Pharos - Leaderboard - May 2024

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Germany - Flightcase and loudspeaker component manufacturer Penn Elcom highlights its new Case Automation machine on stand D20 in Hall 9 at Prolight+Sound in Frankfurt this year, which is designed to assist case makers' operations become more efficient.

Case Automation has been designed and engineered to aid specific elements of the production process by speeding up some of the most difficult and challenging tasks associated with case making e.g. punching extrusion and others.

Penn Elcom's Case Automation system has a footprint of just one metre square and the machine costs around 10,000 Euros, depending on which sets of quick-change tools are selected from an array of available options.

Cutting 19 inch rack rails for example becomes extremely straightforward using Case Automation.

When doing this manually, the physical cutting is wasteful and long-winded as the rail has t

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UK - At the end of April 2015, both Lighting&Sound International sales manager Barry Howse and sales executive Jane Cockburn will be leaving LSi after over twenty years of working with PLASA's members, advertisers and readers and exhibitors and visitors. LSi editor Lee Baldock comments: "On behalf of the entire PLASA Media team, I want to thank Barry and Jane for their many years of hard work and thousands of miles of travel undertaken in our cause. We will all miss them and wish them the very best in the future."

Barry Howse joined LSi in March of 1992 as Advertising Manager, then as Media Sales Manager. He also served on the PLASA Exhibitor Working Group. Jane joined in 1993 as LSi's sales coordinator, then Media Sales Executive and has also regularly provided valuable organisational support for a succession of Showlight events which Jane will continue to work on. Bo

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On The Campaign Trail - Labour has confirmed its commitment to the arts in the party's manifesto ahead of the general election, declaring they should "belong to all and be open to all to take part in". Earlier this year Labour leader Ed Miliband vowed to place arts and culture "at the heart of the government" if the party came to power in May. In its newly published election manifesto, the party promises to work with public bodies to tackle the regional imbalance of arts funding. Labour also pledges to strengthen creative education in schools and after school clubs, and ensure that publicly funded venues "open up their doors" to young people.

As well as increasing the number of apprenticeships in the creative industries, the party has reaffirmed its commitment to creating a 'prime minister's committee' on the arts, culture and creative industries -

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Belgium - Chauvet has opened a full-service subsidiary in Ghent, Belgium. The facility, which follows in the steps of a Chauvet branch in the United Kingdom, acts as the Chauvet distributor in the Benelux area serving dealers of Chauvet Professional and Chauvet DJ brands in Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, while supporting Chauvet distributors and strategic partners elsewhere in Europe.

"Given the success of our operations in the UK, it made sense to expand to an inland facility so we can better serve customers not only in the Benelux area but also throughout the continent," said Chauvet President Albert Chauvet. "With high profile products like our Chauvet Professional Nexus and ÉPIX being seen worldwide, and the widespread following of Chauvet DJ in multiple countries, we've established globally recognized brands. This facility will help bring the

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UK - Star Events has published CDM Ready! the first event industry specific interpretation of the updated Construction (Design & Management) Regulations, written to complement the recently released Code of Practice document.

Introduced on 6 April, the revised regulations mean all events with structures must have a client who in turn appoints both a principal designer (PD) and a principal contractor (PC). The PD's primary role it is to ensure that health and safety is planned into a project from the design stage through to the start on site, while the PC takes charge of, and manages, health and safety on site.

Available for free download at http://www.stareventsltd.com, Star's 20-page CDM Ready! document draws from the HSE's latest draft to explain the impact on the event industry and how to comply.

It goes on to detail the company's own response, from designing

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Germany - Leading into Musikmesse on Tuesday evening was the opening reception for the exhibition of the Lightpower Collection of Neal Preston's extraordinary photography In the Eye of the Rock'n'Roll Hurricane.

One of the highlights of the evening, attended by over 350 people, was the presentation by Ralph-Jörg Wezorke, owner of Lightpower, of the Lightpower Neal Preston donation of $50,000 to the Behind the Scenes charity. The donation, which represents proceeds from three previous exhibitions over the last year, will be split between BTS in North America and the newly launched BTS UK. Future showings of the exhibition are currently in the planning stages.

