Mayoral Warning - London mayor Sadiq Khan has warned the capital risks becoming a “dormitory” city unless more is done to protect cultural buildings from housing developers. Khan said once arts venues close, they are “gone forever”, and the rate at which London is losing live music spaces should be a “concern for all of us”. Speaking at the launch of his cultural strategy at Battersea Arts Centre, Khan said: “Once these things are gone – arts centres, live music venues, they’re gone forever, they’re not going to come back. But we’re also making sure the new generation of developments think about having theatres, community spaces, pubs, because what we don’t want is a dormitory city. So it’s keeping what we have, but also making sure that new developments have this recognition that a good community has good places to live, work and play.” He
UK - Adlib, one of the UK’s longest established technical production companies, has recently invested in Sennheiser’s latest Digital 6000 series as part of an extensive refresh of its RF inventory. The system includes eight channels of Digital 6000, complete with SK 6000 pocket transmitters and SKM 6000 handheld transmitters with MD 9235 capsules. Adlib has also taken advantage of the rackmount rechargeable battery units for both the handhelds and pocket transmitters to help reduce the company’s environment footprint. “We’re getting increasingly busy and we’re finding that there’s a lot of demand for radio equipment to tour around Europe” says Adlib director Dave Kay. “We wanted to invest in the newest technology to give us more flexibility on spectrum usage. We’ve used Digital 6000 for the past couple of years on events such as Capital Radio’s
USA - Ahead of its June ride, the Long Reach Long Riders (LRLR) held a raffle and live auction to back Behind the Scenes during the USITT Stage Expo in Fort Lauderdale on 14-17 March. Sales of raffle tickets, auction items, key donations, and sales of BTS and LRLR-branded swag raised over $15,000 for the charity. The LRLR 2018 ride, dubbed the Gap and Notch Tour: A Ramble through New England, starts on 23 June in Manchester, NH. The riders cover all their own expenses, so everything they raise goes to the charity. Sponsor a rider today at www.behindthescenescharity.org/lrlr. Festivities led off with the traditional kazoo parade led by Bill Sapsis and many of the LRLR. Following the parade, BTS Pledge-a-Product partners InCord (Orchestra Pit Safety Netting Systems) and ETC (irFR and aRFR application for iOS and Android devices) presented checks from the sales of
UK - The first Comfest, a comedy night in support of technical entertainment charity Backup, helped raise £14,000 for the organisation. Held at the Royal National Theatre, London, the event was described as “a fantastic night where all the comedians went above and beyond to say thank you to the industry that supports them”. A particular highlight of the night was headliner Al Murray, the Pub Landlord, performing Under Pressure with a member of the audience. Organisers said Comfest 2019 is already on the cards and thanked all the staff at the National Theatre, sponsors SFL, White Light and TSL, all of the audience members, The Cloggz and the comedians. Upcoming backup events include Golf-fest 2018 which is scheduled for 18 April. The annual live events Charity Golf Day is back and even more fun to be had on the day. As 18 teams go Tee - Tee, we have s
Azerbajan - Martin Audio has appointed PRO AV LLC as its new distributor in Azerbaijan. Based in the capital of Baku, the company was registered in 2012. Today, the partners are Elshan Aliyev and Rustam Hajiyev, and over the years they have built an impressive portfolio of leading distributed brands. In order to bring Martin Audio into the fold, Aliyev had earlier approached MD, Dom Harter, whom he had known from previous companies. “There were many things I liked about Martin Audio,” he said, “notably the quality of the sound, the product line in general and the strength of the brand name. We also liked the fact that they are utterly dedicated to sound systems - rather than running a diverse portfolio like other manufacturers - and their pricing is reasonable. You could say we are more than happy with Martin Audio.” PROAV sees “enormous potenti
USA - The inaugural New Word Rigging Symposium, held 13-14 March in Fort Lauderdale, brought professionals from around the world together for two days of presentations, Q&As and networking. While most attendees were from the US, there were also visitors from Canada, Australia, Germany, Japan, and China. Joining riggers were engineers, health and safety professionals, venue managers, educators and manufacturers. The panels covered topics such as cruise ships, automation, engineering, risk assessment, standards, and ground support rigs. Highlights included Scott Fisher’s keynote address describing his early days in the industry and how the Navigator System was developed and Tony Galuppi’s impassioned plea for “safety first” who described conducting a risk assessment for hanging Criss Angel over a lake in Florida teeming with alligators. The Hot Button Iss
