue featured two new grand entrances plus a new floor, drapes, LED lighting system and versatile house sound system comprised of L-Acoustics' powerful Kara and high-directivity ARCS WiFo enclosures.

The audio portion of the project represented a joint effort between two Salt Lake City businesses: acoustician and technology consulting firm Spectrum Engineers, who provided the design and construction documents, and systems integration company Poll Sound, who installed the system and assisted with product specific design.

According to Poll Sound's Deward Timothy, the first

UK - Global event staffing specialist Showforce has been awarded BSI EN ISO 14001:2004 Certification for their commitment to Environmental Management. The standard exists to assist organisations implement demonstrably robust environmental management performance and is widely regarded as the world's most recognised environmental management systems standard.

Showforce's CEO Ian Spendlove commented, "As a business we are committed to sustainable working practises. We have a long history of successfully marrying local crew and staff with highly skilled and experienced personnel, leaving a legacy of employment. In addition we will always endeavour to allocate staff according to their location in order to deliver our clients the most cost effective solution. Achieving certification underlines the good work we have been doing and provides us with a great framework for improvement.

UK - London-born singer songwriter Jessie Ware has just completed her UK tour, with Sennheiser microphones and wireless monitors an integral part of the audio system supplied by rental company Adlib for both Jessie and her band.

Front-of-House engineer Johnny Dodkin started working with Jessie when she was a backing singer with Jack Penate. When she was signed in January 2012, she asked him to work with her on her own project.

"We have always used a 2000 Series wireless system along with a 945 capsule for Jessie until this run of shows, when I changed to a 965 capsule," says Johnny. "I love the 945; it's great as it has a tight pattern and presence with the top end. But when Sennheiser's Relations Manager Mark Saunders popped by rehearsals for this tour, we started talking about the 965 capsule, as I have created a quiet stage with all amps off stage and the dru

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