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Cultural Moves - John Whittingdale is to take over from Sajid Javid as UK culture secretary, Prime Minister David Cameron has said. Whittingdale has been chair of the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport select committee for a decade. One of his first duties will be to oversee negotiations for the BBC's charter renewal. Last October, he said the TV licence "was unsustainable over 20 to 50 years", it was "worse than a poll tax" and must be "tweaked immediately". He will also face the prospect of cuts to his department, the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, as the new government seeks to eliminate the national budget deficit.

Lack of Funds - The BBC Performing Arts Fund will close after 13 years in March next year. Its funding, by revenue from phone voting in shows like Strictly Come Dancing and The Voice, has significa

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Belgium - ArKaos PRO will be hosting two hands-on courses as part of InfoComm's education programme. ArKaos sales manager & project coordinator, Benjamin Bauwens, will lead the comprehensive training sessions which will provide participants with everything required to setup, programme and run a show using MediaMaster PRO. Topics will include video mapping, edge blending, 3D mapping and advanced geometrical correction. Each half-day session provides focused, hands-on training with the new MediaMaster Pro V4.2 software and media servers range.

The course is designed for creative lighting designers and professional video operators and programmers who wish to establish a solid core of media server knowledge on one of the most powerful and economical media server solutions on the market.

Session Times: Wednesday 17 June 9:00am - 1:00pm - LT02 Arkaos Media Server Training; Thursday

Claypaky - Banner - Mar25
Doughty - Banner - Feb-Dec25
HOF - Banner - March 2025

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UK/Italy - Showforce and Italian event and modelling agency BeA Models, have signed an agreement that will see the two companies working closely together in the Middle East.

The partnership will allow Showforce to offer its clients throughout the Middle East high-end event personnel and models from BeA's team. As a successful company in Italy they boast an impressive client roster of both national and international businesses including Mercedes Benz, Breitling, Ray-Ban, S. Pelligrino and Veuve Cliquot.

Ian Spendlove, Showforce's chief executive, commented on the partnership, "I met Guiseppe when conducting some recent business in Milan for Expo 2015 and was really impressed with their approach, professionalism and client list. With the number of international brands and companies promoting themselves in the region there is definitely a market in the Middle East for the se

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South Africa - For the first year, Blond Productions supplied the full technical for the Main Stage and second year at Kyknet Stage at ABSA Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees (Little Karoo National Arts Festival - KKNK), with extra equipment and crew supplied by MGG Productions. The Prolyte grid, with the inclusion of 12 new Prolyft Aetos 500kg motors, was lit with Robe fixtures.

The festival, some 1,120 kilometres from Johannesburg and 400 kilometres from Cape Town, is now embraced by all the towns people as accommodation is booked up with people flocking in to see theatre on a big scale - some are hosted in the 'veld' - and to enjoy the big names on stage and wonderful Little Karoo hospitality. This year's festival was hosted from 3 -11 April.

Besides the main stage, which included a line up of the top Afrikaans names in music, the entire town of Oudtshoorn was transformed for

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UK - The green generators of Film & TV Services are a familiar sight on many events and are responsible for powering the location shoots and OBs of countless TV shows and sports matches across the country and around the world. It was started by Eddie and Julie Fegan back in September 1977, their first job being the fire services annual conference in Bridlington, which they lit for BBC News. The work for the BBC grew and they took on two part time staff and a transit van loaded with a couple of redheads and blondes, which ran around doing reactive news and conference work all over the country.

Around 1995, during their early years of the European Golf Tour, Julie and Eddie had been in talks with Barry Johnson from Carlton TV about building their first broadcast twinset. In conjunction with specialist coachbuilders A Smith of Great Bentley and sales manager John Evans, they built

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South Africa - A team from DWR Distribution entered The Jeep Warrior Race hosted by Advendurance at Hakahana Trails near Hatebeespoort Dam situated in the North West Province of South Africa on 10 May.

"It looked like fun," said Nicolet Britz, the only fearless female competitor from the DWR team. "And it was. The best part was the mud pit and jumping from a 6m high platform into the water."

The idea to enter the competition came from Robert Izzett and the team included Keith Pugin and his son Tyler, Eazy Moeketsi, Schalk Botha, Grant Joubert, Nicolet Britz and Duncan Riley.

