Singapore - Over 400 Robe moving lights boosted the magic and spectacle of the 45th Singapore Chingay Parade to celebrate Chinese New Year – The Year of the Rooster. Javier Tan’s colourful high-impact lighting design matched the glamour, glitz and exuberance of the high profile public event, featuring an ebullient cast of 8000, creatively directed by Fan Dong Kai and staged at the F1 Pit Building in the city centre. The glittering show was organized by the People’s Association (PA). It celebrated the diversity and multi-cultural nature of the nation’s population and was watched live by President, Dr. Tony Tan, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, plus assorted political, dignitaries and VIPs together with approximately 200,000 excited members of the public over two nights. It was also recorded for broadcast. Javier is one of the region’s top lighting designe
Poland - Alcons has appointed Aplauz Sp. Ltd as its distributor for general products in Poland. Located in Łomianki, near Warsaw, Aplauz was established in 2003 and has grown to become one of Poland’s most renowned suppliers of professional audio solutions. “We became aware of Alcons five or six years ago,” says Aplauz president and managing director Grzegorz Fotek. “We have watched as they have risen to the top of the industry, as people recognise that their pro-ribbon technology delivers the very best possible sound. Alcons is now one of the world’s leading audio manufacturers and everyone we speak to who listens to their technology is always very impressed.” Last year, Aplauz and Alcons collaborated on a project that included a shoot-out between a large number of the leading loudspeaker brands, which really put Alcons on the map in the Polish market. T
UK - Britannia Row Productions Training is running its core 12-week Live Sound Technology Course (LSTC) from early April. The 2017 course will be primarily delivered from South Thames College in Wandsworth, with some sessions being held at Britannia Row’s main headquarters in Twickenham and others on-site at Britannia Row shows. The tutors delivering the course will, as usual, be Britannia Row staff and freelance engineers and technicians. Britannia Row Productions Training’s managing director Mike Lowe said: ‘We have missed running the popular LSTC. Last year we ran six 16-week part-time courses, held on Saturdays and Sundays at Twickenham, as well as bespoke courses tailored to the specific needs of companies in the industry who send their employees to us for training but just did not have the physical space to run the LSTC. Unfortunately, we were unable to run the
UK - A variety of Allen & Heath digital mixing solutions have recently been installed by the Royal College of Surgeons in Edinburgh, including dLive S Class and GLD digital mixing systems. The college is one of the oldest surgical corporations in the world - tracing its origins back to 1505 - and is dedicated to the pursuit of excellence and advancement in surgical practice through its interest in education and training. Located in the college’s flagship Main Hall venue, the dLive system was specified for its ability to allow a compact Allen & Heath DM48 MixRack set-up controlled via iPad (with A&H’s Director app) for smaller events and meetings, while a dLive S3000 mixing surface can be employed for more involved productions. The Symposium Hall – a 158-seat tiered lecture theatre in a converted church building – features a GLD-112 digital mix
The Netherlands - Integrated Systems Europe 2017 saw 1,192 of the world’s leading AV equipment vendors and service suppliers showcase the latest technology for the digital signage, unified communications, audio, smart building, residential and education sectors. On the show floor, the atmosphere was decidedly upbeat. Exhibitors, including 202 making their ISE debuts, were seen increasingly to present their products and solutions in ‘real world’ scenarios, designed to meet the needs of the increasing numbers of end users visiting the show. Registered visitor attendees to ISE 2017 were at an all-time high at 73,413. This represents an 11.7% increase over the 2016 edition. Attendees came from 150 different countries, reflecting the show’s global reach and influence, while almost 600 registered attendees were from the press and media. Integrated Systems Even
South Africa - Part one of the 2016-17 multi-artist musical spectacular Afrikaans is Groot, produced by Coleske Artists was staged at Moreleta Park Church in Pretoria, South Africa, featuring some of the best Afrikaans performers in the country. The show will play at Cape Town’s Grandwest Arena in March 2017. It featured a lighting co-design by Joshua Cutts of Visual Frontier and Chris Bolton of Keystone Productions. Nearly 160 Robe moving lights – including the new Spiiders and Spikies - were included on the rig. The 12 new Spiiders came straight from customs clearance at OR Tambo Airport in Johannesburg to the venue, together with 12 Robe Squares, all part of a larger new Robe investment by rental company, MGG. MGG was the full production technical supplier for the event which ran for 11 sold-out shows at Moreleta. Chris & Josh were first
