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Doughty - Banner - ABTT (27 May - 5 June)

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Australia - The 2012 Australia Day celebrations saw production and lighting designer Paul Collison create a glittering cityscape in the centre of Sydney's Darling Harbour, using a battery of Clay Paky Sharpys.

On 26 January thousands of spectators flocked to the Darling Harbour precinct to celebrate the founding of the Port Jackson settlement in 1788. The merriment culminated in a multifaceted choreography of lighting, lasers, fire and water, which climaxed in a magnificent fireworks display.

"The Sharpys are awesome," comments Collison. "They're small and extraordinarily bright, which made them absolutely ideal for this project for a number of reasons."

Collison's brief was to build a small cityscape on a barge in the centre of Darling harbour. "We designed a cylindrical video screen surrounded by a number of towers," he explains. "This ga

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USA - The Riverside Casino & Golf Resort has positioned itself as a popular Midwest destination, offering Las Vegas-inspired gaming and slot machines in a resort setting featuring luxurious accommodations with panoramic views of its world-class golf course, an indoor/outdoor pool and other amenities.

The resort, located just south of Iowa City, is also home to a multipurpose Events Centre that offers a busy schedule of top name entertainment featuring artists like Big & Rich, Peter Frampton, The Robert Cray Band, and Tony Orlando, as well as hosting corporate, community and private functions.

The resort has recently upgraded their in-house audio capabilities with the installation of four Renkus-Heinz CF101LA modular point source array speakers. As Marvin Smejkal, owner of Sound Concepts, a production sound installation and rental company with offices in Iowa, Missouri and Flor

Doughty - Banner - ABTT (27 May - 5 June)

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Australia - When Opera Australia's artistic director Lyndon Terracini announced that they would be staging an open-air opera on Sydney Harbour there was much scepticism from opera buffs who furiously pursed their lips in anticipation of a production disaster.

It was clear from the outset that enormous technical and logistical challenges would have to be overcome to make the event a success - in particular the sound quality with opera purists lining up to criticize an operatic performance that utilised radio microphones and amplification.

Fortunately this open-air production of Verdi's La Traviata has opened to much acclaim by critics and whilst Brian Thomson's open, sloping, diamond-shaped stage with its scene-stealing 9m x 9m crystal chandelier has grabbed initial attention, the sound quality has been universally praised.

Sound designer Tony David Cray, along with th

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Germany - At precisely 4pm on Thursday 22 March, in front of a comprehensive collection of the press, a celebratory photo of the MDG team was emailed from the MDG headquarters in Canada to Heinz and Sabine Siller of cast C. Adolph & RST Distribution as they stood on the MDG stand at Prolight+Sound.

The photo showed the staff holding an Inukshuk, a Canadian monument made of unworked stones which represents the energy of stone in a human image, traditionally used by the Inuit for communication and survival. The message read: "MDG is proud and honoured to offer this Inukshuk to cast C. Adolph & RST Distribution for our 20 years of partnership and many more to come!"

That same Inukshuk, having been transported in hand-luggage from Montreal to Frankfurt, was then presented on the stand to Heinz Siller by MDG's Martin Michaud. Michaud explained that, "In modern times,

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Germany - For nearly 20 years, Circus Flic Flac has been synonymous with artistic, highly unusual entertainment and absolutely thrilling live shows. However, last year, Flic Flac ceased touring in order to concentrate on single shows and special events - such as the Christmas circus in Nuremberg.

Between the beginning of last December and end of January, the striking circus Big Top, coloured in yellow and black was raised for more than 60 shows, with over 1,400 people attending each day.

Jens Berthold, CEO of Germany's J&S Music, and Christian Griebel, technical director for the show, set the specifications. "We needed highly reliable fixtures. Due to arctic temperatures, far below zero at night and around 25°C during the shows, condensation was only one of the challenges we needed to face. Furthermore, dust, heavy use of fog machines and constantly changing temperatu

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USA - High End Systems, DL.3 Digital Lights and intellaspot automated luminaires helped define the political landscape for The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) 2012. The week-long event in February drew thousands to the Marriott Wardman Park in Washington, D.C. for presentations, press conferences, panel sessions and parties.

LD Matt Mills designed the lighting and the set, and programmed and operated the show for CMI Communications. He elected to use three DL.3 Digital Lights and 18 intellaspot LED automated luminaires, provided by Mainlight Industries.

