General

Details

14 March 2016

The format for this year's programme has changed to offer visitors more choice and variety. This year, the sessions will range from Technical Workshops aimed at technicians through to Business Semi

Details

14 March 2016

Previously marketing manager at Tannoy Ltd, Peter Osborne founded the company in 1985, and provides a comprehensive design and production service for both new and old media applications within the pro audio industry. Osborne Creative Services has recently created websites for Audient plc www.audient.co.uk and Stirling Syco www.stirlingsyco.com. Other pa

Details

14 March 2016

Derek enjoyed a long and successful career in audio sales - his extensive product knowledge was paralleled by an enduring personal interest in computing and a garage full of everything you would ever need to fix anything. His years in audio included positions with beyerdynamic, Hayden Labs, ASC (with his famous Skoda company car) and Alice (Soundtech). In 1998, he joined Nagra (GB), where he approached the role of sales and marketing manager with typical self-effacing humour - often adding that he had only himself to manage, which was quite enough!

As a long-standing and active member of the Institute of Broadcast Sound, Derek accepted honorary membership in December 2002 'in recognition of his contribution to broadcast sound over many y

Details

14 March 2016

The new standard specifies the components of glycol and glycerin fog and the ceiling and the time-weighted-average exposure limits for the fogs. The ceiling limits are rationally based on scientific data and are consistent with the ceiling limits that have been specified in many performer union contracts, but the standard goes beyond those contractual limits by also controlling the time-weighted-average levels. It specifies the glycols which can be used in a conforming fog to proscribe irritating, common industrial glycols and ensure that only those gly

Details

14 March 2016

The event starts at 4pm and is followed by a BBQ at 7.30pm, which will be charged at £6.50 per head. All are welcome to attend and lend their support to this popular event. If you are interested in attending please contact Nicky Rowland at Clarion on +44(0)20 7370 8231 (nicky.rowland@plasashow.com) or Simon Curtis at Hayden Laboratories + (0)1753 888447 (simon.curtis@denon.co.uk) for further details and directions.

(Ruth Rossington)

Details

14 March 2016

The Good Employers Award is organized by the Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA) and is promoted by individual local government councillors who nominate their own full-time employers in recognition of being flexible with working arrangements, thereby assisting their employees in carrying out their roles as councillors. Held at Local Government House, in Westminster and sponsored by the Guardian newspaper, the event saw entries from as-far-a-field as South Tyneside and the South Downs.

Speaking about the Good Employers Award, the Rt Hon Gordon Brown MP, Chancellor of the Exchequer, commented: "Councillors have a vital role to play in leadi

Details

14 March 2016

Details

14 March 2016

PLASA will be hosting a special lounge in the Leisure Environments section of this year's LIW. The section focuses on how to create the right environment through design, lighting, sound and vision.

The strategic partnership was born of a mutual dedication to the leisure industry. LIW addresses the full range of needs of the leisure market, attracting decision-makers from across the board, including nightclubs, late-night venue operators, theme parks, themed restaurants, fitness clubs, leisure centres, heritage centres and museums. The audience represents a fertile market for PLASA's members as these visitors all require lighting and sound systems in addition to other environment-enhancing products to meet mounting consumer expectations.

L

Details

14 March 2016

Fametrack Ltd of Perivale (Tel: +44 (0)20 8997 0555) has joined as a corporate member. The company, which is an associate company of full member New Horizons (t/a Direct Imports UK Ltd), distributes pro audio, lighting and visual equipment.

The world-famous Royal Opera House, situated in London's Covent Garden (Tel: +44 (0)20 7212 9261) has joined as an associate member. The ROH is the London home of The Royal Opera and The Royal Ballet, and has one of the most technically advanced facilities in the world.

Freelance sound engineer Danny Schurer (Tel: +44 (0)1243 827915) joins as an associate individual member, as does qualified electrician Andrew Rees (Tel: +44 (0)1269 595 586).

Details

14 March 2016

According to the news report, the large steel grid, on which a substantial amount of technical equipment was rigged, collapsed in the early afternoon during set-up. It also mentions that whilst most people escaped unhurt, three sustained minor injuries. The truss was apparently attached to the Boardwalk's false ceiling which was installed in the venue as part of a recent $90 million upgrade. An investigation is now underway. You can read the full report at the website below.

(Ruth Rossington)

Details

14 March 2016

Clarity specializes in supply and installation of audio, lighting and visual equipment to theatres, schools, churches and leisure centres. Stuart Graham, managing director of Clarity said: "We offer superb technical support and product knowledge to our customers, built upon knowledge gained from spending the last 25 years working in the leisure and entertainment industry, including a period spent working at Leisuretec Distribution as technical sales manager."

Leisuretec's managing director Nick Spalding commented: "It was pure coincidence that our 100,000th cu

Details

14 March 2016

This extended educational platform will examine current trends and issues across the wide range of the industry and provide visitors with the opportunity to broaden their knowledge and learn from the experts. The format has been revised with four different types of sessions - Technical Workshops; Business Seminars; Industry Seminars and Masterclasses.

Many of the sessions are supported by associations, trade bodies and publications and for the first time RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) are also supporting the programme. Their endorsement is clear recognit

Details

14 March 2016

Teams Tool allows anyone to set up a group of people and communicate with at once them from a computer via SMS and e-mail. Important documents can also be shared and uploaded for all team members to view and share, and members can set up and join multiple teams, invite new members and join relevant discussions.

