event news

PLASA International Rigging Conference Announced

In a world first for the entertainment rigging industry, PLASA Events has announced the launch of the PLASA International Rigging Conference, to be held alongside two days of PLASA 2010, at Earls Court, London on Monday 13 and Tuesday 14 September.

The aim of this technical conference, the first of its kind in the world, is to provide a unique specialist forum that will bring together entertainment rigging companies, riggers, venue operators, tour and event production managers and more. It is the latest industry-specific forum to be presented by PLASA Events and reflects the PLASA organisation's stated intent to reinvest in the entertainment and installation technology industries and deliver bespoke industry relevant events.

Chris Higgs of Total Solutions Group, consultant on the conference, comments: "This is one of those ideas that when you mention it, everyone says ‘what a fantastic idea - it's long overdue'. There has been a lot of demand from the rigging community for an opportunity - one that doesn't exist anywhere else in the world - for production professionals, whose work either directly involves rigging, or working with riggers, to come together and discuss the many issues that affect us all.

"It's a forum for the rigging industry, venues and production companies, working nationally or internationally, to be able to talk together and discuss working practices and to try to even out some of the differences that exist between venues and productions. Anyone who is directly involved with shows will benefit from the conference. To cite just one example, there is much confusion out there about the requirements and desirability of secondary suspensions - we would hope to start to clear up that issue alone."

The PLASA International Rigging Conference will focus specifically on entertainment rigging and working at height for temporary installations, and will be technically focused, with presentations from respected industry individuals and companies together with leading industry safety advisory groups from around the world.

The full programme will be announced shortly, but will include a packed agenda of conference sessions, panel discussions and some exciting practical demonstrations all of direct relevance to the entertainment rigging community. It will allow delegates to review best practice, dispel some myths, discuss standards and share expertise. A provisional conference agenda is already listed on the website, and developments will be announced as the content evolves.

The event will be held in the Earls Court Conference Centre adjoining the exhibition halls and delegate passes will include free admission to all four days of PLASA 2010.

Delegates already declaring interest in attending include major broadcast organisations and venues, union and trade association representatives, venue management personnel, freelance riggers and manufacturers and distributors of equipment used in rigging.

Director of Events for PLASA, Nicola Rowland comments: "The idea has been incredibly well received already, especially as we are running it alongside PLASA 2010 to give delegates the opportunity to take in the show as well as the conference, and therefore maximise their own business opportunities. The panel already includes an impressive array of international rigging experts and other production professionals and we are talking to more every day."

There is a heavily discounted early booking rate for delegate passes which can be booked online now at www.plasariggingconference.com

CAST Software's Vivien2010 Wins at Confex

CAST Software won Best Exhibition and Conference Service for Vivien2010 at Confex on Wednesday, February 24 at Earls Court in London. The award, accepted by Bruce Freeman, chairman of CAST Software, was presented for the most significant innovation in a product or service that will impact the industry.

International Confex is the UK's leading trade show for event organizers, bringing together the top industry professionals who organize any kind of special event with event support services and venues both in the UK and across the world.

This was the first year for Vivien to appear at Confex and the response was overwhelming. The all-new Vivien2010 was innovated from wysiwyg, the software of choice of designers in the entertainment industry for 15 years for movie/stage/TV and special event productions, including the Harry Potter series, Spiderman, Disney, Cirque du Soleil, U2 360° Tour, Nobel Prize Banquet, and the Vancouver Olympics. Vivien2010 is the most affordable special event planning/design, 3D previsualization software tool designed by/for the full spectrum of professionals in the meetings and special events industry. Vivien's accurate 3D images mean that event planners, designers, venue sales teams, caterers, furniture rental specialists and everyone else in the chain can go way beyond the typical 2D plans. Using Vivien's tools and wizards, they can make their creative ideas come to life in colourful 3D Virtual Views which impress clients by creating a customized, virtual model to meet customers' specifications, turn around RFPs quickly and inexpensively, incorporate eye-popping visuals and close sales at higher margins. What's more, all this information can be sent electronically or via webcast.

"We just keep hearing that Vivien2010 is an absolute must for event planners and obviously a super sales tool," said Freeman, "I have been approached non stop with the positive response to Vivien. I've been told how first-time users not only secured a significant project as a result of their first use, but how Vivien actually got them additional work from the same client - all within a week! I was told of a London venue that used Vivien's previsualizations (of their unfinished space) to presell the new venue! And one particular London event industry guru said to me an hour before the awards: ‘I've seen nothing that is so fast, so flexible, and so powerful!' It reinforces our belief that Vivien2010 is something that can change the way organizers work today. We're extremely pleased."

As with all CAST Software products, the developments and innovations for Vivien are ongoing, with new releases and Library updates always on the horizon and free to current Members. CAST will be releasing a huge addition to the Vivien Library in early Summer 2010, including new backdrops, linen, drapes, and furniture - adding 1000s of new objects that can be used in the planning and designing process.

In picture: Bruce Freeman accepts the award at Confex.

Cadac Continues Expansion Across Production Sectors at ProLight + Sound

Cadac continues its expansion across all areas of sound production - including sound touring, theatre sound, event production, location and studio recording - with the ongoing diversification of its product portfolio and core technologies, resulting in the presentation of a range of new products in final production form at this year's ProLight + Sound exhibition.

