France - Quiksilver Bowlriders 2004 (now ratified as a world cup skateboarding event) was again held on Prado Beach in Marseilles 16-20 June. CT Screenco was commissioned to provide its 32sq.m, 25mm large-screen LED presentation trailer (and vision mixing facilities) by the lifestyle/sports and surfwear brand to enable the 10,000 people who gathered full access to the action.

Situated in front of the ocean, the park has been custom-built to provide Europe with one of its most beautiful skateboarding venues. Now in its fifth year, the event again attracted the international hardcore skateboard elite including Omar Hassan, Alex Chalmers, Rune Glifberg, Tony Trujillo and Chet Childress (Californian Hassan once again picking up the €9,000 top prize).

Supporting the full-on PA, the Screenco display mixed feeds supplied by Brotherhood, who were filming the event. As business develo

USA - Production and lighting designer Nathan Wilson is making full use of one of the first NEV8 systems on tour with Blink-182. Diagonal Research's NEV8 System allows Wilson, an account manager for the ArtFag design partnership, to control true video hardware using lighting control technology, without the need for a computer-based media server. "It's the best way to control the video that we've found," said Wilson. "We can speed clips up, slow them down, take it to negative and a host of other effects. Best of all, we have direct access to the drives."

Without any rehearsal time before the first show in Mexico, pre-visualization of both lighting and video was essential to the success of the initial shows. In order to achieve this, Diagonal Research's own WYSIWYG studio in Newbury Park, California, was utilized. This allowed for the pre-visualization of lig

Hong Kong - Lighthouse Technologies has emerged as the LED display provider of choice, with more installations than any other supplier at Formula One racetracks around the world.

Lighthouse screens have been relaying action to the crowds at Formula One from the first race of the season in Australia, where Clipsal Vision supplied a complete Lighthouse package for the Melbourne Grand Prix. The LVP2056 screen's 20mm pixel pitch makes it ideal for the viewing distances of a trackside position and its 5600 Nits of brightness means that it can cope with the high levels of ambient light of the Grand Prix venues. The 2004 Grand Prix of Bahrain was the first ever round of the FIA Formula One World Championship to be held in the Middle East and marked the official culmination of a multi-million dollar project started back in September 2002, when the Kingdom of Bahrain signed a long-term

Portugal - With all eyes focused on Lisbon this summer, CT Screenco has been in the thick of the action. The company supplied two 50sq.m JTS35 JumboTron CRT displays for a large carnival, before taking up residency in a nearby park to relay the action from Euro 2004. Staged over three days in Parque do Tejo (situated within the Nations Park), the 10th SuperBock SuperRock event (promoted by Música no Coraçao) featured an all-star cast, including Fatboy Slim, Lenny Kravitz, Massive Attack, the Pixies, N.E.R.D., Muse, Linkin Park and Korn.

The thousands who participated in the carnival-like atmosphere were given a clear view - thanks to the strategic placement of two of the giant screens with which CT Screenco first established the industry-standard for outdoor big-screen reference.

Meanwhile, across the north-west of the city, the Municipality of Lisbon were making plans to ha

USA - Lighthouse Technologies has announced the availability of Supervisor LH, a state-of-the-art display optimizer specifically designed to convert a wide range of input formats into resizable content to fit any shape of LED video display.

The first product of its kind to be offered in the LED display market, the Supervisor LH accepts both digital and analogue formats, including standard and high-definition television and computer graphics, to create digital content for LED display screens and panels. Ideal for rental, staging and fixed installations, the Supervisor LH features an intuitive user interface, illuminated display and front panel, easy access to connectors, convenient carrying handles and rear connector protection and a lightweight aluminum chassis.

"As the content platforms and technology evolves, Lighthouse has taken steps to offer a solution that would si

UK - London welcomed the Olympic flame with one of the biggest free concerts in its history outside Buckingham Palace. As five-times Olympic gold medallist Steve Redgrave carried the torch up the Mall in front of an estimated 70,000 people Rod Stewart rounded off a six-hour concert to mark the event on 26 June, performing with former Faces (now Stones) guitarist Ronnie Wood and the cast of the West End musical, Tonight's the Night.

