Events

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14 March 2016

Chili Peppers' drummer Chad Smith, bassist Flea, guitarist John Frusciante and singer Anthony Kiedis are backed by four Barco D7 screens on trolleys and an 80ft wide VersaTube wall which extends to the venue's roof then out over the floor via fingers stretching to the front of house. The 760 VersaTubes display a changing palette of lighting treatments and an array of video content, including animation, flickering CG imagery, IMAG and band footage.

"With the grandMA, we can adjust IMAG on the fly with the buttons on the desk," says Scott Holthaus, along with Grier Govorko, the show's designers from 40wattlabs. "We can distort images for an effect or go black and white from a rescan camera or supplement the performance with odd v

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14 March 2016

During the three intensive evenings of plotting, the desk performed faultlessly, said Hall. "Even better, the desk also performed during the show in the same manner. Essential Lighting's decision to add the grandMA range of consoles to its hire fleet is largely based on its reputation for reliability and this has been proved on this technically demanding event."

Hall insisted on all the lamps being central

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14 March 2016

A compact, solid state device, the AVC offers functionality equivalent to two DVD players and a vision mixer, with additional live input, all under integrated show control. AV clips, transitions and effects are programmed quickly and easily via the Pharos Designer software. An internal realtime and astronomical clock along with a bi-directional RS232/RS485 serial port provide triggering options for standalone operation.

The AVC combines seamlessly with the Pharos LPC as the second half of a complete control solution providing lighting, audio, video and show control for architectural ins

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14 March 2016

The latest training session took place on 19 July in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, under the direction of D.A.S. Audio sound engineer Joan La Roda, together with Pham Kim, D.A.S. distributor for Vietnam, who assisted La Roda in the organization of the event.

The main subject of the seminar was the presentation of Aero 28A and Aero 38 line array systems. About 30 people attended the seminar - an audience that included potential clients and sound reinforcement services providers. Joan La Roda gave a de

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14 March 2016

Lighting designer Kenneth Posner has created a dynamic and dramatic atmosphere on stage. He says: "The UK audience is in for an exciting and unique visual experience when they see Wicked. The entire design team spent many hours recreating the Broadway visual elements and embellishing the overall design. The Apollo, with its dramatic height but shallower and narrower stage, made it necessary for us to re-design and re-plot many of the scenes."

PRG Europe project manager for the show, Loz Wilcox

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14 March 2016

The first new product launch was the much-anticipated Lancelot from Robert Juliat, a high-powered effect projector/followspot aimed at the largest productions and venues. "The biggest problem we then had with the Lancelot was stopping people pointing it into the milling crowd," explains White Light's Managing Director, Bryan Raven.

From LSC in Australia, the MaXim desk and E24 touring dimmer rack were on show. White Light's sales director Peter Threadgold and Gary Pritchard from LSC announced that White Light had been appointed

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14 March 2016

PSL is one of the Official AV suppliers to the IBC, and maintains a full team of project managers and technicians on site for the duration of the show. This year's Convention was judged to be the largest ever, as the industry makes preparations for the advent of high-definition television.

For the event, PSL invested in a substantial number of Panasonic's new HD plasmas, as well as additional HD-ready 45" screens. PSL project manager, Charlie Hill, says: "Our clients in this industry expect a very high standard from us, and they're very specific about the kit they want. For them, it's not just a matter of displayi

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14 March 2016

Since taking possession of the system earlier this year, Star Way Productions has used it for shows featuring artists such as Engelbert Humperdinck, Styx, Jamie Foxx, Stevie Wonder, Ludacris, and Phil Vassar.

The PA system, which is based on QSC WideLine components and uses two Yamaha PM5D FOH consoles, was designed by Sound image. "We recommended the GQ600 EQs for this sys

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14 March 2016

"We believe the increased attendance at the event is another indication that the entertainment and communication technology industries are in a robust state of health," PLASA chief executive Matthew Griffiths commented. "Technologies continue to mature and deliver ever more benefits to a wider variety of customers, and the PLASA Show's pre-eminence as a launchpad for new products continues to make it a compelling attraction for visitors."

With 64 per cent of visitors surveyed in 2005 saying that their number one reason for attending was to see new prod

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14 March 2016

Paul Vesper, of Surrey-based Tapenade, said: "Thorns provided an integral part to this event, including the after-event party. Everything went as planned."

The Classic team, which was headed by Account Director Paul Seeney, distributed more than 10km of cabling and installed over 300 lighting units at the K Club for Tapenade. The division also prov

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14 March 2016

An innovation at ISE 2007 will be the multimedia conferencing pavilion, which will feature the latest products and technologies in video, audio and web conferencing. Integrated Systems Europe managing director, Mike Blackman comments, "While we can boast an unprecedented number of exhibitors signed up for the show, occupying the largest floor space in the history of ISE, we want visitors to come away with a feeling of a total systems integration experience that will motivate, inspire and excite. The support from our sponsoring organisations as well as our exhibitors, has been instrumental in being able to achieve these magnifice

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14 March 2016

The lighting contract is managed for Bandit by Lester Cobrin, who says "The design is based on three trusses, underpinned by the fundamental principals of rock 'n' roll lighting - keeping things fast, adrenalised, exciting and matching whilst complimenting the explosive energy levels of the band onstage."

The rear truss has six custom built trusses hanging vertically downwards from it, providing architectural definition to the higher part of the visual picture, and also framing the jagged edged video screens. Each vertical truss contains

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14 March 2016

In addition to the massive onsite live audience, millions of viewers also watched the July 4th event with a one-hour television special broadcast over the CBS television network. "Production for this event is all about the TV show," explained Scorpio Sound's Kevin Delaney. "Offstage scaffolding towers are positioned to support the main concert arrays near the Hatch Shell, and these are fully draped to give a visually attractive presentation for the broadcast screen."

