The Netherlands - Although Alcons Audio’s pro-ribbon systems have steadily established themselves as solutions for cinema, home theatre and medium-sized live events, there have been doubts in the pro audio industry that the technology would be suitable for larger events and festivals. But the company’s latest LR28 and LR18 systems have won many fans, including major event production company Jurlights. "The promoters were so impressed with the LR28/LR18 system at the early soundchecks, they booked it for 2018 on the spot," says Jurlights founder Jurjen ‘Jur’ Hesseling. This is some compliment for a system that was making one of its first live outings - on the Main Stage of Dance Valley (aka the ‘Woodstock of Dance’) at Spaarnwoude in the Netherlands. A major presence in the European event market, the passion that Jurlights puts into its productions is matche
USA - Over 200 Robe lighting fixtures supplied by Solotech are on the rig of Lady Gaga’s Joanne world tour. With Gaga promising that lighting was going to be a “big thing” in her show, creative director LeRoy Bennett’s brief included set, lighting and visual design, with custom video playback material produced by Madison Vine. A staple of the show are three flying bridges that descend from the three 45ft long pods in the roof above the audience, creating a pathway below, flopping sideways and transforming into projection screens. This is designed to allow Gaga to embark on a physical journey across the venue, stopping at two satellite stages and the B stage adjacent to FOH, and engage close-up with different sections of audience throughout the set. The journey ends on the B-Stage where she plays a heart-shaped Plexiglass covered piano with dichroi
Europe - Cate Carter needs little introduction as one of busiest and most successful LDs over the last decade, with a long and illustrious portfolio featuring the likes of Editors and Ellie Goulding currently out on tour. Carter’s company, Bryte Design is a design production house run in conjunction with her business partner, lighting designer Mike Smith and visual producer Pablo Beckett. Even before the company’s inception, Carter had been employing the talents of Specialz to realise her design concepts. “The ethos at the heart of Specialz is the company’s completely open nature to a designer’s ideas and concepts. Backed up by a breadth of experience, skill and, what could be best described as industry savvy, Dave and his team offer a unique service to us as a client.” “I think it was back in 2011 when we needed to adapt a piece that we rented
USA - America’s oldest continuously-running summer theatre, the Cape Playhouse in Dennis, MA, is staging of the Jule Styne-Stephen Sondheim-Arthur Laurents classic Gypsy, with a collection of Chauvet Professional Ovation fixtures lighting the show. Supplied by Boston-based High Output, the lighting was taken to task by dramaturgical storyteller Zach Blane, who had to set up a Broadway scale production in only one 10-hour day. “Lighting ,I>Gypsy is a tall order, doing it in one day is an even taller order!” said Blane. “I approached the tech process as I would a festival show (as far as time management is concerned). I sat down with director Michael Rader and choreographer Jason Sparks beforehand, and mapped out every beat of the show. I like to know what every second of the show should feel like, which inevitably manifests into what it should look lik
USA - The iHeartRadio Theatre New York City is the ultimate ticket you can’t get. The Manhattan venue, the East Coast counterpart to the company’s flagship Los Angeles venue, regularly hosts a steady stream of A-list music artists, from Mary J Blige and Ed Sheeran to Muse and Blink-182. When it was deemed that the theatre’s sound system was not up to par with the best touring systems used by top-notch artists, the decision was made to install a new L-Acoustics house loudspeaker system in the intimate, 200-seat space. With tickets to shows reserved for iHeart’s own subscribers, the bands’ fan clubs and other exclusive channels, what those fortunate ticketholders experience is a close-up interaction with some of the best musicians in the world, standing on a stage that’s barely a foot off the floor, and sharing the show with millions who'll watch it streamed
UK - The Minack open-air theatre in Cornwall has recently upgraded to a Soundcraft Si Impact digital console supplied by reseller Stage Electrics. The theatre is carved into the cliff face above the Atlantic Ocean. Located in Porthcurno and built in the 1930s to stage local performances, the venue is one of the most famous outdoor theatres today with a yearly audience of 80,000 and over 150,000 visitors attracted by its history. For the 2017 season, theatre manager Phil Jackson and technical manager Simon Hutchings decided it was time to make the switch from analogue to digital for the in-house audio console. Hutchings says: “We had been considering it for a while but at first but the costs seemed excessive for our needs and we were concerned about the longevity of a desk working in our challenging environment.” But all that changed when they reviewed
