USA -The Production Equipment Rental Group (PERG) has released a draft of its return-to-work guidance for the safe resumption of camera and lighting rental services. The PERG Safe Return to Work Guidelines provides recommendations for the prevention of the spread of COVID-19 and was created by a task group who took into account recommendations from the CDC, OSHA and public health officials and applied them to rental operations, equipment and facilities. The draft will undergo a public review process from 19 May through 9 June, providing an opportunity for materially-affected parties to participate in the development of these industry guidelines, ensuring that they reflect an industry consensus. Feedback is welcome from all stakeholders, and instructions for providing feedback are included with the download. Comments will be reviewed by the task group for r
Spain/Italy - Prolights has announced the appointment of Seesound as its new distributor in Spain with immediate effect. Nacho Alberdi, CEO of SeeSound, comments: “To me, working in this kind of industry means to carry on my family legacy, as in 1880 my grandfather started manufacturing pipes for church organs. That’s why we aim to continue doing what we do with passion and in the most professional way, taking care of the quality of the work done by our team. This should allow us to offer the best solutions to our customers and partners. “When I first approached Prolights, I was fascinated by the ambition and dedication I could see throughout the headquarters, from the R&D department, production, logistics right to the sales and managements departments. Prolights boasts a broad portfolio and a one-of-a-kind product design, which will grant us to provide innov
Global Warning - Shakespeare's Globe Theatre has called for urgent funding to avoid going out of business due to the "devastating" impact of the coronavirus pandemic. The London venue has been shut since 20 March and has warned MPs it is "critically vulnerable and at risk of closure in the wake of COVID-19". It said it would need at least £5m to get back up and running. It was ineligible for Arts Council England's relief and said it had been "left without any emergency support". In evidence to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport select committee, the theatre said: "Without emergency funding and the continuation of the coronavirus job retention scheme, we will spend down our reserves and become insolvent. This has been financially devastating and could even be terminal." Conservative MP Julian Knight, who chairs the committee, said in a letter to Cultu
Europe - As the COVID-19 crisis continues to hit the live music and event industry particularly hard, The Lightpower Collection is determined to continue to donate to organisations dedicated to preserving jobs within the live event industry - organisations that include Crew Nation, Behind the Scenes and Backup. The Lightpower Collection has therefore teamed up with photographer Neal Preston to release a set of more than 25 previously unseen music photographs. Each of these images is being made available in a limited edition run of just 20 per image. The Lightpower Collection is proud to exclusively offer these signed and numbered fine art prints for purchase at the special price of only 950 Euros. The new collection can be viewed at www.lightpower-
UAE - Digital signal processing specialist Xilica has appointed Venuetech as its new distributor for the GCC. Based in Dubai with an experience centre in Riyadh and staff in Kuwait and Egypt, Venuetech will work closely with Xilica to raise brand awareness with AV consultants, systems integrators and IT engineers that specify, install and manage AV systems. Venuetech’s represented brands include Atlona, Barco, Sennheiser and Televic. “We continue to see rapidly evolving business opportunities in MENA across most AV verticals, and almost every project requires a professional DSP,” said Ismat Assafiri, audio specialist, Venuetech. “Xilica separates itself from other DSP manufacturers with truly modular, plug-and-play designs that can support projects of any size, and they deliver the future-thinking technology that will become integral as our industry moves towards gre
UK - Shure UK’s Pro Audio team has been striving to maintain business continuity and increase industry support amid the coronavirus crisis whilst protecting the health and safety of all their associates. The company has been responding and adapting to help support its industry, freelancers and fans. The Shure Audio Institute is providing workshops for Shure customers including system integrators, consultants, music industry retailers, engineers, and musicians. In order to continue delivering education to the audio community, Shure has adapted its usual face-to-face workshops to online virtual masterclasses which are broken down in to one-hour sessions hosted by David Phillips, senior sales manager, Shure UK. The virtual sessions, which started earlier last month, are designed to deliver the essential elements of the usual full day workshops over the course of a coup
