UK - Event technical services and solutions provider Blueprint continues its commitment to Gloucestershire UK manufacturer Core Lighting's innovative battery powered wireless LED lighting products, a relationship which dates back six years to when Core launched its first products - the Point 30 Series.

These are still in active use on Blueprint's various projects today, together with their stock of around 100 Core fixtures which include Point20s and Flood30s, all of which have proved a sound investment.

Having spotted a gap at the very start of the now-popular trend for wireless up-lighting of buildings, rooms, gardens, trees and foliage, monuments and just about any other space and object that might require illumination for a special moment or event, Blueprint's Chris Morgan comments, "In the last two years - and especially as the products have become even lighter and br

UK - XL Video is supplying LED screens, and IMAG projection system and camera / PPU for the continuing Il Divo A Musical Affair tour, now on its final leg through the UK and Europe.

The tour's video elements are being co-ordinated on the road by Stuart Merser of Vis-à-Vis Video who designed the touring screen and visual concept, is directing the camera mix and also produced all the playback content together with James Cooksey from Basic Monkey and Ben Mason at Red Dog.

Merser's working relationship with XL Video dates back 13 years to the start of his professional career, and comments, "They are still my first choice of touring video supplier - the service is consistently good and the crew are excellent."

Production manager Andy Proudfoot and XL also go back a long way, and XL's project manager is Paul 'Macca" McCauley who has worked on the Il Divo acc

China - ArKaos Pro has announced the appointment of ACE as its new distributor for China.

ACE will be responsible for promoting, distributing and servicing ArKaos Pro's Stage and Studio media servers as well as the ArKaos MediaMaster Pro and Express software across the whole of China.

Founded in 1982, ACE introduced a comprehensive catalogue of stage lighting into China and has provided top class distribution and service across the country ever since. The company prides itself on enabling companies of all sizes to have easy access to high performance products at the best possible prices. ArKaos PRO customers in China will now be able to benefit from ACE accessibility and dedication to customer service.

"We chose ACE because they understand the technology behind ArKaos products and, with offices in Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Hong Kong, have a strong presence in the

Hungary - An Allen & Heath Live digital mixing system has been installed in the Great Reformed Church in Debrecen, Hungary. The historic neoclassical church has a footprint of some 1,500sq.m and a capacity of 5,000, including 3,000 seated.

The church commissioned a full overhaul of its audio systems to improve speech intelligibility, to accommodate broadcast of services and performances by its worship band. The brief called for a system that was capable of 'one button' operation for regular services, whilst having the flexibility to handle patching to and from multiple areas of the church, multitrack recording and broadcast feeds.

Krisztian Varga from Hungarian pro audio specialist, Audmax, designed the solution, with a modular Allen & Heath iLive iDR10 MixRack at its core, feeding a discreet white L-Acoustics Kiva system for the main arrays and L-Acoustics 5XT speakers for ad

France - Nexo's STM Series modular line array has been chosen by one of France's most popular singers, Patrick Fiori, for his national tour named Choisir after his new album.

For main PA, FOH engineer Serge Veneruso is using left and right arrays of seven STM M46 main cabinets and 7x B112 bass cabinets, together with two M28 down-fills in each array.

This configuration, from the flexible STM inventory, is proving to be ideal for the singer's audiences in venues such as the Zenith in Paris.

Providing supplementary front-fill are Nexo's new GEO M6 compact line array modules, and Fiori's stage monitor system is also all-Nexo, using PS15 cabinets.

(Jim Evans)

USA - Frequent referrals from existing customers helps integrator Site on Sound win a wide variety of AV system projects. Recently, the company provided systems for four businesses located in Fargo's historic Loretta Building. And, using a combination of good system design and appropriate product choices, Site on Sound was able to meet each customer's needs while delivering consistently high quality sound in these four unique environments.

One of these businesses was Boerth's Gallery, an established Fargo art and framing gallery that includes a two-story wine bar, called D'Vine. For the wine bar, Site on Sound installed a foreground music system that offers patrons an upscale jazz and rock experience. This system consists of 10 Community DS5 surface-mount loudspeakers driven by a Speco matrix mixer/amplifier and includes a CD player with a 3.5mm input.

Boerth's Gallery itself

UK - 7thSense Design, has delivered its Delta Media Server to a 4D theatre at one of the UK's largest theme parks, Thorpe Park. The Angry Birds 4D effects theatre, part of the new Angry Birds Land, was developed and supplied by Simworx and opened to the public this summer.

