Belgium - At this year's ceremony of the International Laser Display Association (ILDA) awards at the Brussels Plaza Theater, German laser specialist Lobo not only won more awards than any other company (for the sixth time running), but with a total of 12 of the 'Laser Oscars' also won more awards than ever before.
With its 12 awards including four first prizes, almost one third of all the ILDA Awards for outstanding creative achievements went to Lobo during the glamorous ceremony. This brings the Aalen-based company's total in just 10 years to 69 ILDA awards, including more than 20 first prizes.
Four of Lobo's 3D beam shows were awarded prizes, including two first prizes. All winning beam shows originate from the Lobo's Software Contract - a show subscription service that offers subscribers one beam show per month.
Key to many of Lobo's achievements is its laser and multimedia workstation LACON-5, introduced to the market in 2002. This can control up to 16 independent projectors and all the peripheral units required for spectacular multimedia shows. Without LACON-5, say Lobo, the realization of the first prize-winning laser show Mystère, winner in the Indoor Show category, would not have been possible.
Lobo regards Mystère as a "laser show of the next generation" adding that even laser experts have been amazed by the high resolution projections of MPEG videos which can be displayed by Lobo's latest Scanline Laser Video technology via common laser projectors in combination with classic line displays and three-dimensional beam effects.
(Lee Ba
France - Often cited as the most popular opera ever performed, Bizet's Carmen was staged spectacularly at the Stade de France in Paris recently. Using the entire pitch of this already legendary soccer and rugby stadium, the production combined in-the-round audio and video techniques with new networking technology, a live radio broadcast and a cast of hundreds.
French national broadcaster Radio France was behind the entire audio affair, including sound reinforcement. Sound designer Frederic Viricel's ambitious concept involved a mic'd up orchestra and two choirs at the centre of the pitch, with roving vocal soloists on radio mics. The tender was won by Canadian speaker manufacturer Adamson's independent support company in France, DV2.
Spearheaded by DV2's Didier dal Fitto, the practical solution was to feed the programme to a series of small, groundstacked line arrays evenly spaced around the touchline. Uniquely, further enhancement was piped to the stadium's permanently installed 100V line system. Two FOH sound engineers, Laurent Fracchia and Benjamin Perru, divided digital mix duties between them on an InnovaSON Sensory Large Scale console and the new InnovaSON Sy80 respectively. Their vantage point, providing as close as possible to a stereo image, was the sports commentary position.
The stereo image was confined to spatial effects such as reverb, with the orchestral and choral mixes in mono. This programme created a de facto LCR reading - effectively alternating with an 'RCL' image - for eight pairs of Adamson Axis Y-10 stacks, with every stack based on a Y-
UK - Autograph Sound Recording will be working in association with The Royal Opera House this December, offering their sound design expertise and equipment supply for Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd.
Autograph's Nick Lidster, together with the company's chairman Andrew Bruce, will be sound designing this famous demon barber's tale. For Bruce this is a happy return to The Royal Opera House, almost 30 years to the day after he left his post as Head of Sound to set up Autograph Sound Recording.
Lidster explains, "We are supplying and installing vocal amplification for this production and have chosen LLW's latest ribbon loudspeaker the LDS800, (Autograph have used previous versions of this loudspeaker on productions of Follies, On Your Toes and Pacific Overtures) their largest cabinet, which is both powerful enough to use just five a side but subtle enough to arrange discretely on the proscenium apron, providing vocal coverage for the majority of the auditorium. We are rigging a further seven Meyer Sound M1D loudspeakers in a single cluster above the orchestra pit, to cover the gallery seating." The radio microphone capsules are B&K DPA4060/61s, plus 40 Sennheiser transmitters, which include 1046 receivers and SK5012 transmitters.
"It is a pleasure to be working with such a talented company and an exciting challenge to supply subtle vocal amplification that enhances the first production of this nature," says Lidster, who has worked on two previous productions of Sweeney Todd and amplified opera productions of
UK - NXT recently announced that SoundVu technology won the '2003 Society of Information Display (SID)/Information Display Magazine Display Material or Component of the Year Silver Award'.
Sponsored by SID and Information Display Magazine, the awards are sought after in the international information display industry - the industry responsible for designing and manufacturing the displays that give life to television sets, notebook computers, desktop computer monitors, cell phones, PDAs, DVD players, and many other office-based, home-based, and portable electronic devices.
