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UK - Lift-Turn-Move have reported a busy surge in Autumn work following their third PLASA show, which also marked the company's second birthday.

Lee Culff is the latest person to join the Lift-Turn Move team, joining Dave Ward, Alan Wood and Phil Jones in the busy and expanding workshop. Culff's lift servicing background is an ideal qualification for the work he will be doing at LTM which includes preparing and testing Lodestars.

LTM is also looking for its first apprentice. "It's proved consistently difficult recruiting staff locally," explains John Jones, MD. LTM is spending the next month searching for and interviewing young people with the right attributes, work ethic and attitude to get on in the fast-moving environs of the production industry.

LTM has also expanded its hoist testing facilities to deal with the large volume of work it is now experiencing. A te

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UK - Winners of the IVCA Clarion 'Corporate Social Responsibility' awards were announced on Friday 29 September at a packed awards ceremony at BAFTA's headquarters in London. The Clarion awards are now recognised as the leading CSR barometer within the event and communications industry and past winners range from BP, Shell, and McDonald's UK, to the achievements of Hotel Rwanda and Billy Elliot the Musical.

Leading design and communication company Imagination received 2 awards at the ceremony including a Special Recognition Award for the Founder and CEO of Imagination Gary Withers. Imagination was also presented with the 'Best Live Event' award for their work on 'Lifetime Lab' - a children's interactive exhibition which deals with issues of sustainable living and environmental issues built in the heart of Irish city, Cork.

Set on the banks of the River Lee, 'Lifetime Lab' was

PLASA Show 2025 - Banner - June-Aug 2025

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UK - XL Video is supplying three of its newly purchased Christie S20 Roadster projectors as part of the complete video package being provided to the current Will Young Keep On Live UK tour.

The show features both high definition playback and IMAG video directed by Phil Woodhead, and the account is being project managed for XL by Phil Mercer.

Mercer says: "Over and above the standard IMAG requirements for a tour of this scale, XL is providing state-of-the-art hi-def playback, projection and control equipment, giving maximum impact to the specific sections of the show utilising pre-recorded video."

Material is projected onto an 11m wide by 5m electric roller screen that comes in centre stage, and also onto two 16 by 19 ft side screens. The compact, very bright Christie's - part of several new additions to the XL projection fleet - are rigged on a front truss,

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Ireland - Arena Structures provided a selection of structures to the organisers of the 36th Ryder Cup, as the K Club in County Kildare was transformed to a world-class sporting venue. The Ryder Cup's first visit to Ireland has been hailed a success on all levels. For the European team it was a record breaking third victory following three days of incredible golf. For the PGA organising the event, it was also accommodating one of the World's major sporting events, with the sell out crowds, corporate hospitality and huge media representation in the remote K Club.

PGA Staging director Edward Kitson began planning the event from the moment the course was selected. Planning began nearly two years in advance to ensure the unique tournament lived up to the highest of standards, and he selected Arena Structures to supply over 21,200sq.m of structures to form key temporary venues on the

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USA - The historic Hollywood Palladium in Southern California which as been host to almost every type of popular music and artist since 1940. From Tommy Dorsey and Frank Sinatra to Glen Miler, the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin and U2, the venue has been host to innumerable musical genres.

The venue is a classic ballroom type, originally designed with Big Bands in mind. Very little thought was given to sound reinforcement and the Palladium is not the easiest room to create quality. The fact is that the entire venue is very wide and to make matters worse, it has a balcony: not impossible, but it would normally require a lot of boxes for coverage rather than just SPL concerns.

The physical dimensions make things difficult. The distance between the rigging points is about 65ft (aprox. 20m) with the FOH position over 125ft back (almost 40m) and the main dance floor being greater tha

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Switzerland - The city of Basel in Switzerland has recently staged its debut Basel Tattoo festival of marching military bands and dancers, supported by a sophisticated "source-oriented" sound reinforcement system based on the TiMax Audio Imaging delay matrix and showcontrol software. The sell-out show played over five nights in an outdoor arena specially created in front of the 19th century Kaserne Hof military barracks.

