South Africa - Following almost a year of assessing digital mixing consoles, Hatfield Christian Church in Pretoria took delivery of four DiGiCo SD8s at the beginning March 2009.

Tadco, DiGiCo's South African distributor, was approached early in 2008 to quote on the console requirements for Hatfield Christian Church, and during the first discussions it was apparent that the church has some special requirements.

In addition to its normal Sunday services, it also has a radio and television broadcast arm, Impact Christian Media. The Sunday services are broadcast live via radio to Pretoria and are then packaged for worldwide television broadcast to a potential 42 countries.

A further complication is that three to four times a year large events are held in the church which use up to 70 channels of mixing at FOH. The norm would be 40 to 45 channels.

As a result, three consoles we

UK - As part of Noise Action Week, Stage Electrics reports that it will be carrying out noise at work risk assessments at its Bristol HQ using the SPLnet noise monitoring equipment. In addition, a staff competition is being run to raise awareness of the impacts of noise and the simple measures that can be taken to prevent noise problems. Noise Action Week is a national campaign which aims to promote practical solutions to everyday noise issues.

Liz Reed, health and safety manager at Stage Electrics comments, "The effects of occupational deafness and hearing damage are devastating especially in the entertainment industry where hearing sound accurately at different frequencies is an integral part of any audio set-up. Stage Electrics is committed to completing a full and thorough programme of noise assessments and I am looking forward to using the SPLnet monitoring equipment t

UAE - A grandMA was the choice to run lighting for the 2009 Dubai International Poetry Festival, staged in the Rashid Hall and Hall 4 of the Dubai World Trade Centre. The event featured 100-plus regional and international writers from 45 countries. The festival is a unites poets from around the world in one city. Based on a lighting design by Sonu A.B., the show was controlled by one grandMA ultra-light with a grandMA 2Port Node PRO and grandMA onPC as backup, plus two MA Digital Dimmer racks.

Sonu A.B. explained, "It was challenging to use the same lighting setup in another venue just 15 hours later. The poetry festival started in Hall 4 exclusively for Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum (Fazza'a), Crown Prince of Dubai, after which the venue was shifted to the Sheikh Rashid Hall for one day, and then back to Hall 4 for the remainder of the festival. We had t

USA - The tenth Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in April saw hundreds of performers across five stages, with a wide range of artists include Sir Paul McCartney, Leonard Cohen, The Cure, The Killers and hip hop pioneers Public Enemy, among many others.

More than 50 EAW MicroWedge Series MW12 stage monitors were employed over four Coachella stages by sound reinforcement vendor Rat Sound Systems. To date, this was the largest outlay of MW units ever for a single event, according to Rat Sound president Dave Rat, who was the co-designer of the MicroWedge 12 (along with the EAW engineering team). For the last 18 months, the MicroWedge Series has been exclusively manufactured and distributed by EAW, under license from Rat Sound Systems.

Covering Coachella took a lot of monitors and a lot of manpower. A 30-member crew from Rat Sound was employed to ensure that the concert's s

UK - A special concert to commemorate the 500th anniversary of Henry VIII's accession to the throne this May saw Arena Seating provide a stylish temporary auditorium in the challenging setting of an historic venue.

Rick Wakeman, whose LP The Six Wives of Henry VIII was a hit in the 1970s selling 15 million copies worldwide, was keen to mark the anniversary in a unique environment, so he self-promoted the commemorative concert in the grounds of Hampton Court, the palace that Henry built and lived in.

Working with Keith Morris of Riverside Production, Arena Seating drew on its technical and logistical expertise to install a temporary 5,000 seat auditorium in front of the main entrance of Hampton Court, located between the Thames tow path and the main access road into the palace.

The severely undulating ground required a solution provided by Arena Seating's Special Struc

Switzerland - Robe DigitalSpot 5000s were in action for a 360 degree projection created by lighting and media designer Matthias Kern of Kernfusion on the latest Conelli Circus season in Zurich.

The two and a half month winter season has been running in the city for the last 25 years, and is staged in the 900 capacity tented, located on a small 'Bauschänzli' island next to Lake Zurich.

It was the first year that Kernfusion was asked onboard to design lighting and visuals. The show's director Roby Gasser was very keen to show movies and images for the intro, at the end and also during some of the acts.

