USA - Community has welcomed the services of Highway Marketing - a professional manufacturers' representative firm with a 20-year history of supporting the installed sound and video marketplace in the states of Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Arkansas. The firm's marketing and technical staff possess a broad range of sales and engineering skills to service the needs of integrators, design firms and end users.

Highway Marketing makes good use of contemporary marketing tools including social media and a recently updated website. But the firm believes strongly in the "old school mentality" of building relationships with integrators, design firms and end users in its territory. To service this base, Highway marketing provides on-site training programs and product demos, sales support for dealers and experienced in-house tech support.

President Scott Baker emphasized the i

The Netherlands - The latest version of Vivien Virtual Event Designer from CAST Software has recently enabled one of Holland's leading events producers to design bigger, better and higher-impact events. This is all thanks to Vivien's 3D pre-visualisation, planning, design and powerful sales tools.

Event producer Joey Wijnen started his company JOW Event Design & Production two years ago and has been using Vivien to successfully win new business and design a range of increasingly ambitious events and product launches, including major new building unveilings and a large-scale All American Christmas Dinner.

"As soon as I decided to invest in Vivien, I started to get more and more projects," says Wijnen. "We design and produce events in Holland, mostly business to business but also in the private sector.

"Our clients, such as caterers and event agencies hire

South Africa - MGG Productions installed JBL VTX line arrays, Crown I-Tech HD amplifiers and Soundcraft Vi Consoles at the Afrikaans is Groot Music Show that was held recently, providing sound reinforcement for some of the most popular artists in the South African music industry today.

Organised by Coleske Artists, the Johannesburg leg of the annual music concert held at the Moreletapark Auditorium in Pretoria that seats more than 7000 people, saw nine sold-out shows.

MGG Productions were the sole technical suppliers for audio and lighting, with their project manager Denzil Smith and his expert team putting in many hours of hard work toward this popular event. Local Harman importers and distributors Wild & Marr were on-hand to provide additional technical support and EASE plots to ensure an even distribution of sound for the audience.

The audio system featured a total of 32

UK - National tourism agency VisitBritain recently held two distinct trade events in North and Southwest England, both aimed at helping local businesses develop international tourism. The agency turned to event production supplier White Light to provide lighting and projection mapping for both events, using cutting edge technology to complement two unique historic venues in Plymouth and Yorkshire.

Ahead of its Southwest showcase, VisitBritain chose the historic Royal William Yard in Plymouth as the canvas for a special lighting and projection display. The event, held the next day at Bovey Castle, hosted over 100 suppliers from the region matching them with visiting international buyers. White Light was responsible for lighting and AV for the display. Led by Project Manager Phil Gladman, the team created an 18m projection element on the exterior of the Grade I listed building.

USA / Europe -ETC's CUE (Create. Understand. Experience.) professional development conference is set to go ahead again on 26-28 June 2015, and ETC is offering two full sponsorships - which will pay for travel, accommodations and conference fees - to applicants from Europe.

All European residents, especially students and young lighting designers and programmers, are encouraged to apply for the sponsorships. To apply, please fill in the questionnaire at http://cue15sponsorship-international.questionpro.com before 7 April. The winners will be announced at the Prolight & Sound tradeshow in Frankfurt, 15 to18 April.

ETC's CUE conference is an opportunity for lighting professionals and enthusiasts of all experience levels to improve their skills and learn tips and tricks that they can use every day in their careers. CUE is especially beneficial to students and those at the beginning

UK - On 17 March, GMG Network and Pickevent hosted a number of end clients and production managers from across the industry for a panel discussion with leading H&S advisors within the industry (Simon Garrett of X-Venture and Lee Holloway of Freeman) - covering how the impending CDM2015 legislation will affect the events.

It was agreed that this revised part of criminal law will be implemented, whether the industry likes it or not, although the PSA have put up a bold fight for the HSE to present a business case. It doesn't replace existing workplace regulations and purely seeks to deal with structuring the management chain during the planning and construction phases of an event.

It was evident that the phrase "Client is King" will gain new meaning now as they really will be responsible for every H&S aspect at all of their events - this includes all subcontracted work.

South Africa - DWR Distribution and CUE Lighting are sponsors for the St Mary's Battle of the Bands lighting operator competition hosted at the schools' theatre, The Edge in Waverley, Johannesburg. While Battle of the Bands is an annual event schools look forward to, this is the first time this category will form part of the festivities.