China - Proel has partnered with Sanecore Limited for distribution of its Axiom professional loudspeaker brand in China. The appointment was marked by a two-day seminar and product demonstration presented by Axiom sales engineer Daniele Massaccesi with about 60 guest companies able to experience the features and performance of AX2010A powered line arrays, AX800A compact powered line arrays, and the new AX12C column array. Axiom export area manager Gabriella Di Giminiani commented: "We feel very grateful and confident about this new cooperation with such an important and well recognised company. China is a strategic and relevant market and we are sure that thanks to our new partners the Axiom brand is gaining the appreciation and success it deserves.” Founded in Hong Kong in 1987, Sanecore was one of the first members of IAG Group, the region's largest produce
UK - The two stages of Solihull Summer Fest 2017 were lit by full service production company Stage Production Co. using Elation Professional lighting. The event, which took place at Tudor Grange Park near Birmingham during the August bank holiday weekend, is in its second year and has just expanded to two stages. Stage Production Co., who supplied the 2016 event and have stocked Elation lighting for several years, handled all staging, lighting, rigging and power and are scheduled to supply the event again in 2018. Stage Production’s Jordan Lake, who handled production design on the event, says: “We choose Elation because of the reliability – they work! They are also sensibly priced and once clients see them in action they tend to request them.” The festival’s Main Stage, an effective four-line overhead horizontal truss configuration with
Brazil - Held in Barra Olympic Park in Rio de Janeiro, the recent Rock in Rio festival saw Gabisom Audio Equipment from Brazil deploy Martin Audio’s premier MLA rig on the Palco Mundo main stage. Martin Audio’s MLA was first used on the second stages at Rock in Rio’s US event in Las Vegas in 2015 and at the event’s 30th birthday in Brazil the same year. Gabisom chief engineer, Peter Racy, confirmed the impact created by MLA, stating, “For me personally it was a pleasure to hear the pristine sound quality of MLA, and in my opinion it was MLA that made the difference. In fact I heard nothing but rave reviews from users of the MLA in Rio.” At Rock in Rio in Lisbon 2016, that MLA was taken onto the main World Stage, becoming the largest deployment of MLA systems on a single stage, eclipsing both Glastonbury and Hyde Park main stages
Mexico - Rental house Loto Audio has added a Vero system to their rental stock. Loto Audio founder Ramon Salaza, explains: “From the first moment we heard Vero, we wanted it. It will blow a lot of people’s minds, especially compared to what they are used to hearing. It’s always a good time to invest in any Funktion-One product, but adding Vero to our rental stock means we can reach big festivals and hit the rock/touring market. “A lot of Mexican production companies are already very familiar with the traditional Funktion-One loudspeakers. Now that we have Vero, I’m sure they’ll be keen to use it on their bigger events.” As a complete, large format touring sound system – featuring loudspeakers, amplification, rigging and software – Vero combines sonic performance with the ease of use of a line-array system. By returning to first principles, aud
Ireland - Lighting controls expert Artistic Licence has been appointed official technical partner of The Lir National Academy of Dramatic Art at Trinity College Dublin. The Lir Academy was established in 2011 to provide students with the highest standards of training for careers in the theatre, TV and film industries. The academy’s director of technical training Barry Conway explains: "I have been very excited about expanding our technical offering in our three-year programme - I am from a lighting background originally. Network control is now such a fundamental component of lighting that Ireland needs to be able to train this to the next generation of techs." He adds: "Having a company like Artistic licence be on board at the creation of this training module is a really exciting prospect.” The Lir approached Artistic Licence with a proposal that woul
New Zealand - Jands, the Harman Professional audio distributors in New Zealand, recently launched JBL’s new medium to large format line array at the ASB Theatre in Auckland. The JBL VTX A12 is a dual 12" three-way line array element purpose-built for mid to large-size touring applications and high-end fixed installations. “We wanted our guests to understand the philosophy behind the technology of the VTX A12 and then to experience first-hand the innovative new features such as the ease of set up due to the redesigned rigging system,” says Jands tour sound manager Tim Robertson. “We then gave each person the opportunity to conduct their own listening tests on the system.” The listening tests had some varying responses from guests. “I've never tested anything so uniformly flat both on and off axis in the HF range, and they have heaps of detail there,”
UK - Written by Mel Brooks White Light is providing the lighting equipment for Young Frankenstein, a musical comedy based on the Oscar-nominated hit film of the same name. Following a run on Broadway in 2007, this show has now made its way to London and opened this week at the Garrick Theatre. The lighting designer for the show, Ben Cracknell, comments: “I have always been a huge fan of Mel Brooks’ films so was thrilled when I was approached to light this. Both Susan Stroman, the director and choreographer, and Mel felt that the humour of the show would work much better in a more intimate Vaudeville style so the show was designed around this concept.” Young Frankenstein features a set design by Beowulf Boritt that is centred around a series of painted cloths depicting the locations from a medical school to a deserted railway station.
