UK - A diverse line up of well-known names descended on Cheltenham for the 70th anniversary of its Literature Festival, including headliners David Cameron, Lenny Henry and Debbie Harry. The multi-site event demanded some serious screen, camera and crew to capture the bookish action and augment it for audiences. Long-time professional partner Production AV - which has been designing AV solutions for Cheltenham Festivals for nine years - supplied 10 venues across the sprawling site, including 2,250-seater The Centaur. In total, more than 800 writers, journalists and cultural commentators appeared over 10 days. Production AV’s high-end stock of Agile Remote Cameras and Barco HDX projectors were out in force. “Cheltenham Festival is one of our longstanding clients and the Literature events are well attended, respected and hugely enjoyable,” says Production AV
Dominican Republic Sound Video Lighting (SVL) has installed a full complement of Martin Audio CDD speakers and SX subwoofers in the Peperoni restaurant and bar in the Dominican Republic capital of Santo Domingo. Describing the venue, SVL’s Jonathan Del Villar explains: “Peperoni is a very popular restaurant serving what is essentially international cuisine in a variety of styles. Owner Jean-Pierre Bahsa used to be a club owner who knows that business very well. He had gone to Bachata Rosa, a popular restaurant in Punta Cana, owned by singer-songwriter Juan Luis Guerra, and was very impressed by the Martin Audio system that we had installed there. “Since we are friends, he asked us to work on the project early on during the planning stages which was good because we were able to have significant impact in terms of everything that has to do with technology - the aud
Trinidad & Tobago - PR Lighting fixtures were out in force at the recent nine-day Divali Nagar Festival on the Caribbean island of Trinidad & Tobago. Promoted by the National Council for Indian Culture (NCIC), and now in its 33rd year, Divali Nagar is an annual exposition of Hindu culture (generally) and Indo-Trinidadian culture (specifically). It is closely associated with the Diwali Hindu Festival of Light celebration in Trinidad and Tobago. For the past 15 of those years, All Events Lighting Systems (AELS), part of the SM Group, has been providing technical services to the event at the Divali Nagar site, located in the borough of Chaguanas. The SM Group itself comprises All Events Lighting Systems, All Events System Ltd and S. Maharaj Equipment Services Limited. SM Group itself stands for ‘Shival Maharaj Group of Companies’ and the organisation c
Europe - With more than 50 destinations across Europe, Event Hospitality Management Holding currently operates more than 80 business and conferencing hotels in Germany, Italy and The Netherlands under its Event Hotels brand. The group’s corporate management regularly liaises with the directors of each hotel, with the focal point of these important meetings being the large conference room at the corporate headquarters situated in Cologne on the banks of the River Rhine. In February 2019, work finished on an ambitious installation which featured Shure’s Microflex Complete Wireless Solution, complemented by an IntelliMix P300 Conferencing DSP Processor. The system was planned and installed by systems integrator Tascan. Due to the conference room being an oblong shape, the previously installed conferencing system was unable to guarantee speech intelligibility dur
UK - Big the Musical closed at the Dominion Theatre in London's West End this weekend following a successful nine-week run. The Theatre Royal Plymouth production opened in 2016 and played at the Bord Gais Energy Theatre in Dublin into 2017. Finally after more than two years, it made its West End debut in September with production manager Hugh Borthwick bringing Unusual Rigging on board to handle the rigging elements of this ambitious production. Hugh explains: "I brought Unusual Rigging on to this project right at the very start as I wanted them to be part of the design process for the production and not just to supply a rigging system. I've worked with Unusual for many years and know that their skill and ability to make the seemingly impossible happen is second to none. I've worked with Alan Jacobi and Simon Stone many times, and on Big the Musical, Mark Davie
Japan - The New National Theatre, Tokyo (NNTT) has invested in a stock of Robert Juliat Oz 600W LED followspots for its three performance spaces. The new LED models replace conventional source followspots as part of an upgrade of the lighting inventory for this internationally important arts venue. New National Theatre, Tokyo is Japan’s only one dedicated to the contemporary performing arts of opera, ballet, dance and drama. The NNTT complex comprises the Opera Palace, Playhouse and The Pit, and hosts over 300 performances a year to around 200,000 theatre goers. Four of Robert Juliat’s Oz 7°-14° LED Top Control followspots were supplied by RJ distributor, Sogo Butai, initially for use in the small Pit Theatre, but also with the intention of relocating them to the larger spaces of the Playhouse and Opera Palace as needed. “Because of its silent operation,