USA - CAST wysiwyg has been touring with one of the most talked about Indie bands, Wilco, whose music has been described as somewhere between experimental rock and alternative country. The band has gained kudos for the 2016 album, Schmilco, and for consistently putting on distinctive shows. The tour has just returned from Europe and is continuing now through America. Lighting designer Jeremy Roth previsualized their set list using wysiwyg Perform. The set design, conceived by Jeff Tweedy and fabricated by Valerie Light of Infinite Scenic with textiles provided by Matt Biringer of Rose Brand, executed with tour manager Eric Frankhouser allowed Roth’s lighting and scenic design to highlight the mood that the team wished to convey. Roth describes the set: “The concept came from Jeff [Tweedy] visiting a Masonic temple in Santa Fe that has a set of scenic flats
Australia - Horder Communication Solutions has recently completed the installation of a Community loudspeaker system for the Mega Adventure Aerial Park in Adelaide, South Australia. With operations in Singapore and Australia, Mega Adventure was founded by explorer and adventurer Alex Blyth, with the aim of becoming a global leader in bringing adventure experiences to urban communities. The Mega Adventure Aerial Park in Adelaide is the first of its kind in the world and was designed and built by Mega Adventure’s sister company, Touch Cloud Global. Following the successful provision of sound systems for its other adventure parks, Mega Adventure again commissioned the services of John Horder of Horder Communication Solutions to provide a high quality, cost-effective sound solution for the aerial adventure park. Requiring a system to cover the 25m high open struc
UK - Since opening its doors in 1980, Nottingham’s 2,500-capacity Rock City has showcased some of biggest names in alternative music. Last year, the iconic club won its 10th consecutive Kerrang! Award as Venue of the Year. Coincidentally, the club decided to upgrade its lighting system. To accomplish this, its lighting technician Mark Merry specified an array of Chauvet Professional fixtures, including 24 PVP S5 LED panels, 12 Rogue RH1 Hybrid moving heads, and eight COLORdash Batten-Quad 6 LED strips. “The decision to install the selection of Chauvet fixtures was an extremely pragmatic one,” explained Merry. “As we required a completely new visual package for both live performances for touring bands and regular weekly club nights, we needed a versatile selection of high performing fixtures which could adapt to a whole manner of different musical environments. The fi
Belgium - Barco has presented a strong set of results for 2016, with high single-digit sales growth and EBITDA margin accretion. At the same time, the company published its 2016 Annual Report online. Titled Focused to perform, the report summarizes the 2016 results and zooms in on Barco’s activities and its sustainability plan. The fresh design (new branding) and innovative concept (four booklets + online report) clearly reflect Barco’s direction for the future. 2016 was a year of important organizational changes at Barco: the company welcomed a new CEO, new CFO and new Chief HR Officer, and its headquarters moved to an iconic new building in Kortrijk. In the midst of all these changes, Barco achieved solid growth, both in sales and in EBITDA margin. In his opening letter to the report, CEO Jan De Witte thanks Eric Van Zele, former CEO, for bringing Barco ba
UK - The National Rigging Advisory Group (NRAG), the pan industry body concerned with promoting rigging safety in events, has announced its endorsement of the cross-association campaign to raise awareness of the risks involved when working at height, and promote safe practice. Mark Surtees, managing director of Outback Rigging and chair of NRAG, explained the group’s decision to support the initiative, “Our members, representing almost every sector of the British events industry, are keenly aware of the risks when working at height and wholeheartedly support the aims of the Stop the Drop campaign. “We recognise that a greater understanding of the issues surrounding working at height, amongst all stakeholders within the fast-paced events industry, will help to strengthen and deepen the safety culture already in evidence and improve safety through direct behaviour
Keeping Music Live - London mayor Sadiq Khan has welcomed government proposals to safeguard live music venues by strengthening the ‘agent of change’ principle. It comes weeks after the mayor’s office announced the rate of small music venue closures has slowed, with numbers in the capital staying the same for the first time in a decade. In its Housing White Paper, released this week, the government outlined plans to amend the National Planning Policy Framework and strengthen the agent of change principle. This means that developers must take into account existing venues when building nearby and be responsible for ensuring their properties are adequately soundproofed. Implementing the principle was one of a number of recommendations made in a report published last year on how to tackle the decline of grassroots music venues. Welcoming the step, Khan describe
