USA - Drew Carey mentioned it in his autobiography. KISS mounted their comeback by playing on top of its bar. Jamie Foxx liked to celebrate New Year's Eve there. Ben Affleck was a regular. Even by the standards of Las Vegas nightspots, the Center Bar at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino has been a celebrity magnet. Perched under a domed ceiling in the middle of the hotel's 30,000sq.ft casino, it has long been the place to see and be seen.

However, even icons need updating to remain fresh and vibrant., which is why this June the Hard Rock Hotel had a "Final Call" party for its famous bar, and promised to reopen the 20-year-old landmark with a new design that would make its future as glittering as its past. This goal was accomplished in stunning fashion, thanks to a massive and dazzling abstract design by LD Robert Athey of All Things Integrated that drew on the pixel mapping

Spain - Proaudio Granada recently debuted its new Meyer Sound Leopard linear sound reinforcement system at two major outdoor music events in the Spanish city - Jazz en La Costa (Jazz on the Coast) Festival and a concert by the Orquesta Ciudad de Granada (City of Granada Orchestra).

"Ninety percent of our work is supporting classical and jazz music, and Leopard is the perfect system for these applications," says Henry Gómez Rey of Proaudio Granada. "At a Leopard demo in Paris, we listened to a recording of Diana Krall. I closed my eyes and thought, 'It's impossible, it's like she's playing right here in front of me.' It was not like a recording at all.

"With jazz music, people know good sound, and they are very critical," Rey continues. "They loved the sound of the Leopard at Jazz en La Costa. With no delays, we had uniform coverage of the whole a

UAE - The eclipse Group's success over the years is credit to their continuous investment in talent and staff, which in turn is testament to the level of quality experience and education that is available in the region. As a result, the group has begun an initiative that is focused on contributing to the advancement of education in the industry by helping to develop the skills of young and enthusiastic students. The initiative is a combination of the recruitment of young graduates, participating in local awards programs and conducting college seminars and demonstrations.

This initiative meant seeking graduates looking to expand their technical knowhow and gain extra experience within the busy events environment and also in some cases, individuals willing to re-locate. The search to hire interns began before the summer to coincide with the break for college students locally and i

Italy - The Fraschini Theatre in Pavia, Italy, has recently purchased two dot2 consoles (a dot2 XL-F and a dot2 core) to use for their touring shows. The theatre hosts several visiting companies and is also an opera house. Furthermore, like most Italian theatres, the venue is hired out for dance exhibitions and other events during the season.

The technical staff decided to look for a solution which could meet their many requirements, namely a versatile console on which they could programme complex cue lists even when programming time is very short, or that was ideal when the operator has to improvise a show in a professional manner. Therefore they decided to invest in the dot2.

Intuitive operation is at the core of the dot2 philosophy, and with a comprehensive set of connectivity hardware on all console models, the dot2 range is suitable for most theatre, touring, corporate, t

UK - Edinburgh-based rental and event production specialists Blue Parrot have continued their investment in world class equipment across a busy summer. The company has now added a GrandMA2 Light as the flagship desk for lighting rental and a DiGiCo SD10 fulfilling the same role in sound.

The MA2 was busy across August as the Scottish capital welcomed the world to its Fringe and International Festivals. The desk was used on shows at the Playhouse theatre and Magners Summer Nights concerts in Princes Street Gardens.

Headline acts James, Flaming Lips and The Waterboys all specified MA2 and Blue Parrot supplied a robust control system with a fully tracking back up MA2 onPC fader wing. The Flaming Lips show also saw the company provide a stunning 96 panel 5mm pitch video backdrop using their Chauvet PVP modular system. The band and crew were particularly impressed by the brightness

USA - Fun Home is the unlikely smash hit that took Broadway by storm as an in-the-round production, receiving rave reviews and winning no less than five coveted Tony Awards including Best Musical. The bittersweet comedy - claimed to be the first ever mainstream Broadway musical about a gay woman - pictorialises the chaotic upbringing of cartoonist Alison Bechdel.

Director, Sam Gold - who took the 2015 Tony for Direction - transformed the original 2013 off-Broadway proscenium format to an in-the-round staging, with the intention of achieving more intimate and immersive engagement with the audience.

