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USA - Nemetschek Vectorworks has announced the release of the Japanese-language version of the award-winning Vectorworks 2015 product line that includes Designer, Architect, Landmark, Spotlight, Fundamentals and Renderworks®.

To supplement localized European and Spanish-language releases of Vectorworks 2015 last fall, Nemetschek Vectorworks' Japanese distributor, A&A Co., Ltd., hosted events at six major cities in Japan in the weeks leading up to the launch, attracting crowds of hundreds of designers wanting to test out the platform's new capabilities.

Vectorworks 2015 software features over 100 updates and new features in the areas of architecture, BIM, urban planning and entertainment design. In addition, the power of 64-bit is now integrated throughout the entire product line, allowing designers to create larger projects with increased performance and stability. These i

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Brit Award Nominations - Sam Smith leads the charge at this year's Brit Awards, with five nominations, it has been announced. The 22-year-old is up for best British male, breakthrough artist and best album, for In The Lonely Hour. He is closely followed by singer-songwriters Ed Sheeran and George Ezra, who each receive four nominations, and rock duo Royal Blood, who have three. This year's ceremony takes place in London's O2 arena on 25 February.

Rock Revival - The four surviving members of the Grateful Dead are coming back to life for a series of farewell concerts. Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, Phil Lesh and Bob Weir will reunite at Chicago's Soldier Field, nearly 20 years to the day of the last Grateful Dead concert, which took place at the same venue. The band is celebrating its 50th anniversary, and the shows from 3 to 5 July will mark their final performance.

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UK - Leisuretec Distribution Ltd has announced its new trade partnership with the American manufacturer Samson Technologies, an industry leader in both consumer and professional audio equipment.

Leighton Buzzard-based Leisuretec are distributors of professional and commercial audio, lighting, video and special effects to the trade. Cliff Dounting, managing director, commented on the new partnership: "We are very proud to be partnering with Samson, a company with a great pedigree along with an exciting product range, all of which make for a very strong fit with Leisuretec's portfolio enabling us to further grow our service and capabilities to the industry trade and in particular the MI retail sector."

Samson developed the first professional USB microphones to be used by musicians, broadcasters and podcast enthusiasts and their USB microphone is now the industry standa

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Europe - After the appointment of AED Distribution as distributor for QSC Pro Audio in Germany and UK in addition to its BeNeLux distribution, and the expansion into the European continent for High End Systems products, the Belgium-based company is also expanding its team.

AED Distribution, with offices in the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, France & Belgium, has hired several people to support its future growth into these new markets. Hans Vanderheijden, managing director at AED Distribution HQ, comments, "Over the last couple of years we have build a clear strategy to strengthen and focus on a European Master Distribution model, which enabled us to develop our distribution network in Europe. Some markets were approached directly through our own setup, in others we went to market through selected partners. As a result of our expansion into these new markets, we felt the need

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UK - Midlands-based manufacturer of electrical distribution systems, ide Systems, has expanded its operations by opening a new rental division near Lichfield. The move to unit 4AD, zone 2, Burntwood Business Park, has enabled ide Systems to split its business into three distinct areas.

The company, which provided power distribution and cabling for the London Olympics in 2012 and the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow last year, will locate its rental division to the 7,950 sq.ft unit after it agreed a five-year lease with London & Cambridge Properties, which owns and manages zone 2, 3 and 4 of the business park.

The company's other business interests - ide Systems, which focuses on sales and manufacturing, and ide Online - will continue to operate out of its headquarters in Cannock.

Managing director Ian Thomas said: "Due to the active increase in demand, our fleet based at o

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Poland - The National Theatre in Warsaw is one of the most important theatrical venues in Poland, dating back to the 18th century. So when the theatre decided to upgrade the old stage management system, Green-Go was the intercom system of choice chosen to create a party line network communication system.

Piotr Jankiewicz who is director of design and integration at Konsbud Audio, the company contracted to install the new system said, "The stage management system covers four stages located in two buildings which are separated by a street, under which is a mini stage located in the passage between the buildings. It was vital that we installed a system that guaranteed communication between all technical work stations. It had to be so much more than a straight forward intercom system."

The new system needed to be able to provide wired and wireless connection, party line

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UK - uTRAC has supported the Production Services Association (PSA) to offer its members an exclusive discount for selected workforce management packages.

