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

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.

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UK - PRG has announced the opening of a new office in the heart of London's Covent Garden.

Serving clients in the theatre, television, concert touring, corporate and special event markets, this new location provides space for meetings, pre-production and even WYSIWYG, within a stone's throw from many of London's studios, theatres and venues.

The new office is open from this week and located at Sussex House, 143 Long Acre, Covent Garden, London, WC2E 9AD.

(Jim Evans)

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

The Netherlands - In response to higher-than-expected demand from its exhibitor community, Integrated Systems Events has announced the addition of further space to the footprint of ISE 2013. Following a rebooking process that has resulted in more space than ever being reserved for the next Integrated Systems Europe, the show's organisers have decided to make a part of Hall 8 of the Amsterdam RAI available to both new and existing exhibitors.

"This is not a decision we have taken lightly," comments Mike Blackman, managing director, Integrated Systems Events. "However, the response from exhibitors to our 2012 show has been overwhelmingly positive and, in the end, we felt we had no option but to expand our footprint for 2013.

"This extra space will allow us to accommodate those 2012 exhibitors who have not yet rebooked for next year, as well as new companies w

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Australia - The Performance Centre at Matthew Flinders Anglican College in Buderim on the Sunshine Coast opened in November 2011 with a series of College events staged to celebrate completion of the new facility at the College.

Designed by Dimond Architects, built by Integral Constructions and project managed by MFAC project manager Ken Sutherland, the new Performance Centre building links to an existing Music and Drama centre to provide a truly flexible theatre that can operate in several modes to suit a variety of College requirements.

To achieve the configurations required by the College, theatre consultant Richard Stuart used a flexible flat floor model for the theatre design with the ability to have auditorium and stage at the one level with an orchestra lift that can be also used at auditorium level and with retractable seating units that store on the rear wall of the au

USA - W-DMX by Wireless Solution Sweden played a key role at Super Bowl XLVI, where Indianapolis transformed the heart of downtown into Super Bowl Village, a ten-day, three-block interactive festival of football. The Village entertained hundreds of thousands of visitors with live concerts, food and beverages, an ESPN Broadcast Studio, and even ziplines running down the main street.

Dodd Technologies of Pendleton, Indiana created a dazzling lighting design for the Village, using W-DMX by Wireless Solution to send a flawless signal to 134 Elation Platinum Beams with W-DMX cards built in. Nine W-DMX Pro Box F2500 sent signals with directional antennas.

Ninety-six of the Platinum Beams were spread out across three city blocks. At the beginning and end of each block there was a W-DMX transmitter, six in total. Each transmitter broadcast to half a block worth of lights and was fed w

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With an LED life of 50,000 hours and low power use, the P6 cuts energy costs and supports the EU’s ‘Green Deal’ goals for climate neutrality by 2050. It also meets updated eco-design rules for lighting.

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UAE - PALME Middle East will demonstrate just how far production lighting has come in the Middle East when the three-day show gets underway at the Dubai International Convention & Exhibition Centre (DICEC) on 1 May, say the organisers.

The GCC region's longest-running trade convention for sound, lighting and AV professionals is expected to pack a serious visual punch as industry heavyweights, including Clay Paky, Robe and Martin Professional host dynamic theatres in an attempt to consolidate market share in the region.

Rudolph Anand, sales manager for the Informa exhibition, emphasises the significant upturn in the lighting sector this year, with TechnoPro (the PR Lighting distributors) taking a massive stand measuring around 1000sq.m. "PALME is experiencing an enormous amount of interest from lighting companies, and of course we also have LOBO once again presenting their

The Netherlands - In response to higher-than-expected demand from its exhibitor community, Integrated Systems Events has announced the addition of further space to the footprint of ISE 2013. Following a rebooking process that has resulted in more space than ever being reserved for the next Integrated Systems Europe, the show's organisers have decided to make a part of Hall 8 of the Amsterdam RAI available to both new and existing exhibitors.

"This is not a decision we have taken lightly," comments Mike Blackman, managing director, Integrated Systems Events. "However, the response from exhibitors to our 2012 show has been overwhelmingly positive and, in the end, we felt we had no option but to expand our footprint for 2013.

"This extra space will allow us to accommodate those 2012 exhibitors who have not yet rebooked for next year, as well as new companies w

The Netherlands - Dutch supply, hire and installation company Lichtpunt Theatertechniek recently completed an impressive installation with Visual Productions' CueCore at the Drents Museum in North East of Netherlands. For a number of years Lichtpunt have provided lighting to the museum, so when Drents Museum approached them for a new project that would evolve around the world famous Yde Girl they were delighted with the opportunity.

Yde Girl died between 54 BC and 128 AD at an approximate age of 16 years and her body was remarkably well preserved in the peat bogs near Yde in the Netherlands. Drents Museum's new Yde Girl drama is an interactive exhibit with sound, lights & projections used to illustrate the story of this girls life all those years ago. The museum needed the installation to run automatically and be low maintenance and energy efficient. The Project Manager from Lic

USA - Staging Solutions, a nationwide event design, production management and media company, has hired Andy DiRaddo as senior producer.

DiRaddo brings almost 40 years of event production and audio/visual expertise with him to Staging Solutions where he will join their executive management and leadership team.

"I have had the pleasure of working with Andy for over 20 years on a variety of great events from Power of Houston to Compaq Sales Conferences in Hawaii and Las Vegas," said Bill Fitch, president and owner of Staging Solutions. "Andy has always impressed me with his keen production skill and knowledge, as well as his creativity and superb communications skills. I'm excited about the possibilities this brings to our clients and company."

