UK - Hawthorn celebrated their 25th Anniversary by welcoming over 500 clients, guests and staff to its Leicester Head Office, 16 February 2013.

Hawthorn applied its own event expertise to transform their facility into a swanky party venue, where guests enjoyed a night of food, drink, networking and revelry. Giant video screens, sizzling catering points, glitzy dancefloors created a vibrant ambience in the main event room; then if guests walked through a giant logo structure they entered a series of 'games rooms' with Karaoke, 'drive simulators', and familiar computer games.

Founder and Managing Director Martin Hawthorn cut the birthday cake and thanked all present:

"It's great to welcome everyone here as we celebrate our achievement bringing the company from the humble beginnings to where we are today supplying an incredible range of events. We have developed some great

Austria - With a huge opening ceremony the 2013 Skiing World Championships recently started in Schladming, Austria. Associate LD Jeffrey Goes and associate LD Daan Oomen relied for the show on an MA Lighting system, consisting of two grandMA2 light, one grandMA2 fader wing and two MA NPU (Network Processing Unit).

Jeffrey Goes commented, "The grandMA2 offered the best solution in networking and stability for this outdoor event. Especially in bad weather conditions it proofed to be a solid, stable control system. This was essential. Furthermore it offered us a perfect back-up solution as well as great network possibilities."

Daan Oomen continued, "We had to deal with pretty harsh weather conditions. Also some lighting positions were only accessible by helicopter. Furthermore the venue had a quite unusual shape unusual shape and an extremely steep slope. Making a

UK Unusual Rigging has been voted the UK's favourite rigging company at the TPi Awards 2013, which took place at the Novotel London West on Monday 11 February 2013.

The awards highlight projects undertaken in 2012 and the judges said: "Unusual Rigging was a clear favourite in the voting process this year, showing how well respected and valued they are by their industry peers."

(Jim Evans)

Korea - In 2012, a DiGiCo SD7 was installed in Jiguchon Church in South Korea's Bundang New City. Such was its success that four more of the company's mixers have now been installed in another church in the city, demonstrating how DiGiCo mixing consoles are making significant inroads into the country's house of worship market.

The new Manna Methodist Church has a seating capacity of 4,000, with around 10,000 worshippers attending each week. Services feature a live band, choir, organ and orchestra, so the audio system needed a high input channel count, as well as facilities to mix live audio for broadcast on its own Internet channel.

The church consulted DiGiCo's South Korean distributor Soundus Corporation, who supplied and installed an SD7 console at Front of House, with four SD-Racks and an SD8-24 to take care of the live broadcast mix. In addition, Soundus supplied an SD9 f

UK - Roland Systems Group (RSG) has announced the appointment of Leisuretec Distribution as a 'professional trade only distributor' for their expanding pro audio and video product range, effective January 2013.

Leisuretec, a leading supplier to the trade community, will be offering Roland's professional range of video products. As a new venture for the company this enhances their product offering and further broadens their profile, says the company.

Cliff Dounting, commercial director for Leisuretec Distribution commented, "After a successful year in 2012, we were looking to further broaden the choice we can offer our customers with unique specialist products. As a result, we are delighted to have formed a working relationship with Roland Systems Group.

"Roland's high profile and professional reputation fits perfectly with Leisuretec's technical expertise and commi

Canada - CAST Software has announced its 2013 Video Contest, in which users of the brand new wysiwyg R30 are invited to submit their finest lighting designs for a chance to win one of three prizes. The creator of the winning video will land themselves a full one-year wyg membership, while second and third place runners-up will scoop a half-year wyg membership.

In an exciting twist on 2012's R28 competition, the use of consoles WILL be allowed, due to popular demand among previous entrants. Of course, employment of the software's Cue List and Camera Path features is perfectly acceptable and encouraged - Members are simply challenged to create a two-minute video of a stunning wysiwyg design and upload it to the CAST Software Facebook page for appraisal, initially by CAST's hand-picked judging panel, and then by the public who can vote for their favourite video via Facebook.

CAST

UK - Mark Henderson was named Best Lighting Designer in this year's Whatsonstage.com Awards.

The awards ceremony was presented by the Whatsonstage.com theatre news website at a lavish concert on Sunday night. The Whatsonstage.com Awards is the only major prize-giving celebration for theatre voted on by the theatre-going public. The Best Lighting Designer Award is sponsored by leading entertainment lighting supplier White Light.

