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The Week in Lighting & Sound

Details: 14 December 2016

Rich Tapestry - West End show Beautiful - The Carole King Musical has extended its run at the Aldwych Theatre until July 2017. The show, based on the life of singer-songwriter King, was previously booking until November this year. The musical opened in the West End in February 2015, winning two Olivier awards for performers Katie Brayben and Lorna Want.

Going Underground - London's 24-hour Tube service could see some West End shows abandon their traditional 7.30pm start times, the Society of London Theatre has claimed. SOLT chief executive Julian Bird said the introduction of a 24-hour Tube service in London, which begins this weekend, would present "significant opportunities" for the theatre sector. He hinted that the 24-hour service, operating on Fridays and Saturdays, could see shows abandoning the traditional 7.30pm start time in favour of a later curtain-up.

Star Events celebrates 40th birthday

Details: 14 December 2016

UK - Star Events turns 40 today, 26 August 2016, with its commitment to invention, safety and best practice the key to all the candles on the birthday cake.

Founded by Roger Barrett and Maddy Sheals as touring sound specialist Star Hire, the company's first contract, in 1976, was with singer/songwriter Carol Grimes. Star went on to provide for the likes of Split Enz, the Rock Against Racism tour of 1979 and Miles Davis in a similar capacity.

Star Hire stages made their debut at Notting Hill Carnival 1983, Barrett, and Sheals who retired in 2014, determined they could make a better, safer job of it than the platforms then available to them as a PA supplier.

Later the same decade, Star formalised its interest in improving standards, writing a technical safety guide for the National Outdoor Events Association (NOEA). Star Mobile platforms were patented in 1989 and the Ver

The Week in Lighting & Sound

Details: 14 December 2016

Called to the Bar - Fans of Motorhead frontman Lemmy raised more than $22,000 (£16,600) for a life-size statue at his favourite bar in Los Angeles. Dozens of fans turned out to see the unveiling of the 6ft bronze sculpture that will immortalise him at the Rainbow Bar and Grill on West Hollywood's Sunset Strip. Cheryl Keuleman and Motorhead's long-time manager Todd Singerman were among those who paid tribute to Stoke-born singer who died in December. Singerman, who managed Motorhead from 1992 until the group disbanded after Lemmy's death, said he thought the Ace of Spades singer would have been "extremely proud" of his statue.

It's for You - A long-lost demo disc recorded by Paul McCartney that was given to Cilla Black has sold for £18,000 at auction, the Beatles expert who found it has said. Black, who died in 2015, had a UK top 10 hit in 1964 with It's f

GearSource Europe relocates

Details: 14 December 2016

UK - GearSource Europe has completed the relocation of its European office to the historic Horton Kirby Paper Mills in South Darenth, UK.

The office and warehouse functions are now located in what was once known as Building 25 in the original 1820's mill complex - in the shadow of the Grade II listed chimney, a local landmark alongside the railway viaduct, that spans the delightful Darent Valley.

"The increase in space provides better warehousing facilities, offering greater diversity in the type and quantity of equipment we can stock to serve our clients - our previous location was unable to handle the growth we have experienced," said managing director, Garry Nelsson. "And the new location, situated just off the M20 and M25, makes access easy."

GearSource Europe's new address is: The Studio at the Mill, Esparto Way, South Darenth, Kent, DA4 9FF, UK.

(Jim Evans)

The Week in Lighting & Sound

Details: 14 December 2016

Through The Past Darkly - The Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) is hoping to replicate the success of its David Bowie exhibition with a major retrospective of Pink Floyd. The Pink Floyd Exhibition: Their Mortal Remains, marking 50 years since the release of the band's first single, will include a laser light show and previously unseen concert footage. The "immersive" show will feature 350 objects and artefacts, including instruments and original artworks. It will run from May to October 2017.

The V&A promised "an immersive, multi-sensory and theatrical journey through Pink Floyd's extraordinary world" which will "chronicle the music, iconic visuals and staging of the band, from the underground psychedelic scene in 1960s London to the present day". The exhibition will also include items from stage performances, as well as instruments, handwritten lyrics, architectural drawings a

PLASA 2016 announces further educational sessions

Details: 14 December 2016

UK - As the PLASA show consolidates its position as one of the premier events in the international tradeshow calendar, it is pleased to announce the last of its free-to-attend educational sessions.

Completing this year's educational and informative offering, are Sound Design for Olympic Ceremonies - Lessons Learnt, The art of creating impactful artist performances, Investigating the Intangible - When Lighting & Sound Interact, Apprenticeships - A new approach to employer-led schemes, AV Installation Strategy for Venue Owners and Inventing The Future: The Story of the National Theatre's Lightboard.

