Australia - Joseph Mercurio, lecturer in performance technology at the Victorian College of the Arts, is on a mission to ensure that his students have access to the latest in lighting technology and has invested in a Jands Vista console.

"Part of my purpose here is to teach people how to learn and Vista offers a very different way of approaching lighting control," began Mercurio. "With most consoles you type in numbers on a keyboard but Vista has a totally different mentality with which younger people are familiar. They are used to a visual, touch screen, interactive method. Older people have learnt to be digital natives but our students were born and raised this way. You don't need to know numbers; you're talking holistically around the design and getting lights to work.

"Vista offers a totally different paradigm and breaks new ground. It certainly shows t

UK - XL Events, working with Premier PR, supplied LED for the London premiere of Total Recall starring Colin Farrell, Kate Beckinsale and Jessica Biel.

Premier PR designed a 'red carpet' experience which complemented the futuristic look of the movie. To achieve the right look, Premier called on the expertise of XL project manager, Mark Rooney, to specify and supply the LED.

Pixled's versatile FX-11 LED was chosen due to its high brightness, and suitability for outdoor use - a must given the unpredictable British weather.

In total 150 tiles of FX-11 LED were used. 128 tiles formed the Total Recall stage backdrop where the movie's stars appeared for the fans and paparazzi in Leicester Square, and were interviewed by Alex Zane.

A further 22 tiles of FX-11 were used to front the booth for the DJ who played as the stars arrived.

XL Events' Mark Rooney comments,

USA - Problem-solving theatre design consultancy Charcoalblue is crossing the pond to open a studio in the heart of New York's fashionable Chelsea district.

Since completing the Royal Shakespeare Company's new award-winning HQ in Stratford-upon-Avon, opening Glyndebourne Opera's new Ebert Recital Room and embarking on a multi-million pound transformation of the National Theatre in London, the company has sought to share its wealth of experience in performing arts consultancy service internationally.

As part of that initiative Charcoalblue's co-founder, Jon Stevens, will be opening the company's American office on West 26th Street in Manhattan. "We are thrilled to have assisted Susan Feldman and the St Ann's Warehouse team to find and develop their new temporary theatre on Jay Street in Brooklyn," says Stevens, "and we are looking forward to continuing our curren

UK / Italy - Cloud Electronics, UK-based manufacturer of pro audio products, has announced Prase Engineering S.p.A. as the new distribution channel for Italy for the full range of Cloud audio zone-mixers, multi-channel amplifiers, paging microphones and audio distribution systems, effective 1 October 2012.

Prase Engineering has more than 30 years experience in the Italian market and is a leader in the distribution of audio products for professional and commercial use. In recent years the company has strengthened its in-house expertise and working very closely with a network of installers, contractors, design companies and retailers, ensures that the latest technological innovations are embraced in the development of systems for conference centres, sports arenas, theatres, stadiums, cinemas, places of worship, museums, airports, train stations, public spaces, commercial and indus

The Association of Sound Designers will be running three training seminars at PLASA 2012, open to all attendees and suitable for anyone, looking at three fundamental parts of sound design, run by three of the countries top sound designers:

- Sound System delay and zoning, run by Seb Frost, whose credits include the Tony nominated Sunday in the Park with George (West End & Broadway),

- Creative Manipulation of Sounds, run by Gareth Fry, winner of two Olivier Awards and Soundscape Designer of the Opening Ceremony of the Olympics.

- Recording Sound Effects, run by the legendary John Leonard.

Sound System Delays and Zoning
Sunday 9 September, 3.30pm - 4.30pm

Seb will be demonstrating how to best set delays on a sound system to create natural sounding reinforcement or great sounding amplification; how to create delay zones so that a performers voice sounds like

UK - Exactly 30 years after Jo Longthorne appeared in the final Talk of the Town production at the Hippodrome, the historic London venue has reopened. This follows a major £40m refurbishment, which drew on the innovative theatre design expertise of theatre consultants Charcoalblue LLP.

The Grade II listed venue, built in 1900 by the famous theatrical architect Frank Matcham, has been converted into London's first super casino, combining gaming and live performance with a first-class restaurant.

Charcoalblue was appointed to assist London-based architects Cadmium Design & Architecture in the design and planning of the Matcham Room, the entertainment venue that will house Live at the Hippodrome. In addition, the space provides a unique venue for hire in the heart of London's West End.

Paul Crosbie, senior project consultant for Charcoalblue comments, "

Belgium - Pan European AV solutions provider AED Rent has announced it now has a stock of more than 2,500 Clay Paky fixtures.

