UK - From the production and distribution of live pictures and real time data to operating the largest fleet of satellite uplink fleets in Europe, Satellite information Services (SIS) is constantly reviewing its facilities based on the changing requirements of its customers.

The company recently commissioned two new dual antenna HD trucks, equipping each with 20-channel Soundcraft BB100 production/on-air mixing consoles.

Designed to offer complete diversity and unparalleled transmission resilience, each vehicle contains two fully-isolated/fully redundant SD/HD transmission chains, and comprehensive audio/video test and monitoring.

Dave George, project manager for SIS Live, says, "We looked into the marketplace and found the BB100 to be a high specification desk at a competitive price. It offered an excellent featureset, such as the mix minus facility, and we use the sub

UK - Brilliant Stages once again takes to the high seas designing, building and installing sections of set for the Bill Dudley designed show Once Upon A Dream aboard the Princess Cruises' Ruby Princess.

Once Upon A Dream is one of a number of shows which play in repertoire during the liner's cruise schedule. Brilliant Stages' components for the set comprise of huge moving walls which frame the stage to the side and rear. The side walls each measure 6m wide x 4.1m high, and the back wall a staggering 9m wide x 4.1m high - and all are designed to move at speeds up to 0.5m per second.

The moving walls are used to transform the set into an ever-changing series of different shapes and sizes. The side walls are attached to the proscenium by hinges on which they can pivot, whilst the back wall can be tracked up and down stage to meet with the sides. Side wall ang

Germany - One of Bremen's most popular late night lounges has been equipped from the ground up with Monacor International's IMG Stage Line sound reinforcement systems.

Situated right in the heart of the city, The Loft plays host to a wide international audience and regularly welcomes players from local Bundesliga football club, Werder Bremen.

The venue is owned by Canadian Steve McMinn, who had earlier developed the 450-capacity Paddy's Pit - an Irish Bar situated underneath.

"But Paddy's became so busy that we needed a new place upstairs, with a different concept," says general manager Phil Seling. Thus the Loft was born, specialising in a friendly atmosphere, relaxed lounge music and waitress service.

Opening from 4pm-2am daily, the owners realised that such a long duty cycle would require sound reinforcement components that were not only reliable, but also ver

Korea - The Main Hall of a Korean high school has been equipped with an ILA Installation Line Array system from QSC Audio, who have also supplied all the amplification and network processing.

The rectangular, multipurpose hall at the Daesung High School in Seoul needed a versatile system that could cater for the diverse range of school activities - ranging from its use as a gymnasium/basketball court, to hosting entrance and graduation ceremonies.

The old system had deteriorated badly and Sama ProSound, QSC Audio's Korean distributors, were brought in to respecify the system.

Sama ProSound felt not only that the ILA's compact footprint and attractive external design complemented the interior design of the main hall, but that its vertical array attributes would allow an optimum dispersion pattern from the tightly spaced speaker arrangement. Furthermore, by excluding some of t

Austria - High quality in speech and music, especially optimal speech intelligibility at all seats of the theatre and an inartificial support of dialogues were some of the main demands for the new public-address system in the theatre of St. Pölten in lower Austria.

The theatre includes a large hall for 360 visitors and a smaller studio stage with 120 seats. As music and sound effects are now part of a contemporary play, a flexible, multifunctional sound system is essential. Besides drama, the theatre also presents live concerts and the theatre's premises can be rented; the sound system had to be highly adequate for all these applications.

The new sound system with Alcons loudspeakers fulfils all these requirement profiles. Additionally it was possible to fit the components into the tight budget, which was available for the new sound system. This now includes a DiGiCo D1 mixin

Ireland - The inaugural evenTech Ireland (18-19 November, 2008) has prompted a satisfied response from exhibitors and visitors alike, according to the organisers.

The show included networking events and education in the form of seminars, spread across two-days, enabling key regional decision-makers a chance to see, feel and hear the latest technologies and solutions for the first time in Ireland.

Buoyed by the success of the third regional networking exhibition in the evenTech series, show organiser, Darren Brechin, comments: "Our initial ideas for the format of the show have now been realised through the positive response from our exhibitors and the calibre of the visitors. We reached both our exhibitor and visitor targets and this is a direct reflection of the need for a dedicated show for Ireland."