Europe - IBC 2020, scheduled for 11-14 September, has been cancelled due to the COVID-19 crisis. The annual broadcast technology show, held every September at RAI Amsterdam, will instead transition to a virtual event. In a statement on the IBC homepage, Michael Crimp, CEO, IBC, said: “I hope you are safe and well, as we continue to adapt to the changing world in which we find ourselves. As previously outlined, the IBC team has been focused on assessing and developing appropriate plans for IBC2020 this September at the RAI Amsterdam. "Within these plans it is crucial that IBC can deliver a safe and successful environment. However, as governments announce the route forward, it has become clear that a return to (a new) normal is unlikely to be achieved by September. It has also become evident, through our dialogue with the IBC community, that an early decision is
USA - Elation Professional’s 20 May Elation Hour will feature lighting designers Bradley King, Jeff Croiter, John Froelich and Jason Lyons who join hosts John Dunn and Matthias Hinrichs to share their personal insight, experiences and tricks of the trade in lighting the theatrical stage. Bradley King, is a two-time Tony Award-winner for his work on Natasha, Pierre, & The Great Comet of 1812 (2017) and Hadestown (2019); Jeff Croiter is a Tony award-winning lighting designer for Peter and the Starcatcher (2012) with over 25-years of Broadway experience; John Froelich is resident lighting designer at the Metropolitan Opera who oversees all technical and artistic aspects of lighting design for the opera. Jason Lyons, credits include On the Town, Bronx Bombers, Barefoot in the Park and Rock of Ages. The Elati
Germany - Club culture continues to thrive in Germany even amidst the COVID-19 lockdown. The country’s world-famous night spots may be closed to the public, but they are still reaching out to clubbers thanks to United We Stream. Run in alliance with ARTE Concert, United We Stream hosts a series of online shows from event organizers and artists that showcase the rich diversity of German club culture. In addition to streaming live DJ sets, live music and other performances, the initiative serves as a platform for discussion sessions, presentations and club culture-oriented films. The alliance was started to support Berlin’s club culture and expanded internationally. Hamburg was the first city outside of Berlin. It was here that Koyo, the designer behind many Hamburg’s well-known clubs, a group that includes Uebel & Gefährlich, a venue located in an old-World W
Australia - Australian web-based organisation ALIA is expanding its area of activities to cover the wider live production business. For 20 years ALIA has been a resource for the lighting community in Australia. Starting as a simple website, ALIA, it has continued to grow with daily updates on gear, people, projects, productions, business news – basically anything to do with lighting. Now, as Australasian Live Industry Alliance, it plans to offer more. Earlier this year ALIA rallied lighting manufacturers to donate gear to their Fireaid Appeal which raised $61,000 through an online auction. Last month, ALIA organised #lightunite to draw attention to those fighting the battle against Covid-19 and also the production industry that has been decimated. The project reached national news stations and helped to lift spirits of those involved. “Over the years, I have
USA - The largest cast iron statue in the world shines brightly over Birmingham, Alabama, thanks to lighting design by Schuler Shook and lighting design revisions, control system design, and programming by Marc Brickman and Tactical Manoeuvre, Inc. The essence of the 56-foot Vulcan statue overlooking the city is the 124-foot pedestal on which it stands, highlighted and enhanced with seven Solaris Flare IP HR dual-head outdoor fixtures. Lighting for the project was provided by 4Wall Nashville. “The Flare IPs have an incredible amount of firepower and are killer bright,” says 4Wall account executive, Damon Herbert. “We used the dual-head version of the Flare IP outdoor lights, with narrow 8-degree lenses for maximum throw.” Damon adds, “At night, the statue can be seen for miles and Tactical Manoeuvre’s programming is exquisite. Over two years in development,
UK - The Tacchi-Morris Arts Centre (TMAC) is a multipurpose performance space located in Taunton, Somerset, UK, and dedicated to staging an array of shows, events and activities for the whole community embracing music, dance, drama, comedy, spoken word and other genres. Just before the coronavirus pandemic temporarily halted the entire entertainment industry, TMAC took delivery of a brand new Zero 88 FLX lighting control console, complete with two wings, which was specified by technical manager Kevin Stratton. The new console replaces their previous generation Zero 88 consoles which have been there since the venue opened in 2000. Kevin has worked there since 2016, and before then was a busy freelancer, touring theatre technician and production LX who has also worked as a Level 3 instructor in production arts at a leading Somerset further education college.
