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14 March 2016

The prestigious ceremony recreated the atmosphere of the golden era of 1930s ship launches, reflecting the ships opulent interiors.

With a wealth of experience in ceremonial events, Arena Structures supplied a period 30s style grandstand roof structure. Project manager Mark Shelley oversaw the creation of bespoke 7.5m supporting leg structures, created to ensure guests all enjoyed great views on the launch within the 62m x 13m structure, complete with a 50m red carpet.

Arena Seating complimented the regal theme creating a luxurious viewing theatre with a grandsta

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14 March 2016

The month-long ballot, which ends on 31 October, pre-empts the New Year merger date when the Associations formally unite under the PLASA name.

Members of both organizations have been actively voting to elect candidates for the new European and North American Regional Boards which will feature representatives from the following groups of members - Dealer/Retailers, Distributors, Manufacturers, Production Services, Professional Services and Rental Companies, together with a representative from both the Organizational and Individual memberships.

The Governing Body is a new concept for PLASA and is designed to ensure continuity of decision-making and strategic consistency. Whilst the Chai

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14 March 2016

In addition to a focus on legislative issues, the day will also feature presentations from Simon Miller of Allan Chapman & James, who will provide an update on recent changes to the insurance market and how members can keep insurance costs down, Krystyna Gibbons of Westfield Health, who will outline the options for a cost-effective alternative to private healthcare and Paul Robson of Medialease who will talk about leasing funding, providing an overview of current market conditions and how members can get into the best possible shape to attract leasing funding when

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14 March 2016

Kasabian were named best act in the world. Take That, who were sneaked into the awards to avoid the red carpet, were led on stage by Gary Barlow to collect their award. Another newly reformed band - Suede - picked up the Q inspiration award.

On The Move? - Almost €400,000 has been spent in the search for a new home for Ireland's national theatre, the Abbey - but so far without success, reports newspaper.

Arts minister Mary Hanafin told th

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14 March 2016

Says CEO Frederic Opsomer, "The activation of our rental division is another milestone in the deployment of Tait Technologies' full range of activities throughout Europe."

Headquartered in Belgium, Tait Technologies offers clients in the entertainment, corporate and architectural markets solutions ranging from the rental of 'off-the-shelf' stage products to the design and development of custom-made, project-specific innovations. Over the past months, Tait Technologies has brought a s

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14 March 2016

Van Grove joins Stardraw.com with 20 years experience in systems contracting and commercial AV. Most recently he was the director of sales for Antex Electronics where he was responsible for direct sales, marketing and product management operations for both branded and OEM product lines for the install and commercial sound markets.

Van Grove will be responsible for business development across North America and Mexico. In particular this means developing business channels including the rep network for Stardraw.com's branded products, as well as handling existing OEM business and seeking out new OEM opportunities.

Stardraw CEO, Dave Snipp comments, "Tim's resumé speaks for itself. He has been a successful systems integrator for several years, and

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14 March 2016

Convention co-chair Valerie Tyler reports that, "Lunchtime Keynotes provide an opportunity for attendees to take a break from the hectic Exhibition Hall and concentration-intensive workshops, master classes, platinum and educational programmes and relax as acknowledged industry leaders provide the benefit of their years of experience in a quiet and informal environment. Last year's Lunchtime Keynotes benefited from extremely positive word of mouth, and we're confident that this year's programme will draw appreciative audiences."

Kicking off proceedings wil

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14 March 2016

The H.O.T. Zone will offer attendees free one-hour classes on more than 85 educational topics over four days, including Basic Live Mixing Techniques PROTools 101, Social Marketing for Your Music Business and DJ Equipment Integration. On 13 January 2011, the opening day of the NAMM Show, the H.O.T. Zone will be offering Boot Camp Day with an array of basic courses designed to provide foundation-level instruction in music technology and business.

