UK - The Sound Design team at Manchester's Royal Exchange Theatre specified 28 KV2 Audio active EX loudspeakers to enhance a production of Little Shop of Horrors.

With the production featuring a live band it was felt that the existing in house system would not provide the required level and coverage required for such a show.

A total of 20 EX 6's were flown around the venue to ensure even and accurate coverage for all the audience along with four EX 26's and two EX 10's to further amplify the performance. Bass reinforcement was handled via a single EX 2.2 and single EX 2.5mkII.

Directed by Derek Bond and with live puppetry and design undertaken by Toby Olié (War Horse) it was vital that the audio reproduction was of an equal quality.

Deputy head of sound Sorcha Williams comments: "Little Shop of Horrors is a tremendously fun production, not least b

UK - When the Stamford Corn Exchange Theatre in Lincolnshire took the decision to invest in a permanently installed active line array system for its 399-seat auditorium, it opted for an RCF HDL10-A from locally based LUX Technical.

The Theatre, which was built within the shell of the original Corn Exchange Hall in the Victorian era, needed a versatile system to handle its varied programme ranging from stand-up comedy to local am-dram and full blown rock concerts. LUX Technical bid successfully for the contract which was issued by theatre manager Judith Mackie. Having experience LUX Technical's larger HDL20-A rental system on many occasions, her team had been fully aware of the system's coverage capabilities.

"We decided to install a permanent system because when touring companies arrive with their own production they often carry enormous speakers. We wanted to make it eas

Indonesia - Global TV in Jakarta recently moved out of its old rented studios and constructed a completely new broadcast facility consisting of four independent studios. These have been equipped with PR Lighting fixtures, supplied by local distribution company, Acoustic & Lighting.

The company already has a track record of working with the station's owners, the MNC Group who gradually started investing in PR XR200, XLED 1037 and XPar 360.

For the new project Acoustic & Lighting's successful bid was tendered not only on the back of PR Lighting's performance capabilities but also their extended warranty. "These were specified from the very beginning because they offer excellent value for money," said Edwin, of Acoustic & Lighting.

Requiring essential functionality for their daily round of comedy, light entertainment and popular music they dipped extensively into PR L

Namibia - DWR Distribution reports that The Namibian Annual Music Awards (NAMA), staged at the Swakopmund Indoor Sports Centre in the coastal town of Swakopmund, was lit up with 18 Robe BMFLs forming part of a large Robe rig. dB Audio Namibia were entrusted to supply the full technical support for the awards hosted on 1 May and the main event, held on 2 May, both of which were broadcast live for NBC TV.

Rockstar 4000 were the producers of this popular production, while MTC (Mobile Telecommunications Company and NBC (Namibian Broadcasting Corporation), were the main sponsors.

The inspiration for the lighting design came from Jonathan Bandli from Bad Weather, who was commissioned by dB Audio Namibia. "We wanted to simplify the design and go back to basics," said Jonathan. "While we wanted to have something elegant and grand, the lighting had to be versatile to acc

UK - Housed in a landmark industrial building, a former flour mill on the south bank of the River Tyne in Gateshead, Baltic is a major international centre for contemporary art. Baltic has no permanent collection, providing instead an ever-changing calendar of exhibitions and events that give a compelling insight into contemporary artistic practice. Baltic's dynamic, diverse and international programme ranges from blockbuster exhibitions to innovative new work and projects created by artists working within the local community.

Baltic's River Terrace is a function room featuring an outdoor balcony that stretches out along the banks of the River Tyne. When local hospitality operator Fresh Express, who look after both on site restaurants and the buildings fantastic private hire spaces were looking to up-grade the facilities in the room, they called in Gary Nicholson of Newcastle ba

USA - J. R. Clancy is a lead sponsor of the Jay O. Glerum Rigging Master Classes, planned for a summer 2016 launch by USITT.

The series of classes honours master rigging expert and instructor Jay O. Glerum, author of the definitive Stage Rigging Handbook and one of the industry's most knowledgeable professionals and teachers of rigging use and safety. Glerum passed away in 2014.

"Many theatre technology professionals point to Jay Glerum as their teacher and mentor in the proper way to use rigging technology, from counterweight to automated systems," said Mike Murphy, J. R. Clancy president. "Naming a series of master classes after Jay is a fitting tribute to one of the most influential people in our profession. We at J. R. Clancy are honoured to have this opportunity to remember him."

