USA - Back in the late 19th century, chic women wore hats with huge plumes of feathers. To meet the demand for this fashionable flourish, the enterprising citizens of Chandler, Arizona turned their town into a thriving ostrich farm centre. Eventually, the rise of the open-air automobile blew the lid off the fancy hat business, leading most of those farms to close, but the world’s largest bird lives on in the town, thanks to its annual Ostrich Festival. A crowd of over 250,000 typically turns out for the festival, which has been held every year since 1989, to enjoy games, rides, ostrich races and evening concerts by big name stars. This year’s event, which was produced by Steve LeVine Entertainment for the City of Chandler Chamber of Commerce, was no exception. Acts including Gin Blossoms, Spin Doctors, Los Lobos, Eddie Money and Starship with Mickey Thomas performed on s
UK - Having completed a successful tour at the end of last year, Scottish rock band Biffy Clyro are on their way to the US. Both Front of House engineer Jonny Lucas and Dan Speed on monitors rely on the power of DiGiCo SD10s for their mixing requirements. They deploy three separate rigs around the world, with two duplicate systems which includes, in some instances, the more compact SD10-24. For the 2016 UK tour, all audio requirements were supplied by Skan PA Hire. Jonny has been working with Biffy Clyro for almost a decade. “I did my first show with them supporting The Who at Marlay Park in Dublin in June 2007,” he recalls. “There was no soundcheck and only a 20-minute changeover. It was a baptism of fire.” This intense introduction has, no doubt, prepared him for the band’s continually hectic schedule. His use of DiGiCo consoles has given him the reliabilit
UK - One of Newcastle-upon-Tyne’s best-known buildings, The Palace of Arts, has been equipped with a premium RCF D-Line HDL20-A system by locally based technical providers, Nitelites, for its new occupants, the Wylam Brewery. The Grand Hall at the Palace of Arts - the last building to survive from the North East Exhibition world fair of 1929 - was originally opened by the then Prince of Wales (later Edward VIII) in the newly-redeveloped Exhibition Park. Now, Wylam Brewery has relocated its HQ and converted the Grade-II listed building into a fully operating, working brewery and events space after it had remained almost derelict for nearly a decade. Prior to that it had operated as a Science Museum and Military Vehicle Museum. With the Grand Hall playing host to a wide range of functions, from brewers’ markets, live music, pop-up food events, weddings and corp
Singapore - The first rental and technical production company in Singapore – and indeed south east Asia - to invest in Robe’s new Spiider LED wash beam fixtures is Expo AV-InSync which works locally and internationally throughout the Asia Pacific region. Around 70 per cent of their work is in the conference and MICE sectors and several high profile tech and financial clients and also one of the preferred production equipment supplier to Singapore Expo. Sister company Digital Kitchen Studios creates video content including animations and engages in post-production and video mapping projects. The company designs shows as well as supplying kit and working with independent creative teams. Currently they have upwards of 200 Robe fixtures in the lighting inventory. When the Spiider was launched last year, it was good timing as they were looking for new LED wash lights.
