UK - The Association of Stage Pyrotechnicians has announced the dates of the next batch of Pyrotechnic Safety Awareness training courses in the UK. The dates of the forthcoming courses are as follows:

St Albans - Alban Arena
Date: 1st February 2010
Hosted by: Alban Arena
Contact: David Croom
Telephone: 01727 861078, or email: aatechnical@leisureconnection.co.uk

Brighton - Corn Exchange
Date: Sunday 13th June 2010
Hosted by: Brighton Dome
Telephone: 01273 709709, or email: events@brightondome.org

Coventry - Warwick Arts Centre
Date: Sunday 18th July 2010
Hopsted by: ABTT Summer School
Contact: Geoff Joyce

UK - Grant Bales-Smith has been appointed to the newly-created position of Philips Entertainment sales manager - UK, Benelux & Scandinavia, commencing 1 February 2010.

Michael Goldberg, sales director for Europe comments, "The formation of Philips Entertainment as a global group provides us with a great opportunity to continue establishing and building the brands of Strand and Selecon in the European market as leaders in their field. Grant joins us at a time of renewal for Strand and he will lead the sales force in the UK, Scandinavia and Benelux to re-develop a strong dealer network to increase our market share and push new products forward."

For the past eight years, Bales-Smith has been working for Zero 88, initially taking responsibility for the UK market before accepting the further challenge as UK and Southern European sales manager, running the distribution in

UK - A.C. Entertainment Technologies, an authorised UK distributor for German Lighting Products (GLP), has supplied the new Impression 120 RZ Zoom LED moving head to Fentura Production Services for use on various live events.

Fentura, which primarily services corporate events ranging from concerts to conferences, were very pleased with their hire stock of the original Impression model, so with a growing requirement for a Zoom fixture, decided to check out the 120 RZ.

A.C. arranged a shootout of various LED moving head fixtures for Fentura lighting designer, Tim Matthews. He commented, "We needed a fitting which showed evenness of colour across the beam for the whole zoom range. A comparison to other fixtures proved that the 120 RZ was the superior fitting for our particular requirements."

Matthews recently used the 120 RZ fixtures on the 2009 Christmas Praise

UK - The four-yearly International Theatre Engineering and Architecture Conference, which takes place in London from 13-15 June 2010, is now accepting delegate bookings, with early online registrations offering the benefit of the lowest costs.

This will be the third three-day event of its kind organised by theatre consultant Richard Brett in London. Venue architects, consultants, designers, managers, equipment manufacturers and technicians from around the world congregate to learn about the latest developments in their fields from international experts. The Conference offers delegates the opportunity to discuss design issues and exchange views with a wide range of knowledgeable practitioners. Previous conferences in 2002 and 2006 were over-subscribed, and judging from the significant number of pre-registrations received so far, places will again be in demand for 2010, say the or

UK - Following the destruction of Haiti by a powerful earthquake and the desperate need for help in the region by survivors of the tragedy, Hollywood actor George Clooney speedily created the Hope for Haiti Now telethon, featuring some of the world's biggest stars and broadcast every major TV Network in the US.

In order to have the show obtain the best acts possible it was necessary to host the show in New York, L.A. and London. With four days notice the show in London was conceived, designed and realised with the generous help of the production industries.

Tim Routledge, lighting and set designer for the event was contacted by Dionne Orrom of Serpent Productions who was co-producing the event with Ned O'Hanlon on behalf of MTV. The show held at the Hospital Studios in Central London featured Coldplay, Beyonce, Jay-Z, Rhianna, Bono and the Edge from U2.

"We had a

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ETC Halcyon Silent

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UK - Summit Steel supplied rigging services plus all trussing and motors required for the 2010 National TV Awards, which moved to London's O2 Arena for the first time. It was hosted by Dermot O'Leary and broadcast live on the UK's ITV1 channel.

Summit was working for the show's producers Indigo Television. The Kent-based company also provides all the in-house rigging services for the O2, so Summit's project managers Jon Bray and Simon Frost and three production riggers joined forces with the 12 Summit-supplied venue riggers to ensure an efficient and tidy operation.

