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14 March 2016

Following a three-day July vernissage cruise from Venice, the Costa Favolosa (114,500 gross tonnage and 3,800 total guests) began offering Eastern Mediterranean cruises, before being positioned in Dubai for eight-day Arabian Nights cruises in the UAE and Oman for the winter 2011/2012 season.

With its 13 passenger decks, the Favolosa, built entirely in Italy by Fincantieri, is the largest ship flying the Italian flag and offers guests a wide range of leisure and entertainment amenities, the latter including the three-deck Hortensia theatre, featuring a concentrate of cutting edge A

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14 March 2016

The nature of venues like the Hexagon is that they stage a huge variety of productions - ranging from professional comedians, tribute acts, variety shows, choirs, psychics, musicals, pantomimes, dance troupes and TV spinoffs to amateur performances by clubs, bands, schools and talent contests. This means that the mixing system has to be extremely flexible, yet not so complex that it can't be taught very quickly to someone who may not have used a digital console before.

The combination of the M7CL-48ES and SB168-ES stage boxes meets all of these needs and, as a result, is proving extremely popular at regi

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14 March 2016

Clumber's three diverse nights of entertainment for all ages and musical tastes - included Pop Party In the Park on Friday, headlined by N-Dubz also with sets by The Wanted, Chipmunk, Aggro Santos and Parade. It continued on the Saturday with a 'flashback' night featuring some of the best loved sounds of the 1980s with live performances by The Human League, Level 42, Heaven 17, Nik Kershaw and Toyah. On Sunday, there was a concert by classical crossover singer Katherine Jenkins backed by the National Symphony Orchestra, with special Guest Wynn Evans.

Adlib's Peter Abraham project managed, commenting, "It is always exciting working on new projects and rising to their cha

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14 March 2016

Watts explains, "I used PixelPars with 8-degree lenses, the reason being: I really wanted the speed of LED but the brightness of a moving wash. The PixelPar is bright enough for me to use as beam light, blinder or strobe - or all three! Very impressive for a single unit that draws less power than a lamp-based Par 56."

The tour is a prelude to next year's planned US tour and bearing the same name as the recently released album Love Live Life.

(Jim Evans)

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14 March 2016

The lighting and video visuals for this seventh series of Idols SA have been created by Joshua Cutts, one of South Africa's most innovative designers who is working for the first time in this role, having operated last year's series. It is the first time that Idols South Africa has featured a coherent 'visual' design incorporating both mediums, which is going down a storm with everyone, bringing a new fluidity and harmony to th

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14 March 2016

Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament offers guests "ringside seats to a story of bravery and honour set in 11th-century Spain. The spectacular includes a jousting tournament and falconry, all enjoyed over dinner.

Barbizon Lighting Company supplied the Robert Juliat Topaze fixtures as part of a lighting upgrade to Medieval Times' suburban Chicago location.

"I was looking for something different, not the usual spots," says sound and lighting manager Edgar Campos. "Other lighting manufacturers seemed to have the same type of design. I was looking for the sturdiest fixtures with the fewest parts and found them in the Topaze, which combi

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14 March 2016

A total of 1,100m of stage barrier was supplied to each festival, which included Mojo's line-up gate system for the silent disco.

Mojo's BLMS detects and records pressure applied by the crowd throughout the event with its unique pressure sensors. It was first used five years ago at Reading and Leeds and includes CCTV monitoring and personal observation by production and security professionals to monitor crowd dynamics.

As a result of previous years' results analysis, Mojo installed one of its trademark thrust systems into the main arena as a primary stage barrier, a first for the Leeds and Reading

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14 March 2016

The launch itself occurred in the Developer Sessions conference room, for which PF Events were contracted to supply all the audio, video, lighting, staging and technical management. The four-day event featured presentations from some of the leading games developers and manufacturers in the industry and included a combination of speech, HD presentations and on-stage gameplay.

PF Events installed 12 KV2 EX10 speakers and two Noise Control Audio VSB218 subwoofers in a 7.1 surround sound configuration. A Panasonic PT-DZ110X full HD projector was also installed with a 16ft x 9ft Monoblox projector screen. All the video was controlled using a Christie Spyder X20 HD video processor which was ideal for s

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14 March 2016

The intention is to see what an average theatre might expect from LED lanterns. To which end manufacturers have been invited to provide examples ofLED lanterns falling into the categories of - Profile Spots, Acting Area Wash Lights, Scenery/Cyclorama Wash Lights and Beam Lights - PAR equivalents etc. To limit the field, moving lights will not be included.