The new products exploit the company's unique analogue engineering heritage and advanced digital signal processing technologies to provide a range of fully digital and hybrid designs; the fruition of renewed investment in R&D and production facilities from its Soundking Group parent company. At the apex of Cadac's digital development programme is the S-Digital mixing system. Designed from the ground up for the theatre and live sound markets, the S-Digital console uniquely combines the audio character, tools, features and surface architecture of the long standing industry standard Cadac J-Type analogue theatre console, with all of the operational and creative benefits of the most advanced digital live production console yet designed.

Being shown at ProLlight + Sound in it's final production version, the S-Digital console has already attracted a substantial number of pre-orders, with the first of these currently being delivered. The S-Digital console on the exhibition floor will be complemented by a 'live' console in the Ronnie Lane Mobile Studio Airstream caravan parked on the stand.

Also now in final production form, the LIVE1 series is a fully specified, fully Cadac budget console that exploits the company's heritage engineering to provide exceptional functionality and quality at a competitive price. Designed by the company's analogue console team to offer an affordable Cadac Sound console for FOH applications, the LIVE1 series is based on Cadac's traditional audio circuits and available in 16/4/2, 24/4/2 and 32/4/2 formats. The LIVE1 combines many of the high end features associated with large format Cadac concert and theatre desks with an innovative digital I/O and networking interface unique to any console at this price point.

A further development derived from Cadac's heritage console designs is a new series of outboard processors, making the classic Cadac sound available in 19 inch rack mount outboard form and offering sound engineers a highly affordable upgrade path for any live or location mixing set up, or music production suite. The first of these is the ME2, a dual channel Mic Pre-Amplifier Mixer / EQ with analogue outs and, like the LIVE1, a digital I/O and networking interface unique on a product at this price point.

In picture: the Cadac S-Digital.

Wybron Mobile Showroom Due to Hit Los Angeles Area

During the week of March 15, the Wybron Mobile Showroom begins its sixth leg, hitting the Los Angeles area.

The Mobile Showroom has become increasingly popular, and presents a survey of Wybron's stable of products, including the new Cygnus LED Wash Light, in a environment more intimate than a trade show. "The challenge of this industry is to actually get information to the people who will benefit from it," said Wybron, Inc. CEO Keny Whitright. "A trade show is terrific, sure, but you're often lacking time to connect with all the folks you would like to."

Enter the Wybron Mobile Showroom, a custom-built, state-of-the-art enclosure which has become increasingly popular since its inception in October of 2009. The Mobile Showroom presents a survey of Wybron's stable of products, including the new Cygnus LED Wash Light, in a environment more intimate than a trade show. It provides hands-on demonstration of Wybron offerings and an opportunity for tête-à-tête with lighting professionals, including their local dealers. Most importantly, however, the Mobile Showroom offers education on the general theory behind and mechanics of professional lighting to an audience who may be unfamiliar with either or both.

"The educational component is an important one," said Whitright. "You often see misuse or just plain overkill of lighting in churches or schools, and we want to provide some perspective for people in those markets."

The Mobile Showroom will continue with nearly two years of planned stops across North America, with the next being in Northern California and the Pacific Northwest.

For more information, please contact Aaron Retka: aaron@wybron.com

www.wybron.com 

Meyer Sound to Host SIM 3 Technical Seminars in Mexico City

In March, April, and August 2010, Meyer Sound will bring its four-day SIM 3 Training and System Design seminar to Mexico City as part of the company's worldwide education program. Registration for the seminars is available on the Meyer Sound website.

The in-depth SIM 3 seminar, taught by Bob McCarthy and Oscar Barrientos, provides participants with a thorough theoretical and operational understanding of source independent measurement and a solid grounding in application of SIM analysis in the design of complex audio systems. The seminar gives a brief review of SIM theory and system development, followed by a comprehensive discussion of field use procedures for the SIM 3 audio analyzer. The seminar then extends the foundation of SIM measurement into sound system design. Participants also look at the complex interactions of loudspeakers in a variety of configurations and acoustical environments from the standpoints of phase, frequency and impulse responses.

On March 1 - 5, 2010 and August 30 - September 3, 2010, two Spanish sessions of the SIM 3 seminar will be held by Oscar Barrientos in Mexico City. On April 27 - 30, 2010, Bob McCarthy, who has been involved with SIM since its inception, will be teaching a SIM seminar in English, with Spanish translation available.

Long Reach Long Riders Announce Annual USITT Raffle

The Long Reach Long Riders and The ESTA Foundation have announced their annual raffle to benefit Behind the Scenes at the USITT conference. This hugely popular event will be held on April 2, 2010 at the Behind the Scenes booth (#322) on the trade show floor of the USITT Conference in Kansas City. Tickets, which are $5 each or 5 for $20, may be purchased at the booth throughout the show. Individuals who purchase 5 raffle tickets will also receive a Stagecraft Mailing List Calendar which runs through April 2011.

Twelve terrific raffle prizes have been donated by: Altman Rentals (ghostlight), Apollo Design Technology (Smart Move DMX Rotator), Barbizon (Stagehands Tool Kit), Field Template (SoftSymbols and Field Templates), Doug Fleenor Design (DMX/RDM Coffee Pot), Sapsis Rigging ($250 Gift Certificate), SeaChanger (iPod Touch and colorBUG), USITT (2011 Conference registration), Utah Shakespearean Festival (three pairs of theatre tickets), Vectorworks (Spotlight with Renderworks), Vincent Lighting Systems ($250 gift certificate) and Greg Williams (Photo Call and "Photography 101 for the Stage" Seminar). Special thanks to USITT for making our presence at the annual conference possible.

