UK - Le Mark Group has appointed John Henry's as its new London Stockist for its gloves & accessories range. John Henry's already offers an extensive range of spares, accessories, equipment and instruments, sold from their 5000sq.ft showroom, 'The Pro Shop', at its London premises.
Mark Gibbons, Le Mark Group's business development manager comments, "The Setwear Gloves & Accessories range only started a few years ago with Le Mark. Since the addition of the IronClad range we've noticed a tremendous increase in interest from both end-users and existing distributors. The addition of John Henry's stocking the range is a huge advantage, especially as they are a company already well established within this industry but, most importantly, one that is known as a friendly, fast and reliable supplier."
Paul Cooper, Pro Shop sales manager adds, "Having grown up in an industry where 'We Want it Yesterday' is the norm, we know how important it is to have the goods available and delivered on time. Our clients know that we will always do our best to match their specific requirements and, if required, will ship worldwide, at a moment's notice."
(Jim Evans)
UK - Tigz Productions staged a technically ambitious production of the Queen musical We Will Rock You at the Sundial Theatre in Cirencester, featuring 37 Robe moving heads and Anolis LED lighting.
Tigz' Andy Webb directed and produced the work as well as creating the lighting design. His aim was to make it "very bit as memorable as any West End production in the context of the space and place".
Webb is also technical manager of the Sundial Theatre, and they have invested in Robe moving lights as part of the house rig (Wash 250 XTs and MS Zoom 250 XTs) which have been a great asset and are used in all types of student productions. For We Will Rock You, he boosted the Robe content of the rig by hiring in additional moving lights from Bath-based rental house, Enlightened.
The total Robe count included 12 ColorSpot 575 ATs and eight ColorWash 575 ATs, 10 MS Zoom 250 XTs and seven Wash 250 XTs. The units were rigged all around the stage. There were six main lighting booms onstage, addressing the side and rear aspects of the set that was constructed from panels of metal fencing. The booms had a single ColorSpot 575 AT in each high position on each individual post.
(Jim Evans)
UK - Spider-Man 3 is alleged to be the most expensive film ever made, with a plethora of jaw-dropping visual effects. Its UK premiere, held on 23 April, saw one of the most ambitious visual accompaniments ever staged in London's Leicester Square: a vast Lighthouse Technologies LED screen system erected outside the cinema to give the invited guests and assembled star spotters a taste of what was to come.
Supplied by Hampshire-based rental company LED Screen Hire, a massive 153sq.m of Lighthouse R16 screen was arranged in a pattern of seven screen 'blocks' totalling 199 panels - one six panels wide by four high (6.09m x 3.04m), one four by eight (4.06m x 6.09), one three by nine (3.04m x 6.85m), two four by four (4.06m x 3.04m) and two six by five (6.09m x 3.81m).
Devised by AD Events, the screens were arranged in an uneven pattern, which was designed to resemble the Manhattan skyline, evoking the feeling of being inside the movie. Forming an impressive frontage to the cinema, the huge array of R16 screen snaking around the building's façade dwarfed the entrance.
This complex system required a counter balanced ground support for the screen to be flown from. Provided by Utopium Lighting, it comprised 70 tonnes of precast engineered ballast that bolted securely into the ground support and acted as anchors for the necessary bracing. This was erected the day before the screen was installed, with the screen itself hung and ready for use in less than 12 hours.
Another aspect of the system was Pandora's Box, a revolutionary media server supplied and operated b
UK - Lighting designer Mark Wynn Edwards specified 29 i-Pix Satellite fixtures on the recent Klaxons UK tour. The band - among the most exciting newcomers to the UK scene - completed their first full UK production tour, creating real waves as they blasted around the UK playing completely sold out shows.
Wynn-Edwards had used Satellites before on several TV productions and one-offs that he's worked on as a technician, "I was fully aware of the potential of these fixtures and also how reliable and tough they are," he says, which is essential for a touring environment. He also thought they would be ideal to fulfil a number of different lighting tasks in his design.
