USA - To complement the immersive video content featured on Porter Robinson’s Nurture Live Tour, Ben Coker designed and programmed a sophisticated lighting rig featuring Martin Professional MAC Ultra Performance and MAC Aura PXL fixtures controlled by a P3-50 system controller, all provided by Christie Lites. Porter Robinson is an electronic musician and DJ who was nominated for the 2019 Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording, named MTVu’s Artist of the Year in 2015 and listed among DJ Mag’s Top 100 DJs for seven consecutive years. After releasing his second album Nurture in April 2021, Robinson embarked on a nationwide tour with stops in 22 states. Featuring multiple video walls and a video floor displaying synchronized visual content ranging from abstract animated sequences to picturesque nature scenes, the Nurture Live Tour required a lighting rig to com
UK - Ministry of Sound Classical (MoS Classical) is a celebration of 30 years of Ministry of Sound’s favourite dance classics performed by the London Concert Orchestra. As this spectacular show prepared to take to the stage for a highly anticipated return to the live arena, its audio team turned their attention to giving the 50-piece orchestra a new and different kind of in-ear monitoring by choosing KLANG’s 3D personal monitor mixing system. KLANG was not unfamiliar to the head of sound and sound designer for the show since 2018, Phil Wright, as he has become increasingly familiar with it in recent months. “I’m involved with the 5G Festival, an R&D project that’s working on finding ways to allow musicians to play together with insignificant latency over the 5G network,” explains Wright. “We’ve been using KLANG on that to great effect, finding that
UK - A month after collaborating on the Team GB Olympics Homecoming, Transition Video was back at London’s SSE Wembley Arena to help deliver another hybrid event, using Green Hippo’s Boreal+ Media Server for The National Lottery's Paralympics GB Homecoming (see more on the homecoming concerts in LSi November 2021). Great Britain’s Paralympic stars claimed a total of 124 podium places and were welcomed home from Tokyo with a line-up of artists that included Jamie Cullum, Birdy and Raymond Antrobus. In the live audience, NHS workers gathered for the spectacular, which ran video highlights of the Paralympians’ performances as part of a Channel 4 broadcast. Transition Video’s Kate Perring wor
UK - Two FLX S24 consoles from Zero 88 have been supplied by Ross-on-Wye, UK based CJP Broadcast for lighting control in two new broadcast studios for virtual production and television at the University of Sunderland’s David Puttnam Media Centre. CJP’s technical manager James Ruddock, who led the virtual studio installation team, chose the consoles for their power, compact size and footprint, and as, “a good value option for educational applications of all levels with its many features and great functionality as found in larger lighting desks.” CJP Broadcast designed and specified lighting, video, and audio technical elements for both spaces, and installed, integrated, and commissioned the virtual production studio, which is a unique resource where students can gain practical experience and learn the latest state-of-the-art techniques. Zero 88’s FLX co
UK - At the end of October London’s Hackney Empire theatre was the setting for the world premiere of Vanara The Musical, a timely tale of environmental disaster and tribal conflict with a message of hope and unity. Sound operator Ollie Dudman mixed Olly Steel’s sound design on a Yamaha Rivage PM3 digital mixing system. Olly Steel first used Yamaha digital mixers in 2008, as sound #2 on the High School Musical UK tour, with a system designed by Rick Clarke. “I used Yamaha digital systems on various productions after that, especially when I was doing sound design in my own right and was able to specify the system,” he says. “When the Rivage PM10 system came out in 2014, I was sold! It had everything I wanted and I knew that, with some extra development and tailoring, it could be a very powerful system for theatre. I said that if it could potentially do m
UAE - Expo 2020 Dubai, the first World Expo to be held in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) region, is up and running. The event has registered more than three million visits with attendees from 185 nationalities – a figure that almost equals the 192 countries with a dedicated pavilion at the event. As official projection and display partner for the Expo 2020 Dubai, Christie technology is used to display content and provide experiences across the event site. Creative Technology Middle East was the AV integrator for the centrepiece Al Wasl Plaza dome. A worldwide audience of millions tuned into the opening ceremony to be thrilled by some extraordinary and technologically advanced performances from a 1,000-strong cast and crew. The 90-minute immersive spectacular showcased Al Wasl Plaza’s dome – the world’s largest 360-degree projection surface which
