Audio Projects have supplied and installed a Martin Audio sound reinforcement system to the Hazlitt Theatre in Maidstone, having won a competitive tender. Sound engineers had been unhappy for a while about the sound in the theatre, particularly the dead spots. The theatre’s production and operations manager, Eric Lund, realized that an upgrade was essential, so with Audio Projects’ Stephen Hall set about investigating several alternatives before being invited to a demo of the EM series at Martin Audio’s High Wycombe HQ.
"It was a question of finding a product that would provide the right coverage, because there are 300 seats in the stalls and a further 56 in the balcony," said Stephen. "I knew the Martin range would provide the coverage and versatility for the wide band of shows the theatre receives - and because several of their management live locall
Not only a new landmark, but a watermark on the south-western English coast, the National Maritime Museum Cornwall (NMMC) in Falmouth will open its doors to the public for the first time in December 2002.
Designed by award-winning architects Long & Kentish, the magnificent harbourside blends with and enhances its surroundings. The exhibitions within were designed by Land Design Studio with Kevin Theobald of London-based Maurice Brill Lighting Design onboard as lighting designer. Although an unconventional-looking building, the museum is fitted for the most part with conventional exhibition lighting equipment, but for two of the galleries, the Dark Gallery and the Daylit Gallery, more sophisticated lighting systems were needed.
The Dark Gallery required a control system capable of co-ordinating the lighting with an AV system, so Theobald specified an ETC Express 250 Lighting Playback
The Winterthur Theatre in Switzerland, which hosts around 250 theatrical events every year, has recently undergone a lighting upgrade, overseen by lighting director Wilfried Potthoff, who had the theatre outfitted with 50 Clay Paky CP Color 150-E colour changers. Products were supplied by Claudio Merlo’s ECM, distributor of Clay Paky products in Switzerland.
The majority of the products was installed overhead in the large hall adjacent to the main auditorium. The theatre frequently hosts conventions, parties, meetings or other gatherings in this area, often accompanied by background music. The CP Color colour-changers can provide synchronized colour-washes and cross-fades to create a variety of moods and effects to augment these occasions.
More CP Colors were placed behind a white canvas inside the theatre to create very effective colour scenes, boldly standing out among the th
London-based Premier League football club Charlton Athletic has met its growing post-match media requirements by constructing a press interview/communication theatre. ML Executives, who have been servicing the club’s audio needs for a number of years, were asked to outfit the new suite, designing an eight-zone system. The firm selected QSC’s multi-channel CX168 power amplifier to provide the solution.
To achieve DSP control, ML Executives used the Shure P4800 Precise Digital Control software - interfaced via a PC within the unit - with a DRS10 scene controller for digital remote switching. Via the newly-provided Shure ceiling and desktop mics, combined with RCF/Mackie PL80A ceiling speakers, managers can hold their post-match briefings, while ISDN lines allow the press to file their reports and photographs digitally. A link with the Charlton Athletic website allows the post
Tourtech, the Northampton-based rental company, has joined the L-Acoustics V-Dosc network, alongside the existing UK Partners of Autograph Sound Recording, Britannia Row Productions, Delta Sound, EFX Audio and Wigwam Hire.
Tourtech’s current inventory consists of 40 ARCS cabinets, 20 SB218 and four SB115 subwoofers, 24 115FM floor monitors, four MTD108a and four MTD115a speakers. Additionally, they have just taken delivery of an initial 16-cabinet turnkey V-Dosc system, including six dV-Doscs. The new V-Doc system was pressed into service just a few days after delivery for the current Coldplay European Arena tour.
Tourtech’s managing director, Dick Rabel, comments: "Clearly, this was a natural development for TourTech having used L-Acoustics ARCS to such tremendous effect in the past. I continue to be a working sound engineer and consequently have had extensive exper
Building on their success as video supplier for Madonna’s ‘Up For Grabs’ this summer, XL Video UK is back in the West End working for cinematographer and projection designer Jon Driscoll, and production company Tiger Aspect on the new musical Our House, featuring the music of Madness.
Driscoll and film editor Richard Overall have again teamed up with video scientist Richard Turner to produce the visuals, working in close collaboration with lighting designer Mark Henderson and Tiger Aspect’s production manager Steve Rebbeck. The production’s principal projection sequence takes place during the seminal Madness hit Driving In My Car. The Morris Minor car comes onstage, and the minimal set turns into a giant three-sided screen surface, in old-fashioned Cinema 180 film projection style. The footage propels car and cast on a journey which starts on the st
In celebration of her Golden Jubilee, Queen Elizabeth visited Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, on 10 October, where she addressed a crowd of 17,000 at Copps Coliseum. Because quality, trouble-free audio was essential, Toronto's PA Plus Production used their JBL Vertec system flown in four arrays of four VT4889 cabinets.