(Jim Evans)

Norway - The small Norwegian town of Ski provides an idyllic setting for the so-called Skifestivalen, an annual open air music festival held in fall in the town centre. The festival features acts from a wide variety of genres - from rock to hillbilly, from blues to folk.

This year, the technical side of the production was the responsibility of rental company MultiTechnic, ably supported by technicians and engineers from the local theatre, the Rådhusteateret, the centrepiece of whose sound reinforcement concept was an extensive Cobra system from Dynacord.

Hans Erikstad of the Rådhusteateret comments: "The Cobra delivered a transparent, clear and warm sound - but with the requisite capacity to project. It made it possible for us to provide homogeneous coverage throughout the entire square. What also pleased us no end was the unproblematic handling of the system.&qu

UK - When St David's Catholic Church in Mold, Flintshire decided that its entire sound system required an upgrade, the church turned to Apple Sound, the same company that had installed the original system - no less than 30 years previously.

Using Bose Modeler software, Apple's designers created an acoustical model of the church, and were able to predict the performance of the proposed design. As an added comfort to the church, those involved also had the opportunity to 'listen' to the system before it was permanently installed, using the Bose Auditioner playback system.

The agreed solution comprises two stacked pairs of Bose Panaray MA12 line arrays for the nave, plus one pair of MA12s to cover the balcony seating. Bose FreeSpace 3 creates in-fill where it is needed, and Bose Model 32SE loudspeakers complete the system in the foyer.

With amplification from Cloud CXA4 and CXA

UK - Sennheiser Scholarship student Alyssa Bonagura has just released her first commercially available CD, which can now be downloaded directly via iTunes.

Bonagura, a third year student studying BA (Hons) in Sound Technology at the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts (LIPA), was helped on her musical journey by her Sennheiser Scholarship, which began at LIPA over ten years ago and has since supported many students' entries into the highly competitive world of the music industry.

"We're delighted to hear how well Alyssa is progressing at LIPA and in the industry," said Sennheiser UK general manager Phil Massey. "It's important for us that the next generation of performers and audio professionals learn their trade using Sennheiser equipment. That's why we've been committed to the Scholarship programme for over ten years. Artists like Alyssa prove that our inve

Israel - Wireless Solution Sweden AB helped Israel celebrate independence day in style. Israel@60 was a worldwide celebration to commemorate the country's 60th year of independence. While special ceremonies celebrated the event from as far as Washington DC, the biggest festivities were in the Israeli cities of Haifa and Tel Aviv.

The project name for the Israel events was Lighting the Sky and combined multimedia sound and lighting with a laser show and pyro effects, culminating in a spectacular fireworks display. Altogether there were eight different mega shows at various sites, with the two main shows in Tel Aviv and Haifa.

Lighting designer for the events was Bambi (AKA Avio Benyaho) with lighting equipment supplied by Procon Event Engineering and Israel based Gil Teichman.

Because of the massive distances from console to lighting, W-DMX by Wireless Solution

Eurovision Update - Sir Terry Wogan is stepping down as commentator on the Eurovision Song Contest after three decades. Fellow Irishman Graham Norton will take over for the 2009 contest, which will be hosted in Moscow. Veteran presenter Wogan, 70, cast doubt on whether he would be involved in covering the event again following this year's contest. He said it was "no longer a music contest" and that prospects for western European participants were "poor".

The show has suffered from accusations of block voting, which was blamed by some for leaving Britain's 2008 contestant, Andy Abraham, with only 14 points. Wogan said, "I've had 35 wonderful years commentating on the Eurovision for radio and television. From my first, in a small musichall in Dublin, to my last, in the huge arena in Belgrade, it has been nothing but laughter and fun... The silly songs, the

UK - The Stranglers embarked on their recent autumn tour of Ireland and the UK with an Allen & Heath iLive digital system to manage monitor mixing. Comprising an iDR10 Mixrack and iLive-144 Control Surface, the system was specified by the band's monitor engineer, Kev Allen.

"When the band comes on stage they know what they are going to get. iLive not only gives them the same great results every night but it saves them from lengthy sound checks at each venue because of the system's memory recall," says Allen. "I also worked out that I save a third of a ton by carrying iLive and a pair of Cat 5 cables rather than a copper multicore, heavy analogue desk and racks, so it makes load in really simple and there's more room on the tour bus."

Allen has been The Stranglers' monitor engineer for three years and also runs a PA company called Fearless Audio in the south

South Africa - Gearhouse South Africa supplied all technical production - staging, rigging, lighting, video and audio - for Lionel Richie's successful South African tour, with resources pooled from its Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban bases.

