USA - PRG is pleased to announce that Tim Brennan has re-joined its operations in Las Vegas as sales and customer development executive. Brennan is tapped to develop lighting and theatrical solutions for customers in a variety of markets including theatre, television, concert touring, clubs, and themed environments.

"We're delighted that Tim has returned to PRG," says Jere Harris, PRG's chairman and CEO. "With a wealth of industry experience and resources from his days at Cinema Services and Martin Professional, we look forward to having him continue expanding PRG's business in one of our fastest growing geographical markets."

Brennan got an early start in his entertainment career by accompanying his father, Jim Brennan, founder of Cinema Services, to visit clients at television events and theatres. Before moving to Martin Professional where he was director

Japan - Kururu is a shopping complex made up of two buildings, each six stories tall. The complex includes more than just shops and restaurants however. A cinema complex and other amusement facilities make Kururu an amusement shopping centre that has been attracting customers since its opening.

The shopping centre sought to add an attractive, eye catching element to the complex, both on the outer façade and inner courtyard area. A dynamic colour changing solution was supplied by Martin Professional Japan in the form of Martin Architectural Exterior 200 and Alien 02 colour changers with lighting design by Reiko Chikada Lighting Design Inc.

Six stories of opal glass windows on both sides of the buildings are illuminated internally using 22 full-range color mixing Alien 02 architectural lights. Vividly distinguishable against the nighttime sky, and visible from around the surrou

UK - Sky (BSKYB) has specified SoundField microphone systems to capture crowd ambience in 5.1 surround for Sky Sports HD Premiership Football coverage which begins transmission in early 2006.

After a lengthy evaluation period involving tests at many football grounds around the UK, Sky decided to standardise on SoundField in view of the level of clarity and realism demanded by the HD format. Another main consideration was SoundField's ability to collapse any 5.1 surround mix to stereo or mono without introducing any phase problems, making it ideal for live broadcast applications where events will be transmitted in HD and SD (Standard Definition) simultaneously. SoundField systems will be permanently installed at Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal where more regular HD coverage will be broadcast.

Pieter Schillebeeckx, SoundField technical sales, says: "We wor

UK - Specialist lighting students at Central School of Speech and Drama will benefit from sponsorship and equipment totalling in excess of £125,000. The equipment has been bought and gifted as part of the School's designation as the UK's Centre for Excellence in Training for Theatre.

The equipment will be installed by the end of October, and will provide theatre and studio lighting, as well as furnishing the lighting playground where undergraduate and postgraduate students can work alongside practicing professionals to push the lighting equipment to its limits. It will be situated in newly refurbished buildings, which include a lighting playground, two-floor design studios, editing suites, as well as music practice rooms and brand-new rehearsal spaces.

Lighting tutor Nick Moran says: "Thanks to the award of Centre for Excellence, we have been able to spend over &pou

UK - The first of Turbosound's TCS Compact series to be installed in the UK feature in two recently opened theme-bars - in London and Peterborough - forming the central element of the venues' new audio systems, designed and installed by Egham-based retail AV specialist, Marquee Installations.

Launched at PLASA 2005, the multi-model TCS Compact series is designed specifically for use by installation contractors, by offering the widest flexibility in mounting and rigging facilities, in the choice of colour finishes, and in the range of audio options available. At Reflex in the City of London, an 80s revival club-bar with a chrome and neon interior, Marquee's system is designed to be capable of generating a full-on party atmosphere. A city bar in the early evenings, the venue transforms into a lively club later at night, and can accommodate around 400 people. The main dance floor s

Switzerland - In Autumn 2001, the old Wankdorf stadium in the Swiss capital of Berne was demolished to make way for a new multi-purpose stadium. The stadium where Germany won the FIFA World Cup for the first time against Hungary in 1954 (known as The Miracle of Berne), witnessed its last football match on August 3rd before the demolition team moved in.

The general contracting company, Marazzi AG, were awarded the contract for the planning and the realisation of the stadium, with a construction budget of 350m Swiss Francs. Over 32,000 comfortable seats make the Stade de Suisse one of the largest sporting stadiums ever built in Switzerland. Spectator comfort is at the forefront under the covered stands. There is an extensive range of catering services at over 20 locations in the ground; VIP and business lounges, 20 boxes, clear stewarding and sign-posting arrangements for visitors

UK - Komedia is Brighton's leading live entertainment venue, weekly playing host to a huge variety of musicians, comedians and other performers. Because of the theatre's demanding and varied schedule, it is crucial that the interior of the venue be versatile and robust. The entire set up regularly needs a complete change around in a matter of hours.