India - Community Professional Loudspeakers has announced the appointment of New Delhi based Acoustic Arts Pvt. Ltd as its distributor for India. Established in 1999 by Siddharth “Sunny” Chhibber, Acoustic Arts is focused on the distribution of AV products from leading brands, including Biamp, Powersoft, Audix, Televic, Beyerdynamic, AMX and Christie. Effective 1 January 2017, the entire Community product range will now be included in this line-up. Siddharth Chhibber, managing director, stated, “Prior to distributing the brand we had used Community products when they conclusively offered the best solution for applications. We are pleased to now be appointed as distributor so that we can offer Community’s entire range of outstanding products to our customers.” Mr. Chhibber continued, “Community is, of course, a market leader in large scale all-weather
Europe - Shure Incorporated has announced a number of additions to its partnership programme, which provide an expanded level of integration between Shure wired and wireless audio systems and other leading AV hardware and software. Shure now has formed partnerships with Cisco, Crestron, Polycom, Biamp, QSC, Symetrix, Yamaha, Audinate, Chief and others. The partnership programme ranges from information for system integrators, such as configuration and setup guides that ensure optimum performance, to embedded plug-ins that provide native control and audio integration. The goal is to communicate that Shure audio products like Microflex Advance and Microflex Wireless have been tested and are compatible with popular downstream equipment. This reduces setup and configuration time for system integrators and administrators and streamlines the workflow involved in using the co
Mexico - Serpro Producciones, one of the largest audio and lighting rental companies in Mexico, has taken a major step toward increasing its ability to serve customers by adding 90 Chauvet Professional Maverick MK2 Wash fixtures to its inventory. The company invested in the RGBW LED moving washes after carefully evaluating a wide variety of options. “We looked at a number of different alternatives, and it became very clear that the Maverick MK2 Wash was the best choice for us and our customers,” said Edi Sosa, the company’s lighting manager. “We were impressed by the Maverick’s compact and rugged construction, as well as the power of its LEDs. Its optics are also amazing. Other fixtures that we looked at had lenses that were similar in shape to the Maverick’s, but they are hollowed. The lenses installed in the MK2 Washes are completely solid. “The lens de
Mexico - Merida, the capital of Yucatan State in Mexico is a thriving, buzzing hub of culture and industry, rich with Mayan and Colonial heritage and a lively contemporary arts and live performance scene. Based on the north west of this picturesque city is Total Show Pro, a full technical production company delivering lighting, sound, video and staging - design and equipment - founded by Claudio Pasos four years ago. Shortly after this they invested in their first Robe moving lights with 10 x LEDWash 600s and then in 2015 added 10 x Robe Pointes to the inventory. There are three main project divisions to the company, the first one deals with weddings, which is a massive business in the area with so many beautiful locations and architectural masterpieces as well as the Gulf of Mexico coast only 35 kilometres away. The second division deals with the corporate event
Asia - As part of its global growth strategy, J&C Joel – one of the world’s leading manufacturers of flame retardant fabrics, drapery and stage engineering solutions - has announced an expansion of its operations in Asia. With more than 70% of its sales already coming from international trade, the British business now exports to over 80 countries worldwide, providing theatre and stage drapes, cyclorama canvasses, backdrops, bespoke fabric shapes, as well as stage machinery and acoustic solutions. In recognition of the increase in export, the firm is looking to further develop their presence Asia region and make a major investment into its infrastructure to better support its growing customer base and improve service levels. The company is opening a new 10,000 sq ft purpose built facility in Vietnam and a new office in mainland China. These new locations,
UK - Hawthorn celebrated turning 30 in style on Saturday 4 February, when more than 500 clients, suppliers and colleagues partied the night away at the company’s Leicestershire headquarters. The full service technical production company drew on its expertise to transform its 105,000ft warehouse space into a glamorous party venue where guests enjoyed a night of fun, food and drink. Guests were kept well entertained throughout the evening with live entertainment, as well as fun including karaoke, retro games and roving entertainers. Delicious food was served by Smart Hospitality and guests were treated to a menu of special themed cocktails kindly donated by Ambersphere. Chris Green, lighting designer for the event, made full use of the in-house inventory, showing off fixtures such as the Clay Paky A.leda B-EYE K20 & K10, Alpha Spot QWO 800 and over 100 penda
