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14 March 2016

This acclaimed production opened at London's Donmar Warehouse in 2009, then transferred to Broadway in early 2010. The show collected six Tony Awards - Best Play, Best Featured Actor in a Play for Eddie Redmayne, Best Direction of a Play for Michael Grandage, Best Scenic Design of a Play for Christopher Oram, Best Sound Design of a Play for Adam Cork as well as Best Lighting Design of a Play for Neil Austin. The play became renowned on Broadway for achieving its lighting using an all-conventional rig that featured some fixtures dating back to the 1950s.

Despite the lack of moving lights, FocusTrack was used to preci

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14 March 2016

Learning objectives:

• How to deliver projects of this scale to the market - hardware, content, creation, logistics of installation etc.

• How LED can be used to incorporate the audience into the event rather than them being a passive spectator

• The unlimited scope for the use of this technology in live events and architectural environments

Speaker(s):

Carol Scott (Director of Sales & Marketing at Tait Technologies), Stef Vanbesien (TAIT), Dave Green (Technical Director at Immersive Ltd), Will Case (Creative Director at Crystal CG International) and

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14 March 2016

ACSP's sister company, A.C. Entertainment Technologies launched their own social media campaign last year with great success, enabling them to communicate with their customers in a new way.

ACSP's dedicated Twitter account (@ACSpecProj) will allow clients, customers and industry colleagues to stay in touch via a medium which fits in with their increasingly busy lifestyles, as well as those of tomorrow's industry newcomers, says the company.

Says ACSP, "We understand that many of our customers 'live and breathe' their industry commitments 24/7, so social media is the perfect platform to hold a dialogue

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14 March 2016

South African rental company, XGX Productions were commissioned by NuWave Entertainment to supply the sound, lighting, AV, structures and special effects to the venue.

Working on an Avolites Tiger Touch console, the lighting designer and operation was by Gert Smit of XGX. His team included Mpho Kgobe, lighting technician and rigger, Zee Mabasa and Petri Smit, lighting & sound technicians.

(Jim Evans)

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14 March 2016

Off Stage - Long-running musical Blood Brothers is to end its current run after spending 24 years in London's West End. The show has its final performance at the Phoenix Theatre on 27 October but will continue to play on tour. A spokesman for producer Bill Kenwright said it was "the end of a cha

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14 March 2016

Schalk's introduction to lighting came when he was appointed as co-resident DJ at Bourbon Street, a nightclub in Boksburg; he was known as DJ Shabz.

In 2004 Schalk joined Prosound's TNA Lighting doing technical sales, repairs and installation.

He has freelanced with companies including Black Coffee and Hirezone, doing everything from rigging, programming and running shows, and then striking and loading trucks.

(Jim Evans)

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14 March 2016

Organised by the ALD, STLD and Clay Paky and now in its fifth year, the Knight of Illumination Awards provides public recognition for outstanding achievements in lighting design by lighting designers working on productions in the UK.

Professional reviewers who work in each of the specific categories have agreed the shortlists and the awards will be presented at a glittering ceremony on 9 September at Battersea Evolution, Battersea Park, London.

The shortlists for each category are as follows:

Television - ENTERTAINMENT: Mark Kenyon for Strictly Come Dancing from Wembley; Tom Sutherland for Red Hot Chilli Peppers Live at Koko and Mark Kempton for Not Going Out

Television - SMALL STUDIO: Tom Kinane for Just a Minute

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14 March 2016

The PLASA Rigging Conference is delighted to confirm that the conference will close with 'Question Time' hosted by Alan Jacobi LVO, MD of Unusual Rigging.