All proceeds of the raffle go directly to The ESTA Foundation's Behind the Scenes program, which provides entertainment technology industry members with grants for emergency situations, such as serious illness, injury or death. For more information about Behind the Scenes, to donate, or to apply for a grant, visit: www.estafoundation.org/bts.htm

For more information about the Long Reach Long Riders visit: www.lrlr.org

At NAMM 2010, Renkus-Heinz was All Over the Place

Despite the doom and gloom predictions of economic woes, NAMM 2010 was by all accounts a rousing success, with record attendance and upbeat crowds. And it seemed like everywhere you turned at the show, Renkus-Heinz was there.

Reprising last year's triumphant debut, a full IC Live system once again greeted attendees at the lobby's center stage, hosting a full program of performances that got the crowd pumped up even before they entered the show floor. Among the lobby stage's many highlights was a surprise rendition of the Star Spangled Banner by rock stalwart Ted Nugent.

This year a second IC Live system held forth at the nearby Anaheim Garden Walk, keeping NAMM guests entertained during lunch and dinner breaks as well. As with last year's show, a wide range of musical guests from acoustic and world music to full-on rock helped to showcase IC Live's power and versatility.

"Based on the reception the IC Live received at last year's NAMM show, it was really a no-brainer to do it again this year," remarked Renkus-Heinz Marketing Manager Margie Ulm. "NAMM is the perfect venue for showcasing the power of IC Live. These are people who love all kinds of music, and who truly appreciate a great sounding system."

Elsewhere at the show, live sound guru Doug Fowler conducted a free Live Sound Measurement seminar on Advancing with SysTune, enlightening engineers and end users on using the latest noise rejection algorithms and real-time multi-channel measurements to achieve fast and accurate results in tuning their systems. And Renkus-Heinz Sr. VP of Engineering Ralph Heinz joined with JBL's David Scheirman in a panel discussion on the Hows and Whys of Line Arrays, dispelling popular myths and misconceptions and covering easy-to-use techniques for getting the most out of line array technology.

Renkus-Heinz's annual International Sales Conference was a well-attended success again this year, with the award for US Rep of the Year presented to Maryland-based Taub Sales.

And no NAMM Convention would be complete without the hottest event of the year, the annual Coffin Case party and Fashion Show. FOH engineer Toby Francis (Guns N' Roses) mixed an all-star lineup of bands including The Iron Maidens, Thundherstruck and Riot Brides, rocking out on a powerful Renkus-Heinz line array system of ten VerSys VLX3 boxes and eight DR-18-2 dual-18-inch subwoofers. Onstage monitoring was courtesy of Sygma SG121-52R powered monitors. Renkus-Heinz engineer Jonas Domkus tuned the system using SysTune technology. Needless to say, a splendid time was had by all.

MA Lighting Latin America Establishes grandMA2 Training

Some 50 participants recently attended MA Lighting Latin America's latest grandMA2 open house in São Paulo. On display were grandMA2 light and grandMA2 ultra-light consoles. Alongside the product presentations, a comprehensive training programme was held by MA's Latin America manager, Daniel Ridano and certified MA technicians Paulo Lebrão and William Quintino de Souza (Abilinho).

The grandMA2 presentation introduced the grandMA2 system concept, with its software, hardware and networking capabilities, and included the new grandMA 3D and brand new MA VPU (Video Processing Unit).

Ridano stated: "The grandMA2 presentation was very successful. Our guests showed great interest in the new interface, the new design, the powerful hardware as well as the newly designed software. The grandMA ‘series 1' compatibility mode also received much attention and praise. The training went equally well. Shows today are becoming increasingly complex and it is our mission to listen to and share the best available knowledge with programmers and designers working at all levels."

www.malighting.com

SIB 2010 Cancelled and Moves to 2011

Following the recent news that the Italian Show-Way event has cancelled its planned February/March 2010 showing and moved to 2011, a new time slot and a new format has been announced for Rimini's SIB International Exhibition of Show Business, Installation & Broadcast Technology, which has cancelled its 2010 dates and moves to 2011.

Considering the current lengthy phase of worldwide economic depression, as well as the evolution of the professional entertainment sector and audio-video, lighting and system integration technologies, the organisers of SIB International have decided to postpone the expo to a 2011 date and, at the same time, verify possible roads to development and directions shared by all members and players of the domestic market in question.

SIB general manager Piero Venturelli says: "Rimini Fiera has stressed several times that it intends facing the very critical international economic situation by investing in innovation: both by actually implementing client companies' requirements and by monitoring and following through in a very proactive manner on new directions for its exhibitions. Faced with a market put to the test by an unfavourable situation, we fielded ample resources for SIB, identifying new targets, as well as new foreign countries of great interest to exhibiting firms. In agreement with them, we therefore decided to dedicate 2010 to constructing a new format for SIB and to postpone it to new dates in 2011, ensuring it a position aligned with more widespread diffusion of the products and a more ample radius of action."

TEN chairperson Assunta Fratocchi adds: "We have already carried out a process for further target segmentation, from which fundamental new market areas have emerged, from the fashion world to that of large-scale projects - market sectors that necessitate fine-tuned operation and a new-look expo format. The same holds for analyses carried out on the foreign markets: the most recent involved Balkan countries, India and the Middle East, and showed the keen interest of buyers in these countries, convincing us to formulate a different international slant for 2011. We also believe that a winning expo project for the Italian market must be able to count on constructive unified support from all the association and trade components of the key domestic markets in question."