Before joining Staging Solutions, DiRaddo was at LD Systems - a full service production company which he founded in

Germany - After wide-ranging practical tests, Movecat is presenting exclusively at Prolight+Sound 2012 Version 2 of its I-Motion software.

The update includes numerous new features. Among them are an optimized graphic display, freely configurable page views for a clearer overview when large numbers of drives are involved, additional safety-relevant indicators, and enhanced performance through the integration of a powerful database.

Further, with I-Motion V2 an expanded cue functionality is possible. Movecat calls this 'Multi-drive'. One of the advantages of Multi-drive is the multiple selection and deselection of individual hoists in a cue, which makes simpler programming of complex show sequences possible.

This new version of the software will be supplied with the I-Motion controllers Expert-T II, Basic and Basic-S from March onwards. An upgrade is available for existing I-

Germany - Just in time for Prolight+Sound 2012, Sommer Cable is presenting two new product ranges under the Cardinal DVM brand.

The DVM120 Series consists of seven different problem fixers and audio tools for professional live and studio applications. All devices have the same "indestructible, well-conceived and no-compromise housing design" made of a solid 3mm extruded profile.

Due to the front and connection plates recessed by 18mm all controls and connectors - including the active components - are optimally protected against boot kicks etc in the tough daily routine on stage or in the studio

All active devices are equipped with an internal power supply, suitable for operating voltages between 90 and 240V (50/60HZ). The mains supply is provided via a high-quality combined IEC switch/fuse unit. The supplied locking IEC power cord ensures safe contact making.

Qua

Germany - Electrovision reports that it is now taking orders for the much anticipated new Behringer 'Powered by Midas' X32 Digital Mixing Console, which will begin shipping this summer.

Richard Fox, managing director of Electrovision comments, "To say we're excited about this game-changing mixing console from Behringer is an understatement. The technology in this product has only been seen in high-end models until now and we are anticipating a huge response with early pre-orders from customers eager to buy this affordable digital mixer at analogue prices. "

The X32 allows the audio engineer to focus on the event, instead of "navigating a vast sea of knobs, buttons and menus like most other live digital mixers". X32 has 40 processing channels and 25 mix buses, all equipped with high quality signal processing (dynamics, EQ and inserts), which can be configure

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

UK - The University of Leicester has completely redeveloped one of its primary conference facilities in the Oadby Student Village, transforming Gilbert Murray Hall into a state-of-the-art conference venue. This comprises a large central space, four seminar and break out rooms and a hospitality area.

Tasked with designing a versatile AV infrastructure that would broaden its appeal to external companies, Quadrant Visual Solutions turned to a Harman Professional solution after winning the contract, supported by UK distributor Sound Technology.

With Ben Todd of Sound Technology's project team providing EASE modelling of the space, a system design was proposed to provide highly efficient coverage and to fulfil the technical requirement for the room to be used in two orientations (landscape and portrait format) for audio and visual projection.

On the side wall Quadrant installed t

Bahrain - With Path of Pearls, a musical production that wove Bahrain's heritage with its modern underpinnings Manama, Capital of Arab Culture 2012 was officially launched.

The event was held at the sea front of the Bahrain National Museum. Lighting designer Luc Peumans from Painting with Light, Belgium, specified one grandMA2 full-size, one grandMA2 light along with two MA NPU (Network Processing Unit) for the show.

For the musical, a large orchestra, 100 dancers plus nine aerial artists performed on a multilevel stage. The show used the largest low-res LED screen (300sqm) ever used in the region.

Eclipse Staging Services from Dubai supplied all the lighting and video equipment.

(Jim Evans)

The Netherlands - The issue of what to do with industrial buildings once they are no longer needed for their original purpose is a familiar one to urban planners. But in Rotterdam, a 106 year old grain silo has found a new lease of life as a music and corporate event venue. Historic the building may be, but its new Yamaha audio specification is anything but.

Originally, Maassilo was the largest grain silo in Europe. It fell out of use a decade ago and its sheer size could have meant that demolition was the only realistic course of action. However, the city of Rotterdam authorities have used its size to their advantage, transforming it into an entertainment and exhibition venue. De Nieuwe Oogst, a centre for urban culture, has recently opened at Maassilo and includes two concert stages, a recording-studio, lounge bar, dance and exhibition facilities.

Veteran Dutch sound enginee

USA - Rational Acoustics LLC has announced the addition of Chris Tsanjoures in the role of applications support specialist. In his new position, Tsanjoures will oversee all application support functions at Rational including the creation and dissemination of customer support materials regarding application & use of Rational Acoustics' products.

He will also provide application-based customer phone, e-mail and web support, work with partner companies to create integrated Smaart Measurement Technology based solutions and provide tradeshow support & external training support.

"This is a really exciting time for Rational Acoustics" says Karen Anderson, Rational Acoustics COO. "We are expanding our product offerings and our technology solutions and with that growth comes the ability to add incredibly talented people like Chris to our team. He's not only a highly skil

USA - Upstaging, Inc has purchased six Robert Juliat Victor followspots for its rental equipment inventory, which supplies some of the biggest names in entertainment coast to coast. The Sycamore, Illinois-based company has been known for theatrical lighting and equipment trucking since 1972; its additional capabilities include production services, mobile marketing and event coordination. Five Lakes Marketing, which represents architectural and theatrical lighting manufacturers from its base in White Lake, Michigan, closed the deal with Upstaging.

"We've been looking for an excuse to buy Victors for a couple of years," says Chuck Spector, Upstaging's purchasing and rentals manager. "We had some experience with them on Batman Live in Europe, and our crew chiefs have had positive experiences. Victors were specified for Reba McEntire's tour, and that gave us th

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

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