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14 March 2016

The latest edition of the Capital's most popular and dazzling winter event - open for six weeks from November 21 to January 4 with free admission - saw PWR Events and The Royal Parks collaborate to deliver and even wider menu of entertainment, and Showstars returned to help ensure that the event was set up on time and in perfect shape.

Hired directly by PWR Events, Showstars has been working on Winter Wonderland since its very first year with its crew preparing the whole site to enable the various suppliers to arrive and set-up their entertainment attractions.

Reporting to PW

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14 March 2016

VDC Trading will act as a full partner in the business providing technical and sales support, tendering, and the production and supply of, audio, video and data cabling from its London headquarters.

VDC Trading CEO Niall Holden said: "A major strength of Edmundson is that, like VDC Trading, the company is committed to satisfying the demands of its customers with innovative, high quality and cost effective 'branded' products sourced from the world's leading manufacturers. Likewise we both value each customer, regardless of size, and we are committed to providing a comprehensive, unrivalled service and attention to quali

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14 March 2016

P-AV Productions has been involved in the production of the X Factor, directly for Thames, since 2006. P-AV worked closely with PRG and LarMac LIVE to produce stand-out performances from Take That, Sam Smith, Ed Sheeran and One Direction, it was a massive production and visually spectacular watched by 10,000 people in the arena and a television audience of 9.1m.

Nearly 100 crew were onsite from 3-17 December, assisting with the install, show days and de-rig. During the install the crew were split into six teams; site, set, lighting, power, rigging and PA. Those based around the site were responsible for unloading trucks, setting up the stage and erecting scaffolding tower

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14 March 2016

This innovative concept aimed to offer attendees a training day in which to inform them about the latest trends and developments in the sector, as well as the solutions that these three manufacturers have developed and made available for the professionals in the AV and integration sectors.

The warm reception of the event made clear the existing interest in this innovative 'Lunch and Learn' concept. With the main objective that everyone interested in the event could attend the meeting from other countries close to Dubai and take advantage of the day, the event started at lunch time during which, simultane

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14 March 2016

In the mid-60s, Calmes and friend Angus Wynne co-founded Showco in Dallas, Texas, and set about putting on music shows. Among their early successes was a University party in Dallas headlined by Chuck Berry. Showco also brought The Beach Boys, Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin and the Doors to Dallas. In 1967 Calmes and Wynne opened a Dallas music venue, Soul City, played by stars such as Stevie Wonder, Fats Domino, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Ike and Tina Turner and Jerry Lee Lewis.

The pair sold their interest in the venue the following year and concentrated on Showco, promoting the Texas International Pop Festival in 1969. Despit

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14 March 2016

"Chaos Visual Productions will be joining forces with PRG Nocturne," says Mickey Curbishley, CEO, PRG Concert Touring. "It is very exciting to consider the creative and technical solutions that will result from this acquisition which brings together the world's two most innovative touring video companies. It also creates a single team of the most respected; experienced; and talented minds working in vid

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14 March 2016

PLASA have developed a way in which those who wish to pursue a career in rigging can identify and record the necessary training and experience. They will also be able to demonstrate their commitment to rigging to potential employers.

The scheme will provide a way of logging experience against specific rigging tasks, building a picture of the trainee's practical rigging development and training undertaken. Over time they will be able to track their development and readiness to register for competence-based assessment at Level 2 of the National Rigging Certificate.

Training providers and trainees will have access to a syllabus of learning and the National Rigging Certificate Handbook. Each trainee will have attended a health and safety course recognised by the National Rigging Advisory Group as des

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14 March 2016

Immediately following the seminar, Richard Pilbrow will be signing books on the show floor at the Group One booth #408. "High-calibre education is critical to the process of sharing ideas in design and technology, and bringing these kinds of resources to regional events such as PLASA Focus: Orlando are essential for our ever-evolving market," said Tyler Wise of Group One Limited.

Free registration to both the show floor and educational seminars can be obtained

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14 March 2016

One of the latest areas of focus is the design and management of temporary electrical systems in not only the TV and Radio world, but also in films, at events, in theatres and other similar workplaces.

