Robe - LEADERBOARD - Feb 2025
Doughty - Banner - ABTT (27 May - 5 June)

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USA - Located in Palm Beach County, the 19,000-capacity Cruzan Amphitheatre is South Florida's premier open-air concert venue. Managed by Live Nation, which presents approximately 30 productions annually at the venue, Cruzan recently installed 24 L-Acoustics KARAi loudspeaker enclosures to deliver improved audio coverage to its lawn, which seats 12,000 concertgoers.

"With modern long-throw line arrays, the nature of the delay system has changed," says Andre Serafini, owner of Miami Gardens-based Beachsound & Lighting, Inc., which designed and installed the new system. "Most touring engineers will use their own main production PA to cover at least a portion of the lawn area at an amphitheater like this, so the 'delay' system has become more of a 'relay' system, complementing and extending the performance of the main PA.

"This is why it was important that we

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UK - Young lighting designer Elliot Griggs is named as the inaugural winner of the New Talent in Entertainment Lighting Design competition.

In May 2014 the Worshipful Company of Lightmongers, in conjunction with the Association of Lighting Designers, announced the creation of an annual award as part of their support for education and training in the field of entertainment lighting, for those Lighting Designers who are at the start of their career.

The first winner of the prize is Elliot Griggs who will be presented with his prize at PLASA London 2014. He will also be invited to attend one of the Lightmongers' dinners where award recipients are acknowledged.

The judging panel of professional theatre lighting designers was impressed by the overall quality of the work submitted by all of the entrants, but Elliot was chosen as the unanimous winner.

ALD Chairman Peter Mumford w

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

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Worldwide - This year sees Philips Strand Lighting celebrate its 100th birthday with festivities at PLASA London this October, including a cocktail hour at the special Strand Lighting bar on the Philips Entertainment stand.

"All are welcome to enjoy exclusive celebratory cocktails and nibbles every day at 5pm, alongside some very special VIP guests. So make sure to join in raising a glass or two to a century of lighting innovation!"

It's undeniable that Philips Strand Lighting's 100-year milestone is a momentous occasion as since inception in 1914, Strand Lighting and its product family has continuously evolved, playing a significant role in shaping the century's entertainment lighting and lighting control technology landscape.

The company's founders, Arthur Earnshaw and Philip Sheridan, were two private electricians who unwittingly established themselves as the fo

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Spain - Las Arenas Hotel-Spa is the only five star luxury hotel located in Valencia and, in all probability, one of the most luxurious throughout Spain. This hotel began its construction in 2002 next to Las Arenas and La Malvarrosa beaches, in the seaside of Valencia.

In the end of the 19th century, right in this same place, was built the historic Las Arenas Spa. Its classical style has been maintained and mixed with the elegance and comfort of the modern design of Las Arenas hotel. This hotel, which have a total of 253 rooms with all facilities divided into different types of rooms, counts also with thermal spa. The pool, from where it is possible to see the Mediterranean Sea, gets back the original project from 1933 with the kids' pool, the solarium and the famous Las Arenas springboard.

The installation was carried out by José García from Sistec Lite, who chose the

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USA - Overnight success was slow in arriving for Ohio garage rock duo, The Black Keys (TBK). The band was active for over a decade in small clubs on the Midwest indie circuit before the big time finally caught up with them in 2010 with the release of their sixth album, Brothers, and its quirky hit single Tighten Up.

"We accidentally took off," remarked TBK's drummer, Patrick Carney. "We weren't expecting that." Nevertheless, they've had to get used to it as record sales and popularity have climbed steadily ever since, to the point where their eighth album, Turn Blue, released in May 2014, debuted at number one in Canada, the US and Australia, the band's first record to top the album charts anywhere. The band is currently in the midst of their Turn Blue worldwide tour complete with a full panoply of Sennheiser microphones specified by thei

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UK - PLASA London opened its doors at 10am this morning and welcomed a surge of visitors in the first few hours of the show. Hundreds of people skipped their typical Sunday activities in favour of a vibrant exhibition floor and an education programme packed with the world's biggest names in entertainment technology.

Here are some of the highlights from today's show:

World Class Exhibitors

Every year, PLASA London brings together the most important audio, lighting, video and staging companies, filling the show floor with a feast of exhibitors. This year is certainly no different, with more than 250 companies exhibiting. Looking around ExCeL London's first class exhibition space, we see companies like Robe, Clay Paky, Shure, Polar Audio, Autograph, SSE Audio, FBT, Philips Entertainment, White Light, Highlite, Chauvet, MA Lighting, SGM, Prolyte, A.C Entertainment Technol

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Europe - As summer 2014 draws to a close, the UK source-oriented reinforcement (SOR) specialists Out Board have seen their TiMax delay-matrix and performer-tracking systems deployed for a broad and varied season of outdoor shows across Europe.