Czech Republic - Milos has released a new video to go along with its three-month spotlight on Milos LED Screen Support Structures (1 April – 30 June). In this video, Area Four Industries R&D director Marc Hendriks provides guidance in the safe and effective use of LED screen support structures. He speaks about the two stages of use, In Service situation and Out of Service situation, and focuses on wind forces, bracing and ballast. Click here to watch the video. (Jim Evans)
UK - The growing UK network of STM users has been boosted by the addition of Production Plus, the full-service event production house that has been a long-time user of Nexo products. Established in 1985, Production Plus underwent a management buyout three years ago and since then, has doubled its turnover. With 40+ employees, the company is one of the leading players servicing corporate AV events and awards shows, at some of London’s most central venues, such as the Park Lane Hilton and Grosvenor House. Its opening order includes M28 ‘omni-purpose’ modules, together with B112 bass and S118 subbass elements, a NUAR amplification rack and a full complement of flying hardware. “We test-drove the system at the Variety Awards, and at the Park Lane Hilton where we are the in-house production company,” recalls Andy Miller, MD of Production Plus. “STM has a v
UK - The Broadsword Production Group has been awarded a contract by Royal Museums Greenwich as a production supplier. Based in the heart of Greenwich, the sites are suitable for large gala dinners and awards ceremonies, inspiring daytime conferencing, epic product launches and intimate private dining. The five historic venues include the National Maritime Museum, the Queen’s House, the Royal Observatory Greenwich, the Peter Harrison Planetarium and Cutty Sark. Broadsword has a flair for the theatrical and are thrilled that their crew are about to learn the ropes and produce live event experiences with “such versatile and luxurious backdrops”. They have an innovative Set Building Department and are excited about how they can put a new slant on event branding within the different spaces, with stage sets, custom theming, props and bespoke items. The in-house
UK - Shure UK has entered into a partnership with the Backstage Academy, the West Yorkshire training facility for students wishing to pursue a career in the touring and live entertainment industry. Under the terms of the deal, Shure will support the Academy with training events, sharing technical knowledge and experience, and providing the Academy's students with access to the hardware used daily by the UK live industry’s most successful practitioners. Founded in 2009, the Backstage Academy is based at the Production Park at South Kirkby, midway between Wakefield, Barnsley, Pontefract and Doncaster, and offers its students experience-based technical live industry training centred around access to the world-class live industry facilities and commercial stage and touring design companies at the same location. The Backstage Academy also has access to five smaller live r
UK - Leading provider of professional AV equipment, Audiologic has been appointed by AED Distribution as a QSC Pro Supplier for the UK. California-based QSC manufactures world-class professional tools, systems and solutions for live sound, including the exceptional K Series of loudspeakers, GXD processing amplifiers and TouchMix Pro professional digital mixers. QSC's recently launched TouchMix-30 Pro compact digital mixer has earned universally outstanding reviews, reflecting the esteem in which its excellent products are held. QSC Pro's presence in the Audiologic portfolio is a highly significant addition for both live and installed sound applications, the company says.
Andy Lewis, Marketing Manager at Audiologic recognises the value of QSC Pro: “QSC has been a leader in the manufacture of professional sound systems for decades and are recognised as such ac
USA / Russia - In response to growing sales in Northern Europe, Meyer Sound has appointed two new distributors in the region. Moscow-based Major Sound is the new distributor for Russia, while Sonus Exsertus, based in Vilnius, Lithuania, will represent Meyer Sound in its home country as well as the other Baltic states of Latvia and Estonia. Headed by industry professionals with more than 25 years of experience, Major Sound was recently formed exclusively to provide sales and technical support of Meyer Sound products in Russia. The company is launching a new education program, translating marketing materials into Russian, representing Meyer Sound at trade shows, creating online events, and backing all sales with certified service technicians and local parts inventory. "Meyer Sound has a unique story and we are proud to become part of their worldwide team," comment
UK - W-DMX has recently supported the students of University of South Wales in the UK, completing BSc. degrees in Live Event and Lighting Design. Wireless Solution provided Wireless technology to the final year students that wanted to integrate W-DMX into their final-year projects. The USW degrees encourage students to create a lighting fixture that could be commercialized – this includes specifying, designing and creating a product prototype, before presenting it in a trade-show environment, along with other engineering students. Flare – the featured product with W-DMX – was created by Charlie LaPage Norris, Oliver Jenni, Pedro Socias and Matt Didon, all final students from USW. The fixture includes a variable white LED source with an RGB backlight system, able to be pixel-mapped and with a Wireless Solution receiver as standard. Last year, Wireless Soluti
