Belgium - Creative director and lighting designer Koert Vermeulen wanted to do something extra special to celebrate 25 years of his Belgian-based creative design practice ACTLD, so he and his team crafted ‘a fluid and mesmeric large scale spectacle of lighting art’ - A2C5T - which was presented to the public for three weeks at the See U event space in Brussels. The 45,000sq.m former police barracks provided an atmospheric backdrop for this multi-level light art experience, which was inspired by the core tenets at the heart of ACT - Art, Concept and Technology. Within the installation, these three values were represented by three abstract intersecting works of creative lighting, carefully curated by Koert to offer a different but equally compelling immersive experience for guests. The three elements could be enjoyed individually or as one, or as a user-definable mi
USA - Lighting for comedy has its own special characteristics and lighting designer Marc Janowitz, who recently lit comedian Jimmy O. Yang’s debut stand-up comedy special on Amazon Prime - Jimmy O. Yang: Good Deal - using Elation Rayzor 760 and Fuze Z350 LED wash lights, knows all about them. “In the concert industry, you can end up with a thousand different ways to use a light in a single show but in comedy you work hard to come up with a perfect look that stays throughout the entire show and needs to look right from a multitude of camera angles.” Recorded last fall at the Neptune Theatre in Seattle and aired in early May on Amazon’s paid subscription service, the Silicon Valley and Crazy Rich Asians star laid down a hilarious hour of comedy in a blossoming career as a stand-up comedian. “When lighting a comedy special, there is typically an int
Hungary - The Magdolna Ruzsa Band recently played two concerts at the Papp László Budapest Sportarena through a Martin Audio MLA PA, supplied by their Hungarian partner, BG Event. Magdolna ‘Magdi’ Rúzsa herself won the title of Megasztár (Megastar), Hungary's nationwide talent search, back in 2006, and now she was filling the 12,500-capacity venue for two consecutive nights, supported by a classic five-piece rock band line-up. To ensure sound was broadcast evenly to all corners of the venue BG Event used a total of 46 MLA cabinets, and four MLD Downfill enclosures as main PA and side-hangs. They also provided monitors. But this doesn’t tell the full story. In achieving this exceptional coverage BG Event’s Balázs Szentiványi notes the inherent challenges faced. "This is a difficult venue compared to an average arena in Europe due to its larger
USA - The Directors Guild of America recently completed a renovation of its flagship motion picture exhibition space at the DGA Theatre in Los Angeles. Guided by a Guild committee of six leading filmmakers, the renewal project has moved the 600-seat theatre to the forefront of cinema technology with installation of custom-built Dolby Vision laser projection and a Dolby Atmos immersive sound system encompassing more than 70 Meyer Sound cinema loudspeakers. To translate their creative concepts into design specifics, the Guild committee engaged the noted Gensler architectural firm. In turn, Gensler assigned the critical role of AV specification and engineering to Tom Schindler, senior vice-president at the San Francisco-based Salter consulting firm. According to Schindler, from the outset the committee had insisted on the absolute highest level of audio reproductio
USA - Eric Cathcart begins the design process by forming an idea for a distinct look in his head. Then he goes to his rental company contacts, does his best to describe his vision down to the smallest detail, and asks which fixtures in their inventory can help him achieve it. This sums up what happened late last year when Cathcart envisioned expanding the look of his show to better reflect the free-flowing sound of Silversun Pickups. Understanding Cathcart’s inspiration as they did, his contacts at Upstaging recommended the COLORband PiX from CHAUVET DJ. “I have been working with Silversun off and on since 2016,” said Cathcart, owner of Bigtime Lighting Design. “The album cycle started June of 2019 with a very minimal floor package, consisting of strobes and small movers. For the new year, I wanted to create a wall of light to close the gap between the floor pa
Japan - With competitive sport now returning ‘behind closed doors’ in several countries, a key problem is how to recreate the experience of passionate supporters, both for sporting participants and those cheering them on. To address this, two of Japan’s top professional football clubs recently helped Yamaha to trial its Remote Cheerer powered by SoundUD system at the 50,000-seat Shizuoka Stadium ECOPA. The passion of a noisy crowd is an essential part of many sports, from team games like football, rugby and cricket, to racquet sports and all forms of racing. For the foreseeable future, returning sports will need to be played without supporters present. So, in May, Yamaha collaborated with the Júbilo Iwata and Shimizu S-Pulse football clubs to field test the new system in one of Japan's largest stadiums. Remote Cheerer powered by SoundUD allows fans following a g
