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14 March 2016

This year marks the sixth year that some of the theatre industry's biggest movers and shakers zoom together for a weekend aimed at raising awareness and much-needed funds to help TTG support Backstage and FOH staff in need. Established in 1891, TTG is dedicated to looking after theatre personnel who, due to a variety of circumstances need welfare advice, counselling, educational sponsorship and many other forms of help.

The charity has many supporters in the industry, including Dara O'Briain who is also a Trustee of The Theatres Trust.

Taking place between 3rd and 6th July, this year's route starts in Scarborough and visits the Spa Theatre & Grand Hall and The Stephen Joseph Thea

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14 March 2016

Olympic Achievement - The International Olympic Committee will receive an award at IBC2015 for its work on conserving and managing its audiovisual archives. The awar

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14 March 2016

"We were approached by creative director Dan Shipton and the BBC Eurovision team to help make Electro Velvet stand out during this year's performances," says Bryn Williams, creative director of Light Initiative.

Working alongside costume designer Frank Strachan and his costume maker Natascha Stolle, the team incorporated 20,000 video-mapped LEDs into the outfits with 5,500 on singer Bianca's dress alone. Unlike many incarnations of this idea seen in the past, the costume team's clever design 'seamlessly' assimilated the LED into the costumes, along with the fabric, glittering sequins and tassels, with no detriment to the overall aesthetic.

"It was of paramount importance that the costumes be beautiful," says Williams. "

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14 March 2016

Working to a Theatre Plan specification Audio Light Systems installed a Slingco grid, BJ Designs suspension systems, Doughty Engineering IWBs & facility panels, ETC lanterns, Christie projectors, Zero 88 control and dimmers, Yamaha & EM acoustics sound equipment among other manufacturers.

"This is a truly impressive and well thought-out space, that has come together very well. The ability of Audio Light Systems to install the entire technical infrastructure really helps with synergy of a space like this," says Trevor Cross MD Audio light Systems.

(Jim Evans)

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14 March 2016

AV distributor and installer Sound Solution was engaged to provide suitably reliable and robust audio processing and distribution for Amway Plaza Gangseo, covering multiple seminar rooms and conference spaces. "The principal requirement for this project was to create an optimal acoustical environment by high quality digital audio processing, and it was this need that led us to consider the use of DSPs from Symetrix - a brand that we have used successfully on

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14 March 2016

The new studio in Le Marais District of Paris is also the base for two respected acoustic designers who have joined Theatre Projects Paris.

Seb Jouan Victoria and Chavez Thielemann will work with the rest of Theatre Projects' consultants on theatre design projects internationally. They will also provide standalone acoustic design services to architects designing sophisticated performance and entertainment spaces.

They are already working on several projects including the new Yves Saint-Laurent museum in Marrakech, the new Abu Dhabi District Lyric Theatre, the Weltmuseum in Vienna, The Casino de Paris and Folies Bergères in Paris, the next

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14 March 2016

Having recently purchased a Hippotizer V4 Karst media server, Vortex Events will be putting it to the test immediately on the John Peel stage at Glastonbury this coming week.

Matt Gourd, "We looked at many different media servers and having used a wide range onsite for events, it was easy to see that the V4 range was one step ahead in many ways. These include the value for money and great support they offer. The Karst will help us realise some complicated mapping projects and visualise them at the design stage. This means we can easily translat

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14 March 2016

Following his sold out UK tour in November and December, taking in venues such as London's Brixton Academy and Manchester's O2 Apollo, Howard completed a successful UK arena tour in April, with three nights at London's Alexandra Palace, Birmingham's NIA, Glasgow's SSE Hydro and Cardiff's Motorpoint Arena on the schedule.

The team at Nitelites met with tour production manager Chris Pollard, and it was agreed that an L-Acoustics K2 system would satisfy the criteria for nearly all the venues on the December tour.