UK - RAVENNA partnered with Merging Technologies to co-host an exclusive launch of the Merging/Digigram-developed Audio Network Manager software tool at the London premises of audio & video solutions resellers, Jigsaw24. RH Consulting’s Roland Hemming opened the proceedings with a brief introduction on AES67, its role in audio networking and the very close relationship between AES67 and RAVENNA before handing over to Merging’s Audio-over IP expert Nicolas Sturmel. Sturmel, who recently joined Merging from Digigram, has been leading the project of the Audio Network Manager (dubbed ANEMAN) which offers a completely new – and easy – way to patch AES67 audio and much, much more. The issue of AoIP network control and interoperability has always been complex and difficult to manage. A number of disparate solutions exist, but nothing that looks at the bigger pictu
UK - Green Hippo has confirmed three new international distributors. These new members of the Green Hippo family, respectively covering Italy, New Zealand, and South Africa, extend the influence of Green Hippo’s video playback technology, including its award-winning Hippotizer range of media servers. In Italy, Spotlight, the Milan-based distributor, will use its 50 years of design and production experience, to help see the Green Hippo gear at work in Italy’s celebrated collection of opera houses and theatres, as well as auditoriums, conference rooms, and TV studios. Nicolo Oliva, partner and CEO of Spotlight, said, “It’s a short time since Spotlight have started the distribution of Green Hippo, and we’re already very fond of the brand. These media-servers are really powerful and easy to configure, and the new software interface of Hippotizer V4 is a st
Creative Strategy - Creative companies are becoming increasingly important to the UK's future economic success and should be at the heart of the government's new industrial strategy, a trade body says. The Creative Industries Federation says film-making, music, advertising and video games are all big export earners but are often overlooked by ministers. It says enterprise zones, tax breaks and access to finance could help firms. The role of the UK's creative industries, which also includes theatre, architecture, broadcasting, fashion, museums, and galleries was recognised when the government unveiled its industrial strategy Green Paper in January for boosting the post-Brexit economy. The Creative Industries Federation says ministers need to "overhaul" their approach. The federation has unveiled a blueprint of policy recommendations for the creative industries which it
UK - A succession of new seminars has been added to the PLASA Focus Leeds 2017 programme, providing the industry with even more of a reason to make the journey up to the Royal Armouries in Leeds on the 9 – 10 May. The newest sessions, which are as always free to attend, include a tour of the BBC Studios, plus seminars which draw in expertise from well-established organisations such as Soulsound, BECTU and the Association of Lighting Designers. Visitors to Leeds will have the opportunity to join a tour of the BBC Yorkshire production facility, hosted by Mike Buttery, operations manager of BBC Look North. The tour will cover the TV and radio studios, TV editing facilities and 'CAR' engineering department. Spaces are limited, anyone interested in joining should check the show’s website for information on how to sign-up. Audio experts and long-time contributors
Germany - This month, Alcons Audio marked its 15th year of exhibiting at Prolight+Sound by showing new products, welcoming visitors from across the globe and hosting the traditional annual Alcons dinner. The new products being showed were the LR28/110 - a wide-dispersion version of the LR28 Larger Format Line Array; the QR24 Wide - an extension of the QR24 modular high-output line-source column and the latest software for the company’s Amplified Loudspeaker Controllers, ALControl release 1.4. Alcons welcomed visitors from across the globe - including China, India, Norway, Russia, Singapore, Poland, South Korea, Turkey, France, Switzerland, Austria (to name a few) - to the company’s stand, all keen to share and discuss a common bond - the love of excellent sound. On the second day of the show, Alcons hosted its annual dinner, where guests enjoyed sharing proje
Germany - The ChamSys MagicQ MQ500 Stadium received the Prolight + Sound International Press Award (PIPA) for Best Product of the Year in the lighting control category. Based on voting by over 100 journalists from specialized publications, the award was presented on 6 April at the Prolight + Sound show. “This award is a tribute to the ChamSys design ethos,” said ChamSys managing director Chris Kennedy. “ChamSys has been built on giving the end-user as much freedom and flexibility as possible, because we respect the creativity that’s inherent in the design process.” Featuring a built-in MagicVis 3D Visualizer with high quality renderings, dual multi-touch displays in full HD with adjustable viewing angles, an intensity wheel, 100mm split crossfaders for theatre control, 42 fader and executor playbacks for live busking, the 200- universe MagicQ MQ500 Stadium pr
