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USA - As of 1 January 2007, all orders for True Systems products are to be placed directly with True Systems through its Tucson, Arizona headquarters. Sennheiser Electronic Corporation (SEC) is no longer the exclusive US distributor for True.

Tim Spencer, president and chief engineer of True Systems, commented: "SEC has done a great job opening the door for our products in the live sound and recording industries. Today, with True Systems in the driver's seat, we intend to build a closer connection to our dealers in addition to offering direct in-house technical support and service to our end users. With fewer steps in the distribution chain, True is capable of improving core product features in a timely manner, adding value to the line by lowering prices across the board and improving our connection to end users."

The new pricing structure goes into effect on 15 Janu

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USA - Bandit recently provided lighting for the NASCAR Nextel Cup SeriesAwards Ceremony, held at the Waldorf-Astoria's Grand Ballroom in New York City, NY.Speed broadcasted the live awards ceremony pre-show while TNT aired the ceremony.Comedian, Jay Mohr, co-hosted the evening and singer, Jewel, provided the musicalentertainment.

Lighting designer, Jason Robinson, chose equipment that included PAR 64s, Lycian M2 Spots, MAC 250s and 600s, Vari*Lite 3000 Spots, PixelRange Pixelines and ETC Source Fours. Lighting was controlled by two Whole Hog IIs and two Compulite Reds.

Co-production manager, Steve Hoover, said that the VL 3000s, MAC 600s and PixelRangePixelines all acted, in part, as the heart of the show. The VL 3000s served to paint theceiling, while the MAC 600s were a base color wash for the entire set. The PixelLines added an element of versatility that allowed Robinson t

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UK - Stage Electrics Bristol is to host Strand Light Palette training at their Bristol Head Office on Friday 9 February. The training on this new desk is completely free and will be conducted by Strand's Ken Berreen. The Light Palette range includes three models, the Classic, Live and VL.

The two-and-a-half-hour training sessions will begin at either 10am or 1.30pm, refreshments will be provided and there is free parking on site. This customer training session follows an in-depth training day for key Stage Electrics technical staff held in January.

Linda Moore, Stage Electrics' head of sales and marketing, said: "This is a great opportunity for our customers to get hands-on experience with the latest range of consoles from Strand Lighting."

(Lee Baldock)

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Thailand - The Bangkok Jazz Festival is Thailand's biggest annual jazz event, a three-nighter staged on the huge lawn of Sanam Sua Pa in front of the famous Dusit Palace. It was also the debut for the new Nexo GEO D system in Thailand.

More than 20,000 people attend each night's concert, and this was the biggest outing so far in south-east Asia for Nexo's GEO D system, supplied by Media Vision. Either side of the stage, arrays of 15 GEO Ds flew below five GEO Subs, with four CD18s stacked in pairs to provide the sub-bass needed by bands like Tower of Power, and Lee Ritenour. At the front of the stage, four PS10s were used as fill, to give some additional high-end definition. Either side of the 20m wide stage, below large projection screens, two PS10s were used to add definition.

Some 60m back from the stage was the mixing tent, where FOH engineers were mixing on Yamaha PM5Ds,

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UK - Severe weather the length and breadth of the country meant that a number of events Star Events Group were involved in were cancelled, but one New Year celebration that went ahead as if the sun were shining was Brighton's Big Beach Boutique 3.

Headlined by Brighton's own resident DJ, Norman Cook, aka Fatboy Slim, the spectacular New Year's Day party attracted a crowd of 20,000 - a number that was agreed between Cook and the local authorities after the chaos of 2002, when more than four times the expected number of people turned up - and went off without a hitch.

"We supplied a two bay, 15 metre Obrit Flexidome stage plus a screen support system and projector platform for PSL's screen," says Mike Goodwin, Star Events Group's Orbit product manager. "We also provided four small delay platforms. All five of these structures were strung out along Madeira Drive, t

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Qatar - Element Labs Inc was contracted by the Doha Asian Games Organizing Committee (DAGOC) to create the largest custom LED screen ever used for a live event. Especially designed for the opening and closing ceremonies of the 15th Asian Games in Doha, Qatar, the exterior Versa RAY screen made its debut during the Opening Ceremony on 1 December 2006 at Khalifa Stadium.