The new 326-seat 4D theatre sits at the heart of a new 4,000sq.m area in the theme park, near London, built exclusively for the famous international game and brand, Angry Birds. The multi-sensory experience offers visitors a custom-produced 4D film and in-theatre special effects including wind, smell, water, leg ticklers, bubbles, smoke and catapult simulating seats to create an 'in-game' experience for park-goers.

UK-based Simworx was contracted to create and install the 4D experience by park operator Merlin Entertainments and Finnish company, Rovio Entertainment.

7thSense Design supplied a dual-head Delt

Benelux - Ever since Riverdance brought Irish dance to a truly global audience, 20 years ago, interest in the genre has shown no sign of waning. In terms of touring, one of the hardest working Irish dance and music troupes is Ragús, which has just completed its ninth successive tour of Belgium and the Netherlands. A Yamaha CL1 mixing console ensured that the necessarily compact audio specification still packed a big sonic punch.

Active for the past 13 years, Ragús's performers present the style of Irish dance familiar to millions, but adds in live music from a five-piece band and female vocalist. This ranges from haunting airs from the 'sean nós' traditions of Connemara and the Aran Islands, to the ballads and lively tunes which are commonly associated with traditional Irish music.

Having performed in Australia, the USA, China, Japan, South Africa and throughout Euro

Puerto Rico - Miley Cyrus knows how to attract attention: put on a glitzy show, and belt out a variety of songs from the sultry to the sensitive with aplomb, style, musicality and undeniable charisma. All of this was on display recently, along with dazzling wardrobe changes and dance routines, during the recording star's 22-song concert at San Juan's Coliseo de Puerto Rico José Miguel Agrelot, the largest indoor entertainment venue in Puerto Rico.

Lighting designer Sean Burke illuminated the performance on stage with a dynamic lightshow that include 44 Q-Wash 560Z-LED moving washes and 48 COLORado Batten 72 Tour LED linear wash fixtures.

The Puerto Rican concert was part of Cyrus' global Bangerz tour in support of her fourth studio album. Maintaining a consistent look and energy level for a lightshow can be a challenge when gear lists often change from stop to st

China - Genelec has announced the opening of its new office in Beijing. The facility features a demo room which has been designed with the same acoustic principles as the Genelec listening space and auditorium at the company's headquarters and factory in Finland.

After more than 10 years in the city, Genelec has built up a team of seven based at the Beijing office and the time had come to move to bigger and better premises. Hanying Feng, office manager for Genelec China recognised that the time had come to upgrade the company's facilities. "With a staff of six people plus one trainee it was time for us to look for something new as our old office was far from sufficient," he says.

"There is lots of real estate available in Beijing but it can still be hard to find something to suit. While planning the move we also took the opportunity to upgrade our demo facilitie

UK - Drapes and rigging specialist Blackout helped Lord's Cricket Club celebrate its 200th year in style, transforming a temporary marquee installed in the iconic grounds with an LED starcloth ceiling, 8-19 October 2014.

The marquee allowed guests to make the famous walk through the Long Room, down the steps of the Pavilion, through the players' gate and into the stunningly- decorated venue which played host to banquets, invitation-only events for local residents and a two-night run of live music from Roxy Music star Bryan Ferry.

Blackout's team supplied one of its first LED starcloths of the winter season; a huge 30m x 20m installation into the marquee's roof, adding a magical and festive feel.

Blackout's project manager Tom Lambert said, LED starcloth is the ideal solution for a temporary venue like the one installed at Lord's; it helps to create a more permanent feel and

UK - ETC's Selador Classic LED fixtures have been used in two productions for people recovering from addictions and young people with special educational needs at London's Young Vic theatre.

For every production that the Young Vic programmes in its main space, the Taking Part department creates another in response; exploring some of the ideas in the main production and in which the local community can take part. Production manager Anthony Newton worked with Taking Part technician Nick Slater on Base Camp and The Sound of Yellow, which were based on The Valley of Astonishment, a play which focuses on the phenomenon of synaesthesia: where people can experience things - words, thoughts or even music - as sensory stimulations or as colours.

Nick Slater explains, "For Base Camp, which was with the special educational needs young people, we used an e

UK - SSE Audio Group picked up the award for Best Sound at the inaugural Festival Supplier Awards 2014, acknowledging the company's contribution at over 30 festivals.

