UK - Marsh Lodge Production Services (MLPS) have been handling the production of conferences and meetings since the early '90's providing a variety of technical, staging and lighting solutions to, mainly, corporate clients. One area in which MLPS have built a solid reputation - and in which their AV production business has seen substantial growth - is the medical training market, working for medical societies who want an educational archive and medical companies who provide online training for NHS managers and medical staff at all levels as part of professional development programmes.

The company has recently purchased a VR-5 AV Mixer & Recorder from Roland that they are using for mixing and post production of events and corporate training videos. Whereas previously, the main requirement from a client was the ability to produce a finished product with only audio running alongsid

USA - Sixteen years after founding rental powerhouse XL Video, Marcel de Keyzer has sold his shares to move on and up. US-based IC Technologies LLC will focus on creating unique LED video applications for the AV, architectural, entertainment, retail, hospitality, and sports industries.

Partnering with Norah de Bekker, John Frattalone, Meghan Campbell, and a fast resource of experienced LED Engineers they will be operating out of a new LED LAB in Tribeca New York.

The move, the company says, is a logical continuation of de Keyzer's move a few years ago to establish the LED LAB in New York City's SoHo, where rental clients and their end-clients could experience technologies hands on, in real-life scale and brainstorm on endless creative possibilities.

IC's focus is to create easier ways to design unique out-of-the-box video displays. "Everybody wants something uniquely vi

UK - London-based creative agency Knifedge has produced another set of dramatic theatrical projections to act as the backdrop to a major new production of Verdi's Aida at The Royal Albert Hall.

This latest production of Verdi's operatic masterpiece is co-produced by Raymond Gubbay and The Royal Albert Hall, and directed by Stephen Medcalf. It is widely regarded as Verdi's most epic opera, telling the tragic story of a classic love triangle between slave girl Aida, the King's daughter Amneris, and Captain of the Guards, Radames.

Knifedge's latest visual effects paint evocative pictures of Ancient Egypt onto huge curved gauzes, stretching around almost a quarter of the venue. The agency has worked closely with set designer Isabella Bywater and lighting designer Andrew Bridge to blend its imagery into the overall design of the show. From a technical stand point, the rig co

Belgium - ArKaos has released GrandVJ 1.6.5, a new version of its real-time video mixer with features that "bring out the VJ in everyone".

ArKaos GrandVJ 1.6.5 introduces Scratch Control support for DJ-style MIDI controllers with jog wheels, to bring DJs another step further into the VJ world. Two new slider widgets control the sensitivity of the scratch and the scratch itself.

ArKaos has added templates with feedback support for the new American Audio VMS4.1 and VMS2 MIDI controllers in a move designed to give a DJ-style feeling while mixing video with these controllers. It has also updated the mapping templates for the Hercules DJ Control series to take advantage of this new Scratch Control feature.

GrandVJ 1.6.5 also adds mapping templates for the Livid OhmRGB, with feedback support and coloured keys, and for the Elation Midicon with feedback support.

GrandVJ'

UK - Since PLASA 2011 and the successful launch of Green Hippo's Hippotizer software version 3.1, even more improvements and fixes have been made to the popular product. "Come along to PLASA Focus: Leeds and see 3.1 SP1 for yourself, including features such as VideoMapper, LiveMask and how 3D, mapping can be easy without the need for dedicated software," says the company.

Green Hippo will be showing new accessories for the Hippotizer range, now shipping, with breakout panels, a new Dual 3G HD/SDI input option and new FXs and Generators. Green Hippo - Stand S-E1 (with AC-ET)

(Claire Beeson)

Qatar - On 9 December 2011 dancers, musicians, athletes, and falconers both on foot and on horseback paraded through the Khalifa Stadium in Doha, which had been transformed into a huge screen for the opening ceremony of the 12th Arab Games.

Conceived by the British event production agency David Atkins Enterprises on a commission for the Organising Committee of the Pan Arab Games, the opening ceremony entitled Journey to Light relied on the expertise of its French technical services provider ETC and the Christie Roadster series of projectors purpose-designed for event production.

Christie's partner ETC is an experienced event manager thoroughly familiar with the creative challenges David Atkins Enterprises can pose: its project manager Patrice Bouqueniau describes the opening ceremony of the 12th Pan Arab Games as "a totally original installation, even more ambitio

USA - Stampede Presentation Products has entered into an agreement with Radvision to distribute a suite of Radvision products within the United States. The new partnership expands Stampede's offerings for high definition and standard definition videoconferencing and gives Stampede's dealers more options when choosing a video conferencing system.

