UK - West Midlands-based Central Presentation Ltd (CPL) supplied full technical production - lighting, video, audio and rigging - for the 2015 SEMTA Skills Awards, an annual event that celebrates the achievements of people, businesses and training partners in the engineering, science and manufacturing technologies sectors, enabling UK industry to compete on the global stage.

The event, a 450 capacity gala dinner, was staged in the ballroom of the Riverbank Park Plaza Hotel in central London and presented by TV presenter Michael Underwood. It was project managed for CPL by Lee Gruszeckyj, and was the second time that CPL, working for producers Eclipse Communications, was involved following the event's inauguration last year.

The set design was simple and effective, a presenter st

UK - Britannia Row Productions held its final event at its Osiers Road premises on 19 March, welcoming the Youth Production Network for its third annual Launch Event. Young production crews staged the evening's entertainment - a showcase of up and coming technical and artistic talent with performances from Plymouth five-piece LASTONEOUT, blues/rock duo Mickey & The Milkshakes, and acoustic duo Double Aces.

This followed a day which had featured guest speakers including Barrie Knight (BK40 Productions), Rachel Haughey (Youth Production Network), Ipojucan Icaro & Rogerio de Souza (Spectaculu, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil), Aisling O'Connor (YPN Crew Chief/Cato Academy Graduate) and Mike Lowe (Britannia Row Productions). This year's YPN launch was sponsored by Britannia Row Productions, White Light, RES, Creative Draping and The National Skills Academy: Creative and Cultural Skills.

Fo

USA - Working with lighting and set designer, Will Potts, XL Video supplied a package of scenic LED, LED IMAG screens and accompanying camera system for multi-Grammy award winner Sam Smith's US Arena tour.

The sold-out shows, in support of Smith's 'In The Lonely Hour' album, visited venues across the US and Canada during January and February 2015 including The Forum in Los Angeles, and Madison Square Garden in New York.

Will Potts' show design called for a subtle, classy video setup with Sam Smith's band all situated on varying height risers at the rear of the stage. These risers were custom-built for the tour to house XL Video's ROE MC-18T Hybrid LED, mounted into XL's own touring frames.

Will was able to achieve the specific heights and widths he required for the stepped look of the design by XL Video disassembling the standard ROE tiles and repackaging them in a more flex

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Strictly FX, Pushing Boundaries

Strictly FX was founded in 1996 by industry veterans Mark Grega and Ted Maccabee. Our expertise and knowledge of the world’s leading pyrotechnic, laser, and flame manufacturers allows us to curate astonishing live events. With over 500+ shows performed a year, there’s good chance you’ve seen some of our work!

China - To accelerate the expansion of its Asia-Pacific presence, Meyer Sound has announced two new hires: John Zhang as sales manager, China and Korea, and Tim Boot as business development manager, Asia-Pacific.

Working closely with the regional sales and support network, Zhang and Boot will work to expand a user base that has included the Chimelong Ocean Kingdom in Zhuhai, the Beijing Auto Show, Alpensia Hall in South Korea, and more.

"From theatrical spectacles to cinema and live touring, Asia is now a vibrant hub of some of the most sophisticated and ambitious Meyer Sound installations," says John McMahon, Meyer Sound's vice president of solutions and strategy. "Our continued growth potential in Asia lies not only in quality products but also in our ability to provide timely and knowledgeable support to the region. With John and Tim on the team, we look forw

USA - The new Versa Hinge from TRUSST can work as a corner connector for square or triangular conical truss as well as standard 12" bolt plate truss, making it one of the most versatile hinges in the industry.

This exclusive compatibility with multi styles of truss gives lighting/staging installers unprecedented speed and convenience in setting up their rigs, noted Kenny Miller, product manager for TRUSST. "The Versa Hinge is a real game changer in that it eliminates the hassle of having to carry around different hinges - or reaching for a hinge, only to find it's not compatible with the truss you're using.

With just this one versatile hinge in your arsenal, you can connect the corners of virtually any truss you're building your rig with -- which is why we call it the Versa Hinge," said Miller.

