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

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

Advanced tickets for BPM are priced at £10.00 and guarantee entry to every day of the event and also represent a substantial saving from the £15.00 on-the-door price. Ticket sales will once again be handled by the NEC’s dedicated ticket outlet, The Ticket Factory, online or over the phone, and there is a 50p transaction fee per order.

To celebrate the ticket launch, the first 50 people who order BPM 2010 tickets will also receive a free Arriba AC-115 soft padded equipment case suitable for carrying and protecting a large range of DJ sound, lighting and effects equipment from many leading brands. Those who qualify will receive a voucher to take to the Arriba stand at BPM to exchange for a brand new case (worth £21.99). More information about Arriba Cases and the AC-115 can be found at www.arribacases.co.uk.

As an added incentive, every DJ who purchases their ticket for BPM 2010 in advance will also be eligible for a free four week trial of the new Sixpack digital music subscription service from CD Pool (worth £9.95). Sixpack aims to help DJs stay up to date with the latest single releases by providing them with six of the best new tracks released each week. Covering four key music genres (Chart Hits, Dance 12″, Indie Rock and Urban), Sixpack is a new instant digital solution that meets the music acquisition requirements of DJs who are keen to be kept up-to-date with the latest releases. Each week, subscribed DJs are emailed information detailing the six tracks – chosen based on pre-release charts and the release schedule – and invited to log into their accounts to download the tracks in 320kbps MP3 format.

Commenting on the ticket offer Mark Walsh, one of the event’s organisers, said “We’re really pleased with the deal we’re able to offer BPM visitors buying tickets in advance. The Sixpack trial gives DJs 30 high quality digital music tracks worth almost as much as the ticket price. Those who are quick off the mark will also get an excellent carry case from Arriba that is very well designed and extremely useful. Both of the free gifts are well worth having, but, even without them, BPM tickets would still be great value, as they offer guaranteed entry to the whole three day event, which we are confident will be the biggest and best so far.”

BPM brings together DJs from every corner of the UK, across Europe and even further afield. The event incorporates the biggest exhibition of DJ equipment to be found anywhere in Europe, which features every major DJ gear manufacturer, as well as a host of smaller and niche suppliers. BPM also involves a varied educational programme of seminars, panels and workshops offering inspiration as well as valuable information. The event also incorporates a number of performance and demonstration spaces and is a unique opportunity for networking and idea sharing.

Tickets for BPM can be ordered from the Ticket Factory by calling 0844 338 8000 (Open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week) or online from www.visitbpm.co.uk/tickets/.

Our thoughts are with his family and colleagues at this time.

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!

According to the figures 33.5% of singles sold in 2009 were classed as Pop by the Official Charts Company (OCC

A further 18.9% were RnB, including JLS, Beyonce, Dizzee Rascal under the OCC’s guidelines.

Almost 9% came from hip-hop acts like the Black Eyed Peas.

But Rock’s share slumped from 31% to 24.5% – led by Anti X-Factor fuled No. 1 from Rage Against the Machine, Kings of Leon and Kasabian.

However it was the Black Eyed Peas and Lady GaGa who were really the main acts of 2009.

The Black Eyed Peas, who have not looked back since Fergie joined their ranks in 2001, are currently playing four nights at the 02.  A far cry from the days when they played the Jazz Café in London.  They may have been accused of ’selling out’ to the like of Dr Pepper but the british single buying public don’t seem to care.  With a blend of pop, electro and hip hop Will I Am seems to have found just the right formula for chart success.

24 year old Lady GaGa, real name: Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta
(no wonder she changed it!), burst onto the scene in ‘98 with her outrageous act and the club and chart hit Just Dance.  She has gone from extreme to outrageous extreme since.  Her notority was not harmed by her own dolop of paparazi fever when her sexuality was called into question recently.  However, it’s her music most notably Bad Romance that really prove that she has what it takes to be a long running pop success and not just a naughties phenomenom.

TOP UK SINGLES OF 2009

1. Lady GaGa (above) – Poker Face (Genre: pop)
2. Black Eyed Peas – I Gotta Feeling (hip-hop)
3. Lady GaGa – Just Dance (pop)
4. Cheryl Cole – Fight For This Love (pop)
5. Joe McElderry – The Climb (pop)
6. La Roux – In For The Kill (pop)
7. Black Eyed Peas – Boom Boom Pow (hip-hop)
8. Rage Against The Machine – Killing in the Name (rock)
9. Alexandra Burke ft Flo Rida – Bad Boys (pop)
10. Black Eyed Peas – Meet Me Halfway (hip-hop)

Source: BPI/Official Charts Company

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)

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!

As many know, John’s day job is as a bus driver for Arriba. Therefore in order to pay tribute to John for his immense contribution, and as a one off we are holding the next SEDA ShowNight on the 104 bus which John will be driving from Maidstone to Faversham at the slightly earlier time of 19:20 on the 16th May. The committee has worked very hard on this, and has the backing and support of all the suppliers for that ShowNight, as well as the members show which is being provided by our newest member Richard Mills of Award Entertainment with his minimal and discreet show which he can set up in 2 minutes (thankfully Richard is not bringing vinyl on this occasion!).

The plan is for all to get on the bus where all the usual ShowNight regulars will happen. Should you miss the 19:17 at Maidstone, here is the list of stops and times for route 104, so you can join in at the most convenient stop for you:

Maidstone, Chequers Bus Stn, Stop H3 19:17
Vinters Park, Emsworth Grove 19:26
Detling, School 19:31
Detling Hill, Jade’s Crossing 19:36
Detling, Kent County Showground 19:38
Three Squirrels 19:42
Key St, Pearce & Batt Garage 19:48
Chalkwell, Kings Head 19:52
Sittingbourne, Rail Stn, Globe & Eng, Stop L 19:56
Sittingbourne, St. Michael’s Rd, Crown Quay Ln 19:57
Snipeshill, Rectory Road 20:01
Swanstree Ave, opp. Sitt. Comm College 20:02
Bapchild, Fox & Goose 20:03
Teynham, opp. Swan 20:08
Ospringe, Post Office 20:15
Faversham, Forbes Road (for Rail Stn), Stop J 20:20
Faversham, Crescent Rd, Tesco’s, Stop C arr. 20:22
Faversham, Crescent Rd, Tesco’s, Stop C dep. 20:29

Obviously, for this to be a complete success, it is important that no one breathes a word about this in John’s shell-like Also worth noting, those who wish to bring equipment for sale on the bus should ensure that they can carry it onboard easily as they arrive, and it is therefore suggested that these item should be small.

Full details of the ShowNight exhibitors will be here in the near future.

April fool team

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