Scott Willsallen has been one of the leading audio designers for major international and outdoor events since 2004 and has been involved in the majority of the Olympic Ceremonies since then. In Sound Design for Olympic Ceremonies - Les

Show Technology opens in New Zealand

Details: 14 December 2016

New Zealand - Tuesday 30 August 2016 was a significant date in the 26- year history of Show Technology.

The date was the official opening of the Show Technology New Zealand office in Auckland with managing director Emmanuel Ziino welcomed officially onto the land in a P?whiri - a M?ori welcoming ceremony involving speeches, dancing, and singing performed by a local school 'Kapa Haka' group. The P?whiri concluded with a Hongi, a traditional M?ori greeting done by pressing one's nose and forehead (at the same time) to another person at an encounter.

"It was an absolute honour to be welcomed onto the land by their chief," commented Emmanuel. "The P?whiri welcomed us (the owners) and our guests (the future users) during a dedication of the building."

The evening was an industry event attended by invited guests who make up the cream of the professional lighting industry in

New venue for Behind the Scenes Happy Hour

Details: 14 December 2016

USA - ESTA's Behind the Scenes Happy Hour returns for its third year as the biggest pre-LDI party in a new location at the Embassy Suites Las Vegas (3600 Paradise Road). Tickets are on sale for the event on Thursday, 20 October from 6pm-8pm. Advance tickets are $60 a person at behindthescenescharity.com/btshh, and tickets will be available at the door for $75 a person.

The Behind the Scenes Happy Hour features an open bar, hors d'oeuvres and music with all proceeds going to benefit the Behind the Scenes charity, the only industry charity that provides grants to ill or injured entertainment technician professionals. Since its beginning in 2014, the Behind the Scenes Happy Hour has raised over $120,000 in sponsorships and ticket sales.

A limited number of sponsorship opportunities are still available. Interested sponsors are encouraged to find out more information by visitin

Theatres Trust releases At Risk Register

Details: 14 December 2016

UK - Theatres Trust has revealed the 36 theatres at most risk across the UK, and Trustee Dara

The Week in Lighting & Sound

Details: 14 December 2016

Fighting Talk - Culture minister Matt Hancock has pledged to improve access to the creative industries and build a stronger relationship between technology and culture, as he sets out his main priorities for the role. Hancock, who succeeded Ed Vaizey in the position in July, also said he would fight to ensure government support for arts and culture in his first keynote speech as minister.

Delivered in front of an audience of creative industry professionals, Hancock used his first speech to set out his three main priorities, which he described as "backing success, access and synthesis". After praising the creative industries as "absolutely central to our post-Brexit future", Hancock said he would "fight to ensure that the creative and digital industries are at the heart of this government's industrial strategy." The minister went on to pledge that creative sector tax reliefs wo

A Summer's Tale with Gravity

Details: 14 December 2016

Germany - A Summer's Tale proved worthy of its name. For the event, which is nestled in an idyllic forest and moor landscape presented much more than "just" a top-class music programme from 10-13 August. The cultural summer fairy tale south of Hamburg also included yoga, cooking, dancing, acting, canoeing, slackline balancing and many more activities. "Try out things in beautiful nature" is part of creative happenings organisers' festival philosophy.

This philosophy also extends to the top-class music programme. On several stages, around 12,000 visitors enjoyed shows from international stars spanning several different music genres. The festival's highlights included shows by Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, Garbage, Amy McDonald, Nada Surf, Sigur R

BTS announces Fred Foster Scholarship Fund

Details: 14 December 2016

USA - The Behind the Scenes Foundation has announced the Fred Foster Scholarship Fund. Board members had long been seeking a way to honour Fred's innumerable contributions to our industry and, in particular, his unwavering support of the charity since its inception.

The purpose of the fund is to assist the children of Behind the Scenes grant recipients with continuing their education which may otherwise be in jeopardy due to their family's current financial situation. BTS frequently assists individuals whose children are unable to remain in school because the family can no longer afford tuition.

The BTS Grants Review Committee will be responsible for identifying appropriate candidates from among the families of grant recipients and awarding the scholarships which may be used for any accredited post-secondary education program or vocational training.

Rick Rudolph, chair

Knight of Illumination Awards 2016 winners

Details: 14 December 2016

UK - Lighting and video content design ceremony Knight of Illumination Awards (KOI) announced the winners of the 9th edition during a prestigious ceremony at London's Eventim Apollo, Hammersmith on Sunday 18 September.

