Canada - 7thSense’s Medialon Showmaster LE show control solution has been installed by Production Resource Group (PRG) at the at heart of the new Immersive Van Gogh Exhibit in Toronto. The five-storey immersive show brings the Dutch master's paintings to life using light, sound and movement. The Immersive Van Gogh Exhibit has become the world’s first immersive drive-in art experience after producers adapted the digital art show for the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. Before its public launch in July, the exhibition’s artistic director, Massimiliano Siccardi debuted his plans to make the experience COVID-friendly by designing space for up to 40 cars to visit the exhibit at any one time, as well as welcoming visitors on foot with social distancing circles in place once lockdown restrictions had been eased. The experience features a 35-minute show that showcases 40 pie
Australia - The fourth season of Australian Ninja Warrior heralded a new era with Ninjas coming face to face with mind-blowing new obstacles and for the first time, Ninja versus Ninja on the almighty Power Tower. Filmed at Melbourne Showgrounds, the show was once again lit by Hugh Taranto with Chameleon Touring Systems supplying gear and crew. For the first time, Hugh had house power instead of generators and he relished working on a site set up for production. COVID-19 reared its head just as filming started, but thorough planning and advice saw the production through. Being able to continue filming without an audience as well as outdoors, certainly helped. “We were there for three weeks setting up and just as we were about to start recording, Covid-19 started to happen,” Hugh said. “There was a lot of making changes on the run. We started with a full audi
Germany - Martin Audio's German rental partner, Kotsch-Showtechnik from Nessetal near Gotha, recently supplied a sound reinforcement solution for the faithful reproduction of classical music at the Schlosshofkonzert 2020. In order to meet the COVID-19 requirements, the Gotha Thuringia Philharmonic Orchestra moved for three evenings into the courtyard of the baroque Friedenstein Castle in the City. Here, taking into account the rules of distance, a baroque evening, an operetta gala and a concert with violin and grand piano were able to take place in front of an audience of 400. Torsten Kotsch, owner of Kotsch Showtechnik, implemented the sound and lighting design with his team and explained the special features required of classical music reinforcement: "The dynamic range of a classical concert is far greater than at many rock concerts,” he said. “Since the concert
Finland - Nestled between two lakes, Näsijärvi and Pyhäjärvi, Tampere is listed on MoveHub’s world’s most popular hipster spots and, with the most saunas in one city, is considered the sauna capital of the world. The city is also home to the Tampereen Työväen Teatteri (Tampere Workers’ Theatre), fondly referred to by locals as the TTT-Theatre. This is one of the county’s main theatres and its recently updated sound system features L-ISA Immersive Hyperreal Sound technology, chosen both with audio excellence and the future in mind, as well as to address historic localisation issues caused by the venue’s extremely wide stage. Originally, a standard L-C-R system had been specified for the theatre’s major audio overhaul, until Pauli Molnár, sales manager at L-Acoustics certified provider distributor, Audico Systems Oy, introduced them to the concept of L
South Africa - The Acts Christian Church, Midrand Campus, is a modern auditorium where technology plays an important role. The past seven months have seen the church invest in four Strand 300 S LED Softlights and two Strand 150 S Softlights for their live streaming studio and video material, a platform which has caught the attention of thousands of viewers. The church has also purchased 16 Showtec Pixel Strip 40 for their main stage, fixtures that create an eye-catching background for both the live congregation and those watching from home, accompanied by a new Arkaos MasterPro 5 licence. On the audio side, a Waves Soundgrid System consisting of Waves SuperRack and a Waves SoundGrid Server One-C will complement their Midas console. Pastor Peter de Fin was a guitarist and sound engineer who travelled across the globe for six years with Vinesong, a team of international
Italy - Between 11 and 19 September, the Arena di Verona hosted the seventh edition of the Festival della Bellezza (Festival of Beauty). Visual representations, artistic and philosophic thoughts animated the location, with a wide variety of guests exhibiting on stage: from artists like Gianni Morandi and Mogol to intellectuals like Massimo Recalcati and Vittorio Sgarbi. MeQuadro Show Service, a production-service company based in Verona, provided the lighting and oversaw the technical set up. Emanuele Mazzi, owner of MeQuadro, comments, “This edition has been a real challenge for the organisers, who allowed more than 35.000 spectators to take part to 10 days of concerts, performances and conferences, following the COVID-19 guidelines. “The stage was set up in the middle of the Arena as to recall the Agora, sacred and moral centre in the ancient Greece in whi
