Germany - At Prolight + Sound 2011, Harman Professional announced the introduction of its HiQnet Performance Manager software, a user interface that facilitates the design of touring and live performance venue sound reinforcement systems. Designed especially for touring and theatrical sound engineering, HiQnet Performance Manager is an application-specific iteration of the HiQnet System Architect 2 connectivity and control software application for professional-grade audio system integration.
"In touring, time is money and Performance Manager dramatically streamlines the system design, setup and tuning process, allowing the JBL VerTec System Engineer to achieve a higher level of performance with more consistent results on a daily basis from venue-to-venue", said Paul Bauman, director of tour sound product application and application engineering, JBL Professional.
Germany - Christie's ProLight+Sound stand is split into two zones. The first is showcasing the Christie MicroTiles as well as a two-channel edge blend with two Christie WU12K-M managed by Christie Spyder X20 and 42 Controls S.P.O.C. The second is providing a complete lighting show with video animations created and piloted by renowned international lighting designer Bruno Corsini.
Christie Nitro Solutions, the modular series of motorised moving yokes, can provide up to 20,000 ANSI lumens of video projection, creating high brightness imagery on any surface, from anywhere. With the optional Xenon or LED lighting heads, the system can produce up to 50,000 lumens of lighting. Nitro Solutions can be installed at ground level or rigged to a truss, and are ideal for building projection, architectural lighting and cityscapes and live events such as concerts and theatre presentations.
UK - Adlib supplied sound equipment & crew for the recent sold out UK arena tour for the The Script , as part of their Science & Faith world tour , which saw their largest production set to date.
Richy Nicholson is The Script's FOH engineer. Last autumn for their theatre tour, he used an L-Acoustics V-DOSC system that was also supplied by Adlib, and for this one, he specified the new K1 system, of which Adlib now has a substantial quantity.
Nicholson worked alongside an Adlib team, consisting of Tony Szabo as systems tech, crew chief Marc Peers who also oversaw monitor world, plus PA techs Ian Nelson and Alan Harrison. Bob O'Brien managed all aspects of the production with Ian 'Quinner' Quinn as TM.
Says Adlib project manager Phil Kielty, "The Script are easily one of the most exciting and talented bands of the moment. It seems wherever I go from LA to Glasgow th
UK - Blackout provided bespoke drapes at Mikhail Gorbachev's star-studded 80th birthday celebration to transform the Royal Albert Hall, creating an opulent backdrop to the set from which Kevin Spacey and Sharon Stone hosted VIP guests to honour of the last leader of the Soviet Union.
The Blackout team was brought in by production company LarMac LIVE and liaised with producers Jo Mackay & Ian Greenway to ensure the drapes complimented the event's overall look and feel. Working closely with set designer Nina Kobiashvili, Blackout supplied drapes from their range that were in keeping with the Royal Albert Hall's distinctive style, creating a set that suited the high profile nature of the event.
Blackout project director Kevin Monks coments, "The main set screen was shadowed left and right with a pair of set prosceniums created out of red velour and organza. The piece was mad
UK - The ABTT (Association of British Theatre Technicians) Theatre Show looks set for another successful year, with pre-registrations for the June event already 25% up on 2010 figures.
Attracting the leading manufacturers and suppliers in the theatre, presentation and staging sectors, the exhibition is a leading UK showcase for venue operators, engineers and those entering the business to see the latest products and technologies.
Among the exhibitors already confirmed for the 2011 Show are: ETC (Electronic Theatre Controls), Clay Paky, Martin Professional, White Light, Autograph Sales, Canford, d&b audiotechnik, Doughty Engineering, Triple E, Lee Filters, Philips Entertainment, Roscolab, Stage Electrics, Trantec Systems, Allen & Heath, Sound Technology, Unusual Rigging and Zero 88.
Show director Roger Fox, commented: "We are simply thrilled with this increase in pre-reg
UK - Two special evening events and 21 new and first time exhibitors have been added to the attractions already on offer during PLASA Focus: Leeds 2011, taking place at The Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds, on Tuesday 19 and Wednesday 20 April 2011.
Alongside 130 exhibitors across two halls, and a two day programme of free educational seminars and product demonstrations, visitors can also take advantage of two evening events taking place in Leeds in the evenings after PLASA Focus, with free transport between each event.
