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The famous Mann's Chinese Theatre, situated on Hollywood Boulevard, is presently undergoing a restoration which, among other things, will bring new, state-of-the-art audio to the structure using DCA Series amplifiers from QSC Audio Products. The largest supplier of power amplifiers to the cinema industry worldwide, QSC, along with other manufacturers including Dolby Labs and JBL, helped develop the theatre's new sonic blueprint. Implemented by Media Technology Source (MTS) West, the design incorporates 35 of the California-based manufacturer's DCA Series amplifiers. Delivering a combined total of over 100,000W to JBL loudspeaker components, the amplifiers include five DCA 3422 models operating in bridged mono at the system's low-end, and five stereo DCA 3022s powering custom mid/high and mid/low arrays. Three DCA 2422 units are used for the high frequency transducers within the system, w

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Lighting design company MAD Manufacturing will be providing lighting design support for John Hornby Skewes’ stand at this year's PLASA Show. At the recent JHS Event 2001, held on-site at the music trade distributor's Garforth head office, MAD provided an impressive full lighting rig as visual support in the HK Audio pro audio demo theatre, in addition to being a guest exhibitor at the JHS Event. With a well-deserved reputation for innovation in what is a highly competitive industry, MAD were impressed by the level of reaction they received during the JHS Event 2001 from the many music trade visitors, and are delighted to be involved with JHS again for the PLASA Show.

JHS can be found on Stand E46.

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Lighting&Sound International, PLASA Media’s leading entertainment technology journal, is sponsoring the New Technology Gallery at PLASA 2001. This is the showcase of all products nominated for the prestigious PLASA Awards for Product Excellence. Situated on the Top Deck of the PLASA Show, near to the main bar area, the showcase offers visitors a chance to check out the features and capabilities of all of the major product innovations at PLASA 2001, in one place.

L&SI will be based on the Lower Deck (stand K19), where we will be offering free readerships to qualifying UK industry personnel, plus special offers on international subscriptions only available at PLASA 2001 - plus PLASA Media freebies to all new subscribers!

L&SI can be found on stand K19.

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Coleraine-based Light & Sound FX has installed a new PA system at Coleraine Football Club. The system, commissioned by Mackie Designs’ technical manager Mick Williams, is based around RCF’s new RX 3000, a programmable matrix for sound system management and control. Light & Sound FX’s Darren Gardener explains the background to the install: "Initially, we were dubious about using a 100V line system. We were concerned about both the quality and clarity of such a system. During consultations with Mackie/RCF in the early stages of the project, both Andy Austin Brown and myself spent a lot of time going over the pros and cons for a low impedance system or a 100V line system. In the end, we felt that Andy had a stronger case and we went with the HD 550/HFT horn speakers and the RX3000 matrix system. On the day that Mick Williams came to commission and test the system, I h

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Industry veteran Bob Kelly is about to launch a used live sound equipment website. One of the many features of the new website will be a series of ‘Character Assassination Pages’ which will feature many industry veterans who have been caught out on the Kelly box brownie over the years. Kelly explains: "I managed to accumulate quite a large back catalogue of photos which I feel should be put on public display for the sake of prosperity. New photos will be posted onto the website on a weekly basis." Kelly, who is now operating under the banner of Bob Kelly & Co - Worldwide Livesound Brokers, will operate from offices in London and the US.

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This year, Carlsbro Electronics will be exhibiting at the PLASA show for the first time. This famous British manufacturer started making quality sound equipment 40 years ago, from their factories near Mansfield, Notts. The company has a new 32-page catalogue and some innovative products on demo, including the revolutionary ‘NlightN’ sound panels, featuring ‘NXT’ technology. The Company’s new owner, Andrew Bishop, will be on the stand, together with R&D manager, Garry Brookes, and area sales manager, Mal Ward.

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Forget three-phase power supplies, water-cooling, unreliable performance and costly maintenance, plug and play lasers are definitely the way ahead according to laser firm VIVID. By plugging into a standard 13amp socket crisp, pin-sharp graphics and animated images can be thrown from the lightweight laser with the bonus of high speed digital blanking. With each image as a separate entity the permutations for all manner of presentations is endless, says Mike Lister, managing director of Vivid.

