USA - Opened just two months ago, Orlando-based restaurant and night club Draft chose dBTechnologies loudspeakers to provide sound to its patrons. Describing itself as a casual dining-lounge, Draft Orlando offers lunch, dinner and late night drinks with a backdrop of energising tunes.

Comprising 12 dBTechnologies Arena 12 speakers, the main sound system was specified by Owens AV Design. Bob Owens, owner and audio equipment installer was pleased with how easy it was to install, and he reports, "The customer was really happy with the sound quality."

Built from the ground up, casual dining lounge Draft Orlando boasts a host of other technology including Panasonic LCD televisions and Kramer video switching alongside the dBTechnologies boxes.

(Jim Evans)

Israel - Robe moving lights once again were the primary moving light fixtures used for the Israeli Opera's Aida at the 2011 Dead Sea & Jerusalem Opera Festival, a co-production with the Les Choragies d'Orange in France, staged in the outdoor purpose built amphitheatre at the foot of Masada Mountain by the Dead Sea.

As with the first Masada event in 2010, for which the whole site was built in the rocky desert terrain, lighting for the production was created by Avi Yona Bueno (Bambi), with the majority of the performance lighting equipment supplied by UK based rental company HSL, including all the Robes.

Technical production for the whole site was co-ordinated by Tel Aviv based The Design Group, production managed by Eyal Lavee working closely with Elad Mainz and Eviatar Banayan.

Robe was again specified - with 96 of Robe's most powerful 2500 series units chosen because

UK - The Association of British Theatre Technicians reports that its 33rd ABTT Theatre Show maintained its position with the number of visitors remaining constant with last year's record attendance, and 15% up on previous years.

Despite recessionary marketing cutbacks, the Royal Horticultural Halls were yet again filled to capacity with over 100 exhibiting companies, with many launching new products and services, says the Association.

Show director Roger Fox comments, "We're thrilled to have held our position with visitors and exhibitors alike. Despite the heavy downpours we maintained the quality of the visitors and presented a show that was typically packed with innovation. The dedicated seminar programme and our annual Awards were boosted by support from JELF Insurance and our aim is to create an even better event in 2012."

The 2012 ABTT Theatre Show takes place

UAE / Latvia - Following the recent announcement of the IBS Group's partnership with theatre equipment designer, manufacturer and installer JR Clancy, the Group's IBS Solutions division has announced that it is partnering with Company NA, a Latvian company producing its own lighting and control equipment.

As the official GCC distributor for the Company NA branded products, IBS Solutions will offer the full range of LED fixtures, fluorescent floodlights, strobes, splitters and dimmers through its office in Dubai Investments Park to the region as a whole.

Founded in 1994 by Aldis Janevics and Normund Blasans, Company NA started out as a rental company which over the years has been involved in high profile events such as the Eurovision Song Contest, and only in more recent times developed into a designer and manufacturer of lighting equipment.

"One of the advantages

Slovakia - Wireless Solution Sweden AB and Kvant have announced an OEM agreement to offer the W-DMX technology factory installed into the Kvant line of Spectrum lasers designed for spectacular indoor and outdoor applications. Headquartered in Bratislava, Slovakia, Kvant is one of the biggest high-tech laser manufacturers worldwide.

Director, Dr. Pavol Kubošek commented, "When it comes to lasers, offering the ability to operate them with wireless DMX is a huge bonus. Of all the systems on the market we found W-DMX to be the most reliable and robust available."

Shelly Li, sales manager for Wireless Solution said, "Kvant lasers are of superior quality and deliver spectacular effects to shows. With the addition of factory fitted W-DMX, users have even more flexibility in their installations. We're very happy to be part of this product line."

(Jim Evans)

USA - PLASA has extended the submission deadline for the fourth annual Rock Our World Awards to 10 July 2011, to allow for more nominations to the popular awards programme. The awards, which recognise groundbreaking achievement by PLASA members, were designed to acknowledge the genius of both the creator of technology and the designers or integrators who apply it, these awards were originated by ESTA and are now expanded as a worldwide programme under PLASA.

Contestants for the 2010 awards showcased a wide variety of achievements, from the simplest problem solver to complex uses of technology that extended the boundaries of entertainment technology. Nominations showcased everything from innovative new products, to unusual applications, to massive events that highlighted the collaborative nature of our industry.

