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14 March 2016

Adlib provided lighting and sound for the 12-minute specially composed soundtrack show produced by Liverpool Empire Theatre that preceded the illumination of a giant 30m tall Christmas tree, made up of 280 illuminated LED hearts, located at the end of Paradise Street.

Both lighting and audio systems were designed to ensure that the buoyant crowds could fully enjoy the occasion. "We were delighted to be asked back to work on it this year," commented Ian Rubert, who co-ordinated the lighting installation on site.

Lighting was designed

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14 March 2016

Adding to the specialness of the occasion was a stunning stage lighting kit, the sort normally reserved for a full theatrical production rather than a school choir performance. Lighting designer Fanie vd Walt, owner of Fanjan Productions, was able to create this impressive stage package without overshooting the festival's budget by using a collection of value-driven fixtures from Chauvet, acquired from South African importer Audiosure.

To give the stage the punch one would normally expect from a larger production, the LD called upon two Chauvet Professional Rogue

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14 March 2016

The Paris dates were part of the current Rester Vivant (Staying Alive) tour, to which top French lighting designer Dimitri Vassiliu has brought his huge experience, fertile imagination and talent for lateral thinking to create a vibrant and powerful 'big rock show'.

The design features 36 x Robe BMFL Spot moving lights on the rig which are integral to the show, and are being supplied by lighting contractor Dushow which has invested heavily in Robe this year. For the AccorHotels Arena performances, an additional 20 x BMFL Spots were added to the rig to light the audience.

With nearly 200 tours, 18 platinum albums, worldwide record sales of over £80m and a formidabl

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14 March 2016

Graduating in 2000 from Omaha, Nebraska's Creighton University with a bachelor's degree of fine arts, Martir tapped Avolites' Tiger Touch II lighting control console when he returned to his alma mater this fall to present a special art installation called Unique, a self-described giant "graphic novel" brought to life with light and shadow.

"Using new and old etching techniques, the story is told through twelve chapters, with eight drawings per chapter," Martir describes. "The 96 drawings are th

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14 March 2016

LD Dan Hill reports, "This was essentially a larger, more intense version of the lighting rig we've had out lately. In London earlier this year, The Wombats played Brixton Academy and the show at Alexandra Palace really grew from that - nothing crazy, but extensions of what was already there to cater for both the larger crowd and the bigger, wider stage that Ally Pally provides. I wanted to keep things as dynamic and as fun for the band on stage and for people in the crowd as it was back in Brixton."

Hill's rig is heavy with fixtures from the Ambersphere Solutions family of brands with Clay Paky and Ayrton units making up over half of the total design and with a grandMA2 Li

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14 March 2016

The AES Scottish Group is headed up by Dr David Moore of Glasgow Caledonian University and Jim Hunter, senior sound supervisor for BBC Scotland. Hunter has been a television sound supervisor for 25 years. He continues to deliver both live and recorded shows, in studios and on outside broadcasts. Dr Moore is a lecturer in audio technology and leader of the BSc Audio Technology degree programme at Glasgow Caledonian University.

The event kicked off with Andrew Britton, operations resource manage

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14 March 2016

Belgium-based WI was approached to produce an automation solution for three distinctive digital and scenic set elements - a huge skull, six moving video screens and five moving lighting pods - by Hallyday's production director Roger Abriol. WIcreations has enjoyed a long and productive working relationship with Roger who has looked after Hallyday's tours since the start of his career. WI is one of his go-to companies for automation, creative engineering and thinking 'out-of-the-box'.