The annual training sessions will be offered in different locati

Norway - Just inside the Arctic Circle, in northern Norway, is the town of Bod°, where the new, multipurpose Stormen Konserthuset is an important addition to the area's cultural facilities.

"From the initial planning stages, the acoustic quality of the various venues was a major element to consider," explains Stormen's technical director Håvard Christensen. "We contracted Drammen Lyd AS to install d&b audiotechnik V-Series systems in three of the venues: the Main Hall, the Small Hall and the SINUS. We've also acquired two portable E-Series systems that we can deploy anywhere in the one of the centre's open spaces."

The Main Hall is the largest of Stormen's venues and has been designed to serve a wide range of performance styles. "The stage can be completely transformed", explains Christensen, "from a classical acoustic hall to a theatre

UK - Raycom, a key distributor of wireless sound solutions for the European broadcast and professional live sound markets, has launched a revised website with full e-commerce capability at www.raycom.co.uk.

Andy Clements, business development manager at Raycom says: "We've realised for some time that our customers are rarely working regular 9-5 hours; the ability to source equipment at a time that suits them is vital."

Whilst being the new shop-front of Raycom, the new site continues to provide a wealth of information on their product ranges from world renowned manufacturers such as Wisycom, Lectrosonics and Phonak alongside their own radio talkback base station the RTB6211D.

Andy continues: "The aim is to steadily grow the range of products available over the coming months by introducing more ranges from the core manufacturers and additional offerings suitabl

The Netherlands - PRG-EML Productions, based in Utrecht has recently invested in Robe's new BMFL Spot moving lights. Robe's reporting team caught up with this leading production company, during a recent road trip to The Netherlands, and interviewed general manager Wouter Muurlink.

PRG-EML Productions specialises in delivering lighting, rigging and audio solutions to all sectors of the entertainment and industrial presentation industry and currently has a stock of around 200 Robe products in their wide inventory of moving lights.

The Robe purchases started three years ago with LEDWash 1200s, to which LEDWash 800s, Pointes and CycFX 8s were quickly added followed by most recently, the BMFL Spots. They were the first company in Holland to have the BMFL Spots, an action that set the ball rolling for sales from Controllux, Robe's very proactive Benelux distributor.

The first proj

Germany / Italy - Fohhn Audio has supplied an extensive range of loudspeaker systems for installation in the German, United Arab Emirates and Kazakhstan pavilions at Expo 2015 in Milan. The Nürtingen-based manufacturer is no stranger to this universal exposition, having previously provided loudspeaker systems for the German, Swiss and China State Grid pavilions at EXPO 2010 in Shanghai.

The theme of Expo 2015, which opened on 1 May, is Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life. One hundred and forty countries and a number of international organisations are taking part. More than 20 million people are expected to visit the 1.1 million sq.m exhibition site before the Expo closes on 31 October.

Music & Light Design GmbH, Leonberg, has installed around 80 compact Fohhn loudspeakers in Germany's Fields of Ideas pavilion, which portrays the country's distinctive field and m

UK - Midas Productions is the first temporary power company to switch on to European fuel Green B+ diesel, a drop-in renewable that massively outperforms both bio and fossil diesel.

Developed in conjunction with, and distributed exclusively by, Green Biofuels, independent tests show that, at 70 per cent of maximum generator load, Green B+ slashes NOx emissions by 27 per cent compared to red diesel and particulates CO, THC and SO2 by even greater numbers. All other load settings showed comparable savings.

Green B+ has indefinite storage life, comparable productivity to gas oil and, containing no aromatics, results in far less maintenance on the engine than both biodiesel and red diesel. It also delivers a 55 per cent reduction in greenhouse gases against red diesel.

Sue Woodward, marketing consultant at Green Biofuels, comments, "The independent results for our fuel have

UK - The Who's Who of kitchen appliance designers congregated at Camden's Roundhouse for the seventh annual rendition of the Neff Master Partner Awards. Hosted this year by the Great British Bake Off TV chef Paul Hollywood, the event serves as a showcase that highlights the best Neff showrooms and designers across the whole of the UK.

The evening ceremony dazzled 450 invited guests with a lavish dinner and elegant vintage-themed surrounds that highlighted the eight award categories. Tasked with creating an equally striking stage design to complement the evening's proceedings, Derby-based Presentation Design Services enlisted the support of their recently acquired Chauvet Professional Nexus Aw 7x7 panels to provide the necessary lighting backdrop for the ceremony.

