Sonohouse has been appointed as the new distributor for Celestion products in France. Founded in 1973 by Jean-Louis Beart, Sonohouse is located in Ivry sur Seine, in Paris. Currently handling distribution of products like GEM Sound, Boost and BST, Sonohouse has its main strength in the club market. Its appointment as Celestion's representative in France is a reflection of the company's new drive into professional audio.
"Although Sonohouse's current strength is in the DJ and club sector, I can see a huge amount of potential for our relationship," explains David Jackson, Celestion's export manager. "Sonohouse has an excellent sales team and nationwide network, and have impressed us with their connections and level of support from the industry."
One such contact is Gerald Kaas, whose consultancy Akoustik is providing marketing advice and support. "The big potential for Celestion in France will be in the permanent installation market," says Kaas. "The company has a good range of products for a variety of applications, and initially, we would expect to have success with the KR and Cxi speakers." Sonohouse will also represent the Celestion chassis drivers for the MI business as well as sound reinforcement.
The company can be contacted at 24 rue Robert Witchitz , 94200 Ivry sur Seine. Telephone: +33 1 58 46 15 15.
(Lee Baldock)
Jamiroquai ended their world tour at Wembley Arena at the beginning of March: the huge energy of Jay Kay was equally matched in ability by an impressive Funktion-One sound system with XTA digital processing at its core.
Funktion One’s John Newsham explains the set-up: "We used a main left and right system which was 15 self-powered F218 bass per side and five wide by three deep Resolution 5s per side, with downfills. The system used the new self-powered Res 5s, with each powered box running an unpowered slave." The side hangs for the bleacher areas alongside the stage were covered by four Res 4s and two Res 18s per side, conventionally powered. Front fills and out fills consisted of Resolution 2s. Flown delays were six Res 5s per side and ground delays six F218 powered bins in the middle behind the mix risers and two Res 2 skeletal high packs.
Control for the entire system was handled by XTA’s proprietary AudioCore program, with the crossovers sited locally to the various stacks. "We had one small rack per side for the front of house system which had DP226s and a DP224," continues Newsham. "We ran stereo signal to everywhere which meant that we didn’t need a massive return system and we split the system up into zones with the XTAs which we then remotely controlled from front-of-house. We were running the long throw section of the Res 5s on three outputs of a DP226, and the other half was doing the bottom row of Res 5s with a DP224 handling the bass and the downfills. The spare output was used when we had to put bass bins round t
Hand Held Audio, specialists in wireless and in-ear technology for over a decade, are to launch a new website which goes live on 1st May. www.handheldaudio.co.uk is designed to bring wireless technology to a broader market with all of the benefits of the experience accumulated by Hand Held Audio at the high end of the market.
Founder member and director of Hand Held Audio, Mick Shepherd, is pleased with the new development. "We've been specialists in the high end touring and, more recently, corporate markets right from the very beginning and will continue to be so," he said, "but we hope that the website will enable us to reach a new sector of the market where we have never before had a presence, and yet for whom wireless and in-ear technology is becoming increasingly available. We'd like to pass on the benefits of our experience, our buying power and our considerable technical support resources to the MI and semi-professional sector."
The new site is designed to be a one-stop online store dedicated purely to radio microphones and all things wireless. As well as an extensive product catalogue from a wide range of manufacturers, the site will also offer comprehensive technical support and advice on how to go about setting up a system. "Wireless technology can be a bit daunting at first," says Mick, "so what we're aiming to do here is demystify the process and offer a good service into the bargain." Customers can still visit Hand Held Audio's existing site at the same address before the new site goes live on 1st May.
(Ruth Rossing
CT London has utilized an extensive selection of its equipment and resources to provide the entire AV and IT element for Imagination at a Ford Dealer Training Event in Marbella, Spain. The event, which began in early February and runs for six weeks, will be attended by over 17,000 Ford Dealers from across Europe.
