UK - Parents' attitudes to apprenticeships need to change in order to put young people on a planned, clear career path and help the audio-visual industry enhance its skills base over the coming decade, claims Paul Dougherty, managing director of Tyne & Wear-based Blaydon Communications Ltd.

Paul Dougherty has good experience of apprenticeships: 20 years ago he, along with managing director of Blaydon's sister company UK Time Solutions, Chris Routledge, started out as an apprentice, following in the 70-year tradition of the firm in supporting apprenticeships.

Dougherty says: "Apprenticeship provides a solid, technical career base and as Chris and I have demonstrated, can lead to senior management and the boardroom. One of the bars to young people taking up apprenticeship can be the attitude or parents who see a university education as the best career option for their child

UK - Fifteen venues across the UK will open their doors to 13- and 14-year-olds from 15 October until 2 December 2009, for The National Skills Academy for Creative & Cultural Skills' first interactive Offstage Choices careers events.

These events offer young people aged 13 and above a taste of the job roles available behind the scenes and offstage in technical theatre and live music events.

Pupils from local schools will meet and experience the work of a number of professionals including lighting and sound technicians, marketing and stage managers and designers, in venues from the New Theatre Royal in Portsmouth, up to the SAGE in Gateshead. Behind the scenes staff will share the tricks of their trade and experiences, working out of the 'spotlight'.

Offstage is produced by The National Skills Academy for Creative & Cultural Skills (NSA), a network of industry speciali

USA - Bosch's Communications Systems Division has partnered with the NSCA Education Foundation to establish the Monte Wise Scholarship, an ongoing scholarship named in fond remembrance of Monte Wise - "one of the pro audio industry's great personalities and mentors" - who passed away on 30 September 2009. Monte was systems applications specialist, pro sound, for Bosch's Communications Systems Division.

"Monte touched many lives over the course of an exceptional career," says Daniel Nix, VP of sales, Americas, for Bosch's Communications Systems Division. "He was a mentor to many, and helped take hundreds of individuals and companies to the next level with education and technology. We were humbled by the amount of inquiries we received in the wake of his passing, from friends and colleagues asking 'Is there anything we can do?'

"The creation of the

UK - The new Soundcraft Studer factory in Potters Bar, near London is virtually complete. Based on a $7 million investment the company made four years ago, the new factory extends the manufacturing floor space by more than 100 percent plus additional storage space. "It will be a fantastic facility for our sales teams and distributors to bring their customers to impress them with our technology and quality, said Andy Trott, president, Soundcraft Studer.

In addition to the OnAir 500, OnAir 2500 and Vista 5 SR, all of which have previously been manufactured in Potters Bar, the new factory will now produce all Studer Vista, Router and OnAir products. The company has already appointed 15 new production staff to cope with the additional production workload, with more to join before year end.

Additionally, a new customer centre will feature two large dedicated acceptance test ro

World Cup Concert - A major concert has been announced to kick off the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. The three-hour show will feature collaborations between international stars and top African artists and appearances by football legends. The event, from the team behind Live 8, takes place on 10 June at the Orlando Stadium in Soweto, Johannesburg.

The show is being staged by Kevin Wall, who told BBC News he has been "overwhelmed" by major artists wanting to get involved. "That's unusual, normally it's the other way round," he added. He admitted he will have to turn down some big name acts: "We are going to have a lot of the major African artists and really it's going to be about Africa so the slots for international artists are a rarity."

Wall believes the show could reach an even bigger TV audience than Live 8 and Li

UK - Bulgin Components has announced a new range of connectors designed for use in hazardous environments - the EXPlora series.

Independently tested for compliance to ATEX standards for use in Zone 2 and Zone 22 environments, the EXP series is manufactured from a tough high grade UL94V-0 rated Polycarbonate material. Similar in construction to Bulgin's 900 Series Buccaneer, the connectors are environmentally sealed to IP68 to provide protection for the most severe of dust and water borne environments. Ambient temperature range is from -20°C to +55°C.

Compact in design, the connectors are available in 2, 3, 4, 5, 7 and 10 pole variants and in four body styles - cable, in-line cable, panel and flange fixing. Each contact insert is available with either pin or socket contacts and either can be used with any of the body styles to give the maximum choice of combinations.

