USA - Selena Gomez recently completed a successful US tour of 25 cities. The production required a cost-effective sound system with a small footprint that had to deliver uniform coverage and exceptional sound quality in a wide variety of venues.

As FOH engineer Jason Moore explained when asked about the criteria for the PA, "We were looking for the best possible sound we could get in a small, powerful package that would allow us to find a happy medium between amphitheatres, theatres and arenas."

Production manager, Javier Alcaraz, said that, "Delicate Productions, one of the companies competing to provide audio for the tour, had asked me to listen to the Martin Audio MLA system. So I went to a demo in North Carolina where I listened to MLA and was floored. I called Jason and told him, 'I think this is the rig for you, where we are, and what we need to do with th

UK - After nearly 40 years as a live venue, the landmark white building that dominates Birmingham's Dale End was recently facing an uncertain future. Happily, following a thorough refurbishment, the beginning of October saw live music return to what is now called the Birmingham Ballroom. Also returning is AP Security, as the revamped venue's crowd management and safety provider.

The building has had an illustrious, albeit sometimes chequered, career as a live venue. Opened as the Top Rank, later becoming the Hummingbird and the Carling (then O2) Academy, it has hosted many of the most famous rock, pop, punk and urban acts over the years. The O2 Academy moved to a new site two years ago, but new owners have now restored the building to its former glory - including returning the iconic, tile-hung exterior to a spotless finish - opening its doors in early October.

AP Security had

Japan - The latest autumn/winter Tokyo Girls Collection (TGC) fashion show was lit in great style at the Saitama Super Arena in Tokyo by lighting designer Masaaki Aiba and lighting co-ordinator Yoichi Ashikawa, using 90 Robe moving lights supplied by Tokyo based rental company M Tech Style.

The high profile twice yearly TGC event has grown to epic proportions since its beginnings in 2005 - "bringing Japan's 'real clothes' to the world" - and is a big hit on the fashion calendar, showcasing streetwear by domestic designers. This year over 30,000 people enjoyed the five-hour live stage show, where the designer collections were interspersed with bands, music and other entertainment.

Yoichi Ashikawa of M Tech Style has worked on many previous shows and projects using Robe. The latest TGC show was particularly challenging to light from many different aspects. Not least be

UK - The Albany in Deptford, South London, has purchased two JoeCo BlackBox Recorders. The 24-track digital AES/EBU systems were supplied by Stage Electrics and first used on the recent Alexander Wolfe concert at the theatre.

In addition to visiting artists, the Albany currently has 14 resident companies, some of which make use of its four performance spaces. The theatre's programme encompasses music, theatre and spoken word, as well as an array of educational, training and community-based projects.

The BlackBox recorder can be connected to any live mixing console and used for capturing multi-channel audio direct to an external USB2 drive, in Broadcast WAV format, without requiring a computer. The recorded audio can then be imported into a Digital Audio Workstation for mixing, editing and re-purposing.

Fiona Greenhill, head of operations at the Albany said, "We wanted a

Italy - High End Systems' products play a part in the entertainment spectacle, Ben Hur Live, which debuted 29 September at Rome's Nuova Fiera di Roma (Roman Fair) stadium.

Media Resource Group (MRG) delivered, installed and are now supporting the sound, lighting, rigging and communication services to the production. MRG supplied High End Systems gear from Preworks Austria: 54 intellaspot automated luminaires, two Road Hog Full Boar consoles, two Road Hog Playback Wings and four DMX Processor 8000s.

Preworks' general manager Andreas Reinbacher said, "Ben Hur Live has raised the bar of live spectacles so high, it requires creating a new word for its classification in the production industry: monu-tainment. Monumental entertainment."

Live chariot races are just one part of the production - with 100 performers and 100 animals, specially trained horses, an

UK - Sound Division were recently asked to install a back ground music system in the first UK site of ST ALi - a roastery, coffee bar and restaurant. Located on London's Clerkenwell Road, the two story venue roasts all its coffee onsite, and opened its doors in April.

Sound Division were awarded the contract to install a music system for the new site, with the brief, to provide the chic coffee bar and restaurant with a good quality system that could provide low level background music during daytime operation. The system needed to be capable of being turned up to provide foreground music for evening time operation, when a more vibrant atmosphere is required, particularly in the first floor lounge which can be hired out for private functions.

