Pioneer GB Ltd will once again be exhibiting the Pro DJ range at this year’s PLASA 2001, Stand D40. As well as live appearances from top DJ’s including Roger Sanchez (Sunday 9 September), there will be competitions to win Pioneer Pro DJ equipment and signed copies of Roger Sanchez’ number 1 hit single ‘Another Chance’. There will also be the chance to try out Pioneer’s latest creation; the new CDJ-1000 Digital Deck, the world’s only CD turntable capable of True Vinyl Emulation. In addition to a celebrity DJ line up, with the chance to see and hear some of the best DJ talent around today, Pioneer will have some exciting news . . .

Pioneer can be found on Stand D40.

This month, Ground Zero BV, the Dutch system integrator and show-control specialist has opened a branch office in Germany. Show-control specialist Franziskus Scharpff will represent Ground Zero Berlin. Scharpff has over 15 years experience as a lighting technician and operator. He travelled the world with various artists and has programmed more than 200 moving lights on his Whole Hog console for numerous live TV Shows and the Gold-Medal-Lightshows. But his key interest is show control systems and the network environment. At the Hannover World Expo 2000 he programmed the show control for the Planet-M pavilion (Bertelsman), Planet of Visions pavilion (IBM) and the Mediaversum pavilion (Siemens).

"I’m very pleased with this opportunity to build Ground Zero Berlin to be as successful as I expect it to be," says Franziskus during one of the first formation meetings with Rutger van Dijk and Sierk Janszen at Showtech 2001.

The PLASA Show, London’s leading entertainment technology event, represents far more than just an arena from which to see the latest developments and innovations within the entertainment technology industry. It also offers visitors the opportunity to learn more about how to use this technology to best effect through its Masterclass Programme. This year, the Masterclass Programme, which runs from the Monday to the Wednesday, will focus on the fields of special effects, architectural installations and audio and corporate presentations and will include an impressive line-up of speakers, all of whom are experts in their specific fields.

Tuesday 11th September 2001, Theme and Leisure Day of the Masterclass Programme is a ‘must’ for visitors interested in learning how, through imaginative design and intelligent production techniques, special effects can be utilised in live entertainment to have maximum effect on the audience. There will be three presentations during the course of the day dealing with different aspects of this vibrant sector.

PLASA welcomes American WOW!Works chief effects artist, Tylor Wymer, an industry leader in pyrotechnics and special effects engineering and the former special effects design director for Walt Disney Entertainment, who will host an exciting session called, ‘Special Effects Ignite The Senses - Putting the Wow! Into Your Productions’. Highlights will include a fun and interactive overview by Mr Wymer in the areas of pyrotechnics, confetti, fog/haze, snow/wind/rain and the new trends in scent technology.

Mr W

LGH Group has amalgamated its Customer Training operation with its Lifting Equipment Training Institute (LETI). Working across all industries, the Institute aims to promote the cause of safe lifting in the workplace. The institute has found that most companies are aware of the new LOLER and PUWER legislation, yet struggle to answer how they are complying with the new regulations.

LETI is seeking to help bridge this gap and is keen to offer help to companies to ensure their compliance with the legislation. A large part of this initiative is the provision of Lifting Operation Audits. These will serve to provide managers with a complete report, detailing all the measures the company would need to undertake to assure themselves they are compliant with the new regulations and lifting operations. In addition, LETI is also offering comprehensive training to companies in all industries in the safe use of lifting equipment and operations. LETI can provide CITB approved courses and EMTA/NVQ training and assessment, in addition to a full range of standard and customized courses for every lifting operation.

LETI will manage a database of all course attendees and will assist companies in managing their training needs and records through a process of annual reviews, reminders and refresher courses. All delegates trained through LETI will be issued with ID cards, plus a certificate as proof of training.

Essential Lighting Group have increased their stock of the increasingly popular Studio Beam PCs. These automated luminaires feature high-output colour mixing, intense beam shaping and a large zoom range in a compact housing. The Studio Beam employs a special pebble convex lens to produce a variable soft-edge beam without light spill and is ideal for creating strong aerial effects and long throw highlighting.

Essential's Martin Locket and Simon Dunnell used Studio Beam extensively in the recent election rally tour. Working closely with set designer Spike Kilburn, they planned and designed a system using cyclorama behind interlocking translucent panels that would be workable in a wide variety of different venues.

MAC 300 washlights were also chosen to uplight the Cyclorama and provide a number of different looks and effects to the presentations. A box structure of Slick Minibeam truss was used to provide lighting positions around the stage area and was either flown or ground supported. Martin Lubach, in charge of dry hire, regards Studio Beam as an excellentaddition to the range, along with the Space Cannon Searchlights specified by Rainmaker to light Fat Boy Slim in Brighton recently. Because Essential forms part of a distribution network with European lighting supplier Procon, they can access such items quickly and in large numbers if required.