The Warrior Race is an obstacle course racing series that spans eight events across four provinces. The event features three distances of increasing difficulties, sparking an obstacle-racing craze that has seen the event grow from 40,000 people in the first year to 80,000 since Jeep S

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Theatre Report - Musical theatre accounts for more than half of all box office income despite comprising just 15% of all productions staged, a report has suggested. Full findings from the British Theatre Repertoire report shows that musical theatre shows made up just 15% of all productions staged in 2013, with plays forming 72%. In total, 2,196 shows were assessed, of which 329 were musicals. The report was published by the British Theatre Consortium in conjunction with the Society of London Theatre and UK Theatre.

Motown Magic - Motown the Musical is to open in the West End. The musical, which premiered on Broadway in 2013, will begin previews at the Shaftesbury Theatre in February 2016. The show had initially been planned to run at the Dominion Theatre. Featuring more than 50 Motown tracks, the musical tells the story behind the record label's success.

Motown f

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UK - Northern Stage Services Ltd has unveiled a new corporate brand following the acquisition of the business of Lancelyn Lighting and Lancelyn Theatre Supplies in February this year.

Now operating as National Stage Technology Ltd the company is able to offer UK-wide services for specialist lighting, sound and stage solutions for the theatrical, architectural and construction markets. National Stage Technology, based out of Manchester, Wirral and Oxford, boasts access to world-class manufacturing, highly trained and experienced lighting specialists, sound and stage engineering experts.

Patrick Colin, managing director at National Stage Technology, commented: "Northern Stage's acquisition of the business of Lancelyn Lighting and Lancelyn Theatre Supplies earlier this year has added strength and depth to our company, and our new unified approach is certain to benefit all of

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Edinburgh Rocked - Edinburgh's position as the world's pre-eminent festival city faces challenges from the digital revolution, public investment and city infrastructure, according to a new report. Thundering Hooves 2.0 is a £50,000 report commissioned by the city's festivals forum, the umbrella body for public organisations that have a vested interest in the success of the city's 12 key festivals. It builds on an original 2006 report when it was feared that the "thundering hooves" of other cities could be heard overtaking Edinburgh's status as the UK's preeminent festival city.

The new report makes 38 recommended actions, across six themes, which it says will allow the city's festivals to evolve and cope with future challenges. The festivals are described as being "behind the curve on digital innovation". To combat this, it is recommended that th

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UK - Following Chelsea FC's success in lifting the Barclays Premier League and the Capital One Cup this season, Bank Holiday Monday 25 May saw innovision manage the Club's triumphant victory parade through the streets of West London, with over 70,000 fans out in force to celebrate the team's achievements.

Joining Jose Mourinho's First Team on the open-top parade was the academy side who enjoyed a stellar 2014/15 season, picking up the FA Youth Cup and UEFA Youth League trophies.

Working closely with the Club, innovision project managed all elements of the parade, as well as creating a strategic event framework for the delivery of complex road closures, crowd management and health and safety programmes.

With agreement from London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham, Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea and the Metropolitan Police, three open-top buses left the Stamford Bridge we

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Italy - ARX Systems has appointed Bregnano based Etabeta Electronics spa as their new exclusive distributor for Italy.

ARX's MD Colin Park said, "Etabeta Electronics spa are a well-known and respected Italian distributor, here at ARX we're looking forward to working with Roberto Santini and the team at Etabeta Electronics.

"They're very enthusiastic about the possibilities for the growing ARX digital and analogue product range amongst their extensive dealer base throughout Italy."

Etabeta Electronics president Roberto Santini said, "ARX fits perfectly in our portfolio to help our installation, live sound, corporate, broadcast and studio customers."

Etabeta Electronics was founded by Roberto Santini in 1985 to distribute professional audio equipment, initially representing Cerwin Vega servicing the Italian disco market.

Subsequently, Etabeta adapt

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USA - Steve Moles reports for LSi: Excepting the Rolling Stones and, Lord preserve us, Ted Nugent, it's hard to imagine that anything in rock and roll has lasted thirty five years. Yet here we are in Nashville rocking up outside the doors of Spectrum Sound and yup, they just turned thirty five years of age. Barely middle-aged by most other measures, Spectrum is in the world of Pro Audio, a grand old man. Company founder Ken Porter is the kind of guy you can imagine becoming President of the student body at high school; he is also a consummate salesman. In that sense he is not typical of the characters who have grown the audio industry in the US. Yes, he has established a reputation for Spectrum built on delivery of high quality audio, but when it comes to business there is nothing typical about Porter, or his company.

"I grew up in a musical family, my Mom was a chur

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UK - The industry is mourning Max Lindsay-Johnson, director of international sales at Community Professional Loudspeakers who passed away suddenly in France last Thursday, 21 May.

