Germany / Italy - FBT, the Italian professional audio company, announced a spread of new products at ProLight+Sound.

The Evo2MaxX speaker series is a range of active and passive speakers and subwoofer that offer durability, portability, excellent performance and value for money.

The EVO2MaxX builds on the strengths of the original EvoMaxX range and features all-new DSP (Digital Sound Processing) with four new factory pre-sets for a more engaging and faithful reproduction, no matter how or where the system is being used. Bass response is also improved at higher volumes with increased SPL (Sound Pressure Level) thanks to new bi-amped high-efficiency drivers and powerful Class D amplifiers, all enclosed in sturdy yet lightweight polypropylene cabinets.

The new EVO2MaxX range consists of seven models - 3 x 2-way active speakers all featuring 400W + 100W amplification (Evo2MaxX 6

USA - Two new sessions have been added to the PLASA Focus: Orlando 2013 Professional Development Programme, a two-day programme of free educational seminars and workshops running alongside PLASA Focus: Orlando 2013, taking place at the Wyndham Orlando Resort, on 15-16 May 2013.

Sound engineer and designer Wayne Trevisani will present Music Mixing for Live Performance on Thursday, 16 May at 1pm. Wayne has mixed Front of House for a number of music legends including Jay-Z, Kanye West, Dolly Parton and John Hiatt. In this session he will give his advice on how to build a successful career as an audio engineer, as well as telling some of his own road stories which will are sure to be of interest to both the aspiring audio engineer and the experienced working professional.

On Wednesday, 15 May at 11am, a panel of representatives from the Stagecraft Institute of Las Vegas (SI

UK - Audio-Technica has revealed exciting plans for PLASA Focus, taking place at Leeds Royal Armouries between 30 April - 1 May. Featuring a brace of Allen & Heath GLD digital mixing desks, the Audio-Technica stand will give visitors the unique opportunity to mix a 35 channel live acoustic performance by UK rockers Deaf Havana, recorded at London's Union Chapel in April.

The band's sold-out unplugged UK tour was mixed by front of house engineer Ben Hammond using an Allen & Heath iLive system and full complement of Audio-Technica microphones.

A competition running throughout PLASA Focus will see the winner collecting their choice of Audio-Technica or Allen & Heath products to the value of £500. Visitors will get the chance to record their mix of a Deaf Havana song from the Union Chapel set, with entries being judged by Hammond and band frontman James Veck-Gilodi.

In add

UK - The ABTT will once again be exhibiting at next week's PLASA Focus, taking place Tuesday 30 April - Wednesday 1 May, at the Royal Armouries, Leeds, as well as participating in its Professional Development Programme.

Are You Competent: Can You Prove It? forms part of a continuous series of seminars the ABTT is presenting during 2013, aimed at working technicians in the theatre sector, looking to benefit from having their vocational competence assessed.

Since qualifications do not necessarily confirm competence, this seminar will look at what competence means, how it relates to training & assessment and how you can be sure that you can prove you are competent.

Ric Green, Opera North's operations and technical director now joins the panel, alongside the ABTT's associate executive officer Robin Townley and Chris Higgs of Total Training Ltd.

The seminar takes place i

Slovakia - The Gothic Cathedral of St Elizabeth in Košice became the glowing centrepiece of the city's Opening Ceremony celebrations for its year as European Capital of Culture in a spectacular lighting scheme featuring Robe and Anolis LED fixtures.

The overall OC event lasted two days with over 1000 artists performing in 70 different locations in and around the city. The Cathedral - the largest in Slovakia - was lit for the entire time, providing a jaw-dropping backdrop for the finale of the OC.

The idea of illuminating elements of the Cathedral first came from Branislav Bernár from Showmedia, the company commissioned to produce the OC. They in turn approached Anolis's Czech based Brand Manager, Petr Kolma?ka to assist in developing the concept.

Kolma?ka took these initial ideas and augmented them with plans to highlight the whole Cathedral exterior in a 'monumental' ener

UK - The introduction of the X-5 LED strobes from Peter Johansen's SGM provided all the inspiration necessary for multi-award winning production designer, LeRoy Bennett, to specify no fewer than 470 pieces for Beyoncé's The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour.

The low-profile, lightweight X-5 is designed to deliver the same output as conventional strobes from one fifth of the power. Housing 2,970 LED's, power consumption of 360W with lamp life of 50,000 hours, contained in a slim aluminium chassis, it is designed into three cells - to boost creativity.

