USA - After the success of its spring regional training events, Audinate has announced a fall schedule of Dante AV Networking World conferences throughout U.S., Europe, Middle East and Asia. These free all-day events are designed for anyone interested in audio networking, and will feature presentations, training workshops and interactive panel discussions led by industry experts.

The events are co-sponsored with 20 leading audio manufacturers, including Ashly, AtteroTech, Audinate, Audio Technica, Bose, ClearOne, Extron, Focusrite RedNet, Lectrosonics, NTP, RDL, Roland, Shure, SSL, Stewart Audio, Symetrix, Vue Audiotechnik, Williams Sound, Xilica and Yamaha Commercial Audio. Each event will feature Dante-enabled product demonstrations from the sponsors and will give attendees the opportunity learn about and see Dante-enabled products in action.

Agenda topics will include: an i

South Africa - South Africa-based In Living Colour, established in the mid '90s by Gavin Buckle, recently invested in an Avolites Tiger Touch II and 12 x Robe Robin 300 LED Wash fixtures.

"Due to In Living Colour's position within the market where an equal amount of events and sub-rentals to other related companies are responsible for our sustained growth, we concentrate on investing in leading brands that are consistently sought after by international touring companies as well as local suppliers," commented Gavin Buckle. "Our lighting desks and fixtures are required to keep pace with the rigorous demands we place on them, whether being used in the controlled environment of a theatre or the unpredictable exposure of outdoor festivals. The glaringly obvious solution was the Avolites and Robe brands. Since making the wise investment they have thankfully seen little

UK - A state of the art welding machine is set to help Doughty Engineering keep up with increasing customer demand for its Modular Rigging System. Since the launch of the product range at the end of 2014, welders on the shop floor have been pushed to capacity to ensure orders are manufactured and shipped to schedule.

Mark Chorley said, "Little did we know when we launched the Modular Rigging System last autumn, just how popular it was going to be. We thought orders may decrease as time went by but on the contrary our workers have never been busier as word spreads and lighting designers realise just how innovative these drop arms and h frames allow them to be."

The TIG welding lathe is used to TIG Weld 'round components' made from aluminium. At Doughty specifically, the machine welds all items within the Modular Rigging range as well as the company's boom arms. Elimin

UK - Festival attraction the Tree Top Troubadour, otherwise known as Ben Trevor, has begun using a Shure QLX-D wireless microphone system for his guitar and vocals on his summer dates, most recently at July's Larmer Tree festival.

As his nickname suggests, Trevor - an arborist in his day job - is well-known for playing his concerts from the branches of trees, which somewhat limits his options for amplification to wireless-based systems. The QLX-D's extended battery life and efficient spectrum usage have proved a boon at his festival gigs, given the heavy usage of the RF spectrum at modern festivals, and the fact that replacement batteries and charging facilities are not readily available when you're performing high up in an oak with only a Chesterfield sofa and a glitterball for company, as Trevor was at Larmer.

Many musicians turn to charitable endeavours if they're lucky eno

UK - A UK hydraulics firm pulled off a stellar performance to arrange manufacture and delivery of a range of hydraulic cylinder components in a short space of time, for the opening night of a new performance at The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC).

MGR Fluid Power ensured that the RSC's performance of Othello went off without any last minute glitches after it sourced 14 custom-designed hydraulic cylinders for the main stage, in a matter of days before opening night. The company was called in at the last minute to ensure that the stage hydraulics were capable of moving the stage in the way that the performance dictated.

Far from being a simple task, the brief for MGR Fluid Power was to source and supply cylinder components to exact specifications, and to ensure the hydraulics operated smoothly. The rams for the cylinders were flanged with stainless rods, operating under v

Australia - This year's Splendour in the Grass festival in Byron Bay, close to the famous Gold Coast, hosted a significant quantity of SGM's outdoor lighting fixtures. With damp experiences from the past haunting festival organisers and production managers, the requirement for lighting that could withstand torrential winter rainfall was the highest of priorities And Mother Nature did not disappoint!

The four day event saw SGM lighting fixtures such as the P-5 RGBW wash and the Q-7 RGBW flood take part in several installs and stage packages across the festival. A most notable display being that of Melbourne artist Sam Songailo. His 20sq.m maze comprising 100 large pillars was a big attraction of the festival, gathering thousands of attendees at any given time. Entertainment Technology Australia's Taylor Chadwick was recruited as lighting designer for the install, in charge of bri

USA - Multi-Grammy Award winner Keith Urban has carved out a niche in the country music genre since he arrived on the scene in the 1990s by combing raw musical power with sweet uplifting lyrics. Urban was his usual open, carefree and engaging self when he appeared on The Today Show Summer Concert Series recently, showing an uncanny ability to connect with his audience and even surprising an ecstatic young fan from Chicago by giving her his guitar.