Belgium - “This time, I wanted texts that stuck to the ribs,” Koen Wauters told an interviewer when discussing Tweesprong, the 13th Dutch- language LP recorded by Clouseau, the band that he and his brother Kris formed in the 1980s. Luc Peumans and his team at Painting With Light have been lighting shows for Clouseau for 25 years, reflecting their evolving sound on stage with richly textured panoramas. Peumans visually captures the essence of Tweesprong with a design that manages to be both bold (in keeping with the spirit of the songs), and inviting to celebrate Clouseau’s return to touring after the pandemic lockdown. “We have been lighting Clouseau for some time, so there is a connection and understanding between us,” said Peumans. “There is a natural process to the creation of a design. For this show, we drew special inspiration from the t
UK - The fourth GlasGLOW event opened hearts and minds as people engaged with the fun and imaginative light art presented by this illuminated trail concept in Glasgow Botanical Gardens in the city’s West End. Two kilometres of lighting, set pieces and narrative magic energised the dark winter evenings, and lighting designer Grant Anderson chose Robe iPointes and iSpiiders to help ramp up the drama for central installation and finale. Grant had used iPointes for 2020’s GlasGLOW3 event, and was delighted with the results, so he spec’d the fixtures again this year to create impressive searchlight beam effects blasting through the air around the finale lighting composition, a large area involving the main lawns transformed into an ocean of pixel dots which was traversed by guests via a central walkway. The iSpiiders were used in this same area, horizontally beaming
USA - On Friday, 5 November, the Wayne State Warriors officially opened their university’s new basketball arena with an inaugural game against the Michigan Wolverines. The new $25m, 3,000-seat venue is also home to the NBA Detroit Pistons’ G League franchise, the Motor City Cruise, who begin their first season there this fall. All of those teams and the fans who come to see them will experience quality sound, courtesy of a new L-Acoustics A Series PA system designed and specified by consultancy Idibri and installed by AV integrator Ametek. Key to the sonic success of this project was keeping sound on the seats and off of the highly reflective hardwood basketball court and venue walls. To accomplish that, the AV design team at Idibri chose L-Acoustics A Series; specifically, eight main arrays aimed at the seating area, each consisting of four A15i (two A15i Wide plu
USA - The Barclays Centrein Brooklyn and Capital One Arena in Washington reverberated with the sound of merriment during the Fall Back Comedy Jam. Featuring a star-studded ensemble of comics led by Academy Award winner Mo’Nique, Busta Rhymes, Rick Ross, Rip Micheals, 2 Chainz, and other talents, the show served up a nonstop stream of routines. Creating an engaging visual setting for the show, while also strengthening the connection between the performers and the audience was a Marc Wasserman lighting design that featured a collection of Chauvet Professional Rogue, STRIKE and COLORado fixtures supplied by Audio Spectrum of Boston. “Lighting comedy is always a fun challenge,” said Wasserman who also served as technical director of the shows. “People come to see comedy because it’s a great escape from all the concerns that surround us, especially in time
UK - Monarchy on Chalk Farm Road in North London has re-opened its doors with a new name and a complete venue refurbishment including a total upgrade of the audio to a Void Acoustics system. Formerly known as The Monarch, and where Amy Winehouse once DJ’ed, this popular bar/pub is a stone’s throw from The Roundhouse – the noted music venue. And whilst it may have new owner operators (AB-InBev), and a fresh new look, the venue remains committed, and connected to, its music heritage. A full audio upgrade with a high-end Void Acoustics audio system was central to the re-fit. It’s not the first time that Void Acoustics has partnered with London based integrator AT&C Professional Systems to specify and install a fully integrated Void system. Alan Smith, business development manager for AT&C takes up the story. “The brief we were given was to creat
UK - Anna Valley subsidiary, Matrix UK Solutions is providing dynamic LED backdrops and innovative IMAG services for Genesis’ The Last Domino? Tour. Having sold an estimated 100m albums, Genesis is among the biggest selling recording artists of all time and has played to sold-out stadiums and arenas all over the world for decades. The Last Domino Tour marks over 13 years since Tony Banks, Phil Collins and Mike Rutherford have performed together and it is expected to be the group’s last live tour. The tour kicked off in September 2021 with 37 shows planned at venues across the UK and North America between 20 September and 16 December 2021. However, the final four performances in the UK were cancelled due to positive COVID-19 tests within the band and are now planned for March 2022. The US leg of the tour will commence on 15 November 2021. With Phil Collins remaini