The award, which was announced in this month's edition of the Information Display Magazine, is voted for by display industry peers made up of distinguished display professionals and influential members of the trade press, making it a significant win for SoundVu technology. SoundVu technology brings sound and vision together by turning the display screen into a loudspeaker. The technology involves the optimal positioning of exciters at the 'invisible' edge of a screen and the controlled integration of a vibrating screen with the main body of a display product to achieve synchronization of image and sound. SoundVu technology can be applied to a wide range of transparent materials, from polycarbonate plastics to laminated and tempered glass. The technology removes the need for conventional loudspeakers, giving manufacturers of display products such as mobile phones, flat-screen LCD monitors and televisions added design flexibility and an easy, space-saving means of producing sound, without compromis
UK - Lighting&Sound International magazine (L&SI) will stage its second Networking event in February, when it offers readers a unique opportunity to take a behind the scenes tour of Dralion, the latest production from the world-renowned Cirque Du Soleil, which comes to London's Royal Albert Hall in the New Year. The first Networking event was a great success, providing 56 delegates with a backstage tour and performance of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at the London Palladium.
For the next event, which will take place on 13 February, delegates will be able to join L&SI at the Royal Albert Hall and meet with members of the Cirque Du Soleil production team, the Royal Albert Hall's technical crew and representatives of the companies who have supplied lighting, sound and rigging expertise to the production.
The day will include a guided tour of the historic venue and modern production, with informative talks from those involved. Refreshments will then be provided, followed by a matinée performance of the show.
Tickets for this once-only event are priced at just £69.00. You can reserve your place by contacting Jane Cockburn or Sheila Bartholomew at the e-mail address below, or by phoning on +44 (0)1323 418400.
(Lee Baldock)
UK - Creative Technology has marked its relocation to a new 54,000sq.ft facility in Crawley by announcing a 'single brand' service operation, in which the staging services of MCL London, currently operating from within CT's premises, will now be amalgamated and operate under the CT London brand. At the same time, the company has committed to a heavy investment in new inventory and technology.
Managing director Mark Elliott said of the strategic decision to operate as a single entity: "Being able to centralize all our resources into a single building has enabled us to further develop full service capability to provide a wide range of resources. This includes video, lighting, audio, and staging equipment, together with our ever-increasing range of indoor and outdoor LED screens."
A substantial upgrade to CT's hire fleet will see heavy investment, with the company intensifying its already strong international partnerships with both Vista Systems and Barco. New investment includes three state-of-the-art Vista Montage processors, allowing CT to expand on its already advanced multi-image capability, as well as 200m of Barco Dlite, seven LED daylight displays and MiPIX modular intelligent LED pixel blocks.
Meanwhile, Avesco plc, the parent company of CT, is to apply for admission to the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) and cancel its listing on the UKLA Official List. The company is also considering demerging its Core Services from its two investments - the 49% holding in Complete Communications and 23.7% holding in Medal Entertainment and Media plc.
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1) The way they begin every conversation with "Of course, you can do it for 5.00?"
2) Counting is not their strong point: a production manager's week bears absolutely no correlation whatever with a real week.
3) They are in your face on the fit-up, in the bar during the show and unavailable when you need to get paid.
4) They never look out of the window in the morning because then there would be nothing left for them to do in the afternoon.
5) On a fit-up, they believe that the centre of the universe shifts slightly with every important step they take.
6) They believe actors are props with dialogue, producers are props with clipboards and if we could all read minds, we wouldn't need headsets.
7) They have no comprehension of national holidays that fall on a Monday.
8) At home, their door mat is gaffered down so no one will trip over it; their furniture has wheels and their staircase has a temporary ramp for easy Christmas shopping get-ins and get-outs.
9) Their only two "essentials" are credit cards and a mobile phone; they can pack a bag in five minutes and leave home for a month in the same way anyone else would pop out to the shops.
10) They believe that Gaffer tape is like the Force. It has a light side, a dark side, and it holds the universe together.
