Dan Rizzotti recently joined High End Systems as director of sales operations, supporting the company's overall initiative in strengthening and maturing the senior management infrastructure. In this specific role, Rizzotti is responsible for sales forecast, performance metrics and overall interfacing with supporting organizations. He will also develop reporting tools for the sales team to provide increased visibility and enhance product availability and delivery.
John Wiseman, VP of worldwide sales, commented: "We identified the need for an individual like Dan six months ago, but were very selective in the interview process in finding the right individual. In the short time he's been with us, he has introduced new programs which free the sales team to get in front of the customer
Artistic Licence is proud to announce the launch of Power-Hub 4. Power-Hub 4 is a four-port ethernet hub which supplies low voltage power via the data connection. This allows Ethernet devices, such as the Artistic Licence’s Net-Lynx, to receive both data and power over the Cat5 cable. The product is designed to support the forthcoming IEEE802.3af 'Power over Ethernet' standard.
Power-Hub 4 is housed in a robust extruded case designed to withstand the rigours of touring. An optional adapter allows simple conversion to truss mounting. All data connections use the latching Neutrik Ethercon connector. The front panel provides a comprehensive range of indicators allowing fast fault analysis in show conditions. Power-Hub 4 is compatible with all 10BaseT ethernet equipment including the Artistic Licence Art-Net range. The Power-Hub 4 is totally self managed with no user controls.
Tomcat UK and PCM would like to remind all of their customers that from 1 September 2002 they will be supplying all Columbus McKinnon Lodestar hoists with 4-pin, 110V, 16 Amp yellow CEE-form connectors instead of the current 3-pin version. The majority of customers will now have received letters from their respective supplier explaining the change. In addition, any users of Columbus McKinnon theatrical chain hoists with questions or concerns are invited to a meeting to be held during the PLASA exhibition in London. It will allow users of the product to discuss the matter with representatives of the PSA, Columbus McKinnon and their two UK distributors, PCM and Tomcat UK.
The meeting will be held in the Westminster Room (Earls Court 1, Level 1) on Tuesday 10 September 2002 at 10:00 AM.
JBL’s new SoundFactor SF25 is a portable two-way speaker system with two 15" low frequency transducers. Intended for live music and music playback/DJ applications, the SF25 reflects the increasing market acceptance of the dual 15" configuration, say JBL. The SF25, they say, is more of a three-way system in that the lower woofer is actually rolled off at a lower frequency than the upper woofer. While this results in a more expensive network, the improvement in mid-range performance makes it worthwhile. The SF25 is especially useful in applications where additional low frequency power is needed, but subwoofers are not practical. The SF25 has a power capacity of 500W (2000W) and maximum SPL of 133dB. SoundFactor's advanced network design for its crossover includes heavy gauge wire inductors for low distortion and SonicGuard high-frequency driver protection. The SF25 is const
Italian manufacturer Clay Paky is showing a number of new products for the first time in the UK at PLASA 2002. Stage Profile Plus SV combines the quality of a professional beam shaper with the versatility of a moving body projector. The patented profile system produces the exclusive ‘Total Curtain’ effect, the ‘Framed Moving Images’, ‘Morphing Effect’, quadrilateral and triangular shapes, and many other extraordinary effects.
CP Color 575 is the latest Clay Paky professional colour changer for exterior use (IP65-rated), with outstanding power and colour quality. It is designed for illuminating facades, monuments, fountains, colonnades and other architectural details. Colorwave 300 is a simple and versatile colour changer designed to enhance commercial environments, as well as entertainment and leisure settings. Finally, V.I.P.
L&SI is running two Round Table discussion sessions during next week’s PLASA Show (September 8-11, Earls Court 1, London) designed to address some of the most central issues in the industry.
The first session Freelance Rates - Due for Review? This discussion should prove to be a lively debate on the current levels of freelance rates, which over the years have shown a downward trend in real terms. With many rental companies naming their daily rates, how can those who actually do the work and keep said companies successful lobby for more money? Should there be a flat rate according to role? Who should take responsibility for change? Will rental houses come unstuck by causing their crews to form a union-style body, or should they take the lead and move things on themselves?
Chaired by L&SI technical editor James Eade, the panel will include Mark David-Gray of BECTU and freelancers
Following the administration of the Lighting Technology Group in June, buyers have been found, as predicted, for a number of the Group’s assets.
The PAI Group has announced that it has acquired the rights and assets of Lighting Technology Projects (LTP). The new company will trade as before, under the name of LTP, and will be headed up by Terry Reeves, who managed the company prior to the appointment of the administrators PriceWaterhouseCoopers in early July this year.
The acquisition is a logical step for the PAI Group, which specializes in the creative design, supply, and installation of bespoke audio-video, lighting and sound for the leisure, retail, education, heritage, and sports industries, and consists of PA Installations (PAI), VS Installations (VSI) and PA Technologies (PAT). LTP is a respected name within the industry and its markets will complement those of the PAI G
Fineline and Tomcat UK recently made the seemingly impossible possible by designing and manufacturing a completely new design roof structure in just over two weeks from initial conception. When approached to provide an outdoor roof structure for the recent Joe Calzaghe vs. Miguel Jimenez fight at Cardiff Castle, Fineline managing director Darren Wring thought that he would have to turn the offer down as he did not own a structure of the size or specification required. But after bit of head-scratching, it became apparent that he already owned a large enough quantity of truss to produce the majority of the structure - all he would need would be the custom components to create the roof.