Staged in the round, their only option to do this so everyone in the audience could see, was onto a big sphere 5.5m in diameter and 10m high suspended in the centre of the venue. This was moved into several different positions during the show, hence the need for a video project

UK - The Trafford Centre in Manchester is one of Europe's largest indoor shopping malls and attracted nearly 35 million visitors in 2008. The Centre is a focal point for shopping and Osram's high power Flood luminaires are used to illuminate 'The Orient' part of the mall, home to a 1,600 seat food court as well as bars and restaurants.

The Osram fittings allow the ceiling within the centre to change colour in order to reflect the changing conditions outside. From a bright blue sky to a reddish sunset sky and all conditions in between the LED technology can create these. The colour-changing aspect of the installation provides a unique ambience for those visiting the centre.

"The existing 700W fittings were obsolete, as well as being expensive to maintain and run. They utilised oil wheels for colour changing using DMX control. The RGB LED option from OSRAM provided a simple

UK - Martin lighting has been an important visual component of the live British music experience over the years and now, with the recently opened British Music Experience (BME) exhibition, Martin is involved in lighting the retrospective experience as well.

BME is a permanent exhibition dedicated to the history of popular music in Britain. Opened in March, the exhibit is a high-tech, interactive music presentation housed across 22,000sq.ft on the top floor of The O2 bubble in London.

Lighting design for BME is by David Atkinson of David Atkinson Lighting Design (DALD) who incorporated 26 Martin smartMAC colour changing luminaires - supplied by AC Lighting and installed by DES - into the exhibit's Pre Show and Exit Show areas.

Before visitors access the main BME exhibit, a Pre Show area gives a brief five minute audio visual introduction about BME and how to view the various

South Africa - MA Lighting's South African distributor DWR Distribution ran the first of a series of grandMA Level 1 and 2 training events.

The three-day session took place at DWR's HQ in Johannesburg and was attended by working LDs and programmers who had to supply their own console or laptop running grandMA OnPC. They came from Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg, and the places were limited to 10 to ensure everyone received the best attention of Nick Britz, DWR's technical manager, who instructed.

It followed on from Britz' recent visit to MA Lighting in Germany, where he refreshed his own knowledge of the grandMA Training programme, and also acquainted himself with the newly launched grandMA2 console and software. DWR has just supplied its first grandMA2 to the Baxter Theatre in Cape Town.

"It was the ideal opportunity for Nick to pass on his knowledge to the industr

New Zealand - Air New Zealand Fashion Week is the country's main stage for highlighting the talent and collections of its major designers such as Karen Walker; Kate Sylvester and Trelise Cooper as well as providing a showcase platform for those in the 'ones to watch' fraternity.

Staged in boat sheds originally constructed for the America's Cup challenges in the 1990s Air New Zealand Fashion Week is a major production challenge undertaken since its inception by Auckland's Oceania Lighting. Simon Garrett, a former theatre technician and lighting designer leads the Oceania lighting team.

"I approach fashion shows as part live product showcase and part studio shoot," says Garrett. "The Designers invest heavily in Air NZ Fashion Week so we must deliver a memorable live show for each label with digital stills providing instant press ready material. In a few months tim

Norway - National Broadcast Company NRK has purchased three DPA 4017 shotgun microphones from the company's Norwegian distributor Lyd-Systemer, following a period of evaluation.

The broadcaster needed a small and lightweight shotgun mic for recording dialogue on drama productions. As well as demonstrating natural intelligibility, good directionality and off-axis qualities, the mic also had to produce high enough audio quality to allow for extensive post production processing.

"Everyone noticed that material recorded with the 4017 had a greater tolerance for manipulation after recording, such as compression, than the other mics we tested," says NRK's Are Andreassen, the project's team leader. "It gave us more substance to work with, and the off-axis response was particularly good. When working with high frequencies, it doesn't sound hard or metallic and handles s

Cyprus The new Babylon superclub is bringing a new level of nightclub cool to Ayia Napa, Cyprus. The venue features a Turbosound-based sound system and it already has a very high profile list of summer DJs lined up, including many Ministry of Sound sessions.

Steve Richards, in charge of music management and events at Babylon, and managing director Tasos Kritikos needed a system that would reliably support DJ and dance events, live bands, fashion shows, presentations, private functions and more.

To achieve this, they selected a system comprising 20 Turbosound TA-500DP self-powered Aspect Wide and four TCS-122 mid/high loudspeakers, with 12 TSW-218DP self-powered subs. Supplied by Turbosound's Cyprus distributor Yannis Theodoulou of C. Theodoulou & Sons, the installation was overseen by Turbosound applications engineer Dan Orton.

