UK - A few months ago, entertainment lighting specialist White Light teamed up with lighting manufacturer Coemar to announce the opening of the Coemar LEDko Challenge UK, a chance to win a package of Coemar's acclaimed, innovative Reflection LEDko LED lighting fixtures. The competition invited individuals and groups across the UK to submit a short video or storyboard showing their outdated lighting rig and explaining why they would benefit from an upgrade to Coemar LEDko fixtures for their theatre space.
Submissions were accepted through mid-September and the entries were judged by White Light staff. On30 September, as part of White Light's Amateur Theatre & Schools Open Day, the winner was revealed to a crowd of more than 120 visitors. Richmond upon Thames College won the coveted prize with their creative video submission and will now receive six Coemar LEDko LED fixtures to re
USA - After taking last summer off, the Dave Matthews Band is back on the road with a North American tour previewing their upcoming album, Away From The World. The tour features 16 Clay Paky Sharpy fixtures specified by the band's longtime lighting designer Fenton Williams and supplied by Theatrical Media Services Inc. of Omaha, Nebraska.
"Sharpys are quite new to the market so the units we have were all purchased brand new for this tour," says Pete Franks of Theatrical Media Services, who serves as system crew chief on the road. "Everybody really likes the unique look of the Sharpys. They are evenly distributed and mounted vertically on the video screen surrounds upstage of the band - part of the scenic elements instead of hung on a conventional horizontal truss. They replaced all of the ACL-type lights we used in the past."
UK - The TiMax Soundhub matrix server found itself at the heart of the London 2012 Olympic Park this summer when it was deployed in the Coca Cola Beatbox "experiential showcasing" pavilion, to control a multi-channel soundscape system distributed around the interior.
The Beatbox was Coca Cola's celebration of Olympic Achievement: an exhilarating experience through synchronised audio effects collected by sampling the sounds of Olympic athletes in training around the world. Visitors touched, stroked, scratched or just waved at large rectangular 'interactive cushion' panels on the outside of the structure, each equipped with a sensor to detect these triggers and a transducer to play back the audio samples from a central server.
As visitors descended a spiralling interior ramp into the depths of the cylindrical building, a distributed system of compact Void speakers enve
UK - Cutting edge content creators and show designers at Immersive have been harnessing the power of the award winning Avolites Media Ai Media System to produce eye-wateringly, dazzling visuals for English EDM (Electro Dance Music) star Sub Focus's summer festival tour.
In addition to Sub-Focus the Ai Media Server, which is the result of collaboration between Avolites Media and Immersive, has been used extensively by Immersive to deliver stunning and dynamic shows for artists such as: Eric Prydz, Knife Party, Zane Lowe, Swedish House Mafia and Pendulum.
"We were looking to create an interactive audio visual experience in which audio and video were so intrinsically linked that they resulted in a powerful, all encompassing, synesthetic encounter for the spectator," explains Giani Fabricio, designer at Immersive. "The Ai Media server is the perfect partner.
Sweden - Götaplatsen, a major plaza and focal point for cultural activities in the city of Gothenburg as well as home to a large LumenRadio CRMX system, was recently awarded the prestigious 19th Swedish Lighting Award.
The plaza, located at the end of the Kungsports Avenue, is lined by three large civic buildings; the Gothenburg City Theatre, the City Art Museum, and the Gothenburg Concert Hall. The area was renovated last year with particular emphasis on improved and coordinated illumination as a part of a citywide plan to enhance the visual environment in major public spaces.
LumenRadio's wireless CRMX technology was deployed to extend the reach of DMX and RDM distribution to all parts of the comprehensive lighting system on and around the plaza without any disruptive and costly construction work.
The roof of the City Art Museum does duty as the central transmitter site a
Belgium - Experimental music and sound laboratory, Champ d'Action, has chosen a Midas PRO2C as its main studio console.
Antwerp's Champ d'Action invested in the PRO2C as an integral part of its concept to offer 'a platform for contemporary music open to other artistic disciplines such as contemporary video art, theatre or dance'.
One of the primary characteristics of Champ d'Action is its remarkable ability to reinvent itself and today it's well known for being a pioneer in an ever-changing music scene.
Champ d'Action's sound engineer Marc Dedecker, who is responsible for the technical specification of the studio, says he tested several digital consoles before deciding on the Midas PRO2C. "I chose the Midas because of its superior sonic performance, which is absolutely critical to my work at the studio.
