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UK - The Association of British Theatre Technicians will launch its annual Summer School 2005 at the A.C. Lighting North Trade Show being held at the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds on 26 and 27 April.

ABTT Summer School 2005 will be held at Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry. Four Awards are being offered this summer. In addition to its Bronze for Stage Technicians, this year sees the launch of a Silver Award for Stage Technicians, a Silver Award for Sound Technicians and a Silver Award for Stage Electricians. For the first time, these Awards will have full accreditation from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, making the ABTT Awards the first accredited courses for technical and production practitioners in theatre.

The Bronze Award is five intensive days taking the following subjects: Electrical Fundamentals, Portable Appliance Testing, Knots & Spl

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USA - A wireless four-channel Lectrosonics Venue Receiver System, including 16 MM400B miniature belt-pack transmitters, has been installed at SeaWorld San Diego for the water park's new sea lion and otter show. Clyde and Seamore in Deep, Deep Trouble is a marine-themed adventure that features California sea lions, river otters, animal trainers and theatrical performers in search of a mythical sea creature and treasure.

Key to SeaWorld's decision to purchase the Lectrosonics system was the introduction of the latest version of the company's waterproof miniature belt-pack transmitter, the MM400B. Previous versions of the MM400 did not feature a power switch and could only be turned off by removing the battery. The new MM400B features a waterproof power switch and allows that switch to be programmed as an audio mute.

This new feature of the Digital Hybrid Wireless transmit

Doughty - Banner - from 6 June 2025

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UK - The ABTT Theatre Show 2005 (15-16 June, Royal Horticultural Halls, London) will present a variety of advanced products designed to enable safe working at heights, say the organizers. The new Work at Height Regulations apply the same restrictions to working at heights below two metres as have long been required at greater heights. Over two thirds of all injuries from falls are from heights below two metres, and to ignore the risks of falling, no matter the distance, potentially puts theatre technicians in serious breach of health and safety regulations.

The ABTT (the Association of British Theatre Technicians) has embraced the issue and will launch its draft for consultation of its Code of Safe Practice when Working at Height at the ABTT Theatre Show in June. Chairman of the ABTT's Safety Committee, David Adams explains: "Whilst designers can achieve much to reduce the

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UK - Stage Technologies has been working with prominent French company ECA2 and the world-renowned Canadian based company Cirque Éloize to realize an aerial performance for the Toyota Group's central show at the Aichi 2005 World Fair in Japan, which started on 25 March. The fair is oriented towards the future, and will be based on major issues including nature, the environment, durable growth and new technologies. For this event, founder of ECA2, Yves Pépin and his team have designed and produced a huge multimedia show, which will take place 14 times a day, everyday for a six month period, both a human and technological challenge.

The automation equipment was initially set up at the Cirque Éoize venue in Canada to enable the shows' creative team to experiment with its ideas and allow the performers to become accustomed to the equipment. Working closely with performance riggin

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Venezuela - Audio Valencia of Valencia, Venezuela is one of the latest sound providers to become an Adamson Y-Axis Partner, purchasing a complete system comprised of 16 Adamson Y-Axis Y18s and four Y10s. The sale was arranged through Abba Trading Corporation of Fort Lauderdale, Florida - Adamson's distributor for Latin America.

Since taking delivery, Audio Valencia has used its new Adamson Y-Axis system for all of its A-list events, which has included recent Venezuelan concert dates by the Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti, and Spanish superstar Miguel Bosé.

Sound engineer Daniel Fernandez provided technical training on the new system for the Audio Valencia staff; and assisted Luciano Pavarotti's FOH engineer John Pellowe for the 2 March concert date at Teatro Teresa Carreño in Caracas, Venezuela.

"For the Pavarotti concert, we used an array of eight Y18s and two Y10s p

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UAE - PALME - the Middle East's premier professional sound, light, music, audio visual and systems integration exhibition, which runs from 24-26 April 2005 in Dubai, will feature a series of master classes and industry seminars specifically designed to help those involved in AV installation and event management keep up to speed with the latest products, services and solutions available, say the organizers, IIR. Held over the three days of the event, the sessions will be hosted by leading experts including leading architectural lighting designers Jonathan Speirs and Paul Gregory, renowned for international lighting design projects that include the Burj Al Arab and Golden Gate Bridge.

