UK - The Theatrical Guild (TTG) is delighted to announce that it is exhibiting for the second year running at the forthcoming ABTT Theatre Show 14th-15th June 2006.

The Theatrical Guild is the only registered charity in the UK providing help and support to anyone who works or has worked Backstage or Front of House, be it general staff or management.

Offering an extremely valuable service, TTG gives financial aid to those who are unable to work due to illness, accidents or to those who have retired.

Karen Nichols, Chief Administrator, explained: "We found exhibiting at The ABTT Theatre Show enormously worthwhile. It gave us the opportunity to meet with theatre professionals from around the country. It was invaluable meeting face to face and being able to let them know that The Theatrical Guild exists and explain how our charity can make a dramatic difference should they

USA - Design & Drafting, manufacturer of LD Assistant, is celebrating its 20th year as a leading developer of CAD solutions for the entertainment lighting and event planning markets. The company says it has "both survived and prospered in the past 20 years", adding: "In the theatrical and entertainment lighting design market, Design & Drafting has been able to consistently lead the field with new and innovative CAD solutions that offers more features and ease of use to its users."

Chicago Stage Equipment DBA Design & Drafting Software was established in 1986 by founder and CEO, Rufus W. Warren III, when he identified a niche in the entertainment lighting market - the need for an easy-to-use CAD solution for entertainment lighting design, presentation, installation and event planning. The company's flagship program, LD Assistant, has evolved over the years to

UK - SPS has recently adopted an account-team organisational structure. "In doing this, it is our goal to better support our clients; to work more efficiently; and to improve the way we communicate," said MD Robin Coles.

The new structure will see an account director head-up each account team - supported by a team of account managers, project managers and technical crew. The teams are responsible for a shortlist of key clients with whom close working relationships can be developed and built upon. Closer working relationships will allow teams to better anticipate client needs, to be proactive, and to provide cost effective, intelligent solutions.

"It's a very positive, customer focussed move that will also benefit all of our people. Everyone is very excited about the changes to our way of working, and the advantages it offers at many levels," said Coles.

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Slovakia - Martin Professional's Maxedia Digital Media Composer is seeing service on an ever broader variety of shows and events. It is also being specified in an ever expanding number of geographic markets. In Slovakia, Martin distributor Adam A Syn has incorporated the user friendly digital media server into several shows and events of late, mostly for Slovakian television.

For Zlaty Slavik (Golden Nightingale), a singing competition that airs on Slovakian channel STV 1, Adam A Syn technicians Michal Brna and Dusan Rybar programmed the Maxedia to manipulate - divide, rotate and fly - a series of images for an LED videowall. Dagmar Pastorkova of Adam A Syn commented: "We use the Maxedia because of the variety of unique visual effects it is capable of creating through image manipulation. Nobody else can offer such diverse imagery here in Slovakia. For Zlaty Slavik

UK - Stagetec Distribution has supplied a Compulite Vector Lite (Orange) control system and Hippotizer Stage media server to BBC Studios, part of BBC Resources Ltd, in London for the current production of Davina, the mid-week BBC1 talk show.

The Vector is used to control five Clay Paky Stage Zooms, 49 Martin Mac 500, 20 Martin Mac 600s, six Vari*Lite VL1000, two Vari*Lite VL2416, two sets of Pulsar ChromaStrips and the Hippotizer media server.

The VL1000s are the key lights for the chat area and band, with two of the 500s as back lights on the chat area. The 600s colour the upper set and stairs and the Zooms put gobos on the set behind the chat area. The remaining 500s are used for the band.

The Hippotizer is run in dual output mode - one output feeds the big LED screen hanging above the band, the second output feeds five projectors on the floor, rear projecting on to

UK - The Professional Lighting and Sound Association (PLASA) has launched the first in a new suite of financial services designed to help member companies protect themselves against the risk of bad debts and to assist them in trading competitively in the growing global market.

The three new services - free credit checks, credit insurance facilities and a debt collection service - have been launched to minimise the risks involved in trading with particular customers and enable members to make more informed decisions.

PLASA Members can now request free credit checks on all UK companies. The service, provided by CreditSafe, allows members to request Reports on clients or business contacts. Updated on a daily basis, the Reports include financial information, key ratios, trend analysis, directors' details, payment record and a rating system classifying companies on a scale from 0 t

USA - XL Touring Video is presently touring with Korn as video contractor for the band's See You On The Other Side - 2006 world tour.

