USA - Each year, Inc. Magazine publishes its list of the 5000 fastest-growing publicly held small companies in the U.S. and follows the announcement with a black-tie awards ceremony at the Inc. 5000 Conference & Gala. To land on Inc’s list is not only public recognition that a company is on a successful track, it also serves as a source of pride for up-and-coming companies. The Inc. 5000 Conference & Gala gathering brings some of the nation's most successful business minds together to celebrate the companies that appear on the prestigious ranking. The 10th anniversary edition of the conference was held 10-12 October at the JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort in Palm Springs, California, with the black tie awards ceremony capping the three-day event on the final night. J. Thor Productions, a growing live event production company based near Tampa,
USA - Optocore has been providing professional digital transport systems for high channel counts of audio, video and data for more the 25 years. The Digico SD series of consoles have been using the Optocore fibre network as their digital fibre transport system since their release because of the redundant and reliable performance of the network. The Optocore platform is easily programmed and connected using redundant fibre connections and allows for near instantaneous transmission of audio, control and data without any loss or electrical interference. This makes Optocore enabled consoles an appealing choice for audio technicians that need to transport a large amount of audio, maintain great quality audio and not worry about IT integration or IP addresses. An additional benefit to using the Optocore fibre network with SD consoles is the ability of using any Optocore R-
USA - Garth Brooks celebrated a new ticket sales record after three years touring North America with his wife, Trisha Yearwood, and his trusted sound system designed by Clair Brothers. The exacting standards by which Garth works and his genuine thoughtfulness, from his song-writing and studio recording, to the level of planning, production quality, gear and pros he takes out on the road with him, set the stage for success. Preparation for this tour began in 2014 when Garth commissioned a custom-made sound system design from Clair Brothers. Six months of research and system development engineering were required to meet the vision conceptualized by Brooks and his production team. This vision garnered Garth and his team a 2018 TEC Award nomination for Outstanding Creative Achievement for Tour/Event Sound Production. His main touring PA consists of a combination of
Sweden - With music and the spoken word at the heart of the modern worship service, any renovation of a church sanctuary calls for a critical appraisal of the performance of the fixed audio system. In the Bethlehem Church in Gothenburg, Sweden, just such a renovation resulted in the installation of a new Nexo Geo M6 compact line array, after careful analysis of the church room’s acoustics and a shoot-out between manufacturers’ solutions. Tech 4 Event AB has specialised in church installations over recent years and was called in to assess the needs of the Bethlehem church, and its 800-strong congregation. Björn Carlsson, the CEO of Tech 4 Events, and his colleagues looked at a number of different sound reinforcement systems for the installation, considering the aesthetic appearance of the audio solution as well as its sonic performance. The church called for a dem
New Zealand - Jands NZ recently installed a networked audio system by Harman Professional Solutions at the Australian High Commission facility in Wellington. The Australian High Commission (AHC) acts as the Australian government’s official agency in New Zealand. In addition to providing a range of diplomatic services to the public, including passport, immigration, citizenship and cultural relations, the AHC also represents Australia’s interests to government and business organizations in New Zealand. A dedicated event space in the facility allows the AHC to host numerous events and meetings throughout the year. The AHC event space consists of four individual rooms that can accommodate multiple events simultaneously or be combined for large events. In order to ensure maximum intelligibility, versatility and ease-of-use during a wide range of events, the AHC hired
