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Events

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UK- Trafalgar Square 200 'The Spirit of Nelson' show was authored and created by production company Innovision and staged in London's most famous Square in front of 10,000 people. The hour-long live show celebrated the Royal Navy's role at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 and at other crucial points in the history of Britain.

Innovision called in the services of leading production industry companies, including large format projection specialist E/T/C UK and rigging specialist Summit Steel. Durham Marenghi came on board as lighting designer.Projection was beamed onto a special retractable 'sail' made from Sunbaba's Austronet 204FR fabric, and rigged onto the centre of three masts depicting a symbolic version of Nelson's flagship, HMS Victory.

The PIGI 6kW projector (complete with 'hot' backup) was located in a specially built hide, with a 17m throw distance, and fitted with a Ba

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In truth, it isn't often that the AES Convention - or any pro audio trade exhibition, for that matter - throws up a genuine surprise. Revelations are normally confined to the Gideon's Bible in everyone's hotel room, and not even New York itself can always liven up the routine of stage-managed marketeering.

However, EAW drew genuine intakes of breath with the - for once - justified expedient of white drapes over a mysterious bulging chassis, which turned out to be the UMX.96 digital mixing console. The model ID may not be as exciting in itself, but the arrival of a totally unexpected new player on the digital live console pitch certainly stirs things up plenty.

The formation of Loud Technologies in September 2003 has clearly influenced the kind of technical cross-fertilization behind the UMX. Teams involved in the product have included the DSP team at Acuma Labs in Victoria, BC; the a

Renkus-Heinz - Banner - May 2025

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L-Acoustics announced the new, self-powered P Series - currently comprised of the 108P and 112P. These are 2-way loudspeaker enclosures combining proprietary coaxial point source technology with self-powered performance and DSP.

The 108P is a bi-amplified, digitally processed, full-range loudspeaker containing a 1" exit HF compression driver coaxially loaded into an 8" LF transducer. The coaxial approach is designed to provide coherent point source radiation and 100° axisymmetrical directivity - i.e. identical horizontal, vertical and axial coverage. The coaxial design is also said to offer superimposed LF/HF dispersion characteristics, free of the polar lobing effects typical of traditional horn and woofer combinations.

Intended for touring or fixed installation, the 112P features rigging accessories, digital system EQ and network control and monitoring. Four application-

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The whole EAW event came to somewhat overshadow the launch of the other digital live console du jour, Yamaha's M7CL - which, having first been unveiled to the world in the UK at PLASA, was receiving a slightly lower-gear US debut. Yamaha Corporation Of America's Larry Italia and Dan Craik did the honours, however, and the booth was busy for the whole show with visitors weighing up the potential impact of this desk on the US market. With or without the presence of the UMX.96, that impact is likely to be substantial much further down the verticalities of end user territory - where budget means what it always implies.

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UK - The Stage Electrics Plymouth production team rose to the challenge of lighting the historic Royal Albert Bridge which runs across the River Tamar near Saltash for a high profile photo shoot.

The structure was built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1806-1859) and designed to carry the Cornwall Railway at a height of 100 feet across the water. It was opened in May 1859 and measures 2,187ft in length.

The bridge was lit using 24 Arena Visions and 16 Opti Visions, the resulting picture will be used as a background shot in the new ITV1 West Country Regional Newsroom during the early evening broadcast.

Stage Electrics also supplied equipment to light the studio set including Pulsar Chromaflood Pars and Strand Bambinos. During the studio refurbishment works the company helped to keep the show on the road by building a temporary set and providing studio lighting.

(Jim Evans)

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Furman Sound announced a new 20-amp regulator that delivers a stable 120V of AC power to protect equipment from problems caused by AC line voltage irregularities. The AR-20 II is said to be the only 20A voltage regulator that also filters and purifies AC power, optimizing electronic equipment performance while also providing protection from spikes and surges - using Furman's proprietary SMP+ technology.

"Voltage irregularities like sags, brownouts and overvoltages are commonplace in AC lines, and can cause sensitive electronic equipment to malfunction or sustain damage," said Dave Keller, executive VP of Furman Sound. "In addition, electrical noise on the line prevents equipment from achieving optimal performance. Our newAR-20 II is unique in that it not only protects electronics from damaging power, but also filters out the noise using the very best technology available

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Whirlwind's E Snake products now support EtherSound using Lab X Technologies' new ESX network I/O module. "Whirlwind's E Snake products are recognized as some of the most comprehensive and versatile designs in digital audio transport," said Lab X president Lee Minich. The move extends both Whirlwind's digital connectivity and EtherSound's base of digital audio protocol subscribers.

