USA - Two hundred and ten Ayrton MagicBlade-R fixtures form the dramatic backbone of Roy Bennett's lighting design for Maroon 5's year-long World Tour 2015 in support of V, the band's fifth studio album.

Bennett, of Seven Design Works, has used the MagicBlade-R units to delineate thirteen jointed truss 'arms', which are suspended in a 'V' shape above the stage to form a pivotal feature of the stage design. The MagicBlade-R fixtures are rigged in double rows along the arms, which split along the centre line and move independently on a series of separate wire winches to shape and sculpt the stage from above.

"I didn't know the band well but knew their music. I wanted to give them something very different from the video-heavy designs of their past tours - and create something that I haven't done before!" says Bennett. "I like transparency, reflection and mirrors ri

South Africa - When ETC dealer Prosound was asked to provide support for the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown, in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa, they knew this was an opportunity.

The festival is an important event on the South African cultural calendar, and the biggest annual celebration of the arts on the African continent, but many of the venues suffer from similar issues: excess heat and lack of power.

One such venue, Vicky's, is a small school canteen converted into a fringe theatre with a 150 seat capacity - but in previous years, the power supplied to the venue could not sustain its demands. To reduce the issues caused by the lighting, this year they decided to go all-LED, thanks not only to assistance from Prosound, but also to sponsorship from ETC.

Prosound's Mac Makhobotloane, who was responsible for lighting technical support, says, "We used

Arts Cuts Campaign - Equity has launched a campaign to raise awareness of the "catastrophic" effect that further cuts could have on the arts. The campaign, Stop Arts Cuts, has been created by the union to make the case for cultural investment to government in the face of ongoing austerity measures. It follows a Treasury announcement that government departments such as the Department for Culture, Media and Sport should prepare for budget reductions of up to 40% in the spending review, the outcome of which will be revealed in November. Equity assistant general secretary Stephen Spence, who is leading the campaign for Equity, said that the arts "simply cannot sustain any more cuts". He added, "Our view is that it would have quite a dramatic effect. You will start to get theatres closing."

Main Attraction - Cast members are the biggest draw for a

South Korea - Dongchun Gym, the home of Ulsan Mobis Phoebus pro basketball team, has updated its sound system with the new HFA series from NEXT-proaudio.

Located in Ulsan city, about 400km to the southeast of Seoul, Dongchun Gym opened in 2000 as indoor sports events and multi-purpose centre. The capacity is 5,500 seats, two-story building with two basement floors. This is a typical gym shaped, but unlike other gyms, its roof was made of light fabric materials for natural lighting.

The new system had to meet number of criteria. "Top of the list was high-fidelity sound accepted by audiences and the team," said Tom Jung, executive director of Avix Tech. "And, the sound system design had to improve much more than former sound systems which the team used in the past."

There were some limitations to design and install the systems. First, Avix Tech had to place

UK - S+H Technical Services supplied over 2000sq.m of their classic Pea-light starcloth and a rigging crew to Chinnick Theatre Services (CTS), which was used to wrap a special event space at the 2015 Royal International Air Tattoo staged at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire.

CTS supplied full technical production for the event area created in one of the aircraft hangers. This was draped off and used to present a high profile gala dinner on the Friday evening and an after-show party for RIAT staff and behind-the-scenes workers on the Sunday.

RIAT is geared to offering a great family day amidst all the drama, spectacle and adrenalized fun of a 7.5 hour flying display featuring a plethora of different aircraft.

CTS has been involved with supplying production for specific areas of RIAT since 1987. The gala dinner - now for 660 invited guests, including a host of dignitaries and VI

UK - Nexo PS8 cabinets were the first choice of system integrator Design AV for the high-ticket Innovation Centre, newly completed at the corporate headquarters of Renishaw, one of the world's leading engineering and scientific technology companies.

This new facility, located in Gloucestershire, represents a £20m investment for Renishaw, providing an additional 153,000sq.ft of space to house research and development and corporate services staff, as well as demonstration, training and conference facilities.

The company supplies products and services used in applications as diverse as jet engine and wind turbine manufacture, through to dentistry and brain surgery. It is also a world leader in the field of additive manufacturing (also referred to as metal 3D printing), where it is the only UK business that designs and makes industrial machines which 'print' parts from metal

Canada - When Mike Montaigne of Montaigne Audio was commissioned to design and install a public address system for the outdoor areas of Petawawa Civic Centre, the three critical elements were coverage, clarity and reliability.

