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Video and AV

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Italy’s longest-running TV event, the annual five-day Sanremo Festival of Italian Song, now in its 52nd year, featured a stage set with one of the largest video screens ever seen in Europe. Produced by state-owned broadcaster RAI, artists included Michael Bolton, The Cranberries, Destiny’s Child, Alicia Keys, Kylie Minogue, Alanis Morissette and Britney Spears.

The high-technology show featured an all-digital fibre optic linked audio set-up using a Stagetec Cantus/Nexus control system and a JBL Vertec PA. For the first time, the show’s set was designed around an LED screen, with no less than three Lighthouse LVP1010 screens. Stefano Montesi, RAI’s technical head at Sanremo, says the idea for the LED screens was set designer Gaetano Castelli’s. They were supplied by Eurovideo, a Lighthouse rental partner based in Casarsa Della Delizia, who also handled inst

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Creative Technology North America provided display technology, screens and technical expertise for the recent 74th Annual Academy Awards ceremony, better known as the Oscars. ABC aired the live event nationwide to an international audience of approximately one billion viewers.

Creative Technology was responsible for an impressive quantity of display devices including large scale projection equipment, screens, LED panels and plasma displays. Using a total of 14 Digital Projection and 11 Christie Digital projectors, CT displayed the evening’s images onto a variety of screen sizes and shapes. For the extremely bright ‘Best Picture’ screen, CT utilised Digital Projection technology, including two 15 SX and one 25 SX projected onto a 16ft x 29ft Stewart screen. The ‘Cinerama’ screen consisted of a massive 18ft x 72ft Stewart Aeroview 100 screen that was masked

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The Avesco Group has secured a major contract to supply AV services to Manchester 2002, for this year’s Commonwealth Games events. Negotiated by Group Business Development Director, Dave Crump, it will become one of the largest single projects ever undertaken by Avesco, and has earned the company the status of ‘Official Provider of Audio Visual Services to the Manchester 2002 XVII Commonwealth Games.’

Few UK companies have the resources to be able to service such a wide range of venues and sporting activities simultaneously, and Dave Crump confirmed that the implementation should require participation from almost every company within the Group - notably Screenco, MCL Manchester and Dimension Audio. Crump himself will be co-ordinating the overall project as well as the Screenco activity, while Jamie McAffer will be project managing for MCL Manchester and Mark Boden for

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Conventionally, sponsors at the Royal Opera House have a physical corporate presence at the venue. But in a complete break with tradition on April 4, Audi became the first sponsor to light the outside of the building with its corporate brand at a performance of the ballet Giselle, with Darcey Bussell dancing the title role.

In addition to lighting the exterior of the Royal Opera House, two Audi cars, one a vintage 1930s model and the second, the latest A4 convertible, were also on display. In support, Fourth Phase London and DHA Lighting joined forces with Pandemonium Events to make sure the evening was a success. To light the two cars Fourth Phase London used Source Four Pars and a Source Four profile. The cars were lit in open white, whilst the profile was equipped with a DHA monochrome gobo and projected the famous Audi rings onto the pavement between the cars. Two Mac 500s, also f

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Adam Hall Ltd, one of Europe’s largest suppliers of flight-case fittings, has just announced the release of an addition to its ‘Astroboard’ range of panel materials. ‘Astrodiamondboard’ has been the result of ongoing research and development work on modern lightweight flightcase panel materials. The research is proving to be a major benefit to the flightcase industry, allowing it to expand into many other areas where it has been essential that protection cases must be of the lightest materials possible. 7mm brown ‘Astrodiamondboard’ is now available off the shelf.

(Ruth Rossington)

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The first of the Dixons Group’s ElectroWorld stores in Budapest recently opened its doors. To impart the core ‘value for money’ message effectively and dynamically, the store uses a 10m2 Lighthouse LVP1010 (10mm pixel pitch) LED screen installed above the home cinema section of the store. The screen sits directly above a room that has been designated for customers to sample these high-end consumer products.

"Originally, the store was going to use a combination of conventional projectors and projector cubes," says Lighthouse’s Dave Gunn. "But once they saw the brightness of LED screen, they were bowled over by its dramatic effect, which also meant that they would not have to reduce the levels of ambient light in that part of the store, which would have been the case with projection."