"The surround features of the PRO2C work really well and the
Rolling On - The Rolling Stones have announced four concerts in London and New York at the end of the year. The band will play London's O2 Arena on 25 and 29 November and at the Prudential Centre in Newark, New Jersey on 13 and 15 December.
Reports of a possible tour to mark The Stones's 50th anniversary had been circulating for a number of years. Making the announcement in a video on YouTube, the band said, "You must have guessed this was coming."
"Surely you didn't think we weren't going to do this? Soon we will be back on stage playing for you in two cities that know how to rock and roll." Mick Jagger suggested there could be some special guests at the shows, saying there would be "maybe a few friends joining us".
The Rolling Stones' last world tour, A Bigger Bang, played to 4.5m people in 32 countries over two years before it finished
Finland - In 1954 the novelist C.P. Snow wrote animatedly about the tension between the arts and the sciences: the traditionalists and those wanting to engage with new technologies. The New Men was recognised as an iconic twentieth century text that examined the continuous conflict between the old and the new. Over half a century later it remains an ongoing item on the agenda of every restoration and renovation of architectural masterpieces and buildings of national importance across the globe.
The Svenska Teaten, or Swedish Theatre, in Helsinki is a case in point. Built originally in 1860, the theatre burnt to the ground just three years later, but quickly rose from the ashes in 1866. Occupying a central site in the city, the building looks unchanged externally. Internally, however, things are now very different thanks to a major restoration project completed at the end
UK - A record breaking 5,212 enthusiasts descended on Brooklands last weekend for the smart Festival, a celebration of the much loved urban car brand, produced by Mobile Promotions. The venue was transformed into a smart enthusiast's paradise with street-themed activities, such as slacklining and urban basketball, live music and the chance to engage with some of the hottest new vehicles around.
Comperes, comedian and F1 specialist Danny Hornigold partnered with car expert and BBC commentator Andrew Coley to ensure everyone was well informed and enjoyed the fun. Pro freestyle skateboarders Kilian Martin and Alfredo Urbon impressed the crowd dazzling with their skills on the Fun Fortwo, the world's first-ever tandem skateboard and foot-tapping artists Threepenny Bit and beatboxer champion Jack Hobbs AKA "Hobbit" added an eclectic soundtrack to keep the fun and light-hear
UK - Black Light reports that it has completed the last of nine installation projects for North Lanarkshire's local authority.
The overall project, which has lasted for much of 2012, saw Black Light working with some of the biggest names in the construction business - Graham Construction, Morgan Sindall and Balfour Beatty - to install stage lighting, sound, audio visual and recording studio equipment in five of the region's high schools and four of its primaries.
This large-scale, multi-location project demonstrates Black Light's expertise in the education sector and its ability to offer a high quality, specification-compliant proposal at the right price.
"Black Light did an extremely professional installation," said Derek Johnston, head of music and drama at Coltness High School, which was the first of the nine schools Black Light worked at. "The entire syste
USA - PLASA Focus: Stamford 2012 grows from strength to strength as new exhibitors and new seminar speakers join the party. PLASA Focus: Stamford will be the first regional PLASA event for the Tri-state area and takes place just 30 minutes outside of New York City at the Stamford Marriott, CT., on 12-13 November 2012.
Visitors to the show will be among the first to see many new products being displayed and demonstrated in the region for the first time, including the Hippotizer Version 3.2 Software on TMB's booth; LumenRadio's SuperNova; four additions to the ProPlex Devices range of tour-grade signal management systems; The Solaris Flare Color Strobe; the Schnick Schnack Systems LED Accent Lighting System, as well as a hands-on demonstration of Aereographer by Flying by Foy - the world's most advanced design tool for flying automation, with many more announcements coming soon.
USA - City Theatrical has confirmed a new partnership with Electronic Theatre Controls in which ETC will distribute City Theatrical's full line of SHoW DMX Neo wireless DMX control products, allowing ETC's customers around the world easy access to wireless DMX for entertainment and architectural lighting applications.
ETC is recognized around the world as the leader in entertainment lighting and control products. City Theatrical specializes in unique lighting accessories and has developed and marketed hundreds of accessories related to ETC products over the last 20 years, and the two companies have enjoyed a close working relationship during that time.
ETC's customers will find SHoW DMX Neo wireless DMX systems useful in a wide range of lighting applications such as schools, civic auditoriums, houses of worship, cruise ships, museums, exterior architectural applications, and a
Japan - Robert Juliat's Japanese distributor, Theater Engineering, has recently supplied Robert Juliat followspots and LED profiles to Tokyo's Zepp DiverCity and Osaka's Zepp Namba concert halls. The equipment was supplied to lighting and sound equipment specialists, Sogo Butai Co Ltd who carried out the installations.