The event, masterminded by Imagination, will launch Ford’s new range of small cars including Ford Fiesta and Ford Fusion to dealers. It features a 400-seat auditorium acting as the central business meeting location, plus five interactive workshops on the consumer benefits of the new range, along with training on Five Fiesta Facts. CT London supplied, installed and maintained the equipment, with a full team of support engineers and technicians. The company provided a wide array of desktop and laptop PCs running Powerpoint with Mpeg playback and various displays including Barco video projectors and Hitachi Plasma screens. All were complemented by a bespoke Dataton interactive control system.
(Ruth Rossington)
The Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead, north London, is the proud owner of a brand new sound and lighting system for its in-house theatre, installed by Live Business International. The massive teaching hospital has a 330-seat theatre deep within its bowels, which has been used over the years for student lectures, as well as plays and Student Union performances. The hospital’s Trustees wanted to make much more use of the theatre, but the ancient sound and lighting system, with no component less than 25 years old, was a major stumbling block.
Live Business won the tender for the contract to design and install a completely new sound and lighting system for the theatre in time for a pantomime run. Live Business International director Roland Hemming designed the installation, which besides being high quality, required a great deal of flexibility to cope with the very different types of use. The systems also needed to have the sophistication to cope with relatively complex productions, yet be useable by in-house staff for lectures and simpler performances.
Hemming specified a Turbosound-based audio system, with TCS59 cabinets and TCS108 bass bins, along with TCS20 delay speakers and a pair of the new TQ310 multi-purpose speakers for foldback. The whole system is controlled by two BSS Omnidrives and powered by Yamaha amplifiers. The control room, which doubles as a basic pre-editing suite, boasts a Soundcraft LX7 console, and the system is completed by Trantec radio mics.
The new lighting systems comprise 24 channels of Botex dimming, eight channels of switching, a vari
As part of a recently completed refurbishment of its flagship Oxford Street Megastore, Virgin has commissioned an unusual giant video screen system on the store’s ground floor that is all but invisible until in operation. In the centre of the main stairwell, flat 'blades' rotate and lock into position like an enormous Venetian blind to reveal the five metre wide screen. Flanking the screen are a pair of Mackie Fussion 3000 active speakers and two pairs of 1800SA/1800S active sub bass combos.
PAI and AV designer Vincent Rice carried out the design and installation, as PAI’s managing director Paul Adams explains: "Following a referral from PPM (Perspective Project Management), who we’ve worked with previously, we were approached by Richard Greenleaf of the design company Red Jacket, and Vince Rice and I had a meeting with him to discuss the project." Adams continues: "Red Jacket's concept was very clear. There is a large atrium alongside the escalators, and the brief was for a video screen that could move in and out of the space. When it was not being used it would maintain visual access to the rear shopping and retail areas."
As a result of the meeting, Vince Rice came up with the idea for a massive motorized Venetian blind screen, made of steel, measuring 6 x 5 metres and weighing in at 1.6 tons. Rice explains: "Using a combination of choreographed effects lighting with a quality sound system and a video presentation, all they had to do was turn it all on and it's show time." Rice admits that his choice of Mackie Fussion w
Eskimo Noise, set up by Neil Johannessen in 1987, achieved a reputation as a leading sound company in the dance music industry, not only for audio hire, but also for production design and installation. The company’s clients included Radio 1, Nike, Budweiser, London Mardi Gras and Marco Pierre White, to name but a few.
In the meantime Systems Etc, founded by Bernard Mani in 1996, was busy working in the London’s burgeoning club/bar scene, providing this new market with state-of-the-art fully integrated audio-visual systems. Systems Etc has also more recently been supporting live events for artists including: Ed Harcourt, Starsailor and the Honeyz, at venues such as Alexandra Palace, Hanover Grand and numerous other funky showcases across the uk.