Europe - Harlequin has announced a considerable expansion in sales and technical support in Berlin and Brussels. In Germany, Claudia Frohlich, Britta Fink and Sanela Iseken have joined the company. Claudia joins the established customer service team in Berlin from a strong customer relations background. Britta and Sanela will be heading up the new Harlequin Deutschland-am-Rhein office based in Bochum and will be focused on bringing world-class technical support to clients in Niedersachsen, Nordrhein Westfalen, Hessen and Rheinland Pfalz. Sanela’s extensive experience includes 15 years in stage engineering at ASM, and respected long service within the DTHG. In Belgium, Nicolas Coolen joins as regional sales manager for Benelux and Scandinavia. Nicolas brings wide experience in sales management having worked for a number of international manufacturers in Asia, the Midd
Thailand - Adamson Systems Engineering has named Sonos Libra as its new Thai distributor. Sonos Libra was founded by managing partners Alfonso Martin and Vanessa Chompoo, who have helped to establish several pro audio brands in the Southeast Asian market in previous roles. James Ritter, Adamson’s sales manager for the Asia-Pacific, says: “We’re very happy to have Sonos Libra join the Adamson Network as our new distributor for Thailand. Vanessa and Alfonso are highly respected in the pro audio community in Southeast Asia and we look forward to supporting them and their customers as we continue to develop this important and growing market.” Martin adds: “When we founded our own company, we thought very carefully about which brands to represent and found a very special partner in Adamson. These products have a truly pristine sonic signature that I
Canada - Canadian band Arcade Fire have embarked on the first leg of their lengthy North American Infinite Content tour, which incorporates fixtures from GLP. Operating the lighting on tour has been Chris Bushell, working under the creative direction of Tarik Mikou from the Canadian production company Moment Factory. Having been LD for the band back on 2014’s Reflektor tour, Bushell was delighted to be invited back, and became closely involved throughout the development of the show design, which incorporates a larger number of fixtures from GLP. To promote the new album Everything Now, the band had wanted to play in-the-round with a strong sporting event feel - based around a live, visceral video and lighting production that formed the scenography over and around the boxing ring stage. “Lighting-wise, we wanted to be able to create struct
USA - FWF (F*ck Yeah Fest), a major summer music festival in Los Angeles, California, recently used an Eastern Acoustic Works (EAW) Anya system to reinforce the lawn stage. Camarillo, California-based Rat Sound Systems provided sound reinforcement for five of the six stages at FYF. Ivan Ortiz, Rat Sound’s crew chief for the festival, specified the EAW Anya system for the lawn stage which is located next to the Natural History Museum on the Memorial Coliseum grounds. “One of the many reasons we decided to use our Anya system was the location of the lawn stage,” explains Ortiz. “With the museum to the left of the stage, we needed to avoid sound slapping against the building’s walls and bouncing back over the audience.” The lawn stage system was two single column arrays, each made up of nine Anya enclosures, hung to the left and right of the 80ft
UK - Bringing together an array of Bollywood’s biggest stars including megastar Salman Khan, Da-Bangg The Tour visited the Barclaycard Arena, Birmingham and The O2 arena, London; hosted by Lyca and brought to the UK by Farhath Hussain and Think Events. Managed, scripted and directed by Sohail Khan Entertainment and JA Events LLP, the shows brought the music, dance and show-stopping entertainment of Bollywood movies to the live stage. Working with lighting and video designer Elton D’Souza, PRG XL Video supplied a complex moving lighting rig and multi-section moving LED screen, creating a vibrant set for the high-energy performances. PRG director of music video, Stefaan Michels supplied a full package of live video technology including LED screens, media servers, camera and IMAG projection system, and experienced crew. Over 300 tiles of ROE Visual MC-7