"All in all, we employed six Nexus Aw 7x7 panels to uplight the custom-covered set panels as part of th

Austria - Blackmagic Design reports that all signal distribution at the event areas for this year's Eurovision Song Contest (ESC), hosted at the Wiener Staatshalle in Vienna, Austria, was delivered via an SDI based live production workflow featuring six Blackmagic Design Smart Videohub routers.

The audiovisual (AV) infrastructure for the annual European wide extravaganza, now in its 60th year, was devised by Vienna based live event specialist Concept Solutions and distributed HD video signals to more than 125 monitors and screens throughout the multi-purpose indoor arena.

As well as the main staging hall, where 60 countries competed for the chance to perform in a live two hour televised spectacular, the ESC also had dedicated halls for media, backstage and catering, the judging panel, VIPs and the official ESC delegation. Each was equipped with a multitude of displays and scre

UK - Working with the National Theatre's video supervisor Matthew Morgans, XL Video is supplying a large semi-transparent LED wall for the current production of Everyman at the Olivier Theatre.

The cast of Everyman is led by BAFTA award-winning actor, Chiwetel Ejiofor, in this version of a classic 15th Century morality play in a new adaptation by Poet Laureate, Carol Ann Duffy.

The production is directed by Rufus Norris, with video design by Tal Rosner. Everyman will be broadcast live to over 550 cinemas in the UK and many more internationally on 16 July. Final performance of the show is on 30 August 2015.

The giant 9m wide by 8.4m high curved video screen forms the both the backdrop for the play, as well as creating a semi-transparent dividing wall between the main performers and the on-stage musicians.

The screen towers above the cast, supported by custom c

South Africa - The Pilanesberg National Park was the graceful setting for Amway's 20th celebration dinner. As guests sat around a roaring fire at the Boma at Sun City, the rustic mood was given a modern twist with a significant collection of lighting equipment supplied by Kilowatt AV.

Their client, Red Hot Events, commissioned Kilowatt AV to deliver the full technical and Set solution for the event.

Lighting control was on a GrandMA2 Full Size and the lighting rig featured 48 Clay Paky Sharpys and over 160 Robe fixtures. In addition there were four Robert Juliat Aramis Follow spots, Showline SL Nitro 510 Strobes and Philips Selecon SPX Axial 15-35 ° Zoomspot Profiles.

"We exceeded our client's expectations with our custom set and decor elements, something which I feel Kilowatt AV is very strong at," said Neil Zaayman, national sales manager from Kilowatt AV.

UK - Four months on from the creation of its dedicated audio department, complete production solution specialist White Light continues to receive much interest in the new range of audio products and services it now offers alongside its renowned expertise in entertainment lighting. This interest coincides with the completion of a number of high-profile audio projects across the event and installation sectors of the market.

"It has been an astounding launch", comments Lee Dennison, White Light's head of audio. "From the day we announced our expansion into audio, with a hand-picked team of audio experts added to the team at White Light, more than £300,000-worth of brand new audio equipment from leading manufacturers including Clear Com, EM Acoustics, Full Fat Audio, Shure, Sennheiser and Yamaha available to hire and our appointment as dealers for EM Acoustics,

USA - QSC, a leading manufacturer of signal processing, digital signal transport, computer control systems, power amplifiers, and loudspeaker products for nearly five decades, has introduced its SPA Amplifier Series.

QSC has developed a powerful yet affordable amplifier series to meet the audio amplification needs in boardrooms, conference rooms, and other corporate spaces where multiple speakers are in use.

"We are pleased to answer requests from our loyal customers for an amplifier solution that brings the power and sensation of our live-event amplifiers into the boardroom," said Joe Pham, President and CEO. "Our SPA Amplifier Series is Energy Star compliant and offers flexibility to integrators with two amplifier solutions. The SPA2-60 offers two channels of Low-Z output into 4Ω or 8Ωs, but it can be bridged to provide 70V or 100V output. The SPA4

USA - Country music shed its restrained image years ago with today's country artists requiring the same big impact rigs as full on rock acts. A testament to that more upbeat evolution was this year's StageCoach Festival, where production company Visions Lighting dressed the two largest stages in brazen big beam looks from Elation Platinum BX and Platinum Beam 5R Extreme fixtures.

Country music fans from across southern California and beyond gathered April 24-26 at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, for the sold out festival, which featured mainstream country artists Tim McGraw, Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton along with lesser-knowns. A relative newcomer to the country music festival scene yet already one of the seasons' most anticipated events, StageCoach has grown to become the US's biggest grossing country music festival.