Neal Preston has spent more than 40 years capturing rock and roll, with unprecedented access to musicians ranging from Bruce Springsteen to Led Zeppelin, Mick Jagger to Queen, both on and off the stage.

Takin

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Germany - The three-day International Stage Technology Conference takes place in Berlin from 9 to 11 June 2015. The international conference organised by Deutsche Theatertechnische Gesellschaft (DTHG) comprises 130 events. Topics will include theatre planning, scenography/design, make-up, international projects, exhibition design and museum technology, media technology and sustainability, safety, stage technology, sound systems and lighting. Simultaneous interpreting into English and German will be available at the events.

On 9 June, Brigitte Zypries, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy, will open the symposium under the heading of Theatres and cultural spaces - urban centres and their continuous metamorphosis and cultural adaptation in the 21st century by delivering a keynote speech.

At the symposium a variety of concepts will

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USA - As part of its commitment to helping students succeed, global design software developer Nemetschek Vectorworks has launched the 2015 Vectorworks Design Scholarship programme. Students from across all design disciplines around the world are encouraged to submit their best individual or group work by Monday, 31 August, 2015 for the opportunity to win up to $10,000 USD.

The submission process is simple; students submit their best project, which may include work completed for a class assignment, and answer three questions, each in 150 words or less. An esteemed panel of judges will evaluate submissions on the basis of design integrity, effective use of computer technology and originality, as well as the articulation and communication of a design vision.

"Today's students are tomorrow's visionaries, solving all types of design challenges that the Vectorworks Design Schol

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UK - After a competitive tender process, The Broadsword Production Group has announced that it has been awarded a three-year contract to The Science Museum as a production supplier. With a diverse range of interactive galleries, located in the heart of South Kensington, the award-winning Science Museum offers a wow-factor backdrop for corporate events.

Matt Green, Broadsword's Sales Director, led the tender process and is excited about the opportunities at The Science Museum. He explains: "It is a bespoke venue, visually stunning, with a unique mix of the modern and traditional. Here at Broadsword, we offer the perfect mix of flexibility and innovation; the ability to design and adapt production solutions so that they work within unique environments. The Science Museum is definitely a space where we will be able to find new and interesting ways to stand out from the crowd.&

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Theatre Critic - Andrew Lloyd Webber has claimed a number of West End theatres are "not fit for today's purpose" and should be replaced. The theatre impresario said many venues have uncomfortable seats because people are now generally taller. He went on to criticise poor views in gallery seating, saying it was left over from "a class structure we don't have any more".

Speaking at the London Press Club Awards, where he was named Londoner of the year, Lloyd Webber said, "I believe that London would be a more vibrant place if we allow a more flexible use of theatres and recognise that some of the theatres may no longer really be exactly what we want in the 21st century. There are theatres from which frankly you can't see and that aren't fit for today's purpose."

Fame Academy - Ringo Starr has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame i

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Top Gear - The musical Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is to tour the UK from December. The production opens at the West Yorkshire Playhouse on 2 December, where it will play for nine weeks. It will then begin a tour of the UK and Ireland, beginning at the Mayflower Theatre on 10 February, 2016. It is produced by WYP and Music and Lyrics.

Silver Scream - Primal Scream will be named musical icons at the Silver Clef award ceremony in July. The band, who were instrumental in shaping the indie pop scene in the early 1990s, called the icon award "a real honour". Previous winners of the icon award include Sir Cliff Richard, Dame Vera Lynn, Madness and Fatboy Slim. Rita Ora, a recent judge on The Voice, will be named best female, while music producer Mark Ronson will be given this year's innovation award.

The Silver Clef awards, which celebrate their 40th anniv

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UK - UK companies installing energy monitoring systems, such as the MeasureMyEnergy equipment offered by consultancy :entertaining sustainability, can now qualify for upfront financing from the Carbon Trust's Energy Efficiency Financing Scheme.

The scheme, which is run on behalf of the Carbon Trust by Siemens Finance, provides initial funding for the installation, with repayments made over a maximum of five years from the savings generated by working with the equipment.

The MeasureMyEnergy system - already installed at the Royal Opera House's Linbury Studio - utilises sensors on each circuit within a distribution board to log consumption, flag up anomalies and present real-time data via a secure web app.