UK - Taiwanese LED manufacturer Ledtech is opening a European facility in the UK. The addition of a direct facility will add a range of manufacturing services, design-in support, volume availability and security of supply on various opto parts including discrete LEDs, LED displays, lighting components and luminaires, says the company. Frank Liu, founder, group chairman and CEO of Ledtech Electronics Corporation, comments: “We constantly invest in people, technology and research & development to ensure that we can offer the solutions our customers need. The opening of our UK facility in Redruth, Cornwall, UK means that we now have design centres in Europe, Asia, and the USA, available to develop custom solutions for applications that require a specialised approach.” William Heath, director of Ledtech UK, adds: “Whether our customers require a discrete LED, di
Europe - FIX8Group worked alongside Renault Sport Racing (RSR) to conceive and integrate a seamless, interactive, multi-purpose visual display for the Formula One team's high-profile, pit lane touring garage. Providing an important visual information highway for RSR's race team, their VIP visitors and RSR sponsors, the 40K wide, digital display canvas features enhanced interactive connectivity that enables the RSR team members, VIPs and Renault Sport Formula One Team sponsors to respond to race critical content, live, as it happens, while interacting with screen resolution native content and sponsor marketing messages in real time, via advanced touch screen technology. Crucially, the content can also be viewed from the pit lane and can be seen by the TV broadcast cameras, further maximising the all-important ROI for the Renault team and its sponsor messaging. François
USA - With the 2018 concert touring and live event production season now in full swing, production provider Elite Multimedia is expanding its rental inventory even further. Featuring an addition of Elation Professional Artiste DaVinci, Platinum SEVEN Wash, Rayzor 360Z, DTW Blinder 350 IP and 700 IP fixtures, along with a new shipment of Claypaky Scenius Unico luminaires, all the innovative design solutions are now available through the Nashville headquarters of the production partner. “We have been very fortunate at Elite Multimedia to be experiencing a sustained growth in our rental operations for both concert touring and other live event production designs,” says Jason ‘Cannonball’ Jenkins, Elite Multimedia director of operations. “To keep pace with this growth, we are very excited to be bringing in additional inventory from both Elation Professional and Cl
UK - Entec’s lighting department has taken delivery of its first batch of JDC1 LED hybrid strobes from German Light Products, with a further consignment due to arrive soon, making a total of 28 units. “Our purchase was originally encouraged by LDs Nico Riot and Liam Griffiths, who were very passionate about the product,” says Adam Stevenson, Entec’s assistant head of lighting. “Having already trialled the JDC1 on a number of projects, we are confident that this new fixture will become an exceptionally popular rental item for us. It’s a very hot product right now and we wanted to make a commitment to it on behalf of our clients as early as possible.” The new arrivals join Entec’s fleet of other recently acquired, leading edge special effect fixtures, namely 30 Ayrton MagicBlade FX, 25 Solaris Flare Q+ (with Kasmer diffusion accessories) and 24 G
Europe - Evago Group has become the world's exclusive rental partner for all Terraplas turf protection products since taking over the American rentals branch for Terraplas USA in March. German event supply and industrial services company Evago Group (Evago) and the Anglo-American Checkers Safety Group, who purchased Terraplas in 2015, have agreed a long-term partnership for Terraplas rentals internationally. Having acquired Mojo Barriers in 2017, Evago then bought the UK Terraplas rental business, and immediately fulfilled demand for the specialist stadium pitch protection for concerts. This new deal will see the Terraplas range be available throughout the Evago Group and Mojo’s global network. Goran Marincic, CEO, Evago AG states: “Terraplas products are unique in the market and complement our existing product portfolio perfectly. They have become highly trusted t
