PLASA 2010 Unveils Most Comprehensive Free Education & Learning Programme Yet…

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.plasashow.com

www.plasariggingconference.com

www.avnetworks2010.com

DJ Mag Top 100 DJ’s

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.

BPM 2010 Tickets Now On Sale!

Tickets for BPM 2010, Europe’s largest event dedicated to DJing, are now on sale. Following a tremendously successful show in 2009, which attracted close to 4000 visitors, BPM 2010 will return to the Birmingham NEC later this year from Saturday 2nd to Monday 4th October – an extra day due to last year’s popularity. [Read more]

ShowNight Success

So here I am fresh for a nice stay at the Village Hotel.  It’s the day after the night before and what a totally amazing ShowNight it was last night!  We had another fantastic attendance from our Membership who came along to see RSD, Denon, Mastermix, Glosticks, TopLite and more!  We congratulated long-standing SEDA Member Robbie Earl on his new appointment as Secretary of the NADJ and we also congratulated our own Chairman, Paul Forsyth for becoming a Grandad for the third time that very afternoon!

Richard from Mastermix drove all the way from Rotherham with a car-full of CD’s at incredibly cheap prices so we thank Richard for his commitment and look forward to seeing him again soon.

As a SEDA first, we auctioned off some speakers that had been in Paul Forsyth’s van for waaaaay too long.  The (unfortunate) winner was David Wimble from Allied Entertainments who no doubt will use them as furniture or as part of a future magic trick or something.  It’s just s shame our Chairman couldn’t make them disappear out of the back of his van!

Anyway, enough ramble, take a look at the piccies!

SEDA ShowNight Sunday 16th May 2010

It’s Showtime again and another great line up!  SEDA ShowNights are Bi-Monthly physical meetings primarily for members but also open to visitors (at no charge), offering the opportunity to see new kit, meet and network with colleagues, suppliers and other related businesses and individuals and also generally discuss our industry.  All are very welcome, so if you’ve ever wondered what goes on please feel free to come along. Also if you came along a few years ago and weren’t too keen, come and see us again, things change.

Here’s the line-up:

Exhibitors

Denon – News and updates from one of our Premier Suppliers
Glosticks UK – Just in time to get stocked up for the Prom Season
Toplite – Some very nice lighting products – www.toplite.com
Music Factory – Mastermix disc deals – SEDA Member deals and a very interesting member proposal!

Featured Retailer

RSD Music – A fantastic mix of amazing, topical, and relative products to see and buy!

Regular Features

Members Show – David Wimble – Allied Disco
Second-Hand Table
The Essential Selection – UK Funky – Barney Grossman
SEDAshop
The Famous SEDA Raffle

Other Features

Laser Update – Find out how the new legislation affects DJ’s without paying £250 or more to attend a Laser Safety Course.
Studiomaster – Walkabout – Portable PA System – Presented by Pete Atkins

Please come along if you can, and remember to bring some business cards as the ShowNights are excellent networking opportunities.

SEDA DMX Seminar Presented at the NADJ Tradeshow and AGM

On Sunday 25th April the National Association of DJs held their annual Tradeshow and AGM which was held at the Barn Function Centre, Berkshire. SEDA contributed to the show by providing a shortened version of our popular DMX seminar as presented by myself.

The 30 minute seminar included all the basics of DMX including set-ups, system options, DMX addressing and some more of the technical information that’s always useful to know. To download the presentation and notes taken from the seminar, see below.

If you found the seminar useful, or have any questions following my seminar at the NADJ Tradeshow, please drop me an email: dev@seda.org.uk. Watch this space for future, full length, SEDA DMX seminars and workshops!

Download the DMX Seminar Presentation and Notes (Adobe PDF)

NADJ AGM & Trade Show 2010

The National Association of Disc Jockeys annual knees up is THIS SUNDAY and instead of being at it’s usual motorcycle museum location they’ve shifted it top Gloucestershire which has the added benefit of being next to a country theme park which is great for the kiddies.  What this means for you is that whilst you’re being geeky and nerdy with your NADJ buddies, your Wife and kids in tow can “have it large” in the theme park – everyone’s a winner, Yeehaa!

The best news of all is that SEDA members get in for absolutely free, all you need to do is present your membership card on the day and they will open up the barrier for you.

So, I guess you want to know what’s there?  As well as the formality of the AGM there will be chance for you to mix and mingle with a pretty amazing cacophony of retailers and manufacturers all looking to milk you of the very last coppers you have left over from the thousands you earned over Christmas.  It’s not all that bad though, there are some pretty amazing products out there right now (including the ShowTec Acrobat LED moving head video we’ve now added to the website on the homepage!) and loads of reasons to drive over to Gloucester.

We could list them all here but it would take forever to do that so instead, why not meander over to the NADJ AGM & Trade Show website to get the full story!

