UK - Green Hippo's VideoMapper hit the road with Editors on their recent In this Light and on this Evening tour, promoting the latest album from the Birmingham quartet.

Lighting company Siyan supplied all the lighting for the show. Lighting designer Cate Carter, who has previously worked on successful tours for Duffy and Elbow, and her colleague video designer Paul 'Pablo' Beckett, specified two HippoCritters, conceiving one of the most creative uses of VideoMapper to date.

The design brief for the tour was to create something, dark, edgy, sinister and theatrical and as they began to understand more about the band's vision for the live shows, they settled on the concept of industrial and urban decay as a basis for the set design and visual content.

The set and video ele

UK - Orbital Sound continues to expand its exclusive audio sales lines, announcing the addition of Da-Cappo Micro Microphones. Orbital has been appointed as Da-Cappo's exclusive UK distributor with immediate effect, and will be showcasing the range, including the DA-12 single-ear microphone and the DA-04 lapel microphone, at this year's ABTT Show (16-17 June).

The European-designed Da-Cappo capsule is the result of extensive research in the field of precision-hearing instrumentation, measuring a discrete 2.5mm in diameter and combining market-leading performance with a flat frequency response, exceptional EMI protection and unparalleled resilience against sweat and water, says the company. Da-Cappo's latest product release - the DA-15 single-ear microphone with an in-ear monitor piece - was singled out at the 2009 AES, winning the Award for Innovation.

Da-Cappo's claim to have

UK - Showsec worked with BBC Radio 1 and newly appointed organisers Live Nation to deliver the Big Weekend in Bangor, North Wales. 40,000 visitors enjoyed the sunshine and artists including Rhianna, JLS, Paolo Nutini, Florence and the Machine, Cheryl Cole and many more.

John Probyn, chief operating officer says, "BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend is the first large outdoor music event of the summer season for 2010 and has set a high benchmark for others to aspire to. I believe the partnership between the BBC and Live Nation has worked very well in delivering an event that appealed very well to the Radio 1 audience. Bringing Showsec back into the production fold was a key element in achieving that, they have provided a robust security service that belied the experience and innovation within the company."

Having worked on Big Weekends with the BBC in previous years, Showsec wa

UK - Vince Cable, the new UK Secretary of State for Business, Innovation & Skills visited UK specialist LED lighting manufacturer i-Pix, as part of a tour organised by David Goddard, leader of Stockport Council, to illustrate the model of a successful economic regeneration project in the town of Greater Manchester.

i-Pix is one of a number of businesses in The 'Stockport Business Incubator', a project located in the Grade II listed Broadstone Mill complex in Reddish. It is a partnership between Stockport Council, the University of Manchester Incubator company and the Mill, which has transformed 40,000sq.ft of the Mill into a state-of-the-art workspace with business incubation facilities.

i-Pix was selected because of its commitment to producing low carbon lighting fixtures and solutions for the entertainment industry, and because of the company's continued success.

As i-Pix

China - PRG has chosen Barco's video and lighting equipment for their installations at the Shanghai World Expo 2010. The company was responsible for delivery and installation of the audiovisual technology in the Belgo-European pavilion, the United Arab Emirates pavilion and the opening ceremony. To bring the designs to life, PRG used Barco's LED, lighting and projection technology.

The most important inspiration for the designers of the Belgo-European Pavilion was the image of a neuron. This image, the 'Brain Cell', represents the central position of Belgium in the heart of Europe and showcases the great cultural diversity present in all major cities of Belgium. To enhance this overwhelming image of Belgium, PRG chose Barco's outdoor black LED displays, the TF-16BK.

The entrance features one 30sq.m screen, integrated in the glass facade, showing a combination of video clips an

UK/USA - Following the recent addition of a formatting utility in BlackBox Recorder, UK manufacturer JoeCo has carried out a series of tests on selected disk drives to evaluate their effectiveness in live performance situations. With reliability high on the agenda for the 24-channel live multi-track recorder manufacturer, Glyph Technologies' new GT 062E drive has gained top marks, accompanying the BBR to both NAMM 2010 and the Frankfurt Musikmesse.

Glyph's GT 062E is a professional-grade storage solution designed for audio and video editing, content creation and live recording. It has two hard drives inside, and can be configured in several different drive modes, selectable using the Glyph Manager software utility.

Peter Glanville, director of marketing at Glyph Technologies comments, "The BlackBox Recorder packs huge recording power into a small package, and requires fas

USA - At InfoComm 2010, live demonstrations of Meyer Sound's new MIna line array loudspeaker will showcase the system's impact and fidelity despite weighing merely 47 lbs. The Constellation acoustic system will also be featured.

In the Meyer Sound demo room at InfoComm, Mina will be heard with its low-frequency complement 500-HP subwoofer. The JM-1P arrayable loudspeaker and 700-HP subwoofer will also be featured in the demos.

Meyer Sound will also showcase the CAL column array loudspeaker, an expanding range of low-voltage installation solutions, the Acheron Studio screen channel loudspeaker and HMS-10 cinema surround loudspeaker, along with the D-Mitri digital audio platform, which will also be shown at the AVnu Alliance Pavilion.