Sound designer Kai Harada, notes, "It was challenging for all departments, and for the cast, but the show took an incredible leap forward. Now you really feel you're part of the family, watching Alison's past come to life. It is an immersion rather than a presentation.&qu

UK - Staff and students at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (RCSSD) in London became the first users in Europe of the award-winning ColorSource PAR from ETC, when they used it for a show at the beginning of the year.

The school used the fixtures on their musical theatre produciton of Big City Dreams, performed by students on its MA Music Theatre course. The production ran over three days in Central's Webber Douglas Studio, a black box studio theatre with fixed lighting catwalks which allow for flexability, both in terms of design and staging.

Technical manager Phil Rowe says: "The show was set in traverse, and its divised nature required a broad colour palette. But our fixtures' scrollers were coming to the end of their life, which gave us an opportunity to try some LED fixtures, ahead of the new uilding which is being planned, and which will be largely

Mercury Rising - Former Supergrass frontman Gaz Coombes has been nominated for the Mercury Music Prize, 20 years after his band's debut album made the shortlist. The singer was just 19 when Supergrass appeared on the list. His solo album, Matador, is more introspective and experimental than his Britpop band. Other artists nominated for the £20,000 prize include Florence + The Machine, Jamie xx and Wolf Alice. The winner will be revealed live on BBC Four and BBC 6 Music next month.

The Book's The Thing - A new theatre company hopes to reinvigorate local libraries through theatre. Librarian Theatre will tour productions to libraries across the UK in what founders Tom Cuthbertson and Kelly Eva-May, who are both actors, say will be the first touring company dedicated to visiting regional libraries. Its first production, an adaptation of Hamlet called The Book'

UK - Ten goals which aim to inspire a decade of sustainable culture change within live production were launched at the industry's flagship showcase and networking event PLASA London on 4 October 2015 by The Sustainability in Production Alliance (SiPA).

SiPA's Craig Bennett reported that "over 70 representatives of all corners of live production had come together over the last year to uncover 10 shared goals, formed from stories from across our industry".

The initiative encompasses issues around equality, well-being, education and development, waste, procurement, renewable energy, transparent reporting of environmental and social impacts, fair pay and resilient industry economics.

Leading the ratification of the goals by industry figureheads, Professional Lighting and Sound Association (PLASA) CEO Matthew Griffiths said: "We need to move quickly to finding reso

UK - Martin Audio has continued its long association with Novus Leisure's Tiger Tiger brand, with the company's latest generation of installation speakers, the stylish CDD range, being selected for the operators' original and flagship multi-room venue in London's West End.

One of Novus Leisure's approved suppliers, Middlesex Sound & Light (MSL) specified CDD as part of a major overhaul, having already fitted the manufacturer's new Coaxial Differential Dispersion technology in several other high profile sites.

"We had also carried out a number of other recent refits for Novus using Martin Audio's AQ range, which we were great fans of," said MSL project director, Darrel Olivier. "But this high profile venue provided the perfect opportunity to debut the new CDD. In terms of aesthetics and sound quality CDD is a definite improvement, offering wider dispersion, as we

USA - Having witnessed how acoustic technology can elevate the dining experience at their restaurant Comal, restaurateurs John Paluska and Andrew Hoffman have again integrated Meyer Sound Libra and Constellation acoustic systems into their newest culinary venture.

The Advocate, located in Berkeley's chic Elmwood neighbourhood, combines soulful northern Californian fare with the Meyer Sound variable acoustics to create a multisensory dining space in which guests can converse easily over a comfortable background buzz.

Paluska pushed the importance of restaurant sound to the forefront when he installed Constellation in Comal in 2012. "After the success we had with Libra and Constellation at Comal, there was never any question that we would also incorporate them at The Advocate," he says. "It's always worthwhile putting extra effort into making a room sound its best

Italy - German sound reinforcement firm HK Audio has signed an exclusive distribution deal for Italy with Gold Music, effective 1 October 2015.

The respected Bruino, Turin-based distributors are now responsible for the entire HK Audio range, from portable to professional live sound to install solutions, covering products from the diminutive Lucas Nano crossover PA through to the new LInear 5 LTS A long throw system and the Linear L SUB 4000 A subwoofer.

Gabriele Capogna, CEO/purchasing manager at Gold Music, said, "It's an honour for us to be responsible for HK Audio across Italy, and we have big expectations for the brand in the growing Italian marketplace. We're confident that we can help grow HK Audio's popularity and profitability together, and we're looking forward to a long and successful partnership."

