Europe - London-based Capital Sound, long-time audio supplier to the Welsh rockers, deployed an all-Outline system for the European leg of their Kind 2020 tour, in support of their new album released in late 2019. The tour made 13 stops across Spain, France, Germany, Holland, Switzerland, Luxembourg and Italy, taking in a variety of venues. Capital Sound provided a total Outline inventory including 28 Superfly enclosures for the main system plus 12 Mantas 28 cabinets for side hangs, six LIPF-082 stage lip-fill speakers and 12 GTO-SUB subwoofers. System control was from a single Outline Newton FPGA processor. The band’s long-serving sound engineer Dave Roden was at FOH. He commented, “Nick Boulton and I have found Superfly to be an exceptionally good sounding and flexible cabinet. It has a very flat, consistent response which reacts very well to EQ and copes easily
USA - Operating within the Metropolitan School District of Washington Township, North Central High School in Indianapolis, Indiana, offers a comprehensive educational curriculum as well as opportunities for participation in the performing arts. The performing arts programme utilises two performance spaces highlighted by a 1450-seat theatrical auditorium. Theatre manager Shaun McIlquham recently integrated a new inventory of Siren Series LED Followspots from Altman Lighting. “This is my second year teaching at NCHS and in our performance season we do four theatrical shows, a Junior spectacular showcase, and then we also assist the middle school with their annual production as well,” began McIlquham. “In our performance space, we are way overdue for a renovation as we still have the original dimmers from the 1960s. In a production a few years ago the lighting syste
Australia - With a CV that spans everything from rock ’n’ roll to opera, Andrew Crawford (aka The Mix Wizard) has been revealing his mixing secrets to a global YouTube audience through his MixWizard Sessions. In an ongoing video series that kicked off at the end of March, Andrew, from Allen & Heath’s Australian distributor, TAG, has already racked up almost 20,000 views and covered topics ranging from how to use SQ’s onboard compressor as a de-esser to setting up A&H mixers for live webcasting. There have even been guest appearances from Allen & Heath's MD Rob Clark in a run of four episodes where The Mix Wizard admirably matches up to Rob in a fierce compressor 'nerd-off'. “In normal times my world is all about connecting with the audio community in Australia, and I’ve driven thousands and thousands of miles in the Ampervan to run SQ, Avantis
USA - For 45 years, Girls Inc. has dedicated itself to “equipping girls to overcome barriers”. This April, the Manchester, New Hampshire based organisation provided young women with a first-hand example of doing just that. When its usual, and very critical, spring auction at the local Marriott ballroom was pre-empted by the Covid-19 lockdown, the non-profit responded without missing a beat by moving its fundraiser online with the help of the Events United at Studio Lab. Raising $175,000 from its “first annual virtual auction” Girls Inc. did more than acquire much-needed funds; it also provided an important lesson for anyone, of any age, in the value of persevering in the face of adversity. Like all inspiring stories, however, the one behind this successful auction involved more than determination - it also required a lot of careful planning. For the Events Uni
UK - VE Day was an event of particular significance for RG Jones, the oldest continuously trading independent sound company in the UK and one of the oldest three in the world. It is 75 years since founder, Reginald Jones, provided public address systems for the VE Day celebrations in London. Reginald’s son Robin Jones took over the company after his father passed away in 1987. Robin, who was a long-standing and active committee member of the APRS, has been instrumental at curating the company history archives and has also been transcribing records from the sought after Oak Records; a highly collectable record collection created by RG Jones Studios. Robin recently transcribed audio for a client from a 78rpm disc of the Loafers Dance Band, recorded by RGJ in March 1945 at a victory celebration dance at the old Epsom Baths (they boarded over the baths to turn it into a
USA - FOX Sports went the whole nine yards in its coverage of Super Bowl LIV in Miami this year, building a South Beach studio compound that represented the network’s largest footprint ever for a Super Bowl. FOX Sports’ collaborated with Creative Works London on the studios’ set content package, which featured disguise solutions driving more than 50 sq.m of LED video at the compound. The South Beach location, just steps away from the ocean at Lummus Park, included two separate stages with LED mounted high on their facades and a large demonstration field with an LED video wall backdrop. Occupied by Fox Sports, FS1 and Fox Deportes, the compound hosted an extensive amount of Super Bowl Week coverage and the pre-game show. "When a client like FOX Sports pops up asking for a 'concert style’ graphic system, and you are a branding and content creation studio with a w