Zepp concert halls are a group of dynamic, busy venues which are spread across all areas of Japan and play host to many international tours and Japanese musicians. They offer a broad programme of music and tours, designed to appeal to all ages, with upcoming dates including Paul Weller, The Offspring, Slayer and Brahman.
The Zepp venues are also popular locations for corporate events and conventions.
The 2700-seat Zepp DiverCity in Tokyo is the largest of the Zepp venues and the largest live house in Tokyo while the slightly smaller Zepp Namba in Osaka caters
The Netherlands - Adding a further attraction to the growing list of educational and networking events co-located with ISE 2013, Integrated Systems Europe has announced the launch of the MegaPixel Summit. To be held at the Amsterdam RAI over Monday 28 and Tuesday 29 January 2013, the Summit will be produced by market research, publishing and consulting firm Insight Media.
"Over the past couple of years, we have seen a substantial increase in the number of ISE exhibitors offering display solutions that are above full HD resolution," comments Mike Blackman, managing director, Integrated Systems Events. "The potential of these technologies is enormous, but these are complex systems and many industry professionals are enduring a steep learning-curve while implementing them.
"By hosting the MegaPixel Summit at ISE 2013, we hope to create a forum in which the cha
UK - The d&b audiotechnik Electroacoustics seminar hosted by The Warehouse Sound Services in Glasgow is scheduled for Wednesday 21November, at 40 Carmichael Street, Govan, Glasgow, G51 2QU.
Presented by Oran Burns from the d&b GB Education and Application support department, the day will feature practical experiments and demonstrations all designed to provide a clearer understanding of electroacoustics. By exploring the acoustic signal path from loudspeaker to listener and its relationship with the surrounding environment, discover how focused, intelligible sound can be achieved for every member of the audience.
Whether new to professional audio or just want to refresh the ears, this is a fun and fascinating way to learn how the fundamentals of audio physics can support engineering and system design skills, says d&b.
UK - Television, live events and show production rental specialist, ELP have invested in 48 Chroma-Q Studio Force D 12 and Studio Force V 12 white LED lighting fixtures for their rental stock.
Based in Cambridgeshire, ELP offer a vast hire stock of the latest lighting technologies and provide a premium single source service for production managers, lighting designers and TV lighting directors.
The Chroma-Q fixtures - 18 Studio Force V 12, 3000 - 6100°K CCT variable white and 30 of the Studio Force D 12, 6100°K CCT daylight white - were purchased by ELP's rental manager, John Singer.
This was ELP's first Chroma-Q purchase and John comments that when they saw the products demonstrated, they were "Immediately impressed" by the fixtures' brightness, clean white colour rendition, compact size and build quality.
USA - A complement of Clay Paky Stage Zoom 1200 and Alpha Spot HPE 700 fixtures were selected for the CD and DVD recording of Christian singer Israel Houghton's latest album, Jesus at the Center which hits stores 14 August. The multi Grammy Award-winning Houghton, whose cross-cultural style of Christian music fuses elements from gospel, jazz and rock, performed at Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church in Houston, where the singer is also a worship leader.
Matt Moreland of Wave Productions was lighting designer and director for the project, which reflected the diversity of Houghton's musical style. "The look of the show was sometimes very rock 'n roll, sometimes dramatic and moody, sometimes very high energy. It really ran the gamut as did the music from Latin to rap to a more traditional gospel sound."
Moreland chose 10 Stage Zoom 1200 moving heads and six Alpha Spot
South Africa - Midas South African distributor, Johannesburg based Prosound (PTY), has seen an unprecedented number of South Africa's leading performance venues purchase Midas PRO consoles.
"MIDAS Consoles are selling like hot cakes here in South Africa", explains Prosound's Mark Malherbe. "We've sold five PRO9 consoles within the last three months, around 15 Pro2's and a couple of Pro3's."
This huge growth in sales saw Midas technical sales manager, Jason Kelly, along with Malherbe take to the road to share the Midas training experience. "We visited all of the major cities of South Africa to deliver what we called the 'Prosound Live', training and advice event," continues Malherbe. "The PRO3, PRO6, and PRO9 digital consoles are all hugely successful in South Africa and with the recent additions of the PRO2, PRO2C - and even more recently the
Norway - Rental company d'light has recently purchased a stable of new Martin Professional gear that includes the award-winning fixtures the MAC Viper Profile, MAC Aura and MAC 350 Entour with the popular MAC 101 also included in the purchase.
