Spain - Dreams 2, Reflections of the Soul, brought together 12,000 people at the Palacio de los Deportes of the Madrid Autonomous Community. The sound reinforcement featured D.A.S. Aero line array powered systems. This spectacle of water, light and sound, produced by Global Dreams, was entirely designed and produced in Spain.

A team of professionals from the scenic arts field designed this ambitious project under the direction of Fermín Pérez. The sound reinforcement needed to cover the requirements of quantity as well as those of quality. Global Dreams relied on D.A.S. Audio systems under the direction of Jesús Puerto, of Jesús Puerto Audioprofesional who was in charge of the sound design and operation, supported by Víctor Catalá, D.A.S. Audio Systems engineer, as technical advisor.

Puerto deployed six Aero line array clusters along the main pavilion's per

The Netherlands - Martin Professional's Dutch distributor, Fairlight, took delivery of some of the first MAC III Profiles to roll off the production line in northern Denmark and promptly delivered them to Rent-All BV, one of the largest rental companies in Holland.

Rent-All in turn delivered the units via Chain, a Dutch lighting services company for television, film and entertainment events, to the set of So You Think You Can Dance reality show.

Produced by Kanakna Produkties and broadcast on RTL5 from Studio Baarn, a total of 19 MAC III Profiles are used to light the dance spectacle. Lighting Designer for the show is HenkJan van Beek of Light-H-Art who has placed the majority of the MAC III units in a truss above the set with two units located on the floor. Also used on the show are 23 Martin MAC 250 Washes and several conventional lighting units.

"It's a powerf

USA - The LA Coliseum has installed a Meyer Sound point-source system featuring the first permanent installation of the SB-3F sound field synthesis loudspeaker, a technology designed to address the common challenge of intelligibility in large-scale sound reinforcement.

Over the past 85 years, the LA Coliseum has hosted the Olympics games twice, and is the only venue to stage both a World Series and two Super Bowls, as well as countless sports games, concerts and other events. Jon Lee, director of marketing of the LA Coliseum, reports that the Meyer Sound installation has made a dramatic improvement on the audience experience at the stadium.

"It's hard to overstate what a difference this new sound system makes," says Lee. "Spoken announcements are more intelligible; music is more powerful. The fans in the seats have a feeling of really being in touch with what's

Russia - Sir Elton John, performed recently in a new concert hall opened in Barvikha Luxury Village outside Moscow The concert was presented by Chopard Company.

Belgrade-based theatre specialists Svetlost Teatar was closely involved with stage, lighting and sound systems design and integration during the Concert Hall Project. Alexandr Vorosilo, concert hall general manager said; ""We are very proud to introduce to the public a very interesting multipurpose venue, ingenious seating arrangements and associated facilities."

(Jim Evans)

China - d&b audiotechnik has been represented in China since 2004 when the first d&b audiotechnik China office was established in Hong Kong by Freddie To and Daniel Chan. While the headquarters still remain in Hong Kong, the operation has gradually expanded to include satellite representative offices in Beijing, Guang Zhou and Nanjing with staff numbers of around sixteen. The next stop planned being Shanghai.

Following these developments and with the Chinese now being the World's leading country in terms of broadband connections, d&b audiotechnik has responded to this voracious appetite for knowledge by adding simplified Chinese to the languages on the menu of its website.

Ralf Sauter, d&b's webmaster, worked closely with marketing manager Megan Li from d&b's Guang Zhou office to create and translate the website into a Chinese version. This was no easy matter, as many of the t

May the force be with you - Star Wars fans are to feel the force of the seminal sci-fi films and their iconic soundtracks on stage in a major new show, which will launch next year. In Star Wars: A Musical Journey, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra will play a live score as excerpts from the six films are shown on a cinema screen.

The show has been put together by director George Lucas' company Lucasfilm and composer John Williams. It will premiere at the O2 Arena in London in April before a European tour. It will not be a traditional musical with actors playing characters from the films, but will feature live narrators. The six Star Wars films have been edited down to two hours for the show, and Williams has "painstakingly rewritten" the music he wrote for the movies, a statement said.

