UK - The Michael Northern Bursary 2006, set up to reward students who show exemplary talent in lighting design, has been awarded to Chloe Kenward from the University of Hull, for her imaginative design for Egbert in the Underworld. The Bursary of £500 is awarded for a project completed within the past academic year, and the judges felt that Kenward's work clearly demonstrated a strong creative flair.

The ETC runner up prize of £250 went to Richard Howell, from The Guildhall School of Music and Drama, for his work on Twelfth Night, while Joshua Tomalin from LAMDA was awarded the ALD runner up prize of £250 for his work on Mathilde, Serious Money and The Misanthrope.

This year, for the first time, two Honourable Mention Awards, sponsored by PRG Europe were awarded to first year students. The judges - Paule Constable, Mark Jonathan, R

UK - Yesterday at the PLASA Show, ADB Lighting Technologies unveiled major new product releases, as well as an expanded accessory range.

On stand H19, the company unveiled two new ranges of luminaires in the award winning Warp series - the HMI Warp/Daylight and the cool running, long lamp-life Warp/Ceramic, along with new Warp series accessories. Two new dimmers will also be on show - the Eurodim Sine Wave series and the Erack 50 Plus economy dimmer rack.

The new, HMI powered Warp/Daylight automated spot luminaire range, available in both motorised and manual versions, provides the brightest beam in the 575 discharge lamp range. A new fixture range with electronic flicker free ballasts, with two different light output angles of 12-30 and 22-50 degrees, its light output is over 10,500 LUX.

The second luminaire launch at PLASA will be the high light output, cool beam Warp/Cera

Germany - Belle et Fou - The play with lust is a new show in Berlin. It's Berlin's first theatre of senses and offers the observer a unique show with eroticism, dance, music and theatre. The production of Arthur Castro, Hans-Peter Wodarz and Günter Münstermann tells stories about sensuality and attraction of the opposite sex. Belle et Fou is housed in the Spielbank Berlin, where nearly 300 seats are equipped with state-of-the-art lighting, sound and A/V technology.

"Lust knows many forms of expression, but no boundaries", says Arthur Castro - words which inspired lighting designer Andreas Fuchs: besides the 70 moving lights he is using, there are four beamers, one video screen composed of 27 cubes (9 x 2m), several LEDs and 76 Clay Paky Point In are used in the auditorium. The whole system is controlled by a grandMA Light together with grandMA on PC as

UK - With only one day remaining of the PLASA Show 2006, visitors still have time to register their interest in PLASA's National Rigging Certificate. Visitors can learn more about the initiative designed to give riggers working in all sectors a framework by which their expertise and knowledge can be measured.

Over the last year, PLASA has been working closely with the industry and a range of government bodies to develop a scheme that will not only serve the specific needs of the industry, but also achieve national recognition.

Rigging assessors are currently undertaking assessment pilots to demonstrate that they meet the standards within the National Rigging Certificate, and each assessor is also working towards achieving an A1 Award - the nationally recognised award in assessment.

Rigging Assessors and members of the Rigging Advisory Group will be present on the PLASA Stand

UK - At one of the best PLASA trade shows for Le Mark in recent years, showing recent additions to its ranges including both Setwear and IronClad gloves, personal entertainment industry work wear and accessories.

"We were extremely pleased to be complemented by industry professional on our booth layout, with terms including 'true need' and 'long overdue' regarding the new product lines we displayed. Our traditional lines also saw excellent interest and strong sales with new export distribution deals confirmed at the show for both Greece and Russia," says the company's MD, Stuart Gibbons. He added that it was "a great show" which also saw the launch of the company's new 'Survival Kit' catalogue for 2007.

(Lee Baldock)

Digidesign introduced the D-Show Profile to its Venue live sound environment family at the PLASA Show in London this week. This compact mixing console is a size-conscious alternative to the popular D-Show, the flagship console of the Venue line. D-Show Profile offers full compatibility with all existing Venue hardware components, total file portability, and an incredibly compact footprint-all of which ensures the exact same sound quality, reliability, and flexibility for which Venue is now well known, the company says.

"D-Show Profile represents Digidesign's overall commitment to address the needs of a wide breadth of sound reinforcement applications," says Digidesign market manager for live sound products Robert Scovill. "With Profile, we've paid particular attention to feedback from vendors and operators who work in many different styles of operation. We feel that D-Sh

UK - Cadac Electronics Plc unveiled its new S-Digital mixing console at PLASA '06 this week at Earl's Court in London. The Cadac S-Digital, designed from the ground up specifically for theatre sound applications, "sets a new yardstick in digital console design for live sound", say Cadac.

