UK - Shure supported students at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama who performed two new British musicals Catch Me and The Limit for their end of year productions with the equipment required to support a socially distant performance.
Final year students at The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama are required to perform what is usually a public musical to a live audience as part of their assessment. Due to COVID-19, their annual performance of Merrily We Roll Along had to be cancelled, leaving students with no end of year project and no opportunity to showcase their work to industry connections.
In this case however, Adam Lenson director and course leader, Paul Barker got creative. The school made the decision to put on a socially dist

Portugal - In April last year Porto-based rental company, LVT Audio, purchased a large Martin Audio MLA Compact and Mini array. Director Miguel Lindo notes: “Since the very beginning of our company we have placed our trust in the Martin Audio brand.”
Their upgrade to MLA came after they experienced the system at the Rock In Rio festival in Lisbon, sensing that they would have plenty of deployment opportunities in a work roster that prior to the pandemic included all types of show, from arenas, festivals and touring, to corporate events.
They were helped in their choice and set-up by fellow countryman and friend, Joe Lima, who now works as product support engineer at Martin Audio North America. “He is the best professional we know,” exclaims Lindo. “In March this year he trained our entire team.”
LVT Audio’s most recent deployment has been at the hi

The Netherlands - Throughout the summer and fall, more than 80 of ADJ’s weatherproof moving head beam and LED wash fixtures were used to light a temporary beach club venue in The Netherlands. Insight Beach Brabant offered visitors an opportunity to enjoy drinks, gourmet food and music in a large outdoor setting at a lake-side venue in the heart of the Dutch city of Eindhoven.
With the COVID-19 pandemic forcing the cancellation of concerts and festivals, as well as the closure of nightclubs and music venues, opportunities for relaxing and socializing have been rare. Offering a solution to this, Insight Beach was a large pop-up beach club with a limited capacity that assigned guests dedicated day beds to allow for social distancing.
From the comfort and safety of their designated space, visitors could enjoy a full menu from resident chef Pascal Ariëns of Restaurant By

Switzerland - The Muehle Hunziken (Hunziken Mill) in Rubigen, southeast of Bern in Switzerland, is a popular concert venue that has been in existence since 1976. Since the former windmill’s conversion, it has hosted more than 4,000 concerts, featuring around 15,000 artists of all styles and genres.
The Mill houses an elaborate collection of quirky works of art, much beloved of its patrons, and regularly attracts internationally renowned artists to play intimate shows in its 500 capacity auditorium.
In spite of the prevailing Coronavirus restrictions, this summer, the management team at Hunziken Mill took the decision to upgrade the venue’s audio system. The existing system was at the end of its viable life, and was proving unreliable and increasingly expensive to maintain.
Chief technician and resident FOH engineer at Hunziken Mill, Tom Binggeli, arranged for

Germany - German Unity Day (Tag der Deutschen Einheit), celebrated on 3 October, marks the anniversary of the nation's unification in 1990, when the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic became one single, federal Germany.
Being the 30th Unity Day, the 2020 event took on special significance, with even more resonance added to the mix due to the challenges faced by everyone in dealing with life during the Coronavirus pandemic, and broadcaster ARD highlighted a very special TV show staged at the Metropolis-Halle in Filmpark Babelsberg, Potsdam which was organised by the Brandenburg Staatskanzlei (federal government).
The venue and Filmpark (dedicated to the history of moviemaking in the region) is a regular client of rental and production specialist Zound’z Unlimited Event Technology GmbH, also based in Potsdam, which was asked to provide ligh

UK - Claypaky and CAST Group of Companies have launched the Wackit virtual lighting design competition based on a concept by lighting designer Durham Marenghi and his partner Jennie.
“Whilst planning this event, we had no idea that England would enter a second lockdown,” say the organisers, “and given that colleges are still open - giving our students access to lighting systems - we feel that this is actually a very appropriate time to launch our Wackit competition.”
Two side-by-side competitions require professional and student lighting designers from UK and Ireland to create a virtual video of their work from a model of the prestigious Royal Albert Hall. CAST will support Wackit with free WYSIWYG Educational Licences for the period of the competition for Professional LDs as well as a 12-month free Design Educational Licence for

Italy - Since pledging to donate a percentage of the proceeds from the sale of its touring amplifiers to the Crew Nation charitable fund, Powersoft’s three-month campaign has generated €48,437 - and the company has since vowed to continue the incentive until the end of 2020.
Nurit Siegel Smith, executive director of the Music Forward Foundation - the charitable 501c3 organisation that administers and powers the fund - was full of praise for the substantial contribution already received from Powersoft.
“We are amazed by the incredible pledge Powersoft made toward the Crew Nation fund and for the crewmembers who are the backbone of the live music industry,” she said. “Live music inspires millions around the world, but the concerts we all enjoy wouldn’t be possible without the countless crewmembers working behind the scenes.
Their pledged donation will

