UK - Absolute Motion Control is providing the automation for Young Marx, the first production at the new Bridge Theatre, which opens this October. The new Bridge Theatre opens on 18 October 2017 and is home to the London Theatre Company, founded by Nicholas Hytner and Nick Starr after their departure from the National Theatre. It is fitting that Absolute, also at the start of their own exciting new venture, has been asked to supply the automation for the theatre’s inaugural production. Absolute will be providing the control system to power the show’s effects, including a six-ton revolving truck. Jamie West, one of Absolute’s directors said: “It’s a really exciting time for new companies working in the theatre industry, with several new theatre building projects underway in the capital. The Bridge Theatre is the first of those to be complet
USA - A festoon lighting system featuring IMS DMX-controlled RGBWW lamps flew high over the stage at the 10th annual Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival held in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. Conceived by renowned stage and lighting designer Andi Watson (known for his tenure with the band Radiohead), with production, fabrication, and installation by Iron Bloom of New York, the Land’s End main stage structure featured 420 IMS Mk2 festoon lamps hovering overhead, conjuring abstracts of the Bay Area’s many suspension bridges. The stage was home to over 50 acts throughout the weekend, including Metallica, Gorillaz, and The Who. “Andi was looking for something high-impact and low profile, and he chose the IMS system because of its brightness, rich colours, and versatility,” says Iron Bloom co-founder, William Irons. “The installation has to be struck
UK – The latest production of the Hot Ice Show has just come to the end of a successful run at the Blackpool Pleasure Beach Arena, with the majority of the lighting coming from ProLights fixtures. Billed as “a dream brought to life by the stunning lighting that reflects the mood and magnificence of each scene”, this year’s design featured 20 new ProLights Luma 1500 LED luminaires purchased by the venue from A.C. Entertainment Technologies (AC-ET) to replace aging discharge fixtures. Delivering 26,000 lumens, each Luma 1500 is the equivalent of a 1,200W discharge fixture, but has a power consumption of only 650W. Amanda Thompson, managing director of Blackpool Pleasure Beach, said, “It’s great working with A.C. Entertainment (Technologies) to get the best in stunning lighting and customer care.” Andy Mahaffey of AC-ET’s external sales team
Malaysia - Australia-based Norwest Productions provided the audio for the opening and closing ceremonies of the Southeast Asian Games (SEA) Games held in Kuala Lumpur in August. DiGiCo SD5s positioned at Front of House, SD9s deployed for audio patch control, and SD8s at the closing ceremony’s monitor position. Norwest was introduced to the project by Nick Eltis, technical director for entertainment production company Technick, who was consulting on the ceremonies for Memories Entertainment (Malaysia). Norwest was asked to provide a turnkey audio service, from audio design and supply, through to crew and operation of all audio requirements, which included six DiGiCo consoles and an L-Acoustics loudspeaker system, which included 100 Kudo and 48 KS28 cabinets. “The two SD5s for FOH were position in the Level 1 seating bowl, with Ian Shapcott expertly mixing,”
UK - CPL (Central Presentations Ltd) has completed a full technical upgrade - staging, lighting, audio and AV - to the conference theatre at Heythrop Park Resort where the west Midlands-based company is also the house onsite technical support provider. Heythrop Park Resort is a luxury venue set in 440 acres of stunning Oxfordshire Countryside and dating back to 1710. It currently has two hotels, an 18-hole golf course, a health club & spa and state-of-the-art conference facilities including a ballroom with capacity for 300 – 400 guests (in banqueting or theatre style respectively), the Conference Theatre which can hold 400 delegates and the charismatics Enstone Room for up to 200. The latest plans have seen the addition of a marquee which can be configured as a 650-seater banqueting hall or an 800 capacity theatre space which will further expand the available res
UK - An abundance of GLP’s award-winning X4 Bar 20’s left the VER hire fleet for a very important event at the O2 Arena recently. They were commandeered by London-based lighting designer Sam Tozer (of Vision Factory) for a special grime event, when the Boy Better Know (BBK) collective, led by Jme and Skepta, took over the venue on August Bank Holiday Sunday. The Takeover weekend as it was known, took the form of a multi-venue, multi-discipline festival featuring five-a-side football tournaments, skateboarding, BMXing, roller disco, gaming events, cinema, food and music across six stages. This all presented quite a challenge for Tozer, who had been approached by David Davies, production manager from LRI, to create a new look for the event. “There wasn't much of a design brief other than it needed to look unique and bring part of the Boys’ prev