The inaugural 'AES in the North' meeting will be held at the University of Leeds' School of Music on Tuesday 19 April, starting at 6.30pm. This new group founded by Kerry-Anne Kubisa, along with AES Cambridge, is leading the expansion of the AES audio community outside of London. Roger Quested is guest lecturer o
USA - Barco is enhancing the magic of Roger Waters' The Wall tour as it continues around the world, providing a combination of video and lighting equipment including 15 FLM HD20 projectors, five FLM R22+ projectors, five Encore presentation systems, and from High End Systems, 32 Cyberlight 2.0 units and a Road Hog Full Boar console.
Show creative directors set out with the ambitious goal to authentically reproduce the concert venue and show created 30 years ago for Pink Floyd, including building an exact replica of the 1980 set. Fabricating the wall each night, brick-by-brick in sync with the video projection, is a laborious, yet essential task to maintain the integrity of the projections which display rotating scenery, dynamic backdrops and optical illusions. Barco's integrated lighting and video solutions enable the vivid, seamless projections to visualize the concepts
UK - WiSE (Women in Stage Entertainment), will be gracing the show floor at PLASA Focus 2011 with its own stand which will be lit by GDS LED up-lighters and decorated with WiSE sponsor logos.
This year's WiSE sponsors include: Lee Filters, Charcoalblue Theatre Consultants, White Light, Rosco and Avolites, which between them are gorgeously, fabulously and wonderfully generous. (WiSE is not being sycophantic here, these words describe the various sponsorship levels. This means, for a relatively small donation, you too could be labelled gorgeous, fabulous or wonderful! If this is something you aspire to and you would like more information about how WiSE will spend your money please see WiSE fundraising co-ordinator Caz Williamson on stand.)
Accompanying Williamson will be co-founder of WiSE, Sarah Rushton-Read. Both will be on hand - at stand RA-C7, just to the left of the PLASA informa
UK - Entertainment lighting specialist White Light will be at the PLASA Focus show at the Royal Armouries in Leeds next week, allowing visitors hands-on experience with a range of the very latest lighting tools - and some long-standing favourites, too - from the White Light family of products that the company distributes in the UK.
With so many products on display, White Light will be spread across two stands, S-A2 in the Saviles Hall and RA-C4 in the Royal Armouries Museum.
Lanterns will include some of the latest developments in LED fixtures: the Galaxia LED softlight, proving enormously popular with those working in television; the award-winning Prism RevEAL family with output feedback giving consistent colour rendering and output over the fixture's life; the A7 wash fixtures from JB-Lighting, the powerful Stage Wash LED batten and Stage Spot washlight from Leader Light; th
Germany - Among the many products unveiled by DiGiCo at ProLight+Sound last week was the SD11 which is designed to be equally at home as a desktop console or mounted in a 19" rack. By simply removing the end cheeks and arm rest, 19" rack fixings are revealed, making it straightforward to incorporate the SD11 into any touring or installation environment. It is also the smallest (both in size and price) that the company has ever produced.
Manufactured with a steel chassis for strength and a polycarbonate-overlaid, aluminium work surface for reduced weight, the SD11 features 12 touch sensitive moving faders below a 15" touch sensitive screen. Such clarity of control means the SD11 is as simple to use at speed as any other DiGiCo console.
Sixteen Microphone pre amps, eight line outputs and two mono AES I/O are provided, in addition to which users have the option to
Germany - Dutch audio innovators Alcons Audio launched the BC543 - a new triple 18" cardioid sub-bass loudspeaker at Prolight+Sound, designed to give the company's pro-ribbon audio systems the tightest and crispest possible low end.
A self-contained, high-output cardioid subwoofer, the BC543 is designed for both permanent and portable ground-stacked applications, offering a high output plus tight and accurate bass response.
The BC543's front and rear located woofer configuration combines with Alcons Digital Drive Processor (DDP) to offer selectable cardioid, low-frequency pattern control and up to 18dB of rear rejection, without any need for additional cabinets.
The unit's front features two state-of-the-art AW18.6NDC/8 18-inch, long-excursion woofers, complemented by a 5.3 inch voice-coil with vented triple-spider frame, Neodymium motor structure, carbon fibre cone and
Germany - LumenRadio reports that it broke the company's previous attendance records at this year's Prolight+Sound in Frankfurt with several thousand German and international visitors to the stand; part of German CRMX distributor LMP's extremely busy village.