SEDA SHOWNIGHT 21st March 2010

March ShowNight and AGM is Sunday 21st March 2010!

It has been moved from it’s second Sunday spot, as Sunday 14th is Mothering Sunday.  I hope to see as many of you as possible, since as well as having a blinding line-up for you, it is also our AGM, and it would be really good to have a strong membership turn out for this one!!!

Exhibitors: Denon, RNID, SpeakerPlans, Matrix, PCDJ, Microphome and James and the team at Advanced Event Designs who will exhibiting the much anticipated Micro Deckstand Booth.

Retailer: CRS1

Regular Features: Member Show – Paul Bouzan, SEDAshop, The Essential Selection, Second Hand Table

Other Features: SEDA – AGM, Barney Grossman – Report on Mobile Beat Las Vegas, RNID – Cheque Presentation

I think that covers most of it, of course we’ll be holding the legendary raffle with half the funds given as first prize the other half going to RNID.

Look forward to seeing you all there, doors open 19.30 prompt, venue:

The Village Hotel
Castle View, Forstal Road, Sandling,  Maidstone, Kent, ME14 3AQ. Just off the M20 J6

DO NOT USE THE ABOVE POSTCODE FOR SAT NAV – IT WILL TAKE YOU MILES AWAY!!! For programming satellite navigations systems please use postcode ME14 3AS.

Paul Forsyth
SEDA – Chairman / Events

NADJ AGM & TradeShow

The NADJ AGM & Tradeshow takes place this year on Sunday, 25^th April but not at the Motorcycle Museum as in previous years but at a purpose-built banqueting and conference facility in Gloucestershire called the The Barn Function Centre (www.thebarnfunctioncentre.co.uk).

Many exhibitors and retailers have already signed up to appear at the Show; Bose, Denon, PCDJ, Prolight, CD Pool, RCF, Dragonspirit, DMC and more!  For more information on who will be attending, NADJ have set up a tradeshow website which you will find at www.nadjtradeshow.com.

In an effort to make this show completely different to all others, the NADJ Committee have decided to make the show “family friendly” by negotiating a special deal with the Cattle Country Adventure Theme Park (www.cattlecountry.co.uk) next door.  All entrants to the Tradeshow also get entry to the theme park which in itself represents a massive saving, so whilst you’re looking for your next set of speakers or CD players, the wife and kids can have a great time as well!

The NADJ Committee are also looking to incorporate the very popular bring and buy idea into their show, this is a very popular item at SEDA ShowNights and always goes down well.

Entry to the Tradeshow and Theme Park is free of course to NADJ members and the NADJ committee have extended their very kind offer of free entry to those SEDA members who produce their SEDA membership cards on the day.

As if that wasn’t a good enough reason to go to the show, if you pre-register for tickets on the Tradeshow website the very nice men and women at CD Pool will send you a free CD in the post!  There’s also talk of a NADJ aftershow party, your chance to large it up and throw shapes on the dancefloor with all of your DJ mates!

For more information on the AGM and Tradeshow, please visit the website – http://www.nadjtradeshow.com

MBLVX Seminar: 12 Steps To Better Performances

First seminar I attended was a good one. Hosted by Dean Carlson who is a well established US Mobile DJ. This was Deans first time talking at Mobile Beat, and he openly confessed that no more than 7 years ago he was a homeless, jobless, drug addict with nothing to his name… he is now a very successful multi-op and came to share his tips. The introduction sounded very inviting:

Do you find yourself struggling, unable to make that solid connection with your clients or their guests that creates the energy and synergy making it a truly memorable event? Having trained nearly 100 DJs, Dean Carlson will show you that it’s not about being “on”, but rather a matter of small steps enhancing performances in a short period of time.

It all started with 2 very capturing quotes: “If life gives you lemons – make lemonade” and “Get knocked down 7 – get up 8″ this was Deans way of highlighting the importance of striving and continuing to fight and on go with improving yourself and your performance to ultimate create an outstanding show. The seminar focused on 12 steps which I will now outline