Mills used the DL.3s in Collage mode, using two to create one seamless panoramic image above the podium for the press shots. "The press would get right at the downstage edge of the stage and take an upshot of each of the candidates at the podium. I thought it would be a nice touch if there was something in

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Europe - Arguably one of Cuba's most successful exports, The Bar at Buena Vista - The Grandfathers of Cuban Music, is a massively successful show in the midst of a sell-out international smash hit tour. Currently touring throughout Germany, Austria, Switzerland, German rental specialists Coco Sound based in Freiburg, have supplied a significant Uniline compact line array system from APG supplemented with SMX15s for front-fill for the duration of the European leg.

Written and directed by Toby Gough, the Grandfathers of Cuban Music brings together three masters of Cuban music to celebrate the rich heritage of Havana's Buena Vista neighbourhood. The cast is headed by the venerable 94 year-old Reynaldo Creagh who ignited the flame that started the whole Buena Vista Social Club phenomenon. Probably the world's oldest working singer, he is considered a living legend in h

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UK - JHS and HK Audio will unveil the Lucas Nano 300 and the new Linear 5 Line at PLASA Focus: Leeds.

"The Lucas Nano 300's ultra-compact subwoofer and two fist-sized satellites are sure to astonish and amaze with an audio experience to rival that of far larger systems," says the company. The subwoofer houses the electronics and a versatile three-channel mixing console so that the Lucas Nano 300 is ready for immediate use without any additional equipment.

"The two satellites lock into a transport bay on the subwoofer with a simple twist of the wrist. And thanks to its very comfortable grips, the entire system is easily carried in just one hand."

A highly portable sound reinforcement solution for a multitude of different applications restricted only by the limits of users' imaginations, the classic setup with stereo satellites is easily reconfigured as a m

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UK - HSL supplied lighting equipment and LED screens to the first production tour for the UK's newest boyband sensation, One Direction, who have just completed a totally sold out six-week UK arena/theatre tour.

HSL was working for Production North, who asked Dave Lee to create a lighting design for the tour, working alongside show producer Louise Doyle. Together, they helped deliver a lively and entertaining performance to One Direction's young and enthusiastic.

HSL's project manager Mike Oates comments, "We were very happy to be working with production director Steve Levitt, production manager Mike Clegg and the team from Production North again, who always produce a great live show with real entertainment value. We were also able to offer an integrated and efficient technical package encompassing both lighting and LED screens."

In 2011, HSL made its first major in

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UK - Promising to standardise on RCF components after purchasing a major Theatre & Touring (TT+) system nine months ago, Yes Events remained true to their word when they added a second tranche of the Italian manufacturers' products to their hire fleet from this increasingly-popular range.

This time they have bought an eight-enclosure TTL33-A compact, three-way active line array system and two further TTS28-A subs to add to the four they already have. In addition, they have invested in six TT25-SMA touring 15in stage monitors and RCF's proprietary RDNet system software, to integrate with the TTL33-A.

According to Yes Events director, Tom Chennells, the underlying reason for the latest round of spending was to service the assault on 30 shopping malls simultaneously by Rock Choir's infamous Flash Mob on Sunday 25 March.

Rock Choir is the biggest contemporary choir in Britain. W

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UK - The Association of British Theatre Technicians (ABTT) and the Stage Management Association (SMA) will hold this spring's Production Managers Forum (PMF) meeting - open to all - at the forthcoming PLASA Focus, Leeds, on Tuesday 17 April at 11.30am, in the Royal Armouries Bury Theatre.

Founded in 2000, the PMF was created as a joint venture between the two associations, in recognition that there was no organisation dedicated to the specific needs of the production manager.

Since then, the PMF has held three to four meetings a year, on various subjects ranging from International carnets to greener productions.

This latest meeting is presented as part of the PLASA Focus seminar programme. It will concentrate on the ABTT's Technical Access Passport Scheme (TAP) - launched at last year's ABTT Theatre Show - and the range of possible benefits this unifying card scheme offers t

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Jim Marshall Remembered - Guitar amp innovator Jim Marshall, dubbed 'the Father of Loud' for creating kit used by some of rock's biggest names, has died aged 88 and the industry has been paying tribute. A statement posted on the company's website called him a "legendary man", adding, "In addition to the creation of the amps, chosen by countless guitar heroes and game changing bands, Jim was also an incredibly humble and generous man who, over the past several decades, has quietly donated many millions of pounds to worthy causes."

Former Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash tweeted, "The news of Jim Marshall passing is deeply saddening. R & R will never be the same w/out him. But, his amps will live on FOREVER!"

