USA - Building an oasis within an oasis is no easy feat, especially when you are constrained with tight deadlines. For integrator PAC Audio, it knew it had to meet high expectations when the company was brought in to install the audio system in a new high- rise apartment complex in Waikiki, Hawaii. To deliver a reliable and flexible system on budget and on time, PAC Audio took a chance on LEA Professional. Lilia Waikiki is a vibrant mixed-use development in the heart of Waikiki, one of Hawaii’s most well-known destinations for retail, lodging, dining and commercial entertainment. Opened in 2022, the 28-story residential tower features over 400 apartment units and over 40,000sq.ft of neighbourhood-serving retail. Pacific Audio & Communications (PAC) was brought in to supply audio intelligibility within the common spaces of the complex such as the entrance lobby,
The Netherlands - For 18 days this winter, Het Amterdames Winterparadijs turned RAI Amsterdam into an enchanted world that filled 38,000sq.m of indoor space, (plus 5,000sq.m outdoors), with many attractions including a market, massive indoor-outdoor ice-skating rink, snow play area, ferris wheel, apres cross country skiing trail, silent disco, and a variety of food and drink options, as well as on-stage performances by various artists. Providing the technical production that supported this captivating event, produced by 4PM Entertainment, was Unlimited Productions. For the lighting that was so essential to setting the “winter escape mood” at the attraction, the production specialist relied on over 600 IP65 rated Chauvet Professional fixtures supplied by Splendit. Having IP65 rated units for the event was essential to Unlimited Productions achieving its vision for
Australia/USA - An epic adventure into art, Dalí Alive was a multisensory encounter with one of the most provocative and influential artists of the twentieth century. The production dynamically animated the works of Salvador Dalí, providing visitors with the sensation of stepping into the life of the surrealist Spanish master and feeling the redemptive power of his exotic imagination. The immersive exhibition was created and produced by Grande Experiences, Australia together with its first instalment at The Dalí Museum, St Petersburg, Florida. With over 13,000sq.ft with floor to ceiling projections two-storeys high, the digital gallery featured spatial audio technology and content created by Grande Experiences’ regular immersive audio partner aFX Global. Des O'Neill, co-founder and sound designer at aFX Global, described the soundscapes in Dalí Alive as be
Hungary - Pop-rock band the Bagossy Brothers Company marked their tenth anniversary with a spectacular concert at Budapest’s MVM Dome recently where a complement of Claypaky lighting fixtures helped deliver an unforgettable experience to a crowd of some 20,000 fans. The band’s lighting designer Ádám Pintér selected Claypaky Sharpy Plus, Sharpy Plus Aqua, Sharpy, A.leda B-EYE K20 and HY B-EYE K25 fixtures for the rig. According to Pintér, the basis of his lighting plot was 40 Sharpy Plus and Sharpy Plus Aquas, selected for the versatility of their spot functionality and light beams. “The light and speed of the 24 fixtures placed on the catwalk in front of the stage is still a classic,” he says. “They served as a particularly good effect for the faster, more electronic parts of the show.” But the real key elements of the show were the 16 HY B-EYE
Slovenia - The Križanke Summer Theatre (Poletno gledališče Križanke) in Ljubljana, is one of the city’s favourite venues, utilised by the city’s Ljubljana Festival in summer, as well as for a variety of concerts and shared with the School of Design and Photography. The 3400 standing / 1400 seated capacity arena is located inside the courtyard of the former Holy Cross Monastery, right at the heart of Slovenia’s capital. During the pandemic, an elegant new load-bearing tensile fabric roof was installed – this was planned for some time – which facilitates production elements like lighting and sound, as well as providing year-round weather protection. New Robe moving lights were purchased as part of a major upgrade to the house lighting system and a major investment by the municipality. Križanke did have house lights previously, explained technical manager
USA - Part of the Southern Baptist Convention with 10,000 members, Olive Baptist Church in Pensacola, Florida is among the largest congregations in the region. Its main campus, one of two in the city, has always fielded a large contingent of musicians, vocalists, and praise leaders both onstage and on the main floor in front of the stage. Post-Covid, the orchestra and vocalists were spread out even wider at the front of the 3,300-seat auditorium, now split left and right on the 250-seat choir risers, with the band’s guitars, drums, and keyboards remaining onstage. The church’s in-ear monitoring system, already strained, simply couldn’t manage the new configuration. But KLANG could. In January, the church acquired and installed a pair of KLANG:vokal immersive in-ear monitor mixing systems and 14 KLANG:kontrollers, providing the church’s musical multitude with the high