South Africa - Technical supply company, HireZone Audio Visual, used 14 new Vari-Lite VL2600 Profile luminaires for the key lighting at the 28th World Economic Forum (WEF) on Africa, which took place 4 - 6 September at the Cape Town International Convention Centre. The fixtures helped lighting designer and operator Gary Sam create a bright, balanced and consistent look for the live broadcast of the international panel in the Convention Centre’s Plenary Room. With the theme Shaping Inclusive Growth and Shared Futures in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the WEF saw leaders from across the globe gather to discuss the future of Africa. Hirezone was appointed by an international team to supply all technical for the entire event. This was the first time for Hirezone using their new VL2600 Profiles, which they had purchased from South African Vari-Lite distr
UK - Green Hippo’s Hippotizer media servers helped to deliver a press launch show for cosmetics and perfume brand Lancôme in London in September. Produced by Michael Bell Brand Communications, the event included custom video content and projection surfaces designed and delivered by UK-based projection mapping specialist Motion Mapping. Motion Mapping fielded a deceptively simple set-up: two Hippotizer Amba media servers, one as a main server and the other as backup, plus two high-powered laptops for show control and on-site media processing. “The laptops are useful for last-minute on-site changes,” explains Motion Mapping’s Stuart Harris. “By running the file conversions on a separate laptop, I can convert the content quickly, without affecting the Hippo - you just drop it in and it’s ready. Then we run everything through the Amba, a DP [DisplayPort] output to o
USA - JD Sound & Video has installed sound systems for both the outdoor stadium and indoor gymnasium of Winslow Township High School (WTHS) using Biamp’s Community R Series loudspeakers. WTHS is a four-year comprehensive public high school located in Winslow Township, Camden County, New Jersey. It serves students in ninth through twelfth grades as the secondary school of the Winslow Township School District. Joe DiSabatino of JD Sound & Video explains: “We’ve been using Biamp’s Community loudspeakers almost exclusively for all athletic venue projects for 13 years. Both spaces needed high SPL and good low-end and the Community R Seriebs with subs met those requirements. We were referred to Winslow High School by Eastern High School in Voorhees, New Jersey. Several years ago, we outfitted their gyms and stadium with various R Series products. After Winslow hear
Denmark - The futuristic-looking Musikkens Hus in Aalborg is a cultural jewel in the crown of the fourth-largest city in Denmark, located in a prime position in the redeveloped quarter overlooking the Limfjord. It’s also recently invested in 14 Robe T1 Profile multipurpose LED moving lights, joining 12 Robe Pointes that were purchased three years ago. Inside the building created on the site of an old power station and opened in March 2014, is a 1,300-seat concert hall, a 600-capacity recital hall, plus several studios and practice rooms utilised by the Aalborg Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Academy of Music. Additional tenants include Orchestra Norden, and two of Aalborg University’s fine arts divisions, the Institute of Music and the Danish Jazz Centre. In addition to the 300-odd concerts and live performances staged annually, it hosts around 200 ‘commercial
USA - With an estimated 50m people singing from its catalogue of songs every Sunday and over 1.5 billion minutes garnered from YouTube viewers, Australia’s Hillsong Church is one of the primary architects of modern worship music. Although the Sydney-based organisation has several performing collectives that tour worldwide, Hillsong United is likely the best known, thanks to songs like Oceans, Touch the Sky and So Will I. According to Billboard, the group’s 14th and most recent album, People, made its late-April debut this year as the week’s top-selling album across all US charts. Since the release of its 2011 record, Aftermath, Hillsong United has consistently toured with an L-Acoustics K1 system, after transitioning over from V-DOSC. So when the group headed out earlier this year to support People with its first North American
The Netherlands - One of best-known event venues in The Netherlands has been recently transformed into an intimate restaurant with high-tech decor. Madame Jeanette is the successor of dinner show Pandora, which ended early this year. It is an intense evening full of visual spectacle, where visitors dine in the middle of a vibrant story that is told in a visual, musical and culinary way. In recent months, Studio 21 has been completely rebuilt especially for this show, with the kitchen in the centre of the room and a high-tech decor in which the stage, the video and audio are in a 360° setting around the guests. Dutch lighting, audio, and rigging company Chain was responsible for the technical production. Because of the complete round set up, the decision was made to use six circles in the decor. In the middle of the room a 6mtr FD34 circle was used for t
