USA - Two Princess Cruises ships - Diamond Princess and Sun Princess - have undergone a major upgrade to their entertainment offerings with a new approach to live sound, bringing L-ISA Hyperreal Sound and Immersive Hyperreal Sound experiences to their guests.
Princess Cruises decided to raise the on-board sound reinforcement to a new standard and has specified L-Acoustics L-ISA configurations, supplied by L-Acoustics certified provider Norwest Productions.
L-ISA is an object-based immersive sound technology that uses placement of sound sources to achieve spatialisation, enabling anything from a customisable, ultra-realistic live sound field to fully immersive 360° sound design.
Princess Cruises entertainment experience department began exploring implementation of

Europe - It was a coincidence that the paths of Papa Roach and lighting designer Mathias Kuhn should cross.
"About two months ago a lighting man was looking for a few shows in Russia and a festival gig in Germany," recalls Kuhn. “Three months later it became Papa Roach’s European tour, while another colleague took care of the gigs in the USA.“
For Kuhn, the band made their decision in his favour after a festival tour of Europe last year. “It just feels good when the lighting is turned on,” says frontman and band leader Jacoby Shaddix. “It’s a lot of fun for me too,” retorts Kuhn. “Performing live, this band is simply full of energy, and meanwhile I‘ve practically become a member of the family.”
Currently Kuhn and Papa Roach are more or less constantly on the move. After a support tour with Shinedown in the USA, playing mainly arenas, in the

USA - Sue the T. Rex has a new home in the Chicago Field Museum’s Griffin Halls of Evolving Planet.
Lighting and AV presentation for Sue’s new home were designed by Lightswitch Chicago using ETC and Xicato luminaires and ETC controls. The fossil is named after Sue Hendrickson, who discovered the skeleton in South Dakota in 1990.
Following a three-month prototyping phase to show the curators how Sue would be lit the new quarters, the design team at Lightswitch Chicago produced a meticulously-cued AV presentation worthy of the $8.7m fossil.
“Conservation of the delicate stones and resins is very important - Sue will receive about a quarter of the light, and none of the direct sunlight it did before,” says Thatcher Waller, senior lighting designer for Lightswitch Chicago.
The project called for the complex integration of control protocols and diverse

Hungary - Alt-rock band Vad Fruttik (Wild Fruits) headlined a special concert to celebrate the eighth season opening of Budapest Park, one of the largest outdoor venues in Europe.
Lighting designer Peter Pálocska from Budapest rental company Lajter Light designed a production lighting scheme to ensure the band and their 8,500 fans enjoyed a memorable night out.
Part of his distinctive luminescent styling for this show was a backwall of 72 Robe Spiider LED wash beam fixtures, which added drama and excitement to the visual picture.
Pálocska has also lit many other concerts in Budapest Park - which features a 24m x 12m x 12m (WxDxH) stage - and a landmark gig which any Hungarian band is extremely proud to play.
Vad Fruttik trusted him to produce something special for this show, utilising a combination of the house lighting fixtures (including moving lights

Norway - Prostage, the Oslo-based distributors of Prolights, invited lighting designer Fredrik Jönsson to lead a two-day workshop hosted in Oslo’s Riksteatret. The designer discussed various design techniques, stories and lessons learned throughout his career in the entertainment industry.
Fredrik Jönsson designed the lighting for the international Eurovision final in Malmö in 2013 and in Stockholm in 2016 and was awarded an LLB Award for best Lighting Design for his work on the 2013 Eurovision final. In 2019, he designed the lighting for Melodifestivalen (the national Swedish Eurovision finals), bringing his grand total of live performances for Melodifestivalen to 103.
Jönsson drew from his vast experience of designing global concert tours, international events and broadcast and concocted the two-day interactive seminar program covering topics such as bas
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USA - Prolyte Group has partnered with Houston entrepreneur Craig Koopersmith to distribute Prolyte products under his rigging and trussing services company, Sabre Structures.
Koopersmith is the CEO of the Sabre Group of Companies, which also includes service exhibit and design firm Skyline Displays of Houston, and corporate interiors and signage specialist, Innovative Environments. The Group supports the tradeshow, display and interior environment sectors and works with Houston-based clients ranging from sole proprietors to Fortune 100 corporations.
The addition of Prolyte products will complement Sabre Structures’ existing display modules whilst enabling the company to offer larger, truss-based tradeshow exhibits and stands. It will also expand the Group’s operation into the event staging and entertainment sectors.
Keith Bohn, Prolyte general sales manager