The Royal Philharmonic will use an 86-piece orchestra and an a

USA - Billy Elliot - The Musical, which is enjoying success in both the UK and Australia, is now repeating that success on Broadway. And with Rick Fisher at the lighting design helm, the lighting is getting bigger. Fisher - who won Theatre Lighting Designer of the Year at this year's LDI Awards - has been using the automated ETC Source Four Revolution on the show since it first started in London, and has just finished work on the US show with one of the largest installations of Revolutions in town.

Across the rig, Rick specified over 100 moving lights - of which 50 are Revolutions. He explains, "I like to be able to light the performers with a good quality tungsten light - and the Revolution fits perfectly. With space in the rig always at a premium, it's good to have the versatility of moving lights, and so, wherever we had a good rigging position, I placed both a Re

UK - For some time there has been advice from the HSE to Local Authorities to serve a Prohibition Notice on theatres found to be moving technicians whilst on Tallescopes focussing luminaires.

At a meeting with the ABTT held on the 3 December, the HSE explained that research that they have carried out indicated there were potential occasions when such a practice could cause the Tallescope to topple and thereby seriously injure the technician in the cage or those on the stage. This research follows on from similar, but not exactly the same, research, carried out on behalf of the ABTT. Therefore, the HSE considered that they would not change their position or advice until such time that it could be shown that their research had produced an erroneous conclusion or the statistical risk of an accident could be reassessed.

Having seen the confidential report, the ABTT is content that

Sweden - Wireless Solution Sweden delivered an interference-free DMX signal at the 2008 Nobel Prize Banquet. This is one of the highest profile events of the year in Sweden. It is always held in the Blue Hall of Stockholm City Hall on 10 December. In addition to the King and Queen of Sweden, approximately 1,300 guests attend the event, and it is broadcast live on television.

Per Sundin was again called in as lighting designer for the event, an honour bestowed upon him for 12 consecutive years. Ola Melzig was production manager, overseeing all aspects of lighting and video from build up through broadcast.

W-DMX was used in new ways this year. The Blue Hall, where the banquet takes place, is big space and the lighting is spread out in virtually every corner. "W-DMX is a life saver at this event," said Melzig, "In past years we've used it on moving lights that had

UK - Covering a 43-acre site and spanning nine London postcode areas, the Westfield London retail complex is set to become one of the city's biggest attractions, with up to 60,000 people a day estimated to visit.

Complementing over 260 retailers, 50 places to eat and a 14-screen cinema (due to open in 2009), one of Westfield's major features is The Atrium, a 6,500m2 rectangular central area that will host a wide range of entertainment, including live performances and exhibitions.

A sound, lighting and video system that can be used and then stored away as needed, has been specified to combine quality and flexibility with reliability.

"They want this to be a multipurpose space that enjoys an audio quality that reflects Westfield's status as an ultra-modern facility," says Lee Dennison, project manager for Surrey-based Delta Sound, which was awarded the contract to de

South Africa - Johannesburg-based Gearhouse South Africa supplied full production, technical infrastructure and crew for the Miss World event staged at Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg on 13 December.

Miss World 2008 utilised the resources, services and expertise of six Gearhouse Group companies - GHSA, LEDVision, SDS, In2Structures, GH Power and Havaseat - encompassing 10 technical production disciplines that provided design, rigging, structures, lighting, audio, video, specialist visuals, set building, power and seating in SCC's Pavilion venue. The event was broadcast live by SABC to 2 billon people in over 200 countries on 373 TV stations.

Tim Dunn's lighting design included the latest digital moving light fixtures from Robe Lighting in the form of 12 DigitalSpot 7000DTs and 36 REDWash 3-192s LED wash lights - the largest number of these newly launched units yet used

UK - Midas aficionado Ian Bond has purchased a PRO6 Live Audio System - serial number 007 - from UK distributor Shuttlesound. Having become familiar with the Midas XL8 Live Performance System on tours with King Crimson and Porcupine Tree, Bond took the opportunity to own Midas' digital technology and audio performance in a compact, more affordable package.

"I've always been a fan of Midas analogue consoles, so stepping up to Midas digital seemed a logical step, and I was keen to order a PRO6," he says. "Midas build quality and reliability also played a large part in my decision, and of course, the most important thing about any console is how it sounds. The PRO6 sounds like a Midas should: warm, but still accurate.

