Stagetec, exclusive UK distributor for Compulite products, has sold its first Rave moving light console into the UK rental market. The Rave was launched at last month's ABTT show, and the first one was snapped up by Terry Tew Lighting. The console - billed as 'the next generation of lighting control for the club and live market', is a new, compact lighting control desk from Compulite aimed specifically at the Club/DJ market, and for small venues wanting low-cost, versatile moving light control.
Terry Tew Lighting is a sound, lighting and AV rental house, specializing in all areas of corporate events, product launches, industrial shows and exhibitions. They also offer technical management for all types of projects. The Rave was chosen by lighting designer Kevin Cramner, who went to Stagetec for a demo and bought it on the spot for TTL. The desk went straight out on its first show where
Tomcat’s second annual Las Vegas Motor School is sweeping through the Western Region this year hot on the heels of LDI 2002. The workshop, scheduled for 21 and 22 of October, will be held at 4 Wall Entertainment and consists of a full day of motor instruction taught by Don Dimitroff of Columbus McKinnon, a half-day of fall protection led by Morgan Neff of Mine Safety Appliances, and a half-day of truss design, use and theory taught by Keith Bohn from Tomcat USA. In other Tomcat training news, the annual Tomcat Hoist and Rigging Workshop will be hosted by Tomcat USA in Midland, Texas, from 5-8 February 2003. Recognized worldwide as one of the most comprehensive training courses of its kind, the Hoist and Rigging Workshop is a unique learning opportunity for those new to the entertainment industry, as well as veterans of the business.
Avesco plc has sold its broadcast television studio business, Fountain Studios, for £7 million to Medal Entertainment and Media plc, subject to the approval of both companies’ shareholders. The amount is made up by a combination of £5.5 million in cash and £1.5 million in securities.
The move fulfils Avesco’s intention to focus on providing its core services to the events market. David Nicholson, Avesco’s chief executive, told us: "Fountain has been a good solid business for us, but there are limited synergy benefits, with virtually no relationship with any other group company. The cash we have generated from this sale allows us to cut our debt still further. We have taken actions this past year to reduce our debt rapidly. Following completion of this transaction, the Group’s net debt figure will stand at less than £11 million, having been more than hal
Wharfedale Pro loudspeakers are fast becoming the de facto standard for installation in Kuala Lumpur’s busy restaurant areas. Amizan Arrifin of CK Music, has just finished a string of installs in Malaysia culminating in Zino's Cafe & Pub (at Changkat Raja Chulan).
The outlet is located in an area popular among back-packers from other countries. Here they are welcomed by the sound of two pairs of Wharfedale Pro LA-15P which are used to playback both live performance, which the venue has now introduced, as well as piped-in music. Meanwhile, Sakura Cafe & Cuisine has been a popular restaurant since the 1970s, serving a mix of local and continental food. As part of the recent renovation works, the owners opted to include nine pairs of Wharfedale Pro Force 1, distributed around the two floors of the restaurant, to provide easy listening for the diners.
Miami-based MAVCO has been awarded contracts for two key South Florida construction projects.
At Wynmoor Theater, MAVCO is providing engineering, supply and installation of the lighting, sound and cinema systems for the refurbishment of the 900-seat theatre located at Coconut Creek, Florida. Working to a design by TSG Design Solutions, MAVCO’s enormous experience in all three disciplines was a crucial element in gaining the project, offering the main contractor, Dooley & Mack, the advantage of having one supplier handling all the technical systems.
The Wynmoor Theater serves a private gated community just off the Florida Turnpike and, as well as offering both drama and music productions, is also used for lectures and courses, as well as current events. The comprehensive refurbishment, under the project management of MAVCO’s Nick Gibson, is due for completion at the end of
i-vision's Geoff Jones has been seen in action yet again at Late Night Bars in the Warrington and Manchester areas - designing architectural lighting schemes for this new brand concept. The Warrington venue - the brainchild of nightlife entrepreneur John Rennie - is located in a highly competitive area of town, with many operations competing directly for business from Warrington's night-owls. The Late Night Bar is one of the few venues offering outside seating and i-vision’s brief from the client was to design an attractive lighting scheme to draw people to the venue.
Apart from its aesthetic appeal, the company also wanted to introduce an element of 'entertainment' into the garden area, so Geoff Jones, the veteran of numerous architectural lighting schemes, from the illumination of Merseyside Police Station to the Tyne Bridge, set to work. As always, there was a budget, but Jone
Thursday 4th July saw the first customer delivery, anywhere in the world, of the new Klark Teknik DN9340 ‘Helix’ digital equalizer. EFX Audio of Edinburgh took delivery of the first six units sporting serial numbers 001 to 006 from LMC Audio in Birmingham.