"The versatility of the venue was a key is

UK - London's O2 Arena staged the world premiere of Star Wars: A Musical Journey with John Williams's famed score performed by an 86-piece Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) and an 80-voice choir. A Lucasfilm re-edit of all six movies was shown on a 100ft LED screen, while a Meyer Sound Milo and Mica line array loudspeaker system provided the sound reinforcement. An electronic shell created using the Constellation electroacoustic architecture allowed the musicians to hear themselves in an ensemble environment, despite the large arena setting.

The audience and press, including The Times, gave positive reviews on the cinema and aural extravaganza, while Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conductor Dirk Brossé commented: "the sound was the best I've ever heard."

Sound design and front-of-house duties for the event were assigned to Fred Vogler, renowned re

Russia - Once again, Procon Event Engineering was the technical supplier for the Eurovision Song Contest staged in Moscow on Saturday night. The competition was won by Norway's Alexander Rybak, with Iceland second and Azerbaijan in third place.

Procon had previously worked for the event in Athens (2006) and Belgrade (2008). For this year's event, Procon deployed 40 trailer trucks with technical equipment (approximately 550 tonnes) and a team of more than 70 technical specialists. The company was contracted to provide equipment and services in the areas of lighting, sound, video/LED and rigging.

The manifest included 700 moving lights, 250 LED lights, 500 conventional lighting fixtures and 100km of cable.The main audio systems were Meyer Sound- based. In the rigging department, 4400m of trussing was utilised, together with 520 chain hoists.

Lighting designer was Al Gurdon, cr

UK - Three people were injured when part of a stage collapsed at a music festival in Derbyshire at the weekend. Freak winds were blamed for lifting part of the roof off the stage at the Bearded Theory festival in Hulland Ward, near Ashbourne.

A Derbyshire Police spokesman said the injuries suffered included a suspected broken wrist, shoulder, back and neck injuries. A number of other people were treated for shock.

Police said the collapse happened at 1950 BST on Saturday 16 May. The stage was closed and made safe following the accident. Two other stages remained open and the festival continued.

Staff from the website efestivals.co.uk reported a freak gust of wind "described by one person as a twister" during a storm. Another witness quoted by the BBC said: "The sky darkened and within five minutes a huge squall came through, then it got seriously bad. The Port

USA - The long-shuttered 1950s Woolworth building in Downtown Sacramento has been reborn as the Cosmopolitan complex, the city's newest entertainment hub. The building is now home to the Cosmopolitan Cabaret musical theatre, an intimate 200-seat venue with audio delivered by a compact Meyer Sound M1D line array loudspeaker system.

Designed by San Francisco-based theatre consultants, The Shalleck Collaborative, and installed by Hercules, California-based Pro Media / UltraSound, the Meyer Sound system is centred around left and right arrays of six Meyer Sound M1D line array loudspeakers, each augmented by a 600-HP subwoofer to provide low-frequency coverage. As Shalleck's Ian Hunter explains, the M1D's compact dimensions were well suited to the project's requirements.

"As a former retail space, the venue's ceiling height is pretty low," Hunter says. "With the heig

UK - The new i-Pix BB7 wide angle fixtures made their touring debut on the Doves recent UK tour, with a lighting design by Chris Bushell. These offer a 20 degree angle dispersion enabling an even wider and more comprehensive wash effect than the standard 10 degree version.

Bushell has used BB7s before on both Amy Winehouse and The Hoosiers, and is a big fan of the i-Pix brand, however Doves also gave him the chance to use i-Pix BB4 4-lites for the first time.

The six BB7s were attached to the top of custom VersaTube racks running along the back of the stage, just downstage of a white cyc. They were an important element of a heavily backlit show.

Bushell comments: "Their retro appearance fits perfectly with the band's style and visual requirements. And with the LED lightsource, this was exactly the right combination". The band take an active interest in the lighting

USA - The Vera Project (Vera) is a Seattle music-arts centre run by and for youth. By engaging participants at all levels of music production and community organising, Vera strives to fulfil its mission to foster a participatory creative culture through popular music concerts, arts programmes, experiential learning and volunteer opportunities for all ages, especially young people.

This year's concert calendar boasts performances from singer-songwriter Maria Taylor, electronic musician Dan Deacon and neo-folk act Iron & Wine, among others. EAW is a proud sponsor of the programme and recently donated some products to this worthwhile cause.