Members of the live event production industry trade association PSA can now benefit from both the uTRAC Core and Core plus packages, providing a comprehensive application for managing and tracking high-volumes of labour.

Andy Lenthall, general manager of the PSA said, "It is our ongoing aim to offer membership advantages by bringing the latest resources from credible systems to benefit their businesses."

uTRAC's founder Ronan Moore said, "Following a fantastic year of new investment and exponential feature developments, we're pleased to offer PSA members our award winning solution for more streamlined crew scheduling and improved communication with their teams. Visit us at the Event Production Show for a live

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UK - Cinelease has appointed Steve Smith as its Managing Director for the UK. Smith brings 30 years' of industry experience with him having formerly been the Group Managing Director of AFM Lighting and more recently Worldwide Managing Director of Panalux.

Steven M Ortiz (Cinelease global VP) comments: "We are delighted to welcome someone of Steve's calibre and proven track record to Cinelease. We view his appointment as a sign of our commitment to being the leading company in the UK. Steve Smith has a proven track record over many years that clearly identified him as being the perfect choice for this important position and we are proud that he has agreed to join Cinelease".

Steve Smith said: "I am very proud to start this new challenge with Cinelease. This has been a very important decision for me and I have been very impressed with the Cinelease team and their

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UK - Rose Bruford College students, staff and guests gathered for Sir Richard Eyre's annual President's Talk on Wednesday 21 January 2015 at the College's Rose Theatre.

Sir Richard, who has been the President of Rose Bruford College since 2010 and was director of Great Britain's National Theatre for a decade from 1987 to 1997, is currently working on a number of theatre and television projects, including an adaption for BBC 2 of Ronald Harwood's play the The Dresser, that stars two great theatrical knights--Sir Anthony Hopkins and Sir Ian McKellen.

The talk centred around readings from Sir Richard's latest book What Do I Know? People, Politics and the Arts (Nick Hern books) and was followed by questions from the audience.

Personal stories of Judi Dench, John Mortimer, Alan Bennett, Margaret Thatcher and Mary Soames (Winston Churchill's daughter) kept the audien

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Arts Education Funding - Youth dance and music schemes will benefit from an increased £109m in government spending in the coming year, after the Department for Education pledged its support for cultural education programmes. A number of projects - including the National Youth Dance Company and the BFI Film Academy - will be granted a share of £4m in the 2015/16 financial year. It was also revealed an extra £1.1m with be spent on In Harmony programmes - which aim to engage children in deprived areas with orchestral music - as well as National Youth Music organisations such as the National Youth Orchestra and Music for Youth's Schools Prom concerts.

The Music and Dance Scheme, which provides financial assistance to applicants for specialist arts schools, has also had its financial support bumped up by £1m - bringing its total funding to £29m. In addit

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UK - When London's Royal Opera House decided to measure the electricity consumption of the Linbury Studio's stage lighting equipment, they opted for a MeasureMyEnergy system, provided by industry consultancy :entertaining sustainability. The modular nature of the MeasureMyEnergy system proved ideal for monitoring 36 key circuits across two separately located major distribution boards to monitor - plus mains incomers at 630 Amps per phase.

Tim Atkinson, technical director at :entertaining sustainability, said: "After a site visit to establish exactly what needed measuring, we put together a package that allowed the Lighting Systems Team to monitor the electrical consumption of the Linbury Studio in real time over the internet."

A 12- or 24-channel Power Distribution Monitor (PDM) with network access sits alongside each distribution board, with current clamps feeding d

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UK - Registration for the fifth European RDM and sACN Developers Conference and Plugfest is now open.

The event will run Wednesday 22nd, Thursday 23rd and Friday 24th April 2015, in the UK, at Gatwick Manor, London Road at Lowfield Heath, just south of Gatwick Airport.

The Developers Conference provides a European forum for manufacturers, designers, consultants and prospective users to discuss and learn about the various control protocol standards emanating from the PLASA Technical Standards program, and aims to ensure that the adoption of these new standards achieves desired levels of interoperability and reliability.

Conference sessions will cover the use and implementation of the published RDM, sACN and ACN standards, together with other projects in the current PLASA Technical Standards Program such as "E1.33 : RDMnet".

The "Plugfest" is a hands-on o

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UK - With Colette Carter having recently joined Stage Electrics as sales manager with responsibility for developing growth in hire, Colette has been swift to act by restructuring the customer facing hire team.

