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UK - West-London based Projected Image Digital, has supplied and installed a series of bespoke Element Labs VersaTUBE LED display systems for telecoms giant O2. PID was working to the specification of leading UK brand experience and production company Imagination.

The installations - involving nearly 300 TUBES - are now operational in the shop windows of selected flagship O2 retail outlets around the UK. Inbuilt into customized two-metre wide racking, the VersaTUBE linear LED fixtures are running a 15 minute loop of high-impact, low-resolution video visuals.

Imagination wanted a turn-key solution for the project. It also sought a supplier able not just to specify the right product, but to offer the requisite amount of technical expertise, support and back up, both during the installation and thereafter - in the specific area of digital media. This is why PID was chosen for the

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UK - Bar Local, recently opened in the heart of Fulham, is the second venue to be rolled out by entrepreneur Rob Stephenson. The first Bar Local opened in Clapham last year to great acclaim, and Stephenson is confident that the Fulham venue will enjoy similar success. While this area of south-west London is already home to several upmarket bars and restaurants, Bar Local offers something a little bit different, combining the class of a piano bar with the energy and ambience of an intimate club. Stephenson turned to audio visual specialists, Sound Division, to furnish a powerful yet discreet audio system including a DJ booth for his latest venture.

Sound Division's David Graham explained that the brief was to provide a high quality background and foreground audio system that would transition smoothly from the daytime background music CDs and early evening tinklings of the grand p

PLASA Show 2025 - Banner - June-Aug 2025

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UK - Siyan Lighting recently supplied 20 Chroma-Q Color Blocks for use on alternative rock band Athlete's three night residency at Brixton Academy in April. Athlete is currently touring the UK to promote the bands No.1 album, Tourist.

Siyan lighting designer Bryan Leitch and co-designer Dom Smith decided to add an extra visual backdrop during particular songs in the band's set. This involved using White canvas drops, just above stage height, washed with vibrant colours to provide a strong contrast to the stage backlighting.

Lighting the drops required an LED batten solution that could be floor-mounted directly below each of the four 0.75m wide canvas strips. The fixture needed to be very bright to effectively up-light the full height of the drops and produce the richness of colour required. Leitch required varying lengths of batten and having heard of the modular design

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UK - Already being hailed as the musical event of the year if not the decade, Cream's four appearances at the Royal Albert Hall have been captured for posterity by Sanctuary Mobiles.

The historic event, which saw the original supergroup of Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce reunite on stage for the first time in 36 years, was being filmed by Done and Dusted for future DVD release. Sanctuary has a long history of working with the production company on groundbreaking musical events, and once again was the first choice for providing the soundtrack to the proceedings.

Inside the Sanctuary Manor One truck, recording engineer Alan Douglas - Clapton's studio engineer - was at the helm of the 48-channel E Series SSL desk, recording all four concerts in their entirety to ensure plenty of options would be available in post production. Sanctuary technical manager Mike Silverston l

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UK / UAE - The recent PALME 2005 show launched James Thomas Engineering's PixelRange officially into the Middle East lighting market with their newly appointed distributor - Avolites ME. Avolites had one of the largest stands at the PALME show and certainly the best entrance position to demonstrate the PixelLine and PixelDrive system to all visitors entering the show, say JTE.

This even included a royal seal of approval on the second day, when before the show opened Avolites received a royal visit to the stand by HH Sheikh Hassan Lottah with his entourage and Dubai TV crew. As a customer of Avolites, the Sheikh personally chatted with Avolites MD Tony Shembish regarding the show's activities and once the royal party had left - the show opened to trade professionals.

Avolites designed their impressive PALME stand around the LED PixelRange. The PixelDrive software running the Pi

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USA - James Thomas Engineering's new PixelLine 110ec batten is making its touring debut on Alicia Keys' The Diary US tour. Specified by LD Michael Trifillis and supplied by Nebraska based Theatrical Media Services.

PixelLine 110ec is a high brightness linear wash device comprising of five cells, each of which uses five blue and green 3W Luxeon emitters and six red and amber 1W Luxeons. These high intensity emitters can produce 42 million colour combinations. Trifillis is using 24 PixelLine 110ec's in total and it's also the first time he has used James Thomas's LED units.