Wring then contacted Tomcat UK and the design work started on the four-tower, 18m x 16m system. In just over two weeks, Tomcat and Fineline had designed, engineered and manufactured the necessary component
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The Many Looks of Zeo
Delivering ultimate brightness and unique looks, Zeo’s distinct face design is defined by a central LED monolith and four reflectors, backed by four RGBW engines. As a blinder or strobe, Zeo promises powerful impact with 30,000+ lumens. With its sheer brilliance and playful effects, Zeo is ready to amplify the energy on any stage.
Following the floods in Europe during August, PLASA Media has received the following appeal from the Association of Professional Theatres of the Czech Republic:
It is barely a week since disastrous floods invaded the ancient and beautiful cities of Bohemia and caused enormous damage. Another dark August (34 years after the invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968) threatens to paralyse Czech culture and its most "live" offspring, the theatre. Theatres in Prague, Ústí nad Labem, Budweis (Ceské Budejovice) and Pilsen were flooded entirely or in part and their buildings, technical equipment, scenery and costumes badly or even fatally damaged. Prague's historical National Theatre, the famous Theatre on the Balustrades and others will have to reconstruct their equipment; the young and highly popular award-winning companies of the Theatre in Dlouhá Street and the Theatre Pod Palmo
Vertigo Rigging was appointed by production company MICE to provide precision rigging for a sales training event at the Berlin ICC to mark the takeover of Compaq by Hewlett Packard. The HP Enterprise Storage Group conference included an appearance by F1 racing driver Ralph Schumacher, who launched the new Williams car in one of the halls and made a guest speech.
Two of the ICC’s largest halls were decked out as auditoriums with stages and screens for large-scale AV presentations. The Vertigo team, led by crew chief Paul Darby, rigged three large soft front-projection screens in hall one, the centre one measuring 26m x 9.5m and spanning the entire width of the stage. This was flanked by two 16m x 9m side screens, angled to be parallel to the auditorium walls, and tapered at the front to match in with the raked seating. Vertigo also rigged two large overhead sound baffles, measurin
A new show relay system has been retro-fitted into Cardiff’s famous New Theatre by Marquee Audio. As home to the Welsh National Opera, this magnificent Edwardian Theatre dates back to 1906 and is the city’s oldest surviving theatre. Today it is owned and managed by Cardiff County Council, and although technical manager Mark Gibbins had to request various quotations for the show relay, Marquee proved to be the most competitive.
"The call system is a major priority at New Theatre and we needed to replace the old system which was becoming troublesome and unreliable," said Mark. Marquee’s Scott Wakelin provided recommendations for a Backstage and FOH system, with priority facilities for the house manager to voice access the auditorium in the event of emergency. He proposed that this be achieved via a pair of Soundweb 9088ii/LL digital matrix devices, with a 9010
On 17 May in Günzburg, Bavaria, the Lego Company opened its fourth theme park, the others being in Billund (Denmark), Windsor (UK) and Carlsbad (California). Covering an area the size of 25 football fields, the new park boasts more than 40 attractions and shows, including the ‘Dschungel X-pedition’ (Jungle X-pedition), a Lego structure which includes a steep 12m water slide, the ‘Land der Ritter’ (Castleland), with its Fire Dragon and Castle Theatre, the Legotop, a 50m high observation tower with a glass-sided revolving deck, and the Lego Studios, in which 500 spectators can enjoy a 4D feature film. Lego is expecting around 1.3 million visitors in the park’s first year, having invested some 150 million euros in the project.
The general contractor responsible for all electrical equipment in Legoland Bavaria is a consortium formed by ABB and Cegelec. Cegel
BDC Music & Lights Ltd (trading as Barrys Disco Centres in Gloucester and Swindon) are pleased to announce that Gareth Collyer has re-joined the company in the position of general manager of both branches. For almost 10 years, Collyer worked for distributor Lamba plc, his final position being a director of the company. Before Lamba, he was employed by BDC!
Barry Brown, director of BDC, is looking forward to working with Gareth again. "Gareth will have new ideas and a wide view of the Industry and its opportunities, and will be a major player in BDC’s forward planning and strategy to expand BDC’s operations. We have been established many years (from 1978), supplying sound and lighting equipment for sales and hire to the DJ, nightclub/pub and other venues and there are still many new markets opening up where our expertise is required.
Nomads nightclub and bar in Leicester has found a simple solution to a time-honoured problem; how to pump up the volume without annoying the neighbours. Situated in a residential block, the ground-floor and basement venue asked JPS, the St. Ives-based audio and lighting installation company, to design a sound system which could cater for 350 customers without keeping the residents of the first-floor flat awake all night. "They wanted high quality and high volume, but with very quick fall-off on the dBs", explains John Southee of JPS, whose solution was a combination of Wharfedale cabinets and Amina flat-panel speakers, resulting in individualized systems tailored to the very different ambiences of the two floors.