The Versa Hinge also lives up to its name in that it offers the fl

USA - Elation Professional's new SixBar Series of versatile colour-changing LED battens features a revolutionary six-colour LED multi-chip that provides a creative colour boost to the lighting designer toolbox.

Useful for production applications or installations as a wash light, uplight, wall/cyc wash, accent lighting, direct view pixel strip and more, the SixBar's high-power single lens RGBWA+UV LEDs offer an expanded palette of colours, including stunning ambers, true whites and even an ultraviolet effect.

Available in two versions - the SixBar 500 with six12W LEDs and the SixBar 1000 with 12 12W LEDs - both luminaires spread light at 30° beam angles and feature individual LED control for greater design possibilities. Both the SixBar 500 and SixBar 1000 are capable of smooth dimming from 0-100% and include a selection of variable dimming curves for faster programming. A

Austria - After extensive tests the MG Sound company from Nüziders in Austria (Vorarlberg) decided to invest in loudspeaker systems from ProAudio Technology.

The basis for all systems are the SW18 subwoofers in combination with DELTA14.4- DSP system amplifiers. Together with the MT12 multi-purpose loudspeakers and the horn-loaded HT16 tops these are used to realise high-power complete systems in various configuration levels, depending on the application.

Markus Gstrein, managing director at MG Sound comments, "We have chosen the systems from ProAudio Technology for several reasons. This is a true one-stop supplier, the entire product range is well-engineered and there are competent people standing behind them. Add to this the jaw-dropping performance of the systems with an incredible flexibility and practice-oriented accessories. I think one would be hard pressed to find

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ETC Halcyon Silent

High End Systems Halcyon Silent builds on ETC’s legacy of fanless automated fixtures by incorporating features from the highly sought-after Halcyon family. Halcyon Silent perfectly balances silent operation with brilliant output of 18,400 lumens and high-impact features. 

For more information visit us at www.etcconnect.com

USA - Community has welcomed the services of Highway Marketing - a professional manufacturers' representative firm with a 20-year history of supporting the installed sound and video marketplace in the states of Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Arkansas. The firm's marketing and technical staff possess a broad range of sales and engineering skills to service the needs of integrators, design firms and end users.

Highway Marketing makes good use of contemporary marketing tools including social media and a recently updated website. But the firm believes strongly in the "old school mentality" of building relationships with integrators, design firms and end users in its territory. To service this base, Highway marketing provides on-site training programs and product demos, sales support for dealers and experienced in-house tech support.

President Scott Baker emphasized the i

The Netherlands - The latest version of Vivien Virtual Event Designer from CAST Software has recently enabled one of Holland's leading events producers to design bigger, better and higher-impact events. This is all thanks to Vivien's 3D pre-visualisation, planning, design and powerful sales tools.

Event producer Joey Wijnen started his company JOW Event Design & Production two years ago and has been using Vivien to successfully win new business and design a range of increasingly ambitious events and product launches, including major new building unveilings and a large-scale All American Christmas Dinner.

"As soon as I decided to invest in Vivien, I started to get more and more projects," says Wijnen. "We design and produce events in Holland, mostly business to business but also in the private sector.

"Our clients, such as caterers and event agencies hire

South Africa - MGG Productions installed JBL VTX line arrays, Crown I-Tech HD amplifiers and Soundcraft Vi Consoles at the Afrikaans is Groot Music Show that was held recently, providing sound reinforcement for some of the most popular artists in the South African music industry today.

Organised by Coleske Artists, the Johannesburg leg of the annual music concert held at the Moreletapark Auditorium in Pretoria that seats more than 7000 people, saw nine sold-out shows.

MGG Productions were the sole technical suppliers for audio and lighting, with their project manager Denzil Smith and his expert team putting in many hours of hard work toward this popular event. Local Harman importers and distributors Wild & Marr were on-hand to provide additional technical support and EASE plots to ensure an even distribution of sound for the audience.