These attributes had been brought to LeRoy's attention by one of his partners, programmer Cory FitzGerald, and Randy Wade, who heads up SGM Inc, based in Houston, Texas. And so the designer decided to specify them for the first time.

"I was impressed by the combination of power consumption, brightness and rugged des

Olympic Honours - The London 2012 Olympic Games have taken three awards at this year's British Academy of Film and Television Arts Craft Awards. The Olympics opening ceremony picked up a best director award while Super Saturday - when team GB scooped six gold medals - won for best sound. The Paralympics, broadcast on Channel Four, took best digital creativity.

Hamish Hamilton who directed the TV broadcasts of the London 2012 opening and closing ceremonies, was also honoured on the night with a special award in recognition of his "outstanding creative contribution to the industry and his extensive work and accomplishments in his field".

In The Ring - A stage musical based on the hit film Rocky is to open on Broadway. Sylvester Stallone, who starred in and wrote the script for the Oscar-winning 1976 film, is co-producing the theatre version, which will open at t

UK - XL Video supplied LED screens, cameras, Hippotizer media servers and control for the high profile London show by chart-topping and Grammy Award winning New York based indie pop band, Fun.

The video and lighting design was by Paul Normandale. He was approached by management and asked to come up with an inventive concept specifically for the sold-out Hammersmith Apollo show on the band's latest UK tour. Once again, he teamed up with XL Video to help make this happen, working closely with XL's Project Manager, Gareth Jeanne.

The video design was based on a poster of the band. Normandale wanted everyone in the room to be able to see a bigger picture rather than those at the front being bombarded just by a load of fragmented pixels ... and this informed his choice of LED surface.

He collaborated with Cincinnati based design studio Lightbourne who produced the video playback

India - Since 2010, Sound.com has been at the forefront of some of the biggest sporting and entertainment events in India.

Therefore, when the company embarked, at the beginning of the new financial year with the opening ceremonies for Indian Premier League, the world-leading Twenty20 cricket championship, they were confident they could put on an audio spectacle to match similar ceremonies, starting with the Commonwealth Games 2010, The National Games in Ranchi and the Oman Tattoo in Muscat.

The multi-purpose Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata was chosen to host the opening ceremony of the cricketing franchise this year with the inauguration promising to be one of the most spectacular events ever witnessed. Built in 1984, the stadium is the largest in India and the second largest in the world with a capacity of 120,000. With its astroturf surface the facility primarily caters to foo

Germany - A record-breaking 113,000 visitors from 142 countries attended this year's Musikmesse and Prolight+Sound expos in Frankfurt. This statistic spelt success not only for the show but also for Christie, who returned to Hall 9 as exhibitors in their own right after a break last year.

Pride of place went to the Nitro moving yoke series. The company welcomed existing and new customers to hourly presentations given by Christie field application engineer, Jan Walter, in which he compared a Christie YK100 single arm projection yoke (specifically designed for Christie M Series and Christie LX1500 projectors) to a standard moving light.

A further eye-catcher was Christie's 10m wide projection mapping demonstration, using five Roadster HD20K-J. With the growing popularity of 3D mapping, this attracted much attention and demonstrated the value of this high brightness projector, wi

Germany - GLP German Light Products launched a number of new products at the recent PLS exhibition in Frankfurt, along with treating visitors to a sneak preview of some upcoming product releases.

Reporting a busy attendance from all four days, distributors and customers alike gave a great response to the new showings, in what was definitely an upbeat environment.

Getting its official launch at the show was the Impression X4S fixture, which is the 'small' version of the Impression X4. Featuring the same 15 Watt RGBW LED's that are used in the Impression X4 - just seven instead of 19, it has the same homogenous output, the same stunning 7 to 50 degree zoom range and the same pixel pattern capability, but all in a smaller body which is just 12 inches high and weighs just 12 lbs. It offers all the things you have always wanted in a small moving LED washlight, but could never get i

UK - PLASA Focus Leeds starts today, with a great seminar programme lined up for visitors over both days. Among a busy programme of pro audio sessions, tomorrow sees a presentation by Focusrite Audio Engineering, looking at their RedNet flexible recording platform.

