The Netherlands - Hoevenaars LGV recently provided the sound system for Maximaal Hollands in Beursgebouw Eindhoven, a large arena musical event that saw leading singers and bands take to the stage, all with an array of instruments and requirements.

For the main PA, the company decided on EAW KF760 for the main rig with EAW KF730 for fills and delay, with Lab.gruppen amplifiers powering the entire event.

"We have about 60 Lab.gruppen amplifiers," said Pieter Verkooijen of Hoevenaars LGV. "Fifteen of those are PLM Series units, so we have that added flexibility.

"The integrated Lake Processing is definitely a big leap forward. The cohesion between the processing of the signal and amplification is far greater then when working with separate units. Using the PLM you can feel - and hear - that the unit was designed as an integrated processing and amplification

Germany / Brazil - Barix AG is using this year's InnoTrans show (18-21 September, Berlin Exhibition Centre) to highlight a prestigious Brazilian transportation project of its Swiss customer Ortics GmbH that includes more than 400 Barix Annuncicom two-way IP audio components.

Ortics, together with a European partner, is supplying a key part of the new passenger information system for Metro trains in São Paulo, Brazil. Opened in 1974, the São Paulo Metro operates five lines with 64 stations, with an overall length of about 45 miles - including some underground sections.

The modernisation project, being realized by a Brazilian consortium, has begun and is set for completion in 2014. Ortics is outfitting 25 trains, each comprising six carriages, with modern voice communication, software and vehicle diagnostics systems. The project includes 16 Barix Annuncicom 155 units and two A

UK - PLASA 2012 saw MA Lighting premiere the MA onPC fader wing, the MA 4Port Node and the MA 8Port Node as well as the presentation of the MA onPC command wing after its introduction to the market at this year's Prolight+Sound. A further premiere was the presence of MA Lighting on the booth of its new UK distributor, Ambersphere Solutions.

Michael Althaus, MA Lighting's managing director reports, "PLASA 2012 will be remembered as the point when MA Lighting introduced its sophisticated new range of 'onPC' solutions and totally switched its whole networking portfolio to 1Gbit. With the MA 8Port Node and MA 4Port Node, the higher speed has become possible which gives our MA System an additional performance increase. The MA onPC command wing, MA onPC fader wing, MA 8Port Node onPC and MA 4Port Node onPC form our new 'onPC' solutions. All of these were developed to give MA user

UK - Adlib Solutions' specialist design division, led by award winning LD Ian Tomlinson created lighting production designs for four arenas at the 2012 Creamfields Festival. The Liverpool based technical production company also supplied lighting and sound equipment and crew for these areas.

The three-day 2012 event attracted 55,000 dance music fans to see, hear and experience a truly stunning line up of the best DJs and current acts 'of the moment' on the planet, at the site in Daresbury near Runcorn in Cheshire.

Creamfields - born out of legendary Liverpool super club Cream - and Adlib have a long history of involvement, and this year Adlib was again working for the event's technical producers, LarMac LIVE - Jo MacKay and Ian Greenway.

Adlib supplied the massive Cream Arena, the Annie Mac Presents Arena, the brand new Fire It Up Arena hosted by Creamfields favourite Eddie H

USA - Evanescence FOH engineer Eddie Mapp is on a short break before beginning a string of shows in Central and South America with the band known for its powerful vocals and gothic rock performances. Tour stops include: Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Columbia and Panama. It's a tour that started in October 2011 and looks to be booked solid through 2012.

Mapp explains: "The greatest challenge with this tour has been the traveling! We've had some pretty unique routing this time out with little time between stops, sometimes traveling nearly half way across the globe with almost no time for error."

Having been with the band since 2003, Mapp considers this latest tour one of the most demanding but rewarding: "To have the opportunity to travel once again with a great group of people that are committed to making music and having fun while doing it is great. Traveling

UK - Martin Professional's M1 lighting controller was used to control a large moving head rig on the main stage at the 2012 Global Gathering festival at Long Marston Airfield in late July.

Electric Fly Productions designed the main stage lighting and were festival lighting/video designers while design firm 250K actualized the main stage set design.

Festival lighting operator André Beekmans of The Art of Light used the Martin console on Friday for top acts such as headliner Afrojack, for which Beekmans is also the LD, while Nick Jevons of Electric Fly Productions handled the lighting programming and operation for Saturday's performances.