In 2003, Maltbury supplied Komedia with an initial package of Metrodeck when the venue underwent a major overhaul. Because of the theatre's schedule, it truly puts Maltbury's popular staging system to the test. The system is regularly moved around to accommodate the widely differing performances taking place: bands such as Supergrass and The Tiger Lillies, theatre productions for all ages, poetry and stand-up. The Metrodeck system has made this task possible.

Komedia's technical manager Chris Williams says: "This is a very ver

UK - Futurelight fixtures provide the heavy artillery in a remarkable Bournemouth nightclub conversion which has provided CanDu Entertainment with its flagship venue, 'Censo'. The former Berlins was given a near £1m makeover in preparation for a pre-Christmas opening. Various design themes were considered before architect/designers Carey Jones Interiors conceived a stunning first floor scheme with both mystical and North African overtones. Shisha pipe smoking areas adorn the tented Arabesque Lounge, while opposite they have borrowed inspiration from the Supper Club in Amsterdam with a series of giant beds.

Facing each other on the other two axes are very distinct areas - the bordello-chic red velvet bar staring down the room at 'The Gods' - a raised, bookable VIP booth holding ten people. And in this theatre of the absurd actors blend inconspicuously to spice up the social

UK - Sound recording college SAE London has completed the installation of its Digidesign ICON studio in a newly formed control and live room.

The Digidesign ICON is a control surface for Digidesign ProTools that provides "intuitive operation in line with other large format consoles... It provides an unprecedented level of control for ProTools allowing for intuitive mixing whilst giving access to the full power and flexibility of ProToolsHD".

SAE has installed a 32 Fader Icon console, which is based on the flagship D-Control tactile work surface. The studio features an HD2 ProTools system using an Apple PowerMac Dual G5 as well as Focusrite and SPL mic preamps and Bluesky monitors. Students will use the ICON for their music productions and are able to move their projects between four studios: ICON, SSL G+, Neve VR and SSL AWS.

(Jim Evans)

France - Blackout France, working with Ethik Event (the event subsidiary of Dans le Noir Restaurants) has created complete darkness in a series of rooms used for companies' product launches, seminars and dinners.

The series of restaurants are created to be completely in the dark. The aim is to "awaken and train guests to a variety of tastes, aromas, flavours and textures of exquisite cuisine". Since its opening in July 2004, the restaurant has been a huge success in Paris and a new restaurant will open on later this month in Farringdon, London.

Dominic Peissel, general manager of Blackout France comments, "A standard rental cloth was used that is entirely light-proof. We have taken a lot of care to make sure that there are no light leaks. It is a real pleasure working with Ethik Event on such an interesting concept and we have successfully worked with them on nu

UK - Lancashire's new Digital Technology Centre is showcasing its groundbreaking technology using a "virtual reception" display. The centre in Burnley has installed a hi-tech visual communications system that uses a large holographic screen provided by Visual Planet, to provide changing information and directions for visitors.

The Digital Technology Centre is a flagship centre in the North West that provides training, IT and manufacturing support, managed office units and conference facilities for developing technology or innovation businesses. It also works closely with students and staff at Burnley College, providing links between business tenants and the education sector.

"This centre is the first of its type in the region and we're keen that each area reflects our aims and ethos," explains Chris Baxter, managing director. "We wanted to show what we

The PLASA Show has today launched its 2006 website. The new site carries extensive information on PLASA06, which will bring the industry live to Earls Court 1 in central London between 10-13 September 2006.The striking new website has been designed to help exhibitors and visitors quickly access everything they need to know about the show. It features an easy-to-use menu system, quick links to essential information such as the exhibitor list and floorplan and a straightforward online registration area where visitors can pre-book their tickets at the reduced rate of £9.00 - a saving of 50% on the on-the-door price of £18.00.Further essential information will be added in the coming months, including details of the seminar programme and Innovation Awards, exhibitor and visitor events, the latest technologies to be previewed and any further new initiatives being introduced at PLAS

UK - The Bournemouth International Centre (BIC) has undergone a major refurbishment programme. As a major part of the this project, the Solent Hall has installed twenty Hall Stage ASM D8++ 1,000kg chain hoists to provide a permanent in-house mother truss for the room's own stage lighting and loading platform for incoming shows & events.

