Poland - The recently-constructed Cavatina Hall has been designed with a focus on vision over budget and the ambition of becoming a landmark centre on Europe’s cultural map. The six-storey, multi-functional venue provides commercial and entertainment facilities with over 9000 sq. m of office space, a chamber music hall, recording studio, and the highlight of the construction, a 1000-capacity concert hall. The hall is complete with an AV network, streamlined and managed by Quantum 338 digital consoles from DiGiCo. The project began in 2018, conceptualised by one of Poland's largest property development companies, Cavatina Holding. Located in the city of Bielsko-Biała in Southern Poland, the shell-shaped building with glass façade, became an instant architectural beauty, and now houses the offices of the holding company and related firms, alongside the ultra-modern entert
Germany - Ayrton supplied producer and lighting designer Jens Hillenkötter with its very latest luminaire, the laser-sourced, IP65 rated Cobra, for the celebrations of 75 Years of Lower Saxony in Hannover. Cobra’s speckle-free laser source is designed for rendering a D65 white point that allows perfect colour reproduction. Its narrow 0.6° beam angle and extreme range of focus allows the beam shape to be adjusted to suit the operating distance. It has a 170mm frontal lens and a 0.6° to 23° zoom range. An IP65 rated, minimalist body with continuous pan and tilt are just some of the features that make Cobra special. Postponed from 2021, Niedersachsen Day celebrated the 75th anniversary of Lower Saxony and culminated in the long-awaited evening spectacular at the waterside location, Maschsee, the largest body of water in Lower Saxony. “Maschsee is a very larg
USA - Elation Proteus Maximus LED moving heads and Cuepix 16 IP LED matrix panels provided field of play, broadcast and entertainment lighting for Fan Controlled Football’s season two at Pullman Yards in Atlanta. The historic setting provided a suitable backdrop for a modern version of America’s most popular sport complete with multi-dimensional lighting. Fan Controlled Football (FCF) is a professional indoor American football league that began in 2021 and is the only professional football league where fans call the shots, including real-time play calling, team branding, and personnel decisions. Pullman Yards, a historic industrial complex where the Pullman Company once repaired railroad sleeper cars, is now a landmark site and the filming location of many movies and television series. Under redevelopment as an entertainment destination, ahead of the 2022 season the FCF
South Korea - Now in its 28th year, South Korea’s Dream Concert is the country’s longest established and largest K-Pop festival. Featuring performances from more than 20 K-Pop idols, 60,000 tickets were sold in just 20 minutes for this year’s event which took place on 18/19 June at the Jamsil Olympic Main Stadium in Seoul, with a Nexo STM sound system supplied by local rental partners Way Audio. Originally built for the Summer Olympics in 1988, the stadium has a field size of 110m x 75m with a seating capacity of almost 70,000 in two tiers and has previously been the venue for concerts by Coldplay, Paul McCartney, Lady Gaga and Metallica. To achieve even SPL and frequency coverage in the stadium, Way Audio designed and deployed a system using side by side hangs of 21 each STM M46 Main and B112 Bass Extension modules on either side of the stage, throwing a distanc
Saudi Arabia - Fuzion is a specially commissioned new Cirque du Soleil production that was staged at the King Abdallah Sports City (KASC) stadium in Jeddah for the 2022 Jeddah Season Festival. Directed by Mukhtar Omar Sharif Mukhtar with creative direction by Stefan Miljevic, the lighting and set was designed by Mikki Kunttu who used 186 x Robe BMFL moving lights – making up half of the lighting rig. Mikki was based in Montreal at Cirque du Soleil’s international HQ immediately for the two years before the pandemic, when he returned home to his native Finland, and relished being onboard and again. He added his own creative magic to this production which ran for 32 intense action and adrenaline-packed 75-minute performances. The lighting brief included making an “elegant, theatrical, and vivid” impact, with the goal of recreating the splendour and
UK - Martin Audio’s MLA system was deployed for the first time on the main stage of Radio 1’s Big Weekend that took place at Memorial Park, Coventry, with the popular music festival finally returning after the hiatus caused by Covid-19. An audience of 40,000, and an array of acts that included Harry Styles, George Ezra, Ed Sheeran and Calvin Harris, played across two nights in the city of Coventry’s historic park. The show was new to RG Jones, who tendered successfully for the event. The production company were delighted to get the chance to flex their sonic muscles on such a high-profile project while re-connecting with long-standing clients Dick and Frankie Tee from EnTEEtainment. Being an urban site, noise management was of the highest priority, but Coventry’s status as 2022 City of Culture has also meant that throughout the year events of all shapes and siz