Egypt - Green Hippo’s Taiga and Karst+ were the media servers of choice for Egyptian artist Mohamed Ramadan, whose recent outdoor performance on Egypt’s North Coast saw 85,000 fans gather for what the singer described as “the largest audience attendance in 2021”. To entertain the masses, the region’s largest ever scaffolding stage was erected, measuring 45m wide and 20m high, for a concert that commanded serious attention to detail, with the visuals quite literally taking centre stage among 800 lighting fixtures, pyrotechnics and special effects. The structure was built by event rental partner Hi-Lights Group, which also supplied the 900sq.m of LED video wall that displayed bespoke graphics on a 4K video display with a total of 230,400 pixels. Hi-Lights Group utilised two Hippotizer V4 Taiga and four Hippotizer V4 Karst+ Media Servers, with an output sp
USA - Rapper ИF toured his Clouds (The Mixtape) album in October with a raw and stylish production design created by Chris Denholm (also musical director) and Clay Joiner (also lighting designer). To capture the narrative flow and massive energy of his music on this first ever shed tour, Chris and Clay chose over 200 Robe fixtures as the ‘lead luminaires’. The lighting rig included 64 Robe Tarrantula wash beams, 128 Spikies, and 16 BMFL Spots plus two BMFL FollowSpots on a RoboSpot remote follow spotting system. Chris and Clay have both worked with the rising star artist since early days trawling 300-capacity clubs with a passion, and have seen him fast-forward in presence, popularity, and credibility to now regularly play amphitheatres and arenas. The two also have a natural creative synergy and have been production collaborators for some time.
South Africa - The Norwegian Settler’s Church (NSC) has a rich history; inheriting its namesake from the group of Norwegians who originally settled in Southern Natal in 1882. Since, the church has undergone various transformations, but remains the longest serving church in the region. Construction on a new auditorium kicked off in 2008, and has slowly progressed through to the current day, developing to accommodate the church’s growing congregation. Recently, Stage Audio Works (SAW) were brought in to implement the finishing touches; handling the integration of the audio aspect of the church, which, in the words of Phillip Kloppers, media and technical director at NSC, really “makes the building work”. SAW used the expertise they’ve acquired across many House of Worship projects to deliver the entire solution over the course of two weeks. Significantly, this was a
Austria - The Bregenz Festival attracts more than 200.000 visitors every year. In the months of July and August culture lovers from all over the world can enjoy more than 80 performances. Due to COVID-19 no shows could take place. The festival returned this year for its75th anniversary and to experience the revival of Guiseppe Verdi's Rigoletto on the lake stage. For many years, the Bregenz Festival has placed emphasis on the latest technologies, on the one hand to meet the high technical and structural requirements, and on the other hand to provide its audience with a unique experience through maximum system stability and quality. Just in time for the start of the new season, key components of the existing audio system were completely renewed and extended for average monitoring. Two Prodigy.MP from DirectOut, configured in MirrorMode (redundantly to each other
UK - DJs from around the globe assembled at Chelmsford City Racecourse recently for the second edition of Clockstock Festival. Staged by Clockwork Orange (Danny Gould and Andy Manston), the 12-hour dance party was designed to recreate the spirit of the nationwide recognised names in the 90s clubbing scene, complete with VJ’s, special effect flame throwers, CO2 jets and dancers. The event attracted an audience of 15,000 ‘old school ravers’, who had cut their teeth on the dance genre of the mid-90s. Paul Galley, who runs locally based Event Sound & Light Ltd (ESL), deployed his front-line Martin Audio MLA Compact PA to equip the two main stages, with a Wavefront Precision (WPC and WPS) occupying the ‘Olds Kool’ big top, where there was also an early outing for Martin Audio’s latest baby, Torus. This stage was supported by Martin Audio product support engi
The Netherlands - Founded in 1313, Petruskerk van Leens is one of Holland’s oldest churches and home to its famous, recently restored organ, which has been treasured by parishioners for generations. Once churchgoers were faced with stay-at-home orders due to COVID-19, the church decided to introduce live streaming services to bring mass, and their beloved organ’s music, into the homes of the parish. To help the church design its AV set-up, it called on Bart Hof, owner of HOF AV. Based on his previous use of the mics in live music applications, Hof recommended DPA Microphones to support the audio needs of the church. “In my opinion, when it comes to the equipment, the simpler and more straightforward way that you approach music is actually the best way to handle audio in a natural way,” Bart explains. “With DPA mics, it’s just a matter of connecting it, and