He used the Satellites to up-light six vertical A-type trussing towers on the stage - measuring 8, 6 and 4ft high respectively, and arranged in descending order upstage to downstage. One Satellite was tucked inside the base of each truss tower and "really did the business in terms of brightness" he says, adding, "as well as being so small and versatile that they will fit virtually anywhere."
In addition to this, there were eight Satellites on four floor stands used for key lighting the four band members. He was looking for something other than 'traditional' key lighting, and this was also a neat solution to an itinerary offering up a huge variety of different venues and stage spaces, with no guarantee of a front truss.
"I wanted to do something interesting with this aspect anyway," explained Wynn-Edwards, "The band wanted it to look 'arty' and the Satellite
USA - Symetrix has expanded its facilities and made a number of new appointments.
Trent Wagner has taken up the head of the marketing department and is leading the advertising, dealer/rep communications,public relations, and related activities of Symetrix and its Lucid, AirTools and SymNet brands.
Bruce Yunker is now working as art director; Francesca Grove is the new logistics coordinator; Mike Wall is now product manager. Dallas Dougherty will visit current and potential clientsat points home and abroad, explaining the benefits of Symetrix technology.
Within engineering, Frank Heller is the new senior graphic designer and has already stamped his aesthetic on the Zone Mix 760 software.
Symetrix hired IT guru Wil Bailey to the more formal-sounding position of technical resource manager. Finally, Quy Tang and David Joiner have taken on the respective roles of manufacturing technician and manufacturing manager.
(Jim Evans)
Denmark - Martin Professional has established a separate business unit - Martin Visual Solutions - and named Lars Dall vice president of the new division.
A long-time Martin employee, Lars Dall who retains his current position as head of Martin's O.E.M. sector, assumed the new responsibility on 1 April 1 this year. His new tasks include implementation of the overall strategy and business plan within Visual Solutions, including staffing and build-up of the new division.
"The potential market for video walls is tremendous and presents a great opportunity for us to grow our business substantially," comments Dall. "We are determined to establish ourselves in this new field with a meaningful market share. In order to do so we will allocate significant resources to Martin Visual Solutions in order to establish the necessary momentum and create the focus needed to ensure success."
Martin recently introduced its LC Series of LED video screens and has experienced "an overwhelming response". The LC Series is a semitransparent, modular system of light weight LED panels (40 mm pixel pitch), designed for displaying film, digital images and graphics.
The units offer true RGB possibilities and feature a calibration system that ensures output is always balanced and uniform. Because the units are semitransparent, they can be used in an array of applications and allow the seamless integration of moving images, lighting and set design. No cumbersome external power supplies are necessary.
(Jim Evans)
USA - For celebrities attending the Kentucky Derby, the annual Barnstable Brown Gala, held on the eve of the race, is the party at which to be seen. This year's star-studded event drew the likes of Jenny McCarthy, Cybill Shepherd, Kevin Federline and Peyton Manning. The performers included Kid Rock, Gene Simmons, Jimmy Fallon, Joey Fatone, Nick Lachey, Darryl 'DMC' McDaniels, Michael McDonald, Eddie Money, Mary Wilson of the Supremes, and more.
For the event, a package of lighting from Elation Professional was put together and operated by Sounds Unlimited Productions (SUP) of New Albany, IN.
According to Chris Hughes of SUP, who has handled the event for a number of years, the Barnstable Brown Gala presents a couple of unique lighting challenges. For one, it is held in a 40ft x 90ft tent at the private residence of Patricia Barnstable Brown, who co-hosts the party with her sister Priscilla Barnstable. Second, the entertainment is totally unscripted, with artists spontaneously joining each other on stage and serving up an eclectic mix of music - from pop to hip-hop to metal.