France - The artistic adventure of the Grand T in Nantes began in 1983 with the inauguration of the Espace 44, an 879-seat theatre designed by architect Claude Jeffroy and scenographer Igor Hilbert. The venue gained a strong reputation under the aegis of Jean-Luc Tardieu, the Grand T artistic director from 1985 to 1998, who directed many shows starring iconic actors such as Jean Marais, Edwige Feuillère and Anouk Aimé. Catherine Blondeau is the director of the theatre since 2011. Designed on the principle of an insulated staging area, Le Grand T stands out due to the short distance between the stage and the last row, creating an intimate feeling between the actors and the audience. To enhance this proximity, Le Grand T recently decided to upgrade the entire front-fill sound system. French integrator, Sonowest, trusted loudspeaker manufacturer APG and its new Uniline Compa
USA - Seminal horror punk rock band and at The Forum in Los Angeles with a pair of high-octane shows guaranteed to please fans of the iconic musicians. Lighting designer/Director Jason Cain selected Claypaky Mythos2 and Sharpy Wash fixtures for the back-to-back arena shows. “The Misfits are the reason we have Metallica, Guns N’ Roses and Rob Zombie,” says Cain, who is also an account representative at Gemini LSV (Light Sound Video) in Dallas, which provided the lights. For the shows featuring long-time band members Glenn Danzig, Jerry Only and Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein, Cain wanted lights that delivered “a lot of output, were quick and able to strobe saturated colours. Both the Mythos2 and Sharpy Washes delivered that: They were pretty raw and powerful.” The Misfits’ stage was outfitted with a 40x20ft 6mm LED videowall, a pair of 13ft tall prop
USA - Broadcast live on 28 January, the 60th Annual Grammy Awards delivered all the excitement and drama audiences have come to expect from the music industry’s marquee event. Several of the biggest artists in the industry, including Album of the Year and Record of the Year winner Bruno Mars, made use of 20 channels of Sennheiser’s digital wireless technology and four channels of its analogue wireless technology. Kendrick Lamar kicked off the show with a powerful performance of his song XXX from his Album of the Year nominated record DAMN. Lamar used a Sennheiser Digital 6000 wireless system featuring an SKM 9000 transmitter and MD 9235 capsule for transmission of his riveting rhymes. He would take home five Grammy Awards on the evening. Lady Gaga took the stage next, performing sensitive, piano-focused renditions of both the title track from
UK - Following the success of their last show A Christmas Carol, Voice of the Show were back in 2017 with The Adventures of Pinocchio. Based on the original book by Carlo Collodi, David Mansell directed and adapted the tale into a magical family performance which follows the naughty puppet on his many adventures and begins on Christmas Eve in toy maker, Geppetto’s workshop (played by Guy Siner). The Little Theatre by the Park in Chesham played home to the dark family fable for 19 shows throughout December, boasting West End-worthy lighting designs and a small but talented cast. At the heart of the lighting rig were four Chauvet DJ Intimidator hybrids, six Chauvet Professional Q-Wash 436Zs, four Rogue R2 Spots and eight ETC Source 4 Junior fixtures that were evenly positioned around the circular stage. Both Rogue R2 Spots and Intimidator hybrids were c
USA - The 2018 Bounce Trumpet Awards were held on 20 January at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre with a lighting package supplied by Bandit Lites. 2018 honourees were Jermaine Dupri, Richelieu Dennis, Tamika Mallory, Marley Dias, Dr. Lonnie Johnson, Rhyon Brown and Cameo. The evening featured performances from Arrested Development, Michel’le and Major along with a musical tribute to So So Def Recordings founder and honoree Jermaine Dupri which included performances from Anthony Hamilton, Bow Wow, Xscape and a surprise appearance by Ludacris. Using over 180 fixtures from Bandit Lites, lighting designer Bob Peterson crafted looks that would translate both for those in attendance at the live awards and for those who would be watching at home. HES SolaSpot 2000 Framings provided reconfigurable, automated key lights from the rail and first electric, while Rob
USA - Carnival Cruise Line’s Carnival Conquest, which cruises to the Bahamas, Bermuda, and the Caribbean, recently upgraded its sound reinforcement capabilities for its poolside LED screen. After carefully considering options from several well-known loudspeaker manufacturers, the company ultimately selected loudspeakers from the WR Series catalogue of D.A.S. Audio. North Miami, FL headquartered Control AV, an AV system design / build firm that specialises in entertainment technology projects for cruise ships and other specialist applications, was contracted to design and deploy the new sound reinforcement setup for the ship’s outdoor theatre. Ultimately, the firm installed 16 D.A.S. WR-320FXW installation line arrays and four WR-S218FXW subwoofers. Amir El Yordi, President of Control AV LLC, discussed the job and his reasons for selecting D.A.S. Audio equipment.