The Tour Guide and Events Module is sch

Details

14 March 2016

Direct links will be established between each company's website (Carlsbro's new website is set to be launched at the beginning of November), which will provide info on venues and dates. Jason Woodcock, Carlsbro's marketing and business development manager, commented: "As part of Carlsbro's on-going commitment to keeping music live, Barfly is a natural partner."

This news follows Carlsbro's recent and continued support of the Xposure television series (first showing Thursd

Details

14 March 2016

The third phase of PLASA's Industry Market Research project is now complete, and for those keen to understand what the future holds for this industry, it offers some interesting insights.

The research pulls together key information about the size, growth and dynamics of the four main industry sectors - lighting, pro audio, staging and AV - as well as a detailed analysis of notable trends.

The findings reveal that the 2002 UK market was estimated to be worth just over £1bn at end-user prices. Breaking this down into the various market sectors, lighting accounts for £217m of that, pro audio for presentation or performance purposes equates to £337m, pro audio for architectural or commercial purposes is £53m, staging turns in £45m, but it's professional AV that delivers the lion's share at £440m.

The Research also con

Details

14 March 2016

The enhancement involves updating existing areas in the Guinness Storehouse as well as designing several new exhibition and hands-on experiences for visitors. Since opening in 2000, Guinness Storehouse has achieved great success, welcoming over 700,000 visitors annually to the Home of Guinness and becoming Ireland's top visitor attraction. Paul Carty, general manager of the Guinness Storehouse,

Details

14 March 2016

US patent number 6,577,080 is a utility patent called 'Lighting Entertainment System' that covers many entertainment and educational applications of Color Kinetics' core technology. The patent covers the use of lighting tracks encoded into any media, including video, radio, CD, broadcasting and networks, as well as the decoding from that media to provide illumination control. For example, a home theatre system might integrate LED-based lights to generate customized effects that correspond with movies or music.

US patent number 6,608,453 is a utility patent called 'M

Details

14 March 2016

The labels are highly durable and engineered for high wear applications. The new process uses a Penn Fabrication dish as a platform for a new laser-etched system. Clients can choose from highly durable natural colour process or colour laminate combinations. Tesa polyacrylic film is temperature stable up to 270°C and complete barcode receptive.

Le Mark can be found at PLASA on stand N49.

(Lee Baldock)

Details

14 March 2016

The industry seminars have been expanded to cover a wide range of topics on current debates including 'Theatrical Fog - Knowing when Enough is Enough' and 'White Lighting versus Colour in Architectural Application'. Conversely the masterclasses will provide a forum for industry experts to share their knowledge. Speakers will include Brough Skingley from English Heritage on 'Lighting Up The Past - the Conflict Between Historical Accuracy and Modern Technology' and Bruce Jackson of Lake Technology on 'Sydney Olympics' Audio Design.'

Details

14 March 2016

Designed and built by Frank Matcham, the venue still retains the original grandeur of its early years. Situated on Shepherd's Bush Green, it opened on 17 August 1903 with its first performers - The Fred Karno Troupe - and continued to provide first-class entertainment with stars of the Music Hall and weekly variety performance and revues, until the 1950s. George Robey 'The Prime Minister of Mirth', Charles Penrose (of 'Laughing Policeman' fame) and George Formby all graced the Empire's stage.

It was sold to the BBC in 1953 and converted into a television theatre with classic shows such as Crackerjack, The Old Grey Whistle Test, That's Life, Hancock and Wogan all transmitted from the venue. (The cloc

Details

14 March 2016

These courses have taken place in a variety of locations, including Bristol, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dublin, as well as at the company's base in Maidstone. The current training programme offers a range of 10 courses, principally covering service and operational skills.

Chris West, Martin UK's head of training, is employed on a full-time basis to organize and run these training courses. When he's not doing that, he's developing new courses to cover the wider variety of educational needs of the company's customers. Over the next year, Ma

Details

14 March 2016

But that's not all. If you work in broadcasting, you might know of Orbital as a specialist provider of broadcast communications systems and expertise. If you're involved with museums, heritage and cultural sites, you may know of the company as a proponent of Sennheiser's guidePORT personal tour guide system: during September Orbital will complete a major guidePORT p

Details

14 March 2016

Pod Bluman, well known for his role in several guerilla projects, doesn't regard guerilla projection as an issue, and he's not alone:

"We rarely get more than half a dozen or so onlookers, so there are never any huge crowds leading to problems. Most of the projections are of a corporate advertising nature anyway, so it's very rare to do anything that is truly controversial." It seems that the Police are fairly indifferent to it as well; despite a major security threat closing Parliament Square and Whitehall, Bluman and his team sat on an empty Westminster Bridge merrily projecting onto the Houses of Parliament without any intervention. "I have been searched under the prevention of terrorism act,

Details

14 March 2016

Activists also halted shooting of the new Jack Nicholson movie in Paris, where riot police also removed demonstrators trying to stop the Rolling Stones concert at the Stade de France.

The catalyst behind the strikes is the French government's decision to change the workings of the unemployment fund for theatre, dance, film and music professionals, which currently takes into account their time-off between shows. The fund is 825 million Euros in deficit and the government is now insisting that benefits