UK - Audinate is hosting the popular Dante AV Networking World at PLASA 2017 on Tuesday, 19 September and will bring together manufacturers who have integrated Dante, Audinate's industry leading Audio Over IP solution. With an introduction by PLASA’s managing director Peter Heath, the first component of the day will be a Dante Level 1 and Level 2 certification course which will be presented in the morning sessions. “These two courses help individuals who are new to using Dante and want to get started with small to medium sized Dante networks,” says Kieran Walsh, Audinate’s director of application engineering (EMEA). “The course will also be useful for more experienced operators to understand how to really take advantage of Networked Audio. “The second component of the day will take place in the afternoon and is an introduction to the Dante Level 3 ce
Germany - Since 1997, Berlin's Stars in Concert at the Estrel Hotel and Convention Centre has brought a wide range of musical theatre acts to over four million spectators, making it one of the most successful live shows in Germany’s history. To provide a permanent wash lighting solution to the long-running series, which features shows such as the Beatles’ All you need is Love and Elvis Das Musical, the Estrel Festival Centre recently added 18 Rogue R2 Wash and 10 COLORado 1 Quad Zoom fixtures from Chauvet Professional, supplied by Fischer. Both the Rogue and COLORado fixtures were positioned on trussing above and to the sides of the stage to add a full spectrum of wash lighting to complement the existing rig. While the Rogue fixtures provide powerful and dynamic wash lighting across the vast 15m- wide elevated stage area, the COLORado fixtures provid
UK - The new £57m Birmingham Conservatoire building has officially opened its doors. This milestone development elevates the Conservatoire facilities to world-class status and includes a recording and live sound production infrastructure without compromise, and with SSL very much at its heart. The new equipment list includes four SSL Live consoles and five SSL SuperAnalogue consoles, connected with a facility-wide Dante network. With a history dating back to 1859, Birmingham Conservatoire is one of the leading music and drama academies in the UK. Part of Birmingham City University, the development boasts five new public performance spaces, which include a 500-seat concert hall, a 150-seat recital hall, and a 100-seat organ studio. It also includes The Lab, a cutting edge, completely flexible black-box studio, the first permanent jazz space in any UK conservatoire (the 80-se
UK - Stage Electrics has supplied over 120 new lights to Liverpool’s Royal Court. The range of lights supplied included a selection of, ETC Lustr Mk2 Spots and Fresnels, ETC ColorSource PAR Deep Blue, ETC Smart Rack power controls, an Interspace Cue Light system, Chauvet Ovation battens as well as Smoke and Haze machines, Green Go comms and GDS Blues system. After this update to their performance lighting rig the Royal Court Liverpool calculated its production lighting energy saving to be in the region of 70%; this is a shining example of the benefits that can come from LED lighting. The entire order was delivered to fit in around the venue’s current re-fit and busy production schedule. The delivery was met on site by the venue crew who set about unpacking and rigging it immediately for their in-house show ‘The Royal’. Rob Beamer of Stage Electr
USA - This summer, the centennial celebration of Cleveland Metroparks featured fireworks, events, and activities honouring the past and celebrating the future of Cleveland’s green urban landscapes. On a July evening, city dignitaries hosted a gala event which included dazzling outdoor lighting, supplied by ILC, and controlled by W-DMX wireless devices. “We utilized our new W-DMX G5 units to drive data for Elation Q5 Volt fixtures,” explains Renee Herbert, business development executive at ILC. “The event took place in the Brookside Reservation and was host to over 500 dignitaries and supporters of the Cleveland Metroparks. Around the event’s entrance area, we utilized 50 fixtures to light trees and foliage in Cleveland Metroparks’ green and gold colors. “The W-DMX units transmitted reliable data over 500 feet and ran consistently for several hours. This p
Ecuador - Ecuador’s Centro Cristiano de Guayaquil (CCG) recently installed a dLive S Class mixing system and ME personal monitoring system as part of an upgrade to the church’s audio equipment. The largest evangelical church in the city of Guayaquil, CCG hosts a variety of events including services, conferences, live music shows and theatrical productions. It has a 3,800-capacity auditorium, with additional space for Christian Education and Children's Ministries, and has grown to more than 7,000 in weekly attendance. Comprising a S5000 Surface and DM64 MixRack, the Dante-enabled dLive system is installed at FOH in the auditorium, and manages FOH, monitors, recording and broadcast, along with a ME system, comprising a ME-U hub and 5 ME-1 mini mixers, to provide performers with personal monitoring facilities. "We needed a mixer that was compact yet powerful eno