Thunersee, Switzerland - The perennial TiMax sojurn in the stunning Swiss lakeside setting featured the visual spectacle that is AIDA the Musical. Contemporised by Elton John and Tim Rice originally for a Broadway outing in 2001, the Thunersee production accessed a new dimension with sound design by the award-winning Tom Strebel and audiopool.

As in previous years, Strebel deployed the TiMax SoundHub and TiMax Tracker combination to bring vocal clarity and authenticity to the mammoth amphitheatre's audiences.

Strebel explains, "We simply cannot put on these Thun productions each year without TiMax SoundHub and Tracker. The audienc

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UK - Milos Group, one of the largest manufacturers of trussing and support structures in the world, welcomes James Thomas Engineering to its growing number of professional and trusted brands. James Thomas Engineering has been one of the leading manufacturers of aluminium trussing, rigging and ground support to North American and international clients since 1977. Its General Purpose, Supertruss and HD truss systems are known throughout the industry as benchmarks for professional outdoor concert, theatre and corporate venue productions.

As part of the Milos Group, and falling under the TOMCAT banner, JTE will continue to manufacture the same high quality "Made in the USA" products that industry professionals have relied upon for more than 35 years. Innovation will remain its first priority, and its mission statement "Innovation through Design and Engineering Excelle

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Spain - On Sunday 5 October 2014, the curtain fell on another incredible season for Space Ibiza, as it celebrated a summer of unforgettable parties with the Space Closing Fiesta. It welcomed more than 30 DJs and thousands of guests, who bid farewell to the iconic venue for another year. It was a fitting end to a very successful season, which saw Funktion-One complete its takeover of the venue, and helped it celebrate its 25th birthday with an additional outdoor stage at three special events - the Opening Fiesta, Closing Fiesta and 25th Anniversary Party.

At the beginning of the summer, while preparing the venue for the Space Opening Fiesta in May, Funktion-One, the Space technical team and Project Audio Ibiza made the annual upgrades and adjustments to its sound systems. This included a completely new speaker system for Sunset Terrace, meaning all six rooms of Pepe Roselló's gl

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UK - Shure Distribution UK (SDUK), exclusive distributor in the UK and Ireland for leading pro audio brands including Shure, QSC, Radial, DIS, Sound Devices, Primacoustic and Servoreeler,confirmed at PLASA London 2014 that it is taking on a new line.

Manufactured by Spanish audio company Equipson, founded in 1995 and based in Valencia, WORK Pro Audio products are aimed at sound reinforcement and live sound applications. Effective immediately, SDUK will be responsible for all sales and technical support for WORK Pro Audio products in the UK and Ireland, replacing all previous UK distributors of the brand.

Highlights of the WORK Pro Audio range include loudspeakers, amplifiers and DSP Digital Matrix products which provide a quality alternative for installation projects of all budgets. The most recent addition to the brand is the BlueLine Digital range, a cost-effective, modular

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USA - Billed as the 'Largest Event in Bradford County', the 139th Troy Fair opened 21 July 21, 2014 with a new grandstands sound system provided by Gelnett and Associates of Northumberland, Pennsylvania and based on Community R Series loudspeakers.

The new system replaces a 1970s-era paging horn system that was inadequate for modern fair events and had prompted 2013's tractor pull announcer to complain, "We're not coming back unless you fix this!"

After interviewing several integrators, the Troy Fair board chose Gelnett and Associates to provide their new system. Gelnett President, Scott Gelnett reports that the fair board was very impressed during the on-site demo and knew this was the system for them.

The new system consists of two clusters of four Community R.5HPT loudspeakers covering the fans in the grandstands and three R2-52 loudspeakers covering the left, c

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UK - ETC has handed over a cheque for almost £17,500 to the Behind the Scenes UK charity at PLASA London 2014.

The donations come from people who bought the European version of the ETC iRFR or aRFR remote control app for their phone or tablet over the past year, all of whom had the choice of whether their money went to the US charity, or its UK branch, which until recently was called Light Relief.

Handing over a cheque to John Simpson, trustee of Behind the Scenes UK, ETC's CEO Fred Foster said, "Lighting can be easy to control using the ETC iRFR for iOS and aRFR for Android, but sometimes life can be more difficult. That's why we're pleased to continue to support the Behind the Scenes charity, which provides much needed support to our colleagues and their families when times are hard."