Germany / USA - GLP has set up a new office in North America to bring them closer to the highly-influential market across the Atlantic. Heading the operation will be experienced lighting professional, Mark Ravenhill.

The Los Angeles location has been strategically selected, placing GLP in the densely populated industrial district of Torrance, a traditional West Coast heartland for show production and event staging.

Elation Professional will remain GLP's distributor for the Impression range. But this development will enable the company to offer Elation much closer support, emphasises Ravenhill, who in addition to heading up the operation will retain his position as GLP's director of global key players.

Ravenhill says he is relishing the challenge. "It is a great opportunity to further exploit the enormous success of the expanding Impression range and at the same time reu

North America - Outline, which inaugurated its USA branch (Outline North America LLC) just a few months ago, has announced that representation of the brand is now complete throughout North America, including Canada.

A recent workshop was held - jointly organized by Outline's Brescia, Italy HQ and the branch office in Farmingdale (NY), where the network of US representatives officially took shape. The States are all now covered except Ohio, Western Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

Outline's Giorgio Biffi chaired the workshop. After providing training for the 60 original products in the company's catalogue, he introduced a pre-release version of OpenArray, the avant-garde control and 3D simulation software, written by the Italian R&D team. This conveyed to the American attendees the philosophy and key principles on which Outline has been based since its foundation in 1973.

Biff

UK - The University of Glamorgan's Faculty of Advanced Technology has recently secured significant sponsorship packages from leading European manufacturer Philips Electronics N.V. and German lighting and illumination specialists BEGA.

BSc (Hons) Lighting Design & Technology Award Leader Stuart Green commented: "Philips Lighting has been very generous in agreeing to donate a substantial amount of architectural lighting equipment to support our courses. International Project Consultant Simon White from BEGA also gave a guest lecture to students and donated a number of luminaires for student use."

The BSc (Hons) Lighting Design and Technology and BSc (Hons) Live Event Technology awards are already supported by equipment from some of the leading industry players, which are essential to give students exposure to the latest industry standard hardware and software. However,

UK - VDC Trading Ltd has launched a range of cables that represents a "leap forward" for marine A/V, data and communications connectivity. The Van Damme Marine Range delivers technical specifications usually associated with live sound, music studios and beyond, now adapted for the rigors of a marine environment and the challenges associated with ship installations.

Niall Holden, managing director, VDC Trading, said: "In the world of super yachts, on-board systems have entered the domain of HD television and audiophile sound systems, so pro-audio and broadcast levels of installation have now become the entry level. This means there has never been a greater need and demand for a range of A/V cables that are capable of handling the legal and technical requirements of these systems without compromising the infrastructure and quality of the ship itself."

"U

UK - Leading entertainment lighting supplier White Light is pleased to announce its appointment as a distributor for Philips Entertainment Lamps - expanding its ability to offer end-to-end solutions for entertainment lighting, supplying anything from a single light bulb or sheet of gel to a complete lighting system, including installation. At the same time, the company has announced the appointment of David Manister as business development manager, increasing White Light's expertise in this field.

White Light's appointment as a distributor gives it access to the full range of Philips' lamp technologies, including the FastFit system which enables easy lamp replacement and adjustment while also reducing overall lamp length, and P3 technology, which offers greater heat tolerance so increasing lamp life.

For entertainment lighting, these technologies are incorporated in a wide ran

Sweden - Wireless Solution is celebrating the shipping of its 30,000th unit of W-DMX which was introduced just five years ago.

"We're extremely pleased - with this continuously rising volume, we've actually been able to reduce prices and pass the savings on to both OEM clients and lower the cost of the boxed units," says Wireless Solution CEO Niclas Arvidsson, "We now have over 20 OEM clients and a solid distribution network worldwide, proving that W-DMX has indeed become an unofficial industry standard."

The company plans to hold its popular Visionary Awards and Swedish meatball and vodka party during LDI in Orlando to celebrate the success. "The awards this year will have a special surprise," adds Arvidsson, "We want to bring focus to some very special people. It will be a celebration not to miss."

