Video and AV

Pictured (left to right): Russell Hartwell, Terence Ulysses, Andrea Sheldon, Paul Freeman and Ken Browne

Unitek Expands on All Fronts

Details: 14 March 2016

Over the past six months, Unitek Displays has supported their growth by making a number of key appointments in different departments. During that time, the company has added three new members to its sales team alone, firstly with Russell Hartwell (sales manager) - who brings 10 years’ experience in the LED display and customer information display market - followed by Terence Ulysses (field service supervisor) who has been working in the maintenance and support of electronic information display systems for the last 15 years. Now Unitek has recruited Ken Browne (Sales Executive), latterly with Gearhouse, and prior to that with a 15-year service record at Pioneer UK. The new sales force will be supported by the long-serving marketing team of Paul Freeman and Andrea Sheldon. Finally, Unitek have made two key appointments in their engineering department, with Quality Manager Terry Seymo

CT Flies UK’s Largest 10mm LED Screen

Details: 14 March 2016

Forever Living Products, the world’s largest cultivator and distributor of Aloe Vera products, brought their motivational world rally to Wembley on April 21, where the Arena was configured as a 5,000-seat auditorium. Hired by production company Creative Realisation Ltd, AV solution specialists, Creative Technology provided a record-breaking backdrop over the elevated stage. Their modular 10mm pixel pitch LVP-102D LED screen fromLighthouse Technologies, configured as a 12 x 9-module display (7.86m x 4.32m) for 16:9 aspect ratio projection, became the largest 10mm LED screen ever flown in the UK.

Flanking each side of the LED screen at Wembley were gauzes, onto which Creative Technology projected graphics, via their recently-acquired Christie Digital 10k Roadies. The world’s first purpose-built projector for the rental staging community, the Roadie delivers 10,000 ANSI lumens

XL Video US

Details: 14 March 2016

Live concert touring and special event video production specialist XL Video is opening its new USA Office in Los Angeles. The US operation is headed by Bob Higgins and Barbara Riedling; both of whom have vast experience of the US concert touring business. The US base is designed to offer video equipment, crew and service for all XL clients whose tours originate from US, European and Far Eastern operations. The first tour overseen by XL’s new US office is U2’s Elevation world tour; using Barco, the video projection surrounds the stage, while motorized LED video screens come and go throughout the show. U2 begins its LA area performances this week in Anaheim.

The US office carries the same fully digital touring systems that are now standard XL issue in Europe. Bob Higgins’ career in the music business started as a Hollywood recording engineer. While working with a gold r

The Corrs

Details: 14 March 2016

There’s an orange-haired clown from the USA who 30 years ago perfected a presentational strategy that’s seen his products grow to become a global monster. The recipe for success is to satisfy the appetite with something that’s unlikely to offend even the most delicate palette.

While the three girls and brother Jim can hardly be likened to a hamburger and fries, they do present an inoffensive brand of pop that while delightful, is unlikely to become a healthy diet if taken in excess. It was March ‘98 when I last saw the Corrs, in a sub-2,000-seat theatre on that occasion. Their early singles had begun what’s become the band’s long flirtation with the charts. Have three years been a long enough break? In short, yes. The band’s live performance is much improved in that there is now an edge to them, and, dare I say it, I prefer the songs performed

Rock ‘n Rolling with EST

Details: 14 March 2016

Those masters of rock industry logistics, EST, are once more in the thick of the action over the summer season. Touring with a list of bands that reads like a roll-call of the top aristocracy of the rock music industry, the range of locations and number of vehicles involved is staggering. The tours are all major Arena and Stadium scale and are forecast to be the biggest gross-earning acts of the summer season. 16 of the familiar yellow and purple trucks will provide logistic support to Madonna’s European tour running from the 5 June until 12 July. A further eight trucks will provide transport for the Eagles, starting in Moscow on 29 May and finishing in Glasgow on 28 July. Another 16 EST trucks will accompany Bon Jovi’s European Tour which starts in Stockholm on 31 May with 16 more shows in locations as diverse as Huddersfield, Hamburg and Zurich before ending in Munich on 30

DJW Opens New Office in Middle East

Details: 14 March 2016

A number of successful projects and an expanding market have encouraged AV and multi media specialist, D J Willrich Ltd (DJW) to open their new office in Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. Located approximately 15 miles out of Dubai, in the Sharjah Airport International Free Zone, DJW’s new base will be run by Southampton couple Josh and Liz Miller. Josh, previously one of DJW’s senior project managers, will now be responsible for all DJW’s projects in the Middle East, whilst Liz will assist with the marketing and administration. Established in 1986, DJW grew from the AV Department of the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu. Since then the company has grown to achieve a multi-million pound turnover and become a major force worldwide in the AV and multi media industry. DJW’s ability and reputation is based on providing creative solutions that deliver the ultimate v