"Although there is a DJ on each level, the ground level bar, which has the frontage onto the street, offers a plush sit-down environment, whereas downstairs in
Soundcraft moved swiftly into action to provide an interim solution for the BBC in their coverage of the recent Commonwealth Games in Manchester. The domestic production division of BBC Resources, utilized Soundcraft’s new-generation 328XD to boost their coverage of the recent Commonwealth Games, while awaiting delivery of a new RM1D digital on-air radio console. "Essentially the 328XD saved the day - allowing us to have some of the functionality of the RM1D and mix all the grams-type sources - from minidisc to various hard disk options," said BBC Resources’ Martin Deane. "We are familiar with the desk and knew what we could expect from it."
Martin was in charge of the sound operation for BBC Sport, which produced all the domestic (BBC1 and BBC2) programme outputs. As for the RM1D, he was first exposed to this at last year’s IBC Show, and then acqu
Sound Dynamics, the specialist sound installation company based in Belper, Derbyshire, is celebrating its 15th anniversary - thanks in part to the UK's obsession with health and fitness. Steve Porter and Gerry Cornell founded the company in 1987, just as the aerobics boom was getting underway. By carefully tailoring equipment packages to the specific needs of gyms, exercise studios and sports centres, Sound Dynamics rapidly gained a national reputation. The company sells stand-alone systems and self-install wall-mounting kits as well as commissioning full installations; Sound Dynamics has also ventured into manufacturing, producing proprietary ‘user-friendly’ amplifers which have the minimum of fascia controls.
Today, the company’s customer database holds more than 10,000 names, and the list of recent projects stretches from the Falkland Islands to the Maldives, with
Nexo's new GEO Series has made its Swiss debut at the annual Fêtes de Geneve, part of an unusual mixed Alpha/Geo system designed by PA rental company Zapsono. The Fêtes de Geneve festival is staged every August, and culminates in a street parade and firework display beside Lake Geneva. More than 400,000 people came to see the fireworks this year, and sound designer Jean-Michel Ballu and his front-of-house engineer Frédéric Walder had to devise and run a system which delivered coverage across 240° and up to 500m in range.
The occasion proved an ideal test for Nexo's new GEO tangent array system. Two hangs of 10 S805s were erected, together with a stack of eight CD12 HyperCardioid sub-bass, on a pontoon which was floated out into the lake, 100-200m from the audience. Although the CD12 sub-bass units were only used for the first fireworks, the system results were impressive. To achie
Color Kinetics Inc (CKI) has announced the completion of a $17million round of financing. In addition to a major worldwide consumer products company and a leading advanced semiconductor company, this financing round features participation from both existing and new investors, say CKI, and positions the company for growth, leadership and market competitiveness in the $40+ billion global illumination market.
The company’s flagship line of technologies, which are used today in a variety of commercial and consumer applications, leverage a patented layer of digital intelligence called Chromacore to control LEDs, generating millions of colours and a variety of lighting effects. The company says the new investment will be used to extend the company’s current business lines and leverage its wide-ranging intellectual property to develop solid-state lighting solutions for the general
The late seventies and early eighties saw the illuminated dance floor as a trend setting addition to many nightclubs and discotheques. Now thanks to the advances in technology which LEDs, modern plastics and aluminium have made, a major new product is to be launched at PLASA 2002.
ChromaDeck, jointly developed by Litestructures and Pulsar, is a hybrid of the industry-standard litedeck stage system and the successful Pulsar ChromaPanel. Controlled by the standard Pulsar controller and compatible with the Litedeck staging system, this new product can be used in either fixed installation or as part of a temporary or touring stage or set. Available either from Litestructures or Pulsar and any of their recognized distributors.
Litestructures can be found on C19 and Pulsar on G46.
Soundcraft has strengthened its sales force with the arrival of Gary Dent as regional sales manager for the UK. Dent bring a wealth of experience in pro audio, having spent 18 years as sales and marketing director for Music Lab, followed by stints with Arbiter and VDC. His responsibilities will include maintaining relationships with Soundcraft’s existing pro accounts and developing new opportunities - across the company’s core markets of radio, broadcast, recording and live sound reinforcement. "I have arrived at a positive stage in the company’s development," said Dent. "The new MH4 desk is right on the button and the programme of forthcoming products also looks extremely exciting." Gary will report to UK sales manager, Trevor Coley.
North East-based Hi-Lights Theatre Services recently saw its new Prolyte stage in action at the National Trust's Ormesby Hall over the August bank holiday weekend. With a concert featuring Suzie Quattro and headlined by Status Quo, the Prolyte ST complete roof and tower system with additional front cantilever proved a great success, especially with the rigging crew, thanks to its speed and ease of construction. The fully fitted cover also meant that rigging could continue in the heavy rain experienced before the event which thankfully cleared up for the night.