Andreas Mayerl, HK Audio's international market manager,

USA - Designed to create an interconnected life which affirms the gifts of women worldwide, the Propel Women's Conference hosts a series of events aimed at strengthening the leadership role of women in today's workplace.

With local chapters on virtually every continent, the conferences entail a full production of inspiring music, speakers and panel discussions. Brought on to heighten the conference experience, production designer Nathan Baugh (46 Entertainment) and lighting designer Craig Rutherford (Blueshift Design) created a full lighting, audio and video design using the live event production team at Elite Multimedia.

"One of the biggest challenges in the design was the differences in the venues," says Rutherford. "We had to have a design that could be manipulated to fit as needed, but then we still had to have the right production elements to support the ba

UK - West London-based production technology rental specialist Entec supplied lighting and sound for the recent Legends Live UK arena tour which played three of the country's major venues - Wembley, Birmingham NIA and Manchester - uniting four chart-topping, superstar acts from the 1960s and 1970s - Dionne Warwick, Roberta Flack, The Drifters and Mary Wilson of the Supremes.

Entec's Will Wright project managed and co-ordinated all the prep work for the lighting department and Mark 'Magic' Ellis-Cope did the same for all the sound elements.

Entec's account handler Noreen O'Riordan commented, "When Richard Ames requested that Entec quote for both sound and lighting equipment, I knew that this would be a show ideally suited to our equipment inventory and skills. Having one supplier really benefitted the logistics of a four band arena tour - without any tech or rehearsal day.

UK - The Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2015 Awards took place on 13 October. Held annually at the Natural History Museum, the awards ceremony celebrates the finest wildlife photography from across the globe. Following more than 42,000 entries submitted from 96 countries, the eventual winner was Canadian photographer Don Gutoski with his image Tale of Two Foxes. Having previously worked on the event, White Light once again provided the lighting support for this year's ceremony.

The evening took place in the Hintze Hall, with 220 invited guests in attendance. As with most award ceremonies, the museum wanted to implement a particular theme for the occasion. Alice Beer, Events and filming manager at the Natural History Museum, comments, "Each year we choose an image from the finalists to establish the theme of the ceremony. For 2015, we chose the image of a pangolin.

Australia - Abba tribute band Björn Again have been delivering great nights out since their formation in Melbourne in 1988. The only tribute band endorsed by Abba themselves, they have toured the world, played major festivals and entertained the stars. Lighting designer Alex Saad is currently on the road with Björn Again, and chooses High End Systems Hog platform to light up the feel-good show night after night, venue after venue.

"We were in Port Douglas on Thursday, Townsville on Friday and Canberra on Saturday," reported Alex, "and everywhere I go I ask for a Hog and nothing else. Björn Again own a HedgeHog4, we often pick-up a HedgeHog 4N, and I prefer to use a Hog 4. Staying in the Hog family is great because I can go from one platform to the other and not lose anything. I can also take a HedgeHog home for pre-programing and run the show on a Hog 4."<

USA - Nashville, TN based production and lighting designer Chris Lisle of Chris Lisle Lighting Design has created an elegant stage look for country singer Miranda Lambert's Roadside Bars & Pink Guitars tour, featuring Robe moving lights supplied by Bandit Lites, also based in Nashville.

The tour runs for five weekends in the US over October and is based on the concept of playing smaller and more intimate spaces on the touring circuit, allowing Lambert - known as a great communicator - to be close to her already loyal audience and reach out to potential new fans.

Chris has worked with the prolific and successful star since she opened on a section of Keith Urban's 2005 world tour.

He decided to specify 20 x Robe BMFLs Spots, 24 x Pointes and 19 x LEDWash 600s for his primary moving lights to give plenty of versatility and scope.

The BMFLs and Pointes are spread out al

Brazil - Queen + Adam Lambert's recent Latin American tour comprised six shows in Argentina, Chile and Brazil, featuring a suitably impressive lightshow created by UK based designer Rob Sinclair, who has brought his magic visual touch to the QAL project since 2012.

Lighting for the three Brazilian dates in Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and Porto Alegre was supplied by leading Latam rental company LPL who are based in Sao Paolo and featured a total of 137 Robe ColorSpot and ColorWash 2500E ATs.