The H.O.T. Zone will be located on Level 2 of the Anaheim Convention Centre and is being held fo

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14 March 2016

Looking to add to the 12 VL3000 Spot luminaires Epic supplied a few years ago, Staples Centre wanted to replace the 48 Par Can fixtures that were previously mounted under the scoreboard and they chose 16 of the LED-based VLX Wash luminaires. To round out the new rig, 16 VL3500 Wash fixtures and 12 additional VL3000 Spot fixtures were also added.

"The VLX Wash fixtures read extremely well. Along with great output and tremendous colour temperature control, they work incredible for the 120 televised sporting events that Staples Centre hosts each year," said Lee Zeidman, Staples general manager. "The low power consumption was also a big deciding factor. By replacing 48,000 w

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14 March 2016

A company statement declares, "Yamaha pro audio products have always been designed to take advantage of the most advanced system infrastructure available for target applications by providing support for high-performance network formats such as Dante, EtherSound, CobraNet, and more. Yamaha has also cooperated closely with third parties to bring a variety of Yamaha-compatible network products to market

"And now, while maintaining support for existing open-format protocols, Yamaha joins AVnu Alliance, an industry forum dedicated to advancing and promoting the next-generation IEEE 802.1 Audio/Video Bridging (AVB) standard.

"AVnu Alliance was established in August 2009 by a group of world leaders in the audio and IT fiel

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14 March 2016

Rob Locke remarks, "The University's relationship with Green Hippo was essential to this project which would not have been possible without the support of Simon and Nick, and we look forward to further collaboration in the future."

Erica Frost and five of her fellow students were given the brief to design an 'interactive sensory garden' for their final end of year project. This event was a first for the course as the planning and programming of interactive sound, lighting and video was not something taught or discussed as part of the course

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14 March 2016

The new programme was unveiled by the Prime Minister at a visit to Shoreditch and the Olympic Park media centre. The UKTI taskforce will have a global network and a presence in East London to maximise the opportunities before and after the Olympic Games.

The Prime Minister, David Cameron, said, "We are firmly on the side of the high-growth, highly innovative companies of the future.

"Right now, Silicon Valley is the leading place in the world for high-tech growth and innovation. But there's no reason why it has to be so predominant. Our ambition is to bring together the creativity and energy of Shoreditch and th

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14 March 2016

In order to produce a visually exciting show, but minimize power consumption, heat and impact on the environment, Foster chose to use a substantial number of Chroma Q Chroma Strip Mark II's as well as GLP Impressions for the bulk of the dramatic effects effect.

(Jim Evans)

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14 March 2016

The workshop is designed to allow participants to get hands-on with the kit in order to gain insight into how to design and operate a pixel mapped rig. Designed to be an inspirational look at convergence, technical issues will also be covered.

"The convergence of lighting and video is a much used phrase in the entertainment lighting industry and on the 11 and 12 of November we'll be demonstrating what it's all about," says Martin UK sales director Mike Walker.

"We will address the lights with

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14 March 2016

The public is invited to comment on the existing standard from now through 3 January 2011. The review is over when the 'Review End Date' of 4 January starts. The public review forms are available at http://www.esta.org/tsp/documents/public_review_docs.php. The existing standard is available for purchase from The ESTA Foundation at http://www.estafoundation.org/pubs.htm.

ANSI E1.15 gives advice on boom and base assemblies, simple ground-support devices for lighting equipment and accessories. If the assembly is tall, not plumb, loaded unevenly, or likely to get run into by stage wagons or performers, there is substantial risk. This document offers advice to lower or eliminate that risk.

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14 March 2016

The council's current annual grant of £449m is dropping to £349m by 2014 as a result of the Spending Review. Arts funding bodies in the rest of the UK are developing their own plans. Arts Council England hands out government funding to venues across the country from local companies to the Royal Opera House. Until now the body says there has been no process under which organisations could apply for funding.