This year, for the first time, Hughes used a wireless control system, Elation's EWDMXT Wireless Transmitter with two EWDMXR wireless receivers. "In an outdoor tent there's a lot of swaying, and with guests moving all around, I'm always worried that cables will end up going where people are," said Hughes. "Using the wireless system eliminated this problem. The Elation system worked beautifully - not a hiccup."
Another concern with a tent is the low trim height. The light
USA - Beyerdynamic will feature the Revoluto line array microphone station, at InfoComm 2007. Made for use with the MCS-D 200 conferencing system, the Revoluto provides superior sound reproduction without the use of a gooseneck microphone, says the company.
Utilising patented line array technology, the microphone capsules in the Revoluto create an omnidirectional pattern allowing the speaker to move around without affecting the volume or sound quality. Due to its multi-capsule design, the Revoluto provides additional redundancy with no loss of pickup. In addition, the Revoluto's low-profile design provides a clear view of the speaker.
"What makes the Revoluto a truly unique solution for conference room situations is its line array technology," explains Bob Lowig, beyerdynamic's conferencing & presentation business unit manager. "No longer does a speaker need to be conscious of the microphone. They can move their heads, sit back, read from notes or even stand and be confident that their message is transmitted clearly and effectively."
The Revoluto station is available in three versions, Basic, Standard and Graphic. The Basic station comes equipped with one microphone button, function buttons for clear and priority as well as a two-way extended base loudspeaker system.
In addition to featuring a single microphone button and function buttons, the Standard station has an alphanumeric display with menu, language selection and volume control as well as five buttons for voting.
The Graphic Station is offered with the same features as the Standa
Spain - The Spanish production of the hit musical We Will Rock You recently returned to Madrid's Calderón Theatre after a successful national tour, complete with a Cadac J-Type Live Production Console supplied by local rental company Milán Acústica.
Featuring sound design by Javier G Isequilla, the show has been touring around Spain for the past two years, and was initially scheduled to run in Madrid for a three-month period. This has been extended until the end of 2007, thanks to the show's continuing popularity and excellent ticket sales, which won We Will Rock You the coveted Gold Ticket Award.
Milán Acústica has been involved with the show from the outset, supplying the sound equipment for the original Madrid production as well as the tour. Javier G Isequilla's original sound design centred around a J-Type console, which was replaced with a Yamaha PM-1D desk for the touring production. On returning to Madrid, the original specification has been reinstated, with Milán Acústica receiving direct congratulations from Brian May for the excellent sound quality.
Eugenio Ortiz of Milán Acústica reports, "We Will Rock You continues to be a huge success here in Spain, and it has been great for us to be involved from the very beginning. Bringing the musical back to Madrid after two years on the road is like coming home - very satisfying. The principal promoters have been very pleased with how things have gone, and we are glad to have played our part and to continue our relationship with the show."For the opening at the C
USA - Aviom has announced several additions to its global sales team.
Jonathan 'JP' Parker, who has been serving as Aviom's sales director in the Southeastern US, is now assuming the role of director of international sales, Asia Pacific.
Mark Meding, who has been Aviom's sales director for the Northeast US and Canada, will now assume Parker's former Southeastern territory and will be in charge of sales throughout the entire East Coast of the US.
The Canadian territory is now back in the hands of Aviom's longtime international sales director, Joel Brazy, who also continues to oversee the company's European sales efforts.
The Aviom sales force is managed by national sales director Gary Lee, under the leadership of Aviom's new vice president of sales & marketing, Mike McGinn.
(Jim Evans)
UK - The three days of the Give It A Name indoor shows are seen as the start of the UK festival season - as the best up-and-coming new alt-rock bands flip-flop through three venues in England and Scotland. With up to 12 acts a day going through each stage, this was an opportunity for an army of different front-of-house engineers to get their hands on a big Nexo Geo T line array, running the newly-launched NXStream management software.
