Australia - Canadian singer Sarah McLachlan brought an abridged version of her Lilith Festival to Australia in October, the first time the female-only festival tour has been staged outside North America.

Lilith Festival was founded in 1997 after McLachlan became frustrated with concert promoters and radio stations which refused to feature two female musicians in a row. In Australia local acts Kate Miller-Heidke and The Verses joined her for the five concert tour.

Jands Production Services provided the audio equipment and crew for veteran front of house engineer Gary Stokes who has toured with Sarah for close to 21 years.

Included in the gear list was a Soundcraft Vi6 digital mixing console which Stokes first became acquainted with not so long ago when he was mixing for French-American singer Madeleine Peyroux.

"She was opening for Diana Krall whose FOH g

Kenya - Kenya Music Week, which runs from 9-12 December, will provide an opportunity to take stock of the African pro audio and music scene. Around 50 leading African dealers and distributors will be presenting their wares at the Sarit Centre Expo Hall in Nairobi.

As well as an extensive range of seminars and workshops, a diverse concert and entertainment programme will be among the major attractions of the event. In addition to established stars from Kenya and beyond, such as Abbas, Holy Dave, Sisko and Pili Pili, several hundred up-and-coming acts are scheduled to appear.

Electro-Voice and Dynacord partner Audio Visual Engineering (AVE) is not only one of the exhibitors, but also one of the sponsors of the fair. The Nairobi-based team led by Omar Abdalla Sheikh will be presenting for the first time anywhere in Central Africa the new PowerMate powered mixer from Dynacord and

USA - Crown Audio has been approved for conformance of quality assurance in accordance with the International Organization for Standards (ISO) 9001:2008. Operating at such standards allows Crown to respond more quickly to marketplace and customer demand while maintaining consistently high levels of quality in all facets of its amplifier production.

Commenting on what ISO 9001:2008 registration will mean from the end-user's perspective, Marc Kellom, director, marketing for Crown stated that customers can purchase Crown amplifiers with increased confidence. "It is reassuring to have a highly qualified third party audit your products and processes and certify that they consistently meet the highest quality standards."

ISO 9001:2008 registration applies to all products manufactured under the quality system in place at the registered site. Registration requires demonstrat

UK - Structural aluminium systems specialists, Litestructures, (now part of the Prolyte Group) were recently commissioned by Sony's creative agencies, PD3 and Engage Production to create a new experience at Heathrow airport's new T5.

The experience brings to life Sony's new global strap line, make.believe and presents Sony as an entertainment brand to the visitors of T5. The interior of the helix structure that was built by Litestructures is made up of 22 screens. Powered by Sony technology, they display a bespoke 360-degree film journey that mixes filmed footage of the airport with created animation and Sony content.

The film transports passengers through the roof of T5, past the London skyline and the surrounding countryside, and then into a hyper-real galaxy. Once in space, the make.believe 'dots' explode into film, game and music content all from the family of Sony

USA - All three ETCP examinations will be given at USITT's Annual Conference & Stage Expo in Charlotte, NC. The entertainment electrician exam is scheduled for Friday, 11 March 11; the arena rigging exam is to be given the morning of Saturday, 12 March and the theatre rigging exam is scheduled for that afternoon.

Candidates who wish to take multiple exams will receive a discount for the second exam. Interested applicants must submit their application, along with supporting materials and fee, to the ETCP office no later than 10 February 2011.

Candidate information, including eligibility requirements and applications, is available on the ETCP website (http://etcp.esta.org).

Additionally, Rigging examinations are given daily at over 190 computer based testing centres across the US and Canada.

(Jim Evans)

Hong Kong - Vivienne Tam, one of Asia's most renowned fashion designers, has completed installation a new LED display by Lighthouse Technologies at its 1881 Heritage shop in Tsim Sha Tsui.

The screen, comprising eight R4-S 4mm SMD LED panels in a 1 x 8 configuration, forms an impressive floor-to-ceiling display that attracts visitors with its vivid, rich visuals of the latest Vivienne Tam creations at fashion shows from around the world. The 4mm pixel pitch delivers sharp visuals, important for close-distance viewing, while the 2000 nits brightness, 1000:1 contrast ratio and wide viewing angles guarantee crystal-clear visibility from anywhere.