Lighthouse has developed a number of strategic alliances w

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BarcoEvents receives orders for over 5000 square feet (450 square meters) of its award-winning LED displays during the first quarter of 2002, posting a growth of over 50% over the same period last year. The division, one of the fastest growing within the Barco group, boasts several substantial orders this year, including orders by US-based wholesale rental giant VER (Video Equipment Rentals), multi-national event engineering companies PSL Group (USA & UK), the Avesco Group’s Screenco & Creative Technology (USA & UK), as well as VPS (France), Imag -Video (USA) and AV Teknik (Sweden). BarcoEvents has already received LED orders in excess of US$25 million during the first quarter of this year.

According to industry market research data, BarcoEvents counted over 60% market share (by value) of the total global LED rental market during 2001. The recently-released growth figures indicat

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A new multi-storey themed café bar in London’s chic Mayfair area, Café Grand Prix has been developed by a consortium of Monaco-based financiers at a cost of nearly £10million. Now London’s largest bar and restaurant, it takes its style and name from the famous venue located on the legendary Rascasse bend at the Monaco Grand Prix race circuit in Monte Carlo.

Onyx Projects were asked by architects Smith Caradoc-Hodgkins (SCH) to design an integrated AV solution after the two companies had worked together on developing the Rainforest Café concept. There are three individually styled restaurants contained within the vast 22,000sq.ft footprint on the site for the former Thomas Cook head office - occupying the ground floor and two basement levels. The feature area - La Rascasse Restaurant - is a large, 170-cover banqueting room, which is also available for corporate functions

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Show Presentation Services (SPS) has just completed a number of events for children's charities, including the Microsoft NSPCC Ball, Scene and Heard's fundraising event, the Rhys Daniels' Trust Valentines Ball and the Children of Achievement awards, all of which took place in London.

Microsoft corporate social responsibility manager Sarah Foxall commented: "SPS was able to proactively think through the difficult issues presented by the event, and come up with solutions that allowed us to put on a great evening for our guests. With the generous support of our suppliers like SPS the Microsoft Charity Ball has been able to raise over £360,000 for the NSPCC over the last eight years." Ray Lowton, SPS's head of sound, said: "We try to make these events as painless for charities as possible. Working with charities is always rewarding and we like to feel that we can find time

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Westlife kicked off their ‘World of Our Own’ global tour in Europe with a spectacular lighting rig supplied by Bandit Lites and video expertise from XL Video. By the end of the European leg of the tour in June alone, Westlife will have played to nearly a million people, and the tour is destined to be one of the most successful and high profile of the year.

The lighting design was a collaboration between the show's technical director Phay MacMahon and LD Barry Halpin. MacMahon also designed the stunning in-the-round stage and set (both on the ground and in the air). With in-the-round being the most challenging of live performance perspectives, MacMahon and Halpin have created a breathtaking show full of drama and surprise. Bandit Lites - who also supplied Westlife's first tour last year - mustered over 120 moving lights - including 45 Martin MAC 2000s, 40 MAC 600s, 20 MAC 50

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Harnessing two decades of projection engineering know-how, Christie has announced the launch of its new line of single-chip SXGA DLP rear-screen tiling projection systems - the CS70-500Xe stackable display cube and the RPMS-500Xe rear projection module.

Both projection systems are engineered and manufactured at Christie’s IS09001 registered facility and are designed for applications where high reliability, long-term performance and stability are critical. The CS70-500Xe stackable cube displays native SXGA (1280x1024) resolution across a 70in diagonal high-contrast, high-gain screen, manufactured also by Christie. The depth of the CS70-500Xe is only 34". Using a 500W CERMAX Xenon user-replaceable lamp, the CS70-500Xe projects over 700 cd/m2 (nits) ANSI brightness. The double speed, six-segment colour wheel ensures long life and high reliability.

The RPMS-500Xe is the rear

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XL Video is supplying chart toppers Muse with video equipment including a Catalyst playback system for the next 17 weeks. This is believed to be the first European tour for Catalyst. Muse’s video system utilises High End Systems’ revolutionary Catalyst image processing system, two Barco G10 ELM projectors and a rear cyc.

