UK - A new government-led initiative to help the UK's Creative Industries sector brings together key players to discuss how to best meet the opportunities and threats that rapid technological developments is creating for the sector. The Creative Industries Forum, which had its first meeting in July, is jointly chaired by Arts Minister Estelle Morris and Science and Innovation Minister Lord Sainsbury.

The 'Creative Industries' broadly includes those involved in film, music and the performing arts. The forum will address key issues such maximizing opportunities in a digital environment, business models, education and awareness raising, and challenges such as file-sharing and piracy.

To co-incide with the launch of the Creative Industries Forum on Intellectual Property, Creative London is announcing a free IP service to ensure London's creative community actually profits from its innov

Germany - After its success in Hamburg, the ABBA musical Mamma Mia! is now being performed in the Palladium Theater in Stuttgart, also since 18 July, Stage Holding will be presenting the musical in Schwaben as well.

Björn Ulvaeus from ABBA explained: " We are absolutely enthusiastic about the success we have with Mamma Mia! in Germany. Although we always knew that we have a lot of fans here in Germany, we did not expect such euphoria for our music. With the new show in Stuttgart we would like to thank all our fans and those who are still waiting to get a ticket - Mamma Mia! at two locations in Germany is our biggest challenge."

Working with only a few stage settings Howard Harrison's lighting has an important function - and features more than 100 Rainbow colour changers, ETC Source Four fixtures and Vari-Lite moving heads. A grandMA lighting c

UK - The Association of British Theatre Technicians (ABTT) is sponsoring (and thoroughly recommends) one of the key workshops at this year's PLASA Show (12-15 September, Earls Court 1, London). Presented by Chris Higgs of Total Fabrications who will be leading on from last year's seminar about slinging trusses, this hands-on session will deal with how proprietary equipment can and should be used to create suspension points on an existing structure.

Higgs is a nominee for the forthcoming ABTT Council elections. An experienced speaker on rigging, he founded Trapeze Rigging in 1989, providing rigging services throughout the UK and Europe. In the mid 90s, he started to provide rigging training, the course notes subsequently growing into some of the most respected books on the subject. Since joining Total Fabrications Ltd in 1998, he has devoted the majority of his time to training r

UK - Hebden Sound was originally created by Keith Ming in 1994 from the foundations of Calrec Audio, a name once synonymous with high-end microphone production and a long-standing tradition for producing high quality microphones aimed at the professional audio market.

Calrec had made the decision to concentrate on the development of its mixing console business leaving a gap in the market, which Ming sought to fill. Under a licensing agreement with Calrec he continued to build the microphones as Hebden Sound.

Sadly he passed away in 2000 and the company became available to interested parties and was ultimately taken over by the former head of microphones at Calrec Audio, David Anderson, an acoustic consultant with a wealth of experience and a long standing reputation for his meticulous approach. He decided to further develop Hebden Sound by re-working the package significantly.

UK - Spirit Design Limited has appointed James Hamilton to its design team. Hamilton, who has been living abroad for the past two years, joins the company as a lighting designer. After graduating from Croydon College School Of Art, he was employed at Midnight Design for a number of years, and then worked freelance as an LD for two years before going to the Far East, where he hosted discussions on lighting design in Kuala Lumpur for a performing arts seminar, and worked with Chameleon Touring Systems in Sydney, Australia where he worked on the Rugby World Cup opening ceremony, amongst other events.

(Lee Baldock)

USA - At the forthcoming AES exhibition in San Francisco, the APRS (the Association of Professional Recording Services), in collaboration with British Consul General in San Francisco Martin Uden, will be holding a reception at the British Consulate on the evening before the show opens, Wednesday 27 October, at 6.00pm. The idea behind the reception, say APRS, is for exhibiting companies to identify key customers they expect to visit them during the show and invite them to enjoy some British hospitality and to mix with friends and colleagues from the UK industry. In addition to key clients and potential new customers, the APRS will be inviting many familiar industry faces based in the USA, including well-known producers and engineers, to the reception.