Whilst the current IET Wiring Regulations BS7671 (17th Edition) qualification exists for fixed electrical systems, there has not been an agreed industry qualification for BS7909 - the Code of Practice on Temporary Electrical Systems in the Entertainment Industry.

Therefore, an industry working group involving the leading broadcasters, lighting rental companies, BECTU, PACT - representing the Independent Production Companies, several key employers and, Creative Skillset have all come together to

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14 March 2016

It is part of the company's planned expansion following robust trading worldwide in recent years, and the strategic location in Mexico's bustling Baja financial and industrial centre will benefit both Penn's Latin American and US markets with even quicker and more efficient delivery times and product options.

Penn Elcom Mexico will be headed up by MD Javier Haro with Frank McCourt heading up the sales effort. Javier has a manufacturing background owning businesses both in Tijuana and in San Diego, California. Frank's career with Penn Elcom stretches back an impressive 32 years, working for Penn both in the UK and in the USA. He has very close links with all Penn's OEM clients. They will be assis

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14 March 2016

This is a direct response to the steady general overall increase in Adlib's work in Scotland in recent years, and also specifically to service and support several important new contracts won by the company's Installations & Sales division.

The new office will be headed up by Graham Cochrane, a well-known tour and production manager in Scotland and internationally. His regular work includes production managing at the high profile T In The Park festival, and he was also involved as a PM for the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games. Adlib MD Andy Dockerty's personal working friendship with Graham stretches back many years.

Andy comments, "

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14 March 2016

The UK Sound Archive includes recordings of local accents and dialects used to monitor the evolution of the English language and sounds of rare or extinct wildlife. It also includes full recordings of theatre productions going back 40 years, including the opening night of Hamlet in the Old Vic, starring Peter O'Toole and

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14 March 2016

The new InstaBand product takes Intellitix into the reserved seated environment of permanent venues and stadia, offering clients the ability to receive their own RFID wristband instantaneously, instead of a ticket, at the moment they purchase entry to an event.

Intellitix technologies link directly to the ticketing software used by a venue, which means that having paid their admission fee, patrons will receive a waterproof RFID wristband.

The InstaBand can store a wide range of information, such as the name of the event, the seat numbers / row / section, any special VIP access requirements; it can also be branded with commercial partners' logos related to the event, and it could even bear the patron's name.

In

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14 March 2016

Ron has served with PLASA for 13 years offering health and safety advice, regulatory compliance information, technical advice and support in product compliance and environmental regulations. He offers services to many parts of the entertainment industry and continues to provide technical resources to PLASA as a contracted supplier. He offers additional services exclusively for the audio industry through RH Consulting.

Ron has played a key liaison role for Government and Regulatory agencies along with managing representation for the drafting of international, European and national standards that affect the entertainment and architectural installation industries.

He is a chartered health and safety

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14 March 2016

The PLASA (formerly ESTA) Foundation's Behind the Scenes charity has been assisting industry members in North America since 2006, providing financial assistance to entertainment technology professionals, or their immediate family, who are seriously ill or injured.

Originally modelled on the UK-based Light Relief charity, Behind the Scenes was recently extended to cover the UK entertainment technology industry as well, and brings Light Relief under its umbrella.

Under the charity's Pledge a Product programme, Chroma-Q North American master distributor, A.C. Lighting Inc., will make a contribution for every Color One

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14 March 2016

To supplement localized European and Spanish-language releases of Vectorworks 2015 last fall, Nemetschek Vectorworks' Japanese distributor, A&A Co., Ltd., hosted events at six major cities in Japan in the weeks leading up to the launch, attracting crowds of hundreds of designers wanting to test out the platform's new capabilities.