Lister has teamed up with Clive Davies, the technical mind behind Laser Electronics, to form Vivid, which is based in brand new 12,000sq.ft high-tech headquarters in Wakefield. Vivid manufactures a rotor moulded, stylish lightweight case which can be colour-matched to any interior. Each unit weighs less than 15 kilos and can be daisy-chained like any intelligent lighting rig. Vivid claims it's the

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The skyline of the city of Dublin recently witnessed the arrival of a unique feature when AC Lighting, working on behalf of London-based architects Hunt McGarry, commissioned a unique lighting scheme on a telecommunications mast in the city centre. The revolutionary 30m high mast, known as the Esat Digifone Telecommunications Millennium Landmark Structure is located next to an M50 motorway interchange in Tallaght, Dublin. The mast has the shape of a slender inverted cone and is constructed using laser-cut perforated stainless steel.

Under the direction of AC’s project manager Peter Keiderling, various options were considered from neon to side-emitting fibre optics. Neon was determined to be the most effective and a scheme was devised utilizing custom-manufactured segments of green neon to form double rings round the mast at 17 levels. Over 200 lengths of neon were produced in a

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Sold out smash hits aren't that common in the West End. Shows that have to add extra performances to cope with demand even less so! But an exception returns to London for three weeks from this Friday: The Service Company's popular Strand 500-series training courses. First held earlier in January this year, the half day courses covered a variety of levels of Strand's popular range of lighting consoles, which are found in an ever-increasing number of theatres in the West End and round the country. Demand for the courses was so great that they are to return for three Fridays from this week, 10 August - and are to be repeated in the morning and afternoon of each Friday, allowing twice as many people to participate.

Two courses are being run. The first, on 10 August and 17 August, covers the use of the console for controlling conventional lighting and colour scrollers from the basic level,

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Few people understand the full complexities of health and safety regulations inherent in the design and installation of motion control systems, even less so when EU legislation is surpassed by a country’s own. The DIN standards, imposed by the TÜV, are known for being the toughest, most stringent safety regulations in the world and govern installations from railways and airlines to nuclear power stations. It was within such DIN regulations that AVW Controls designed, manufactured and installed the automation systems for the newly-built 1,450-seat Concert Hall in Thessalonika, Greece.

The facility is used for opera, theatre and as a convention centre, and as such needs to be totally flexible. The specification, one of the largest AVW has worked on, called for a fully computerised flying system for 34 scenery bars, 10 point hoists and four lighting bars, all with the capability o

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Vari-Lite Inc is providing the lighting for the 2001 summer tour of British, post-rock band, Radiohead. The band began the North American leg of the tour in Houston on June 18 and have been playing to sold-out arenas and amphitheaters where fans are ‘Packt Like Sardines in a Crushd Tin Box’ - the new album’s first song. Lighting designer Andi Watson, who has worked on previous Radiohead tours, is lighting the show with 69 Vari*Lite luminaires, often washing the band in deeply saturated blues and reds, highlighting the moving and experimental songs from the band’s newest albums Kid A and Amnesiac and accentuating hits from previous albums. Watson’s rig includes 14 VL2416 wash luminaires, 26 VL2402 wash luminaires and 29 VL6C spot luminaires.

Recently hailed by many rock critics as the ‘saviors of music’, the band hasn’t toured widely since

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Bookings are now being taken for this year's Theatrical London tour (12-14 September), which follows on directly from the PLASA Show. The event will feature visits to the world-renowned Royal Albert Hall for a night at the Proms; the Apollo Theatre to see the upgraded Starlight Express; Tussaud's Group Studios for an exclusive technical tour, and the Donmar Warehouse for a 'Divas at the Donmar' performance. The cost is just £250 per person for the whole programme! For full details and booking information, visit the website below.

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Birmingham-based Central Theatre Supplies has just completed its third Performing Arts School installation in nine months. All three venues feature Zero 88 Dimming, and control along with Selecon lanterns. Two of the venues are using a Sirius desk for control, whilst the third has opted for the recently launched Fat Frog. CTS specified these particular desks as they will largely be operated by students, enabling them to learn about lighting on manual pre-set controls before moving into advanced environments.

