Oman - The Muscat-based Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre (OCEC) has taken delivery of ProLyft Aetos hoists. With over 22,000sq.m of column-free space, the venue offers a wide array of meeting and exhibition spaces with the very latest in communications and audio-visual technology to meet the demands of the most discerning global event organisers. To meet their customers’ demands, the venue operator, AEG Ogden, was looking for a flexible solution for the venue’s rigging facilities. Adhering to the highest quality standards and service excellence, they were looking for high-end rigging solutions, supported by the best service and knowledge. Meeting OCEC’s brief, Prolyte Group was selected to present a proposal. Based on the quality of the proposal and the technical support they experienced during this phase, they were happy to give the green light.
UAE - Dubai-based Fountains International Events employed Green Hippo to deliver a prestigious graduation ceremony in the United Arab Emirates. The American University in the Emirates (AUE) invited Dubai-based Fountains International Events to craft a video and lighting show for its seventh commencement ceremony at Dubai World Trade Centre. Led by Pavel Pashkovskiy, Fountains International Events has extensive experience in the region, and for the AUE graduation ceremony the company designed and produced content with a total size of approximately 10,000 x 4,000 pixels. Using a pair of Hippotizer Karst Media Servers, Pavel operated a special Art-Net timeline-based controller from Syncronorm, sending layers, and starting triggers to the Karsts. Pavel calls this technique ‘Art-Net timecode’, and the Art-Net timeline triggered all of his other devices, including lasers
UK - Figure of Eight Events was recently approached to provide technical production for this year’s Isuzu Awards, which took place in the 70,000-seat Principality Stadium in Cardiff. As the new sponsor for the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU), Isuzu wanted to create a fitting start to their relationship by showcasing what the stadium has to offer. Figure of Eight didn’t disappoint by delighting the guests with a 360° lighting design that featured a collection of Rogue fixtures from Chauvet Professional. With the awards ceremony and dinner housed within a clear marquee, positioned 3m high over the central pitch area, Figure of Eight came up with the idea of surrounding the structure with high-power light from the Rogue RH1 Hybrid and Rogue R2 Wash fixtures. “We wanted to create a stunning backdrop for the award ceremony by allowing the guests inside to be able to se
UK - Illumination rental and installation specialists LED Creative assisted in creating the 360° studio experience for the recent six-show run of BBC’s All Together Now. Produced by Remarkable Television (part of Endemol Shine UK) and filmed in front of a live studio audience at Salford’s Dock 10 studios, All Together Now posts a series of would be singing stars before a panel of 100 carefully selected, highly opinionated ‘judges’ who cast their votes by standing up and joining with the performances. The series features a set created by scenic designer Dominic Tolfts, lit by LD Dave Davey, that surrounds the singers, panel and audience in a wall of colour and movement, allowing the performances to be viewed from almost any angle with no break in the vibrant studio backdrop. LED Creative supported the crew on the shows, supplying their BYTE
USA - A quality tungsten audience blinder has a key role in a Zac Brown Band show, and last year’s discharge-based lights for the band’s Welcome Home tour gave way to high-impact Elation Professional Cuepix Blinder WW2 LED-based white light fixtures. Production and lighting design for the tour was by UK-based production design company Okulus, who also handled creative direction and scenic design. James Scott, Okulus director, had been introduced to the Cuepix Blinder on another design tour, Passenger, in 2015, an outing where power consumption limitations were a concern and an LED fixture the solution. “Looking at the sheer quantity of blinders that Zac Brown wanted to use on this show, having all those dimmers and cabling didn’t make sense. We had to go LED and again chose Cuepix,” Scott commented. The Cuepix white light fixtures not only give the cl
UK - On the evening of 16 February, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council organised the Fashion Hong Kong Show and Cocktail Reception at London's Somerset House. Being an approved supplier at Somerset House, along with working on several shows across London Fashion Week, White Light was called upon to provide the technical solutions. The event was produced by My Beautiful City - a full service creative agency that offers end-to-end support across art direction, concept creation and event production. For over 10 years they have worked with some of the world’s most talented designers to bring their collections to life at Fashion Week. They have also worked closely with WL across several London Fashion Weeks. WL’s senior account manager Dominic Yates comments: “We have a strong working relationship with My Beautiful City, which goes back many years, and they calle
