Czech Republic / Qatar - Trussing manufacturer Milos designed, manufactured and built a special trussing exhibition stand system for its client Digital Print Centre, which was supplied to energy multinational Shell for the Doha Natural Gas Conference in Qatar.

Digital Print Centre - with whom Milos has worked on many previous projects - approached them with a basic brief, explains project manager Milan Kolousek. They had a quick turnaround time and needed a fairly complex design to accommodate various graphics and AV displays along with some sound and lighting equipment. Above all, the client wanted a structure that looked aesthetically stunning.

"This was the challenge" says Kolousek, "Our technical department did a good job to deliver all the drawings from a complete blank piece of paper to the final product in so short a time". The initial design also un

UK - The Digidesign Venue live sound environment took centre stage at Earl's Court, as audio production for the star-studded MasterCard BRIT Awards 2008 became an all-digital affair. Derrick Zieba, the show's sound designer for the past 20 years, shuffled the artists' riders and commandeered full proprietary digital mixing setups for the show's Glam and Punk Stages.

Working with MJK Productions, Zieba had been one of the front-runners in nudging the BRIT Awards live television show into the digital age six years ago, and once again it was left to Britannia Row Productions to fulfill the exacting control and PA requirements.

With Paul McCartney headlining on the Punk Stage (and picking up the BRIT Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music), Zieba had little hesitation in specifying a Digidesign Venue system - the digital desk of choice for McCartney's (aka "Macca&

USA - Nordstrom, one of America's leading fashion specialty retailers, recently turned to lighting designer and programmer Mike Casale for a spectacular visual display for their Annual Men's Fashion Show on Chicago's trendy Michigan Avenue. Casale employed Intelligent Lighting Creations (ILC) to bring his vision to life.

Using Martin's new LC Series panels and Maxedia media server, both Casale and ILC were able to create an atmosphere that would complement the designs while garnering the crowd's full attention.

"The LC Series panels provided an excellent backdrop for the runway and stage area," said Bob Moisan of Intelligent Lighting Creations. "The output of the LED's was tremendous and created an exciting event for the audience as well as the production crew."

(Jim Evans)

UK - An Avolites Diamond 4 has been in control of lighting for the latest UK leg of The Editors world tour, featuring a design by Bryan Leitch, with the show being operated by Chris Steel.

The End Has A Start tour has been ongoing since 2007, and the basic concept of a very contemporary lighting and video show design is modified and morphed slightly between legs as the venue sizes also vary. The UK leg played a selection of arenas, theatre and concert halls.

Running off the D4 were a variety of moving lights and generics positioned on four overhead trusses - a straight front truss, two mid trusses running diagonally along the sides and a back truss that flew in and out to reveal the screen at the appropriate moments.

The core moving lights were 16 SGM Giotto 400 Spot CYMs, six Giotto Wash 400s and 12 Martin Professional MAC 2K Washes distributed between the front and

UK - Scattered Media has published visitor figures for its inaugural networking forum, EvenTech Scotland 2008. Confirmed first-show attendance reached 520 visitors across the two-day event - 4% up on original predictions - which took place in Glasgow's Marriot Hotel in February.

Scattered Media director, Darren Brechin, commented: "We are confident in the EvenTech model and these figures back up our extensive research. We created a small and intimate networking forum, based around exhibiting companies and a networking evening - where real and focussed business discussions would take place, unhurried, within the decision makers' region, with solid and lasting relationships forged for the future."

Exhibitors at the event expressed satisfaction with the calibre of attendees the regional forum attracted, with 97% stating that the quality of visitors had met or sur

The Netherlands - Integrated Systems Events has opened its own operations office in Amsterdam. The hiring of a full-time operations team brings to an end ISE's four-year working relationship with Congrex, which had handled ISE's event management since 2005.

Mike Blackman, managing director of Integrated Systems Events, comments: "With our main Integrated Systems Europe show in Amsterdam breaking all exhibitor and attendee records this year, and further expansion inevitable, we felt it was time to bring the functions previously performed by Congrex in-house, so that they can be carried out by a dedicated team."

ISE's new Amsterdam team will be headed up by Martine Niermans, who becomes operations director. Niermans has worked for Amsterdam's RAI Convention Centre as an event co-ordinator for four years, and was the venue's ISE Account Manager when the show first came

USA - Atlas Sound and IED have joined the NSCA Education Foundation as host sponsors of the Systems Integration Industry Charity Golf Tournament. The Foundation's popular golf tournament will take place during InfoComm 08 on 17 June at Rhodes Ranch Golf Course in Las Vegas.