Anyone may nominate a PLASA member for the awards. If you've seen

UK - Lighting designer Oli Richards supported by Richard Martin Lighting (RML) provide Pulsar ChromaPanel's on the long running comedy panel game show, 8 Out of 10 Cats which is back on Channel 4 with Jimmy Carr presenting.

The ChromaPanel is a square colour mixing panel that utilises high-power LEDs to create a vivid panel of changing colour making it suitable for suspended ceilings or decorative wall or set displays.

The show's title is derived from a well-known advertising tagline for Whiskas cat food which originally claimed that '8 out of 10 cats prefer Whiskas'.

(Jim Evans)

USA - Buying a new theatre rigging system is now within reach for schools and smaller theatre owners, via to a simple financing plan offered by J. R. Clancy.

Rigging equipment purchasers can spread payments over two to seven years, with competitive rates that make the arrangement affordable, says the company. It's simple to estimate monthly payments based on interest rates available to municipal venues at the time of purchase. Payments can be made monthly, quarterly, or semi-annually, as the venue prefers.

Most important, the venue will own the rigging equipment at the end of the financing period. Until now, many municipal theatres have opted for leasing agreements for their rigging system. Leasing seems advantageous at first, but extends payments for the life of the equipment-an arrangement that can add considerable cost. The Clancy financing agreement places a flat cost on t

Belgium / UK - For Take That's European Progress Live Tour 2011, ShowTex Belgium was brought in to supply customized and printed fabrics. The prints are based on the cover design of Take That's last two albums, Progress and Progressed.

ShowTex produced five panels, measuring 10m high and 6m wide each. The panels were built up in different layers of ShowTex's Bannerdrape fabrics. Each panel holds two layers of Bannerdrape Silver and one layer of Bannerdrape Print. Bannerdrapes were specifically designed for outdoor use.

ShowTex also manufactured Molton CS Black curtains cascading behind the panels to black out the set behind it. In all 1200m² of flame retardant and waterproof fabrics were produced for the tour.

The prints were realised in cooperation with ShowTex Middle East (ME). ShowTex Belgium integrated 1712 of water resistant ShowLED Classic LED's i

UK - The security training school has been developed in conjunction with the needs of its partner Company AP Security and for training for the security and stewarding industry as a whole.

With its trainers being also active on the circuit at some of the major events and venues throughout UK, it allows for training to be fully up to speed with the current and future proofing requirements of the industry.

The company already works with a back to work agency REED and is currently bidding for services resettlement courses as well.

The school states, "Working in conjunction with the LSC and Train to Gain, we are in some instances able to source part or occasionally full funding for a selection of our courses, the courses we are currently set up to deliver include: NVQ level 2 In spectator safety; NVQ level 3 In spectator safety; SIA door supervisor / close protection / cctv

UK - This year the ABTT Awards were sponsored by Jelf Insurance who during the show launched their Public Liability/PI insurance scheme tailored to the needs of people who work in the entertainment industry.

The Lighting Product of the Year went to The Arc LED Houselight System from Global Design Solutions. The judges were impressed by the wireless dimming performance of these bespoke fittings manufactured to retrofit existing tungsten lighting in auditoriums and Front of House locations. Honourable mentions went to the LEDKO Reflection LED profile spot and the Robe Robin Wash 600.

Shure's new Axient Radio Microphone System took the award for Sound Product of the Year at the ABTT Product of the Year Awards. Axient was recognised by the judging panel for its clever frequency management, as well as its increased spectral efficiency, allowing large numbers of wirele

UK - Two of Audient's compact Zen mixing consoles were chosen for the extensive new music recording facilities at the King's Cross Centre, part of London's Westminster Kingsway College, which are now operational.

"The opportunity to re-equip and upgrade the studio equipment on this level is a very rare thing, particularly in the education sector, so it had to be done right," says Grant Leslie, music technician at Westminster Kingsway College, and specifier of all studio equipment including the Audient desks.

"The Zen was the logical choice for us as it had exactly the features that we were looking for as well as the renowned Audient sound quality; there was nothing else on the market that came close to ticking all the boxes. I've worked with Audient products before and love the smooth, clean sounding preamps and signal bussing, the Zen certainly doesn't disappoi

France - The Stade de France in St Denis, Paris, has successfully completed the installation of a new Nexo sound reinforcement system, which replaces an older Nexo system, the first elements of which were installed in 1997 when the Stade was erected, in time for the World Cup football in 1998.