Jonathan Speirs' masterclasses at PALME 2005 will focus on three RIBA Stirling Prize (the UK Building of the Year award) projects, profiling the Swiss Re Tower by Foster and Partners, London, The Gat

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UK - Allen & Heath showed the latest designs from its award-winning Xone range of DJ products at the Pro Light & Sound exhibition in Frankfurt last week. The Xone:S6 - a sister product to the audiophile valve rotary Xone:V6 mixer - made its debut. Offering an almost identical feature set, fitted with the same top quality components and offering equal sonic performance, the S6 is an accessible alternative to the top of the range V6, say Allen & Heath. Adopted by the leading clubs Fabric and Ministry of Sound, and the top DJ/producers Louie Vega, Sasha, Eric Morillo and Sander Kleinenberg, the Xone:V6 has set a new standard in DJ mixing since its launch in 2002, say the company.

Built to the same standard as the V6, the S6 retains key features including the six dual stereo channels with high pass filters and insert points on every channel, accurate signal level metering, "int

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UK - Energy giant BP has operated on a 13-hectare site at Sunbury for the past 80 years, but at the start of the new millennium plans were put in place to re-develop this into a brand new Business Park. The Park integrates BP's business, commercial and technology activities and is the base for some 3,000 staff.

Part of this integration involved relocating some of the resources from offices in central London and recognized the need for a series of 11 meeting rooms to be equipped with multimedia and videoconferencing support. Located in Building B - where some of the company's Gas, Power and Renewables businesses are located - each would be differently configured but with a standard template and control. Given the number of staff on site the rooms could expect little down time.

All have now been equipped by Pendax UK, and the largest - The Willow Room - utilizes two dnp 84in New

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UK - Astronaut features as part of this year's BITE season at the Barbican Pit and is the third Theatre O production to have been co-commissioned by BITE.

Theatre O's distinctive style pushes boundaries using, dance and comedy, mime and gesture, live and recorded music and sound. Their performances are minutely choreographed chaos, with even the most frenetic movement synchronized in perfect precision. The result is an exquisitely layered experience that combines the power of storytelling with the drama of theatre.

Based on a short story by Andrea Vales, Astronaut's eclectic soundtrack was co-jointly created by sound designer Gareth Fry and artistic director, Joseph Alford. The creative use of sound plays a major role in the world of Astronaut. By simultaneously using sound in both naturalistic and abstract ways, it allows the story to jump-cut through tim

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UK - Jim Griffiths is the director of the acoustics division of Capita Symonds, which has worked on noise issues at hundreds of events and venues for many years. L&SI spoke to him about the issues concerning event licensing . . .

"Over the years, PA systems have become higher quality and increasingly powerful - and therefore potentially louder. Whilst that may be what the dancers want in their club, or the rock fans want from their favourite band, local residents will probably have a contrary view, and a balance needs to be struck. Local councils are caught in the middle of these parties and have to appease the rights of residents, whilst hopefully allowing the leisure and events industry to earn a living . . . We find ourselves very busy working with promoters, venues, event organizers and councils to find acceptable solutions.

"The environmental impact from any ven

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The Netherlands - The new Formula Sound FF-6000 DJ mixer previewed at last year's PLASA show put into use at the prestigious Jimmy Woo club in Amsterdam recently. Formula Sound designed the FF-6000 mixer in conjunction with leading UK loudspeaker manufacturer Funktion-One and a panel of European DJs, and the Amsterdam event represented the mixer's official European launch.

The event, which was hosted by leading Dutch audio promotions company PB Audio, drew a huge crowd to the exclusive nightspot to see the new FF-6000 mixer put through its paces. Heading the list of artists who entertained the crowd on the night were DJ Roog (a.k.a. Hardsoul), and, underlining the versatility of the FF-6000 mixer, Hybrid Sessions, an act that mixes DJ skills with drum machines and a live sax player.

"We feel strongly that the Formula Sound FF-6000 is absolutely the best-sounding mixer the

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UK - Engineer Dave Wooster recently purchased a selection of DPA microphones, including a DPA 3521 complete stereo kit including two 4021 compact cardioid microphones, two DPA IMK4061 kits featuring a DPA 4061 miniature omnidirectional mic with instrument mounting accessories, and a DPA 4088 compact cardioid headband mic. Wooster is using the new mics in both his Kool World studio, and on the road. He is currently touring with Latin jazz ensemble Matt Bianco, bringing together their original lineup of Mark Reilly (vocals), Basia Trzetrzelewska (vocals) and Danny White (keyboards) for the first time in 20 years. The 4061 miniatures are being used for close miking the cymbals, attached to the stands with DPA's magnetic mounts.

"The 4061's dynamic response and ability to handle the vast dynamic range that the band's drummer can generate never ceases to amaze," he says. &q

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New Zealand - Anyone who plugs in a plug and switches a switch in a theatre, opera house or performance space should be mindful of the energy being consumed and of the bill that arrives every month. Balancing venue profitability with the need for lighting and effects that audiences and performers have come to expect can be a problem.