Renato Giacchetto, national chairman of the SILB Associazione Italiana Imprese di Intrattenimento da Ballo e di Spettacolo, (Italian Association of Dancing Entertainment and Show Enterprises) concludes: "We acknowledge the absolute central role and leadership of SIB, as well as the fact that its location perfectly meets market requirements and expectations as far as the actual expo and local area are concerned. The agreement with Rimini Fiera is a decisive part of the sector's development and innovation strategy, within which new concepts are currently being studied."

Rimini Fiera, SILB and TEN state: "We are certain that the market can only be offered a successful expo project if, along with the necessary innovation and quality of the plans being fielded, it is able to count on a singleness of commitment and purpose that unites all the sector's manufacturing, association and business components: as far as this aspect is concerned, we are ready to do our share with great conviction."

ISE Breaks All Records

Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) 2010 achieved the highest visitor total in its history, with 28,489 people attending last week's event. The figure represents a 14.4% increase on the 2009 total of 24,912.

The announcement of the visitor total at the show's close on the afternoon of February 4 confirmed the buoyant mood discernible throughout the event. Companies from across the AV spectrum - lighting suppliers, audio manufacturers, video technology developers and more - reported strong, quality footfall from the moment the show opened at on February 2.
The success of the show - the seventh in ISE history - reinforces the event's status as Europe's primary and most influential AV systems integration showcase.
Moreover, as organiser Integrated Systems Events looks ahead, there is reason to expect that the next event will even better - 83% of space has already been rebooked for 2011.
Mike Blackman, MD of Integrated Systems Events, commented: "We are delighted to have once again hosted a record-breaking event here in Amsterdam. To have posted a substantial increase in attendance after such a tumultuous business year is a reflection of the long-term strength of our industry, and a vindication of our marketing programme which was more extensive than ever this year.
"Perhaps just as importantly, our remarkable percentage of rebooked space for ISE 2011 demonstrates that our exhibitors did not merely have a busy show - they enjoyed three days of substantial new business opportunities. This confirms our belief that the market for professional AV and electronic systems integration still has plenty of growth potential for the future."

More Top Broadway and West End Designers Support By Design Day

Behind the Scenes and Light Relief have announced a host of big name designers have joined in support of the charities' fund raising By Design Day 2010. Heading the roster are Jonathan Deans, David Gallo, Derek McLane, Tony Meola, Hugh Vanstone and Tony Walton, who have joined Ken Billington, Paule Constable, Rick Fisher and Ken Posner as signatories to the event, scheduled for Saturday April 24.

In the coming weeks these talented and successful designers will be asking their colleagues to voluntarily give a day's royalties to Behind the Scenes in North America or Light Relief in the UK, the two charities which provide assistance to their colleagues in the entertainment technology industry when a crisis occurs.

These designers know that without the support of the many dedicated technicians and assistants in theatres and venues across the country, they would not be where they are today. That is why they will be asking you to help them make April 24 the day when the industry comes together to celebrate its successes and give back in thanks.

If you are not in a royalty situation, you can still contribute by making a donation to show that you care. Business too, particularly scenic, audio and lighting rental companies, can show their support with single donations - or perhaps a day's rental fee!

To join your colleagues and pledge your support visit: http://www.estafoundation.org/bts or http://www.lightrelief.org.uk

American PA Company Buys 1000th iLive-T

Allen & Heath has announced the sale of the 1000th and 1001st iLive-T mixing system to Sound Image, one of the top touring sound companies in the U.S. To mark the occasion, Allen & Heath's U.S. distributor, American Music & Sound (AM&S), presented a commemorative award to Sound Image during a press conference at the recent NAMM Show.

During his acceptance speech, Sound Image President, Dave Shadoan, remarked: "The products we purchase have to make good business sense, and basically, make our clients happy. To get this much flexibility and DSP capability in one system, at this price point, made purchasing these two iLive systems a no brainer for Sound Image."

According to Rick Stanley, director of corporate and regional events for Sound Image, the key to the sale was bringing in an iLive system - comprising an iDR-48 MixRack with iLive-T112 Control Surface - for demonstration.

"Our goal was to check it out and see what it does. Dave Lewty from Allen & Heath did an hour long presentation and left the demo unit with us. By the next day, I had nine engineers who were ready to take it out," comments Stanley. "It's a really intuitive layout that can be set up to accommodate monitors just as easily as FOH, or both. It's perfect for a sound company."

Sound Image opted for the 48 in, 24 out configuration iDR-48 MixRack, with an iLive-T112 Control Surface offering another 16 in, 12 out. What attracted Rick Stanley was the system's inherent value, whereby the fixed I/O iLive-T models have the same 64x32 DSP mix engine, 8 stereo FX processors, preamps and audio architecture as the premium flagship iLive line.

"It's a value issue. For a system at this price point and size, it meets all the technical requirements," notes Stanley. "I love the Allen & Heath approach to DSP, with all that processing power available all the time, which means you don't have to compromise and you don't need any outboard gear. That's a killer combination in a lot of touring and festival situations, especially with support acts who want their own desk but need to store it in the cargo bay of a bus."

Rick Stanley foresees a full season of touring and local duties for Sound Image's two new iLive systems.

"In addition to touring, we do a lot of local shows and festivals, and I expect these systems to be constantly employed for both," he says. "Hands down, the iDR-48/iLive-T112 gives us a lot more flexibility than any other console at this price point. Once I had seen the demo, I knew it would be really advantageous to have iLive in our arsenal, and that's why we bought two of them."

In picture: American Music & Sound president Lynn Martin (left), and national sales manager Michael Palmer (right), congratulating Sound Image's Dave Shadoan on buying the 1000th iLive digital mixing system, during AM&S's NAMM press conference.

