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Business

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USA - The recent ETS-LDI exhibition in Orlando featured its annual Awards ceremony. This year's winners included Richard Pilbrow - Lighting Designer of the Year; Michael Clark - Projection Designer of the Year; Buford Jones - Sound Designer of the Year; and Brad Schiller - Technician of the Year.

In the product awards, Strand Lighting's C21 Dimmer range won Lighting Product of the Year. C21 and EC21 dimmer racks are designed for global operation and provide a number of advances in technology, say Strand. In addition to providing support for conventional SCR dimmers including Quad, Dual and single modules with ratings up to 12kW, sophisticated Sinewave dimmers are also available. Dual Sinewave modules can be mixed and matched with standard dimmers in the same rack for full flexibility.

Altman Lighting collected the Lighting/ Architecture Product of the Year Award for its Smart

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UK - For six weeks every year, Walsall Council stages its famous Illuminations in the town's Arboretum. This year the Council decided to up the ante and used one of their two Christie S+16K 3-chip DLP Roadsters to create a series of animations. The Council purchased the projectors on the recommendation of freelance projectionist and AV consultant, Bruno Edwards.

The theme this year was Animal Magic, which required video sequences of the animals - created by Birmingham video artist Jonathan Lee - to be projected 50-60m high over a 30m distance, across a small lake and onto the trees. This was one of a number of spectaculars staged during the year by the Council, which led it to believe that projector ownership now represented a more cost-effective option than rental.

Bruno Edwards comments: "Aside from the performance, the main advantage of the Roadster was that, thanks to

LSi 40 - Banner - July-Nov 2025

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UK / USA - Stage Technologies, the award-winning UK stage automation system specialist, recently hosted a reception at its new facility in Neasden, north London.

After a number of years at its Highbury base, the company recently completed the move to the Neasden site, which offers more flexibility in terms of equipment warehousing and office space. Director John Hastie described the company's current workload in the UK as "manic": engineers are involved in a variety of projects including the refurbishment of London's Royal Festival Hall, due for completion in 2007. The company can now be contacted at 9 Falcon Park, Neasden Lane, London NW10 1RZ.

Meanwhile, the company has also announced the opening of a permanent US office in Las Vegas, Nevada, to be headed up by company director Kevin Taylor, with support from two full-time staff. The move follows Stage Technologies

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UK - Midas is pleased to announce that it has appointed Milan-based Texim srl as its Italian distributor. Texim has been Klark Teknik's Italian distributor for 15 years, and the decision to expand the company's remit to include the Midas range of consoles is a logical progression given the increasing interoperability between the brands. This is exemplified in the November launch of Klark Teknik's Show Command integrated system of hardware and software which can interface with Midas consoles.

"The move comes at a time when the synergy between the two brands is stronger than ever, and it makes sense to have one distributor handling both," says Midas and Klark Teknik sales and marketing director David Cooper. "Texim is consistently one of our best European Klark Teknik distributors and we are confident that they can repeat this success with the Midas range. Their tec

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Italy - An architectural multi-projection onto the Motorola Pirelli building proved a challenge in terms of creativity, technology and innovation - a challenge taken on by visual designer Paolo Buroni and lighting manufacturer Stark. The project, based on an idea by Tcommunication and Motorola, is the biggest multi-projection ever attempted on a skyscraper with large, windowed surfaces, say Stark.

The technical difficulties included combating the high ambient light levels created by the thousands of public lights of night-time Milan. Buroni says that apart from this problem, he was also faced with the only available site to project from being located 200m from the building. Buroni explains: "The image to be projected was divided into 15 sections using an extremely precise graphic process and a complicated series of calculations and tests in order to obtain the perfectly rec

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UK - Lynnsport & Leisure Park, situated in 72 acres of parkland near King's Lynn in Norfolk, is one of the largest sports and leisure facilities in the country. The Sound Division Group recently won the contract to supply and install a sophisticated Tryka LED colour change lighting system with Pulsar control, a 24-station eight-channel Audeon wireless cardio entertainment system and numerous plasma and LED screens, plus an Abstract VRX Gladiator lighting system in the facility's spinning studio.