For years the Dante Ethernet-based system has been used to provide a low latency, high-channel count audio transportation system for live sound reinforcement. Now Focusrite's RedNet system brings this rock-solid technology to the recording world, with high-quality digital conversion and state-of-the-art remote-controlled microphone preamplifiers. Long analogue multicore cables become a thing of the past, vastly reducing the cost and weight, whilst increasing the audio quality and flexibility of a location recording setup. This workshop covers the possible workflows and benefits of working with a RedNet digital audio s

USA - On 17 March, Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, California, celebrated the ministry's 40th anniversary by hosting a weekend event titled ReEnvision. The weekend was intended to reflect on how Harvest grew from a small church into one of America's mega-churches with one of the largest evangelical outreaches in America and the world, Harvest America.

Harvest lighting designer and programmer Christopher Eguizabal was tasked with lighting the event, as well as a special dinner for Harvest guests and staff to be aired on television. The lighting rig therefore needed to look good for both the live audience and on camera.

Eguizabal decided to go with Martin's MAC Aura wash light, which he used to key light the audience as well as wash the audience in an array of colors throughout the evening.

"I have always loved the products that Martin has put out

UK - The opening day of PLASA Focus: Leeds 2013 was tremendously busy, with packed aisles, full seminars, and dozens of new products to see on the show floor.

Here are 10 reasons to join us today:

* Audio legend Tony Andrews delivers his Keynote Speech What is Good Audio?

* Martin Audio debuts the MLA Mini

* Ambersphere presents Clay Paky and the Laws of Physics

* Award winning sound designer Gareth Fry gives his seminar Creative Manipulation of Sound

* d&b audiotechnik tell you Why Size Matters

* The ABTT discuss qualifications and competence in the technical theatre sector

* Jon Burton presents How to Soundcheck

* Focusrite deliver their workshop for recording engineers

* Lunch is on us!

* Registration is free on arrival

With all of this on offer and more, PLASA Focus: Leeds 2013 is a show you simply cannot afford to mis

Sweden - There is less than one month to go before the start of the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest (14, 16 and 18 May), the most prestigious annual event for the European music industry and the most watched live TV broadcast in Europe. The organizers have planned a show in Malmö on 7 and 8 May 2013 to present the event to the industry and the international press. This unmissable date will also feature an exclusive 'backstage tour' that illustrates the cutting-edge technology that will be used during the contest, along with some workshops where the various technical partners will present the solutions they have provided for the event.

The figures involved in the 'final' of the international European contest are awesome, as always: 24 km of signal cable, 1283 lighting fixtures, 600 rigging points, 3500m of truss, 14 hippotizers, 40 km of power cable, four graphic designers, two lig

UAE - Sennheiser Group reports the use of its newly launched Digital 9000 wireless system at the recent Bruno Mars and Paloma Faith concert held at the Dubai Media City Amphitheatre on 12 April 2013.

The Digital 9000 is the result of the largest R&D project in the company's history and this event marked the first time that the revolutionary system was used for a live concert in the Middle East. In addition, a number of Sennheiser's wireless systems, microphones and in-ear monitors were used at the concert, as per the technical rider outlined by the production teams of both the performers.

Mig Cardamone, sales and marketing manager at Sennheiser Middle East commented, "Bruno Mars' appearance in Dubai has been a widely anticipated event given the singer's immense popularity. Delta Sound, who provided the equipment rental for the show, were commissioned to ensuring the very

Mexico - Legendary LD Jonathan Smeeton was at the sound:check Xpo in Mexico City to 'present and be presented'. On the 'present' part, Smeeton gave a lighting seminar sponsored by Elation Professional to a standing room-only crowd at the large Mexican show. Later, he was presented with sound:check's 2013 Technical Achievement Award for lighting.

"This was the 12th of the sound:check Xpo Awards. It's the only event in México where engineers from the show business industry are awarded for their professional achievements in different segments such as audio, video, lighting, staging," said Jorge Urbano, CEO of sound:check Magazine. "Jonathan Smeeton was chosen because of his long professional career inside the lighting industry and because he still been in force designing for today top artists... Jonathan is a nice example for everyone in the show busine

UK - ETC is showing a range of new and updated products at this week's PLASA Focus in Leeds:

The Source Four LED Studio HD is designed to perform in a high definition production world where people (with varying flesh tones) need to look their best. The fixture combines exceptional light output with an ultra-flexible, variable white light (2700K-6500K), for more accurate colour rendition on camera, and uses the colour technology of ETC's Selador x7 Color System for a more spectrally complete white light that can be finely tuned to the on screen talent.