In late August, d'light completed technical production of a student festival on the University of Agder campus in Kristiansand. The event, a celebration to mark the beginning of the school year, featured live entertainment with lighting design by Ronnie Tungland who incorporated the newly purchased MAC 350 Entours and 101 LED wash lights along with Martin MAC III Profiles.
Using an 8 x 10 ground support, the MAC 350 Entours were mounted on the back wall on four arm trusses. d'light chose to stock the LED profile because their 8000 lumens of brightness allow them to punch through without looking weak compared to bigger fixtures like MAC I
UK - Entec Sound and Light provided lighting and audio systems for the two music stages - Musion and Marshall - at the Best of Britannia (BOB), a new high-profile brand statement event concept exclusively for new and established British designers and manufacturers.
Showcasing the most innovative, creative original and funky elements on offer in multiple sectors from handbags to marmalade vodka, the first three day BOB event took place at The Farmiloe Building on London's Clerkenwell Road. The former warehouse is a fine example of Victorian architecture, completed in 1868 by Browne & Robinson.
Entec's equally fine crew was project managed by Adam Stevenson.
Entec was asked on-board by production manager Charlie Canavan, with whom they have worked on several previous live music projects. The turnaround was exceptionally tight - even by production industry standards - so Entec
Belgium - Along with the glitz, big hair, outrageous flares and dizzyingly high platform heels 12,000 disco divas stepped out to the 2012 Studio 54 Sportpaleis event in Antwerp, Belgium to strut their best dancefloor moves and grooves to the sounds of the1970s.
The equally flamboyant lighting design for the event - in its 11th glorious year - by Peter Vervloesem - featured all Robe moving lights, which together with other lighting fixtures and equipment and trussing - were supplied by Total-E (Total Event Support) from Paal-Beringen.
Vervloesem also designed the set. His starting point for the show was to create a fabulous, sizzling, mega-kitsch environment full of colour, movement and lusciousness to help emulate the parting spirit of the era and produce a great atmosphere.
No celebration of the seventies would be complete without that classic component of stage déco
UK - South London-based technical production specialist Presentational Rentals (PR) supplied all technical elements for the recent London launch of rock legends' Led Zeppelin's Celebration Day movie - featuring their one-off 2007 reunion concert at London's O2 Arena.
PR supplied lighting, audio and staging for the high profile press event staged in the Ballroom of the Northumberland Hotel, just off Trafalgar Square. It was attended by the three surviving members of the band and the world's media.
PR's Ian Coull designed the set and lighting scheme after taking a brief from the client.
It featured an eye-catching three tiered stage with seven metre high backdrop covered in the album / DVD cover artwork, featuring a large Zeppelin airship hovering above a London cityscape pastiche in a bright orange and red sky.
Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and Paul Jones sat below this a
UK - Wet Wet Wet, recently reformed for a one-off show in Glasgow to mark their 25th anniversary, appearing on Glasgow Green to a crowd of 12,000. FOH engineer, Steve Pattison, selected an Allen & Heath iLive digital mixing system, comprising an iDR-64 MixRack and iLive-112 Control Surface with Waves networking.
"With a brass section and the world of keyboards we hit 56 inputs but the 112 surface allowed me to see a lot of what was happening and the flexible layout ensured I never lost sight, keeping lead vocal, FX, etc. available at all times," explains Pattison.
Pattison also connected a Waves networking card to record the gig and conduct a virtual sound check.
"I was able to use a laptop to record all 56 inputs directly from the Waves card over a single Ethernet cable, and manage virtual soundcheck without the need for an additional soundcard or interface,&
Spain - Renowned DJ and electronic music experimentalist Richie Hawtin's first solo residency on Ibiza saw his successful ENTER. concept take over Thursday nights at the award-winning 7000 capacity Space venue in Playa d'en Bossa, and run for a super-hot 12 week season.
Integral to the whole ENTER. phenomena - four rooms fusing the principals of music, sake, technology and experience all curated by Hawtin - was a visual and lighting design by Matthias 'Lumpy' Vollrath from biglooks.net, who has worked with the artist (aka Plastikman) since 2008 in cooperation with Rebeca Sanchez from LEDsControl.
Lumpy included four Robe MMX Spots in the lighting rig which were used specifically to throw patterns and effects onto two prominent dance podiums flanking the stage in the main area. They were the main focus on the side of the stage and a substitute for any video projection.