Great Wall of China

Details: 14 March 2016

Electrosonic’s tradition of creating giant high-resolution electronic images continues with the completion of a 180sq.m display in Beijing, China. The China Millennium Monument is China’s memorial building to the Year 2000. It is a grand structure, occupying a total floor space of about 30,000sq.m. Its Century Wide-Screen Projection Hall houses an impressive 56-screen (30m x 6m) projection videowall. Measure Scientific of Beijing was responsible for the design and integration of the system which uses Sanyo projectors and locally-manufactured screens controlled by an Electrosonic Vector image system.

Launch for Ground Zero

Details: 14 March 2016

Three European entertainment industry veterans have announced the formation of Ground Zero BV, which they claim to be ‘the first system integrator and show control specialist company in Holland’. The founders of Ground Zero are Sierk Janszen, Rutger van Dijk and Reind Brackman, all well known figures in the worldwide entertainment industry. The company’s main working area will be North-Western Europe and Spain.

Sierk Janszen has worked as applications manager at Avenger Systems in Belgium for the last six years after he had worked as a sound-engineer for several theatre-companies in Holland. Rutger van Dijk has been the manager of Vari-Lite Production Services Amsterdam since it establishment, before which he worked as technical production manager on many musical productions, Cirque du Soleil Europe and Focus Showequipment. Finally, Reind Brackman is the owner and fou

Ian Gordon Joins Christie

Details: 14 March 2016

The Christie Lites group of companies has announced the addition of Ian Gordon, formerly of Westsun International Inc, to the Christie Lites team. Gordon brings to Christie Lites 15 years’ experience servicing the concert industry in North America and Europe and will be working from the Christie Lites Vancouver office. "I’m extremely excited about the opportunity Christie Lites provides for myself and my family. The owner/operator business structure, combined with quality equipment and multiple offices throughout North America provide me with the desirable tools to service today’s concert marketplace. I have admired Christie Lites as competitors and look forward to being part of their team," says Gordon.

MCL Recruits Nick Whitehead

Details: 14 March 2016

MCL, the new AV staging services company set up by Avesco plc, has announced a major consolidation of its lighting department, which will enable it to offer sophisticated high-quality solutions on a par with investments already made in video, sound and staging. The highly experienced Nick Whitehead had been recruited to develop MCL London’s lighting inventory and create a support infrastructure. Nick was previously managing director of Lighting Unlimited, establishing the company on behalf of Gearhouse Group plc. His experience in lighting ranges from theatre work for the London Fringe, National Theatre and Orchard, to high-end design for corporate presentations. He said: "Alongside our established rental staging fleet, MCL’s investment in leading-edge equipment will enable us to meet a wide range of lighting requirements - from simple lamp kits for conference solutions

Stereoscopic DLP Projection from Christie

Details: 14 March 2016

High performance projection specialist Christie Digital Systems has announced it is the first company to deliver a complete suite of stereoscopic single projectors featuring 3-chip DLP technology. Specifically designed for stereo, the new Mirage line offers advanced performance features to revolutionize virtual reality (VR), entertainment and simulation markets worldwide. "With the introduction of Mirage, a noteworthy improvement in the projection of stereoscopic moving images is taking place. The Stereo3D image is the cleanest, clearest, and easiest ever seen. Moreover, the setup of projection is vastly simplified, and requires no tweaking for continued performance at a high quality level," said Lenny Lipton of the StereoGraphics Corporation.

Since the introduction of its high performance CRT stereo projectors in 1985, Christie Digital has established itself as the leading m

Supersonic Class

Details: 14 March 2016

The established relationship with British Airways, enjoyed by both the TOA Corporation and Unitek Displays, reached a pinnacle last month when the new Concorde Lounge opened at Heathrow’s Terminal 4.

Designed by Sir Terence Conran, in preparation for a resumption of supersonic services later this spring, the airline’s ambition is clear to see. In addition to employing top designers - including FutureBrand for the simultaneous development of their new First Class Lounge - they also invited spa specialists Molton Brown to create a shower room, steam room and massage area.

In the Molton Brown spa, a discrete TOA PC-5WL speaker can be found in each shower cubicle as well as the massage room, with local volume control independent of the overall level setting. The area is also serviced by a single TOA HB1 sub-bass unit.