AED Rent, which has headquarters in Willebroek, Belgium but also has offices in the Netherlands, France, Germany and the UK, now offers in excess of 566 Clay Paky Sharpys for rent, and nearly 2000 other Clay Paky fixtures, including AlphaSpot 1200 HPE, AlphaWash 1200, AlphaSpot 800 QWO, and AlphaProfile 1500.

"Two years ago we received a request from one of our major customers for high-performance profile fixtures. Following this we organised a shootout to make sure we would know what was available on the market," says Steven Mansvelt, light department manager at AED Rent.

"The Clay Paky Alpha Profile 1500 was a really interesting fixture for us, comparing value for money, so we ordered our first batch and that was the start of a fast g

UK - On the eve of PLASA 2012, PLASA has announced a new home and dateline for the PLASA Show in 2013. The UK's only international event for entertainment and installation technology will take place at ExCeL London from 6-9 October 2013.

"After 21 years at Earls Court & Olympia, the time is now right for the PLASA Show to leave its current home," said PLASA CEO Matthew Griffiths. "We have hugely ambitious plans for the future of the event, and the state-of-the-art facilities at ExCeL support this vision. ExCeL is a cutting-edge, purpose-built exhibition venue with the infrastructure to attract international markets; the world-class facilities are the perfect match for PLASA's planned investment in content and growth, and an exciting prospect for our technology markets worldwide."

The move represents a major opportunity for the PLASA Show to expand its inter

UK - Edinburgh Festival has seen Philips Selecon join forces with power monitoring company, Energeno, and one of the biggest venue producers on the Edinburgh Festival Fringe - C venues - to examine the positive impact LED lighting can have on power consumption in a fringe venue running 24/7.

Philips Selecon is working in collaboration with C venues' production manager Richard Williamson and artistic director (and international lighting designer) Hartley Kemp, to incorporate Selecon LED luminaires into existing lighting rigs at C venues newest hub venue, C nova, the largest pop-up venue on the Fringe.

"Our priority is to deliver a lighting system that allows C venues' users total creative flexibility and expression, yet is as low-energy as possible," says Grant Bales-Smith, sales manager for Strand Selecon Europe. "On this occasion we've supplied 18 Acclaim LED F

Abu Dhabi - Nicolas Kyvernitis Electronics Enterprises, distributors of Midas and Klark Teknik in the Middle East have recently supplied a new Midas PRO9 digital live audio system to Loud N Clear Middle East. The company previously purchased one of the first Pro2 systems in the Middle East, which they first used in Abu Dhabi. Loud N Clear which operates in the region and provides its services in Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia.

"Roger attended the first certified Midas training in Dubai during May and over the three days was able to see the power of the PRO9, which I think ultimately made him decide to invest in one," commented Chicco Hiranandani, business development manager at NMK.

He adds, "building on their AES50 network, Loud N Clear can take full advantage of its flexibility and scalability by using both the PRO9 and PRO2 in tan

Estonia - Heliart has had a busy summer in their native country, with a whole host of events, festivals and concerts making the most their rental stock and expertise.

A good example of is the song and dance festival Viljandimaa laulu- ja tantsupidu in Viljandi, Estonia, with over 1500 singers, 500 dancers and more than 100 brass band members. The first festival was held in 1882, with this year being a look through of the last 130 years, allowing folk dancers and singers of Viljandi county to gather for celebration, each group wearing their own national clothes to present their identity and region.

"Heliart OÜ was founded in 2007," said Priit Kivimägi, owner and partner at Heliart. "We have a sound and lighting rental, sales and installation company, but we do not only rent equipment; we also provide a full service as well to serve our clients' needs as

UK - The Jands Vista range once again proved its flexibility and power when lighting designer and programmer Steve Heywood chose to put Vista consoles, running the next generation Vista v2 software, in control at two recent UK music festivals.

For Meadowlands 2012, a diverse and vibrant event staged at Glynde Place in the picturesque village of Glynde in East Sussex, Heywood and Dan Williams, the lighting designer for the event's main stage, shared operating duties on a Vista T2.

An eclectic line-up included acclaimed LTJ Bukem, who closed the festival with an entrancing four hour DJ set, as well as Lamb, Fink, Speech Debelle, Portico Quartet and many others.