Canada/USA - Adamson Systems Engineering is introducing a comprehensive and standardized Educational Programme for 2017 and beyond. The tiered programme offers a hybrid of general live sound principles and product-specific training to members of Adamson’s global network and the public, from novice technicians to the world’s top integrators and engineers. “While Adamson has long held training programmes at a variety of skill levels, we are now globally standardizing our Education Programme to ensure our users can deliver the same level of quality worldwide,” comments Jeremiah Karni, head of education at Adamson. “Sharing our extensive experience in designing and deploying loudspeaker systems with our users is very rewarding, and we value their feedback for the continuous improvement of our product range.” The Adamson Education Programme begins online with pr
UK - Lighting Design International has used the MentorLED Remote from Light Projects in conjunction with Soraa's AR111s to help illuminate and accentuate the beautiful Human Nature artwork in the Shard’s 37th floor Aqua Shard restaurant. This stunning Christmas feature was a collaboration between Timothy Hatton Architects and Sir David Attenborough in aid of the charity Flora & Fauna International. It comprises a beautiful nine-metre high cascading leaf sculpture made from 3D-printed recycled plastic leaves in the shape of English Oak, Silver Birch, Dogwood, Wych Elm and Field Maple. During the day, the white leaves are silhouetted against the dramatic London skyline. At night, the soft light from the MentorLED grazes up through the leaves which seemingly float in space, casting gentle shadows on the ceiling. The MentorLED Remote uses the latest SR11
Australia - As part of their pitch for the rebranding of the Australian Open, Landor, Tennis Australia’s chosen branding agency, created a video rendering of their proposed logo. The rendering depicted a 3m high three-dimensional logo, complete with a video screen on its front and LED pixels covering the side surfaces. Whilst not part of Landor’s actual deliverable, the concept inspired Tennis Australia to test the market to see if it were possible. The technical team at Tennis Australia prepared and issued a specification in August last year. Sydney’s The P.A. People, who had worked with Tennis Australia on many events over the years, took up the challenge. “Our experience in designing bespoke mechanical solutions as part of AV systems integration, coupled with our work around the world on large scale events, led us to believe we could create a v
Europe - AMPS (The Association of Motion Picture Sound) has announced that Sylvain Bellemare, Claude La Haye and Bernard Gariépy Strobl have won the 4th Annual AMPS ‘Award for Excellence in Sound for a Feature Film’ for their work on Arrival. On receiving the news, Bernard Gariépy Strobl commented: “It’s an honour to have been named alongside those wonderfully sounding films and an even greater one to have won!” The coveted bronze trophies will be presented to the winners. Sound crew members who have creatively contributed to the winning soundtrack will each receive a Certificate of Merit. Five films exhibited in 2016 were selected by an AMPS Awards Committee, from which leading sound crew members (Production Sound, Sound Editing and Re-Recording) were nominated for award. A further ballot among all AMPS voting members selected the winning fil
USA - In 2007, August Burns Red blazed a new path when they put a new twist on the metalcore sound. A decade later, the Grammy-nominated quintet marked this milestone by kicking off 2017 with a celebratory coast-to-coast Messengers 10-Year Anniversary tour. The group plays its bold upfront Messengers album front to back on this tour, treating its audience to an unbroken succession of musical peaks. Creating a non-repeating variety of exciting looks for this tidal wave of sound without being over the top presented a challenge to lighting designer Victor Zeiser of Squeek Lights. It was one he is meeting with help from a collection of Rogue R1 FX-B and Rogue R1 Spot fixtures from Chauvet Professional. “In my view, every single note doesn’t need a cue to go with it, even in metal music,” said Zeiser. “So for this tour, I set out to create a show that capture
Estonia - Vanemuine Theatre in Estonia's cultural hub of Tartu has premiered the country's first version of the classic ABBA jukebox musical Mamma Mia! with a non-replica version licensed by Musical Theatres International (MTI) staged in Vanemuine’s Big House auditorium, directed by Ain Mäeots with lighting designed by Meelis Lusmägi. Meelis has taken full advantage of Vanemuine’s house rig which includes a substantial amount of Robe moving lights, weaving 20 x MMX Spots, 10 x 600E Spots, 30 x LEDWash 1200s and 12 x LEDWash 600s into his scheme for the lively and colourful show set on the Greek island of Kalokairi on the eve of Sophie’s wedding to Sky. Ain assembled the creative team for this show and Andres Sarv, head of lighting at Vanemuine initially suggested that Meelis would be a great choice. He's also worked on previous musicals and other
