UK - The PSA Welfare & Benevolent Fund accepted a donation of £500 from Clay Paky's Knights of Illumination Awards at this year's PLASA Show. A cheque was handed over by Clay Paky president and managing director Pasquale Quadri and marketing manager Enrico Caironi to Britannia Row Productions' Mike Lowe, one of the Fund's Trustees.
The only awards exclusively dedicated to lighting designers, the Knight of Illumination Awards are the result of an idea launched by Clay Paky and organised by the Italian firm in collaboration with STLD and ALD. The four awards categories are for Theatre, TV, Rock and a Lifetime Recognition award.
Enrico Caironi said: "We are delighted to offer our support to this established industry charity that helps Production Services Association members and their families at times of crisis."
PSA Welfare & Benevolent Fund Chairman Mike Lowe commented: "This was a very kind gesture by Clay Paky and we are very grateful for their generosity."
(Jim Evans)
Singapore - Wireless Solution Sweden recently saw its W-DMX reach new heights. The Singapore Flyer is the world's largest observation wheel on the southeast tip of the Marina Centre in Singapore. Reaching a height of 165m (541ft), the wheel exceeds the height of the London Eye by 30m.
Lighting designer Douglas Brenan of Project Lighting Design (PLD) envisioned a dynamic display of light and changing colour with an eco-friendly solution. PLD worked together with Philips SSL Solutions for the lighting design. Philips SSL Solutions recommended Color Kinetics LED modules for the spokes and capsules. The biggest challenge was getting the DMX signal to the units. This required some innovative wireless technology. After careful planning, W-DMX by Wireless Solution was chosen as the most reliable choice.
The LED modules consist of 280 Color Kinetics iColor Accent Powercore, 112 2-Foot Color Kinetics iColor Accent Powercore, 224 Color Kinetics iColor Blast, 12 Powercore, and one Color Kinetics Light System Manager. Four W-DMX BlackBox transmitters were positioned to handle four DMX Universes, together with 28 W-DMX BlackBox Receivers.
"Working on a large moving structure made this a very challenging project," says Tony Symms, project lighting manager for Creative Lighting Asia, who supplied the equipment, "All installation, testing and commissioning work had to be organised with the main contractor to get the wheel into the right position when required. We also had a very limited working period, as we could only work from late at night until early morning
Unexpected News - The Spice Girls have beaten Led Zeppelin to an award for the best music reunion of the last 12 months. The girl group won best live return at the Vodafone Live Music Awards after getting back together for a world tour. It was judged to have been better than the one-off comeback by rock legends Led Zeppelin, with The Verve and James also nominated.
Emma Bunton was the only Spice Girl present, and said she was "a bit shocked" to beat such venerable rock acts as Led Zeppelin. The pop group's victory will raise eyebrows among rock fans, but Bunton told the BBC News website: "The thing is, when you go to a gig, you go for fun and entertainment and a night out. And that's exactly what we did and I think that's why people enjoyed it so much."
Theatre News - Up to 95 publicly-funded theatres across England are to offer free tickets to young adults as part of a £2.5m government-funded scheme. From next year until 2011, the theatres will offer free tickets - at least one day each week - to 18 to 26-year-olds on a first-come, first-served basis. Theatres including London's National Theatre and the Birmingham Rep will be eligible to apply for the scheme.
The scheme follows recommendations made in a recent government review about engaging young people. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) said that, after consulting with venues, the idea had been translated into "a long-term and sustainable opportunity to engage young people and build a new audience over a period of time.
Back in July, Doctor Who star Catherine Tate
UK - HSL once again supplied lighting for the main stage at Bestival on the Isle of Wight which muddily concluded the 2008 UK festival season, as Britain was lashed by storms, high winds and torrential rain causing widespread chaos.
HSL has been involved with Bestival since its inception in 2004. Once again its team, led on site by Rory MacKay and in the office by Mike Oates, worked closely with site and event production managers John Gray and Lee Charteris, and producer Loudsound Events' Jim King.
The main stage production lighting design was created by Steven Abbiss. He looked at the principal headlining band's spec' and created a "house" design that would work for them, along with their assorted specials packages, plus the raft of other performers taking to the stage over the weekend. As always with a festival situation, flexibility and adaptability was the key to the design, which involved some intense overnight re-rigs on Friday and Saturday.