"I also really like the speed at which you can navigate around the control surface (GUIs), and get to all the features easily. And just like the

Canada - Following the Number One debut of their latest album in the Canadian album charts, Indie rockers, the Sam Roberts Band is currently on tour throughout Canada with Love at the end of the world. At the heart of the show is a full panoply of Innjovasaon digital mixing consoles; an Sy80 supplied by Metalworks Production Group in Toronto presides at FoH manned by engineer, Phil Hornung, whilst monitor engineer and tour manager, Denton Fraser, is at the helm of an Sy48.

Phil Hornung comments: "I think these desks sound better than a lot of the digital products on the market. I find the desk extremely easy to operate, and I don't have to pay a lot of attention to it during the show itself, which lets me pay attention to the mix instead of worrying about what's on the screen. In fact, we often offer it to opening bands to use instead of using a second console. The e

UK - A.C. Audio recently supplied broadcast and new media production company Three Media Creative with a complete sound solution of QSC HPR loudspeakers.

The Manchester based event production company was looking to expand its hire stock and required a versatile powered speaker system. They needed a system that could be used as one large PA, yet could also be broken down for smaller events and adapted for any bespoke situation that could arise. 10 QSC HPR152i 500 watt loudspeakers were chosen together with four complementing HPR181i subwoofers to enable a wall of sound to be effortlessly created in venues for in excess of 1000 people.

A.C. Audio sales manager Peter Butler comments: "Due to the nature of Three Media Creative's international business, it was very important that we supplied a reliable and durable system that would perform in all different climates. I have bee

UK - White Light has been appointed as lighting supplier for the Donmar Warehouse's season of drama at the Wyndham's Theatre in London's West End. Designed to bring Donmar productions to a larger audience than can be accommodated in the company's own 250-seat Covent Garden venue, the Wyndham's season, which re-opened the newly refurbished theatre, features four productions: Ivanov, starring Kenneth Branagh; Twelfth Night, starring Derek Jacobi; Madame de Sade, starring Judi Dench, and Hamlet, starring Jude Law, over the course of a year.

Lighting duties for the shows, the first three directed by the Donmar's artistic director Michael Grandage and the last by Kenneth Branagh, are being divided between two of the Donmar's most frequent lighting collaborators, Paule Constable lighting Ivanov and Neil Austin the remaining three shows.

The two hav

Russia - In Omsk, one of the largest cities in Siberia, the General Court has commissioned a Nexo line-array sound system installation. The remarkable historic interior of the Courthouse calls for an aesthetic solution as well as a sonic one, and the loudspeaker modules have been supplied in white to complement the sky-blue walls and white detailing of the main courtroom.

Design and installation of this sound reinforcement system has been carried out by Light Sound Systems Company in Omsk City. LSS's Alexander Muravitsky had to propose a solution to the challenging acoustics of the courtroom, which has a ceiling height of 9m, and large picture windows down one side of the room.

"It was not an easy installation, but, from our point of view, the Nexo Geo S8 arrays provided the ideal way to minimise problems with reverberation, while still giving us the perfect dispersion cu

USA - Apogee Electronics has received the Green Business Certification from the Santa Monica Green Business Certification Programme. By participating in this programme, Apogee Electronics is recognised by the City of Santa Monica, the Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce, Sustainable Works and the Santa Monica Convention and Visitors Bureau as "an outstanding green business in the community ".

In preparation for the certification, Apogee installed a premier solar panel system using 96 energy-generating panels at its Santa Monica headquarters. The modules generate up to 15,000 watts at peak and any surplus power generated on weekends and holidays is fed back to the greater Los Angeles power grid. The company also promotes the recycling of all paper, bottles, cans, and other materials used within the office and is compliant with RoHS and WEEE Directives for its electr

UK - 10 ADB Svoboda High Intensity Battens formed a distinctive effect for lighting designer Chris Bushell on the recent UK tour by The Hoosiers, with equipment rental from Neg Earth Lights.

Bushell, who was also co-designer of the tour's stage set, specified the nine-lamp Svoboda as part of a three-truss rig that surmounted a stage framed with a combination cabaret/theatre set with 2D cartoon-style set pieces silhouetted against the band's 19th century-style wallpaper backdrop.

He explains: "The band's performance is very visual, an excellent live act. They're always researching magic tricks coming up with new visual gags and buying new costumes. So I wanted to reflect this energy and excitement with quite a powerful light show, but with a design that was versatile enough to be dark and moody where needed.

