Cardiff-based Theatre Vision (a Stage Electrics Group company) has kick-started its busy corporate season by providing production lighting services for the recent WHAT HI-FI? Sound & Vision Awards 2001. Hosted by the irrepressible Clive Anderson at the Hilton in Park Lane, the show is produced by Head to Head Communications on behalf of Haymarket Publishing. Theatre Vision was called upon by busy awards lighting designer Matthew Evered to provide dynamic lighting for the event. A mixture of Strand SL cool-beam profiles, parcans and Martin Mac 300 moving lights were used to help jazz up the event, now in its 25th year, and all controlled and programmed by Tim Routledge on an Avolites Pearl. Also provided were a number of low voltage lighting kits for various branding and reception areas. Truss and rigging was provided by RoadRunner while sound was sourced from Tone Ferne from Dobsons.

The Audio Engineering Society has announced the postponement of next week's 111th AES Convention at the Javits Convention Center, New York, until early December. The Javits is being used as an emergency services co-ordination centre in the aftermath of the recent events in New York. The organizers have issued the following statement. "We have just returned from the Javits Center where we had a meeting with their top management. We learned that the New York City Mayor's Office of Emergency Management and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) have taken over large portions of the Javits Center for use in coordinating emergency services. We also learned that FEMA will have complete control of these spaces and any others that they need, for an undetermined period. This obviously makes holding the event as planned impossible. However, we have been able to reschedule the convention, rather than just cancel it. The new dates will be Friday November 30 to Monday, December 3 2001, with the same exhibit, demo and conference space as would have been used next week."

The opening day of the 2001 PLASA Show proved to be one of the busiest opening days the show has yet experienced, with early indications showing a 6% increase in visitors over the previous year. Clarion Events, the PLASA Show organisers, also report that visitor pre-regisration for PLASA 2001 showed an increase of around 1,000 over last year's event.

The show floor was buzzing throughout the day, with many exhibitors commenting on the especially high quality of both UK and international buyers visiting the show. Watch out for more developments from the PLASA Show as we enter Day 2 . . .

More than 250 of the world's leading companies from 30 countries will showcase their products and latest technology in the 11th Consecutive Broadcast India 2001 Exhibition & Symposium. A host of leading manufacturers will exhibit a wide range of products catering to the broadcast and entertainment industry in three days of the exhibition. The Broadcast India 2001 Exhibition will be held from 1-3 November 2001 at World Trade Centre, Mumbai in three halls - Expo Centre, South Side Lobby and Centrum - spreading over 40,000sq.ft of stand space. The exhibition will be preceded by a two day Symposium from 30-31 October 2001, to be staged at the Y B Chavan Centre, Mumbai. Industry professionals will speak on various topics covering the fields of TV, radio, video, audio, film, music, lighting, cabling, satellite, multi-media, transmission, computer graphics, broadband internet and all their allied and associated technologies in the two day Symposium. More than 21,000 trade personnel are expected to visit the three day exhibition, making this event the biggest and best in India.

For the first time this show will incorporate a Technical Awards ceremony sponsored by Seagate International. On the evening of 2nd November 2001 the Seagate Technical Awards for Excellence in Digital Technology in the field of Cinema and Television will be awarded.

‘All The Queen’s Horses’ - a live equestrian spectacular with a cast of 3,000, including over 1,000 horses, is to be staged at the Royal Windsor Horse Show in 2002, as part of the tribute to The Queen in her Golden Jubilee Year.

One of a number of national events marking The Queen’s accession to the throne 50 years ago, ‘All The Queen’s Horses’ will be set against the backdrop of the floodlit Windsor Castle during three days of the annual Royal Windsor Horse Show, and will tell the story of her 50-year reign.

A purpose-built stage will be erected to house the orchestra, choir and dancers, together with an all-weather arena, to accommodate the 2,000 participants and over 1,000 horses that will perform in the show, which will be produced by Major Sir Michael Parker and directed by Simon Brooks-Ward. Parker, of course, has been the producer for most of the ‘Royal Spectaculars’ both here and abroad for the past 30 years.