Lighting was designed by Mike 'Sooty' Sutcliffe and supplied by Panalux. It involved the flying of five 'finger' trusses over the stage, complete with two wider 'fingers' which were offstage and at slightly lower heights. A further 17 points were utilised to fly three straight trusses for audience lighting.<

China - Robert Juliat has supplied a substantial number of 2K profiles, PCs, Fresnels and followspots to the newly completed Hefei Grand Theatre in China's Anhui Province.

Hefei is the political, economic and cultural centre of Anhui Province with a strong history of opera originating in the traditional Lu Opera which has a rich and vivid style evolved from many artistic forms.

The region is very proud of this cultural heritage and has recently completed the construction of the new Hefei Grand Theatre, a 95m USD purpose-built venue covering an area of 57,000m2 and housing a 1600-seater theatre hall, a 1000-seater concert hall and a 500-seater theatre studio.

In total, Robert Juliat supplied 40 RJ714SX2 2000W Profiles, 96 RJ329HF 2000W Fresnels and 120 RJ329HPC 2000W PC units which have been installed across the three auditoria, and 24 RJ306LF 1000W Lutin Fresnels which for t

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Create new traditions – Cameo P6 - High Output Full-Spectrum Ellipsoidal

Cameo's P6 is a future-proof LED profiler with a powerful 600 W RGBACL engine and 16,000 lumens. It’s an energy-efficient replacement for 2.5 kW halogen profile lights in theatres and venues. With excellent light quality and natural colour rendering, it fits perfectly in theatres, musicals, TV studios, congresses, and live events.

With an LED life of 50,000 hours and low power use, the P6 cuts energy costs and supports the EU’s ‘Green Deal’ goals for climate neutrality by 2050. It also meets updated eco-design rules for lighting.

www.cameolight.com/p6profile

The Netherlands - Norwegian projector manufacturer projectiondesign will present its latest innovation in projection technology with the preview of the FR12 Remote Light Source projector at Integrated Systems Europe 2010.

The FR12 Remote Light Source (RLS) concept relocates the lamps from the projector to a rack-mount enclosure up to 30m away from the projector head. Light from the 19-inch rack-mounted RLS illuminates the projector head via an innovative Liquid Light Guide (LLG). The result is a compact, ruggedized, virtually maintenance-free projector head with completely silent operation. There are no limits on installation orientation and lamp maintenance is entirely simplified.

"At the forefront of creating some of the most exciting technologies and innovative products, projectiondesign has made history by producing innovative projectors that are compact, bright and h

Germany - A rental company specialising in providing sound and light reinforcement for equestrian events has purchased 32 PR Lighting XL1500 EB spots (with electronic ballasts), from German distributor, Focon Showtechnic.

Based in Oldenburg, North Germany, Günther Alberding's company, E Media Design (EMD), required additional lighting for the events and tournaments they support throughout the country. All 32 heads went out on the first job, and operated flawlessly.

The versatile and fully-featured XL1500 is fitted with a powerful 1500W short-arc discharge lamp, optimised by the advanced optical system to achieve maximum brightness. Suspended from the overhead rig, the XL1500's are providing the main spotlight effect and effect projection during the shows themselves - as well as projecting sponsors' logos.

Alberding said that the units' brightness was one of the main reasons

Money Matters - The music industry is suffering because financial pressures mean money is being put ahead of creativity, Radiohead guitarist Ed O'Brien has warned. "I sense, and many artists sense, that it's become dominated by money, and the need to make more money," he said. "And I think the problem with that is that the creativity's gone out of the industry, the fun." O'Brien is a leading member of the Featured Artists' Coalition, a lobby group for artists' rights, which has often been at odds with the major record labels.

