USA - An impossible-to-miss media event, the launch of - the longest, widest and tallest passenger ship ever built - caused an international stir. Pathway Connectivity keeps the data flowing in the four of the most technically sophisticated facilities aboard the largest passenger ship ever built - Cunard's $800 million historic luxury liner, Queen Mary 2. The four areas are the Main Lounge, the Queen's Room, the disco and Illuminations, the first floating planetarium ever constructed.

The Main Lounge sports 45 Pathport DMX units, running eight universes driven by an MA Lighting GrandMA console in a full tracking backup configuration, using a GrandMA Relay unit. The control system outputs Pathport protocol directly, using DMX only at the output stage. The award-winning Pathport DMX management system is more than a tool to route DMX over Ethernet, say the company: with up to 64

Sweden / Norway - Visual act, the Swedish stage automation specialist, has recently completed the installation of a new control system for the Norwegian Theatre in Oslo, involving the replacement of drive electronics for 119 fly bars and point hoists. The system installed is capable of operating all the drives simultaneously, as was ably demonstrated during the testing period, when the company's technicians made the most of the empty stage by programming continuous movements and effects involving all 119 drives.

The latest version of Visual act's operator desk was selected as it is especially designed for permanent installations, providing an ergonomic work area suitable for many hours of use on an everyday basis. Three operator desks were installed - one of which is wireless and can be moved to the house for rehearsals.

The control system has fully redundant servers and po

UK - Marquee Audio has returned to the Derby Assembly Rooms,15 years after originally fitting a Court Black Box PA, replacing it with a Meyer M1D line array system. The Assembly Rooms was opened in 1977 as a rock and roll venue and is an integral part of the band touring circuit. "But then the big venues came along and the theatre circuit changed from 1,000-seat theatre venues to 21,000-seat arenas like the NEC, NIA, Sheffield Arena and of course Wembley," said the venue's technical manager, Nigel Palmer.

When a new general manager started a few years ago, the venue's 1000-seat Great Hall started to receive touring shows such as Boogie Nights with Shane Ritchie, which was a huge success. And when last year the venue put on its first ever pantomime - hosting 27,000 people to see Aladdin in just four weeks - the Assembly Rooms had firmly cemented its new revenue streams

UK - Installation company Clarity in Sound Light & Vision has completed a two-venue fit-out at the London School of Economics in the Aldwych. As a result, both the Three Tuns, a traditional ground floor bar, and Underground live music venue (in the basement) have extended their capacities (to 400 and 300 respectively). Combined with a third venue - the Quad - the LSE can now provide entertainment for 1300 people and route the signals from either of the live venues at any one time to the clientele in the bar.

Clarity director Stuart Graham again turned to Martin Audio, his first choice loudspeaker supplier, for the components in The Underground. (Martin Audio presented the company with an award for 'Best New UK installer' at the recent PLASA Show).

Four Blackline F12s are flown from the ceiling above the stage (on either side of the scanner lighting) while a pair of WS2As, gro

UK - Futurist Projects Ltd has completed the design, supply and installation of a complete technical infrastructure at the newly refurbished Cadogan Hall in Chelsea, London. The £24 million project has seen the elegant Grade I listed former Christian Scientist Church transformed into a cutting-edge modern concert hall, exhibition and arts venue. It's also become home to the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, ending 60 years of itinerancy.

Michel Lister co-ordinated and managed the project for Futurist, having been referred to Cadogan Hall via Leeds College of Music, where the company recently designed and equipped a purpose-built, 350-seat concert hall. Keen to push the technical envelope, Futurist's associate consultant Richard Northwood wanted to take a lateral approach, and utilize technologies and techniques common to other areas of the entertainment industry - such as theme pa

UK - Lighting Technology Projects (LTP) and sister company Vaughan Sound - both part of the PAI Group - collaborated to design, install and commission a complete new sound system and architectural and event lighting control at ExCeL, London's Exhibition and Conference Centre. The project involved the supply of new audio systems for ExCeL's Platinum suites and the reception areas on Levels 2 and 3 of the Centre.

