UK - Eastern Acoustic Works (EAW) has established a new operation - exclusively focused on the EAW brand - that "dramatically upgrades the company's ability to serve the crucial European professional audio marketplace".

The new EAW Europe, which officially opens its doors on 2 January 2007, is based in Wickford, Essex, UK, and is headed by Sean Martin, the company's veteran European sales manager. He is directing a team of six full-time, experienced professionals who will work in support of the EAW brand and its European customer base.

The new operation offers the complete inventory of EAW products on the European continent in order to dramatically shorten delivery times. An expansive inventory of repair and replacement parts are kept on hand as well, with an EAW Product Service Centre also instituted in Wickford, in very close proximity to the offices of EAW Europe.

UK - Bandit Lites UK supplied lighting equipment and crew to Production North for the recent McFly Greatest Hits arena tour, which featured striking lighting and visual design by Dan Hardiman.

Bandit has serviced McFly since 2004, and Bandit UK's chief executive, Lester Cobrin comments: "We are very fortunate to get the opportunity to work with McFly and their entire production team each year. Under the direction of Prod North's Iain Whitehead and LD Dan Hardiman you can tell that all parties involved take a good deal of pride in making sure that the final product is of the highest quality."

McFly's management and Iain Whitehead all have active input into the lighting design. It is important to them that each tour looks and feels completely different from the last.

For this tour, McFly's set is essentially rocky and energetic from start to finish and the pac

UK - Specialist video production from a Sheffield company provided the city's most successful firms with the best possible image at a prestigious business awards ceremony. Winning companies at the 2007 Sheffield Business Awards went big thanks to a giant 20m x 6m screen created by audio visual and live event specialist tdc.

For the first time in the event's history, tdc shot footage for each of the 13 award category nominees in high definition, and edited using Blue Screen overlay techniques.

Eamonn Hunt, director at tdc, which has supported the Business Awards for the last three years, said: "It is a specialist process which involves shooting two events at two different times and locations, and editing them together. The result is an impressive production placing people in locations that they may not otherwise be able to access in real life."

The awards ceremony,

UK - Matthew Haycox' chain of Wildcats lap dancing clubs has developed a portfolio of eight prime sites. This includes his most recently-developed, two-storey flagship site in Leeds - which Sound Division has fitted from the ground up with an advanced, integrated JBL sound system and Panasonic plasma displays distributed across 11 zones.

Because of the complex nature of the installation - with sound relayed to 16 small private dance booths (five enclosed within a Bedouin styled tent on the first floor), four larger ones and the girls' changing rooms, as well as the general areas - clever digital source switching was required. This has been provided in the shape of the Soundweb London BLU DSP networking device, with local source and volume selection at the bar. Sound Division has also supplied a fully-equipped DJ booth on the ground floor, designed specifically for this style of

Norway - With two Soundcraft Vi6s currently in use with Turbonegro, who have been supporting Marilyn Manson on a European tour, the company's Norwegian distributors LydRommet have made a stellar start to marketing the console manufacturer's digital platform.

In little more than a year they have 14 Soundcraft Vi6s and four compact Soundcraft Vi4 consoles operating in the field, a considerable achievement for a country of under five million people.

LydRommet sales manager, Flemming Bjerke says: "From our point of view, it was important to be involved at an early stage. We were part of the original discussion group when the Vi6 was being planned, and to have part of that ownership makes us proud. Also, as one of the beta-testers we are pleased to say that from a user perspective the desk has been stable from day one."

Flemming's colleague and PA sales manager, Espen A

UK - PRG Europe has worked with creative agency Greenspace to help light an authentic 19th century Christmas experience inside London's new St Pancras International station.

Just a day after the station's high profile official opening on 14 November - on which PRG Europe worked with Flux Events - crews were back, this time installing the world's largest advent calendar. PRG Europe organised all the kit, including bringing in Unusual Rigging, to make sure everything went without a hitch.

"Specifically designed to occupy the façade inside the station, the calendar exceeds 1,000sq.m," explains Unusual's David Mayo. "Following the removal of the substantial rig we installed for the re-opening of the station, our eight-person crews went back into night shift mode to begin installing the calendar."