An iconic figure in the world of rigging, Alan's involvement with the Rigging Conference dates back to its inception, as Conference Consultant Chris Higgs explains: "Alan Jacobi (AJ) opened the inaugural PLASA Rigging Conference in 2010 in his inimitable style but sadly wasn't able to join us last year. I was therefore delighted that he agreed immediately to host the closing Q&A session this year. Alan is an inspirational character to many of us and someone who I have no doubt will again ask insightful questions, act as question m

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14 March 2016

There is no road map to success in the live audio industry and, as with many things worth doing, it can be tough. But if you have the passion and the determination, you could end up spending your life doing something you love. Having taught some of the best in the business, Alchemea know a thing or two about improving your chances. Register for free for this session and hear Alchemea's pro's giving their top tips for success in the industry.

presented by: Alchemea
Wednesday 12 September, 2.00pm - 3.00pm

To book this session and check out other session in the programme, please click here

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14 March 2016

This class gives a basic overview of the current state of the art in entertainment automation and introduces students to the basic principals involved in mechanical methods, rigging, and show automation. Mechanical system components, network architecture, safety systems and considerations, motion control techniques, system programming tools and instructions, console operation, and basic troubleshooting will all be introduced, with examples and exercises provided for all students. This three day course costs £380 to attend. The course is ETCP recognized for 28 renewal credits for Electrical and Rigging certifications.

This cour

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14 March 2016

Stage Technologies was once again platinum sponsor of the conference, which saw an increase of 20% in attendees over the inaugural event of 2008. Mark Ager, CEO of the Stage Technologies Group commented, "As a company we strongly believe in supporting this extremely important theater market. These conferences provide a wonderful forum for like-minded professionals to get together to debate and discuss a variety of relevant issues and push forward the boundaries of stage engineering."

Participants enjoyed a mixture of presentations, networking and backstage tours to the Met Opera and Radio City Music Hall. This year's location, the New York Hilton in midtown

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14 March 2016

BSR E1.37-2 - 201x, Additional Message Sets for ANSI E1.20 (RDM) - Part 2, IPv4 & DNS Configuration Messages, and BSR E1.45 - 201x, Transport of IEEE 802 data frames over ANSI E1.11 (DMX512-A), are available for review through October 1. BSR E1.37-2 provides additional get/set parameter messages (PIDs) for use with the ANSI E1.20 Remote Device Management protocol. Messages in this document are intended for configuring network interfaces and Domain Name System settings on devices with an IPv4 address. BSR E1.45 defines a minimal method to transport IEEE 802 data frames over ANSI E1.11 physical links using an Alternate START Code. The primary motivation is to allow communication of 802 data to luminair

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14 March 2016

"This all-star mix of live and pre-recorded music was a major crowd-pleaser," declared David Rooney of the Hollywood Reporter, saying the event would be "regarded as a wonderfully chaotic treasure trove by some and a hot mess by others". The New Zealand Herald described the event at the Olympic Stadium in east London as "a pop culture smorgasbord that had touches of brilliance, beauty and bewilderment".

Olympic Effect - West End box of

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14 March 2016

presented by: Panellists: Jason Baird (Martin Audio) | Werner 'Vier' Bayer (d&b audiotechnik) | Miguel Lourtie (Meyer Sound)
Tuesday 11 September, 3.30pm - 4.30pm

To book this session and check out other session in the programme, please click here

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14 March 2016

The four day programme of free-to attend sessions will take place in the Technologies for Worship zone, an area of the show floor that is dedicated to Worship technology. The Technologies for Worship stage will provide a road map for house of worship technicians, church tech volunteers and worship leaders alike to learn about audio mixing, running video backgrounds, microphone techniques, tasteful lighting, streaming, broadcast production and much more.

Sessions include; UK Church Case Study; Streaming Audio and Video Content to the Web; Building Healthy Volunteer Teams; Can You Hear Me At The Back?; Video Systems for Worship; The "Smoking Gun" of Audio; Getting Your Message Out: Tuning Syst

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14 March 2016

"I would like to thank my new partners for all they have done in the past," said Duncan Riley. "I am very honoured to have them.

"The step forward means that there will shared responsibility and help with decision-making. Most importantly, the foundation has been laid to ensure that DWR Distribution remains strong in future times ahead."