However, the scheme in the new Executive Lounges has not

Fourth Phase at White Cliffs of Dover

Details: 14 March 2016

Fourth Phase Production Arts supplied a BP6 Gold Pani projector to artist Joanna Jones to realise her dramatic projected work on Dover’s famous white cliffs over the Easter weekend. The project was part of the Arts Council’s Year of The Artist initiative. Joanna’s idea was to combine the structures and textures of a cliff face with the structures and textures of a painted layer created by herself into a huge outdoor abstract painting. The painted layer was photographed as a 6 cm X 6 cm transparency by Ute Schendel which was then produced as a large format Cibachrome Pani slide by Wyatt Enever of DHA. Production Arts Emma Hutchison and Dominic Airs visited the site and ran a camera obscura to establish the lens needed, the exact size the artwork should be and the optimum positioning of the projector. They used a 22cm lens and a throw distance of 50 metres to produce a 35

Navigator Hamper

Details: 14 March 2016

Navigator Systems recently presented Pascale Lecomte of Britannia Row with a Harrods food hamper for taking part in a research and development project linked to the company’s Hire Track Eclipse rental management software. Britannia Row, which has been using Eclipse since 1999, was chosen at random from a number of companies who participated. Navigator will use the results from the findings to further develop the software.

Thompson Leaves Shoptick.com

Details: 14 March 2016

Frances Thompson has announced that she is leaving the US-based production industry web venture, Shoptick.com. Launched last year, Shoptick.com offers ‘e-business for show business’ with production resources including online inventory tracking and project management, product and manufacturer listings and crew resources. Thompson, who previously worked for US truss manufacturer Tomcat, was responsible for marketing at Shoptick.com. She told PLASA Media that Shoptick.com was in the process of downsizing in order to concentrate heavily on product development. The company’s Kansas City staff will now handle marketing as well as continuing to provide the level of service already established.

Adam Hall to Distribute Racklight in Europe

Details: 14 March 2016

The Adam Hall group has announced its agreement with California-based RPM Optoelectronics to distribute RPM’s innovative new Racklight throughout Europe. Racklight represents a new dimension in glare-free directional focused lighting for rack cabinets. Technical advances incorporated in the ‘Racklight’ provide visually uniform, brilliant illumination unavailable in other products. The unique design of the UV-resistant acrylic light guide provides heat-free, concentrated light with no hot bulbs to handle or change, and is guaranteed for five years. Racklight illuminates one metre of rack space with cool, even light. Built with high quality materials around dependable solid state lighting, ‘Racklight’ is a safe and durable addition to any rack equipment, and is available in a variety of light source colours.

Catalyst Will Spur Video Development

Details: 14 March 2016

This year’s PLASA will see the future of automated lighting and the application of high-powered video projection, move a step forward with the launch of High End Systems’ new product, Catalyst. Developed for HES by English design company, Wynne Wilson Gottelier (WWG), the alpha version of Catalyst created a considerable stir at the Showtech Exhibition in Berlin where it was soft-launched earlier this month.

Mounted on the front of a Barco ELM R12, a 12,000 ANSI lumens output, triple-DMD video projector, Catalyst allows an image to be moved smoothly and positioned accurately, time after time, within a global envelope. As it is video-based, Catalyst allows truly unlimited colour mixing, with a selection of masks that act as framing shutters or overlays on video clips. The system is delivered with hundreds of gobo patterns, that can again be overlaid, including the entire DHA

Changing the Face of Lighting and Video

Details: 14 March 2016

The entire future of automated lighting and, the application of high powered video projection, moved a big step forward at Showtech in Berlin this week, with the European soft-launch of High End System’s new product, Catalyst. Developed for HES by English design company, Wynne Wilson Gottelier (WWG), the alpha version of Catalyst created a considerable stir at the show. Mounted on the front of a Barco ELM R12, a 12,000 ANSI lumens output, triple-DMD video projector, Catalyst allows an image to be moved smoothly and positioned accurately, time after time, within a global envelope. As it is video-based, Catalyst allows truly unlimited colour mixing, with a selection of masks that act as framing shutters or overlays on video clips.

The system is delivered with hundreds of gobo patterns, that can again be overlaid, including the entire DHA and High End libraries. All of these facilit

Playlight Auction - Tuesday 22 May

Details: 14 March 2016

Following a reorganisation of its business, Playlight is hosting a massive auction next Tuesday, where literally hundreds of items will come under the hammer. On the lighting side these include a collection of lighting desks and dimmers, and just about every type of lantern and moving light under the sun. For special effects, there are smoke machines, mirror balls, projectors and ultra-violet systems, whilst on the audio side, a large stockholding of speakers, amplifiers, mixing desks and microphones will be auctioned. Rigging and trussing will also feature, as will a range of office furniture and general equipment.