Wybron On the Road Again

Beginning February 1, the Wybron Mobile Showroom begins its fifth leg, hitting the Phoenix, AZ and Las Vegas, NV areas.

The Mobile Showroom has become increasingly popular, and presents a survey of Wybron's stable of products, including the new Cygnus LED Wash Light, in an environment more intimate than a trade show. "The challenge of this industry is to actually get information to the people who will benefit from it," said Wybron, Inc. CEO Keny Whitright. "A trade show is terrific, sure, but you're often lacking time to connect with all the folks you would like to."

Enter the Wybron Mobile Showroom, a custom-built, state-of-the-art enclosure which has become increasingly popular since its inception in October 2009. It provides a hands-on demonstration of Wybron offerings and an opportunity for tête-à-tête with lighting professionals, including their local dealers. Most importantly, however, the Mobile Showroom offers education on the general theory behind and mechanics of professional lighting to an audience who may be unfamiliar with either or both.

"The educational component is an important one," said Whitright. "You often see misuse or just plain overkill of lighting in churches or schools, and we want to provide some perspective for people in those markets."

The Mobile Showroom will continue with nearly two years of planned stops across North America, with the next being in California.

For more information, contact Aaron Retka: aaron@wybron.com

projectiondesign to Preview World's First Remote Light Source Projector at ISE 2010

Norwegian projector manufacturer projectiondesign will present its latest innovation in projection technology with the preview of the FR12 Remote Light Source projector at Integrated Systems Europe 2010 in Amsterdam.

The patent pending FR12 Remote Light Source (RLS) concept relocates the lamps from the projector to a rack-mount enclosure up to 30 meters away from the projector head. Light from the 19-inch rack-mounted RLS illuminates the projector head via an innovative Liquid Light Guide (LLG).

The result is a compact, ruggedized, virtually maintenance-free projector head with completely silent operation. There are no limits on installation orientation and lamp maintenance is entirely simplified.

The FR12 Remote Light Source projector is ideal for 24/7 operation and applications where fan noise and heat management are issues, as well as in any location where projector access is restricted.

"At the forefront of creating some of the most exciting technologies and innovative products, projectiondesign has made history by producing innovative projectors that are compact, bright and high-resolution," says Anders Løkke, international marketing and communications manager at projectiondesign. "Now we are taking projection technology a step further in simplifying maintenance, eliminating noise and dissipating heat, as well as offering greater integration and installation flexibility. A typical application would be a 24/7 command and control room environment."

"With the FR12, like many traditional Norwegian explorers and innovators of their time such as Nansen, Amundsen and Leif Ericson, projectiondesign is taking a journey and a new world view. The FR12 RLS projector is one of the company's most exciting products yet.

Adamson Supports Industry Leader Waves at NAMM

Adamson Systems Engineering supplied Waves Audio with their sound reinforcement needs at NAMM 2010. Although Adamson did not have a booth at NAMM in Anaheim, a couple of their newest Point Series boxes were placed in the Waves booth to give them the necessary volume boost during their presentations and training program at the infamously loud show floor. Much like Adamson's, the Waves mission has been to develop and provide solutions that enable unparalleled sonic quality for all audio applications.
Since its inception in 1992, Waves has grown into the world's leading developer and supplier of professional audio signal processing tools. Their product line currently includes over 100 software plug-ins which have been embraced by the audio industry in music production, film, post, and broadcast.

Waves required a solid reinforcement solution for their NAMM exhibit booth, where they had some of the world's top mixing engineers including Chris Lord-Alge, Eddie Kramer, Jack Joseph Puig, and Tony Maserati, talk about their work with various Waves tools. Adamson's assignment was simple: to deliver clear and coherent speech and audio over the noise floor of the show, without shouting or disturbing other exhibitors.

The set-up at NAMM could not have been simpler. The plug-and-play package incorporated two of Adamson's passive Point 8 boxes, the series' smallest, which were mounted on the booth structure using Omnimount fixtures. The package was complete with NL4 cabling, a single Lab.gruppen fP10000Q amplifier, and an XTA DP424 processor, all neatly mounted on an Adamson custom flight case. Adamson's Applications Specialist Ewan McDonald prepared and shipped the system, which arrived in the hands of Waves Educational Specialist Scott Pederson, who was in charge of the installation.

Adamson's Israeli rental partner Kolot Ramim's Gadi Reik and Yossi Bar established the initial connection with Waves by way of Waves Director of Business Development Asher Bitansky, who was put in touch with Jochen Sommer, Adamson Europe GmbH Director of Operations.
The intended impact was achieved: "Thanks to the Adamson team, the system had a wonderful natural sound, easily heard above the tradeshow floor's noise level, without any additional effort on the presenter's part," commented Asher Bitansky after the show.

Booking Opens for Theatre Engineering and Architecture Conference 2010

The four-yearly International Theatre Engineering and Architecture Conference, which takes place in London from 13-15 June 2010, is now accepting delegate bookings, with early online registrations offering the benefit of the lowest costs.

This will be the third three-day event of its kind organised by theatre consultant Richard Brett in London. Venue architects, consultants, designers, managers, equipment manufacturers and technicians from around the world congregate to learn about the latest developments in their fields from international experts. The Conference offers delegates the opportunity to discuss design issues and exchange views with a wide range of knowledgeable practitioners. Previous conferences in 2002 and 2006 were over-subscribed, and judging from the significant number of pre-registrations received so far, places will again be in demand for 2010.