EFX had placed its order months before, solely on the basis of a description of Helix. According to EFX managing director John Ramsay: "From previous experience we knew that KT would produce a benchmark product which would be a much sought-after unit and a step forward for us, so we had no hesitation in being the very first customer."
Klark Teknik international sales manager David Wiggins was on hand to thank EFX personally for their early adoption of the new device. "EFX have beaten everyone out of the blocks this time in demonstrating their ongoing commitment to KT, which is a great affirmation for us
Hayden Laboratories, UK distributor for Rane, has supplied HHB with three Rane NM84 CobraNET Mics for an installation at Trinity College of Music’s new facility in Greenwich, London.
The CobraNET system, developed by Peak Audio, runs full bandwidth audio through computer cables, removing the need for lots of heavy cabling. Rane has developed this system further by creating a device so the mics can be input at one end, the cables fed through, and then picked up again at the other end. Before the move to the new site, Trinity College’s recording technician Kit Venables knew that the facility would need a multi-track audio system, but was concerned about the restrictions of the listed building - the old Greenwich military hospital. Ian Downs of Hayden Labs and Martin O'Donnell of HHB (who had previously supplied the college with equipment) were approached by Venables, and coll
"It's my fifth Falcon Club convention," notes lighting designer Tim Ball. "In the past, the shows have been in Bali, Jamaica and on a cruise liner bobbing about on the Med. This year it was Bermuda!" No stranger to dealing with challenges, for this show Tim had to overcome a tight budget, limited freight capacity on the charter aircraft used to ship equipment to the show, the 120V operating voltage at the venue, and the need for the rig to be adaptable enough to light both a business meeting and a gala dinner with cabaret in the same room. To help face these challenges, he turned to Colourhouse.
For the maximum punch from a small package, Ball opted to use the Martin MAC 300 washlight and MAC 250 spotlight, rounding the rig out with ETC Source Four profiles, which were fitted with Morpheus ColorFader colour changers and used to provide a precisely-focussed, colour-c
Star Hire (Event Services) Ltd provided the staging for ‘Feel the Noise 2002’, a series of five Emap radio roadshows. Star Hire supplied a mixture of their mobile SS 15-12V StarStages and VT 15 stages for the event, flanked by screens on either side of the stage and triangular PA towers, provided by SSE. The tour included a variety of venues including Newcastle, Blackburn, Liverpool and Hull, for their respective radio stations.
The events, production managed by ClearChannel, featured Blue, Darius and the talented Sugar Babes amongst the artists, with Gareth Gates closing the show, much to the delight of the 25,000 strong crowd. The central stage was 15m wide, 12m deep and 10m high with a stage height of 1.8m. Each stage was constructed in its ‘Vista’ layout with screamers or 'ego-platforms' extending in front of the screens which were set back to improve audien
Coldplay’s lighting designer Bryan Leitch has invested in his first purchase of SGM Giotto 400 Spots, 14 of which he’s using for Coldplay’s 2002 world tour, which has just kicked off in Europe. The SGM fixtures were supplied to Leitch’s company, Siyan, by SGM’s UK distributor Lightfactor Sales.
Siyan specializes in designing for up-coming bands, and developing LDs and design concepts with the band as they gain profile. Leitch - who has vast experience of all the major moving light fixtures on the market - chose the SGMs after careful consideration, and following a demo by Lightfactor. He was looking for a small, bright fixture for the start of the Coldplay tour - which plays in a vast assortment of venues. "Giottos are great value for money," says Leitch. "I looked at everything available - and chose the fixture most suitable for my design b
Internationally-recognized American artist Chris Burden has produced a scale model of the Tyne Bridge made from Meccano. However, the scale was such that it was not possible to install it in the gallery by conventional means. At 282cm high and 153cm wide the problem was the length of 945cm and the destination of the top gallery space. The exhibit was constructed of specially-fabricated Meccano parts in stainless steel and consequently was of some considerable weight.