Petawawa is located in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario. The town lies on the west bank of the Ottawa River, at the confluence of the Petawawa River. The Civic Centre is the town's recreational hub, with its vicinity incorporating an arena, library, playground, soccer field, hockey arena, curling baseball field, miniature golf course and a large children's playground amongst its numerous leisure amenities.

Like all large open areas with multiple outdoor activities taking place concurrently there was a need to be able to inform the public in the event of an incident or emergency. This could range from warning of a fast approaching storm, such as a

UK - sE Electronics International, Inc. has appointed Focusrite Audio Engineering as exclusive UK distributor for sE's entire line of microphones, patented Reflexion Filter products, and studio accessories.

"We are very pleased to announce that we have appointed Focusrite Audio Engineering as our distributor for the United Kingdom," says Ling Zou, general manager for sE Electronics. "The Focusrite brand has an outstanding name in the industry, and their worldwide success is a testament to the drive and ambition that flows through the company. We are very confident that their experienced team will continue the success story of sE Electronics in the UK."

Siwei Zou, founder & CEO of sE Electronics, adds, "Focusrite are a worldwide brand in our industry, and I am very excited to welcome them to our still-growing family of distributors."

Neil Johnsto

Australia - Shalom College is a co-educational Catholic secondary school servicing the Bundaberg region, five hours drive north of Brisbane, Queensland. Performing arts and creativity are a priority at Shalom, and the school boasts a 400-seat theatre built in 2005 that is employed to teach its students drama, dance, music and technical production. It's also a resource for the local area, regularly hosting community group's presentations and functions. A decade along, the theatre's technical infrastructure was due for replacement, and principal Dan McMahon began to talk to Graeme Hicks at Entertainment Production Supplies about what direction their renewal should take.

"We hadn't done any major upgrades or renewals since 2005," Mr McMahon explained. "Graeme came up to Bundaberg to do another job for the school and I spoke to him about it. That started a very strong

Switzerland - The flexibility and adaptability of the GDS ArcSystem has been a feature of its success in a host of worldwide applications in theatres and entertainment houses. An installation into TV studios at Switzerland's public broadcaster, RTS, one of a number of recent similar projects, serves to further underline its scope.

Radio Télévision Suisse (RTS) is a Swiss public broadcasting organisation which handles production and broadcasting of radio and television programming in French for Switzerland. Two RTS channels cater for Switzerland's 1.6 million French speakers. RTS Un is a mainstream channel showcasing its major in-house productions and is complemented by RTS Deux which leans towards sports, the arts and youth interest programmes.

Recently, the channel invested in a new, fully automated HD television studio dedicated to news programming, which would

UK - Artichoke has unveiled the programme for the fourth Lumiere festival in Durham, 12-15 November 2015. Taking place during UNESCO's International Year of Light and Light-based Technologies, Lumiere is commissioned and funded by Durham County Council with additional support from Arts Council England and a raft of sponsors.

The fourth Lumiere festival will see some of the world's most eminent artists transform Durham City's unique urban landscape and architecture into a magical nocturnal adventure. Artists include Janet Echelman from the US, Fujiko Nakaya from Japan, Catherine Garret from France, as well as two French pioneers of digital art, Miguel Chevalier and Patrice Warrener.

Alongside international artists, County Durham's residents will be playing a starring role in this year's festival. Working in collaboration with Lumiere artists locally produced ideas include Ho

USA - On her first tour in more than a decade, Shania Twain bids farewell to her concert fans as she packs "A-level" arenas with a Meyer Sound Leo linear large-scale sound reinforcement system. VER Tour Sound is providing the complete audio, video, and lighting package for the five-month, 59-city Rock This Country tour.

The man behind Shania's concert sound is long-time FOH engineer Nigel Green, who has mixed all of the singer's live shows and concert DVD soundtracks since 1998. Although a studio engineer for most of his eminent career - with credits ranging from Def Leppard and Britney Spears to Billy Ocean and the Backstreet Boys - Green has turned to LEO for a smooth transition from a controlled studio environment into cavernous sports arenas.