In late November 2001 Eskimo Noise was forced into voluntary liquidation "due to an unforeseen accountancy error" - and the company was taken over by Systems Etc the following month, allowing both companies to amalgamate their considerable technical expertise, resources and client bases. Only two weeks old, the new Systems Etc pulled off a massive coup the New Year’s Eve Ministry of Sound Party at the Dome for 50,000 people.
Operating from Eskimo’s old headquarters in Elephant and Castle, South London, Systems Etc has spent the beginning of this year improving the organization and streamlining the operation. The company has integrated its equipment resources, along with its technical and administrative staff, and has created a company which is poised to deliver outstanding service for any audio
Yamaha Commercial Audio and UK dealer Marquee Audio, have confirmed sales of a pair of Yamaha PM1D digital consoles to leading pro-rental production company, Britannia Row. The London-based company placed the order on the eve of the Frankfurt Musikmesse, while for the Yamaha dealers it represents their ninth and tenth sales of the premium desk.
Brit Row director Bryan Grant told us: "We first ran these consoles in anger with The Manics last autumn, followed by the MTV EMA Awards and then the BRITS. Our engineers were impressed by them and visiting technicians also gave them a very positive response. In fact, everyone who tried them was surprised at how quickly they could get up to speed mixing on them - and I have to say how damn good they sounded" Grant also implied an ongoing commitment to the PM1D, remarking: "We think they are the future and I think this initial order will be the first of many."
Brit Row will take delivery of the PM1Ds in early May in preparation for a busy summer of high profile events. Brit Row's engineers also paid tribute to the exemplary product support and engineer training offered by Yamaha and Marquee Audio. Yamaha’s commercial audio sales manager Mike Case commented: "We are delighted that Britannia Row, one of the world’s leading rental companies, have committed to this product."
Marquee Audio’s Spencer Brooks added: "Purchasing decisions of this nature are not made lightly. Brit Row had wanted to learn more about the product in real world situations, and at the same time stimulate th
PCM is planning to host the first Advanced CM Lodestar Motor Course. This will run on 29 and 30 May at PCM’s HQ in Prenton, Wirral. The Advanced course will be preceded by a standard Motor School, run on 27 and 28 May.
PCM’s John Jones explained the background to the decision: "Whilst everyone benefits from the standard school, some clients who work on motors as their main job, need extra information and guidance in repair procedures and the more advanced principles." The Advanced school is open to anyone who has attended a standard PCM Motor School, and is free of charge. However, for practical reasons, it is restricted to 15 participants to give each individual the chance to work on their own hoists.
This course will be the first advanced Motor School held anywhere in the world. It’s specially designed to offer more comprehensive instruction and experience to those working in-depth with Lodestar Chain Motors. Areas covered will include operational theory, design philosophy, safety aspects, internal workings and trouble shooting methods for Lodestar motors.
Overnight accommodation for the course is co-ordinated by PCM, and includes the option of a great night out for all attendees, courtesy of PCM, where everyone can exchange knowledge and experiences with fellow course members and PCM staff in a relaxed social setting.The Package also includes: Lunches for 2 days; Light refreshments during course hours; All training and instruction materials; Overnight hotel accommodation for £45 a night; Certificate of Attendance.
(Ruth Rossington)
The Griven Kaleido MSD 575 lamped CYM colour changer has found itself an unusual use, internally lighting a two metre giant sphere which is one of the highlights at conceptual artist Keith Tyson’s solo show - Supercollider - which recently opened at the South London Gallery.
DMX control electronics designed and programmed by Chris Newman of Brighton-based Sensatech change the colour according to the temperature of internal heating and cooling elements (simulating the inner core of our evolving earth). The sphere and support came from South London based one-off specialist manufacturer Michael J Smith, also responsible for other exhibits at the show.
Commenting on the installation, Tony Kingsley of Griven’s UK distributor Ambient Lighting, told L&SI: "The opal perspex reflects the light to give an even coverage, helped of course by the wide angle output of the Kaleido. The unit is cleverly concealed in the base with the control gear and projects upwards, but the overall effect is colour from nowhere."