With PA Plus senior engineer John Lacina at the FOH controls, pre-show entertainment included several live bands, live vocal-to-track artists and various other acts. The welcome celebration featured a military ceremony, involving pipe and drum corps and marching bands. Even though musical acts performed, the main focus of the sound system was to provide intelligible speech reproduction, according to Mark Radu, systems engineer for PA Plus. The Golden Jubilee event proved a challenge in system design: inventive thinking was required to achieve articulate speech reproduction fo
ACDC Lighting Systems of Barrowford, Lancashire has been awarded the cold cathode lighting contract for The Gate in Newcastle. The company will manufacture over 700m of cold cathode lighting for the new retail complex located in the heart of the city. The design incorporates ACDC’s Covelite, Contour Interior, as well as their new ‘Colorise DMX’ colour changing cold cathode lighting.
Working closely with lighting designers BDP to develop the ideal scheme, ACDC were chosen for their DMX and 1-10 volt dimming systems - a first in the cold cathode lighting industry. The company’s cold cathode was chosen for its long life and low maintenance characteristics, as the installation is in very high, difficult to reach areas. The project uses high frequency control gears resulting in higher efficiency when compared to traditional control systems and their Covelite ‘P
Leading theatre sound specialist, Autograph Sound Recording, has announced the purchase of its first ever digital audio console - a new D5 Live from DiGiCo.
Autograph Sound Recording has taken digital technology very seriously for many years, working closely with many audio manufacturers, especially mixing console developers. Because of the prestigious and highly specialized theatre productions the company is renowned for, the Autograph team had opted to wait for the right digital console to be developed before committing to embracing digital mixing.
Autograph Sound Recording’s managing director Terry Jardine commented: "It was only at the PLASA show in September that we were presented with the innovative DiGiCo D5 Live console. It now makes us feel confident to enter the multi-channel digital desk market, as it is undoubtedly the direction modern theatre productions are
West Sussex-based pro audio distributor beyerdynamic was recently approached by Simian - a psychedelic and experimental band signed to Source records - to supply M88 and Opus microphones as well as dB Technologies in-ear monitoring for the band’s second UK tour.
Simian have produced a second album (‘We are your friends’), which was released on 22 October. Coinciding with this release, the band is heading off on their first European tour as support artists to Supergrass.
The band members take their music very seriously, and turned to beyerdynamic when looking for a good live sound. Sound engineer Jon Underhay specified a combination of microphones - the Opus 39, and the M88 for lead vocals plus the Opus 87 clip microphones for the drum kit and the classic revolving-horn Leslie cabinets. The Opus 39 is a dynamic microphone boasting a stylish, yet rugged design which,
One of the best-known names in European sound rentals, Audiolease, has been relaunched following the purchase of Electrotec Productions Ltd from its owners Aura Systems Inc by Steve Sunderland. "I’d been keen for a long time to get back into sound rental," commented Sunderland, "and this seemed a logical route to go down." Operations manager is Dave Chamberlain, while Steve’s brother Tim, a partner in the original AudioLease, is assisting with the relaunch in a consultancy role.
The company’s first work came immediately after the deal with a full European tour headlined by Motorhead, concurrent with a string of UK dates with comedy rock duo Tenacious D. Audiolease’s rental equipment is centred on Midas and Yamaha control systems, the JBL-based Audiolease A2 PA system and its well renowned JBL powered monitor systems. The company is also curre
Our House, the new Madness musical, opened on 28 October at the Cambridge Theatre in London's West End to rave reviews. With a fictional Sliding Doors-style storyline, and featuring songs by 80s chart-toppers Madness, the musical comedy is set in London's diverse and vibrant Camden Town.