Steve Johnson, Community's CEO said, "We are all deeply saddened by the loss of Max, who was one of the audio industry's most respected members. He was a true professional and had a smile for everyone, with the warmth of personality that made him a good friend to those he worked with."

Community's founder, Bruce Howze, also shared, "Max was a special person and a joy to work with. He became a friend and I will miss him greatly."

Max Lindsay-Johnson started his audio career by training as a sound engineer at the School of Sound Recording in Manchester, England. He moved to the sales side with A1 Music Centre, developing his career with Sound Technology, Arbiter and Harman. His pr

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Rock School - Andrew Lloyd Webber's new musical, School of Rock, set to open in the autumn, will be showcased this week as part of a series of concerts in New York. The concerts will take place at the Gramercy Theatre from 3-6 June. Lloyd Webber has previously said he chose New York to open his latest musical because of the more relaxed child licensing rules in America. In a targeted email, Lloyd Webber described the School of Rock concerts as being "highly-staged". He said the concerts would work better than an out-of-town tryout or extended preview period because "the wonders of technology get in the way of genuinely trying out new work". This month's concerts coincide with the Tony Awards weekend in New York, when producers, investors and theatre operators converge on Manhattan.

Liza's Back - Liza Minnelli is to return to the London Pa

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USA - The Media Networking Alliance has announced the appointment of chairmen for its Technical and Marketing Working Groups, nominating Kevin Gross and Will Hoult to the respective positions.

Kevin Gross is founder of AVA Networks and a leading independent consultant to AV equipment manufacturers and systems designers. He is a pioneer in media networking, having previously conceived and developed the CobraNet transport protocol for high-quality audio over Ethernet networks. He also helped build the first configurable DSP system and developed early DAW products.

On taking up the chair of the MNA Technical Working Group, he stated, "The technical activities of the MNA, as with everything the MNA does, will focus on adoption of AES67. Technical activities that can improve adoption include development of implementation resources, technical education initiatives and technical

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UK - Production industry consultancy entertaining sustainability returns to the ABTT Theatre Show in 2015, as the show moves to London's historic Alexandra Palace on 24-25 June.

Centre stage on Stand E25 will be a live demonstration of :entertaining sustainability's real-time monitoring system from MeasureMyEnergy, giving visitors to the show an opportunity to see how a building's energy, water and gas consumption can be interrogated down to one-minute resolution. Using such systems can result in annual savings of 10% - 20% through the ability to target energy-efficiency measures.

Also available for demo will be the system's inbuilt reporting system, which makes short work of generating the outputs needed for Arts Council, Creative Scotland, CRC, ESOS, IG Tools, and other compulsory/voluntary legislative programmes. Advice on financing the equipment, such as the Energy Efficie

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UK - To mark the arrival of their new Luton van, Showforce has launched a competition on social media. Anyone who spots the van onsite or in transit should take a photo and upload it to Twitter or Instagram. The posts should mention @showforcegroup (Twitter) or @showforcegram (Instagram) and include the hashtag #vanspotting. They will then be entered into a prize draw to win a free four-hour 'Man and Van' call. The prize worth £250 is available to anyone with the Greater London area. The winners will be announced via Twitter and Instagram on 1 July.

Anya Roszkowiak, Showforce's business development director said, "Our 'Man and Van' service can be booked by the hour and has proven extremely popular with clients. An experienced driver is on hand to ensure goods are delivered and loaded both securely and on time. It's perfect for last minute pick-ups and deliveries, the

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Germany - ASC has expanded its maritime projects business area with the arrival of Dirk Schmerschneider to cover the yachting/residential sectors.

Dirk Schmerschneider has been responsible for the newly created yachting/residential business area since December 2014 as key account manager at ASC. He reports in this position directly to ASC's management. With his experience as a project manager for entertainment systems on luxury mega-yachts, he has added to the Hamburg-based system integrator's expertise in the field of Maritime Projects and has extended it strategically to encompass a target group made up of exclusive private clients.

Leif Witte of ASC management, comments, "Dirk Schmerschneider represents the next logical step in the expansion of our maritime projects business area. We have had repeated enquiries from private ship owners during our activities as a system

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UK - Shannon Harvey has joined Backstage Academy as course leader on the BA (Hons) Visual Production degree. Harvey previously worked as account manager at d3 Technologies - one of the course's core supporters - and will now be responsible for running the degree and ensuring it delivers against the industry's current skills requirements and technology.