Trussing manufacturer Slick, part of the Outback Group, has launched a new website at www.trussing.com - featuring full details of the company’s recently-increased product lines. To aid customer service, the new website also includes a ringback facility, which enables customers to receive a telephone call from a member of the Slick team while they browse the site online.
Slick has also recently introduced a brand new catalogue, in which the updated product ranges are divided for the first time into Architectural and Professional ranges - the former for architectural, retail and display applications and the latter for touring and heavier duty exhibition applications.
(Lee Baldock)
The famous Paris site where the legendary Jim Morrison said farewell to the world has been converted into a discotheque by Sir Terence Conran. The former Whisky-A-Go-Go, underneath his celebrated restaurant Alcazar, had been empty for some time, and when it was excavated for the refit, artworks from the legendary Doors frontman were found. The site has now reopened as the Wagg - with the sound and lighting specified and administered by fabric of London, and featuring exclusively Martin Audio sound reinforcement and amplification.
Technical consultant, Dave Parry of Most Technical, who last year turned famous London club fabric (where he is resident) over to Martin Audio sound reinforcement, with the use of Blackline and Wavefront components, this time opted for the EM architectural range. Sound over the main basement dancefloor - a long tri-domed corridor - is delivered through a distributed Martin Audio system comprising 14 Martin EM26s, reinforced by six Martin Blackline S15 subs, while the DJ will be able to reference the music, mixed on an Allen & Heath mixer and delivered from Vestax, Technics and Pioneer playback devices, through a further pair of EM26 monitors and a Blackline S15 sub.
Dave Parry promises that the 350-capacity venue, in Paris’ trendy St. Germain, would appeal to the ultra chic. And those lucky enough to gain entry to the bijou second room will be able to hear the music played through four tiny EM15s and an EM120 sub. The entire system will be powered by a combination of nine Martin Audio MA1.3 amplifiers, a pair of MA1.6s and an MA900. As wi
Yves Pepin, president and creative director of ECA2, and his team, are working on a night-time cultural visit of the archaeological site El Tajin, in the jungle of Veracruz state, eastern Mexico. Sound and light shows will be featured every night from 16 to 23 March 2002, with commentary in Spanish, English, French and Totonac. The total number of shows will be 14. El Tajin is recognised as the cultural birthplace of the Totonac people, the first American Indians encountered by the Spanish conquistador Cortés, in 1519. The site is vast and archaeologically rich, with most of its structures dating from 600-700 AD.
Spectators will be guided, over two hours, in a circular movement over the site, stopping at places to witness various aspects of Totonac culture. A notable feature of the visit will be its personal nature: according to rules set by Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History, the site cannot have more than 500 spectators per show. "This ‘exclusivity’ will increase each visitor’s feeling of an intense and personal experience," explained Yves Pépin. "Spectators will really ‘feel’ what Totonac life was like, the people’s beliefs and their traditions, as well as their daily life, as conveyed by projected images, special effects, live performances and music."
"Towards the end of the circuit, visitors will stop at the ‘Pyramid of Niches’, the archaeological highlight of the site. This extraordinary structure will be shown and experienced as never before, thanks to dynamic li
Pop music icon Neil Diamond is back out on tour again with Maryland Sound Industries – this time with a sound reinforcement system boasting the world’s first all-digital signal path between its microphones and loudspeakers. One of the key components in achieving this distinction was the use of Crown’s new IQ-PIP USP2/CN CobraNet module.
Each of the 70 Crown Macro-Tech 5000/5002VZ house amplifiers on the tour is equipped with its own USP2/CN card. This allows digital audio signals sent from the Yamaha PM1D front-of-house console through a CobraNet converter and BSS ProSys PS-8810C to be fed directly into the amplifiers on Cat 5 Ethernet lines and switches. All of the processing for the production’s JBL VerTec line-array loudspeakers - including crossover, delay and EQ - is performed via the Crown modules.