Twelve are used primarily as 'toners', to light several upstage drapes including the main beige scenic drop, two beige swag drapes and white chiffon drapes in between the two swags. Drapes play a major scenic role in the stage, set designed by Paul Pape. The beige was chosen to give the drapes a differ

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UK - Mojo Barriers has acquired Pit Stop Barriers from Eve Trackway, which sees all of the stock of steel, aluminium front of stage barriers and the bar barriers moving to Mojo Barriers UK new premises. In addition to existing stock this means the company has over 7.5km of front of stage barriers available to hire.

In a move signalling a significant shift change, the original founders of Pit Stop Barriers (Jim Gaffney and Jon Slater) became partners in Mojo Barriers UK in March (2005). They have been working alongside Mojo Barriers UK's long standing manager Kevin Thorborn since then to establish a new head office and storage facility in Essex.

The new Pit Stop equipment will bolster the complete Mojo Barriers UK product range available from its two offices in Essex and the Midlands; already boosted in April this year when it completed the acquisition of indoor touring special

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USA - New Jersey-based Circuit Lighting has announced a number of changes as it continues to modernize its operation, including modernization of its offices, the introduction of a new logo and the launch of a new website. Company president Richard Tilley says he felt it was time to create a new logo to symbolize the many changes and his desire to create a fresh, sunny and bright company outlook.

Circuit Lighting's office modernization has seen the addition of a new warehouse distribution computer system that barcodes all inventory. New Robe Show Lighting fixtures will replace its existing moving light inventory, ensuring superiority and latest technology in the production field. Circuit Lighting's fleet of new trucks will deliver anywhere within the United States on time, say Tilley.

Finally, on the personnel front, Circuit Lighting has announced the addition of Mark Toth to i

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UK - Autograph Sales has announced its first ever grand auction, to take place this month at the company's warehouse in North West London. The company says it will be selling a large selection of its old and new stock, as they prepare to move to nearby and extended premises later this year. The auction will take place at 1pm on Thursday 26 May 2005. Going under the hammer will be equipment from Meyer Sound, ATM, Clear-Com, BSS, Lab Gruppen, K&M, Countryman and EMO. Some items are brand new, others are from ex-demo and rental stocks, say the company.

Autograph Sales has chosen to donate a percentage of the proceeds to PSA's Welfare and Benevolent Fund. To download a catalogue and find out more about the auction, go to the Autograph Sales website, address below.

(Lee Baldock)

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USA - Two draft standards - BSR E1.22 and BSR E1.23, dealing with fire safety curtain systems and theatrical fog, have joined the two draft rigging standards available for review on the ESTA website. These two new documents will be available for review until the end of 19 July, 2005.

BSR E1.22, Entertainment Technology - Fire Safety Curtain Systems, is one of the newly posted standards. It describes the materials, fabrication, installation, operation, testing, and maintenance of fire safety curtains and fire safety curtain systems used for theatre proscenium opening protection. This is the second public review of the document, and is a radical reworking of what had been offered before. It is a serious attempt to avoid offering a cook-book description of a fire safety curtain system and to instead specify what it is supposed to do. That is, it doesn't tell yo

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Australia / USA - Australian manufacturer Enttec, producer of popular DMX tools including the Datagate and the Open DMX USB Pro, has announced the opening of its US warehouse, distribution and repair centre, in Maryland, USA. The new site, opened to service the company's ever-growing client base in the US, carries stock of the full Enttec range and all US-based orders are now sent from there, thus minimizing transit time and offering overnight shipments for urgent orders, say the company. The staff at this centre can also perform repairs on all Enttec devices.

Enttec is now looking to expand its dealer network in the USA and Canada.

(Lee Baldock)

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Iceland - Iceland's premier TV production company, 365 Media, has been a Robe distributor since Robe's direct brand launch at PLASA 2002. The dealership was secured by Alfred Sturla Bodvarsson, head of the 365 Media's lighting department. Since then, the Czech moving light manufacturer's representation in Iceland has grown in line with Robe's international success; the company has imported over 70 fixtures to Iceland with just 280,000 inhabitants.

Recently 365 Media used nearly all its Robe stock to light the finals of the most popular TV show in the country's history - Icelandic Idol. Set and lighting were designed by Alfred Sturla Bodvarsson. The show's LED-lit truss half-dome, was supplied by Eurotruss in Holland and clad with LED starcloths from Universal Stars Ltd, as was the rear projection material, onto which Apollo Design Technology glass cloud gobos were project

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Spain / UK - Vieta Pro, the Barcelona-based manufacturer of professional sound reinforcement products, is pleased to announce the appointment of an exclusive distributor in the UK. Francisco Márquez, the President of Vieta, and Nacho Alberdi, managing director of Vieta Pro, were at the ProLight+Sound expo in Frankfurt to confirm the new deal with Jonathan Reece-Farren and Andy Austin-Brown of KV2 Audio Europe Ltd.