There will be two sessions, at 10.00and 14.00. Lanterns will be demonstrated alongside the Theatre's own stock of conventional lanterns all running on the house board, a Strand Lighting 530i. There will be opportunities to compare and contrast different lanterns and manufacturers' representatives will be available to

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14 March 2016

BS7827 officially known as a code of practice for designing, specifying, maintaining and operating emergency sound systems at sports venues, was initially drawn up in the wake of the Hillsborough disaster in 1989, and covers not only stadia, but any venue where sport is played such as racecourses, swimming pools etc, it is also applicable to large public facilities such as shopping malls, conference and exhibition centres.

Steve Jones, a consulting engineer specialising in sound and chairman of the EPL 100-2 Working Group at BSI, who produced the revised standard, said, "The origins of this standard are a code of practice produced by a working group within the Sound Communications Industries Federation, which I chaired back in 1989 after

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14 March 2016

The station and airport, which was acquired by the famous transport and logistics group in 2008, features the Bosch range of Projection Speakers and Metal Cabinet Speakers to ensure effective communications with passengers, whose numbers are expected to rise to more than two million by 2020. The site is also benefitting from a surveillance system which includes the first installation of its new digital hybrid recorder (DHR).

Project managers Birse Rail appointed DACS Rail as Electrical Engineers on the project who in turn appointed Max Electronic Systems to design

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14 March 2016

The Reading Festival, the world's oldest popular music festival still in existence, and its sister festival, the Leeds Festival, took place simultaneously in August, sharing the same bill. Neg Earth provided the main stage lighting, trussing and control systems and turned to MAC 301 Washes, MAC III Profiles, and Atomic 3000 strobes with Atomic Colors scrollers.

Perhaps the world's best known outdoor music festival, Glastonbury, took place in June and as in years past featured a plethora of Martin gear. Neg Earth supplied Martin MAC III Profiles and Atomic strobes for LD Willie Williams for U2's

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14 March 2016

When lighting designer Henke Hjälm, together with Hans Ekdahl at HELL Produktion AB, wanted to bring along a wireless DMX/RDM system on the band's extensive European tour, the choice was LumenRadio's CRMX Nova RDM.

CRMX with its Automated Cognitive Coexistence was identified as the only wireless system that could provide the level of performance and reliability required for the group's very energetic, fast phased, and almost theatrical stage performances.

"A major concern was all the other wireless systems present

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14 March 2016

Having undergone a complete refurbishment, the venue, which is in close proximity to LTP's base, required an innovative interior lighting scheme to enhance its extensive facilities.

Offering a two-floor gymnasium, sauna, steam and salt inhalation rooms, boxercise, a spinning room and two studios, along with physiotherapy areas and a coffee shop and lounge, LTP was able to design and specify effects lighting tailored to each different environment.

The key areas, including the central atrium ceiling, benefit from beautification provided by colour changing LED lighting. A visually vibrant centrepiece has also been created in this space utilising multiple light sticks. Some of the spaces feature UV graffiti art, so red plex

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14 March 2016

The Madeleine Centre is a fully functioning performing arts venue, incorporating a series of classrooms, drama rooms, a gallery space and the impressive Montagner Auditorium. The 456 seat auditorium and the accompanying rooms are already heavily used each day, playing host to drama and theatre studies, music classes, band rehearsals, meetings, assemblies, seminars, concerts, recitals and theatre productions.

Lightmoves were contracted to supply and install the theatrical lighting, sound and lighting control packages for the new artistic hub. For the PA, Lightmoves turned JBL.

The main auditorium features a high ceiling, curved walls and minimal space in which to mount a speaker system. A JBL VRX line array was chosen, given its small footpr

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14 March 2016

AED Rent is part of the AED group has subsidiaries across Europe. With over 31 years' experience AED Rent carries an extensive portfolio from leading manufactures, ranging from lighting and sound products to video, electricity and accessories, holding extensive stock including over 44 miles of Truss in its Belgium warehouse. AED Rent delivers leading brands in to the rental market including, L'acoustics, Clay Paky, GLP, Varilite, Yamaha, QSC, Robert Juliat, and Avolites and provides a complete rental solution to the event industry.