USA - Over the last two months, Stage Right Lighting of Virginia Beach has been hosting a 6 Feet Together livestream concert series that has put some much needed joy and optimism into the live event community. Stage Right’s final livestream concert was held Saturday, 6 June and featured Celtic-inspired rock band The Fighting Jamesons. The 6 Feet Together benefit concerts are streamed live from Stage Right Lighting's own studio and are decked out using their extensive inventory of lighting gear including Elation Proteus Rayzor 760 moving heads, Seven Batten 72 linear lights, ZW37 II moving heads, Cuepix 16IP matrix panels and Protron Eclypse multi-effect lights. The 6 Feet Together benefit concerts raise money for out-of-work musicians and crews with donations going to Hampton Roads musicians and local stage technicians, as well as the technicians that make the 6 Fe
UK - Event production specialist Leisuretec UK, headed by Phil Jameson, has utilised imagination and resources to light up Wigan’s DW Stadium in a variety of vibrant colour combinations, showing support for the National Health Service (NHS), essential workers and various community initiatives as everyone pulls together to beat the coronavirus pandemic. The venue is used by both Wigan Athletic football club and Wigan Warriors rugby league club, and Leisuretec UK is the preferred event technical supplier, which entails providing kit, services and crew for numerous corporate activities happening there – around two to three a week for most of the year. With all that and other work on hold, the idea of firing up some lights started at the Leisuretec UK warehouse in support the UK’s weekly Thursday night Clap For Carers action which Phil illuminated with their 12 x Rob
USA - When the Coeur d’Alene casino, hotel and resort in Worley, Idaho, refurbished its technical facilities, Alcons Audio pro-ribbon systems were chosen. Established in 1993, Coeur d’Alene Casino Resort Hotel is a premium hotel and resort with a casino, spa, golf club, a large live events space and additional, more intimate entertainment lounges. The first phase of a major upgrade covered the main live performance space, which included an enlarged stage, new bleacher seating at the back of the venue and radically updated technical infrastructure. “Casinos like Coeur d’Alene attract international performing artists and the owners wanted to set themselves apart from other venues. They wanted a high end system that would meet rider specifications and be something that engineers were excited to mix on,” says Alcons Audio North American sales manager David Rahn.
Australia - Northern Beaches Christian School (NBCS) In Sydney, Australia, has recently completed an AV upgrade of its key performance and worship spaces, anchored on Allen & Heath’s dLive mixing system. The school’s Marina Pryor Centre for the Performing Arts (MPC) and CITY indoor / outdoor meeting space each have a capacity of 800 and play host to an ever-changing programme of student assemblies, worship services, musicals, concerts and celebrations. Alan Schutz, the school’s general manager, explains the decision to update: “The MPC systems were designed in 2009 and the CITY systems in 2012. Technology has forged ahead and some of our needs have changed since that time. The age of some components was apparent in the difficulty of operation. There were major differences between the MPC and CITY infrastructure and gear and the complex systems required sign
USA - The concept was key to everyone behind Keith Urban’s Nashville drive-in concert on 14 May, not just for the Vanderbilt University Hospital medical heroes, in whose honour the event was held, but also for the team that managed to create an immersive stage setting for the one-hour show on short notice. “The paramount thing about this gig for Keith and everyone else was being socially distant and as safe as possible,” said Brent Maxon, Urban’s lighting director. “Our goal was to involve the fewest people possible in setup, while still putting together a quality show for this very important audience of special guests.” Maxon and the rest of the team began working on a plan to achieve this goal only five days before the surprise show was scheduled to begin. They had no precedent to draw ideas from, since this was the first drive-in theatre concert by a maj
Australia - Lighting designer Brenton Slattery from Scene Change Brisbane chose Astera AX1 and Titan Tube wireless battery-powered LED fixtures to create a memorable light sculpture and high-impact messaging for the 2020 Anzac Day commemorations. The sign spelt out ‘LEST WE FORGET’ in bold, bright, positive letters and was highly visible on the waterside lawn at Howard Smith Wharfs in the Queensland state capital. Brenton is based at the Howard Smith Wharfs multi-venue site comprising a series of regenerated – and now heritage-listed – riverfront buildings on the Brisbane River, overlooked by Story Bridge which was constructed around the same time, between 1934 and 1940. He took up his post in February after three years of freelancing, and now he and his team coordinate technical requirements for Scene Change Brisbane’s diverse events schedule that incl