Using a laptop, the PS-8810C DSP system is wirelessly called upon to compensate for differing room environments each night, leaving the Crown USP2/CN cards within the amplifiers to specifically address speaker processing. The ProSys unit further allows each of the JBL loudspeaker clusters to be grouped as single signals, and both the BSS and Crown products are controlled via Crown’s IQ for Windows software v5.0, which provides a unified interface whether adjusting an entire cluster or just one driver.
"Because our sound system this time around is entirely digital, it’s dead quiet; the noise floor is extremely low," says Stanley R. Miller, Diamond’s sound designer and chief engineer for live sound. "We’ve n
Atomic Kitten’s monitor engineer Ben Booker has specified the new dbx IEM in-ear monitoring processors for the band’s current sold-out UK tour. Booker’s decision came after submitting a demo model to rigorous testing. Sound supplier for the tour is Liverpool-based AdLib Audio, who’ve purchased the processors from dbx’s UK distributors Arbiter Pro Audio.
A major reason Booker chose the dbx was to save lots of rack space. The product features include Lexicon reverb settings, 4-band stereo limiter/compressor, 5-band parametric EQ, 4-band crossover, MIDI control, updateable software and many more - all of which devices would normally occupy three or four spaces in an external processing rack.
The processors are inserted into the monitor desk desk, and used to reduce the bottom end on the girls’ vocals. The dbx’s reverb is utilised to add ambience, and to produce a multi-band compression - squashing the low notes and evening out the overall sound for each of their mixes. Booker is also finding the dbx’s onboard multiband limiters very useful. "You don’t need any other limiters, you can be assured their voices can’t hurt each other and the limiters also cut out loads of generally unwanted stuff," he states.
Booker has worked with Atomic Kitten for a year, together with his colleague, FOH engineer Andy Docherty, who’s also based at Ad Lib. AdLib’s rig for the tour also features five dbx 480 Drive Racks used for controlling the additional band member’s IEMs, plus one more that’s cont
Audio production company Britannia Row recently supplied the sound system for the after-show party at the premiere of Disney Monsters Inc in London. Commissioned by event design and production company AD Design, the event was hosted at Planet 2000 - a venue featuring disused railway arches and sidings - and attended by 1200 people.
Utilizing a selection of its extensive Turbosound stock, Britannia Row distributed the sound system throughout six arches, as well as the main area and the foyer. All the equipment was linked via BSS Sound Web, using the ducking system for announcements from Capital Radio DJs. Two each of Turbosound’s TQ-440 enclosures were flown in two arches, four in two others, whilst two Floodlight systems, and four QLight TQ-425SP units were distributed in the ‘Monster’s Headquarters’, along with two flown TQ-440SPs which were used for delay.
Britannia Row’s Jim Alexander - who has worked previously with AD Design on other premiers including Moulin Rouge and Tobacco Dock - commented: "To combat the acoustics of each arch, we flew the QLight in mono pairs in the centre of each arch, which were then time-delayed to the main system via Soundweb."
(Ruth Rossington)
The charity event ‘Reaching out for Africa’, a gospel spectacular which took place at London's Royal Albert Hall on Sunday March 10, was literally ‘A day in the life of ‘ for the production and rental companies involved. Organized by Patti Boulaye to raise money for Support for Africa, a charity she founded to inform people of the terrible effect that AIDS and malaria are having in Sub-Saharan Africa, this one-off event had just a 24 hour schedule, from load-in to get-out.
Produced by Sir Michael Parker, the event was almost a rehearsal for The Queen's Golden Jubilee celebrations, with which he will also be involved. The 3,000 strong choir, drawn from schools, churches and choirs across the UK, Europe and Africa, will go on to form part of the 5,000-strong Golden Jubilee Gospel Choir which will sing at Buckingham Palace in June.
