Ireland - Peter Canning from Dublin-based lighting and visual design specialist High Res specified 24 x Astera Titan Tube wireless LED fixtures to provide atmospheric lighting for an eye-catching video featuring singer Hozier recorded at Croke Park stadium, one of many high points during a special RTÉ (Raidió Teilifís Éireann) Comic Relief telethon. The event united the cream of Irish comedy and entertainment to raise a laugh and much-needed funds for the Irish charity sector on Friday 26 June. In a tribute to all HSE (Ireland’s health service) staff and other key frontline workers, Hozier performed the Simon & Garfunkel classic, Bridge Over Troubled Water, a highly symbolic song that made significant impact in concluding the fundraiser, for which he was backed by a 16-piece orchestra. Peter designs and lights numerous television and entertainmen
Zimbabwe - PPC Zimbabwe, the African nation’s largest cement maker, recently introduced its new Surerange series. Heralded with the kind of fanfare typically associated with the release of a film or rock album, the product launch featured a lavish livestream presentation with exuberant dancing, music by performers dressed in construction worker outfits, and a colourful fast-moving light and video show from Events Evolution that featured Chauvet Professional fixtures. Lighting and set designer Blessing Bero worked his magic in the livestream, which was videoed at the SK Borrowdale theatre, with help from nine Maverick MK2 Spot and four Rogue R2 Wash fixtures. The Maverick units were flown in groups of three on upstage truss, while the Rogues were hung in pairs from the same structure. Orienting these fixtures downward, Bero used them to add depth to the stage with gob
Sweden - Full production and rental company Soundstar, based in Skövde, invested in some of Robe’s MegaPointes and Spiiders at the end of last year as they needed lighting fixtures with “more punch” than their rental stock at the time. The company - normally - delivers audio, lighting, video, rigging, and has an OB-truck, for the full complete technical solution, and is working on a wide selection of corporate and industrial events and conferences. It was founded in 1991 by Per Larsson initially as a DJ service company and has steadily grown into a solidly well-respected production house. “We wanted fixtures weighing around 25kg for easy handling by one person,” explained Soundstar’s Daniel Wiklund. They completed several projects with the new Robe lights before the Covid-19 lockdown including two big conferences for Volvo Cars, and a 40-year celebr
USA - Christ's Church of the Valley (CCV) is a non-denominational Christian church located in Phoenix, Arizona, with multiple other locations throughout the state. In 1996 it purchased the property now known as the Peoria campus, moving to the site in 2000 and opening a 3,500-plus seat auditorium four years later. At the church’s broadcast campus, it recently added a number of GLP fixtures to its stage, purchasing eight S350 moving head profiles for key light purposes, and 32 X4 Bar 20 battens as part of a long-term rental package, from 4Wall of Las Vegas. At the same time, CCV has added 10 of GLP’s E350 moving heads (the S350’s brighter sibling, with an extremely narrow iris) for its newly opened Verrado Campus. According to CCV’s production designer Trevor Rigsby, all new campus auditoriums will henceforth have a package of E350s as their go-to moving s
Australia - TDC – Technical Direction Company, was approached by production company Exit Films to work together on creating a full virtual production for an NRMA Insurance TV commercial. This was the first time a virtual LED background was used in Australia to replace a traditional green screen on set. TDC knew that to be able to fully deliver the vision of award-winning director Marc Forster they had to use equipment offering superior performance and reliability, so chose the combination of Brompton Technology’s Tessera LED processors driving ROE Visual LED panels. The commercial, which focused on road safety during the holidays, followed an eight-year-old girl and her magical CGI toy bunny working together to save her dad from distracted driving. The team’s main challenge was to convincingly portray the fast movement of the car, which is generally a difficult e
Azerbaijan - PROAV recently carried out a new sound design at the Agstafa Agro Industrial Complex in Agstafa City, specifying Martin Audio’s Wavefront Precision Mini (WPM) line array. PROAV managing partner, Elshan Aliyev, stated, “When WPM first came onto the market, such was the trust we had in the Martin Audio brand name, we were happy to place an immediate order and we were the first to do so. When this latest opportunity came about we had no hesitation in specifying it again.” As Azerbaijan's agricultural development project, Agstafa Agro Industrial Complex plays an important role in providing the population's food security and increasing the country's export potential and sustainability. It has been operating in the west of Azerbaijan since 2009 and serves 15,000 hectares of land, using advanced agro technologies. Within the large complex is a multifu
