UK - Organized for the 11th year in a row by global experience agency Jack Morton Worldwide and watched by millions across the globe, lighting design for the Mayor of London's New Year's Eve fireworks extravaganza was created by lighting designers Durham Marenghi and Paul Cook exclusively using wysiwyg lighting design software from CAST Software. The lighting design ensured that the New Year was truly spectacular.

"We were tasked with putting London on the map alongside Sydney Harbour Bridge and Times Square, NYC," explained Marenghi. "The fantastic fireworks by Darryl Fleming at Titanium are what the public recognize but, like all good lighting, our design is subliminal but would be very much missed if not there."

Marenghi and Cook designed a two and one half hour light show in the lead up to and including a 10-minute fireworks spectacular at midnight whic

UK - Following a busy and successful first six months, VER Live has announced the appointment of Jonny Hunt as project manager. Hunt brings a wealth of knowledge and experience from the television and entertainment industry to the role and has hit the ground running. On arrival, Hunt managed his first television show for VER Live, ITV's A Funny Old Year for production designer Paul Houston. Hunt stated, "I'm pleased to be a part of this exciting new venture."

The expansion follows a string of successful and high profile video productions delivered by VER Live since its inception in August 2014. In that short time, VER Live has supplied to televised spectaculars such as StandUp2Cancer, the Royal Variety Performance, Children in Need and BBC's The Voice.

VER Live's Adrian Offord, commented, "Jonny has already become a worthy asset to our stron

Australia - Lighting designer and long-term ArKaos advocate, Francesco Calvi, turned to ArKaos MediaMaster Pro yet again to deliver the creative visuals for the 11th season of Big Brother Australia 2014, the popular reality television series.

The Big Brother House was located at Dreamworld on Australia's Gold Coast, from where the live shows, hosted by Sonia Kruger, were broadcast weekly over three months by the Nine Network, before culminating in a grand finale in December.

In a now-traditional move, Calvi used ArKaos MediaMaster Pro software to stream the creative visual effects and video content onto 180 C14 VuePix LED Screens. The screens, which were supplied by The Technical Direction Company (TDC), were hung in columns around the walls of the TV studio, surrounding the audience as well as the Big Brother eye, to form a main stay of the Big Brother set.

Th

UK - Tony Award winning tenor Alfie Boe completed a very successful UK arena tour just before Christmas with video designed by Stuart Merser of Vis-A-Vis Video and the camera / projection package supplied by XL Video.

Stuart was asked by Boe's new management company Vector Management to direct the live video on the strength of his intricate and powerful work for Il Divo.

Over time, he has developed a distinctive visual aesthetic which works extremely well with this classical / musical theatre / pop crossover genre of music and style of performance, and ahead of this tour, he talked extensively with Alfie himself and the tour's Production Director Dave Nelson, before presenting a series of ideas for how video might work in a live concert context.

It was already decided that there would be no LED screens or onstage video, so the idea was that IMAG combined with some carefully

Singapore - Creative Technology (CT) has announced the recruitment of Tom Casey to its Asia Pacific operation on 12 January 2015.

Tom will join CT's Singapore business as Project Manager reporting directly to managing director Chris Burke and will cover the Asia Pacific region.

An Australian citizen, Tom has previously worked in the UK, the Middle East, Australia and Singapore and is well versed in the business culture of the Asia Pacific region.

(Jim Evans)

The Netherlands - Green Hippo has released Hippotizer Version 4 which saw its official launch at LDI in Las Vegas in November 2014. At ISE 2015 the company will be showcasing the new systems to the European market.

Every V4 system features front panel indication of system status, removable hard drives as part of the STRATA Caddy System, all Solid State Drives as standard and the latest graphics technology to deliver unmatched performance.

The powerhouse of the range, Hippotizer Taiga redefines the possibilities within a single media server. Featuring 6x Display Port 1.2 or 6x DVI Dual Link outputs, Hippotizer Taiga can drive at least three x 4K displays at full frame rate. Taiga uses the newest generation of server-class computer hardware to deliver unrivalled performance, and includes brand new feature components such as SHAPE, the 3D modelling software and the 3D Visualiser,

The Netherlands - AV technology pioneer Peerless-AV will be exhibiting new additions to its portfolio of mounts, stands and emerging technology solutions in Hall 11, Stand H70 at ISE 2015.