UK - Two more keynote speakers will be joining Dutch architect Francine Houben of mecanoo architecten at this year’s International Theatre Engineering and Architecture Conference (ITEAC) held on 3-5 June in London. The three-day event will be opened by Louise Jeffreys, Director of Arts at the Barbican. Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports, with responsibility for the operation and development of Dubai International (DXB) as well as Dubai World Central (DWC), will provide an insight to the challenges that urbanisation brings to large infrastructure projects, and how important cultural development is as part of the process. Ascan Mergenthaler, senior partner at Swiss architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron, will enliven the stimulation and provocation session, which will spearhead the final day of the conference. A stalwart of this leading firm for more
Philippines - PMX has cemented its status as one of the Philippines’ top production technologies suppliers with a significant investment in an E-Series loudspeaker system from Adamson Systems Engineering. Adamson’s exclusive Filipino distributor, Stage Craft International, consulted on system choice, made the sale, and provided PMX staff with extensive training in January 2018. “As we’ve grown to take on larger tours and festivals, we’ve had to expand our inventory accordingly. Adamson’s E-Series boasts the sound quality that allows us to differentiate from the competition and rider acceptance we need in a large-format loudspeaker solution,” comments PMX owner Ferdi Garcia. “The Adamson product has been very well received by the K-pop community, which has a strong following in the Philippines. We’re looking forward to offering our customers this premium pro
South Africa - Twenty riggers in South Africa kicked off the year with the 2018 Prolyte Rigging Course in conjunction with DWR Distribution, Prolyte and Rhino Rigs. Rinus Bakker from Rhino Rigs hosted the course from 29 January to 2 February 2018, and on the sixth day, DWR’s Robert Izzett and Keith Pugin presented practical training. “It was a good one,” says Rinus. “The delegates responded well and had good questions - they were spot on. The course ran according to schedule which was a great indication of their understanding.” The training covered important aspects of safety, maintenance, lifting materials and force calculations. Rinus’ next stop will be in Rotterdam where he will assist a circus and their performers to better understand rigging particularly with concepts like dynamic motion. His schedule so far includes training in Dubai, Holland
France - LED lighting manufacturer, Ayrton, celebrated the winds of change last week with new headquarters and a growing product line. The LED lighting specialist moved its headquarters to a new, independent 1350sq.m space in Villebon-Sur-Yvette in south-west Paris. The new premises include a new lobby, more office space, a warehouse, meeting rooms and a permanent 220sq,m showroom. A distributor day inducting Ayrton’s broad international dealership preceded the official inauguration, which took place on Thursday 8 March 2018. Over 200 guests attended the Grand Opening event and were treated to a tour of the new premises, a cocktail dinner, and previews of Ayrton’s new light show which will be revealed to the public in its full glory at Prolight+Sound, Frankfurt next month. Star of the evening’s celebrations was the new showroom, available to all distribut
Summer Sounds - Fairport's Cropredy Convention music festival has confirmed that Brian Wilson will perform the Beach Boys album Pet Sounds at Cropredy on Thursday 9 August 2018. Acclaimed for its ambition and sophistication, Pet Sounds is widely acknowledged as one of the most influential albums of all time. Released in 1966, Wilson's masterpiece is number 2 in the Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list, only beaten to the top spot by The Beatles’ Sgt Pepper. The festival will be held over three days (Thursday 9, Friday 10 and Saturday 11 August 2018) at Cropredy near Banbury, Oxfordshire. Money Matters - Regional theatre workers have voted to accept pay increases ranging from 3% to 4.7%. The agreement will see a 4.7% increase for workers covered in grades four and five of UK Theatre’s agreement with union BECTU – bringing
UK - We all know how tough it can be as a freelance in the entertainment technology industry. The hours are long, you’re away from your family and you only earn money when you’re working. What happens if you can’t work because you’re ill, you have an accident, or someone in your family needs your help and support? You probably do not have a stash of cash put away to see you through. What then? That’s where Backup – The Technical Entertainment Charity can help and that’s why it is putting on Comfest – an evening of outstanding comedy with the legend that is Al Murray The Pub Landlord and a great supporting line-up at The Dorfman Theatre on 25 March 2018. In case you don’t know, Backup provides financial support to industry technical professionals working in live events, theatre, TV and film. It offers support and help to get you back on your feet.