The well-attended ceremony saw almost 500 professionals come together to celebrate the achievements of lighting and video designers working on shows across the UK.

The event was hosted by Australian actor, television presenter and comedian Mark Little. The winners have been revealed as:

THEATRE

The ETC Award for Dance: Michael Hulls for Conceal | Reveal, Russell Maliphant Company, Sadler's Wells

The Hawthorn Award for Musicals: Mark Henderson for Sunset Boulevard, English National Opera

The Robert Juliat Award for Opera: Joachim Klein for Saul, Glyndebourne Festival

The Elation Professional Award for Plays: Jan

The Week

Details: 14 December 2016

Challenges & Opportunities - MPs have launched an inquiry into the impact Brexit is likely to have on the arts. The culture, media and sport committee said its inquiry would examine the "challenges and opportunities" that leaving the European Union would bring. In particular, it is looking at whether the creative sector will be able to "attract and retain talent" across the world when the UK leaves the EU as a result of June's referendum, and whether "onerous visa requirements" could see a drop in the number of people coming to the UK after Brexit.

The inquiry will also examine what impact the loss of EU funding could have on the sector and whether the government would replace these funds. News of the inquiry follows concerns raised within the arts that Brexit will have negative consequences for the sector.

Last week, former Ambassador Theatre Group chief executive Rosemar

Airstar balloons at Festival de Cine de Lima

Details: 14 December 2016

Peru - Light4Brands, the exclusive dealer of Airstar lighting solutions in Peru, deployed several lighting balloons for the 20th edition of the Festival de Cine de Lima, which took place at the Gran Teatro Nacional del Peru from 5-13 August 2016.

For the fourth time in a row, Light4Brands (L4B) was selected to manage the lighting for the festival red carpet. The Airstar lighting inventory was made up of two 90cm wide Crystal balloons, flanked on both corners of the theatre building and a pair of three-metre-high air ventilated Towair cylinder towers, placed on the top of the stairs to welcome the lucky few during the show nights. To complete the lighting of the event, an impressive three-metre-wide, helium inflated, Lunix LED balloon was anchored and proudly displayed the event logo 15 metres high.

The Lima Film Festival is the most important cinema event in the country an

Tightrope signage at La Crosse Regional Airport

Details: 14 December 2016

USA - To keep time-pressured travellers fully informed, the La Crosse Regional Airport in Wisconsin recently deployed a Carousel digital signage network from Tightrope Media Systems consisting of more than 50 custom displays strategically situated throughout the passenger terminal, including check-in and baggage claim areas.

The network is an integral part of a $14.2m infrastructure upgrade; importantly, Carousel Digital Signage Software also drives airport revenue generation through advertising initiatives.

The varied digital signage displays-including a large, welcoming video wall and two interactive touchscreen kiosks-give travellers just-in-time information about flights, arrivals, departures, gates, security, television, digital marketing and local ads, as well as news, weather and other real-time data feeds. The flexibility of Carousel network, in conjunction with Br

The Week

Details: 14 December 2016

Remains of the Day - The remains of the theatre where Shakespeare's Hamlet was first performed has been granted legal protection by the government. Archeological remains of the Theatre, which dates back to 1576, have been added to the National Heritage List for England, alongside the ruins of another Elizabethan playhouse near London's Bankside. Shakespeare and his acting troupe, the Lord Chamberlain's Company, were strongly associated with the Theatre - the remains of which were discovered in Hackney in 2008. Scholars believe Hamlet was performed for the first time at the venue in 1595, and it is also thought to be where Marlowe's Doctor Faustus was first staged.

The Hope playhouse - which doubled as a theatre and bear-baiting pit - has also received legal protection as a historic site. Close to both the Globe and Rose theatres when it was first built, th

sE Electronics triple launch in Los Angeles

Details: 14 December 2016

USA - For this year's AES Show in Los Angeles, sE Electronics is introducing the X1 A, a new entry point to their X1 Series designed to be the best-in-class offering on the market for home recordists and bringing the heritage of the X1 Series to an expanded user base worldwide.

On the live sound front, sE has also announced a pair of dynamic microphones - a first for the company, known primarily for their industry standard Reflexion Filters and hand-crafted condensers. According to sE, the new V7 supercardioid dynamic and V3 cardioid dynamic offer "exceptionally low handling noise, a more natural sound, and higher gain before feedback than other mics in their class".