India - CineTech Engineering Works recently equipped Shree Talkies with JBL Professional’s Dolby Atmos-designed audio system that enables the theatre to show films with immersive sound. Located on the north side of Agra, the Shree Talkies movie theatre boasts the highest cinema revenue in the state of Uttar Pradesh. The recently upgraded 860-seat main theatre became the first in the city to offer Dolby Atmos sound, which features ceiling and full-range surround speakers to create an immersive, three-dimensional soundstage. To comply with Dolby’s strict specifications for Atmos theatres and offer a premium audio experience, Shree Talkies hired cinema integrator CineTech Engineering Works to outfit the theatre with JBL Professional loudspeakers and Crown amplifiers. “With the theatre having a seating capacity of 860, total throw distance of 112ft and height of arou
Zimbabwe - Supporting a performance by gospel singer Margaret Mwamuka at Zimbabwe’s F.O.G. Auditorium was a design that featured over 50 Chauvet DJ fixtures supplied by Audiosure of South Africa. The owner of Sound Kalcha, Freeman Mugadza and Mandla Khabo a Bulawayo-based designer created flowing looks that achieved the delicate balance of engaging the live audience, while also providing an attractive background for the DVD that was being recorded at the venue. Washing the stage with a wide palette of complimentary colours and texturizing it with gobos and crossing beam patterns, Mugadza reflected the moving power of his client’s music, without distracting from her charismatic stage presence. At the same time, he occasionally added bold specials to make the show come alive. Key to helping Sound Kalcha achieve this design were the 20 SlimPAR T12 USB fixtures
USA - While some churches have ignored the shelter-in-place orders - to the disdain of many - Orlando’s Experience Christian Centre took a decidedly different approach. By taking their Good Friday worship service outdoors to a parking lot, church officials were able to satisfy their congregation’s desire for spiritual guidance while maintaining social distancing. It proved to be both an uplifting and responsible approach for everyone. To ensure the congregation could hear the message clearly, sound was delivered by a healthy assortment of loudspeaker enclosures from DAS Audio. Orlando, FL-based MTI Sound, Lighting, and Staging, an event production services company that addresses a wide range of projects, was contracted to provide sound, staging, and lighting for Experience Christian Centre’s outdoor worship service. Utilising loudspeakers drawn from DAS Audio’s
Thailand - To provide good quality sound for speakers and performers, Mahajak Development Co recently equipped the Young Buddhists Association of Thailand headquarters with a Harman Professional Solutions audio system featuring solutions from JBL, Crown, Soundcraft and BSS. Young Buddhists Association of Thailand (YBAT) is a youth organisation dedicated to educating youths who are interested in Theravadan Tripitaka. Opened in 2006, the YBAT Vipassana Meditation Headquarters in Bangkok is home to the Mind and Wisdom Development Institute and hosts multiple meditation and Dhamma courses. To ensure clear, intelligible sound during classes and special events, YBAT hired distributor Mahajak Development Co to upgrade their existing audio solution. “The YBAT management wanted to upgrade their existing sound system with a robust audio solution that would enable them to sprea
USA - As students and teachers continue with their transition to online learning, ensuring the right tools to learn from home can be a challenge. Shure has stepped up to help its neighbours by donating $79,000 worth of earphones to Chicago Public Schools (CPS). The earphones are compatible with mobile phones and laptops to enable more focused learning for students and teachers who may encounter distracting noise or difficulties in hearing online lessons at home. Shure’s SE215 Sound IsolatingTM Earphones help eliminate noise and are designed to be comfortable for extended wear. An inline mic provides clear audio for two-way communication between students and teachers. Select Chicago Public Schools on the South, West, and North sides of Chicago have received the earphones to distribute to those who need them. "Once schools were closed, teachers, staff, and admini
New Zealand - One of New Zealand’s most storied performance venues has reopened after a five-year dormancy with a new name, a new look and, thanks in large part to an expansive IS-Series audio solution from Adamson Systems Engineering, a newly-augmented guest experience. The Hawke’s Bay Arts & Events Centre, known as Toitoi, is home to a historic 979-seat opera house – one of the most revered lyric houses across all of Australasia. First opened in 1915, the opera house and its adjacent municipal building were both closed in 2014 having been deemed “earthquake-prone”; however, with the full support of the local community, work began on a $17.8m NZD (approx. $10.76m USD) venue-wide overhaul midway through 2017. A key component of that investment was an all-new sound reinforcement system for the opera house, ultimately built around Adamson’s install-focuse