Europe - Elation Europe is marking 10 years in business this year. The company opened its European headquarter office in Kerkrade, the Netherlands in 2010 and has since grown to become an established player on the market.
To mark the anniversary, Elation Europe will celebrate with a variety of special activities in 2021. “Like so many other events in 2020, Elation Europe has decided to postpone celebration activities until 2021 when larger groups can again gather safely,” says the company.
“It’s really incredible to think how much has changed in these 10 years,” comments Frederik Afif, international sales manager for Elation Europe and one of a handful of employees who helped to start up the operation in 2010. “We started in a small office with just two sales people and some back-office support, a coffee machine and not much more.
“I was on the pho
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UK - Vaudeville Sound made use of binaural audio technology for the podcast Amazing War Stories with Bruce Crompton. Vaudeville Sound, an award winning sound design and mix company, introduced the idea of creating the podcast in 3D Immersive sound, to surround the listener in the true stories taken from museum collections to help safeguard the nation's historical treasures before they are lost forever.
As the shows were being compiled during lockdown, the voice recording and mix sessions were run remotely. Live output of the mix was shared with the director so the team could run through mix notes and make changes on the fly. Avid Pro-tools was used to edit and mix all shows with an array of tools from Nugen Audio, Noise Makers, Zynaptic & Blue Ripple Sound.
With detail of sound design and field recordings at film level, it was vital to use the correct sound

USA - The crowds that normally fill the Rawhide Centre in Chandler, AZ, on weekends for headliners like Kayzo, Adventure Club and Nightmare weren’t there this October. COVID-19 restrictions saw to that. But the intensity that shook up the 13,000 sq. ft. outdoor venue for Relentless Beats’ aptly named The Pod Experience was impossible to miss, thanks to the driving textured tracks laid down by the EDM stars, the delirious reactions of the fans who were able to score the limited number of tickets, and some fast-moving lighting by Luis Torres.
Wanting fans to be engaged with the artists on stage, despite being separated by pods, Torres dialled up the intensity level with some extra bright audience lighting and bold aerial sweeps. “Relentless Beats came up with a really good plan for providing fans with a way to enjoy this kind of experience safely,“ he said. “F

Greece - St. Catherine's British School in Athens, Greece, took delivery of Prolights fixtures as part of the audiovisual installation of the new building of the school. The scope of the project highlighted the importance of selecting equipment that was easy to use by students and staff, along with being cost-effective to run and maintain.
Consultant and lighting designer Vagelis Delivasilis evaluated the LED range from Prolights, as well as other brands, and found Prolights to be a suitable solution for the project. Kariotis Audio & Lighting, Prolights' distributor in Greece, in collaboration with the consultant, came up with a comprehensive lighting package that could be flexible, allowing the school to run medium-scale theatrical performances, music events, conferences and orchestral plays.
Delivasilis made diagrams with the chosen fixtures, while Kariotis Bros

Canada - Bluesound Professional has announced the launch of the second instalment of its podcast and video content series called Surroundscapes, featuring ‘new and thought-provoking ideas from invited expert guests from around the world who are working to redefine the workplace as we know it in the post-pandemic world’.
This series is targeted at commercial A/V integrators, consultants, as well as business owners, interested in the idea of using A/V technology to create memorable immersive experiences in commercial spaces to help accommodate our new normal.
Hosted by Graeme Harrison, VP and GM of Bluesound Professional, Surroundscapes Series 2 is focused on the Future of the Workplace theme, exploring current trends, how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected things and what the workplace might be like as we look to the future.
“The workplace has been c

USA - The Audio Engineering Society has announced the winners of this year’s AES Awards for distinguished achievement in the field of audio and service to the Society, presented during the Opening Ceremonies of the AES Show Fall 2020 Convention on 27 October.
The awards were presented in the online ceremony by AES president Agnieszka Roginska. The AES Show opening ceremonies are available on-demand for AES Show attendees at AESShow.com.
The AES Board of Governors Award, given to members rendering exceptional service to the Audio Engineering Society, was presented to Jorge Azama, for chairing the successful AES Latin American Conference in September 2019 in Lima, Perú.
The AES Honorary Membership Award was given to Imogen Heap, for outstanding contributions to the world of music and technology and to Karrie Keyes, for her leadership in creating opportunities f

USA - Chauvet Professional has presented a cheque to Behind the Scenes for $25,000 from its recently launched ReSet Fund to be used to support entertainment technology members and their immediate dependent family who are seriously ill or injured, and to fund emotional wellness resources and training.
Chauvet announced last week that it will be donating up to $50,000 in funds to help live event industry members impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Following this initial $25,000 donation, Chauvet will match donations up to an additional $25,000 from participants who buy special fundraising ‘ReSet’ jackets, caps, truss gloves, and other merchandise at www.chauvetprofessional.com/resetfund through 30 November.
Behind the Scenes executive director, Lori Rubinstein, commented, “Chauvet Professional’s generous donation comes at a particularly important time for the char

