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14 December 2016

Commenting on the outcome of the meeting WSG's Alan March said, "Europe's creators of content are a global success story that rely heavily on ultra-high frequencies (UHF spectrum). Some of these frequencies have been promised to the mobile sector [the 700 MHz Band], but European content creation and distribution, along with associated jobs are at risk without a fair and sustainable transition plan, coherent with the introduction of technologies for an improved TV experience.

"Some Member States will need until the end of 2022 to achieve the transition out of 700MHz - and long term guarantees for the

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14 December 2016

The official NELC launch took place on Thursday 3 March at the International Live Music Conference Production Meeting at the Copthorne Hotel, Kensington, London, with PLASA's NRC Manager Paul Riddiford introducing the new certification scheme to those present.

NELC has been created to meet the needs of those who already work in the industry in disciplines other than Rigging, such as Lighting, Sound, Video or Scenery etc, who are called upon to carry out occasional Rigging tasks including lifting operations as part of their duties. It is also suitable for individuals wishing to be assessed for their skills within Rigging, without undertakin

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14 December 2016

"We need an emphasis on diversity in its widest sense, across barriers of race, diversity and socio-economic disadvantage. We need greater diversity because it will create a just, fair and strong society and because a society that's equipped for the future makes use of all of its talent, wherever it emerges."

He credited the Creative Employment Programme, a £15 million fund delivered by the National Skills Academy to support the creation of traineeships, forma

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14 December 2016

Adrian is based at Hawthorn's headquarters in Old Dalby, Leicestershire, and has been appointed to head up the company's seven day a week hire service. Working together with Hawthorn's head of hire, David Slater, Adrian will ensure the smooth running of the operation, identifying opportunities for continuous improvement and development, in line with Hawthorn's commitment to delivering an excellent customer experience.

Adrian joins Hawthorn at an exciting time for the hire service which has recently seen significant growth in commissions to supply equipment to the touring productions. Hawthorn has recently worked with renowned lighting designers, Mark Henderson on the Mark Knopfl

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14 December 2016

The venue - one of the most respected and important receiving and co-producing dance houses in the world - recently underwent a major refurbishment, as detailed in the June 2015 issue of LSi.

Emma Wilson and Christian Wallace from Sadler's Wells, plus the specialist teams from Stage Electrics, Stage Technologies, Carr and Angier and GDS led the tours from the impressive auditorium up to the dizzying heights of the grid and flying system. Members then reconvened for a lively networking lunch before taking the opportunity to further explore areas of specific interest. The busy and insightful day finished with tea and cake.

Look out for details of the next PLASA B

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14 December 2016

"Prolyte started to translocate all its manufacturing facilities to Romania as part of a long-term plan in 2010. The commissioning of the new factory is the final and most important phase of this plan, consolidating all its European manufacturing capacity into a 5.000sq.m facility, with scope to expand to 16.000sq.m," the company says.

The new production facility features brand new automated production equipment, new welding jigs and state-of-the-art product lines. In addition, the building contains industry-leading employee welfare

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14 December 2016

An experienced business leader with a deep history and passion for pro audio, Dom's remit will be to build on the success of the Martin Audio brand and help grow this success across multiple markets worldwide.

Dom has an impressive CV for someone still relatively young, with multiple pro audio roles including serving as both Director of R&D as well as Sales Director with Turbosound before joining Harman's Mixer Group with several roles including Global Sales Director/VP for Harman's Mixer BU.

"Pro audio has been my entire professional career having worked for some of the best known pro audio brands alongside a number of prestigious installations, one off events and tours", said Dom.