"I am happy to join forces with Infocomm and the NSCA Education Foundation to support the Industry Charity Golf Tournament, hosted by Atlas Sound and IED," said Loyd Ivey, CEO of Atlas Sound/IED. "We can tee up a striking event for two great causes, industry education and juvenile diabetes. Both of these causes are very dear to my heart. I look forward to everyone coming out and playing their best round of golf ever, for these two important needs."

"The NSCA Foundation is extremely excited to have Atlas Sound/IED as the host sponsor for this year's event," said Tom Frericks, pr

UK - Reproduced Sound 24 - Immersive Audio, organised by the Electroacoustics group of the Institute of Acoustics in collaboration with ABTT, AES, APRS & ISCE, takes place 21-22 November 2008 at the Barceló Brighton Old Ship Hotel.

"Following on from the very successful conference held at The Sage, Gateshead in November of last year, the Reproduced Sound Conference returns to a hotel base this year, emphasizing the comfortable networking for which it is known. Brighton has all the ingredients for a successful conference and is easy to get to," says a spokesman.

"Reproduced Sound is a great opportunity for people with an interest in electro-acoustics and pro audio to come together, share ideas, push forward new concepts and technologies and meet with fellow industry professionals and talk about subjects close to our hearts. We propose to continue the trad

USA - NSCA's slate of regional project management classes - including Project Management for Owners, Estimating of Systems Projects, and Advanced Project Management - will be taught in Anaheim, California, late April and early May 2008.

"We have been very impressed by NSCA's resources. We didn't have anyone with project management skills," said Dan Boylan, president of Southern Business Communications. "We were very impressed with Nadim. We contracted through NSCA to have him come down (and do training) and we tailored it to our business."

"Our project management classes are always popular," says senior director of professional development Norah Hammond. "You come away with skills you can put to immediate use, saving you precious company time and money."

(Jim Evans)

USA - Taking a leadership role in bringing together people who design and build theatre spaces, J. R. Clancy, Inc., is a Silver Sponsor of the 2008 North American Theatre, Engineering and Architecture Conference (NATEAC). The conference is scheduled for Sunday, July 20 and Monday, July 21 in New York City.

Directed by Bill Sapsis of Sapsis Rigging, NATEAC will take place at the Michael Schimmel Center for the Arts at Pace University in downtown Manhattan. Tom Young, vice-president of marketing for J. R. Clancy, serves on the NATEAC advisory board and understands the importance of establishing a dialogue between architects, consultants, engineers and manufacturers who build new theatres and renovate existing performance spaces.

"Theatre design and construction have become more complex than ever, with the onset of digital technology, automated control systems and dynamic ne

UK - The Theatres Trust's Annual Conference takes place on 10 June 2008 at the Cottesloe Theatre in London where theatre owners and managers, manufacturers, suppliers and consultant, architects and engineers, will be invited to debate the impact of climate change on theatre buildings and what influence the reduction of our carbon footprint will have on theatre use in the 21st Century.

The implication of new legislation to reduce carbon emissions being introduced through Climate Change, Energy and Planning Bills will be addressed by the Rt Hon Margaret Hodge MBE MP, Minister for Culture, and Peter Head, director, planning and integrated urbanism, Arup in opening and closing contributions.

From the theatre world, the carbon comfort work in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre's Transformation Project will be covered by Peter Wilson, its project director, along with Stephen Jolly of Bur

Dubai - Prolyte Products Group will officially launch its Middle East sales office at the PALME exhibition (Dubai, 27-29 April).

In response to growing market opportunities, Prolyte decided last year to open a sales office which could accommodate this market from within. "This market requires special attention and, above all, service and material should be offered at close range. Customers want their support and products to be delivered fast. A large stock of Prolyte products is now locally available", states account manager Henry Schuil

CEO Fokko Smeding comments: "The Gulf region and Dubai in particular is developing at a massively fast pace. There is a strong need for our products, in permanent installations as well as for a range of local events. Both the event market and the entertainment market are expanding fast. Behind the scenes we worked hard to get th

The Netherlands - After detailed consultation with exhibitors and with Amsterdam's RAI convention centre, the organisers of Integrated Systems Europe are to remodel next year's show. The move follows increased demand for stand space.