Anthony Banks, operations manager for Gearhouse Rigging was head rigger for the tour, which played a mix of indoor and outdoor venues.

In Cape Town they used an 18m wide by 12m deep TFL roof. The PA Towers were done with Layher scaffolding, while the Durban gig was staged on a 20m wide by 14m deep Stageco roof with integral PA wings. The PA wings were at a height of 25m metres. The Johannesburg shows which concluded the tour took place in the Dome, a 13 212 seated capacity venue which sold out for two nights.

The GHSA lighting department was led by Rob Baker, a regular freelancer for the Cape Town branch, who worked with 4 touring crew

UK - Over the years, Maltbury Staging has supplied Shakespeare's Globe with various decks, assorted legs and accessories to suit a variety of performances. But it's not only at their famous theatre that they put on productions, for their 2008 Summer Tour project manager Paul Russell was confident that Maltbury would provide exactly what he needed, on time and at a suitable price.

The Globe chose The Winter's Tale as the perfect play for a summer's evening and Maltbury provided appropriate staging.Metrodeck Ultra, Maltbury's lightest staging system, was chosen. The package was straightforward yet versatile using an aluminium frame with a lightweight plywood top. As the tour made its way around the country, Russell reported how vital it was having flexible and manageable staging. "I would have no hesitation in recommending Maltbury to other companies," he says.

USA - Texas-based tour production specialists LD Systems are currently touring with Sarah Brightman and their Electro-Voice sound system. Brightman's Symphony World Tour is currently on its 48-day/32-city North American leg, with stops including Washington DC, Mexico City, and Toronto.

Robert Ausmus, director of production services, LD Systems reports: "We use our EV rigs for our most important projects and the new FIR filter technology has taken the system performance to a whole new level. We used NetMax N8000 (digital DSP/matrix controller) systems with FIR-Drive for the first time at our biggest annual event - the Houston Rodeo - and were very pleased with the results.

"On this tour we're running all DSP via NetMax, all managed with IRIS-Net control and monitoring software. We've cut down on hardware considerably - removing racks full of DSP from the equati

World - Madonna's Sticky & Sweet Tour, rolling across Europe and The Americas fall and winter 2008 employs MA Lighting's grandMA lighting system.

"Also used on Madonna's last tour, grandMA is our board of choice," says lighting programmer Troy Eckerman. This year's tour integrates some new technology into the mix. Eckerman attests that for this type of show, "90 percent is all about key lighting for her. We're presenting a very big picture - very high trim and a very white stage." The out-in-front B stage, used a lot to bring Madonna closer to her audience, has four small lifts that come off of it to front of house. Video screens and archive tape serve to supplement the look.

The Sticky & Sweet Tour lighting fleet, headed by designer Roy Bennett, also includes director Mac Mossier and programmer Cory FitzGerald. "We're using two consoles

Spain - When Barcelona's Teatre Lliuere was looking to upgrade its lighting equipment, it turned to ETC dealer Stonex - and ETC control equipment.

"The theatre, which is considered one of the most prestigious in Catalonia, opened in 2001," says Jose Louis Seoane, project manager for Stonex. "From the beginning it was equipped with Avab control desks, so the move to Congo was straightforward. It has the familiar philosophy of Avab, offering easy and efficient control."

The theatre has taken delivery of six lighting control desks in total: the 740 seat Fabià Puigserver auditorium has a Congo plus a Congo jr as backup, while the 60 seat sala de prensa (lecture room) will be using two Congo junior desks with a fader unit. As the company also produces national tours, it bought a Congo and Congo jr backup system for travelling.

Rai García, head of Teatre Lliu

UK - Summit Steel is supplying production rigging for Monkey: Journey To The West, currently being staged in a 3,300 capacity Kayam Tent outside London's O2 Arena.

Damon Albarn (musical score) and Gorillaz partner Jamie Hewlett (visuals, stage & costume design) present this innovative performance work fusing Chinese opera and circus with animated video cartoons and live performance.

Summit won a competitive tender to supply rigging services and equipment to the show which is staged by AEG Promotions UK. Summit's team is project managed by Chris Walker who is working closely with AEG's site production manager Tom Armstrong and Monkey Journey 2008 (the touring company) production manager, Jim Leaver.