Purpose-built for events as well as its primary sporting engagements, football and rugby, the Stade de France is an 80,000+ capacity venue. Its distinctive elliptical design, by architects Aymeric Zublena, Claude Constantini, Michel Macary and Michel Regembal, is distinguished by the immense floating roof, which never touches the stands, resting instead on 18 pillars. Another aspect of the stadium's design is the cushion of air that allows the lower stands to slide out in approximately 72 hours, depending on the different configurations needed, allowing the stadium to be reconfigured to ho

Austria - Lighting designer Helmut Krammer used over 100 Robe fixtures - a mixture of moving lights and units from Robe's LED series - for the 2011 Summer Night Concert, performed by the Vienna Philharmonic orchestra in the Baroque gardens at Schönbrunn Palace, which created a stunning backdrop.

The event was attended by 150,000 people and broadcast by ORF to approximately 60 other countries.

Krammer's challenges included lighting the area being used to stage the event, creating a sense of spectacle, illuminating the orchestra in an appropriate way for both broadcast and live audience, and generally bringing additional magic, and ambience to the performance with the lighting, some of which was required to cover very wide distances.

The lighting rental company for the event was film and TV specialists LGL Lichttechnik from Vienna, and the Robes were supplied by Q-99 f

Off Stage - Phantom of the Opera sequel Love Never Dies is to close on 27 August, it has been confirmed. The announcement comes a little over a year since Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical first opened at the Adelphi Theatre in London's West End. The show opened to some poor reviews, and after substantial rewrites, was relaunched nine months later. Although the new version gained a better critical reception, it failed to perform at the box office.

A fresh production of the show opened in Melbourne, Australia, at the end of May with far more positive press. In an interview earlier this month, Lord Lloyd-Webber attributed the show's failure to his being treated for cancer during production, which meant he was unable to give it his full attention. "With hindsight we should have said, 'Let's put the whole thing on hold until I'm 100% again'. Frankly I wasn't feeling v

China - At this year's Palme Beijing exhibition, Shanghai based lighting and video company Kupo Shanghai Co welcomed Green Hippo director James Heron.

Arranging speeches and seminars at the show, Kupo, who have been working with Hippotizer for several years, presented the range of media servers to existing and potential clients. Various projects done with Hippotizer in China, such as the Nissan stand at the recent Shanghai International Automotive exhibition, and others from around the world, were showcased to illustrate Hippotizer's capabilities.

Targeted mostly towards technicians from the AV sector, James Heron presented Green Hippo to this specialised market, highlighting the company's 10 year history and the products flexibility and functionality as an all-round toolbox for any event.

The presentation and seminars were a complete success and to keep the momentum going H

UK - A grandMA2 light was specified by lighting programmer and operator David Horner to control moving lights and media for the 20th annual British Academy Cymru Awards (Welsh BAFTAs) held at the Millennium Centre in Cardiff. The event was hosted by Sian Williams and Jason Mohammed and celebrated the best of the nation's television, film and interactive industry in 26 programme, craft and performance categories.

The lighting and visuals package for the show was co-ordinated by gaffer Gafin Riley who is based in Wales, assisted by Bernie Davis. The lighting designer was Andrew Cottey, and programmer David Horner was asked onboard to plot and operate the moving lights and Hippo Critter media server feeding content to an upstage LED wall.

The grandMA2 light was supplied by MA Lighting UK, and Emma Ralphs, the main lighting programmer from Cardiff's St David's Hall venue which has

UK - Le Mark reports that its portable dance floor, EventFloor has been selected by the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama for their four new rehearsal studios.

The £22m development which also includes a 400-seat concert hall and 160-seat theatre is due for competition within the next few weeks.

The two 120m2 polished wood rehearsal studio floors will be protected by Le Mark's EventFloor during student events. RWCMD's technical manager Simon Denman-Ellis says, "We were so impressed with the flooring, we may even use EventFloor on the main stage in the new 400 seat concert hall."

(Jim Evans)

UK - Creative lighting and rental company Colour Sound Experiment kicked off a potentially record breaking summer festival season run by supplying lighting equipment and crew to four major festivals - Rockness in Inverness, the re-launched Glade in Norfolk, Get Loaded In The Park in Clapham, London, plus the VIP areas at the Isle of Wight Festival.