Lighting the show on behalf of Fourth Phase, LD Michael Odam - who signed in at the Royal Albert Hall at 6am and signed out 16 hours later - had an unusual brief from the rental company: to use as much of Royal Albert Hall's own lighting rig as possible! As a charity event, the organizers wanted to keep additional costs to a minimum. "The trick with an event such as this," said Michael, "is to not be too ambitious and the Hall has a sizeable lighting rig of its own. I specified a Whole Hog II desk from Fourth Phase, added 30 moving lights, including Mac 500s, Mac 600s and Studio Spot, to the existing rig, and we also had a Cirrolite hazer and Jem fog machine, plus a Reel EFX Sky Dancer Fan. While you can ne
Creative Technology has furthered its equipment rental and service standards within the exhibition sector, by building on its existing BECA accreditation through gaining membership to the Association of Exhibition Organisers (aeo).
The aeo is one of the leading voices of the exhibition industry, primarily representing exhibition organizers, but also working with companies in related industries. aeo members are committed to making exhibitions work harder for both exhibitors and visitors and to maintaining the highest standards of professional service.
CT London’s exhibition sales manager Matthew Hunter said: "As a company CT has always strived to make its brand synonymous with quality for technical expertise and service. Joining the aeo sees the natural development of our strategy for working within the exhibition industry and we are delighted to have been accepted by the aeo and look forward to passing on the benefits of our Associate membership to both our existing and new client base alike."
(Ruth Rossington)
The first Showman’s Show North was declared a success by visitors and exhibitors, as event professionals from the North of Britain gathered at the exhibition on the Great Yorkshire Showground, Harrogate this March.
Over 100 exhibitors and 656 visitors engaged in business in the relaxed atmosphere created at Showman’s North. Whilst not vast in size, the show drew event professionals from all sectors of the events’ industry with visitors ranging across representatives from Council events departments, the Manchester 2002 Commonwealth Games, agricultural shows, corporate and exhibition organizers and event management companies.
Whilst many of the visitors were looking at events for the coming 2002 season, exhibitors also reported taking enquiries for the 2003 season. The exhibitors at the show certainly represented a good cross section of event suppliers. On the avenue from the car park to the exhibition hall visitors passed through the outdoor section of the show flanked by stands ranging from giant outdoor screens and stages, through to entertainment, signage and banner suppliers and caterers. One of the last exhibits visitors passed before entering the main hall attracted the most media attention. ‘Phoenix the calf’ represented a symbol of hope for the countryside during the worst moments of last year’s foot and mouth crisis, and her presence at the Showman’s North was significant in that she was the first livestock to be allowed back onto a showground since the crisis.
Inside the main exhibition hall the diversity of supplier
Pyrotek Special Effects Inc is currently designing and supplying the pyrotechnics for a number of tours, including the Creed Australia Tour and the Kid Rock US Tour 2002. The effects for the latter include fireballs, a variety of gerbs, mines, flame projectors and flame dragons. Pyrotek also recently supplied effects to the European Tour for Slipknot, Creed Weathered Tour 2002 and the televised Miss USA event that took place in Gary, India last month. The company is heading into a busy spring with a number of tours in the pipeline including Britney in Japan, a Green Day Tour in Japan, the Creed North American Tour and Blink 182/Green Day Tour.
(Ruth Rossington)
Essex University has recently installed a new customised sound system in two of its lecture theatres. Local company John Hearn & Son undertook the installation, working to a brief that required the two systems not only to be capable of working together, but to work equally well as stand-alone systems.
Tim Hearn explains: "Because of the layout of the theatres, the University wanted to be able to run both rooms independently but also have the option to remove the dividing wall and run it as one. They needed to be able to run the two rooms from either sound control unit." As far as the overall system was concerned, the requirements were certainly wide ranging. "Flexibility is how we viewed it," continues Hearn. "The University wanted to use the theatres for a variety of different applications, so we designed a sound system for spoken word, sound reproduction and even cinematic projection."