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14 March 2016

Stanton uses shifting pockets of light to follow the action from scene to scene, defining rooms of different shapes and sizes as furniture appears and disappears through a complex series of traps. Using an ETC Eos Ti lighting desk, programmer Alex Fogel built a low-res pixel map encompassing the whole stage, with each lighting area as a separate pixel. By applying a gradient to the intensity parameter of the area lights, he was able to smoothly drag focus around the playing area,

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14 March 2016

This avant-garde piece followed Maniutiu's minimalist style, using very little scenery to create a provocative production. Under Maniutiu's direction, lighting designer Martha Carter and scenic designer Morgan Price brought this story to life. Carter used Martin Professional's atmospheric effects to play on the audience's emotions as the titular character battles through her story. They used UCI's existing JEM Glaciator X-Stream and paired it with a JEM Ready 365 hazer which Martin loaned to the students to help fill out their production.

The initial planning started with only a 15-page script and notes from Maniutiu to have minimal scenery. While Carter and Price had their work

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14 March 2016

For the Fox Broadcasting Company this meant renting the historic Beacon Theatre on Broadway, and bringing in a bevy of stars like Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny of The X-Files fame, Lea Michele, Jamie Lee Curtis, and a musical performance by the award-winning cast of Empire, Jennifer Hudson and dancers from the cast of Grease Live! to entertain guests. Adding a dramatic visual element to the high-profile proceedings were two giant video screens set off by the striking light of over 60 Nexus 4x4 panels from Chauvet Professional.

Lighting designers James Schipper and Rachel Miller of Kinetic Lighting (Los Angeles) worked with scenic designer Anton Goss t

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14 March 2016

The show sees The Jetty, which formerly served as a coal-unloading point for Blackwall Point Power Station, transformed into a purpose built structure which allows audience members to check into what is a unique experience.

Prior to the recent popularity of immersive theatre productions, White Light had already established strong working relationships with companies such as Punchdrunk. Their most recent project, the co-production with the National Maritime Museum entitled Aga

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14 March 2016

Adlib was awarded the contract for the new £10m MMU SU Building, which is situated adjacent to the Union's Salutation pub, based on their design recommendations, and the relationship that has developed since the company first started supporting MMU with equipment rental and sales.

Overseen by Adlib's Ian Nelson, the design concept is aimed to maximise multiple use of a building involving a bar, multipurpose entertainment space, admin offices, a shop, café and conferencing facilities. The system will cater for student union events, from comedy and club nights though to conferences and exhibitions, and be able to cope with numerous room layou

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14 March 2016

"Almost every piece of scenery in this show uses wireless dimming, along with several props, most of which have multiple fixtures requiring wireless dimming," says Brian Maiuri, production electrician at the American Airlines Theatre. "And the show's main scenic element is a life-sized train automated on a free spinning turtle that transports the train up and downstage as well as left to right. Th

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14 March 2016

"This is a large, multi-phase project," explained Eric Evans, sales engineer at Audio Associates. "Most of the system is up and running, but as the work expands to other floors and other areas, we will be installing more

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14 March 2016

Incorporating the latest advances in display technology, MMD - the leading technology company and brand license partner for Philips Signage Solutions - delivers first-class picture performance along with practical design and convenient features for both integrators and end users, such as SmartPower, SmartControl, FailOver and Clinical D-Image proprietary innovations available across models in the range.

The signage line-up includes the entry-level Q-line featuring eco-friendly SmartPower functionality for power consumption savings of up to 50%; the E-line with FailOver backup and SmartControl technologies for future-proof conn

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14 March 2016

The restoration of the listed building - once home to the Winterslag mine's working ponies - has been a three-year labour of love by Painting with Light founder and CEO Luc Peumans, working together with local architect Ruben Hermans. It also represents completion of the final element of Stage 1 of the wider C-MINE project -- led by Genk City Council - to regenerate the site of the former mine which is right at the heart of Genk's rich industrial heritage.

Says Luc, one of the best known show and lighting and multimedia designers in Benelux, "I was delighted with just how many people came to the event to share an incredibly proud moment in the company

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14 March 2016

The company is owned by Yossi Bendavid - popularly known as Zak Zak which means talkative - and Shlomi Auitani. The pair worked together at a previous company for several years and then set up Koltech seven years ago.