The show's flown infrastructure is based around a 22.4m wide by 20.5m deep ground support system that was installed into the tent by Star Events Group.

From this, Summit

UK - Stagecraft Technical Services was launched in November by directors Kevin Hughes, Michael Naish, Lisa Tapper, Simon Sketchley and Sheryle Daniels. Bringing together many years of experience, the new Company which is based in Salisbury, will work with the event, corporate, professional, educational, amateur and entertainment sectors to provide a comprehensive staging, lighting and sound service; from supply and installation to technical support and hire.

Lisa Tapper explains: "It is a very exciting time for us all; we have a clear focus and a driven, knowledgeable team. Certain assets were acquired by Stagecraft Technical Services from Stagecraft Limited, which recently went into voluntary liquidation.

"Stagecraft Technical Services is well placed to offer full technical support services for staging, lighting and sound projects of all sizes, alongside extensive a

UAE - Delta Sound's new DiGiCo D5 Live and L-Acoustics loudspeaker system have been hard at work recently, providing the audio for a host of big name acts that have passed through the region in last month.

Maroon 5 and George Michael took full advantage of the D5, while Alicia Keys, Queen and Paul Rogers benefitted from Delta's substantial stock of L-Acoustics' cabinets, and the spectacular launch of Atlantis, The Palm made good use of the company's entire inventory.

"It's great to have access to DiGiCo products in the Middle East," says Jim Ebdon. "It means that I can just take my setting with me on a USB key, rather than having to ship large amounts of kit. And on this occasion it was particularly useful, because the other option available would have meant using two desks instead of the just the one D5."

"Delta Dubai has gone through a period of si

Italy - Area Venezia, the discotheque created by Joe T Vannelli, is one of the most popular names on the European clubbing scene. It was totally restructured in October 2008 by architect Massimo Cadamuro and now features two levels, with one large area and a smaller one. The club is divided into several zones, with a central dance floor surrounded by four elegantly furnished bars (each themed differently) and an art gallery.

When the venue was restructured, new installations included a sound system by Dynacord Alpha Concept and lighting by DTS and Zero 88. The new lighting system was installed by FG Lighting, with technical supervision by Dario Juka, to a lighting design project by Michele Sgolacchia of DTS.

DTS and Zero 88 products installed at Area Venezia include eight Helios full colour LED projectors inset in a semicircle in the false ceiling above the dancefloor; 35 MR16

UK - Essex-based rental company Event Sound & Light has recently invested heavily in RCF TT+ range of products. They have also taken on a full TT25-SMA monitor system along with a TTL33-A line array.

Paul Galley of Event Sound & Light comments: "We had used the RCF Line Array a couple of times and had achieved great results with it, so it made perfect commercial sense to look at adding a line array system to our hire inventory, as we already have a large point source system. The line array allows us the benefit of offering both systems to our clients, but more importantly we have the option to use what is right for the individual job.

"We had been looking at various systems, but after a visit to RCF's HQ in Italy it became clear that the TT+ system could deliver far more than what we expected and also allowed us the scale ability we had been missing. The one major th

USA - Yamaha's PM5DV2 beat off stiff competition from five other high profile audio consoles to win a Technical Excellence and Creativity (TEC) Award at the 125th AES Convention, held in San Francisco.

The award was presented to Marc Lopez, marketing manager of Yamaha Commercial Audio Systems by Night Ranger guitarist Jeff Watson and Howard Page, senior director of engineering for leading US rental firm Clair Brothers.

In accepting the award, Lopez paid tribute to Yamaha's dealers and end users worldwide whose continued feedback, suggestions and support have helped to ensure that the PM series digital consoles continue to evolve and offer the most advanced facilities and intuitive user interfaces in the large format console market.

(Jim Evans)

UK - Specialist AV trade rental company PSCo is opening a new Midlands base, complementing its southern operations. The new office opening will enable the PSCo team to service the Midlands and north of England more effectively, working with clients to create a nationwide support service.

The base will feature the portfolio of PSCo's advanced products including a fleet of Panasonic 103" plasma screens, the Sharp 108" LCD, new Infinite plasma screens and a selection of top of the range mainstream AV products.

PSCo managing director Stuart Holmes comments, "For a long time we have seen a growing demand for our innovative 'Advanced' product range, for events in the north of England and the Midlands. This was the driving force for the decision to open the new office, from which we will also be offering training and demonstrations for clients."

(Jim Evans)

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