The three-day conference format allows some 30 presentations to be given or debates moderated by leading international figures in the industry. These sessions are run in parallel, allowing each delegate to attend up to ten selected sessions, as well as the Keynote Address and closing Plenary Debate. Following the pattern developed in previous conferences, the three 2010 conference themes are:

• technology, stage engineering, lighting
• planning, architecture and space design
• audio, video and acoustics.

The conference programme also provides many national and international networking opportunities, social events and visits to theatres and other venues. The ABTT Theatre Show, which attracts over 2000 visitors annually, follows the Conference on 16-17 June. For further information and to book for the Conference, visit www.theatre-event.com

Show-Way Postponed

Italian trade association APIAS has acknowledged demands made by the majority of its member companies and has decided to support their needs and expectations by postponing the Show-Way Professional Entertainment Technology Exhibition which was due to take place in Bergamo from February 28 to March 2 by a year.

The main reasons that have led the organisers to reschedule the event stem from the acknowledgement that the professional entertainment world is going through a period of great change, say APIAS.

New and different opportunities are emerging on the world scene for all sector players. Looking at other similar situations in the past, there is also no doubt that taking part in trade fairs in hard times such as this is totally unprofitable for companies.

The Show-Way exhibition will therefore return to the Bergamo trade fair centre in the Spring of next year, with the same format as before, i.e. a trade, audio and sound exhibition. These are all sectors where undisputed top ranking companies work in Italy.

APIAS say that this postponement will allow sector companies to concentrate all their necessary efforts on optimising their business during the year under way. At the same time, it will be possible to organize a large show for 2011 full of innovative products and a high-profile showcase of the significant results in research and development achieved by both Italian and foreign companies.

PLASA 2010 Launches with Free Registration Month

The PLASA 2010 Show officially launches today with the opening of a free registration month, enabling early bookers to gain admission to this year's show, at Earls Court on 12 - 15 September 2010, at no charge. Registration is now open on the new-look PLASA 2010 website (www.plasashow.com) with free visitor registration available until 11 February.

Following the highly upbeat reaction to PLASA09, with exhibitors expressing delight at the quality of visitors despite the financial climate, expectations for PLASA 2010 are also high.

Early exhibitor news includes confirmation by Martin Professional; a doubling of stand space by Nexo; and the return after a one-year absence of Zero 88.

PLASA's Events manager Sophie Atkinson said: "Last year the free registration offer helped boost exhibitors' confidence in the show's compelling drawing power by attracting thousands of early registrations, while the show itself beat the best expectations of both exhibitors and visitors." She added: "With PLASA Focus: Leeds 2010 also now sold out, PLASA Events' policy of re-investment in the industry is delivering exactly the business opportunities that exhibitors demand in these competitive conditions."

New initiatives for PLASA 2010 will be announced in the coming months, while successful innovations at PLASA09 - including the presence of government agencies with the Supply2.gov.uk Lounge - will be developed further, as will the increasingly popular Education & Learning Programme.

Community's First Annual On-line Video Contest

Community Professional Loudspeakers has launched its first annual on-line video contest. The contest is open to all users who enjoy Community dependability and performance, including sound designers, systems integrators, worship leaders, weekend musicians, sportscasters, educators and professional DJs. Entrants are asked to create a short (2 to 4 minute) video about their favourite Community loudspeaker product or application, or profile an installation they are particularly proud of. Videos don't have to be slick or professional; they just have to tell what it is about Community that works for the user.

The Grand Prize winner will win their choice of full S-Series or VERIS systems. The Second Prize winner will receive a smaller S-Series or VERIS package. Additional runner-up prizes will also be awarded.

A full list of prizes is published on the Community website together with the contest rules. The deadline for entries is February 28, 2010 and winners will be announced on the website on March 20, 2010.

Lighthouse Launches New Rn12i/o-SMD at ISE 2010

ISE 2010 sees Lighthouse Technologies, launch a new panel for the rental market, the Rn12i/o-SMD, which heralds a new era for outdoor rental applications.

The Rn12i/o-SMD brings the same clarity of image and colour reproduction that has made Lighthouse LED screens a firm favourite around the globe in a brand new 12mm pixel pitch rental product. Stunning visuals are ensured by 5000 nits, 16-bit processing and a 140 degree horizontal viewing angle. Additionally, SMD lamps deliver beautiful colour renditions and wide viewing angles.

Durability is also a key feature; this model comes with IP65 for both front and rear, and can withstand temperatures as low as -20 degrees and as high as 50 degrees, making it the ultimate panel for outdoor rental applications such as concerts and sports events, just about anywhere in the world.

The Rn12i/o-SMD is also designed with convenience in mind, making it an ideal model for rental operations. Its lightweight makes it easy to transport, install and dismantle and a tool-free stacking method simplifies set up.

"Lighthouse screen have always been chosen for their picture quality, light weight, ease of assembly and robust nature," says Lighthouse's general manager, Peter Chan. "Improvements in our manufacturing techniques have also made our screens more energy efficient and increased their operating lifespan from around 50,000 hours to 75,000 hours. This gives our customers better return on investment and makes them more environmentally friendly.

"And, with the addition of the IP65 rating both front and back, the Rn12i/o-SMD is even more attractive prospect, especially for situations where there may be extreme weather conditions."

Second Digital Signage Area Added to ISE 2010

Integrated Systems Events has announced the positioning of a Digital Signage Expert Showcase within ISE 2010. Co-located next to - and integrated with - a number of other attractions to form a larger Digital Signage Area in Hall 10 of the Amsterdam RAI, the Showcase is intended to show ISE attendees a complete signage system, with content creation, management, delivery and display solutions from a range of vendors, all viewable in a single location.