"Vivienne Tam loves transforming traditional styles to appeal to modern consumers, and the addition of our new Lighthouse screen helps deliver that unique look with much greater impact," said Mr Scott Crolla, Vivienne Tam. &quo

Europe - Peavey Commercial Audio has announced an exceptionally busy and productive summer/autumn season with a number of MediaMatrix/NION training courses and seminars that have been held across Europe and the Middle East in recent months, and the promise of more to be scheduled throughout 2011.

Since August this year, courses have been held at Peavey Italia in Ancona; at Peavey's distributor in Jeddah, Abu Moammar; at Saudi Media Systems in Riyadh; at the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon and at Peavey Europe HQ in Corby. The courses are designed for consultants, programmers, systems integrators, designers, maintenance engineers, end users and more. Training covers all new MediaMatrix and Crest Audio Contractor products and also includes the latest version software in addition to specific topics such as audio networking fundamentals, applications engineering and

Sweden / Germany - LumenRadio, the Gothenburg-based manufacturer of Award-winning wireless lighting controls, has appointed LMP Lichttechnik as exclusive distribu¬tor of CRMX products in Germany. LMP is one of the largest distributors in Europe with a 30-year track record of distributing top brands to customers all over Germany.

"LMP was our first choice for distribution in Germany and we're very happy to launch this partnership which will bring our CRMX products to customers all over Germany. LMP has impressed us with their profession¬alism and drive in establishing CRMX as the natural choice for wireless lighting controls in Germany. Work¬ing with LMP has so far been a pure pleasure," explains Anders Ardstål, vice-president of LumenRadio.

CRMX products are enjoying a surge in popularity throughout Europe in both entertainment and architec-tural installations. L

UK - BBC TV's Strictly Come Dancing is in its eighth series. Lighting designer Mark Kenyon continues to originate the show with support from Richard Martin Lighting. The RML spec includes Chroma Strips, VL3500 Wash, VL1000TS and Nova Flowers.

The VL1000TS are used predominantly for the results show. The VL3500 Wash luminaire features internal zoomable beam optics with either Fresnel or Buxom options, an interchangeable front lens system, or an aperture wheel.

"The VL3500's have an extremely strong look which is now an integral part of the design of the show," says Kenyon.

(Jim Evans)

UK - Living TV's popular reality TV series, Britain's Next Top Model, produced by Thumbs Up Productions has recently completed its sixth series.

With Elle Macpherson as its new host and executive producer, the show's production design was ramped up, too, and for the first time this year's final was broadcast live, in a 90-minute HD spectacular from BBC TV Centre's Studio 8 on 4 October.

The show was staged on a specially designed stage set with a complete set, lighting and LED video screen production package from Stage Electrics, working with Thumbs Up on the show for the third year running.

The company had earlier built the studio stage set and lighting for the pre-recorded eliminations, filmed earlier in the year with Elle Macpherson. "This was the first time a live final was planned," says Stage Electrics account manager Russell Payne, "and we were a

France / South Africa - Digigram has signed a distribution agreement with South African pro audio/AV specialists, Wild & Marr.

Established in 1944, with offices in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban, Wild & Marr is one of the leading distributors of audio equipment in Southern Africa. Managing director Joe Copans comments, "The brands represented by our company are universally accepted as leaders in their respective categories. Digigram's state-of-the-art sound cards and IP audio equipment are therefore a perfect complement to our current brand portfolio."

Sébastien Cadeau-Belliard, sales account manager with Digigram for this region, sees this agreement as "key to delivering solutions tailored to individual client needs, thanks to the expert engineering department of Digigram's newest partner". The agreement takes effect immediately.

(Jim Evans)

Thailand - Distributors from China, Korea, Philippines, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, Australia and New Zealand also came together for the region's first Allen & Heath product development meeting. Distributors were shown the latest Xone products and given exclusive access to forthcoming lines. The distributors were also encouraged to contribute their own ideas on what products Allen & Heath should develop for the growing Asia/Pacific markets.

The distributors, local Thai Xone dealers and invited guests were treated to a demo including the Xone:DX and featuring the new Xone:DB4. The lively round table which followed was informative, with passionate input from all who attended, says the company.