The Main stage was a 20m Star Events orbit style roof, under which HSL sub-hung its own trusses, fitted to the shape of the ceiling and maximising the available space. In the centre they installed an 'H' shaped truss, flanked on both sides by upstage/downstage trusses providing side lighting positions. At the back were two additional cross stage trusses, one for visiting artists' screens and/or backcloths, and the other for lights.
The moving lights were all Robe. They used 12 Robe ColorSpot 2500E ATs and 12 ColorWash 2500E ATs. There were also 12 Robe ColorSpot and ColorWash 700E ATs, 20 Martin Profession
Ireland - Over 200 Robe units were used site-wide at the 2008 Electric Picnic Arts & Music Festival, supplied by leading Irish lighting rental company Just Lite, who lit all 15 performance stages at the event.
Set in the picturesque environs of Stradbally Hall, County Laois, the festival was presented by Pod Concerts & Aiken Promotions. Liam McCarthy, who also stage-managed the main stage, designed lighting for all stages.
The designs were based on the need to accommodate the requirements of the headlining acts along with any specials packages, also providing a dynamic 'house' rig for everyone's shows. McCarthy comments: "Robe is an excellent moving light for events like this - they are mega bright, reliable and stand up well to the unpredictable weather."
There were five main music stages including the Main Open Air Stage, The Electric Arena, Crawdaddy, The Little Big Stage, Cosby and the Body Tonic Dance arena, which also included two smaller areas, Twisted Pepper and Bernard Shaw. The Robes used were a mix of 2500s, 1200s, 700s and 575s - of which Just Lite has the largest stock in Ireland.
On the main stage, which measured 60 x 60 ft and consisted of four arches, the lighting rig was hung off a series of sub-hung overhead and side trusses. The moving lights were 28 Robe ColorWash and 24 ColorSpot 1200E ATs, arranged across all the trusses.
Control was via two Road Hog Full Boars and a Wing, babysat by Darragh McAuliffe, and crew chief for this stage was Brendan Swanton. Headliners included Sigor Ros, Goldfrapp, George Clinton, Franz Ferdinand,
UK - Zero 88 has announced the winners of its LightFactory competition, which was held on each day of PLASA08.
On Sunday, Monday and Tuesday visitors who came to the stand to see the product were entered into a free draw with the chance of winning a 1 Universe LightFactory package.
The winners were Nick Cooke of German LED manufacturer Schnick Schnack, Swedish lighting designer Johan Friberg and Danilo Pedros from Italian Lighting company DTS.
On the final day, the prize draw not only included a 1 Universe LightFactory package but also the new Programming and Playback wings launched at the show. Ismael Portelli from Nexos Lighting Technology in Malta was the lucky recipient of this prize.
(Jim Evans)
UK - Highlite International (UK) Ltd, the exclusive distributor of Antari Smoke and effects machines completed the first sales of the new HZ-500 Pro Hazer, prior to its launch in the UK at the 2008 PLASA show. Knight International of Chelmsford, Essex, UK, took the first HZ-500 Pro Hazers into its hire fleet, to replace the older Antari HZ-400s.
Phil Knight, MD of Knight International, commented: "Our Antari Hz-400s have done some good years service for us and when I saw the prototype model of the new HZ-500 at the Frankfurt show back in March this year, I knew this was the machine I needed to replace them with. It is ideal as it is already flightcased, which is so important in pro rental markets these days! The machine has an incredible low noise which is also important on pro production and TV work, and it also produces a dry haze. I am very pleased with the new HZ-500s and will be adding more to our rental fleet in the future.
(Lee Baldock)
UK - After being absent from the PLASA show floor for the past four years, Selecon returned to PLASA08 with some new faces, a raft of new product and a new logo for visitors to meet and see as well as the full product line of theatrical and specialised display lighting.
"We decided to attend this year to meet our many new customers from the far-flung regions of Continental Europe, and we were successful in reaching these important new contacts. Attendees from Russia, Poland, Azerbaijan, Romania, Bulgaria and Israel together with our dealers from the UK visited the Selecon stand where we showed the latest new products released this year," reports Michael Goldberg, Selecon's European sales and marketing director.
These new products included the high frequency, variable voltage 80V Direct DMX Power Supply which supplies 80V to energy efficient 1200W lamps for the Pacific range and the Rama 175 High Performance Fresnel. The resulting light is bright and white with the output of, or near to an equivalent 2.0/2.5kW mains voltage luminaire.