World - Irish rock band The Script's current Freedom Child tour features a complex mix of video, live footage, pre-made content and live effects displayed on a multiscreen structure. The ambitious visuals are being powered by Avolites Ai Infinity R8 Servers and Quartz lighting control consoles. The Script's long-time show designer, Jamie Thompson, is working alongside freelance media server expert Annalisa Terranova, Tom and Satoko Wall from Blinkin LAB and video director Ben Farrey, to deliver the architectural content. The multi-screen set-up is being run by four Ai R8 media servers. Two R8 servers process content created in real-time effects generator, Notch, which is then fed into the second pair of Ai servers which handle the main content. All of this is then outputted to the massive, angular on-stage LED screens. "It's a pretty hybrid setup and we've
UK - A.C. Special Projects (AC-SP) has assisted engineering company Hoare Lea in bringing its dynamic lighting scheme to life for etc.venues' 68,000sq.ft multi-use event space inside the London County Hall - providing an e:cue control system to meet the venue's bespoke needs. The historic County Hall location is etc.venues' largest event space of 15 sites around the Capital, and a major historic tourist destination. The lighting team at Hoare Lea worked closely with lead interior designer, Jestico + Whiles and executive architect, Synergy Architects, restoring County Hall to create a unique conference space for etc.venues. The project included upgrading the building with integrated lighting elements to reveal and accentuate its architectural history, and help to create spaces with flexible ambient lighting serving and enhancing different events and tasks, rang
USA - Guests at the Arizona Biltmore often ask if the upscale hotel/resort was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. It wasn’t, but it could well have been. Although the famed architect didn’t draw up the blueprints (a former student of his did), he was actively involved in planning the aesthetically balanced 89-year-old structure, which bears his trademark ‘textile block’ construction. Nowhere is Wright’s ethereal touch more evident than in the Biltmore’s spacious grounds, which instantly captivate visitors with their winding tree-lined paths, evocative abstract sculptures from the Master’s own Midway Gardens, and gently curved glimmering pool. The transformative effect of these grounds was made even more powerful at a recent event, thanks to a Creative BackStage lighting design that featured Maverick and Rogue fixtures from Chauvet Professional. “We were b
USA - Paradigm Rigging has worked with Christie Lites to monitor the loads with BroadWeigh wireless load cells on The Killers Wonderful Wonderful world tour. Michael Sorowka, CEO, Paradigm Rigging, explains: "In September we were brought to New Jersey where The Killers were doing technical rehearsals and programming of the show before their UK leg. There we had 56 cells in play to weight the full show before it hit its first arenas. “From initial versions, cells were originally going to be specified for some of the larger video walls and two mother grids to help with determining load distribution, but through a few minor design revisions, elements of that changed which in turn changed the needs of the load cells for the run." The set gives a strong Las Vegas feel consisting of large flown marquee arrows lined in neon, pointing downward to the stage as w
USA - Lighting and visuals designer Tom Sutherland incorporated 110 Spikies into his lighting rig of over 600 fixtures for rapper Pitbull’s current Time Of Our Lives residency at the Axis Theatre, Planet Hollywood, Las Vegas. “We had brand new 470W HMI lamps right next to the Spikies, and on a few occasions, I couldn't tell which lamp was which,” stated lighting and visuals designer Tom Sutherland talking about rapper Pitbull’s current Time Of Our Lives residency playing at the Axis Theatre, Planet Hollywood, Las Vegas. Tom first started working with the popular artist, record producer and activist over the last year, and was asked to redesign his show by producer Macarena Moreno with whom he had previously worked on The Latin Grammys. Pitbull’s Las Vegas residency has been running for the last couple of years, usually in blocks of three o
Austria - Lighting designer Björn Hermann faced major challenges at the 2018 Swarovski Festival in Austria. The exclusive outdoor event took place under difficult conditions, as the temperatures in Tyrol fluctuate between -20°C to + 12°C in the month of January, but it was no problem for the SGM fixtures. "SGM fixtures have been incorporated in all my lighting concepts ever since my first usage of the SGM P-5 back in 2013,” said Hermann. “As most of my projects are outdoors, SGM luminaires’ true IP65-rating is a must for me. But also the enormous range in the product family from wash- and floodlights, to blinders, to pixel products, not to mention the wide range of lenses and that I choose between RGBW, TW, UV, and W. “In addition, I see it as an advantage to move within the same product family, because I remain in the same colour space.” As in 2017,