Korea - The Nodeul Live House has upgraded its sound system by hiring integrators, TechDataPS Coand All That Sound, to design and install a Harman Professional audio solution. The Nodeul Live House is a performing arts centre located on Nodeul Island, which is man-made island in the Hangang River. Accessible by the Hangang Bridge, Nodeul Island was established and created by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and serves as a cultural hotspot in the city. In addition to lifestyle centres, various food and beverage outlets as well as scenic spots of natural beauty, the island is home to the Nodeul Live House. Accommodating a maxiumum capacity of nearly 1,000 guests, Nodeul Live House is a popular music venue that offers large-scale performances and concerts. To enhance those live shows, TechDataPS Co and All That Sound equipped the venue with an audio solution that featur
USA - From its beginnings in the mid-1970s, with barely more than a dozen members, to the opening of its 3,500-seat auditorium in the new century, Denton Bible Church (DBC) has kept itself at the leading edge of technology. And the church, named for its Dallas, Texas-area suburban location, has continued to do so with the May addition of a new DiGiCo Quantum338 console, which is used for both front-of-house and monitor mixing. At the same time, a new DiGiCo SD12 console was also installed as the church’s new broadcast audio console. Both desks, plus the two DiGiCo SD-Racks installed along with them that sit on an Optocore network, were integrated and commissioned by Digital Resources, Inc., an AV systems integrator based in nearby Southlake. This is DBC’s second generation in the digital mixing arena, and they had become accustomed to the streamlined operational a
China - SE Audiotechnik is the exclusive PA partner for the EV EDM Festival in Shanghai’s Happy Valley theme park, where more than 2,000 visitors are expected every day from 10 July to 30 August. When the party lasts more than 50 days and takes action during the rain season in Shanghai, you have to find a reliable partner with a good plan and real workhorses when it comes to gear. The choice fell on SE Audiotechnik with its compact, yet powerful M-Line. Overall more than 126 Speakers have been utilised on the main stage. A total of 36 M-F3A PRO full-range speakers and 32 M-F3A PRO FS flysubs have been rigged – an array of 18 M-F3A PRO are supported by 2x8 M-F3A PRO FS on both sides of the stage in order to keep the sound pressure level high enough up to the last row. Besides excellent sound the requirement was to integrate the system discretely into the stage desi
USA - Stepping inside the Palace Theatre in Derry,NH, with its sweeping curves and imposing balcony has long been a special treat for New Englanders. On 15 July, thousands of them got to enjoy this experience again on a virtual level during a livestreamed Citizen of the Year ceremony honouring the theatre’s president, Peter Ramsey. The 40-minute event didn’t take place at the downtown Manchester theatre itself, but 11 miles away, at Studio Lab, where owner Tim Messina and his team at Events United used 128 Chauvet Professional F2 LED panels to build a massive curved video wall that displayed a dynamic and immersive 3D replica of the iconic building’s interior. Measuring 52ft wide by 13ft high, the wall provided Messina and his team with a 5,376 by 1,344-pixel canvas on which to create their multi-dimensional panorama. During scenes when the honouree was interview
Belgium - Entertainment design specialist Painting with Light (PWL) created and supplied the lighting and video design plus lighting control including programming and operating for the 2020 Belgian edition of Het Rad (Wheel of Fortune). PWL worked in conjunction with its Genk C-Mine neighbour Deusjevoo, who designed and delivered the set. The series was recorded in Studio 1 at Videohouse in Vilvoorde and aired on SBS’s VIER channel. PWL’s creative director Luc Peumans produced the lighting and video design and worked closely with Dries Hermans of Deusjevoo on the set design, the latter involving substantial quantities of inbuilt practical lighting. These custom LED set elements were all painstakingly installed by the PWL team working in close conjunction with Deusjevoo. Céline Cuypers designed and engineered a special wheel lighting and audio t
UK - Edinburgh International Festival has unveiled My Light Shines On, a series of video works and light installations across Scotland’s capital to mark the beginning of the festival season and celebrate the enduring spirit of the Festival City. Through a series of digital commissions, the Edinburgh International Festival is partnering with Scottish artists and national arts companies, spanning the worlds of theatre, music and dance, to film original performances in venues including the Edinburgh Festival Theatre, The King’s Theatre, Leith Theatre, The Hub, Usher Hall and The Queen’s Hall. All films premiere on Edinburgh International Festival’s YouTube channel on Saturday 8 August at 9:30pm. The films include a personal love letter to Scottish theatre from the National Theatre of Scotland, directed by award-winning filmmaker Hope Dickson Leach and co-co