Based at the company's headquarters, Colette brings a wealth of experience to the Stage Electrics London and Bristol operations, having worked for more than 20 years within the engineering and distribution industries.

Previously, Colette was branch manager at Buck and Hickman, one of the UK's leading distributors of tools, maintenance and health and safety equipment. Prior to that she had moved up 'through the ranks', holding a number of key management positions.

On joining Stage Electrics she was tasked by Adrian Searle, head of technical & hire operations to re-focus the company's hire sales team.

"My background is predominantly in people management and develo

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UK - The Theatres Trust has welcomed Tim Eyles as its new chair, appointed by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Rt Hon Sajid Javid MP.

Responding to the announcement, Tim Eyles said, "I'm genuinely thrilled to take on this role. It is a great privilege and a real honour. I'm also energised about working with such an excellent group of trustees who serve the Trust with such dedication and creativity. The Theatres Trust fulfils an important national purpose and I will give my best efforts to lead the Trust through the next exciting chapter of its evolution."

Tim Eyles is managing partner UK and international board member of leading international law firm Taylor Wessing, chair of The Jerwood Charitable Foundation, one of the UK's leading arts charities, and a director of the Jerwood Space. Taylor Wessing has strong cultural connections with the arts w

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Half Time News - Katy Perry used a giant tiger, Lenny Kravitz and backing dancers dressed as sharks to wow the crowds with her Super Bowl half-time performance. The singer rattled through a medley of hits during a 12-minute concert that also included a guest appearance from rapper Missy Elliott. It ended with Perry singing Firework as actual pyrotechnics exploded above her. According to The Guardian, the result was a "high-octane show [as] notable for its surreal camp as for its tunes". The New York Times said she "held her own, navigating a handful of her smashes and three wardrobe changes in a performance that resisted bad mood". "Even if you weren't a fan of Perry's music, you had to be impressed with her spectacle," agreed USA Today.

Stage Awards - The Young Vic and Park theatres in London, Southampton's Nuffie

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South Africa - Johannesburg-based DWR Distribution will be hosting Avolites training sessions this month, with a one-day Titan One training session on 24 February, followed by a three-day Basic to Advanced course from 25-27 February. The training will be presented by DWR's Gareth Chambers.

Nick Britz from DWR comments: "Gareth Chambers hosts regular training sessions which are well received by the industry. He has a great knowledge on lighting and control, having formally worked in the rental market. He is also very passionate about sharing this knowledge."

The Titan One DMX USB Dongle allows the user to output one line of DMX with the full functionality of Avolites Titan Software. Users are able to access powerful features such as Pixelmapper, Quicksketch, Media Clip Select, Attribute Control-Blades and ShapeGenerator. Titan One allows unlimited usage providing unin

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UK - Technical events specialists Broadsword Productions, Crossbow Media and TM Audio Visual (TMAV) have rebranded under one name, the Broadsword Production Group. The move makes things even simpler for clients, who can choose from a range of creative, technical and production event services from one organisation, the company says.

The trio of departments has worked in partnership for a number of years to offer a broad mix of creative, production and technical event services. A sharp increase in demand from clients for a more integrated approach combining all three services, was the main catalyst behind the re-brand, which coincides with the 10-year anniversary of Broadsword Productions.

"We were already working together as a tight unit, so it was a logical step to rebrand under one name. And what better time to do it than when we are celebrating our tenth year in busines

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Australia - Stephen Dallimore has joined the Show Technology team as business development manager. He was previously at ETF where over a period of four years, he was responsible for the rebuilding of Entech and the development of his idea of Entech Connect.

"I am excited to have a professional like Stephen join our team, I have the utmost respect for his approach to business and his interpersonal skills are second to none," commented Emmanuel Ziino, managing director of Show Technology. "I feel he will help Show Technology immensely in continuing to provide industry leading sales and service support."

"One of the hardest things in business is getting the right people in the right spots... and in my dealings with Stephen at ETF he has always impressed me with his integrity, enthusiasm and dedication to tasks," remarked Mark McInnes, national sales

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USA - Syncrolite has announced the appointment of Paul Rabinovitz of PMRi LLC as its director of product sales and marketing. In his new position, Rabinovitz is responsible for managing Syncrolite's new product sales and marketing on a worldwide basis. Using a combination of public relations, the web, traditional and social media outlets he will oversee marketing efforts in addition to being the main contact for the sale of new and used products.