The Martin M1 used at Global Gathering was provided by Electric Fly Productions as were two Martin Maxedia media servers that were used on site.

"There was an option to use another desk but I preferred the M1," Bekmans says

Germany - Filmmaker Geert Verdickt has joined forces with audio specialist Sennheiser to develop a series of tutorial videos dedicated to the subject of audio for video filmmakers. In a total of five episodes, Geert Verdickt shows ambitious filmmakers "how to record perfect sound for their videos, and does it in a way that is both professional and entertaining". From 19 September onwards, a new tutorial video will go online every two weeks at www.sennheiser.com/ audioforvideo.

"The video series is packed with useful tips on every aspect of audio for video, ranging from everyday situations to particularly challenging filming environments," explained Oliver Ohrndorf, marketing manager professional at Sennheiser. "The tutorials are aimed at video journalists, video filmmakers and amateurs who want to enhance their video images with excellent sound. Geert Ve

China - I want to perform at the Spring Festival Gala Evening has proved to be one of China's most popular reality TV shows. The Spring Festival Gala Evening, which celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2012, is the highest rated TV show in China, attracting 770m viewers last January.

Aired on CCTV (National Chinese TV) on the Chinese New Year's Eve, the Gala Evening features performances from China's best artists across a range of genres - dance, circus, Beijing Opera, magic, comedy and more. For the first time last year, it was decided to hold a series of competitions (a la Britain's Got Talent) to enable the public to have their chance at participating alongside the stars. For this year's series of competitions which were filmed during July at the XingGuang Media Park in Beijing, CCTV turned to APG distributor BV Cam to supply and install a Uniline compact m

South Africa - An Avolites Titan 6 Training Course for beginners to intermediate users was hosted at DWR Distribution, Randburg on 10-11 September 2012.

It was attended by representatives from MGG Productions, Sound Headquarters, Pan Tilt, Integrity Productions and Production Projects.

The course covered the latest Titan 6 software which is packed with new features including New Master playback functions, Bit Map Effects, Patching, Titan Net and fresh Cue List options.

"The response was good," said Nick Britz from DWR who presented the training. "The attendees said they learnt a lot and I think it went very well."

To facilitate the ongoing training at DWR, a Christie LX 605 projector, screen and lapel mic was purchased from Stage Audio Works. This has ensured that learners are able to see bright images on the screen and clearly hear the trainer. Said Gu

UK - Black Light has confirmed its autumn training line up. The three courses will provide an opportunity to get hands-on experience of some of the most exciting and sophisticated lighting equipment on the market. Expert tuition will be provided on technology and software from industry leaders, Avolites, Vectorworks and Zero 88.

"These courses are designed for stage and event professionals who want to find out about the capabilities and operation of the latest gear," says Black Light's head of customer relations, Claire Södergren. "They'll be useful if you are coming to the equipment and software for the first time, or if you've used it in the past and want to find out how to get the most out of it."

The details of the three courses are as follows:

Avolites Titan - 27 September at S.E.C.C Glasgow, free of charge. This free course will cover the operation

UK - Drawing in interest from some of the world's most renowned dance venues and dancing professionals, the official launch of Le Mark's new vinyl & sprung dance floor range resulted in the highest level of interest ever recorded in Le Mark's exhibiting history, says the company.

Le Mark's technical flooring manager Dave Cartwright said, "The progress Le mark has made over the last few years is phenomenal. Originally supplying floors to professional TV & Film studios, Le Mark has steadily grown and developed its range into what has now become one of the UK's most trusted brands in the professional dance industry too.

"With the honour of being selected to provide the flooring for the opening ceremony for the London 2012 Olympics, new installation contracts for some of the UK's largest dance venues and record levels of interest for our new Woodland Spring sprung floors

UK - At PLASA 2012, Shure Distribution UK (SDUK) announced a partnership with RADA, the London-based Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.

SDUK has always striven to work closely with educational establishments that encourage talented young individuals into the industry, and RADA is an internationally fΩted example of such an institution. SDUK and RADA will ensure that the technical training offered on RADA's courses incorporates the latest in industry-standard theatre technology, thereby giving prospective technicians graduating from RADA the best possible start in their careers, and also allowing both partners to support their common ethos of sharing and furthering specialist knowledge and expertise.

SDUK will support RADA with industry-leading equipment for its live and studio productions plus for its theatrical sound design and location recording courses. These include Shur

Middle East - Robert Juliat has announced the appointment of Venuetech as its new distributor for the Middle East region.