In 2008, EAW assisted the Vera Project by providing a selection of LA460 full-range loudspeakers, subwoofers and power amplifiers. Following that, the Vera staff saw an opportunity to upgrade their stage monitors. "EAW was kind enough to

UK - The 'musical' version of the iconic TV cartoon show SpongeBob SquarePants is touring UK theatres with a lively Technicolor show designed by David Gallo with equally funky, eye-catching lighting designed by Richard G. Jones - all controlled by a grandMA light console.

The UK tour, produced by Firey Angel, opened at Hackney Empire in East London, where the lighting was programmed on a grandMA full-size console by Chris Hirst. It was then transferred to a grandMA light for the tour, which is running with a grandMA ultra-light for backup via two MA NSPs (Network Signal Processors). A wireless access point allows MA's remote emulator software to run on both Hirst and the tour's console operator Simon Garwood's laptops.

The choice of grandMA was Hirst's. He has used grandMA on many previous occasions including for three German musicals and has completed the training cour

Denmark - Specified by lighting designer Per Sundin, some 64sq.m of Martin Professional LC Series LED panels are being used as dynamic, movable set columns for The Visit of the Royal Physician (Livlægens Bes°g) at the Copenhagen Opera House, one of the most modern opera houses in the world.

Employed as an important element of the opera's overall scenography, the LED panels are divided into four vertical segments which can glide separately or be combined as part of a large scenic wall.

"We combined an 18th Century look with a very modern tool," Sundin stated about the modular LED panels. "We got both the historical theatre look and the latest modern look together and it works very well."

Swede P.O. Enquist's compelling book about one of the most dramatic episodes in Danish history - a love triangle involving King Christian VII - was adapted to

UK - When mobile phone giant T-Mobile brought together over 13,000 members of the public in London's Trafalgar Square to sing along to a variety of iconic songs, video of the event rapidly became a hit on the internet. Five Yamaha digital consoles were there to mix the massed voices.

The 30 April Sing-along is the latest instalment of T-Mobile's Life's For Sharing brand campaign. However, the logistics involved in recording thousands of people singing along to recorded backing tracks - including Hey Jude, Build Me Up Buttercup, Is This The Way To Amarillo?, Baby One More Time and Total Eclipse Of The Heart - were considerable.

To deliver the demanding audio solution, some of the production industry's biggest names - including Britannia Row, Yamaha, Shure and high profile mixing engineers such as Dave Bracey (Robbie Williams) and

Germany - Billed as The Global Show for General Aviation, the 17th annual AERO trade fair in Friedrichshafen ran from 2 -5 April 2009. The exhibition, said to be Europe's foremost show for general aviation, seems to be profiting at the moment from a brisk tailwind: With more than 600 exhibitors and 50,000 visitors, this year's attendance figures were its best yet.

Kamil Swobodzinski, Telex director of sales, comments: "Staying in touch with our customers means maintaining a close dialogue with the consumer. We had direct access to potential and existing customers at AERO, which brought new experiences, insights, and improvements. The design of our booth was also a complete success. Through such measures, we are translating our leading position in commercial aviation into the general aviation market. The overall balance was positive."

The Telex team was showing

UK - Entertainment lifting specialist Hoist UK has signed an exclusive European distribution agreement for the Raynok Motion Control System, manufactured by Niscon Inc, based in Canada.

The Raynok Motion Control System is a control solution specifically engineered for the entertainment industry and boasts the ability to control all stage machinery from one PC-based control interface. The system uses a complete range of Raynok control modules to link to existing or new stage machinery and provides safe and secure communications with the Raynok control software.

Joseph Jeremy, president of Niscon Inc comments: "We initially became aware of Hoist UK at PLASA'08. It was my first time attending and I was impressed with the presentation and professionalism that was displayed on their stand.

"We are extremely pleased to have the Raynok Motion Control System exclusively di

France - Stephane Quartana, manager of the Krys Opticals store in Wattrellos, a trendy suburb of Lille in France, wanted to add a touch of special contemporary sparkle to the exterior of his store, and make it stand out from other outlets on the busy shopping street.

He chose to do this with an Anolis LED installation which was designed and supplied by Anolis' French distributor, Ambiance Lumière.

Krys Opticals is the third largest such retail operation in France, with a reputation for quality service and great flair. The look inside the shop is high-tech and Quartana wanted to match the building's exterior with something similarly eye-catching. Following extensive internet research, he called Ambiance based in Paris, asking if they could come up with an energy-efficient, creative lighting solution and also provide all the technical services needed to make his store rock.

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