In a major departure from conventional paradigms, the S-Digital is conceived to reflect the surface architecture of Cadac's industry standard J-Type analogue console. It combines the J-Type's hallmark audio quality, tools and features with the operational and creative benefits of audio manipulation and control in the digital domain - producing a digital console that sounds, looks and behaves like a familiar analogue desk.

The Cadac S-Digital builds on the company's 20-year history at the forefront of theatre sound. In its basic configuration, it offers a minimum specification of 72 i

UK - Following an extensive field test period, the new MAC TW1 tungsten automated wash fixture from Martin Professional is ready to hit the market. Seen at PLASA '06 in London this week, the 1200W MAC TW1 brings to the stage and studio all the optical brilliance and feature quality of the MAC range - with the warmth of tungsten halogen. It has an array of avant-garde features to equip the lighting designer with the broadest possibility of effects, colours and design.

Unlike other fixtures in its class, the MAC TW1 is an "all in one" solution, meaning one version of the fixture can travel the world without the need for inconvenient adjustments or the expense of having multiple models on hand. The MAC TW1 can be fitted with a 230V, 240V or 115V lamp, as well as a new breed of 80V lamp that offers a far superior output to traditional mains voltage lamps.

The MAC TW1's i

Spain - The third edition of AFIAL's Convention looks set to be a success, according to the Spanish trade association, with a strong level of participation already confirmed. AFIAL began to contract space in July, and has now sold more than 70 % of the total floorspace of the exhibition.

This reflects the interest of Spanish companies in this exhibition, which has become the prime market focus for Spain's national entertainment technology industry. Contracted exhibitors to date include Adagio, Ben-Ri, D.A.S. Audio, Equipson, Gemini, Guil, Pinanson, Seesound, Stonex and Yamaha, among others.

Further information on the exhibition is available from the AFIAL website provided below.

(Lee Baldock)

UK - Now that the dust has settled on this year's PLASA Show, the organisers of next year's show - the newly-formed PLASA Events Ltd - are looking forward to building on this week's hugely successful 2006 event - the last to be organised on PLASA's behalf by Clarion Events.

Exact visitor figures will be released in due course, following the independent ABC Audit of the figures. However, early indications are that PLASA '06 may even have surpassed last year's PLASA Show (which was memorable for its frenetic business activity) with a notable increase in visitor numbers, and a very strong international attendance.

Many of the exhibitors that the PLASA Media team spoke to across during the four days of the show praised both the quality of the customers they had been seeing, and the large numbers of international visitors from all around of the world. Despite a relatively 'quiet' S

UK - Hall Stage launched their all new website at PLASA this week, capturing the complete product catalogue, featuring over 800 pages, all with images, technical detail and related downloads.

Hall Stage have been working closely with designers Oak Creative Partners over the past year to develop this comprehensive web resource, with an extensive "Support" library of over 150 downloads, ranging from data sheets for standard components to details on rigging procedures & "How to...." guides.

The site includes some illustrative Case Studies on some recent projects, and a sample of the companies 100 year History.

Hall Staff heaped praise on the team at Oak Creative, who have worked tirelessly on this exciting project. "Oaks' strong conceptual designs and technical back up make this an enjoyable and comprehensive website," says Doug Heather of Hall Sta

UK - As the originator of transparent imagery in LED lighting and effects, G-LEC remained one step ahead at this year's PLASA show, introducing its new fibre optic based data transfer technology, 100 times faster than existing copper wire cabling.

This new technology, plus upgraded software, has been integrated into the company's PhantomFrame system, the new system being called G-LEC Phantom II.

The technology gives such fine control over the graphics that images are rendered pixel-by-pixel, enabling curves to appear as true curves, instead of being pixellated. For most occasions such accuracy is not necessary, but it is vital for many corporate identities. Graphics such as circular logos - VW, BMW - are represented with crystal clear precision.

The high speed data transfer technology also opens up the way to build much larger systems and special constructions.

Flexibility

Mexico - The D.A.S. Aero Line Array Systems Training programme held its first seminar at the Crown Plaza Hotel Mexico City recently. The main speakers were Alejandro Valles, from Mexican firm Top Music, D.A.S. distributor in Mexico, Ashok Maharaj the independent professional audio consultant for Venezuela, and Javier Navarro, D.A.S. Audio sound engineer.