AED Rent committed

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14 March 2016

For the show, the whole Friedrichsplatz was transformed into a concert stage area of 65,000sq.m. Entertainment included a gig by leading band Söhne Mannheims in addition to the autosymphonic show that was specially commissioned for this event and performed by the SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden Baden. One hundred percussionists joined in by opening car doors in time with the music, or turning on windscreen wipers as well as playing on wheel rims and other car body parts with sticks.

Horst Hamann's multi-media show used lights and lasers to illustrate the history of automobiles. Lighting designer Thomas Gerdon, opted for a gr

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14 March 2016

Christie Lites CEO Huntly Christie commented on the purchase, stating, "When making a commitment, Christie Lites looks for products that are first in its class. We believe the MAC Aura's patented colour mixing system, powerful output, clean optics and affordable price tag will deliver the design community a fabulous tool. We are very pleased to be adding a significant quantity to our product line."

The MAC Aura which features two independent illumination systems - multicolour beam LEDs and a backlight LED lens array - launched at PLASA 2011 in mid-September, winning a PLASA Award for Innovation.

Martin US President Brian Friborg stated, "Our latest LED moving

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14 March 2016

Using Midas digital for the first time, Dolly's monitor engineer Jason Glass is finding his PRO9 invaluable for the complex show, which changes from bluegrass to full string pop to gospel and back again, performed by seven multi-instrumental musicians and three backing vocalists.

"I'm using scenes extensively as I have a lot of changes happening on layers that are out of sight and out of mind while I'm paying attention to Dolly," he says. "It really simplifies the show for me; it's also reliable and consistent.

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14 March 2016

Hellbillies' monitor engineer Atle Aamodt sourced eight of the 45°N-12 wedges from rental company and Nexo distributor Fotophono for the national tour, and has found them a major advance on the in-ear monitors being used by the band, especially in an environment where the acoustics or PA are poor and muddying the sound on stage.

"The lead vocalist Aslag Haugen has always used IEMs in situations where the PA or the room acoustics make monitoring difficult. Since we started using the N-12s, we don't need the IEM back-up; even in the worst possible conditions, these monitors provide listening conditions for the musicians that no other monitors can match."

Aamod

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14 March 2016

Established in 1985 and based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Pathway designs and manufactures electronics that enable lighting control systems to communicate with intelligent lighting fixtures and power devices, even when those products utilize different communications protocols. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed and the acquisition is not expected to materially impact Acuity Brands future consolidated financial results.

Pathway is strategically positioned at the intersection between architectural and entertainment lighting. Its established management team and product portfolio support a diverse customer base, and serve a broad range

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14 March 2016

The Pony Bar, which offers some of America's finest craft brews, also provides beer aficionados with a nightly music soundtrack from artists such as Neil Young, Grateful Dead, Phish and Wilco played back though six Genelec 8030A Bi-Amplified Monitor Speakers and a 7050A Active Subwoofer.

Dan McLaughlin, who opened The Pony Bar with a business partner in mid-April 2009, first experienced Genelec speakers while working at another bar for six years. "It was the best sound I'd ever heard anywhere, just incredible clarity," he enthuses. But after the first installed sound system at The Pony Bar failed to live up to those exp

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14 March 2016

With over 200 Robert Juliat followspots in stock at the time of going to press, AED Rent (AED group's dry-hire company) holds one of the largest rental stocks of Robert Juliat equipment in Europe.

"AED is constantly investing in extra equipment to meet the ever changing demands of the industry," says AED group PR manager, Alex Goemans. "AED Distribution is well placed to service sales of this market leading brand across Belgium and Luxembourg. The new partnership between our companies and our commitment to holding high levels of sales stock will enable AED

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14 March 2016

Chaired by Clive Couldwell, Editor of AV Europe, the judges' citation read: "A fantastic entry from Blitz Communications! Their submission showed that hard work really pays off - making significant profits this year, despite the economic downturn. They have shown product innovation with the development of their own digital signage system, LiveVIEW, as well as impressive marketing innovations."

The awards ceremony was held at the London Hilton, Park Lane and was attended by over 600 executives from the AV and events industry. Paul Hutton, managing director, collected the award on behalf of the Blitz Team, which currently numbers some 95 employees.

Commenting on the win of the award, Munir Samji, chief executive, said, "This awar