Mike Blackman, managing director, Integrated Systems Events, comments: "With over 250 digital signage exhibitors at our tradeshow and our DOOH Business Conference now firmly established as Europe's premier networking event for digital advertising, we felt the need to provide an additional Digital Signage Area for 2010.

"The Digital Signage Expert Showcase is a key element of this, and we believe it will hold enormous appeal not just for our core integrator channel but also for those DOOH Conference delegates who may be less technically orientated, such as those from the creative content and agency communities."

Adjacent to the Showcase will be a number of other features, including a real-time demonstration of the ‘RAI Live!' digital signage network - widely acknowledged to be the most sophisticated of its kind in Europe, and used extensively by ISE's organisers and exhibitors to promote show features and education sessions, as well as to assist attendees with wayfinding.

An additional booth staffed by members of OVAB Europe will introduce attendees to this ground-breaking association for the outdoor advertising industry, which aims to drive the growth of the DOOH sector by promoting the adoption of standards that are comparable to those used by ‘conventional' media.

Ronni Guggenheim, CEO of Minicom Digital Signage which has been appointed by ISE to run the Showcase, explains: "The digital signage industry is a fragmented collection of technology and solution providers, each of them offering one piece of the puzzle in the digital signage eco-system. While a show visitor normally walks the floor seeing bits and pieces of the overall application out of context, our Showcase will present the end-to-end solution - giving a bird's eye perspective on how to plan, create, rollout and operate a full-scale digital signage network, from content to measurement."

As an extension of this activity, OVAB Europe will be providing a ‘Digital Signage Expert Tour' of ISE, which will begin and end at the Showcase. And as Guggenheim concludes, the addition of the ‘RAI Live!' demonstration will provide the icing on the cake:

"While the Showcase will show the eco-system of digital signage vendors, the ‘RAI Live!' demo will see that being translated into a practical application that is proven to drive traffic and produce ROI for its customers. After that, attendees will be able to get more information about the industry from the OVAB Europe booth. We believe this is a unique combination that will have widespread appeal to the ISE visitor base."

Integrated Systems Europe 2010 will take place at the Amsterdam RAI, Netherlands, from 2-4 February 2010.

Advance warning - Light Relief By Design Day 2010 is Coming!

Following a hugely successful first joint venture fund raiser this year between Light Relief in the UK and Behind the Scenes in the States, the two charities are doing it again in 2010! And once again they have the full backing of award-winning designers Paule Constable, Ken Billington and Ken Posner, along with Light Relief's co-founder, Rick Fisher.Established in 2007 as Light Relief Day and now renamed By Design Day, April 24 is the day that, each year, people in the professional lighting design business give back to help others less fortunate than themselves. The first ‘joint venture' between Light Relief and Behind the Scenes raised a staggering £7,500 for Light Relief and $5,700 for Behind the Scenes. The money came through a variety of channels, including a bucket collection among the audience of the London production of Hairspray on the day itself - thanks to Show Chief Sara Lunn and Michael Ball!To make the 2010 event even more successful, the organisers are giving designers on both sides of the Atlantic advance warning of By Design Day 2010 which, as always, is April 24 in honour of the late Tony Gottelier, co-founder of Light Relief. Lighting and other designers are asked to donate their royalties for the day, while others in non-royalty situations give what they are able. So - put Saturday 24 April 2010 in your diary - and visit http://www.lightrelief.org.uk or http://www.estafoundation.org/bts for more information in due course!

Pixled LED Video Products at LDI2009

Pixled, a company offering a lightweight LED video product which has already been embraced by designers from a variety of industries, found the recent LDI show an ideal venue to introduce the product range to even more clients. Pixled spoke with designers and specifiers from a wide range of applications including touring, television, live events, and permanent installations. All who stopped by wanted to find out how Pixled's range of LED video products could allow them more creative freedom without technical and weight compromises.

The LDI judging committee was impressed with Pixled's product line and awarded them Honorable Mention in the LDI2009: Debuting Product Award, Projection category for its PowerPix product. The DMX-compatible PowerPix are strings of high-power RGBW LED pixels. Its power scaling technology ensures that the RGBW pixel modules have a continuous light output of 5W. When configured as a single or dual colour pixel, the modules' light output even equals that of a 10W pixel. The IP65 rated PowerPIX modules have an aluminium housing and a clear, 170° beam angle PC lens. Its flexible cable and customisable interpixel distance gives designers limitless design freedom.

"We would like to thank everyone who stopped by our booth at the LDI2009 show," says Norah de Bekker, sales and marketing for Pixled. "We had a lot of very interesting conversations as well as got to meet with a lot of potential clients and discuss how Pixled products could solve some of their creative challenges." Koen Bossuyt, worldwide sales and business development for Pixled, echoes these sentiments and adds: "Lightweight and with varying rates of transparency, the Pixled product range certainly provides answers to increasingly important purchasing considerations in the LED market today. Market acceptance of the product has been immediate, with Pixled already being used on numerous projects. Pixled offers a rugged range of products that are ideal for many different types of applications."

Pixled's product line includes a range of lightweight, indoor/outdoor LED video options from 7mm to 40mm with varying percentages of transparency suitable for both rental and permanent installations. By combining ultra-lightweight design, in fact it is one-fifth the weight of comparable LED products, with remarkable price/performance, Pixled removes a number of technical and economic design constraints that have previously restricted the use of LED in many projects.