Scorpio's sound re

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14 March 2016

The Innovation Awards are intended to recognise the essential quality of innovation in the fields represented by PLASA - lighting, sound, engineering, AV and staging for entertainment, presentation and installation. At the special Awards ceremony, attended by special guest Sir George Martin, eight awards were presented in recognition of the impressive design and development work going on across the industry.

The Award recognises the considerable achievement of the Vieta Pro team, led by MD Nacho Alberdi and product designers Jordi Hernandez and J

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14 March 2016

Over the past year, Kanye West has been noted for using AKG Acoustics microphone products for his live show performances. During last year's Touch the Sky tour, West used an AKG WMS 4000 Wireless System with C 5900 M condenser capsule to deliver his high-energy performances.

West's debut album, The College Dropout has sold over three million copies and to date, he has won six GRAMMY Awards and has received a total of eight nominations.

(Jim Evans)

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14 March 2016

The C Series line extension models also garnered compliments. The four new 8- and 4-channel models are designed for use as part of large C Series installations and in stand-alone mode for boardrooms, audio/visual presentations, cafés, exhibits, bars and in general for applications where lower power per channel with quality sound is desired.

The FP+ Series, includes, the FP 13000 (2 x 6500 W), FP 10000Q (4 x 2500 W), FP 7000 (2 x 3500 W) and FP 6000Q (4 x 1500 W), all ratings at 2 ohms. The new C Series models are, C 20:8X (8 x 250

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14 March 2016

IMTS is North America's largest tool show, featuring 1400 companies and attracting over 85,000 visitors. While most exhibitors relied on standard overhead fluorescent lighting and basic displays, Sandvik employed Gyromedia and Spectra Stage & Event Technologies to create a dramatic theatrical lighting scheme.

Sandvik had 22 tons of ice flown in from Sweden's famed Ice Hotel for the booth, the first time the special ice has ever been brought into the US. A 6-ton ice bar was the main attraction, and 7-foot tall ice sculptures featuring the Sandvik lo

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14 March 2016

Taking place in mid-August, the tour took in five Belgian cities in five days, visiting Sint-Truiden, Brugge, Gent, Mechelen and St. Niklaas. Featuring performances by a range of artists - including Level 42, Sister Sledge, ABC and heavy metallers Udo - each show was a free outdoor event and broadcast live on Q-Music.

DB Videoproductions and Unit 4 were brought in to provide a live mix for the live radio transmission, as well as making a multitrack recording. The show's live audio production utilised another pair of DiGiCo D5s on FOH and monitors, supplied by hire company Soundfield, with two stage racks and three local racks. Fibre optic mul

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14 March 2016

Lighting designer for Light Action, Tom Kenny provided an eye catching show for fans, reporters and TV cameras.

(Jim Evans)

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14 March 2016

"We doubled our production area in 2005 in anticipation of how the DP4 Series would be accepted," says sales and marketing manager Guy Lewis. "This has proved a life-saving investment, as we have been able to keep up with this surge in demand from all parts of the globe, keeping new and old customers happy!"

To maintain the momentum, Stuart Down has joined the company as market manager, with specific responsibility for XTA's growing business in Europe and Eastern Europe. "We have had some great business this year, in Eastern Europe especially, and Stuart will be able to continue moving this forward. He has great account management skills and will, as the saying goes, be a great asset here."

Down started in the audio business b

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14 March 2016

The Prize Stage was sponsored by nine of the industry's major players and on both evenings the main event was the £1000 prize draw. The two lucky winners were Gary Sales and Alex McEwan.

"The prospect of winning £1000 was an enticing proposition to make me go and look at all the participating company's products," said McEwan. "This is the second year running I've been to the PLASA Show and the Prize Stage was certainly a very welcome added bonus."

Mc Ewan explained that the money will go towards helping him set up his new business: "I've worked freelance for quite some time and have now set up a production company based in the Birmingham area, so I'm g

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14 March 2016

Lighting designer, Simon Tutchener has lit London Fashion Week (LFW) for the past ten years and 2006 marks Bandit's fourth season on the case, working for production company S2 Events. The production was managed by Bandit's business development manager, Lester Cobrin at the Bedford-based lighting company. The event's production manager was Tom Brunsdon and S2 Events MD, Wolter Dammers provided technical coordination.

For the 2006 autumn show, the BFC wanted the option of having a straight or u-shaped catwalk in the tent. To achieve the desired resul

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14 March 2016

The Alpha Spot projectors offer a rich and innovative graphic section, featuring twenty gobos on three wheels, rotating prisms, an animation disc and infinite colours (CMY colour system + Linear CTO + 7-color wheel). Clay Paky created the gobos for the luminaries by following Holmes' exacting specifications.

Ben Hammett, the PRG Lighting technician who is responsible for the Shakira lights on a daily basis, adds, "The Clay Paky lights have been great; they are very reliable, and have needed very little service."

The entire crew reh

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14 March 2016

Since its introduction at LDI 2005, the Mbox Extreme has built up a strong following, having been used on Broadway shows, opera and corporate events. During 2006 Lestat - a short-lived but technically acclaimed Broadway production - saw eight Mbox Extreme media servers being used to synchronise and edge-blend multiple projections to form the large images that had been conceived for the show.

For corporate events, where ideas about the presentation can change from minute to minute, Mbox Extreme gives "absolute control" over the video output, allowing the operator to make