The Asian Games, held every four years with athletes competing from all over Asia, is regulated by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) under the auspices of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

DAGOC main contractor David Atkins Enterprises was the producer of both the opening and closing ceremonies. DAGOC and DAE challenged Element Labs to create a massive LED screen for the ceremonies having the highest possible resolution and video performance.The size of the display - covering over 4,500sq.m, or 45,000sq

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UK - Digital lighting and video specialists Projected Image Digital launches the first of its 2007 Digital Video Workshops - due to be held on Tuesday 6 February at The Questors Theatre, Mattock Lane, Ealing, London W5 5BQ. The theatre is an eight minute walk from Ealing Broadway Station on the Central and District Lines, and it is also served by National Railways.

"We're looking at what constitutes 'digital video' and 'digital lighting', its creative and technical advantages and how it's being applied in today's market sectors," explains digital services manager Nev Bull. He adds that it's aimed at multi-level users and a wide range of those interested or engaged in these areas.

The one-day event will contain overviews of the genre, specific applications and will enable attendees to get hands-on with some of the most popular digital video products. This will include

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UK - Lighting Technology Projects has completed the illumination of a 500-bottle wine rack central feature at Sexton's restaurant in Thrapston, Northants, plus front and back entrance feature lighting. Sexton's is a new build venue in the charismatic old corn exchange building. The tasteful conversion and cool contemporary design has retained many original features including the vaulted ceilings and original beamwork.

LTP's Terry Reeves was asked to design and specify a lighting scheme by HSP Architects from Leighton Buzzard, who oversaw the build. The independent owner is Stuart Sexton, who also owns a wholesale wine importation business.

The five metre wide by two metre high stainless steel wine rack dominates the area behind the bar. Reeves' brief was to come up with an innovative and effective way of lighting it, thereby making it a central feature of the room.

He chose

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UK - Stonehaven-based Taylored Sound has recently supplied an Audica MICROseries system for the office of the director general of the National Galleries of Scotland.

Comprising of five galleries in Edinburgh, and two partner galleries in the North and South of Scotland, the National Galleries of Scotland's collections of fine art are amongst the best in the world. The five Edinburgh galleries are the National Gallery of Scotland, the Royal Scottish Academy Building, the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art and the Dean Gallery, which also houses administration offices and the office of the director general.

In a recent refurbishment of the director general's office it has been upgraded to include an AV system for meetings and presentations. Richard Hamilton, audio visual technician for the National Galleries of Scotland, wanted a very

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Brazil - The party was gigantic, five Cities - New York, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Berlin and Rio de Janeiro, all took part in the Nokia New Year's Eve. All over the world music fans were celebrating the countdown to 2007. An estimated 1.3 million people attended the live shows and 150 million watched the event on TV or the internet. Operator and programmer Carioca used one grandMA full-size and one grandMA ultra-light with an NSP to build the grandMA 3D plot, to light the party in Rio, at Posto 8 in Ipanema.

The grandMA consoles were integrated into a multi-user session, which was a new concept to the Brazilian technicians. "The people were really surprised and constantly asked, which console controls which part of the lighting plot?" reports Daniel Ridano of MA Lighting Latin America. "The answer was simple: They are able to control anything from any of the consoles in

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South America - Whilst on tour throughout South America, Shakira performed two sold-out shows at the Velez Sarsfield stadium in Buenos Aires. D.A.S. Aero powered line array systems were used to provide sound reinforcement for the more than 80,000 fans that filled the stadium.

For the South American leg of the tour, twin Digidesign Venue boards for FOH and Monitor mixes, effects, in-ear wireless and microphones were supplied directly by Clair Bros. At the FOH console was engineer Brad Madix who has worked with bands such as Psychedelic Furs, Def Leppard, Queensryche and Marilyn Manson. For monitor engineer Vish Wadi, this was his second tour with Shakira after previously having worked with Sting, Mariah Carey, and Madonna. Buenos Aires based sound reinforcement company Teddy Goldman supplied the PA composed of 48 Aero 38A along with 18 Aero 28A powered line array systems as well

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UK - PRG Europe once again worked with lighting designer Durham Marenghi to produce a spectacular light show on the London Eye on New Year's Eve. 100 VL5 arcs were placed on a pontoon at the base of the Eye, illuminating the giant wheel. PRG Europe also supplied a Wholehog II, operated by associate lighting designer Paul Cook, to control the lighting, as well as mains power and cabling.

An incredible ten-minute pyrotechnic display entertained up to 250,000people who went into central London for the evening, plus millions morewho watched on TV. As the fireworks finished, three PRG Europe-supplied Lightning Strikes made a strobe-like effect on the smoke which was still hanging in the air.