USA - Paul McCartney’s long-running One on One World Tour has added 21 dates in the US this summer and fall. Claypaky fixtures help showcase the evolution of his music from the 1960s to today. The US leg of the ongoing tour kicked off in Miami in July and will conclude in Detroit in October. Lighting designer LeRoy Bennett is tasked with highlighting “a vast array of musical styles over the decades” during the course of the three-hour show. High-tech AV solutions, including layers of transparent video, LEDs and lasers, form a backdrop for the history of the former Beatle’s music but remain unobrustive to fans. “While we use many aspects of technology you never see them all at once, and they are never overpowering,” notes lighting director Wally Lees. Upstaging provided the tour with 12 Claypaky Scenius Profiles, 12 Scenius Unicos and 96 Sharpys. The
France - On 12 July at Lille’s Stade Pierre-Mauroy, L-Acoustics deployed an L-ISA Live hyper-realistic sound system for the singular performance of Verdi’s Requiem by the Orchestre National de Lille (ONL) and the Choeur Régional Hauts-de-France. The 30,000-capacity stadium, normally home to Lille’s football club, was a spectacular yet fitting venue for a performance intended to bring classical music to the widest possible audience. Founded by Jean-Claude Casadesus and the Nord-Pas de Calais region (now the Hauts-de-France region) in 1976, the ONL has resolutely focused on ‘bringing music wherever it will be heard’ ever since, performing both in Lille as well as in over 30 countries around the world. After spending 40 years at the head of the ONL, conductor Jean-Claude Casadesus continues to lead three series each season, while also forging a stellar interna
USA - ADJ Lighting will be opening the doors to its Miami showroom on 28 September to unveil a massive new programmed lightshow, mingle with customers and spotlight their latest technologies. Hurricane Irma circumstances permitting, the event will run from 1-6pm at the ADJ Miami location; 13185 NW 47th Avenue, Opa-locka, FL 33054. ADJ has programmed a brand-new lightshow in their large Miami warehouse showroom. They will also offer food, drinks and a prize giveaway for attendees. The new lightshow will demonstrate the capabilities of ADJ products for nightclub and church installations, lounges and bars, events and productions, and for mobile entertainers. “We are thrilled to relaunch our showroom in Miami,” said Alfred Gonzales, national sales manager of ADJ USA. “We took 200 fixtures down and put 350 new fixtures back up for a fantastic programmed lightsho
Sweden - For the 15th consecutive year, Swedish LD Palle Palmé has provided spectacular lighting for the Diggiloo outdoor summertime tour, with 80 X4 Bar 20’s from GLP dominating the ever-changing stage set. Having worked on the event since its inception in 2003 (when it appeared only in Båstad), Palmé says that despite the number of famous artists appearing all receive equal billing - “and that is the success of Diggiloo”. Heading the roster this year has been Robin Bengtsson, winner of the Swedish Eurovision Song Contest, performing alongside Tommy Nilsson, David Lindgren, Wiktoria, Charlotte Perelli, Jessica Andersson, Bruno Mitsogiannis, Andreas Johnson and Özz Nujen throughout the 22 gigs. Palle Palmé has again turned to GLP’s super-versatile X4 Bar battens - an effect he has used on at least five occasions since November 2015. “I was original
Italy - Powersoft continues its successful series of Webinars, with a new programme that commences on 4-5 October at 3.00pm GMT. Following on from the successful training forum presentations by Dave Rat and Steven Kemland, the next sessions will highlight all aspects of designing an audio system for TV programmes such as X Factor Italy, where live music and broadcast audio are the key fundamentals, and how to overcome them. It will also look at how Powersoft can invigorate the PA on the live touring circuit. Both Webinars will follow the same format as previously, with each host explaining the use of the technology followed by a live Q/A session where attendees can ask questions. How to reinvigorate the PA with X Series amplifier platform in live tour of Australian Pink Floyd. Wednesday 4 October from 3.00-4.00pm GMT; conducted by Robin Conway, Ca
Australia - Canberra Theatre Centre is Canberra’s premier performing arts venue comprising of the 1,240 seat Canberra Theatre, The Playhouse seating 614 and The Courtyard Studio, an intimate rehearsal and performance space that seats up to 92 patrons. The Canberra Theatre and The Playhouse were in need of new house lighting systems and so a tender was released that was won by local Sound and Lighting Specialists Sound Advice, who have extensive experience in architectural and theatrical lighting projects. “The Canberra Theatre’s existing system had really, really old Strand dimmers dimming PAR38 lamps flown in what were arguably acoustic panels at one point,” said Norman Korte, managing director at Sound Advice. “They were similar to a fiberglass rectangular cloud hanging above the seating and due to access issues, the lights in them were difficult to reach.