Germany - On board the AIDA-fleet’s newest flagship, AIDAprima, sound solutions from Sennheiser prove their capabilities every single day. The audio specialist’s premium products help deliver high level entertainment on one of the world’s most modern cruise ships. Alongside Sennheiser’s reliable wireless technology, AIDAprima uses the innovative MobileConnect streaming solution, which has been recently updated to allow for seamless integration into existing networks. One of the most technologically advanced ships on the planet, AIDAprima has its own excellently equipped TV-production environment, the Broadcast Centre, which channels all picture signals and distributes them to the numerous clients on board. To monitor sound, this facility uses four Neumann KH 120 A active speakers. The newest addition to the Broadcast Centre is a Sennheiser ConnectStation CS1-M,
USA - Star power was out in force on 19 March, when the Geffen Playhouse hosted the 15th annual Backstage at the Geffen, a fundraiser that benefits the celebrated theatre’s artistic and community outreach programs. Quincy Jones and Mel Brooks were honoured; their awards presented respectively by Barbra Streisand and Rob Reiner. Aisha Tyler of the Emmy-winning CBS programme The Talk was the evening’s host. Bridesmaids director Paul Feig appeared, as did comedians Sarah Silverman and Dave Chappelle. This star-studded list of honorees and participants notwithstanding, as a charity event, Backstage at the Geffen had to be run with an eye toward controlling operating costs. For lighting supervisor Darren Rezowalli, this meant creating a compact rig that could be set up quickly, yet still deliver the sharp effects and rich colours that such a glamor
Australia - Crown Perth makes every demand of its lighting equipment a venue can make. With a 2,300 seat theatre, ballrooms, meeting rooms, hotels, nightclubs, bars and countless public areas, the staff at Crown can be called upon to light everything from foyer displays to Broadway musicals. With so much to light and so much flexibility required, all under the gaze of high-rollers and luxury hotel patrons, Crown’s AV staff recently purchased Elation SixBar 1000 and SixBar 500 LED battens. “We light banners, set displays, cars, and whatever else comes up,” said Crown AV’s Jeremy Prestwood. “Our LED bars might be rigged on a truss or set on the floor for a band, jazzing up a press conference, highlighting a gaming display, set up for a month in a car on display in the foyer as a prize, or set up and taken down again after a one-hour show.” Elation’s SixBar
UK - It may have been over 30 years since Depeche Mode last visited, but that lengthy absence has not diminished the enthusiasm of their Barrowlands audience. “It’s a classic gig,” said Antony King, the band’s front of house sound engineer. “Back in the day, if you were doing a tour of the UK, Glasgow Barrowlands was usually the best show of the tour. “Although the European stadium tour doesn’t start until May, we are in Europe for a few weeks promoting the new album, Spirit, doing a mix of TV shows and promo underplay concerts like this one for the BBC,” says King. “We are carrying control and monitors provided by Britannia Row. Brit Row have been with Depeche Mode for nearly 30 years and do a great job. It makes a huge difference hitting the road knowing that Bryan and co’ have your back. “With a band of this calibre and a mixture of ana
UK - Having taken London’s West End by storm, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is also currently touring the UK, with full technical service provider Hawthorn supplying lighting equipment for the production. Hawthorn worked with renowned Lighting Designer Paule Constable to provide lighting equipment for her Olivier award winning design. This included supplying industry workhorses such as the Martin MAC TW1 and the ETC Source 4 Revolution combined with newer technology such as the ETC LUSTR 2 LED Profile and Clay Paky’s new moving light, the Scenius Profile chosen for its wide zoom, framing and high optical output. The remaining rig is made up of a number of conventional ETC Source 4 profiles and PARS, Selecon Arena 2.5K PCs, Rainbow 12” Scrollers, a Martin Atomic Strobe, Pulsar Chroma LED UV Floods, Studio Due Archibars, Viper smoke machi
UK - East Anglia-based CEG Hire & Productions has recently moved to new premises, as well as relocating their rental operation from Norfolk to Cambridge. From 1 March, CEG started operating from their new base – allowing them to push forward with their long-term growth strategy. CEG's director, Ben Bowles explains, “Since starting the business, we have continually looked to improve the service that we offer and one big way we can do that is by being situated conveniently for all of our customers. “Our new location is five minutes from the M11 and 10 minutes from the A14. This will provide fantastic access to both London and the South, as well as the Midlands and the North. We will now be within 45 minutes of the North Circular and 90 minutes of Park Royal. Beyond the improved journey times, our new premises will have better access, facilities and, mos
The Netherlands - Home to AFC Ajax, Amsterdam ArenA is a world class stadium and the preferred venue for the Dutch national football team’s international fixtures. As part of its ongoing upgrade, it recently installed a new audio solution based on the d&b Y-Series system. Production manager at Amsterdam ArenA, Tim Oosterop comments, “Like our LED screens, or escalators, audio investment is not something you can charge for, it doesn’t translate directly into revenue, but it does see the audience come earlier and stay longer. If they’re here that’s good for revenue, and makes best use of the facilities. “Ajax already has its own video production department and puts a lot of work into the pre-show environment. Entertainment is the key component and quality audio is a big part of delivering that experience.” Looking toward a new audio installati