The auction takes place on Tuesday 22 May in London at 860 Coronation Road, Park Royal, London and begins at 11am. All items in the auction can be viewed on Monday 21 May from 9.30am to 4.30pm and on the day of sale.

For a catalogue call +44 0117 930 4020.

Lighthouse Goes Big in Berlin

Details: 14 March 2016

Europe’s largest outdoor advertising screen is sited on the C&A building in central Berlin’s famous Kurfurstendam, and is fully integrated into the architecture of the building. It features 100sq.m of Lighthouse LVP502 screen modules, measuring 10 panels wide by 8 high. The whole of this part of central Berlin has been substantially rebuilt in recent years and the new screen will be the eye-catching centrepiece for one of the city’s liveliest streets. Statistically, the site offers advertisers the opportunity for their commercials to be seen by more people than anywhere else in the city. Media! AG carried out the installation, and will operate the screen and its control system, while advertising sales and marketing are being handled by MIM in Hamburg.

Advertisers include blue chip companies, with the first to sign up being C&A themselves, and Media! AG anticipates the

Barco at Italian Museum of Cinema

Details: 14 March 2016

Barco’s high-performance projection systems have been selected for the Italian Museum Cinema in Turin. This tall museum in Antonelli’s Mole covers 3200sq.m, and is full of cinema exhibits. Euphon, one of Italy’s leading specialists in broadcast, communication and AV integration, has installed 10 Barco 708 Series CRT and 2 Barco 6000 Series LCD projectors. They were chosen because of the unmatched image quality. The Museum of Cinema, an ancient Temple of the Jewish Community, is home to five levels of exhibitions with thousands of film posters, photographs, books, periodicals, paintings, prints and film equipment. A journey through the magic of film provides the visitors a course on the archeology of cinema and the various stages of film production to end in the spectacular and immense Temple Hall, the heart of the museum. In this area, visitors can relax, watch two Ital

Radiance of the Seas

Details: 14 March 2016

Royal Caribbean International has recently introduced the first of its Radiance class of ships - Radiance of the Seas. This stunning vessel is the largest ship ever to have been built at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany, and the first joint venture between a German shipyard and an American cruise line.

RCI has a tradition of delivering high quality onboard entertainment and Radiance is no exception. The Viking Crown is the trademark destination on-board Royal Caribbean ships, a spectacular space surrounded by a sweep of glazing, that wraps itself around the funnel at the highest point, providing panoramic views for the passengers. In the evening, the Viking Crown takes on a completely new persona and turns into a major entertainment complex and, in the case of the Radiance of the Seas, this includes a disco, a black-box theatre and bars of various hues.

The disco is cal

Two Appointments for PSA

Details: 14 March 2016

The Production Services Association has made two announcements: the first is that John Jones of PCM has filled the remaining seat on the 2001 PSA Council. John is a long-time supporter of the PSA and through his company PCM has donated £10,000 to the PSA Welfare & Benevolent Fund since the Fund’s inception. PCM has also gained a reputation for being among the industry’s leaders in promoting training, with the PCM Motor Schools now well established. In a separate announcement, Keith Owen will now oversee the PSA’s new series of BTEC courses. The courses, which commence in June in Birmingham with the Production Technician Intermediate BTEC, will be expanded during the year to cover other disciplines. Owen spent 20 years at Light & Sound Design before spending 18 months at Loughborough College as the PSA’s representative for training. He is working for two days a we

Swedish FA Installs First LED Screens

Details: 14 March 2016

The implementation has begun in Sweden of a major project featuring LED screens at Swedish Football League matches. Massteknik, one of Scandinavia’s leading corporate and live event production rental companies, has installed one permanent Lighthouse LVP25 (25mm pixel pitch) screen at the Swedish National Football Arena at Rasunda in Stockholm. Two Lighthouse mobile screens and three from other manufacturers will move around between various arenas in the Swedish Football League. Massteknik’s Kenneth Paterson said: "This is a very big contract for us with a total of 546 games in three years. There are seven games a week within the league, but no more than four mobile screens are required on any one day. Local OB companies are contracted to produce the footage, which is used both for the TV broadcast and our screens, and the goals and highlights of each match are transmitte

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