The organisers of Entech 2002 have released preliminary details relating to next year’s event, which takes place from February 4-6 at Darling Harbour in Sydney. The visitor programme includes keynote summits for audio, vision and lighting practitioners on 4 February. The summits will cap the opening day’s educational programme set to feature new format seminars held in the lecture facilities within the Sydney Exhibition and Convention Center. Day One features a Venue Design Forum, an afternoon session with leading lighting designers, two pro audio seminars and a vision/video seminar.

Additional events on Day One include a rigging workshop, an opening day reception on the rooftop at closing time and Mark Cunningham’s famous pop quiz at sundown. A complete programme of events, including the sixth and largest Entech Awards Dinner, will be released ahead of an extensive visitor campaign starting in October.

West London-based HFM Lighting, a specialist in the design and supply of integrated lighting systems, has become a Vari-Lite UK Rental Associate and has augmented its inventory by adding eight new Vari*Lite VL2402 wash luminaires which it has supplied for Gatecrasher 2001. Colin Booker, Vari-Lite Europe’s regional sales manager, commented: "We are thrilled that HFM Lighting has become one of our rental associates, and they have decided to choose this exciting product which is now available for their clients."

Specified by LD Simon Barrington, and supplied by HFM, eight VL2402s were incorporated into his designs for the Radio 1 stage at Gatecrasher's 2001 dance festival at Turweston Aerodrome last month. The impressive pyramid-shaped Outdoor Live stage hosted key acts such as Craig David and international DJ's, Seb Fontaine and Judge Jules. Drawing from HFM's extensive inventory, and to complement the VL2402s, another 12 intelligent luminaires were specified by Barrington for the Radio 1 Stage. A variety of lamp bars were attached to the pyramid-shaped stage truss and two Studio Due City Colours were employed to brand and illuminate the PA scrim. The Radio 1 Stage was controlled by an Avolites Azure desk allowing for immediate access was operated by HFM's Peter Maclean.

HFM's MD, Hugh Frazer-Mann further explained: "We are very happy with the new VL2402 wash luminaires. It’s an extremely versatile and innovative wash luminaire offering high performance and quality neither of which are compromised by its compact size and we're looking forward to

Channel Four’s Big Brother phenomenon is once again captivating the nation, with Audio-Technica microphones ensuring that none of the housemates can escape the attentions of the watching and listening public.

Television facilities company Roll to Record once again secured the contract to provide the complete technical installation for the Big Brother house's all-important audio-visual set up, with the task of specifying audio equipment going to chief sound engineer Oliver France. A freelance engineer who also worked on the earlier series with Roll to Record, France began to assemble the audio equipment as early as February, and was pleasantly surprised when it came to organizing microphones for project. "I was looking around to see what was available, and I wandered on to the Audio-Technica website. I was really surprised by the size of the range and identified a number of products which, from their specifications seemed absolutely ideal."

In fact, so impressed was France that he proceeded to specify Audio-Technica products to occupy every one of the 40 hard-wired microphone positions in the Big Brother House. A total of 23 AT933RXC suspension microphones hang from the ceilings, including the vital positions over the housemates beds. AT4073a shotgun microphones are hidden throughout the garden to cover the sound of the hot tub area and the all-important chicken pen, and a custom-built AT871RWR water resistant boundary microphone is placed above the shower cubicle to capture those steamier moments. The diary room and the voice of Big Brother are also ta

Fisher Productions has completed its move to new offices. "The new building is far more spacious than our previous office - as our staff numbers continue to grow, we really needed a place with room for expansion," says Fisher marketer Gemma Courtenay. More staff, bigger projects, a developing in-house lighting and staging department and storage of a variety of props had resulted in Fisher outgrowing its last premises. The 40,000sq.ft area, with warehouse and offices above, presented the company with the ideal solution. With a location that is convenient for both central London and international travel, all that was needed to complete the package was an internal refurbishment to include bright, modern office space with multiple meeting areas and state-of-the-art features.

Projects coordinated from the new premises have ranged from South African Airways Product Launch, the Relaunch of Hong Kong for the HK Economic and Trade Office, a party for 300 guests at Highgrove and the Virt-x Launch Traders Party, which involved a live satellite link with Zurich.

Fisher can now be contacted at 118 Garratt Lane, London, SW18 4DJ.

The Radiocommunications Agency (RA) has announced a new fee structure for radio microphone licensing due to take effect on 19 July 2001. The changes are part of the introduction of Spectrum Pricing into the Programme Making and Special Events sector (PMSE), which is managed by JFMG.