XLTV collaborated with the artist and management to provide custom made 19' x 18' electric roll down screens, which provided removable projection surfaces for the six SLM Barco R12 projectors. Christian Lamb was brought in to provide content, which was programmed on Doremi hard drives.

"It was the most amazing content I'd ever seen," says XLTV's' President, John Wiseman, "it fits like a glove".

Touring on behalf of XLTV is Engineer, Rob McShane and projectionist, Mike Green.

(Sarah Rushton-Read)

UK - Audio Visual Systems Ltd has recently designed, supplied and installed a state of the art media delivery system into the Shire Hall Gallery, Market Square, Stafford. The brief was to ensure that it would not impinge on the contemporary atmosphere of the gallery or the grade two listed interior.

The company installed 48 FeONIC audio drives under the existing oak floor, driven by a special audio matrix system, which provides up to 24 separate and yet invisible zones of high quality audio delivery and public address.

Audio Visual Systems' managing director, Tony Flynn states: "Use of the FeONIC product has enabled us to provide a 21st century solution in a 19th century environment. The FeONIC Floor product is in my professional opinion the most architecturally sympathetic audio solution we have ever applied and I can think of no other product that is in any way a close

UK - XL Video is supplying the multi-screen projection, playback and video hardware for the acclaimed production of Sinatra that opened at the London Palladium last week.

XL tendered for and won the contract on the strength of their previous West End work including Women In White. Theatre and arts expert, Malcolm Mellows, is handling the project for them. XL is working with video designers Scharff & Weisberg, who initially designed the system for the New York production at Radio City Music Hall.

Video is central to the show, and is divided into three main display device types: There are 70 tiles of Barco I-6 LED making up two downstage moving slabs of video, whilst upstage is 3630 clusters of Barco MiPix in custom fibre optic star effect frames. All LED is supplied complete with Barco D320 processing; and custom remote diagnostics. Finally, projections come from

USA - British company Pharos Communications, a developer of software architecture for broadcast process management, will introduce five new systems to the US market at this year's NAB exhibition, which takes place in Las Vegas from 24-27 April 2006.

The new items are the Mediator Enterprise media asset manager system; the Exception alarm monitoring system; the Reflection browse system; the Transcoder file converter; and the Rewrapper MPEG2 processor.

Mediator Enterprise has been developed from the Mediator media management system and integrates media asset management, browsing and workflow control. It can perform automated ingest and transfer, automated transcoding and low-resolution previewing under Web browser control. According to the company, it has a greatly expanded ability to link disparate systems, to audit library content bookings and tape movements, and to handle the

UK - XL Video has made another major investment - in the latest Lighthouse R16 indoor/outdoor LED screen, from Lighthouse Technologies Ltd. This next generation of LED screen combines high brightness, wide viewing angles and a uniform, superior picture quality, with custom rigging hardware and packaging which is lightweight and quick to rig. The purchase is part of XL's ongoing policy to ensure the most appropriate technology is always available from hire stock.

One hundred square metres of R16 went straight out on the Michael Flatley's Celtic Tiger tour (video director "Moose" Ray Shaw) in North America, and comes to Europe in April. The majority of this tour is back-to-back shows, where the quick and easy rigging of the screens is essential. The R16 will be a massive benefit to the tight daily schedule.

A further 75sq.m of R16 caters for current UK demand, i

UK - Metropolis AV has completed its latest, fully integrated sound, lighting and AV design and installation for the Sports Café brand - in Newcastle. It's Metropolis's fifth complete Sports Café project and is proving one of the busiest venues.

Once again Metropolis has chosen hard wearing good quality brands including HK and JBL audio, Robe moving lights, LightProcessor lighting control and Alcon McBride and Kramer video switching. Project manager Shane Winterbourne says: "Although there are specific elements common to all Sorts Cafes, each building and installation is completely different, and each has its own set of challenges"

Metropolis's Sports Café projects are always technology driven. Immediately guests walk in the entrance doors, eyes are drawn to the wall of twelve 15 inch TFT screens behind the reception desk. Two HK Audio IL 8.2 ful

Hong Kong - Telegatti is one of the most important awards events in the Italian performing arts calendar. Organised by Sorrisi e Canzoni TV magazine, with votes cast by its readers, the 2006 event took place on 22 January in the Auditorio di Via della Conciliazione, Rome - the Vatican auditorium. Being organised by a television magazine, the visuals for the awards event are all-important, and Lighthouse LED screens were chosen to provide the look that the organisers required.