UK - A.C. Entertainment Technologies (AC-ET), authorised Shure Pro Audio Reseller, will be hosting Shure Wireless Mastered: Live Events, at their dedicated training facilities in High Wycombe and Leeds on 12 and 19 October. Wireless Mastered demystifies the world of wireless by providing Front of House engineers, AV technicians and production professionals with the knowledge and confidence to operate reliable, secure wireless microphone systems in today's challenging RF environment. Attendees will finish the day with an in-depth knowledge in the following areas: RF technology - how it works and how to operate a secure, reliable system they can depend on; recent changes to spectrum allocation - what they need to know, how it affects them, and what they can do to mitigate risk; digital wireless systems and the advantages they bring as part of ensuring relia
UK - Lighting designer Richard Lambert chose a Zero 88 Orb XF desk – from Eaton’s popular lighting control brand - to control lighting for Cirque Enchantment’s 2017 UK tour. He wanted a powerful, physically small and quick-to-programme console for the inaugural tour of an exciting new performance concept which blends the breath-taking audacity of circus acts and aerial performance, hi energy choreography and a powerful rock, pop and classical soundtrack, fusing the disciplines of circus, dance and concert performance in one edge-of-the-seat experience. Produced by Umbrella Productions and directed / choreographed by Stuart Glover, Richard was delighted to rise to the challenges of tight get-ins, an expedient sized lighting rig – which had to stretch a long way to cover the show’s varied dynamics … and fit into a small van. The Orb XF sat right at the
UK - Robe lined up on the red carpet to welcome guests at the inaugural The Stage Debut Awards in central London, organised by The Stage newspaper. The awards were instigated to recognise the best breakthrough actors and rising star creatives in theatre, with Robe sponsoring the award for Best Designer which was won by Rosie Elnile for her eye-catching set for The Convert, staged at The Gate Theatre. The nine 2017 winners – eight judged by a panel of experts and one selected by public vote - received their awards in a ceremony at 8 Northumberland Avenue in central London, with Robe’s theatre project specialist Dave Whitehouse handing over the Best Designer award to Rosie. The shortlisted nominations revealed some strong competition! From young actors to established stars making their theatre debuts, highlighting a plethora of new talent b
UK - The live tour of London-based band Oh Wonder is supported by an appropriately imaginative and far-reaching Ben Mansfield lightshow run on a ChamSys Magic Q MQ500 Stadium supplied by LeSmurf Lighting. “There is no one set look for an Oh Wonder show, but many different looks,” said Mansfield of Tourlite Design. “I wanted to create an isolated performance environment that flows with the music. The idea is to create a canvas that I can build on, something that goes in different directions on different songs to reflect the scope of these two artists.” Mansfield has his entire show timecoded. He builds cue stacks on this ChamSys console and runs them through with the timecode rolling, recording the go triggers with the Record TC function. To trigger bumps, flashes and executes, he records a macro that references external TC. “One of my favourite ChamSys featur
Brazil - Lawo mc²96 Grand Production Console was used by Brazillian TV programmer Globosat during this year's Rock in Rio. Globosat’s use of the mc²96 console was part of a rental package of equipment, support and training provided by Lawo for the event. The first mc²96 sale had been made prior to Rock in Rio, with two consoles having been purchased by Viacom Media Networks (USA). Through Latin American system integrator and Lawo partner LineUp Broadcast Systems, Lawo provided Globosat with a 40-fader mc²96 fitted with Ravenna, AES and MADI Cards, along with a Sample-Rate Converter and a Compact Core for the console. The console was integrated with a Lawo Nova73 Router using RAVENNA. The set-up was able to take advantage of a legacy Globosat structure resulting from the company’s involvement in the Summer Olympics broadcast from the Barra Olympic Park la
Italy - Absen Europe has signed a distribution agreement with leading Italian Pro-AV distributor Ligra to exclusively distribute Absen’s LED wall products in Italy. Ligra has made a $450,000 investment in Absen stock to ensure immediate availability. Ligra business manager, Raffaele Losi, commented: “We were seeing customers very dissatisfied with low cost and low-profile LED wall products, which they wanted to replace a year after purchase. The Italian market needs an appropriately-priced, high-quality, indoor rental product amongst other things and the Absen ranges fill the demand. Going forward Absen customers will find in Ligra a single supplier for a wide range of traditional and innovative ProAV products.” Large rental service companies and major system integrators, as well as global contractors, design firms, architects and professionals will have i