UK - Consecrated in 1619 by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Christ's Chapel of God's Gift is part of the Dulwich Estate in south-east London. It provides a place of worship for the schools supported by the Estate, the residents of The Dulwich Almshouse and the local area in addition to offering a range of community and volunteering activities. It has recently been equipped with a new audio system, designed by About Sound and installed by NoiseBoys Technologies, utilising products from Outline’s Architectural Series. In common with many ancient sites of Christian worship all over the UK, the Chapel provides a number of challenges when installing a speech reinforcement system. Its naturally reverberant internal layout requires careful placement of loudspeakers with suitable dispersion characteristics to achieve the required intelligibility, the fabric of the Stuart-era
USA - When Grammy Award-winning musician Billy Strings stepped onto Roadrunner’s stage for his sold-out show this past March, the new Boston facility officially became New England’s largest general admission venue. Although the 50,000sq.ft space at Allston-Brighton’s Boston Landing development was initially conceived as a Celtics training facility before the team decided to move across the street, The Bowery Presents (TBP) and AEG saw the available space as a suitable location for a 3,500-capacity live music venue. The concert promoters once again tapped NYC-based integrator See Factor to supply the room with an L-Acoustics K2 loudspeaker system. Roadrunner is the third Boston-area venue owned and managed by TBP, which also operates Harvard Square’s 525-capacity Sinclair and books the 1,200-capacity Royale in the city’s Theatre District. The $20m Roadru
France - A table soccer playing field measures only about 120cm long by 61cm wide, but that doesn’t mean that a championship event in this sport can’t get the bold, broadcast-friendly looks of a “real” football tournament. Ecom-Events demonstrated that recently at the Coupe du Monde De Baby-Foot (Table Soccer World Cup), with help from a collection of 74 projectors anchored by Chauvet Professional fixtures. Positioned at strategic points throughout Nantes’ Palais des Sports de Beaulieu, the lively and colourful lighting accentuated the drama, excitement, and intense emotions that characterized the ITSF (International Table Soccer Federation) tournament, which ran from 28 June through 3 July and drew over 1,000 competitors from 45 different nations. Enlivening the centre court playing area with vivid colours and dynamic special effects prior to the competitive
UK - Rock duo Royal Blood have called on Britannia Row Productions to provide audio support for their 2022 tour cycle, which started in Swansea, UK, in March, carried on through Europe, across the US, and straight into a packed festival season this summer. The band, consisting of bass player / vocalist Mike Kerr and drummer Ben Thatcher, needed an appropriate audio setup to transmit their unapologetically bombastic sound – a requirement that was now well-known by their regular supplier, Brit Row. “We moved to Brit Row at the beginning of 2015 when we needed to move into full production,” says the band’s FOH engineer, Phil Jones. “We needed the support of a firm that could deliver on a global scale, particularly in the States. It’s always reassuring that we can receive gear from Brit Row while we’re out there, as well as sourcing other essentials from Liti
Belgium - Lighting and stage designer Maarten de Man of mdm productions utilised the power of the letter T for a pair of recent Lotto Arena shows in Antwerp by chart-topping Flemish stars Tourist LeMC. Dominating the stage’s backdrop, his T was not the formal straight-line sort found in grade school alphabet books, but a dynamic visual element, with a vertical component that spread its wings wide from its narrow base as it rose to meet its horizonal counterpart. The resultant display commanded attention while projecting an air of excitement. Enhancing this effect was an intense lighting design that featured a collection of close to 80 Chauvet Professional fixtures supplied by Splendit. “I have been doing the light for Tourist LeMC for some years,” said de Man. “So, I am familiar with their vision. For this show that vision was to have the letter T serve as th
UK - Permission has been granted to build a £700m film and TV studios facility just outside London. Construction on Sunset Waltham Cross Studios is due to begin next year on a 91-acre site just off the M25 in Hertfordshire. Sunset Studios in Los Angeles and an investment firm bought land for £120m last year. Lewis Cocking, leader of Broxbourne Borough Council, said it was "a fantastic opportunity" for the area. A meeting of the council's planning and regulatory committee granted the development outline planning permission. Studio owner and operator Hudson Pacific, also based in Los Angeles, has joined with investment company Blackstone and they hoped to transform the site into a hub for UK and international productions. The companies anticipated it would "contribute £300m annually to the local economy" and could create up to 4,500 jobs. Preliminary site work i