Under the plans, all existing organisations are able to apply and new organisations

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14 March 2016

Under the design direction of think!OTS (TOTS) the creative team was tasked with conceiving a unique thematic infrastructure combining dynamic design with natural imagery. In collaboration with TOTS, Wood Marsh provided the architectural services that led to a unique shape, which was then constructed by TOTS' partner in the project, Bovis Lend Lease.

In planning the technical production TOTS contracted Paul van der Ent from Wizard Projects in Australia to be the executive technical director - both companies having been previously involved with a number of pavilions at expos for the Australian Government.

Wizard, having suc

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14 March 2016

The elections usher in a new Governance structure for both Associations as they unite under the PLASA name: the two Regional Boards will be responsible for overseeing day-to-day affairs in their respective regions, while the Governing Body will take a high level strategic role, acting in the best interests of the membership worldwide.

During the transition period into the new structure, every effort was made to allow current members of PLASA's Executive Committee and ESTA's Board of Directors to serve out their full terms of office.

As a consequence, seven positions were up for election on the new European Regional Board. Matt Lloyd of Global Design Solutions b

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14 March 2016

Originally opened in 1863 as the town's Corn Exchange, the Palace Theatre was joined by the Grand Agricultural Hall 64 years later. Despite an occasionally chequered career, the venues are still going strong today.

With audience capacities of 500 and 1300 respectively, these days the Palace Theatre and Grand Hall form a multi-purpose complex. However, attracting touring acts to the Grand Hall was starting to becoming a problem, as it had no in-house PA system.

"We had started to do a number of higher profile gigs in the Grand Hall, but a major obstacle to promoters was the cost of hiring in audio and lighting systems

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14 March 2016

With stops across the globe in a variety of different venues and Bublé performing along with a big band, the Crazy Love tour poses some audio challenges. The brass players have the most cues of all the musicians on the tour, making proper monitoring critical to the performance.

"Ease of setup and tear down were key factors when selecting gear for the tour," says Louis-Philippe Maziade, projects manager, sound department for Solotech, the Canadian production company handling the equipment and crew for the tour. "The A

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14 March 2016

"This project has been going on over the past 18 months and we have another three or four schools to do over the next year," says Black Light's installations project manager, Paul McGreal. "We secured the contract because we are cost-competitive and also because we are a trusted supplier to schools up and down the country."

The project involved Black Light working with a number of building service contractors, including NG Bailey and Spie Matthew Hall, as well as with South Lanarkshire Council. Black Light was asked to design and install theatre systems in assembly halls and games halls and to deliver a training package for teachers and janitorial staff.

All the systems Black Light installed were desi

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14 March 2016

A centrepiece of the on-course visual facilities was the 18th Studio screen. This comprised 20 (w) x 8 (h) panels (20.32m x 6.08m) of Lighthouse Rn7-ER 7mm outdoor enhanced resolution LED screen hung off and below the Sky TV studio. Visible from both the club house and the main hospitality area, this screen, along with two Rn7-ER IMAG screens measuring 6 (w) x 5 (h) panels (6.096m x 3.81m) each, was utilised for bo

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14 March 2016

An import of the famed Edinburgh pageant which also uses TiMax, the Basel Tattoo is staged outdoors in front of the 18th century Kaserne Hof barracks next to the Rhine. Various collections of marching or dancing performers are spread out over a 70m by 25m parade arena surrounded by audience seating on three sides.

Swiss sound designer Thomas Strebel this year specified a TiMax2 SoundHubR32 which received MIDI preset control and twelve groups of MADI audio from a Soundcraft Vi6 console, comprised of over 32 radio mics plus CD and ha

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14 March 2016

The move is part of a significant expansion for the Mont de Marsan-based pro audio specialists, who, in addition to the Uniline system, have also invested in a new Eclipse digital mixing console from Innovason, new outboard equipment AND new premises.

"It's fair to say that our feet have barely touched the ground these last few months," said TH Audio's Thierry Avignon. "However, we've also been incredibly successful, so we're not complaining!" The summer season has seen shows with noted French artists such as Jacques Higelin and San Severino, as well as Jamaican reggae art