In total, five Lighthouse screens were deployed. One - formed of 21x2 R6 6mm panels - was arranged in a circle, hung from the lighting grid, while two more were positioned either side of the stage, each comprising 4x13 panels of R6 screen.

Providing a memorable backdrop to the stage itself were two large Lighthouse R10 screens, formed from 103 panels each and curving in an arc from the centre of the stage

Taiwan - Visualization leader Barco has announced that it has won its first digital cinema project in Taiwan continuing a string of successes in digital cinema in the Far East.

Barco in partnership with Linfair Engineering & Trading Ltd. won the order to supply its leading DP100 2K digital cinema projectors. In choosing Barco, Ambassador Theatres Company were able to successfully complete their project in a relatively short time frame.

Barco has achieved over 85% market share within the digital cinema sector in mainland China and Hong Kong over the last 3 years, hence Barco is widely considered the region's leading digital cinema centre of competence.

Mr. Duncan Zhang, Chairman of Linfair says: "We are delighted to work with Barco because their excellent technology, quality support, and operational excellence. We are very impressed by Barco's determination and commitmen

UK- The Professional Lighting and Sound Association (PLASA) has lent its name to a lobbying campaign intended to encourage the Government to rethink its proposals to introduce a 10% tax on all UK hotel bills. The proposal - part of a wider Government tax review conducted by the Lyons Inquiry - recommends that a 10% tax per night is added to the current 17.5% VAT - which means that the UK would effectively become the highest taxed destination in Europe.

PLASA believes that the proposed tourist tax (dubbed the 'bed' tax) will hit this industry from both sides: not only will it put yet another financial burden on businesses in the entertainment, event and installation sectors where business-related travel accounts for a large part of their ongoing overheads, but it will almost certainly affect tourism revenues, which directly influence the financial performance of this industry.

UAE - The organisers of the PALME exhibition in Dubai report that this year's event will be 50% bigger than last year's. PALME, the region's only exhibition of professional sound, light, music, audio-visual and systems integration technologies will be the largest event of its kind ever staged in the region, say IIR exhibitions.

The event will feature 220 stands, with 600 exhibiting companies represented, with more international manufacturers taking part than ever before. "PALME 2006 has grown from a regional event into one of the leading international events of its kind, which is not surprising given that the latest industry re-forecasts indicate that the market is worth in excess of US$3 billion a year," said Darren Brechin of IIR Exhibitions. "Visitors to this year's show will meet the cream of the industry, including market leaders from Europe, the USA and Far

UK - Award-winning AV company Electrosonic has appointed Peter Gumm as marketing and communication manager, based at their European headquarters in Dartford. In his new role, Gumm will be responsible for the implementation of the Company's European strategic communication and positioning plans. In particular, he will work with the Product, System, and Service teams to implement marketing strategies that assist in increasing brand awareness, market penetration and generating revenue.

An experienced professional with over 10 years business-to-business marketing and communications expertise, Peter has been responsible for marketing a range of wireless and network technology solutions throughout the EMEA region.

"With his international marketing experience, Peter will be a positive addition to the Electrosonic team and I am pleased to welcome him as marketing and communicatio

UK - The Technical and Production Arts department at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow will hold its Graduate Exhibition and Trade Show on 22-23 March 2006. The event highlights the latest in creative and technical thinking in the entertainment and event technology world.

A free seminar programme runs across both days, with a range of sessions including an introduction to moving lights, information on the Bristol paint range and its use across film, television and theatre, a glimpse into the world of LED lighting, a history of dimmers, how to become a lighting designer and the use and abuse of chain hoists. Visitors will also be able to learn more about the latest technologies and their applications, and take the chance to have some focused discussions in a relaxed environment.

The work of students graduating from the RSAMD's BA Technical and Productions

UK - SPS supplied the Kennel Club with a spectacular LED display for this year's Crufts event - the world's leading dog show. The installation of a four sided 'cube' display was a great solution that provided stunning visuals to all four corners of the arena - something not achieved in previous years.