Ireland - A.C. Entertainment Technologies Ireland and Seamus Reck of Lx2000 Stage Lighting Hire recently teamed up to supply and install the lighting for Saint Fin Barre's Cathedral in Cork. Lighting supply for the Cathedral posed a difficult task from the outset when it was determined that the fixtures were to be installed at 12m high with the only access being a cherry-picker. Additionally, the brief also included making sure that the lighting would enhance live streaming, while not obstructing sightlines from the rear gallery. When it came to deciding what type of lighting to use for their installation, the team used their expert knowledge, in consultation with the client, to assess the project and looked at two options from Prolights: the EclPanel TWC Jr and the ArcPod27Q. Unable to demo either fixture in situ, they demonstrated the EclPanels (with onboard W-DMX r
UK - Stirling Old Bridge, located on the River Forth, is one of the most important crossing points in Scotland. The present Stirling Bridge was built around the 1500s, yet this historic site has played host to many important moments in history, including the Battle of Stirling Bridge in 1297 and the Jacobite Rising of 1745. One of the few medieval masonry arch bridges in Scotland, Stirling Old Bridge is one of the most critical river crossings in Scotland and acted as the main crossing point of the River Forth until the early 1800s, dubbed a ‘gateway to the Highlands’. Electrical contractors and installers Forth Electrical Services (FES) appointed LITE to create a new, dynamic, colour-changing design for the lighting on the bridge. LITE provided initial designs and plans and supplied the light fixtures, recommending several solutions from their market-leading portf
UK - Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons is a rom-com about what we say, how we say it, and what happens when we can’t say anything anymore. Written by Sam Steiner, it was first performed at the Warwick Arts Centre in 2015 before transferring to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. It recently made its West End debut at the Harold Pinter Theatre, starring Jenna Coleman and Aidan Turner, and featured a lighting design by Aideen Malone, who approached White Light (WL) to supply her lighting fixtures. Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons focuses on the story of a couple who live in a world where a law is passed enforcing a 140-word limit per day for every person. It also features an incredibly intricate timeline, set over 101 scenes which rarely run in chronological order; something that had a strong influence on Aideen’s design. She explains: “The show i
Romania - The hit Netflix series Wednesday, starring Jenna Ortega in the title role and directed by Tim Burton is shot, both in studio and on location, in Romania. Production sound mixer Liviu Lupsa brings the show dialogue in with his vast toolbox of Lectrosonics gear - SRc Series dual-channel receivers; VR Field modular receiver system; SMQV belt-pack transmitters; SMWB and SMDWB miniature wideband transmitters; HM and HMa plug-on transmitters; IFBT4 IFB transmitters; and IFBR1, IFBR1a, IFBR1b, and IFBR1c IFB receivers - for wireless mic and IFB systems. Buftea, about 20 km outside the capital city Bucharest, is the very definition of an “industry town.” It was a small village some 70 years ago when the communist government of Romania decided to build studios that would produce feature-length movies that were dense with propaganda. This studio complex woul
Germany - The Signal Iduna Park (SIP) operator has expanded the stadium's sound system with more than 128 RCF loudspeaker elements. With a total capacity of 81,365 spectators, the temple, as the fans affectionately call it, is the largest stadium in Germany and the home ground of football club Borussia Dortmund (BVB). The south stand, in particular, which seats around 25,000 BVB fans provides massive support for the players on the pitch during home matches. The sound system in the area of the long stands was modernised in 2013 with new RCF line array systems. To further improve the performance and acoustic illumination of the arena, the sound systems in the corners of the SIP and the pitch area have now been renewed. For this purpose, fulfil engineering installed 12 line arrays with 128 RCF HL 40 passive loudspeaker units and four TTS 36 passive subwoofers. Eig
USA - The owner of 3 With 1 Grab Productions, Mark Wasserman knows a thing or two about comedy, having plied his lighting skills for comedians like Nick Cannon (Wild N Out), Mo’Nique, and Rip Micheals’ Fall Back Comedy Tours. Hitting the artist on stage with light from unexpected directions, and keeping it all fresh, underscores the element of surprise, which, when you come right down to it, is at the heart of the best punch lines. On 1 April, Wasserman got a new appreciation for the importance of side lighting when he lit the highly anticipated (and sold out) April Fools Comedy Jam at Brooklyn’s Barclays Centre. Produced and hosted by Rip Micheals, the show featured an all-star line-up of comics and musicians led by Tiffany Haddish, Donnell Rawlings, Emmanuel Hudson, Conceited, Bill Bellamy, Adele Givens, Melanie Comarcho, Faizon Love, HaHa Davis, DJ Envy, Rob Staplet
