UK - Incus AV, providers of Audio Visual consultancy, design, manufacture, installation, commissioning and support has announced the expansion of its UK operations with the opening of a new office in Canary Wharf, London.

With a growing number of support and maintenance contracts in the city and the surrounding areas, the new office located in Skylines Village will provide "a central hub from which we can respond rapidly to all clients".

Joining the Incus AV family, and based at the new office, is Mark Butler who will be responsible for support and maintenance contracts across the country. Butler brings with him over 20 years of audio visual experience, ranging from bench repairs to account management.

"I feel extremely proud and excited to be part of Incus AV as they have achieved so much in their first year," says Butler. "With the opening of our L

UK - XL Video supplied a projection system, Catalyst media servers and control, cameras and crew to the latest Florence + The Machine UK tour, once again working with visuals designer and video director, Richard Stembridge.

Stembridge was asked to present ideas for the influential and critically acclaimed band's live show video early this year after they were impressed with his work on Arcade Fire. He collaborated very closely with Florence's set and lighting designer Chris Bushell, and together they evolved a fresh, interesting live visuality for the show combining both mediums to great effect.

Stembridge comments, "I've always used XL as their level of support is unsurpassable! Their approach to, and their ability to provide for the most unconventional of touring situations puts them way ahead in my opinion."

Stembridge had only a week to create the video element

USA - Barco North America has teamed up with Austin, Texas-based FX Financial to offer a new Equipment Financing Program, created specifically for rental and staging companies wanting to purchase Barco's AV solutions at low, fixed rates including a limited-time deferred payment option, the company has announced.

The Barco Equipment Financing Program provides a range of financing options designed to meet the needs of the entertainment equipment rental industry. The 60-day Introductory program, available until May 1, offers two loan options: a Low Interest Rate Program and a special Deferred Payment Program, the first of its kind in the industry, Barco claims. The Deferred Payment Financing program permits equipment purchases of $150,000 and upwards, with minimal payments for the first six months of the loan period. Ongoing loan programs include a 5.99% Easy Application (one page)

USA - Crestron has confirmed the installation of its 50,000th DigitalMedia switcher. Leading AV solutions provider, Whitlock installed the milestone switcher at a US Army base in Newport News, Virginia.

"It's a proud day in the history of Crestron," said Randy Klein, Crestron executive vice president. "Reaching the 50,000th installation milestone further validates DigitalMedia as the industry standard. It also recognises our dedication to engineering excellence and innovation."

The U.S. Army needed a digital solution for its training facilities across the country and called on trusted dealer, Whitlock, to provide the solution. DM was selected because it is the only proven digital solution that accepts both analogue and digital signals and meets the stringent security and reliability requirements of the U.S. Army.

"Our partnership with Crestron was fu

UK - On 28 March 2012, Stage Electrics hosted the Association of Stage Pyrotechnicians 200th training course.

The one day Pyrotechnic Safety Awareness course was presented by well-known industry trainer Lincoln Parkhouse and took place at the Crescent Theatre, Birmingham. The course takes participants through practical hands on training sessions on the safe use and identification of pyrotechnics and their effects.

Twenty four delegates enjoyed the one day training event and were all presented with a certificate confirming their membership to the Association of Stage Pyrotechnicians and completion of the training course.

Hannah Parkinson who attended the course from the Redgrave Theatre, Bristol said, "The day gave me a good all round experience and knowledge and we'll all be safer in our workplace after being on this training."

"Stage Electrics sell a lot of

UK - In co-operation with James Cameron's Lightstorm Entertainment, Christie supplied its Christie Duo dual-projector solution to bring the bright, vivid scenes of Titanic in 3D to life at its world premiere last week at The Royal Albert Hall.

"I'm pleased to have Christie continuing to accompany me on my 'journey of discovery' which will see studios and cinema owners providing stirring 3D and, in due course, high frame rate movies, to fully immerse their audiences in experiences that best represent the creative excellence of today's producers and directors," said James Cameron.

"It truly is an honour for Christie to be working alongside James Cameron on such a prestigious world premiere. This is not only a great testimonial to the trust put in our digital cinema solutions, but also confirms Christie's role as the world leader and a pioneer in this field.