Henderson secured the prize for his work on Sweeney Todd, which opened at the Chichester Festival Theatre and then transferred to London's Adelphi Theatre. Henderson's was not the only award presented to the show, which also won prizes for its leading performers (Michael Ball and Imelda Staunton), its director (Jonathan Kent), and for the show itself, which was named Best Musical Revival.

Henderson's fellow nominees in the category were Humphre

UK - The MAC III Wash, the final luminaire in Martin Professional's successful 1,500W MAC III family of moving heads, is now available. A full-feature, full-range wash luminaire with light quality and a colour palette, it excels at projecting an intense yet even field of light and has the added ability of shaping the beam through an internal barndoor system, a unique feature for a Fresnel light, says the company.

The MAC III Wash features a unique internal barndoor system (shutters) that enables designers to shape projection onto stages, performers, scenery, scrims, or any set element with great precision.

The MAC III Wash houses a 1:4 fully linear zoom that requires no lens changes plus the MAC III Wash maintains near full efficiency throughout the entire zoom range with no visible beam jump when zooming from tight to wide and no drop in lumens output.

At over 50,000 lumens

Australia - Over 150 Robe moving lights were spread around multiple stages on Summafieldayze 2013 - the most popular marathon dance music festival staged at Doug Jennings Park, The Spit on Australia's Gold Coast.

Heading up the action were plenty of electronic legends like The Chemical Brothers, M.I.A, Fedde Le Grand, Mark Ronson, Hot Chip, The Faders, Kimbra and many more.

Lighting equipment, together with lighting production designs for the event's three main stage areas, was supplied by Clifton Productions, one of Australia's highest profile rental operations ... and the one with the largest stock of Robe fixtures.

Stage One was based around M.I.A.'s spec and featured 22 Robe ColorSpot 2500E ATs, eight ColorWash 2500E ATs and 18 Robin 600 Beams. The set centrepiece was an extensive upstage video wall.

The second stage was custom designed to accommodate the Chemical Brot

Austria - When TV viewers in Austria tune into ORF 1 to watch weekly TV talent show Die Grosse Chance, one of the first things they notice is 1500 strings of SGM's LB-100 LED Balls festooned across the set. This large display forms the centrepiece of a set design conceived by Florian Wieder (of Wieder Design).

The LB-100's were supplied by production company, Supporting Role, who specialise in the broadcast rental sector, after being impressed by a system demo organised by SGM Germany's co-MD Thorsten Sattler.

Florian Wieder has taken a highly creative approach with the lighting - hanging the LB-100's as a curtain, split into separate sections, and as 'bridges' across the studio (one of which serves as the portal bridge to the stage).

These are fed by moving images from three Coolux Pandoras Box media servers.

Each of the 1500 strings measures 0.85m and contains sev

The Netherlands - A new theatre in Roermond, south eastern Holland, has decided that energy saving is the way forward - and has been fitted out with entirely LED fixtures.

ECI Cultuurfabriek is a converted former chemical factory which was abandoned in the 1970s. After many years of discussion about the building's future, it was decided to refurbish it - replacing its missing roof and rebuilding the walls - and turn it into a space for the whole community to use. Incoming technical manager Maarten Janssen invested in 30 ETC Source Four Lustr+ and 22 ETC Selador Desire Lustr+ LED luminaires for its 244 seat theatre space, taking advantage of extra funding available for environmentally sustainable projects.

Janssen explains why he chose the ETC fixtures: "I saw the LED demonstrations on ETC's YouTube video library. The fixtures have incredibly smooth fades, which I've never

UK - Le Mark's high gloss StudioTak flooring is back with the second series of Sky Living's The Love Machine.

The set maximises the effect of StudioTak's high gloss finish and combines professional studio lighting to produce a visual impact that's not often rivaled by other self-adhesive studio floors.

Le Mark's Leanne Baker said, "The Love Machine is a really lively and stunning set. The camera angles perfectly capture the glossy floor finish, making the nightclub-style set design beautifully shine back on-camera."

(Jim Evans)

France - The Palais Omnisports Marseille Grand-Est is the latest and most modern competition venue in a city known for its love of sporting entertainment. Spreading over a site some 20,000 sq.m in extent to the east of the city centre, the complex offers facilities for a variety of different sports - notably ice skating, for which a 5,600-seater stadium has been provided.