The brief was to provide a thoroughly modern yet sympathetic environment for exercisers using the latest technology. However, it had to be a system that would be easy for untrained personnel to use and operate. Sound Division installed 24 Audeon 28 RX6 wireless personal receivers on the CV machines and the same number of Audeon 28 CS wireless Csafe docking chargers. The AV distribution s

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UK - Blackout Ltd designed and supplied all production rigging infrastructure for the 12th MTV Europe Music Awardsheld in the Pavilhao Atlantico in Lisbon, Portugal, on 3 November 2005. A variety of Blackout truss and track systems were supplied for individual artists. For Madonna's new hit single 'Hung Up', Blackout arranged for a rigged 2m mirror ball to be smoothly flown on to stage using a Liftket motor and Kinesys control system.

Framing the stage for the Gorillaz performance, Blackout supplied 4 track systems fitted with red velour to represent a secondary proscenium arch. Two 12m x 9m white filled cloth and red velour Kabukis drops added a projection surface. A "Peppers Ghost" effect was created using two translucent panels and a projector truss and projector beams bounced images back on screen where they were combined with life size silhouettes of band m

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UK - Bandit Lites UK supplied the full lighting production and crew to cult heavy rockers Dream Theater for their UK and European tour. The band's worldwide lighting requirements have been looked after in the US and Europe by Bandit for several years, offering a fully integrated intercontinental Bandit solution. The European leg of the tour was project managed for Bandit Lites UK by Mark Powell, who said: "It's was great to work with the Dream Theater team again on another innovative and interesting design."

The band's long term LD Benoit Richards and their video designer Bert Baldwin worked together on developing the 2005 show's 'visuality', which united both lighting and video in an integrated stage 'look', matching the band's huge energy. Both Richards and Baldwin have been involved with the band for some time. "It's very much been a collaborative effort this t

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UK - GLP UK has launched as a new e-commerce portal (www.glplighting.com) to streamline its sales and supply line of the full-range of German Lighting Products direct to the customer.

GLP UK is a division of Chepstow based i-Vision, specialists in architectural, LED and feature lighting. Complementing i-Vision's bespoke and standard ranges of architectural fixtures, GLP UK offers a massive choice of entertainment lighting fixtures from fully-specced professional level moving heads for studio and touring applications, to a vast range of conventional lightsources, to a myriad of club and disco effects. This includes lighting control systems - dimmers and desks, stands and rigging, and all imaginable accessories.

GLP UK is the exclusive UK distributor for German Lighting Products. The new user-friendly and easily navigable website is geared to clients with all levels of knowledge

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Worldwide - Critics enthuse that Dave Gahan of veteran British electro-pop band Depeche Mode has never sounded or looked better. Touring for the first time in four years, the band are showcasing their new acclaimed album 'Playing The Angel' mixed together with classic hits from their vast back catalogue.

Artistic director Anton Corbijn, visual director Blue Leech and lighting designer Paul Normandale created the visual concept to reflect an 80s space feel and the lighting was carefully selected to complement the tradition of a band with a history of visual spectacular as well as musical presentation.

One of the key elements to both the set and lighting design is the custom-built futuristic looking stage facia and synthesiser stations. Perforated with small holes they house a total of 59 James Thomas Engineering's PixelPup LED fixtures. Paul Normandale explains: "I wanted

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UK - Live brand experience specialist MMM has won the coveted 2005 Corporate Event Award (CEA) for Event Management Team of the Year.

MMM nominated its in-house Jaguar event management team for the award and won because of its innovative approach to live branding exercises, the huge success of the experiential events that it produces for Jaguar and the way the company works with the client on a strategic level. This involves a truly comprehensive understanding of Jaguar's business on all levels, says the company.

MMM has handled Jaguar's account for over 15 years and is made up of a core team of five people - a director, two event managers, an administrator and a warehouse manager. The judges were impressed with the longevity of the relationship, which has needed a lively and constant creative evolution to develop the brand identity and keep pace with the times.

The Team del

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Italy - Italian manufacturer Outline has once again contributed to the sound reinforcement on one of the country's biggest TV shows Rockpolitik. In the colossal television studio in Brugherio - one of the largest in the world, fitted out with millions of euros' worth of scenery and equipment - the studio audience heard the host's and guests' speech exclusively via 120 of Outline's Micra II cabinets.

The reputation of these compact loudspeaker systems, say Outline, is based on their ability to reproduce the human voice in a focussed manner, with natural timbre and high intelligibility - even at high volume, and without feedback, say Outline.