Nicholas Brooks-Ward of the Kennel Club commented: "Everyone at Crufts was thrilled with the screens. They added a huge amount to the event for everyone in the arena as well as forming an intrinsic part of the BBC television coverage."

Four-sided displays are becoming more common in permanent arena installations, but this was the first time that a temporary installation of this kind has been installed at the NEC. Barco Dlite 7mm LED provided the viewing public with clear high resolution images. Each screen measured 10sqm 3.6m wide by 2.5m high. Live feeds from the BBC w

Belgium - Visualisation specialist Barco, is delighted to announce the latest addition to the SLite family of outdoor LED display solutions. Ideally suited for large outdoor venues, the latest SLite product combines excellent visualization characteristics and extreme reliability with a very competitive price setting to suit this competitive market, say the company.

Typical applications include rock and roll concerts, mobile displays, and all outdoor applications from entertainment venues to sports stadiums, theme park and outdoor advertising.

Using proven Dual Pixel Technology on 4 LEDs per pixel, the SLite 10 XP has a visual 10mm resolution. It also features an ultra high bright 5,500 Nit calibrated output and its rugged IP65 rating, makes it completely weather proof and ideal for use in both rental and staging environments and fixed installations. Additionally, the revolutio

UAE - Multisell Technology, the Dubai-based display solutions specialist, has announced the signing of an exclusive distribution agreement for MENA with Lumin Visual Technologies AG, for the use of its patented high-end display projection screens.

Multisell Technology will offer this technology to its clients exclusively as part of its turnkey solutions for retails showrooms, advertising displays, command centres, large format displays and other vertical markets.

Commenting on the agreement, Florian Lauterbach, president of sales and marketing for Lumin Visual Technologies AG said: "Lumin Visual Technologies AG is happy to announce an exclusive Distribution Partnership with MultiSell Technology Middle East FZCO for the Middle East. Multisell will be in charge for introducing the Lumin Display products in the Arabian markets and develop a reseller network in the area, as w

UK - Pro Audio Systems, the Bradford-based audio and AV rental, sales, and events production company, recently produced events for Harveys and Provident Financial.

The sales conference for Harveys, the furniture retail chain, was produced for McKendrick Associates, and accommodated 250 sales managers in the Kings Suite in the Metropole Hotel, Birmingham. Two live camera feeds were mixed with PowerPoint and video presentations on two large projection screens. A 24ft x 12ft main stage was erected, along with four 12 x 12ft product display stages, and a large red back wall set backdrop. Lighting comprised Strand Coda floods, Strand SL zoom profiles, Strand fresnells, Source Four Pars, Celco dimmers, an Avolites Pearl console, and CM ProStar motorised hoists for suspending the lighting truss.

Audio was supplied with a Meyer Sound system, comprising six self powered UPJ-1P speaker

Sweden - During the SIEL exhibition in Paris, Capture Sweden settled an agreement with LT-Light to launch the new Capture 2005 LT-Light Edition. Starting from 1 January 2006, LTLight is bundling the Capture 2005 LT-Light Edition with its brand new Hydra Space, Hydra Sky and Hydra Spirit consoles.

"The launch of the LT-Light Edition signifies the start of a new era for Capture Sweden," says Lars Wernlund, the company's technical manager. "We have not bundled with any consoles before, but with increasing pressure from console manufacturers along with new technical possibilities with Capture 2005, we have finally managed to take this step ahead! This fits well into our goal of not only offering a lighting design tool, but also an extension to the console during programming."

The LT-Light Edition is a full-blown Capture 2005 Basic Edition, limited to operate on

UK - Richard Keegan has been appointed as operations manager at PSCo, taking over management of the logistical and warehouse aspects of the company. PSCo, a specialist in AV rental and advanced product sales, is the UK distributor of the Infinite plasma, 84" plasma and award-winning Fogscreen. Keegan joins the team as PSCo continues to grow its product range and improve support services. With 15 years' experience in the world of AV in both technical and management roles with companies including PSL and sethire.com, he brings a wealth of knowledge to the company. He says: "Joining PSCo gives me an opportunity to work with a very forward thinking company, with innovative products, that is fresh in mind as well as strategy. They're a great bunch of guys and I look forward to the challenges that this new role will bring."

(Lee Baldock)

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