The finale of the show will recreate the 1952 coronation procession with the inclusion of the Gold State Coach with its eight grey horses in harness, a sight that has not been seen since the 1977 Jubilee.

The event that will be more ‘Broadway’ than ‘Horse Show’, according to Brooks-Ward, and if previous Parker/Brooks-Ward collaborations are anything to go by, should feature some serious quantities of lighting, audio, staging and screen technology. It runs on the 16th, 17th and 18th May 2002.

PLASA is now just two days away and it looks like this year’s event will be the best ever. PLASA is where you get to find out what over 400 of the industry’s leading players have been doing in the past few months. It’s got to be better than leafing through hundreds of product brochures or trawling the internet for information. Aside from the exhibition, there are plenty of things to catch the eye, including the DJ Competition on the Sunday, the newly-introduced iDJ Talk Zone offering advice to DJs, a comprehensive seminar and workshop programme, the PLASA Awards for Product Excellence, the various Feature Areas, and the many events, press launches and on-stand receptions organized by exhibitors. If you still haven’t registered for the event, don’t worry, you can register on the day. All you need to do is turn up at Earls Court 1 and register on the door. See you there.

If you’re looking for ways to entertain clients during the forthcoming PLASA Show then why not consider taking them to see some of the hottest shows in London. On the Monday evening we have tickets for the hugely popular Mamma Mia at the Prince Edward Theatre. The show starts at 7.30 and we have excellent seats in the stalls for £32.50.

We also have tickets for Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring which is part of the Proms Season at the Royal Albert Hall. These are for Wednesday 12th September with the performance commencing at 7.30pm. Again we have the best seats in the stalls for £35.00 each.

If you’re staying on in London after PLASA, we also have a number of tickets for the Divas at the Donmar show featuring Sian Phillips which takes place on Thursday 13th September at 7.30pm. Tickets £24.00. To take advantage of these offers simply visit the PLASA Stand (K19).

We’ve also been contacted by the Really Useful Group who have arranged a special ticket deal for visitors to PLASA for the Pet Shop Boys’ musical Closer to Heaven, which we reviewed in the August issue of L&SI. The offer applies to any Monday-Friday performance 10th September-28th September 2001 and gives visitors £10 discount on tickets that are usually £28.50 or £30.00. Call the Box Office on 020 7836 3334 and quote "PLASA Offer" or take your PLASA visitor badge to the Box Office.

For the first time PLASA is running an on-site clinic at the PLASA Show to lend useful business support and advice to member companies exhibiting at the event. This new initiative, which will also see the launch of a new health-related service, is aimed not only at existing PLASA members, but also at prospective members who can learn for themselves the advantages to be gained from using PLASA services. During the course of the Show, representatives from the Association's range of service providers will be on hand in the PLASA Clinic to answer questions and assist members. Services available include the following:

Telephone Interpreting Service provided by Comunicado: interpreters specializing in over 100 languages. Cost is charged per minute, less than half price to PLASA members.

Legal Advice Service provided by Sherman Phillips: advice on intellectual property, contract, leasehold matters and company matters. Free 15 minutes of advice per call. Solicitor will advise if any costs to be incurred.

PLASA Insurance Scheme provided by Allan, Chapman and James: single comprehensive policy with wide range of benefits including exhibitions, full theft cover, samples and spares, financial loss etc. Further policies include medical insurance, stakeholder pensions. Preferential rates for UK company members.

Human Resources provided by CP Associates: professional advice on human resource issues including terms of employment, pay reviews, redundancy etc. Free service to eligible members.Business Financial Reporting Service provided by Dun and Bradstreet: financial reports evalu

The small Midwestern town of Carthage, Missouri, in the US, is home to a unique amphitheatre that draws tens of thousands of visitors annually.

When Samuel Butcher, the creator of the American figurines and greeting cards featuring Precious Moments and his sons Jonathan and Don decided to develop an attraction in their home base, they turned to a creative team that included the lighting designers of Nautilus Entertainment Design for their inspiration.