Motley Crue bass player Nikki Sixx also paid tribute on Twitter, saying Marshall was "responsible for some of the greatest audio moments in

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USA - Nokia brought Times Square to a standstill last week as 30,000 people watched one of the biggest electronic take-overs of the iconic New York landmark for the launch of the Nokia Lumia 900.

Using the latest CGI technology the team behind the massive Hollywood blockbuster, i-Robot, created one of the world's largest LED displays. Nokia took control of nine of the square's famous electronic screens to ensure the crowd were immersed in light and music from every direction. The light show was introduced by international superstar Nicki Minaj, who sang a medley of tracks from her new album, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded.

A team of visual artist worked for more than 5,000 hours, day and night for more than three weeks, to create the hundreds of effects that were used on the large screens. All of the electronic screens were controlled from a mobile server that was f

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UK - The Stage Technologies 2012 schedule of UK training courses started off recently featuring A Beginner's Introduction to Automation and An Introduction to Stage Technologies' eChameleon Software, both of which took place at the company's London office. There are still some spots available for the June and September sessions of these popular courses.

The suite of hands-on events also includes the Chameleon 5 to eChameleon Conversion Course. All three courses aim to provide complete beginners right through to experienced automation practitioners with the key concepts and latest updates. Participants may choose from dates in June and September 2012.

The events are competitively priced. A 10% discount is available for members of the Stage Management Association, Stage Jobs Pro, The Association of British Theatre Technicians, and The Broadcasting Entertainm

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Philippines - Customers at the new Buddha-Bar in Manila enjoy an eclectic music mix that permeates the space through a Meyer Sound system comprising the largest count of self-powered low-voltage loudspeakers - 132 total - installed anywhere in a hospitality application.

Located in the trendy Picar Place development of Makati City, Buddha-Bar Manila is among the largest in the franchise, accommodating more than 500 people in the first-level lounge, second-level restaurant, and roof deck. The size of the property, combined with the franchise's extraordinarily high standards, entailed multiple challenges in acoustical and A/V system design, all of which were ably handled by ihD Ltd, a pan-Asian consulting firm headquartered in Hong Kong.

According to Ian D. Harris, managing director and principal consultant at ihD, the brief for high-quality music reproduction tilted the specific

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Indonesia - At the Opening Ceremony for the 2012 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Tourism Forum in Manado Indonesia, Laservision were honoured for creating the 'Best New Tourist Attraction' in Southeast Asia.

The ASEAN Awards for Excellence in Tourism gives recognition to ASEAN organizations who have contributed to the development and promotion of tourism in the Southeast Asian region including, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Laservision's Wonder Full light and water spectacular was selected as the Best New Tourist Attraction for its "creativity in design, functionality, harmony with the environment and the overall quality experienced by audiences".

The award recognises Laservision's continual contribution in delivering new and innovative solutions to the touris

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USA - In the first two months of this year, ATK Audiotek supplied three very different PA system configurations to three of the biggest events in the entertainment calendar - the Super Bowl pre-show and halftime musical performances, Grammy Awards broadcast, and Academy Awards telecast - that ably demonstrated the efficiencies introduced by the company's adoption of Powersoft amplification.

Last year, production sound provider ATK standardised exclusively on the Powersoft DIGAM K10.

Brett Valasek, general manager, ATK Audiotek reports, "The Powersoft K10 amps have definitely made everything more efficient for us, from inventory management to trucking to system management and power management. Standardising on the K10 has overall been a very efficient way of managing inventory from start to finish, on all projects, from the Super Bowl to the Grammys to the Academy Awards.&

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Brazil - The beginning of February saw AP Security being asked to represent the UK on a trade mission to Rio de Janeiro, the host city of the 2016 Olympics. General manager, Andy Stevens, was lucky enough to be AP's representative and, whilst there, met with senior members of the Rio Organising Committee, as well as all three levels of Government.

"Rio will stage an incredible Games," says an impressed Stevens. "The country's passion for carnival and celebration will see to that and, with the iconic backdrop of Copacabana Beach, Sugarloaf Mountain and the legendary Maracana Stadium all supplemented by a brand new Olympic Park, it will certainly bring Rio to the world."

Referring to the 2012 Games, he added, "There is a huge amount to which Rio is firmly looking towards London to learn and understand. Rio's private security industry operates very differ

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Australia - The Newcastle Museum recently relocated to new facilities at the old railway workshops adjacent Civic Railway Station in the heart of Newcastle. As part of the relocation, and with regard to the place they held in the story of Newcastle, BHP provided sponsorship to develop a gallery devoted to the history of steel making in the region.

