Video and AV

Alexander Tackles South East for Saville

Details: 14 March 2016

AV specialist Saville Audio Visual has appointed Matt Alexander as area sales manager for South London, Kent and parts of Surrey and Sussex. Formerly based in Devon with Greenham Video, Alexander has extensive experience in the AV industry and his responsibilities will include sales of LCD projectors, audio visual and conferencing systems.

(Lee Baldock)

Van Jarvis, who is heading up Blink TV's new operation in the US.

Blink TV Opens US Office

Details: 14 March 2016

London-based Blink TV, the big screen entertainment company, has announced the opening of a business development unit in the USA, headed by Van Jarvis and based in San Francisco. Jarvis has been in the professional live video production business for over 20 years, having worked for two of the leading US video rental companies, and produced high profile music shows such as the Tibetian Freedom Concert in Washington in 1999 and the United Nations sponsored Groundwork 2001 in Seattle.

Blink specializes in the provision of integrated video packages for rock and pop concerts and festivals around the world. The concept has proved very successful in the UK, Europe and Australasia, and the US office has been established to promote their services to the huge live entertainment market in America. The operation in the States will be structured along similar lines to its other territories around t

Melanie B opens the centre in Chapeltown, Leeds.

Leeds Plays Host to QVS in Media Centre Launch

Details: 14 March 2016

Quadrant Visual Solutions (QVS), the specialist AV designer and installer and conference specialist, has specified and equipped ‘Host’ - the new media centre in Leeds, recently opened by Melanie B, with a comprehensive range of state-of-the-art multi-media equipment. The centre, funded by Leeds City Council, is situated in Chapeltown and was built as part of the Council's drive towards regenerating Leeds' inner city. Providing office space for small new media companies to rent, QVS equipped the centre with sound, radio and TV studios, conference rooms, multi-media training rooms and video edit suites.

The work was put out to European tender, and QVS account manager Andrew Hogben is delighted to have been awarded the contract. "We worked in partnership with Sony Broadcast and Total Audio Solutions to produce the original specification. For the sound studios, we supplied

Rock Muse-ic . . .

Details: 14 March 2016

Devon-based rock trio Muse appeared at a wide variety of UK and European venues at the tail end of 2001; Mike Mann saw them in the cavernous London Docklands Arena.

Lighting designer Oli Metcalf has seen his system squeezed into small clubs and stretched to fill a full arena stage - and has managed to keep the CAV-supplied rig intact along the way. Metcalf is using CAV for the first time, a decision, prompted by their stock of up-to-date High End product. "I’m using 16 Studio Color washlights and the same number of Studio Spot CMYs," he revealed. There are also 14 AF1000 strobes in his design and a quartet of modified Cyberlight Turbos - their rear cable entries have been removed to allow them to stand vertically under four fabric cones which form an important part of the set. "CAV seemed to have all the new High End kit I needed, and they had no problem with me wa

Photon 999

Details: 14 March 2016

The first major European installation by Los Angeles-based artist Hiro Yamagata. Photon 999 opened at the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, at the end of last year. Yamagata worked with a team of over 30 specialists to realise the installation. 15 laser systems (from Tarm Showlaser, Times of Change and Dymax Special Effects), including four of Coherent’s new Viper lasers, are placed around the edge of a pool. These are projected to over 200 mirrors installed on 20m high JTE truss towers and Mylar holographic panels applied to the surface of the central walkway. The system is controlled by a custom software package designed by Laser Animation.

Electrosonic Awarded New Quality Standard

Details: 14 March 2016

Electrosonic Ltd has been awarded the international quality standard ISO9001:2000 and is now approved by National Quality Assurance (NQA). The new ISO9001:2000 standard is based upon eight quality management principles: customer focused organization; leadership; involvement of people; process approach; systems approach to management; continual improvement; factual approach to decision making and mutually beneficial supplier relationships.

To attain certification, Electrosonic demonstrated its understanding and application of these principles throughout all of its business processes.

(Ruth Rossington)

Screenco Supply first ever Top of The Pops Awards

Details: 14 March 2016

Screenco recently supplied a 15mm Saco LED stage screen at the first ever Top of The Pops Awards, hosted at the Manchester Evening News arena. Commissioned by production company AMP - working for BBC Worldwide - the 20.74sq.m screen was configured in a 14:9 aspect ratio and was positioned off centre stage right in an asymmetric set design.