Give It a Name began in 2005 and soon became established as the biggest indoor rock festival in the UK. This year it has expanded - beginning in Germany at venues in Berlin and Cologne, followed by Paris, before heading to the UK. A weekend crowd of more than 25,000 came to Earls Court alone for a bill dominated by pop-punk and emo bands like H.I.M from Finland, Brand New and Juliette & The Licks from the USA, and Enter Shikari from the UK.
SSE Audio Group supplied three identical systems for the weekend-long event, with crews going to Earls Court London, the NIA Birmingham and the SECC Glasgow. Each system comprised left/right hangs of 23x Geo T4805 plus 3x Geo T2815s, with a centre cluster of 5x GEO T cabinets, and 12x CD18s each side. At a pair of Midas Heritage 3000s out front, the crews were working to 5-minute changeovers.
On behalf of SSE in London, seasoned engineers Alex Hall and Matthew Kettle were on hand to babysit and to mix a few bands themselves. Kettle has made extensive use of Nexo's flagship tangent array system on several tours with The White Stripes. "I always find it easy to mix on Geo T, an
UK - 5 Star Cases has supplied XL Video with a specialist flight case for one of its Grass Valley Kayak HD mixer/switcher consoles, which is an integral element of its new HD PPU (portable production unit) systems.
The console case was specified by XL Video's Malcolm Whittall, who worked closely with 5 Star's design team on its development. It is designed so the desk stays sitting inside the case once in position and set up.
5 Star has also made cases for other XL Video consoles in the past, and Whittall comments, "They have an excellent woodworking department, are really flexible and will make things on request - always a great advantage."
The console case is based around 5 Star's Heavy Industrial range of flight cases and is sloped and shaped to the Kayak, featuring all the usual recessed hardware and the XL Video logo and graphics cut into the wood.
XL put the new console and case straight out on Roger Waters tour where it was used for HD recordings of his Manchester and Birmingham shows.
(Jim Evans)
USA - Symetrix is showing version 1.1 of the Integrator Series Zone Mix 760 paging and music management system at the InfoComm 2007 exhibition.
Version 1.1 introduces a number of feature enhancements to the 760, a zone mixer that has been designed to provide the optimal feature set and I/O count needed for restaurants, hotels, sports bars and nightclubs.
The number of presets now available has been increased from 10 to fifty, and some minor issues have additionally been fixed.
(Jim Evans)
UK - Brent Woods has been appointed general manager of Litestructures Studios. Canadian born Woods will report to Litestructures GB managing director, Adrian Brooks, and will be responsible for business development, operations, marketing and sales for the Litestructures Studios rehearsal facility.
Since its opening in May 2005 the Studio has hosted production rehearsals for Coldplay, Robbie Williams, Muse, George Michael, Westlife, Meat Loaf and many others.
Adrian Brooks says, "This is an exciting new appointment for Litestructures. Brent brings with him considerable experience within both the live music and television production sectors. He will bring real innovation to this role and establish the Litestructures Studio as the UK's premier rehearsal facility."Brent Woods adds, "Litestructures has built a wonderful facility which is unique not only in Yorkshire, but nationally as well. It is unmatched in its ability to accommodate any size of live music production."
(Jim Evans)
UK - Fresh from its successful launch at ProLight+Sound Frankfurt, the new addition to the RCF TT+ range, the TT08-A will have its UK preview at this ABTT Show in London.
The speaker, which is the smallest member of the TT+ family. The RCF design team has come up with a careful and innovative acoustic design, utilising the highest quality in house transducers. The powerful amplifier makes this system the perfect solution for small live sound situations, as well as playback and monitoring, corporate events and broadcast studios, says the company.
RCF's Phil Price says, "The TT08A represents a breakthrough in speaker technology. We have designed this speaker quite literally from the ground upward, including both the transducers utilised plus digital amplification technology and protection systems.