"One of the difficult things for me, coming out of the studio world, was that a lot of PAs had an identifiable

Sweden - Gothenburg Konserthuset has always been way ahead of its time. Designed by acclaimed functionalist architect Nils Einar Ericsson in 1935, its neoclassical exterior both compliments and contrasts the surrounding buildings on Götaplatsen, the modernist interior is still contemporary and relevant 80 years later and the acoustic of the main room still among the best in Europe.

In short, the venue - home to the Goteborg Symphony Orchestra (GSO) - took the world of concert halls into a new league. It remains one of the most prestigious venues in Sweden and a place that everyone enjoys playing at and visiting.

Now they have Robe LED moving lights. The venue's investment in Robe fixtures was instigated by Måns P?r Fogelberg (aka 'MP'), Head of GSO Play, the in-house streaming and broadcasting division, together with Konserthusen's head of technical Johan Bjorkman in consult

UAE - Sennheiser partners, as well as end-users and consultants in the field of integrated audio solutions got a chance to experience the latest audio solution from the audio specialist at an event conducted in Dubai between 8-10 September, 2015.

Centred around the theme of Business Communications, this platform provided attendees with in-depth presentations and hand-on demonstrations of the latest microphones, headphones and wireless transmission systems that the company offers and educated them on how these systems can be utilized in smart office, education, hospitality and other industry segments.

The event also gave attendees a first time view of a number of Sennheiser's products that are yet to be officially launched in the region, as well as access to key members from Sennheiser's Business Communications Team from Germany. "Conference and Translation Systems

Azerbaijan - Earlier this year Azerbaijan's largest city and capital, Baku, hosted the inaugural European Games. Between 12-28 June almost six thousand athletes competed in 20 different sports ranging from traditional athletic competitions to less high profile events such as beach soccer and BMX cycling.

Competitions took place across a number of different venues, some permanent, some temporary, some large, some small. Specialist audio supplier, Dimension, and Sports Technology director Damian Rowe had the challenging task of supplying audio systems for the competition venues throughout the games, and for the many corporate and press facilities that required a pro audio presence.

Rowe is no stranger to events of this magnitude; a veteran of the Sochi Winter Olympics, London 2012 and the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, his CV is something of a gold standard. "Across the 21 ven

UAE - Protec supplied its client HQ Creative with lighting, video and rigging for the Nad Al Sheba Sports Tournament 2015 Opening Ceremony in June 2015. Protec used the BlackTrax real time motion tracking solution to track extreme stunt performers, spot lighting them and stage sets.

"We needed the show, to look good for the live audience, as well as on television," explained Aaron Russ, lighting designer at Protec.

The opening ceremony used a riot of colour and light to depict the central theme of urging youth towards core sporting principles of determination, perseverance, stamina and the will to achieve. This was explained through a narrative and skit that was inter-woven in a film that depicting the history and culture of the UAE. Held at the NAS Sports Complex, the high-profile event was attended by His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Crown Prin

UK - Two impressive new installations of Nexo's compact Geo M6 line array have been completed by leading educational establishments in time for the new school year, demonstrating the system's flexibility and extremely small footprint to great effect.

In Milton Keynes, the Denbigh School has opened a new building for its Performing Arts faculty, and this 350-capacity multipurpose space will deploy the modular Nexo Geo M6 for the growing number of student activities in music, dance and drama.

Music technology leader Dave Wilkie, who oversaw the audio and lighting project together with Nexo dealer and installer Fabtronic, is himself a FOH engineer. "The Geo M6 system was ideal for what we wanted to do; because of its modular design, it's flexible enough to use for the whole space or part of it, allowing us to move the coverage by adjusting the angles of the lowest boxes.&quo

UK - Completed in 1871, Rochdale's Grade 1 listed Gothic Victorian Town Hall is widely regarded as one of the finest municipal buildings in Britain, renowned for its detailed architecture. The Town Hall functions as the ceremonial headquarters of Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council and houses local government departments, including the borough's civil registration office.

With a need to up-grade the audio system in the magnificent Great Hall, industry specialists National Stage Technology were consulted to propose a system which would provide improved audio quality for the wide variety of special events hosted, while blending discretely with the intricate hand painted walls and ceiling panels and stained glass windows showing an outline of English history from the time of the Norman Conquest to the reign of Queen Victoria. In this beautifully expansive, but highly reverberant

World - Opera star Erwin Schrott is touring with a dual GLD mixing system to manage FOH and monitors. Purchased by the singer's head of sound, Martin Laumann, the system comprises a GLD-112 at FOH and the new Chrome GLD-80 on monitors, connected via Dante, with an additional AR2412 and two AR0804 remote IO racks. There is also the option of live recording using Protools via the Dante network.