"Partnering with Lab X to leverage their ESX module was a natural choice," added Joe Barnes, Whirlwind's director of digital operations. "The module's form factor and functionality, coupled with Lab X's connectivity expertise with CobraNet and EtherSound, has quickly enabled our E Snake products to support EtherSound."As well as being experienced in both CobraNet and EtherSound systems, Lab X Technologies makes a range of hardware, firmware and GUI control applications.

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Adamson showed its T-21 Sub, a flyable and arrayable bass cabinet designed to provide sub-bass extension for Y-Axis line source systems. It is configurable into an arc that will not shadow the main line array. The T-21 Sub also incorporates the newly developed Adamson Symmetrical Drive SD-21 Kevlar driver, with its double spider design. This employs a balanced spider suspension with spiders at both ends of the 6" dual voice coil assembly, and a neodymium magnet for maximum stability under high excursions.

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UK - PRG Europe was contracted by Michael Hurll TV (MHTV), part of the Unique Communications Group, to provide lighting and projection solutions for ITV's 50th birthday celebrations.

With four London sites to service over a three day period, which included an outside broadcast location on HMS President, ITV's South Bank Studio 1 and Covent Garden's Avenue of the Stars, MHTV felt it needed a one stop shop to successfully coordinate the large format projection, lighting and power distribution, plus rigging and staging the entire event. Croydon-based project manager Loz Wilcox took responsibility for the projection needs, while John McEvoy from PRG Europe's Greenford branch looked after lighting for each of the locations.

As part of the celebrations, ITV unveiled its spectacular Avenue of the Stars in London's Covent Garden. A host of press and celebrity guests looked on as 100 s

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UK - Automation specialists Kinesys has designed and built a motion control system to truck the Rolling Stones' B Stage out into the middle of the auditorium for their current A Bigger Bang stadium shows. The tour plays North America this autumn and Kinesys is renewing its association with their production, having worked with the Stones on the Licks world tour, where they provided a complete, tourable 32 axis variable speed control system for all the tracking and flown elements of the show.

Kinesys was approached for this project by the tour's set constructors Brilliant Stages. The B Stage truck, a major element of the show, detaches itself from the main stage at the relevant point, and trundles 80 metres (260 feet) down a walkway out into the middle of the stadium with the band onboard. It then rises up in the middle of the arena, allowing the band to play a coupl

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UK - Hosted by Wigwam Acoustics, the next d&b audiotechnik Sound system design & set-up seminar will be held on Wednesday November 23 at the Huddersfield Christian Fellowship's Harvest House - a former Comet store Comet Store that has been converted into a state of the art high tech venue.

d&b's John Taylor will be presenting the day, with the focus on achieving intelligibility - if you're passionate about sound, then you want to get good quality, intelligible sound to every seat in the house.

"This seminar addresses the acoustic signal path between the loudspeaker and the listener's ears, just comprehensive electroacoustics with all the physics you'll need thrown in." said Emma Adamou of d&b. "The seminar content is conveyed in a format that encourages the participants to play an active role, for example exchanging experiences or using practical examples. The s

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UK - History was made on an unseasonably warm and sunny day at the end of October when, for the first time ever in the UK, all the heads of the enlarged EU met together in Hampton Court's Great Hall. Having responded to an invitation to tender, Brähler ICS was selected by the UK Government to provide the 21 language channel simultaneous interpretation system. Brahler supplied their flagship CDS-VAN digital system which has a maximum capacity of 32 uncompressed digital audio channels and runs on industry standard Cat 5 computer cable.

For the first time at such a high level EU summit, the Interpreter booths were located outside the main meeting room. Discreet broadcast quality cameras were placed strategically in the Great Hall and the images relayed to an adjacent Interpreter Marquee. Brahler provided a total of 22 interpretation booths in the marquee fitted with 67 CDS-VAN dig

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UK - This summer the Chemical Brothers toured the European Festival Circuit and for the second year running LM Productions supplied laser effects to enhance their performance. LM supplied three 5 watt DPSS green lasers which were all controlled via DMX through a lighting desk. One laser was fixed under the bands set and the remaining two lasers positioned either side of the stage all creating atmospheric beam effects co-ordinated with the music. The band will be performing at a host of UK venues this December before they take a year out in 2006 to record the next album.