The contract was managed by LTP's Jonathan Adkins: LTP handled the specification of lighting systems internally, utilizing PA Installations to assist with the signal processing and control infrastructure of the sound systems, plus all the AV, and IT / Control technologies. For sound reinforcement design, LTP called in VSI. Adkins comments: "It was a huge asset being able to offer the client a complete sound, visual and control solution. Having one company dealing wi

UK tsg, the national media programming and system design company recently announced the appointment of David Ridout as technical manager. Ridout previously worked for Middlesex Sound & Light and Tape Techniques; two well regarded installation companies, therefore Paul Kemp, tsg's operations manager had already witnessed first-hand Ridout's specifying, project management and installation skills, and moved quickly to secure his employment at tsg.

Ridout is equally thrilled to join tsg, and commented: "for a long time I have respected the entertainment environments that tsg provide for its many customers, and when I heard that there was an opening at tsg, I made sure that Paul Kemp knew I was interested". The move coincided with tsg securing the media supply and installation contract across 500 stores of the female fashion giant New Look, an account that was previously

UK - Centre Stage Engineering was recently awarded ISO 9001 certification as it commits to further improve customer satisfaction. The company also reports that it has been appointed as a recognized designer and installer by Gala Systems of Canada for its unique Spiralift drive transmission system used in stage elevators.

The recent doubling of the factory floor space to accommodate a stand-alone, in-house manufacturing and fabrication facility, means that the company can now tackle a wider range of projects, while the company also looked to the future with the recent appointment of a young design engineer to the team at the start of the year, along with the establishment of a contributory company pension plan and a mechanical engineering apprenticeship scheme.

Current projects include the supply and installation of all the stage machinery at the new prestigious Perth Concert

UK - The Queen Elizabeth Hall on London's south bank has been closed for much of this summer whilst undergoing a substantial refurbishment programme. The stage area in particular required a major overhaul and has undergone significant modernisation. ELP were brought in to strip out the old rigging structures and install a brand new, high spec rig.

"We were well placed to take the job on" explains ELP project manager Toby Dare "as we already provide all the rigging services for the Royal Festival Hall next door. We proposed and designed a new grid system for the QEH which would be flexible enough to accommodate the diverse range of productions the Hall now caters for. These now vary from orchestral performances, through to theatre, circus and modern dance."

Over a six-week period, (from the end of July to early September 2004) the ELP crew stripped out all

UK - Warrington Borough Council has built a new 24-hour security monitoring control room facility to improve its continued commitment to combat crime. A command wall system incorporating JVC's high resolution D-ILA DLA-SX21 projector and rear projection CinePro screens was specified by Industry Consultant Faber Maunsell.

Jason Todhunter, associate director at Faber Maunsell designed and planned the new facility, and has undertaken all technical project supervision. "Warrington Borough Council required a cutting edge control room facility. Previously CCTV monitoring was undertaken from an outdated control room within Warrington's police headquarters. The new development incorporates Warrington Borough Council's security monitoring as well as care call and emergency planning services," commented Todhunter.

Images displayed on the JVC command wall system are fed from ex

UK - The London School of Economics, one of the hotbeds of student radicalism in the 1960's, has recently revamped its three student entertainment spaces and QSC's AcousticDesign sound systems are prominently featured throughout the new venues.

Following a similar project at nearby Kings College, London's Clarity in Sound, Light and Vision has performed a major redesign on two of the three spaces: The Three Tuns, a 400-capacity traditional bar, and the 300-capacity Underground live music venue. Combined with a third venue, the Quad, the LSE can now provide entertainment for up to 1300 and route the signals from the live venues to patrons at the bar.

Clarity director Stuart Graham opted for a complete QSC-based system to meet the multi-purpose live and background music needs of the Three Tuns. Featuring a pair of AcousticDesign AD-S82 full-range enclosures, augmented by six AD-

UK - The Marquee Club is back up and running this autumn in a new venue, with Aztec, Audient's flagship live desk forming part of the new PA system, hand-picked and installed by Terminal Studios. Back again in its spiritual home in Soho, the Marquee Club is only a short walk from its famous Wardour Street location. With a capacity of 1000, the new venue at Number 1 Leicester Square needed professional help with the sound system.

Terminal Studios were chosen due to their wide experience of installing PA systems. Terminal's managing director Charlie Barrett says: "We knew that the sound system would be crucial to the success of the club. We wanted tried and tested equipment that engineers and bands would be familiar with. Turbosound Floodlight was the obvious choice of speaker as Terminal already had large stocks available. The Audient Aztec, however, was not originally on t

UK - The UK tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber's 'Starlight Express' is the country's first touring theatre production to feature 3D film, thanks to a stereoscopic video projection system supplied by London-based 3D specialists Inition.