Some of Colour Sound's latest purchase of 32 GLP Spot One LED moving lights from A.C. Entertainment Technologies also had their first outing at Rockness.

For Rockness, Colour Sound produced a production lighting design for the main stage of this popular event staged on the shores of Scotland's most famous Loch, which was based on the spec's of the three headline acts - Kasabian (LD Nick Gray), The Chemical Brothers (LD Paul Normandale) and Paolo Nutini (LD Jason Hyne). All three also bought in their own specials packages, of which N

UK - Canadian electronic dance star, Deadmau5 was the latest artist to provide a workout for Martin Audio's Multicellular Loudspeaker Array (MLA), when he played to 26,000 people in London's Victoria Park - his first ever headline outdoor event and only English festival of 2011.

It was the second year of the London Electronic Dance Festival (LED) - and since Deadmau5 is a client of Capital Sound Hire, the London based sound production company were brought in by the consortium of promoters (Cream, Goldenvoice and Loudsound) seizing the opportunity to fire up the MLA system outdoors for the first time.

"We knew how the system sounded indoors, but I wanted to evaluate it outside, and see how it would fare in propagation tests," said Capital technical manager Ian Colville. "Thanks to the tight micro-control the system can be programmed to enable the sound to taper o

USA - On 15 June at the InfoComm show in Orlando, Xantech presented Bensalem, Pennsylvania-based firm APA Music& Pictures with a special plaque commemorating the two-millionth installation of Xantech products and thanking them for their years of Xantech use.

The recent installation was performed at Mount Laurel, New Jersey's Twelve Thousand Building Conference Centre, housing training room and boardroom spaces for TD Bank. Xantech products, including the WIC1200Web Intelligent Controller and CWTC1010.4-inch Wireless Touch Controller, now form the foundation for the A/Vdistribution in several rooms in the building.

The ceremony was attended by APA's VP of sales and production Dave Pedemonti; Xantech president Graham Hallett; and Xantech director of business development Rick Seegull.

Pedemonti stated, "We are very proud to have completed Xantech's two-millionth installati

France - The festival Jazz Sous Les Pommiers takes place every year in Coutances, in the Manche department of Normandy, and has done since 1982, when the event was set up by Thierry Giard and Gerard Houssin.

Today, the eclectic line-up ranges from New Orleans jazz to electronic musicians, and from local artists and street performers to superstars. With 37,000 spectators breaking last year's attendance record the scene was set for this year when the event celebrated its 30th anniversary with the return of many artists who have previously played the festival, and a finale comprising a 'Crazy Parade' through the Coutances town centre.

With so many venues in use, an advanced network was required for the week-long festival, with appearances by Eric Bibb, Jamie Cullum, Charlie Musselwhite and Malted Milk.

This included an Optocore signal distribution system, provided by sound engi

UK - Download Festival became one of the first European festivals to be provided with a full Versarray 212 system as Peavey kitted out its Jagermeister stage from 10-12 June. Peavey will continue to provide the same rig to Jagermeister stages up and down the UK at a string of this year's major summer festivals.

Although the amount of boxes may vary depending on the size of individual stages, the core Peavey set-up comprises two hangs of Versarray 212 mid/high enclosures, with Versarray 218 subwoofers providing low frequency reinforcement beneath the stage. Crest CV-20 56 Premium and HP-Eight (40 frame) consoles are deployed for FOH and monitor work respectively; and all power is provided by Crest Pro 9200 and 7200 amplifiers.

Upcoming festivals include Sonisphere at Knebworth on 8-10 July, where The Defiled will headline the Jagermeister stage; Splendour Festival in Nottingham

UK - Comedian Dara O'Brian this week returns to BBC2 screens to host the tenth series of the topical panel show Mock The Week! The game is influenced by improvised topical stand-up comedians, with several rounds requiring players to deliver answers on unexpected subjects on the spur of the moment.

Richard Martin Lighting supports lighting designer Dave Davey's design. The design brief set out for Davey when he first joined the production, was to "make the set look colourful without spill onto Projection screens". To achieve this he opted for VL1000TS' "All hanging, focussed on to backing flats".

When asked about his choice of fixtures Dave said, "The VL100TS is the right tool to apply colour and texture to the Mock The Week! set to enhance all of the backings and the main desk."

(Jim Evans)

Latest Issue. . .