"It is an honour to lead the Martin Audio team", he continued. "It is a brand of tremendous pedigr

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14 December 2016

ANSI E1.46 - 2016, Standard for the Prevention of Falls from Theatrical Stages and Raised Performance Platforms

The users of theatrical stages and raised platforms can suffer debilitating injuries from falls into orchestra pits, open stage lifts, and similar openings in stage floors. Health and safety regulations require action to prevent these falls by employees, but offer little guidance that is suitable for theatrical environments. This document provi

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14 December 2016

Control Protocols Working Group

BSR E1.33, Entertainment Technology - (RDMnet) - Message Transport and Device Management of ANSI E1.20 (RDM) over IP Networks

This standard describes a method of implementing ANSI E1.20 Remote Device Management messaging over an IPv4 network. The primary anticipated use of the standard would be to complement ANSI E1.31 on an IPv4 entertainment lighting control network. This project was originally described as offering extensions to E1.31, but in fact the messages work alongside E1.31 in the s

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14 December 2016

Songs In The Key Of Life features hits like I Wish, Pastime Paradise and As, and won a Grammy for album of the year. Wonder has been playing it to rave reviews in America since 2014. Rolling Stone called it "free-spirited, triumphant and huge," while The New York Times described the three-hour show as "a journey of jubilation". Wonder's 30-piece touring band features his first daughter Aisha, who inspired the opening track of the album's second disc, Isn't She Lovely.

Spaced Out - Veteran French co

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14 December 2016

Located at the gateway to the university, the new $82m arts centre - designed by architect Pfeiffer Partners in collaboration with Theatre Projects, acoustician Nagata Acoustics, and AV consultant Sonitus - gives Chapman University a characteristic architectural icon designed to meet the needs of their award-winning Conservatory of Music, and the Departments of Music and Theatre.

The building features the 1,044-seat Julianne Argyros Orchestra Hall, a remarkable and versatile multipurpose theatre. Theatre Projects worked with the design team to create an intimate auditorium - with a mezzanine, side boxes, and two levels of b

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14 December 2016

Brian Dowd, vice president of sales for A.C.T Lighting, presented a cheque for $5,000 to members of the Behind the Scenes Foundation Board of Directors stating, "A.C.T is committed to supporting Behind the Scenes. We are honoured to participate and assist in the fantastic support they provide."

Rick Rudolph, chair of the Behind the Scenes Foundation, accepted the cheque, saying, "I was thrilled to have A.C.T join the Pledge-a-Product programme last year during USITT. Today, that commitment to Behind the Scenes became dollars for the charity and I hope that dot2 programmers realize that Behind the Scenes is there for technicians in need due to serious illness or i

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14 December 2016

Adele now joins Muse and Coldplay at the top of the bill when the festival takes place in June. "What a great honour it is to have the wonderful Adele confirmed for this year's Saturday night headline spot!" said festival organiser Emily Eavis. This year's Glastonbury festival takes place in Somerset from 22-26 June. Jeff Lynne's ELO have been announced for the Sunday afternoon "legends" slot. The festival opening act will be Manchester's James.

As You Like It - Shakespeare's Globe has reported record income of £23m in 20

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14 December 2016

Says the Trust, "We are pleased that the Culture White Paper recognises the absolute importance of the arts and culture in people's lives - in education and the economy; within local communities and internationally. Whilst the ambition of the White Paper shares much with Jennie Lee's paper of 50 years ago, in our own 40th Anniversary year we agree that the economic challenges faced today are very different.

"So we welcome initiatives to promote the role of culture in place making through the new Great Place scheme; improve access to the arts through the new Cultural Citizens programme; and support the development of the historic built environment through the establishment of new Heritage Action Zones.

"We look forward to playing a full and active role in th

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14 December 2016

Festivities led off with the traditional kazoo parade led by Bill Sapsis and many of the LRLR. Following the parade, students representing the USITT Chapter at Penn State University made their annual presentation of proceeds from their ongoing fundraising activities and Pledge-a-Product partners A.C.T Lighting (dot2

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14 December 2016

Founded in 2006, DWR has built a reputation in the South African market for supplying predominantly lighting products. The company has grown rapidly adopting a work ethic with a motto of "it's all about the people", which ties in with DiGiCo's own philosophy. DWR provides a complete service from concept through to installation and commissioning, but more importantly great after sales service, all from a highly motivated and experienced team. As a result, it has an impressive list of brands in its portfolio.