Hong Kong - 2012 marked the seventh year that Lighthouse was chosen as the official LED screen supplier for the annual Cathay Pacific/ HSBC Hong Kong Sevens, which sees 24 rugby teams from across the world compete for four prestigious trophies. This year saw the company really at the cutting edge, as its new VideoBlades panels wowed rugby fans in two key locations.

The climax to the event saw Fiji beat New Zealand 35-28 in the final for the HK Sevens Cup, while Samoa, Kenya and Canada won the Plate, Bowl and Shield respectively.

As in previous years, Lighthouse supplied screens for the North Stand of the HK stadium and in the Sevens Village at the Indian Recreation Club, this time providing one of the company's new VideoBlades SkyRolls at each location. Measuring 6 by 3.375m, the screens relayed real-time footage, action replays, match facts and sponsorship information in unsu

UK - Creative & Cultural Skills, Arts Council England, and Nesta have joined forces to commission new, independent research into the influence of the subsidised theatre on commercial theatre, with a view to gaining a greater understanding of the role of public investment in the arts.

The survey will track the careers of people in the industry, and the talent that has emerged from it, in order to better understand the impact that public investment in the theatre sector makes.

The aim is to collect the views of a range of theatre professionals currently or previously working in the sector, as well as those who have aspired to do so, on how their careers have developed. The wider the range of participants, the more valuable the research will be, and the more we will know about the success story of British Theatre.

TBR and BOP Consulting, who developed the survey, will also unde

UK - Creative & Cultural Skills, Arts Council England, and Nesta have joined forces to commission new, independent research into the influence of the subsidised theatre on commercial theatre, with a view to gaining a greater understanding of the role of public investment in the arts.

The survey will track the careers of people in the industry, and the talent that has emerged from it, in order to better understand the impact that public investment in the theatre sector makes.

The aim is to collect the views of a range of theatre professionals currently or previously working in the sector, as well as those who have aspired to do so, on how their careers have developed. The wider the range of participants, the more valuable the research will be, and the more we will know about the success story of British Theatre.

TBR and BOP Consulting, who developed the survey, will also unde

Belgium - Barco has added a new member to its RLM family of silent three-chip DLP projectors. Similar to its smaller W6 and W8 cousins, the new RLM-W12 offers WUXGA resolution (1920x1200) combined with low operating cost and power consumption. Thanks to its standard 3D capabilities, low noise level and 11,500 lumens light output, the RLM-W12 is a perfect fit for conference auditoriums, lecture halls, infotainment applications and event venues, says the company.

"By adding a brighter unit to our RLM projector family, we can now cover the entire spectrum of silent projectors for fixed installations, ranging from 6,000 to 11,500 lumens light output," says Alexis Skatchkoff, product manager at Barco. "In this way, we are better able to meet customer demands for more brightness out of compact projector systems."

(Jim Evans)

UK - HSL supplied lighting equipment and LED screens to the first production tour for the UK's newest boyband sensation, One Direction, who have just completed a totally sold out six-week UK arena/theatre tour.

HSL was working for Production North, who asked Dave Lee to create a lighting design for the tour, working alongside show producer Louise Doyle. Together, they helped deliver a lively and entertaining performance to One Direction's young and enthusiastic.

HSL's project manager Mike Oates comments, "We were very happy to be working with production director Steve Levitt, production manager Mike Clegg and the team from Production North again, who always produce a great live show with real entertainment value. We were also able to offer an integrated and efficient technical package encompassing both lighting and LED screens."

In 2011, HSL made its first major in

USA - Nokia brought Times Square to a standstill last week as 30,000 people watched one of the biggest electronic take-overs of the iconic New York landmark for the launch of the Nokia Lumia 900.

Using the latest CGI technology the team behind the massive Hollywood blockbuster, i-Robot, created one of the world's largest LED displays. Nokia took control of nine of the square's famous electronic screens to ensure the crowd were immersed in light and music from every direction. The light show was introduced by international superstar Nicki Minaj, who sang a medley of tracks from her new album, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded.