UK - For the first time in its 150-year history, the Royal Albert Hall will play host to a special concert behind closed doors. For the event, which will mark the VE Day 75th anniversary on Bank Holiday, Friday 8 May, international Mezzo Soprano Katherine Jenkins OBE will perform on the Royal Albert Hall stage to an empty auditorium. The half-hour concert will be streamed to audiences around the world via YouTube at 6pm BST and is the first performance of the #RoyalAlbertHome series to come from the Hall itself. It follows on from the singer’s successful at home lockdown concerts which have amassed over 2 million streams to-date. This unique concert is made possible by funding from the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, as part of #LondonTogether, and will be introduced with a video message from the Mayor. #LondonTogether invites Londoners to highlight great examples of positive
USA - Ordinarily at this time of year, Nicolas ‘Murph’ Murphy, the owner of Murphy’s Production Services in Midvale, UT, is busy touring with The Piano Guys, Wax Tailor or some other client. Not in 2020. With live shows put on hold, Murph embarked on his own ‘world tour’, all without leaving the friendly and safe confines of his Salt Lake City suburb. Rather than simply livestreaming a band and calling it a day, he created a virtual tour package, complete with posters, virtual backstage passes and even donates his time with a weekly streaming service: Social Antidote. The looks he’s created for his COVID-19 World Tour are also good replicas of the real thing, using eight “lazy universes”, a ChamSys MagicQ MQ500 Stadium console and a ChamSys SnakeSys R8 Artnet to DMX Node 5 for each of its weekly broadcasts. “Not being able to go ou
USA - During an extensive career mixing audio for live sports, Fred Aldous has earned over 20 Emmy awards and a spot in the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame. He currently works as a lead mixer and audio consultant for FOX Sports, managing live audio for a variety of broadcasts, including professional football and racing. Improving viewers’ sound experience over time has necessitated a shift to a Dante-enabled digital workflow powered by products from Studio Technologies. “I need to balance all the nuances of the broadcast and create a sound image that captures the narrative of the game, all in a way that’s pleasant to the viewer,” says Aldous. “I use several Studio Technologies products, all of which have been extremely reliable and instrumental to our broadcasts.” Aldous said moving from an analogue to digital workflow has been “tremendous”, especially
UK - As an experienced production video engineer, Steven Jackson of InFocusAV creates video management and playback solutions for clients in touring theatre, musicals, conferences and installations, both at home in the UK and internationally. He is as well-versed in the nuts and bolts of creative video as anyone in the business - and for much of his career, the Hippotizer platform has been an essential part of his professional toolkit. “At secondary school I was always involved in music performance. We had a fantastic teacher who brought in a PC and recording equipment to class. I started to use it and that put me on the path I’m on now,” says Steven, recalling his first tastes of entertainment technology. At university, Steven studied Music Technology while working for a local sound and lighting company servicing a wide range of events. He encountered Max/MSP so
Ireland - To celebrate Galway’s status as European Capital of Culture, Finnish light artist Kari Kola was commissioned to turn the beautiful Connemara Mountains emerald green and sapphire blue. The result - a massive artwork called Savage Beauty, with Lough Na Fuaiche in the foreground - owed its success to around 900 lighting fixtures, many from the GLP catalogue. With the illuminated area spanning 500 hectares (measuring around 6.5km wide and 700m high), this vast canvas is believed to be one of the biggest light art projects ever created. Kari Kola had originally been approached by Galway 2020’s creative director, Helen Marriage, back in February 2019. The artist recalled: “Helen knew that I was working on really large-scale projects, with light and nature, and so she called me up.” Two months later he was in the Emerald Isle for the first time
USA - Shortly following his Beerbongs & Bentleys tour, which wrapped up in August of last year after more than 100 shows around the globe, Post Malone took only a brief three-week hiatus from the road before heading back out on the 38-date autumn Runaway Tour in support of Hollywood’s Bleeding, his third full-length album, released on 6 September. The second leg of that North American trek picked back up in early February and carried Malone through most of his 22 additional dates before 2020’s global pandemic put live touring on hold in March. However, although much of the material performed on the Runaway Tour was new since Beerbongs & Bentleys, one element that remained constant throughout was the use of an L-Acoustics K1/K2 loudspeaker system supplied and deployed by Detroit-based provider Thunder Audio. The standard PA