Harvey's experience covers the architectural, theatrical and entertainment industries, working with lighting, video, projection and special effects projects on a wide range of applications.

Said Backstage Academy's Sara Gleadhall, "Shannon Harvey is a huge asset to the course and brings with him a wealth of knowledge on video and lighting system design as well as a unique creative vision which means he is an all-round inspiration for the students.

"Entertainment technology is evolving so rapidly that we need to draw

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Record Sales - One Direction, Ed Sheeran and Coldplay helped UK artists account for one in seven of the albums sold globally during 2014, the BPI has said. With 13.7% of worldwide sales, it's the highest British share since the BPI began recording those figures in 2000. Sales of albums by British artists rose in Canada, Australia, Italy and Sweden, as well as the US. Albums from Sam Smith and Pink Floyd also made the top ten list of the world's biggest-sellers of 2014.

According to the BPI's Music Market 2015 report, Taylor Swift topped the list of global recording artists, after shifting six million copies of her album 1989. The figures, which take into account album sales, track sales and streams, put One Direction in second place and Sheeran in third. The BPI also found that streaming had doubled in the UK during 2014.

Royal Ruler - Dame Helen Mirren was named

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USA / Canada - Another draft American National Standard has been posted for public review on the PLASA TSP website at http://tsp.plasa.org/tsp/documents/public_review_docs.php: BSR E1.51 - 201x, The Selection, Installation, and Use of Single-Conductor Portable Power Feeder Cable Systems for Use at 600 Volts Nominal or Less for the Distribution of Electrical Energy in the Television, Film, Live Performance and Event Industries in Canada. Its public review period runs through 3 August, 2015; the review is over and the links to the review materials disappear when 4 August starts.

BSR E1.51 is intended to offer guidance in accordance with existing applicable standards and regulations in Canada on how to select, install, use and maintain single-conductor portable feeder cables used to supply power for television, film, live performance, and special events in Canada. Materially affect

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UK - The Lifting Equipment Engineers Association (LEEA) has issued a warning to UK employers about the risks of being misled regarding their obligation to undertake periodic thorough examination of all lifting equipment.

The advice reflects growing concerns within the lifting industry that some companies are being tempted to cut costs by not conducting thorough examinations as frequently as required by LOLER (Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations).

Geoff Holden, chief executive of LEEA, said: "All UK employers are subject to LOLER, which clearly states that, once in service, lifting equipment for lifting persons or accessories for lifting must be thoroughly examined by a competent person every six months. Lifting accessories include commonly used items such as shackles, steels, hooks and round slings. Only for lifting equipment that does not fall into one o

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UK - Hylec-APL, the specialist supplier of electrical and electronic components, enclosures and rack systems, has announced the Techno TH392 waterproof connector with X-Dry technology. All cables are hydroscopic to some degree and will therefore absorb moisture that can collect inside the cable sheath, moving along its length and even crossing terminations in the cable. The X-Dry technology blocks moisture transmission across terminals, protecting electrical and electronic equipment.

"The special barrier prevents moisture condensation, which runs through the cable, from entering the connector, protecting the system in critical conditions of use," said Mark Severn, director of sales for Hylec-APL.

The connectors have screw or piercing terminals and can accept cables with diameters from 8 to 12mm; maximum cable cross section is 4mm2 for screw terminals and 0.5 to 1.5mm

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Canada - KRE Electric has announced the availability of a unique tool to serve all industries where the use of single pole cam lock type connectors is common.

"Like many great inventions, once seen, everyone remarks 'why didn't I think of that, it is so obvious'. For anyone who has run a 500-foot, five-wire cam lock feed made up of 100-foot lengths, relief is here. The Cam Wrench is designed to remove the pressure on your wrist and elbow to delay or avoid the onset of tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis). This type of injury is caused by the repetitive motion of tightening (adding pressure) of the cam lock devices and golfers elbow (medial epicondylitis), which is caused by the release of pressure (un-tightening) of the cam lock devices," says KRE.

This simple tool allows individuals working with cam lock type connectors to avoid repetitive stress and apply leverage

  1. The Week in Lighting & Sound
  2. Theatre industry gathers for Bruford on the South Bank
  3. Showforce gets behind the wheel for Behind the Scenes UK karting day
  4. AC-ET announces charity cycle ride in memory of Kevin Fitz-Simons
  5. The First Night Riders charity ride set for July
  6. The First Night Riders charity ride embarks in July
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