UK - Trantec has supplied its innovative PT1 UHF stereo wireless Personal Trainer system to Sony UK's new Basingstoke HQ. Installed by Manchester-based Unique Systems, Trantec's Active Audio PT1 system has provided a "complete" fitness entertainment solution for the company's in-house gym facility, now a versatile, multi-functional space.
Unique Systems' project manager, Alan Vickery, collaborated with Sony to design a sophisticated system enabling the confined space to be utilized as two distinct areas - one for fitness machines and the second for aerobic workout classes. Whilst the Trantec PT1 system offers cable-free personalized entertainment, it also allows the in-house gym to remain a discrete facility - where both fitness areas operate independently without any audible background music or visible loudspeakers.
In the fitness zone, the PT1 offers full entertainment facilities via a wireless roaming receiver, which allows users to access up to 32 broadcast channels. Without any dividing walls to separate the two zones, a dedicated frequency channel was created specifically for the aerobic workout zone. By selecting this channel, users hear the instructor mixed with music for their work-out, while the Sony employees using the resistance equipment in the fitness zone remain undisturbed - listening to either a live broadcast channel or to a pre-recorded background music compilation.
Sony's spokesperson commented: "We're delighted with the system. It has greatly augmented our gym facility allowing all our employees to get great entertainment val
UK/Europe - Lighting designer Steve Finch is the first person to tour a PixelDrive control system, which is controlling 14 James Thomas Pixelline 1044 battens on Level 42's current UK and European tour. Finch is using two pods of Pixellines with seven units per pod - dubbed the 'PixelPods' - as the main effects light features of his design. These are hung prominently on the back truss and angled backwards.
All lighting equipment is being supplied by High Wycombe based Siyan, who bought a large quantity of Pixelline this autumn from Lightfactor Sales, and already own eight RADlite digital media servers. PixelDrive is collaboration between James Thomas Engineering's Pixel department and RADlIte developers IRAD. Finch immediately liked the Pixellines after his first demo in the late summer, which happened simultaneous to PixelDrive coming on-stream. As soon as he had the chance to combine the two elements, he decided to take them on tour.
The PC-based PixelDrive system is triggered via any DMX lighting desk and gives control of visual images via a familiar set of attributes, offering LDs the opportunity of expanding their imaginative horizons, without spending endless hours programming complex sequences. PixelDrive integrates lighting designers with video and graphics departments, so all mediums can be controlled from a single lighting console. PixelDrive patterns and effects are quickly and easily mimicked in real-time via a preview monitor.
The idea was to produce a slightly different look for the band on this medium level of touring, whilst also introducing a t
UK - Eat to the Beat catered for the crew and artists at the Capital Christmas Live event at Earls Court this month. Amidst one of Eat to the Beat's busiest months this year, catering for over 150 shows through December, from tours to one-off events, the prestigious Capital Christmas Live was the largest single music event. On the day of the event, Eat to the Beat catered for 250 people and served the artist's dressing rooms, catering to specific requests for the likes of Sugababes, Busted, Texas, Sting and Enrique Iglesias.
The Eat to the Beat team arrived on site on 2 December, two days prior to the show, led by crew leader Rachael Collins and head chef Suzie Collins. The team provided three meals on each of the three days, with constant refreshments available all day for the crew on site. The artists were provided with a rolling buffet of hot and cold options when arriving at the venue for both rehearsals and show day.
The catering logistics were aided by the semi-permanent kitchen area built at Earls Court for a month-long run of concerts, containing an industrial fridge, storage, preparation tables and ovens, which saved substantial time during the load in and load out periods. Capital Christmas Live production and show director, Mark Ward, commented: "I am a firm believer in taking care of both artists and crew at an event. Eat to the Beat have played an important role by providing great food for everyone."
(Lee Baldock)
UK - Out Board's CM-Series motor controllers for CM chain hoists have been purchased for a couple of high profile video and PA rigging jobs in late 2003. ML Executives has purchased a pair of CM6 six-channel controllers and HC6 remotes to manage two hangs per side of EAW KF760 line array systems for the current Iron Maiden Dance of Death world tour, whose itinerary ranges from theatres to arena-size venues. ML's Gary Marks needed to handle two points per hang plus a common pull-back point on each side of stage, and found the CM6 offered the best flexibility and control for the diversity of venues the tour is scheduled to visit.