Due to space limitations, numbers are limited to a total of 80 guests, so tickets will be issued on a first come, first served bas

UK - ShowCAD will again be exhibiting at PLASA, demonstrating new features of its Artist show control system. Artist is now linked with Cast Lighting as a Registered WYSIWYG Developer, enabling users to program/visualize lighting plots virtually using their WYSIWYG software. ShowCAD has also linked up with Pathway Connectivity to utilize the Pathport Ethernet DMX distribution system. This powerful system is also ACN-ready, and gives Artist up to 32,000 DMX channel capability.

Automaton is a new product - ShowCAD's long awaited low-cost stand-alone show controller which can be programmed from a computer on or off-site using a web browser, and will then replay the programmed shows without the need of a host computer. ShowCAD will also be demonstrating how to integrate Artist with IP commands, as well as the standard MIDI, RS232, and digital connections. Also, the company reports,

USA - Loud Technologies Inc has announced a cross-licensing agreement with Echo Digital Audio, which will see Loud Technologies license FireWire audio technology from Echo, while Echo licenses Mackie-branded application and plug-in products from Loud. "This partnership leverages each company's strengths," commented Tony Rodrigues, business development manger at Loud. "Echo is a recognized leader in the development of high-quality audio devices for computer-based audio workstations. Combining their expertise with Mackie's exceptional analogue and digital audio technologies will result in a new generation of high-performance audio I/O products that will bring a host of innovative features and capabilities to the desktop and professional recording markets."

As part of this agreement, Echo will begin bundling Mackie-branded software products with their PCI and F

UK - The Product Excellence Awards at the PLASA Show has been a popular feature of the event for many years, highlighting the significance of the show as a focus for new developments for the industry. To reinforce this role, the PLASA Awards have undergone an important change for the 2004 event (12-15 September), in order to focus on genuine innovation.

For the re-branded PLASA Awards for Innovation, the judges will be looking for products which advance the industry, demonstrate a new style of thinking, represent a key step forward in safety terms, or improve technical practices. There will be eight Awards for Innovation at the judges' disposal and currently over 60 nominations have been received, with just three weeks before the deadline of Friday 3 September. Exhibitors who still wish to nominate a product are urged to submit their applications as soon as possible. Nominees w

Italy - With the launch of the DWS2400, dB Technologies has produced the worlds first digital wireless system operating in the 2.4GHz range, thus leading the way to the future of wireless transmission. In the past analogue wireless systems have always required a 'compander system' to increase the 'signal to noise' ratio to a usable level, limiting the range of the dynamics. Not so with the DWS 2400 System.

With the digital wireless system, the analogue signal is converted through a high profile 'Delta Sigma 20bit AD-Converter' in the transmitter into digital data. The data packages are then sent to the receiver and converted back into an analogue signal. This technology produces a full dynamic range and the data transmission also avoids the frequency modulation of an analogue system. The result is a crystal clear sound without hissing.

A proprietary patented real time error co

Ireland - For about a year now, film equipment rental company Arri has been using a Telex BTR-700 intercom system - most recently on the set of the Touchstone/Bruckheimer production King Arthur. Most of the shooting for the film was done during a six-month period in Ireland, and the BTR-700 played a vital role.

Hans Lehner, one of the Arri technicians responsible for camera and stage equipment, said: "The system was used by key members of the crew - the director, the camera operators, the director of photography and the crane operator. At times, up to five of them were hooked up at the same time during a take, exchanging information and correcting or fine-tuning settings they had tried out earlier - such is the clarity of the system that they were able to communicate in whispers so as not to bleed into the production audio during passages of dialogue. The BTR-700 was

USA - Alabama-based TLS Inc has appointed Alan Grant as a service and production technician to work with the company's growing list of lighting production customers. Recently employed as a pyrotechnics operator and designer, Grant also has experience as a rigger and lighting technician. He brings 12 years of touring and technical experience to his new job, including a number of large-scale productions such as NSYNC's No Strings Attached, Metallica's Garage Days Revisited and Reba McEntire's Starting Over.

(Lee Baldock)

USA - Elation Professional has been appointed the exclusive North American distributor for Antari products. Based in Taiwan, Antari has been designing and manufacturing fog machines for 20 years, as well as other atmospheric effects such as snow and bubble machines.