Spectators lining the Mall were able to see the show at close quarters via a series of six delay rigs, supplied by CT Screenco, with a further three designed into Mark Fisher's massive stage set. Commissioned by production manager Robbie Williams, of RWP Ltd, the big screen specialists supplied three Barco DLite 7 stage displays, in 16:9 aspect ratio. The large upstage centre screen, measuring 9.8m x 5.4m, provided the centre-piece at the back

UK - CT Screenco's new high-resolution Masted Mobile (which rotates the trailer-based 44 sq. metre 15mm LED screen through 360°) is being put to good effect as performances from the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden are relayed to key public locations. Historically, London-based screenings have generally taken place in The Piazza, Covent Garden. But commissioned to broadcast three events this year, CT recently carried the performance of Onegin - Pushkin's passionate tale of unrequited love - to 4,000 or so gathered in Trafalgar Square.

Carrying its own production onboard, the Masted Mobile came through its London initiation with flying colours, its onboard production facilities enabling CT to take the incoming digital feed from the Royal Opera House, interspersed with locally inserted graphics, VT playback and live camera work. Boasting the largest rotating mast screens

France - Celebrations for the 60th anniversary of the Normandy D-Day Landings were beamed across the world on 6 June. With The Queen, Tony Blair, President Bush, President Chirac and Chancellor Schroeder lining up alongside the veterans, the main remembrance ceremony took the form of a multi-national event on the cliff top at Arromanches, with military aircraft performing fly-pasts, veterans marching past the heads of state and the Royal Navy staging an off-shore show and parachute drop.

All this action was captured on two giant screens supplied by CT Screenco. Contracted by the Ministry of Defense, the company sited two of their waterproof displays a modular 18sq.m 25mm LED screen accompanying their 10sq.m 25mm mobile mast on the Normandy beach, just yards from the English Channel. The screens took feeds direct from the BBC trucks, enabling veterans to follow the ceremony and s

UK - XL Video continues its work with innovative theatre productions at The National Theatre, for Measure For Measure. XL is again working with video designers Mesmer who are coordinating the video design and equipment supply for Simon McBurney's provocative production of Measure For Measure in the Olivier Theatre.

The production is a collaboration between Theatre de Complicité and The National. It encompasses several firsts for video - the first time a Catalyst digital media server has been used at the National Theatre; the first time video images from camera playback have been manipulated live; and the first time that the whole performance area floor has been utilized as a projection canvass.

Video takes on many roles throughout the performance. It's used as a scene and location setter and as moving metaphorical backgrounds or textures to emphasize the interac

Czech Republic - Blitz, one of the UK's leading providers of audiovisual equipment and services, has supplied projection and video facilities for Rev it up, the title of the 2004 BT annual sales conference held this year in Prague.

Blitz, working with live event specialist production company Aspect Ltd., supplied equipment, which included Sanyo XP55 projectors, Extron SGS 408 Data Video Mixer and one of Blitz's Sony D35 Triax Camera Portable Production Units. There was also a satellite downlink for the event at the Prague Hilton. The sales conference was aimed at the customer facing sales force in BT Global Services and was attended by over 1200 delegates from 35 countries. The event was held over three days with a total of 17 hours of presentations. Over 100 presentations were given by 75 individuals, combining keynote speeches, interactive sessions, guest speakers, cus

UK - Peter Gabriel enters the final straight of the marathon tour which started in 2002 (as the Growing Up tour), and has just completed its latest European arena section - Still Growing Up.

Production values are always at the top of the agenda for Gabriel's performances. The precise, highly original Growing Up show (see L&SI July 2003) was originally conceived by Canadian film maker Robert Lepage and Peter Gabriel. Lighting designer Patrick Woodroffe was asked this year to produce a new design and feel for the original show, one more suited to arenas, sheds and larger performance spaces.

Woodroffe worked alongside long-term Gabriel Growing Up lighting director Dennis Garner, who was with the tour from the start. He added many new dimensions to the show, boosting the large bright looks department for the traditional crowd pleasers, but also keeping many of the original ideas and sub

UK - An exclusive new members club opened its doors in June, revealing a striking visual interior. Design and brand consultant, David Collins, has created a space designed to stimulate all the senses. With a capacity of just 100, the subterranean Kabaret's Prophecy in Beak Street, Soho, hosts a display of visual stimulation created to "redefine the concepts of environmental design".