As part of the development in 2011 Mental Media were commissioned by the City of Newcastle to design, produce and install "a dramatic audio visual program which will interpret the excitement, colour, drama and noise which is inherent in the steelmaking process" to "enliven the exhibition, expand the visitors' experience and help to interpret the very large objects on display in the exhibition".

Mental Media proposed a major 'object theatre' production that provides visitors with a glimpse of the inside of a steelw

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UK - PDD, the premier product and service design innovation consultancy, has replaced the long-serving, drop-down projection screen in its London headquarters with an 84in dnp Supernova One, fitted with 23:23 High Gain screen material.

When the Company first moved into its new HQ in Hammersmith 15 years ago, the conversion from a former warehouse was carried out using many of its clients' products. And this included an ingeniously designed portable Deltascreen projection screen which was converted into an installed version.

But the 20 year old technology was now well past its sell-by date, and in conjunction with the overhead projector presented an image which was far from sophisticated.

"It was very old fashioned - really just an ancient bit of fabric," said Tim Court operations director at PDD. "We were using this screen for creative presentation purposes, a

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USA - With 14 campuses in and around the city of Chicago and 25 weekend worship services each Sunday, New Life Community Church is one very active non-denominational Christian church. Until recently, their Midway Campus sanctuary faced a number of speech intelligibility and related challenges with their sound reinforcement system. The situation is now resolved-thanks in large part to the new sound system consisting of Variant Series installation line array loudspeakers from D.A.S. Audio.

West Chester, OH-based Troubadour Solutions, an A/V design / build firm with a focus on churches and associated Christian venues, was contracted to design and install the new sound reinforcement setup at the church's Midway Campus. Dr. Scott Weaver, owner and chief designer of Troubadour Solutions, discussed the challenges of the project and his reasons for deploying 14 D.A.S. Audio Variant loud

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UK/USA - London-based theatre design consultancy Charcoalblue's work is making waves on both sides of the 'pond' as the multi-award winning transformation of the Royal Shakespeare and Swan Theatres wins the prestigious USITT 2012 Architecture Honour Award.

In 2007 Charcoalblue saw two of its previous projects, London's Young Vic and The Unicorn Theatre, receive USITT Merit awards.

For the Royal Shakespeare Theatre (RST), Charcoalblue consultants worked in close collaboration with project architects Bennetts Associates and the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) project team to transform the now critically acclaimed Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon. RSC artistic director, Michael Boyd has since described it as, "a miracle of a space that combines the epic and the intimate ... it's quite extraordinary."

Charcoalblue provided complete design and planning con

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Puerto Rico - Chauvet Professional lights accompanied Gilberto Santa Rosa, bandleader and singer of salsa and bolero, during the first concert of his tour at Centro de Bellas Artes Luis A. Ferre. David Ayala designed the lighting for the 36 Chauvet lights, provided by rental company Musique Xpress.

The all-girl band backing up Santa Rosa's performance played from circular podiums of different heights placed in two groups of four on each half of the stage. Behind these podiums, on the floor, Ayala placed 12 Q-Wash 560Z-LED wash fixtures, lighting the band while shooting bright beams towards the ceiling.

Ayala placed six COLORado Batten 72 Tour linear wash lights at the front of the stage bathing the floor and singer in colour. Placed at the base of the podiums other four COLORado Batten 72 Tour fixtures discretely lit the instrumentalists. Ayala programmed each grouping separa

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The Netherlands - When noted Dutch cinematographer and film director Jan de Bont was approached to produce an art project which promotes the country's HSL-Zuid high speed rail project, his concept of a 3D film of the route was technically challenging. But with the assistance of an Alcons Audio system, audiences of the finished film, Surfing on Light, enjoyed a complete sensory experience.

De Bont has worked on many high profile films, including Twister, Basic Instinct, Die Hard and Lara Croft Tomb Raider. Having covered road and sea transport as director of Speed and Speed 2: Cruise Control in the 1990s, it was appropriate that he should finally be able to turn his attention to a rail-themed project.

Filmed by cameras mounted on the front, sides and rear of a train, which traversed HSL-Zuid several times, the finished project involved

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  2. Neutrik appoints NMK as GCC distributor
  3. SD911 drives Porsche 911 launch
  4. Lab.gruppen and Lake at MTAC Omega
  5. Gold Sharpys shine at Academy Awards
  6. Last chance to pre-register for PLASA Focus: Leeds 2012
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