Planned for August 6, The Birmingham Carnival will take four hours to travel the five miles from Hansworth to Perry Park. Fresh from their success last year, with a powerful combination of Cerwin Vega’s Intense rig supplied by Lamba, Matthews Electronics have intensified the rig for this year’s lead float. Matthews’ Mark Hutchins explained: "Last year, we had to under-power the rig, but this year we have 2.5kW per side to run the six T-250 mid tops, 3.5kW per side for the eight compact T-36 subs and 4.5kW per side to run the four SUB-218s."

He explained that they tested the rig on a three-acre rugby ground against the wind - and the sound carried beyond the end of the park. "In effect we are running 21,000W RMS on a single float, which will consume 120 am

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

ARX Systems, well known for its range of innovative signal processing solutions, has released the new Barmix MultiMedia zoner/mixer. Ideal for multiple input multi-zoned applications, the Barmix distributes a microphone and four stereo signals to two separate stereo zones. Comprehensive mic EQ, plus externally switchable voice override, separated zone Level Control, EQ and LED Metering, Balanced and XLR outputs, complete this simple-to-use but powerful processing package. An optional local or remote VCA Remote Master zone control PlugIn will be available in July 2002.

(Ruth Rossington)

Professional audio systems specialists Shermann UK is ensuring that former sixties pop idol Helen Shapiro ends her touring career on the right note. Shapiro, 55, who shot to fame as a 14-year-old with the number one hit ‘Walking back to happiness’ has begun an 80-date farewell UK concert tour. PA rental company Crystal Clear Audio is using a Shermann CA9/CB218 loudspeaker system on the tour, along with a number of Shermann stage wedge monitors.

"Helen Shapiro has been using our systems for several years in association with Crystal Clear Audio and we are delighted to be playing a part in her farewell tour," said Shermann UK owner Ken Hughes. The company is no stranger to major musical events and concert tours, having provided sound systems for a host of stars over the last 19 years through its user network of professional rental companies.

(Ruth Rossington)

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,

Hull company Tega has recently completed the installation of sound and lighting at Hull University Union’s new venue, ‘Asylum’. The union building, dating from the seventies, has never had a proper venue for events, and until recently the refectory area was pressed into service. This was far from ideal as equipment had to be removed after every event, and the ceiling height was less than 10 feet.

The long-awaited new venue has been designed by Big Blue and features a large stage, sprung dancefloor, DJ booth and bar area with permanently installed sound and effects lighting. Tega have worked closely with the University on many events in the past, and, as a result of their good support service, were awarded the sound and lighting contract. The main sound system uses the Union’s eight existing EAW KF650 boxes, which are flown above the stage on custom-designed fram

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

Seoul's Sangam Stadium will be the site of the 2002 World Cup Opening Ceremony on May 31. To provide the best possible sound reinforcement, with the added demand of portability and fast removal, Korean rental sound companies Daishin Sound and Kukae Sound have teamed up to provide a total of 64 VerTec line array speaker systems. The JBL VT4889s are mounted on 16 portable sound system carts, which can be wheeled into position around the field perimeter, then quickly removed as required.

In addition to JBL VerTec loudspeaker systems, a wide variety of audio products from Harman Professional brands are in use. "This event is a real logistical challenge, and the VerTec speakers specified by audio director Michael Abbott are a highly effective choice," commented Cheol Yoon of Daiyoung Corporation, distributor of AKG, BSS, Crown, JBL and Soundcraft products in Korea. "Their lig

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Europe's most popular boy band, Westlife, is out on the road again, touring Europe and the UK with a show that leaves the girls speechless and everyone else breathing easy, despite the use of heavy fog. That's because Westlife production manager Steve Levitt and co-lighting designer and lighting director Barry Halpin, have chosen to incorporate a low lying fog effect from Jem's newest heavy fogger, the Glaciator. The two Jem Glaciators used for the Westlife tour were supplied by Bandit Lites.

The elaborate show is set in the round, with a stage set-up that features a pentagon-shaped staircase centered around a mid-riser. The challenge during one song was to have heavy fog cascade down the staircase from the top of the set on all five sides. The solution was to place two Jem Glaciators in the somewhat cramped staging area beneath the set, each Glaciator fitted with a ducting adaptor to

Edwin Shirley Staging (ESS) will have the opportunity to counterbalance London’s current West End bias for live events during June this year when it deploys an ESS Superstructure building into Finsbury Square within the City’s Square Mile (financial district) at the end of May. The client in this case, Bloomberg, the US-owned financial information and broadcast business is once again taking advantage of it’s proximity to the grass covered square to mount an event, this time in conjunction with the World Cup.

An audience consisting of Bloomberg employees and clients will be able to view the matches from inside an ESS building, which has been designed to Bloomberg’s specifications and includes clear wall panels. The site will also play host to other forms corporate hospitality during the tenure of the World Cup.

ESS will spend four days installing the environmen

Star Hire (Event Services) Ltd has set an event industry precedent by gaining LANTAC approval for its SS11-09 (Mk2) mobile StarStage. LANTAC is the Local Authorities National Type Approvals Consortium, a scheme which over 90% of the 550 Local Authorities in the UK belong to. In essence, certification under the scheme means that Star Hire no longer has to have the complex engineering calculations checked by local authorities at every show. This saves the clients, licensing authorities and themselves significant time and work in the tight schedules of the live events industry. Local Authorities and clients can be sure that the stage is safe, merely by possession of the signing-off certificate. This guarantees that the stage has been erected in accordance with the LANTAC approval.