Constructed from modular intelligent LED pixel blocks, two of the venue's walls act as backdrops upon which graphics and animations, triggered from a real-time generator or MIDI keyboard, create a constantly morphing environment. Clad in Barco's proprietary MiPIX system and displaying intelligent lighting effects, 3D logos or graphics - even full video content - these moving images curve around the contours of the walls and wrap into the alcoves, giving a strangely three-dimensional depth t

USA / China - Massachusetts-based PR firm Topaz Partners is teaming up with Hong Kong-based The Consultancy Ltd, to support a global PR campaign for China-based Lighthouse Technologies, one of the world's leading manufacturers of LED video display panels. Lighthouse has customers in a broad range of industries, including sports, signage, military and entertainment markets.

Topaz is working with The Consultancy's global program leader, Emma Smith, on public relations strategy, messaging, support materials and media and analyst relations. Both firms are coordinating Lighthouse's marketing communication efforts, and Topaz Partners is leading the North American visibility campaign.

"As the LED video display market continues to grow and the technology advances, Lighthouse anticipated the need to strengthen its North American presence," said Emma Smith, president of The C

UK - Electrosonic has engineered and installed the audio-visual systems for a major refurbishment of the National Mining Museum of Wales. Designed by Haley Sharpe, new exhibits include an expanded mining gallery, with a multi-media display on the modern mining industry, as well as the refurbished Pithead Baths and a conservation workshop.

Big Pit is a real coal mine and one of the UK's leading mining museums. The historic site around the pithead has been restored, and the lamp room has been relocated to where it would originally have been. The expanded mining gallery features an exciting new audio-visual experience, together with exhibitions of modern mining equipment. The unique Pithead Baths building has been refurbished, and now houses the Museum galleries with exhibitions of industrial and social history surrounding the coal industry in South Wales.

There are three main A

USA - For New York radio station Hot 97's Summer Jam concert in Giants Stadium, production designer Gary Westcott sought a way to integrate control of the show's audio and video elements. The five-hour concert was scheduled to include performances by 11 different acts with frequent playback of video clips and audio tracks during and between acts. PRG's solution was Mbox, the media control technology exclusively available through PRG.

Using four Mbox servers and a GrandMA lighting console, Westcott was able to control all of the visual imagery on eight video screens rigged onstage and over the audience. He was also able to cue the front-of-house audio console for playback of selected audio tracks throughout the show. The show's video and audio elements included support for the live acts during their performances as well as playback of clips between acts for artist introductions a

Denmark - Martin Professional has introduced the new Maxedia Digital Media Composer - a media server capable of handling a multitude of digital media - including images, video and 3D graphics. Output as a video signal to video/plasma screens or any type of video image projector, Maxedia boasts a number of advantages over other digital media servers.

Housing an extensive media library for convenient access to creative special effects, Maxedia incorporates 3D effects and mapping (bitmap or video), real-time layer manipulation, and various playback and real-time transition effects. Maxedia, which includes integrated DMX control, provides full control of both lighting and video elements.

Maxedia runs up to a maximum of 20 layers simultaneously, depending on the type of layer, and offers 3D effects with unique real-time manipulation features. Programming is carried out on the Maxed

UK - XL Video UK has expanded the corporate side of its live video operations with the addition of two new account managers - Phil Goddard and Greg Rice. The appointments reflect the growth and new confidence in this sector, say the company.

Phil Goddard brings 29 years of experience in the AV business to the company. He has recently worked with some of the leading rental companies in the market, and before then was an event manager for major corporate financial institution Coopers & Lybrand (now PricewaterhouseCoopers), handling all their events worldwide. Greg Rice, meanwhile, joins XL Video having worked for Blitz Vision and Stagestruck, technically project managing many of their corporate events. Immediately before, joining XL Video, he was freelancing. He's already familiar with many of the XL management team and crew, and is enthusiastic about joining the company.

(Lee B

UK - Blitz, one of the UK's leading providers of audio-visual equipment and services, recently worked with event management company Olive 360° to supply BECTA (British Educational Communications and Technology Agency) with cutting-edge presentation technology for its annual Research Conference. Blitz provided Barco's ViewScape system for the event, which was held in the Shaw Theatre at the Novotel Euston.