The first Festival Supplier Awards took place at Newbury Racecourse on 22nd October 2014, an event billed as "a dedicated awards evening to highlight the creativity and innovation that festival suppliers deliver on every occasion."

During 2013 SSE Audio Group supplied audio systems to 30 major festivals ranging from the Cheltenham Jazz Festival to Download at Donington. SSE supplied a further 15 major festivals up to the end of July 2014 (the period covered by the awards).

As part of the awards submission, SSE focused particularly on their work at the Calling Festival, which moved to Clapham Common for the first time in 2014. Sited in the middle of residential South London the event was subject to ext

Prize Giving - One Direction and Ed Sheeran will be among the performers at the inaugural BBC Music Awards in December. The ceremony will celebrate the best in pop music over the past 12 months. Three awards will be handed out on 11 December the Earls Court ceremony hosted by Chris Evans and Fearne Cotton and broadcast live on BBC One. Prizes will be awarded for the best British and international artists of the year, while the public will vote for the best song of the year. The shortlist and voting details will be announced in December. The winners of British and international artists of the year will be chosen by a panel of "BBC Music experts" as well as leading music journalists. Coldplay, Calvin Harris, Clean Bandit and Paloma Faith are also expected to perform at the ceremony.

On Broadway - The Last Ship, Sting's musical about shipbuilding in north-ea

UK - Wigwam Acoustics has implemented DiGiCo and Optocore's latest software to build the first Multiplexed DiGiCo Fibre Ring systems for use in the live environment, which in addition to audio, also incorporated video transport. Deployed on Top Gear Live and the annual Hillsong Conference Europe, the systems allowed a range of DiGiCo mixing consoles and Optocore devices to work seamlessly together.

DiGiCo is the only console manufacturer to benefit from OEM Optocore and is running the native 2.21 Optocore protocol. Launched at ProLight+Sound in March, the system allows Optocore devices to seamlessly function on a DiGiCo optical loop. This allows, for example, Optocore X6R and V3R mic preamps to be controlled directly from DiGiCo consoles.

"Being long term associates of both Optocore and DiGiCo, we are keen to embrace the technologies afforded to us as they progress

UK - BroadWeigh's exclusive UK partner, A.C. Entertainment Technologies (Rigging Division), has announced the supply of three full kits of 12-point load monitoring to UK-based Load Cell Rental, in a major deal to kick start the company's wireless equipment hire offering.

The BroadWeigh portable wireless system offers real-time, simple, effective and accurate load monitoring for rigging professionals, safety officials and site managers enabling them to monitor and log the precise loads on any given rigging point.

Central to the design of the BroadWeigh system are Crosby shackles equipped with a high accuracy, wireless load pin that reports data remotely to a computer or a handheld display. The system is able to monitor multiple load cells and can trigger an alarm should a load exceed a preset parameter.

Load Cell Rental's BroadWeigh wireless package includes 36 of the 4.75 to

USA - From touring sound to special event projects and everything between, Northeast Ohio's Aggressive Sound offers a full range of services, including sound, lighting, and video equipment rentals as well as the engineers needed to manage the equipment.

The company operates both locally and internationally, with the bulk of the company's business taking place throughout the tri-state area of Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Michigan. As the company expands its operations, the ability to have a sizeable equipment arsenal available to handle a wide range of projects is essential. That's why, for live sound reinforcement, the company relies on loudspeaker systems from Valencia, Spain-based D.A.S. Audio.

Over the past three years, Aggressive Sound has invested in a variety of D.A.S. Audio equipment, including products from the company's Aero Series 2 and Action Series catalogues.

Jeff Ha

Canada - Cypress Mountain is a world-class resort for all forms of winter sports and leisure. Located just outside Vancouver on Canada's west coast, it was also host to the freestyle skiing and snowboarding events of the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Allstar Pacific Integration Media Solutions based in Vancouver was asked to find an audio system solution for the Patio Ski and Snowboard Park at Cypress Mountain. As the weather can include sub-zero temperatures, heavy snow, rain and direct sunlight, all within a 24-hour period, careful consideration had to be taken to find loudspeakers that could withstand these extreme conditions and ensure good performance for both music and speech applications.