UK - Kartfest 2023 is all set to be the biggest and the best Backup has ever held. Taking place on 6 July, the event will see 34 teams of expert industry racers, as well as a few novices thrown in for good measure and laughs, all driving towards becoming winners of the coveted championship title. There will be tweed and flowery dresses galore, and a host of stalls to keep non-racers amused throughout the day at the first ever Kart-Fest Village Fete. None of this would be possible without the generosity of the Kartfest sponsors. For this year’s event, Chauvet Professional once again takes up the headline sponsor slot, with first time main sponsor 5 Star Cases deciding to join them after their exciting - and hilarious - experience of sponsoring last year’s inaugural Flight Case Challenge. But why do they want to commit their time and money to Kartfest again? “It
USA - To update the historic Stadium Theatre in Woonsocket, R.I. for modern live shows while still paying respect to its Vaudeville-era design, All Tech Sound designed and installed a versatile range of Harman Professional audio solutions. First opened in 1926, the Stadium Theatre is one of only a handful of Vaudeville-era theatres in the country that are still in operation, and today it hosts a varied range of shows and productions. Owned and operated since 1996 by the non-profit Stadium Theatre Foundation, the venue is in its 25th year of extensive renovations to both restore its historic architecture and update the technology to better suit modern performances. For the audio component, the venue required an agile system that not only provided the dynamic range and coverage suitable for a wide variety of performances, but also looked discreet and didn’t impede on
Germany - The Pur and Friends 2022 live concert took place at Veltins-Arena, originally known as Arena auf Schalke, an impressive indoor football stadium in Gelsenkirchen. Over 68,000 fans celebrated two notable occasions - the 40th birthday of the German band, and the 20th anniversary of Pur at Schalke. With every seat sold out, the audience was treated to an extraordinary performance by Pur and an array of acts including Peter Maffay, Max Giesinger, Cassandra Steen and other musical luminaries. DiGiCo’s Quantum 338 consoles, supplied by TDA Rental, were deployed at both FOH and monitoring, with KLANG deployed for in-ear monitoring. Patrick Eckerlin has been with Pur since 1995 and has gained expertise in various sound systems and consoles over the years. The FOH position that Eckerlin has held with Pur since 2001 is now equipped with a DiGiCo Quantum 338 console, w
Qatar - Event management company Qatar Vision utilised an extensive array of Claypaky lighting fixtures for an outdoor event announcing the multi-year partnership between Qatar Airways and Formula 1 (F1). The special Motorsport Festival for guests and the public was held at the Lusail Boulevard entertainment destination in downtown Doha. Qatar Airways, winner of multiple Skytrax Airline of the Year awards and the title sponsor of three Grand Prix events this year, was named the global partner and official airline of Formula 1 racing through the motorsport’s 2027 season. To mark the announcement and to celebrate the F1 events coming to Qatar in 2023, Qatar Airways invited VIP guests and 50,000 spectators to a special evening on Lusail Boulevard featuring F1, drift cars and a MotoGP bike racing down the strip and a display of a FIA World Endurance Championship hypercar.
The Netherlands - To provide immersive concert lighting and adequate key lighting for television cameras at the André Rieu Summer Concert Special, Rieu’s touring lighting designer Fabian Huijts collaborated with Light-H-Art’s Henk-Jan Van Beek, Jaco Alblas and Sebastian Van Der Laan to deploy a massive lighting rig that prominently featured MAC Ultra Performance fixtures. Since founding the Johann Strauss Orchestra in 1987, Rieu’s tours have been among Billboard’s Top 25 highest-grossing tours in the world numerous times. In 2022, André Rieu played a series of hometown concerts in Maastricht’s Vrijthof, a majestic town square dating back to the Roman Empire. In addition to attracting thousands of fans from hundreds of countries around the globe, the concerts were filmed for live television broadcast. To help him bring classical masterpieces to life, Rieu
UK - Currently running at the Unicorn Theatre, The Three Billy Goats Gruff tells the story of Baby, Middle and Big as they hatch a plan to venture across the bridge to find some grass to eat – but must outwit a horrible troll first. A musical retelling of the classic fable, the show features a score from Olivier Award-winning composers Stiles and Drewe. It features a lighting design by Sam Waddington, who approached White Light (WL) to supply his lighting fixtures. The Three Billy Goats Gruff marks a welcomed return to the Unicorn Theatre for Sam, who has been lighting shows at the venue since 2017. About this latest production, he explains: “It became apparent from the first read and listen to Billy Goats that the entire vibe is just fun. There’s little call for tip-toeing (except across the bridge, of course), but very much a need to heighten dramatic