Venuetech has been established as a turnkey supplier of lighting, sound and video solutions for the entertainment and architectural markets across the region since 1979.

"We have been instrumental in the instigation and development of turnkey solutions in the Middle East for over 30 years and are very eager to promote the full range of Robert Juliat products in across our markets," says Venuetech executive business controller, Nour Assafiri.

"Venuetech will be responsible for the full product range and after-sale service across the region," says Robert Juliat CEO François Juliat.

Venuetech will be showing Robert Juliat products for the first time at the InfoComm show in Dubai from 14-18 October 2012.

(Jim Evans)

Australia - The new Pringle Building at Oxford Falls Grammar School includes new performing arts facilities such as music tutor rooms, dance and drama rehearsal rooms, an intimate theatre with retractable tiered seating and extensions to the Resource Learning Centre.

Fredon Industries were contracted to design, supply and install a flexible audio visual system to an unusual and innovative auditorium. The school wanted to expand their sports facility into a multi-use arena to cater to both sports and the performing arts. Essentially a hole was cut into the side of the existing basketball court and a flat floor stage area installed, however behind the stage area (which doubles as a drama and dance studio) is a lecture theatre.

So not only was a sound system required to cover the main auditorium space but also to cover the drama / dance studio as well as the lecture theatre and a

Switzerland - TTA, manufacturers of the performer tracking and audio localization system for live sound venues, Stagetracker FX, has further strengthened its European distribution network with the appointment of 2M Audio GmbH as its exclusive Swiss distributor.

2M Audio, based in Schönenwerd in the northern, German-speaking part of Switzerland, is also the exclusive distributor for d&b audiotechnik which, according to TTA's sales and marketing manager, Flemming S°rensen makes them the ideal partner for TTA. "Wherever possible we associate ourselves with other high end brands in the theatre market, and d&b is a case in point," he said. "As the d&b distributor, 2M Audio is already talking to and has relationships with all of the people that are relevant to our business, which clearly makes life much easier for everybody."

2M Audio's Daniel Meyer is adds,

The Netherlands SAE Institute in Amsterdam has upgraded one of its studios with an Audient ASP8024 console.

The purchase of the 36 channel, large format console with producers desk has certainly proved popular with the head of the Audio Department, Bruce Gibb. "The desk is an absolute treat," he says, describing how it facilitates the way his students start to grasp the principles and practice of audio engineering, thanks to "...the console's user friendly and flexible interface."

Before being granted access to individual studios, audio engineering students are given tutoring sessions hosted by the SAE Institute lecturing team, boosting their confidence in signal flow and introducing them to how the console works. Then it's time for the console to really come into its own.

"With individual studio time, students get to enjoy the ASP8024 for recording

Australia - MDG has confirmed the appointment of ULA Group as its new exclusive distributor for Australia.

For over 30 years, MDG has created fog and haze generators for entertainment, industrial, firefighting and military customers. Based in Montreal in Canada, the company's philosophy is to develop and produce the best generators on the market.

"We chose ULA Group as our distributors because their degree of dedication to our industry matches MDG's own," says Martin Michaud, president & CEO of MDG. "Coupled with ULA's unsurpassed knowledge of the Australian market, we believe this to be a very exciting, effective combination."

ULA Group marked the new appointment by introducing the MDG fog generators during Entech Connect show in Melbourne (18 - 19 July 2012), where they received positive feedback from visitors.

The MDG machines are well respected and

UK - Event Projection specializes in one-of-a-kind productions. From product launches and museum exhibits to music videos and corporate events, the AV and lighting hire company has a history of different and distinctly varied projects. So when they were looking to expand their lighting hire stock, they turned to entertainment lighting specialist White Light to find just the right equipment to suit their varied needs. The company chose the latest technology from Coemar - the LEDko P 3200K, available in the UK exclusively through White Light.

Event Projection was the first company of its kind in the UK to purchase the LEDko units, which use an innovative 120-Watt 'Multi-LEDs' source to produce an even, uniform beam, creating huge energy savings over traditional 575-Watt tungsten profiles. Now, several other companies have followed suit, purchasing the LEDko LED light engines for e

France - As part of the 25th anniversary celebrations of the popular French multimedia theme park, Futuroscope, near Poitiers in the department of Vienne, 1000 choristers from 40 different choirs, four soloists and a 40-piece philharmonic orchestra from the University of Poitiers gave an open-air performance of the epic Dogora in front of nearly 10,000 people on 1 September. Written and composed by Etienne Perruchon, Dogora tells the story of an imaginary nomadic people.