The 'Duality' projection system - installed and maintained by Inition - recreates the high speed skate races that made the original London show one of the capital's most successful musicals of all time. The new tour builds on the achievements of the 2003/4 US Troika Tour - but, says Inition, "adds even more edge of the seat 3D sequences and jaw-dropping special effects".

Now the same projection system is heading to the UK for a new tour opening in Manchester on November 1st and stretching from Bristol to Edinburgh. Inition is again providing technical support and expert know-how to integrate the system into the UK production.

It marks the

Norway - The Christian Church congregation of Norway recently held the grand opening of their new 7,500-seat Brunstad Conference Center main hall and facilities. The new PA installation is the largest installed sound system in Norway and Europe's largest house of worship installation. The system featured the largest number of Crown I-Tech Series amplifiers in a European installation to date, with 100,000 watts of total amplifier power.

LydRommet AS, Harman Pro distributor for Norway, was responsible for system design, installation, trimming and quality control. The congregation's technical department handled all cabling and termination themselves.

Twelve I-T4000s and ten I-T6000s were used, in addition to one CTs 1200 for front fill, one CTs 2000 for stage fill, and four CTs 2000 for monitors. All loudspeaker control including crossover, equalization, delay and limiting is han

UK - The Welsh football team's international away fixture against England at Manchester United's Old Trafford ground on Saturday October 9 was seen live at the Millennium Stadium Cardiff courtesy of a giant inflatable Airscreen.

Thousands of Welsh football fans enjoyed the excitement of the World Cup 2006 qualifying international in the comfort of their home stadium, viewed on the largest outdoor screen ever seen in Wales. Erected on the pitch in just 20 minutes, the 18m x 14m (60' x 45') screen was the focal point for the presentation staged by Munich-based TAPE New Media, who also provided the projection. Two Barco projectors with a total light output of 24,000 ANSI lumens were used to provide the larger than life pictures.

The stadium's huge retractable roof, the first of its kind in the UK, was closed to create the perfect surroundings for the big picture show. The match w

USA - For the fifth election cycle in a row, Audio-Technica was the premier mic supplier for the USA's presidential debates. Audio-Technica provided wired and wireless microphone solutions for the presidential debates in Coral Gables, Florida on 30 September, St. Louis Missouri on 8 October and Tempe, Arizona on 13 October. A-T also provided onsite technical expertise at the first two debates of the series and had a strong presence, including onsite technical expertise, at the vice presidential debate at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, near A-T's Stow corporate headquarters.

A leading audio resource for high-profile broadcast events, A-T has been outfitting the debates since 1988, when the Commission on Presidential Debates assumed sponsorship and production responsibilities. With the company again acting as the premier mic supplier for all four debates this

New Zealand - Selecon has unveiled two new ranges of theatre lighting luminaires that promise more light and a smooth well-controlled beam with seamless blending, evenness and consistency. Available as single, 3- and 4-way battens, single luminaires can also be joined together to create custom battens using Selecon's unique slot lock joining system. A choice of lamp options provide all the light required with no distracting spill.

The new HUI range replaces Selecon's Acclaim Cyc, Flood and Groundrow range from October 2004. Fitted with a 500W lamp, it is suitable for cycs up to approximately 5m high. The use of the 800W P2/11 lamp allows for high intensity colour saturated cycs, smaller studios and to light higher cycs where luminaire hanging height is limited.

The LUI range of 1000W luminaires is designed for larger cycs or longer throws, particularly for users unable to affo

UK - Yamaha Commercial Audio Dealer Orbital has announced two UK sales of Yamaha's award-winning PM5D digital FOH console.

Bill Kenwright Productions has acquired the console to operate at the FOH position of their legendary musical 'Blood Brothers' at The Phoenix theatre in London's West End, whilst Sussex-based sound rental company KAVE Theatre Services has augmented the potential of its hire fleet with the addition of the PM5D.

Combining the features of Yamaha's DM2000 and the ground-breaking PM1D in a mid-priced digital console, complete with a third generation operating system, it is designed as a robust workhorse for all but the largest sound reinforcement projects.

Bill Kenwright's Production Manager, David Stothard, commented: "We have a long-running relationship with Orbital - their support and equipment demonstrations enabled us to make an informed decision

UK - At the end of September, the Institute of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) held its Annual Awards amid the Baroque splendour of Hawksworth's Christ Church, Spitalfields.