UK - On 19 May, the Sennheiser SoundAcademy will be discussing one of the hot topics of the day - immersive audio. Sennheiser hosts David Missall and Brian Walker have invited Leslie Ann Jones, Michael Romanowski, Steve Genewick, Jim Anderson and Ulrike Anderson to speak about this subject. The five industry experts will discuss their approach to recording, mixing and mastering the immersive sound experience, and share their views on how immersive audio can help open up new creative possibilities and connect listeners more intimately with music. Please note the new changed timing for this webinar: It will take place at 19:30 CEST (13:30 EST). Registrations are now open at https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_kiCShCe4SX2EjaClcVz-Sg. In addition to round tables, Sennheiser’s SoundAcademy provides a host of other popular pro audio training webinars and in-dep
UK - White Light managing director Bryan Raven has written an open letter asking for support for the supply chain to the live events industry. The London-based supplier, in conjunction with a number of industry colleagues, has outlined a 10 point plan for help needed from the UK Government. “The live events industry - which includes music, theatre, corporate events, festivals and live broadcasts - was amongst the first to be closed down by the COVID-19 pandemic and will be the last to return to normality,” writes Raven. “This is global issue and I would ask you to take the time to watch this video from the Live Events Coalition in the US which graphically represents the issue for the whole world.” He continues: “Both the producers of live events but also the suppliers to live events need help. It is critical to consider the entire ecology of the live events s
USA - Extending the spirit of the CARES Act enacted last month by Congress, Stampede has announced the pro AV industry-specific Stampede XtraCare Programme to “provide employees with much-needed extra protection and resellers with business relief and facilitation tools, as well as Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) kits to enable them to complete projects in a safe and secure way”. Complete information about the programme can be found at www.stampedeglobal.com/xtracare. “Commercial AV is an essential infrastructure industry, as defined by the federal government, but the industry is being challenged on every front to remain viable in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Stampede president and CEO Kevin Kelly. “Supported by the strength of our corporate resources, Stampede is making available to employees, resellers and manufacturer partners a comprehens
USA - Professional Solutions has added 18 free Live Workshops available for registration through the company’s Learning Sessions programme in conjunction with Harman Professional University. Available workshops scheduled for the remainder of May feature lighting or audio experts who have extensive industry knowledge and experience working with various artists including Alicia Keys, Arctic Monkeys, Halsey, Jimmy Eat World, Josh Groban, The Killers, Maroon 5, OneRepublic, Prince, Rage Against the Machine, Ringo Starr and his All Starr Band, Weezer and many others. More than a dozen Live Workshops conducted earlier this month are now available at Harman Professional University’s YouTube channel. Workshops include Loudspeaker Design for Airports
USA - As part of Meyer Sound’s ongoing webinar education programme, today (15 May), company president & CEO John Meyer will present From Apocalypse Now to Bluehorn at 9:00 PST (16:00 GMT). The one-hour presentation traces Meyer Sound’s innovative development path in the world of cinema, post-production and residential from the company’s early days collaborating with Francis Ford Coppola to today’s Bluehorn System. “Education has always been a pillar of the holistic Meyer Sound core brand philosophy of sharing knowledge. Recent events have put the spotlight on the importance of offering our public training not just with in-person seminars but via online platforms,” comments John McMahon, Meyer Sound senior vice president of sales and marketing. “Our global team was quick to respond to the need by curating an informative and engaging programme.