Serving an audience of 11,500, the screen was used as backdrop support for presenters and artists, as well as nominee clips. Showcasing a rich mixture of the best in pop music over the last 12 months, the first annual TOTP’s Awards Show was also broadcast on BBC One the following day, and hosted 12 performances from international artists including Kylie Minogue, Mariah Carey, Westlife, Tom Jones, Travis, Nelly Furtado and Jennifer Lopez.

A full report on the Top of the Pop Awards appears in the January issue of Lighting&Sound International.<

The Screenco LED screen centre-stage for the Pop Idol programme.

Screenco Deliver A1 Performance at Pop Idol

Details: 14 March 2016

Screenco has provided the LED screens for the ongoing TV programme Pop Idol. Set designer Andy Walmsley - whose company A1 Set was commissioned by Thames Television - provided Screenco with a brief to deliver the visual display element of the Pop Idol show.

The series - divided into three elements - consisted of various open auditions staged in hotel conference rooms throughout the country, followed by the ‘semi finals’ which took place at a staged ‘rehearsal room’ in Teddington Studios, ending with the ten week finals hosted at Fountain Studios in Wembley. Walmsley - who also designed the worldwide-copied ‘Who Wants to Be A Millionaire’ studio set - told us: "Pop Idol has been fascinating as a design brief, especially because the series has been in three parts. We started with a large video cube wall and one lonely plasma screen at Teddington S

The screen at Bournemouth International Centre.

Lighthouse LED at BIC

Details: 14 March 2016

Lighthouse LED video screens are at the heart of the installation of a custom-designed outdoor poster advertising screen at Bournemouth International Centre. Adaptable to both outdoor and indoor poster and retail sites, and capable of displaying images alongside ‘split screen’ text messages, the LED billboard concept is being pioneered in the UK by Lighthouse and, at Bournemouth, its integrator partner, Advantage Displays Ltd and screen owner/operator Inter-City Ads.

Nine panels of Lighthouse LVP20 (20mm pixel pitch) screen have been installed. Regular maintenance is provided by Lighthouse, but at the BIC, there is no facility to do this from within the building so to cater for this, a special mounting structure allows the screen to be hinged forward for maintenance work. The screen also has the ability to show two independently-controllable images on the screen at any one

Giles Conte goes freelance

Details: 14 March 2016

Giant screen project manager Giles Conte, who recently left Screenco after six years with the company, has embarked on a freelance career as a project manager and technician. Giles takes with him a wealth of knowledge and expertise and is very optimistic about the future of LED, with its emergence as an information relay device and creative visual medium for both rock ‘n’ roll and the corporate market.

(Lee Baldock)

One of ECA2's creations for the latest Futuroscope multimedia show, Billy la Bulle.

ECA2 set for new Futuroscope Spectacular

Details: 14 March 2016

Yves Pépin, president and artistic director of ECA2, and his team are gearing up for the début of ECA2’s new nightly multimedia show, ‘Miroir d’Uranie’ (‘Uranie’s Mirror’), beginning on 2 February at the Futuroscope Park near Poitiers, France. "Uranie is the name of an as-yet undiscovered star that plays a leading role in the show," explained Pépin. "She is one of a number of characters, both touching and fantastical, who appear in the show. There’ll also be Billy la Bulle (Billy the Bubble), a flying fish; Pegasus; Venus; and an elderly fisherman who goes on a dazzling trip through the universe. The fable, the story of an impossible trip through the galaxies, unites classical mythology with ultra-modern multimedia techniques. It will warm the heart even as it dazzles spectators with its special effects."

The specta

Immedia Systems Spearheads Developments at Northern Light

Details: 14 March 2016

Northern Light has announced a restructuring programme to take the business forward in 2002. A key development is the launch of Immedia Systems, a new audio-visual division located in Reading. The new premises include workshop and stores areas, as well a large office suite and conference room. Immedia aims to build on Northern Light's established reputation and extensive experience in the AV installation's business, providing engineering led solutions. According to the company, the move will allow "greater strategic focus in this specialized industry, enabling a more effective response to the market and customer needs".

Richard Passman heads up a highly-trained specialist projects team including programmer Nick Nurock, sales engineer Dave Pritchard and AV engineers, Andy Macdonald, Steve Dishon, Derek Heeps and Graham Lawton, who recently rejoined the company from Dubai. The

Quadrant Visual Solutions makes connection with SGS

Details: 14 March 2016

Quadrant Visual Solutions (QVS), the event specialists, staged an exclusive venue event for SGS, the verification and certification multinational, that combined the important business of new product presentations, seminar facilities and team-building exercises with an evening of entertainment at the Alton Towers Hotel on the 11th and 12th January 2002. The event was built around the continuing transition to the new verification certificate ISO 9000:2000, with emphasis upon team working and co-operation to ensure SGS understands and meets its customer requirements at all levels of the business.