The ‘Fountain of Angels’ is an open-air music and water production featuring a plaza of large programmable fountains centred around 252 bronze sculptures - some weighing as much as 1,000 pounds each. The action centres on a fountain containing a water jet that shoots 75 feet into the air, surrounded by a cathedral arch and two foam jets that are smaller versions of the main water jet. The water is held in a 100,000-gallon underground reservoir; during the peak of the performance, 16,000 gallons of water are pumped through the fountain per minute. 13 pumps with a total of 550 horsepower force the water through 560 valves, connected by over two miles of tubing to 260 water nozzles.

Surrounding the central sculptural display are two Water Castles and two Dancing Water fountains, which are animated with movement. There are four additional foam jets in this area. Finally, at the rear of the plaza is a giant fan-shaped 80ft wide mist screen and a candelabra comprising 60 individual jets creating another wall of water. The entire plaza comprises an area 170ft in diameter.

Jim Tetlow of Nautilus Entertainment Desig

As one of Germany’s biggest distributors of lighting equipment to the entertainment industry, German distributor Lightpower handles brands such as Clay Paky, MA Lighting, Rosco, ETC, Eurotruss, Rainbow Colour Changers and Pulsar. The Paderborn-based company recently provided L&SI with an insight into its role in two very different projects in southern Germany.

Known as ‘the Tent Event’, the Zelt (or ‘tent’) Musik Festival (ZMF), took place in Freiburg this summer, for the 19th consecutive year, in the heart of a very hot and humid Black Forest. With more than 100 events spread over 19 days, ZMF has a diverse appeal, attracting around 150,000 people of all ages and musical tastes, from across Europe. It also has a strong family appeal, with a cosy beer garden atmosphere, and entertainments for children during the day.

Lightpower’s involvement, which is as old as ZMF itself, has always been closely linked with their long-term ‘partner’ company, Tent Event, who not only supply all of the tents for the Festival, but also provide an ‘all-inclusive’ service, taking care of the sub-hire of lighting, sound, projection and staging equipment.

The company was originally founded by Felix Thoma as ‘Lighthouse’. Andreas Gause joined Thoma as an equal partner in 1993, and the company officially became Tent Event in 1996. However, the ‘all-inclusive’ capability and the relationship with Lightpower has remained unchanged. This multi-discipline approach has seen Tent Event provide complete tent-based te

At this year’s PLASA Show, the Association has moved its stand to a new, bigger area towards the back of the main hall - stand K19.

The move from the usual spot at the very front of the hall on stand F1 has been made in order to provide more room for the PLASA stand - which will now incorporate the PLASA Technical Bookshop - and also to allow us to develop the PLASA Clinic, which will run adjacent to the PLASA stand, on J52 (see below).

Equally importantly, the move puts us right next to the busy after-show bar (inside the new Pizza Express restaurant), which will be open every evening after show closing, allowing everyone at the show a little extra time to continue those all-important conversations!Upstairs, meanwhile, Lighting&Sound International is sponsoring the New Technology Showcase - a major display of every product nominated for a 2001 PLASA Award for Product Excellence.

PLASA Clinics
In a new PLASA initiative for 2001, PLASA is inviting all members and prospective members to take time to visit the PLASA Clinic on stand J52, to find out more about the range of services offered by the Association. Representatives from PLASA’s service providers and Head Office staff will be available on the stand to answer your questions and to show you how you can benefit from taking advantage of what PLASA offers.
Among the range of services offered by PLASA are the following:
- Comunicado - a telephone-based interpreting service, offering fast access to over 100 languages.
- Legal Advice Service provided by Sherman Philips. Covers intellectual

The JHS Event has become something of an industry fixture. Held at the company’s Garforth premises, on the outskirts of Leeds, it has quickly become part of the music business calendar, attended by significant numbers of representatives of both the retail trade and music press.

The company’s huge, purpose-built office and warehousing complex spreads over a four-acre site and ensures that the company, now the largest family-owned independent musical merchandise distributor in the UK, has an effective base for demonstrating the product lines from its extensive catalogue. And I do mean extensive - for the catalogue carries some of the music industry’s biggest names, including the innovative roundback guitar range from Ovation, for whom JHS are sole UK and Eire distributors and the famous Danelectro guitars and amps, back in the music world with a vengeance.