USA - More than 150 lighting designers, students, educators and other USITT visitors boarded special buses at the Broward County Convention Centre for a visit to Chauvet Professional’s global headquarters. While at the spacious facility, they got to meet with the company’s product development team for a behind-the-scenes look at some of the latest fixtures in the Ovation line of ellipsoidals, Fresnels, battens and followspots, as well as the widely- honoured Maverick and Rogue series of moving fixtures. Guests had the opportunity to take part in interactive demos of popular lighting fixtures. There were also demos of the latest ChamSys consoles. At the conclusion of their visit, guests participated in a question-and-answer session with company CEO Albert Chauvet, who was “energised and encouraged” by the idea exchange. “For me, it was rewarding to talk
Namibia - Production and rental company Mikel-Jes Productions has invested in new Robe Spiider LED wash beams which have been added to its ever-growing rental stock of moving lights. The company’s co-founder and owner Michael Vermeulen likes to keep up with the latest lighting trends. The Spiiders are the latest in a steadily expanding stock of Robe products which started in 2008 when Mikel-Jes was founded. Both Mikel-Jes and the other major entertainment and production technology supplier in Windhoek, dB Audio, have taken a Robe path for their moving light inventories. This means that as well as servicing their own shows, there is a healthy cross rental business during the busy periods. Mikel-Jes currently has around 90 Robe moving lights in rental stock including the Spiiders which they initially saw previewed at Prolight+Sound in Frankfurt. The Spiide
UK - Dave Ward, founder of Gateway Studio and the Gateway School has announced the re-opening of Gateway Professional Development Training. “We are re-starting the industry training courses that we originally planned with the APRS (Association of Professional Recording Services). They are designed for professionals in the Creative Industries who would like a better understanding of the various disciplines outside their own specialist experience or expertise. They may be managers or administrators as well as operators. Plans are also underway for specialist courses for teachers”, explained Ward. The first course, designed to give a greater understanding of the world of recording and music production, will be held at Mark Knopfler's British Grove Studios in West London. It will run over two days, Saturday, 12 May and Sunday 13 May 2018. It will be led by Dave W
UK - PLASA has announced dates for Plugfest, a three-day lighting conference running 25-27 April 2018 at The Copthorne Hotel near London Gatwick. Plugfest is an unmissable event for all lighting equipment manufacturers who want to ensure the interoperability of their equipment. It’s a hands-on place to ensure the reliability of lighting products, debug and improve connectivity with others. Representatives who would benefit from the event include product development engineers, system integrators, production electricians and technical support staff. The expert team behind Plugfest, Hamish Dumbreck of JESE Ltd, Peter Willis of Howard Eaton Lighting and Wayne Howell of Artistic Licence, have helped create and define many of the communication protocols relevant to the lighting community and will be on hand throughout the event. Attendees can expect ‘break-outs’ and t
Namibia - dB Audio in Namibia has continued its investment in Robe moving lights with the recent purchase of 12 Spiider LED wash beams adding to their inventory of over 150 Robe moving lights, the largest Robe stock in Namibia. The lights were supplied by DWR and are the latest addition in a steady commitment to the brand which dates back 13 years by dB Audio, one of the busiest rental and production specialists in Namibia. Owner and founder David Benade started the company in 2004, initially as an audio supplier, however it soon made sense to offer other production disciplines like lighting and rigging. At that point, audio was his specialist area, a competitor moving brand was dominant in the region, and, being a start-up, budget was tight. When it came to purchasing some new LED washes, Spiiders were an obvious choice as specified by the dB lighting team led b
UK - Born out of the back of van 24 years ago, BCS Audio has gone on to become one of the UK’s premier, multi-faceted pro audio companies. BCS owner David Shepherd explains why DiGiCo’s latest console, the SD12, was “an obvious investment” and the appropriate choice for the current James Arthur and Tom Odell tours. “When the SD12 was launched, I could immediately see it being a very popular console because it’s such a great fit for both small and large jobs,” explains David. “The footprint of the console means it will fit into a bus or trailer, whilst its twin screens give it the feel of the larger consoles in the range, which helps Front of House engineers with speed of workflow. That’s why we bought two of them and they worked hard all summer on the tours, as well as for the both artists’ appearances during the busy festival season.” “I was u
UK - At the start of 2018, Johanna Town stepped into the office of chair for the Association of Lighting Designers (ALD). Just two months on, she has solidified the manifesto that will steer her course and chart the direction of the association, as she embarks on this role. Town’s diverse career as a successful lighting designer contrasted against the learning struggles she faced at school inform her manifesto. Starting in the 1980s at Manchester’s Royal Exchange, where she applied for and successfully completed a two-year apprenticeship course, Town later became head of lighting at London’s Royal Court, where she remained for 17 years having lit over 50 Royal Court shows, before embarking on being a solely freelance lighting designer. Town says of her new role that she would like “to be a springboard to bring out the best in people who have plans and ambitions
![Ascan Mergenthaler [photo: Adriano A.Biondo / Biondo Pictures], Paul Griffiths, Lousie Jeffreys [photo: Felix Clay]](/images/113317/iteac-tn.png "Ascan Mergenthaler [photo: Adriano A.Biondo / Biondo Pictures], Paul Griffiths, Lousie Jeffreys [photo: Felix Clay]")
