PLASA 2010 Unveils Most Comprehensive Free Education & Learning Programme Yet…
Added: July 30, 2010
The first details of this year’s extended PLASA 2010 Education & Learning Programme have been unveiled by organisers PLASA Events. The acclaimed programme of free seminars and masterclasses includes top international speakers on industry projects and technologies, sustainability, AV and systems integration and much more.
The Gottelier Masterclass will be presented, as is now established tradition, by last year’s Gottelier Award winner – Alex Cooper from Midas Klark Teknik. Entitled ‘Don’t Just measure: Listen’, the Masterclass will be an appreciation of the power of human perception and spatial awareness, and how they relate to audio – in particular, the fact that just because a piece of audio gear measures correctly does not necessarily mean it sounds good.
InfoComm International will host a seminar theatre dedicated to AV & Systems Integration. Topics over the dedicated two day programme include lighting for video in the large meeting environment, project management for stage labour, audio techniques for corporate AV events, a primer on audio equalisation, AV Mathematics and moving signals for presentation covering interfacing between HDMI, DVI and SDI, and the evolution of presentation networks.
A suite of seminars aimed at demystifying EN54 take place on Monday 13 September. ISCE will host a seminar for acoustic consultants, architects, specifiers and facilities managers on EN54 and how it affects the industry, followed by a further seminar hosted by AMS Acoustics / Intertek, another with renowned acoustician Peter Mapp, and closing with a presentation from The Institute of Acoustics.
Technologies for Worship has extended its three-day programme by popular demand, opening with a talk by Wigwam president Mike Spratt on how UK houses of worship are using technology, from an integration standpoint, as well as creatively. See how the use of modern technology is making the house of worship community one of the fastest growing industries in the world. Other Technologies For Worship guest speakers and topics include Stephen Ellison, lighting designer at Nimbus Design & Production, whose two seminars cover tasteful lighting design on a budget and different lighting fixture types and their environmental impact. Other sessions in the programme include; the problem of stage volume in churches and how to deal with its effects on worship; multisite and broadcast solutions; bridging the communication gap between techs and pastoral staff; and de-mystifying audio techniques.
Roland Hemming, RH Consulting, presents ‘Millennium Dome 10 Years On’ – a candid account of the project and lessons that can be learned from other large projects. The Millennium Dome was a unique event that set a number of challenges both technically and for those involved with managing the project. Roland Hemming was Head of Sound for the project and will take you through the events of being there for nearly three years and provide an insider’s view on how and why things turned out the way they did.
Ben Darrington of Wireless Solutions presents a basic introduction to wireless lighting controls, with more advance “cellplanning” of antennas and co-existence with other wireless networks.
Tuesday will see a series of seminars addressing Sustainability. The Theatres Trust and other contributors will share knowledge and best practice during a full day of specialist sustainable seminars, starting with a seminar on Display Energy Certificates for Performing Arts Venues, examining the impacts of Display Energy Certificates on performing arts venues in the UK, and looking at their scope, relevance, benchmarking, legal implications and long-term future.
Julie’s Bicycle will address Sustainable Building Audits and Sustainable Touring, whilst another Theatres Trust session will be a round-up of its Ecovenue project, a European Regional Development Fund-backed programme working to improve the environmental performance of London’s smaller theatres.
A further sustainable issue will be addressed in a White Light / Arcola / BOC panel discussing ‘Hydrogen – an alternative fuel source’. During 2010 a joint venture between these three resulted in the first of a range of hydrogen-powered fuel cells suitable for use in the entertainment industry. These fuel cells have already been used at the Natural History Museum, Latitude Festival and London Bubble Theatre. They provide virtually silent power suitable for use for lighting in remote locations with no emissions. This seminar will explain the technology behind the system.
Harnessing Social Media without Fear is the topic of a session on Tuesday by Claire Adams and Jonathan Ross of Social Fuel, aimed at company owners, managing directors, marketing specialists and product managers. The Internet is a social medium, bringing together millions of users in an environment with few rules or structures – it’s a staggering opportunity for businesses, but one that can also be a bit frightening in its fundamental lack of control. This session will provide a valuable insight into how companies can harness social media by starting and owning debates rather than attempting to change them. The discussion will discuss what social media is, how to get started and examples of best practice and future trends.
The final day of the show will see seminars focusing on Skills & Qualifications in the industry and Best Practice. The National Skills Academy will run a couple of sessions, as well as WISE on women in stage entertainment and a Production Managers’ Forum with a panel of experts, entitled ‘Is the new TMA/BECTU Code of Practice for Get-Ins, Fit-Ups and Get-Outs working?’