"In debuting the speaker at ABTT, we feel that we will be targeting the all important theatre and TV markets. The speaker's compact design makes an ideal unit to use in enclosed spaces such as small stages or TV studios where space is at a premium."
As well as the new TT+ speaker RCF will also be showing the rest of the range including the TT22, TT25 and the TT33 active line array.
(Jim Evans)
UK - BeamHoist is the latest addition to Stage Technologies and will be promoted, along with the company's other products at the forthcoming ABTT Theatre Show. Installed at venues in the UK, Europe and China, it provides a low cost power flying systems that is fast and simple to install and i easy to operate. BeamHoist is ideal for smaller venues such as school theatres, conference centres and television studios, says the company.
Also on show will be the Illusionist control console, billed as an affordable entry level console offering all the advanced programming and operating tools of the standard Chameleon software.
Saxis control unit is Stage Technologies' portable single axis system designed for theatre productions, live music concerts, TV and film studios that would like to move a single piece of scenery, fly a performer or "whiz a film camera across a set".TowRope is an innovative DMX automation product that can be controlled from the lighting desk. Curtains and fabric backdrops can be moved on the off stage at the touch of a button by the lighting operator, cutting out the cost of a specialist control desk and operator.
(Jim Evans)
UK - British Harlequin will be exhibiting at the ABTT Theatre Show 2007 to be held at London's Royal Horticultural Halls, 13-14 June. Showing a wide range of examples from their extensive range of floors for performance and display, visitors will able to examine many different floor types with expert support on hand to provide guidance and advice, says the company.
Although widely recognised as world leaders in floors for dance and the performing arts, Harlequin also provide special flooring for television studios, exhibitions and display. Harlequin manufactures a comprehensive range from portable, roll-out floors to cushioned, heavy duty permanent floors, plus permanent and touring sprung floor systems. These are complemented by a range of accessories including tapes and cleaning products, roll straps, storage bags and an extensive range of ballet barres.
Immediately prior to the ABTT Theatre Show, British Harlequin is a sponsor for The Theatres Trust event Performing Theatres Conference 07 at the Young Vic on 12 June.
(Jim Evans)
UK - Theatre sound specialist Orbital will be sponsoring dedicated Digital Mixing Desk training sessions at The ABTT Show 13-14 June in London. These sessions will focus on advanced solutions in contemporary theatre shows. Involving the latest Yamaha M7CL console at the hub of the presentations, attendees will be given be offered a hands-on, operational view of the first of Yamaha's latest generation digital consoles.
The sessions will cover topical subjects that play a vital role in today's theatre designs, including digital audio networking and scene management, whilst exploring the creative possibilities of placing a modern digital console at the hub of a system encompassing most of the current audio network solutions available.
Orbital Sound's Simon Whitehorn and Sebastian Frost will host the sessions and fuse their experience and expertise to deliver an illuminating and informed discussion. There will be two sessions twice daily, approximately three hours long and offered free of charge to all ABTT Theatre Show attendees.
(Jim Evans)
China - The Slek New Air Hostess Show Final, hosted by China Southern and Guangdong TV Station, recently took place in the 800sq.m studio of Guangdong TV Station, with live broadcast by Guangdong TV Satellite Channel and Pearl Channel to all parts of the world. Fifty air hostess candidates presented their individual charms on stage to hundreds of millions of viewers.
The event used W-DMX of Wireless Solution Sweden to transmit DMX signal to four High End Systems DL.2s and a HOG iPC, along with numerous computer lights.
(Jim Evans)
Switzerland -With its compact profile and light weight, the Nexo Geo S cabinet is a winning proposition for historic interiors that demand a line-array solution. In Geneva, the Casino Theatre is just such a venue.
Zap Audio, the Geneva-based equipment importer and system designer, has already created an impact in the city with the installation of a Geo S tangent-array system in the celebrated Victoria Hall, a landmark classical music venue well-known in international touring circles.