During the day, a giant drape printed with an image of the end

UK - The Centre for Life (CFL) educational science museum and exhibition centre in Newcastle, North east England, was first opened as one of the regional Millennium Projects and, thanks to Light Perceptions, has just been given a new lease of life. With lighting designer Bruce Kirk at the helm, the centre has recently undergone a programme of gallery upgrades.

Our Origins and Our Futures depicts man's journey through evolution and is lit exclusively with low energy lighting sources including ETC Source Four HID luminaires, various LEDs and high frequency fluorescents. By employing Source Four HIDs with their long-life, 150W metal halide lamps, lamp maintenance is reduced to a minimum.

Source Four HIDs offer comprehensive lighting solutions. Kirk comments: "The Source Fours HIDs were chosen for their aesthetic benefits as well as beam control and the wide ran

UK - Studio Monkeys Recording Studios in Manchester has equipped itself with a full complement of Audio-Technica Artist Series microphones. These are being used to record weekly live filming sessions for Bands From The Stands, a showcase for local unsigned artists, featured on the Good Morning Manchester programme that goes out on MUTV - 'The Television Channel Dedicated to Manchester United' - on Saturday mornings.

Darren Gould-Martin, owner and principal sound engineer, was responsible for persuading the show's producers that the performances should be filmed live. "The producers originally booked into the studio to film the bands miming," he says, "but I convinced them to record the performance live. They were suitably impressed with the results, and adopted the live format for the series."

The live sessions required an expansion of the stu

South Africa - Robe's South African distributor DWR Distribution staged a special technical workshop covering Robe's Digital Series at their Johannesburg base. This was organised in conjunction with Robe Lighting, whose technical sales manager Ales Grivac was on hand to demonstrate the products and discuss all things technical with interested parties.

The workshops were attended by a selection of designers and engineers actively involved in working with these products, and those included DigitalSpots, MediaHUB and StageQubes.

DWR sold the first Robe DigitalSpots into Africa earlier this year, purchased by Mike Jones of MJ Event Gear, also based in Johannesburg. The busy rental company covers a host of corporate and TV work with some rock 'n' roll.

This was the second Robe DigitalSpot workshop in South Africa this year. The first followed soon after the initial DigitalSpots a

The Netherlands - The 2007 Junior Eurovision Song Contest was a colourful success, thanks in part to High End Systems' Showgun and Studio Command automated luminaires. The show was held at Ahoy Stadium in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and was broadcast live to millions of viewers via Dutch broadcaster AVRO.

The show is a spin-off of the Eurovision Song Contest, produced by the European Broadcast Union (EBU). This was the fifth year for the programme, showcasing performances by 17 countries. Each act consists of performers aged 10-15, who must compose their own music and lyrics.

This year's theme was Make a Splash! and was reflected creatively in each of the stage elements, which included water screens, an onstage waterfall and large water drop props hung from the arena ceiling. Five 8m tall moving video screens projecting images of water and rain completed the look.

Lig

UK - Britannia Row, Creative Technology, PRG Europe and Blackout, plus new hosts Stage One and Power Logistics, hosted their third annual Bloomsbury Christmas Ball at Victoria House, Bloomsbury Square on Wednesday, 12 December 2007.

"This year carried on the great spirit of the first two parties very well in that it gave everybody in the production community a chance to meet up and have some fun in a relaxed and social atmosphere. A lot of people thoroughly enjoyed the event and had big smiles on their faces," said Bryan Grant at Britannia Row.

The event saw around 900 friends and clients from each of the companies enjoy flamboyant Burlesque Music and Entertainment in a classic and Western themed venue.

Entertainment was supplied by Lost Vagueness who provided the main focal points in party areas including a Golden Nugget casino, Gaol and a Pamper Parlour. Other en

UK - The iconic Morecambe and Wise gold drapes with a contrasting MW on them were made by Rex Howard Drapes back in the 1970s for the original Morecambe and Wise TV show.

They went on to appear in every Morecambe and Wise show, returning to Rex Howard for maintenance and storage in between shows.

Rex Howard Drapes is now a trading division of Hawthorn, and the company report that these unique tabs are going to be used again in a Morecambe and Wise Christmas Memories TV tribute special, to be shown this Christmas. The gold drapes have been fully cleaned and serviced ready for the show by Hawthorn's in-house specialist maintenance team.