(Jim Evans)

Jazz News - The Bull's Head in Barnes, one of the UK's most established and respected live Jazz venues, will mark 50 years of promoting jazz and blues this November with an extraordinary programme of events to celebrate the landmark.Owner Dan Fleming has devised a month-long festival programme that will take place in The Yamaha Jazz Room. A launch party will kick off festivities on 12 November and the celebrations continue until 12 December.

The launch, to be hosted by virtuoso trumpeter and bandleader Paul Eshelby, will remarkably feature octogenarian Vic Ash, who was the headline act for the first gig and opening night of the club back in 1959. On the same bill, and with a nod to the future will be Yolanda Brown, Kit Downes and Elisa Caleb.

Throughout the Festival, an array of artists will assist Fleming to mark the occasion, including Don Weller, Peter King, Art Themen, Guy

UK - Stage Electrics is currently supplying all lighting equipment for the colourful new production of Disney's High School Musical 2, Live on Stage!. The story follows the Wildcats as they celebrate their last summer before starting their Senior Year. This all new stage version is based on the Disney Channel's original film, and is produced by Stage Entertainment UK who produced the London production of Hairspray the musical and Sister Act the musical.

Technical equipment includes a large number of moving lights, predominantly a mix of Martin MAC 700 Profiles and Varilite VL2000 Wash fixtures, over 50 Rainbow 6" Pro scrollers, two Ivanhoe follow spots, almost 200 generic lanterns and two 'Big Shots' compressed air confetti canons.

Lighting control for the tour comes courtesy of two MA Lighting GrandMA Lite consoles, with a further full-size GrandMA u

UK - Up to 1125 new Apprenticeship places will be created to train 16-24 year olds for a career in the creative and cultural industries. Apprenticeships Minister, Kevin Brennan, announced yesterday that the National Skills Academy for Creative & Cultural Skills (NSA) has secured funding to run an Apprenticeship Service, which will be available from April 2010.

The announcement is a significant step forward in the creative and cultural sector's campaign to provide more mainstream training opportunities for young people from a diverse range of backgrounds. Apprenticeships offer non graduate entry routes into the sector and open up opportunities to young people who do not choose to go into higher education. Young people who do one of the Apprenticeships will be equipped with the skills and qualifications they need to break into the industries represented by the Sector Skills Counci

UK - The UK music industry has been given the opportunity to have a say on how best to achieve the priorities of a £multi-million investment plan for digital innovation in the sector.

The government backed Technology Strategy Board, set up to promote innovation in technology, is asking music businesses to visit: innovateuk.org to share their thoughts on how to maximise the impact of future funding programmes to ensure the UK remains at the forefront of digital innovation in the creative sector.

With the support of key influencers in the sector, the Technology Strategy Board recently published The Creative Industries Strategy 09, which identifies key areas of where emerging technologies and business models will have the most significant impact and outlines how funding might be spent.

The Board is now hoping many

The Netherlands - 24 October marks the worldwide premier of Amandla! Mandela: A Musical Journey to Freedomat Amsterdam's Royal Carré Theatre.

ShowTex Netherlands created a stage element that features throughout the show. The original ShowTex curtain was designed by stage and television veteran Eric Goossens.

Goossens reports: "I wanted to use a pattern that had significance for South Africans, a design that immediately put you in the atmosphere of the culture without feeling like you stepped into a souvenir shop. The bold black pattern with transparent openings in between creates depth onstage but also becomes a perfect prop for helping to tell the story. The dark lines can function as prison bars, and a dividing line between Mandela and his freedom."

(Jim Evans)

UK - Drapes specialist Cover It Up has moved to bigger and brighter purpose designed and built premises in Camberwell, south east London.

This increases the warehouse and office workspaces plus the available storage capacity to accommodate the recent increases in stock. It also facilitates easier access to the City than the previous Peckham location.

The move has been prompted by a steady increase in business over the last two years. Cover It Up's Rhys Sion says: "With the economy in its current state, and the world's need to be more environmentally conscious, the practical and aesthetic potential of draping in all sorts of applications is really generating interest."