The 170 delegates were SGS Yarsley International Certification employees from all around Britain, mostly system auditors or trainers, and members of the support and administration team. The theme of the event was "Connections" and incorporated team building for remote team workers. &q

Christie Digital's Gavin Chatfield (left) with AVC's Patrick Hill and part of the new inventory.

AVC Productions Place £500,000 Order with Christie

Details: 14 March 2016

AVC Productions have extended their commitment to Christie Digital Systems with an order valued at around £500,000, spread across the full line of rental staging projectors. This includes the first UK acquisition of the new RoadRunner L6 LCD projectors.

Headquartered at Slough, and voted Production Company of the Year in the recent AV Magazine awards, AVC took the decision to back Christie Digital after receiving feedback from their in-house and freelance technicians. The purchase will not only extend AVC’s long relationship with Christie Digital, but will also increase their rental fleet to around 150 projectors. In addition to the RoadRunners, AVC also bought quantities of X10 Roadies and X6 Roadsters, with 10-bit ADPs (Advanced Digital Processing). They thus join the exclusive network of rental staging companies holding the powerful X10s in their inventory.

With the econom

New Year, New Projects for Furneaux Stewart

Details: 14 March 2016

Designer and communicator Furneaux Stewart has entered the New Year with a healthy portfolio of work and several new account wins. The company, led by co-founder Laurie Stewart, is already working on several new high-profile projects this year, including an introductory exhibition for Syon House, Cardiff Castle's interpretation strategy and projects for the National Trust at White Horse Hill, Studland Bay and Lawrence of Arabia's home, Clouds Hill. The company is also the exhibition design consultancy for the new Acropolis Museum working with international architect Bernard Tschumi.

Within the automotive sector there are also some key projects ahead with the team, headed up by John Furneaux, looking forward to working with Skoda to create its stand for the Birmingham International Motor Show, in addition to major projects with Citroen and Bentley Motors. Ray Hole, architectural directo

Rental Management Systems introduces RMS22

Details: 14 March 2016

New features of the latest version of the rental management software package include a whole set of new clear icons, built-in support for backup and restore of data and reports, saving of the last used sort-order and sorted column in all List-tabs and Finder-windows, a new facility for multiple contacts per company, default country and telephone settings and much more.

For a full run-down of all the latest features from RMS22, visit the company website at the address below.

(Lee Baldock)

Entech 2002 & Award Winners

Details: 14 March 2016

The organisers of Entech, the leading entertainment technology exhibition for the Australasian market have reported increased attendance for last week’s three-day show. Darling Harbor proved a popular destination for Entech, with greater interstate attendance (up 8%) and more local visitors. International visits were static, with decreases from destinations other than Singapore (up 10%) and New Zealand (up 5%). Audited actual attendance was up, a record 5,143 trade attended, in addition to 1,272 exhibitor personnel.

The Entech Awards dinner once again sold out, held again at the Metro in George Street. A complete list of winners is attached. Voting was done on the trade show floor, for the first time, in addition to votes garnered from all those who nominated products and people. The Award for Best Lighting Product at the show went to AVR for the Arc Screen; Best Audio Product at

PSL Invests in Catalyst

Details: 14 March 2016

PSL is the first video projection rental company in the UK and US to invest in High End Systems' new Catalyst image manipulation system, which turns ordinary video projectors into artistic tools. Winner of five technical awards in 2001-2002, Catalyst offers users a unique new tool that integrates the video and lighting industries.

At the heart of the system is the Catalyst Media Server (video processing computer and video/DMX interface). This provides an unlimited range of real-time image processing capabilities. Designers can load their own still or moving images or select from an extensive library of stock files. They can then scale, rotate, zoom, edit, morph, colour mix or overlay to create the desired effect. Images can be projected anywhere in three-dimensional space using Catalyst's unique orbital movement system. The head provides 250 degrees by 360 degrees of movement and can b

UKOK is Go

Details: 14 March 2016

White Light and E//T//C UK helped launch the British Tourist Authority’s (BTA) new UKOK initiative in spectacular style by illuminating and projecting onto the Tower of London for a VIP press conference. The international marketing campaign is aimed at encouraging tourists and holidaymakers back to Britain in 2002.

The Tower has seen a succession of celebrity inmates throughout its chequered history, but this time the VIPs attending the breakfast press conference were free to leave. They included the Rt Hon. Tessa Jowell, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, David Quarmby, Chairman of the British Tourist Authority, Dr Kim Howells MP, Minister for Tourism and Lord Marshall, Chairman of BA.