With the usual limited programming available for a festival rig, which included moving lights, conventionals and the latest LED fixtures, Heywood and Williams needed to be able to work extremely fast and "bu

UK - Liverpool- based rental solutions provider Adlib continued its work with high profile US stars, supplying FOH audio control & monitor system for the recent UK and European tour by the multi award winning American country pop trio, Lady Antebellum.

Adlib account handler Phil Kielty comments, "It was great to service another top class US country artist, and give them our support & continuity throughout the UK and Europe".

Co-ordinating all the Adlib elements on the road was James Neale who worked closely with the band's FOH and monitor engineers Brett Blanderen and Curt Jenkins. Jenkins was also production manager.

Neale took his extensive experience and knowledge of systems engineering into the equation to assist with the numerous show scenarios that arose as they hooked into house racks &stacks set ups at a wide assortment of venues and festivals.

Also on th

USA - The Dave Matthews Band is back on the road this summer with a North American tour preceding the release of their album, Away From The World, due out in September. Accompanying the band are two grandMA2 full-size, one grandMA2 light, two MA NSP (Network Signal Processor) and two MA NPU (Network Processing Unit).

The equipment was specified by the band's longtime lighting designer Fenton Williams and supplied by Theatrical Media Services Inc. (TMS) of Omaha, Nebraska.

Williams, who is also the overall visual designer for the tour, acts as co-lighting operator for the shows running one grandMA2 full-size while Aaron Stinebrink from TMS runs the second desk. "Fenton is very active and likes to augment on the fly during the show," says TMS's Pete Franks who serves as system crew chief on the road. "That's why there are two consoles always operating front

UK - Le Mark's Gloss Black StudioTak Studio Floor has once again be seen on one of Channel 4's primetime shows. The floors was used on the main set for a new series of The Angelos Epithemiou Show which has already been a huge hit. Landing straight into a Friday night slot, with some of the UK's biggest names appearing in recent episodes.

Le Mark's Sharon Marshall says, "The set looks stunning and it's always a great achievement to see our stage floor in use, especially on such primetime shows. StudioTak is such an ideal product for non-permanent sets as the floor can easily be installed and removed in minimal time. We've worked with Dormatt Construction Ltd. who have built the Angelos set for a number of years. They're a great team and one we have every confidence in making sure our studio floors look amazing every time."

(Jim Evans)

Finland - Allen & Heath's Finnish distributor, Noretron Audio Ltd., has finalised a deal with Viking Line Abp to install iLive digital mixing systems and MixWizard analogue rackmount mixers in the company's new M/S Viking Grace cruise ship.

iLive systems, comprising iLive-T112 and iLive-T80 Control Surfaces with iDR-48 and iDR-16 Mix Racks equipped with DANTE network option cards, and a total of seven MixWizard WZ316:2 rackmount mixers, will be installed in the ship's night club, and several restaurants and conference rooms.

Noretron is also supplying all other entertainment audio, including loudspeakers, amplification, wireless microphone- and IEM-systems.

According to Viking's AV manager, Jouni Sironen, the new audio systems have been carefully designed to deliver crystal clear sound in every part of ship. Allen & Heath was the console manufacturer of choice because iLive

USA - For three days in August, an estimated 100,000 fans converged at the sold-out Outside Lands festival in San Francisco. With acts including Stevie Wonder, Neil Young, Metallica, and Foo Fighters, this year's lineup at the Lands End main stage was supported by Meyer Sound's freshly unveiled Leo linear large-scale sound reinforcement system. Leo's exceptional fidelity made an instant impression on many attending industry professionals who encountered LEO for the first time, including Another Planet, producer of Outside Lands.

"Faithfully reproducing music for 65,000 is no easy task, but the Meyer Sound Leo system this year did an incredible job," states Gregg Perloff, CEO of Another Planet Entertainment. "Legends like Neil Young and Stevie Wonder sounded better than I had ever heard them before, and Leo also made it easy for sound crews to do their job. LEO is

UK - The Summer Series at Somerset House has established itself as one of London's must-see music festivals. With an eclectic programme to support, in-house lighting designer, Petter Skramstad decided that Clay Paky Alpha 700 HPEs would make the ideal backbone for his super-flexible rig.

This summer the venue hosted a diverse line up that included: comedian Tim Minchin, neo-soul queen Jill Scott, pop-dubstepper Katy B, Paloma Faith and indie lads The Enemy.