Greece - Over the past couple of years, Austrian Audio microphones and headphones have become a staple in the toolkit of many FOH engineers. So much so that Austrian Audio mics “are going on tour” this summer accompanying leading musicians and artists. Starting out the series, Austrian Audio mics could be seen and heard in Athens, last month during the Desmond Child Rocks The Parthenon concert. Thousands of people enjoyed an evening in the 2,000 year-old Odeon of Herodes Atticus theatre to see Desmond Child, the Grammy winning and Emmy nominated songwriter-producer. Desmond was joined on stage by Alice Cooper, Bonnie Tyler, Rita Wilson, The Rasmus and many others to voice their support for the reunification of the Parthenon Sculptures to Greece from the British Museum in London. Desmond used the Austrian Audio OD505WL for his own vocal performance, enjoying
USA - To ensure maximum impact and immersive stereo sound across the many dancefloors at Detroit’s Movement Festival, event producer Paxahau and Thunder Audio selected and deployed JBL VTX Series line array sound reinforcement systems. Held in the city considered to be the birthplace of techno, Movement Festival is an annual three-day electronic music festival that brings thousands of fervent audiences to Detroit every Memorial Day weekend. After being postponed in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 2022 marked Movement’s highly anticipated return to form and a chance for the close-knit electronic music community to finally gather in person once again. “Detroit techno was always a dark room and a huge PA - it didn't matter what kind of lights you had or whatever; if you wanted the visceral experience in regards to clarity and a loud sound system, you ca
UK - At Glastonbury 2022, Robe moving lights were used site wide on many stages and areas, including Arcadia – back with their iconic Spider – at The Park Stage, home of a fusion of genres and independent entertainment, and on the BBC Introducing Stage. Arcadia was founded by Pip Rush (creative director) and Bert Cole (technical director) in 2007 on a quest to produce and curate, imaginative sonic experiences for audiences to enjoy DJs, musicians, and live performance art. Their flame-throwing, laser-shooting spider is one of the most ambitious and enduringly popular of those environments, gloriously returning to Glasto for the first time since 2017. The massive arachnid made from recycled military and industrial machinery parts once again energised and united music lovers under its magical metal belly for a superlative line up of artists and fun over the fe
UK - Swansea-based Total Sound Solutions, founded in 2003, covers a busy calendar of events with a comprehensive inventory of Nexo sound systems, in which Geo M6, M10 and M12 line arrays are available alongside P+, PS and ID Series point source speakers, equipping the company to handle jobs of any scale from community fairs through to multi-stage festivals. In the quieter months, the team at Total Sound turns its expertise to designing and installing fixed sound systems including, most recently, at the 1000-seat Swansea Grand Theatre. Total Sound director Chris Hooke takes up the story. “We’ve been working with the theatre as a client for many years, providing rental systems for one off events. We know the venue well, so when the subject arose of a new permanent system, we were happy to contribute our ideas for a generic configuration which became the basis of the
USA - King Jesus Church in Miami, Florida is taking their production to the next level with a recent upgrade to their Clear-Com intercom system. The upgrade incorporated their existing Clear-Com Encore analogue partyline intercom system and now additionally includes an Eclipse HX digital matrix system fitted with an E-IPA card, FreeSpeak II digital wireless transceivers and beltpacks, HelixNet digital partyline, LQ Series of IP interfaces and finally the Agent-IC mobile app. For over 20 years, King Jesus Church of Miami (KJM) has been highly successful with their ministry in Southern Florida, seeing attendance of 15,000 to 20,000 each week at both their main and remote campuses across the globe, spanning five continents. As the ministry has continued to grow, so has their production - broadcasting online to hundreds of thousands of followers worldwide, many of whom res
USA - Using technology to enrich entertainment is nothing new at the Riviera Theatre in North Tonawanda, NY. At the time it opened in 1925, the 1000-plus seat venue was outfitted with an early Mighty Wurlitzer ‘demonstrator’, meaning that the instrument’s manufacturer, would take potential customers there to show them how the powerful pipe organ could enhance the experience of watching a silent movie. The advent of talkies spelled the end for most of the original Wurlitzer demonstrators, save for two, one of which, after being restored by volunteers, is still entertaining guests at the Riviera, only now it is joined by a host of other, more modern technologies, including a new lighting rig featuring Chauvet Professional fixtures supplied by Advanced Production Group. Derek Heckler, design specialist at the theatre, was deeply involved in specifying the new light
