Sales director Steve Warren comments: "We had a sensational show. This is our 19th PLASA and I am amazed how we just get busier each year. We saw thousands of people and it proved the perfect opportunity for us to meet up with many industry friends, show them the fantastic Titan operating system and also say thanks for their enormous support throughout the year."
(Jim Evans)
Touring Europe and North America in support of their new album, Viva La Vida, the show uses no LED screens or crowd imag at the band's request. Lighting, set, and production designer Paul Normandale makes sure of that, opting for visual impact from video projection and Martin MAC 2000 Wash XBs, MAC 700 Profiles, MAC 250 Washes and Atomic 3000 strobes.
"Coldplay are a high impact band that require dynamic looks with lots of cues," Normandale comments. "The MAC 2000 Wash XB is used primarily as a rear wash light and is so bright it means I can use less than I would with other fixtures. Plus we trim at 48ft so I needed a wash that would reach with cover to spare."
The MAC 2000 Wash XB is a new 1500W Fresnel that takes the proven optical and effect qu
Lead singer Michael Stipe was very involved in the visuals from the outset, and Sasic - collaborating closely with video director Blue Leach - evolved the stage set which consists of five columns of Barco MiTrix screen and two horizontal strips of SoftLED upstage of the screen. The effect is a subtly layered video texturing to the stage and also structurally mimics the city skyline theme of the album artwork.
Stipe was keen on having video as the main visual centrepiece, so Sasic's gently asymmetric lighting design is largely positioned around the perimeters o
Fireworks in the harbour and lighting the medieval beacon at Dover Castle link the sea, the harbour, and historic white cliffs. A moving soundscape of nostalgic songs with a contemporary twist will complete this show.
Partners and supporters for this event include Kent County Council, Dover District Council, Dover Pride with substantial support from Arts Council England and Dover Harbour Board.
"Just as rugby, karate and roller sports struggle to be recognised as Olympic Sports, so fireworks struggl
The Kidderminster-based conference and events specialists placed their order for 24 of the RGB LED spots which compete favourably against discharge lamps - for example, they offer greater output than a 575W washlight (with their white version) and in excess of 700W (in the RGB version), say LED-Lites.
Ian Ruhback, from DRP's technical division, was impressed with the output from the 90 Luxeon K2 LEDs, which give it the capability to achieve a higher light yield than any existing comparable LED fixture, since 30 each of the RGB colour LEDs are able to create the entire colour spectrum.
DRP Group had previ
European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso described business involvement in the EIT as "crucial, because the lack of business-funded R&D [research and development] explains almost 85% of the gap between the EU and the USA, for example".
Internet News - Only Japan has the broadband quality to cope with next-generation internet applications, a new study has revealed. Swe
"Last year, we came to PLASA as visitors," said Stuart Kerrison, sales director of TTA."This year we were exhibitors and the show has given us great insight into how far TTA and the Stagetracker product have come in 12 months. We've met industry professionals from all over the world - Canada, Iceland, Singapore, Greece - who have heard about and read about our system. At both distributor and end-user level, a lot of people indicated to us that they are really excited about this genre of technology and its implementation."
Co-exhibiting with new UK distributor Ambersound, TTA was demonstrating
The 2008 season included performances by The Crusaders, Madeleine Peyroux, Spyro Gyra and many more.
This year sound engineer Hilario Benìtez introduced a new PA system to the event at two of the venues on Gran Canaria. "I've tried the Q-Series loudspeakers from d&b audiotechnik several times on the mainland in recent years," he said, "and I've always believed it would prove an ideal system for this event. I'm so pleased David Rosello from d&b's Spanish office was able to support us with two systems for the festival this year."
Benìtez placed a simple Q1 loudspeaker rig, with a
Richard Lachance, vice-president of international development at Solotech, oversaw audio production and managed the selection of the required clip-on microphones and wireless systems for the show.
"One of the main sound challenges for Les Mis was that the audio had to be 5 dB to 6 dB louder than the average Broadway-type show," he explained, "resulting in an average level of 88 dB to 90 dB SPL. And for such a small theatre like the Capitole de Québec, this was a real challenge. So, we turned to Sennheiser an
Each evening in July at sunset, the Port of Quebec's 81 monumental Bunge company grain elevators on the banks of the Bassin Louise were transformed into an immense projection screen. The Image Mill was visible from many vantage points, including across the St. Lawrence River, displaying Lepage's four-part vision of Quebec history from the 17th century-themed Water Highway to today's telecommunications-fueled Air Highway.
Lighting designer Hubert Gagnon of Ambiances Lighting and Visual Design was part of the original design team when the pr
The sound reinforcement was provided by Chilean company Provotec under the direction of Ricardo Marqués, who also took care of the stage monitoring, choosing the D.A.S. audio systems.
Marco Ambiado, director of Spektra, designed the set up of the PA, consoles and monitors. The main installation consisted of 12 Aero 38A powered systems (six per stage side) and 20 Aero 28A (10 per side) to provide sound coverage for the entire amphitheatre area. Monitoring was achieved through 12 low profile SML-15A powered units installed throughout the stage.
Erickson Cardona of Audiomusica and D.A.S. distributor for Chile comments, "R
Head of audio Dave Plant recently placed an order for 16 x W8LCs with Redditch-based dealer, John Brown at Limit Audio.