An early decision taken by John Hornby Skewes to carry self-branded merchandise continues to this day too, and JHS also has international distribution for its comprehensive signature Encore and Vintage acoustic and electric guitar and bass range, Antoni stringed instruments, Kinsman cases and Odyssey brass and woodwind instruments. In fact, browsing through this year’s JHS catalogue range reveals over 3000 products under some 50 brand names, with a customer base covering more than 30 different countries.

The Event is a 3D version of the catalogue, adding a social layer to the serious business of business. Arrayed across the site are exhibition marquees, a refreshment marquee, a guest exhibitor

The Illuminated Video Workshop, the Screenco-led consortium that presented two days of innovative show magic at Three Mills Island studios last winter, is set to stage the successful workshop again at the PLASA Show. Situated in the ‘AV Gallery’ of Earl’s Court’s Top Deck, Screenco’s Mike Walker has pulled together the same top-flight technical support teams from the premier event. WAlker explained: "Judging from the number of calls from people who had been unable to attend the January event, the reputation of that two-day spectacular had really spread further than we could ever have imagined. We have been inundated with calls from people, who realising that they had missed out on something special, asking whether we would ever be running it again."

Walker’s first calls were to Edwin Shirley Staging, who agreed to provide their lozenge-shaped Orbit stage - with the dome at each end - and to Chris Beale at SSE Hire, whose provision of the Out Board TiMax sound spatialising system had been one of the highlights of the event. He also contacted Simon Whittaker at Stage One Creative Services - who will again be providing their Q-Motion system to track the 15mm and 25mm Screenco modules on vertical excursions and spinning rotations - and technical director Adam Wildi. Both instantly pledged their support. Peripheral AV equipment will be provided by Screenco’s sister company, Creative Technology, who will supply plasma screens, Electrosonic Vector image processing and Doremi digital video disk recorders.

The PLASA event will

New developments are all set to keep The Showman’s Show as one of Europe’s leading outdoor events exhibitions. The show organisers have announced several changes to the Show’s format for the 2001 event, which takes place on 17 and 18 October at Newbury Showground. The changes have been implemented to ensure the show reflects the changes within the events industry and meets the requirements of modern day exhibitors and visitors.

The most striking change is the new format for the Arena in the centre of the exhibition. For the first time in the history of the event, the ring will take on one theme that will appeal to a wide range of event organisers. In the past the Arena has hosted a range of entertainment aimed predominantly at the traditional show and gala market, but organiser Stephen Lance believes that even that marketplace, like the Showman’s Show, is evolving dramatically. "Country Shows have been widening the entertainment offered for some time, but this year’s foot and mouth crisis has focused organisers on being able to offer their visitors with a wider range of attractions," said Lance. "Similarly, other public, sporting and corporate events are including diverse forms of entertainment in their programmes.

"Members of the National Association of Re-Enactment Societies will be setting up camp in the ring and entertaining visitors throughout the exhibition with mock battles and displays of pageantry. Other changes include alterations to the layout of the exhibition on Newbury Showground. The Showman’s Show D

The audio production for this summer’s Homelands England Dance Festival provided several opportunities for collaboration, reports Mike Mann.

Audio suppliers SSE Hire of Birmingham provided Nexo front-of-house and monitor systems for seven out of the nine stages at this year’s Homelands, which took place in Mattersley Bowl, near Winchester. However, the company sub-contracted the system design, supply and management of the Space Tent and VIP area to Sussex-based GPA Hire and Forefront Audio. GPA, which acts as the UK rental arm of speaker manufacturer Funktion One, provided the festival’s Space Tent and VIP enclosure with Resolution 5 systems, driven by QSC and processed using XTA controllers. "It’s been great working with SSE," enthused Forefront’s Jim Alexander, "Chris Beale knows our reputation in the dance scene and it’s nice not to be involved in a PA war." Beale had also had the opportunity to hear the Funktion One system in action at a New Year dance event in London, while the GPA rig had also seen service at this year’s Oxford May Ball.

GPA’s Jason Bacon spoke of the synergy between his company and its main supplier. "When you have the manufacturer of a system behind you, it’s a big plus. Our gigs are their gigs, and both Tony [Andrews] and John [Newsham] take a real interest in what our clients want from a system."

