Spain - French loudspeaker company APG has announced the appointment of well-known Spanish industry figure, Juan Antonio Cuevas, to represent APG throughout Spain. A renowned sound engineer in his own right and former systems engineer for Meyer Sound, Cuevas knows the pro audio industry in Spain well.

"When I first heard the demo of the New Generation products from APG, I was blown away," says Cuevas. "The natural-sounding acoustics, endless headroom, precise electronics and excellent build quality... let's take, for example, the SMX15 wedges: frankly, I've never heard such quality from a monitor, I sincerely think that this is one of the best stage monitors in the world - and subsequent comparisons with other brands confirmed my opinion. DX12 and DX15 exhibit the same excellent sound quality for continuity throughout the range.

"As for Uniline, I thought t

UK - The future development of the UK audiovisual industry will be at the top of the agenda for InfoComm's new UK Task Force. Appointed for a year's term by the InfoComm International Board of Directors, the UK Task Force will develop, investigate, formally research and address issues affecting the UK audiovisual industry.

Greg Jeffreys, president of InfoComm International says, "The formation of the UK Task Force is a sign that the UK has got to a certain point, maturity and critical mass and we've appointed some key figures to manage and drive that growth locally."

The UK Task Force comprises a diverse mix of industry professionals, including integrators, distributors, manufacturers, end users and consultants. 2012 members include: Scott Burgess, director, Creative Technology London; Gordon Innocent, chairman, RGB Communications Ltd; Deborah Jones, sales director,

UK - A.C. Entertainment Technologies (AC-ET) provided two one-day Jands Vista v2 'masterclass' seminars to students taking the Lighting Module of Backstage Academy's Foundation Degree in Live Events Production.

The 16-month fast-track intensive course, led by chief operations officer Robin Watkinson, provides students with the core practical skills needed to pursue a successful career in the professional events production industry. The invitation to participate underlined the fast growing popularity of the Jands Vista system in live events.

AC-ET's Andy Mahaffey conducted the training at the LS-Live Studios in Wakefield, West Yorkshire. A range of different sized consoles from the Vista family allowed the two separate groups of students to have full hands-on training and see how flexible and accessible the system is.

The masterclasses gave students an introduction to the Vis

Slovakia - Midas has announced the first sale of the PRO2 live audio system into the Slovakian market. Facilitated by Midas' Slovakian distributor SBL Acoustics, the sale was made to Patrik Kvacka, who runs his own rental company in Slovakia's political and cultural capital of Bratislava. The new console has already been used for concerts by eclectic Berlin collective Jazzanova and British jazz and electronic band The Cinematic Orchestra.

Kvacka ordered the first PRO2 after attending a demonstration of the new console for the Slovakian sound industry, held by SBL and attended by more than 60 sound specialists and engineers.

"The dimensions of the PRO2, combined with its weight, capabilities and price, is exactly what I was looking for," says Kvacka, who has several years' experience of mixing on a Midas PRO6. "The PRO2 gives me everything that I need."

(J

UK - CP Sound has completed a full sound system installation at an upmarket Mexican restaurant in London's Soho district.

The brainchild of Will Ricker (who heads up Ricker Restaurants), top New York nightlife designer, impresario and 'cultural engineer' Serge Becker was brought in to create the interior of this two-in-one operation. With a fully featured DJ booth set downstairs in the 95-cover basement restaurant lounge, the designer, also responsible for such places as the similarly conceived La Esquina as well as Joe's Pub and The Mercer Hotel - specified RCF sound reinforcement throughout, based on his positive experiences with the brand in the Big Apple.

Designing the sound for the hacienda style basement into five zones, Colin Pattenden of CP Sound has wall-mounted four C3110 full range, compact 10" + 1.5" horn, wide-dispersion, low profile loudspeakers, one in

France - Key debates of the Council of Europe are now taking place under a double cluster of Nexo Geo loudspeakers in its primary Strasbourg council chamber.

Not to be confused with the EU, the Conseil d'Europe is primarily concerned with ensuring legal and cultural cooperation between the 47 countries of Europe, with responsibility for human rights and democratic development. Under the famous blue flag with its 12 stars, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe uses the large debating chamber in the centre of the Palace of Europe, called the Hemicycle, famous for its unusual architecture.