Vectorworks 2015 software features over 100 updates and new features in the areas of architecture, BIM, urban planning and entertainment design. In addition, the power of 64-bit is now integrated throughout the entire product line, allowing designers to create larger projects with increased performance and stability. These i

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14 March 2016

Rock Revival - The four surviving members of the Grateful Dead are coming back to life for a series of farewell concerts. Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, Phil Lesh and Bob Weir will reunite at Chicago's Soldier Field, nearly 20 years to the day of the last Grateful Dead concert, which took place at the same venue. The band is celebrating its 50th anniversary, and the shows from 3 to 5 July will mark their final performance.

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14 March 2016

Leighton Buzzard-based Leisuretec are distributors of professional and commercial audio, lighting, video and special effects to the trade. Cliff Dounting, managing director, commented on the new partnership: "We are very proud to be partnering with Samson, a company with a great pedigree along with an exciting product range, all of which make for a very strong fit with Leisuretec's portfolio enabling us to further grow our service and capabilities to the industry trade and in particular the MI retail sector."

Samson developed the first professional USB microphones to be used by musicians, broadcasters and podcast enthusiasts and their USB microphone is now the industry standa

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14 March 2016

AED Distribution, with offices in the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, France & Belgium, has hired several people to support its future growth into these new markets. Hans Vanderheijden, managing director at AED Distribution HQ, comments, "Over the last couple of years we have build a clear strategy to strengthen and focus on a European Master Distribution model, which enabled us to develop our distribution network in Europe. Some markets were approached directly through our own setup, in others we went to market through selected partners. As a result of our expansion into these new markets, we felt the need

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14 March 2016

The company, which provided power distribution and cabling for the London Olympics in 2012 and the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow last year, will locate its rental division to the 7,950 sq.ft unit after it agreed a five-year lease with London & Cambridge Properties, which owns and manages zone 2, 3 and 4 of the business park.

The company's other business interests - ide Systems, which focuses on sales and manufacturing, and ide Online - will continue to operate out of its headquarters in Cannock.

Managing director Ian Thomas said: "Due to the active increase in demand, our fleet based at o

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14 March 2016

Piotr Jankiewicz who is director of design and integration at Konsbud Audio, the company contracted to install the new system said, "The stage management system covers four stages located in two buildings which are separated by a street, under which is a mini stage located in the passage between the buildings. It was vital that we installed a system that guaranteed communication between all technical work stations. It had to be so much more than a straight forward intercom system."

The new system needed to be able to provide wired and wireless connection, party line

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14 March 2016

Members of the live event production industry trade association PSA can now benefit from both the uTRAC Core and Core plus packages, providing a comprehensive application for managing and tracking high-volumes of labour.

Andy Lenthall, general manager of the PSA said, "It is our ongoing aim to offer membership advantages by bringing the latest resources from credible systems to benefit their businesses."

uTRAC's founder Ronan Moore said, "Following a fantastic year of new investment and exponential feature developments, we're pleased to offer PSA members our award winning solution for more streamlined crew scheduling and improved communication with their teams. Visit us at the Event Production Show for a live

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14 March 2016

Steven M Ortiz (Cinelease global VP) comments: "We are delighted to welcome someone of Steve's calibre and proven track record to Cinelease. We view his appointment as a sign of our commitment to being the leading company in the UK. Steve Smith has a proven track record over many years that clearly identified him as being the perfect choice for this important position and we are proud that he has agreed to join Cinelease".

Steve Smith said: "I am very proud to start this new challenge with Cinelease. This has been a very important decision for me and I have been very impressed with the Cinelease team and their

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14 March 2016

Sir Richard, who has been the President of Rose Bruford College since 2010 and was director of Great Britain's National Theatre for a decade from 1987 to 1997, is currently working on a number of theatre and television projects, including an adaption for BBC 2 of Ronald Harwood's play the The Dresser, that stars two great theatrical knights--Sir Anthony Hopkins and Sir Ian McKellen.

The talk centred around readings from Sir Richard's latest book What Do I Know? People, Politics and the Arts (Nick Hern books) and was followed by questions from the audience.

Personal stories of Judi Dench, John Mortimer, Alan Bennett, Margaret Thatcher and Mary Soames (Winston Churchill's daughter) kept the audien