A sunken loading bay can be accessed simultaneously by three vans, which will also allow further optimisation of the new space, further increasing the fast turnaround needed to be achieved on a daily

China - Martin Audio has opened a showroom - among the boutiques in a prestigious shopping district in China. The idea was the brainchild of wealthy businessman Regan Goh, who owns sound rental/installation company Huifeng Performance Equipment Co.

As one of Martin Audio's major customers, he came up with the idea of opening a full demo facility for consultants, production companies, dealers and installers in Panyu, a suburb of Guangzhou.

Ambassador for Martin Audio, David Bissett-Powell said: "China is the major market for Martin Audio and Huifeng is our main Chinese dealer - so the move makes perfect sense.

"Regan and I go back a long way, and he has purchased this building with the sole intention of making it Martin Audio - in fact the signage over the large shop window simply states 'Martin Audio'. Regan also supports King Kong of the Martin Audio Business Deve

Live on Line - U2 have broadcast an entire live show via the video sharing website YouTube. Although 96,000 people turned up to see the show at the Pasadena Rose Bowl in California, many times that number were expected to have watched it online. As he took to the stage, lead singer Bono said: "Thank you Los Angeles. Thanks to everyone watching on YouTube all over the world - seven continents."

Cancelled Concerts - Sir Elton John has cancelled his concert at Wembley Arena tonight (Tuesday), the third gig he has been forced to shelve after contracting flu. Promoters said it is "hoped he will make a speedy recovery". A concert in Liverpool on Wednesday is still scheduled to go ahead. The singer scrapped Friday's gig in Sheffield and Saturday's in Newcastle after he was told to rest by doctors. Promoters are trying to reschedule the Wembley concert for a d

USA - The ESTA-sponsored Connectivity Pavilion will be on display at LDI 2009 in Orlando, with an expanded array this year of equipment running the latest in entertainment control protocols.

The Pavilion offers a hands-on demonstration of devices interfacing under RDM (ANSI E1.20), ACN (ANSI E1.17), and Lightweight Streaming of DMX512 over ACN (ANSI E1.31).

Members of the Controls Protocols Working Group and the task groups for these standards will be in the Connectivity Pavilion to demonstrate and discuss these ANSI protocols, which can be specified for new lighting systems or for upgrades of old ones. Anyone with an interest in lighting control is invited to stop by and see the reality of these protocols and how transparently they allow the operation of equipment from a variety of manufacturers, says the organisation.

(Jim Evans)

UK - The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games Ltd (LOCOG) is inviting an expression of interest from live events production companies to provide the production services for the Opening and Closing ceremonies of the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games.

LOCOG is seeking a highly experienced live events production company who have Olympic, Paralympic or large scale events experience to provide administrative and production services to the Creative Directors of the four ceremonies. The Creative Directors will be recruited directly by LOCOG through a separate process and so creative content proposals are not being sought from potential production companies. The chosen production company will manage and execute the production process from conception to delivery.

Bill Morris, LOCOG Director of Culture, Ceremonies & Education said: "The

UK - Plaster is a new look creative communications company, formally known as Resource PR. With nearly 10 years providing b2b and b2c communications, specialising in the event, exhibition, technology and audio visual sectors, the agency has rebranded to encompass its broader communications mix and reflect the company's creative new team.

The new company brand (Plaster) has been unveiled this October through a viral video, which saw the team donning plasterer's outfits and plastering their new logo onto the wall of their office.

Managing Director Graham Brown explained: "We have grown in many ways since moving to Bristol three years ago and it feels like a natural progression to have arrived at this rebrand. Kellie became a director last year reflecting her input and commitment, Lisa has a great portfolio of PR and marketing campaigns as an account manager, while Andrew, E

USA - Nemetschek North America has announced that a number of its major European distributors have released their localized 2010 versions of Vectorworks software, including: Designer, Architect, Landmark, Spotlight, Machine Design, Fundamentals, and Renderworks. Versions are now available in Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands.

"Our localized version is developed by Nemetschek North America, and then enhanced by us to meet the local requirements in our country," explains Carlos Lüthy, CEO of ComputerWorks, Germany. "This year there has been much excitement and anticipation about the Vectorworks 2010 line of products, as this version is already getting rave reviews in the English-speaking countries."

The English-language versions of the Vectorworks 2010 product line were released in the US, C

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