Israel - A star-studded line of music stars and artists performed during a protest concert in Charles Clore Park, Tel Aviv, titled Behind The Scenes: An Assembly of Solidarity to draw attention to the plight of freelancers, backstage technicians and all the zero-hours contract workers in the Israeli event industry whose livelihoods have been decimated as the music and live event industry has been paused in the fight to control COVID-19. This solidarity rally was initiated and produced by Tali Yaacobi Events Production and backed by Inbar and Marius Nacht – an Israeli entrepreneur, social activist, and philanthropist – who made a generous donation to all the crew working on the show. The lighting and audio were supplied by Argaman Systems – including a large Robe moving light rig which was designed by Cochavi & Klein and operated by two of Israel’s b
USA - Roger Sharp is proud of his region’s music tradition. His upstate New York stomping grounds have nurtured a wealth of talent in virtually every genre, from Lana Del Ray, the Goo Goo Dolls, and Ani Di Franco to Moe, Rick James, Lou Gramm, 10,000 Maniacs and Chuck Mangione. The owner of High Peaks Event Production, Sharp has always entertained the idea of putting on a summer festival honouring this local tradition, even starting a Facebook page dedicated to this mission. But keeping up with the demands of his growing business prevented him from getting around to realizing this dream. He finally found the time though after the COVID-19 lockdown put all events on hold. With his event business halted, Sharp built a lockdown-safe recording studio and stage in his warehouse, and launched a weekly Sunday night livestream, NY Rock N Roots Festival to highlight lo
USA - Stephen F. Austin State University, located on a forested campus in Nacogdoches, Texas, is home to more than more than 13,000 students enrolled in approximately 80 undergraduate majors. In total, the university offers 120 areas of study across its six academic colleges: business, education, fine arts, forestry and agriculture, sciences and mathematics, and liberal and applied arts. Among the many points of pride within Stephen F. Austin are its music and sound recording technology programme and its school of music’s jazz bands - a pair that has found a harmonious relationship with one another thanks to a powerful Dante network. “The sound recording programme was started in 2010 with the idea of focusing heavily on the technology that was transforming that space,” says James F. Adams, assistant professor of music and director of sound recording technology a
France - Over the course of a three-year hiatus, the newly-renamed La Halle ô Grains theatre in Bayeux, Normandy, reopened to the public at the end of 2019 after a thorough redesign to address the latest expectations in terms of reception, accessibility, aesthetics, visibility, and comfort. This update was undertaken in order to offer the best possible experience to spectators, and a more versatile technical palette for incoming artists and crews. The new hall now boasts a complete APG loudspeaker system installed by the ISA Group, an integrating partner of the APG network, enabling the theatre’s management to count on high-precision, high-quality acoustics. “The specifications were drawn up around the programming and shows, 80% of which are theatrical,” comments Romain Motte, general manager of La Halle ô Grains for the past five years. “We were looking for
Germany - DRIVE.IN Concerts of Monheim has come up with a solution that allows music fans of the area to attend a live concert again. DRIVE.IN Concerts Monheim is a series of events in which the crowd park their cars in front of the stage just like at a drive-in movie. Running through June, with a variety of live acts and DJs performing, the concert series features an impressive stage set-up that relies on Elation Professional and ADJ lighting fixtures. The series kicked off in early May with a live performance by Cologne-based rock band Kasalla as part of their Et Jitt Car-Salla tour of drive-in concerts. Since then, most weekends have seen two or three concerts taking place at the outdoor site, featuring artists such as DJ Quicksilver, Da Hool, Moguai, TOPIC and The Disco Boys. Future performers are set to include electronic acts Fiasko and YouNotUs, as well a
USA - The Ahava Festival held its inaugural event at the Woldenberg Riverfront Park in New Orleans, Louisiana in early March. With no admission fee, attendees were encouraged to take in the sounds, sights, and tastes and, if possible, to donate to 110 hard-working local charities. The weather was beautiful, and the event raised over $100,000. Danley Sound Labs supported the Ahava Festival with loudspeakers, subwoofers, and multi-channel amplifiers for all of its three stages. “The whole concept behind the Ahava Festival is based on sharing love and giving to the people in New Orleans who are in need,” explained Matt Dupuy, Ahava Festival technical director. Dupuy is a system designer and installation technician at local AV integration firm Assurance AV Solutions of Mandeville, Louisiana, as well as the FOH engineer for New Orleans’ party band favourite, Groovy 7