This auditorium has been equipped with a substantial Nexo Geo S8 speech reinforcement system by installation company Lagoona. According to Denis Fenninger from Lagoona, the most important criteria in the tender process were for perfect speech intelligibility and uniform sound cove

UK - A.C. Special Projects (ACSP) have recently completed the design, supply and installation of a sound, AV and lighting system at the new Moyes Centre @ DYCA (the David Young Community Academy) in Leeds.

The first Academy of its kind to open in Leeds, DYCA has pioneered the development of new, innovative and engaging methods of teaching and learning. The Moyes Centre is a £3.35m new build created as part of the Government's (DCSF) £200m investment in creative co-location projects.

The programme is an initiative that has re-located various key community services to work as a cohesive team in one central location, addressing and improving local circumstances from within the heart of the community.

The project was managed for ACSP by Lance Bromhead, who co-ordinated closely with DYCA's operations manager, Graham Thornton.

ACSP's brief was to provide technology t

Australia - Gasworks Arts Park is a vibrant arts precinct producing a range of high-quality arts programs, workshops and activities for every age, ability, interest and audience. Situated in Albert Park, Melbourne, on the site of the former South Melbourne Gas Plant, Gasworks is just three kilometres from the CBD and the precinct houses four hectares of park, two theatres, three gallery spaces, a café, as well as function and workshop spaces.

According to Michele Domonkos, operations & human resources manager, it was desperation that led her to purchase ETC Source Four Fresnels for the precinct's theatres.

"We really needed some uniformity in our lantern stock," she remarked. "We had a lot of mismatched fixtures, mostly well past their used by date. The reflectors were worn and sourcing the various parts to maintain the old and broken lanterns was becomin

Norway - Manchester based lighting and visuals specialist dbn has specified and installed a custom LED lighting and control solution for the new set of the Norwegian National Lottery which is operated by Norsk Tipping AS.

dbn's project manager was Nigel Walker, and they were working for UK based Stage One Creative Services, with whom Walker has enjoyed a long and successful working relationship. Stage One in turn was commissioned by producers Fabelactiv, to deliver a set for the high profile show which is broadcast from their HD studios in Hamer via national TV channel, NRK.

Stage One appointed Nick King to design the spectacular set, and then asked dbn to interpret the prominent lighting elements of the resulting 15m wide scenic environment, a streamlined fusion of interlocking curves made from frosted acrylic material and backlit with LEDs, embracing retro and futuristic in

Qatar - Doha based event design and production company Kenkaato produced a spectacular of epic proportions for the formerly named Qatar National Hotels (QNH) Company, now Katara Hospitality, which involved fully co-ordinated large format projections onto four of the group's stunning buildings in central Doha.

The event ran live for three evenings, celebrating Katara Hospitality's announcement of a complete rebranding exercise and the official launch of a new corporate identity, together with new acquisitions. It also coincided with the heavyweight three day Arabian Hotel Investment Conference (AHIC) being staged in Dubai

The client wanted to make a high impact using a contemporary medium that could engage the general public and be communicated commercially and virally on multiple levels.

Kenkaato - a new company fusing experience with fresh ideas and imagination - took the b

UK - Birmingham Ormiston Academy (BOA) has admitted its first 325 students. This independent, state-supported school for 14 to 18 -year-olds offers, alongside courses in the creative and performing arts, instruction in the rapidly developing digital arts. Using the most modern digital technology, students are being schooled in all aspects of TV, film and radio production as well as allowed opportunities to work on productions of their own.

The commission posed a challenge for Altered Images of Shepperton, the company charged with the conceptual design, equipment specification and installation of the system, because it was desired that the studio surroundings in which the students worked should offer teaching and training facilities as close as possible to those encountered in reality.

"We wanted to build a studio of the kind the students will work in later in their day-to

Australia - Visual and lighting designer Nick Gray of UK based design practice Renegade has created a video art work which is one of the highlights of the international Wool Modern exhibition, just aired in Sydney, Australia following successful shows in London and Berlin.

Gray was commissioned to create the piece by curator Charlotte Lurot. The exhibition, supported by HRH The Prince of Wales, focuses on the modern, innovative and avant garde use of wool in creative industries.

Gray's video and sound installation is fully interactive - visitors listen to a soundscape through pre-triggered headphones and look at a fully visual 'colour story' unfolding in front of them that encapsulates the diversity, chaos, symmetry and many textural possibilities of the warp and weft of the wool.