O'Brien's comments were made in a video message to the Midem music conference in Cannes. He said the music industry's current upheavals, however, presented big opportunities to bring creativity back. "What's great about the moment is the very fact that we're living in this time of change, huge uncertainty, and of course these times

USA - BSR E1.6-1-201x, Entertainment Technology - Powered Hoist Systems, and BSR E1.6-2-201x , Entertainment Technology -- Design, Inspection, and Maintenance of Serially Manufactured Electric Chain Hoists for the Entertainment Industry, are available for public review at http://www.esta.org/tsp/documents/public_review_docs.php through 15 February 2010.

The reviews are over when the posted 'Review End Date' is reached. The draft standards are part of the BSR E1.6 powered theatrical rigging system project. BSR E1.6-1 deals with powered winches that are not serially manufactured electric chain hoists; BSR E1.6-2 deals with powered winches that are.

(Jim Evans)

UK - Allen & Heath has created a one-off special edition of its Xone:4D mixer controller for DJ endorser, Paul van Dyk.

"The 4D is the centrepiece of my set up and is based on the way I DJ. I have two computers on stage that are synced to each other: one has the synths, keyboards and controllers hooked up to it and the other is full of the audio material. The Xone:4D gives me control of everything I am using," explains van Dyk. "I wanted rotary knobs instead of faders to give me finer control of the volume, and the feel is more precise."

Used for the first time at ADE, Paul's modified version includes VCA rotary faders rather than the standard linear faders. There is also custom-designed silk screening for the faceplate with Paul's name in UV paint.

"One of the great things about the 4D is the great sound and the fact that everything on the mixer can

Ireland - Located 30 miles from Dublin, the Riverbank Arts Centre in the picturesque town of Newbridge, County Kildare, has a catchment area that is as wide and varied as the productions it stages. And when the venue needed to upgrade its audio system, a complete Yamaha solution fitted the bill.

The Riverbank Arts Centre was able to secure funding to invest in a Yamaha audio system, to replace a system which wasn't performing up to the standards required.

"We put on everything from films to live bands and a wide range of theatre productions, everything from local to internationally-renowned shows," says the Riverbank's technical coordinator Damien Dollard.

"The system needed to be very flexible, deliver surround sound and we also felt it was the right time to 'go digital', in order to maximise that flexibility. We looked at a number of systems, tested a lot of

USA - Beginning 1 February, the Wybron Mobile Showroom begins its fifth leg, hitting the Phoenix, AZ and Las Vegas, NV areas.

The Mobile Showroom has become increasingly popular, and presents a survey of Wybron's stable of products, including the new Cygnus LED Wash Light, in a environment more intimate than a trade show. "The challenge of this industry is to actually get information to the people who will benefit from it," said Wybron CEO Keny Whitright. "A trade show is terrific, sure, but you're often lacking time to connect with all the folks you would like to."

The Mobile Showroom provides hands-on demonstration of Wybron offerings and an opportunity for tΩte-à-tΩte with lighting professionals, including their local dealers. Most importantly, however, the Mobile Showroom offers education on the general theory behind and mechanics of profes

USA - Adamson Systems Engineering supplied Waves Audio with their sound reinforcement needs at NAMM 2010. All though Adamson did not have a booth at NAMM in Anaheim, a couple of their latest Point Series boxes were placed in the Waves booth to give them the necessary volume boost during their presentations and training programme at the infamously loud show floor.

Waves required a solid reinforcement solution for their NAMM exhibit booth, where they had some of the world's top mixing engineers including Chris Lord-Alge, Eddie Kramer, Jack Joseph Puig, and Tony Maserati, talk about their work with various Waves tools. Adamson's assignment was simple: to deliver clear and coherent speech and audio over the noise floor of the show, without shouting or disturbing other exhibitors.

The set-up at NAMM could not have been simpler.The plug-and-play package incorporated two of Adamson's

USA - GLP has announced the launch of a new and additional fixture to their Impression range of LED based moving heads. It is from their XL range of units which feature 240 K2 LED's delivering high light output and brilliant colour performance. The new fixture referred to as the 'RGBWW' features five colours, rather than the previous three. Adding to the red, green and blue diodes are two circuits of white - one rated at 3200K and the other at 7200K.