With such considerations in mind, Selecon's Pacific 80V Power System is the result of over three years' R&D aimed at developing better solutions for the entertainment lighting industry. Combining a quality light output (the 80V 1200W lamp delivers as much light on to the stage as a traditional 2.0/2.5kW luminaire, say Selecon) with significant energy savings (as much as 40-50%), the fixture offers an important new tool for designers and venues, say the company. For example, a front-of-house lighting bridge equipped with 40 2.5kW profiles will consum

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UK - How important are the leaders of a company to its financial performance? According to industry analysts Plimsoll Publishing Ltd, we are about to find out, as one in six UK sound equipment company directors will be aged over 60 by the end of 2005. Plimsoll's latest study is an analysis of the UK's top 238 sound equipment companies and the 495 company directors that are responsible for them. David Pattison, senior analyst at Plimsoll, comments, "The reason for most concern is that of the 249 directors that have been in office for over eight years, 26% will be aged 60 or more by the end of 2005. Is the industry facing an experience 'timebomb' as these veterans near retirement age?"

The full 443 paged analysis of the UK sound equipment industry includes an examination of the age and time in office of directors at the top 238 companies. It assesses how their decisions

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USA - When Mercedes Benz wanted to create an impact for the world première of its Mercedes Benz M-class at the 17th North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit, it enlisted the help of media concept planning agency, TLD Planungsgruppe GmbH. TLD, which has a long established relationship with DaimlerChrysler AG, Mercedes Benz and Manufaktur Maybach brands, was given an open brief for the project. Aside from launching the M-class, TLD was also responsible for showcasing all the other Mercedes Benz vehicles on the stand, plus three cars on the Manufaktur Maybach stand.

A total of 20 vehicles had to be put in to perspective in only 2000sq.m. "Presenting so many different models on the stand provided a challenge as we had to define the separate identity of each model," said chief lighting designer Richard Profe. To maintain this distinction, a huge architectu

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Worldwide - Bandit Lites is supplying full lighting production to Mark Knopfler's Shangri La world tour, once again working with lighting designer Simon Tutchener. Bandit UK has invested in a new MA Lighting grandMA lighting console - their first - especially for the tour, complete with an MA Light for backup, as this was Tutchener's console of choice. Tutchener re-visited his theatrical roots for part of the design's inspiration. He decided at the outset that the moving lights would be used sparingly, only visibly moving at a few specific, punctuating points in the set.

"Mark's extremely specific about what he likes and dislikes," says Tutchener. "Any distractions to him and his music are a definite no-no!", so that ruled out a whole raft of lighting staples including gobo projections onto the backdrop, rotating gobos, etc. Needless to say, when light

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UK - While the remaining members of Queen, Brian May and Roger Taylor, were pleasantly surprised to find that 21 years after their last tour Clair Brothers Audio is still the biggest PA rental company in the world, some things had changed. The band's itinerary has them scheduled to play the arenas of Europe, followed by some stadium dates this summer and a tour of the US in the autumn, "but we started rehearsals in Roger's home studio, so space was a bit tight," said monitor man Steve May. He explains: "The band suggested I use a Yamaha PM1D, but at that time the pre-amps in the desk hadn't been upgraded, and besides it's nearly as big as an XL4. The logical choice was the new PM5D."

With a stated preference for the old Midas analogue warhorse, how's he finding the Yamaha? "Overall it's sounding great, the band think so too; it's a busy show with lots of

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UK - London's St. Paul's Cathedral is in the midst of a substantial audio upgrade which has seen a complete overhaul of its room and signal processing by long-term contractors, RG Jones Sound Engineering Ltd. System designer and project manager Jon Berry favoured BSS Soundweb architecture following discussions with Arup Acoustics' consultant Sam Wise. Arup had been asked to provide an independent assessment of the original system and identified that while RG Jones' bespoke speakers were still serviceable, the front end - including custom mixer, graphics and delay lines - needed a substantial overhaul to satisfy the broadening function of the Cathedral, and the audio requirements of congregation sizes up to 2,600 people.

As one of the cathedral's preferred suppliers, RG Jones was contracted to undertake the work by St. Paul's Dean and Chapter, acting on the advice of Martin Stanc

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Australia - Melbourne is the home to a world-first roadway feature: a 300m interactive matrix of colour changing LEDs on the new Craigieburn Bypass road. Supplied by veteran lighting projects company, Lightmoves Pty Ltd, the LED matrix is incorporated into an acoustic barrier wall of screen-printed acrylic panels. Designed by landscape architects Taylor Cullity Lethlean and engineers Webb Australia in collaboration with local artist Robert Owen, the LED Wall is the main lighting feature of Stage One of the project which opened to the public on 21 December 2004. Lightmoves successfully tendered for this unique project designing a system that would deliver a matrix display of colour-changing LED fittings that could be individually controlled and regulated by transducers in the road.