According to Stampede president Kevin Kelly, "More and more businesses, both small and large, are utilizing video conferencing to save time and money, which makes Radvision's professional-grade video conferencing products a very exciting addition to our product range and gives our dealers a greater ability to win more jobs."

Radvision's general manager of the Americas, Gaby Koren, said, "Through our new distribution agreement, Stampede is giving its US dealers access to some of the most advanced industry leading video co

UK - At PLASA Focus: Leeds, Green Hippo will be releasing a service pack for their current 3.1 build of award winning Hippotizer software. The release includes improvements to many of the popular components and contains over 80 minor fixes over the current release. New features and New Hardware will also be on show, including I/O panels and the latest in 3G HD/SDI input cards as well as requested features such as keystone on each layer and a new Tap Tempo feature in Beat bridge. Several new effects and Generators have also been added.

See Green Hippo at PLASA Focus: Leeds - Stand S-E1 (with AC-ET)

(Claire Beeson)

UK - The second year of TMB coolux college kicked off last month at TMB-UK's London office. The event was a sell-out, with attendees keen to get hands-on with the latest features and additions included in the Pandoras Box V5 release, and to take home their personal copy of coolux Offline Manager.

TMB coolux college began 2012 with a fresh emphasis on Pandoras Box Version 5 software and its many new features. Targeted towards lighting and scenic designers, programmers and videographers, TMB coolux college offers instruction on all elements of coolux media systems: From programming tools like Media Manager's real-time editing to creating custom user-interfaces with Widget Designer.

In addition to exploring and explaining many coolux features, each two-day seminar includes: Overview of all coolux media systems; Programming sequences using keys and cues; Working with multiple FX a

UK - The extraordinary story of Susan Boyle is brought to life in I Dreamed A Dream, a new touring musical which boasts Susan's personal endorsement.

Stage Electrics is supplying a full video production for the tour, featuring a 6 x 5m high definition 6mm pixel pitch LED video screen that forms an upstage backdrop, as well as full video production.

The rig includes two Hothead cameras controlled by a Catalyst V4 media server, a Grand MA2 Lite console for programming, and the latest Grand MA 2 on PC command wing for show operation.

The tour is the second on which Stage Electrics has provided live video production for producer Michael Harrison Entertainment, along with video designer Jack James, the same creative team behind the highly-successful musical Chess, and lighting designer Ben Cracknell. Mark Sherwood is production manager for the tour, which opens at N

UK - Saville Audio Visual has recently taken delivery of two Roland VR-5 AV mixer & recorders, supplied by Cheshire based Visual Impact Northern. Gareth Lloyd, digital events services manager from Saville had seen the VR-5 in action at Broadcast Video Expo in 2011 and had recognised that the feature set would provide a solution not only for their own webcasting requirement, but also for one of the branches of Saville who needed a compact unit for live action camera relay work at smaller conferences.

The webcast VR-5 is being used primarily to feed the Mediasite webcasting platform from Sonic Foundry but Lloyd explained that they also use the USB out to PC function of the mixer regularly. Connecting a PC to the RGB connector of the VR-5 for various applications such as PowerPoint presentations, slide shows and movie playback enables them to be recorded directly to the VR-5.

&qu

USA - PLASA Focus: Nashville 2012 has launched with a new website and free online registration. The event will take place 11-12 July 2012 at the Municipal Auditorium, in Nashville, TN.

Nashville is the latest event to be launched under the PLASA Focus banner, and follows the hugely successful PLASA Focus: Austin, held in February of this year. The current series of North American regional events are modelled after PLASA Focus: Leeds (UK), which, in its third year, topped 2500 attendees.

PLASA Focus: Nashville 2012 will bring regional entertainment technology communities together to do business and network in a relaxed and friendly setting. While regional exhibitors and visitors are set to benefit from the new event, PLASA Focus: Nashville will also give those involved the opportunity to mix with a wider audience than has ever been possible before as PLASA Focus: Nashville will

USA - BrightSign was once again asked by Digital Signage Expo (DSE) management to create a dramatic, synchronised video arch for the entry to the trade show's exhibition hall. Measuring almost 20ft across and 8ft high, this year's arch featured 18 BrightSign network-enabled HD1010 solid-state digital sign controllers that delivered fully synchronised HD videos to 18 LCD displays.