Jim Alexander of Forefront Audio was responsible for the link between GPA and event organisers Home, and emphasized the company’s established track record with

Bookings are now well underway for the seminar and workshop programme planned for the PLASA Show. This year the emphasis is very much on knowledge with those signing up gaining 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 they can achieve more by picking up tips and techniques from others.

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 and workshops. The ISCE is running 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.

Adam Hall Ltd, a leading manufacturer of cabinet and case hardware and audio products, will be launching several hot new products at this year's PLASA Show including 'Racklight' - an innovative way of illuminating 19" racks. Racklight will never get hot or burn out as it doesn't use conventional bulbs and comes in seven cool light source colours! Also on show this year will be many new additions to the company’s extensive range of hardware components for case, 19" rack and cabinet building, Palmer Audiotools and devices for PA, studios and installation, Adam Hall's very own brand of Bulk and Premade cables for sound and lighting, stands, the Defender II cable crossover system and Amphenol connectors, including the new 'A' type XLR for OEMs and manufacturers.

Adam Hall can be found on Stand E32.

Lamba plc will host its most expansive presentation of new products ever at the PLASA Show this year. In addition to showcasing new mixer and limited edition cartridges from Stanton - on the back of having signed up new endorsement agreements with London’s top dance venues - the company will also be presiding over a number of other major events. The full range of newly-launched Nady microphone and processing products, aimed at four distinct market sectors, will have the additional impetus of a visit from company founder John Nady, who will give an address to dealers and press in the Kensington Room on the Monday of the Show.

Lamba will also introduce their newly-acquired high-end amplification range from PSS in France, having recently been appointed exclusive UK distributors. This series will be seen for the first time in the UK. Also radically different will be a new range of purpose-designed plastic enclosures from Cerwin-Vega!, in addition to their established range of MI and installation enclosures, bearing the legendary ‘earthquake’ sub bass. At the entry level end, Lamba will have ‘complete kit’ packages from Homemix and KAM. Finally, as if that wasn’t sufficient, Lamba will also be hosting their annual party on the Tuesday evening of PLASA, at London’s legendary Limelight Club in the West End.

Lamba can be found on Stand F54.

BSS Audio will be showing the Soundweb 9088ii at PLASA this year. Its DSP engine builds on the highly successful Soundweb platform, and brings a higher performance to the audio path. The latest generation 24-bit converters are used to give a dynamic range of better than 107dB, plus a new AES/EBU digital input card extends the applications and source options for the Soundweb system. Also on show will be the Minidrive loudspeaker management systems, comprising the FDS-334 (2 inputs 4 outputs) and the FDS-336 (2 inputs 6 outputs), together with the FDS 366 Omnidrive Compact Plus.

BSS Audio can be found on Stand S30.

Martin Professional, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of automated lighting, will head to this year’s PLASA Show with a number of new products and product upgrades. These include the MAC 2000 Forma - a new version of Martin’s successful 1200W MAC 2000 profile spot which features an internal framing device for precise stage lighting and new sub-gobo rotation wheel, useful for theatrical fire and water effects. Also launched is MAC 600 NT - a new version of the popular MAC 600 featuring improved colour mixing, a CTC system and noiseless operation, perfect for noise-sensitive markets such as theatre and TV.

Also new is Wizard - a one-of-a-kind DMX-controllable ‘full-house’ effects light featuring what Martin claim is an extraordinary, magical effect never before seen in the effects lighting industry. The Wizard, which uses a high-output 250W discharge source, has two independent color/gobo wheels offering seven colours, plus two white and six gobo patterns, as well as a separate shutter for fast strobing. The Wizard delivers more than 80 agile light beams, each beam chasing the other while continuously changing colour and gobo pattern. Instant ‘show time’ is now possible with Martin MC Showtime - a user-friendly, plug and play show controller for the Martin MX series of scanners. MC Showtime is a pre-programmed ‘ready to go’ controller offering 30 ever-changing light shows.

On stand from Jem is the new Heavy Fog. Incorporating the latest in refrigeration technology, Jem’s newest heavy fogger is a more com