USA - Bandit Lites is providing the lighting for country singer Megan Moroney’s upcoming performances. The singer-songwriter went viral for Tennessee Orange, her ode to a beau that has her questioning her loyalty to Georgia’s Bulldogs. The music video for her debut Top 20 hit soared with 4m+ views in two months, culminating in Moroney being crowned the winner of the Breakthrough Female Video of the Year category at the 2023 CMT Music Awards on 2 April. "Thank you CMT so much," said Moroney said while accepting her award at the CMT Awards. "Thank you to my fans. I wouldn't be up here if it wasn't for you all. Thank you to the incredible video team at Columbia for putting this together the day after Christmas. Thank you to the director, Jason Lester for really bringing my ideas to life in this video." Bandit Lites chair and founder Michael T. Stricklan
France - Z Event chose a seasonal theme for its most recent Twitch TV streamed event, which raised funds for charities dedicated to protecting the environment. During the three-day charity marathon in Montpellier, the wide stage at the 14,000 capacity Sud de France Arena, went through a series of smooth transitions, as it assumed the personalities of winter, spring, summer, and autumn, plus a fifth season called The Hell. The latter being marked by foreboding pyro effects. The fiery atmospherics for The Hell, along with the evocative looks that set the tone for the other seasons were all part of a dynamic and versatile lightshow created by Jo Martin and powered by a ChamSys MagicQ MQ500M and MagicQ 250M. Working with lighting operator Andreas Monshauer, and video director Ivan Lasgoute, as well as technical directors Pierre Marinier, and William Lecomt, Martin he
Poland – Popular Spotify performer sanah recently embarked on a tour of Poland’s leading concert halls, accompanied by a full orchestra, choir and guest performers. Sanah burst onto the international scene two years ago when her music went viral, breaking records on Spotify’s streaming service. The tour was her first using L-Acoustics L-ISA Immersive Hyperreal sound, and featured her usual band, accompanied by the Polish Film Music Orchestra and 30-member Silesia Chamber Choir Ad Libitum. “The idea to use L-ISA spatial technology was conceived at the end of sanah’s 2022 summer tour,” explains sound engineer, Piotr Puchalski. “I was intrigued by the progressive nature of the technology and went to L-Acoustics’ headquarters in France for a series of training sessions. The more I explored L-ISA, the more I began to realise just how advanced this technology
USA - Pop’s Nightclub and Concert Venue recently decided to replace its aging sound system with a JBL Professional live sound reinforcement solution powered by Crown amplification. Founded in 1981, Pop’s is a nightclub and concert venue located in Sauget, Illinois, a late-night oasis on the outskirts of St. Louis. A laundry list of musical acts have played the 1,200-capacity venue throughout the years; from Slipknot and Motorhead to Post Malone and Bruno Mars. In addition to a busy schedule as a concert venue, Pop’s is also famous for transforming into an all-night dance club after midnight and into the daylight hours of the next day. To ensure balanced sound quality with venue-wide coverage and improved line-of-sight to the stage from all corners of the room, venue management decided to upgrade the sound system with a more modern design. Pop’s production manag
Italy - A2A organised an event to celebrate Bergamo Brescia, Italian Capital of Culture 2023. Light is Life was born with a double awareness: the first was an environmental purpose, aiming to involve the territory's productive energies and use renewable sources; the second had a social aspect, through its support for Banco dell'Energia, a foundation of philanthropic organisations with the objective of helping people in difficulty by carrying out projects linked to the fight against energy poverty. The festival, powered by renewable energy sources and installations designed according to energy efficiency criteria, took place in various symbolic locations in the city which took on the role of open-air art galleries. The heart of the event was the castle of Brescia, a fortification of medieval origin, erected on the Cidneo Hill, in which no less than 15 lighting installations w
UAE - The Dubai World Cup marks the end of the Dubai racing season. To mark this occasion, each year the Dubai Racing Club stage a lavish closing ceremony. This year, Artists in Motion (AIM), were contracted to deliver a show that was to be bigger than any ceremony to date. The show included video, lighting, sound, 1900 UAV drones, aerobatic planes & pyrotechnics. Unusual Rigging & Engineering (URE) was on hand to provide structure and rigging to support the main screen and lighting fixtures. Liz Goodyer executive producer, AIM said: “Our brief was to support a large LED screen with minimal visually intrusive rigging but maximum safety. AIM and our team have not worked directly with URE before, however we have worked alongside them on many international events and their reputation precedes them, so we were thrilled to be able to work together on this project.”
