USA - Nearly 250 consultants, integrators, sound engineers and IT managers from all over the world came together in Las Vegas on 17 June, 2014 for the AV Networking World Conference to learn about Dante, the market leading audio networking solution. This year's event was sponsored by Atlas Sound, Attero Tech, Audinate, BSS Audio by Harman, Bosch, Bose Professional Systems, Focusrite Rednet, Innovative Electronic Designs, TC Group, Lectrosonics, Peavey Commercial Audio, Powersoft, Presonus, Shure, Stewart Audio, Studio Technologies and Yamaha Commercial Audio.

"Attending AVNW from a broadcasting and live sound perspective, it was amazing to see the different ways companies and people are using Dante" remarked John Ball, systems engineer from Microsoft Product Studios. "For us at Microsoft Production Studios (MPS), the IP platform is giving us new ways to transport

UK - Chaos Visual Productions provided the essential backdrop to Kasabian's homecoming gig at Leicester's Victoria Park last month. In a specially constructed festival arena that accommodated approximately a 50,000 strong audience, Kasabian opted for a massive white 9mm WinVision screen of 235sq.m from Chaos as the central vehicle for their show.

With the rest of the stage dressed in soft white - along with the crew in their white boiler suits - the screen provided the focal point for the dynamic and energetic creative content that reflected the artistic concept of their 48:13 album.

As all the previous artists had performed on a plain black stage throughout the afternoon, the unfurling of the white drapery and the start of the numerical countdown in vibrant pink was a perfect example of how to deliver colour juxtaposition to maximum effect.

Project director, Alex Leinster h

UK - Panasonic has launched a new range of network LED displays aimed at the corporate and education markets.

The LFC70 series is designed with the next-generation wireless technology Miracast, allowing seamless high speed wireless transmission of content, including Full HD video files, from Miracast compatible devices to the displays.

The series is also compatible with Panasonic's Wireless Projector App for iOS, for wireless transmission from iOS devices to the displays, as well as Panasonic's Wireless Manager software, which allows wireless presentation from a PC.

Enrique Robledo, marketing manager at Panasonic, said, "We believe these displays present an opportunity for professionals to consider the future of digital equipment for meetings or classrooms.

"Miracast is a powerful tool for sharing media. Fast connection and very high bandwidth means you can displ

UK - The European leg of Arcade Fire's Reflektor tour came to an emotional end at this year's British Summertime Festival, held in London's Hyde Park. Audiences danced to the band's rhythmic indie-rock, superbly magnified by lighting designer Chris Bushell's impressive light show programmed and controlled using an Avolites Sapphire Touch.

Bushell's stage lighting worked seamlessly with the multi faceted set, devised by set designer Richard Stembride, and the on-stage video content. Combined, these factors brilliantly echoed the bombastic mood of the band's art-house electronica with the mass enthusiasm of the crowd.

Nevertheless this show has been no easy ride for the creative team, which has seen them deliver a complex show design capable of fitting into every kind of venue from big US sheds, to European arenas and weekend music festivals, often with limited time and not alwa

UK - With Green Hippo's internship programme in full swing and going from strength to strength, the company recently had the pleasure of having second-year student Norvydas in the office, helping out for a month.

Says the company: "We are honoured to be able to give potential future designers, programmers and operators the chance to explore the industry and its products hands on, hopefully helping them to explore previously unknown territories and strengthen their skills."

Norvydas Genys is studying the 'Theatre Lighting Design' course at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. He says: "I was fortunate to have a lighting designer around my house, my father, whom I used to help and share my ideas with, as well as study his way of working in the industry. I grew up surrounded by lights and music and it helped me to realise very early on that this will be a

Ghana - The Gearhouse Group of Companies, the leader in the South African market for equipment rental for live events, is extending its service to the continent with the establishment of Gearhouse Ghana, a fully-stocked operation located in Accra.

The Group has seen a steady increase in demand for cross-border services in recent years, in line with the escalating interest in the African continent as an event destination. Gearhouse regularly services events in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, Seychelles, Saudi Arabia, UAE, India, Brunei, Tunisia, Congo, Namibia, Egypt, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Mauritius, Zambia and Tanzania - amongst others.

Now, Gearhouse is able to provide West African events with the same level of technical services as would be available in any other major event destination, both quickly and cost effectively, the company says.