AV company Creative Staging, which has worked with IChemE for many years along with their event-management company, Peter Vary Associates and production company MCB, says it is "used to the challenge of creating a modern awards event in unusual locations". The newly restored Christ Church features authentic 18th century wood panelling and stonework, around which the stage set and equipment had to be sympathetically and carefully installed and operated, to create an empathetic environment for the celebration of the awards.

Creative Staging planned and supplied the set and three screens, with multi-camera live relay, along with extensive sound and lighting systems. An external generator was also suppli

Sweden - Solid State Logic has announced the sale of a C100 digital production console to the Malmo Opera and Music Theatre, the first time the desk has been used in a theatre application.

Situated in the centre of Sweden's Öresund region, the Malmo Opera and Music Theatre was originally opened in the 1940s with the aim of giving contemporary musical drama an opportunity to grow. The theatre has one of the largest stages in Europe and can seat up to 1,500 people.

Over recent months the management of the Malmo Opera and Music Theatre have been upgrading the sound system and FOH facilities to incorporate digital live sound. As part of this refurbishment, the Theatre decided to replace its 10-year-old analogue console with an SSL C100 digital production console because it needed a desk with more inputs and instant recall and reset capabilities.

Bengt Frienholt, technical man

France - Trantec has collaborated with its French distributor, Best Audio, to design and supply one of the largest S6000 wireless radio microphone systems deployed to date for the new musical production 'On Acheve Bien Les Chevaux', which opens at the Palais de Congrés later this month.

Adapted from Horace McCoy's legendary novel 'They Shoot Horses Don't They', the show is directed and produced by Robert Hossein and has attracted rave reviews as the first stage adaptation of this ground-breaking novel.

Trantec's Head of R&D, Richard Ganley, collaborated with leading French rental company Dispatch from the outset to ensure that the system integrated seamlessly with sound designer Julius Tessarech's sophisticated design and met his specifications.

The 40-channel S6000 system was specified because of its wide band frequency agility. Trantec supplied a system operating between

UK - Creative Technology made its production debut with Scarlet productions at the 2004 Mobo Awards, providing a 28sq.m LED display in 16:9 aspect ratio as the centrepiece of a spectacular stage set at the Royal Albert Hall. The nature of the production dictated that the big screen specialists would need to field their highest-resolution display, and the Barco DLite 7 (situated upstage centre) provided the ideal technical solution for Julia Knowles of Scarlet Productions, who handled the TV direction.

The DLite 7 is a unique product, combining a 7mm resolution with short viewing distances, due to the extreme fill factor of the LED components. These were perfect attributes for a show in which the screen took a direct feed from the O21 OB truck via an SDI link, bypassing the usual submix. The signal chain started at front-of-house where content provider Richard Shipman, operating

France - Pope John Paul II makes an annual pilgrimage to the city of Lourdes in France where, in 1858, the Virgin Mary appeared to the maid Bernadette Soubirou. His visit always draws a huge crowd; this year, more than 300,000 people attended the ceremonies which took place over the course of a week, culminating in a keynote speech by His Holiness, choral and orchestral concerts, and the long-awaited mass.

Even On, the French PA company chosen to provide the sound reinforcement system, supplied a large number of Nexo GEO S tangent array speakers, siting them along the Pope's route as well as on the central stage. A total of 8 PA towers were set up, carrying a total of 74 GEO S805 and 8 GEO S830 speakers, powered by sixteen Camco Vortex 6 power amplifiers, each delivering 2 x 2,100 watts per channel. The system was managed by Nexo NX241 controllers and mixed on a Soundcraft MH4 4

UK - A.C. Lighting's Special Projects division has provided the £200k supply and installation of all technical facilities for a theatre studio and other teaching rooms at the B6 Sixth Form College in Hackney, London.

The College is the first of its kind for London in ten years and runs a wide range of further education courses for students in the borough, including Performing Arts vocational courses in Technical Theatre, Acting and Dance. When the College was granted funding to build new teaching rooms for the Creative Arts and Media department, it commissioned Theatre Consultant Crin Claxton to produce a detailed specification of the technical facilities required for a new theatre studio, dance studio and film screening room. The theatre would be used to host multiple types of student and guest artist performances, and provide teaching space for the various production and perf

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