Handling all of the audio requirements was Poitiers-based rental and audio solutions company Agora Audio. Agora supplied an Eclipse digital mixing console from Innovason at FoH and an Innovason Sy80 for monitors in addition to the main PA and all the microphones which included sixteen KM 184 D digital microphones from Neumann.

According to Agora's David Rocher who mixed the show at FoH, the event

UK - SXS Events has selected an Allen & Heath iLive digital mixing system from its hire stock to manage audio requirements on the Britain and Ireland's Next Top Model TV show.

Aired in the UK on Sky Living, and internationally syndicated to over 50m viewers, all of the sound from the live elements of the show including speech, are fed through the iLive system, which comprises an iDR-48 MixRack and iLive-T112 Control Surface.

"iLive is great for shows like this because of its totally open architecture. This allows us to provide whatever matrix mixes are required for the TV crew, as well as live mixes for FOH, backstage and any other feeds needed. The sheer number of channels in the iDR-48 means we are never short, and can always provide the connectivity that producers and directors need at the last minute. What's more, surfaces like the iLive-T80 and T112 are compac

UK - Anolis ArcPad Xtreme fixtures have been installed in a permanent lighting scheme to illuminate the front façade of London's Shell Centre, a landmark building along the Jubilee Gardens stretch of the city's South Bank, and a distinctive backdrop to the London Eye.

The lighting scheme is part of a longer term regeneration plan for the Jubilee Gardens area which is immediately in front of the 107m high Shell Centre, backed by a consortium of investors.

A sustainable lighting design was submitted by Farhad Rahim, senior lighting designer from the BDSP Partnership, to Shell and Frosts Landscape Construction, main landscaping contractor for the Jubilee Gardens regeneration project.

This was based on using either the Anolis ArcPad Xtremes or products from another leading manufacturer, the criteria being that the lighting fixtures had to illuminate the entire fascia of the bui

Denmark - The Aarhus University School of Engineering in Denmark recently moved to the city district of Katrinebjerg, the centre of information technology in Aarhus, and sought to announce its new domicile by dynamically illuminating panes of laminated glass on the building's façade.

Using Martin Professional LED strip lights to backlight 24 panes of glass that operate as sun shades, the building - designed by architectural firm CF M°ller A/S - now radiates in a wash of eye-catching colour that has announced the Engineering School's arrival as a dynamic, new member of the neighbourhood.

The glass panes consist of two layers of 6mm tempered glass with yellow foil between. The panes, 40cm wide x 8m long and divided into four sections, are illuminated from the back by the IP67-rated RGB strip lights, thereby making the foil 'glow'.

Control of the lighting system is via a M

South Africa - Award winning lighting designer Joshua Cutts from Visual Frontier designed lighting and video for the current series of Idols SA, with Robe moving lights featuring prominently in the rig, helping to create all the drama and excitement associated with the popular TV series.

Staged at the Mosaiek Theatre in Northcliffe, Johannesburg, and showcasing the rich array of local singing talent, the final 10 contestants battle it out for the 2102 title.

It is the third consecutive year that Cutts has designed the look and feel of the show. Designing both lighting and video brings a visual coherence to the show which has been noticed and appreciated by many, and Cutts recently won the 2012 Technical Production Services Association (TPSA) Award for 'Lighting Designer of The Year'.

The series is produced by Sic Entertainment and is recorded for broadcast on Sunday n

UK - The Cadac CDC Four is rolling off of the production line. Now in full production and shipping to Cadac distributors around the world, the CDC Four is a compact digital console that features 16 genuine Cadac analogue mic pre amps with gain control, fully emulated Cadac EQ, and an expandable input count of up to 64 inputs with a dedicated stage rack.

Commenting on the arrival to market of the CDC Four, Cadac marketing manager Patrick Almond states, "We have kept pretty quiet until now about just how good the CDC Four actually is. But with the final production version successfully rolling off of the line in numbers, we can state categorically that this is an amazing sounding - truly Cadac sounding - desk. As our first digital production console, and a ground breaking, proprietary compact design, the success of this product development is a major milestone for Cadac.

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