A team of visual artist worked for more than 5,000 hours, day and night for more than three weeks, to create the hundreds of effects that were used on the large screens. All of the electronic screens were controlled from a mobile server that was f

Australia - The Newcastle Museum recently relocated to new facilities at the old railway workshops adjacent Civic Railway Station in the heart of Newcastle. As part of the relocation, and with regard to the place they held in the story of Newcastle, BHP provided sponsorship to develop a gallery devoted to the history of steel making in the region.

As part of the development in 2011 Mental Media were commissioned by the City of Newcastle to design, produce and install "a dramatic audio visual program which will interpret the excitement, colour, drama and noise which is inherent in the steelmaking process" to "enliven the exhibition, expand the visitors' experience and help to interpret the very large objects on display in the exhibition".

Mental Media proposed a major 'object theatre' production that provides visitors with a glimpse of the inside of a steelw

UK - PDD, the premier product and service design innovation consultancy, has replaced the long-serving, drop-down projection screen in its London headquarters with an 84in dnp Supernova One, fitted with 23:23 High Gain screen material.

When the Company first moved into its new HQ in Hammersmith 15 years ago, the conversion from a former warehouse was carried out using many of its clients' products. And this included an ingeniously designed portable Deltascreen projection screen which was converted into an installed version.

But the 20 year old technology was now well past its sell-by date, and in conjunction with the overhead projector presented an image which was far from sophisticated.

"It was very old fashioned - really just an ancient bit of fabric," said Tim Court operations director at PDD. "We were using this screen for creative presentation purposes, a

UK - Visitor registration for PLASA Focus: Leeds 2012 closes at 5pm today. Don't miss out, register for your free visitor badge today and experience the largest get-together of entertainment technology professionals in the North.

Registration is free, choose from 20 free seminars and meet 130 exhibitors across two sold-out halls. Plus, who says there's no such thing as a free lunch? Free lunch will be served from 1pm on both days of the event.

PLASA Focus: Leeds 2012 takes place at The Royal Armouries in Leeds on Tuesday 17 & Wednesday 18 April. Don't miss the essential industry event for the North of England. A full run down of the products, the seminars and the people can be found on the website, alongside visitor registration:

(Claire Beeson)

USA / Europe - Barco recently supplied its FLM HD20 projectors to create a spectacular visual journey enlivening electronica artist Amon Tobin's latest international tour, ISAM Live. The centrepiece of the show was a 25' x 14' x 8' multi-dimensional, shape-shifting 3D art installation in which the world-renowned DJ performed his electronic music show from a control booth centrally located within the structure.

Combining 3D projection mapping and generative/audio reactive real-time and pre-rendered elements, the producers used Barco's FLM HD20 projectors to display the kaleidoscope of visual elements in concert with Tobin's music. The artist recently described the integration of projection mapping and music as a "reverse score," alluding to the cinematic parallels he sought to achieve in creating the show.

The dynamic stage featured the joint efforts of industr

UK - XL Video's concert touring division continues a busy spring by supplying Pixled F-11 LED screens and processing equipment to chart-topping, award winning and massively popular UK boyband, JLS.

XL is supplying the equipment to show producers Production North as part of the video package for the band's latest sold-out UK arena tour.

Co-ordinating the tour's video are Production North's Luke and Tom Levitt. XL Video's account handler is Jo Beirne with technical requirements handled by James Morden.

Says Luke Levitt, "We have worked with XL video for a long time - they are the biggest rental company specialising in live music video and are still the best. The technical support is second to none, and all the kit all came out of the warehouse in excellent condition as you would expect, all delivered to production rehearsals perfectly labelled and addressed."

The p

UK - Liverpool- based sound, lighting and AV rental specialist Adlib celebrated the start of 2012 by fully inaugurating and moving in to its new warehouse in Speke, following another strong trading year and steady growth. This has more than doubled their existing space to over 50,000sq.ft.

The last 12 months has seen some serious construction and renovation work take place at the premises totalling an investment of over £1m including the property purchase.

The buildings and the existing one next door have been combined and optimised for Adlib's busy operation, with more room for all divisions of the company.