WI's project manager is Koen Peeters. Chris Das is

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14 March 2016

Robbi Nassi, Electrosonic's technical sales & support manager, explains, "ETC's Regional Manager for Southern Africa, Jeremy Roberts visited and demonstrated the consoles' outstanding new colour mixing system. This proved to be enough for them to decide on an Eos Ti for their Main Theatre, and a Gio for their Studio Theatre, which is currently being used as a back-up console for Orpheus on an ETC network. DMX Gateways and all the necessary channel assignments were purchased as part of a complet

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14 March 2016

According to Sami Janho, general manager at Advanced Solutions, the timing is now right for the aggressive expansion of Sennheiser's market share in Jordan. He said, "A reasonable portion of the market now demands reputable and reliable products accompanied by a high level of service. Organizations are keen to explore best-in-class solutions which provide a clear long-term roadmap and grow with their business needs. We see this as the opportunity for Advanced Solutions to extend its conversations with existing clients

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14 March 2016

Created by the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce and the Nashville Entrepreneur Centre, the NEXT Awards honours several industries, including startups, those that show growth, and 'market movers' in addition to individual awards for Entrepreneurial Partner of the Year, Young Entrepreneur of the Year and Entrepreneur of the Year.

This year's winners included The Nashville Ballet, Thistle Farms, Overdog, Advance Financial, Launch Tennessee, EVAmore, and Sherry Deutschmann as Entrepreneur of the Year.

Bandit Lites provided VL 2500 Spots and VL 3000 Spots in the main room at the Renaissance Hotel. Lighting technicians Carter Harris and S

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14 March 2016

Jens Hillenkötter, CEO of Rock Solid Technologies comments: "With FIBERFOX we gained a new partner, who brings decades of experience in the field of fibreglass technology, is established in the market and who fully complies with our high expectations. Therefore, it was a logical decision for us to offer another RockLink version, which also withstands extreme conditions in the area of fibreglass."

The future collaboration is also viewed positively by Günter Bergmann, CEO of FIBERFOX: "We are delighted about the partnership with ROCK SOLID Technologies, a world-renown manufacturer of highly reliable equipment. That it was possible to convince Rock

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14 March 2016

Suzanne Boothby, Cosmonauts Exhibition delivery manager said, "We brought Unusual Rigging on board at an early stage as the spacecraft and equipment on display are unique. We wanted the reassurance that Unusual bring with their understanding of both our objects and the limitations of the museum."

Unusual's Robin Elias flew out to Moscow to advise on the safest way to ensure the exhibits made their way to London unscathed. "Remember, these are huge spacecraft that play a massive part in space history. We can't just load them into the back of a lorry and hope for the best. We also had to consider just how we

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14 March 2016

Visitor highlights include the chance to discover new and exciting products from over 60 brands in professional audio, AV, lighting, staging and rigging not to mention two days of free seminars and live demos. Industry leaders exhibiting at the show will include both manufacturers and distributors including big names such as Robe, RCF, Chauvet, Elation, Avolites, ETC, TMB and many more.

The recent announcement from VisitScotland shows intent to grow the events market in Scotland. The investment in a new ten-year 'collaborative strategy' to develop Scotland's 3.5 billion events

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14 March 2016

Commissioned and presented by Birmingham Hippodrome Creative, British-Chinese artist Aowen Jin's new outdoor artwork Midlight invites people to create their own light displays. Through cutting-edge digital technology and social media interaction, the colours can be changed both with sound (music, singing, clapping etc) and via Twitter.

Midlight features thousands of LED lights with 90,000 colour variations which adjust so that no two experiences with the artwork are ever the same. The project is the first of its kind to include the participation of Birmingham's local Chinese community who liv

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14 March 2016

Chosen as the FOH console by tour production company Silence!, the M-5000 was specified because of the console's intuitive workflow, flexible architecture and sound quality - plus the fact that so many features came in such a compact footprint.

FOH engineer, Manu Guiot (designer of the Notre Dame de Paris musical amongst other high profile projects) was at the helm

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14 March 2016

SSR's technical director, Tom Aston reports, "Students have been overwhelmingly positive about the Audient ASP8024. They find it well laid out, spacious and logical." This year alone, some 120 students - including those studying for Music Production and Sound Engineering degrees - will get their hands on the console, giving it ample opportunity to prove its reputation for reliability and longevity.