Marseille-based Objectif Plus was commissioned to design and install the stadium's sound reinforcement system. The highest acoustic hurdle here - and one most ice rinks share - is the hall's long reverberation time. "Obtaining clearly intelligible sound under such conditions posed a real challenge," admits Jean Marandet, product & service manager with EVI Audio France, "especially since the budget for the project was relatively modest. It was necessary, therefore, to find a solution capable of pr

UK - Popular Northern Irish band Two Door Cinema Club continued the latest UK leg of their Beacon world tour with a very cool lighting design by Squib (Chris Swain) which included 32 x Robe LEDBeam 100s and 10 Robe MMX Spots, all supplied by rental company Siyan together with the rest of the lighting rig.

Squib has worked with the Band - whose lively mix of rocky electro pop has fed their hyperactive career trajectory - since 2010. They are a hard-working live act. Squib's first gig for them was at London's Heaven venue, mid-way through the cycle for their first studio album Tourist History, which segued almost immediately into Beacon.

He is a relative newcomer to using Robe fixtures, and it was the latest Robin series that caught his eye and encouraged him to look further at what the brand had to offer.

This was the first full production leg of the Beacon

USA - Liberty AV Solutions and Perfect Path have jointly announced details of a distribution partnership that will add the Perfect Path line of locking high-speed HDMI cables to Liberty's extensive product catalogue.

A trademarked brand of the East Syracuse, New York-based company PPC, Perfect Path products debuted four years ago with a patented line of high-retention and locking HDMI cables that quickly garnered a reputation for performance and reliability within the residential AV, home theatre, and systems contracting markets.

With its headquarters located in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Liberty AV Solutions is an AV supplier of solutions-based products ranging from bulk cable and connectors to custom plates, panels, racks, and signal distribution devices manufactured by its Intelix division.

"Partnering with Liberty is a perfect fit for our extension into the world o

Denmark / USA - The ability to move from venue to venue and achieve the same sound regardless of the acoustics or the PA system is the main reason why sound engineer Raul Mendez chooses DPA Microphones.

"I have been using DPA microphones for a long time now and they are always my first choice of microphone because they give me the sound I want without any feedback problems," Mendez says. "Whether I am miking an acoustic instrument, voices for an event or a musical, I know these microphones will work perfectly every time and in all of these different areas of performance."

Raul Mendez is currently using a selection of DPA microphones to capture the sound of legendary guitarist, composer, dramatist and producer Paco Peña. Over a career spanning more than four decades, Peña has expanded the possibilities of flamenco and changed perceptions of the art form by

France - The SIEL, Professional Festival of Live Show and Events Techniques has closed its doors at the Grande Halle de la Villette in Paris. With 125 exhibitors, 800 brands and an attendance of 9732 visitors, SIEL confirms its position as a leading professional trade show.

The concept of SIEL was reinforced this year with more than 40 workshops, lighting showrooms and audio classrooms. Prestigious conferences were also added to those professionals meetings, thanks to the involvement of exhibitors and partners : APG France, Clay Paky, DV2, Profession Spectacle and SGM. More than 150 visitors took the opportunity to attend Luc Lafortune's conference. Guest of honor, the lighting designer of the Cirque du Soleil, spent more than three hours sharing his work experiences, techniques and anecdotes about the shows Ka and O.

For this second edition of the SIEL 'new formula',the Etoil

USA - Chauvet Professional Legend 412 pixel-mapping moving yokes flawlessly performed during 168 shows next to up-and-coming country singer Justin Moore, as the opening act for Eric Church's tour.

Lighting designer Sooner Routhier specified 44 Legend 412 fixtures placed in custom-made wood carts behind the singer and symmetrically on the left and right side of the stage. "We needed to make sure that the floor package we used was easily configurable to accommodate the many different stage sizes," Routhier said.

"It needed to expand and contract based on the various widths. Luckily, the lighting company - Special Event Services - had some custom-built carts that they modified in order to pack lots of lights into small spaces." These props allowed the tour to set up a floor package and tear it down in record time for festival and opening act situations. "

UK - When the celebrated American jazz pianist-composer Ahmad Jamal played to a sell-out audience at the Barbican Centre in London on Friday 8 February, he insisted on a full Bose RoomMatch system being installed especially for the concert, the first in the UK for four years.