New at this year's show is the Xtreme fully sealed, triple display outdoor kiosk, the next generation HDFlow wireless multimedia kit, and a range of video conferencing stands offering increased mobility, reduced system cost and improved aesthetics. Additionally, visitors will see first time demonstrations of an Xtreme display built into an outdoor kiosk, a fixed video wall floor stand and further video wall configurations using the Twin Pole Modular Series.

The Xtreme outdoor display will be demonstrated in a new triple screen menu board configuration outside the RAI (Holland entrance by Hall 11). Suitable for QSR drive thru digital menus, cruise liners, ski resorts, outdoor advertising for

The Netherlands - For the fifth consecutive year, Dante's AV Networking World series of informative presentations and hands-on workshops will be held Monday, 9 February 2015 at the Amsterdam Holiday Inn near the RAI Convention Centre.

The free all-day event will feature presentations, training workshops and interactive panel discussions led by industry design consultants, AV installation contractors and IT networking experts. The event will also feature a major interoperability networking demonstration of Dante-enabled products and systems, several of which are debuting at ISE from the industry's leading audio manufacturers.

Twenty-five leading audio equipment manufacturers are co-sponsoring this year's conference including Ashly, AtteroTech, audio-technica, Bosch, Bose, BSS, Crest Audio, Delec, Focusrite/RedNet, Harman Professional, Lab.gruppen, Lake, Nexo, NTP, Peavey Commer

UK - Working with video designer, Andrzej Goulding, XL Video are supplying projection and media control for the Theatre Royal Bath production of Saturday Night Fever, which is currently touring UK theatres.

The show, which is created in association with the Robert Stigwood Organisation, and is based on the classic 70s disco film of the same name, is directed by Ryan McBryde and choreographed by Andrew Wright.

This new production includes a multi-surface set which moves and changes throughout the show creating an ever-changing projection canvas. Andrzej Goulding's design calls for a combination of rear and front projection with content mapped on to both the moving and static elements.

XL's Project Manager, Ed Cooper worked with Goulding to specify the package of projectors and media servers to satisfy the design brief.

For rear-projected billboards, XL Video supplied

USA - Play Me!, an interactive 3D projection mapping spectacular created by French multimedia artists, Danny Rose for Vivid Sydney, an 18-day festival of music, light and ideas, has won the Judges Choice Award at the DIGI Awards 2015 in New York City.

"The DIGI Awards recognises the service providers who have gone the extra mile to ensure success for their clients, thereby furthering the digital signage industry as a whole. The Judges Choice Award winner impressed the team of experienced judges for its innovative use of technology and mass audience engagement, in a way that went beyond normal 'digital signage'," said David Keene, executive editor at NewBay Media's Digital Signage Magazine, and chairman of the Judges Committee for the DIGI Awards.

Vivid Sydney is an 18-day festival of light, music and ideas - the largest of its kind in the Southern Hemis

The Netherlands - Kramer Electronics will exhibit over 13 real-world solutions and technologies at ISE 2015. They will also provide training, education and networking opportunities and make several product introductions on stand 1.F20.

"To demonstrate working solutions in real-life settings, each with a presenter, is the best way to communicate the value - both business and technical - of our extensive product range in numerous vertical markets," said Aviv Ron, vice president business development and strategy at Kramer Electronics.

"We expect that our stand will outperform everything we have done at previous shows and will position us ahead of the competition in our ability to bring solutions of unparalleled value, innovation, functionality, scale and performance. Visitors to the Kramer stand will be able to see the products in action, test them out, ask questio

USA - ArKaos will present the latest version of its famous GrandVJ software at NAMM 2015 this week at Anaheim Convention Centre, California.

GrandVJ 2.1 will be presented as a Beta version on the shared booth of ArKaos' US distributor American DJ and Elation Lighting (#5774 Hall B). Customers will have the opportunity to try out the latest features for themselves ahead of GrandVJ 2.1's full launch just one month after the show.

In a new development, GrandVJ 2.1 now includes compatibility with many new controllers from Akai. Demonstrations of this new interactivity will be available on the booth of Akai owners, InMusic Brands Inc (#6700 Hall A) where GrandVJ 2.1 will be running with Akai APCs.