Both theatres are traditional tiered rooms, which presented the sound designers with further problems, as speaker sight lines became a consideration. "We decided on a full range system, using Mackie Industrial Vision Speakers. The mid high enclosures, Vision 152s had to be flown in front of the stage area (because of the sight lines) with the 180SW subs in the Gods. These were linked to a Mackie 16/4/2 mixer, driven by RCF HC3200 amps. The system also uses CD and cassette recording to allow for the recording of lectures."
Because of the requirement to operate both sound systems either jointly or individually, and to allow simple non-technical op
Automated lighting and control products from High End Systems Inc and Flying Pig Systems will now be available from one source in Germany. Arcus GmbH, based in Paderborn, previously offered only the Wholehog line of consoles, but as a result of a recent agreement, it will now handle the complete line of HES/FPS products.
"We have established a very efficient, high quality and customer-oriented working relationship with Arcus over the past three years from which German users of Flying Pig products can benefit," says Claas Ernst, High End's sales manager for Central Europe. LMP Lichttechnik will remain a dealer of High End Systems products in Germany, and the award winning Catalyst System will be distributed through both existing and new sales channels.
The official announcement came during the current Frankfurt show. To mark the new partnership, the two companies offered visitors to their stand a custom-designed energy drink, dubbed the ‘Synergy Drink’.
(Ruth Rossington)
Stagetec (UK) Ltd has completed a contract to design, supply and install a complete sound and lighting system for the new Chafford Hundred school campus in Grays. The split-level building is imaginatively designed by Nicholas Hare Architects, with a central lift and an impressive atrium. Built for the future, it combines the principles of energy saving with a flexible space for learning and recreation.
In the building’s central section are the halls, drama studio, dining areas, sports hall, public library and specialist facilities geared towards art, technology, music and science. The primary and secondary wings extend either side of these shared spaces, each with its own secure entrance. Stagetec’s design brief was to provide a simple-to-use system that offered the latest technology and was suitable for school productions and additionally, for when the space is used by the local community.
The versatile performance space features a hall with an end-on stage. A sound proof screen can be pulled across the stage front, allowing the stage-side space to be used as a drama studio, while the hall itself can be utilized simultaneously for other activities. Two separate systems are therefore installed - that can be combined when required. Stagetec designed and installed a lighting system with an internally wired lighting grid above the stage/drama studio area, and with lighting bars along the length of the main hall. Power for these comes via 60 channels of the new LSC iPRO digital dimmers, mounted on the wall of the drama studio.
The two control systems are dri
The RADLite, which combines images, vector shapes, text and video to create a range of visual effects, will get its London debut at the Brixton Academy this month when The Chemical Brothers perform two concerts there on the 18 and 19 March.
The band has already toured with the RADLite in Japan and Australia and will go on to Europe and the US after the UK leg. Lighting designer Andy Liddle first saw the RADLite at PLASA 2001: "It really lived up to my expectations. It can produce so many effects that it’s actually quite hard to decide which ones to use! The ability to insert your own video clips and images, as well as create your own shapes, means that you can really have the show you want."
The Chemicals have hired the RADLite from XL Video. The system comprises a heavy-duty rack mountable black box that holds a hi-spec PC inside, including dual processors and a dual head graphics card. The system is ethernet ready, supporting both ArtNet and Enttec protocols. An Artistic Licence NetLink I/P box is included in the RADLite package for DMX users allowing the RADLite to be controlled through any standard lighting desk. The output is via a projector, videowall, plasma screen or any video display device.
IRAD, the development company behind RADLite, are currently working on upgrading its list of features. The system currently has 44 parameters including full RGB colour mixing for both foreground and background, palette cycling, shape 1, shape 2, rotation, strobe, video overlay, aspect ratio and zoom. IRAD can also offer simple graphics packages to load in