1. Admit you are not nearly as good as you think you are – If we already think we are the best then we stop learning as we feel we have nothing to learn. No one is perfect and there is always room for improvement. Have a slice of humble pie….
2. Understand there are people better than us out there –  Why not try and find a mentor (As part of SEDA this is exactly what we are all about)? There is no need to be so closed with sharing your idea also, say as a mentor you think you have an “original idea” chances are someone else may well have done it too in a slightly different way, but thats exactly what you (as someone looking for a mentor) should be looking to do: find an idea you like, take it and evolve it and make it your own. Having a mentor also proves invaluable as its an outside source of information, a new perspective on the way you do things and something you might have missed. To set up a good relationship with student/mentor there are 3 things:
   • Give Permission – When people offer advice with out being invited you can often feel offended, so give your mentor the opportunity and invite them to make suggestions and comments. If you have a suggestion for someone else , ask, something like “Hey Barney, I saw your performance and I thought based on my experience I might have something that could be of use to you, would you mind if I share it with you”
   • Humility – Don’t always take a defensive stance such as “thats how i’ve always done it” or “thats just the way it has to be done”. If you don’t welcome and accept comments you can’t expect to receive future honest feedback next time!
   • Trust – A point of confidentiality is vital. If you always have the feeling that “what if he posts it all on the forums for all to see” your relationship needs work
3. Take a searching & fearless inventory of your show – Examine what you are doing, highlight the good and the bad. Its important to look at the good also as it can often be heard “I’ve been doing it for years now, and my clients like it and it gets the job done” is OK, but thats all it is. If you want an outstanding performance you need to really get a good list. Get your mentor to be brutal, you want to hear it all! There are mainly 2 ways to go about doing this:
   • Get a DJ to shadow – If you get a friend or mentor to come along and shadow you this will prove to be a great way to get all the information needed as its not limited in capturing the moment (so to speak), although it can also be slightly incorrect as knowing you have another DJ shadowing you prompts you to sharpen up and act slightly differently
   • Video your performances – perhaps a lot more convenient than having a shadow but still requires time to be taken to watch the video and also doesn’t really capture the moment of the event.
4. One thing at a time – So we now have our big list of things to work on. Hitting all the points at once is going to do you no favors as you can’t really work out what element has influenced the change. Find one aspect that your slacking in, and work on it solely. Work on 1 aspect for a year to force your memory to make it natural – then you can live in the moment of it rather than a scripted attempt.
5. Get into the classroom – So we have all had the experience of the guy at a wedding who comes up to us and says “Hey I’m a DJ too” there can often be a bit of hostility to this chap as you question why would you feel the need to tell me. But rather than taking this negatively why not ask him @how did you get into it?”… “What did you do to get into it?” these can serve as valuable overlooked information. Now Dean went on to say how this happened to him and he saw the “DJ” go off and start note taking. This guy was actually taking tips from the Dean at an event, this guy was obviously clever as there’s no point trying to reinvent the wheel. So this step is all about keeping your eyes and ears out to always be learning, its not a once done its done, its an on going process. This extra knowledge is an added bonus and strong encouragement to your potential clients, after all if we are the professionals shouldn’t we know the answers to related questions… a great question was asked “Do you know why the tradition of cake cutting takes place” only 2 people put there hands up out of hundreds. Dean then said he used his cake cutting piece to help seal many deals with clients.
6. Practice makes near perfect – Practicing is good, but its never as good as the real thing. To look at the way we learn we must image a growth chart, where we learn something new, we go up, then we go down a bit as we come to accept our new found improvement, then there is a plateau where we strive to improve but just cant. Later the process is repeated again and again
7. Getting Intentional – Simply learn to visualize your successful event. Image it: get to the room, set up a nice rig, then thing about as the guests enter the room, the buzz to find their seats, opening the mic usage, the great grand march going perfectly, the crowd all pumped up, entrances all go well, Bride and Groom with big smiles, a full dance floor… all these visualization are strongly pushed by many successful people in being the encouragement and motivation they needed… try it.
8. Getting to the edge – You need to push your self to the very thing line, the edge. Take your performances to NEARLY ridiculous and then pull it back a bit, just a bit. Push your self hard, and you will find its a lot easier to to come back. If you feel you can’t do, just try it… push yourself out of your comfort zone to push for the better performance.
9. Wave the white flag – As mentioned in 6, these plateaus and improvements take longer to come to, and the better you get the hard it becomes to improve and see that jump of excellence. Don’t resist the change, accept new technology, accept new customs, accept new performance changes
10. Play with a childs heart - Get down to a childs level. Sometimes we thinks as are professionals we must always be on our professional level, but using a childs playful heart will really bring your performance into an emotional level
11. Mastermind – get connected! - Exchange ideas, ask others, discuss… lets say you have a problem; you struggle to get women up to do the flower toss or think think that your grand entrance needs work. Ask the question, get the answers and evaluate them to come up with your own concepts and way of working.
12. Give it back! – Share… there is nothing quite like the feeling of some one asking you for advice, don’t be a scrooge a give it to them! This is what we are SEDA are all about, about sharing as a community of Mobile DJs. Take take take isn’t the way of a community, we need to work to give and take. Offering our own opinion on some aspects

All these are made from the notes I made during the seminar, it was quite hard to keep up (all that came form 45 mins) and if some of it doesn’t make sense or doesn’t sit well… it did at the time I just cant remember the connections. So why not get started on your outstanding performance

Barney
Party Events Unlimited (Mobile Disco)

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