Wild Fruit took its legendary club night to Preston Park in Brighton for the annual Pride celebrations. LM provided two DPSS green laser systems producing high impact beams effects became the focal point for 5,000 clubbers inside the Wild Fruit Big Top tent.

For the Top Shop & Dorothy Perkins Fashion Show, Lond

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UK - Large format projection specialists E//T//C UK covered the 323 ft high Shell Centre on London's South Bank with giant projected poppies for Remembrance Day 2005.

E//T//C was working for media and production company The Bank, who produced the event for Shell UK. It's the fourth year running that E//T//C UK has illuminated this prime site with high impact projections for the event.

The 26 storey building - once the tallest in the UK - was covered by eight 6 kW PIGI projectors that were sited 100 metres away on the edge of Queen's Walkway (the corresponding riverside path), housed in a curtain-sider truck. Six of the projectors, complete with double scrollers running vertically, produced the poppies, three targeted at the top half of the tower and three at the bottom.

The stunning red on turquoise background images were overlaid to maximise brightness, and were scrolled to

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UK - In spite of a blustery series of drenching thunderstorms, nearly 45,000 music lovers descended on Hyde Park for the tenth anniversary of London's end-of-summer celebration, Proms in the Park. The steadfast audience warmed to performances by the BBC Concert Orchestra, along with tenor Andrea Bocelli, violinist Nicola Benedetti, pop vocal quartet G4, and special guests Simply Red. This year's event also marked the debut of a 96-cabinet, self-powered Meyer Sound system built around MILO and MICA high-power curvilinear arrays.

The audience spread out in casual picnic fashion, making the coverage area immense: 300 meters deep and nearly 250 meters wide. In addition, because of the eclectic combination of pop/rock and classical fare, the system must project delicate transients as well as handling a wide dynamic range. Beyond all that, everything is broadcast live on the B

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USA - American DJ is offering a spread of new possibilities to the world of stage lighting by applying LED technology to par cans. The company's new DMX-compatible P36 LED and P64 LED Par Cans are equipped with light emitting diodes, allowing users to create virtually any colour via RGB colour mixing, says the manufacturer.

Unlike conventional par cans, which produce a limited number of colours using gel filters, the P36 LED and P64 LED's RGB colour mixing process combines red, green and blue LEDs to create any desired shade. The P64 LED is equipped with 151 LEDs (51 red, 49 green, 51 blue), and the P36 LED with 61 LEDs (21 red, 19 green, 21 blue).

With RGB mixing, the P36 LED and P64 LED give users complete control over the colour scheme of their lighting presentation, right from their DMX controller. "This is great for stage productions, concerts, churches, presentation

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Europe - Bandit Lites UK supplied LD Bruce Spillman with full lighting production, rigging and crew for the European leg of Michael Bolton's Til The End of Forever tour.

Bandit Inc has serviced Bolton for the last three years, since he resumed active gigging in the US. However this is the first European tour for some time and also Spillman's first experience working with Bandit UK. The tour was project managed for Bandit by Lester Cobrin.

Spillman, based in Anaheim, California, had to create a big show with an expedient amount of lighting fixtures. There were a few set pieces extracted from previous tours and carried forward to this one, notably three fast fold projection screens, upstage of the risers, used for gobo projections and other lighting effects, and to give the stage a shape and a sense of form.

The rig consisted of 142 PARs spread across three 40ft pre-rig

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USA - Altman Lighting was awarded the Lighting/Architecture Product of the Year award at the recent LDI in Orlando for its Smart Track lighting system.

Altman Architectural's Smart Track enables digital control signals to be brought to addressable architectural luminaires without the need for dimmer packs and bulky cable runs. Smart Track consists of a three-circuit track with DMX control built right in. This allows the user to control Altman's Smart IQseries luminaires without the need for cabling and remote dimmers.

"We are pleased and honoured that the LDI judges recognised our Smart Track system with the Product of the Year Award," says Robert Altman, CEO/president of Altman Lighting. "At the show, we met with many designers, consultants, and specifiers who were really intrigued with the Smart Track and discussed the many exciting applications that they have

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UK - PRG Europe has supplied the lighting for what is believed to be the biggest moving light rig for a British television series, Stars in their Eyes on ITV, which is filming now for transmission next year. PRG Europe supplied some 90 VariLite luminaires and 80 PixelLine battens, along with mains distribution, cabling and distribution racks, all controlled by a Virtuoso VX desk and an EX1 media server.