Visitors with an interest in specialised display were able to get their hands on Selecon's latest addition to the architectural line - the small, slim-line Wing range of Wall Washer Floods which offer the choice of traditional tungsten halogen light sources as well as the latest in energy saving high quality metal halide and fluorescent lamps.
(Jim Evans)
UK - White Light's installation team has provided the Richard Challoner School in New Malden with a comprehensive lighting installation for its newly-created drama studio.
The school has created its new facility by converting a former gymnasium to provide a flexible and intimate studio that can be used either as a studio space or, at the push of a button to bring out the electrically-powered retractable seating, as a studio theatre.
White Light's Roger Hennigan liaised with the school's head of drama, Neil Zoladkiewicz to work out the most efficient use of the school's budget to provide the most flexible and useful set of facilities.
"White Light suggested and advised on options, showing a keen understanding of the educational requirements of the new studio as well as the need to create an exciting new performance space," Zoladkiewicz notes. "As a result the equipment they have installed has already proved to be student friendly, and highly appropriate for both training purposes and for drama examination requirements."
The lighting system comprises a fixed Andolite lighting grid with 80 outlets (including floor-level outlets) fed by a mains patch, a house light system, a 48-way dimmer system consisting of LSC Eko dimmers, an LSC maXim LP memory lighting console plus lanterns from ETC (Source Four Zooms), Robert Juliat (RJ310 Fresnels) and Thomas (four-cell floods).
The project also encompassed backstage lighting, a worklight system with dimmable fluorescents and GDS Blue Dome LED fixtures, an intercom system, a small sound system (EV SX3
UK - Global Design Solutions has announced the appointment of Andy Duffield in the newly created position of business development manager.
Duffield's main objectives will be to reinforce GDS' product portfolio, supporting its global distributor TMB in its existing markets, whilst also developing new business. He will be responsible for establishing new products into new and existing marketplaces.
Matt Lloyd of GDS comments: "Andy brings with him a wealth of experience and technical knowledge over several markets, he reinforces our quality-driven approach to business. We are delighted to have him on board and look forward to an exciting future."
(Jim Evans)
Europe - Three new venues across Europe with very different system requirements are benefitting from the Jands Vista's approach to lighting control.
Finnish professional systems integrator, Electrosonic Lightinen Oy Ab, has supplied Jands Vistas to the Levi Summit venue in Lapland. Multi-purpose facilities, hi-tech equipment and an auditorium large enough to stage world-class performances and major product launches make the Levi Summit a first class venue for diverse events.
When tasked with providing the best lighting control system available for the main auditorium, Electrosonic specified a Jands Vista T4 as the main console and Vista PC with M1 playback hardware as a secondary console. The Vistas can be remotely controlled via the building's AMX system, enabling seamless automation of the auditorium's lighting and AV systems. A rack of Jands FPX units provides the lighting rig's dimming.
Distributor A.C. Entertainment Technologies has supplied a Jands Vista to The Grand in Clitheroe, UK. The former cinema has been completely revamped as a multi-million pound live music venue, studio and AV installation with the ability to record performances in HD audio and video.
With the venue used for many different events, each with their own technical requirements, A.C. Entertainment Technologies was contracted by audio installation specialist Wigwam to provide a system featuring lighting, rigging, and a substantial electrical and network infrastructure, which offered the venue total flexibility. Central to the system is a Jands Vista T2 console, which controls variou
UK - Point Source Productions were approached back in April of this year by the Communications Department at Guy's and St Thomas' Charity in London to supply a lighting, sound and AV solution for their charity's showcase event. This took the form of an awards ceremony to celebrate the charity's contribution to health service innovation and improvement.
The event took place in the historic Governor's Hall at St Thomas' Hospital - a room lined with Victorian wood panelling. The brief was to provide lighting which would accentuate the features of the room without damaging the valuable fabric of the building, and to provide entrance lighting to the event and sting lighting during the Award Ceremony itself.
Point Source Productions rose to the challenge providing a number of free-standing lighting fixtures to create maximum effect with no damage.
ChromaQ ColorBlock DB4 LED uplighters were used to highlight the architecture of the room, powered and programmed using the unit's built-in Variable Effects Engine. Providing general stage cover were a number of ETC Source 4 Junior zoom profiles, chosen for their compact dimensions combined with a punchy light output. Two Martin MAC 550 with full colour custom gobos, from Rosco, of the Guy's and St Thomas' Charity logo were set to circle the room slowly as the guests entered and also provided the ballyhoo around the room on the presentation of each award.