USA - St. Petersburg-based CP Communications has completed the systems integration of a custom-designed streaming media studio and control room that enables The Ironman Group - a Tampa-based sports event management company - to deliver live coverage of its branded multi-sport and marathon events over-the-top (OTT) via its website and Facebook Watch. Owned by the Chinese Wanda Sports Group, The Ironman Group produces more than 235 race events across 55 countries worldwide. These include the Ironman Triathlon, which combines swimming, biking, and running into a single long-distance contest; the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series and more. “With this new multipurpose facility, Ironman can now produce live video coverage of events remotely over IP, saving travel and crew costs for a faster ROI,” said Kurt Heitmann, CEO, CP Communications. “Bonded cellular - one
Latvia - With a warehouse full of touring gear grounded by Covid 19, Latvian rental company, 3S SIA quickly transformed its Riga headquarters into a fully equipped livestream performance space, including Allen & Heath dLive and Avantis systems. Created in partnership with local broadcaster, TVNET, the resulting 3S Lockdown Sessions have reached tens of thousands of isolating music fans each week since they debuted in March, with livestreamed performances by popular artists including Latvian Blues Band, Aminata, Samanta Tina, Lauris Valters, Ozols, Indygo and Riga Reggae. When devising a mixing system for the sessions, the 3S team did not have to look any further than its own extensive Allen & Heath inventory, which includes four dLive systems. A dLive S7000 Surface was paired up with a DM64 MixRack to mix the broadcast, with a gigaACE split enabling conn
USA - With its gritty industrial warehouse looks, The Temple in Greensburg offered a powerfully evocative setting for SxWxP when the doom metal band was looking to shoot a video for its new song Cup of Sorrows. Only one thing was missing: a punchy, production level lighting rig. The band decided to transport their own lights from their Louisville base to this small Indiana town 90 miles away. As a metal musician himself, Doug Taylor, manager of The Temple, was impressed not only with SxWxP’s growling performance, but also by the way their lightshow generated a volcanic eruption of visual energy that swept over the whole club. “This experience made us realise that we needed to replace our 25W party bulbs with a real lighting system,” explains Taylor, whose brother owns the club. Convinced as he was by what he saw at the 23 February video shoot, Taylor embar
UK - After 28 years of consistent touring, the Stereophonics’ relentless quest to improve their stage sound and gain closer engagement with their audience continues. At the request of the band, and specifically Kelly Jones, their sound techs were sent into overdrive, working on a radical approach for the latest arena tour. Long-term FOH sound engineer Dave Roden, using his preferred Martin Audio MLA loudspeaker array, sent his mix to a distributed PA system, running the length of a 60ft thrust from main stage, into the belly of the audience, with a small ‘B’ stage at the end of it. By opting to play a third of their set right in the middle of the arena (including a solo Kelly Jones set), it would have left the band at risk of absorbing unwanted sounds off the main PA picked up by the vocal mics, had it been set in a conventional L/R configuration. At the same tim
USA - Serving people in a time of crisis is nothing new for Kaiser Permanente. The giant not-for-profit healthcare consortium began life in 1933, during the Great Depression, when a young physician, Sidney R. Garfield, opened a 12-bed hospital in the middle of California’s Mojave Desert to care for itinerant workers at the Colorado River Aqueduct. Although much larger today (it has over 12m members), the nationally renowned institution remains deeply rooted in its community, as evidenced by its all-out effort to provide care during the current pandemic. Kaiser Permanente’s gratitude to the dedicated healthcare professionals who make this extraordinary level of service possible is plain to see on many of its Los Angeles area facilities. There on the exterior walls, in bold and colourful light is a declaration thanking the ‘Health Care Heroes’ who are leading the
France - Mass Hysteria shook the port city of Nantes two years ago, when they performed a show for the 10th anniversary of the Elvish. The metal icons selected this show for their 8 April 8 stream. Throwing fuel on the flames of Mass Hysteria’s sound was a relentless Romain Dronne designed lightshow powered by a ChamSys MagicQ MQ80 with an Extra Wing. Part of the Chirac Design team, Dronne turned up the brightness of his rig at key points throughout the show, transforming the relatively tight confines of Club Le Ferraileur into a ball of light. The close-in setting of the club made the show well-suited for streaming, since many fans would be watching on mobile phones with their relatively small screens. However, beyond this “technical” consideration, the size of the venue also reinforced the close relationship that the band has with their fans according t
