The Netherlands - Elation Europe gathered lighting professionals for a PRO Theme Day, a day of seminars and discussions on relevant industry topics and technological developments. Held on 10 October at the company's European HQ in Kerkrade, the event featured various presentations including a talk by Ola Melzig, head of production for the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest. Elation Europe sales & marketing manager Marc Librecht said: “Thank you to everyone who shared a sensational PRO Theme Day with us. It was really a big success and perhaps the best PRO Theme Day we’ve ever had. Ola was as informative and entertaining as ever and our guests came away with a lot of valuable knowledge. It was a full house and a fantastic day!” Participants could engage with Melzig and network with other industry colleagues. Melzig shared the ins and outs of the biggest live
UK - Liverpool-based rental and production company Adlib specified and supplied an L-Acoustics Kara sound system for the recent tour of Damien Chazelle’s multiple Academy Award-winning box office blockbusting movie La La Land - accompanied by a 51 piece orchestra who played the foot-tapping musical score live. Adlib was working for Senbla’s Harvey Leslie as production manager & Kitty Stafford-Clark as producer, with a crew of four chiefed by Alan Harrison who was also the system tech, joined by Laurie Binns and Steph Fleming looking after the patch and monitor engineer Max Taylor. Also on the audio team was FOH engineer Arne Bock (working directly for the production.) Kara was selected to deliver precision and detail, with the compact size and low weight of the speakers also key. The predictable frequency response of the Kara meant the system design for
South Africa - Robe was the moving light of choice for the second season of The Voice South Africa. Multi-Media were again appointed as technical production company by TV producers AMPN, with Joshua Cutts of Visual Frontier once again appointed as lighting designer. The show, aired on M-Net, moved from a 500-capacity studio to the 3000-seater Mosaiek Teatro in Fairland, Johannesburg, prompting series director Darren Hayward to “go for it” with more drama and excitement. Josh specified over 200 Robe fixtures across the series, a package co-ordinated by Multi-Media’s Chris Delancey. As well as lighting the artists, stage and set, Josh paid a lot of attention to the audience lighting, for which he adopted a subtle EDM-style approach. Lights were rigged on a set of ‘finger’ trusses running upstage / downstage, fanning out from the centre, faci
USA - Lighting designer Victor Fable turned to new generation LED fixtures from Elation Professional for the season finale of Survivor: Game Changers. “We wanted to move to more LED and try something different without taking away the success of past live shows,” said Fable, who has traditionally used a profusion of discharge lamp fixtures on Survivor finales. “We wanted to see how much could be rolled over to LED and see how much more bang we could get with the extra fixtures it allowed us to use.” “It’s the most LED we’ve had on a Survivor show,” Fable added. “The show looked as good as ever and the client was very happy.” The rig consisted of over 250 lighting fixtures, including 80 Fuze Wash Z120, 26 Fuze Wash Z350, 40 Colour Chorus 12, 10 Colour Chorus 48 and 16 Satura Spot LED Pro, all Elation LED fixtures, along wit
Vietnam - Ba Sao Investment recently installed a complete audio system by Harman Professional Solutions at the Central Circus Theatre, the oldest circus in Vietnam. In order to enhance the facility’s sound quality and provide a more immersive performances experience for audiences, the theatre hired Ba Sao Investment to update the facility’s aging audio system with a cutting-edge integrated audio solution. Ba Sao Investment selected a Harman audio solution made up of JBL speakers, Crown amps, dbx signal processors and Soundcraft digital mixing consoles. “One key requirement of the audio system was that it needed to be powerful enough to cover our theatre’s needs, and portable enough to suit our touring needs,” said Mr.Lê Quang Tuyến, vice president of Central Circus Theatre. “Ba Sao Investment worked closely with Harman to provide us with a customised so
UK - Paul Hatt’s sound hire and production company CS Audio has been supporting the Icelandic singer Björk, using KLANG:technologies’ 3D personal monitor mixing system for the string section at the headline festival shows in Mexico City, Los Angeles and Japan. The KLANG:technologies system was specified by Hatt after he’d used it with Massive Attack in Hyde Park for the same purpose, but it also caught the eye of the production manager who also worked on both shows. He asked Hatt about the system’s availability, having been suitably impressed the first time it was used. Hatt explained the set-up, “This time the KLANG was connected via the MADI on the DiGiCo SD8 console, quick and easy to set up, we were up and running in no time without any issues. I sent groups of each string section, playback mixes, click, vocal and of course themselves to allow each music