Adding two white channels to the existing RGB format, gives designers more shades of colour than was achievable before, particularly with pastel ranges, and the ability to use single white LED's for powerful and clean open white beams.

The GLP impression XL weighs only 23.5 kg / 52 lbs. and has the same design as previous impression fixtures featuring no fixture base, low noise operation, simple yet comprehensive menu navigation b

Belgium - BESIX Group is the largest Belgian construction group, a conglomerate of companies active in the construction, engineering, environmental, real estate and concession sectors. To celebrate this anniversary, they asked Luc Petit to create a special performance combining dance, acrobatics, lighting, music and effects.

Luc Petit created a one-off show at the Palais 5 Expo Bruxelles Expo Area. The show itself was made of 12 parts telling BESIX values and its history. More than 70 performers from different artistic disciplines took part in the show. More than 1000 people attended the anniversary party.

The lighting design included Clay Paky, Martin, Varilite and two Compulite Vector Reds and six Compulite ePorts.Tof Leuba who programmed the show said, "I patched all the fixtures with one Vector during the setup, and then I connected the second vector as a Node to get

UAE - The seven star Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi, with its grand marble entrance and gold leaf atrium overlooking the Persian Gulf, is one of the world's most spectacular buildings.

Operated by the Kempinski Hotel Group, among its many corporate conference and meeting room facilities is a giant ballroom. Measuring a massive 80m x 25m it can accommodate up to 2,800 people.

AV system integrators, Bond Communications, were recently tasked with replacing and retro-fitting a new sound system that would not only serve the ballroom space as a complete unit, or in its three separate, divisible modes, but do so discreetly, aesthetically and with simple control and operation.

The system also had to be sufficiently flexible to deliver high spec intelligibility across the frequency spectrum for presentations but also be capable of concert style reinforcement from a conventional L

The Netherlands - Renkus-Heinz will have a big presence, and feature its Iconyx line-up of products, at Integrated Systems Europe.

Exhibiting with Dutch distributor TM Audio, Renkus-Heinz will showcase the full Iconyx Digitally Steerable Array series, in the shape of the recently launched high-power, portable IC Live, and the new IC Live fixed installation version that's been added to the product line due to high demand from consultants and integrators.

To illustrate the ease and flexibility of RHAON software, a RHAON-networked Iconyx IC16R will be controlled and monitored with a simple laptop for live demonstrations and questions.

These products are particularly suited to accompanying large scale digital signage in public spaces, as the digital beam steering allows sound to accompany video in a highly controllable area - and the unit's slender column shape is a great benefi

UK - PLASA Focus: Leeds 2010, which takes place on Tuesday 27 - Wednesday 28 April 2010, has already surpassed last year's record breaking event - not only selling out all its exhibition space by the New Year, but adding no fewer than 15 new exhibitors in the process.

As the venue reaches full capacity and with 1,000 visitors already registered to attend, the demand for a high quality show for the North of England's entertainment and installation technology community is self-evident. PLASA Focus is once again on track to bring the latest products from around the industry to a region that looks set to become the location for an annual creative forum for the North.

Since the show and its website were launched in early December, both exhibition halls have completely sold out. New exhibitors Adam Hall, Chauvet Lighting, Cloud Electronics, GDS, Hi-Lights, Le Mark, Lumen Radio, Pola

UK - Hawthorn has recently completed the Phase 2 refurbishment and technical fit out of The Crucible in Sheffield.

As The Crucible was awarded Grade II listed status by English Heritage as a building of architectural and historic importance in 2008, Hawthorn's in-house installation team had to ensure that the fittings used were not only in keeping with the period of the theatre, but also state of the art and energy efficient at the same time.

Phase 1 of the project was completed prior to the 2009 World Snooker Championship with Phase 2 commencing immediately after the championship and completion by December 2009.

Undertaking the installation of new dimmers and technical infrastructure to the Studio Theatre and the expansion of the paging system, Hawthorn's installation team, working closely with Theatreplan Consultants, undertook a 12-week installation programme compl

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