The audio system featured a total of 32

UK - National tourism agency VisitBritain recently held two distinct trade events in North and Southwest England, both aimed at helping local businesses develop international tourism. The agency turned to event production supplier White Light to provide lighting and projection mapping for both events, using cutting edge technology to complement two unique historic venues in Plymouth and Yorkshire.

Ahead of its Southwest showcase, VisitBritain chose the historic Royal William Yard in Plymouth as the canvas for a special lighting and projection display. The event, held the next day at Bovey Castle, hosted over 100 suppliers from the region matching them with visiting international buyers. White Light was responsible for lighting and AV for the display. Led by Project Manager Phil Gladman, the team created an 18m projection element on the exterior of the Grade I listed building.

USA / Europe -ETC's CUE (Create. Understand. Experience.) professional development conference is set to go ahead again on 26-28 June 2015, and ETC is offering two full sponsorships - which will pay for travel, accommodations and conference fees - to applicants from Europe.

All European residents, especially students and young lighting designers and programmers, are encouraged to apply for the sponsorships. To apply, please fill in the questionnaire at http://cue15sponsorship-international.questionpro.com before 7 April. The winners will be announced at the Prolight & Sound tradeshow in Frankfurt, 15 to18 April.

ETC's CUE conference is an opportunity for lighting professionals and enthusiasts of all experience levels to improve their skills and learn tips and tricks that they can use every day in their careers. CUE is especially beneficial to students and those at the beginning

Germany - Elation Professional has never headed to a trade show with such a complete line-up of professional lighting and video products as it has for this year's Prolight + Sound show. The number of new technologies optimized for professional stage applications to be shown at Stand D50 in Hall 11 is a testament to the company's R&D prowess and position as a major player in the professional lighting market, says the company.

From flexible hybrid moving heads to a raft of new LED spots, battens, wash lights, strobes and LED panels, not to mention the award-winning Sniper hybrid multi-effect light, Elation is "set for a record setting show".

New luminaires in the company's Platinum range of professional moving heads will feature including the world premiere of the Platinum WFX, a new wash effects luminaire with full range zoom; and the European premiere of the hybrid P

UK - On 17 March, GMG Network and Pickevent hosted a number of end clients and production managers from across the industry for a panel discussion with leading H&S advisors within the industry (Simon Garrett of X-Venture and Lee Holloway of Freeman) - covering how the impending CDM2015 legislation will affect the events.

It was agreed that this revised part of criminal law will be implemented, whether the industry likes it or not, although the PSA have put up a bold fight for the HSE to present a business case. It doesn't replace existing workplace regulations and purely seeks to deal with structuring the management chain during the planning and construction phases of an event.

It was evident that the phrase "Client is King" will gain new meaning now as they really will be responsible for every H&S aspect at all of their events - this includes all subcontracted work.

South Africa - DWR Distribution and CUE Lighting are sponsors for the St Mary's Battle of the Bands lighting operator competition hosted at the schools' theatre, The Edge in Waverley, Johannesburg. While Battle of the Bands is an annual event schools look forward to, this is the first time this category will form part of the festivities.

An Avolites Titan 1 Dongle, which will transform a laptop or PC into a powerful lighting control instrument, a Leatherman multi tool, LED Laser Torch (each LD has to see in the dark) and a few other prizes like a Robe jacket and rigging gloves are up for grabs.

"We only have space for 12 entrants as there will only be 12 bands in the final," commented Barry Strydom, theatre manager at St Marys and owner of CUE Lighting and Sound. Interested students have to enter before 1 April, and entries will be on a first come first served bases.

USA - Anyone who's ever been to an All That Remains concert knows that this band projects a larger than life image on stage with its fast and heavy death metal rifts, bouncing movements and audience interaction. LD Peter Therrien of JDI Productions has been doing the group's big persona justice on the its current Charming America tour with a lightshow that serves up huge helpings of brightness, colour and sweeping motions.

Unfortunately, the outsized performance of the band and its dazzling lightshow often take place on stages that are decidedly cramped for space. Therrien isn't worried though, because he's been able to conjure up big time lighting impact in even the tightest quarters thanks to some help from Legend moving fixtures from Chauvet Professional.