Tim Roffey of Unusual was given the task of finding a way of getting the bridge up to the 4th floor gallery. Although it couldn’t fit into the goods lift on the level, there was a possibility that it might fit in if loaded into diametrically opposed corners. A ground support was built inside the lift using mini-beam truss. Using manual lever hoists attached to the temporary grid, the exhibit was gently coaxed into po
Chameleon Audio has appointed its first distributor in Australia, Victoria-based ATT Audio Controls. Commenting on the appointment of ATT, Chameleon managing director Paul Houlden told us: "Although we have a comprehensive distribution network in Europe, inroads have yet to be made into areas such as North America, the Far East and the Pacific. I am confident, therefore, that Frank and his team will raise the profile of the Chameleon brand throughout Australia."
ATT’s Frank Hinton added: "I spoke to Paul at last year’s PLASA show, and was impressed with his enthusiasm, knowledge and attitude. The amps’ spec and build are superb, and the digital audio control system he is currently developing sounds very promising. I am looking forward to putting Chameleon on the map Down Under."
The hard rock four-piece Creed, featuring vocalist Scott Stapp, guitarist Mark Tremonti, and drummer Scott Phillips, is back on the road using an arsenal of Audio-Technica wired and wireless microphones in support of their latest release, Weathered.
Kirk Kelsey, Creed's front-of-house engineer and co-producer of Weathered, chose a wide array of Audio-Technica microphones to help capture the band's signature sound. "I've been using Audio-Technica mics for years, both live and in the studio. When we were recording Weathered, we used AT4047s on clean guitars, AT4050s for the dirty guitar, ATM25s for the toms, AT4060s for overheads, and an AT3035 on kick. When it came time to hit the road, rather than mix and match a bunch of microphones, I wanted one company with the products and support that would cut it, and A-T is the one."
Currently, for Scott Phillips' drum kit, Kelsey is
The Legoland theme park in Carlsbad, California, has installed Wharfedale Systems loudspeakers for the first time. The San Diego-based consulting, sales and installation company Quiet Voice Audio, which provides equipment for all the park's live sound stages and special events, has chosen Wharfedale's PB-208 powered sub-bass for the new Quest for Galidor interactive experience which opened this month.
Based around the new Fox Kids Saturday morning television show, Galidor: Defenders of the Outer Dimension, this indoor presentation revolves around four video monitors and a large wall-mounted plasma screen, with a dedicated in-house soundtrack production which interweaves the spoken word with techno music. Program material is fed to the monitors along with the soundtrack. A broadcast quality video camera and switcher generate real-time video of the visiting children in front of a
Ensconced in the former basement area of London’s legendary Cafe Royal in the West End, now lurks one of the most chic of glitterati chill-out establishments - Elysium. It’s camp. It’s chi-chi. And it’s not subtle. Designed as ‘an extravagant homage to famed OTT film director Cecil B De Mille’, the carefully themed venue’s many textured hangings, canopies, lanterns and drapes frame long sofas, mosaic’ed alcoves and hand carved furnishings.
For the audio system, Podd Sound’s Matthew Podd put his specialist knowledge to the test once again, having been responsible for the sound and lighting installation in London’s hugely popular Bar Elvissa. For Elysium’s all-important DJ station, Podd Sound included HK Audio L.U.C.A.S. 1000 system in the role of the club’s DJ monitoring. "The L.U.C.A.S. is compact and unobtrus
Dobson Sound has acquired The Sound Company. Jon Miller, the present owner of The Sound Company will remain closely involved with the business whilst Mark Thompson, currently the technical director and sound designer with The Sound Company, will join the Dobson team as one of its in-house designers, with specific responsibility for theatre sound.
Dobson specializes in the design and supply of sound systems for special events, music performances and conferences. The scale and complexity of the events in which Dobson is involved has increased considerably in recent years. Within the last four months the company has provided sound systems for the Queen Mother’s Funeral and the Golden Jubilee celebrations in Central London. Recent and long-standing clients come both from the world of classical music - with open-air concerts in Somerset House, and live relays for the Royal Opera House
Star Hire (Event Services) Ltd provided all of the technical facilities for the Queen’s Jubilee Baton Relay Tour evening celebration sites, covering 47 sites in 48 days of a 50-date tour, the first time a tour of its kind has been attempted and completed successfully in the UK.
Drawing on the theme of fifty, the Baton was carried by 5000 runners passing through 500 places in 50 days. The relay traversed the whole of the UK, stopping overnight in venues so that the Baton could change hands and to allow for evening entertainment. The Baton’s journey culminated in Manchester at the opening of the Commonwealth Games on 25 July 2002.