"Quite simply, we had no alternative but to change our layout," comments Mike Blackman, managing director, Integrated Systems Events. "Even by taking the whole of Hall 7 at the back of the RAI, we would have sold out of space within a matter of weeks. With another 10 months to go before our 2009 event, we have acted quickly to ensure that all our exhibitors have plenty of opportunity to familiarise themselves with the new layout, and can prepare for it accordingly."

The new layout sees ISE abandoning the rearmost Halls 6 and 7 of the RAI. Instead, the show will occupy Halls 9, 10 and 11, which are at the front of the convention

Czech Republic - Trussing manufacturer Milos staged a successful two-day international technical workshop to highlight its key products and services, and its facility near Prague.

It was attended by 50 people who travelled from across Europe, including Italy, Sweden, Germany, the UK, Ireland, Croatia, Slovenia, Spain and Belarus among others.

The event included a demonstration of building the new Milos MR5 Roof system - its largest roof product to date - which has been specially designed to cater for indoor and outdoor events needing substantial stages with plenty of space and weight-loading.

A team from hoist manufacturers Columbus McKinnon in the US presented a seminar on CM Lodestar Motors. This featured a selection of standard Lodestar hoists and a hands-on demonstration of how they work with the MR5 system, illustrating the safe use of hoists in this and other situation

UK - The first exhibitors have already committed to next year's Showlight which takes place at BBC Scotland's headquarters in Glasgow, from 16-19 May 2009. Martin Professional, the main sponsor for the event, was first to sign up, followed by ETC, Gerriets, MA Lighting, Pixel Range, Rainbow Colour Changers, Robe UK, Robert Juliat and Selecon Europe.

Mark Ravenhill, vice-president for television and theatre lighting at Martin Professional, says, "Showlight has emerged as one of the most important events for lighting professionals, an invaluable asset to the ongoing development of the industry. It is exceptionally fruitful for us as it provides the opportunity for real two-way dialogue."

(Jim Evans)

UK - At London's Royal Opera House, Britannia Row Productions' Outline Butterfly was the front-of-house system for sound reinforcement for the BAFTA ceremony, the UKequivalent of the Oscars, awarded annually to personalities from the cinema and television world since 1947.

To ensure audio coverage for the audience, 20 Outline Butterfly C.D.H. 483 Hi-Packs and four Subtech 218 were flown (respectively ten and two per side), the latter for the ultra-low frequencies. Six more Butterfly C.D.H. 483 were used as ground-stacked systems.

The entire system was controlled by a Dolby Lake processor and powered by Outline's new T Nine digital power amplifiers (2 x 4800W on 2 Ohms). The FOH engineer for the event was Derrick Zeiba.

(Jim Evans)

UK - The Association of British Theatre Technician's ABTT Theatre Show is gearing up to celebrate its 30th birthday in London's Royal Horticultural Halls, 11-12 June 2008.

Many new innovations on the lighting front will be showcased this year with an emphasis on energy efficiency in line with the Theatres Trust conference on sustainable theatres to be held on 10 June.

Selecon will showcase its new 80V Power Supply with direct DMX control.

ETC will highlight products that offer low cost of ownership and sustainable solutions. PRG Europe will highlight its products and services.

Zero 88 will demonstrate its new version 3 software for its Leap Frog 48 & 96 consoles. Its Jester ML series will be showcased.

Stage Electrics will premiere the QMaxz 575 moving head, which offers cost effectivity and high performance as the latest addition to its expansive rental fleet, says the

UK - PLASA Events has announced the official launch of the first PLASA Focus event, to be held in the Saviles Hall of the Royal Armouries in Leeds, on Tuesday 28 and Wednesday 29 April 2009.

PLASA Focus - Leeds 2009, the successor to the A.C. Lighting North trade show, will be the first of an entirely new style of regional event under the PLASA Focus banner, with an emphasis on connecting the industry with exceptional networking opportunities.

It will be the perfect regional networking complement to the PLASA Show itself and will build on both the growing success of the redesigned and expanded PLASA Show and the legacy of goodwill created by A.C. Lighting North.

Taking the 'look and feel' of the latter as its basis, PLASA Focus - Leeds 2009 will see an expansion and development in many areas, including exhibitor space and seminar sessions, alongside partnerships with regiona

USA - The third annual Behind the Scenes Tony Awards Party is set for Sunday, 15 June in New York City. The event brings together the shops that work on Broadway and the companies that supply them for "a terrific evening of schmoozing, food and drink, and cheering for their Tony-nominated shows".