USA - Creative production design company 44 Designs has shaped Mutemath’s live visual look for most of the alt rock band’s 15-year career. For their Play Dead US tour last autumn, the first leg of a larger worldwide tour in support of a September album release, 44 Designs complemented the band’s eclectic sounds using colour and effects from Elation Professional’s Artiste DaVinci LED moving spot luminaire. 44 Designs’ chief operations officer, Clayton Thornton, explains that earlier last year the company was looking for a quality LED spot luminaire and brought the Artiste DaVinci into their shop in Nashville, Tennessee, to see how it would perform up against other fixtures in a side by side comparison. “We were blown away by it. The brightness was excellent and the beam out of it was really amazing,” he said. “The colour rendering and satur
China - Dutch lighting and video creative company Light Image took Visual Productions' TimeCore to China for the end 2017/18 New Year celebrations. The TimeCore is a timecode toolbox. it is a compact device that can perform all tasks related to timecode. It can generate, follow, convert and display timecode supporting SMPTE, MTC and Art-Net timecode. It can convert between any of these protocols as well as converting between different frame rates. The TimeCore has a versatile show controller where it can even handle a number of non-timecode protocols including sACN, Art-Net, OSC, UDP, TCP and HTTP, as well as MIDI, MMC, MSC, RTP-MIDI. Light Image reports on the spectacular project in Guangzhou: “Our team of video creatives has been counting down to 2018 in Guangzhou working on this massive television production in China for hundreds of millions viewers - making it o
Malaysia - AV rental company, MJ Event Management Sdn Bhd, supplied a Allen & Heath dLive S Class digital mixing system to manage the final of the national song contest, Anugerah Juara Lagu (Champion of Songs). The event, hosted by broadcaster TV3, and watched by 6.1m viewers, featured performances by the 12 finalists, plus guest appearances. Several of Malaysia’s most prominent audio engineers were enlisted to mix this prestigious event, with Zairi Ariffin at FoH and Jim Teh handling monitors, supported by Zunun from TV3. The system engineer was Mohamad Firdaues, who has been a leading advocate of dLive in the country. MJ Event Management specified an Allen & Heath dLive system to mix both FoH and Monitors, and to provide the broadcast feed via an active splitter. The system included a pair of dLive S7000 surfaces running in multi-surface mode
USA - Cumulus NYC’s Stage 17, a live performance and broadcast studio at Cumulus’s New York City cluster (WABC, WPLJ, WNSH, WNBM), uses an Allen & Heath GLD-80 Digital Mixing System at FOH for its live audience mix, another GLD-80 to provide a stereo broadcast mix and six Allen & Heath ME-1 Personal Mixing Systems for on-stage artist monitoring. With its new audio systems, Stage 17 has hosted more than 100 live music broadcasts, interviews, fund raisers and other special events since March 2017 with celebrities like Oliver Stone, Luke Bryan, Miranda Lambert and Gavin DeGraw. Director of engineering Dan Hirschl says: “Our goal for Stage 17 was to convert a large conference room into a live performance studio for use by the multiple Cumulus stations here in New York for a variety of events.” Regarding the mixer choice for Stage 17, Hirschl says he had hel
USA - Firehouse Productions recently deployed a complete Harman Professional Solutions audio system at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony at New York's Madison Square Garden. Held on 28 January, this year marked the first time the ceremony was held outside of Los Angeles since 2003. Firehouse Productions was hired to provide sound reinforcement for the event, which included live performances by Kendrick Lamar, Lady Gaga, Kesha, Bruno Mars and Cardi B, SZA, Childish Gambino and more. In order to ensure sound quality for both the audience at Madison Square Garden and the television broadcast, Firehouse designed a complete Harman Professional audio system centred upon JBL VTX Series loudspeakers and Crown amplification. “When it comes to sound quality at the Grammy Awards ceremony, we have incredibly high standards,” said Michael Abbott, audio coordinator,
UK - The Imperial War Museum North opened at Trafford Park in Manchester in 2002 and has since welcomed more than three million visitors. Designed by architect Daniel Libeskind, the striking building is now a feature of the city's skyline. Its exhibitions tell the story of how war has affected the lives of British and Commonwealth citizens since 1914. IWM North recently called on Pro Audio Systems in Bradford to upgrade the audio system of the museum’s star attraction, the Big Picture Show, which uses surround sound, projected digital moving images and photographs to create a fully immersive sensory experience that brings to life people’s experiences of war. After several A/B comparisons which designated EM Acoustics as both the top-performing and best value solution, Pro Audio Systems supplied a system based on 24 EMS-81X 2-way passive speakers supplemente