The system was based on over 20 distributed speaker channels including two HW compact line array systems and 14 Kling & Freitag trapezoidal cabinets on poles or on the ground at the front of each audience seating bay. There were also six sub-bass channels feeding separate 2x18" cabinets spread out under the horseshoe-shaped audience bleachers surrounding the 80m x 25m outdoor performance area. The system was designed by Thomas Strebel with the ass

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UK - Entec Lighting rose to the challenge of supplying lighting kit and crew to five separate, high profile offsite shows at London Fashion Week. The shows were for Paul Smith, Giles Deacon, Julien Macdonald, the Fashion Fringe competition for emerging talent and Russian fashion house Kisa.

The venues varied greatly - from a glass walled debating chamber in City Hall (the Mayor's office) to Rochelle School in Whitechapel. Some were not normally used to stage shows, and all presented their own unique sets of logistical and practical idiosyncrasies.

Overall LFW lighting co-ordination and project management was by Adam Stevenson, and the two site teams were led by Andy Keightley (Smith, Deacon, Macdonald) and Simon Honnor and Tony Austin. Entec worked for Inca Productions on the Macdonald, Deacon and Fashion Fringe events, for DSA Production Services on Paul Smith and for My Beau

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UK - With National Music Week fast approaching, national awarding body NCFE has launched a new range of qualifications aimed at aspiring music technicians, DJs and MCs. The qualifications in Music Technology provide learners with the opportunity to explore the uses of music technology and provide opportunities for people to deepen and broaden their musical interests and skills.

Candidates also study a diverse range of subjects including mixing, sound, live sound, DJing, MCing, sound effects, audio editing and employment opportunities. Learners also produce final recordings using music technology skills through practical work to develop creative skills.

Alasdair Downes, director of business development at NCFE, commented: "NCFE has developed these qualifications to help provide learners access to a range of opportunities within the music industry. NCFE has consulted indust

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Austria - The Raiffeisen Bank of Austria wanted an eye-catching corporate branded frontage for their newly refurbished building near Vienna in Austria. Vivid Effect were asked to provide the right combination of architectural, signage and LED experience to achieve their objectives. Working with a local architect and installer, they designed a 20m x 8m screen to be fixed to the first floor exterior of the bank's building.

The LED fixtures used are DingDotz - individually addressable, low profile, self contained, colour changing RGB LEDs that are IP66 waterproof containing super-bright Nichia 3-in-1 sealed LED units. With a viewing angle of 120 degrees, the 15mm fixtures radiate light with high quality colour rendition of 16.7 million hues, which is suitable for directly viewed outdoor architectural signage applications. A standard rackmount Windows PC acts as the master controlle

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UK - In a project that began way back in 2004, Warsaw-based Tommex was asked by the architects from the project company Arconel for cooperation with a range of room acoustic solutions and audio system designs for 'Globus', a multipurpose hall with an ice rink and an audience capacity of 5000 people.

The planned facility would have the ability to host hockey, volleyball and basketball - and music events. By the time Tommex joined the project team the main building was almost complete. Tommex started by preparing a mathematical model of the hall using Ease 3.0 software and the virtual acoustic reality of the hall was far from good. In every instance,measurements were made using Gold Line DSP 30 B to check the RT60 parametersand the poor measurements confirmed those gained from Ease. The RT60 at somefrequencies was almost 11 seconds. This presented Tommex with an enormouschallenge

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USA - Theatrical Lighting Systems (TLS) recently held lighting seminars in the Huntsville and Nashville areas. The sessions were divided into 'lighting for churches' and 'lighting for theatre/entertainment', in order to give each group individualised attention.

The seminars included product demonstration from various manufacturer representatives including Rosco, Vari-Lite, High End, Thomas Engineering, ETC, Strong, and DeSisti.TLS offers these seminars on a regular basis as a free service to customers in order to create better relations and keep them informed about the newest innovations.

(Chris Henry)

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Italy - Billy Joel and Bryan Adams were dual headliners at this year's Telecomcerto, the large annual free concert organised by Telecom Progetto Italia in cooperation with the City of Rome. The two-for-one superstar event took place on the July 31 2006, on a stage where many of the world's greatest artists have performed over the last three years, in front of the Coliseum and in the magical setting of the Fori Imperiali (Imperial Forums).

It was a night of great music and high emotion for the estimated 500,000 fans in attendance. The audio and lighting equipment for both concerts was supplied by Italian company MMS srl. of Solaro (Milan); Maddalena Tronchetti Provera and Vittorio Quattrone of the Four One Music company organised the event.

The event was also a great success for Texim, official Italian distributors of the Electro-Voice, Midas and Klark Teknik equipment that com

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UK - Opera North, England's national opera company in the North, based in Leeds, has purchased a CyberHoist motion control system through Vertigo Rigging to greatly expand its flying capabilities.