UK - Autograph Sound designer Nick Lidster specified Martin Audio MLA Mini for the 2017 summer season of Jesus Christ Superstar at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre. Having used a Martin Audio MLA Compact PA rig for the 2016 production, Lidster decided to change the system while auditioning the MLA Mini at a Leo Sayer concert. “After last season finished, I looked at what I needed to do by way of streamlining, and after hearing MLA Mini I knew it would be perfect for the centre cluster,” he said. Supported by Martin Audio’s Nigel Meddemmen, six elements of the MLA Mini were centrally deployed and at the same time Nick Lidster chose to fly the main line array higher than previously. “I wanted to focus the sound down - to ensure we got all the energy into the bowl-shaped auditorium, and at the same time minimise the spill over the back and into the Pa
UK - DJ Willrich (DJW) and its client The British Music Experience chose Bose Professional to take audiences on an immersive musical experience at the Cunard Building in Liverpool. Specified for the exhibition that celebrates over 70 years of British music, the system had to 'transport' audiences on a seamless musical journey through eight eras housed within the Grade II listed building. The eras stand adjacent to each other in zones in an area featuring hard surfaces, which required the best possible solution for sound bleed. It was agreed that carpets and sound absorbing ceiling rafts would be fitted to allow installation of 32 FreeSpace DS 16F loud speakers, which deliver an uncompromised coverage of targeted sounds across each of the eight zones. The Bose system is driven by PowerMatch amplifiers which offer concert quality, scalable sound. Configured with Po
UK - A Yamaha audio system has been specified for St George’s Cathedral in London. Built in 1848, the cathedral’s architecture features high, vaulted ceilings, pillars, large leaded windows and expanses of smooth stonework, which all present challenges to effective sound reinforcement. Cunnings Recording Associates were appointed to carry out a two-stage upgrade to the sound quality in the cathedral. Daniel Cunnings of Cunnings Recording Associates says: “The cathedral had an ageing sound reinforcement system, but it had never been properly commissioned. No delays or EQ had been set up for any of the loudspeakers and there weren’t enough outputs available for the number of speakers. “As well as services, the cathedral also hosts a range of other events, so there are microphone points throughout the building. The existing system was not easy to ope
UK - The Prolight Concepts Group has been enjoying “a super exciting and busy year” following the release of its new 2017/18 catalogue and showcasing its full product portfolio at its busiest PLASA Show to date. “Not only has our 21st year seen the publication of our first comprehensive printed catalogue in several years, but we have also released an astonishing amount of exciting new products for the entertainment, professional installation, architectural and leisure markets,” reports the company. “This long-standing show has been in the limelight for 40 years now, giving us a great platform to showcase our innovative products. Speaking of innovate products, our eLumen8 LED Tour Batten TW was featured in the Innovation Gallery during the PLASA Show, and was entered into the PLASA Awards for Innovation “The footfall on our stand for all three days was pheno
USA - More than 82,000 individuals and corporate donors gave to the University of Tennessee’s 1.1 billion dollar Join the Journey campaign, which focuses on making the overall cost of earning a degree more affordable, with funds going towards undergraduate scholarships, graduate fellowships, faculty support, athletics and other university initiatives. Bandit Lites was honoured to donate the lighting for the sophisticated soiree, which culminated with a private event at the Knoxville Convention Centre. On campus, LED Light cubes gave each individual college programme a modern and fresh look to highlight aspects of the school along the concourse, from nursing students with lifelike babies to law students holding court with judges and juries selected from the audience. Additional lighting was provided for a small reception honouring Peyton Manning, with an elegan
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.