The aim behind changing the fee structure is to simplify the licensing of ‘UK Shared’ radio microphones. (These are those available for shared use at unspecified locations). This is achieved by setting a flat fee for any number of Shared VHF frequencies and a flat fee for any number of Shared UHF frequencies. A two-year licence is introduced as an alternative to the one-year period. The difference in fee between ‘own-use’ and hiring out is removed and this licence also covers the use of Shared frequencies at Fixed Sites instead of the Fixed Site fees used previously. The RA and JFMG hope that the price reductions will encourage a greater take-up in licences that better reflects the true value of the frequencies to the PMSE industry sector. Other changes have occurred to the premium hours charge and the ‘Local’ area fee category. The fixed charge will change to £55 for a schedule of frequencies (not £50 per frequency). This is a small increase for customers applying for a single frequency, but a dramatic reduction when more than one frequency is needed. The RA has also announced that the ‘Local’ area fee category will be removed.

For full details of the new rates contact JFMG Ltd, London, on +44 (020) 7261 3797.

One of Europe’s leading manufacturers of silent dimming solutions, IES will be launching new models of low-noise IGBT installed and distributed dimming options for theatres, concert halls and TV studios, at PLASA 2001. The range includes iTEC reverse-phase IGBT dimmers and second generation iSINE Sine Wave silent dimmers - technologies which have been supplied throughout Europe in the past year.

The new generation iSINE technology offers compactness, lower weight, higher efficiency and reduced cost compared to its predecessors. The sinusoidal output dims with no discernable filament noise, and the harmonic distortion is less than 1% greater than the supply. Able to control a wide range of light sources, iSINE dimmers also benefit from the tried and tested features of IES’s other IGBT dimmers - automatic short-circuit protection, voltage regulation, current limitation and comprehensive remote programming, status reporting and fault analysis using networkable DimSTAT software. Recent dimmer developments include arc-sensing for switching HMIs and direct Ethernet connection.

IES will be showing its expanding range of PowerModules and PowerBars from 1.25kW to 12kW per channel, incorporating either iTEC, iSINE or the budget-priced triac technologies. The Executive dimmer pack is available as a plug-in chassis with a choice of either iTEC or iSINE dimmer channels. To complete the IES portfolio, a range of DMX distribution (including RJ45) will be on show, along with small- to medium-scale manual and memory controls, economy triac dimmers for distributed, touring a

Calling all bedroom mixers and aspiring DJs - the search for the newest, hottest DJ talent is on! Sunday 9 September, 2001, will see the cream of the country’s up-and-coming DJ talent at the PLASA Show 2001, Earls Court, to pit their skills in the PLASA Show’s Extreme V, Gemini DJ Competition. Sponsored by leading DJ equipment supplier, Gemini Sound Products, the competition will visit the ‘Final Meltdown’ on Portsmouth’s South Coast and ‘Urban Games’ at Clapham Common en route to PLASA. Rob Peck of Gemini Sound Products says: "This years Extreme V, Gemini DJ Competition battle represents the most exciting up and coming talent in the business and we are proud to be nurturing the stars of the future with this competition. The Grand Final is a launch pad to success for many of the winners who go on to take up residencies and slots at some of the UK’s leading clubs."

Previous participants include DJ Miss Behavin’ who has gone on to achieve spectacular success and is currently resident DJ in some of Europe’s hottest night-clubs including Ibiza’s Es Paradis and London’s Camden Palace. As well as the obvious opportunity to advance the winner’s career, the competition also comes with a first prize of top DJ equipment, certain to give any set a boost. This year, the competition will run alongside the all-new IDJ ‘Talk Zone’ which will offer DJs expert advice and tips on all the latest technology. Some of the country’s most respected DJs will be sharing their advice and techn

To complement the exhibition, PLASA has lined up a range of seminars, workshops and clinics that will give an insight into how new technology is creating new opportunities, how individuals have pulled together highly complex projects, why integration is so important and how you can achieve more by picking up tips and techniques from others.

DJs can learn more about MP3 digitally-compressed music files and how this new technology is already creating a platform for a more creative approach. In a programme of seminars sponsored by Installation Europe, audio installation and integration is the theme under which issues of networking, control and the benefits of converging technologies are explored. Tuesday sees a Theme and Leisure Masterclass, presented by Leisure Management, in association with the TEA and TiLE, which focuses on how the leisure industry exploits special effects, lighting and audio technology to create unique environments to enhance the visitor experience. On Wednesday, the sessions move to consider the integration of audio and lighting into building design, the regulations facing those who install lighting, the increasing profile of new media such as LED technology, and the basics of video conferencing.