Opera North's system - comprising four CH500 500kg CyberHoist motors and an Apple laptop-based InMotion 3D programming and control system - was immediately despatched as part of the company's 2006 touring production of the satirical Kurt Weill operetta Arms and the Cow.

The operetta is set on a sleepy Caribbean island that is drawn, through the machinations of an arms dealer, mendacious politicians and US connivance, into an arms race with a neighbouring island. Raunchy humour and Caribbean-feel numbers infuse the work, completed and revised with input from Opera North's own head of music, James Holmes.

The CyberHoist system's capabilities were thoroughly tested by the produ

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Eastern Europe - The very first ISE Roadshow in Eastern Europe is about to be launched. Starting in Poland and the Czech Republic on 30 October and 1 November respectively, the Roadshow moves to Hungary and Turkey the following week. Two new silver sponsors, Stardraw and Extron have just signed up to add their support to the event. The show organisers have reported a high level of interest from emerging companies in the AV and Electronic Systems Integration market and have issued an advice to anyone still interested in attending to visit the website as soon as possible to guarantee a place at this new event: www.iseurope.org.

The workshops will be of interest to custom and professional installers, buyers and resellers of AV Systems, designers, meeting planners, agencies and IT consultants.

The Roadshow will visit four key cities over an eight-day period and will include four i

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UK - London-based PA and promotions company, Up All Night Music, employedAllen & Heath GL2400 and GL2800 multi-purpose live sound mixers to manage audio during its busy festival schedule, which included 'Til The Cows Come Home, Bloodstock, Lovebox, and Secret Garden.

The season started with 'Til The Cows Come Home festival, which took place in Bedfordshire at the beginning of July. The independent festival - with an elite 500 capacity - featured an eclectic mix of bands on one stage. Acts included the 9-piece band, P-Hex; The Retro Spankees; Whisky Cats; Delphian Complex, who have supported New Order and Primal Scream; mod-ska British band, Bowfinger; and the Lazarus Plot, who have supported the likes of Supergrass and Shed 7.

"A small portable board was needed for a quick and easy set up, so I selected a 24-channel GL2400," explains Up All Night sound engineer, Ed S

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UK - Stage One have beaten off the competition and been crowned 'Supplier of the Year' at the prestigious 2006 Event Awards, which were announced on Friday 29 September at the Grosvenor House Hotel, London. "It means a lot to us to win this prominent industry accolade as it's recognition for all the energy, skill and dedication we bring to bear on every project we're involved with," says the company.

The projects we submitted for consideration were; the Melbourne Commonwealth Games, MTV Europe Music Awards and Aspire opening ceremony in Doha, and information about all of these, along with other recent projects can be found on the Stage One website: www.stageone.co.uk.

(Chris Henry)

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UK - Blitz, the UK's leading technical staging specialist, will join Phantom of the Opera in celebrating its landmark 20 year anniversary this October. Blitz has worked on the award-winning show, since it opened at Her Majesty's Theatre on 9 October 1986.

Blitz provides a complete sound solution for the stage show. Phantom of the Opera is notable for its pioneering use of Sennheiser radio mics, now a West End standard, as well as sound designer Martin Levan's first use of open Tannoy loudspeaker drivers. Today, as 130 cast, crew and orchestra members are involved with each performance, the show demands a large volume of high technology to work in concert.

Having worked with Phantom of the Opera since its inception, Blitz has adapted with the musical over time, supplying new equipment for two major refurbishments in 1994 and 2004 to keep up with the changin

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Uk - The classical Sondheim musical Follies has returned to the London stage with Robert McWhir's critically acclaimed production at the Landor Theatre in North Clapham. The show was designed for a large Broadway theatre but the Landor is a small fringe venue on the first floor of a South London pub. With a small acting area, a seating capacity of 50 and no financial backing or budget. McWhir's vision was to seat the audience on chairs and tables to be part of the party. The cast of 21 are joined on stage by projected images of their younger days - the synchronisation of all this is done by grandMA.

Andrew Tottle, the production manager explained: "We started looking for solutions ten months ago. The total power capacity for the lighting system is 63A single-phase so we needed very precise solutions designed to work! There would be no spare budget to buy our way out

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UK - For the third year, the Stage Electrics Welsh Trade Show is being held at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama in Cardiff on Wednesday 11 October 2006. Doors open at 11am and the show closes at 5pm.