Saudi Arabia - Laservision participated in this years’ celebration marking the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s 89th National Day. A range of activities and events took place from 19-23 September, including a massive international collaboration of events bringing in some of the biggest names in entertainment productions. Alongside international music acts from the GCC region and Cirque du Soleil, Laservision was engaged to provide their projection-mapping expertise and technologies to the celebrations in Riyadh. Laservision’s 7000sq.m projection show beamed onto the distinctive Samba Financial Group Headquarters in the heart of Financial Plaza. The 40-storey tower is the centrepiece of Riyadh’s new King Abdullah financial district and features an innovative three-dimensional diamond façade designed by Foster and Partners. Since opening their MENA offices in 201
USA - Home to the Metropolitan Opera, the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Centre) in New York City has recently installed 70 Elation Professional Artiste Monet LED profile moving head luminaires with Donald Holder the first to use the new rig of award-winning lights on Porgy and Bess. Lighting supply was by 4Wall Entertainment. The Met’s resident lighting designer, John Froelich, was instrumental in choosing the Artiste Monet and cited three main reasons for its choice. “The output of the LED source was very bright. The native colour of the LED engine was the most appealing to me. Most LED profiles that were tested had a slight green bias that was really hard to manage quickly from a creative standpoint. In a large, fast-paced repertory environment like ours it was such a great thing to find a source that was so artistically appealing. “The SpectraColor
USA - The University of Montana Grizzlies sports teams compete in the NCAA Division I Big Sky Conference. Although the school has been supporting a track and field team since the 1960s, it only recently added a women’s softball team. Both teams regularly draw crowds of up to 1,000 people. Until this year, staff set up a temporary PA system for every event. With design help from the engineering staff at Danley Sound Labs, both fields recently were upgraded with permanent, fully-weatherproof Danley OS-Series sound reinforcement systems. Now all meets, games, and even practices are full-fidelity, big-impact events with significantly elevated experiences for everyone involved. “It was kind of a homemade sound system previously,” says Chuck Maes, associate athletic director for internal operations and the person who directed the upgrade for the university. “We had a
Spain - Being held for the past decade in Spain, one of the largest annual reggae festivals in Europe has been on the map for 26 years. The festival took place from the 16-22 August and for the seventh consecutive year, it employed DAS Audio systems on the Main Stage. The International Rototom Sunsplash festival has already established a solid foundation in the town of Benicassim, after its relocation from Italy in 2010. In its 10th anniversary in Spain, it has managed to attract 202,000 people from 76 countries during seven days in a celebration not only of reggae music, but also of cultural events with almost 140 extra-musical activities. The festival stands out for welcoming families and for promoting inclusion, social justice, solidarity and sustainability, practices that have made it one of the largest alternative festivals on the continent. Rototom Sunsplash was
Italy - Lighting designer Francesco De Cave illuminated Italy’s Arena di Verona using his High End Systems Hog 4 console for the third consecutive RTL 102.5 Power Hits Estate concert. The event celebrated the top 50 songs played on Italian radio stations during the summer of 2019. The four-hour concert featured live performances from more than 20 artists including OneRepublic, Eros Ramazzotti, Mika and Lewis Capaldi. The set design for the open air venue featured an uncovered stage designed to favour visibility for the audience of 15,000 people. De Cave was tasked with designing a visual spectacular for the venue which is best known for hosting large-scale opera performances. "Fabio Marcantelli, artistic director for RTL 102.5, and owner Lorenzo Suraci expressly asked me to do something different than what you normally see in the arena by offering the public a powerf
UK - 1948Ldn in Shoreditch, London is Nike’s community space for young innovators in the fields of sport and culture. With decor and display units made from recycled materials, 1948Ldn serves as a special outlet for launching Nike’s exclusive limited-edition releases, as well as opening its doors to a wide variety of cultural and creative events for the benefit of the local and wider community. These include music production workshops, fashion shows, poetry readings, presentations, showcases, exhibitions and parties. Every one of the diverse range of events staged requires the support of high-quality audio to ensure that everyone in attendance enjoys their experience to the full. When 1948Ldn sought an in-house audio solution for its multi-purpose spaces, the company approached Pioneer Pro Audio for a flexible system that would be easy to setup and operate and deli