UK - An Avolites Arena lighting console was used to programme and operate the striking lighting design for producer and singer-songwriter Tom Misch at his outdoor headline show at the Summer Series music festival held at Somerset House, London. The annual festival took place between 6 and 16 of July in the courtyard of the iconic Neoclassical building on the Thames. 2017 marked Misch's Summer Series debut, joining other British and international festival headliner stars including Norah Jones, Goldfrapp and Damian 'Jr. Gong' Marley. Misch's lighting designer John Partridge (JP) has been working with the British-born artist since July 2017, and the Somerset House show marked the design's first live showcase. For Misch's current tour, JP has created for the artist a pared-back design, aiming for a 'strong and purposeful' aesthetic. "The lighting design for Tom is c
USA - In August, one of America’s largest Christian groups, the Assemblies of God, summoned youth from across the United States to its National Youth Convention and Fine Arts Festival in Anaheim, California. Held 7-11 August at the Anaheim Convention Centre, an important centrepiece of the event was a large stage set up used for presentations, services and evening concert celebrations, much of which was live streamed. Elation dealer Illuminate Production Services provided a large Elation lighting and video rig for the five-day gathering with IPS’s Caleb Franke handling lighting design duties. IPS, headed by Caleb’s father Rick Franke, worked on the project with Jerry Dahlberg of DC Productions and used a wide variety of Elation gear on the event. With Assembly of God church students from all across the nation in attendance, and the 10,000-seat capacity venue host
UAE - After 18 years of producing some of the region’s most memorable shows, Protec – a Dubai-headquartered event technical and staging solutions company, continues to deliver extraordinary experiences through its creative technical skills. Company founder and CEO Stephen Lakin said: “We have seen the events industry evolve considerably over the last 18 years since I started the company. Technology has grown, creativity has become bolder and audience engagement now plays a crucial role in every event. Our clients are spending more time on developing bespoke events, creatively using content with technology to immerse and involve their audiences into their story’s environment. “Technology continues to play an important role and new technologies are guiding content developers to dig deeper into their creative talents to make full use of the technical reso
UK - The programme for the 2017 Campfire Sessions has been revealed by Showman’s Show organiser, Lance Show & Publications. Making a return to Newbury Showground on 18-19 October, the dedicated stream of workshops and panel discussions will play host to a range of topics and well-known industry speakers. A session moderated by Production Services Association general manager Andy Lenthall entitled Are you an event freelancer? will kick-start the event at 10.15am on Wednesday, 18 October, providing tips and advice on taxation, insurance and how to win work. Also confirmed is a session delivered by Iren De Pasquale, an assessor for A Greener Festival. The scheme has assessed over 400 festivals on their environmental management over the past 10 years. In 2017, it launched the Greener Event Award, opening the scheme up to the event industry as a whole. Taking
USA - Following crowded demo sessions at InfoComm Orlando, Florida, the d&b team is heading to New York for the 143rd Audio Engineering Society’s international convention. Between 18-20 October, demo room 3D04 in the Javits Centre will welcome visitors to d&b’s first demonstration programme held at AES. Attracting an international line up of presenters, the event is an opportunity to examine the latest ideas and technologies in audio engineering. At the d&b demo room this will include a comprehensive insight into the upcoming d&b Soundscape, set to bridge the gap between the physics of loudspeaker system design and the creation of artistic material. Currently scheduled for release in early 2018, the d&b Soundscape will operate on the user-friendly DS100 platform and enable sound designers and engineers with multidimensional source placement, ac
South Africa - Lighting designer Michael Taylor-Broderick will present a two-day theatre lighting workshop at DWR Distribution in Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg in October. A respected lighting designer with over 15 years’ experience, Michael will mentor up-and-coming lighting designers, technicians and anyone else who has a passion for theatre. The course will cover a range of topics from the objectives of stage lighting to the elements of design. Working on a vast range of theatrical productions, Michael has a wealth of information to share. The training will kick off at DWR Cape Town on the 17-18 October from 9am to 5pm. The next stop will be DWR Durban, where the course will be held on 23-24 October before visiting Johannesburg on 26-27 October. The cost is R1 700.00 and this covers lunch and refreshments. Bookings should please be made on line a