Muse’s creative designer Oli Metcalfe was so impressed with the demonstration organised by XL Video’s Des Fallon that he immediately recommended Catalyst to the Band. They then visited High End’s Ealing office, and were blown away with the system’s capabilities. XL’s Mark Hughes is rigging the system, and Metcalf is controlling the Catalyst via DMX from his Wholehog II (with extender wing) console. Metcalf is running a wide assortment of video clips and media via the Catalyst including stunning abstract patterns, water effects,

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Wybron has revealed the latest development for its Autopilot II: automated camera control. The company's popular control system, created to turn regular moving lights into automated followspots, now also allows a camera to follow moving objects or people automatically.

First demonstrated at PLASA 2001, where visitors to Wybron's stand could see themselves captured on a camera controlled by the Autopilot II, the system should prove invaluable to smaller television or film production companies, where staff are at a minimum. Easily operated, a transmitter carried by a presenter or actor sends out signals to receivers, which are connected to the Autopilot II controller. Mounted onto a moveable platform controlled by the Autopilot II software, a camera will then follow the person carrying the transmitter, ensuring they're kept in the frame. The Autopilot II was used with High End Technobeam

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Winner of the 2001 LDI Award for Product of the Year Scenic Effects, and 2001 Eddy Award Lighting Product of the Year, Rosco’s ImagePro is now being launched across Europe. Already hugely successful in America, the ImagePro offers an easy, inexpensive solution for projecting photographic quality images, from the iris slot of an ETC Source Four, Altman Shakespeare, Strand SL or Selecon Pacific lighting fixture.

Projections have already proven to add individuality and effectiveness to an exhibition stand, theatrical production, conference, product launch or film/television production. Anywhere that a temporary projection may be needed is where the flexibility of ImagePro will be indispensable. The image is created on a plastic iPro slide with full colour high quality images printed on high temperature plastic. Rosco has hundreds of images available for immediate use, catalogued on

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Imagine the challenge of producing an event where your six star performers each weigh seven tons and are four metres high, three metres wide and up to 10 metres long. This was the task facing One Box Productions when launching ERF’s new range of trucks at Telford International Centre on 24 April.

The launch, to ERF’s dealer network and key customers, was particularly important because it is the first time ERF trucks have incorporated cabs developed by their parent company MAN. For One Box managing director David Langdon and his team, the challenge was to develop a show concept that would communicate the company’s heritage, the driver benefits of the new range and allow a large-scale product reveal. The solution was a dramatic AV presentation projected onto a 40ft high, 130-degree arc of drapes. This was delivered using Blitz Vision’s Suite P system and an array

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Roy Lamb has been Bryan Adams’ production manager for the past three years, ever since Val Dauksts finally decided to wave the road goodbye.

Lamb, himself a contemporary of Dauksts, is rumoured to stick at the job for the love of rock ‘n’ roll and the huge variety of golf courses this career affords him. Which just leaves Adams himself - why does he keep doing it? "This tour has been running pretty much continuously since ‘98, two weeks on, two weeks off," said LD Mac Mosier. "He just loves touring. He said it to the crowd at the last show - I don’t have an album out, I’m not promoting anything, I just enjoy being here."

Beyond my own personal like for the artists’ song writing and his live performance, this proved heartening news. As with Travis, which I’d seen the week before, I polled the audience; for a middle a

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Christie projectors have been used by Lucasfilm Ltd for the production, post-production and (commencing May 16) the exhibition of Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones - the first all-digital major motion picture.

In 1999, Christie signed a three-year agreement to supply Lucasfilm with the latest projection equipment to meet its production needs. Christie projectors were first used by Lucasfilm in the post-production of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, and were used even more extensively for Attack of the Clones. With the decision to shoot Episode II digitally, Christie projectors played an important role in the production of the movie as Lucasfilm took a Christie projector on location to Australia to review daily footage. In the final post-production phase conducted at Industrial Light & Magic, a division of Lucas Digital Ltd, the filmmakers used a Christie Digital Cinema

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Navigator Systems Ltd have come up with a solution which will ensure that companies who own ‘demo’ stock achieve the best possible return on their investment. Following several months of discussions with sales representatives, Navigator discovered that for some keeping track of the ‘demo’ stock had turned into a logistical nightmare. Items such as mixing desks, projectors, plasma screens and lighting consoles had either been forgotten or simply gone missing.