Howard Jenkins from Blitz commented: "The format of the conference consisted of both plenary sessions and a series of morning and afternoon workshops, complete with PowerPoint presentations. We used ViewScape technology with a twin screen system to maximize stage space, allowing members of the audience to observe the presentations with ease. We also installed two Barco SLM R8 projectors, and to ensure continuity and minimize downtime, two further R8 projectors were used

UK - PA Installations (PAI) has completed a sound, lighting and AV project at Pontypridd's new social hotspot, Alfred's Bar. The company was approached to supply the venue's technical needs, with project manager Andy Bonehill co-ordinating the operation. The client specifically wanted an installer able to deliver all elements rather than just lighting or audio or AV. They also wanted everything done to an extremely high specification. "We designed a versatile, neat system, based on the client's needs," says Bonehill, "choosing the best products for the job - one of the advantages of not being product-driven!"

Alfred's Bar is independently owned by local entrepreneur David John, whose family operates other bars and businesses in the area. The multi-function two-storey venue is open in the morning for coffee and breakfast, morphs into a lively lunch bar at mid

UK - Dido's Life for Rent tour uses the G-LEC ClassicFrame system to add a touch of elegance to her set. Following the success of the American leg of the tour, the size of the G-LEC system has been increased by 50% for the European dates, from 10.5sq.m to 15.75sq.m, and nine extra custom-made panels have also been added.

Lighting designer Andi Watson is especially pleased with the ClassicFrame and chose it because of its numerous strengths, the most important of which for Watson is its unique appearance: "It's the fact that they are see-through," he said. "They can disappear into the set when they are not in use and they are an integral part of the show because of this." During the show the G-LEC ClassicFrame is used to display a range of innovative graphics and abstract images from the High End Catalyst system, as well as 'oscilloscope' type wave images in

Belgium - Many of the world's top performing artists are touring through North America and Europe supported by Barco equipment this summer. For Barco's worldwide rental partners, this is the busiest time of the year. Bob Brigham of Nocturne Vidicon says: "No doubt this is one of our busiest summers to date. Our entire LED fleet is on the road as part of concerts and tours by Paul McCartney, Cher, Madonna, Van Halen, Simon & Garfunkel, The Eagles, KISS, Bare Naked Ladies & Alanis Morrisette and many others. Luckily, all Barco's LED screens are cross-rentable with tiles from other batches and run-time ages, which allows us to rent in LED tiles from other Barco Rental Partners to help satisfy the demand."

IMAG, another of Barco's leading North American rental partners, is taking to the road with Barco Dlite 7 and R18 projectors, which can be seen on shows by Three Doors

USA - LA-based Video artist Vello Virkhaus and his team of animators at V-Squared Labs produced some of their best work to date for the Red Hot Chili Peppers' summer European tour. The company produced 11 separate pieces for the tour, designed to complement the highlights of the Chili Peppers' show including 'Suck My Kiss,' 'Can't Stop,' 'Californication,' 'Purple Stain' and 'Parallel Universe.'

Production designer for the show, Grier Govorko, gave V-Squared Labs a free hand to design what they thought would be most appropriate based on their work with other artists such as Sting, Beyoncé, Blink-182 and Korn. "I sat down with Vello and a list of possible songs, I think there were 23 possibilities at the time," said Govorko. "I had in my head a list of ideas in terms of basic visual concepts. Vello and I went over these ideas, elaborated where possible, and I wh

USA - High End Systems has released its newest version of software for the Catalyst Media Server - the product which fuses lighting with digital media. Catalyst Pro v3.2 now offers more features and functions, including six layers of digital media for real-time rendering, with full effects capabilities on each layer. (The previous v3.0 offered four layers.)

New digital media libraries have also been added, with graphics specially enhanced for optimum projection performance. For the first time, Catalyst now features SDI video input for real-time video capturing and is shipping with SCSI drives.

High End Systems chief technology officer Richard Belliveau says: "The addition of SDI input makes the Catalyst more valuable in the audio-visual industry." Catalyst has won numerous industry awards, and is being specified on concert tours, in corporate presentations, on televi

UK - AV design and installation specialists PA Installations assembled a team of top technicians to help re-brand and refresh the AV systems they'd installed at 36 former Warner Village Cinema Foyers throughout the UK. The venues have all now been re-branded as 'Vue' Cinemas.

This was the first major project undertaken by multi-national cinema operators SBC International Cinemas upon completion of their acquisition deal with former owners Warner. The new Vue cinema circuit is the second largest in terms of box office, and the largest UK multiplex operator.

PAI was originally involved in branding all the same venues for Warner Village, which is when they specified and installed the highly flexible AV systems. Glasgow-based Unick Architects were responsible for creating a complete new look and design scheme for the Vue foyers, and PAI was asked to take care of the AV and effect

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