To gain the certificate the stage and its documentation were examined in detail by one local authority, whic

Leisure Industry Week (LIW: 8-10 October 2002, NEC, Birmingham) - a key event for all aspects of the out-of-home leisure industry has a new format for 2002 with five dedicated shows and a wealth of ideas and products to make leisure businesses more efficient, attractive and profitable.

Body & Soul: As the largest health and fitness event in Europe, Body & Soul at LIW encompasses all the equipment, technologies, trends and services in the health and fitness market.

FamilyLand: this event is dedicated to family leisure activities. Along with new demonstration plots showing rides in action, visitors will also discover children's play equipment, inflatables, theme park rides, and ideas for animation, costumes, theming and special effects.

Food for Leisure: This covers everything from vending and beverage machines to convenience foods and dedicated leisure catering facilities. In additi

Since its first seven-minute show performed at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1994, Riverdance has gone on to be one of the most successful international dance shows ever. In 1997, the show was split into two touring companies, with the Liffey covering Europe and Asia (currently in the UK until the end of June), and the Lagan touring North America and Australia. Since the disastrous fire in Madrid nearly a year ago that destroyed almost the entire Liffey production, the show is now back on the road and sounding even better than before.

Thanks to efforts from Shuttlesound and the Riverdance crew, the show was rebuilt from scratch in just two weeks, but since then some key changes have been made to the system. Riverdance sound supervisor Barry McLeod explains: "I don't want to say that the fire did us a favour - that might be stretching the point somewhat, but it certainly made us r

High End Systems has announced the addition of two key new positions to its executive management team based in Austin, Texas. David Parks joins High End in the role of senior vice-president, product development. With his diverse background in engineering, operations and finance, Parks will focus on maturing the organization's development processes, delivery and design for manufacturing. He will partner closely with Rick Thompson, vice-president of operations, in building cross-functional project management teams.

With Parks in place, HES R&D's vice-president of engineering, Mike Wood, takes on the new role of chief technology officer, focusing on the strategic planning, advanced engineering and selection of all new products and technology platforms. Wood will work closely with High End's Product Development Committee, which drives the direction and product selection of the development

As part of its long-term strategy to address the industry’s concerns over training, PLASA has appointed a full-time training and development manager. Nicky Greet, who joined the PLASA Head Office staff at the start of May, will be tasked with collating current training information, identifying and addressing areas in which specifically-tailored training schemes are required and helping to implement them in conjunction with relevant bodies.

PLASA’s managing director Matthew Griffiths commented: "Concerns about the lack of suitable and relevant training in the entertainment technology industry have been voiced for some time, and PLASA originally scheduled this appointment into its long-term strategy as part of its first five-year plan in 2000. During 2001, we conducted an extensive programme of research into the issue with the aid of our members, which enabled us to move

MC2 Audio has appointed Group One Ltd in New York as its US distributor. Group One was formed in 1992 by Jack Kelly and Chris Fichera and in 1994 they merged the company with Celco Inc to create the company now known as Group One Ltd.

Group One is an importer and distributor for a number of professional audio and lighting manufacturers and operates primarily through a network of independent sales representatives with a client base of nearly 1,000 different dealer and contractor accounts. The company is based in Farmingdale, New York, and included in their 13,000sq.ft facility is a 1,500sq.ft demo room where customers are invited to audition the array of lighting and sound products.

The MC2 Audio brand joins well-known names such as Celestion, XTA Electronics, Milab Microphones and Cadac in Group One's portfolio of audio products. MC2 Audio products were launched in the US by Group On

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

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

FX Music Control, the equipment sales arm of the FX Group, has appointed James ‘Woody’ Woodburn as its London sales manager. Woody joins the company from Serious Audio where he was sales manager for two years until the company’s closure at the beginning of 2002. He is now based at the FX Group’s headquarters in East Acton and is responsible for handling all recording and post production sales enquiries in London and the South East.

FX Music Control’s managing director, Emma Brown, told us: "Woody is highly regarded within the pro audio industry, particularly for his expertise with Pro Tools, which is an increasingly important part of our business. In recent months we have witnessed a large increase in orders throughout the country and we wanted to ensure that all customers received the same high level of service regardless of where they are. By appoin

Proel (International) has been appointed sole UK distributor for the highly regarded QUBE PA range. Following the takeover of international responsibility for distribution by FBT Electronica, QUBE (a joint venture of the USA’s Renkus-Heinz and Italy’s FBT) now has a network of distributors with the UK passing to Proel (International), in London.

The QUBE range comprises professional-level systems from small packages to full touring rigs and has won many press accolades and users from across the board, including bands, clubs, hire companies and installers. Proel’s Managing Director, Paolo Burocchi, told us: "We’re very excited to have added QUBE to our growing range of pro audio equipment. It’s a good product with a great reputation and we intend to work very hard developing it in the UK market."

(Ruth Rossington)

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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