The Netherlands - With the return of the Welcome to the Future festival on 22 July, the scenic parklands of Wet Twiske, just north of Amsterdam, once again became a green heart pumping to the beat of visionary house and techno. The annual festival, now in its 11th year, prides itself on providing an intimate atmosphere filled with colourful decorations and the highest quality sounds, so it was no surprise that organisers opted for a Vero sound system on the main stage. For event director, Carina Kornfeind, the success of the system’s debut at last year’s festival made it first choice for this 2017 outing. "For the second year in a row, we introduced Funktion-One’s vertical array sound system, Vero, at Welcome to the Future, bringing us a new dimension of frequencies and depth and making the experience on the dancefloor more immersive than ever before," she commented.
UK - This year, the PLASA Rigging Conference will move away from its traditional format of a series of presentations to a new structure that encourages conversation, allowing opinions to be voiced and the most current of topics to be discussed. Following the opening speech from the legendary Morris Lyda - who has worked with artists ranging from Traffic, David Bowie, Genesis, Pink Floyd, The 3 Tenors, and Phil Collins and on special events such as the Barcelona and Sydney Olympics, specialising in building and motivating people to produce extraordinary outcomes - Alan Jacobi, LVO, Unusual Rigging (Platinum Sponsor) will chair the morning panel session, with Mark Surtees, MD, Outback (Gold Sponsor) chairing the afternoon session. “We want to make the Rigging Conference an event that’s highly topical and relevant to the wider industry, to reach an audience who are no
UK - The 2012 collapse of an integral steel frame structure during the building of City Gates Church in Ilford, Essex, made the regional news headlines. The dramatic incident – which fortunately resulted in no injuries despite twenty construction workers having left the site only minutes before the collapse – was inevitably a major setback in the development of the new church, requiring the 1,200 strong congregation to relocate to a nearby cinema for services. But Pastor Rev. Stephen Derbyshire and his team were resolutely unbowed by the episode, ultimately raising £9m for a new church to stand on the same site. After several years of work the five-storey building – which includes a large auditorium, office space, children’s facilities and coffee shop – finally opened its doors last summer. At the heart of the new church is a 1,000 capacity auditorium that w
Dominican Republic - When Justin Bieber’s Purpose world tour played the Hard Rock Hotel in the Dominican Republic earlier in the year, Dominican-based rental company and Elation dealer BM Eventos was there to supply Elation’s Platinum Beam 5R beam light’s for some classic beam looks. D Cory FitzGerald had 120 of the pioneering beam fixtures at his disposal to provide eye-catching barrages of thick beams from positions in the overhead rig, stage front, right and left, and from the walkway. “It’s been a very important lighting fixture in the industry for many years with excellent, proven performance,” stated general manager Edwin Belliard of BM Eventos, the rental company responsible for assembly of the lighting and lighting control system for the show. “The Platinum Beam 5R gives a lot of quality at a low cost. On the Justin Bieber show here in the
Canada - BlackTrax realtime motion tracking system kept the spotlight in focus for the Starboy: Legend of The Fall worldwide tour for Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter and record producer, The Weeknd. Solotech, Montreal supplied BlackTrax for the tour. Production manager, Rob DeCeglio, takes up the story: “BlackTrax was the first tracking system that I have used that is worth the setup time. Other systems in the past either were not accurate enough or still require human operators of some kind. This certainly opens the doors for other tracking applications and diversification, everything from artists to set pieces.” “For the Weeknd, it’s always about art. Designers and production alike are charged with creating something that’s unique, something that compliments and enhances the music, and something that brings the focus without being a distracti
UK - Glastonbury is well-known for being a festival with quirky elements and the bravado to push technological and creative boundaries; and it’s one that PRG XL Video continues to be involved with. Nick Diacre, technical director of ddld, partnered with PRG XL to bring an innovative 360˚ video installation to the Gas Tower area in Shangri-La. Nick described the concept of the installation at Glastonbury this year: “We’ve created a 360˚ immersive projection environment in an outdoor arena with a capacity of 1200. The structure itself is inescapable to the audience, being almost 12m tall in places, and completely encompassing the arena. Over the period of four days, we welcomed over 50 guest artists, as well as VJs and AV artists to the arena to contribute content across our 360˚ screen.” Shangri-La’s Willy Brothwood was responsible for the design and build