"I feel like I am coming home," remarked Rabinovitz. "After spending so many years, first at Xenotech and then at Strong Entertainment lighting working with high-intensity Xenon lighting products I could not be more excited to join Syncrolite and continue that tradition. Clearly, Syncrolite is without a peer in this field and if you will pardon the pun the future looks bright."

"Paul brings with him a wealth o

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South Africa - Lighting designer Francois van der Merwe will present Vectorworks Training during March at DWR Distribution, Johannesburg. There are four different courses to choose from, all of which will include training notes and lunch.

A Basic One Day Training course takes place on 9 March. Subjects include Basic Fundamentals, Layouts, Pallets, Basic Tools, Classts & Layers.

The Intermediate Two Day Training will be hosted on 10-11 March. Topics include Preferences, Workspace, Basic Spotlight, Basic Renderworks and Intermediate Tools. The cost is R1 500.00 incl. VAT.

The Advanced Two Day Training will be held on 12-13 March. Subjects include Working Planes, Advanced Modelling and Advanced Renderworks.

Alternatively, delegates may prefer attending all of the above-mentioned dates for Full Vectorworks Training Week held from 9-13 March.

(Jim Evans)

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USA - Lighting designer Betsy Adams, and her husband, theatre consultant Bob Murphy, are the newest members of the Ghostlight Society, the Behind the Scenes charity's legacy giving program. Betsy and Bob have made provisions to remember Behind the Scenes in their wills, thus ensuring their colleagues and the next generation of entertainment technology professionals will receive assistance if they become ill or injured.

Betsy and Bob commented on their reasons for joining the Ghostlight society: "We really believe in Behind the Scenes and wanted to do what we could to make sure the program thrives long into the future."

All members of the Ghostlight Society receive a beautiful sterling silver pin designed and handcrafted by award-winning, New York jewellery designer Susan Barth. Each pin is individually numbered.

There are several ways you may become a member of the

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UK - Since launching back in September 2014, over 250 rental businesses in the AV, lighting, events and broadcast sectors are now signed up to Current RMS, quickly identifying the benefits of cloud rental management software.

At the end of January 2015, Current RMS officially became a partner of the popular cloud accounting software Xero, offering seamless integration with this easy to use product, streamlining the rental cycle that one step further.

Prior to launching Current RMS, rental experts came onboard to test the system, working with the team to ensure it was entirely ready for launch. The same process took place for the Xero integration. One of the testers, Steve Lucas, owner of Soundbite Productions, has quickly seen the benefits of operating his rental business entirely in the cloud.

"Current is a must have for rental and hire companies, especially for those

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UK - Jonathan Djanogly MP, made a special trip to officially open Le Mark's new super-efficient office & warehousing expansion in Cambridgeshire.

The new extension allows Le Mark's UK & export teams to expand even further, with almost double the original floor space.

The new development also includes a showroom for its global brand-Dirty Rigger Gloves & Accessories and an in-house photography and video studio. The studio will be there to support Le Mark's global distribution network, offering on-demand, customised product demonstration videos and marketing material.

With energy efficiency and green credentials held paramount throughout the design and construction, Le Mark's new development offers 21st Century low-energy innovation.

From state-of-the-art intelligent air-sourced heating to multi-layer insulation, natural light tunnels and LED low-energy lighting, Le Mark's n

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Record Receipts - London's West End has reported its 11th consecutive year of record box office takings, measuring gross sales of more than £623m in 2014. Figures published by the Society of London Theatre also show increased attendance at London's major commercial and subsidised venues during 2014. However, some of the increase is due to the fact that the year was recorded as a 53-week period, rather than the usual 52.According to SOLT, 14.7m people attended the 52 London theatres in full SOLT membership in 2014, a 1.0% increase on 2013. Gross box office revenue was up 7% on 2013, rising from £585.5m to £623.6m. This is a 29% increase on the last 53-week year, which was in 2008, and an 82% increase on the 53-week period before that, in 2004.SOLT claims that the increase in revenue can be attributed to an improved seat capacity achieved across the year, which is
  1. Stage Electrics & Northern Light strengthen board
  2. ISE takes majority share in digital signage conference
  3. Making creative places sustainable
  4. Drop-in week at Ambersphere Solutions
  5. REM wins Culture Liverpool contract
  6. Britannia Row sets training schedule for 2015
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