The display was produced by the London office of communications agency Jack Morton Worldwide, who produced and staged the opening and closing ceremonies for the Athens 2004 Olympic Games, which

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Indonesia - MC2 Audio has announced the appointment of La Mesa as its new distributor for Indonesia. La Mesa, formerly Paradi Indonesia, has been established in the audio industry since 1993 and is a distributor and dealer for many professional audio brands from around the world. Operating from a state-of-the-art showroom studio in Jakarta, chief engineer and company founder Didi Kartanegara and the La Mesa team offer a full range of services from consultation, through the design stage and on to installation for a diverse clientele.

The scope of La Mesa's expertise is wide and encompasses sound recording studios, post production facilities, corporate functions, houses of worship, performance halls and high end home theatre installations. The recent addition of a sound reinforcement division further broadens La Mesa's reach and underscores the ability of this versatile team to re

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UK - At Tate Britain on 4 December 2006, artist Tomma Abts was announced by Yoko Ono to be the winner of the Turner Prize 2006. To provide the ultimate setting for this leading event in the art calendar, Tate's accredited production supplier, Event, used its most recent stock of LED lighting technology for the first time. Event's latest kit provides maximum design flexibility and uses minimum power.

'The LED rig runs on a domestic power supply and is brighter than many conventional lights. Our clients have peace of mind as their events use minimum energy and the technology allows our designers to achieve even better effects', says Event's head of lighting operations, Roger Deane. "It also eradicates the need for bulky cabling which can be difficult to conceal. We can deploy the lighting quickly and efficiently without impacting on the architectural environment." In add

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USA - Bandit Lites is excited to be working with country music artist, Dierks Bentley, for the first time. Bentley's third studio album, Long Trip Alone, was released 17 October, 2006. Fans will have the opportunity to hear some of the new tracks, plus all the hits, on his current 'Locked and Loaded' Tour, which started on 4 October, 2006 in Auburn, Alabama and will wrap in late-April, 2007.

Currently in the Canadian installment of the tour, Lighting Designer, Chris Reade, chose to use the following equipment: Coemar Infinity XL Lights, Martin MAC 600 Washes, Martin MAC 2000 Profiles, Martin MAC 250 Profiles, Martin Atomic Strobes, Strand Fresnels, James Thomas Engineering Pars and Molefays. Lighting is being controlled by a High End Wholehog II console.

Reade said that after listening to Dierks' music about a hundred times, and this being his first country artist, he decided

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USA - Sports radio broadcast engineer Peter Grosskopf recently upgraded his personal RF microphone systems to Sennheiser's Evolution Wireless products were his obvious choice.

Grosskopf, who started at a local radio station, then moved on with CBS/Westwood One, reports that he upgraded to Sennheiser's evolution wireless 135 mic system and SR300 IFB while travelling for several seasons with the Syracuse University football team. "I had used the 135 in various fixed installations and I figured it would work great on the road as well. I now use it for all of my NFL and college games, NHL playoffs in Detroit, Stanley Cup playoffs in Buffalo, and for our last year for Buffalo's semi-final round against Carolina, as walk-off interview mics."

As an independent contractor, Grosskopf regularly covers indoor ice hockey games in the US and Canada, where his Sennheiser RF gear h

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Qatar - In autumn 2006, Qatar hosted the biggest Asian Games of all times. Since 1951, this event, held every four years, is the sporting and cultural reference for all Asian countries.

The German company Procon, through a sub-contract of the Australian Bytecraft, designed, installed and supplied the lights inside the superb Khalifa Stadium of Doha, which was the venue for most of the sporting competitions, as well as the extraordinary Opening and Closing ceremonies of the Games.

Procon supplied 110 Clay Paky Alpha Spot HPE 1200s, which together with many other luminaires, were excellently used by lighting designers Andy Doig and Fabrice Kebaour for their shows. Alongside them, 120 technicians, under the guidance of the Procon project manager Michael Casper, worked non-stop before, after and throughout the event (from 1 to 15 December 2006), using a total of 520 tons of equipm

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USA - A pair of grandMAs is helping lighting designer Daniel Boland dazzle audiences nationwide with Blue Man Group's How to Be a Megastar Tour 2.0. The innovative performers are playing arena-sized venues and select theaters coast to coast with the production in which they download a tongue-in-cheek 'how-to manual' on becoming a rock star. Joined by an eight-piece band, Blue Man Group subsequently takes the audience through - step-by-step and song-by-song - every head-bobbing, fist-pumping moment of a real concert.