With such a varied programme Skramstad had his work cut out: "Key decision maker for me was brightness, plenty of functions, lightweight, and totally reliable," he explains. "The Clay Paky 700 HPEs were a godsend. They are the smallest 700W spotlight available, and weigh just 22 kilos, which means I can get enough fixtures into the rig to satisfy everyone without going over the weight loading limits. This ens

UK - Park Live in the Olympic Park was created to provide the ultimate viewing experience for visitors to the Olympic Park for the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympics.

Two enormous screens mounted back-to back, floating on a gigantic platform and stage on the River Lea face out to acres of parkland areas on either side.

Sound Directions UK designed a distributed sound system for the parklands to ensure all visitors enjoyed high quality and evenly distributed sound.

Cloud VTX-4400 4-channel 400W amplifiers are used to drive nearly 100 SoundTube XT850i-GN in-ground loudspeakers using Cloud CXL-400T 100V transformers for the VTX amplifiers to provide nearly 16,000 Watts of amplification for the parklands.

Cloud VTX-WM1 web monitor cards installed in each of the amplifiers allow contractors for Park Live to monitor the performance of the amplifiers for the duration of th

Italy - D.T.S. recently strengthened and integrated its logistics chain by expanding its production facilities, and reinforced its plants by purchasing a series of new hi-tech numerical control machines, including a computer controlled 5 KW laser cutter, and a thermoplastic polymers 3D printing machine.

D.T.S.' current streamlined production cycle and its extensive automation have been fully employed in the production of one of its most innovative products, the high-power compact moving head Jack.

D.T.S. has just issued a video clip titled The Art of Manufacturing, to illustrate this new phase of development. This can be viewed at www.dts-lighting.com/Company

(Jim Evans)

USA - Peavey Electronics, one of the music industry's largest manufacturers and suppliers, will open a West Coast factory showroom, artist relations headquarters and multimedia dealer education centre on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, California, on 1 September.

Peavey Hollywood is billed as "a unique brand experience that will give musicians, audio pros, systems integrators and music retailers a 360-degree view of the products, artists and philosophy that have made Peavey an iconic brand in music and audio". A high-end retail showcase for Peavey and its affiliated brands - Composite Acoustics, Trace Elliot, Budda Amplification, Crest Audio, Architectural Acoustics and MediaMatrix - Peavey Hollywood is designed "to create awareness for Peavey products and the company's legacy of innovation".

Peavey Hollywood will be an entertainment and informational resour

USA - Calvary Chapel, a non-denominational church in Broomfield, CO., offers contemporary style worship and music every Sunday for their devoted congregation. Pastor Richie Furay, a past member of the nationally recognised bands - Poco and Buffalo Springfield, has made music a big part of the church's ministry, with a modern professional band performing exceptional music to enhance the worship experience. Until recently, the sanctuary stage lighting was not all it might be.

With one bar of four 100 Watt and two 75 Watt incandescent can lights to illuminate the stage, it was time to update the lighting and renew the atmosphere to harmonize with the excitement, which was happening on stage every Sunday. The decision was made to install 12 Cygnus 100 Watt LED Colour Wash luminaires, completely replacing the outdated incandescent system. The Cygnus fixtures were hung to light the st

South Africa - Earlier this year Innibos was acknowledged as the most popular festival in South Africa and received KykNET's Fiesta Award. With this feather in their cap, the Afrikaans festival went full steam ahead to present their ninth successful Innibos held from 26 - 29 June 2012 in Nelspruit and attended by 120,000 people.

Rental company Sound Headquarters partnered with the organisers for the second consecutive year and provided the full technical for the main and Klipdrift stages.

"The first year was very stressful for us," said Anrika Bruinders from Sound Headquarters. The greatest fear was the unknown. "This year we fine tuned the production, the sound was awesome and the lighting was amazing." The most important aspect Sound Headquarters bring to a gig is their passion; that they partner with their client and that nothing is too difficult to ensu

Europe - Bruce Springsteen is a rock star that loves to play live. For his lighting designer Jeff Ravitz, keeping the visual excitement real can be quite a challenge. Although Springsteen has sold more than 120m albums worldwide, he is notorious for his unofficially extended concerts and it is Ravitz's job to stay one step ahead of his, sometimes unpredictable, programme.

For example, just this summer an over run in Hyde Park, London saw Springsteen unceremoniously switched off. This however did not deter him from concluding his 2012 European leg in Helsinki in true Springsteen style playing a personal record-breaking four hours and six minutes. Such capricious behaviour means Ravitz has to be quick thinking, focused and have a lighting design and system that offers maximum flexibility, power, and of course subtlety.

Forming the backbone of his lighting rig is a battalion of P

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