D8++ hoists fulfil the requirements of German safety standard BGV D8+, meaning that once a load has been positioned, no further safety device, such as a load arrestor or secondary safety line is required.

Halls also installed bespoke truss and cable management systems for 96 ways of dimming for the new house LX system in the venue which is owned and managed by Bournemouth Borough Council, operating alongside its sister venues, The Pavilion Theatre and Ballroom and The Pier Theatre to provide some of the best technical facilities in the UK.

(J

UK - Drapes specialists J&C Joel has supplied the acclaimed Yehudi Menuhin School for gifted young musicians, with 14 special acoustic drapes for two levels of its new 315 seat Menuhin Concert Hall.

The funding impetus for the £5 million project came with the death of Menuhin, the school's founder and mentor, in 1999. The new venue was finally completed and opened in January. Lead Architect Mark Foley of Burrell Foley Fischer worked closely with the School's acoustician Bob Essert of Sound Space Design and theatre consultants Anne Minors Performance Consultants.

The Menuhin Hall is a chamber music venue and a daily performance and rehearsal space for school use. The students are primarily string and piano players, however they also participate in school choirs, and student rock groups are starting up. Additionally, the Hall is available to hire for other music events and

New Zealand - The Christmas storefront window displays for the Myer Melbourne store were created in stunning style for the twelfth consecutive season by Stage One Promotions. Creative director John Kerr used a spread of Selecon stock including: 30 x Selecon Acclaim 650W Fresnels, 30 x Selecon Acclaim 650W profiles 24 - 44, 14 x Selecon 1kW Compact 6 Fresnels with the main special effect fixtures being 12 x Selecon Pacific 90º 1kW luminaries fitted with DHA gobo rotators.

"When these arrived on the market, my prayers were answered," said Kerr. "Building on top of the basic work horse rig, are an arsenal of "specials" or better known as "my expensive toys", from flame lights, fibre optics, LED fixtures, moving mirrors, water effects, DHA wheels, gobo rotators, candle effects and so on."

All of this equipment (combined with other luminarie

Belgium - Ampco Belgium collected the Installation Europe Award for Technical Excellence in Entertainment on the opening day of the Integrated Systems Europe Show in Brussels on 1 February. The award recognises the company's pioneering system design at the Kursaal Theatre, Belgium in 2005, which features a radical implementation of the Multi-Channel Reverb (MCR) concept.

The Kursaal, a newly refurbished 2,201 seat multi-purpose auditorium in Ostend, was equipped with an MCR system that allows the reverberation time of the room to be varied, without the addition of electronic reverb, in nine discrete steps at the touch of a button. This allows it to provide an acoustically optimized playing and listening environment for every type of performance from orchestral and opera to TV shows and reinforced music.

The system has to perform four separate roles - sound reinforcement for co

UK - ADC's first major installation at London Luton Airport involved the design, supply and installation of PA and paging for the new walkways and gates built in the summer of 2002. At that time a TOA SX-1000 paging matrix and various branded loudspeakers were used to provide paging for the new build and also paging facilities for the entire old terminal, replacing their existing control system. All of the old paging panels were upgraded to custom ADC designed and supplied units and new amplifiers were installed to drive both the new loudspeakers and also the older legacy system.

The New Terminal Building's (NTB) existing voice alarm systems front end control and amplifiers were upgraded by ADC to a TOA VX-2000 integrated voice evacuation control system. Fibre-optic LAN based paging and control systems have also been installed throughout the airport complex and WAN based technol

USA - A sound system that's perfect for DJ's is not generally the ideal setup for live performances, but that didn't stop San Francisco's Mezzanine from trying to deliver both. After three years of dedicated effort to establish itself as a premier venue for DJ talent from around the world, the club wanted to start competing for top-name live acts.

The club's first step was to hire production manager Josh Roberts, whose resume includes A-list names like Ben Harper, Beth Orton, King Crimson and Meat Beat Manifesto. While Roberts was happy with Mezzanine's existing DJ gear, he knew that an entirely different sound system was needed for the club to attract A-level live acts. "We had a four-way Funktion One loudspeaker system that delivered great highs and lows, but they lacked the mid range required for live concert sound," said Roberts. "Besides, it's unnatural to wa

UK - Architectural and feature lighting specialists i-Vision has supplied and installed a highly atmospheric lighting scheme at the Courtyard Hotel in Leixlip, just outside Dublin. The beguiling building right on the banks of the River Liffey was Ireland's first and original Guinness Brewery, back in 1756.