An Avolites Titan 1 Dongle, which will transform a laptop or PC into a powerful lighting control instrument, a Leatherman multi tool, LED Laser Torch (each LD has to see in the dark) and a few other prizes like a Robe jacket and rigging gloves are up for grabs.

"We only have space for 12 entrants as there will only be 12 bands in the final," commented Barry Strydom, theatre manager at St Marys and owner of CUE Lighting and Sound. Interested students have to enter before 1 April, and entries will be on a first come first served bases.

USA - Anyone who's ever been to an All That Remains concert knows that this band projects a larger than life image on stage with its fast and heavy death metal rifts, bouncing movements and audience interaction. LD Peter Therrien of JDI Productions has been doing the group's big persona justice on the its current Charming America tour with a lightshow that serves up huge helpings of brightness, colour and sweeping motions.

Unfortunately, the outsized performance of the band and its dazzling lightshow often take place on stages that are decidedly cramped for space. Therrien isn't worried though, because he's been able to conjure up big time lighting impact in even the tightest quarters thanks to some help from Legend moving fixtures from Chauvet Professional.

At every stop on the national Charming America Tour, the LD arranges a group of Legend 412 RGBW moving washes on the dow

Switzerland - Berner Münster was dedicated in the late Middle Ages to St. Vincent of Saragossa, and is the largest and most important late-medieval church in Switzerland. It was built in the Gothic style and was completed in the 19th century. It is recorded in the UNESCO World Heritage list.

Berne-based Kilchenmann AG and distributor GoWild were awarded the contract for renovation of the sound system in the nave. Thirty-three passive Pan Beam PB 8-15 have been installed, chosen for their high speech intelligibility and unobtrusiveness.

The signal processing and distribution are Symetrix DSP's used with Dante modules. In addition to the equalization and time alignment, as well as management of all outputs (speakers, induction loop and recording) all input signals (microphones and players) are controlled mixed and sent to the appropriate destinations by the DSP's.

(Jim Evans)

USA - Broadway's latest hit musical Honeymoon In Vegas opened recently with two TiMax2 SoundHub-S48 audio showcontrol delay-matrix systems supplied with the new TiMax MADI-64 Ultimate MADI Interface port. Staged in New York's Nederlander Theatre, TiMax was specified by co-sound designer Scott Lehrer to provide signal distribution and delay-based on-stage localisation functions.

Channelling the sunshine and excess of the original Sin city, Honeymoon In Vegas was adapted by Andrew Bergman from his 1992 hit movie, complete with its original swinging score. The show originally opened over a year before it reached Broadway and has been chased by rave reviews since day one. The New York Times had it tipped from the start, claiming, "...[the show] has wrestled the neon mirage of its title into the solid, satisfying shape of a classic Broadway musica"l.

Lehrer

USA - Maroon 5 have begun their latest world tour in support of their chart-topping fifth studio album V, with lighting, visuals and stage design by Leroy Bennett.

The massive rig includes eight Robe BMFL Spot and 96 x CycFX 8 moving lights supplied by leading US rental company Upstaging, together with the rest of the lighting and rigging equipment package.

Bennett's creative starting point was that they wanted something totally different. With the distinctive 'V' of the album artwork as a base inspiration, the trussing and set architecture - including 19 (nine each side, one centre) eye-catching cascading Plexiglass columns upstage - was all evolved around the concept of conventional and inverted Vs.

Bennett's objective was also to present a set structure that made a strong statement in its own right, and that could be changed by being lit and textured with video sou

UK - They have been planning the project for two years, and the installation has taken two months, but now pro audio and acoustics consultancy NoiseBoys Technologies, based in Lutterworth, Leicestershire, provided the sound for the arrival of King Richard III at Leicester Cathedral this week, where thousands of visitors will attend services including his reinterment on Thursday.

NoiseBoys won the contract to supply and install the state- of-the-art sound system, after the discovery of King Richards's bones in a car park opposite the Cathedral by archaeologists in 2012, which sparked a massive refurbishment programme, including a complete overhaul of the Cathedral's AV system.

The loudspeakers include Pan Acoustics' unobtrusive Pan Beam steerable column arrays, with JBL CBT 50 columns in the side chapel areas. The control system is BSS Soundweb, and is designed to be very capab

UK - J&C Joel, one of the world's leading manufacturers of flame retardant fabrics and flooring for the entertainment and event industries, is celebrating after being recognised as Yorkshire's best Small/Medium Exporter.