Over ninety Latin American Aero systems owners attended the event which focused more on the theory behind line arrays rather than on the practical side. The opening talk was by Jack Palacio, D.A.S. Audio export director; Able Villanueva's talk was concerned with the line array theory; Javier Navarro focused on the technical settings of Aero systems and the handling parameters of digital processors; Alejandro Valles commented on the electric and electronic aspects in the context of equipment interconnections. Ashok Maharaj expose

Australia - The Dixie Chicks' Accidents and Accusations tour, which will return to North America after a series of dates Down Under, features a lighting package designed by Alex Reardon and consisting of 6 BigLite 4.5's, 30 MAC 2000 Washes, and 8 Atomic Strobes fitted with Atomic Colours, along with other automated fixtures.

Commenting on the production itself, Rearden said, "All too often I hear the euphemism of 'we want to make this show all about the music' when the translation means, 'we want to make it all about the money!' However, in an absolute first, this show really is 'all about the music'. They have a stunning nine piece band whose talent is spectacular."

"This was my first outing with the BigLites," adds Rearden, "and I was very seriously impressed. At full intensity, they have the punch required, but it is the other functions that

UK - Andrew Lloyd Webber's stage musical Evita has returned to the West End twenty-eight years after it first opened 28 years ago. Advances in technology down the decades see the production enjoying the latest generation of audio products, including DPA microphones which are being used across the entire cast.

"Radio microphone and miniature microphone technology in particular has had a huge impact on musical theatre," says sound designer Mick Potter, who specified the DPA mics, having used them extensively on all his sound designs since Saturday Night Fever in 1998. "The amount of frequencies now available for reliable use means miking all performers in a cast of 30 or 40 is no longer an issue. Transmitters are so small that on this production, female cast members wear them in their wigs, meaning no visible cable or transmitter packs at all. This is

USA - For the second successive year, Digidesign supported XM Productions/Effanel in the production of the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) telecast. Once again, the XM Productions/Effanel audio team relied on the Digidesign ICON integrated console environment as the backbone of its L7 mobile recording truck to deliver music mixes for every artist who appeared in this year's broadcast, including Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera, Beyonce, The Killers and Panic! At The Disco.

John Harris,/XM Effanel Productions mixer, and Jay Vacari produced the live performance mixes for the VMAs telecast, and once again relied on their renovated L7 mobile production trailer's ICON system.

"At the VMAs, there is limited time for performing artists to rehearse on stage," explains John Harris, XM Productions/Effanel mixer. "ICON allowed us to maximise that time by recording

UK - The UK's largest and longest-running leisure trade show and convention, Leisure Industry Week (LIW) is scheduled for Birmingham's NEC, September 25-27 2007. Incorporating a range of sector specific areas from family attractions, sports, fitness and wet leisure, through to catering and the new National Licensed Business Show, LIW promises "something for everyone".

Highlights of the show include Sports Development Week with a built in sports arena. A series of sports demonstrations will take place featuring the latest techniques in training. In the wet leisure section of the show there will be a fully working swimming pool from Astral Pool UK, with a number of pool demonstrations from the ASA, STA and Olympic swimmers.

Networking events include the Leaders in Leisure VIP Dinner (by invitation only), the Attractions industry Party at Drayton Manor Park, and the FIA

UK - London-based theatre sound specialist Orbital has been awarded the sound supply contract by Dutch producers Stardust BV for their epic-scale new musical, Rembrandt.

Staged in The Netherlands' internationally renowned Royal Carre Theatre, Stardust's Rembrandt celebrates the 400th anniversary of the great painter. Orbital's team, headed by Drew Mollison, collaborated with sound designer Jeroen ten Brinke from the early planning stages to ensure that the specified Alcons system met his exact requirements.

Jeroen Brinke commented: "Working to a tight three-week pre-production phase, the Orbital team were fantastic. Streamlining operations on site, their practical advice and 24/7 technical support team sets a precedent. It's great working with them. Their level of service and support through the production process and on-going has been unparalleled."

UK - Allen & Heath chose the recent PLASA show to acknowledge the individual achievements of its international partners, with the presentation of its annual distributor awards.