After detailed evaluation, Myk Shaflik, Allstar Pacific's system engineer, felt the Community R.5-99 was the best fit, both from a performance perspective as well as ease of installation. Desi

USA - In only a few short years, French artisanal bakery Maison Kayser has opened five successful bakery/café locations in New York City that complement its dozens of locations throughout Europe and Japan. Its US licensees have taken care to make every aspect of Maison Kayser NYC resonant with the brand's international prestige, and, as a result, its French-trained bakers and upscale service and atmosphere have raised the bar in The Big Apple.

High-fidelity sound is an important component of that atmosphere, and local AV integrator Essential Communications specified Ashly Audio integrated signal processors/amplifiers to deliver high fidelity with 24/7/365 reliability.

"This client is understandably particular and demanding," explained David Schwartz, owner of Essential Communications. "Canned music through a stereo wasn't going to cut it. Added to the cha

USA - Robe's Cyclone combined LED washlight / fan fixtures literally joined thousands of excited fans of Pittsburgh's National Hockey League (NHL) team - the Pittsburgh Penguins -for the all-important players entrance at their 2014-15 season opening match.

This was part of a spectacular pre-show event staged at the Penguins' CONSOL Energy Centre home venue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. The opening match show was lit by Kevin Hogan from Process of Illumination, LD to the Penguins' shows since 2005, and broadcast on Root Sports and the NHL network.

The four Cyclones were placed in the runway tunnel used by the players as they come onto the ice. At the start of the match, the tension builds and the players each make their individual entrances onto the ice.

On this occasion, they emerged from the corridor through a fog screen with a special 'Pittsburgh Penguins' animation pr

Australia - Qlight Technical Resources in Brisbane has chosen 48v MM-4XP's with the MPS-488 power supply. The MPS-488HP IntelligentDC power supply delivers power and balanced audio to up to eight Meyer Sound loudspeakers that require an external DC power supply. The single-space 19-inch rack MPS-488HP can be used with a number of products that feature IntelligentDC technology, such as: the UPM-1XP ultracompact loudspeaker, MM-4XP miniature loudspeaker, MM-10XP miniature subwoofer, and UPJ-1XP and UPJunior-XP loudspeaker.

Qlight is often tasked with providing paging and programme audio services to acoustically difficult locations as part of its event communications," says Qlight technical resources MD, Matthew Strachan. "We were seeking a product with superb clarity for the spoken word, and the MM4-XP really delivers that.

"Even in extreme circumstances, we have

Croatia - Rock band Prljavo Kazaliste recently played a sold-out concert at the prestigious Pula Arena - a historical landmark only made available for performances to a handful of selected artists - and this gave their regular lighting designer Sven Kučinić the chance to use Robe Pointes and MMX Spots to great effect.

Zagreb based Sven, the MD of Croatian rental and production company LumiLas LLC had a completely open brief for the lighting and stage design which also included the video concept. He wanted to make the arena look modern and high tech for the occasion, whilst also retaining a heritage feel to the show as appropriate to the surroundings.

The magnificent arena is the only remaining Roman amphitheatre to have four side towers and with all three Roman architectural orders completely preserved. It was constructed in the first century AD during the reign of E

UK - For several years, UK-based Yes Events has been investing in Elation Professional products to service a wide variety of applications from outdoor concerts to opera and corporate events. The most recent outing for some of their Elation units saw Platinum Series moving heads deployed for a corporate awards night at the exclusive Denbies Wine Estate in Dorking. Products used included Platinum Spot 5R Pro, Platinum Beam 5R Pro, Platinum Spot 15R Pro, and LED-based Rayzor Q7 moving heads.

Yes Events managing director Nick Ratcliffe explains why Elation is their choice. "The Elation units provide great performance and are very reliable at a price point that makes them extremely competitive against other brands," he says.

In this recent application the Platinum 5R Spots and Beams were used on various flown trusses, providing dynamic awards lighting and room wash. The L

Australia - Dance floor specialists Harlequin Floors has announced a commercial and artistic tie in with Melbourne City Ballet.

Announcing the news, Harlequin's group marketing manager, Mark Rasmussen said, "The innovative partnership brought together the commitment of an enlightened manufacturer with an artistic dance company, both driven by an obsession with excellence in their respective fields."

"Dance floors are where dancers perform and rehearse and indeed spend much of their working lives. As a manufacturer, it is our aim to provide floors and dance surfaces which inspire confidence in dancers to fully explore their artistic creativity without any fear of slipping, falls or even longer term injury."

Melbourne City Ballet is described as "The city's newest and most exciting Neoclassical Company. A dance company based on new ideas; where indepen

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