UK - Celebrating the very best talent in the world of lighting and video design, the 10th Knight of Illumination Awards took place at the Eventim Apollo, London on 17 September 2017. As one of the ceremony’s spotlight sponsors, creative technical event expert Hawthorn provided full technical production for the occasion. With over 500 lighting and video professionals attending the award ceremony, the pressure was on for Hawthorn to deliver a spectacular production. Hawthorn’s lighting designer Chris Green took up the challenge of delivering an impressive design to a room filled with the most esteemed LDs in the industry. With Claypaky as headline sponsor, Green used a range of their fixtures to produce a lighting design that fitted the look and feel of the iconic venue perfectly. “We used 20 K20 B-EYEs all running in Full mode which allowed for pixel mapping,” s
Austria - The inaugural MusikFestiWels that took on 14-15 July in Wels featured around 20 acts across three open-air stages in the city’s streets and squares. Martin Audio’s territory distributor k24 Technik & Vertrieb supported its customer, service provider Sound & Light Systems, who fielded a premium MLA Compact PA on the main stage, while lighting was provided by Powerland. While Sound & Light Systems provided its full inventory, this was augmented by MLA Compact enclosures from Schallmeister, enabling the main stage system to be designed around 20 MLA Compact (10 elements per side) and nine MLX subwoofers in a cardioid left/centre/right array. In addition, four XD12 provided front-fill, BlacklineX12s and WS18X subs were on side-fill duties, four W8LM Mini Line Array served as delays and LE1500 as stage monitors. Providing technical back-up we
UK - White Light is providing the lighting equipment for The Band, a new musical that features Take That's music. Written by Tim Firth, the production, which stars the winners of BBC series Let It Shine, opened this week at the Manchester Opera House and will now tour the rest of the UK. The lighting designer for the show is Patrick Woodroffe and his associate is Rob Casey. Rob commented: “Working closely with projection designer Luke Halls, our role on the show was to aid the storytelling by guiding the audience, in terms of progressing the timeline as well as highlighting moments of particular importance. Similarly, there are two large concerts in each time period so we needed a lighting rig that could easily replicate these.” The Band combines classic drama with recreated pop concerts on stage, something which Patrick and Rob were ve
UAE - The Dubai headquartered company that is celebrating its 18th year of business continues to show growth whilst retaining its undisputed position in the industry not only as the region’s leading event solutions provider but also a major player in the world market. The company that already owns one of the world’s largest event rental stocks that include the latest equipment in lighting, video, audio, rigging & trussing, scenic & staging, automation & SFX, conference equipment, robotics & motion tracking, has once more invested heavily in new technology and equipment over a busy season in 2017. The season has seen Protec at the core of some truly exceptional events that has taken them across the Middle East, Africa and Asia. The year was kicked off by the multiple award-winning IDEX opening ceremony in Abu Dhabi, one of the season’s high
Germany - Radiohead’s long-serving lighting designer Andi Watson has been using 48 of GLP’s X4 L LED spots as well as 14 of the award-winning X4 Bar 20 battens (as well as several shorter X4 Bar 10) on the band’s latest A Moon Shaped Pool tour. These were supplied by Upstaging in the States, while Neg Earth picked up the European leg of the tour. “My job is to create an environment for the Radiohead songs to exist within the stage. With so many layers to what they do, many different instruments and lots going on, I have to build complex arrangements to represent the songs visually.” He confirms that there are over 240 layers of video mapped to multiple projection and LED surfaces in order to reinforce typically between 80 to more than 100 unique songs. For the rig structure he has favoured curves. “There are two front trusses, one for the front line
UK - The beginning of June saw Robbie Williams kick off his Heavy Entertainment Show tour on home turf at Manchester’s Etihad Stadium. The tour has continued throughout the summer, taking in stadiums, fields and arenas across the UK and Europe. The tour’s audio requirements are provided by Robbie’s long-term supplier Britannia Row Productions (Brit Row) and has DiGiCo’s flagship SD7 consoles at both the Front of House and monitor positions. Simon Hodge, Robbie’s Front of House engineer, has been using an SD7 for the last six years and continues to rely on it to handle this complex show. Jonathan Digby takes care of monitors, keeping the seat warm for Robbie’s long-standing monitor engineer, Pete Mc Glynn, who is recovering from an accident he had shortly before the tour took off. Jonathan is also deploying a SD7. “The show is complicated, so