(Jim Evans)

UK - SADiE recently sponsored In The Dark's high profile events at the London International Documentary Festival (LIDF), which took place in early May.

In The Dark is an organisation dedicated to celebrating and enriching the culture of radio documentary in the UK. Through workshops and live 'listening' events that bring together producers from around the world it aims to encourage a thriving community where radio can be easily accessed, enjoyed and discussed.

This year, In The Dark hosted a number of events in association with LIDF. These allowed audiences to close their eyes and open their ears to a world of aural story telling. Running alongside LIDF's programme of films and photography, it asked how story-telling through sound continues to enrich documentary culture as a whole.

All events were guest-chaired by independent producer Alan Hall (Falling Tree

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Australia - Prior to a much anticipated world tour, Crowded House played the West Coast and the East Coast Blues & Roots Festivals, plus a sell-out show at the Enmore Theatre in Sydney. The band's longtime lighting director Dave Harding was there at the helm of a Jands Vista control system comprising of a Vista S1, S3 and a couple of M1's driven off a MAC Midi with a laptop for backup.

Harding has played an integral part in the development of the Vista from the launch of the system at PLASA in 2004 until present day. "I had been working on it for a couple of years prior as a consultant to Jands," he says. "I designed the control palettes and had quite a lot of input into the fixture selector."

"I have a Vista S1 that I carry around in my backpack," he reports. "Once in my hotel room I can just plug into my laptop and it's got encoders, playba

UK - At the recent PLASA Focus show in Leeds, Martin Professional gave visitors the chance to win one of their popular ZR44 smoke machines. The lucky winners were the team from Barnsley College's two-year, full-time level three qualification in all aspects of backstage management, operations and theatrical production.

Course leader Lee Flint and technical instructor Michael 'Fletch' Fletcher picked up their prize which is now in residence at The Shed theatre on the Honeywell Campus of Barnsley College but soon to move to new premises at the Old Mill Lane new-build site in Barnsley Town Centre.

(Claire Beeson)

UK - The Lyttleton Theatre of London's National Theatre is one of the UK's most prolific hotbeds of stage creativity, which means its technical team has to cope with changing between very different productions on an almost nightly basis. With a DiGiCo SD7 recently installed in the South Bank premises, life is now a little easier.

"We have a connection with DiGiCo because we often use a D1 console for outdoor productions in our Theatre Square venue," says Lyttleton Theatre sound manager Yvonne Gilbert.

"So we had prior knowledge of the user interface, which helped our choice. But the truth is we looked at a lot of digital consoles and none seemed to do the job we wanted as well as the SD7.

"We're a rep house, we have a different show each night and they are extremely varied. We needed a console that would give us a wide range of possibilities, from mixing

USA - In outfitting San Diego's Old Globe Theatre for Duncan Sheik's musical Whisper House, the sound design team of Dan Moses Schreier and associate designer David Bullard - who designed the audio for the current Broadway hits Westside Story, A Little Night Music and Sondheim On Sondheim - drew on years of combined experience to select the optimal equipment for every scenario of the complex audio production.

With an on-stage orchestra, a cappella vocal performances, large-group sequences and loud, complicated battle scenes transitioning throughout the entire play, they needed a verstile audio system and ultimately selected AKG's DMS 700 wireless microphone system and JBL VRX loudspeakers.

AKG DMS 700 digital wireless microphone systems were outfitted with a variety of AKG handheld mics, such as the C5 condenser, D5 dynamic, D7 dynamic handheld. The most i

UK - The fast growing Sweet Potato Restaurant & Leisure Ventures Group has extended its latest restaurant concept - Kitchen Italia - by opening a second site close to Covent Garden's trendy Seven Dials.

With its big sharing wooden benches the lively fast-service basement atmosphere is brought to life by a background music system, installed by the Sound Division Group and featuring white Martin Audio architectural AQ loudspeakers, alternating along the vaulted ceiling, down the length of the room.

With its prime location next to the Donmar Theatre, and well-known in its previous guise as the Bunker Bar, Kitchen Italia specialises in fresh, homemade pastas and char grill pizzas.

The Sound Division Group has a long history with the operator, having carried out various installation phases at the leisure group's original venture, Hush in Mayfair, as well as the Villandry restaura

UK - The BBC has equipped its two newest outside broadcast vehicles with Focal CMS50 active monitors. The two vehicles form part of a BBC Radio OB fleet that became fully operational this spring and will ultimately replace the oldest vehicles in the existing fleet.

The CMS50 is a two-way, bi-amped, nearfield monitor featuring a 5" mid-woofer and it is the middle size in the CMS (Compact Monitoring System) range, which also comprises the CMS65 and the new CMS40.

Garry Robson, of UK Focal distributor, SCV Electronics, said, "We presented the Focal CMS range for approval during late 2009 and were delighted when we heard that the CMS50 had been chosen over the usual suspects. One of our dealers, HHB, received the BBC order in early 2010."