Star Hire provided one of its SS11-09 Mobile StarStages for the tour and managed the technical production elements of sound, lighting, power and video screens for the evening entertainment events. They were also responsible for the design, manufa
The Music Managers Forum (MMF) has marked its 10th anniversary by receiving official recognition from the Law Society for its high standards of training. The Law Society has given the MMF accreditation to deliver a range of seminars that meet the Continual Professional Development (CPD) requirements for Lawyers.
Since its inception in 1995, MMF-Training (the training division of the Music Managers Forum) has delivered a range of Master Classes that focus on legal and business issues in key areas of the Music Business. Although originally designed with the artist manager in mind, the seminars cover a range of topics that are equally relevant to others working in the music industry. Other MMF-Training accreditations include the Institute of Legal Executives and members of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), The Association of International Accountants (A
The £40m National Ice Centre, Nottingham, boasts two Olympic-sized ice pads (the first such facility in the UK), one of which transforms into the impressive 10,000 capacity Nottingham Arena designed to host an array of rock and pop concerts and children's shows. The multi-purpose centre also houses a health and fitness centre and first class corporate entertainment and conference facilities.
July 31 saw the official opening by Her Majesty the Queen at a Gala organised and choreographed by Torvill and Dean. The crowds gathered to enjoy an evening packed with music, ice-skating and celebrations, featuring Nottingham Symphony Orchestra, the local ice hockey team and the world's finest figure skaters, including two Olympic Gold medallists, plus local skaters. The evening began with a demonstration of the skating skills of local children, followed by speeches from the Lord Mayor of Notting
A pair of Allen & Heath GL3300 eighteen buss live sound consoles were used at several events during the recent Hue Festival in Vietnam. The festival was held in the ancient imperial capital of Hue and was the second celebration of its kind, building on the success of a similar event in 2000. Thousands of tourists were attracted to this year's festivities, which showcased the diverse cultural traditions of Vietnam's different regions and also gave local people an opportunity to see performers from France, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Indonesia, The Philippines, China, Korea and Japan.
The rental division of Allen & Heath's distributor for Vietnam, Nguyen Hoang Co Ltd, supplied the sound reinforcement system for several major events during the 12-day festival. Both 32-channel GL3300s were first used for the opening ceremony, which centred on a 600 square metre stage in Ngo Mon Square. One o
The experienced Jon Petts was reunited with Ian Kirby this month, with the announcement that Coemar UK will be taking over the distribution of Taiwan-based smoke machine specialists, Antari.
Latterly international product manager for JEM, within the Martin Professional organization, Petts told us: "I have now decided to hang up my passport and focus on the UK. With the Antari distribution switching to Coemar UK - and the announcement of a new professional range of club and touring products - this is an exciting challenge. Antari fully appreciate that with the demands of today’s touring, event, studio and theatre markets, atmospheric effect generators need exacting standards of construction and reliability."
Jon will take up the role of Antari UK sales manager, and Ian Kirby is delighted to have such a leading professional on board, whom he first met when they worked t
International Management Services (IMS) - Asia Pacific, has launched a specialist consultancy and distribution management service for companies targeting the Asia Pacific region. IMS - Asia Pacific already has a number of clients including Cadac Electronics plc, manufacturers of top-end analogue mixing consoles for sound reinforcement and location recording.
The company will be managed by a well-established team which has many years' experience working in Asia within the professional audio industry. Manager Craig Lovell has spent the last decade living and working in Asia, based in both Japan and Singapore. He worked for Matsushita, as well as Harman International Industries Ltd, and was involved in the formation and management of the Tokyo-based representative office for Amek. Phillippa Jeanes was responsible for the formation and management of the Singapore Office for Dalet Digital M
Drape and rigging specialist Blackout recently assisted in the realisation of the Faceparty.com launch party. Recognised as one of the world’s most popular websites, Faceparty marked the occasion with a celebration of dance music. Staged at Three Mills Film Studios, the Faceparty event’s line-up included Pete Tong, Lisa Pin-Up, Kosheen, Boy George, Ms Dynamite, Scratch Perverts and many more.
Over 4km of sunset orange carpet, a staggering quantity of drapes and starcloth, custom-built scenery, 140kW of Turbosound PA and tens of thousands of fairy lights converted the Three Mills car park and three main film studios into a stunning spatial wonderland. Blackout’s project manager, Kevin Monks, collaborated with Faceparty’s Dave Bamforth to realise Bamforth’s creative ideas, before the Blackout team dressed all four themed dance areas of the vast site.