Installed by contractors Alstom Australia, the LED Wall is one of the most ambitious feature lighti

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UK - Leeds is the second city centre site of the new bar and restaurant concept Babycream. The forces responsible for the world famous Cream and some of Liverpool's chicest nightspots are behind this venture. Cream has a strong tradition in clubbing, festivals (including the hugely popular Creamfields), and records.The latest Babycream is a two floor venue occupying a prime site in the heart of Leeds on the Headrow. Intimate booth seating downstairs combine with a bar and dance floor area providing a 600 capacity, whilst the upstairs restaurant seats another 80. Joint operators, The Lyceum Group (founder of Liverpool's renowned Blue Bar & Grill, Baby Blue and The Pan American Club), are keen to ensure that Babycream Leeds delivers on style and contemporary design, with an emphasis on quality eating, premium drinks and cutting edge music.

Music is a massively important part of th

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USA - On Wednesday, 13 April 2005, two draft rigging standards were posted on the ESTA website for public review. BSR E1.4, Entertainment Technology-Manual Counterweight Rigging Systems, and BSR E1.21, Entertainment Technology - Temporary Ground-Supported Overhead Structures Used to Cover the Stage Areas and Support Equipment in the Production of Outdoor Entertainment Events, will be available on the ESTA website until the end of the day, midnight GMT, on 28 June 2005. They can be accessed at http://www.esta.org/tsp/documents/public_review_docs.php.

BSR E1.4, Entertainment Technology-Manual Counterweight Rigging Systems, describes the design and construction of manually powered counterweight rigging systems. The primary purpose of the standard is to enhance the safety of these system, which

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UK - Automation specialists Kinesys designed the motion control system for the revolutionary Barco "MiSphere" 'roll drop' low-res screens (also referred to as "Pixel panels"), a high impact visual special effect developed for U2's seminal "Vertigo" tour.

The screens are the most spectacular of several unique LED effects devised for the latest U2 tour by show director Willie Williams, with whom Kinesys has previously worked on the last U2 tour and the ongoing West End blockbuster, We Will Rock You.Conceived by Williams and designer Mark Fisher, the seven custom engineered trusses each carry 27 strings of 63 Barco MiSphere 'balls', totalling 1,701 balls per truss, weighing approximately 500 Kgs each.

Each truss, specially designed by Brilliant Stages for U2, is one metre square in width/height and five metres long, with an open bottom. Each s

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UK - The Spinal Research Top to Tail Dinner took guests into the world of James Bond and attracted the support of some leading celebrities in raising £80,000 at the Savoy this April.

Lorraine Kelly and Jim Rosenthal hosted 300 guests through a light hearted evening with a serious fund-raising purpose. A fast moving fashion show entertained guests with models including ex bond girls Maryam D'Abo and Caroline Bliss, joined by D'Arcy Bussel, Jilly Johnson and sporting icons David James, Richard Dunwoody, David Ginola and (hotly tipped as the next James Bond) actor Colin Salmon.

Sound engineer Richard Ryan skilfully mixed James Bond tracks to create a dynamic feature of the evening, he commented: "The fashion show was quite complicated due to the number of different tracks behind the catwalk parade. I introduced the stings behind each of the couples whilst keeping the backgr

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Italy - Now in its 55th year, the Festival di Sanremo is Italy's own, and longer running, version of Eurovision. As usual, it took place in the Teatro Ariston di Sanremo from 1-5 March. It is always a visually spectacular affair and this year was no exception.

This year saw a whole new format to the show, which was broadcast across Italy on national TV station RAI. Hosts were Paolo Bonolis, director of the show, and popular TV personality, Antonella Clerici. Guest Stars included Mike Tyson, Vasco Rossi, Gwen Stefani, Michael Buble, Wil Smith and Argentinian singer Lola Ponce. The competition resembled Pop Idol, with two members of each group voted out and the remaining artists merged into one group, this continued until the winner was decided.

AV rental company Eurovideo developed a new concept in set design by placing Lighthouse LED modules in the risers of stairs at the rear

  1. Hawthorn supplies for RSVP
  2. Panacea, Manchester
  3. Czech 'Grammy' Awards go digital
  4. Vector - by Royal Appointment
  5. BSS Soundweb for Three Weeds
  6. LiteStructures 'signs up' Neonflex
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