"Having a producer's desk to the left of the master section has allowed us to locate the computer keyboard, mouse and DAW control surface in the centre of the stereo image, producing a much more ergonomic environment than before,

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14 March 2016

"You always like to get good feedback when you design," said Therrien of JDI Productions. "So all of us involved in this show were thrilled when the bands went out of their way to compliment us. Aaron Patrick for ATR and Bryan Campbell for WCAR both commented how happy they were with the package and how the lighting had added an impressive visual impact to their perform

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14 March 2016

School of Rock - Broadway musical School of Rock, written by Downton Abbey's Julian Fellowes with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, has opened to mixed reviews. The show, which was a hit 2003 film starring Jack Black, is about a wannabe rock star

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14 March 2016

From tussles between prisoners on the gangways, to the clanging of heavy cell doors, to the distinct smell of cannabis drifting down the cell block, the museum has so faithfully recreated the sights, sounds and smells of prison life that visitors feel the closure in 2006 never actually happened.

Central to the multi-sensory experience are the 56 Panasonic projectors, which help create shadows through the halls and the sight of heavy set prisoners in the toilet blocks.

The majority of these are Solid Shine laser projectors, including a total of 46 PT-RW330, 2 PT-RZ470 and PT-RZ475 projectors placed throughout the prison. Solid Shine projectors were chosen due to impressive brightness and contrast

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14 March 2016

It offers recommendations for steps to be taken to prevent falls by anyone (e.g., performers, technicians, politicians) on parade floats, movable stages, and similar moving platforms. Fall protection is needed, but this protection needs to be provided in a way that preserves the artistic intent of the moving float or platform. This document is being written to provide guidance on how to accomplish these two aims.

The draft standard is available now through 1 February 2016. On 2 February the review is over, and the links to the draft standard will disappear from the website.

(Jim Evans)

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14 March 2016

Lighting designer Stevie Hernandez examined how 64 Robe Pointes are integral to the design.

Zedd's much talked-about live show visuals are a collaboration between himself, Stevie as production designer, VJ Gabe Damast and tour manager Ken Floyd who also runs lasers and SFX for the performance. They have all worked with Zedd for three years and are his first production team.

The team enjoys a coherent and fluid visual chemistry and Zedd considers them his 'visual musicians', all bringing their own specific imaginative disciplines into the show.

While Zedd knows exactly the visual vibe he wants for each song, he encourages everyone's input. Different ideas

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14 March 2016

The production spared nothing. Concert directors Travis and Stacyz, having worked with Michael Jackson and Lady Gaga, were brought in to create an unprecedented audio-visual feast, in turn bringing in the best teams from all over the world to give fans their most impressive production experience to date.

MSI Japan was in charge of the sound production and Martin Audio's award-winning MLA system was chosen for the Taipei, Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou leg of the tour. With more than 3

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14 March 2016

Having received such a positive response to their initial Yamaha QL1 digital console investment which has successfully served their increasing sub-hire market demands, Joe Haycocks, director at RSH Audio was prompted to consider the suitability of the company's other assets for the demands of busy rental and production companies.

"I am keen to continue developing our sub-hire market work which we supply very effectively. With that in mind I looked to Yamaha CL and QL digital consoles and Shure QLX-D digital wireless systems for the solution", comments Haycocks. "On our own shows, we have found the Yamaha and Shure systems work brilliantly for both the live and corporate shows that we do.

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14 March 2016

The band toured earlier in the year, visiting some of the more off beat venues in the circuit, followed by some gigs over the summer and now this tour, which also plays a couple of arenas and for which Dan created a completely new design.

The new album is a departure from the punky, rocky attitude of the first two, moving into some darker and moodier territories and they wanted the musical evolution and depth of the new material to be reflected in the lighting and visuals.

In response, Dan has gone for multiple options for producing a wide array of strong moody looks with lots of variety and low side lighting that introduces intimacy and the idea of proximity