Martin Audio AQ5 speakers were chosen for the project, with ten units installed over both floors and in the walkways in a two-zone configu

Australia - Gilligan's is Cairns largest party venue boasting thousands upon thousands of punters through the doors every week. Popular with the locals and the travellers, Gilligan's has non-stop party stamina all week long.

From Thursday to Sunday the back deck by the pool is home to some of Cairns most popular live bands and DJ's but unfortunately this doesn't always go down well with the neighbours. The venue was receiving complaints from one nearby hotel in particular and liquor licensing had placed some stringent restrictions on the levels of music to be played.

"Inner city living is growing and you have to keep the community happy," said Anthony Brooks, Gilligan's general manager. "However we felt that we needed to increase the sound volume somehow. The guys at JVG Sound & Lighting showed us the JBN Sound Ceiling and it looked like it would solve the probl

UK - Manchester-based lighting rental company dbn supplied a lighting design and equipment for the Opening Ceremony of the 2011 Commonwealth Youth Games stage in The Bowl Stadium, Douglas, Isle of Man.

dbn's Nick Buckley designed a lighting scheme for the show which was produced by Walk The Plank - a regular dbn arts based client renowned for their innovative and entertaining large scale shows. Says Buckley: "We are very proud to have been involved in this event. Working with Walk The Plank and their creative director Liz Pugh is always interesting, challenging and engaging, and this was no exception".

Walk The Plank's 30 minute theatrical element of the two hour long Opening Ceremony show - which also featured the Athletes Parade - was divided into three dance-orientated sections. An intro spectacular was followed by a tribute to the Isle of Man's culture including

UK - As the technology for visual displays improves, so do opportunities increase for contemporary audio visual artists to show ever-more complex and intriguing works. BrightSign media players are currently helping three such artists to engage with the public at three London art installations, which challenge viewers to see the world in a different way.

The exhibitions are taking place at the Hayward Gallery, Victoria Miro gallery and Parasol Unit Foundation for Contemporary Art, respectively featuring artists Pippiloti Rist, Doug Aitken and Yang Fudong. All three use BrightSign HD210 high definition media players - distributed in the UK by Dunstable-based Pixels - to draw the audience into the dramatic and thought-provoking world of the artists.

The systems for each installation were supplied by Olive Audio Visual and installed by Simeon Coreless and Alistair Ashe of KS Objec

UK - Allen & Heath iLive and ZED mixing consoles have been installed throughout a new £18m performing arts venue at The University of Wolverhampton. Called the Performance Hub, the facility brings together the University's Dance, Drama and Music departments into one dedicated building, providing purpose-built facilities, such as a black box theatre and music rooms.

An iLive digital mixing system, comprising an iLive-T80 Control Surface and iDR-32 MixRack with a Dante networking audio card, and additional Mixpad app, have been installed in the main Black Box performance space.

"iLive was chosen right at the beginning of the building's design process, and the infrastructure of the Black Box was then built around how we planned to use it," explains Andrew Lowe, music technician at the University of Wolverhampton, who is responsible for selecting audio equipment.

UK - The apocalyptic early Victorian art of John Martin, depicting biblical catastrophes in vast panoramas, has been dramatically brought to life at Tate Britain - with help from JBL Control 1 loudspeakers.

In curating the exhibition, which runs until 15 January 2012, Martin Myrone and Anna Austen wanted to recreate the impact these paintings originally had when they toured Britain continuously in front of paying audiences in the mid-19th century. In more recent times, Martin's vivid landscapes have provided the inspiration for major movies, science fiction video games, manga comics and album art.

"These paintings were the blockbusters of their time," says Dan Crompton, the Tate's audio visual service manager, who oversaw the technical installation.

One of John Martin's major projects was the completion of a triptych of paintings on the theme of the end of the worl

USA - The second annual Moogfest, held 28-30 October in Asheville, North Carolina, engaged Bandit Lites to provide illumination services for the main stage in the Asheville Civic Centre. Production manager Joel Carmichael and lighting director Brooke Kimple worked with Bandit San Francisco GM Dizzy Gosnell to provide the stunning show. Bandit crew Chuck Hastings and Sam Harden were the onsite gurus making the gear sing and dance.

Kimple used a fan of angled trusses running up to down stage covered in Thomas 2 Lite Units, VL 3000 Spots, VL 3500 Washes, Pixelines, and GRN Moving Washes. Kimple's console of choice was the HES Road Hog with a wing. The rich, vivid wash provided by the battery of LED based fixtures provided Kimple a broad pallet on which to work the hard edge lights throughout the event. His art was nothing short of amazing.