Leading industry suppliers Apollo, Audio Technica, ETC, Lee, Le Maitre, Mackie, MA Lighting, Martin, Prolyte, Pulsar, RCF, Rosco, Selecon, Sennheiser, Strand, Teclumen and Zero88 will be exhibiting their latest products, offering demos and providing expert advice.

Elaine Peake from Le Maitre will be demonstrating a selection of pyrotechnics at 12 noon and 2pm (weather permitting).

The Stage Electrics Welsh Trade Show is a free event, open to everyone and no tickets are required. The company is recommending you come early to take advantage of the free sandwiches available at lunchtime. Visitors can also take the opportunity to pre-register via the Stage Electrics website

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Europe - Hard rocking punk metallers Atreyu completed a short European and UK tour with LD Ian Bintliff producing a lightshow to match. The California based 4-piece stormed the UK replete with the screeching guitars, howling vocals and the visceral causticity that initially made them such an underground sensation on the West Coast. When it came to the UK section of the tour, Bintliff asked Blackburn-based HSL to supply crew and kit.

It was a short tour playing a selection of completely different venues - from Brixton Academy to Nottingham Rock City, so Bintliff's design had to be versatile.

He is one of those LD's who has the "ability and talent to make even the smallest rigs look really substantial" says HSL's MD Simon Stuart. Bintliff's style is from the more traditional school of stage lighting design that very much believes in starting with basic PAR washes and b

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USA - Color Kinetics Incorporated and Osram Sylvania today announced an agreement whereby Osram Sylvania will license Color Kinetics' patents for a product to be marketed by Gotham Architectural Downlighting, an Acuity Brands company.

Under the license, Osram Sylvania will create an intelligent, multi-color light-emitting diode (LED) system for Gotham. The global license will apply to sales of this product in all markets covered by Color Kinetics' patent portfolio.

"This is a significant agreement for Color Kinetics," said Bill Sims, President and CEO, Color Kinetics. "Earning the Osram Sylvania stamp of validation sends a strong message to the industry, and reaffirms the value of the innovations protected by our broad patent portfolio."

"The lighting industry is undergoing dramatic change as LED sources influence the design of completely new produc

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New Zealand - One of the leading sound rental companies in New Zealand has snapped up its first Soundcraft Vi6 digital audio console. Concluding his three-year search for the right digital console format, Chris Tate at College Hill Productions considers the Vi6 to be "light years ahead of its competitors at this level in the market".

Based in Auckland, NZ, College Hill has enjoyed a steep trajectory of success since it was founded by Chris Tate in 1996. With a strong presence on the national and international touring scene, working recently with The Rolling Stones and Cher, College Hill also provides high-end systems for corporate events and theatre productions, as well as working with radio and TV broadcasters in NZ.

One of his country's most respected sound engineers, Chris Tate has been evaluating digital consoles for several years, with no single product satisfyi

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UK - PRG Europe has supplied lighting, truss and mains for the BBC Proms in the Park in Glasgow. Equipment provided for the event celebrating the last night of the Proms included over 55 Vari*Lite luminaires and 50 conventionals, including ETC Source Four Pars and Source Four Zooms, controlled from a Wholehog II plus a Catalyst media server. Lighting director for BBC Scotland was Jim McNamee, while PRG Europe's project manager was John McEvoy.

(Chris Henry)

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UK - A major government lobbying campaign is about to be initiated to address Ofcom's proposals, as part of the planned TV switchover from analogue to digital, to sell-off the radio frequencies currently used by the UK entertainment industry.

BEIRG - the British Entertainment Industry Radio Group - is fighting to maintain access to a sufficient quantity and quality of radio frequencies to ensure that the UK live events sector can continue to deliver the world-class theatre productions, concerts, festivals and events that it has become known for worldwide.

If BEIRG is not successful in persuading Ofcom to review the situation, the entire RF Spectrum from 470-862MHz will be auctioned to the highest bidder, most likely operators of mobile telecommunications networks, leaving the UK entertainment industry without a licence.

Thanks to a strategy suggested by PLASA and its politic

  1. Chroma-Q Color Blocks on Three Doors Down
  2. Countdown to Hawthorn@Home
  3. All Souls Church
  4. d&b's Js beat at Bay Beats
  5. Bandit Unites North and South
  6. What can't technicians live without?
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