The singer's latest tour, entitled Erwin Schrott & Friends, explores all areas of Latin music, with dates all over the world.

"I use GLD on every show. The system has very good sound quality, and together with the fast and easy work flow, is my mixer of choice. Another advantage for me is the fact that the mixer is lightweight and easy to carry. Mostly, I have to do the whole FOH setup by myself, and GLD is easy to handle for one person," comments Martin Laumann. "All of GL

USA - The San Francisco Symphony (SFS) has implemented a new Meyer Sound Leopard linear sound reinforcement system in its home, Davies Symphony Hall.

While highly regarded for the orchestral acoustics, the hall's warm and reverberant characteristics pose a suite of challenges for its amplified events, which have evolved and diversified under the leadership of Music Director Michael Tilson Thomas. Now with Leopard, SFS can offer the same world-class experience it brings to traditional orchestral events to its range of amplified programmes, such as film series, pop concerts, Broadway favourites, and leading-edge contemporary music.

"Regardless of content, sound reinforcement should feel natural and undistorted and defined and clear so that you can focus on what is on stage," says SFS operations director Andrew Dubowski. "Leopard is an exponential improvement in ho

UK - Lighting designer Matthew Kilmurry is controlling Irish musician Hozier's US and UK tour lighting this autumn using an Avolites Sapphire Touch.

Kilmurry's design for the Hozier tour is based around a warm tungsten atmospheric feel, using old school Edison bulbs dotted around the stage which gives a wonderful glow to the performers.

"I've been using Avolites consoles since I started out in lighting in 2001," says Kilmurry. "I trained in Ireland and the first console I used was a Pearl 2000. I chose the Sapphire Touch for the Hozier tour in the UK and US this year as I find the cloning/exchange fixture works very well and I can get around it much quicker than other consoles. Everything I need seems to be a few less button pushes away."

The Sapphire Touch is designed for ambitious shows, with more submasters, more flash and executor buttons, and the pow

Europe / USA - AC/DC's Rock or Bust Tour thundered through Europe and the USA bringing night after night of head-banging delight to hundreds of thousands of fans. The grungy, buffalo horned, 'Mad Max' style arena spectacular is the inspired work of Ray Winkler of Stufish Design and Patrick Woodroffe of Woodroffe Bassett Design Ltd and sees lighting and set seamlessly welded together in an imposing corrugated steel clad domed stage.

Peppering the corrugated iron façade are a large number of Clay Paky Sharpy Washes, positioned inside transparent protective domes. These fixtures are barely visible until they strike up to bring texture, colour and dimension to the set and to bathe the audience in sharp, randomly angled, acid coloured light.

"AC/DC's identity is distinct, they're a straight forward rock and roll band," states Woodroffe. "We wanted to reflect that in

UK - VER, a leading, global provider of production equipment and engineering support, has announced it has completed its acquisition of Aurora Lighting Hire (Aurora). The acquisition represents the latest step in VER's strategic plan to expand its lighting capabilities and equipment inventory throughout the UK and Europe.

Steve Hankin, chief executive officer of VER said, "We are very excited to team with Aurora, an industry-leading lighting rental house that offers the UK a boutique, premier service. Over the next year, we will invest significantly to expand the equipment offering and other resources to support the tremendous demand for their service. The combination of Aurora's knowledge and quality service with VER's broader product line will offer Aurora's clients a truly one-of-a-kind resource. "

Nick Edwards, managing director of Aurora said, "VER is a glo

Ireland - Sennheiser has announced the acquisition of several business units of Professional Audio Ltd. (PAL) in Ireland. This new step in the development of Sennheiser's Irish operation follows a mutual agreement between Sennheiser GmbH & Co. KG and PAL, which among others sold Sennheiser products in Ireland.

Sennheiser already employs over 300 people at its manufacturing plant in Tullamore, where it produces headphones, headphone capsules, audiology products, studio monitors and products for the integrated systems sector.

"Ireland is an important market for us and we want to make sure that our customers there continue to be well supported," says Daniel Sennheiser, Sennheiser's CEO. "Drawing business for this territory directly into our global operation means that we are able to offer the same level of service that we offer everywhere else in the world. At the

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