Urban's generosity and upbeat music weren't the only things engaging fans during his performance. Also captivating the audience at Rockefeller Centre and watching at home on television was a sparkling, bright and colourful lightshow created by designer Peter Greenbaum that featured a collection of Chauvet Professional Nexus 4x4 LED panels and Next NXT-1 moving LED fixtures supplied by WorldStage of New York.

Greenbaum gave the

Germany - For the 25th Anniversary of Audi's Summer Concert series inside its factory in Ingolstadt, Germany, Meyer Sound Leopard linear sound reinforcement and Constellation active acoustic systems formed the foundation of an extraordinary audio experience for both the audience and musicians. The combination transformed a cavernous space that normally stamps out steel side panels for the Audi A3 into a temporary concert hall worthy of hosting the London Symphony Orchestra and conductor Kent Nagano.

The concert was the first show where Constellation worked hand-in-glove with the new Meyer Sound Leopard line arrays. While Constellation provided a virtual orchestra shell to envelop musicians with the sonic environment of a concert hall, twin arrays of eight-each Leopard loudspeakers projected the performance to about 1,000 audience members.

"It was truly breathtaking the wa

Saudi Arabia - Masjid al-Haram, the holiest shrine in Islam, is now visited by over 3m Hajj pilgrims annually. In order to provide the best facilities to the legions of devout Muslims, The Custodian of Two Holy Mosques (the former King) Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz undertook the expansion of the Holy Mosque and associated elements. A part of this project has been the complete upgrade of the Mecca Mokabariah facility's microphones to the latest digital models from Sennheiser. These microphones are being used at all prayer locations around the Kaaba, and in the Mokabariah studios from where all audio content and prayers originating from Mecca are broadcast across the world.

The major advantage of the upgrade has been that though on-going construction relating to the expansion has required shifting of the microphones to locations that are large distances away from the studios, the qualit

Singapore - The island state marked its 50th anniversary - SG50 - with pride, as flamboyant celebrations erupted all across the island, culminating in a special National Day Parade (NDP) in the Padang, right in the heart of the city. The NDP show was attended by the Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and President Tony Tan, several international heads of state, politicians, dignitaries, a host of VIPs plus 60,000 members of the public. It was also broadcast live on national TV, beamed across Asia and streamed locally to giant LED screens in several key locations around Singapore.

Spectacular lighting for the energetic multi-media SG50 NDP show directed by Dick Lee was designed by Javier Tan, and the equipment - including the 350 x Robe BMFL Blades - delivered by Showtec Communications Pte Ltd., which recently purchased over 700 BMFL fixtures.

The BMFL Blades were positioned on all

Although it was the 22nd year of the major Scottish music festival, this was the first time it was held at its new site in the grounds of Strathallan Castle in Perthshire. T's former home at Balado airfield a few miles down the road was finally vetoed last year after long-running health and safety issues about pipelines which run directly under it.

Some of the biggest names in music made their way to Scotland in July for the three-day festival including Jessie J, Labrinth, The Libertines, The Script, Noel Gallagher, Stereophonics, Ella Eyre and Twin Atlantic.

Twin Atlantic, headlined the Radio1 Stage at T in the Park this year. Lanz Short, content designer and programmer reports, "I designed and made some content for the show. Specifically their hit song Heart and Soul. I also set up VideoMapper and made custom DMX personalities and programed the Amba so that the lighting

The HSBC Headquarters Building in Hong Kong's Central district - Norman Foster's remarkable machine-like structure, had been the subject of a facade lighting project in 2003 which became 'A Symphony of Lights'. HSBC HQ was one of 24 of the most significant buildings that joined Hong Kong's permanent nightly light show that year.

Twelve years later, illumination Physics was commissioned to help bring to life the first wave of HSBC'S 150th anniversary messages. A complete update of the façade lighting and the integration of three large media walls followed.