USA - After opening in Europe last June, the Stray Cats’ North American leg commenced in Atlantic City, NJ, wrapping up in San Diego, CA. The centrepiece of the set, spanning 24ft, was an impressive and fun Stray Cats marquee sign, designed, built, and installed by Gallagher Staging of La Mirada, CA. Comprised of 202 IMS RGBW LED lamps, as well as other LED ribbon and panel lighting, the colourful and buoyant set-piece was the visual signature of the tour. “Marquees go hand in hand with the genre,” says Gallagher’s special projects manager, Joe Golden. “Like rockabilly, marquee lighting is retro yet timeless. We had an existing sign and reworked it to become essentially a blend of makeover and new. On the Brian Stetzer Orchestra tour, we had used incandescent lamps mixed with IMS LEDs, but the warm white in the RGBW IMS lamps looked so much better that, for this to
USA - Home to 80 full-time musicians representing more than a dozen nations, the Colorado Symphony is one of North America’s leading orchestras and performs more than 150 concerts annually at the 2,700-seat Boettcher Concert Hall in downtown Denver, at nearby Red Rocks Amphitheatre, and across the state In 2012, the City of Denver purchased a DiGiCo SD7 mixing console as part of a major audio facilities upgrade for Boettcher Concert Hall that also notably included a full L-Acoustics loudspeaker system. With productions growing increasingly complex and technically more demanding over the past seven years, the City once again chose to invest in DiGiCo - this time by upgrading its existing SD7 with a new Quantum engine. For more than 15 years, Aric Christensen has served as Colorado Symphony’s head of audio. Seeing that he individually mics all of the orchestra’s in
USA - Located on Monterey Street in the heart of downtown San Luis Obispo, the 865-seat Fremont Theatre is a surviving - and now thriving - example of the Streamline Moderne style favoured by West Coast movie theatres and performance halls when it opened for both roles in 1942. As its entertainment appeal gradually waned over the decades, the facility dodged various attempts to modernize it as a multiplex cinema, and then to be razed altogether. Thankfully, a new group of partners, the Fremont Theatre Entertainment Group, has invested in restoring the theatre’s visual and acoustical charm while also modernising its technical facilities. A key part of that effort was the addition of an L-Acoustics Kara loudspeaker system, originally installed in 2018 and then re-flown with a new truss system installed earlier this year. “We knew from the very start that we wanted an
Europe - Continuing his run of sold-out arena shows, Scottish singer-songwriter, Lewis Capaldi takes on the world one show at a time, along with an Allen & Heath dLive mixing system covering FOH and monitor duties. Capaldi made history by becoming the first ever artist to both announce and sell out an arena tour before the release of his album, which went on to become one of the UK’s best-selling record in the past five years and gained him global mainstream success throughout 2019. "In early 2019 we were looking for an audio package that was powerful, flexible and compact enough for us to use on every show, be it a Lewis headline as part of a tour, or a run of overseas festivals where space, weight and set-up time were at a premium” explains FOH engineer, Andrew Bush. Supplied by Glasgow-based audio hire company, FE-Live, Capaldi’s full arena set-up in
USA - The epic Garth Brooks Stadium Tour is wrapping up 2019 with its tenth city following sold out performances in St. Louis, Glendale, Gainesville, Minneapolis, Pittsburgh, Denver, Eugene, Boise and Regina. Bandit Lites once again met Garth’s vision with a lighting system designed by David ‘Gig’ Butzler. Bandit Lites supplied more than 400 fixtures and more than 330ft of truss to outfit the tour, including Robe MegaPointes, GLP X4 Bar 10, VL 3500 washes, Martin Atomic 3000 LED Strobes, GLP KNV Cube, Robe BMFL, Robe Robin 1200 LED Washes, Solaris Flares and Showline Nitro 510C. Three grandMA2 Full consoles provide control. The in-the-round design allows for audiences to have a view of the stage no matter the seats in the stadium. Tyler Truss outlines the perimeter for the main key lights on the band members while automated pods built specially for Garth by Tyl
Australia - Specialising in large-scale projections, The Electric Canvas utilised Modulo Pi media servers on three major projection sites at the latest edition of White Night Melbourne. This year, the previously all-night event was “reimagined”, taking place in winter instead of summer and being extended to a three-night festival. Modulo Kinetic was deployed for Mad Max Fury Road, a huge multimedia extravaganza set against the backdrop of the heritage-listed Royal Exhibition Building. The 15-minute live show featured projection mapping by Australian company The Electric Canvas, who used footage from the award-winning |Fury Road movie as well as original motion graphics in the content production. In addition to the projections, vehicles from the actual movie, performers, aerialists, lighting, and pyrotechnics were all choreographed to an immersive mul