The whole was controlled from a laptop running Jands Vista, using a Path Port DMX Manager Plus from Pathway to output DMX via Art-Net.
Point Source Productions supplie
USA - Elation Professional has combined its Tri-Color LED Technology with its compact-profile Opti stage par can, introducing the new Opti Tri Par. A trim, DMX-controllable high-output RGB theatrical light with 18 x 3W LEDs, the Opti Tri Par is designed for use in theatres, churches, concerts, productions, displays, runways - anywhere colour-changing stage lighting is needed.
"We are very pleased to offer our popular Opti stage light with new, advanced Tri-Color LED Technology," said Eric Loader, director of sales for Elation Professional. "This technology is a vast improvement over single-colour LED RGB fixtures, where if you were mixing, say, the colour magenta, only the red and blue lamps would be on and the green lamps would be turned off. By contrast, if you were creating magenta with the Opti Tri Par, all 18 lamps would remain on and only the green LED within each lamp would be off. One look is all it takes is to notice the huge difference this makes in the quality of the mixed colours, enhanced clarity and amplified brightness."
(Jim Evans)
Russia - Tyumen's Theatre of Drama in Siberia has installed a grandMA system. The main objective for the installation was to develop an up-to-date complex which will provide the lighting designer with the tools to create shows, for all levels of complexity.
For convenient working practice it was necessary to design a complete system which includes all aspects of lighting: control, dimming, networking and media. The project was carried out by TSPR (Teatr Stroy-Proekt R) - the distributor for MA lighting in Russia. Alexei Kopylov and Alexandr Kontorovich were the lighting designers for the project.
In order to light the main auditorium, with 795 seats, 66 5kVA dimmer-channels, 300 3kVA dimmer-channels, 524 control channels for moving lights and about 1,400 channels for media servers were required.
A grandMA full-size was chosen as the main lighting console. Additionally a server with grandMA onPC software and two MA NSP's were used as a backup system.
For video projection three media servers were installed with grandMA video software. Projection is performed using two Publitec beaMover 57 and one Sanyo unit.
(Jim Evans)
UK - The PLASA08 exhibition (7-10 September, Earls Court, London) has bucked the general exhibition industry trend in spectacular style with an 11 per cent growth in visitor figures across the event's four days compared to 2007. The 13,000+ attendance figure (subject to ABC audit) reflects an exceptional level of visitor pre-registration as well as a growth in new and returning exhibitors to an expanded show floor, say organisers PLASA Events Ltd.
"The show's success was due to a combination of factors," said Director of Events Nicola Rowland, "in particular a targeted marketing campaign combined with special online registration offers; a growth in exhibitor numbers; even more new product launches than in 2007; a greatly expanded educational programme; and improved visitor and exhibitor facilities.
"Combined with the effort that so many exhibitors made to put on a great show, the overall event was compelling and visitors responded to that."
The show also marked the start of the run-up to London 2012 with the British capital now the official Olympics host city, and many of the companies involved in Beijing's remarkable opening and closing ceremonies were on hand at PLASA08.
Technology trends were in evidence across the show floor and in the Innovations Gallery, where the 2008 Awards for Innovation nominees were showcased. PLASA Show newcomer the Royal Shakespeare Company took the first ever Gold Award for their ingenious LightLock concept, while Soundtracs/DiGiCo's John Stadius received the prestigious Gottelier Award.
For the first
UK - Proteus Displays reports a great success at PLASA08. The company was launching a new, ultra low power reflective display screen for indoor or outdoor use, also called Proteus, which represents the first reflective display product of its type.
Dr Tim Coker, CEO, comments: "This was our first time at PLASA and we were uncertain how this new product would be received amid today's difficult financial climate. A little to our surprise, the buzz the product has generated has been beyond all our expectations, amplified of course by the Innovation Award. We have seen that this industry has an appetite for new technologies and ideas and every visitor to our stand was most enthusiastic about the product."
For the first time the PLASA Innovation Awards included an environmental prize and Proteus was the inaugural winner. Dr Coker continues: "It has been through developing a good product first that has enabled us to deliver a genuinely environmentally friendly display. Proteus wasn't developed just to be green, it was developed to offer designers something new and something better to work with, something that isn't already in the market. Receiving the award has been a great boost to us, giving us early recognition from the industry, and it is also a genuine asset for our customers to show that they can offer new and genuinely green technologies to their clients."