Todd Roberts of Visions Lighting supplied

China - Chang'an Dream was the name of a performance held recently in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, to welcome Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

A traditional Tang Dynasty welcome ceremony awaited the Prime Minister, where he was greeted by Chinese president, Xi Jinping at the watchtower of the south city wall, before the two leaders enjoyed the specially staged event in the ancient city's gate tower. This was rich in colour from more than 300 lighting fixtures provided by PR Lighting.

Mostly installed at the top of the old wall, they were made up from a mixture of the popular XL moving head series, and comprised a combination of XL 1500 Spot; XL 1500 Wash; XL 1500 Wash/Beam and XL 1500 Beam. Ranging from 250W up to the powerful 1500W lamp sources, the series comes with a choice of magnetic or electronic ballast, and boasts features such as advanced

UK - As part of The Royal Albert Hall hall's continued development, in 2013 Richard Martin Lighting (RML) installed a lighting rig to the Elgar Rooms - a relaxed self contained function room that holds 350 people located on the third floor of the building. The room regularly plays host to jazz and comedy nights. It is now so established in it's our right that it holds annual events such as the Bluesfest and Red Christmas Cabaret.

RML has been working with the Hall and its technical team for years and the Elgar Rooms has been a good way to cement this relationship. As the 'Official Sponsor of the Elgar Rooms' RML provides a mix of Alpha Spot and Wash to help enhance atmosphere and enrich the mood of the specific performance or simply as a dining room.

"To be associated with such a prestigious venue as the Royal Albert Hall is extremely exciting and it has been wonderful to

Austria - Rental and production company MartinKames.com has added Elation's award-winning Sniper multi-effect light as well as Elation Cuepix WW blinders to its rental inventory. "We chose to stock the Sniper because we are always looking for new effects as our aim is to offer our clients something unique that has never been seen or done before," stated Martin Kames, owner of the company that he founded in 2009. "In general, we are very sceptical when buying new gear. Elation however offers several innovative ideas which we can relate to while maintaining reasonable pricing."

The Sniper, a hybrid beam, scanner and laser simulator in one, is striking a chord with lighting designers and rental companies who seek a creative new tool to work with. It won a PLASA Award for Innovation last year and is finding service on a growing number of shows and events, as well

Canada - Built for the Commonwealth Games in 1978, Commonwealth Stadium is Canada's second largest outdoor sports venue. Seating 60,000 fans, the stadium hosts soccer, Edmonton Eskimos football and other sporting and entertainment events.

When Commonwealth was built, most stadiums utilized an end-zone, scoreboard-mounted loudspeaker system. However, to minimize neighbourhood noise bleed, consultant Ken Dickensheets of Dickensheets Design in Austin, TX, designed the original system as a central loudspeaker array housed in a unique metal pod. The pod was supported by four large aircraft cables and could be lowered to the ground for service.

This system served the stadium for several decades with voice-range audio. However, modern sports fans and associations like FIFA now expect full-range audio for music and clear announcements that are loud enough to be heard over crowd noise.

USA - In 2013, Blue Valley Baptist Church concluded that the best way to fulfill its mission of reaching more followers would be, not to expand its existing 650-seat facility, but to become a multi-site church comprised of a family of smaller congregations. A big step toward this goal was taken last year when BVBC acquired a second church in nearby Olathe, Kansas. Two hundred and fifty parishioners from the original Antioch campus agreed to switch locations, giving the new site, known as the Ridgeview campus, a ready-made congregation from day one.

But although attendance wasn't an issue, the 1980s-construction Ridgeview building presented its own set of challenges. Desperately in need of an overhaul, it was remodelled and repurposed to resemble the church's original Antioch facility, giving BVBC a consistent look across campuses. As part of this renovation project, the lighting

World - When the Indian Ocean tsunami devastated Southeast Asia in 2004, rap-rockers Linkin Park endeavoured to leverage their international fanbase to assist. Shortly thereafter, they founded Music for Relief: a charity that helps artists and fans connect to provide relief for natural disasters around the world.

The organization's vital mission is to mitigate and prevent the damaging effects of these disasters through environmental initiatives including forest preservation and tree planting. Linkin Park has remained instrumental in raising funds for Music for Relief, and recently worked with Sennheiser to provide several SKM 2000 wireless handheld transmitters with MME 865-1 capsules for an auction fundraiser - including some autographed by the band.

"When a natural disaster occurs, many people out there want to help in some way but don't know how," says Kimberly Hu

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