UK - Technical entertainment charity Backup will be holding a virtual pub quiz on Friday 15 May to raise money for the charity. Backup provides financial support to industry technical professionals working in live events, theatre, TV and film who have fallen ill, been injured or are suffering from mental health problems. The charity provides a range of services including financial support, advice and re-training, and the organisation is working harder than ever to support those in need during the COVID-19 crisis. Tom Wilkes of Collaborative Creations will be hosting the quiz at 8pm on Friday 15 May, which will be taking place via Zoom, and all industry members, friends and family are welcome to take part and compete for some fantastic prizes. Backup Trustee Lee Dennison said: “Unfortunately due to the coronavirus outbreak our annual fundraising extravaganza
UK - Phil Wright has enjoyed a 25-year career in the pro audio industry, specialising as a live sound designer and mix engineer for large scale classical, concert, broadcast, dance, cinema and operatic productions. Trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, he spent the early part of his career at Sound by Design, during which time he handled the Royal Albert Hall in-house sound contract, including taking responsibility for the BBC Proms live requirements. In 2012, Phil went freelance, creating Phil Wright Sound Limited and has since worked on a very wide range of projects. The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has been keenly felt throughout the industry, but creative solutions for audio conundrums are never far from Phil’s mind, as was the case recently when his friend Jaap Pronk of TM Audio in the Netherlands, reached out for help. At the beginning of
USA - North American Spanish-language television network Univision has been working with Orlando-based Professional Wireless Systems (PWS) to handle their production and broadcast wireless needs for more than 20 years. “I started working with Professional Wireless when James Stoffo first started out and was lugging around gear in cardboard boxes,” explains Mike Karsch, Univision technical manage for events. “They have been my go-to wireless services partner for large and small broadcast events ever since.” The list of annual projects is long starting off with PWS providing RF coordination, products and services for Premio Lo Nuestro, the awards show established by the network to honour the previous year's top artists in Latin music followed by Premios Juventud, a viewer-decided awards show honouring Hispanics and Latinos in film, music, sports, fa
UK - Martin Audio’s first virtual tradeshow takes place on Wednesday 20 May, with registration slots throughout the day filling up fast. Much like Martin Audio’s Open Days, the virtual tradeshow will offer an overview of the portfolio suitable for end users, distributors, rental companies and integrators. The event will be webinar-based across three time slots on Wednesday 20 May to ensure that people in different time zones can come together for the show. Each session will last for 90 minutes with the first starting at 7.30am BST, followed by a second at 10.00am BST and a final session beginning at 5.00pm BST. “We’ve been delighted with the response so far,” says Dom Harter, managing director at Martin Audio. “With over 500 registrants to date this is fast becoming an excellent opportunity for us to guide people through our portfolio and to help attendees
USA - New York City house and EDM DJs come to Norwalk,Connecticut’s ARC Sound Stage and Lighting three times a week to perform livestream shows as part of ARC Live. “We are big on using art to touch the lives of people in a positive way,” says Gene Morrell, owner of ARC. “This is why we are always eager to get involved in community art projects, whether it’s putting on block parties or commissioning local artists for graffiti – and it’s why we do the livestreams.” Morrell and his team got the idea to produce their thrice-weekly live streams “about 10 seconds” after the government’s lockdown order went into effect. “We couldn’t sit idly by,” he recalls. “So, we had to do something to express ourselves.” Once this decision was made, the details for ARC Live fell neatly into place. First was the question of finding a location
UK - Simon Thomas has been utilising an SSL Fusion while out on the road with American singer-songwriter, Halsey, to complement her vocal-driven production. The Fusion is a permanent feature on her vocal buss. Thomas started out in the industry as a lighting operator in the world of amateur dramatics, and because 'no-one wanted to do sound' he volunteered, soon moving into professional theatre and hospital radio, and eventually joining Britannia Row in the '90s as one of the then 'new school' engineers. He worked as a monitor engineer initially – and for a number of A-list artists including Lighthouse Family, Moby, and Machine Head. Further down the road, he moved onto FOH, and has been working at the very top level ever since. After completing Ariana Grande's recent Dangerous Woman tour, he got the call to do Halsey. “I was only going to do it for three months, bu
USA - As online resources become a more important part of today’s workflow, Eastern Acoustic Works (EAW) has users covered with its education-based website. Located at www.education.eaw.com, customers can find detailed training, tutorials, FAQ’s and knowledge-based support twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. “The goal of the EAW Education site is to empower the pro audio industry by providing the information necessary to understand, operate and design EAW sound systems,” says EAW president, T.J. Smith. EAW’s training section allows audio pros to stay up-to-date with the latest EAW technology. The section features the Intro to ADAPTive Training series, which prepares individuals for the level 1 certification test. Level 1 certification means users are well versed in the basics of ADAPTive technology and system deployment. EAW’s Tutorial