The physical installation is a frame structure with three panels of stretched wool yarns

France - Audio Technique is the leading full service production and rental company in the Rhone-Alpes region of south-eastern France. Headquartered in St Etienne with a further, vast 4000m2 warehousing and logistics centre in Villeurbanne near Lyon, Audio Technique has the largest inventory of integrated sound, lighting, video and staging equipment in the region, and one of the largest in the country.

The company prides itself on remaining at the forefront of technology to ensure continued high quality service, and to that end has invested in a significant Uniline line array system from APG and become a member of the Uniline Solution network of service providers. The Uniline Solution now numbers some 25 companies across Europe, without counting those who are members (trained professional users) but not yet system owners.

Audio Technique opted for maximum flexibility in select

UK - Chauvet Europe will showcase a spread of Chauvet Professional fixtures at the ABTT Theatre Show 2012.

MVP 12 is a lightweight, tri-colour SMD LED modular video panel designed for high-resolution graphics and live action video. Featuring a semi-transparent design, MVP 12 allows lighting and elements to pass through while maintaining high resolution and clarity. MVP 12 video panels easily interlock for dramatic displays. The Legend 412 is a pixel-mapping moving yoke wash fixture featuring 12 quad-coloured RGBW LEDs controllable in quadrants.

As seen on the popular television show Strictly Come Dancing that runs on UK's BBC1, the powerful yet lightweight Q-Wash 560Z-LED is equally suited for highlighting specific areas or for flooding the stage with light.

COLORado 2 Zoom Tour offers brightness, flexibility and wide range zoom of 8-35°. 61 x 3W Cree RGBW LEDs de

UK - One of the UK's leading suppliers of 3D and HD technical facilities to the outside broadcast market has once again put their trust in Le Mark's PAL road case labels.

Telegenic's Rob Watt says: "We have hundreds of flight cases here at Telegenic, each housing specific and expensive items of broadcast equipment. Working in a 'live' and very unforgiving industry, we have to know exactly where our kit is at all times. Le Mark labels are an essential part of our working day, being clear to read, practical and durable."

(Jim Evans)

India - Baylon Fonseca has achieved prominence among the Indian film community for his ability to produce great sound. He has won numerous awards, including the National Award for Best Production Mix, 2012 for his work on Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara and the National Award for Best Sound Design and Best Sound Mixing, 2012 for his work on Game. Fonseca credits much of his success to the capabilities of his Lectrosonics equipment.

Presently, Fonseca's Lectrosonics equipment arsenal consists of SMQV, UM450, and UH400a transmitters, a Sixpack multi-channel wireless receiver system fitted with two UDMS 230 UHF RF distributor units, and UCR411a receivers. For IFB purposes, he also uses T4 transmitters and R1a receivers. These are augmented with SNA 600 dipole antennas and an RM remote for use with his SMQV transmitter.

"The sound quality of this equipment is fantastic

UK - HSL's mega busy spring and early summer season continues, supplying lighting, Kinesys automation system and crew to another high profile act - Il Divo.

The massively successful 'crossover' group who have just completed the first full production UK and European leg of their Wicked Game world tour.

It was HSL's first tour with the band, after being brought on-board by tour director and production manager Andy Proudfoot.

Lighting designer Matt Pitman started work with Il Divo for this tour following a one-off stadium show in Paraguay at the end of 2011 in front of 36,000 people. His design has brought additional vibrancy and vitality to the set and screen elements that are part of artistic director Brian Burke's visual concept.

The schedule of the first three months of the tour meant that they were picking up local production everywhere based on a spec - so effect

South Africa - Caxton and CTP Publishers and printers are recognised as one of the largest publishers and printers of books, magazines, newspapers and commercial print in South Africa. For the sixth consecutive year Keystone Productions were commissioned as technical and production suppliers.

"We have a very good relationship with Caxton and do most of their work," said Keystone's Christopher Bolton. He has already been briefed on next year's event and perhaps this has something to do with his perfectionist nature and the copious amounts of time he spends on pre-production design and planning. "I feel it gives me the edge on most productions I am involved in."

Keystone Productions handled the entire awards including all the content. Bolton stepped in as production designer and lighting designer, which enabled him to create the overall look and feel. His lig

UK - Manchester's Dry Bar, a landmark of the city's trendy Northern Quarter since 1989 has carried out an interior upgrade in both the bar and its newly refurbished basement music venue 'Dry Live'. Situated below the bar, the venue was completely refurbished in 2010 with black and grey interior giving it an underground venue feel and now a brand new Martin Audio sound system has been installed.