Mike Watling, general manager of Rex Howard Drapes said: "These gold tabs are part of TV history. It's been a real pleasure for the whole team to be involved in getting this special piece of TV memorabilia ship shape for the Christmas TV s

UK - Friday 14 December 2007 saw the official opening of the Mojo Barriers Education & Training Centre, part of the Centre for Crowd Management & Security Studies at Buckinghamshire New University.

The Centre was opened by the University's vice-chancellor, Dr Ruth Farwell, and Patrick Jordan, managing director of Mojo Barriers, in the company of many distinguished guests from the security, crowd management and close protection industries.

The Mojo Barriers Education & Training Centre is the world's only centre for training staff indoors on using pressure sensing equipment with the Barrier Load Measuring System (BLMS).

The launch featured a full demonstration of the BLMS, lead by Patrick Jordan and Warren Tucker, who provides technological support for the Centre, enabling guests to witness the benefits of the system at first hand. Mojo Barriers has donated the BLMS to Bucking

USA - Outline recently took part in ET Live, held during the LDI trade show in Orlando. The outdoor demonstration consisted of six stages with six different speaker manufacturers and six different console manufacturers at FOH.

Outline had two hangs of 12 CDH 483 high packs, along with 16 Subtech 218 subwoofers. Also on hand were eight Mini-COM.P.A.S.S. adjustable line array modules.

On stage was a full assortment of Outline products from the HARD monitor series, DVS series, the Outline 'Doppia' and the Outline 'Tripla' point source systems. Each stage played the same pre-recorded track and then had the option of playing additional tracks and live music.

Tom Nichols of Morin Productions US, states, "The Outline Butterfly was a true standout in both aspects of the demonstration. The live music portion, performed by the Leonard Brothers, showed off the true musicality and

USA - Cadac Electronics reports that it has supplied a 24-channel S-Type Compact Live Production Console to the Minnesota Orchestra, as part of a major upgrade of its sound system. The Orchestra Hall, an architectural landmark in downtown Minneapolis, is home to the 98-member ensemble, with its busy annual programme spanning live concerts, award-winning broadcasts and recordings. The Cadac S-Type was commissioned in November, alongside the installation of 64 additional mic lines, under the supervision of head of sound, Terry Tilley.

Established in 1903 as the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra, the Minnesota Orchestra has an internationally acclaimed reputation, playing nearly 200 concerts a year under the direction of Finnish conductor Osmo Vänskä. Terry Tilley is currently serving his 30th season with the orchestra, during which time he has changed mixing consoles just four time

UK - As part of a world tour to promote their latest album Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace, Foo Fighters undertook a nine date UK arena tour in November, culminating in two dates at the London 02 Arena.

Fronted by the irrepressible Dave Grohl, the band provided maximum entertainment via a complex live show, which included two stages. In order to cope with the ensuing Front of House audio requirements of the show, a pair of DiGiCo D5 consoles were put to use.

FOH engineer Bryan Worthen has been using DiGiCo consoles for three years, replacing the original analogue console he had been previously using with Foo Fighters. "I knew I needed to go digital or I would get left behind, although I fought it for a long time," he says. "But I had to make the leap and it was actually the band's management who told me about the DiGiCo D5. It was being used on the Be

USA - Bandit wrapped up 2007 with annual Angel Tree charities. Each of the company's locations recently put up an Angel Tree in the lobby for employees who would like to help the less fortunate. The tree includes toy and clothing suggestions for foster children and local families who are unable to provide holiday gifts for their kids this year.

"The office Angel Tree is a great opportunity for Bandit employees to give back to people in their own community," explains Bandit human resources coordinator Cori Link. "The employees are not required to donate, but the majority of them do. I'm really proud to be involved with such a caring group of people."

Bandit employees also participate in the Salvation Army Angel Tree Programme. In this programme, a company such as Wal-Mart or Target (among others) places a Christmas tree in a pedestrian high-traffic ar

Singapore - Last month, MA Lighting Asia Pacific held its first workshops in Singapore dedicated to operators, lighting designers and system integrators alike. The first three days of the workshop catered to the operators and lighting designers who wanted to get a closer look at the wide range of lighting control equipment that MA Lighting has to offer. The following two days focussed on grandMA video and networking.

The attendees had the chance to familiarise themselves with the whole MA Lighting console range and gain the confidence on how to operate the consoles in a hectic show environment.The workshop was heavily subscribed and 32 attendees from eight different countries came together at MA Lighting's office at Ubi Techpark to get a very detailed insight into the world of programming on the grandMA.