For the first time, you can also attend any number of focused courses, workshops and clinics. The ISCE is sponsoring three sessions covering the issues associated with audio system design, whilst Loughborough College and the AETTI are jointly promoting a series of courses which offer those interested in theatre a chance to work towards BTEC certification. Al

On Thursday July 12th a preliminary meeting was held at the Sydney Exhibition and Convention Centre, to seek interest in the formation of an Australasian association for all who share an interest in the art, science and technology of light. The following week a similar meeting was held at the Melbourne Museum. Organisers Andy Ciddor and Cat Strom (Forcer) were overwhelmed by the positive reaction from the lighting community and hence have decided to press ahead in establishing an Australasian Lighting Industry Association, provisionally entitled ALIA.

Discussions at the meetings were based around a widely circulated proposal prepared by Cat Strom, Steve Furzey and Andy Ciddor, the text of which can be found on the preliminary ALIA website - www.lighting-association.com. It was agreed that a broadly-based and inclusive lighting industry association is a worthwhile goal, and that efforts should be made to implement the idea. Members of Australia’s major existing lighting association, the Illuminating Engineering Society (IESANZ), who attended the Sydney meeting have taken the proposal to a meeting of the IES Central Executive held in Sydney on the 19-20 July 2001. The provisional ALIA proposal was reviewed and discussed at length. The IES view the ALIA proposal as a positive move to unite the whole lighting industry and is looking forward to further discussions with ALIA to explore options that could be of mutual benefit to the existing IES membership and to the new membership of ALIA. A business plan for the

The 10th Annual TiLE Conference was held for the third, but last, time (for a few years) at the Business Design Centre in Islington, London 12-14 June 2001.

For those unfamiliar with the TiLE concept, it is not unlike Showlight in its make-up with a conference and exhibition running hand-in-hand, and an associated social programme gluing the two together. Certainly one of the most important conferences in Europe, perhaps in the world, TiLE is a key ‘networking’ event bringing together major developers, operators, designers and suppliers from the international leisure market. It attracts people from around the world because it is the one place to meet people of all levels and to listen to and debate about the real projects, techniques and problems facing this major industry.

Most of the major players can be found on the show floor - companies like Electrosonic, Farmer Studios, Jack Rouse Associates, LCI, Media Projects International, Sarner, Sennhesier, BRC Imagination Arts, Barco, DJ Willrich, Edwards Technologies, ECA2 and Landmark. The Show also saw the official launch of ThemeTech MDM - a new company which will build and project manage contracts for a variety of themed environments. It is born out of the long established model and sculpture manufacturer MDM Ltd.

One of the big draws of TiLE is its conference programme which addresses a different main theme for each of the three days. Day one was titled Shifting Sands - a reference to the uncertain climate of the times. There were sessions on the Megatrends of the next ten years and the provocative opp

Summit Steel’s award-winning SmarTmast system will be much in evidence at this year’s 50th Anniversary ‘Music on a Summer Evening’ concerts at Kenwood House, one of the historic properties in the care of English Heritage. Founded in 1951 by Frank Wright after a visit to the Hollywood Bowl, the first concert featured a performance by the London Symphony Orchestra, who are welcomed back this year as part of the celebrations.

A total of five SmarTmasts will be provided by Summit Steel, who invested in an additional five of these versatile rigging towers in order to service the event. One SmarTmast will be positioned either side of the stage to fly the main PA system, while the remaining three will provide delay towers. Interestingly, the two PA SmarTmasts will be firmly anchored in the lake in front of the stage. Adapted to hang the V-dosc sound system provided by RG Jones, the SmarTmasts will be suitably ballasted to cope with the unusual weight distribution of hanging a line array PA. The self-climbing SmarTmast is ideally suited to such an event. "With one of the smallest footprints around it keeps blindspots to a minimum," says Summit’s director and SmarTmast developer Jon Bray.The Concert programme which runs from 7 July until September 1 includes ‘Lesley Garrett in Concert’, ‘Classic fm - Live in the Park’, and a ‘Russian Spectacular’.

Sennheiser, the company whose microphones give voice to so many of the world’s performing artists, is inaugurating a competition to search out some of the nation’s best hidden musical talent. The search for the country’s best unsigned bands and artists is being run in conjunction with Nexus Media’s Making Music title, the world famous Gibson guitar company, top British guitar amp manufacturer Orange, leading recording technology company TASCAM, and Mindprint studio effects.

Six musical categories are divided into pop, rock, dance, hip-hop, R&B and jazz. The winners of each heat pick up £500 in cash, plus a wealth of guitar, amplifier and recording equipment, not to mention Sennheiser evolution microphones and headphones. The overall winning artist or group, judged from among the winners of each of the individual categories, stands not only to receive £5000 in cash, almost £2000 of Sennheiser evolution microphones and headsets, a Tascam digital recording workstation, Orange guitar combo and a Gibson SG guitar, but also the chance to record with one of the world’s most respected producers, Mike Hedges, in his brand new Wessex Studios complex.

Entries must be in by 30th September and application forms and details are available in an extensive press advertising campaign or from the company’s website.