The apps - which turn any smartphone into a remote lighting controller -

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Switzerland - Riedel Communications reports that Riedel Switzerland served as the official radio and intercom services supplier for the 22nd European Athletics Championships, held 12-17 August in Zurich. Throughout the event, which brought approximately 1,400 athletes from 50 countries together for a competition attended daily by 25,000 spectators, Riedel equipment supported communications and provided the main fiber backbone for in-house video distribution.

"Riedel Switzerland provided us with seamlessly integrated solutions for video transport and communications, and the company's professional support not only enabled optimal use of the Riedel gear, but also ensured that the hundreds of volunteers and other professionals involved in the event were able to use their radio systems effectively," said Christoph Joho, marketing director of the Leichtathletik EM 2014 AG. &

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UK - The new series of BBC's long-running comedy quiz show Never Mind The Buzzcocks will now be filmed at Elstree Studios.

One of the constants for the show is Richard Martin Lighting. RML has lit Never Mind the Buzzcocks for a number of years and while the set remains the same, the lights are constantly evolving and tweaking to maximise the effect.

LD Chris Kempton specs MAC 600s, Stage Zoom 1200s, MAC 250s, Alpha Beam 300's, Chroma Set Kits, MR16 Birdies, Pixel Bricks and a Nova Flower.

Now that the series is being filmed in a different, larger studio, there is also some audience lighting which consists of two Pixel Par 90s, GLP Impressions and LED 12 Lites.

(Jim Evans)

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USA - At Walnut Ridge Baptist Church in Mansfield, Texas, the congregation holds two distinct worship services. The first is a traditional worship service, but the second is a more contemporary worship environment.

Wanting to upgrade their lighting system to better encompass all the aspects of both services, Walnut Ridge turned to Gemini Light Sound and Video to oversee a full lighting renovation. Fully understanding what the church wanted to accomplish, Gemini installed 74 Showline SL PAR 150 ZOOM luminaires from Philips Entertainment.

"Gemini previously worked with Walnut Ridge Baptist Church on another lighting application and for this lighting renovation they were looking to mainly do two things," began Todd Graham, project lead installer. "First, they were looking for something more efficient than their current system which consisted of high-wattage traditi

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China - Known for its modern architecture and artistic design, the Macau Tower, located in the Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, is a landmark that features an eloquent banquet hall which was recently revamped using Martin Professional Lighting fixtures.

Featured in this lighting renovation are four Martin MAC 350 Entour LED lighting fixtures, 16 Mac Auras, six Rush PAR 2 RGBW Zoom cans, an M2GOTM lighting console and an iOS MAXRemote. This package is centred on compact performance, as each of these lighting elements take up minimal real estate, but are able to emit powerful beams of output.

The tower is a popular destination amongst international tourists, avid shoppers and romance seekers. Donned with ballroom chandeliers and magnificent crystals, the banquet hall needed specialized lighting solutions to complement the elegance of the room. By

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UK - The seventh Knight of Illumination Awards (KOI) was held on Sunday 5 October and once more it was a sparkling success. This year London's glamorous art deco Troxy saw representatives from the professional entertainment lighting and video industry come together to celebrate the creative achievements of lighting and video professionals working on shows across the UK.

The ever-popular awards, organised by The Society of Television & Lighting Design (STLD), The Association of Lighting Designers (ALD), Clay Paky and Ambersphere Solutions, was established to offer public recognition for outstanding achievements in touring, television and theatre lighting and video design.

Hosted by prolific and popular lighting designer for the theatre, opera and ballet, Mark Jonathan, the winners for each category were announced as follows:

Theatre

Dance: - Paul Keogan, No Man's

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PLASA London 2014 - The first two days of PLASA London 2014 witnessed busy stands and aisles with exhibitors and visitors alike commenting on the number of meaningful conversations they are having. PLASA London is all about revealing new products, exploring opportunities, supporting business growth and connecting people.

Mick Hannaford, Managing Director of Robe UK offers his view of Robe's huge 1000sq.ft stand: "To be honest, we've been overwhelmed - it's working really well," says Mick. "There are so many business conversations going on in here, it's amazing. Normally, when we're in a much smaller space, there are people trying to get a drink, trying to say hello. Here, there was a concern that everyone was spread out and so the atmosphere would be lost, but everywhere you look there is business happening. It is really fantastic."