The event, which included evening dinners, was a great opportunity for ev

UK - Adlib Audio came onboard as sponsors of Liverpool Music Week for the first time this year, to help raise the event's production values and to invest in some emerging musical talent.

The UK's largest indoor winter festival event was founded by local promoter Mike Deane in 2003, and is now regarded as a national showcase for some of the hottest new live music. Deane and his team recently formed a joint venture company with one of the UK's best known music industry gurus - James Barton - founder of legendary superclub, Cream.

Liverpool Music Week 2007 featured 10 action packed days of live performances featuring over 200 bands across 15 venues around the city, attracting some of the UK's best known artists appearing alongside plenty of fresh new faces and line-ups.

Adlib supplied sound systems to the City's three main venues - at Alma De Cuba in Seel Street and at the Fron

UK - Stage One played its part in the lavish hour-long ceremony to name the latest ship to join the Cunard fleet - the Queen Victoria. The ceremony took place on the dockside at Southampton with the ship itself forming a stunning backdrop to the proceedings.

The company was asked by Robbie Williams Productions to carry out the scenic internal fit-out of a purpose-built temporary structure and was one of several key suppliers tasked with turning the space into a themed Victorian theatre fit for royalty, in this case: Their Royal Highnesses The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall.

Steve Dolan, account director, Stage One, said, "This project threw up several challenges, one of which was manufacturing timber to realistically resemble Victorian cast iron. Our art department and CNC workshop worked extremely hard to achieve exceptionally effective results."

Stag

UK - Marking the middle of a world tour in support of his third album, Call Me Irresponsible, Canadian crooner Michael Bublé played eight UK arena shows in November and December. Accompanying monitor engineer Craig Brittain was the latest member of the touring entourage - a DiGiCo D5 Live console.

Brittain began using the 56-channel D5 Live EX console this autumn. "I'd been using various digital consoles for the past 18 months or so," he says. "I took part in a DiGiCo demonstration in Vancouver some time back and, having spoken to friends and peers in the industry who use them, really wanted to get a DiGiCo for the summer dates in the US.

"For various reasons I had to wait, but starting on it in Europe and the UK worked out very well. I was able to go to DiGiCo's premises and spend some time with Tim Shaxson and Roger Wood, who got me up to sp

USA - TransAudio Group has been appointed the exclusive worldwide distributor for TRUE Systems products. The US-built line includes the SOLO series, the P2 Analogue and Precision 8 multi-channel microphone preamplifiers.

"I wanted to work with True Systems because their unique products offer extreme value to both the dealer and the customer," commented Brad Lunde, president, TransAudio Group.

"Brad and his team at TransAudio Group are unique in the business," stated Tim Spencer, president and chief engineer of True systems. "They focus on quality, value and relationships - the key factors that make doing business much more satisfying, fun and profitable for everyone involved."

(Jim Evans)

UK - Following its £1.3 million revamp the Wyvern Theatre Swindon is opening its doors on 4 February 2008 for a special Venue Technology Day. Coordinated by Stage Electrics the day promises the opportunity to explore some of the latest in venue technology in an operational setting.

On 25 September 2007 the Wyvern, a busy receiving venue, reopened after nearly a year in the dark following the discovery of asbestos in the auditorium roof (see Lighting&Sound International magazine November 2007). Stage Electrics was contracted by Swindon Borough Council to design, install and supply technical infrastructure and equipment to the venue.

The Wyvern Theatre is a truly multifunctional venue hosting everything from Shakespeare to ballet, live music to comedy and conferences to cinema. With a reasonably small team of staf

UK - For Mika's Mika Dodgy Holiday tour, lighting designer Ian Tomlinson wanted to inject a more rock and roll element into the theatrical performance. The rig included a battery of Martin moving lights providing a beam look to the show, whilst PixelPars and PixelArt added effects.

Tomlinson comments: "PixelArt achieved the look I was hoping for and more. When I first saw the demo in the warehouse I knew they would integrate with the design and add the desired effect. They were also a big hit with Mika."

The PixelArts created a wall behind the band and featured a mixture of homemade video content provided by system tech Andy Rowe and stock footage. The lighting was controlled by a Roadhog and the PixelArts controlled by a Catalyst media server. All the lighting was supplied by Adlib.

(Jim Evans)

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