Selected to provide the stage automation for the new production, AVW Controls designed and manufactured the control systems, carried out the automation fit-up, technical rehearsals and provided training for the theatre's technicians. AVW's award-winning Impressario automation system controls a total of 22 moving pieces, including six rotating doors, flying and tracking house portals, a motorized bridge, a travelator and a sliding door at the rear of the stage. Stephen Rebbeck, Our House production manager, said: "Impressario is central to the show and, as there are so many moving elements,
Skan PA Hire has provided the sound system for this year's Q Awards, which took place for the first time at the former Saatchi art gallery in St Johns Wood, North London. The prestigious event, now in its 13th year, celebrate what Q Magazine's readers consider to be the best music of the preceding year, with accolades this year going to artists including Coldplay, Radiohead, The Hives, Depeche Mode and Tom Jones. Two of Skan's clients were also among the winners: the Best Single award was presented by Gary Numan to girl trio Sugababes for their song Freak Like Me, which uses samples from Numan’s eighties hit Are Friends Electric, while Electric Soft Parade picked up the New Band gong.
Skan elected to use a front of house PA system comprising four Turbosound TQ 440 sp cabinets with 16 JBL C25s, and a monitoring system of 16 Turbo TFM 450s. The event marked the first time use of Kl
Leisure Industry Week (8-10 October, NEC, Birmingham) reaffirmed the position it occupies in the calendar for its industry: an increased audited audience of over 14,250 (Independently audited figures from CTS) visitors from across the out-of-home leisure industry - from theme parks to themed restaurants, nightclubs to fitness clubs - attended LIW 2002. They came to see over 350 exhibiting companies showcasing their latest products and services, and to socialise with their peers from their own industry sector, as well as with their contemporaries from across the broader industry through the activities of the 20 leisure industry trade associations supporting LIW 2002.
LIW 2002 featured five individual shows covering all of the out-of-home leisure industry: Body & Soul - a health, fitness and beauty event; FamilyLand - the family fun event for parks and attractions; Food For Leisure - ded
In what may appear to be yet another story of soap stardom leading to a burgeoning music career, former Brookside actress Claire Sweeney's leap has propelled her not to teen-star fame, but to the West End and beyond. After a successful run playing Roxie Hart in the hit musical Chicago, Sweeney has been voted the new Forces Sweetheart, following in the footsteps of Dame Vera Lynn. Her engagements will take her to troublespots all over the world where British Troops are currently playing vital peacekeeping and other roles. Hand Held Audio has been approached to provide her wireless requirements.
Sweeney is currently entertaining the troops in Kabul, Oman and Dubai. She has taken with her a Shure PSM 700 in-ear system for which she has a set of custom acrylic ear monitors supplied by HHA. For back-up purposes, she has also taken with her one set of each type of generic in-ear monitor that
One of China’s largest amusement parks, the Happy Kingdom is in Shenzhen, in the province of Guang Dong - the most economically developed area in the country, with a special statute favouring industries and investment. The park’s technical teams have recently chosen to install an Outline sound system comprising 12 Tripla II enclosures (six per cluster) and eight Topsub Plus subwoofers. The system, amplified by Series T digital power amps and processed by Genius 6 controllers, has been installed on the large stage alongside an artificial lake in the centre of the park, in the zone reserved for water shows: it’s used for sound reinforcement at concerts by international artists and its high sound pressure level covers the 4000-capacity tiered seating in front of the stage. The system debuted in October, on the occasion of ‘Chinese National Day’ and in December
Gear-Source, the Florida-based lighting supply company set up recently by Marcel Fairbairn, has been selected by a major manufacturer to reduce a large inventory of brand new 150W and 250W moving yoke fixtures. The fixtures have been manufactured in Europe by Robe Show Lighting, the same manufacturer who builds for Elation, Futurelight and various other well-known manufacturers. In fact, say Gear Source, these are the exact same units offered under these other brands. For a limited time (while supplies last), Gear-Source has been authorized to sell off inventory at previously unheard of prices. Included are the popular single-arm 150 Spot and the popular 250 Spot and Wash. For a limited time, clubs, theatres, schools, churches or any end-user is able to buy these fixtures well below dealer pricing. Dealers are still offered additional discounts when registered with Gear-Source as a deale
On Saturday 16 November, two major UK TV shows will simultaneously feature the first use of the new DiGiCo D5 Live on European television, with a brace of prime time shows starring Robbie Williams and the Songs of Bond.
BBC One screens the Robbie Williams Show at 21.00 - the star’s first major TV special, filmed at Pinewood Studios last week. Singing his favourite songs, Williams performs everything from swing to chart-topping hits and his new single. Dave Bracey mixed the audience sound on Sound Hire’s D5 Live with Britannia Row Productions supplying a V-Dosc PA and monitors.