Companies already working with the system - anecdotally report savings of between 10% and 20% through the ability to target the highest areas of consumption within a buildin

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UK - The Technical Department Ltd, a specialist electrical contractor providing generators, switchgear, transformers, cabling and lighting for events worldwide, are a proud Bronze Corporate Benefactor of the Serpentine Gallery Pavilion in Kensington Gardens, London.

"The Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2015 has been designed by SelgasCano, our team look forward to supporting them later this year," the company says.

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USA - Mike Griffith and Mark Veldey have announced the establishment of their new company: Entertainment Advisors, LLC.

Entertainment Advisors will be providing a variety of services to companies in the entertainment equipment community, including, but not limited to theatrical/entertainment equipment dealers, production companies, manufacturers reps, manufacturers and individuals.

Entertainment Advisors' services will include mergers and acquisitions advisory services and business and financial consulting. In addition they will offer strategic sales and business development advisory services.

Mark commented, "I believe Mike and I possess a unique blend of industry experience and expertise. We also love this industry and want to continue to serve it. It is our objective to work with our clients effectively and efficiently in helping them achieve their short and long ter

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UK - As one of Prolyte's distributors for the UK, AED Distribution UK are uniquely placed to provide a raft of solutions to Prolyte users by combining services from the AED Toolbox with the Prolyte trussing & staging offering.

First of those solutions is free product training and support. On 22 and 23 April a Prolyte Campus was held at the Distribution UK facility located in High Wycombe.

Over 20 professionals attended during the two days, taking away a variety of hands-on experience and real-life experiments.

The Campus is a Prolyte Group driven initiative to support its customers with the best and most up-to-date knowledge available. Providing the tools and training to use the Prolyte Group products safely and in compliance with applicable standards and regulations will help them in performing better.

Prolyte Campus offers a complete programme of learning activities to c

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UK - Global event staffing specialist Showforce has been awarded BSI EN ISO 14001:2004 Certification for their commitment to Environmental Management. The standard exists to assist organisations implement demonstrably robust environmental management performance and is widely regarded as the world's most recognised environmental management systems standard.

Showforce's CEO Ian Spendlove commented, "As a business we are committed to sustainable working practises. We have a long history of successfully marrying local crew and staff with highly skilled and experienced personnel, leaving a legacy of employment. In addition we will always endeavour to allocate staff according to their location in order to deliver our clients the most cost effective solution. Achieving certification underlines the good work we have been doing and provides us with a great framework for improvement.

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Opera on the Road - Opera is to be toured to theatres around the UK by a new production company that aims to bring more diverse audiences to the genre. HighTime has been founded by Felicity Green and Benjamin Hamilton, who met while studying at the University of Warwick, and is aimed at staging productions for people who would otherwise not have access to opera. Its first production, supported by Arts Council England, will be Engelbert Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel, in a new translation by Kit Hesketh-Harvey. It will run at the Belgrade Theatre in Coventry, with plans to tour the show around the UK next year, engaging young people from each location to perform in the chorus.

Green Day - Amelia Lily will star in a new London production of Green Day musical American Idiot. The X Factor runner-up, who is currently starring in a tour of Joseph and the Amazi

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UK - Theatre consultancy Charcoalblue is continuing to expand its operations by opening its first UK regional Design Studio in Bristol.

The Bristol Studio is located next to the oldest continuously working theatre in the UK, and one of Charcoalblue's first commissions: Bristol Old Vic.

"We're thrilled to have opened up a new studio in the City of Bristol where our team of designers can work to deliver exciting projects in the South and West," says Charcoalblue's managing partner, Andy Hayles. "We spent some time looking for the right space and location and are delighted to be at number 35 King Street, right next to the Bristol Old Vic. Securing this wonderful location means that Charcoalblue's Bristol team are close to a significant local performing arts community, just as our current team is in London, something we're incredibly proud of. In addition Birdsong, which i

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UK - Secret Cinema announced a second ticket release at its RebelX gathering on Monday, 4 May. Over 3000 Star Wars fans attended the Secret Cinema event at London's Alexandra Palace with DJ Yoda, Nightmares on Wax and special secret act Jamie Jones who joined forces for the Refugee Council, raising £11,000.