Tasked with equipping the new Dry Live, experienced local specialists Masons, and their system design engineer Jack Jennings, chose a Martin Audio Blackline H3H+ horn-loaded solution as best fit for the purpose.

The basement space had previously been split into several small rooms but the floor had opened out into one large venue with the intention of using the downstairs space for both live music and club events - served by a single sound system.

The venue operators had stipulated th

USA - On 17 March, 2012, Bruce Springsteen's Wrecking Ball tour kicked off at Atlanta's Phillips Arena, with an L-Acoustics K1/Kudo WST line source system provided by Solotech US Corp of Las Vegas.

Harnessing the power of Springsteen and his 17-piece band is FOH engineer, mix veteran John Cooper, who has provided mixing services for the Boss for the past 10 years and also performs mixing duties for artists including Sheryl Crow, Wynonna Judd, Ringo Starr and Lionel Richie.

The K1/Kudo system provided for the Wrecking Ball tour consists of 60 K1 enclosures, 16 K1-SB subwoofers, 24 Karas, 48 Kudoss, and eight SB28 subs. In many venues, the audience is in 360 degrees as the set design allows for unobstructed views from the rear. Sixteen V-Dosc cabinets are also brought along to provide delay-fill in venues when necessary. All speakers are processed and powered via t

South Korea - Christie, official content sponsor for Expo 2012, Yeosu, reports that the Organising Committee for Expo 2012 has selected Christie Roadie HD+35K projectors for its signature multimedia night show. Set against the natural backdrop of the Yeosu Sea, the 47m high Big-O is the world's largest water curtain and the landmark installation at the expo.

Designed and directed by France-based ECA2, who were involved in shows such as the opening and closing ceremonies of the 1998 World Cup in France and the Eiffel Tower Millennium Show, the 'O' stands for the ocean and resembles the numerical zero to illustrate a new beginning for the sea. The show is expected to remain as a permanent centrepiece after Expo.

Two sets of triple-stacked Christie Roadie HD+35Ks project a short animated film about ocean conservation onto the water screen at the internal rim of the 'O' which is l

The Netherlands - In association with the Dutch manufacturer CLS-LED, Dutch project management company, 4Stage.net, recently completed the Energy Experience Centre for Leusden's DE Partner company. DE Partner is in cooperation with Bloemendal Bouw, which specialises in renewable energy promotion. With CLS-LED, 4Stage.net installed and programmed light, audio and video equipment in a portable storage container.

The equipment used needed to reflect the importance of energy efficiency with the project including a 10-minute video presentation that takes the visitor through all the issues that come with durable and energy efficient construction, renovation and housing. Visual Productions' CueCore proved to be the right choice for solid-state lighting control and this unit benefits from having a minimal power consumption.

The presentation takes place on four synchronized big LED scr

USA - Oregon's Portland Centre for the Performing Arts (PCPA) has upgraded the lighting system in its Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall with 36 ETC Selador Classic Vivid-R LED luminaires. And by installing the fixtures, the venue expanded its colour capabilities, reduced its energy usage and earned cash incentives from Energy Trust of Oregon to put toward the fixtures' purchase.

Energy Trust offers cash incentives to commercial, municipal and institutional businesses throughout that state that upgrade dated equipment to energy-efficient technology. To qualify for the incentives, one requirement is that a new lighting installation must result in at least a 25% energy saving.

The Concert Hall's aging battens were demanding an increasingly high level of maintenance. Appropriate light bulbs are no longer being manufactured, and the cost of upkeep kept mounting, so they were replaced w

South Africa - The first Discovery Graduation Ceremony 2012 was held recently at Vodaworld at Vodadome, Midrand, put together by events company, Edith Unlimited.

Edith Venter, a long-time client and owner of Edith Unlimited, who is known for her charity and high profile events, asked MJ Event Gear to provide the full technical. The in-house occasion was attended by 260 people and awarded Discovery staff who had completed various forms of training.

"The event went wonderfully smooth," said Theo Rood, production manager from MJ Event Gear, who as part of his pre-production work also tested the venues' LED pillars and projectors prior to set-up to avoid any unforeseen hiccups.

The venue, tables and chairs were draped in white and looked stunning as Robe 600 LED fixtures washed them in colour. "Edith Unlimited rely completely on our creativity when it comes to lig

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