BrightSign demonstrated how easy and affordable it is to deploy BrightSign synchronised video walls and interactive touchscreens, as well as simple looping and multi-zoned displays, during DSE 2012 in Las Vegas.

"We are excited to have a great host of products that deliver a fully integrated solution for this year's digital entrance unit project, where we incorporate solutions utilising BrightSign media players, Philips Commercial Displays, Peerless-AV mounts and Flixio Studios content," sai

Asia - This month, Green Hippo is embarking on a tour of Asia, with the aim of introducing newly appointed technical sales manager for Asia, Justin Fitzpatrick, to their existing distributors. Samantha Bailey and Fitzpatrick will be carrying out visits to Shanghai, HongKong, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.

Following this, Green Hippo will be attending Infocomm Beijing where they will be exhibiting with Kupo, exclusive distributor for China and showing new features such as 3.1 SP1 with highlights such as key stoning on every layer and new input card options.

For the final phase of their tour, Green Hippo will be at the Koba trade show in Korea from 29 May - 1June, where they can be found on exclusive Korean distributor C&C's booth.

Samantha Bailey, head of sales comments, "The trip to Asia is part of plans to further increase Green Hippo's market share in a technologic

UK - A.C. Entertainment Technologies (AC-ET) enjoyed a busy turnout to its recent Video and Lighting Convergence UK open days, which showcased the latest products and innovations available from Green Hippo and PixelRange.

Staged at both AC-ET's southern HQ in High Wycombe and northern office in Leeds, a good mix of people from many different industry sectors took up the opportunity to visit - including schools and educational establishments, theatres, venues, individuals working in broadcast and a cross-section of freelancers.

In a fast-moving industry constantly demanding quicker and more flexible control of multiple video sources and playback surfaces, the events emphasised the on-going creative and technical fusion between lighting, LED sources, 'pixels' and video technologies as a complete visual environment.

Attendees were able to delve deeper into the award-winn

Germany - At ProLight&Sound. Green Hippo will be releasing a service pack for the current 3.2 build of its award winning Hippotizer software. The release includes improvements to many of the popular components and contains over 80 minor fixes over the current release.

New features and New Hardware will also be on show, including I/O panels and the latest in 3G HD/SDI input cards as well as requested features such as keystone on each layer and a new Tap Tempo feature in Beat Bridge. Several new effects and Generators have also been added.

"Prolight and Sound is a great opportunity for us to catch up with our users both old and new and showcase the new features and improvements we have. We are looking forward to seeing our distributors from around the world at this key show and are excited to be sharing a stand with our exclusive German distributors. This allows us to show

Germany - LED screen manufacturer Pixled will show its new Pixled F-10 i/o multi-purpose product on Booth E17, Hall 9 of the Prolight+Sound exhibition in Frankfurt.

This latest innovation from Pixled is a truly 'all-round' 10.4 mm pitch screen surface populated with three in one SMD chips that can be used indoors, outdoors or be rigged horizontally - and covered - to become a dynamic dancefloor and under-floor or stage effect.

The standard F-10 i/o tile is fully Indoor use ready. It is a mesh surface and therefore transparent, and excellent for creative indoor work including scenic elements - and also for IMAG displays. The tile dimensions are 50 x 50 cm each of which is super lightweight at only 7 Kg! (28 Kg/sqm)

For outdoor use, Pixled offers optional 'clickable outdoor shaders' which are quickly fitted onto the mesh tiles and include blank panels to 'close' the modules an

China - In one of the largest technology rollouts the Swedish-based company has delivered, Dataton supplied its Watchout multimedia content playback solution for a multi-faceted228 m screen in an extraordinary new Chinese exhibition titled Old Beijing Gets Moving.

Located in the Chinese capital's National Conference Centre, adjacent to globally renowned Olympic venues such as the Bird's Nest stadium and Water Cube, Old Beijing Gets Moving takes as its inspiration A Glance Round Old Beijing - a celebrated panorama of the city as it was in the 1930s, originally created as an extended scrolled image by the painter Wang Daguan.

Thanks to Watchout's ability to seamlessly blend and synchronise the images of 56 digital video projectors, Daguan's original painting has been brought to life as a spectacular animated video in which up to a thousand ancient buildings

Germany - ArKaos will bring two new innovations at this year's Prolight+Sound - the ArKaos Hub, an intelligent network monitor software for media servers running MediaMaster Pro and a new revolutionary Video Mapping Software making its first public appearance at the show.