And a number of major na

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The Netherlands - Award-winning sound designer Jeroen ten Brinke has chosen the Meyer Sound D-Mitri digital audio platform as the backbone of his design in Anne, a dramatic presentation of the Anne Frank story in the 1,100-capacity Theatre Amsterdam. With a CueConsole control surface, D-Mitri drives the play's audio mixing, matrixing, and loudspeaker processing.

"Choosing D-Mitri as the foundation of the system was a no-brainer," says Jeroen ten Brinke, who is a design partner at Audio Design International. "The audio quality is second-to-none, which is critical to bring out all the subtleties of the dialogue. It also works beautifully with both the orchestration and the sound effects, which range from whisper-quiet to wartime bombing scenes."

Compared to most theatrical plays, the sound design in Anne is extraordinarily intricate. Actors inte

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UK - After working with RG Jones' Martin Audio Multi-cellular Loudspeaker Array (MLA) at Glastonbury Festival - as well as the smaller footprint MLA Compact at other events - David McEwan's vision was to fire it up in anger at the holy grail of London venues, the Royal Albert Hall.

And as long term recording and live engineer for Nitin Sawhney, the opportunity came when this British Indian musician, orchestral composer and producer announced his return to the famous London venue to perform work from his forthcoming album Dystopian Dream and a selection of material from his first nine albums.

McEwan approached John Carroll, MD of RG Jones Sound Engineering, and to his great delight the award-winning PA was made available within the production budget.

Rarely will MLA have had so many different sounds and voices pumped through it as Sawhney moves effortlessly through dif

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South Africa - Three new Philips Strand Digital Wallracks, 24 x 2.5kw, have been installed at the Springs Civic Theatre in Ekurhuleni, South Africa. Along with Longman LED parcans, the equipment has been tried and tested in the production Prison Without Steel Bars, Changing Times and various school reviews recently.

While Ekurhuleni may mean "place of peace" in Xitsonga, the past seven months have been flat out for the team running the theatre. In the midst of it all a tender was awarded to DWR Distribution to supply and install lighting equipment.

"We have used the gear and so far we are totally happy with the upgrade," commented Dawid van Eeden, theatre stage manager.

"Philips Strand provided the most economical but reliable dimmers for this size theatre," said Dave Whitehouse of DWR. "We have known Dawie and Eduard Coetzee

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USA - When Garth Brooks announced he was launching a world tour, Michael T. Strickland, chair of Bandit Lites, knew the production would be something special.

"Garth is, and always has been, an innovator," said Strickland. "He creates or recreates almost every aspect of the industry each time he tours. 2014 is no different! The massive, interactive lighting system that Dave and Garth have designed is second to none. It is simply stunning."

Lighting designer David Butzler, who has worked with Brooks since his very first tour, requested a fixture that, simply put, did not exist on the market: a bright single source RGBA in a small PAR 30 form factor with a very smooth dimming curve that looked good on camera.

"The intention was to design these fixtures to mount in various elements of the set," said Roth Edwards, Bandit's director of special operat

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UK - The buzz around the aisles and stands of PLASA London 2014 has created an incredible atmosphere for visitors and exhibitors alike. The entertainment technology industry is full of brilliant characters, giving the industry its special personality. While the social side of the show has flourished, so has business, as exhibitors continue to launch new products and make important connections.

Green Hippo has chosen PLASA London 2014 for the launch of the Hippotizer v4. The company has taken the award-winning features of the Hippotizer v3, such as UberPan, Cross-Fade on Layer, Presets and Region Mapper success, and added new hardware and an array of key software features that will make the user experience better than ever before.

Raycom is exhibiting at PLASA London for the first time, using the show as a platform for moving into the live market. The company has built up an ex

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USA - Lighting designer Saxton Waller selected a grandMA2 full-size with a MA NPU (Network Processing Unit) for two sold-out STS9 (Sound Tribe Sector 9) concerts at the famed Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado, the lead up to the band's US cross-country fall tour. The console was provided by Brown Note Productions, Inc. in Thornton, Colorado.

The instrumental band STS9 (Sound Tribe Sector 9), which plays self-described post-rock dance music, is one of the nation's top-grossing tour acts with a heavy presence in the festival circuit. Their dates at Red Rocks preceded the start of their first tour in nearly a year. The tour will play venues in the Midwest and East, including Chicago, New York, Detroit and Pittsburgh.

Brown Note Productions, Inc. is a full-service audio, lighting and video production company specialising in touring, festivals and special events. It won

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  6. Yamaha CIS stars In €6m Cinecitta refurbishment
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