Although this will be the first time Martin Audio has appeared in Limelight's rental fleet, Plant admits his company has used the manufacturer's enclosures many times in installation work, and is aware of both their pedigree and durability.
"It was inevitable that we would eventually need to embrace line array technology. As a broad-based company, we wanted a system with a compact footprint, but at the same time one with a long throw which could serve the larger venues."
The company has already started sub-hiring to another Martin Audio line
Making the presentation, Mark Engel, president of Rosco, said: "This is the fourth year we've been able to support Light Relief with a cheque at PLASA. Our contribution to date now exceeds $15,000 and has been funded by purchases of #313 Supergel. We envisioned this arrangement as 'a gift that keeps on giving' and we're delighted that it continues to fulfil that promise."
Developed with the help of Rick Fisher, co-founder (along with the late Tony Gottelier) of the industry charity which supports lighting designers in difficult times, Light Relief Yellow is the vibran
Matthew Griffiths, CEO of PLASA, who welcomed the guest speakers and audience members to the launch, told LSI: "We're very proud to be able to host the launch of the Mayor's Green Theatre Plan at PLASA08. Many of the manufacturers represented here on the show floor are already playing an active role in developing new equipment and technologies to help theatres achieve the goals set by the Mayor's Plan, and the lighting and sound industry still has a great contribution to make. PLASA and its members are very keen to work with theatres and other industry bodies, not only to help improve the power efficiency of lighting and sound systems themselves, but also to support and encourage the adoption of the many s
FOH engineer Chris Pyne and monitor man Rod Matheson are both long-term DiGiCo D5 users. This time, however, Chris swapped his D5 for a new SD7.
"I was one of the first engineers to see the SD7 and was invited into DiGiCo's 'perspex box' to operate the console at PLASA last year," says Pyne. "Then James [Gordon, DiGiCo's MD] asked me if I wanted to use the SD7 on the dates we did with Kylie earlier this year. Of course I said yes.
"We had one of the very first SD7s, which we took to production rehearsals and helped to make a few improvements to the system - DiGiCo is proactive in getting real world input from engineers."
The complexity of the show meant that Pyne had 65 inputs at FOH
Eight Robert Juliat Cyrano 2500W HMI follow spots were also used across other Olympic-related events across Beijing.
Chief lighting designer for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies was Mr Sha Xiaolan who worked closely with director Zhang Yimou to create the spectacular effects.
Jamie Boey, of Robert Juliat China which supplied the Lancelot and Cyrano follow spots, reports, "Mr Sha was delighted with the performance and quality of the Robert Juliat follow spots and confirmed his decision to use Robert Juliat was based on sound technical reasons."
"The brightness of the Lancelot was a decidi
Batmink is celebrating its 25th anniversary and as one of PLASA's earliest member companies is well placed to compare shows. Particular interest was expressed
Audiosure's extensive product portfolio includes Wharfedale Pro, Gemini DJ, Hartke, Quad and Projection Design and its team of professional and experienced staff is led by general manager John Silver.
"Our aim," says Silver, "is to provide a comprehensive array of valuable advice to our nationwide dealer network in order to ensure the achievement of optimum product performance in a wide variety of applications and environments. I have followed the development of MC2
According to theatre designer Phil Joyce who specified the equipment for the Lighthouse Theatre, the principal criteria were performance and value for money. "Architectural Acoustics from Peavey might not be amongst the best-known brands in theatre-land, but to my m
Focusing on the key themes of arts, social enterprise, community support / development and pathways to employment, the organisation has moved from being predominately a provider of hostels for homeless people to be at the cutting edge of tackling social disadvantage through social enterprise and innovation.
Three of the Novas Scarman Group's four CUCs are located in London, but it is the 170,000sq.ft, Grade II listed converted warehouse in Liverpool, which grabbed the headlines on its opening in the summer of 2008.
"Novas Scarman was adamant that
HSL and Electric Fly also recently collaborated to supply all production lighting and design for the 2008 Global Gathering dance festival, and Jevons states, "HSL is always my first choice for lighting rentals. Mike Oates (HSL's project manager) and his team have been fantastic - as always - in providing great service and excellent kit". For this event Electric Fly was working for live brand experience producers, Sevens 7.
The highlight of the two-day music and arts event was a performance from Massive Attack and United Visual Artists (UVA) - the last show of a summer tour that HSL has also
The Sage has been using Cirrus doseBadge noise dosimeters to measure its workers' noise dose exposure during sound checks and performances for the last month, as part of a full programme designed to determine the level of noise protection required for both the staff and entertainers who are performing at the venue.
The updated Noise at Work regulations came into force this year, meaning that employers in the entertainment industry are required to manage the risk to their employees caused by excessive noise. The Sage Gateshead is keen to ensure that workers at the venue and groups who work for them outside the building are well protected, and will be taking t
The annual award is given for business development, service and support. "The UK was our leading market in 2007," commented Derek West, sales director of Audica Professional, "and has continued in this position with an exceptional growth rate of almost 250% this year. BGM and AV communication in retail premises have led the increase, with many major high street brand names joining our user list. Hotels, bars and restaurants have also been a rapidly growing market for us. For both Audica Professional and CUK Audio the key to this growth has been by putting relationships and service first; sales are a result, not an insular focus."
Stuart