(Jim Evans)

The Netherlands - At ISE 2015, the centrepiece of the Hitachi Digital Media Group stand will be a spectacular curved display that highlights the use of projection mapping technology with multiple stacked 9000 series projectors.

"While Hitachi continues to bring new, innovative and sustainable projection solutions to customers, our emphasis at ISE this year is to demonstrate thought provoking and inspirational ways to use the products," said Axel Kutschke, senior manager, presentation products for Hitachi Digital Media Group. "With a broad selection of solutions from across the entire Hitachi product range we will be encouraging customers in education, business and professional AV to fully exploit the capabilities of our latest innovations."

The central curved display is delivered by four stacks of paired 9000 series projectors, each producing 17,000 Lumens.

UK - The final music show to be staged at London's Earls Court concert and exhibition venue - which is being demolished - saw indie rockers Bombay Bicycle Club deliver an enthusiastic and enigmatic set, complete with some very special guests including Dave Gilmour - in the final show of their So Long See You Tomorrow album campaign and world tour.

The set, lighting and video elements were designed by Squib, and XL Video supplied video production and crew for both Earls Court and the preceding tour which had originally started in April 2014.

The tour featured eye catching video content created by Adam Young and Anna Ginsburg - mostly charismatic hand drawn animations - which were programmed onto one of XL's Catalyst media servers and projected on to seven stretched fabric circles or discs of varying sizes between 4 and 8 feet, fed by a pair of Barco projectors.

For the

UK - January began with another batch of celebrity housemates entering the Big Brother House. The Housemates are competing against each other, battling to be crowned the Celebrity Big Brother winner by the public.

Creative Technology (CT) has been supplying LED display solutions to the renowned reality TV show from its inception in 2000 and has recently been reconfirmed as the supplier for the 2015 series.

For this year's celebrity series, CT is providing the LED screen displays on the side of the house as well as those on the iconic Big Brother orbit eye. Additional LED MiStrip in the catwalk and stairway is enhancing the exit for each contestant as they take on the challenge of the Big Brother House. Abstract LED built within the orbit and around the outdoor set finishes off the famed look of the show.

Mark Elliott, CT managing director, commented, "Everyone at CT is

UK - XL Video UK has announced a major investment in new Barco projectors and lenses, as well as a large investment in video distribution equipment from Lightware. Both agreements support the company's commitment to regularly update their inventory with high quality, state-of-the-art video equipment.

XL Video has invested £1.2m in 30 of Barco's HDX-W14 projectors, including a quantity of their TLD+ Ultra Short Throw lenses. XL has selected the HDX-W14 units as they offer outstanding image quality and flexible light output.

The projectors feature a modular construction and common modules for these units can be shared with XL's existing fleet of HDF-W26 and HDQ-2K40 projectors.

XL Video UK managing director, Lee Spencer, commented, "We are pleased to expand our inventory of Barco projectors and lenses. Our existing fleet has proven highly reliable and so these mid-r

UK - Holo-Gauze, 3D display solution for hologram effects, is set to feature as part of the new series of Gadget Man for Channel 4 after wowing the show's producers, who were "hugely impressed" with its effectiveness, both on-set and on-camera. The ingenious, highly transparent metallic gauze was used to create a giant, revolving holographic vase of flowers during filming of a 'Date Night' episode. The show is expected to air sometime in the Spring.

Holo-Gauze is claimed to be the only gauze able to work with 3D polarised projection systems which use a minimum of two projectors - although it can also produce believable 2D hologram effects using one projector, as was the case for Gadget Man. Holo-Gauze screens can be produced to any dimensions, and hologram sizes are only limited by projector distance and power - assuming the correct lighting is used.

&q

Switzerland - Navori has announced the opening of a new office in Germany to support growing interest in its digital signage solutions across the German-speaking DACH countries of Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The company, which will soon unveil new branding, organizational strategy and products, has appointed Thomas Pollum to lead sales and business development from the new office, located in the City of Elmshorn.

Thomas comes to Navori with a history of success in director-level and management roles at BIS Germany (A Mood Media Company) and Samsung, among others. The Elmshorn office location will allow Thomas to drive closer customer intimacy, and develop deeper relationships with existing partners.