The X1 A utilizes a newly-developed acoustic design with a carefully selected condenser capsule, low noise electronics, an integrated windscreen, and a gold-plated XLR connector. Just like the acclaimed X1 con

Rupert Neve Designs debuts Shelford Channel

Details: 14 December 2016

USA - New for AES 2016, Rupert Neve Designs has announced the Shelford Channel.

The Shelford Channel is built around Rupert Neve's first new transformer-gain, class A mic preamp in over 40 years. This new preamp design is complemented by the "best-of-the-classics" 1073- and 1064-inspired inductor EQ section from Rupert Neve Designs' existing Shelford 5051 and 5052 modules, a bold and powerful new diode bridge compressor inspired by the 2254 with additional functionality, a new dual-tap transformer output with high- and low-headroom outputs, variable Silk/Texture transformer saturation, and twice the operating voltage of Rupert Neve's vintage modules.

Says the company, "For decades, Rupert has often been asked to create a new design based around the same mic pre, EQ and compressor technologies that comprised his classic console modules. With the Shelford Channel, he and his

Successful launch for the Analog Way Academy

Details: 14 December 2016

USA - Analog Way has been named an official InfoComm International Renewal Unit (RU) Provider. This will allow thousands of professionals who hold InfoComm International's Certified Technology Specialist credentials to earn renewal units toward their certification by completing Analog Way training programmes.

Certification Programmes for LiveCoreTM series of premium AV video processors, including Ascender, NeXtage and SmartMatriX Ultra units, and Vertige Premium Show Controller, can now be completed for RUs.

Both Certified Technology Specialists (CTS) and the specialized designation Design (CTS-D) will get 12 RUs when training for LiveCoreTM and nine RUs for VertigeTM . Analog Way has always been committed to helping customers become experts of the brand.

Training AV professionals is part of Analog Way's main commitment which resulted in the creation of Analog Way Acad

SL Live in the mix with the Pope in Mexico

Details: 14 December 2016

Mexico - During a recent week-long tour of Mexico, Pope Francis addressed record audiences at five venues around the country, accompanied by SSL Live L500 and L300 consoles in a variety of roles.

Miguel Angel Tapia Trujillo was the Front of House engineer at the Parque Chamizal in Ciudad Ju

Powersoft helps boost Bardentreffen's island theme

Details: 14 December 2016

Germany - Powersoft's flagship amplifiers were out in force recently at the annual Bardentreffen Festival in Nuremberg - one of a number of successful deployments around the world during the busy festival system.

For the second consecutive year, Powersoft partner Barowski AG provided sound reinforcement for the main stage, situated on the Hauptmarkt in front of the city's main town hall, bidding successfully for the contract, issued by organisers, the City of Nuremberg.

Billed as "Germany's largest world music festival", and attracting more than 200,000 visitors over the three days, for its 41st edition, Bardentreffen focused on a variety of music from around the globe under the theme Sounds of the Islands.

Barowski AG had first fielded their X8 racks for the 2015 edition, but according to Michael Barowski, chairman of the board, they increased their inventory for this

Elation Cuepix Panels go mad in Madrid

Details: 14 December 2016

Spain - Mad Cool Festival is a new rock and pop music festival in Spain that debuted 16-18 June at the Caja Magica tennis grounds in Madrid. With a line-up that included Neil Young, The Who and The Prodigy, and a three-day attendance that topped 100,000, Mad Cool is off to an impressive start.

Madrid-based PRG Spain was responsible for the audiovisual production for the festival's three main stages and incorporated Elation Professional's Cuepix Panel LED matrices into the design for Stage Three, a 10,000-capacity stage located inside the main tennis court arena.

"The Mad Cool Festival has been one of our biggest productions this summer with 98 staff from PRG Spain, one full day of set-up and another of lighting, video and sound rehearsals prior to the three days of concerts," said PRG's Francisco 'Pako' Palazon, head of production and lighting design for the three main sta

The Week in Lighting & Sound

Details: 14 December 2016

Crucial Opportunities - Policymakers in the UK and China are being called upon to exploit possibilities for cultural collaboration, as part of a report claiming "crucial opportunities" exist for both countries. The report, published by the Department for International Trade and cultural organisation BOP Consulting, claims that the immediate aftermath of the Brexit vote has moved collaborations with non-European countries such as China further up the UK's agenda.

However, fostering short-term or profit-led relationships are unlikely to succeed, the report argues, highlighting the emphasis should be on building a long-term, sustained collaboration between the two nations. Recent projects to build collaborations between the UK and China have included a Chinese-language production of War Horse, produced by the National Theatre of China in collaboration with the UK's National Theat

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