The annual Xone event culminated in a party featuring top DJs from around the world, including Xone design manager, Andy Rigby-Jones, Mix Architekt, Australia's Ehsan Gel

UK - One of the highlights of Pope Benedict XVI's recent visit to the UK was an open air Mass and the beatification of Cardinal John Henry Newman, held at Birmingham's Cofton Park. The event, which was attended by 52,000 pilgrims, had a requirement for an extensive sound reinforcement system plus a custom designed induction loop system, the largest temporary system ever designed by manufacturer Ampetronic.

Making this type of provision is unusual at outdoor events. However, the decision was taken to supply such extensive induction loop coverage because production company WRG and the Home Office knew that there were likely to be large numbers of elderly people attending and they wanted to ensure that as many attendees as possible were fully catered for.

The design and installation of this temporary system was a major logistical exercise and presented a number of challenges that

UK - David Atkinson Lighting Design (DALD) recently completed the lighting design for Diaghilev and the Golden Age of the Ballets Russes exhibition at the V&A, London.

This major exhibition explores the world of the influential artistic director and impresario Serge Diaghilev and one of the most exciting dance company of the 20th century, the Ballets Russes. The exhibition features 300 objects including original costumes, set designs, scores, props, posters and film clips and celebrates Diaghilev's enduring influence on art and design.

Exhibition designers Tim Hatley and Drinkall Dean briefed DALD that the lighting was to create a sensitive yet dynamic theatrical approach to the exhibition.

The installation is set out in three main galleries. On entering the first gallery a sense of drama is created with a large angled introduction wall being up lit in red by recessed

UK - The first Midas PRO3 live audio system to roll off the production line has been sold to the Rambert Dance Company as its touring console. The PRO3 replaces the company's Midas H1000, which was coincidentally also the first in production. The sale was made by LMC Audio's sales manager JP Cavaco.

Rambert is known for its use of live music and is the UK's only contemporary dance company to tour with an orchestra, performing a wide range of contemporary and classical repertoire, some composed specifically for the company.

"The music side of the shows is now playing a larger role, so the whole sound infrastructure has got a lot bigger," says Rambert's front of house engineer Tomás O'Connor. "Because of the wide range of repertoire, from orchestras to bands to electronic, we could have up to eight pieces in rep for a tour, then depending on the venue we perform

France / Germany - Analog Way has announced the opening of Analog Way Deutschland, a new direct sales office based in Germany.

Analog Way Deutschland will provide sales operations, training facilities and first level technical support for Germany and Austria.

To lead the office and expand the presence of the brand over the territory, Analog Way has appointed Steffen Herzer as area sales manager. "We are glad to welcome Steffen within the Analog Way sales team. His experience of the German Pro A/V market as well as his professionalism will be major assets to develop our relationship with our customers in Germany and Austria", comments Alexander Schöpff, EMEA sales director at Analog Way.

"The German Pro A/V market has traditionally always been one of the most important markets in Europe", says Herzer. "With Analog Way's new exciting product range and

UK - Birmingham-based rental company Pacific Sound & Light has notched up another successful audio production for The Drifters on their current UK tour, choosing a Roland M-400 digital console to handle both front-of-house and monitor control.

In the two years since Pacific's Paul Duffy took the decision to adopt this digital workhorse, the company has run more than 160 gigs with the Roland M-400 - "In all sorts of environments, this desk has not let us down. It's easy to use, gives us everything we want, works every time, sounds great and has the smallest footprint practically on the market."

The Drifters' UK tour, produced by the Prism Music Group, has already been extended well into 2011 from an initial three-week run around the clubs and theatres. Pacific Sound's engineer Matt Trigg is running FOH for the band throughout.

"We are using every bit of the con

Spain - Robe lighting has won the 2010 Produccion Audio and Production Professional Award for the Lighting Company of the Year.

The annual Awards, produced in association with IFEMA - The Fair Trade Institute of Madrid - is now in its 8th year, recognises the best creative, technological and human achievements and developments across all sectors of the professional production and installation world.

The Award was announced during a lively evening of celebrations staged at the Auditorio Sur, a large theatre at the IFEMA Convention & Congress Centre in Madrid last week. This attracted leading industry movers and shakers from Spain and other parts of southern Europe including representatives from TV channels, cinema, production companies, advertising agencies, music and concert promoters, post studios, sales, events, technical production and rental companies.