As well as picking up the award at this year's Yorkshire Business Masters awards, J&C Joel has also been 'Made in Britain' accredited, further showing its dedication to providing UK manufactured goods worldwide.

Celebrating the success and achievements of businesses operating across the region, the Yorkshire Business Masters award, organised by TheBusinessDesk.com and presented by the BBC's Damian Johnson at Queen's Hotel in Leeds, further reiterates J&C Joel's global business success.

J&C Joel has been providing bespoke theatre curtains, drapes, canvasses, backdrops and stage engineering services for stage shows, events and exhibitions for more than 35 year

UK - Pixel Projects provided immersive retail solutions for the new Google shop within Currys PC World on Tottenham Court Road, London.

The Google shop-in-shop (SIS) officially launched Thursday 12 March and is selling Android phones, Chromebook laptops, and Chromecast TV service whilst offering visitors the opportunity to try out various interactive AV installations.

To provide a key focal point for the shop, AV integrator Pixel Projects installed a Portal (formally Liquid Galaxy) with software development partners End Point. The large scale panoramic display provides users with a truly immersive experience. Shop visitors can use a joystick mechanism to dive into any point of the earth, land or sea via Google maps.

For budding artists Pixel Projects also installed the Google Doodle wall, in close partnership with Deeplocal. The wall features a digital spray can, allowing us

UK - SGM is continuing to support Backstage Academy, the industry-led education centre in the north of England, in its bid to offer BA (Hons) degree courses within the events industry.

Linked to LS-Live, Europe's biggest production rehearsal arena complex, Backstage Academy's technical director, Gareth Welbourn, says the number of production courses has developed massively over the last four years and today they have 96 students attending them. "We now have a really good set of course modules and these have developed with the help of supporters like SGM."

The relationship between the two parties dates back to the PLASA Focus show in Leeds, several years ago when students helped SGM UK build their exhibition stand. "This got [SGM UK's] Dan Kirby and myself talking about ongoing support in the lighting and show control modules."

Welbourn immediately earmark

UK - One of the most exciting developments in the entertainment industry of the past few years is the demand for musical/theatrical entertainment as a prequel to high profile sporting events. There's little doubt that the Opening and Closing ceremonies for the London 2012 Olympics had a significant influence in popularising these occasions. BAFTA Award winning lighting designer, Tim Routledge has embraced this new genre with some gusto.

"Sports presentation, as it is known, is a fast growing industry with many sports upping their game to create an exciting pre-match experience for the fans, generating a great buzz and building anticipation. I was contacted by the Millennium Stadium, who I have worked with several times before, to create a dynamic light show for the pre-match entertainment at the opening match of the Six Nations Rugby Tournament."

The lighting rig was

Russia - Clay Paky has opened a Clay Paky Service Centre in Moscow, with the task of providing technical support to all CIS and former CIS nations. The office is run by Andrey Miroshnichenko and can count on three highly specialized technicians, who have recently attended an intensive specialization course in product support at Clay Paky. The same technicians will attend regular training courses to make sure customers receive up-to-the-minute expertise and all the necessary information regarding the latest products.

"The Technical Service Centre stocks a wide range of spare parts, purchased from Clay Paky, to ensure rapid competent support. The technicians can travel and provide on-site assistance at the customer's request for Clay Paky products both under and out of warranty," the company says.

The office is coordinated by Slawa Gartung, Clay Paky resident manager f

Germany - Funktion-One distributor, Thöne und Partner, has designed and installed a sound system for a new venue in Hannover. Club Kiste, which is the brainchild of Stefan Schreckenberger and his company ProEvent, offers an intimate clubbing environment for music-led events. Schreckenberger is a well-known promoter with more than 25-years of experience in the industry. Taking over the site once occupied by Club Engel 7, the new venue mixes natural and organic design elements with cutting-edge technology.

Thöne und Partner's Benedikt Koch comments, "We were approached in August 2014 by the owners, who asked us to be part of the planning team - specifically to supply and manage the design and implementation of the Funktion-One sound system. Due to a low ceiling height of 2.60m in certain areas, and the request for high impact and even coverage on the dancefloor, we deci

Hungary - Ayrton's dynamic MagicPanel-R and MagicBlade-R LED lighting fixtures formed key elements in Light Design Kft's lighting of the interactive singing contest Rising Star Hungary, the Grand Finale of which broke all ratings records in February 2015. The competition took place over three months and was broadcast on television networks across Hungary and the neighbouring countries.