Spain - Midwich has announced its Spanish subsidiary Earpro S.A has acquired the entire issued share capital of value-added lighting solutions distributor Entertainment Equipment Supplies S.L (EES).
Based near San Sebastian and founded in 2004 by Nacho Acha-Orbea, EES distributes products from key vendors including Robe Lighting, Verlinde and Prolyte on an exclusive basis to the Spanish market with a focus on the live events and rental sectors.
The acquisition will strengthen Midwich’s position in the Spanish and Portuguese markets, particularly in relation to lighting.
Miguel Mezquita, MD of Earpro, comments: "Having known Nacho and his team for a number of years, I am confident that we can look forward to a successful partnership between Earpro and EES. I believe we will now be able to provide customers of both companies with an even higher level of service
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Cameo's P6 is a future-proof LED profiler with a powerful 600 W RGBACL engine and 16,000 lumens. It’s an energy-efficient replacement for 2.5 kW halogen profile lights in theatres and venues. With excellent light quality and natural colour rendering, it fits perfectly in theatres, musicals, TV studios, congresses, and live events.

With an LED life of 50,000 hours and low power use, the P6 cuts energy costs and supports the EU’s ‘Green Deal’ goals for climate neutrality by 2050. It also meets updated eco-design rules for lighting.

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Then Play On - Entertainment venues in Scotland will receive protection from noise complaints after the ‘agent of change’ planning principle was enshrined into Scottish law. The principle means if an existing entertainment venue is in place before a new development is built nearby, the developer is responsible for soundproofing against noise.
An amended version of the Planning (Scotland) Bill was passed into law on 21 June, which included the agent of change principle as well as four other references to culture. The other references require culture to be considered in local development plans, town and county planning and the country’s National Planning Framework.
A group representing 50 arts organisations in Scotland called Culture Counts has welcomed the changes. Executive leader of Culture Counts Jennifer Hunter says: “The Planning (Scotland) Bill has recogni

USA - Experts in hearing wellness at Sensaphonics recently held a Gold Circle Seminar in Chicago to promote hearing protection practices in the music industry.
Five audiologists from across the US learned the basics of live sound production along with insights on how to help musicians and sound engineers achieve both robust stage monitoring while retaining their long-term hearing health. Sensaphonics president, Dr. Michael Santucci and sound engineering consultant Joe Tessone of Mystery Street Recording Company, led the two-day seminar.
“One of the biggest issues with IEMs is that they aren’t covered in audiology school,” says Santucci. “The Gold Circle Seminar fills that gap by teaching how IEMs work, how they are used professionally, and how they can be used more safely. Where others offer vague suggestions on how to use in-ears safely, Sensaphonics remains u

UK - AV and event production company Blitz has announced that it has added the Sennheiser Digital 6000 wireless microphone series to its inventory.
Blitz is also one of the first companies in the UK to add the SK6212 mini-bodypack transmitter to its inventory, meaning it now has an even greater offering for clients.
Both Blitz and Sennheiser recently worked in partnership, exhibiting at this year’s ABBT Theatre Show at Alexandra Palace, and had their technical advisors on-hand to give visitors the chance to see the latest products and technology on offer and give advice to help sound designers and engineers boost the sound quality and reliability at events and shows.
Aron Ross, director of sound, at Blitz, comments: “We are delighted to be one of the first production companies in the UK to be able to offer our clients the very latest in sound technology from