(Jim Evans)
UK - Lighting rental specialist HSL supplied designer Nick Jevons of Electric Fly Productions with lighting and rigging equipment for the main stage and for site-wide architectural highlighting at the 2008 Beck's Fusion Festival. This was held at Castlefield's Arena in Manchester.
HSL and Electric Fly also recently collaborated to supply all production lighting and design for the 2008 Global Gathering dance festival, and Jevons states, "HSL is always my first choice for lighting rentals. Mike Oates (HSL's project manager) and his team have been fantastic - as always - in providing great service and excellent kit". For this event Electric Fly was working for live brand experience producers, Sevens 7.
The highlight of the two-day music and arts event was a performance from Massive Attack and United Visual Artists (UVA) - the last show of a summer tour that HSL has also been supplying with lighting equipment. Also featured at Beck's Fusion 2008 were New York disco revivalists Hercules and Love Affair and fellow New Yorker Santogold, plus The Presets and Midnight Juggernauts from Australia, Das Pop from Belgium, Sonny J from Liverpool and Manchester's own Elektrons.
Jevons designed a gently asymmetric festival lighting rig that would work for everyone using the stage.
He selected several architectural features like railway arches, bridges, viaducts, pillars and stanchions to be illuminated.
The stage was supplied by Star Events and built straddling two canal lock basins. Lighting was based around 6 runs of 6m A-type trussing all raked at different hei
UK - Batmink Ltd, one of the UK's largest distributors of professional sound and lighting equipment has recorded an extremely successful PLASA08 exhibition. Grant Thomas, sales director, commented: "To be perfectly honest, we weren't entirely sure what to expect from this year's show. With the constant talk of the credit crunch and the effect of the smoking ban on the bar and club industry, combined with extremely unfavourable exchange rates, we were anticipating a quiet and sombre show - nothing could have been further from the truth! The show was buoyant and positive, and stand visitors were numerous and of good quality. Time will tell, but looking at initial figures I would say this is our busiest PLASA ever."
Batmink is celebrating its 25th anniversary and as one of PLASA's earliest member companies is well placed to compare shows. Particular interest was expressed this year in Batmink's LED Video Flooring System, available for both sale and hire, and the LED Power Blinders - "versatile and powerful units able to deliver impressive effects and performance at a modest price", the company says.
"It just goes to prove that there is always a market for the right product at the right price. Here at Batmink we have always focussed on the key areas of our business, and not become distracted by our competitors or perceived threats to the industry. We aim to provide choices, with industry standard, branded products offered alongside cheaper alternatives for the budget conscious. As a company it is easy to lose sight of what made you successful
China - Eight Robert Juliat Lancelot 4000W HTI follow spots were used to cut through the vast quantity of light produced by the largest moving light rig in history, highlighting critical scenes of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Olympic & Paralympics Games 2008.
Eight Robert Juliat Cyrano 2500W HMI follow spots were also used across other Olympic-related events across Beijing.
Chief lighting designer for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies was Mr Sha Xiaolan who worked closely with director Zhang Yimou to create the spectacular effects.
Jamie Boey, of Robert Juliat China which supplied the Lancelot and Cyrano follow spots, reports, "Mr Sha was delighted with the performance and quality of the Robert Juliat follow spots and confirmed his decision to use Robert Juliat was based on sound technical reasons."
"The brightness of the Lancelot was a deciding factor," affirms Mr Sha, "since more than 2700 units of 1200W moving lights used in total, so it needed to be able to cut through this amount of light.
"The projection distance was, at times, more than 200m. The Robert Juliat Lancelot therefore had to fully comply with our requirements for the best 'distance versus light output' ratio, which it achieved with its extremely narrow zoom range of 2° to 5°. "
(Jim Evans)
Denmark - The Extube Series from Martin Professional is a modular system of IP65 rated linear LED luminaires designed for illumination of outdoor architecture and more. With RGB+W colour mixing, a choice of opaque lenses and an easy means of installation, Extube is suitable for a variety of illumination needs including floodlighting, wall-grazing, cove lighting or creating continuous lines of decorative color, inside or out, says the company.