In addition to this, a further £1.2m was invested in new equipment last year to ensure that the current rental stock in all departments offers the latest, best and most popular technologies to Adlib's clients and projects.

Integral to the new warehouse is a

USA - Founded in 1861 with close ties to Wheaton College, College Church has achieved a reputation as one of the most influential churches in America.

The stunning Georgian Revival-style building on Washington Street that the church calls home was built around two decades ago. It's an architectural gem that boasts high glass ceilings, soaring columns, and a U-shaped wrap-around balcony. The room's acoustics provide a wonderful complement for the piano, pipe organ, and choir that typically accompany most services. But that same architecture has represented a long-standing challenge for spoken-word intelligibility. As Greg Dieckhaus, President and CEO of Bolingbrook, IL-based Practical AV Solutions explains, the church has been through more than one attempt at addressing the issue.

"It's a gorgeous building, but problems with intelligibility and consistency of coverage have

UK - Christie would like to extend its congratulations to Absolute Audio Visual Solutions managing director, Alex Parmee, and project manager Brian Cook, who recently scaled Mount Kilimanjaro for charity. With the help of Christie and other corporate sponsors the pair reached the summit and raised a considerable sum for the British Heart Foundation.

Parmee reports, "It was a truly amazing experience, but probably the hardest thing either of us have ever done. In total we raised just under £7000, and we are absolutely delighted to have achieved such a fantastic result."

The website www.global-adventures.co.uk followed their progress and achievement and still enables donations to be made.

(Jim Evans)

UK - The Projection Studio, headed by visual artist Ross Ashton, designed and created the record-breaking video artwork featuring 32 animated mosaic portraits of HM The Queen that was projected onto Buckingham Palace last week.

The 'Face Britain' project was instigated by The Prince's Foundation for Children & the Arts and brought to life by PhotoBox. It has enabled over 200,000 children to make their faces famous on the front of one of London's most iconic landmarks.

It is also the first time that video projections have ever been used on the front of the Palace.

Ashton has previously projected onto the building three times - famously for the first time during the Queen's Golden Jubilee celebrations in 2002 - for which he used PIGI projectors. This time, leading UK video rental specialists Creative Technology (CT) have supplied the 24 Barco and Panasonic 18K and 20K video pr

UK - A.C. Entertainment Technologies' video division has supplied lighting and visual designer, Max Conwell of Naked Eye Lighting with a Green Hippo HippoCritter and a TV One down-convertor - to help service his busy schedule of TV shows, events and world tours including Paul Weller and Morrissey.

The scope of Naked Eye's work encompasses all genres of visual design - from high profile rock 'n' roll world tours, to major events and architectural concepts. Conwell also programmes video and moving lights for a variety of high profile TV and game shows.

He has been using media servers for some time, and was an early adopter of the innovative technologies and mindsets fuelling the 'convergence' between video and lighting.

On the most recent Morrissey tour, he used the HippoCritter to playback video content for the pre-show movie, which ran for 25 minutes. The HippoCritter was al

USA - Mission Media asked Bluman Associates to help them produce a complex AV presentation alongside Nicki Minaj's performance in Times Square to launch the Nokia Lumia 900 phone.

This event saw the artist take to a stage in the square with a special remix of her hit single Starships being played live to a big audience with flash mob style dancers, pounding sound effects and a 200ft LED wall.

Bluman enabled the production to take over the American Eagle LED tower in Times Square to create a hero screen which would form the centrepiece for the event with striking content designed to move in time with the song. Other screens around the square were taken over to relay camera feeds from the live event as well as brand messages for the launch of the Nokia Lumia 900. Super high resolution CGI content was created for the screen by UK production company Glassworks.

The screen

UK - Manchester-based A to V recently supplied six Christie M Series projectors, stacked three wide and two high, to create the 31.5m x 14m visual element of a 4D projection onto the Wheelwright Building, Kirklees College, marking the rebranding of the Batley School of Art.

A to V's Mark Whitehead advised on process, content ratios and resolution, whilst all content - celebrating the history of the School of Art, which dates back to 1853 - was supplied by final year photography student, David Black.

(Jim Evans)

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