Two new products and a dozen new OEM and project partners, among them some of the largest players in the lighting industry, were revealed in conjunction with the show. Over 1200 new catalogues with new reference installations and projects were distributed to lighting professionals, manufacturers, distributors, and partners during the four day exhibition.
An example of wireless OEM products on display at the show was Philips Entertainment's new Vari-Lite and Selecon fixtures. Philips has developed a solution that makes it possible to add LumenRadio's CRMX wireless DMX and RDM capabilities to any of their new fixtures. The
UK - Launched by musician Kate Nash in London's Trafalgar Square at the beginning of March, the BME on Tour project - in the form of one of London's much beloved, but now retired, Route Master red buses - is set to take the British Music Experience out on the road, reaching thousands of children and young adults across the country who may never have had access to modern music equipment, bespoke music education masterclasses or visited the museum.
As part of its commitment to education, Sennheiser UK has been a sponsor of the British Music Experience since its launch in March 2009 working in conjunction with the museum to host a series of Education Days and Masterclasses.
"Sennheiser UK's interest in the British Music Experience was first piqued because the timeline they proposed displaying more or less mirrored the timeline of the history of Sennheiser, the company
UAE - Education Without Borders 2011 opened on Burj Khalifa Island, Dubai, with a spectacular laser show in front of the world's tallest building.
Responding to an invitation from Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, more than 1,000 students from 130 countries attended a stupendous opening ceremony.
Six high-power lasers from tarm Showlaser and sixty precision deflecting mirrors transformed the open-air arena into a network of laser beams.
UK - Martin Professional heads to Leeds this week for PLASA Focus 2011 where the latest Martin LED lighting fixtures, video screens and processors, lighting consoles and media server products will be on display (Stand S-E16).
The EC-10 is a high performance, true 10 mm pixel pitch LED display panel that teams with Martin's EC-20 to form a fully compatible EC family of LED displays that can be mixed and matched for design creativity. Featuring the same award-winning, lightweight and cable-free design for rapid deployment, the EC-10 is 100% compatible with the EC-20 in terms of brightness, colour, setup, curving, control and processing, even accessories, allowing for seamless, mixed resolution visuals in one system.
The ultra-compact MAC 101 moving head comes with a low price tag for revolutionary stage, dance floor and decorative lighting designs.
UK - The A.C. Entertainment Technologies stand (S-C3) at PLASA Focus 2011 will feature new lighting solutions from Jands, Chroma-Q, GLP and Anytronics, with many of the innovations making their UK tradeshow debut.
In addition, staff from the AC-ET's specialist lighting, audio, rigging and video sales divisions will be on hand to discuss the vast, multi-million pound stockholding of over 200 leading brands available from the company's High Wycombe and Leeds offices.
Exclusively distributed in Europe and the Middle East by AC-ET, the show sees the UK launch of the new Jands Vista v2 software. After three years of intense development, extensive testing and finally, use on several major shows and events by beta-testers worldwide, the software is now factory-standard with new Vista consoles and available as a free upgrade to existing users.
Australia - Nitro Circus Live, which has just toured Australia, is based on the popular MTV extreme sports show led by Travis Pastrana. The show features sport stunts from free style motor cross and skateboards to a wheelchair bound guy flinging himself off the 50ft high Gigantor Ramp.
Global Action Sports, who have the worldwide rights to create the Nitro Circus show, had already worked with George Gorga when he was sound designer for Crusty Demons. For this show, they commissioned him to create a soundtrack as well as design and operate the audio system.
"With Nitro Circus we were able to build the show from scratch, trying to retain elements from the television show whilst creating an exciting live show," said Gorga. "It's sort of scripted but can be very unpredictable."
For the outdoor Nitro Circus Live shows Gorga opted for a JBL VerTec PA system gro
Czech Republic - The next Showlight - the international conference organised by and for lighting professionals - is to be held in the Czech Republic town of ?eský Krumlov on 18-21 May 2013.
The town's 13th century Gothic castle with its connected theatre and conference centre will be the main venue for the presentations and exhibition. All delegates are able to stay within the pedestrianised town; vehicle access is deliberately restricted in order to retain the medieval feel of the UNESCO Heritage site.
Showlight's organising committee chairman, Ian Dow, says, "The decision to take the four day event to the town was taken after visiting a number of different potential areas, and it was the intimate feel and stunning backdrop of ?eský Krumlov that won us over.