Extube is available in two lengths; 30cm (1ft, 12 LEDs) and 120cm (4ft, 48 LEDs). It is weatherproof rated at IP65 for the outdoor illumination of facades, structures, bridges, cruise ships and more. Made of extruded aluminum, the Extube's slim aesthetics allows the luminaire to blend iinto existing architecture. It is also suitable as a lighting effect for clubs and lounges and will fit into TV, theatre and touring shows.
The Extube comes with a choice of narrow, medium and wide diffuser options, or it can be used without a diffuser for an even narrower beam. The standard spread angle is narrow for long throws and the module is tiltable for precise optical aiming.
If ambient temperatures are too high, output from the LEDs is automatically decreased. This extends the lifespan of the diodes, and ensures that output is maintained at the optimum level.
A central feature of the Extube is its ability to create even and consistent colours. Each pixel board has been measured and calibrated, guaranteeing standardized brightness and colour performance.
With four coloured diodes (red, green, blue and white) instead of the usual
UK - The PLASA Show in London last week was the setting for the landmark launch of the Mayor of London's Green Theatre: Taking Action on Climate Change initiative.
Matthew Griffiths, CEO of PLASA, who welcomed the guest speakers and audience members to the launch, told LSI: "We're very proud to be able to host the launch of the Mayor's Green Theatre Plan at PLASA08. Many of the manufacturers represented here on the show floor are already playing an active role in developing new equipment and technologies to help theatres achieve the goals set by the Mayor's Plan, and the lighting and sound industry still has a great contribution to make. PLASA and its members are very keen to work with theatres and other industry bodies, not only to help improve the power efficiency of lighting and sound systems themselves, but also to support and encourage the adoption of the many small, common-sense and practical steps which together will make a huge contribution to reducing the theatre industry's carbon emissions."
Launched in association with The Theatres Trust, the Society of London Theatre (SOLT), Arts Council England and the Professional Lighting and Sound Association (PLASA), Green Theatre is an action plan for the theatre industry, outlining the most practical and effective measures that can be taken to reduce energy use in buildings while also saving money in energy bills.
The plan identifies how London's theatre industry creates 50,000 tonnes of carbon emissions per year - the equivalent of emissions from 9,000 homes. It concludes that if all
UK - In 2003, Rosco introduced a new colour to its Supergel range to raise funds for the UK charity Light Relief. #313 Light Relief Yellow has proved a popular colour and at PLASA 2008 Light Relief trustee and PLASA managing director, Matthew Griffiths accepted a cheque for almost $3,700 (£2,100).
Making the presentation, Mark Engel, president of Rosco, said: "This is the fourth year we've been able to support Light Relief with a cheque at PLASA. Our contribution to date now exceeds $15,000 and has been funded by purchases of #313 Supergel. We envisioned this arrangement as 'a gift that keeps on giving' and we're delighted that it continues to fulfil that promise."
Developed with the help of Rick Fisher, co-founder (along with the late Tony Gottelier) of the industry charity which supports lighting designers in difficult times, Light Relief Yellow is the vibrant, sunshine colour of the charity's logo.
"Light Relief is very grateful for the ongoing support that this scheme provides. Light Relief is there to provide practical assistance to those in the lighting industry who fall on hard times, and knowing that we have regular donations such as this makes a huge difference," said Matthew Griffiths. "It is wonderful that the charity is supported by such unending contributions and particularly reminds users of Light Relief and also Rosco's creative generosity every time the colour is specified."
(Jim Evans)
UK - Limelight Presentation Systems has become the latest in a growing list of event production companies that is using Martin Audio Compact Line Array technology as the spearhead of its principle PA system.
Head of audio Dave Plant recently placed an order for 16 x W8LCs with Redditch-based dealer, John Brown at Limit Audio.
Although this will be the first time Martin Audio has appeared in Limelight's rental fleet, Plant admits his company has used the manufacturer's enclosures many times in installation work, and is aware of both their pedigree and durability.
"It was inevitable that we would eventually need to embrace line array technology. As a broad-based company, we wanted a system with a compact footprint, but at the same time one with a long throw which could serve the larger venues."
The company has already started sub-hiring to another Martin Audio line array user, Leicester-based Hawthorn Electrical, as well as Yorkshire company, Audiotech Services.
"When we gave it its debut at the Scarborough Beach Festival I was happier than I had been at any festival," concludes Plant.
(Jim Evans)