Robe

UK - London-based drapes specialist Cover It Up supplied scenic dressing and blackout draping for the Festive Lights Switch On by pop star Rihanna at Westfield London Shopping Centre in Shepherd's Bush, west London.

Cover It Up has supplied six sets of different generic scenic drapes to Westfield London that were specified by technical manager Simon Jones for use on different events throughout the year. For some of these - as was the case for the Switch On - the existing drapes are augmented with bespoke additionals.

Cover It Up's team was led by Elliot Stennett. Their task on this occasion was to create a VIP area and drape off the stage and wings.

They used white molton as a base layer with white trevira and voile over the top - taken from one of the standard Westfield packages - and draped about 50m along one side of the atrium to make the VIP balcony space.

Drapes from

Australia - The 2010 UCI Road World Championships held recently in Geelong was the largest cycling competition Australia has ever hosted. The world championship is the marquee event for the Union Cycliste International (UCI) and is second only to the Tour de France in terms of importance and prestige in international cycling.

Geelong-based Total Events Co was given the task to provide audio requirements for the Championship's nine event precincts.

"We had 14 different systems over nine sites for the Championships and it was a total Jands-fest," reports Bill Busbridge, managing director of Total Events Co. "From JBL PRX and VRX boxes, Shure microphones, Crown amplifiers, DBX processing, BSS, Soundcraft to Jands HPC Air Gap power distribution units. We had it all. Plus we had great support from Jands' service and customer support."

A total of 12 JBL-VRX932

UK - Trussing specialist Milos UK has designed, manufactured and installed a super-grid with three moving sub-grids, a pile winding winch movement system and a full set of blackout drapes for Milton Studio One on the campus of the University of Huddersfield, West Yorkshire.

The venue is a magnificent Grade II listed theatre space within a former Methodist Church, now part of The Milton Building and home to the University's Drama, Theatre & Performance department.

Milos was one of eight companies invited to tender for the project by David Wainwright, senior technician and manager of resources for drama, theatre & performance.

Studio One is used extensively by the University's BA Honours in Drama and its Technical Theatre Foundation Degree courses, as well as for numerous visiting productions, and as a learning resource for other departments across the university.

The facili

Belgium - After the successful introduction of the Pixled F-6 LED display at key exhibitions (including PLASA in the UK and LDI in the USA) Pixled and Mitsubishi Electric have announced a special cooperation.

As of now the Pixled F-6 display will be available either with a standard proprietary processor or with the latest generation of a range of processors from Mitsubishi Electric.

The Mitsubishi options will include multi input HD and DVI with super resolution technology, MPEG noise reduction and enhanced grey scale processing.

"To unite all these vital elements and achieve the standards of excellence we required, we needed to combine with the best processing, which is now a reality" says Pixled general manager Bart Van der Beken.

(Jim Evans)

The Netherlands - Results of sustainability research over the course of recent months commissioned by the Dutch Association for Stage Technology (VPT - De Vereniging voor Podiumtechnologie) have shown that, in some applications, LED lamps with white light have an efficiency seven times that of conventional fittings.

Research showed as well that audience appreciation of a dance performance did not change with the use of sustainable or conventional fittings. A group of renowned theatre technicians, lighting designers, directors and stage designers headed the research.

The results of the research programme will be revealed today during the symposium VPT has organised, called Sustainability on stage! in Zwolle. There, all possible ways of making work in the cultural world more sustainable will be considered say the organisers.

In the spring of 2011, together with supplier

Spain - Christie has been honoured with two Total Media Awards, presented at the digital signage fair of the same name recently held in Madrid. Christie was awarded in the Innovative Solution category for Christie MicroTiles, and in the Best Projector category for Christie Mirage WU7K-M. The Total Media awards were created to recognise the most outstanding and innovative technological products in the digital signage industry.

The jury was composed by the Editorial Board of the Spanish magazine Total Media, a professional publication for DOOH (Digital Out of Home), digital signage and mobile marketing. The nominees for the awards were selected by the votes in a survey among industry professionals on the Total Media web.

"It is an honour and a source of pride to have won these two influential prizes," says Antonio Abad, head of Christie for Spain and Portugal, w

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