In 2003, the HSBC main building was equipped with the best lighting technology available at the time. The LED revolution had yet to take hold. The first step of illumination physics' plan for this building upgrade was to bring the façade lighting up to date. The photometric requirements for this building are very precise. Few plan

UK - A dozen Straightpoint wireless load shackles have been installed by Rigging Services in the Bob and Tamar Manoukian Production Workshop, where scenic artists and craftspeople create the sets and scenery for the world-famous Royal Opera House in London. The Production Workshop is located at High House Production Park, a centre of excellence for the creative industries in Purfleet, Essex.

The Rigging Services-branded load shackles are 3.25t capacity and feature bespoke multiple wireless load cell controller (SW-MWLC) software. They are installed on 12 overhead cranes, which travel on gantries and I-beams that cover the entire floorspace.

The load shackle installation represents a landmark project for both Rigging Services and Straightpoint. The Bob and Tamar Manoukian Production Workshop is a state-of-the-art, purpose-built facility and home to scenic painters, carpenters a

UK - With branches in nine cities across the UK, Calvary Apostolic Assembly - founded in Birmingham in 2005 - is a thoroughly modern, multinational Pentecostal church.

A weekly programme that includes everything from daily early morning prayer meetings to a webcast Sunday morning service means the Birmingham church is a busy hub of activity. And given that the various gatherings all have their own distinct audio needs - from individual speakers to amplified instrumental groups and choirs - it's a church that's demanding of its in-house PA system.

That system is a PreSonus StudioLive 32.4.2AI digital mixing console and StudioLive RM32AI rack-mount digital mixer - networked over AVB with an SL-AVB-MIX card and Cat 5 digital multicore - that allows for real flexibility and, crucially, remarkable ease-of-use for church members.

Specified and installed by Ian Edwards of Gigs A

France - Leading French rental company Groupe Novelty has over 40 years experience in providing audio and visual solutions to a wide range of clients. A recent investment in 12 Yamaha QL1 digital consoles has helped to keep the company's audio rental stock right up to date.

Operating out of five French offices, one in London and one in Brussels, Groupe Novelty works on over 6000 projects every year. These include some of Europe's highest profile corporate events, fashion shows for leading designers and brands, car launches, exhibitions, awards shows and live music.

Many of the events Novelty works on need a high quality audio mixer in a compact format, which is one of several reasons why the company has invested in 12 Yamaha QL1s for its rental stock.

"The QL1 is the ideal size and format for many of the events we work on and it is an exceptionally cost-effective soluti

UK - Each summer the great and the good of folk music visit the picturesque university city for the Cambridge Folk Festival.

This year, the site at Cherry Hinton Hall saw the 51st Festival, with main stage headline performances including Joan Baez, The Proclaimers, Frank Turner, Joan Armatrading, and Passenger.

With three days of sunny weather, the central arena outside the Main Stage tent was packed with festival-goers. To ensure that those outside the tent had an excellent view of the artists onstage, the event organisers, Cambridge Live, called on XL Video to supply a pair of outdoor LED screens.

Two 9m2 screens were requested, as in previous years, and XL's project manager, Paul Wood provided XL's own ROE Visual MC-7 7.5mm resolution, indoor/outdoor LED. The screen was selected for its good visibility in daylight, weatherproofing, and high resolution, giving the audience

South Africa - Philips' entertainment lighting brands Vari-Lite and Strand Lighting, along with the Showline product range, enjoyed three jam-packed and successful days at a buzzing Mediatech Africa show in Johannesburg.

Joining valued partner and leading lighting supplier for South Africa DWR Distribution on stand, Philips exhibited the award-winning new Vari-Lite VL4000 Series, industry-standard Strand Lighting NEO and 500ML Consoles and the Showline SL NITRO 510 and 510C LED strobes.

The DWR team reported a high level of interest in the Philips range, with Nick Britz, product manager for the stand, saying, "The SL NITRO 510 strobe is extremely popular in South Africa, thanks to its versatility - it acts as both a flood and strobe light and can be pixel mapped. We saw a lot of people coming up to discuss its wide range of features and wanting to see a demo."

Mart

UK - The ACC Liverpool Group's production team has experienced its busiest summer, providing full services for a series of events. The 19-strong department has led technical support for conferences including NHS Confederation, the British Contact Lens Association and Airmic. Services included providing live streaming, interactive voting and the recording of all plenary sessions for NHS Confederation. The team also provided AV for the conference dinner which took place at St George's Hall, Liverpool city centre.

Other events included Jamfest - which took place in Echo Arena - and support for the city's Rock 'n' Roll Liverpool Marathon, making it the busiest summer period since the venue opened in 2008.