This was a continuation of the ongoing 2014-15 world tour which had visited North America, Korea, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and Europe. The band wanted their enthusiastic Latam fanbase to experience the proper touring QAL experience, so brought their full production including Q-shaped set and ramp, sniffer kabuki, smoke and cryo machines and backline, sourcing the lighting, LED screens a

Belarus - The ancient city of Bobruisk, in the Mogilev region of Belarus, is celebrating the opening of its new Alexander Prokopenko Stadium. Named after the famous Dinamo Minsk football player, Alexander Prokopenko, the multi-purpose stadium is designed for football and athletics and also incorporates a separate volleyball/basketball field. The stadium has a seating capacity of 1,500, accommodated by the main and opposing spectator stands running down the length of the playing field. With a heated playing surface, the stadium can be used all year and its primary use is for youth football training.

The audio system for the new stadium was designed and installed by Art Ramos Studio. In addition to planning for harsh winter conditions, Art Ramos Studio also had to design the system to meet the stipulations that loudspeakers could not be pole mounted in front of the seating and the

China - Located on Hong Kong's spectacular Clearwater Bay Peninsula, the Clearwater Bay Golf & Country Club has an impressive technological infrastructure and now boasts a high-end audio processing set-up thanks to the installation of a Symetrix Solus open-architecture DSP.

South China House of Technology Ltd (SCHOT) was enlisted to design and install the new processing arrangement, which was timed to coincide with a refurbishment and expansion of the main club house and restaurant areas. The Symetrix Solus DSP was ultimately supplied by regional distributor Soundclassy, whose director Chris Fung explains that the system had to fulfil several primary functions.

"First of all, it had to be able to undertake standalone audio matrix and processing duties for the club house and restaurant areas," he says. "Secondly, it also needed to work seamlessly alongside the AM

Poland - It's taken more than two decades of effort and three years of construction but the Gdansk Shakespeare Theatre finally opened its doors last year. This is a considerable achievement; not only is the building the first drama theatre to be built in Poland in almost 40 years, but it utilizes up to the minute design and technology to recreate an authentic experience of Elizabethan theatre.

Designed by Renatto Rizzi, an Italian architect and professor of the Academy of Fine Arts of Venice, the new venue is located on the site of a 17th century wooden playhouse known to have hosted fencing lessons, animal fights and theatrical performances from the early 1600s. It's not by chance that Shakespeare's dramas are recorded among these; the Shakespeare Theatre is a testament to the cultural link between Gdansk and London.

Although the building appears immovable, with its heavy win

USA - LD Nook Schoenfeld was the first lighting designer to use Elation Professional's much anticipated Platinum FLX hybrid moving head, as well as the company's new ACL 360 Matrix narrow-beam LED effect light, and came away wholly satisfied. Both lights had their show premieres at a VIP-only Sheryl Crow concert held on the Trestles Stage just prior to the opening of the inaugural Kaaboo Festival in Del Mar, California.

"I really liked the Platinum FLX and Elation should be commended for this fixture," lighting designer Nook Schoenfeld stated just hours after Sheryl Crow's performance. "Being the first time anyone had used these fixtures I had to get a rushed fixture library to use in my console. So I was actually unsure of what I would see on stage for that evening's performance as I wrote the entire light show in the light of the California sun. But here's where

USA - Global design software developer Vectorworks, Inc. has acquired the ESP Vision product line, including the well-known Vision Pro, one of the most advanced pieces of lighting pre-visualization software available for both PC and Mac operating systems.

For the last 10 years, lighting, film, TV, exhibit, concert, theatre and other designers have been exporting their light plots, scenic designs and event models created with Vectorworks Spotlight software to ESP Vision to cue and visualize award-winning experiences. This announcement creates a path to further enable such workflow collaboration.

"This purchase fortifies Vectorworks' global market leadership position and signals our continuous commitment to the entertainment design industry at a time when visualization capabilities are becoming a more mission-critical, cost-effective means of cueing a show in advance,"

UK - Stage Electrics has announced the relocation of its London operation to new premises in Southwark. The company will continue to offer Hire, Sales and Live Events services from the new London premises just 1.6 miles from the old premises and just 3 miles from the heart of the West End.

Greg Wood of Stage Electrics commented: "We continue to offer our London customers our full range of services, we move a huge amount of hire equipment and sales goods through the London operation each month and having a central London premises to coordinate this is an important part of our strategy.

Stage Electrics provides audio, lighting, staging and video equipment to a wide range of theatre, events, broadcast and corporate clients in and around London. The London operation carries stocks of consumable items, including a comprehensive range of lighting filters, tape and batteries ava

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