UK - Since any semblance of order in the music industry has been thrown into turmoil by the global Coronavirus pandemic, lockdown has challenged an industry primarily run by freelancers to be resilient and creative - qualities which they have demonstrated in abundance. DiGiGrid has seen demand for its products remain solid, as artists and technical staff strive to keep working. Dan Page, brand manager at DiGiGrid is as aware as anyone of the serious difficulties faced by the sector, but believes that its natural resourcefulness will help in the struggle to survive the most testing of circumstances: “Whilst every industry has been affected to a greater or lesser extent by the pandemic, our sector was probably the first to close and will most likely be the last to reopen in a ‘normal’ way. For freelancers particularly, that makes things extremely tough. Lost income
Czech Republic - Colours of Ostrava is usually the largest multi-genre live music and performance festival in the Czech Republic and one of the most popular events on the European festival calendar, offering 22 stages of diverse and vibrant entertainment across four days in mid-July. It is staged in the raw industrial environment of the former Dolní Vitkovice (DOV) steelworks – now reimagined as an important cultural and heritage centre – near Ostrava in the north-east of the country. This year, like all European festivals, it was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic and rescheduled for 2021. However, with the government allowing gatherings of up to 1000 people after 22 June, it seemed that compact events could become feasible, and so ‘NeFestival’ (NoFestival) was planned as a much smaller event at the same site to bring the spirit and essence of Colours
Italy - Backed by radio inventor Guglielmo Marconi himself, RAI has a long history of being in the forefront of broadcasting. This summer, RAI wrote another chapter in its history when it broadcast its first TV series from an audio and lighting company’s warehouse. Enrico Fumasoli and the team at Fumasoli Audio & Lights Rental made this possible by converting a section of their facility, which was idle because of the COVID-19 lockdown, into a broadcast studio, complete with advanced cameras and audio gear, as well as a lighting rig anchored by eight Maverick MK2 Spot and 20 Maverick MK2 Wash fixtures from Chauvet Professional. Patrick Iavarone created the lighting design for the eight-part RAI TV series, which featured the versatile Bonne Soirée, a musical ensemble that covers everything from traditional folk genres to rap. “The aspect I gave to the Bonne Soir
Austria - An Audient Nero has joined songwriters and producers, Felix Brunhuber and Florian ‘Flo’ Fellier in their newly opened Wilderness Studios, nestled in the Austrian Alps. Realising a dream to establish a studio with “the best sound imaginable”, the boys have taken inspiration from the natural beauty, vast forests and vertiginous mountains of their homeland to create a “creative oasis”. Together they are ‘Wild Culture’ and have clocked up over 80m streams across all the usual platforms (YouTube, Spotify and Soundcloud). As such, they know exactly what they need to put together their own “unique, high quality productions” and reckon now is the time to share their inspiration with the wider world. Carefully specifying their audio gear to suit the 33sq.m main studio space, their experience as artists has helped them curate the perfect area for v
USA - Virginia’s Southard Audio recently overcame the challenges of lockdown when it deployed its new Martin Audio WPS system for the first time, helping the congregants of Harrisonburg’s Divine Unity Church to move outdoors for a special, socially-distanced service. The event marked the first time that the company was able to use its WPS system, which recently joined the large format WPL system that Southard Audio has been using for a year. Founded by Mike Southard in 1980, Southard Audio is known as a leading events specialist in Virginia and beyond. “We do large events throughout the Eastern US and a little bit into the Midwest,” explains managing partner Jason Misterka. The company has also long benefited from a working relationship with Soundworks of Richmond VA – the two became the first WPL owners in the world when they each purchased 24 WPL cabinets,
Belgium - AV specialist Swing has invested in Shure’s Microflex Complete Wireless (MXCW) system, becoming the first AV company in the country to purchase MXCW in what it considers ‘increased demand’ for a system that can offer ‘outstanding audio quality’ as businesses in the region plan to return to work following the easing of Government restrictions post lockdown. Established in 1990 by CEO Danny De Letter, Swing, is one of the country’s leading AV specialists, with experience across the sales, rental, projects and events sectors. Forty-eight wireless stations have been purchased by Swing for sales or rental. De Letter said: “We anticipated the increased demand for a conferencing system with outstanding audio quality. Easy to set up, intuitive to use, with todays added value for remote communication. We are completely convinced because it’s comp