For the area of the studio hosting VIPs, eight Outline H.A.R.D. 212 stage monitors with the company's unique (patent pending) "acoustic architecture" were used: these continue to make a name for themselves in high profile e

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UK - Skan PA Hire has purchased a 60-channel Klark Teknik DN1248 Plus mic splitter system. The units have been built into a custom stagebox, designed by Skan's Chris Fitch, with custom wiring and panel work by VDC. The stage box has been designed to fit into Skan's existing multipin systems while providing the flexibility and demands that some touring acts need.

The splitter system went straight out on David Gray's UK tour, making its debut on Gray's Parkinson appearance, then moving onto another TV slot with Jools Holland before heading out across the UK for the December dates. The DN1248s Pluses have been used to their full capacity, with the need for FOH, monitor, multitrack and broadcast splits on several occasions, say Skan.

(Lee Baldock)

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Germany / Europe - The organizers of Photokinaannounced that the fair looks set to be a success. Oliver P. Kuhrt, executive vice president of Koelnmesse GmbH, says: "The imaging market is booming and therefore provides ideal conditions for a successful photokina 2006. The World of imaging is benefiting from the increasing convergence of markets and technologies. It's the only event in the world that represents this market in its full complexity."

Koelnmesse is expecting to attract around 1,600 suppliers from 50 countries to the event which opens on 26 September 2006, with more than 60% of the exhibitors coming from outside Germany. Also on hand will be major names from the IT and telecommunications segment. Many of these, including Epson, HP, Casio, Samsung and Panasonic, will be enlarging their stands - as will companies such as Nokia and Microsoft. Kuhr

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Australia / Belgium - Show Technology, Australia's leading importer and distributor of intelligent lighting solutions, has been appointed exclusive Australian distributor of Arkaos DMX Media Server software VJ 3.5.

Belgium-based Arkaos is a world-leading provider of technology for live visual performances. Since 1996, Arkaos has developed visual synthesizers that trigger and manipulate graphic content that can be displayed on large screens at events, concerts, clubs or wherever visual information is required. When it comes to media manipulation software, Arkaos is one of Europe's leading names in clubs and rental companies.

"Video is becoming integrated with lighting and lighting control at a rapid rate and it is important that we provide appropriate solutions for our customers' needs" says Show Technology managing director, Emmanuel Ziino. "Our team is dedicate

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Singapore / Malaysia - Allen & Heath has appointed Sindo Exports PTE Ltd as its new distributor in Singapore and Malaysia. The firm will manage the sales, distribution and service of the complete Allen & Heath product line from their offices in Singapore and office/show room in Malaysia. "It is our pleasure to be part of the Allen & Heath family," comments Sindo Export's managing director, Mr. Koh. "With the increasing market demands on the Allen & Heath range of products, and our knowledge of the region, we are sure to create a prominent impact in the market."

"We feel that Sindo Exports was the logical choice for Allen & Heath's continued growth in Singapore and Malaysia. Mr. Koh and his staff are highly qualified, have strong local relationships and many years' experience in the distribution of pro audio products in SE Asia," comments Allen & Hea

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UAE - Events freighting specialist EFM recently shipped 60 tons of sensitive production equipment for the formal inauguration of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), to celebrate its first successful year of operations. With offices worldwide, EFM was brought in to move the technical production, including screens, a giant revolving stage, PA, lasers and most sensitively, pyrotechnics.

EFM's Chris Lumb was flown into Germany to manage a 26-hour load, which was particularly arduous due to the size and complexity of the staging. EFM's managing director Mike Llewellyn and Lisa Ryan were in Dubai ready to receive the unusual consignment and oversee the success of the project. On completion, Chris was flow out a few days later to re-pack the equipment and get everything safely back to base. The German production companies have expressed their admiration of the extemporary

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UK - A few places are still available on the Pyrotechnics Safety Training course, hosted by the Association of Stage Pyrotechnicians, in January 2006. The first course takes place at Warwick's Bridge House Theatre on 5 January: to book contact Richard Cooper on 01926 776475 or email rjc@warwickschool.org (For more info see www.stsg.org.uk).

The second and third courses take place at London's Central School of Speech and Drama on 12 and 13 January: to book contact Jacky on 020 7722 8183 or email enquiries@cssd.ac.uk.

Further details are available from the Association of Stage Pyrotechnicians: see web address below.