USA - The light show during the performance of alt-rock group Big Something at Big What Festival in the Shakori Hills Park featured a range of Chauvet lighting fixtures. Designed by Daniel Thibault of Life Is Art Studio and Big Something LD Cameron Grogan, the show featured 36 Chauvet DJ luminaires, including 12 Intimidator Scan LED 300 scanners, eight Intimidator Spot LED 350, eight SlimPANEL Tri 24 IP and eight COLORband PiX LED linear fixtures, as well as four Hurricane 1600 foggers. All of the lights in the rig were called upon at one time or another to provide audience lighting. “Given the nature of this festival, we wanted to engage the crowd as much as possible with lighting,” said Thibault. “Big Something has a very loyal fan base and has some strong ties with that base. The band wants to see their fans, and the fans want to see the band, so audien
UK - Houses of worship can be tricky spaces to install sound reinforcement systems, especially in historic structures. But in Reading, UK, a different challenge presented itself when Lifespring Church wanted to add an extra space to its home in a converted cinema, but one which could also be combined with the main space on demand. A Yamaha MTX3 matrix processor has provided an elegant solution. Built in the 1920s, The Pavilion was originally Reading’s first public cinema. Later converted into a snooker hall, Lifespring Church restored it in 2013, with a layout close to the original. It is now Lifespring’s permanent home, hosting weekly worship services, youth events, meetings and other activities. For the first three years of the building’s new life, Lifespring used the former auditorium as its main space, But last year it added an extension on the balcony to pro
USA - FOH engineer Dani Munoz is using the new SSL Live L300 console during Ricardo Arjona’s latest stadium and arena tour across North and South America. Arjona, one of the most successful Latin American artists of all time, is known for large-scale, theatrical live shows, taking in a new theme each time he goes out. The current tour is based around the new album Circo Soledad (Solitude Circus), and comes with aerial dance, clowns, and lots of circus scenery, and huge video and lighting rig. From the stage the show runs to around 64 live inputs though SSL ML 32.32 SuperAnalogue stageboxes via an SSL BL II.D Blacklight II concentrator. The band consists of drums, percussion, bass, two guitars, and three multi-instrumentalists on strings, saxophone, and synthesisers. "It's a challenge in the sense that there are a lot of acoustic instruments," says Munoz
UK - ISCE is holding an ISCE Sound Engineer ECS Card Health and Safety Assessment event on Friday, 20 October 2017 at the House of Commons in London. A Health and Safety Assessment is a critical component of the ECS card application process. All ECS Card applicants must hold an up-to-date health and safety qualification in order to be awarded with an ECS card. Says ISCE, “If you would like to apply for an ISCE Sound Engineer ECS card you will need to sit the Health & Safety Assessment as part of the application process. Why not join us in London on Friday 20th October in London?” To find out more and register for this event or express an interest in future Health and Safety Assessment events please follow the registration link here: http://www.isce.org.uk/isce-sound-engineer-ecs-card/apply/ (Jim Evans)
USA - Roger Waters' Us + Them tour has utilised a DiGiCo SD7 console. Monitor engineer Matt Napier started working with Waters last year for his shows in Mexico and Desert Trip following the passing of Waters’ previous engineer Ian Newton few years ago. “I felt a lot of responsibility to do Ian’s memory justice, and make the gig work as smoothly as possible,” Napier says. “We didn’t have a lot of rehearsal time, so it was intense, but the shows went really well. You just have to do this music justice.” The production for Us + Them is down to a strong emphasis on the synergy between the music and the aural/visual experience. “The surround system installed in each venue makes the aural experience very immersive for the audience, and the visuals are absolutely stunning,” Napier explains. “Roger really is the captain of the sh
UK - Vectorworks is hosting a free half-day event at the Theatre Trust in London on 30 October to explore the features of the Vectorworks Spotlight design software. Lighting professionals can find out more about Braceworks, a rigging analysis module and Vision that enables LDs to pre-visualise and cue their show. There will also be talks from professional users on the practical applications of the software in 'real world' situations. The event, running from 1PM - 5PM on 30 October (Monday), will be followed by informal networking opportunity over drinks. The organisers are urging those interested in attending to secure their places in advance by registering for free here.
