Portugal - Acoustic solutions manufacturer Vicoustic has today that Australian microphone manufacturer R°DE will distribute its products in Australia and the USA, with immediate effect. The distribution agreement follows Vicoustic's recent company restructuring into three separate divisions - Music & Broadcast, Hi-Fi & Home Cinema and Industrial. Within the designated territories, R°DE will initially focus on the Music & Broadcast and Hi-Fi & Home Cinema market sectors.

For Vicoustic CEO Cesar Carapinha, the new partnership with R°DE is a strategic move that aims to bring long-term benefit to both companies: "We are delighted to be working in partnership with R°DE. Not only are they one of the top microphone brands, they also occupy an established and respected position within the Australian and US music and audio retail markets, which will be our prime focu

Hong Kong - The 34th Hong Kong International Film Festival kicked off in grand fashion on 21 March at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, where more than 900 guests from around the world enjoyed a celebration of film under the Victoria Bay sky. Lighthouse sponsored the large display at the main venue during the opening ceremony.

As one of the Asian film industry's most prestigious events, the Hong Kong International Film Festival is devoted to a tradition of "uncovering and promoting the best in Chinese language films". The 34th HKIFF ran from 21 March to 6 April, 2010. Over 240 films from over 50 countries were shown at 11 venues in Hong Kong, of which 65 were world, international or Asian premieres.

As display sponsor, Lighthouse installed a R4-S 4mm screen in a 3.84m (w) x 2.88m (h) configuration at the centre of the main stage. In addition to t

USA - Visual supplier Chaos Visual Productions is on the road with Alicia Keys' 2010 Freedom Tour, which is promoting her 2009 album release, The Element of Freedom. Her schedule opened with a 28 February performance at Bell Centre in Montreal and will cover North America and Europe over the next few months, with her last show 4 June in Lyon, France.

Chaos is providing an LED system, which consists of 390 tiles of Winvision 18.75mm. There are nine different LED screens, flown by cable winches on nine lighting headers, under three lighting trusses. The screens begin the show on the stage deck and are used to reveal her, her band and then her set.

Content comes from four Pandora's boxes. The content and Imag are managed by a Vista Spyder and are triggered by a Grand MA console. There are two 12k Barco projectors for the two side screens, three HD cameras and two ro

UK - The University of Derby sought to transform a multi-story link staircase into a dynamic beacon on a hill and turned to architecture and design consultants Tilney Shane of London to realise the vision.

"The installation was undertaken as part of a re-cladding project involving three tower blocks and a link staircase," says Tilney Shane director Andrew Bartlett.

"The brief was for a cost effective scheme to light the planar glazed link staircase in a manner that would be visible from the surrounding area and provide a landmark beacon for the Kedeston Road campus."

Tilney Shane approached Martin Professional who fulfilled the requirement with its Cyclo 04 DMX linear fluorescent luminaire. The Cyclo 04 is an RGBW T5 fluorescent colour changer that is capable of generating nearly all colours or white light of any colour temperature. The installation inclu

UAE - Nicolas Kyvernitis Electronics Enterprises, distributors of Clear-Com in the United Arab Emirates for the live sound market segment have recently supplied rental firm Almoe Rentals with the new Tempest wireless intercom system. The deal includes two four-channel base stations with 10 belt packs and relevant accessories.

"Almoe Rentals have been after a wireless intercom for some time," commented Richie Hiranandani, marketing manager. "After a demonstration of the system, we were able to showcase to them the benefits of the system over others. As well as the ability for them to integrate the new system with their present equipment."

In addition, two MS702 master stations, 20 RS601 beltpacks and 30 CC95 headsets from the Encore line were supplied.

(Jim Evans)

USA - The Long Reach Long Riders and The ESTA Foundation have announced the results of their joint raffle to benefit the Behind the Scenes programme at the USITT conference in Kansas City. A total of $6,677 was raised from raffle ticket sales during the three-day conference, over $1,500 above last year's total.