White Light’s Mike Crossman project-managed the event. His brief came from the BTA, who wanted to architecturally light the Tower in a show-lighting style, and also feature t

Time Travel Brought to Life

Details: 14 March 2016

Sarner and ESP have combined resources to provide a creative solution for Liverpool’s new multi-million pound International Astronomy and Space Centre (IASC).

Sarner, which has recently been bought-out by two of its directors, Michael Bennett and Ross Magri, will be responsible for the design and production of special effects for the new visitor attraction, while ESP will project-manage the fit-out of the centre, bringing life to the dramatic designs - from the spectacular hanging celestial sphere, through to the ‘Journey To The Stars’ space-time machine.

IASC, which is part of the continued regeneration of Liverpool’s Wirral district, is scheduled for completion in Easter 2003.

Visitors will be taken on an interactive journey through time and space using multi-sensory technology, simulated time travel, projection and special effects.

Barco and High End Announce Strategic Alliance

Details: 14 March 2016

Barco Projection, a division of Barco n.v., Belgium, and High End Systems Inc of Austin, Texas, have announced a strategic alliance that will enable the two companies to cooperate in the marketing of their products to the entertainment and events markets.

Barco Events specializes in providing tailor-made visualization and show-control solutions and manufactures amongst others a range of professional large-event projectors, ranging in brightness from 5,000 to 17,000 ANSI lumens. High End Systems, a manufacturer of automated lighting products, has introduced Catalyst, a cross-cultural system that converts video projectors into automated lights. The Catalyst system (developed in conjunction with WWG), which incorporates a Media Server, can also be used in conjunction with Barco's range of Ilite and Dlite LED displays to create an extensive range of effects and imagery.

The newly formed

XL Video - Large it with Barco

Details: 14 March 2016

XL Video UK, the touring and live event video specialist, has just completed a purchase that makes it the owner of the biggest and brightest fleet of Barco DLP projectors in the UK. The order gives XL 16 of the new ultra-bright Barco ELM R18 17,500 lumen projectors and four of the new, smaller, SLM R8 projectors (7,500 lumens) which will be added to their rental fleet.

It’s the first order for ELM R18s in the UK and adds to XL’s already extensive stock of Barco projectors which currently includes Barco ELM G10s ELM G12s and SLM G5s, plus assorted smaller projectors. XL Video’s Lee Spencer comments: "Having access to such a diverse fleet of projectors allows us to offer our clients the latest in projection equipment. It also means that we can be highly competitive and still give our clients the best service whether the event is large or small, conventional or lef

The F1 Gala's impressive stage set at the Royal Albert Hall.

Screenco takes pole position at Grand Prix Gala

Details: 14 March 2016

Screenco provided high-brightness LED displays, including a vast centre stage screen backdrop, enabling a star-studded cast at the Royal Albert Hall to be seen by a packed audience at the 2002 Grand Prix Party. The VIP evening - A Gala Evening of Stars, Cars & Guitars - kicked off the new Formula One season and saw Ferrari, McLaren, Jordan and the other F1 teams shelving their on-track rivalry for one night only, in aid of Professor Sid Watkins’ Brain & Spine Foundation.

Promoted by Chas Cole for CMP Entetainment, guests were treated to the guitar playing of Damon Hill and Eddie Jordan’s V10 Band from the motor racing world, as well as performances from Marc Almond, Atomic Kitten, Sam Brown, Ruby Turner, Edwin Starr, Mick Hucknall and Ronnie Wood - all to the backdrop of Jules Holland’s Rhythm & Blues Orchestra. Presenters were Carol Vorderman MBE and Tony Jar

Barco Events adds three projectors to range

Details: 14 March 2016

Barco Events, a division of BarcoProjection, has announced a new range of display and projection products. With the announcement of the new ELM R18 Director and SLM R8/G8 Performer projection platforms, Barco adds three state-of-the-art projectors to its product range.

The ELM R18 Director, based on the ELM platform, now becomes the first projector to reach brightness levels of 18,000 lumen, while also offering the added features of seamless switching and high contrast mode. It is equipped with an innovative Digital Light Processing (DLP) sub-system, including high-resolution Digital Mirror Devices (DMD) and a state-of-the-art optical system.

The SLM R8/G8 Performer platform now offers the market the first projector of this size with brightness levels of 8,000 lumen, as well as features geared specifically at the rental and staging markets. Barco also adds a new ultra-high resolution

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