Heading up the new company are Bil

USA - Mobile production is most often associated with the world of sports and large entertainment events, but a growing contingent of non-broadcast organizations are looking to outside production teams to increase quality and expand audience reach.

TNDV recently brought its mobile production expertise to the campuses of Vanderbilt University in Nashville and the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, achieving these goals and more for their spring graduation ceremonies. TNDV transitioned both commencement productions to HD for the first time, vastly improving image magnification quality for the large attending crowds. The company also streamed the live ceremonies worldwide to ensure families, friends and alumni could tune in from anywhere.

According to Nic Dugger, owner and president of TNDV, an increasing number of his clients across education, government and corporate ve

UK / USA - In support of Coldplay's latest album Ghost Stories, XL Video has supplied a video solution for the televised album launch and worldwide promotional shows, culminating in two sold out shows at London's Royal Albert Hall.

The visual concept for these shows was developed jointly by Ben Miles, Paul Normandale, Misty Buckley and Phil Harvey.

The shows were managed for XL Video by project managers Phil Mercer and Gareth Jeanne. In contrast to their Mylo Xyloto stadium shows, the performances for Ghost Stories called for an intimate ambience, bringing the audience closer to share the new songs.

For the global album launch event at the Sony Pictures Studios in LA, XL Video were asked to create a planetarium-style 360 degree projection all around the space and across the entire ceiling above. To achieve this XL supplied 46 Panasonic PT-DZ21K projectors contr

UK - Arcstream AV, specialist provider of interactive technologies and special effects for events and permanent installations, has supplied an Oculus Rift headset plus bespoke content to Peugeot for its nationwide roadshow of the new 308.

The headset provides users with an augmented reality driving experience giving a 360 degree view of a virtual world. Beginning in April, the tour went to the Metro Centre in Newcastle, the Arndale in Manchester, the Bullring in Birmingham and Westfield in central London and Stratford. The same equipment and software was then used at Peugeot's stand at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, which ran from 26-29 June.

Neil Dickinson, managing director of Arcstream comments, "If you want your visitors to remember you, it's vital to give them a memorable and engaging experience. Arcstream supplies a myriad of solutions to help you achieve this, and

Denmark - The AV Center and Panasonic provided a superb visual experience for the crowd at The Eurovision Song Contest.

Eight projection screens measuring 6.5m each and 130 flat panel displays were installed in the auditorium, green room and off-stage areas, to ensure waiting contestants and the audience didn't miss a single note or vote from the show.

Audio-visual solution specialists, AV Center, were given the task of creating the innovative display set-up for the event, won this year by Conchita Wurst.

Mikkel Behrend, rental manager at AV Center, said, "In close collaboration with Panasonic, we managed to meet the organiser's high expectations by providing a reliable, state-of-the-art technology solution at an extremely competitive cost. We hope to work with Panasonic again when delivering such visual solutions for large-scale events."

Karoly Neumann, Nordic c

UK - Vaughan Sound Installations Ltd (t/a PAI Group) have completed an impressive, large-scale audio-visual integration project for the Life Sciences Hub Wales in Cardiff Bay.

The client required a substantial array of specialist future-proof technology, with the Welsh Government supporting the fit-out as well as the rental cost for the first five years as part of its £100m Life Sciences Investment Fund. Occupying an entire 12,000 sq. ft. floor, state-of-the-art solutions were needed across areas including a presentation space, boardroom, four meeting rooms, CEO office, and multimedia pod.

Integral to the £2.2m fit-out works, Vaughan Sound was tasked with specifying and installing a range of audio, display, projection, centralised video recording, live streaming and video conferencing systems, along with all dedicated cabling and infrastructure, to deliver a full t

UK - To support their tenth album, American rock band Pearl Jam has taken to the road for their international tour Lightning Bolt.

Working with video director Blue Leach for Pearl Jam Inc. Creative Technology (CT) provided the video equipment to complement Blue's visual directing for the 12 date European leg of Pearl Jam's international tour. Until this tour, Pearl Jam has never toured with cameras and screens, however Blue quickly established a creative connection with the band after warm up shows in London, Ontario and Wrigley Field in Chicago last July (2013).

Renowned for having a streamlined stage presence and historically performing with no video support until now, the superb live photography element captured Pearl Jam's explosive stage performance which featured predominantly black and white camera shots.