The winners and their prizes are: George Epting - Altman Rentals' Ghostlight; Bruce Jackson - Apollo Design Technology's Smart Move DMX Rotator; Chris Hofmann - Barbizon's Stagehand Tool Kit; Chip Haas - Doug Fleenor Design's DMX/RDM Coffee Pot; Nathan Szewczyk - Field Template's SoftSymbols and Field Templates; Krystal Kennel - Broadway Master Class Pass donated by GLP; Kate Nocks - Sapsis Rigging's Gift Certificate; William Digneit - SeaChanger's iPod Touch and colorBUG; Shoshana Sims - USITT 2010 Conference Registration; Kevin Seime - Utah Shakespearean Festival's Tick

USA - Innovative solutions from Xantech Corporation have enabled systems installer APA Music & Pictures to give their client Peirce College in Philadelphia a more highly functional emergency paging system than otherwise possible for its budget. The emergency audio system was the third phase of a larger project that saw APA Music & Pictures (based in Bensalem, Pennsylvania), under the design and direction of David Pedemonti - VP sales & production, install complete A/V systems in 30 classrooms and other spaces between Peirce College's two campus buildings.

Nick Wyant, lighting designer, master electrician and installer/programmer at APA, looked for a way to enhance the functionality of the system when the college asked for additional features - including music distribution and room-specific functionality for individual classrooms. The solution was a combination of Xantech's CRMWI

Germany - Coemar reports a positive outcome after taking part in the Prolight&Sound exhibition. The stand had a completely renovated look occupying a strategic position in the new hall dedicated to lighting. On show were the new Infinity M series which made its official debut on the European market, along with the other five projectors in the range and the LED series.

"In addition to the planned meetings with distributors from all over the world, such as England, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates, Korea, Japan, Thailand, Mexico, and others, we received countless contacts from fitters and end-users who expressed their enthusiasm about the unique specifications our products offer" comments Fausto Orsatti, marketing and sales director at Coemar.

"The company's commitmenthas been paid back in full thanks to the interest shown by people who use our lights to set

The Netherlands - ShowTex Netherlands will supply all stage drapes, decorative fabrics, curtain tracks and motion control systems for the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 semi-finals and grand final on 29 May.

this annual event will be broadcast live on television and the internet from the Telenor Arena in Oslo, Norway. 39 countries will take part in the contest won last year by Norway's Alexander Rybak.

Thousands of meters of flame retardant fabrics, from basics like black Molton CS masking drapes to some of the most innovative special effects textiles will provide a backdrop for the performances. Show hosts will also be reporting from the venue's green room which will be covered in ShowTex dimensional flame retardant fabric.

ShowTex's Marjon Franken comments: "ShowTex provided stage decoration and masking drapes for many of the previous Eurovision shows over the ye

India - The Hampi Utsav 2010 festival , a regular annual event in Karnataka at Hampi, a UNESCO World Heritage site, was held on a grand scale by uniting with the 500th anniversary celebration of the Vilayanagara emperor, Sri Krishnadevaraya's ascendancy to the throne.

More than 300 hundred artists performed over three days on a 200ft x 100ft stage at Hampi, with performances that included various music and Indian dance forms by such leading Indian artists as Hema Malini, Mysore, Manjunath, and Pandit Jasrat, along with international performers. The audience was estimated at between 100,000-150,000 people on each of the three days.

Three sound rental companies, V&P Sound Pvt., Sound & Light Professionals and SoundEffects.Com, collectively provided the sound system for this major event, with JBL Vertec line arrays chosen for use as the sound reinforcement system for the p

UK - The Chartered Institute of Personal Development (CIPD) is Europe's largest HR development professional body with over 135,000 members. Each year the CIPD holds its prestigious annual conference and this is attended by delegates from across the world. In 2009 the event was moved for the first time from Harrogate and held at Manchester Central (formerly GMEX). The CIPD selected Media Powerhouse to provide the stage set for the Main Auditorium and breakout rooms. The conference was produced by 20/20 Productions, based in Edinburgh, and it worked with AV partner Media Powerhouse for the second year in succession to deliver state of the art video and sound equipment to include the Main Auditorium and four breakout rooms.

Media Powerhouse is an audio visual solutions provider with experience of delivering high quality AV services to high profile events. It is paramount that every

UK - The Association for Project Safety (APS) and the Access Industry Forum (AIF) - the forum representing the nine principal associations and federations involved in working at height - have announced an agreement to provide mutual advice and assistance and, in particular, to act as strategic partners with regard to construction health and safety risk management and working at height respectively.

The aim of the agreement is to provide advice and assistance to each other's organisation and respective members by recognising and benefiting from each other's knowledge and skill base.