The 40 room Courtyard Hotel contains two top class restaurants and four bars, six conference suites and exterior seating for 1000 people. Attention has been paid to detail in the renovation of the old brewery which has seen the sympathetic addition of a brand new hotel wing. From the outset, they realised that lighting was an essential 'finishing' factor, and vital to the overall aesthetics and feel of the environment.

Working with architect Eamonn McCann and interior designers Eileen Cogan and Bernadette Prior, the Courtyard's general manager Gavin O'Shea was also involved

Arizona - E4 is a new club that offers patrons a high energy experience spread across four distinct zones. A unique multi zone experience allows clubgoers to pass through the four classical elements - Fire, Liquid, Earth and Air.Thom Casey, designer and senior engineer at Wardin, Cockriel & Associates, completed the dance floor lighting, audio and video design.

The Fire room is three areas in one - a disco, lounge and VIP room. Dark, moody, and blazingly red, Fire surrounds patrons in iron, stone and flame. The room features custom elements like an iron sculpted lighting fixture, Gothic iron chandelier and elevated throne complete with illuminated spires. Seven Martin Mania DC-2 decoration fire effects projecting onto a brushed stainless bar top add to the fiery atmosphere.

Suspended from a circular four meter diameter Global Truss is a dance floor lighting system of 4 MX-10 s

UK - The PAI Group has designed and installed an eye-catching lighting scheme in the Roof top lounge at the Stradey Park Hotel in Llanelli. The hotel is privately run by Gryphon Leisure. Its new rooftop conservatory lounge gives the grand old Edwardian building a contrasting and contemporary twist.

Gryphon initially approached PAI to provide an audio solution for the new space. However, as soon as Paul Adams set eyes on the plans, he immediately saw the potential for lighting. He suggested this to the client, who was also convinced, and gave Adams the green light to create a scheme.

"The place was just crying out to be lit, " explains Adams, "It was a simple idea to basically edge light the glass panels of the roof, but one that I knew would have massive impact." Adams conceived the lighting design with Geoff Jones from i-Vision, utilising a total of twenty

UK - Zero 88 reports further success with its lighting consoles and dimmers within large educational establishments. Melton Mowbray-based Hawthorn Theatrical has successfully equipped two of the new City Academy Programme projects with a range of Zero 88 products - and is about to undertake a third.

The City Academy Scheme is a relatively new Government backed programme, which provides inner city areas with new "flagship" schools. These completely new purpose built facilities allow students to expand and develop within a varied educational programme whilst offering the very latest high quality equipment.

So far Lambeth and Northampton Academies have been equipped with Chilli Dimmers and varied lighting consoles. Northampton Academy which opened on January 9th 2006, has been equipped with 96 channels of Chilli dimming along with an Illusion 500 console, whilst at the

USA - The Colorado Springs Fine Arts Centre (CSFAC) has long been a cornerstone of all things artistic in the region. Housing a gallery, artistic and theatrical teaching facilities, and a multi-use performance hall, the centre truly provides a bit of everything to this rapidly growing metropolitan area.

However, as is often the case with grand historical buildings, the centre's performance space has started to show its age, prompting a much-needed remodel project last summer. For the required sound system work the centre looked no further than across town to audio firm Audio Analysts (AA), veterans of nationwide commercial, corporate, and worship installations, as well as the force behind the sound systems for such touring acts as Bruce Springsteen, No Doubt, and Norah Jones.

Tthe job presented a myriad of challenges and difficulties, the largest being the range of events pres

UK - A state-of-the-art PA system has been developed for Caledonian Macbrayne (CalMac)'s new ferry terminal in Oban by T.G.Baker Sound, one of the UK's leading PA/VA system houses and Interalia Communications, a leading designer and manufacturer of digital voice announcement solutions.

The pioneering product enables CalMac's operators to programme a series of general announcements during the day and also enter the timetable arrival and departure announcements to free up staff from having to make manual announcements during busy times.

CalMac currently owns and operates a fleet of 31 vessels providing passenger, vehicle and shipping services to the islands off the West Coast of Scotland and in the Clyde estuary. Two other vessels are retained on Charter. There are currently 26 routes within the network. In 2004, more than 5 million passengers and over one million accompanied ca

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