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

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.

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.

This will no doubt be a really popular item for CD Pool (i’ve already subscribed!).  The new disc costs just £14.95 per month or if you currently subscribe to any of the CD Pool discs (hits, radio, urban, etc.) then you can add it to your current subscription for just £10 per month!

But wait!

The SEDA Committee have negotiated an extra special offer open until the end of June 2010.  Simply go to the following page on our website and grab a FREE copy of this actual disc!  Yes, FREE!  There is a limit of one per household only and you have to be a current SEDA member.  What are you waiting for?  Off you go to get your freebie!

There are some really good songs on there including the current (at the time of writing) number one single.  How they missed that one out on promo release is beyond me!  But anyway, here it is (and it beats waiting for Now 76).  Look at Track 20 though…what’s that all about?

For more info, visit http://www.numark.com

For those who are new to SEDA or just need a refresh the Essential Selection features 5 top tracks from a specific genre that should have you covered if you are every asked to play that style of music.

This shows Essential Selection was UK Funky, which is one of my personal favorite styles of music. Being from Watford myself, UK Funky is a major component in many of my events everything from 16ths, 18ths, 21st to club nights even a fair few Weddings that have specifically request either UK Funky or certain tracks.

The music style is very vibratant and originates from Broken Beat but has elements of Garage, electro dance, house, Latin beats and a few other bits and pieces thrown in. Most of the UK Funky chart toppers are from London and many tracks receive a chat place (depending on who’s chart you listen to), and its usually the songs with a dance or certain move that make it up there!

So here’s my top 5:

1. Paleface featuring Kyla – Do you mind (youtube link) This song was the birth place for UK Funky in mainstream commercial music
2. K.I.G Family – Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes (youtube link) This song was next in line making it to first place in many urban charts. With an action orientated dance you can expect a very odd looking but bouncing crowd
3. Donaeo – Party Hard (youtube link) If your in a venue with a crowd enjoying some UK Funky this is certainly an essential hit and always fills up the floor
4. Gracious K – Migraine Skank (youtube link) Another steamer of tune! This follows on from number 2, with more actions and a lot of singing along no doubt!
5. JP – Jungle Skank (youtube link) My last of the 5 essential selection is  this one, reason is its a little less commercial but yet still very well known within UK Funky. This one will show your not just playing the commercial only stuff but also have a good understanding of the genre too.

So those are my top 5, I actually have around 40 UK Funky tracks myself and happy to help anyone else who is interested. Also not all songs can actually be bought many are made in home studios and just released by an unsigned artist, so it can be a cheap genre to get to grips with!

Until next time… Keep it Funky

Barney
Party Events Unlimited (Wedding DJ)

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!