UK - Creative Technology (CT) worked closely with the Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA) to help deliver its third annual conference from Riverside Studios Hammersmith. The virtual event was livestreamed to a global audience on 6-7 October. The initial challenge faced by Rob Day (senior project manager) and Emma Rössl, (project manager), was to find a suitable venue that could guarantee the right internet bandwidth, which is key in establishing a high quality connection and vital in delivering a successful online event. All spaces at CT’s Crawley facility were fully booked so Riverside Studios provided Studio 2 for the two-day event. CT supplied a curved LED screen, relay / comfort monitors, PPU, video switching, cameras and comms for the studio set up. Full lighting and rigging were also provided along with scenic and furniture to create a professional
Norway - In common with many other countries, the live event industry in Norway has been hit hard by the global COVID-19 pandemic. With all concert and cultural events either postponed or cancelled, Norwegian artists who had performances booked were left to wait until live shows could resume. But folk/rock band Violet Road came up with an imaginative solution to the problem, bringing their music to 18 coastal communities from the foredeck of a 60 year old ship. An Alcons Audio pro-ribbon audio system was a vital part of the solution. Violet Road had over 60 shows lined up for the 2020 festival season, all of which were cancelled. When the band put their heads together, bassist Hogne Rundberg came up with the idea of buying a boat. “We thought it would be the perfect tour combination - a stage, food, lodging and transport all rolled into one,” he says. The b
Zimbabwe - Blessing Bero was focused on creating uplifting harmonies for the Zaoga Forward In Faith Church at its October live DVD recording session; not in the form of vocals, the church’s acclaimed choir took care of that, but with balanced video and lighting displays. “We wanted to create flowing videos for the beautiful music,” said Bero, of Events Evolution. “Our team was able to do this throughout the recording.” Bero, who served as technical director, set designer and lighting designer at the video shoot, hung 16 0.5m by 3m LED strips across the back of the stage. “I worked with LED screen engineer and operator Tatenda Rushwaya to create all the attractive visuals that the camera could capture on the strips,” he said. “We used them to play graphic videos that interacted with video playback.” Having the strips display their captivating content w
Australia - The 2020 NRL Grand Final, saw the Melbourne Storm defeat the Penrith Panthers at Sydney’s ANZ Stadium. Traditionally held on the first Sunday of October, the COVID-19 delay earlier in the year caused the date to be pushed back several weeks. The pre-show entertainment was once again enriched by Tom Wright’s lighting and stage design with Chameleon Touring Systems supplying the equipment. This year Amy Shark walked onto the stage at ANZ Stadium in front of a 40,000-strong crowd to perform several of her biggest hits which have dominated the Australian charts over the past few years. Unfortunately, as Wright lives in Melbourne, he was unable to attend the event and so Paul Collison and Dan Mercer worked closely with him to ensure his vision came to life. This was a task that ended up nearly impossible due to inclement weather that battered Sydney that we
USA - A Hippotizer Tierra+ Media Server from Green Hippo is driving the videowall content at the WVU Football facility at West Virginia University’s new Puskar Centre, in Morgantown, WV. Providing spaces for players, coaches, staff and visitors, the WVU Puskar Centre development is, with the help of Hippotizer, transforming the home of WVU Football, putting its facilities very visibly ahead of the competition. The video playback solution was designed by BrightTree Studios and installed by its parent company, Synergy Media Group, preferred technology suppliers to WVU. It encompasses five large screens in the spacious, luxuriously modern locker room, including a main video wall and four ‘end-cap’ screens located at the ends of the locker rows. The Tierra+ Media Server will also handle content feeds and mapping duties for screens in other areas in future phases of t
USA - Along with retro tech like vinyl turntables and instant film cameras, which have enjoyed a popularity resurgence in recent years, the drive-in movie theatres of old are also experiencing a revival in 2020. But that boom hasn’t always been sparked by patrons flocking to catch the latest Hollywood blockbuster. Sully Erna and Aaron Lewis, frontmen for the hard rock bands Godsmack and Staind, recently wrapped up The American Drive-In Tour, a 13-date, coast-to-coast run of ‘unplugged’ concerts, many of which were staged in classic ’50s-era outdoor cinemas. To best reinforce every acoustic musical nuance and every word of intimate banter between these ‘old friends’ of 25 years, Denver-based concert sound company Brown Note Productions (BNP) chose to carry an L-Acoustics K2 system for the tour. Produced by Danny Wimmer Presents (DWP), the promoter behind pop