"The show is fairly unique compared to productions I've done before," says Boland. "It's a cross between theater and rock 'n roll and a pretty interesting blend." Boland uses two networked grandmas full-size to control all the lighting and video for the show. "We've got it down to one cue list. I just push 'go'," he explains. &quo

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UK - Following the opening of its US office in Nashville last summer, Innovason has put in place a similar initiative for the UK, based out of the London facility of pro audio sales and distribution operation, Stirling Audio.

Innovason sales and marketing director, Xavier Pion, says the move makes perfect sense. "In order for Innovason to continue to grow and develop, it is essential that we have a solid base in the UK with a UK phone number where customers and engineers can access our products - and product specialists - quickly and easily . . . The new UK office will house permanent demo and training facilities in addition to providing technical support and after-sales service. Sales to the end user will be handled directly by the manufacturer with stock coming direct from our factory in France."

Stirling Audio proprietor and MD, Andrew Stirling, says: "Innova

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UK - At least 350,000 people are estimated to have brought in 2007 in central London, where Jack Morton Worldwide produced the spectacular New Year's Eve countdown, which culminated in a 10 minute firework and lighting display over the River Thames and British Airways London Eye.

It is the third New Year's spectacle that Jack Morton has produced for the event, which is organised by the Mayor of London. The display could also be seen at high points across the capital with many millions more watching it on TV. This is the third year running technical suppliers Stage Electrics have supplied lighting for the event.

The design team from Jack Morton commissioned the lighting design team of Durham Marenghi and Associate Paul Cook to create the stunning visual effects. Stage Electrics' project manager Simon Baker headed the 10 man on site technical team installing the equipment in the

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UK - For the fifth year in succession Hawthorns were contracted by Worcester based DRP Group to supply some of the technical needs for Thomas Cook's annual overseas conference, held in Malta. This year's was different in many ways as they opted to use Malta's all new 130m x 50m structure, recently erected by Arena Structures.

Hawthorns were responsible for all the lighting, power, sound, trussing and drapes. Once again the structure had to be multi functional in terms of hosting conferences, talent shows and gala dinners, and the lighting and sound systems had to be versatile.

Because of this factor, Hawthorns sound designer, Iain Reinhold opted for the new Yamaha Digital desk, recently added to Hawthorns hire stock. The desk proved an invaluable tool, as it allowed Reinhold to store each show and recall them with minimum fuss.

A seven-man crew that included sound, lighting

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Slovakia - Top Slovakian TV Show Let's Dance is being lit with Robe moving lights, specified by lighting designer Martin Kubanka and supplied by leading lighting rental company Q-99.

The show is recorded live from the PKO Culture & Leisure Studios in Bratislava, produced by Oreo and broadcast live each week by the Markiza TV channel. It's Slovakia's first series of Let's Dance, which sees 10 celebrities from Slovakia and the Czech Republic pair up with dance professionals and demonstrate their skills on the dance-floor, with one couple voted off each week by the public.

Kubanka landed the lighting design role after his work on the Slovakian Superstar show for the same production company. On Let's Dance he is working with director Peter Nunes, DOP Jaroslav Zaman and set designer Daniel Sichman.

Q-99 first had to install 12 new rigging points in the

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UK - This year's A.C. Lighting North Tradeshow is moving to a new purpose-built exhibition hall with 50% more space to facilitate an expanded exhibitor line-up and rising attendance levels, the company reports. The event takes place on 1-2 May in the new Saviles Hall at the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds, which is adjacent to the original location and now the city's largest exhibition venue.

As well as accommodating the show's expansion plans, the improved facilities also enable the organisers to provide the main exhibition, complementary theatre seminars programme and buffet lunch with a bar and dining area, all within the same hall.

Full show details will be confirmed in the coming months, but visitors can expect the same popular format, "including exclusive 1st UK showings of new products, the latest innovations from over 70 leading brands, one to one demonstrations a

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UK - The Sound Division Group has carried out a unique installation in London's Leicester Square, personalising 14 karaoke rooms (and three dining rooms) divided across three floors in the new K-Box. Each of K-Box's bookable rooms has its own local lighting control and operates independently.

While the karaoke equipment, including the 42" Samsung plasma screens, was supplied direct from KoD (Karaoke on Demand) in Hong Kong, The Sound Division Group were tasked with providing a custom-coloured LED solution in each room. They consulted with Ian Kirby's Lighting Effects Distribution to see how the company's X-Chip PCB-based RGB colour change LED could be rebated into the ceiling periphery of each room.

Each room has the ability to create individual mood settings using colour and music. For example for Hen parties a palate of reds is predominantly used, whilst for corporate e

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