Star Rigging has also acquired two more of the compact CM12 12-channel controllers for rigging duties on a recent video shoot for Christina Aguilera. Star's Phil Broad once again chose the CM12 for the convenience of its compact size, adding to previous purchases made last year for the demanding Westlife Unbreakable tour plus the Albert Hall and other special events.
The Out Board CM-Series motor controllers for CM Lodestar hoists are available in compact 4-, 6-, and 12- channel variants, along with assorted remote hand controller options and truss mounting Socapex/C-Form splitter boxes.
(Sarah Rushton-Read)
UK - Oxford-based Beat Audio has re-equipped with a brand new Funktion One Resolution Series PA system. The first outing for the new kit was at the fast car magazine Max Power's 'Max Live' performance car and lifestyle event staged at the ExCel Centre in London's Docklands. Beat Audio was contracted by event producers the PMI partnership to supply a sound system for the show's 200,000sq.ft stunt arena, the Cruise Strip.
The 35 minute show was hosted by Jo Guest, Mark Parmeter and Olivia Springer, featured live sounds from up-and-coming Fuel Records DJs The Law Givers and the best of UK stunt driving from the likes of Terry Grant, Russ and Paul Swift and Jason Finn. The show was attended by 17,500 people a day, and directed and produced by Simon Aldridge for PMI Partnership.
It's the fifth year Beat Audio has supplied sound for the event. The intense Cruise Strip live show ran seven times a day for two days, and was choreographed to a techno soundtrack. The main challenge was getting both music and the presenter's voices audible above the stupendously loud background noise of the turbo-charged cars.
Kelly used two clusters of four Resolution speakers, two wide and two high, 30m apart on the lighting truss. The speakers were precisely angled to reduce the sound image bouncing off the walls. This gave uniform coverage across the whole area and Kelly was delighted with the results. The company supplied four Shure UHF radio mic systems - subbed from Skan PA and hid six 2 x 18" Function One subs below the grandstand to produce a sinister bottom end growl that sh
UK - i-Vision has designed, manufactured, supplied and installed a major LED lighting installation for the £1.2m revamped Kings Walk Shopping Centre in Gloucester. The LED fixtures illuminate a series of fabric 'sculptures' - manufactured by tensile structure specialists Architen Landrell.
i-Vision's Geoff Jones worked closely with account and project managers Christopher Rowell and Ceri Brown from Architen Landrell. No off-the-shelf product existed that exactly met the brief; LED lighting was the obvious route because of the size, energy efficiency and low maintenance benefits. Rowell commented: "I've worked with I-Vision before, so I knew they were the ideal creative and technical partners for us, we needed a company that could think laterally and imaginatively deal with the entire lighting project, from start to finish".
The entrance features a 5m by 6m barrelled canopy, manufactured from PVC fabric. This is lit with 10 i-Vision three-way LED rings, attached to the canopy's steel framework and illuminating its exterior. On entering Kings Walk, you pass into the next fabric clad area - a 100m white fabric tunnel - lit with a series of extruded strips of Luxeon colour-changing LEDs fitted with 25° by 8° lenses, these narrow the beam and give a more even coverage. The end of the corridor opens out into a large atrium space, with high vaulted ceilings, called The Square. This area features eight Architen tri-sails (three pointed shapes) and four 'saddle' sails - straddling both sides of the square, attached to the roof struts and lit with 28 36-way Tr
UK - The newly re-launched Carling Apollo Hammersmith celebrated its re-opening at the end of October with a one-off special concert by veteran rockers AC/DC - powered by Concert Sound, an EAW PA system and XTA loudspeaker control.
For one night only, on Tuesday 21 October, Carling brought Angus Young, Malcolm Young, Brian Johnson, Phil Rudd and Cliff Williams to London's landmark live venue to thrill a gathering of their most dedicated fans with a live show. The seats were also removed from the venue for the first time in its history, making it the biggest dedicated live music venue in London.
Front-of-house engineer Paul 'Pab' Boothroyd was at the controls of a Midas XL4, while long-time mix partner John Roden mixed monitors. Boothroyd opted for Concert Sound's new EAW KF760 line array system, flown as an impressive 14-a-side rig, "so I could maximize the power and coverage for the stalls and the balcony from two single hanging points," and an equally impressive quantity of ground-stacked KF853 cabinets and 10 SB1000 sub-bass each side.