Asimetrik in Turkey received the award for 'Most Improved Territory in Europe', whilst EAD from China was awarded 'Most Improved Territory in Asia'; 'Most Improved Territory in Latin America' went to Masteraudio from Argentina, and Canada's Erikson Pro received 'Most Improved Territory in North America'. The most prestigious award went to American Music & Sound, which was presented with 'Distributor of the Year'.

"We are extremely pleased with the effort our distributors have made over our fiscal year and are proud to honour their achievements with these awards. Particular mention must go to our American distributor, who not only achieved the biggest increase in sales, but was presented with 'Distr

UK - 5 Star Cases celebrated its 25th anniversary at PLASA where The 5 Star Speed Challenge simulator game drew the crowds, with hundreds of visitors vying for the chance to win a briefcase every hour, and the overall prize of £2500 to spend at 5 Star Cases. The entire Speed Challenge simulator, complete with high quality graphics and sound was housed in a custom built Super Tour flight case, complete with racing seat, steering wheel and pedals.

The whole system was designed and manufactured in house, pooling skills from the company's technical, marketing, production and engineering departments. The game featured Codemasters' ToCA 3 Honda 2006, racing Civic saloon cars that zoomed around the famous Brand's Hatch circuit. The Challenge - recording the fastest of three lap times - proved a popular respite from the hustle and bustle of the exhibition.

The quic

UK - PLASA '06 saw Rosco's continuing support for Light Relief with the presentation of a cheque for $3,762, raised from sales of Light Relief Yellow #313, to Rick Fisher by Rosco president Stan Miller.

Introduced in late 2003, Light Relief Yellow #313 is part of Rosco's Supergel range of colour filters and was developed with the help of Fisher, co-founder, along with the late Tony Gottelier, of the industry charity that supports lighting designers with personal difficulties.

"What is so great about Rosco's support for Light Relief through Light Relief Yellow 313 is that it will continue to support Light Relief for years to come," says Fisher. "That kind of commitment to the industry and the people who work in it is what has always marked out Rosco. We in the UK really value Rosco's innovative way of helping Light Relief to answer the needs of people in the ligh

UK - This year, a record crowd of 45,000 made its way to the Creamfields festival's new home of Daresbury Estate in the heart of the Cheshire countryside. Headlining the massive main stage this year were the Prodigy, and as headline act, the audio system was designed to meet the specification on their rider. This included a powerful EAW KF760 line array system from ML Executives.

According to ML Executive's Oz Bagnall, project manager and system tech for the event, the concern, as always with Prodigy, was being able to provide a system large enough and powerful enough to match their legendary onstage monitoring needs, while still offering headroom to spare. As Prodigy's FoH engineer, Jon Burton put it; "Think of it as driving an expensive car with a big engine. You don't drive it flat out all the time, but when you put your foot down, you want to feel the power as it accele

Jamaica - A record 37,000 people attended the 11th annual edition of the Air Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival at the Rose Hall Resort & Country Club of Montego Bay to see and hear a star-studded bill featuring artists such as Patti Labelle, Al Green, John Legend, Nestor Torres, Shaggy, Morgan Heritage, Air Supply, and Bo Diddley.

The technical team of Jamaica's John Swaby Entertainment, the festival's audio provider, relied on a system of self-powered Meyer Sound loudspeakers to reinforce the many different musical styles featured at the event.

Since this was the first time that Meyer Sound products were used at the festival, Swaby Entertainment enlisted the support of Philip Grant, managing director of Sound Design in Kingston, Meyer's dealer in Jamaica, to ensure that the equipment reached the festival on time.

The main system consisted of an array of six MILO curvilinear a

USA - On the Red Hot Chili Peppers' Stadium Arcadium Tour, the innovative video and lighting design is controlled by a pair of grandMAs.

Chili Peppers' drummer Chad Smith, bassist Flea, guitarist John Frusciante and singer Anthony Kiedis are backed by four Barco D7 screens on trolleys and an 80ft wide VersaTube wall which extends to the venue's roof then out over the floor via fingers stretching to the front of house. The 760 VersaTubes display a changing palette of lighting treatments and an array of video content, including animation, flickering CG imagery, IMAG and band footage.

"With the grandMA, we can adjust IMAG on the fly with the buttons on the desk," says Scott Holthaus, along with Grier Govorko, the show's designers from 40wattlabs. "We can distort images for an effect or go black and white from a rescan camera or supplement the performance with odd v

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