"I was truly honored to receive a phone call from Ian Staddon from DiGiCo, who was on the search for a new representative for his product in South Africa," said Duncan Riley of DWR. "I am really excited about this, and so is the whol

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14 December 2016

Everyone is familiar with that feeling: when the cable doesn't quite reach to the light, or the speaker, or the video projector. Not by much, but by just enough that, after a vain tug or two in the hope that some slack will mysteriously appear, you have to interrupt what you're doing to go find an extension cable. Which will always be too long, and so have to be tidied away on the bar or truss.

Now, combining the twin goals of providing creative solutions backed by technical excellence that has driven the company throughout its history, specialist entertainment technology supplier WL has created a solution: StretchCable.

The result of a top secret, highly intensive research project begun exactly one year ago today, Stretc

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14 December 2016

The team behind Figure of Eight Events Ltd has had roles in many major music events such as Glastonbury and iTunes Festival with involvements in a wide range of similar high profile public events such as the Olympic Games and Formula 1, both at home and abroad.

The company provides technical services and support for events, including the supply of power, sound and lighting systems, in addition to staging, rigging and set design.

As part of a continual development in its quality control and compliance procedures, Figure of Eight Events has recently equipped itself with a Seaward Apollo 600 appliance tester to verify the safe operation of all el

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14 December 2016

Peter brings with him a wealth of industry knowledge and hands-on sales and management experience. He joins PLASA from Roland Corporation, where he worked in various senior roles for nearly 20 years, making a substantial contribution to the sustained growth of its UK music division, where he became sales director in 2009.

In 2006 he set up Roland UK's Pro Audio division, which later became Roland Pro AV after merging with Edirol Video products. He developed his role and in 2012 became pro AV sales and marketing director in the UK. In 2014 he Joined Roland Europe Group as head of Pro AV for Europe. Peter has also worked closely with the Music Industries Association (MIA) and, thro

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14 December 2016

During the website redesign Baldwin Boxall insisted that there must be no loss of content as the company has always been keen to ensure that it is as informative as possible. To give you an idea of size, the site itself consists of well over 100 pages and contains over 200 items of downloadable content. In addition there is a project profile area, a news blog, customer log-in area and staff news blog.

Despite its size, the website is straight-forward to navigate, with plenty of interesting content, and includes a n

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14 December 2016

Royal Moves - The 2017 Olivier Awards will be held at the Royal Albert Hall, marking a departure from the Royal Opera House after five years. The ceremony has been held at the 2,256-seat ROH since 2012 but could more than double the size of its live audience when it moves t

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14 December 2016

BSR E1.28 - 2011 (R201x), Guidance on planning followspot positions in places of public assembly (a reaffirmation)

From the Followspot Position Working Group, E1.28 offers guidance on the planning of permanent followspot positions, including recommendations on the locations of the followspot positions within the venue, the power likely to be needed, the waste heat generated, the amount of space likely to be needed, and the fall protection and egress issues to be considered for the followspot op

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14 December 2016

BSR E1.40, Recommendations for the Planning of Theatrical Dust Effects

The standard is being revised primarily to address deflagration of dust. Other changes include a generalized grouping of types of dusts, editorial changes, and changes to references to Material Safety Data Sheets, which have been replaced by Safety Data Sheets. This is a project of the Fog & Smoke Working Group.

BSR E1.41, Recommendations for the Measurement of Entertainment Luminaires Utilizing Solid State Light Sources

This standard is being opened for revision to specify that the Fidelity Index (Rf) rating as defined in IES

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14 December 2016

GAS worked closely with Tameside Council, choreographer Stacey Maurice who directed almost 200 dancers for the performance and creative producers Stone Soup who led the multi partnership project.

The opening event attracted over 10,000 people to celebrate the rebirth of this iconic piece of English history. The large brick Italianate building fell out of use 40 years ago and was on the at English Heritage at risk register but until funding of £3 million from Tameside Council, Heritage Lottery Fun