Spain - This year’s annual Coca-Cola Music Experience Festival took place again over two days at Madrid’s WiZink Centre (this year under the name CCME Reloaded, to reflect the COVID-19 restrictions). The event was recorded for streaming only on CokeTV (the Coca-Cola YouTube channel) and Divinity (https://www.divinity.es/). Celebrating its 10-year anniversary, despite the lack of venue atmosphere, the music was non-stop and featured local artists such as Aitana, Ana Guerra, Beret, Twin Melody, Cora Yako, and Lemot. Working with production company, the Method Agency (under the show direction of Oscar Fernandez), PRG provided an inventory of 124 GLP fixtures, for effects, washlight, and keylight. These included 20 GLP impression X4 XL; 18 GLP impression X4 L; 20 GLP impression X4 Bar 20; 26 GLP impression X4 Bar 10 and 36 GLP Highlander Wash, being used for the
Australia - Big Picture is always looking for new methods to allow creative and technical professionals to tell stories in fresh and innovative ways, especially during COVID-19. One area that certainly required a COVID-revamp was the award show format. So, with the Dally M Awards looming, thinking caps were put on by the teams at Fox Sports and Big Picture. “Usually the Dally M Awards are staged in a large event venue, but with COVID-19 we had to rethink how we would stage the 2020 production,” remarks Paul Slater, senior producer at Fox Sports. “We still wanted to have a big auditorium feel, but we didn’t have the budget or resources to shoot something like that in reality.” Paul turned to Big Picture for inspiration, who in turn demonstrated how an xR (extended reality) broadcast could work. The technology impressed, marking a vote of confidence for Big Pic
USA - With a portfolio of clients including Apple, Vogue, Amazon, and Spotify, GUM Studios is a New York Qualified Production Facility, offering expansive and versatile spaces that can confidently cater for any requirement and shoot. Recently, GUM turned to 4Wall Entertainment to provide lighting and video equipment for its new Virtual Production (VP) facility. The high-spec virtual environment includes ROE Visual Black Pearl 2 LED video panels, which are driven by Brompton 4K Tessera SX40 processors. “GUM is a long-term customer of 4Wall’s, and we have been supplying it with equipment for years,” says 4Wall’s account executive - video production, Wayne Romanowski. “With Virtual Production tipped to become a standard for how major motion pictures will be shot going forward, we were honoured when the GUM team contacted us about supporting them in bringing this
USA - Located at the Oconto Falls High School in Wisconsin, an ageing sound system in the Falls Area Performing Arts Centre (PAC) has been replaced with Martin Audio’s new scalable resolution Wavefront Precision Mini (WPM) line array. Part of a complete AV upgrade to the technical infrastructure, the work was carried out by Camera Corner Connecting Point in Green Bay, Wisconsin, following a competitive bidding process. According to their project designer, Steve Littlepage, the contract was broken into two phases: a complete video upgrade, followed by the installation of the PA and system processing, as well as supply (and relocation) of a new digital mixing console. The function of the PA was to provide an even coverage for a seated audience of up to 700, and be sufficiently versatile to serve not only a range of school events, but incoming productions hosted through
USA - The second tallest building in the Western Hemisphere, Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower) located in the heart of Downtown Chicago, is home to more than 100 companies and is one of the city’s best-known tourist attractions. When a tower client needed a powerful, flexible, and scalable audio system, USIS AV looked to LEA Professional. The team at USIS AV was tasked with the AV design and build in two floors of the tower, encompassing over 90,000sq.ft. The floors are leased by a global coworking company who provide premium work, meeting and event spaces around the world and needed a multifunctional system that could meet the ever-changing needs of their clientele. The space in Willis Tower was designed to be re-configured depending on the specific need, with flex walls allowing the area to accommodate both small breakout sessions and open out for larger conference and
USA - While the majority of festivals and concerts scheduled for the summer of 2020 had to be cancelled due to COVID-19, a few smaller events were still able to go ahead with social distancing in place. One example was the fifth annual Birds of a Feather Music & Arts Festival, which took place during August in Northern Kentucky. It featured a varied line-up of bands playing across two adjacent stages, which both featured identical lighting rigs comprised exclusively of ADJ fixtures. Located at the picturesque Thornhill Drag Strip in a little town called Morning View in Kentucky, Birds of a Feather is a small family-friendly festival that hosts a mixture of local and regional touring acts. At the top of this year’s line-up was Tropidelic, a band that blends reggae, hip-hop and high energy funk alongside ‘trashgrass’ string quartet The Rumpke Mountain Boys and electr