"Showlight offers a unique opportunity to listen to and consider the experiences of lighting professional
Chile - Six Robert Juliat followspots were chosen to highlight the 52nd Viña del Mar International Song Festival in Chile, one of the the most important music festivals in Latin America.
Orbita Producciones of Santiago purchased four RJ Aramis 4.5°-8° 2500W HMI followspots and two RJ Flo 13°-24° 1800W MSR followspots especially for the event from Robert Juliat distributor, Lighting Bits of Brazil.
The Festival, which features a pop and folk song competition alongside international performances, was televised for the first time by Chilean TV channel Chilevision. It culminated in a commemorative concert timed to coincide with the precise moment a 8.8-magnitude earthquake hit Chile a year ago causing chaos and forcing the cancellation of the Festival in 2010.
Headline acts for the reinstated Festival of 2011 included Roberto Carlos of Brazil, Alejando Sanz of S
UK - TOA Europe is showing a host of mixing and audio product innovations for the first time in the UK at PLASA Focus: Leesds 2011.
"Fresh from exhibiting at ProLight+Sound, Plasa Focus: Leeds 2011 is the type of event that audio technicians and specialists attend to find out more about the latest audio innovations for current and upcoming projects. TOA is be there in force to answer their every need or question related to audio-mixing," says Brett Downing, sales and marketing director at TOA Europe.
First in line is TOA's M-633D digital mixer, which is designed for handling demanding acoustic commercial spaces producing clear, intelligible and distortion-free audio. It's simple to use even by the most unskilled operator, says the company.
It has an Automatic Resonance Control function that identifies room mode frequencies and applies an inverse response curve to t
UK - Delegates from the National Skills Academy for Creative & Cultural have just returned from two days in Leeds' Royal Armouries. They were attending the annual Focus event run by Skills Academy Industry Member PLASA.
This free exhibition of some of the most up-to-date lighting and sound technology in the world provided an excellent opportunity to explore the knowledge and skills required to make a career in technical theatre and live music. It was attended by students, young people and the generally interested - as well as industry professionals.
Also exhibiting were Skills Academy Industry Members Stage Technologies, White Light, BECTU (the Media & Entertainment Union) and the Association of British Theatre Technicians (ABTT). During the course of the two-day event, the Skills Academy also welcomed two new technical service provider Industry Members: the Production Service
USA - The next PLASA Control Protocols Plugfest will take place 22-24 July at the DFW Marriott Solana in Westlake, Texas. The event brings colleagues and competitors together to further the industry by testing the limits of control protocols and working out the bugs they encounter. Everyone is welcome to attend.
Plugfest began in January 2009 as part of the ESTA (now PLASA) Technical Standards Programme by members of various Control Protocols Task Groups represent a variety of manufacturers. Twice a year, when they are all in the same place at the same time, they bring controllers, lights, analyzers, and various other tools and devices, and connect them all through a network to look for and resolve problems. People attend from all around the world in an effort to improve their products.
Plugfest was originally created to support the Remote Device Management protocol (ANSI E1.2
UK - Packed aisles and major new product launches firmly established PLASA Focus as an unmissable industry event for the north of England. Some 1956 visitors, representing a 9% increase in the total number of attendees in 2010, headed to the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds last week to see 130 brands launch dozens of new products to the UK market. A total of 2457 attendees, including exhibitors, enjoyed Focus's trademark sunshine, free lunch and informal, friendly atmosphere.
Among a lengthy list of new products receiving their UK launch were the Chroma-Q Studio Force and Jands Vista V2, both launched by AC Entertainment Technologies; a new generation of moving heads from Robe; Avolites' Sapphire Touch and a preview of its Titan V5 software; the Wave 28 all-in-one modular PA from Adam Hall; Christie's new Nitro Solutions range of motorised moving yokes; the new Showtec luminaire
UK - Point Source Productions' presence at the 50th ABTT show will mark the fourth consecutive year of exhibiting for the company, and the first year as a member of the ABTT ISG (Industry Supporter Group).
"ABTT is our favourite show as it gives us the opportunity to meet our customers face to face across every facet of the Entertainment industry. It's a relaxed yet professional environment in which to talk through their project requirements and the services Point Source Productions can provide for them," says MD Stephen Capel.
Point Source Productions will be promoting its full range of Event Services which range from the supply of a single piece of equipment to full turnkey solutions. The past year has seen Point Source Productions involved in events such as the Chatsworth Attic Sale for Sotheby's, screenings of Lawrence of Arabia and Blade Runner for