The Ayrton fixtures were incorporated into a dazzling set of curved LED walls which displayed video content and abstract imagery throughout the show. Twenty-four MagicPanel-R and twenty-four MagicBlade-R luminaires were rigged between the LED walls where they served as a homogenous surface for video display as well as performing as standard moving head fixtures. Several of the Ayrton fixtures' on-board functions were then used to create a wide range of effects in keeping with the mapping an

Fame Academy - Sir Paul McCartney is to induct former Beatles bandmate Ringo Starr into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Starr is the last of The Beatles receive the musical honour. Sir Paul will usher in the 74-year-old at the 30th annual ceremony at The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum next month. The Beatles are already in the hall as a group, as are John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison as solo artists. Other inductees will include Green Day, Lou Reed and Bill Withers.

Speaking to Rolling Stone magazine, Starr said it meant "recognition" of his work. He added: "And it means, finally, the four of us are in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame even though we were the biggest pop group in the land."

Eagle Joe Walsh will perform some of Starr's music, while Withers' music will be performed by John Legend. It is not known if Withers, who quit

South Africa - Cuono Biviano, the owner of VuePix and also the managing director of the Australian based ULA Group visited DWR Distribution recently.

DWR Distribution is the official distributors of VuePix in South Africa. On his visit Cuono Biviano was able to meet up rental companies MGG Productions, Multi-Media Events, Fogtech, Black Motion and In Harmony Productions.

VuePix screens are becoming the centrepiece of events and the high-resolution screens are built to impress. "It's adding a new dimension to events and for DWR, it's not only about offering our clients a good product, but having the back up from Cuono and his team. That's what really makes the difference," commented Duncan Riley of DWR. " Needless to say, once Cuono's feet touched African soil, we were in for a treat with a lot of laughter and good times in the mix."

"It was an absolu

USA - Founded by former U.S. Navy SEALs, the BattleFrog Obstacle Race Series is an intense obstacle course race for all ages inspired by the challenges Navy SEALs face every day in training. BattleFrog transforms every race venue into a demanding obstacle course designed to test the strength, skill, and determination of any athlete.

On 28 February and 1 March, Miami area participants brave enough to take the challenge gave it their all on the BattleFrog 15K, BullFrog 5K, BullFrog Mile, and TadPole Dash 400M courses. Being able to clearly hear the instructions of the staff and others requires first-rate audio quality and, for this, sound reinforcement technology from Valencia, Spain-based D.A.S. Audio was placed into service.

Edwin 'Haviken Hayes' Guerra is the production coordinator for BattleFrog Series, Miami and director of operations for Kenote Entertainment of Hollywood,

USA - Christmas services this past December never sounded better at Second Baptist Church's 400,000sq.ft West Campus in Houston thanks to a recent audio system upgrade to two DiGiCo SD5 consoles. Installed by local HOW systems integrator Covenant Communications, the new consoles replace a pair of legacy DiGiCo D5 Live FOH and monitor desks for the church's 5,000-seat "in-the-round" worship centre, which also televises its lively services.

Second Baptist Global tech director Mark Sepulveda notes that after seven years of duty, the time had come to retire the previous consoles and make an upgrade. "The SD5s were chosen based on what our team thought were the best overall live audio consoles on the market that continued to give us superior audio with the DiGiCo brand, continued ease of hands-on functionality, easy firmware updates that will continue to add new featur

USA - In Oak Creek, WI, the Oak Creek Assembly of God recently produced the musical A Little Boys Prayer. Set in a small town but with over 200 performers in the show, technical director Nate Turner needed to create a lighting design that could take the congregation somewhere they have never been before. To do this, he needed both multi-faceted and powerful automated fixtures, so he worked with Clearwing Productions who provided him with VL4000 Spot and VL3000 Spot luminaires from Phillips Vari-Lite.

"The VL3500 Spot had been my go-to light for the last couple of years, but when I found out Clearwing had the VL4000 Spots, I was very excited to use them on this show," began Turner. "I first saw the VL4000 Spot at a Clearwing demo and I was immediately impressed by the brightness, but when you add in the extra gobo wheel and the framing shutters, it makes it

Latest Issue. . .

Save
Cookies user preferences
We use cookies to ensure you to get the best experience on our website. If you decline the use of cookies, this website may not function as expected.
Accept all
Decline all
Analytics
Tools used to analyze the data to measure the effectiveness of a website and to understand how it works.
Google Analytics
Accept
Decline
Advertisement
If you accept, the ads on the page will be adapted to your preferences.
Google Ad
Accept
Decline