"We are extremely proud to represent such a world-renowned supplier as Antari," said John Lopez, national sales manager for Elation Professional. "Not only do they make some of the highest quality fog machines, but for the past two decades they've been a leader in research and development and have introduced countless innovations to the category."

Elation Professional will exhibit the Antari line at the 2004 LDI Show (Booth #2000) in Las Vegas, October 22-24, and a range of the Taiwanese manufacturer's newest foggers and other atmospheric effects will be on display. "We are very excited t

UK - tsg, the national media programming and systems design company, has recently relocated to purpose-built premises including offices, promedia production facility and media duplication suite in Chesterfield, Derbyshire. The move is a controlled expansion, say the company, following recent gains across all market sectors, and provides the company with an opportunity to bring its four Sheffield offices under one roof, just 10 miles from the company's 'spiritual' home in Sheffield.

Commenting on the move, Paul Stead, tsg's managing director, said: "As an enlightened SME, we recognized the gains to be had from moving to a new location. The move will allow us to offer a far speedier response to our customers' needs through improved internal linkages, and also provides for a far stronger team dynamic. The staff love our new home and we look forward to welcoming our many custom

UK - ETS Sales & Hire is based just outside Norwich, where it provides a comprehensive repair service to the sound and light industry as well undertaking full electro/mechanical installations.

Run by partners Les Bell and Paul Saunders and ably assisted by Jenny Wright, over the past six years, the company has developed a simple, methodical approach to acquiring clients and building business relationships. Naturally included are many of the holiday and leisure groups who operate along the East coast from Lincolnshire via Norfolk to Hampshire in the South.

ETS has just completed its first audio system installation for its new clients Haven, part of the Bourne Leisure Group a portfolio that includes Butlins, British Holidays and Warners holidays.

Bell explains: "We had provided repair facilities for a number of the Haven sites, but had never had the opportunity to present

Canada - On 1 September this year Cast Software will release WYSIWYG R10, featuring long-awaited improvements to the plotting functionality of WYSIWYG. The software is available for download or purchase on the Cast Software website.

Gil Densham, president and CEO of Cast Software said: After discussing the strengths and weaknesses of WYSIWYG with many users from around the world, we realized that a common concern was the ability to create professional looking lighting plots. A new section named "New Plot" was added to WYSIWYG's Presentation mode. In this section, the "model" drafted in CAD mode is transposed into a schematic that users can easily manipulate to create a detailed lighting plot.

For the first time, users can edit fixture attribute layouts onscreen, plot vertical hang structures such as booms, and notate the lighting plot without affecting the

USA - The Entertainment Services and Technology Association (ESTA) has announced that Production Resource Group (PRG) has made a substantial $100,000 donation to the development of the new Entertainment Technician Certification Program (ETCP). PRG's contribution brings the total pledges received to date to just over $600,000.

Announcing the donation, Jere Harris, chairman and CEO of PRG, stated: "PRG is proud to be a cornerstone sponsor of the ETCP. We recognize that our future success will be tied to the skills and training of our people, and the ETCP will help us identify the very best technicians available."

"We are very pleased that the PRG has recognized this important program with their very significant and generous contribution. For this program to succeed, it is essential to have support from major employers like PRG," said Tim Hansen, ETCP Council

UK - MP Event Trailers and ROKA will be joining forces on a stand at the Showman's Show 2004, showcasing a selection of their state of the art exhibition and hospitality trailers and mobile bar and catering units.

MP Event Trailers has made heavy investment in its hire fleet this year, producing Rainbow 18, manufactured in Holland by pan European brand, Lamboo Specials, for which MP Event Trailers is the sole UK agent. The Rainbow 18 currently offers the largest expandable internal space (plus a roof terrace) of any specialist exhibition trailer in the UK, operated by a one-touch button hydraulic system. Due to the demand for the Rainbow 18, its smaller sibling, the Rainbow 8 will be on display at the Showman's Show, reflecting the same bespoke design and marketing opportunities as the larger trailer.

ROKA is a supplier of high quality mobile bar and catering units, both for h

Producers will be expected to pay for much of the cost of recycling electrical waste

Just waiting around the corner for UK companies are two pieces of environmental protection legislation that may just turn the electrical and electronics equipment industries on their heads.