USA - Bandit Lites is providing the lighting for the Peter Frampton Finale - The Farewell Tour, presented by SiriusXM, a nearly 50-date run this summer and fall produced by Live Nation.
Frampton has announced he will retire from regular vigorous touring at the end of this year due to his diagnosis of Inclusion Body Myositis (IBM), and with a career spanning over more than half a century, he has a massive body of work to draw from for his legion of fans. “Peter Frampton helped shape the sound of the 70’s and it is an incredible honor to be a part of this historic farewell tour,” said Bandit Lites vice president Mike Golden.
This tour reunited lighting designer Chris Lisle and Frampton, who had worked together seven years ago. “To be a part of this final tour of his career was truly an honour,” says Lisle. “He is such a great person both on and off sta

USA - Behind The Scenes (BTS) holiday cards are now on sale for 2019, the charity has announced.
All proceeds will benefit BTS, which provides financial assistance to entertainment technology professionals who are seriously ill or injured.
Three card ordering options are being offered through the BTS Boutique, the charity’s online ordering facility. These are personalised cards, card packs of 10 with a standard greeting, and electronic/email versions.
Six new designs are featured this year. Scenic Art Studios has contributed designs by Irina Portnyagina and Athena Parella. Mount Vernon Senior High School is represented by Andreana Carlino and Alex Elmendorf. Perennial favorite Robert Mendoza is back and we are delighted to welcome Tupac Martir/Satore Studio.
Orders will be taken until 30 September and orders will be shipped by late November. View and ord

UK - Following a sold-old run at the Menier Chocolate Factory, Trevor Nunn’s revival of the classic Broadway Musical, Fiddler on the Roof, has taken up residence in the West End at London’s Playhouse Theatre.
Sound designer Gregory Clarke was approached by Nunn to design both productions. Clarke chose to use EM Acoustics equipment throughout, based on a main Halo-C line array system supplemented by EM Acoustics’ EMS Series for the wider vocal and orchestra systems.
Clarke explains that the design brief for this version of Fiddler was to create an immersive experience for the audience. “A great deal of work was done to modify the auditorium in order to transform it from a familiar West End venue into a plausible Russian village. It looks and feels wonderful but inevitably loudspeaker positions were severely limited. Halo-C was instrumental in miti

Spain - The Canary Islands boasts one of the most spectacular and outstanding annual carnivals in the world, where the streets explode with colourful parades, outdoor parties and music events on every island.
This year was no exception with around 600,000 people coming to enjoy the exuberant display of colour and light. One major highlight was Una noche en Río, a show directed by Israel Reyes with set designed by Carlos Santos, and lighting design and technical direction by Jonay Díaz, partner of RGB Canarias S.Coop. Díaz’s lighting for this show, which ran for 21 performances, was bolstered by 40 Ayrton Ghibli LED moving heads, supplied by GAM Eventos.
The carnival has gained a global audience and Díaz is very aware of how the eye-catching event transcends the borders of Spain. “The Drag Queen Gala is seen everywhere in the world with spectacular audien

El Salvador - Atlona has appointed TelNet S.A. as its distribution partner for El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua.
TelNet will focus on growing Atlona’s presence throughout the region’s community of IT and networking integrators. A long-time Panduit representative, TelNet has built a large customer base in the telecom and datacom markets, where the company regularly supplies and designs network infrastructure and protection systems. TelNet has also fielded inquiries from integrators active in AV-leaning verticials such as higher education.
Sylvia Sierra, regional manager at TelNet S.A., comments: “We are hearing from many integrators and end users in schools and universities that want to manage their AV signals over the network, and our long-term relationship with Panduit makes Atlona a perfect fit for our business strategy. Atlona’s OmniStream AV o

UK - Beyond the four Glastonbury Festival stages on which RG Jones Engineering fielded Martin Audio systems, there was also a strong Martin Audio PA presence on the John Peel stage, The Park and Left Field, courtesy of SWG Events (SWG), who have been supplying numerous stages with sound and lighting infrastructure since 1995.
For the John Peel stage, SWG sub-contracted elements of the audio supply to Martin Audio MLA partner, Stage Audio Services (SAS). The latter’s MD, Kevin Mobberley confirmed that having fielded MLA Compact previously they upgraded to the full-size MLA this time around for enhanced control, coverage and consistency.
With design assistance from Simon Honywill, the main PA hangs comprised 20 MLA cabinets (10 elements flown each side) with 12 MLX subwoofers providing LF extension. Four of the popular DD12’s, positioned on the stage, focused the so