"The DACH region is one of the most important markets for Navori, and the establishment of a local office will increase our presence and brand awareness across German-sp

UK - Brazilian footwear brand Melissa's London store launch attracted a VIP guest list most fashion brands would dream of, so the pressure was on for the store design to impress. The 6,000sq.ft store would follow the brand's 'Galeria' concept, found currently in the flagship stores in Sao Paulo and New York, where shoes are displayed alongside art installations and sculpture.

Melissa's brief to Intevi, the digital solutions provider appointed on this project, was to blend their artistic designs with suitable technology to bring their creativity to life. Intevi knew it was going to need an impressive piece of technology to deliver on these requirements, leading them to super high resolution LED as the display choice.

Commenting on the project, Tom Scott, managing director of Intevi said, "We had previously worked with the contractors on another retail project and they knew

UK - Cinelease has appointed Steve Smith as its Managing Director for the UK. Smith brings 30 years' of industry experience with him having formerly been the Group Managing Director of AFM Lighting and more recently Worldwide Managing Director of Panalux.

Steven M Ortiz (Cinelease global VP) comments: "We are delighted to welcome someone of Steve's calibre and proven track record to Cinelease. We view his appointment as a sign of our commitment to being the leading company in the UK. Steve Smith has a proven track record over many years that clearly identified him as being the perfect choice for this important position and we are proud that he has agreed to join Cinelease".

Steve Smith said: "I am very proud to start this new challenge with Cinelease. This has been a very important decision for me and I have been very impressed with the Cinelease team and their

UK - Brazilian footwear brand Melissa's London store launch attracted a VIP guest list most fashion brands would dream of, so the pressure was on for the store design to impress. The 6,000 square foot store would follow the brand's 'Galeria' concept, found currently in the flagship stores in Sao Paulo and New York, where shoes are displayed alongside art installations and sculpture.

Melissa's brief to Intevi, the Digital Solutions Provider, was to blend their artistic designs with suitable technology to bring their creativity to life. Commenting on the project, Tom Scott, managing director of Intevi said: "We had previously worked with the contractors on another retail project and they knew we could deliver on the very distinctive brief Melissa had produced. In the large entrance hall, visitors would be surrounded on three sides by floor to ceiling LED screens. These screen

The Netherlands - Panasonic Visual Solutions division has launched a training programme exclusively designed for visual professionals, such as resellers, system integrators, AV rental companies and distributors.

The Panasonic training programme includes several levels to develop Panasonic visual product knowledge and gain special certifications.

Split between projectors and display (which have three and two levels respectively) Panasonic partners can engage in free online training sessions through the Academy portal to gain Visual Professional certification.

When Visual Professional certification is attained, face to face training is made available to gain Expert, and Advanced Expert (projector only) certification, which takes place at the Panasonic European headquarters in Wiesbaden, Germany.

Panasonic European training manager Siegmar Küll, said, "Greater product k

USA - Audinate is taking its successful Dante AV Networking World events on the road to six North America cites. These free, full-day events are geared toward anyone involved with the design and installation of networked audio systems, including design consultants, system integrators and sound engineers. The interactive sessions will introduce attendees to the benefits of Dante and audio over IP networking, showcase example Dante installations, and feature of a full afternoon of hands-on training.

The events are co-sponsored by Audio-Technica, Bose, ClearOne, Focusrite, Presonus, Shure, Symetrix, and Yamaha, and will feature products from these manufacturers during the hands-on training sessions and in a dedicated demonstration room. Participants to AVNW may also earn four CTS InfoComm RU credits.

The winter/spring sessions are scheduled for the following locations and dates:<

EMEA - Scala has appointed Mike Gopal as area sales consultant for the Middle East and Turkey. Reporting to Damon Crowhurst, VP, EMEA, Gopal started in January, 2015. He will be responsible for building on and further expanding Scala's digital signage position in this expanding market.

With deep experience in the AV sector through his years at AMX, and more recently working with ESCO Singapore, Mike joins Scala from WOW Vision where he served as the regional sales manager - GCC & Africa.

"I am very pleased that I was able to convince Mike to join us, and lead our growth in this strategic market," said Damon Crowhurst, VP EMEA. "His extensive local knowledge, complemented by his in-depth knowledge of all things AV and digital signage will ensure our local customers are able to have the highest quality of service and sales support.

"Scala has a great reputa

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