To visually enhance the shows CT provided IMAG Screens w

UK - The PT-TW341R Series is the latest addition to Panasonic's short-throw projector line up, featuring four models1 that offer bright projection possibilities, ideal for meetings and classrooms.

The series offers up to 3,500 lumens of brightness, a high contrast ratio of 5,000:1 and long lamp replacement cycle of up to 8,000 hours in eco mode.

The projector is designed with Panasonic's original Daylight View Lite function, which allows control of image brightness in a bright room for comfortable viewing.

The large image projection is enabled without casting a shadow onto the screen or dazzling the presenter. The PT-TW341R model is designed with built-in interactivity, allowing up to two users to write or draw on the projected image with an interactive pen/pointer.

Installation flexibility is another strong feature of the PT-TW341R series which is equipped with both verti

UK - PRG Nocturne which provides LED video and projection support to the concert touring, festival, and corporate event markets, has expanded its operations in the UK.

"We are now heading into our fourth year with PRG," says Bob Brigham, president of PRG Nocturne. "One of the deciding factors in joining the PRG team was our dream to expand into the UK/European markets. The expansion of our UK operation allows us to fully support the rapidly growing demand with an experienced team of people and quality gear that our customers expect of PRG Nocturne US and UK."

In 2014, the UK operation has supported numerous tours and festival appearances including The Eagles, Katy Perry, Metallica, Skrillex, Franz Ferdinand, Bastille, Linkin Park, and The Rolling Stones. They have also worked with a roster of corporate clients which included 3D projection mapping for the la

USA - New York's Radio City Music Hall saw the commencement of the 68th annual Tony Awards on Sunday 8 June 2014, with a flamboyant Hugh Jackman hosting the show and a live broadcast televised on US network CBS.

The Tony Awards are a place of recognition for achievements in Broadway productions over the past season and this year's ceremony saw an array of shows from Aladdin, Hedwig and the angry inch, The Glass Menagerie and A Raisin in the Sun to Les Miserables, Of Mice and Men as well as Rocky. With such a wide line-up the 15 Musical Tony Awards went to seven different musicals while the 11 Play Tony Awards went to six different plays.

This year's show was programmed and operated by highly experienced Hippotizer expert Peter Vincent Acken who designed a set-up using a total of 192 layers running over more than 48 DMX universes

USA - On 9 June, the Galen Centre in Los Angeles became the centre of the gaming universe as Xbox held a global briefing for media and Xbox fans at the annual video game show, E3. Broadcast live on Spike TV and on the Internet, some 140 Elation ELAR Q1 colour changing Par lights supplied by Illumination Dynamics made their debut in the elaborate stage set.

The Microsoft Xbox 2014 media briefing is used as a platform to launch new games, as well as take a look at previously announced games. Lighting design for the event was handled by Emanuel Treeson of NYXdesign, who specializes in creating immersive experiences with light and has been designing projects for Xbox since the launch of the Xbox 360 in 2005.

"For Xbox, I wanted a narrow beam fixture that could be placed in an expansive array but one where the LEDs are more spaced out than a typical Elation ELAR panel," h

USA - Founded in 1891, Seattle University is a Jesuit Catholic university and law school in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighbourhood. More than 7,400 students are enrolled in undergraduate and graduate programs within eight schools and colleges.

The university's Father LeRoux Conference Centre, located in the Student Centre building, is a large, multipurpose room used for live presentations and special events and for movies and video presentations. The Conference Centre can be subdivided with an air wall to accommodate two simultaneous events.

Last year, Seattle University hired Sparling, an engineering and architectural firm in Lynnwood, Washington to design AV systems for several of its venues. Morgan Sound, a Seattle-based full-service AV and control system integrator and large rental PA company, installed the university's new AV systems.

For the Conference Centre, Sparling's

UK - Working with marketing agency Arnold KLP and creative production agency DesignScene, XL Video have supplied an LED video wall for the Volvo V40 promotional roadshow currently being shown in some of the UK's largest shopping malls.

Through June and July 2014, the promotional display featuring the LED video wall visited the Bullring in Birmingham, Metro Centre in Gateshead, Cabot Circus in Bristol and finished up at the Silverburn in Glasgow.

The presentation area included a Volvo V40 R Design display car, which allowed shoppers to sit on board and experience the car, an array of touch-screen tablets equipped with an interactive quiz, and XL Video's 5m x 3m Barco NX6 LED wall which displayed advertising footage about the V40 and Volvo's current 'Swedish Adventure' contest.