Ahmad Jamal has been praised as one of the greatest jazz innovators over his exceptionally long career, and joins other world renowned artistes and musicians who have performed at the Barbican, Europe's largest multi-arts and conference venue presenting a diverse range of art, music, theatre, dance, film and creative learning events. It is also home to the London Symphony Orchestra.

Considering his four piece ensemble 'an orchestra', Mr Jamal wanted a system that would deliver the most lifelike venue-filling sound to every member of the audience, and previous experience of Bose made the RoomMatch system t

UK - Orbital Sound has announced that its 2013 Sound Fundamentals for Theatre training course will take place from 2-5 April, representing the 12th consecutive year that the Easter training week has been staged. Among the confirmed elements will be hands-on training sessions from d&b audiotechnik, Shure and Yamaha Commercial Audio, as well as the chance for students to go backstage on a West End production.

Orbital's Richard Carter and Alex Waddle are this year's course leaders, tutoring up to 24 students at its well-equipped training facility in Brixton, south London. Among the modules are dedicated sessions on show control, radio microphones, video communications and networking, reflecting the emphasis on the range of practical and technical disciplines that form the backbone of today's live sound applications.

The annual Easter Sound Fundamentals for Theatre w

UK - Broadcast and production experts will lead informal round-table discussions at BVE 2013's popular Skills Zone, bringing their expertise on a wide range of topics and encouraging visitors to share their career issues, business concerns and ideas. The Skills Zone is a key learning and networking opportunity at the show, which runs from 26-28 February 2013 at ExCeL London.

Those looking for careers advice will find BECTU and The Crewing Co offering daily CV clinics (15 minute slots can be booked on stand 55), while Emily Man, Creative Skillset leads a discussion on developing careers in the film industry, and Samantha Meah and Dermot Casey, EMS Technical Personnel look at permanent and contract work placements in broadcasting.

Script writers can find out how to make money from their talent with Julian Friedmann, Blake Friedmann Literary Agency, while Henry Swindell, BBC Writ

Australia - As the newest and largest arrival to the Phoenix Group, Parramatta Phoenix is upholding the group's passion for delivering Sydney Chinese dining experiences. As well as their well known Yum Cha and A la carte menu, the Parramatta Phoenix restaurant is also able to cater for all types and sizes of groups, with their private dining function area perfect for weddings, parties and corporate events.

Envision AV were commissioned to design and install a comprehensive audio system for the venue and with no hesitation they proposed a Jands solution.

The venue has a main restaurant level on the ground floor, a mezzanine level, a private dining room that can be divided into three when required and a function space upstairs. The main restaurant floor was a particularly challenging space acoustically with ten metre high glass walls on three sides and many demanding ceiling spa

UK - Confirming the show's position as the premier event for entertainment technology in the north of England, PLASA Events is delighted to report that all exhibitor stands for PLASA Focus: Leeds 2013, taking place on Tuesday 30 April and Wednesday 1 May at the Royal Armouries in Leeds, are now sold out.

In a further indication that this year's show will be the best yet, organisers report a 30% increase in visitor registrations. New exhibitors joining the show this year include Autograph Sales, HD Pro Audio, Pearce Hire and Unusual Rigging, among others. A full list of exhibitors and details of the Professional Development Programme can be found on the PLASA Focus website.

Another exciting new development is the first ever PLASA Riggers' Forum for the North, which will take place on Tuesday 30 April. Building on the success of the PLASA Riggers' Forum in London in September, t

UK - The beginning of AP Security's sixth year working at London's O2 Arena has seen the company as busy as ever. From television and music celebrities, basketball superstars and motorcycle madmen to children and dinosaurs, the company's staff ensured that exemplary charm and helpfulness were always top of the bill.

January was a particularly varied month for The O2. The high profile 18th National Television Awards and NBA London Live basketball match were both televised live, Arenacross featured high octane motorcycle racing and stunts, Ronan Keating lit the fires of passion in women of a certain age, Donnie and Marie Osmond produced plenty of Puppy Love and Walking with Dinosaurs produced much wonder for younger generations.

"We cover the main entrances, the floor of The O2 and the response teams on all the levels, so our staff are effectively working thro

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