South Africa - MJ Event Gear has created an outdoor music concert environment at The Local Bar and Kitchen in Kyalami, no. 66 on the R55 Main Road, for those who want to enjoy good music in a space that strictly complies to the COVID-19 safety regulations. MJ has also set up a venue incorporating sound and lighting at the Bryanston Country Club. The Local has JOC approval and has been given the green light by the SAPS and the fire marshal. The venue has various seating options available and includes paramedics on-site in case of an emergency, while all tables and chairs are sprayed and sanitized by Gary Love and the Viral Shield team. Patrons entering the venue will walk through a humidifier tunnel (not spray) and endure the usual hand sanitization and a temperature check, while face masks are sold on site. Mike Jones, the owner of Johannesburg technical supply company
The Netherlands - The newly built Terra Emmen school offers a varied and practical curriculum – including cooking, ‘green subjects’, and sports, alongside more traditional subjects – and, as such, required an audio system that could be as versatile as it was discrete. After assessing the options available to them, the school’s administrators decided that MM Concept Audio Solutions was the right company to assist them in creating an audio infrastructure that could fit into Terra Emmen’s sustainable, forward-thinking ethos. “The initial brief from Terra Emmen was rather a simple one,” said Mark Molema, CEO of MM Concept Audio Solutions. “At that point, they weren’t being supported by an AV system advisor, which was a huge benefit for us. As far as they were concerned, the functionality and ease-of-use of the system was key, which is a welcome change f
Chile - A national historic monument, the Teatro Galia was intended to reflect the pride and character of the Los Ríos region when it was built over a two-year period in the 1940s. Designers Felipe Barthou Lapouple and Juan Poletter Saint-Simon adopted a balloon frame system for the 500-seat theatre to reflect their country’s rich art deco tradition. Inside, they used only native Chilean woods for flooring and panelling, including warm, orange-tinged Lenga, famous the world over for its depth and texture. In 2020, when the Chemtrol Chile team began a socially distant lighting upgrade project as the historic structure, they were careful to preserve the unique character of the building. They accomplished this with the help of 34 Chauvet Professional LED fixtures. This made Teatro Galia the first theatre in Chile with an all-LED rig. “For the execution of the rehabil
Ireland - A new collaboration between Robe and Dublin’s Lir National Academy of Dramatic Art sees a quantity of Robe moving lights – including T1 Profiles and T1 Fresnels, LEDWash 300 LEDs and ParFect 150s – made available on long term rental, which were used to great effect for Lir’s 2020 Gradfest event. This featured four back-to-back new productions presented in Lir’s two studio spaces, all lit by students completing their master’s degrees in fine art, for which Gradfest was a final segment requiring completion before they gained their qualifications. The Lir’s conservatory training for students of theatre, film and television offers a dynamic fusion of creative and technical disciplines. Lir’s head of lighting Eve D’Alton explained that Gradfest is a stepping-stone that galvanises the skills of the MA students, who work with industry profe
UAE - The long-awaited Ain Dubai will be a world first, when it begins spinning as the world’s tallest observation wheel, at more than 200m high. Unusual Rigging and Engineering LLC was brought on board to install each of the 48 capsules that will give passengers spectacular 360° views of Dubai's landmarks. Hyundai Engineering and Construction awarded the contract for the engineering, procurement, construction and installation of the capsules to POMA who in turn called on the expertise and knowledge of Unusual Rigging & Engineering LLC to set up a winch system and install the capsules onto the wheel. Unusual project manager Alex Taylor explained: "We began the project back in August with the installation of the first pod. Ahead of this however we spent time installing the lifting frames and winches and carrying out load tests. Working together with POMA, we devi
UK – Visual artist Ben Sheppee, innovator in immersive light-based environments and founder of visual design studio Observatory, is the latest artist to be commissioned by Collusion to create a major new site-specific artwork which is on free display for one month this autumn. DRAWDOWN, which is running from 25 October to 24 November, is Sheppee’s first major installation in King’s Lynn and will consist of a series of five large-scale building projections. Each will explore how the effects of climate change can be reversed, presenting an often-overlooked positive angle on the most crucial environmental issue humans have ever faced. “I personally feel like everyone has a general awareness and understanding of climate change, but many people feel ineffective as individuals to have an impact,” comments Sheppee. “I wanted to highlight the practical solutions