USA - The Peach Music Festival at Montage Mountain in Scranton, Pennsylvania is known for presenting a diverse, multi-genre array of artists most known for their free-flowing improvisation and danceable rhythms. Headliners for 2022 included Billy Strings, Joe Russo’s Almost Dead, Trey Anastasio Band, and The Black Crowes, with more than 70 bands total on the bill. From an audio standpoint, the 2022 Peach Music Festival was notable as the North American major festival debut of Meyer Sound’s new Panther large-format linear line array loudspeaker. This year’s Peach Music Festival was also the first for Coatesville, Pennsylvania-based DBS Audio Systems as the principal audio provider. Company president Dave Brotman who served as system engineer at the main stage comments, “Amphitheatres with tent roofs can generate a vast amount of reflections. FOH engineers come i
USA - For more than 40 years, Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida, has delivered a comprehensive entertainment, media, arts, and emerging technologies education. The staff at Full Sail has always embraced the latest in AV technology for student learning, skills building, and supplying on-campus tools -including a campus-wide Dante audio network, which has become a regularly used platform within the university’s infrastructure. The university was an early adopter of networked audio in its educational offerings and as part of its studio and live productions. Over the years, as Dante became prominent within the industry, the university ultimately made a substantial investment in Dante-capable Focusrite RedNet equipment, solidifying Dante as the audio networking standard for the campus. “That was really our first big push into Dante, and from there, the platfo
India - British-Norwegian DJ, YouTuber and record producer Alan Walker returned to India for a four-city Sunburn Arena Tour last April that turned out legions of fans in Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Gurgaon. His Bengaluru show featured 28 Claypaky Mythos 2 hybrid lights provided by Reynold’s Sound & Lighting Service where Felix Remedios is the director. Walker, best known for his critically single Faded which was certified platinum in 14 countries, was joined on stage by German singer-songwriter Au/Ra and Norwegian singer-songwriter Julie Bergan. Walker was last in India with the Aviation Tour India leg in 2019. He has collaborated with Bruno Mars, Miley Cyrus, Sia and Avicii and supported artists such as Justin Bieber, Rihanna and Kygo performing at some of the world’s top music festivals. Walker’s EDM concert in Bengaluru was one of the biggest p
USA/UK - The new Baz Luhrmann film, Elvis brings the story of Elvis Presley to the big screen. Warner Brothers was committed to ensuring as much historical accuracy as possible, and asked Shure to consult on the microphone models Elvis used. The company was provided photos of Elvis performing, then identified the vintage mics, and offered suggestions on alternative models when appropriate. For decades, Shure has assisted film production companies in identifying and locating historically accurate microphones. While there are a variety of Shure microphones used in the movie, there are three (or four) different types of Shure microphones Elvis used throughout his career: The Shure Unidyne I Model 556 – This variation of the Unidyne I is one of the more recognisable microphones that Elvis used in the prime of his career. According to the 1947 Shure Product Data S
Columbia - The magic of Salsa cannot merely be heard and seen in the beautiful confines of Cali’s Teatro Municipal this summer, it can also be felt in the heart and soul, as the historic venue hosts Ensalsate, a passionate celebration of this dance form produced by the 360 Design Group. Heightening the transformative power of the performances on stage is a zesty lighting design by Milton de la Cruz that features 22 Chauvet Professional Rogue R3 Beam fixtures. Like the colourfully clad dancers on stage, de la Curz’s flow of beams, spot lighting, and gobo patterns moves with deft grace as it sweeps up the audiences in a liberating whirlwind of desires and emotions. Accentuating the precise moves of the dancers is a crucial part of the De La Cruz's design, which draws on a mixture of evocative beam configurations and colours to translate the energy of salsa int
Poland - The Warsaw branch of Brill AV Media, a company specialising in B2B events and conference productions as well as AV systems integration / installation, has invested in more Robe moving lights for its equipment inventory, with the purchase of LEDWash 600+s, Tetra2s and Pointes from Robe’s Polish distributor, Prolight. These have been added to their stock which already contains around 200 Robe fixtures in total with Pointes, BMFL Spots, BMFL Blades and Tetra2 moving LED battens in Warsaw and there is an even wider selection of Robe products available across the Group of companies. The current Brill AV Media format is the result of a merger between Czech-based AV Media, Hungary-based Brill AV and Polish entrepreneur Michal Czerniak with separate operations in all three countries. The setup enables Brill AV Media to offer a mix of experience, skills, equipment,