Encouraged by the success of the Victoria Hall, the Zap team was next consulted by the Casino Theatre, a smaller venue also of historic importance to which they often supplied rental systems. The theatre's technical team chose to design and install the system itself, using Nexo's GEOSoft package.
The Casino Theatre, also known as Le Petit Casino, is mainly used to present small musical and drama productions, as well as music festivals and concerts of jazz and vocal performance. To achieve optimum coverage around the theatre, with its U-shaped balcony, the specification called for Nexo's compact Geo S Series cabinets, a small number of which could deliver highly targeted coverage.
The main part of the PA uses four Geo S805s plus a single S830 down-fill unit in each of two small hangs left and right of the proscenium arch stage. For the seats in the main part of the balcony, two further hangs of just three cabinets apiece were used (2x S805s +1x S830). To address the seats underneath the balcony, 4 units of PS8 were ceiling-mounted.
Frédéric Walder of Zap Audio expl
Germany - Clear-Com has been chosen by TVN Group, one of Germany's leading TV, film and outside broadcast production companies, to equip its new state-of-the-art TVN UE3HD OB truck with matrix intercom systems to expand their communication network.
The new OB truck has been fitted with a Clear-Com Eclipse Matrix with 32 digital and 96 analogue ports, and the new Eclipse PiCo digital matrix. In addition to this, Clear-Com has developed a customised LCD desktop panel to meet TVN's exact installation requirements.
"We have worked with Clear-Com for a long time," said Frank Beekmann, chief production engineer at TVN, "and we've had very good experience with this highly flexible communications system."
(Jim Evans)
China - Outline's distributor for China, Guangzhou ACME Show Technology, organised a seminar/presentation of Outline's entire product range at the Regal Palace Theatre, in collaboration with the Research Institute of TV and Electroacoustics of Beijing and Beijing Hengyiyuan Concert Productions Co.
With this seminar, the manager of Guangzhou ACME Show Technology, Wyman Lee and Outline's vice president and international sales manager, Giorgio Biffi , introduced Outline's complete product line, sold in China under the Butterfly brand.
During the seminar, Prof. Fan Bao Yuan and Prof. Shen Hao described to attendees the tests recently carried out at their Institute on a number of Outline/Butterfly products, confirming the high quality of the products and their full respect of specifications declared by the Italian manufacturer.
A listening demo of the Butterfly line-array and other loudspeaker models was held to allow the attendees to appreciate the quality of the sound and the performances of Outline/Butterfly technology.
Giorgio Biffi introduced Italian acoustic sound engineer Giancarlo Gennaro, who talked about his experience last February as assistant on the set-up of the complex sound system installed for the Winter Olympic Games opening and closing ceremonies in the Olympic Stadium in Turin.
(Jim Evans)
South Korea - A-Works Korea is the name of the new distribution company recently set up to represent French digital console manufacturer, InnovaSON, in South Korea. Based in Sungnam City, A-Works will also be distributing Camco amplifiers and Nexo loudspeakers.
The man behind the move and responsible for the creation of A-Works is James Lee, along with former Nexcor colleague Eddie Kim. Between them, the two men have worked with their three core brands over many years and are confident that the new company will grow business significantly and increase market share for each brand throughout South Korea.
"We feel that the future of pro audio here in South Korea, as it is throughout the rest of the world, lies increasingly within the digital domain," explained James Lee. "We're delighted to have InnovaSON on board as a premium digital console product, and one in which we have every confidence, having worked with the company for many years. The brand also has excellent synergy with Camco and Nexo, both extremely high quality brands on their own right, and all three compatible with EtherSound which offers extremely advantageous networking possibilities."
InnovaSON's Philippe Pelmelle is in agreement. "James and Eddie have been representing InnovaSON in South Korea for a number of years now, and doing a very good job, so there was absolutely no reason to want to change that. Furthermore, we have noticed that the distributors we have in common with Camco and Nexo often tend to be amongst the best performers, so the news that A-Works was also g