Spain - Occupying a downtown location just a stone’s throw from the famous Passeig de Gracia, the Khalijia Lounge & Restaurant is Barcelona’s newest nightspot with an oriental twist. Offering everything from Lebanese and Moroccan-inspired food to exotic cocktails coupled with live music, Khalijia aims to cater for a discerning clientele that appreciates quality at every level. Barcelona-based AV systems integration specialists, Silence Electroacústica S.L., were commissioned to design and install the audio, lighting and DMX control systems throughout the new venue. Silence opted for a KV2 Audio system based on the EX Series of active loudspeakers. From an audio perspective, the system needed to handle a wide spectrum of requirements, from extremely high quality, low level music reproduction for the lunchtime and early evening crowds going right through to high
USA - New York City may be over a thousand miles away, but local company, JEM Productions, created the look and feel of Manhattan jazz club at its warehouse- turned-studio in Wausau, WI, as it hosted a livestream fundraising show by the Sara Rifleman Trio. The performance by the Wisconsin-based musicians was the latest in a series of livestreamed shows emanating from the lighting and audio company’s makeshift studio. It was the smoothest production to date, according to Joe Ellis, president of JEM Productions. “We’ve been doing these for weeks now, ever since the Covid-19 shutdown started,” said Ellis. “I think we’re getting familiar with this process! Our lighting and production crew did a really great job creating the look of a classic New York jazz club on the set. Sometimes, the simpler the look, the harder you have to dig into the art of design. This
USA - Chicago-based Charles Ford and his business partner Brandon Clark from Creative Live Control have developed a professional streaming production service - lighting, audio, cameras and broadcast - that meets all the social distancing requirements, can be installed and run by the two of them. While the challenges of producing special high impact lighting for community lighting projects like Chicago Unite at Night have been stimulating and fun, Charles and Brandon also need to generate some business as all their touring work has currently been cancelled, so they hit on the idea of the professional live streaming service. The living room of Charles’ condo has been transformed into a pop-up studio space and after a couple of test runs, there is a queue of local artists lined up to visit and use the facilities. Brandon completed all the networking, intern
USA - Bending Lite Productions’ Erik Mahowald has enjoyed a long tour of duty with American electronic musician and DJ Dillon Francis, noted for popularising the ‘Moombahton’ genre - a fusion of house music combined with reggaeton. Last summer, Erik conceived a lighting design for Coachella 2019 based around 60 GLP JDC1 hybrid strobes, but with the intention of bringing it to major headline events following the reveal. Working alongside creative content director and VJ, Mario Adato; production manager, Nathan Rebolledo and tour manager, Mike Finn, Mahowald programmed the lighting to animate a set that combined complementary surround elements with creating big moments of drama to produce a high-octane party vibe for audiences to become immersed in. In the centre of this was Dillon Francis himself, performing from an elevated booth, housing his CDJ setup. The
Albania - Headquartered in Tirana, ASLV (Albanian Sound, Lighting and Video) has operated nationwide since 2013 and, with its team provides sound, lighting, video, staging and structures, as well as creative technical solutions for concerts, festivals, theatre and opera productions, key corporate events, expos and more throughout the country. Specialist services also include consultation and design. Recently appointed as exclusive Outline distributor for Albania, following its corporate policy of ensuring its clients equipment that is technically the best for perfectly meeting their requirements, ASLV has also taken delivery of an Outline Superfly Silver audio package, one of the three turnkey set-ups conceived in recent months by the Italian audio manufacturer. Superfly loudspeaker systems have a true three-way (HF-MF-LF) design, but the dual high-efficiency 10” tra
UK - Seventy-five years after the end of the Second World War in Europe, London’s Royal Albert Hall (RAH) hosted We’ll Meet Again for VE Day 75 with Katherine Jenkins to honour those who gave their lives so that subsequent generations could come to know peace and freedom. Event production supplier, SFL provided the audio and video production for the live performance. The event was organised by TBI Media and Snappin’ Turtle Productions, both long-standing clients of SFL. With the world overcast by the threat of the Covid-19 pandemic, the SSAFA armed forces charity and The Mayor of London joined together with the noted London venue, brought the nation together by offering an authentic musical experience. For the first time since The Blitz, the RAH stood empty for an event, but its true life force - the audience - were able to enjoy the performance of Welsh m