USA - New York City’s El Museo del Barrio’s multipurpose theatre has added a Robert Juliat Topaze followspot to its rejuvenated lighting rig during its extensive renovation. 4Wall was the lighting integrator for El Teatro which was meticulously restored in 2018 and reopened early in 2019. Originally called The Heckscher Children’s Theatrer, El Teatro was built in 1921 and boasts a Landmark-Quality interior with a series of 30ft murals and stained-glass roundels. It was the original home of the Joseph Papp New York Shakespeare Festival. The theatre seats approximately 600 and is a venue for museum-hosted performances and rental events. The restoration included an upgrade to the theatre’s lighting plot, which included Robert Juliat’s Topaze, an economical yet full-featured followspot with a 1200 W MSD source. The fixture’s long lamp life and low running costs
Germany - Cube Entertainment in Rostock selected Claypaky Mini-B fixtures for the Forest Showcase with psytrance DJ Morten Heuer at the Housersten electronic dance music club tour in northeast Germany. Due to Covid-19, this year’s Houserasten events consisted of videos and livestreams targeted to fans instead of in-person shows at clubs in various German cities. Cube Entertainment supplied the lighting and sound gear for the nighttime Forest Showcase, designed the set and handled the video production and postproduction. “The design was simple, but a bit futuristic,” says Fabian Schikorr, Cube’s owner and an event technology specialist. “We had the idea of building a little truss cage on the ground and illuminating that. In the middle of the cage there was the DJ stand with his platform, monitoring system and DJ setup.” Cube chose eight Claypaky Mini-B fixt
France - Once again BroaMan and Optocore network devices were deployed to maximum effect at this year’s Grand Concert de Paris spectacular. The event coincides with France’s National Day (on July 14). And having scaled new heights last year with the solutions and I/O capacity provided by the two German partner brands - creating an immersive environment for Radio France, with 152 Optocore preamps and MUX22 IVT / MADI connectivity - this year technology contractors GB4D went even further. Working once again for Radio France, they set up an elaborate optical broadcast network topography on the Champ de Mars in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower, but with the location eerily empty other than for technicians. “Playing without an audience due to COVID-19 was certainly weird,” stated GB4D owner, Gilles Bouvard. “We felt really alone without the 500,000 spectators!”
Qatar - Atlona has appointed Trident Technology Services as its manufacturer’s representative across the Middle East and Africa, effective immediately. Trident will focus on growing Atlona’s increasing demand and market share with a large community of ICT professionals that now require networked AV over IP solutions for enterprise-level projects. A long-time Panduit representative, Trident is among the largest sales and marketing representatives for global ICT manufacturers in the MEA region, with four corporate offices and localized sales and support channels in key metropolitan areas. Trident’s team of sales, marketing and technical engineering experts support a broad community of ICT systems integrators, distributors, consultants and end users - many of which find themselves needing IT-friendly systems to serve modern AV environments. “We have watched the ev
Sweden - Hippotizer media servers from Green Hippo were used recently to drive the visual content for a production of Mozart’s opera, Don Giovanni, staged amid the COVID-19 pandemic to an empty Berwaldhallen concert hall in Stockholm. Directed by British operatic tenor Andrew Staples, the production was conceived and produced under COVID-19 restrictions, with the necessary social distancing for all crew and performers. Instead of playing to a live audience, the performance was broadcast on the Berwaldhallen Play channel, in partnership with Medici TV. To look after the creation, management and delivery of the production’s video content, set designer Bengt Gomér contacted Stockholm-based PXLFLD, a specialist in visual design and a long-standing Hippotizer user. Their team, led by Anders Granström, quickly created a visual breakdown of the script and an in-d
Italy - On Saturday 1 August, the first concert of the Musica in Giro was held behind closed doors at the Verdi Theater. The format, created by Luigi D’Amico, was in collaboration with Stefano Zaccaria VP global sales & marketing of K-array, who were the main supporters of the initiative, along with Toyota Material Handling Italy, Simai, and Tab Italia. Maestro Beatrice Venezi, directed the Orchestra della Toscana, in the execution of her first album My Journey- Puccini's Symphonic Works, published by Warner Music Italia. At the opening, D’Amico explained that following the difficult period in which the world is living due to the global pandemic caused by the coronavirus, the purpose of Musica in Giro is to give a little contribution to return to some sort of normal, offering people entertainment in compliance with anti-assembly rules. The project - cont