Following a phenomenal first release of tickets, Secret Cinema announced that more tickets were released for the show running from 4 June until 27 September in a secret London location. The biggest multi-sensory experience of the year will transport audiences into the worlds of Star Wars: A New Hope, ending with a presentation of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back for a total of 100 shows.

The May the Fourth RebelX event gathered 3000 members of the Rebel Alliance (Secret Cinema Star Wars tickets holders) with just a week's notice, raising funds f

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UK - Volkswagen Finance's new £25 million building in Milton Keynes opened with a bang in April. Hawthorns and Fantastic Fireworks were brought in to supply a stunning visual finale to an evening of music and celebrations, with Pixie Lott topping the bill.

The brief was to illuminate the building and produce a lightshow for the finale and fireworks display. Hawthorns lighting designers Matt Oscroft and Paul Bird selected Clay Paky Sharpies, both wash and spots, Alpha 1200 profiles and Glow Ups. Also selected were Robe BMFLs which really impressed the lighting designers.

The fixtures were used to provide a gobo breakup across the whole building, then during the finale they were used as high intensity beams projection high into the sky. The whole system was plotted prior to the event on Hawthorns' Wysiwyg suite, system controlled via a Grand MA 2 - Bird's desk of choice.

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USA / Belgium - Production Resource Group, L.L.C. (PRG) has announced that it has agreed to acquire the XL Video Group, one of the largest providers of premier multi-market video services. PRG Chairman & CEO Jeremiah J. Harris and Lucas Covers, the Group CEO of XL Video jointly made the announcement.

XL Video, founded in 1995, has established itself as leading video services supplier around the world. The company is a multi-award winning provider of creative video solutions for concert touring, corporate events, exhibitions, automotive, television, sports, and theatre. Like PRG, XL Video supports creative designers and producers with full technical support in putting together cutting-edge video solutions for some of the most innovative and aesthetically daring shows in the world.

For PRG's worldwide clients, this acquisition expands their access to the wide range of creative v

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Cultural Moves - John Whittingdale is to take over from Sajid Javid as UK culture secretary, Prime Minister David Cameron has said. Whittingdale has been chair of the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport select committee for a decade. One of his first duties will be to oversee negotiations for the BBC's charter renewal. Last October, he said the TV licence "was unsustainable over 20 to 50 years", it was "worse than a poll tax" and must be "tweaked immediately". He will also face the prospect of cuts to his department, the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, as the new government seeks to eliminate the national budget deficit.

Lack of Funds - The BBC Performing Arts Fund will close after 13 years in March next year. Its funding, by revenue from phone voting in shows like Strictly Come Dancing and The Voice, has significa

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Belgium - ArKaos PRO will be hosting two hands-on courses as part of InfoComm's education programme. ArKaos sales manager & project coordinator, Benjamin Bauwens, will lead the comprehensive training sessions which will provide participants with everything required to setup, programme and run a show using MediaMaster PRO. Topics will include video mapping, edge blending, 3D mapping and advanced geometrical correction. Each half-day session provides focused, hands-on training with the new MediaMaster Pro V4.2 software and media servers range.

The course is designed for creative lighting designers and professional video operators and programmers who wish to establish a solid core of media server knowledge on one of the most powerful and economical media server solutions on the market.

Session Times: Wednesday 17 June 9:00am - 1:00pm - LT02 Arkaos Media Server Training; Thursday

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UK/Italy - Showforce and Italian event and modelling agency BeA Models, have signed an agreement that will see the two companies working closely together in the Middle East.

The partnership will allow Showforce to offer its clients throughout the Middle East high-end event personnel and models from BeA's team. As a successful company in Italy they boast an impressive client roster of both national and international businesses including Mercedes Benz, Breitling, Ray-Ban, S. Pelligrino and Veuve Cliquot.

Ian Spendlove, Showforce's chief executive, commented on the partnership, "I met Guiseppe when conducting some recent business in Milan for Expo 2015 and was really impressed with their approach, professionalism and client list. With the number of international brands and companies promoting themselves in the region there is definitely a market in the Middle East for the se

  1. Blond Productions on song at KKNK festival
  2. Film & TV Services' Julie Fegan, 1940 - 2015
  3. DWR team survives Jeep Warrior Race
  4. The Week in Lighting & Sound
  5. Curtain rises on National Stage Technology Ltd
  6. The Week in Lighting & Sound
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