The different PA and monitoring zones were individually controlled by XTA DP226 digital loudspeaker controllers, all set up remotely by Boothroyd and system engineer Dave Dixon using XTA AudioCore software on a laptop PC. "It might seem quite a lot of PA," says Boothroyd, "when you consider the onslaught of volume coming off the stage, but it was a special occasion and we wanted it to look suitably impressive as well as sounding fairly awesome." These objectives were achieved according to enthusia
UK - Facing a 12-minute ballet performance on the cold marble floor in front of the altar of St. Paul's Church, Covent Garden, André de Villiers, Choreographer at Elmhurst School for Dance called on British Harlequin for help. Elmhurst's Christian connections with the 'Actors' Church' in Covent Garden resulted in an invitation to perform during the Patronal Festival Eucharist in November. Because of the space afforded by the high vaulted ceiling, André's choreography included elevation, so the need to provide a suitable dance floor was crucial.
The answer was in the form of Harlequin Allegro, a loose lay dance floor designed specifically to protect against hard sub floors. The thickest roll out dance floor currently available anywhere, Allegro comprises a vinyl surface reinforced with a tough fibre interply and backed with firm foam cushioning for resilience, providing a nine millimetre thick semi-sprung floor. Ideally suited to convert harsh surfaces into dance performance spaces, the neutral grey version chosen was laid by Harlequin's contract division, allowing the 12 Elmhurst students to perform with confidence.
Elmhurst School's appearance at St Paul's was a continuation of a long association of the church with the performing arts. As far back as 1663 inveterate diarist Samuel Pepys noted an Italian puppet play under the portico - the origins of 'Punch and Judy' - an event still commemorated by a service each May and the same setting chosen by Bernard Shaw for the opening of Pygmalion that formed the basis for My Fair Lady St Paul's also hous
Barbados - Crop Over, a five-week summer festival, is Barbados' most popular and colorful festival. It's origins can be traced back to the 1780's, a time when Barbados was the world's largest producer of sugar. At the end of the sugar season, there was always a huge celebration to mark the culmination of another successful sugar cane harvest - the Crop Over celebration.
As the sugar industry in Barbados declined, so too did the Crop Over festival and in the 1940's the festival was terminated completely. However, the festival was revived in 1974 and other elements of Barbadian culture were infused to make the extravaganza that exists today - an event that attracts thousands of people from across the globe.
Quality Sound was on hand to provide sound reinforcement for the numerous events held at the National Stadium including the Pic-O-De-Crop Calypso Finals and the Cohobblopot shows which is a potpourri of Barbadian entertainment. The equipment supplied by Quality Sound was made up of 24 ST-215 mid/high systems, which incorporate two 15" speakers and a 2" neodymium compression driver. 32 ST-218 double 18" horn loaded bass bins provided bass response, key in this type of Caribbean Music. Systems were powered by Crown amplifiers.
On stage, PF-015 passive two-way units handled monitoring chores and ST-15 two-ways used in the floor monitor position. Self-powered Compact 115s were used for keyboard monitoring and drum-fills.
(Lee Baldock)
Germany - Millions of viewers witnessed comedy talent Ingo Oschmann say, during Pro 7's talent show 'Star Search': "If I win, I'm inviting all Bielefeld to a party." He won and he kept his word. On 19 October, in front of the Bielefeld's fashionable Movie discotheque, a huge party got underway beneath a banner that read 'Ingo says thanks!' Despite the popularity of the show, the organizers were still surprised when more than 10,000 fans streamed to the city centre and turned the forecourt of the railway station into a huge open-air arena.
Local sound company, Showtime Präsentations GmbH, were prepared, fortunately, with two Dynacord Cobra-4 systems, although the stage design meant they could only use one-and-a-half. But as Showtime's managing director, Volker Skopp, explained, even this set-up provided more than adequate coverage. "We received excellent feedback on the sound, not just from the talent but also from the fans," said Skopp after the show. A long-time fan of the Cobra compact line array system, Skopp comments. "The Cobra combines the advantages of a line array with that of a classic stacking system. It is undoubtedly the easiest system to handle and on top of that it delivers a powerful and balanced sound. Even under the difficult circumstances here, it was fully present 80m away and the intelligibility was excellent."