The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations (WEEE, yes - an unfortunate acronym that!) and the Restriction of the use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations (RoHS) are in the final stages of a governmental consultation. They are being produced in order to implement Directives 2002/96/EC on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment and 2002/95/EC on the Restriction of the use of certain Hazardous Substances in electrical and electronic equipment.

If adopted in their proposed form, the WEEE Regulations will see all those companies who manufacture, d

UK - Royal London Private Equity (RLPE) has announced the completion of the £33.5m management buy-out of McKenzie Group (MKG), the UK's leading owner and operator of nationwide live music and club venues, including South London's award -winning concert venue, Carling Academy Brixton.

The investment by RLPE provides MKG with the financial strength to pursue its ongoing strategy of rolling out the Academy brand across the UK, building on its existing successful venues. Carling Academy Brixton is MKG's flagship venue, having hosted major live acts including the Rolling Stones, Madonna and Eminem. MKG owns further Academy venues in Birmingham, Bristol, Glasgow, Liverpool and Islington (London), as well as West London's Shepherd's Bush Empire and Bar Academy sites in London and Birmingham.

RLPE is taking a 52% stake with existing shareholders, MKG's management and three of the U

UK - Stardraw.com and Dove Net Technologies have announced that background music provider Muzak has opted to standardize its proposal-generation and audio systems design and documentation procedure on Stardraw A/V and The Project System. Originally known for its infamous 'elevator music', today Muzak provides sophisticated music, voice and sound systems to over 350,000 clients worldwide. Drawing from a vast library of over 1.5 million CDs, the company has an ever-evolving pool of original music programs that can be tailored to the client's specific requirements. Over 100 million people hear Muzak every day, be it in Gap or McDonalds or countless private homes and businesses.

The Project System brings to the table a flexible estimating platform that will be used by the National Accounts Division of Muzak to speed up its estimating process on system installations around the count

UK - Charcoalblue, the UK's newest theatre consultancy, was formed in February of this year by three theatre professionals who had previously worked together at Theatre Projects Consultants - namely Andy Hayles, Jon Stevens and Jack Tilbury. Hayles explains: "We decided that the time was right to branch out on our own. It wasn't an easy decision, but we had a clear vision of what we wanted to achieve."

Each member of the team has a strong background in the theatre. Hayles was previously chief electrician at Richmond Theatre Royal. Stevens has worked at the RSC in Stratford, toured with Opera North and was head of sound at Glyndebourne Opera. He still does lighting design when he gets a chance - most recently The Makropulos Case at the Deutsche Oper in Berlin. Tilbury began his career as a theatre production manager, and went on to project manage for Imagination at the Millenn

UK - Captained by Dan Heasman, Clarion Events took a day off from the organization of the PLASA Show to take on a Pro Sound & Light Invitation XI - led by Lightfactor Sales' Paul DeVille - in the annual D&M Professional (previously Hayden Labs) Cricket Challenge.

DeVille's motley crew included three members of the press corps - Charles Ward (DJ Magazine), Lee Baldock (Lighting & Sound International) and Gez Kahan (MI Pro) - all of whom acquitted themselves with distinction. Also present were PLASA's Matthew Griffiths and Shane McGreevy. However, the man of the match award was won by D&M's Miles Brooke who, batting late in the innings, brought the Industry XI's sorry-looking tally up to a respectable score.

This is the sixth time the two sides have met in the picturesque Berkshire village of Littlewick Green, the home club of D&M Pro's Simon Curtis, who organizes the fixture. Clarion

UK - Chris Cronin of Total Fabrications Ltd has announced the formation of Total Solutions Group, established to manage a suite of well-known brands associated with trussing in the entertainment industry.

Sitting under the umbrella of the Group will be the brands Total Fabrications, Slick (one of the oldest truss manufacturers in the industry, purchased by Total Fabrications in 2003), T2 (the Award-winning, high-specification safety truss), Total Training (the new rigging training initiative set up by the company) and New Wave (the decorative trussing brand which has won numerous awards). New Wave is marketed by TSG for its US-based sister company Total Structures, which remains separate from the new TSG structure.

Some of the Group's brand names - Total Fabrications, T2 and Slick - are available for manufacture under license in other countries around the world, through technology tr

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