The Access Industry Forum, which represents all sectors of the access industry, will provide the following support in respect of working at height: A dedicated enquiry service to all APS registered members and practices; Provide information and resource for the APS website and publications; Supply e

Bahrain - The Pulsar ChromaRange LED system illuminating the Zain Group's Bahrain headquarters can be seen for miles around and is the culmination of a process that has seen Zain move to Seef and acquire a new, more vibrant, brand identity. The 23 storey complex which took three years to complete is the workplace for 300 Zain employees.

The building's spectacular lighting was designed by Future Brand of London and project managed by John Dickaty from the Bahrain office of dwp. Working together with Pulsar's Bahrain representatives Behzad lighting, Future Brand developed a concept for a highly visual, energy efficient LED lighting system that would tally with the vibrant, leading edge image associated with Zain.

Behzad and Pulsar then set to work interpreting the concept into a technical solution that utilised a total of just over 500 items from the ChromaRange family of LED fi

UK - Noel Gallagher has appeared in two concerts at the Royal Albert Hall in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust. Gallagher was flanked by former Oasis bandmates Gem Archer on guitar and Jay Darlington on keyboards, and backed by an eight-piece female orchestra plus the Crouch End Choir. Britannia Row Productions provided a dual Midas XL8 live performance system for FOH and monitors, with a Klark Teknik DN9696 high resolution audio recorder for virtual soundchecking.

FOH engineer Dan Lewis had tried out a Midas PRO6 with some Oasis multitracks he'd recorded on the band's last tour. "I quickly got to grips with the PRO6, and noticed it had the same impressive sound quality that made us spec an XL4 for the Oasis tour," he says. "Things just sounded as they should sound, and needed very little in the way of processing."

As the TCT gigs drew closer and the band's l

Egypt - Bingo is a subsidiary of ZAD Group in Cairo which launched its latest strategic business unit, ZAD Impact, with the sole objective of making an 'impact' on its partners' stakeholders.

With this in mind, Bingo has invested in Robe DigitalSpot 3000 DTs. It specializes in the design & management of turnkey corporate events, training seminars and multimedia solutions. Initially focused on the medical and pharmaceutical sector, it has also gained work in other industrial areas.

The company is directed by three entrepreneurs - Waleed El Deeb, Osama Gado and Amr El Fass. They have extensive experience within the Middle East/North Africa region in the pharmaceutical sector as well as with other multinationals in different industries, producing both experiential and creatively designed & managed interactive events.

Bingo wanted some new technology to help with its production

Chinese Whispers - Two Chinese singers have become the first in the country to be fined under laws banning lip-synching. Fang Ziyuan and Yin Youcan were fined 50,000 Yuan (£4,760) after they were caught miming at a concert in Chengdu. The pair say they were "only" backing singers and will struggle to pay the fine to cultural authorities. The law was introduced in the wake of the 2008 Beijing Olympics after a girl deemed prettier mimed to vocals performed by another child. The other girl was not considered attractive enough to be the face of China during the opening ceremony.

The fined singers said the sanction was "unfair", while some internet discussion forums have said Chinese authorities are still allowing established stars to lip-synch at events. Chengdu officials said the fine was justified and ruled that their microphones were not giving out any s

UK - The abundance of skills and talent that constitutes the Black Eyed Peas can at times appear overwhelming; producers, songwriters, musicians, they do it all. These were the challenges confronting designer Bruce Rodgers when he first took the brief for the band.

"And as a live attraction they look great too. I saw right away that the show would be far from conventional; these guys project a lot of energy and more than anything that needs to be expressed in the visual context. The big T shaped forestage stretches the performers into the midst of the fans. Losing the weight of a regular 'end on' emphasis allows the show to become totally immersive."

Rodgers, with collaborative input from lighting designer Marc Brickman, has called upon the services of set builders Tait Towers to realise his design. "The T stage element might look simple," he said, "bu

The Netherlands - Electric Sound Benelux head John Haug has started an in-house leasing company that allows customers to lease Dynacord Cobra systems "without a whole lot of red tape, and all with very attractive terms".

It's an arrangement that offers customer minimal risk and the potential for maximum profits. "The Cobra is absolutely ideal for the bread-and-butter business," says Haug: "A village fair, a speech by the Mayor, a rock band in the town hall... the system is simply so versatile, so compact and so easy to work with." With the initiative well underway, it appears Electric Sound Benelux has really struck a chord with the pro audio scene in the Low Countries.