ArKaos Hub is an application specifically designed to monitor the state of multiple servers running MediaMaster in Fixture Mode. It can also send configurable commands to any video switchers connected to Ethernet using a TCP/IP address.

However, ArKaos Hub's key function is as a real-time backup system that gives instantaneous protection against server failure.

Currently, a backup system requires two servers running ArKaos MediaMaster simultaneously with the same set of visuals and receiving the same DMX commands to produce the same video stream. Any failure of a server necessitates a physical rewiring of t

UK - A.C. Entertainment Technologies' video division has supplied UK live visuals specialist, Creative Visual Artists with three Green Hippo GrassHopper HD media server systems and related video equipment, to meet growing demand from their client base.

Creative Visual Artists have been involved in providing lighting and video services to numerous high profile TV shows, concert tours and corporate events.

Creative Visual Artists' Russell Grubiak has built up a reputation as one of the leading programmers and operators in this specific field of technical production. He has been working as 'scenic video operator' on one of the UK's most popular TV series for over eight years.

With most show content requirements already being managed by Green Hippo systems, when it came to expanding Creative Visual Artists' inventory to service new and current clients' needs, Green Hippo were th

Germany - At Prolight + Sound in Frankfurt this morning, JoeCo Limited introduces the latest product in its BlackBox range of multi-channel live audio recorders and players in the form of the new Blackbox BBR64-Dante Recorder that can record or replay 64 channels.

The BBR64-Dante is the result of JoeCo's collaboration with Audinate, creators of the award-winning Dante digital media networking solution. The original BBR-DANTE system was released in 2011 and was able to record up to 32 channels of audio from a Dante network. The new BBR64-DANTE now doubles that track count to 64, while still occupying just one rack unit of space.

The BBR64-Dante Recorder connects to any Dante-enabled network device from a range of console and converter manufacturers. In addition to recording 64 channels at standard sample rates, it can also record 8 channels of analogue alongside 56 channels of

UK - A new onslaught of Saturday evening reality television shows has begun with both sides vying for the best viewing figures for the family audience. This year, the BBC is launching a new singing competition, one that has already had remarkable success in the Netherlands, Germany and the USA, to compete with the sixth series of ITVs Britain's Got Talent. The Voice, a new concept in reality TV talent shows focuses on nothing but the voice.

Creative Technology (CT) has been involved in setting the scene for the striking backdrop to the show. Alongside the creative talent of Julian Healy, the production designer on the series, CT had a set and light period of only three days, in which time over 150sq.m of LED screens as backdrops and floor covering were rigged.

With the main set screen comprising of 30sq.m of Chromatek Black Faced 6mm LED screen, the fragmented Fl

UK - Pyrotechnics and special effects manufacturer Le Maitre has announced the appointment of three new members of staff joining their Research & Development teams.

Dr. Hamish Cavaye (PhD) and Tobias Phillips (BSc.) join Le Maitre's Pyrotechnics R&D division based in Peterborough, while Mark Rhind (MEng) has joined the Smoke & Haze and Special Effects team based at Mitcham.

Hamish Cavaye obtained a first class degree at Oxford and went on to obtain a PhD in organic chemistry at the University of Queensland in Australia. Toby Phillips has a BSc. in analytical chemistry and joins Le Maitre from 3M where he worked as a product & process development scientist. Phillips also spent some time on secondment to Afghanistan (mobilised reservist) where he worked with the Bomb Disposal Unit recovering explosive components to conduct forensic, physical and chemical exploitation.

Commenti

UK - Lighting and visuals rental company HSL are supplying lighting equipment, a 26-axes Kinesys automation system, all associated trussing and rigging plus crew to Snow Patrol as they embark on the first UK leg of their Fallen Empires world tour.

Lighting designer is Davy Sherwin, who has worked closely with Catalyst and live visuals programmer / visuals operator Robin Haddow and video director Blue Leach. The trio are collectively known as 'The Art Department' on the tour, and the ntelligently harmonised show is the result of some serious triumvirate creative chemistry.

HSL's project manager is Mike Oates. He says, "We love working with Davy and Robin and have seen the band's show and their designs take a real journey and evolution over the last few years. Each tour is always fresh in ideas and this is among the best yet."

Just as the band have explored ne

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