Artists of note that appeared at Moogfes

UK - For the second time in a year, multiples of JBL's discreet Control 52 satellite speakers have been installed under the pews of one of the UK's most historic college chapels.

Following the installation of 127 of these miniature speakers at the 16th century Trinity College, Cambridge, back in February, a similar solution has been provided at the famous New College Oxford chapel, which dates back to 1379, when it was founded by William of Wykeham, Bishop of Winchester.

The latest contract was fulfilled by classical recording specialists, About Sound, and also includes devices from fellow Harman brands, Crown, BSS Audio and AKG. All Harman Professional components were supplied by Sound Technology.

Working alongside the Chapel's musical director, Prof. Edward Higginbottom, and chaplain, Revd Dr Erica Longfellow, they were initially drafted in to set up a recording facility f

USA - Atomic Lighting of Lititz, Pennsylvania scored two high-profile TV gigs for grandMA2 lighting consoles when it supplied gear for season three of NBC's a cappella singing competition, The Sing Off and Fox's live telecast of the 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards from LA's Nokia Theatre.

Felix Peralta, who shares lighting director duties with Kevin Lawson on The Sing Off used a pair of grandMA2 light consoles for show. "We made the jump to grandMA2 with the Miss America pageant this year," Peralta reports. "I haven't gone back since. I'm a big fan of the grandMA2 and all the new software features. We used 48 universes of DMX to accommodate the gear-heavy music series. The show file gets bigger and bigger with each episode; we've compiled hundreds of effects."

Twenty seven Clay Paky Alpha Profile 700 and 30 Sharpy fixtures were used for the

UK - Solid State Logic are presenting a series of three free events at Production Room in Leeds during November showcasing their latest music production tools and how they fit into the modern DAW based project studio.

The events will kick off on Saturday 5 November with an SSL open day. The latest SSL solutions will be on show. Andy Jackson from SSL will conduct one to one product demonstrations and answer any questions.

Thursday 17 November is an SSL Studio Workshop specifically for students and education facilities. Mix engineer Gary Bromham (Sheryl Crow, Bjork) will conduct hands on demos of SSL products during the day - including Nucleus, X-Rack, X-Desk and Duende Native plug-ins - and in an evening seminar talk about SSL mixing techniques plus a look at SSL's history and product development.

Thursday 24 November is an afternoon and evening of personal appointments with

Germany - The latest Dynacord Academy took place in Straubing recently. Academy organisers Irmgard Danner and Andreas Köstlinger welcomed around 40 system integrators and installers from Russia.

Accordingly, the presentation of the complete mixer, loudspeaker, and electronics product portfolio was tailored to the needs of the installation audience. For example, the participants discussed the Powermate with regard to its DJ function for small installations in bars and pubs. Other themes included DSP 600 and P64 processing, DSA amplifiers, and VariLine Series loudspeakers, hands-on sessions, and practical tips.

"The signal-processing workshop was a particular highlight," says Andreas Köstlinger. "The versatile application range and outstanding performance of the DSP600 or the P64 with FIR filters and IRIS-Net in the installation market were clearly demonstrated.

UK - A.C Entertainment Technologies' audio division has supplied a Shure UHF-R radio microphone system and the latest Nexo PS R2 Series loudspeakers to west Midlands-based Clever Connections, a provider of technical and production management services.

Clever Connections' work encompasses a broad range of events in the corporate presentation and experiential sector. It also has a number of government based clients, all of which expect the highest standards of presentational excellence for their shows, events and exhibitions.

MD Gareth Clowes wanted to make a substantial investment in the latest Channel 38 compliant wireless mic equipment, and replace his older Nexo stock with the successful PS R2 Series. The company's policy has always been to invest in premium brands and cutting edge equipment, enabling the very best technology and services to be offered on all projects.

He

UK - Deloitte recently returned to the Royal Opera House for the fourth year running with their annual contemporary arts festival - The Deloitte Ignite Festival - this time curated by internationally renowned director Mike Figgis.

The three day festival, which takes over every corner of the Royal Opera House in London's Covent Garden, invites people to listen to opinions, watch performances and films, and view the current trends in fashion and art. Just Tell the Truth was the theme of this year's event.