"The whole look has a dark twist to it thanks to the band'

UK - Latymer Upper School in Hammersmith, West London, is continually looking at ways to improve its facilities. Its most recent project was to develop a centre of excellence in the performing arts, to which end a bespoke building was constructed, which includes an impressive distributed audio system designed and installed by leading professional audio company, Autograph Sales.

The building, which owes its existence in large part to an anonymous donor, is connected to the existing arts centre by glass bridges, includes 110-seat recital hall, a dance/drama studio, a suite of teaching rooms that can house between one and six students and a music room that can accommodate a full orchestra.

Autograph designed an extensive audio infrastructure allowing analogue and digital audio signals to be routed to and from any room in the building, allowing many digital and analogue audio/medi

UK - When Osibisa arrived to play a rare gig in English West Country, Midas Pro Sound proprietor Paul Nicholson seized the opportunity to get behind the desk himself and road-test the complete suite of live mixing and recording products from RSS.

Osibisa, founded in London by four African and three Caribbean musicians, went on to become one of the first widely popular African bands. Performing live at the Salisbury Arts Centre in celebration of their 40th anniversary, these seasoned musicians found themselves in the midst of a most modern PA system; full front-of-house and monitor control using the RSS M-400 V-Mixer digital consoles, with dedicated digital multicores and stageboxes, connected to a show recording system via Roland's proprietary EtherNet protocol REAC.

Paul Nicholson was mixing the show on a Tannoy VQ PA system provided by his rental company Midas Pro Sound. Alt

Philippines - Soundcheck recently deployed a multi-array system equipped with JBL DrivePack technology to support a massive R&B show featuring Rihanna and Chris Brown. Promoted by Globe and sponsored by MTV Philippines, the outdoor concert was staged at Manila's Bonifactio Global City Open Field on 16 November for nearly 70,000 music fans.

A temporary stage with overhead roof and structural scaffolding support was erected onsite to support an extensive lighting system and video projection setup. Concert sound reinforcement services were provided by Soundcheck, the primary rental system contractor for the event, with additional Vertec inventory having been sub-hired from regional system owner FriendlyFire Sound. A total of 48 VT4888DP-CN midsize powered line array elements and 16 VT4888 enclosures were in use, along with a total of 28 VT4880 and VT4880A full-size arrayable subwoo

UK - With 50 years in the industry under his belt, the professionalism and attention to detail that Cliff Richard pays to his live shows are well-known. In November he did a three-week UK arena tour to celebrate the anniversary, with Yamaha PM5D consoles at the front of house and monitor positions.

The professionalism is very apparent as the show is set up. This is achieved by Richard building long-term relationships with the people that work with him. Monitor engineer John 'JJ' James has been there for a remarkable 29 years, with front of house man Mike 'Bunny' Warren still a bit like the new boy with a mere 12 years under his belt.

Despite it being just a three week, 14 show tour playing in seven UK arenas, the 50th Anniversary Time Machine tour was in production rehearsals for a surprising five weeks.

"That's why he's always good, he's a perfectionist," s

UK - Litestructures Studios has been celebrating the end of another successful year with a steady string of concert tour production rehearsals. Topping off a fourth year of growth, Litestructures Studios has been busy over the Christmas concert period hosting production rehearsals for tours including Elton John, Stereophonics, Keane, McFly, Simple Minds, and CBeebies Live!

"For Litestructures Studios, 2008 has been year of growth and development." says the Studio's general manager Brent Woods. "Increasingly we are becoming the rehearsal facility of choice amongst the biggest touring productions. We have been honoured to work this year with the most innovative and ambitious tours. We have exciting plans for developing the Studio further and are looking forward to a fantastic 2009."

(Jim Evans)

UK - This month, Hever Castle in Kent is hosting a Christmas spectacular featuring carols and music, huskies and illuminated gardens. The organisers have created an opportunity to view Hever Castle by moonlight, as the castle is adorned with traditionally decorated Christmas trees and the gardens illuminated.

Philips has sponsored the lighting for the festivities which also features a giant snowflake projected onto the front of the castle. This was created using Martin Professional's new Exterior 1200 Image Projector.

The Exterior 1200 Image Projector is the newest addition to Martin's Exterior range of outdoor luminaires. Designed for night-time environments with emotional impact, the Exterior 1200 Image Projector brings new elements of drama to outdoor illumination: effects projection and animation, says the company.

(Jim Evans)

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