Fred Gallo of PRG Scenic Technologies, one of the organizers of the evening, says: "Those of us that work on Broadway rarely get the time to catch up with friends, colleagues, and co-workers outside the pressures of getting the show up. The Tony Party offers a great opportunity to see each other, celebrate what we're doing, spend some down-time together, and at the same time provide important help to our colleagues in need. What could be better?"

The 2008 Behind the Scenes Tony Awards party will be held on 15 June 7pm to 11pm at Cibo restaurant, 767 Second Avenue b

UK - The Association of British Theatre Technician's ABTT Theatre Show is gearing up to celebrate its 30th birthday in London's Royal Horticultural Halls, from 11-12 June 2008. The ABTT Theatre Show's organizers report that many new technical innovations will be showcased this year.

HD Pro Audio is exhibiting for the first time: the company is the UK distributor for Optocore's fibre optic audio and data networking system, is also a main dealer for the Digidesign Venue Console and Yamaha' s Commercial Audio range. Sound Associates will launch two new additions in line with DDA requirements. Their new 3-channel tourguide system is ideal for theatres offering audio description or simultaneous translation. Its licence-free operation makes it cost-effective and it is offered with a range of microphones and headsets. Also on display is a 2-channel infra-red system that offers an enhan

UK - The Association of British Theatre Technician's ABTT Theatre Show is approaching its 30th anniversary event in London's Royal Horticultural Halls, 11-12 June 2008.Many new innovations on the lighting front will be showcased this year with an emphasis on energy efficiency in line with the Theatres Trust conference on sustainable theatres to be held on 10 June. Selecon will showcase its new 80V power supply with direct DMX control removes the need for any dimming products. When combined with the Philips 80V 100W energy saving lamp it delivers the appearance of 2kW of white light from the Pacific range or the Rama 175 high performance Fresnel.

ETC will also highlight products that offer low cost of ownership and sustainable solutions. Its highly efficient Source Fours will be on display. These fixtures are currently being deployed in Hackney's Arcola theatre being powered by a

Singapore - Visitors to evenTech Singapore (Singapore Expo from 25 - 26 June, 2008) can expect an informative and tailored educational programme of seminars across the two-day format, alongside the trade exhibition and social networking functions, say the organizers. Exhibitors and sponsors of the inaugural event include DAS Audio, d&b audiotechnik, Audio Technica and ProAktiv Systems.

Darren Brechin, Scattered Media director and evenTech co-creator, states: "AV equipment suppliers in south-east Asia and AV manufacturers from around the world had requested an event of this type for this area. In a region where the market is currently very strong, it is clear Singapore was lacking a networking event dedicated to this niche sector."

(Jim Evans)

Dubai - PALME Middle East 2008 closed with a record-breaking 8,600 visitors, representing a 22% increase over the 2007 event, say the organisers. The sixth PALME Middle East show ran from 27-29 April at the Dubai International Exhibition Centre. This year's event has set new records not only in terms of the number of exhibitors (272 exhibitors, representing over 800 companies and brands) but the amount of exhibition space sold and the number of visitors.

"We registered 1,500 more visitors this year than we did last year, clearly highlighting the industry growth and underlining Dubai as the entertainment capital of the Middle East. With five exhibition halls covering 20,000sq.m, PALME has real 'pulling power' and is now firmly established as the world's largest events' industry showcase," commented Neil Hickman, group exhibitions director of event organisers IIR Exhibit

UK - Clay Paky has announce the nominations for the 'Knights of Illumination' Lighting Design Awards that are to be awarded in association with the ALD and the STLD at the annual ABTT dinner in London on 11 June 2008.

The awards are being suppored by Clay Paky to recognise the UK's outstanding contribution to live performance and television. The awards are unique in honouring work across such a wide range of music, theatre, opera, dance and television.

Theatre nominees (Dance)

• Lucy Carter for Chroma at the ROH and her work with Random Dance. Her work was remarkable for the quality of light that added so much to the staging.

• Tim Mitchell for Hamlet for the Northern Ballet Theatre. His work was cited for its taste and restraint when so much was going on in the piece.

• Katharine Williams for I am Falling at the Gate theatre fo

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