UK - Arcadia’s Pangea, described as “a primordial world of infinite possibility” promised the latest immersive AV, lighting, sonic and pyro adventure created by Arcadia Spectacular under the artistic direction of Pip Rush and Bert Cole.
Technical production specialist CPL continued its working relationship with Arcadia by supplying six Barco UDX-4K32 projectors with fibre optic signal and control infrastructure for 360° projections that were integral to the show based around the 140t centrepiece of Pangea.
Arcadia celebrated its 10th year at Glastonbury, having previously implanted their 50t spider stage in the hearts and minds of fans for the best part of a decade.
Arcadia’s structures are built entirely in scrapped and repurposed materials. The crane, a graceful artefact of industrial architecture, was transplanted from Avonmouth Docks in Bristol, just

Spain - Chroma-Q has announced Grau Luminotecnia as a dealer of its LED Solutions in Spain.
Grau, founded in 1984, has been providing the latest technologies including, lighting, for the film and TV market for 35 years. Focusing on the needs of a constantly evolving market, Grau prides itself in providing leading edge technologies to its clients.
After trying out a number of products, Alfons Grau, owner of Grau Luminotecnia, recognised the potential of the Chroma-Q LED range, and how it can benefit customers. He comments: “We are very happy to have become a dealer of Chroma-Q, who has two of the leading LED battens in the market, the Color Force II and Studio Force II.”
In addition to the award-winning Color Force II and the Studio Force II, Grau is now a dealer of the full Chroma-Q LED Range, including the Space Force soft light, the Brute Force revolutionar

UK - RG Jones Sound Engineering returned to Worthy Farm following its fallow year to deploy Martin Audio systems across four major stages of the Glastonbury Festival.
While Martin Audio’s flagship sound system, MLA, once again graced the Pyramid main stage as well as West Holts and the Genosys stage of Block9, Martin Audio’s Wavefront Precision Longbow (WPL) made its festival debut on the new IICON stage featuring an immersive 6.1 channel surround sound system designed by Simon Honywill.
The Pyramid Stage bustled with electrifying performances throughout the three-day festival, with Stormzy delivering an impassioned headline set on the Friday, followed by The Killers on the Saturday and rounded off with a nostalgic tour de force by The Cure to close out Sunday night. Other performers included Sheryl Crow, Liam Gallagher, Janet Jackson, Bastille and Kylie.
Th

Hungary - Chauvet has appointed Chromasound as its distributor in Hungary.
Chromasound will represent the Chauvet Professional, Chauvet DJ, and ChamSys lines of products. The Budapest-based company will support Chauvet’s sales effort with a strong commitment to customers service and education.
“We’re extremely excited to welcome Chromasound on board,” comments Stéphane Gressier, international sales director of Chauvet. “Our company has made a major commitment to this market, and it’s great to have a service-driven, professional organization like Chromasound representing us. Working together, we will build on the momentum we’ve established in Hungary.
“The business philosophies of Chauvet and Chromasound are very much in line with one another,” adds Chauvet business development manager, Goran Doncic. “Both companies take a long-range view of b

USA/Europe - L-Acoustics has appointed Greg Kirkland in North America and David Dohrmann in Europe to head the application and installation teams across multiple geographies.
Providing location-based technical support will be central to David Dohrmann’s mission of serving installation markets. Dohrmann holds a Tonmeister sound engineering degree and his experience in the industry spans assignments as sound engineer for artists and performances across all styles, from rock to classical. As technical director for an audio manufacturer, he led a team providing support and training across the APAC region. Based in Hamburg, Germany, Dohrmann will lead application support for all installation projects in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
As the technical reference and ambassador for the fixed installation market in North America, Greg Kirkland will contribute to g

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