For the project, XL's project manager, Jacqueline Rice, worked with Attila Keskin of Design Scene to

Austria - Everyone is familiar with the idea of a rock concert, but few events take the word 'rock' as literally as the recent series of outdoor gigs staged in Norway by the Pink Floyd tribute band Puls. Against the dramatic backdrop of the Kilden-Fjaereheia quarry in Grimstad, the band played six sold-out nights to audiences who were wowed not just by the music but by the spectacular projection-mapped backdrop that was created courtesy of AV Stumpfl's Wings AV multi-image control technology.

Event design and production for the Puls concerts was the responsibility of Norwegian company Blank. Tomas Håvik, CEO of AV Stumpfl's Scandinavian distributor Preqbi AB, recalls the project's technical origins:

"Blank were searching for a solution that could deliver edge-blending and warping of multiple projected images, automated according to a timeline and with built-in media serv

Qatar - With just eight years to go until they host the FIFA World Cup in 2022, Qatar was keen to get as involved as possible in this year's biggest international football tournament.

Qatar's Brazil 2014 Fanzone, was a specially built, open-air venue with a three tier retractable roof located in Katara Cultural Village. Using a prototype of one of the systems that Qatar is developing to use in stadiums when it is their turn to host the World Cup, the venue was cooled to ensure the environment, if not the atmosphere, was kept at a regular and comfortable temperature for all fans.

With a total project run from build on 18 June to de-rig on 18July to cover the entire tournament and employing a 10 to 14 man crew, Creative Technology's (CT) Middle East operation provided the latest 8mm SMD lightweight product in the form of a 10.2 x 5.7 16/9 main LED screen with side supporting scr

UK - XL Video renewed its long and productive working relationship with Robbie Williams, supplying a custom video solution and crew to his current and massively popular Swings Both Ways tour.

XL's project manager was Phil Mercer with Nilkanth Patel overseeing the technical aspects and, for the first time on a Robbie Williams tour, Jon Shrimpton was live camera director.

Once again the stage set and visuals took on a completely new and different dimension and the aesthetic was carefully crafted by show producers Lee Lodge and Willie Williams, both also involved in commissioning the video playback content, mostly created by Shop Studios in Bristol.

A large part of the look and feel of the show was established by the time Shrimpton joined the team, including an impressive 22.8m wide by 10.8m high upstage scenic LED wall made up from XL's Pixled F-12 product. They had als

Portugal - Among the things that have made The Voice such a runaway international hit is that every country seems to find its own different way of enhancing the show, adding a local feeling to what has become a global phenomenon. This is very evident looking at A Voz de Portugal. In 2011, it introduced a rule change that allowed viewers to vote back losers of battle rounds for live shows. This year the Lisbon-based show raised its game again, by taking pixel mapping on its set to a new level with the Nexus 4x4 LED panel from Chauvet Professional.

Marco Silva, LD and programmer for A Voz de Portugal, used 28 Nexus 4 x 4 panels to create a stunning front stage façade, which he had pixel mapped by João Canoso of FX - Road Lights. Working with an Mbox Studio media server, Canoso created a stunning design that coordinated with the 6 mm LED upstage video wall.

"

UK - Chester Cathedral has seen a 300% increase in visitor numbers following an innovative, £1.3 million project called 'Cathedral at Height'. The project primarily consisted of building a multi-sensory audio visual presentation in the chamber to help attract a greater family audience.

A combined team of architecture and heritage experts including Pure AV, a leader in AV solutions, were called on to deliver the results and overcome specific challenges.

The chamber's louvre windows, for example, meant that the technology would need to cope with damp, wind and cold, while the cathedral's Grade 1 listing severely limited the type of work that could be done. Consequently this meant that nothing could be attached to the stone, and the dark sandstone walls were a difficult backdrop for displaying projected images.

Responding to this, Pure AV recommended Epson's EB-G6350 proj

UK - Projection mapping and video content specialists Bluman Associates projected the Palestine flag onto the Houses of Parliament in the early hours of 1 August to raise awareness of The Palestine Solidarity Campaign.

Bluman worked with the organisation to implement the guerrilla marketing stunt.

The team, led by Pod Bluman, were in situ on Westminster Bridge for just four minutes; just long enough to ensure the PSC's photographer could take publicity photos.

(Jim Evans)

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