Vieta is one of Spain's most established and well-respected audio equipment manufacturers, with a leading share in consumer audio, in-car audio and home electronics in its home market. In 2004, the company entered the pro-audio sector for the first time, with the launch of four fully developed and integrated Series of loudspeakers, ranging from ceiling speakers to 15" 2-way enclosures, plastic as well as plywood cabinets, a full selection of sub-bass units and Vi

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UK - After some 20 years of working together, the directors of DHA and Rosco have announced DHA has transferred all assets, staff and services to Roscolab Ltd. The alliance came about as a result of strategic development discussions during which it became apparent that both companies could benefit from being a stronger, united force.

The combined statement announcing the deal said: "Culturally, DHA and Rosco are a natural fit, bringing together the best of product innovation and customer service. They know that investment in processes, production and people is necessary in order to maintain their position as market leaders in the supply of gobos and projection solutions and they are determined to move the gobo business forward in the coming months and years. Together Rosco and DHA have the expertise, reputation and product range to explore new markets and develop new territ

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USA - Rigging expert Jay O. Glerum of Jay O. Glerum & Associates Inc will present a full-day Rigging Fundamentals Workshop on Thursday, November 10, 2005 in Orlando, Florida. The course is presented by the Seminars and Training committee of The ESTA Foundation, in association with Lighting Dimensions and Entertainment Design magazines. The course will take place from 8:30am to 5:30pm at the Rosen Plaza, ESTA's official hotel for The Entertainment Technology Show-LDI2005.

The course will cover the essentials of rigging, as follows: 1) The Physics and Metallurgy of Rigging - How loads exert a force on a rigging component; Types of forces; How the molecular structure of the component resists a force; Stress and strain of materials; and Allowable deflection.

2) Hardware Selection and Application - How hardware is load rated; Appropriate design factors for hardware selection; Sourc

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USA - IBM's PartnerWorld 2005 brought together 5,600 of the computer giant's business partners and executives in Las Vegas, Nevada. Unlimited Visibility Lighting Design's (UVLD) John Ingram was asked by executive producer Tom Spaulding of Drury Design Dynamics, to light the event which showcases IBM's on demand business strategy and sales execution plans to the largest annual global gathering of IBM Business Partners. Along with UVLD co-designer Paul Sharwell, Ingram created a spectacular visual landscape with hundreds of moving lights on a tight schedule and with automated set pieces.Held in the arena at the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Convention Center, IBM's PartnerWorld had just three days of load in and rehearsal time before the first show day. With 81 Martin MAC 2000 Wash fixtures, 88 MAC 2000 Profile fixtures, 36 MAC 2000 Performance fixtures and 22 High End Studio Spots, progra

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UK - British Harlequin plc will be again be at the ABTT Theatre Show 2005 (15-16 June, Royal Horticultural Halls, London), showing a wide range of examples from its extensive range on Stand 122. Visitors will able to compare dance floor coverings and systems, plus there will be expert support on hand to provide guidance and advice. Commenting on prospects for this year's show, marketing manager, Monica Arnott said: "We are always very encouraged by the quality of the people attending ABTT. Not only do we meet many of our existing customers here, but we always gain many interesting new enquiries."

Harlequin's worldwide operations serve the dance community at a number of levels with important recent projects including the new Copenhagen Opera House, the French National Dance Centre (CND) in Paris and Jazz at the Lincoln Center in New York. Harlequin floors have also been

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UK - Ofcom has commissioned a comprehensive study into the RF spectrum requirements of the programme making and special events (PMSE) sector. The study aims to assess programme makers' demand for spectrum and the availability of spectrum to the sector, both today and in the future. There is particular emphasis on digital TV switchover and how this will impact the availability of spectrum for wireless microphones.

The study will also look at the economic and social value derived from all uses of spectrum by the programme making and special events community, explore how spectrum can be secured for these uses and consider future spectrum management arrangements. This will inform Ofcom as it prepares to move the programme making sector towards market-based methods of spectrum allocation and management in 2007. The study is to be undertaken by a joint team from Quotient Associates Lt

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UK - Hawthorn has taken exhibition space for the first time at this year's ABTT Theatre Show (15-16 June 2005, Royal Horticultural Halls, London). "The show will give us the opportunity of raising awareness of our Hire, Sales and Installation teams and also give our staff the opportunity to meet the people they talk to on the phone," said the company's Alan Jackson.