Another new product on display at the LDI2009 booth included the F-30 Floor Module, which converts the standard Pixled 30mm F-30 modules into a rugged and versatile floor. The unique design allows the user to build a LED floor very quickly without compromising on serviceability or screen uniformity. The standard F-30 product requires no separate control boxes, allowing for easy tile-to-tile connections so that a large surface can be built quickly and simply. The F-30 module is waterproof; therefore no damage can be done if water or humidity penetrates through the floor. This separate Floor Module allows rental customers to have better and more versatile usage of the standard Pixled F-30 panel.

Demand for the Pixled product is rapidly growing as LED video displays are now not only seen at concerts, tradeshows, tournaments and large festivals, but also in retail stores, office lobbies, casinos and nightclubs. Exhibit designers have been incorporating Pixled in their designs including Mercedes Benz at the Frankfurt Auto Show; Lexus, Infiniti and Nissan at the Los Angeles Auto Show; GM Daewoo at the Seoul Motor Show; Eisai; Accu-Check; and Addikt Hairdressing Products. Permanent installations include the Mercedes Benz flagship store in Berlin; UNIQLO Soho New York global flagship store and UNIQLO Paris; Cartier in New York; and the offices of the Wall Street Journal in New York.

Pixled products have been used on a wide variety of applications including concerts with Jay-Z's 9/11 Benefit Concert and Blueprint 3 Tour; Pink's Funhouse Tour; DJ Tiesto; Kings of Leon; Johnny Hallyday Tour 66; Take That Circus Live Tour; Juan Luis Guerra La Travesia Tour; Stereophonics; Kaiser Chiefs; Essence Music Festival; and Coldplay. Television applications include the 2009 MTV VMAs; Brit Awards 2009; 2009 Eurovision Song Contest; 2009 CMT Music Awards; and VH1 Hip Hop Honors and Divas.

PRG Recognised at LDI 2009

While at the LDI 2009 show in Orlando, Production Resource Group (PRG) was awarded two significant honours. The first, an ESTA 2009 Rock Our World Award for the Bad Boy Luminaire, recognises PRG's development of innovative technology. The second, the Parnelli Award for Lighting Company of the Year, acknowledges PRG's commitment to providing exceptional service.

The second annual Rock Our World Awards were presented at ESTA's Annual Dinner on November 19th, to recognise "groundbreaking achievement in new products, product applications, or projects acknowledging the innovation of both the creator of technology and the designer or integrator who applies the technology in a real world environment."

Since its debut at last year's LDI, the PRG Bad Boy luminaire has not only rocked the lighting design world but has literally travelled around the world on a wide variety of projects including tours for Oasis, Britney Spears, Miley Cyrus and of course the U2 360° Tour, which used the Bad Boy as the principal means of illumination. It was also used on numerous television projects including the CMT Awards, American Idol and the Eurovision Song Contest.

The second honor of the weekend, Lighting Company of the Year, came to PRG at the 8th Annual Parnelli Awards, a gala event honouring the best in the live event industry. PRG was particularly pleased to receive their award the same evening that production manager Jake Berry was recognised with the Parnelli Lifetime Achievement Award. PRG worked closely with Berry this year on the technically advanced and groundbreaking U2 360° tour, supplying and supporting the lighting and network control. In addition to the U2 tour, PRG was to be a part of numerous tours and live events in 2009 including Madonna's Sticky and Sweet tour, Jay-Z's 9/11 Benefit and Blueprint 3 tour, The Circus Starring Britney Spears, Pink's Funhouse tour, as well as Miley Cyrus's current tour.

Successful Launch for GLP and G-LEC at LDI 2009

The first ever combined GLP and G-LEC booth at the recent LDI show in Orlando has been crowned a great success

GLP showed a wide range of fixtures from their award winning Impression range including the newly launched Impression Zoom RZ 120 and Volkslicht, all in support of their exclusive US distributor, Elation Professional. Alongside these exciting new fixtures was also a glimpse into the future as two new prototype fixtures from the Impression XL were also shown. Firstly, visitors were able to see a zoom version of the Impression XL, which utilises a stunning 297 Rebel LED's in an RGB configuration and offering a zoom range of 10 to 26 degrees. Also on show was a five channel version of the Impression XL, with red, green, blue, 3200K white and 6000K white LED circuits. This combination now gives a massive color range from a single unit with far greater flexibility in the pastel area, and a completely clean white with variable color temperature available.

G-LEC also showed some existing products in the form of the Phantom 30 video panel, but as you would expect, they also had a few tricks up their sleeve. A new version of the Phantom 30, utilising tricolor SMD LED's is now available and customers were able to compare performance of both the SMD and the traditional side by side. The new SMD version is priced at the same level as the traditional version. In regard to new technology, visitors could see the soon to be released Solaris system, which consists of strings of 360 degree full color balls which gives a huge amount of design flexibility in either 2 or 3 dimensions. Also shown was Chimera, a new type of LED board that can be cut to shape for installations in set pieces or in buildings. Available in RGB or with white LED's, a pilot project has been completed at the BMW Museum in Munich, Germany featuring 700 square metres of Chimera, with fantastic success. Finally, there was also a product designed completely for outdoor installations called Venetian. Using a clever mounting system, the strips of RGB LED's can be placed at multiple angles with full IP rated protection for any kind of weather environment.

The stand was busy throughout the entire exhibition with customers both old and new, and now the company looks forward to being part of LDI again next year when the show hits Las Vegas.

HEADLINES

news archive

search stories