(Jim Evans)

Germany - The long-running German hip hop band Fettes Brot embarked on their latest tour of German arenas (Fettes/Brot Tour 2010) at the end of April to coincide with the release of their new dual live CD's, Fettes and Brot.

Initially the tour was planned to have taken place in smaller venues but, such was the success of the new CD that it quickly transpired that demand was much greater than expected. Many of the concerts moved to arenas with much larger capacities (ranging between 2,000-9,000) - and this leg will culminate in a performance at the vast, 20,000-capacity Lanxess Arena in Köln.

The variation in venue size had little effect on Gunnar Loose's lighting design as he had created it with sufficient versatility and scalability to be easily implemented in tour venues, whatever the size.

Loose has been working for several years with Fettes Brot, co

UK - While preparing for their annual Asian cultural show, private school Merchant Taylors' of London was faced with a problem.

"We had a pre-order of eight MAC 250 Wash fixtures to help light an average-sized stage with an audience of over 400 people per night," states lighting designer Ben Yager. "Two weeks before show date, as we visited the hall for the second time, we suddenly realised there was insufficient power for the discharge moving heads we had pre-ordered from Stage Electrics. We immediately made a decision on what to do next."

Yager, who describes himself as a "Martin fanatic," insisted on using Martin products and remembered back to the PLASA '09 exhibition where the new MAC 301 Wash LED fixture was displayed. He was thoroughly impressed and fortunately Stage Electrics had recently invested in the new LED light.

"The low powe

USA - Lighting designer David Pedemonti specified a Jands Vista S3 console to provide lighting control for a regional production of the hit US Off Broadway show, Altar Boyz. The musical comedy tells the story of a religious boy band trying to save the world one soul at a time.

Some of the original Off Broadway show's creators help bring to life this version produced by and at the Bristol Riverside Theatre, Bristol PA, with stage direction and choreography by Christopher Gattelli, and musical direction by Gary Adler. Lighting design was by David Pedemonti of APA Music & Pictures Inc., with programming by Nick Wyant.

Pedemonti was particularly impressed with the Vista's ability to combine big bold looks with the show's precise comic timing, and how quick and easy the show was to programme using the console's unique visually based lighting plot. He commented:

"When

Singapore - Long-term Midas users, the Singapore-based Faith Community Baptist Church (FCBC), have purchased their second PRO6 digital audio system this year.

FCBC, which attracts a congregation of up to 10,000 at its weekly services, has installed the second PRO6, purchased from Midas' Singaporean distributor Quad Pro, into its 1,500-capacity Touchcentre place of worship. The first PRO6 is already in fulltime use at the Touch Community Theatre.

FCBC's senior audio engineer, Philip Nadesan says, "The PRO6 retains the warmth of analogue boards yet adds a crisp 'sparkle' at the high end. The learning curve from analogue to digital board was surprisingly fast and smooth with the PRO6. The onboard EQ was a breeze to use and functioned like an analogue board. More impressively, there are four-mode compressors at the input channel and side chain functions.

"An unexpected

UK - Cooper Controls has announced the appointment of Sarah Burridge as customer service manager for Cooper Controls. In this newly created role, Burridge will be responsible for all customer service activities including quotations, order processing, and customer returns functions for the iLight architectural and Zero 88 entertainment brands.

Burridge has a background of over 20 years of professional experience in high service, customer focused environments as diverse as retail and contract delivery in the construction industry.

"I am really excited about this new role" said Burridge. "Cooper Controls is a well respected company with an excellent portfolio of loyal customers and a good service record. As and our customers grow we also have to look to drive our support services to the next level in customer satisfaction. My key priorities for the future will incl

USA - When the 2400-seat Verizon Hall opened in Philadelphia's Kimmel Centre for the Performing Arts in 2001, its automated rigging system seemed like the right choice to move the massive acoustic canopies as each concert required.

Before long, however, the hall's manager, David Thiele - now the Kimmel Centre's vice president of facilities and operations - determined that there were significant issues with the rigging. The hardware components initially functioned properly, but the software did not.

"We discovered early on that the software was not reliable," he said. "We had a series of problems with software bugs that had to be solved. There were unusual error messages that couldn't be cleared without a phone call to the manufacturer's main office."

As time went on, Thiele noted, the manufacturer's ability to help him waned as well - and then hardware pr

UK - HHB Communications has supplied two RSS M-400 digital consoles, with RSS S-1608 Digital Snakes and stageboxes, for installation in an Outside Broadcast Vehicle newly acquired and fitted out by SECMedia, the AV arm of the South England Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.

Ahead of the Church's biggest annual get-together at Camp Meeting in Wales, SECMedia has refurbished an OBV built by Sony Broadcast, once part of the Grampians TV fleet. Equipped with a new 48-channel M-400 digital console plus configurable digital snake solution, the truck will handle a packed schedule, recording and mixing for internet broadcast six programmes a day throughout the six-day event.

The South England Conference is the umbrella organisation that enfolds all the Seventh-day Adventist churches in the south of the country. Stefan Stanciu, leader of the 15-man AV and IT team, was the fir

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