"People are having positive experiences with this and word soon spreads. The demand is great across the board. Not least because fairness looms large in the equation. The term

Spain - ETC's Spanish dealer Stonex continues to introduce users to Ion, with a training day held at the Teatro Campos Eliseos in the northern city of Bilbao earlier this month.

Stonex's product manager Ezequiel Nobili reports, "We did two days of basic training on the Ion with seven people using three Ions. One and half days were in ante rooms learning the geography, navigation and philosophy of the desk - in order to understand the most basic functions - followed by moving light control. The final half day was spent working on the main stage, practising what they learned by controlling moving lights, conventional profiles and a number of the theatre's ETC Selador Series LED fixtures. The new theatre also has a permanent installation of two Ions with fader wings.

"The technical team's experience was varied, with half having very little experience of moving light con

Italy - Coemar reports that it supplied its products to some of the biggest-grossing concerts last year. At the end of January the weekly Billboard magazine ranked these concerts amongst the Top Ten Tours of 2009. Just under a month later Coemar was also present at the Lo Nuestro Awards organised by the American television network Univision dedicated to Latin music.

The Infinity Wash XL projectors were utilised on the concerts of AC/DC, Pink and Tina Turner. Each projector supplies 1400 W of power and incorporates a 5°- 84° zoom. The performances of Billy Joel & Elton John were highlighted by Coemar's ParLite LED lights.

At the Lo Nuestro Awards Laura Pausini won the award for Best Female Artist in the Pop category and the evening was also a triumph for Coemar lights: once again the Infinity line in the XL and S categories (90 Wash XL, 54 ACL S, 64

UK - Following the successful format of previous International Theatre Engineering and Architecture Conferences, the three days will see over a hundred experts take part in around thirty presentation and discussion sessions. The Conference, to be held in London from 13-15 June, is attracting a broad range of delegates from venue design, construction, installation and management as well as a large number of designers and practitioners.

All delegates are invited to attend the opening plenary session, which asks the question, Do we need any more theatres? The keynote speaker will contrast the values of having a permanent theatre with the benefits of using found spaces and will examine ways in which venues can be designed or modified so as to be fit for purpose in the modern world.

As well as the main Conference sessions, there are presentations by the major sponsors and bo

USA - Intercom specialist RTS announced at this week's NAB show in Las Vegas a strategic business partnership with IntraCom Systems.

IntraCom's core product is VCOM, the IP software matrix intercom system for professional communications, which runs on standard computer and network infrastructure and is based upon a client/server architecture. RTS has partnered with IntraCom to develop a platform that intelligently marries each company's intercom systems, offering the market "unprecedented interoperability, flexibility and value".

"This partnership will bring together the latest and most advanced professional level IP intercom product with RTS - the long-acknowledged leader in hardware communications systems," comments Dave Brand, chief development officer and co-founder of IntraCom. "We are pleased to partner with RTS to bring unprecedented value to th

USA / France - Digigram is making a change to the distribution of the company's end-user products in North and South America.

Starting 1 May 2010, Point Source Audio (PSA) will become Digigram's Master Distributor for these territories. PSA will take over all aspects of distribution and will be the main point of contact for Digigram's representatives and resellers.

James Lamb, who has been Digigram's business development manager for the Americas for the past 10 years, is now part of the leadership at PSA and will help to ensure a smooth transition and continuity of service. Lamb points out that, "we are fully prepared for the transition and our goal is that there will be no disruption in sales, prices or service support for Digigram's dealers and business partners."

Philippe Delacroix, president & CEO Digigram states: "North and South America have always enjoy

UK - A Victorian building in Covent Garden has been reopened as a burlesque cabaret diner following a £2m conversion by owners, restaurateur Trevor Davies and his son Adam.

The 130-cover site has a rich heritage. Formerly used as a stable for elephants and horses by the Royal Opera House in Victorian times it was most recently trading as a jazz venue when the two entrepreneurs saw it.

The aptly-named Circus - which has been designed by Tom Dixon - features a quartz dining table running the length of the club which transforms into a dance platform later in the evening. This is surrounded by a bar at the far end and a second dining room to the side of the DJ booth, as well as a lounge set to the rear of the venue.

London-based AV integrators, The Sound Division Group, have specified the first new Allen & Heath Xone:DX with Serato ITCH software to enable Adam Davies to fu

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