Hungary - Martin Audio PA systems were once again all over the massive seven-day Sziget Festival in Hungary - the final leg of a three-event tour of the country, which included Volt and Balaton Festivals. Capital supplied two trucks of equipment, including the bulk of the MLA, MLD, MLX and MLA Compact enclosures, while Martin Audio’s Polish partners, Musnicki, provided the remainder of Martin Audio’s flagship PA for the 25th edition of this landmark event. Featuring daily capacity crowds of 90,000, the event is dubbed the Island of Freedom (due to its picturesque location on the Danube). In addition to main stage, Martin Audio premier PA systems once again featured on the Colosseum and Europe stages, courtesy of the manufacturer’s Hungarian partner, BG Event. Capital Sound has worked the event almost continuously for 12 years and MLA has featured for the
UK - Star Events supplied a roofed Vista Royal box, complete with a passenger lift, VIP seating, a 17m Orbit stage and more to Unique Events for the formal opening of the £1.35bn Queensferry Crossing on Monday. Star provided media structures at the south side of the crossing, where 53 years after performing a similar duty at the neighbouring Forth Road Bridge, the Queen, who was accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh, cut a ceremonial ribbon. The Queen then travelled the 2,700m to the north side by car to make a speech from the 12.5m Vista, where she described the Crossing as an “extraordinary achievement”. Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon also spoke, paying tribute to the people who built the bridge. “On this day, 100 years from now, as a future generation gathers to mark its centenary, they will gaze at the towers and they will still marvel
Antarctica - When Nerio Gutierrez, co-owner of Madrid-based production company, Playground Estudio, was given the challenge of producing a documentary about Antarctica's view of the world, he knew he was going to be up against some of the most extreme weather conditions. In order to capture the unique sounds and ambience of this harsh, frozen land, he turned to a selection of microphones from DPA Microphones for the documentary titled Antarctica, A Message from the Other Planet. "The most important thing in a project like this is to be sure that your tools will respond in any condition without any worries," says Gutierrez. "We faced extreme cold, extreme moisture and extreme winds, but our DPA d:dicate 4017B Shotgun, d:dicate 4011C Cardioid and d:screet 4061 Necklace Microphones worked incredibly well and gave us the best sound we could possibly get from a place
Denmark - Working with the Danish award-winning band Carpark North since 2014, renowned lighting designer Johnny Thinggaard Lydiksen raised the bar on this year’s festival tour, creating a 16m wide LED screen as fuse to mind blowing visuals. The 5,8m long LB-100 LED ball strings complimented the 5 4,5x2m video screens, while creating a flexible stage screen suitable for for different stage sizes on tour. Combining Denmark’s top band within electro rock with one of the most influential lighting designers in the country was a perfect match for spoiling festival audiences with a creative and first-class show. Recently, at Denmark’s second biggest festival Smukfest 2017, Johnny and Carpark North performed in front of 25,000 music fans. “I wanted to create a large background behind our video system, adding an extra dimension. At first, I worked with traditional vide
Belgium - The largest summer beach festival in Belgium and one of the most popular in Northern Europe, 2 Meisjes op het Strand, is known for more than just music. Also drawing thousands of fans and attracting a large national TV audience on Flemish network VTM are the breathtaking harbour vistas at the festival site. At this year’s event, Michiel Milbou and his team at Never Fear Shadows did justice to the festival’s music and its surroundings with a stunning stage and lighting design that featured 410 Chauvet Professional ÉPIX Strip IP fixtures, supplied by Phlippo Productions. Never Fear Shadows’ design concept for the festival was built around a 60m x 20m translucent stage structure built exclusively from the ÉPIX Strip IP fixtures. The structure provided sizzling visual support for the music of K3, Niels Destadsbader, Gers Pardoel and other stars. At
UK - When Bat Out of Hell-The Musical co-producer Michael Cohl stood on a make-shift stage outside the London Coliseum at the press launch in November, he declared his latest project, along with fellow producers David Sonenberg, Randy Lennox and Tony Smith, and production manager, Simon Marlow, to be the biggest rock musical to premiere in London since We Will Rock You. Peter Marshall, director of theatre for PRG XL, oversaw the provision of kit to the musical: “The show initially opened for a 12-week run in Manchester at the start of the year, before transferring to the Coliseum for the summer season from June to August. It was brilliant to continue our relationship with producer Michael Cohl and general manager Julian Stoneman again - after supporting them on Rock of Ages, and very exciting to work with Patrick and Finn, providing some of the latest