(Jim Evans)

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14 March 2016

As in previous years, 'Team Easily LED', a group made up of Architainment employees will join approximately 2500 other individuals to trek 20 miles across the capital at night, with one aim: to raise money to support those living with the effects of cancer.

Throughout the years the lighting specialist has raised thousands of pounds for the charity and Architainment continue to support Maggie's not only due to the incredible work it does, but also due to its strong associations with the architectural and lighting industries. Lighting is an integral part of the night hike experience, giving hikers an opportunity to see London landmarks such as The Guild Hall, the RIBA bui

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14 March 2016

The new deal makes Milos the largest global aluminium trussing and staging group with the addition of major manufacturing bases in Italy, Slovakia, Mexico and the US to strengthen their 250,000sq.ft of production facilities in the Czech Republic and Asia.

Milos's CEO Frantisek Zykan states, "We are very excited with this announcement. Our strategy has always been to deliver the best products made to the highest standards of excellence with a quick, efficient turnaround. Having Litec and Tomcat on-board expands the ideas pool and product range to meet all staging needs .... with a truly international reach.

"All those working for Litec and Tomcat are driven, focussed and share our collective visions for th

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14 March 2016

The famous Funktion One demo room has got some company at this year's show as we take over a whole new space at Earls Court for large scale demonstrations of the latest loudspeaker technology.

Martin Audio took huge strides forward with the launch of the award winning MLA System at the PLASA Show two years ago, they return this year to take over the AudioLab, on Monday 10 September.Approaching the problem of controlled coverage in poor acoustic spaces, Martin Audio Engineers came up with the unique concept of OmniLine®, where rather than applying DSP to a traditional column loudspeaker, OmniLine's vertical beam-forming is achieved by physically articulating individual modules to curve the array.

T

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14 March 2016

"The new style programme forms a roadmap for the next twelve months in theatre, live concert and touring, live events and installed environments. PLASA 2012 continues to be the place where pace setters converge to share expertise and ideas, and we are delighted by the concentration of talent coming to London this September, it is simply phenomenal. Anyone wishing to

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14 March 2016

As a 14 year old James Simpson was intrigued by the moving lights being produced by the likes of Martin and Vari-lite but, as pocket money didn't stretch to a VL1, he decided to make one after school in his DT workshop. It was a new technology and he wanted to know everything about it so, using the stalwart tool of any young engineer - Meccano, he produced his own version. It even found its way onto local am-drams pantomime although Simpson is cagey about whether it would have passed the PAT test!

So: it's safe to say that James Simpson is passionate about technology and it's a lucky man who can indulge in his passion during the working day. As Lighting Visualiser at the Royal Opera House, with what he, himself, describes as 'the most amazing resources' he has had the opportunity to i

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14 March 2016

Mercer's brief is to develop the Concert Touring division of XL Video globally, by working with XL's offices in the US and mainland Europe to provide artists with a seamless touring solution across multiple continents.

"I'm hugely excited by my new role within XL Video," says Marcer, "and the responsibility that comes with keeping us visionary in our approach to the industry; in terms of providing cutting edge display technology, high skilled crew, efficient packaging and unequalled service.

"With live show revenues increasingly replacing CD sales as the main income stream for most touring artists, this places equal importance on high production standards and va

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14 March 2016

The Summer months see the live events production industry go into overdrive to meet the demands of touring artists as they hit the festival circuit. Colour Sound Experiment and Nitelites needed quick, competitive finance options to invest in kit on the riders of some of the most popular touring artists and Azule were on hand to deliver.

Specialist lighting and sound designers, Colour Sound Experiment, in

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14 March 2016

Two positions from ROH2's eight-strong team have been made redundant, including that of head of opera development, a role held by John Lloyd Davies. The post of manager of the On the Road programme, which oversaw projects around the UK, has also been axed.

Following Davies' redundancy, an ROH spokeswoman said director of opera Kasper Holten would head the team responsible for new operatic work, to run in the Linbury Studio Theatre and Clore Studio - spaces traditionally associ