By adding several new features to its rental management software system RentalDesk, Navigator Systems have now made it possible to search quickly and easily for the ‘First Available Date’ for the ‘demo’ item required. Thus, if a company requests a mixing desk for a five-day period in June, the sales rep can check whether it’s available for that period and if it isn't, give the

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Screenco have purchased an opening stock of Barco’s DLite 10 tiles - primarily for use in the new £32m Manchester Aquatics Centre for the upcoming Commonwealth Games swimming events. The 144-tile order will give them a maximum 30sq.m presentation area, which will be split into three separate displays. Screenco also purchased additional rental structures to allow greater flexibility in creating non-standard shapes.

In view of the humidity in the pool, one of the recommendations made by Screenco was the need for displays to be rated to IP65 for dust and water protection, as confirmed by Graham Andrews, Avesco plc Audio Visual Services Division managing director. "We chose the D10 on its price versus performance ratio and its IP65 front and rear characteristics, which make it ideal for the high degree of outdoor arena and stadium work in which we specialize."

(Ruth Ross

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CT NEC supplied a wide array of AV equipment to over 80 stands at the recent IPEX print exhibition at the Birmingham NEC. The most notable of these was the Xerox stand, produced by PGI, which covered 65,000sq.ft of the venue. Both CT NEC and CT London provided video technology, hardware, software, installation and manpower to the stand throughout the nine-day event.

PGI - who have offices in 30 cities across the world - offer business-to-business communication, exhibition and trade show services and destination management, and have been working with Creative Technology for over three years. A purpose-built theatre, which ran demonstration shows eight times each day, required three remote control cameras and four lipstick cameras which were placed on the new Xerox DocuColor iGen3 in the theatre and at various other places around the Xerox stand. Throughout each show, presenters were abl

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London-based sound, lighting and video installation and consultancy company, Live Business International, has just added a new member to its team and re-united the duo that ran the sound at the Millennium Dome.

Almost a year to the day after completing his contract at Greenwich, Gerry Logue has joined technical director Roland Hemming to become Live Business International’s technical project manager. Hemming comments: "I’ve been trying to get Gerry on board for ages, but distractions such as his consultancy for the Commonwealth Games and work managing a large video conferencing project have prevented us from working together until now. I'm glad he has finally seen the light and come home."

During his 20-year career, Gerry has established himself as one of the best audio-visual project managers in the industry. He coordinated the sound at Madame Tussauds and Rock

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E//T//C UK, the large format projection specialists, created magic at King's Cross Station last week, as Platform 1 was transformed into Platform 9 ¾ for the launch of the Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone DVD/video. Copies of the coveted DVD arrived onboard the Hogwarts Express, and were handed out to eagerly awaiting Harry Potter fans by members of the top grossing film’s cast.

When the idea of projection was thrown into the production mix, E//T//C’s Ross Ashton was approached by Chris Slingsby and Dave Hurd from Imagination. The platform was already decided upon, and then they needed over 100 different cross-fading images projected, large and clear, onto the wall at the end of the platform. The images were to be projected onto an arched projection surface, custom designed by Harkness Hall, attached to the wall at the station end of the platform. Since the r

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Lighthouse, designer, manufacturer and installer of giant LED video screens, has recently appointed David Thilwind as project sales manager for the Asia Pacific market. David will be responsible for a variety of areas including major project sales, sales promotion to both end users and architects, technical sales support for regional system integrators and project management.

David joins Lighthouse from Pilkington Micronics Ltd, where he spent three years as regional sales manager and brings with him a wealth of knowledge of the region and its markets. His past projects include Hong Kong Airport, Kuala Lumpur Airport, the LG Kangnam Tower in Seoul SK, the Peak Tram Redevelopment in Hong Kong, Café Deco in Hong Kong, Hong Kong Jockey Club and the South China Morning Post building in Tai Po (Hong Kong), and while in the LCD field he also worked with the likes of Philips, Variatronix, Ye

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Unitek’s new Activ Banner system delivered an impressive performance at its inaugural race meeting at Chester. Installed and operated by event display specialists ADI Group, two Activ banner systems were used to display announcements, race results and sponsors’ messages at the May Vase Day event, televised by Channel 4 Racing.

This is the first time Unitek’s Activ Banner system has been used at a UK horse racing event: based around Unitek’s industry standard LED display cabinets, the low-profile, banner format displays can be installed quickly and easily, virtually anywhere. The Activ system allows real-time textual information, announcements, graphics and animations to be displayed with pin-sharp clarity and in vivid true colour, even in strong direct sunlight.

The fully weatherproof displays are controlled by a dedicated processor and Unitek’s Activ-8

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