Peru - On 29 February 2020, Argentinian folk rockers Vilma Palma e Vampiros and Peruvian alt band Plutonio de Alto Grande performed at the Parque de la Exposición. A short time later, the curtain went down on live music in Peru because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite its early and efficient response to the virus, Peru was hit much harder by COVID than many other countries. It was one of the last countries to lift lockdown restrictions, but lift them it did recently, welcoming back live music at Lima’s Parque de la Exposición in the joyful and spirited Activando Cultura festival that featured five of the country’s leading national artists representing a cross section of musical genres. The concert was the result of Rectivate, a project initiated by Dblux and its CEO, Andrés Cuadros, to achieve the recovery of the live post-pandemic concert market in Peru. Altho
Canada - A large complement of Claypaky Mini-B fixtures, supplemented by Claypaky A.leda B-EYE K20s, illuminated the set of Qui Sait Chanter, a one-of-a-kind singing competition making its debut on Quebec’s Noovo network this fall. The Quebec version of the show is the latest in South Korea’s I Can See Your Voice franchise, which airs in 16 countries worldwide. The US series quickly became a hit in its premier season on FOX Network last fall. Its unusual concept combines songs, suspense and performance as contestants try to identify the real singer and the imposters among a group of six participants from all walks of life. Quebec-based Omnison provided 96 Mini-Bs, Claypaky’s smallest LED moving light for the professional market, and 12 versatile B-EYE K20s, a combination wash light, beam light and effects light, to lighting designer Jonathan Lewis f
UK - Leading musical theatre sound designer, Tony Gayle, has chosen HARMAN’s JBL Professional VTX A8 next-generation line array as his preferred PA system for the new production of Get Up, Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical. A total of 24 JBL VTX A8 enclosures and 10 accompanying JBL VTX B18 single 18” subs have been rigged at the Lyric Theatre in London’s West End. Produced by Playful Productions, Stage Play and Cedella Marley, the production celebrates the life of the Jamaican global superstar, played by Arinzé Kene, and Gayle wanted to ensure that the sound produced by the nine musicians was as authentic as possible. “The whole show is performed by a live band from a platform in the wings, with no pre-records,” he confirms. “Part of the creative brief was not to produce it as pure ‘musical theatre’ as that format wouldn’t work for this show.
UK - Audiologic, in partnership with Handy AV, has delivered a new audio system for GAMA Healthcare’s new office space, from concept and design through to completion. GAMA Healthcare, founded in 2004, is a supplier of disinfectant products to hospitals around the world. In order to support their rapid growth, GAMA has recently invested in an office space, known as their new ‘Infection Prevention Solution Super Hub’ headquarters, located in the centre of Hemel Hempstead’s business district. The space has been designed from the ground up with modern working in mind, utilising the latest in AV technology. Handy AV, an audio-visual equipment supplier, was approached by GAMA Healthcare about the project, commissioning them to design and install audio visual equipment for their entire new office space. Audiologic was asked to look at the spatial and audio des
USA - Tulsa-based Church on the Move, established in 1987 with a mere 163 worshipers, now has over 7,000 members worshiping at three campuses surrounding a 2,200-seat main sanctuary. Recently, that primary location underwent a major systems renovation that included the installation of a new K2 loudspeaker system, designed and installed by Oklahoma City-based Skylark AV, an L-Acoustics certified provider, install. “The church knew what they wanted, and they wanted L-Acoustics right out of the gate,” says Steele ‘Ninja’ Beaty, project manager at Skylark AV. “The only question we had to decide was: which L-Acoustics speakers would work best?” K2 was chosen based on three things, says Skylark AV’s Todd ‘Linchpin’ Cromwell: “Performance, musicality, and SPL. Church on the Move is very much a contemporary worship church when it comes to music, and it can
USA - Guests at The Birchmere were excited to see Boney James, whose inimitable jazz saxophone stylings have earned him a Soul Train Award, four Grammy Award nominations, and a fistful of gold records, when he stepped on to the stage at the live music venue outside Washington DC on 16 October. The club’s house LD, David Bebee, is also a fan of the artist, but as much as he appreciates good jazz, he was eagerly awaiting something else when he sat down at his console at the start of the evening: the chance to see his new Chauvet Professional Maverick Force S Spot fixtures in action at a live performance for the first time. Bebee purchased six of the just-released 350W lightweight, IP65-rated movers from JRLX for the club, which has hosted performances by the likes of Allison Krause, Dave Mathews and the Indigo Girls. His initial plans call for him to use the fixtures a