At every stop on the national Charming America Tour, the LD arranges a group of Legend 412 RGBW moving washes on the dow

Switzerland - Berner Münster was dedicated in the late Middle Ages to St. Vincent of Saragossa, and is the largest and most important late-medieval church in Switzerland. It was built in the Gothic style and was completed in the 19th century. It is recorded in the UNESCO World Heritage list.

Berne-based Kilchenmann AG and distributor GoWild were awarded the contract for renovation of the sound system in the nave. Thirty-three passive Pan Beam PB 8-15 have been installed, chosen for their high speech intelligibility and unobtrusiveness.

The signal processing and distribution are Symetrix DSP's used with Dante modules. In addition to the equalization and time alignment, as well as management of all outputs (speakers, induction loop and recording) all input signals (microphones and players) are controlled mixed and sent to the appropriate destinations by the DSP's.

(Jim Evans)

USA - Broadway's latest hit musical Honeymoon In Vegas opened recently with two TiMax2 SoundHub-S48 audio showcontrol delay-matrix systems supplied with the new TiMax MADI-64 Ultimate MADI Interface port. Staged in New York's Nederlander Theatre, TiMax was specified by co-sound designer Scott Lehrer to provide signal distribution and delay-based on-stage localisation functions.

Channelling the sunshine and excess of the original Sin city, Honeymoon In Vegas was adapted by Andrew Bergman from his 1992 hit movie, complete with its original swinging score. The show originally opened over a year before it reached Broadway and has been chased by rave reviews since day one. The New York Times had it tipped from the start, claiming, "...[the show] has wrestled the neon mirage of its title into the solid, satisfying shape of a classic Broadway musica"l.

Lehrer

USA - Maroon 5 have begun their latest world tour in support of their chart-topping fifth studio album V, with lighting, visuals and stage design by Leroy Bennett.

The massive rig includes eight Robe BMFL Spot and 96 x CycFX 8 moving lights supplied by leading US rental company Upstaging, together with the rest of the lighting and rigging equipment package.

Bennett's creative starting point was that they wanted something totally different. With the distinctive 'V' of the album artwork as a base inspiration, the trussing and set architecture - including 19 (nine each side, one centre) eye-catching cascading Plexiglass columns upstage - was all evolved around the concept of conventional and inverted Vs.

Bennett's objective was also to present a set structure that made a strong statement in its own right, and that could be changed by being lit and textured with video sou

UK - They have been planning the project for two years, and the installation has taken two months, but now pro audio and acoustics consultancy NoiseBoys Technologies, based in Lutterworth, Leicestershire, provided the sound for the arrival of King Richard III at Leicester Cathedral this week, where thousands of visitors will attend services including his reinterment on Thursday.

NoiseBoys won the contract to supply and install the state- of-the-art sound system, after the discovery of King Richards's bones in a car park opposite the Cathedral by archaeologists in 2012, which sparked a massive refurbishment programme, including a complete overhaul of the Cathedral's AV system.

The loudspeakers include Pan Acoustics' unobtrusive Pan Beam steerable column arrays, with JBL CBT 50 columns in the side chapel areas. The control system is BSS Soundweb, and is designed to be very capab

UK - J&C Joel, one of the world's leading manufacturers of flame retardant fabrics and flooring for the entertainment and event industries, is celebrating after being recognised as Yorkshire's best Small/Medium Exporter.

As well as picking up the award at this year's Yorkshire Business Masters awards, J&C Joel has also been 'Made in Britain' accredited, further showing its dedication to providing UK manufactured goods worldwide.

Celebrating the success and achievements of businesses operating across the region, the Yorkshire Business Masters award, organised by TheBusinessDesk.com and presented by the BBC's Damian Johnson at Queen's Hotel in Leeds, further reiterates J&C Joel's global business success.

J&C Joel has been providing bespoke theatre curtains, drapes, canvasses, backdrops and stage engineering services for stage shows, events and exhibitions for more than 35 year

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