Hawthorn was started nearly 20 years ago by MD Martin Hawthorn, hiring equipment out of his garage, and has now grown into an international company with over 85,000sq.ft of warehouse space in Old Dalby, near to Melton Mowbray, at the heart of Britain. "Being dealers for many of the world's leading suppliers and with a team who have many years of professional theatre, events and entertainment experience, we feel we are very well placed to offer all our customers the best advice and product available&quo

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UAE - A Midas XL4 console has been installed into one of the world's first seven-star hotels - the Emirates Palace - situated on the beachfront of Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates. The opulent establishment opened in February at a rumoured cost of over $3 billion. One of the many facilities the hotel offers is a conference centre, and the Midas XL4 was chosen as the centrepiece of the 1,200 capacity auditorium, where a programme of live entertainment runs alongside conferences and corporate events.

The sound, lighting and stage engineering systems were designed and specified by Theatre Projects Consultants, with Bond Communications winning the tender to engineer, supply and install the sound and communications systems.

"As analogue desks go, the XL4 is superb," says Mark Clay from Bond Communications. "It is normally situated in the control room, b

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UK - An observant reader of the May 2005 issue of Lighting&Sound International has alerted us to an errant piece of misinformation in the Technical Focus column, in particular the article on the implementation of the WEEE and RoHS directives (p.54, column 3).

The paragraph that read: "The WEEE directive has been put back from August this year through until January 2006. The RoHS directive though is due to come into force on 1 July this year . . ." Should actually have read: "The WEEE directive has been put back from August this year through until January 2006. The RoHS directive though is due to come into force on 1 July next year . . ."

While not wishing to alarm readers prematurely, depending on the size of one's manufacturing operation this timescale is still not long - but at least it's not in a couple of weeks' time! Apologies to those who were

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UK - An LED solution to an unusual interior design challenge has been devised by three experienced nightclub industry professionals - lighting specialist Ian Kirby (of Lighting Effects Distribution), project coordinator Shaun Doyle and interior designer Graham Taylor of Easy Design Solutions. Collectively they have devised a brash, stylised 1970s/80s interior for The Nightclub Company's new Bamboogie music venue concept, annexed to their Creation nightclub in Brighton.

Doyle invited both Taylor and Kirby, with whom he has worked many times in the past, onto the project - and the latter has delivered an intelligent LED solution, which was installed by Ken Morgan of K Morgan Electrical Ltd. "When the Nightclub Company were outlining their idea for the new concept, I told them the only guy they needed to talk to for the lighting was Ian Kirby," declared Doyle. "He wo

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USA - Westmoore Community Church in Oklahoma City use their Zero 88 Bull Frog lighting console to live up to the moniker 'The Flock that Rocks!'. Started in 1994, Westmoore Community Church is dedicated to an informal style of worship, providing a concert environment for its patrons. The rapidly expanding church currently runs three services for over 2,000 people on Sundays and is building a new 24,000sq.ft facility. When the sanctuary first opened its doors in 2001, youth leader Scott Blair had just a few conventional lights and scrollers running from a small conventional console. The current technical director, Kevin Gress, started helping with the lighting in 2002 and then undertook the project to expand and upgrade the lighting system.

"I first learned about the Frog range from Zero 88 at a seminar in Dallas," said Gress. "After I saw a demo, I knew it was a F

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UK - A near-capacity 15,000 crowd thronged Trafalgar Square for the recent A Party To Remember Live - a two-hour concert celebrating the 60th anniversary of VE Day. Presented by Eamonn Holmes and Natasha Kaplinsky, the event saw appearances by Will Young, Katie Melua, Katherine Jenkins, Sir Cliff Richard, Dame Vera Lynn and more. With a strong presence by the Royal British Legion, and the event televised live on BBC One, memories of victory in Europe 60 years ago were strongly rekindled.

Sound company System Sound had their own challenges to face as they rigged a powerful Martin Audio line array system for the occasion. Working for production company Mantaplan (with Martin Vanstone as site manager), System Sound director and event sound designer, Simon Biddulph, said that the Martin line array system was always in his mind when the classical event specialists were awarded

  1. Western Audio wins L-Acoustics award
  2. Barco takes centre stage at Eurovision
  3. Andreas Ljones fiddles with DPA
  4. ARX appoints distributor for Cyprus
  5. Audient chooses A.S.C. in Belgium
  6. Sound Foundation debuts Allen & Heath
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