(Lee Baldock)

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Spain - Bosch reports that a purpose-built integrated conference and information system went live on 12 September in the debating hall of the historic Congreso de los Diputados, the Madrid home of the Spanish Parliament. The system is the first of its kind, say Bosch and, most importantly, was implemented without disturbing the historic and elegant furnishings and surroundings of the building - a key customer requirement.

The newly installed system integrates a Bosch DCN Next Generation microphone, voice and voting system, with an HP PC-based thin client and server information and display system. In addition to modern conferencing and voting features, this facility also provides parliamentarians with on-floor informational (office-type applications), messaging and display functionality, interconnected with high-speed Cat 5 data and conferencing networks.

The system features 35

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Germany - The first Zero 88 Frog 2 console sold to Germany has just completed a tour throughout North and East with energy supplier EWE AG. EWE AG is one of the leading regional energy service companies in Germany providing a comprehensive range of services including electricity, gas, water, telecommunications and IT to customers in the north and east of the country.

To mark their 75th anniversary EWE AG staged an impressive six-month, five-city interactive touring exhibition where customers learned about both the history and the future of the company. The exhibition consisted of a huge marquee (over 1,000sq.m of floor space) that included a wide variety of exhibits informing visitors about the company's services. The event included an audiovisual exhibit with capacity for 300 visitors that featured a massive 360° video projection with surround sound.

The lighting system requ

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UK - As part of the regeneration of the Tower Hamlets region, Kidderminster-based PLM Illumination provided the Tom Thumb Underpass with a colour-changing LED system. Part of a public art initiative, which included hand painted murals, ten bespoke high power RGB in-ground projectors were used as well as a custom made colour changing power supply and control system.

The marine grade stainless steel RGB colour canons contain nine high power LED lamps. The entire underpass is illuminated with a spectacular sequence of colour changing wall washes. This project paves the way for future redevelopment initiatives utilising high tech, low energy, low maintenance lighting products.

(Lee Baldock)

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UK - Among the many qualities of Midas consoles are their ability to display grace under pressure. Passing this test with flying colours is a Verona owned by South London-based film and TV facilities supplier the Picture Canning Company, which has been put through its paces on on Optomen Television's The F-Word, hosted by celebrity chef Gordon Ramsey, and recorded in the F-Word Restaurant, a large contemporary space in Ladbroke Grove.

"When we were first approached to supply the facilities for The F-Word, we were asked to meet a very precise specification by sound supervisor Rob Ashard," says Picture Canning's senior sound engineer Mike Horn. "We required a mixing desk with lots of features but a small footprint, as the audio facilities for the show were squeezed into a very small room above the studio/restaurant. The Verona fitted the bill perfectly

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Belgium - ISE - Europe's largest trade show for AV systems integrators - will include a powerful demonstration of large LED video screens, which will take over the impressive frontage of the huge Brussels Expo Centre, say the organizers.

ISE 2006 is already set to be twice the size of the 2005 show. Mike Blackman, managing director of ISE 2006, says the event is set to stimulate all human senses over the three-day event. "People who come to trade shows are looking beyond just seeing a series of products. Our exhibitors and sponsors have pushed the boundaries of showcasing systems integration solutions into a new era of dazzling shows and eye-catching displays. Without giving too much away, no one who arrives at the Brussels Expo will fail to miss the gigantic LED Outdoor Park that we have set up with our partners. Huge LED video screens will welcome visitors and set the sce

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Italy - Robe Show Lighting moving lights are being used as the key lighting element of the long-running Italian touring production of Reverie, performed by the Beijing Acrobatic Troupe of China. The show - a highly choreographed, magical mix of martial arts, dance, theatre and acrobatics - celebrates over 3,600 years of Chinese acrobatic skills and tradition.

Part of Reverie's success has been its energetic and entertaining presentation, in which lighting plays a vital role. The props and backdrops are simple but effective, and the costumes are colourful and complex. The whole visual aesthetic and creative texturing of the show is designed around colouration and illumination of the performers and what they are wearing. It's also important for the performers to be able to see clearly what they are doing, as millimetre precision is needed to co-ordinate their gravity

  1. Compulite Vector dominates Saturday night TV
  2. Projected Image Digital Hosts festive open days
  3. PLM illuminates The Hub
  4. Tannoy: further changes to German distribution
  5. Grand Hyatt Ballroom, Melbourne
  6. XL Video survives Buncefield Blast
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