The Paul Hamlyn Hall, with its barrelled roof and floor to ceiling windows, served as the hub of the festival with a live stage for an eclectic mix of improvisational bands, speakers and dancers throughout the three days. For the second year running, Paul Nicholson of Midas ProSound and Red Square Audio was in charge of the audio for the festival and he chose Roland prod

Germany - Inspiring the science and technology professionals of the future is the purpose behind Ideen Expo, a nine day bi-annual event in Hannover which seeks to stimulate young people with a wide range of ideas for their future education and careers. The 2011 event relied on a sophisticated and powerful Yamaha / Dante digital media networking system, designed to be set up and operated very simply.

Aimed at 10-22 year olds, this year's Ideen Expo was the third time that the event had taken place. Opened by German president Christian Wulff, the 80,000m2 exhibition attracted over 310,000 people and featured a wide range of exhibits, including a several live performance stages, a fairground, numerous stalls and other interactive exhibits.

Hamburg-based Neumann & Müller supplied the event's huge technical infrastructure which, under the guidance of the company's Roger Clarke, to

UK - EM Acoustics, recently hosted a series of demo days at the award-winning Music Bank rehearsal studios in south-east London. Deemed a "resounding success" by operations director Mike Wheeler, the event is likely to become a regular fixture on the EM Acoustics calendar.

The sessions were open to all interested parties and incorporated live demos of almost the full gamut of EM Acoustics' portfolio, from the EMS51 compact delay and fill speaker right up to the massive X3 high-Q horizontal array system launched at PL+S in Frankfurt this year. Particular attention was reserved for the all new MSE-159, described by Mike Wheeler as, "the end result of our goal to produce the finest two-way medium format loudspeaker possible".

"The whole thing was a huge success for us at every level," confirmed Wheeler. "The venue was excellent, the format worke

USA - Located in Philadelphia's lively Rittenhouse Square area, the Whisper Club's debut has garnered rave reviews from local club-goers. Sixty-Five LED screens put on a spectacular light show in the club's sleek interior, while an A-List of top DJs set the tone through the club's powerful, rock-steady sound system.

Adam Freemer of Sonic Solutions LLC reports, "Nightclubs are a demanding audio environment. While their systems need high output and fidelity, durability also becomes vital. They must operate for six to eight hours per night without causing fatigue to the customers' ears over an extended time frame."

Freemer selected Community Professional Loudspeakers for the Whisper Club's sound system. He had used Community for several years in a wide range of applications, including Philadelphia's popular nightspot G.

"The owners (of Whisper Club) wanted a top

Denmark - Loudspeaker manufacturer dBTechnologies has confirmed the appointment of Signal Audio as its new distributor in Denmark. Under the umbrella of the Matrix Group alongside Nordic Staging and Moto Audio Sales, Signal Audio covers the rental, installation, live and broadcast markets.

dBTechnologies' international sales manager Harald von Falkenstein says, "Our product range is so broad, it's important that the distributor that has a broad contact base to match. We are certainly in a good position with Signal Audio, a company which serves all areas of the market."

Morten Laulund Uldbæk, pro audio sales manager of Signal Audio, adds, "dBTechnologies has already built up a great reputation in Denmark. The Opera Digital series has proved to be immensely popular in the MI market, and both the DVA and DVX ranges have grown quickly in the realm of professional a

UK - West London based Entec Sound & Light celebrated 25 years of supplying lighting to cult Gothic rockers, The Mission, a remarkable achievement, and an anniversary also shared by Entec's own Adam Stevenson, who has worked both with Entec and - on and off - the band for a quarter of a century.

An incendiary gig at Brixton Academy, The Mission XXV- sold out months in advance - saw the Mission back in their original line up - all apart from the drummer, and this was followed by a club tour around Europe.

Stevenson was asked by lead singer Wayne Hussey amd manager George Allen to design a special show for Brixton, and leapt at the opportunity. "It was a real honour - the band have been such an important part of my life and I still think of them as friends and family first and employers second after all these years". He was also the only original crew member to clock t

UK - London-based design studio United Visual Artists (UVA) have created the stage design for the latest Red Hot Chili Peppers 'I'm With You' tour. Using d3, their real-time production toolkit, UVA were able to pre-visualise moving and expanding screens, as well as to pre-sequence the show months before the tour started. d3 was then successfully integrated with the GrandMA lighting console for maximum versatility in live show control and expanded to receive tracking data from the TAIT Navigator system. d3 will continue to be used throughout the RHCP world tour.

Functioning as a 3D pre-visualiser, real-time sequencer and output tool, d3 has for the first time been successfully integrated with the GrandMA lighting console for the most flexible live show operation. During show time the GrandMA sends Art-Net commands to d3, which triggers the chosen track and specific cue, as well a

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