"Stars in their Eyes has been going for about fourteen years," explained lighting director Neil Yates, "and we've used PRG Europe for about ten of those. We like the fact that we get a total package from PRG - they have a great deal of expertise, and all problems and changes are quickly sorted out. They're always very amenable with changes and redesigns."

The brief included the stipulation that the lighting rig should not be seen, difficult when you'r

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Europe - Turbosound reports that its Aspect series products are being deployed by UK rental company WE Audio, for the current European tour by Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings. The tour follows WE Audio's concert and festival successes with Aspect during the summer and, with the resultant growth of interest in its services, WE Audio has placed an order for a further 12 stacks of Aspect, as well as an additional 8 Turbosound TSW-218double-18" sub-bass enclosures.

Taking in over 50 dates across western and eastern Europe, the one-truck Rhythm Kings tour is visiting venues with audience capacities ranging from 500 to over 3,000. WE Audio is covering these capacities with just 12stacks of Aspect touring cabinets, with each stack comprising a TA-890H mid-high and TA-890L bass cabinet.

The Aspect loudspeakers are being flown as a 3 x 2 left-right system, with ground-stacked TSW-218 su

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USA - Strand Lighting's C21 Dimmer range was recognised as the Product of the Year for LDI 2005. Before a standing room only crowd Tim Burnham, President of Strand Lighting, accepted the award on Saturday evening at the LDI Awards ceremony. Tim added, "All of us at Strand are pleased to receive this recognition. I am very proud of the technical achievements of the entire C21/EC21 design team led by Michael Lay and Steve Carlson."

C21 and EC21 dimmer racks are designed for global operation and provide a number of advances in technology. In addition to providing support for conventional SCR dimmers including Quad, Dual and single modules with ratings up to 12kW; sophisticated Sinewave dimmers are also available. Dual Sinewave modules may be freely mixed and matched with standard dimmers in the same rack for complete flexibility.

No special wiring or separate racks are

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Very little formal recognition exists for the creative designs produced by those working in the entertainment industry, so PLASA (the Professional Lighting and Sound Association) and the PLASA Show have become joint sponsors of a new category in the 2006 Lighting Design Awards.

The award for Entertainment Lighting is open to theatrical productions, concerts, festivals, corporate events, exhibitions, temporary and one-off lighting installations, and will see a lighting team in the event sector recognized for outstanding achievement.

Judged by leading industry professionals, the finalists and winners stand to earn the plaudits of their peers, industry respect and publicity across a wide range of media, including national press and TV. The deadline for entries is Thursday 12 January 2006 and an application form can be found on the LDA website at the address below.

The event nominated

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UK - Capital Sound Hire set three separate production levels (for theatres, small arenas and large arenas) for comedian Lee Evans' current tour - based around Martin Audio line array (and non-line array) components. Evans' gags are embroidered by numerous 'pops' (the mic is used as a stage prop), VT play-ins and a closing song which he delivers on mandolin.

During soundcheck at Hallam FM Arena, the artist listened carefully to the playback of his mandolin track at the three different delay points (each containing three clusters of four Martin W8C's). He is equally concerned about his monitor sound - and although production carries Martin Audio LE12J floor wedges, these are generally forsaken in favour of boosted side fills (provided by six Martin Audio W8LM Mini Line Arrays).

The shows are promoted by Off The Kerb and the production manager is Mark Harris. Capital Sound Hire,

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USA - Clay Paky's Alpha Wash Halo is being used extensively on the new Broadway production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Woman in White which opened on November 17.

The Halo, a 1,000W (3,200 K) halogen wash light fixture, was specifically designed for use in theatre and television, and The Woman in White marks the Broadway debut of the Halo. The original London production of the musical, was lit by UK-based lighting designer, Paul Pyant. Pyant's Associate Lighting Designer for the original production, David Howe, was tasked with recreating Pyant's design in The Marquis Theatre, New York.

"We needed a bright, colour mixing, tungsten-source wash light with a great range of subtle pastel and tonal colours that was consistent across all units," remarks Howe on the decision to use the Clay Paky Alpha Wash Halo fixtures. "As the show's scenery is entire

  1. Richards in Belgium with FLC and Venue
  2. NY City College wins Martin Lighting Grant
  3. SIB 2006 lines up Opera show
  4. HES Open House in London
  5. RG Jones celebrates in Georgia
  6. Aviom Audio Network at 10th National Games
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