Source Four Mini is the tiniest Source Four ever, and is designed for small-scale installations, like low ceiling venues or puppet theatres, as well as museums, shops, theatre lobbies and restaurants, or those which need an extremely low-profile fixture that can easily blend into an architectural or artistic design.

The new ES1

USA - For the eighth year in a row, CAST Software has sponsored the USITT (United States Institute for Theatre Technology) Southwest Student Design Competition, an annual event which recognises young talent in the categories of Lighting, Sound, Set and Costume Design, Stage Management and Scenic Technology.

Each year, CAST bestows the winner of the Lighting Design category with an educational wysiwyg license, and announces that this year's winner is University of Oklahoma student, Leahe Knott, who scooped the prize for her work on Peter Oswald's translation of Friedrich Schiller's play, Mary Stuart. In a review of the production for the University's Routes website, Laurel Dix noted, "The purity and subtlety of Leahe Knott's lighting draws out each brilliant bit of colour from Lloyd Cracknell's sumptuous costumes."

Knott herself explains: "The story of Mar

UK - Building on an unparalleled figure of pre-registrations, PLASA Events welcomed a record number of visitors at the Royal Armouries last week as PLASA Focus: Leeds 2013 opened its doors for two days of unique access to the newest and most innovative products on the market.

As the sun came out in Leeds, visitor numbers broke all previous records, hitting a total of 2376 over the two days - an increase of nearly 12% on 2012 - demonstrating once again the size, strength and enthusiasm of the entertainment technology community in the north of England.

Amongst the many companies unveiling new products to the UK were Martin Professional, showing the first luminaire from RUSH, their new effects lighting product range, and White Light presented the latest CORE Lighting ColourPoint LED uplighter, whilst Artistic Licence premiered their new range of smart modular dimmers, sunDial alo

UK - PLASA returns to 195 Piccadilly - the iconic home of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) - on Thursday 30 May for its 2013 European AGM. Over 200 members and guests are anticipated at the event, which will include a review of the achievements of the last 12 months and an outline of PLASA's aims for future development.

The AGM is of great significance to the Association and the ideal occasion for every member to ensure that his or her voice is heard. It is this feedback that enables PLASA to react positively to the changes and challenges that members face in order to act effectively on their behalf.

Important decisions were made through 2012 to support and safeguard PLASA's future including moving the PLASA Show to Excel London, investing in new software which will provide members with new self-service features and enable much easier participation in As

UK - PLASA Focus: Leeds saw the first UK outing of ArrayCalc V7 from d&b audiotechnik, arguably the most useful addition to audio mapping yet. Enabling the acoustic simulation of d&b line arrays with point source loudspeakers and an export function to the d&b R1 Remote control software; ArrayCalc V7 now simplifies the process for those planning sound system design, creating remote control workspaces and configuring d&b amplifiers.

Meanwhile full houses in the Bury Theatre saw lively sessions from Oran Burns and Steve Jones as they addressed the thought processes that lie behind the choice of loudspeaker for a given task. Oran's Demystifying Audio Techniques allowed the attendees to gain a better understanding of what constitutes a well behaved loudspeaker and how it affects what the listener hears, whilst Steve continued the theme by exploring further the relationship bet

USA - With less than two weeks until the doors open at PLASA Focus: Orlando 2013, taking place at the Wyndham Orlando Resort, on 15-16 May, 2013, exhibitors have been busy releasing details about the products they will have on display at their booths.

Robe Lighting will introduce four new additions to the Robin Series; the Robin Pointe, Robin MiniMe, Robin Cyclone and Robin CycFX. The Robin Pointe is a new dynamic beam, spot and wash fixture which features include a 5 to 20 degree zoom with full focus control, variable frost, two separate prism effects, a rotating and static gobo wheel, and built-in color wheel. The RobinMiniMe is an effects lighting luminaire with the addition of full video output, driven by a 20,000 hour lifetime source. The Robin Cyclone is an innovative effects moving head product that has an integrated fan in the center of the head surrounded by a ri

USA - Visitors to PLASA Focus Orlando will be the first in the US to get an up-close look at the newest members of Martin Professional's award-winning MAC Viper Family, as well as the first fixtures in Martin's all-new range of affordable effect lights - RUSH.

Join Martin May 15-16 at the Wyndham Orlando Resort Booth 321 to check out these latest Martin innovations, network with industry professionals and enjoy a relaxing chat with Martin personnel.

A host of other Martin lighting products and control solutions will also be on display.

(Jim Evans)

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