The Netherlands - LED display brand, Absen has signed a distribution partnership with Fairlight, a distributor of light, sound, and video equipment for professional users.
Headquartered in Bemmel, in the Netherlands, Fairlight will primarily be tasked with bringing Absen’s expanding range of LED products to customers across the Benelux region. The new partnership will allow prospective customers in the region to experience Absen LED at Fairlight’s Bemmel showroom, as well as taking part in product-specific training and making use of the company’s on-site maintenance and repair services.
“Our aim has always been to offer our customers a complete package of AV related brands,” said Michel Arntz, general manager at Fairlight. “The introduction of Absen LED displays to our inventory means we are now able to fill the gaps between our existing product groups. Th

UK - Event business based in England are likely to benefit from the Additional Restrictions Grant, which will be issued by local authorities in light of tightening restrictions across the country.
Local authorities remain in power over how much of the £1.1bn funding is administered and to which businesses, but the guidance encourages them “to develop discretionary grant schemes to help those businesses which - while not legally forced to close - are nonetheless severely impacted by the restrictions put in place to control the spread of COVID-19. This could include - for example - businesses which supply the retail, hospitality, and leisure sectors,

USA - Four units from Tracktion’s DAW Essentials Collection of DSP Effects are now available separately - the simple Equaliser, the full featured Compressor, the Reverber8 and the Delay Studio.
The Equaliser delivers all the key functions needed to sculpt and mix frequencies making it suitable for even the most demanding of mix engineers. Its ample capabilities include an integrated analyser for rapid identification of frequency ranges, configurable eight bands for precision adjustments and a scalable interface to take advantage of modern hi-res displays and aid visualisation.
Designed to be transparent ‘even under the most demanding, dynamic, crushing scenarios’, the clear controls of the mono / stereo chain Compressor allow users to swiftly dial in their desired effects. The expander mode offers further versatility, the central display gives visual feedback on

USA - Danley Sound Labs has presented the BC215, the newest member of the BC family of subwoofers.
The BC subwoofer class was developed out of what was a military project with Danley. The design criteria was to have an extremely high-output, low-frequency device fitted between the skids of a helicopter. From that project the BC412 was born and subsequently the BC215 and BC218.
The BC215 offers the same low-frequency directivity as its predecessors by utilising the same horn design philosophy, but this version also features multiple horn exit options, which allows for numerous possible configurations. The dimensions (45” x 45” x 24”) of the BC215 allow for it to “stand-up” and fit below a standard 48-inch stage deck or can be configured to “lay-down” and have a 24-inch profile when the horn exit is changed. The “stand-up” configuration allows for the B

The Netherlands - Opened in 1984, Omniversum in The Hague was the first IMAX Dome theatre in Europe. Showing spectacular films on a giant domed screen that makes the audience feel part of the movie, a new, €1m projection system was recently installed to improve the experience. To make sure that the quality of the sound matched the images, a new Alcons Audio pro-ribbon system was also installed.
The Alcons Audio pro-ribbon installation complements a new Evans & Sutherland ESX projection system, which uses a blended array of five Christie D4K40 RGB laser projectors to produce a seamless, uniform image across the 23m diameter dome.
Delivering high quality sound reinforcement in a dome-shaped room like Omniversum provided many challenges. These included acoustic issues, because the large projection surface also creates a lot of rearward reflection from the speakers,

Russia - Russia-based automotive photography specialist Denis Minchenkov used eight Astera Titan Tubes to enhance a night-time photoshoot featuring an Audi Q8 SUV for auto tune-up company MTR Design.
That quest to capture vivid colours, glistening reflections and the richness of the dark, stark and deliberately wet floored environment of a low-ceilinged parking garage beneath an office block saw Denis choose Titan Tubes for his primary lightsource, having used the Astera products extensively in his work over the last couple of years.
He positioned the Titan Tubes around the car, some hung from the ceiling of the parking garage on catenary wires and others on the floor on stands. The Asteras were all run wirelessly and controlled using the IR remote.
“The IR remote control means I can shift the setting of the whole shoot in a matter of seconds,” he declared.

The Netherlands - Given all the highly original interpretations of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake that have beguiled audiences almost since the moment the ballet premiered in 1877, one may be tempted to think there is nothing much left to add to the mix. Not so.
Guy Weizman and Roni Haver, the co-founders of Club Guy & Roni, which collaborates closely with Noord Nederlands Toneel, have created simultaneous live and online versions of the star-crossed love story that are not only outlandishly fresh and original in the way they interact with one another, but also deeply resonant during this era of COVID-19.
Contributing to this impressive accomplishment are 18 COLORado Batten Q15 fixtures from Chauvet Professional that were supplied by Lichtpunt Theatertechniek. The designers rely on the IP65-rated RGBW linear fixtures, which were selected in a shoot out involving

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