UK - In 2015, Horsecross Arts, the creative organisation that runs Perth Concert Hall and Perth Theatre, undertook the task of rejuvenating Perth Theatre, home to Scotland’s oldest repertory theatre company. Northern Light, specialist in technical theatre fit-outs, was contracted to design, provide, install and commission both the production lighting and sound and communications systems to help achieve this transformation. The aim of the project was to restore the theatre’s B-listed, Edwardian auditorium to its former glory. The ‘gods’ seating was to be reinstated, an orchestra area introduced and a new 200-seat studio theatre for small to mid-scale music and drama performances was built. New community and creative learning spaces, including a home for Perth Youth Theatre were also to be provided and access throughout the venue improved. Already on the approved
USA - Country music singer Luke Pell is out on tour with a lighting package supplied by Bandit Lites. The performer is travelling coast to coast on a 100-stop tour in support of his EP Luke Pell. For David Schultz, the journey to becoming Luke Pell’s lighting designer and tour manager was one that came about because of his experience with Bandit Lites, an experience he refers to as ‘unreal’. After meeting Bandit general manager Mark Steinwachs at the Touring Career Workshop, Schultz was invited to work in the Nashville shop, later joining the Technical Service Department. “Bandit has been an essential part of my career path and has provided me with the groundwork and reference that I needed to earn a gig like this,” Schultz said. “Bandit has been nothing but supportive in boosting my career by giving me my first professional shot in Nashvill
India - Ananta Stagecraft called on a total of 172 fixtures from the PR Lighting catalogue to provide dynamic illumination for the recent Gaana Bollywood Music Project. This two-day event was held in the Indian capital of Delhi, and according to Ananta Stagecraft’s Jay Joshi, the spectators were mesmerised by the spectacular lightshow. Local company Ananta Stagecraft had recently invested heavily in PR Lighting, and as the official lighting partner for the event they were able to field 60 x PR XR 330 Beam II; 50 x PR XR440 BWS; 38 x PR XR480 BWS and 24 x PR XLED 4022RZ to achieve impressive brightness and versatility. These fixtures populated two massive stages, both expertly designed by house lighting designers Jay Joshi and Sohail Mansuri to provide maximum bang for the buck. The lighting designers themselves were hugely impressed. Said Sohail Mansuri, “
Czech Republic - For the 2017 edition of the Transmission Festival, the Spirit of the Warrior, staged in Prague’s O2 Arena, the organisers of one of Czech Republic’s most popular dance events promised their guests “an unrivalled visual and sonic experience” delivered by a creative team including lighting designer Bas Kemper, Dutch VJ collective, Vision Impossible and Rudo Tucek, owner of Slovakian rental specialist, Ministry Rental Service. Ministry had just taken delivery of 24 new Robe MegaPointes in the weeks before the event and these multi-purpose fixtures took centre stage on the lighting plot, positioned prominently around the DJ booth at the suggestion of Rudo. “I was really keen to get MegaPointes right at the epicentre of the event” explained Rudo, “so deploying them around the DJ booth was an obvious place.” Two rows of eight
China - Over 40,000 spectators gathered to take in the final event of the 2017 League of Legends S7 World Championships in November 2017 at Beijing’s Bird’s Nest Olympic Stadium. The audio system for the event, which included over 200 Adamson E-Series and S-Series loudspeakers, ran without any interruption for nearly 96 hours, leading up to the winner being declared. League of Legends is a popular multiplayer online battle arena video game, with national tournaments hosted in several countries around the world. The S7 World Championships began with a pool of 12 international teams that, over the course of two months of live gameplay, was whittled down to the final two: Samsung Galaxy and SK Telecom T1, both from South Korea. The two teams faced off in the nearly four-day final at the Bird’s Nest, with the Samsung Galaxy team earning a decisive 3-0 victory. Beij
USA - The studio of Vermont Public Radio (VPR), a network of state-wide public radio stations, recently underwent a renovation to enhance its web broadcasts and live performances. The network required a lighting design that could operate within its strict ambient noise guidelines and appointed Dark Star Lighting and Production to provide a complete LED solution with Altman Lighting PHX 150W Profile and Spectra Star Par luminaires. Wolf Wallace, general manager, Dark Star Lighting and Production, explains: “This was a new studio space for both live performances and web streams, so they needed a new lighting system, but they were very sensitive about the sound levels in the studio environment. After they brought in an acoustic company to ensure the room was as purely contained for sound as possible, we knew we needed quiet LED luminaires in the lighting design for soun