(Lee Baldock)
UK - While British rockers Iron Maiden's days of being almost constantly on the road may be over, that doesn't mean the band is in any way scaling down the spectacular nature of its live shows. Much of the show's theatrical elements come from the set, designed since 1984's Powerslave tour by scenic specialist Hangman. With Maiden playing venues from 3,000-seat theatres up to vast outdoor arenas, the sets have to be both visually stunning and versatile. This year's Dance of Death tour is no exception, with Hangman's Alan Chesters bringing LiteStructures in to work on several elements of the set. Forming part of the main stage set, twin 'Grim Reaper' towers are custom-built, framing the main backdrop, which changes regularly.
"The backdrops are different for every tour," says Chesters. "The audience never sees anything that it's seen before. 'Eddie' is usually depicted on the backdrops, but always in a different context than previously. In fact, this tour is the first time we've done a backdrop without an Eddie on it."
Although the production team behind Iron Maiden is reticent to give too much away for those yet to see the show, the current 'Death Eddie' complements the Dance of Death theme and it's well known that the latter-day walk-on figures have been only part-human at most although, as Chesters notes with a wry smile: "Half the Japanese audience knows the walk-on Eddie is real!"
Working to Chesters' designs, it took LiteStructures just a couple of weeks to produce the towers and structural elements to house the Eddie fi
USA - Bandit Lites has, for the sixth year in a row, committed to help Dolly Parton's Dollywood Foundation and Imagination Library with its annual Benefit Concert.The Dollywood Foundation was started in 1988 by Dolly Parton to develop and administer educational programs for children in her native Sevier County, Tennessee. The Imagination Library is a program that ensures all area children receive a book per month from the time they are born until they turn five. Although the program was originally started for Sevier County, it now operates in 260 communities in 35 states. The program also funds educational scholarships.
Bandit Lites is providing a number of Martin fixtures for the benefit concert, which is the primary fundraiser for the foundation. Lighting designer Chris Barbee says the show is a labour of love: "It's always nice to do something to give back to the children of the community."
(Lee Baldock)
Germany - A PC or Mac can be transformed into a professional recording system with no need for an additional mixer with TerraTec's pro audio MIDI interface - the Producer Phase 88 Audio System. The interface provides eight analogue input and output converters, process audio signals with resolutions up to 24-bit and 96kHz. The converters are housed in a 5.25" module that can be installed inside or outside the computer.
The Producer Phase 88 features optimized conversion components and circuits, allowing the user to cut clear recordings on up to eight tracks simultaneously and even play back high-resolution 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound. To make the most of the 24-bit converter's dynamic range, the Producer Phase 88 is equipped with an on-board 20-channel hardware mixer with 36-bit internal resolution and 20-in-4 routing. Every input port features a dedicated analogue stage that can be switched from -10 dBv to +4dBv, as well as a variable amp with up to 18dB gains.
An additional S/PDIF (coaxial) digital input/output on the PCI bus card provides an interface to the digital studio environment. Up to four Producer Phase 88 recording systems can be synchronized and cascaded within a single computer. This means that systems with up to 40 physical inputs and outputs and 64 MIDI channels can be configured without adding to the CPU load. The Producer Phase 88 offers drivers for Windows 98/ME, 2000, XP (ASIO 2.0, DirectSound, MME with Multi-Client mode, and ASIO GSIF Multi-Client), Mac OS 9.1, and Mac OSX (ASIO 2.0).
(Sarah Rushton-Read)
UK - The Safety Focus Group, set up by the International Live Music Conference (ILMC), has won a grant of 160,000 from the European Union to produce a vital safety guide. The guide is intended for use by live music promoters and workers throughout Europe and beyond, and will reflect best practice in a number of European countries. As one of the conditions of this grant, the Safety Focus Group must now raise a further 40,000 funding from the live music industry to secure the project.
The ILMC says that the safety guide will provide a tool for concert and festival organizers to assess and manage risks, and will be useful to everyone from the new event organizer to the most established promoters. Scheduled to be ready by late autumn of 2004, it will primarily be accessible via a specially designed website, although a limited number of hard copies will be produced. With its Europe-wide basis, it could offer a first step towards harmonizing event safety standards throughout the continent.