Fat Frog was recommended for the one particular school as they are developing out of hours activities for community use. Andy Fidgeon, Electrical Supervisor at Birmingham Rep said "I was pleased Fat Frog was chosen for this venue as I light shows for a number of amateur companies and it will give me quick and easy control over moving lights."

Selecon Profiles were spec

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Federal Signal, a leading supplier of public address and voice alarm (PA/VA) systems, will be hosting a special seminar at PLASA 2001 to highlight the significance of British Standards for PA/VA systems. The initiative is aimed at consultants, specifiers and installers from across the PA/VA and fire protection industry who need to know more about the issue of operating standards and why it is important to use systems with BS5839 compliance. The guest speaker will be industry consultant Doug Edworthy, formerly of Millbank Electronics and a leading expert in systems engineering, marketing and quality management. He has been running his own consultancy since 1994. Jason Hatswell, commercial sales manager at Federal Signal, said: "The event focuses on why British Standards are important to those responsible for product specification, design and installation, and illustrates how our equi

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Funktion One - designers and manufacturers of high power loudspeaker enclosures has added to the Funktion One family with the appointment of distributors under the Funktion One banner in Japan and Australia. Totalton has been appointed as distributor in Germany and Clockhouse Concepts in France. Zag Inc was appointed as distributor in the US earlier in the year. This initial distribution network will represent the full range of Funktion One touring and installation products. Contact details are as follows:

Funktion One Japan - E-mail: masa@funktion-one.co.jpFunktion One Australia - E-mail: jod@funktion-one.com.auUnited States - Zag Inc - Email: mail@zaginc.com

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Blackout Triple E Ltd has just completed what it believes to be the biggest draping job ever under taken in Europe. The brief was to construct 11 acoustic friendly session rooms, in addition to providing the rigging for lighting, sound and video throughout a hall measuring over half a kilometre in length by 100m across and 15m high. The project involved over 100 motors, 5000m of catenaries, over 1000m of truss and a staggering 1000 drapes, which alone weighed over 30 tonnes and required three 45ft trucks to transport them to the newly commissioned Montjuic 2 exhibition centre run by Fira de Barcelona in Spain.

Discussions began over 12 months ago about the feasibility of holding simultaneous presentations in such a big hall: the requirement was to create eleven 'rooms' - nine to hold 880 people, one to accommodate 1650 and another for 2050 people. The task was to create a cost-effectiv

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It was a remarkable night to top the remarkable season that Broadway’s newest smash-hit musical has enjoyed since its acclaimed opening earlier this year.

At the 2001 Tony Awards Ceremony, held on June 3rd at the Radio City Music Hall in New York, The Producers (pictured) won all of the awards for which it had been nominated - 12 wins in all, breaking the all-time record for Tony wins by one show.

Adapted from his own film by Mel Brooks, the show won Brooks himself awards for Best Original Score and Best Book of a Musical. It also netted prizes itself (Best Musical), for many of its performers, and for the rest of its creative team: Susan Stroman (Best Choreography, Best Direction of a Musical), Doug Besterman (Best Orchestrations), Robin Wagner (Best Scenic Design), William Ivey Long (Best Costume Design) and Peter Kaczorowski (Best Lighting Design).

Both Wagner and Kaczorow

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It was a remarkable night to top the remarkable season that Broadway’s newest smash-hit musical has enjoyed since its acclaimed opening earlier this year.

At the 2001 Tony Awards Ceremony, held on June 3rd at the Radio City Music Hall in New York, The Producers (pictured) won all of the awards for which it had been nominated - 12 wins in all, breaking the all-time record for Tony wins by one show.

Adapted from his own film by Mel Brooks, the show won Brooks himself awards for Best Original Score and Best Book of a Musical. It also netted prizes itself (Best Musical), for many of its performers, and for the rest of its creative team: Susan Stroman (Best Choreography, Best Direction of a Musical), Doug Besterman (Best Orchestrations), Robin Wagner (Best Scenic Design), William Ivey Long (Best Costume Design) and Peter Kaczorowski (Best Lighting Design).

Both Wagner and Kaczoro

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Capital Sound Hire has purchased a Meyer Sound M3D line array system from UK distributor Autograph Sales. The order for 24 M3D cabinets represents a break with the company’s tradition as an exclusive Martin Audio user. Managing director Keith Davis explains: "Meyer has moved on faster than other manufacturers and we think that this system is superior to any other line array system on the market." Capital’s client base covers a wide range of genres, including major rock and stadium venues, but also musical tours and classical events; from the Bolshoi Ballet to the Stereophonics. The first outing for the system was the co-headline tour by Shirley Bassey and Chris De Burgh.