Koltech initially specialised in supplying technical solutions to theatre and opera productions. Their reputation soon spread along with their operational scope, and they quickly found themselves supplying concerts, outdoor festivals and a whole range of corporate and business events as well as arts projects.

They decided to invest in Robe for the first time in 2011, purchasing MMX Spots.

They already knew of the brand and its reputation from a couple of sources

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14 March 2016

The loudspeaker manufacturer's latest development is having a positive impact on owners, operators and their clientele. Company founder, Tony Andrews, reveals, "Funktion-One's continuous quest for fidelity has led to a breakthrough in cone stabilisation, almost eliminating diaphragm breakup and its associated non-linear acoustic behaviour."

All four venues are united by their focus on sound quality. Owner of Cielo and Output, Nicolas Matar, highlights: "Output and Cielo are 100% driven by audio quality and are renown worldwide as such."

Beta's executive direct

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14 March 2016

Designed to work in a standard 48V phantom power environment, the d:dicate 4041-SP offers a totally transparent audio path with a low noise floor. With a one-inch diaphragm, this microphone is the largest product in DPA's extensive range.

Nigel Woodford, owner and founder of Richmond Film Services, says: "I bought the DPA d:dicate 4041-SP to satisfy a request from a customer who wanted to use it for Foley work. It was teamed with a Nagra Seven recorder, which has sufficiently high quality mic pre-amps to do it justice. Apart from Foley work, I can see a future for it in capturing vocals, particularly in the studio, where its low noise floor and very high SPL handling, will make it a very popular choice.&quo

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14 March 2016

Working with production company Electric Ray and set designer Julian Healey, Aurora has provided a full service installation to the extensive studio lighting set up at Farnborough Five.

In keeping with the dry heat of the show's Morocco based location adventures, LD Gurdip Mahal has bathed the set in a desert glow created using a blend of MAC Viper Profiles, MAC Auras plus Vari-Lites VL3500 and VL2000 that mirror the arid on screen conditions.

Adding to both the vibrancy and versatility of the lighting design, Martin Viper Performances and Rush PARS are mixed with Sunstrips and Shapeshifters whilst Super Nova Flowers, Sharpys and Source Fours take care of highlights and keying.

Julian Healey and Gurdip Mahal have previously

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14 March 2016

The tour included several arena shows and was the largest to date for the rising stars who originally met via You Tube around 2012, as well as the first for Global Live, the new 'live' division of Ashley Tabor's UK-based Global Entertainment - and a co-promotion with AEG Live

The Vamps stage / set and video design was evolved by the tour's technical director Iain Whitehead (Production North) and lighting designer Peter Barnes, and included 145sq.m of XL Video's ROE Visual MC-7T LED screen. The lively IMAG mix was cut by Dan Ormerod, and video was a major part of the overall aesthetic that made the show and its presentation exciting, interesting and enjoyable to watch.

Video screens were the mo

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14 March 2016

Chesney kicked off the tour at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena with guests Grace Potter, Taylor Swift, Uncle Kracker, Dave Lee Murphy and Joe Walsh. A four-time Country Music Association and four consecutive Academy of Country Music Entertainer of the Year, Chesney has always worked to make sure his production is as cutting edge as possible.

Production and lighting designer Mike Swinford says the look of the tour is "very typical" of Kenny Chesney's road shows. "It's a relatively simple design that's big and bold," he says. "Ke

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14 March 2016

From the Robert Juliat range of followspots, Aurora picked 'Victor', an 1800W discharge spot and 'Alex', a 2000/2500W tungsten model, both from the compact range. Both these units were chosen primarily for their excellent illumination properties, however Robert Juliat has an enviable pedigree in developing products specifically for the television and event markets in which Aurora specialise and the practical, compact styling of these followspots also proved an important feature.

"To purchase a sizeable number of Clay Paky Mythos from Ambersphere was an easy decision for us to make" says Aurora managing director Nick Edwards, "The beam power delivered from such a compact unit is