Nicky Norman, senior production and technical manager, said: "We provided production for a series of conference, entertainment and sporting events during the summer which is

UK - Having now officially opened for 2015, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival is the world's largest arts festival, with this year featuring more than 3,000 shows in more than 300 venues. White Light has often supplied its services to the festival. This year, the complete production solution specialist will be providing the lighting support to one of the Fringe's best-known and busiest venues: the Gilded Balloon. White Light will also help the venue celebrate its 30th anniversary, with yesterday marking exactly 30 years since it first featured as part of the festival.

Beginning life as a one studio theatre with only seven shows a day, the Gilded Balloon now operates nine spaces with over one hundred shows performed on a daily basis. The venue is renowned for its late night comedy shows and has helped launch the careers of household names such as Peter Kay, Bill Bailey and Russell Br

USA - The newly-renamed Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration has opened new galleries in the former Kitchen and Laundry Building of the immigrant processing and detention station, which operated from 1892 to 1954 in New York Harbor. Dedicated to the story of immigration in the years following Ellis Island's closure, the galleries mark phase two of the Peopling of America Center. Electrosonic provided AV support for phase one, which covers immigrant arrival in the Pre-Ellis era, and opened in 2011, and returned to complete phase two following a long delay caused by Hurricane Sandy, which struck the Northeast in October 2012.

The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation raised the funds for and oversaw the project and engaged ESI Design as the exhibition designer, with Michael Schneider as technical lead.

For phase two, Electrosonic was tasked with installing all the rac

USA - Necessity may indeed be the "mother of invention," as the old saying goes, but it can also kick off some very cool lighting looks when it encounters a talented LD like Chris Lisle. Recently, Lisle designed for up-and-coming country star Billy Currington on tour supporting Tim McGraw.

As an opening act, Currington's rig had to be moved on an off the stage quickly, which made it necessary to use backline carts for the sake of efficiency. Lisle turned these "practical" carts into a commanding visual element by using an array of fixtures provided by Bandit Lites. Anchoring this eye-searing collection were nine Nexus 4x4 LED panels from Chauvet Professional.

"We based the design off utilizing the existing backline carts that Billy was already using, and incorporating lighting on them," said Lisle, who placed the carts upstage over the band's head

USA - The Public Theatre's Free Shakespeare in the Park series has been a storied New York City tradition since 1952. It offers free and open access to outdoor productions of Shakespeare in Manhattan's Central Park, and features world-class talent and Broadway calibre production and audiovisual design. Performances are well known for creating lines of air mattress and camp chair toting Shakespeare fans up to a mile long.

This year, Free Shakespeare in the Park opened in May with a six week run of The Tempest, starring Sam Waterston, and continues 23 July through 23 August with Cymbeline, featuring Lily Rabe and Hamish Linklater.

Central Park's 1,800-seat outdoor Delacorte Theatre has been home to the Free Shakespeare series since 1962. The venue, while offering creative possibilities to directors, actors, and scenic designers that no other New York City theatre can matc

Germany - Complete with full costumes and make-up, KISS recently brought their elaborate live show to Europe this summer, kicking off its 40th Anniversary European Tour 30 May in Munich's Olympic Park.

LD Sean 'Motley' Hackett (INXS, Savage Garden) has been designing the lighting for KISS shows since 2009. Sean's new lighting design for KISS's 2015 European summer tour, which was based on the band's Las Vegas residency from last November, included the use of 30 Elation Professional Platinum Beam 5R moving heads supplied by Christie Lights. Production design was by Robert Long and Sooner Routhier.

Sean had the popular colour-changing beam lights grouped in fans of five or six in the rig and on stage and used them to complement the band's catalogue of hits with barrages of narrow, dense beam effects. "To me they are the modern equivalent of an ACL," Sean states of the

UAE - Pacha, the club chain that was established in 1967 in Sitges and first found fame in Ibiza, has successfully established itself in many different countries since, but its most recent opening is Pacha Ibiza Dubai.

Set over three floors, Pacha Ibiza Dubai comprises The Main Room, The Red Room and The Rooftop, all kitted out to the highest standard. The cylindrical building that houses the club has been completely refurbished, with a customised audio solution installed throughout.

The sound system is based around d&b audiotechnik V Series, Q Series and White Series speakers covering all the various zones from The Main Room's dance-floor to Pacha Ibiza Rooftop's terrace. Vital components in the system's operation are three Symetrix SymNet Radius AEC Dante-enabled DSPs and SymNet xOut 12s output expanders. "These are very powerful processors but in this project, their ma

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