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A new study analysing almost 230 audio companies and their directors, offers a rather unique insight into the individuals running today’s companies. The research, by Plimsoll, suggests that, in broad terms, there are four distinct types of director.

Mr Average: The study found that the average director in the audio industry is 49 years old and has been in the job for over seven years. The average salary is £25,000 per annum.

Old Hats: the study revealed that despite a 7% yearly turnover of directors, almost 39% have held their position for more than 10 years. Just under one fifth of UK directors in the sound equipment industry are now over 60 years old, and over the next three to five years, as these bastions of the industry reach retirement age, their departure could have a profound effect on the companies they formerly controlled.

Marathon Runners: If the industry is a vic

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On September 19th the London Hilton in Park Lane will once again be the focus for music industry stars and top brass as they gather to celebrate the Music Managers Forum's (MMF) seventh annual British Music Roll of Honour. Slick production and plenty of surprises are planned for the annual event, which promises to be as high profile as last year's when Lionel Richie played for his manager Barrie Marshal and Phil Collins reformed Genesis for one night to honour the band's manager, Tony Smith.

James Fisher, general secretary of the MMF, told PLASA Media: "As in previous years, we will be inviting a number of international artists to take part in the awards ceremony. They will play a key role in inducting well-known industry figures into the British Music Roll of Honour and honouring the recipient of the Peter Grant Award for outstanding achievement." Since its inauguration in 1

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One of the UK’s leading sound installation companies, Northern Light, has just completed "the first of many" installs with Celestion professional loudspeakers. In Grangemouth, the Town Hall has commissioned a new sound reinforcement system, featuring the new Celestion CXi Series cabinets, for its 1000-capacity venue.

Stephen Stewart, installations engineer for Northern Light, has wall-mounted Celestion CXi 1221s left and right of the stage, with another pair of CXi1221s as a delay 30 metres up the hall. Celestion KR1s provide the balcony infill, whilst Celestion’s digital management system, the DMS2065, controls all the parametrics and delays.

"We’re hoping to establish a firm alliance between Northern Light and Celestion," explains Stewart. "Celestion is a name that our clients associate with, and this is going to be the first of many CXi i

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Bryan Wilson and Jon Gee formed central London-based Flying Squad Aerial Rigging Services late last year to offer a specialist team devoted to flying performers and acrobats. As part of their expansion, the company has just welcomed a newly-appointed director, Rory McKeown. The Flying Squad now offers a fully comprehensive production rigging service including design, consultancy, manufacture and installation. From Frank Sinatra to Kylie Minogue, McKeown’s CV reads like a who’s who in entertainment. At the forefront of imaginative rigging design for over 20 years, Rory McKeown toured with Pink Floyd on the original ‘Wall’ tour in 1980, rigging the famous huge inflatable moving puppets. This led to his rigging Roger Water’s ‘Wall’ at the Berlin Wall in 1990. He has flown Prince during his 1987 European tour and been chief rigger for U2's nine month

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The Elbow Room chain of pool bars has commissioned a second audio installation from Essex-based Xtreme AV, for its newest venue, recently opened in Bristol. This latest contract follows on from the success of Xtreme’s design for the Elbow Room in Swiss Cottage, London, which opened in June. The three-floor bar in central London features a highly flexible Celestion CXi sound system, providing six zones of audio to the main bar, the gallery bar on the first floor and the club bar in the basement. The system is controlled by BSS Soundweb which allows the Elbow Room to route any sound source to any area - for example the DJ in the basement bar to a private party in the gallery bar. Private VIP areas, scattered throughout the club, are equipped with their own televisions and speaker system, allowing guests to choose their own programming. Each area has its own EQ setting on Soundweb.

  1. Beautiful Pictures at High Noon
  2. Hemming Launches System Design Company
  3. Dobsons Swan into Covent Garden
  4. DJW Awarded ISO 9001
  5. Nippy Rigging’s Wild Weekend
  6. Color Kinetics is a Rising Star
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