Over on ITV1 at 21.15, Russell Watson presents Songs of Bond, a showcase of favourite Bond theme songs from the past 40 years, with performances from an array of stars including Lulu, Atomic Kitten, Samantha Mumba, Diana Krall and Marti Pellow, and backing music from the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Image enhancement and gobo specialist Projected Image, has announced the launch of a new division of the company - Projected Image Digital Ltd - and at the same time has announced the appointment of the new division as the exclusive UK distributor for the RADlite PC-based video effects and digital image generating system.
The new division will be based at Three Mills Island in East London and run by directors David March and Jim Douglas, the latter of whom founded Projected Image in 1999. Projected Image, meanwhile, has moved into new, expanded premises at Three Mills in preparation for a busy schedule for 2003. Projected Image Digital will be complementary to the gobo manufacturing side of the business, and dedicated to being at the cutting edge of new digital technology, video generation and projection.
The company was formed to take advantage of the ever-increasing creative integr
Loudspeakers and amplification are well known to be a contentious issue in the classical opera world, but the approach taken by Autograph Sound on the recent Pag & Cav double bill at London's Albert Hall seems to have satisfied the taste of the medium's established cognoscenti. As for previous year's ‘arena opera’ seasons, featuring Tosca, Aida, Madame Butterfly and Carmen productions by promoter Raymond Gubbay, advanced source-oriented reinforcement (SOR) techniques have been employed, using Out Board's TiMax DSP matrix and show control software to accurately localize performers' voices to their physical stage locations, by exploiting delay-based Haas Precedence psychoacoustics.
It's not often that a piece of audio equipment receives a mention in the UK's most prestigious broadsheet newspaper, but during a recent interview article for one journal's re
White Light Sales has supplied another Strand 500-series console to the West End - this time, a Strand 520i for the Duke of York's Theatre in St. Martin's Lane. The console replaced an Arri Imagine supplied to the theatre by White Light some years ago, which was coming to the end of its useful life.
With a long-running show - the hit comedy Stones in his Pocket - occupying the theatre, White Light Sales and the theatre's crew had to ensure that they could slot the new desk into the theatre without disrupting the show's lighting design. Andy Fordham at The Service Company, a White Light Company, therefore took the show disk from the Arri and using his collection of conversion software tools, transferred it to the 520i. Thanks to this process, the 520i was in use controlling the show on the day it arrived in the theatre.
The delivery of the desk to the Duke of York's continues t
Following a successful joint showing at PLASA in London and subsequent negotiations at LDI in Las Vegas, followed by TMB’s 20th anniversary bash in Los Angeles, TMB and Syncrolite have announced that European, African and Middle East distribution of Syncrolite products will be handled out of TMB’s UK office.
Paul Hartley, TMB’s general manager, Europe said: "TMB and Syncrolite share common rock and roll roots and values, so our partnership is natural. Syncrolite’s precision, large-format, automated fixtures are unparalleled in the industry. We are very excited to be able to offer this versatile and stunning option. As part of our agreement, we have committed to two regional goals: firstly, establishing a network of mutually supportive rental dealers to supply tours and special events of all kinds and sizes. Secondly, establishing a network of resale dealers
XL Video were approached by lighting designer Bryan Leitch of Siyan to supply hardware for Coldplay's hihgly successful world tour - which continues until September 2003. Coldplay's unconventional video production includes an eye-catching 48ft by 9ft semi-circular IMAG screen elegantly 'crowning' the stage. With the images in 4:3 ratio, the stage takes on a portrait-shaped look.
Below this - upstage of the band - is a 4-screen RADLite video effects generation system. Several layers of lighting are sandwiched in between the two video systems, giving depth to Coldplay's overall visuals. Siyan commissioned the projection screen from XL Video. The semi-circular idea was initiated by Coldplay's lead singer Chris Martin, who approached Leitch and production manager Derek Fudge, wanting a semi-circular thrust stage.
Coldplay's video director is Nick Whitehouse, who is running Siyan's 4-way
Large format projection specialist E//T//C UK projected one of the greatest Britons - Viscount Horatio Nelson - onto the Shell Building on London’s South Bank for the launch of the BBC’s new series Great Britons.
The major new 10-part BBC2 history series, directed by Miriam Jones, included the programme about Nelson, one of the top 10 Great Britons as voted for by the public. The two 6kW PIGI projectors were located in Jubilee Gardens, near the banks of the Thames, and overlaid, to project one 40m wide image across the building.
For the programme’s opening sequence, the camera panned along the Thames, taking in the various sights of that particular stretch of the river, including the Houses of Parliament and the London Eye, before swinging round to catch the dramatic projection on the Shell Building, which stands near the Eye.