The grant has been awarded by the Bilbao-based European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (OSHA), which funds projects dedicated to improving health and safety conditions for workers in Small to Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs). The successful application has been put together by a live music industry team including: the SFG (which has representatives from six different countries), the UK's Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College and live music welfare consultant Penny Mellor.
SFG member,Chrissy Uerlings of German promoter Peter Rieger Konzertagentur said: "This gra
UK - Total Production magazine has announced the nominees for the 2004 Total Production Awards, due to be held on 9 February 2004 at the Novotel London West hotel. Among the awards and the nominations include: for Front of-house Engineer of the Year - Robert Collins, Pete Keppler, Robbie McGrath, Lars Brogaard and Dave Bracey; for Monitor Engineer of the Year - Martin Wareing, Alan Bradshaw, Paul 'Grubby' Callis, Chris Trimby and John Roden; for Lighting Designer of the Year - Tom Kenny, Barry Halpin, Andi Watson, Liz Berry and Vince Foster; for Set Designer of the Year - Alan Macdonald, Mark Fisher, Jonathan Perry, Bill Laslett and Alan Chesters); Video Director of the Year - Blue Leach, Ian Walker, Ruary MacPhie, Paul Eggerton and Larn Poland.
Among the other awards to be presented are Rigger of the Year, Production Manager of the Year and Tour Manager of the Year, while favourite sound and lighting rental company, set construction company, staging company, trucking company, catering company and more will also be celebrated on the night. For further details on the awards, the nominees and the event itself, see the website below.
(Lee Baldock)
UK - XL Video has been working with Artangel, one of the UK's most innovative mixed media arts and performance organizations, on its recent Kranky Klaus/BB/Spook House film tour. This saw the screening of three short, compelling film works by US artist Cameron Jamie, complete with live soundtrack played by cult conceptual rock band, The Melvins. It's the first time that Jamie's work has been premièred in the UK, and Artangel produced the joint commission in association with the Centre Pompidou Paris.
Video was naturally central to the performance, and was designed, specified and co-ordinated by Sam Collins, who also production managed the tour for Artangel. Associates who had also worked with the UK's leading live music video rental house recommended Collins to XL Video. His account was project managed by XL's Arts and Theatre specialist, Malcolm Mellows.
The movies were stored on Digi Beta format and played via Barco G5 projectors. Collins toured and rigged two identical systems every day - for hot backup. They played a variety of venues - from the new FACT Centre in Liverpool to The Forum in London, and a selection of arts centres and theatres, so they needed to be prepared for all rigging scenarios. XL supplied a 20ft x 15ft Fast Fold screen - upped to 24ft x 18ft for The Forum show - which could either be flown of floor-mounted. At some venues, they used the house screen, and toured six lens options for the Barco projectors.
The Melvins, from Aberdeen in Washington state, home town of Kurt Cobain, are legendary for their influence on many of the sem
UK - Lighting designer Dom Smith recently specified an Avolites Diamond 4 Elite for the UK leg of The Cooper Temple Clause's 'Kick Out The Fire and Let The Flames Break Loose' tour. TCTC's acclaimed second album was released in September, and the band with their interesting blend of electronics and rock 'n' roll are causing a stir both as live performers and recording artists. Bandit UK supplied lighting equipment to this, their first 'real' production tour, although TCTC has been touring on-and-off for most of the year. The basics of Smith's design aesthetics have been evolving from their first shows back in April when they used a combination of house rigs and toured specials.
For the last seven years Smith has been an Avolites user, having developed his craft using Avo' Sapphires and Pearls. He wanted to use the D4 since he first saw the prototype models at PLASA 2002. This year, with the console now in full production, the opportunity arose with this tour. So far, it's been a big hit. He likes the flexibility of the D4, and standard features like the ability to make any fader on the board into a playback; he also likes the layout, the programming architecture and Avo's support and back up.
The intense, suggestive power of TCTC's music lends itself ideally to a dramatic and theatrical style of lighting at which Smith excels. Lighting fixtures are a mixture of conventionals - Pars, Molefeys and ACLs - and assorted moving lights including Martin 2k profiles and MAC 600s plus Martin Atomic strobes. To maximize the 'multi-layered' look, Smith had a front and back