Further updates to the full Education & Learning Programme will be added to the PLASA 2010 website in the run-up to the show.
All these seminars are in addition to the co-location of two brand new industry conferences – the ‘PLASA International Rigging Conference’ will run on Monday 13 and Tuesday 14 September, and Pro Sound News Europe & Installation Europe are presenting the ‘AVNetworks 2010′ one day conference on Wednesday 15 September.
PLASA 2010 show director Nicola Rowland comments: “The diversity of seminars and the quality of presenters continues to grow and we are seeing many more sessions that have been created by sheer demand. We fully expect even more to be over-subscribed than last year and urge visitors to register both for the show and for their desired seminars as soon as possible. In addition to which we are delighted with the two conferences co-locating alongside PLASA 2010 – providing even more reasons to attend than ever before.”
www.plasariggingconference.com
DJ Mag Top 100 DJ’s
Added: July 28, 2010
Our friends at DJmag are once again compiling the Top 100 DJ’s list. So, who’s been rocking you iPod over the last 12 months? Who’s kept you raving ‘til 9am? Who’s dazzled you with their technical skills??
Your favourite DJs NEED your support! Head over to www.top100djs.net to cast your votes and you could see your musical hero crowned World’s Number One for 2010! Every voter receives a free track download from Trackitdown.net, check your voter confirmation email for full details. PLUS don’t forget to head down to DJmag Top 100 DJs party on October 27th where you can find out who’s stolen the show this year and hear the winner smash the dance floor apart. This fun hype filled event was covered by 2 SEDA members last year, so put it in you diary and we’ll see you there.
Pioneer announce new CDJ-850
Added: July 8, 2010
The CDJ-2000s are quickly replacing the CDJ-1000Mk3 as the industry standard player in the world’s biggest clubs, while the CDJ-900 takes root in regular clubs. For semi-pro bedroom DJs and bars and completing the rekordbox™ enabled CDJ line-up, Pioneer today announce the new CDJ-850, available from August 2010 (suggested retail price: £799).
CDJ-850: resembling the CDJ-2000 while still at an affordable price
Intentionally designed to feel and function like other CDJ models further up the range, the CDJ-850 will give that all important reassurance when turning up to a gig with other CDJ models in the booth. And just as budding DJs practiced on the CDJ-800 at home in preparation for their club gigs on the CDJ-1000, the CDJ-850 is set to become the new training ground for DJs hoping to break it on the club circuit. Apart from the ProDJ Link connection, the CDJ-850 inherits so many of the most exciting features from the CDJ-2000 and 900, offering major enhancements over the outgoing CDJ-800MK2. The full-size 206mm jog wheel will be familiar to all existing professional CDJ users, giving the same performance and feel as the top range products. And no matter which CDJ you play on, the browsing logic is always the same and all the work put into customising rekordbox collections will be available on every player in the range. So wherever you play, it will always feel like home.
The CDJ-850 features the same large rotary select dial as the CDJ-2000 and is the most affordable product in the range to feature the Wave display to see peaks and drops of the music. An intuitive Tag List feature allows you to think ahead 10, 20 or many more tracks by arranging temporary set lists on the fly. You can save this as a playlist and recall it later in rekordbox or use it again at the next gig. And what’s more, it’s the only player to feature Tag List editing, so you can add, remove and change the order of tracks in the list. Adapting to all ways of working, the CDJ-850 plays music from CD, USB and PC. Despite the price point, it’s capable of playing professional 24-bit WAV and AIFF, along with MP3 and AAC music files. It can be used as a Midi controller and 24-bit soundcard for music software, and with HID capability, software companies will be quick to announce Plug&Play support.
Main features
- Retains most of the principal functions from the industry club-standard CDJ-2000, such as the 206mm jog dial and large screen for visual information.
- Able to play all types of digital files, such as WAV, AIFF, MP3 etc.
- Incorporates rekordbox, allowing the creation and editing of playlists pre-gig, and recalling cue and loop settings for more inventive DJing.
- On-screen display allows for quick and easy music selection, and the wave display allows greater grasp of the dynamics of a track.
- By connecting via the CDJ-850’s special interface (USB HID), more complex DJ software can be used without using a control disk.
- Tag list allows registering and itemising of tracks at the touch of a button.
- Auto beat loop function, tempo variation, CD ‘resume’ function and vibration-resistance are just some of the other additional features.
Expect to see this unit at a SEDA ShowNight in the near future, for more info, visit the Pioneer website or djsounds.com