France - Sound engineer and designer Alain Roy, head of rental company Espace Concept, is one of the most respected names on France’s professional audio scene. A recent classical concert in eastern France gave him the opportunity to examine the Nexo STM Series modular line array as part of his new conceptual approach to immersive sound. The event, staged at the Axone Arena in Montebeliard near the Swiss border, featured 80 musicians of the Orchestre Victor Hugo Franche Comté, who were joined by a blues band for the second half of the concert. For the main PA, the Besançon-based rental team of Espace Concept set up a L/R system with (per side) 12x M28 main and six B112 bass modules from Nexo’s modular STM Series. In this application, Roy’s system design exploited the sound quality of the 12” drivers in the B112s, rather than increasing the number of double 8
USA - Music is important to the mission of Believers Church. So much so, that this 2,100-member non-denominational house of worship in northeastern Ohio has its own bands and combos, including the aptly named BC Band. It also welcomes an impressive array of guest performers to its services and events. Supporting the music at the church’s newly remodelled Youth Room with immersive live venue-style lighting is a collection of Chauvet Professional Rogue and Ovation fixtures supplied by Goliath Lighting. “Our youth services have a lot of very expressive high-energy songs,” said Cory Clement, the church’s technical director, who oversaw the lighting upgrade. “Being able to reflect this music with colour changes, zooms and effects from 19 moving fixtures really provides an engaging and enriching experience. Previously, we had no movers in our Youth Room, so the differenc
Europe - The MSC Meraviglia is a new-generation mega-ship and the first of a new fleet of high-tech cruise ships that MSC Cruises is launching over the next decade. Built by STX France at the Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyard, the 5,700-passenger capacity cruiser is outfitted with the latest in cutting-edge technology, including a large energy-efficient Elation Professional LED lighting package used in the ship’s entertainment and relaxation areas. For several years, Audio Effetti S.r.l. of Genova, Italy, has collaborated closely with both the technical department of MSC Cruises and the renowned engineering design studio CM by Claudio Mazzucchelli. The latter was commissioned by MSC to define and optimise the technical equipment on board. “We have worked with MSC for years as a partner in the research and supply of the most suitable solutions and products to meet the st
USA - Rockrose Development recently began work on the renovation of their property at 300 Park Avenue. Located in the prestigious Park Avenue submarket in Manhattan, the project renovation was to include the creation of a completely new rooftop, outdoor living experience. Wanting a dynamic visual display to be the focal point of the design, Rockrose Development called upon the team at VJVIT who installed an IP-65 rated FLEXStorm LED video display from PixelFLEX. “We have done other technology related work Rockrose Development in the past, but this was our first time creating an outdoor LED video display,” began Victor Perez, VJVIT COO. “The property had a high-end client moving into the top two floors of the building, and they wanted to create an exciting rooftop deck for them as well. As part of the build-out, the elevator was to be extended to open onto the roof
USA - At the end of December 2017, Global Dance, AEG Presents and Live Nation Concerts helped transform the the Exhibit Hall at the Colorado Convention Centre in Denver into Decadence: City Beyond Tomorrow, billed with simultaneous events in Arizona and Utah as America’s Largest NYE Dance Celebration. Attracting approximately 18,000 electronic music fans on both 30 and 31 December, Decadence hosted performances from some of the biggest names in EDM, including Armin Van Buuren, Bassnectar, Big Gigantic, Diplo, Galantis, Gramatik, Justice, ODESZA, Porter Robinson, Zedd and nearly 20 other top acts of the genre. For sound reinforcement, the event’s three promoters turned to local L-Acoustics certified provider Brown Note Productions, Inc., which, with the support of K Systems Engineer (KSE) Dan Bowers, supplied identical K1/K2/Kara systems for the
Europe - When LD Sam Tozer provided his dynamic lightshow for the BBK Festival at the O2 Arena in London over the August Bank Holiday weekend, he called on an abundance of GLP’s X4 Bar 20 battens for the marathon event. LRI production manager David Davies and the Vision Factory lighting designer were invited onto the recent J Hus Common Sense tour, and this time the latter added GLP’s GT-1 hybrid Spot/Wash lights to the mix. The afrobeat/grime artist had supported BBK, and the tour would take them round various theatres, universities and Academy venues - ending with a massive show at Brixton Academy. “In addition to using my favourite fixtures, including the X4 Bars, I knew this time around we needed something a bit different,” he states. “I spotted the GT-1 for the first time when I visited the GLP factory, having previously seen them at PLASA.” And
Singapore - Digital Aid recently deployed a large-scale JBL by Harman VTX Series audio system at ZoukOut 2017, one of Asia’s largest dance music festivals. Now in its 17th year, ZoukOut is an annual electronic music festival that brings top DJs and producers for a weekend filled with dusk-to-dawn EDM performances. Held on 8 December 2017, the latest ZoukOut festival attracted 40,000 dance music fans to Siloso Beach for dusk-to-dawn sets by Flume, Marshmello, R3hab, Axwell / Ingrosso, Amelie Lens and more. To ensure audio quality for crowds and artists at the Star Stage, festival organizer Zouk hired sound provider Digital Aid to deploy a complete JBL VTX sound system. The VTX system’s transparent sound quality enabled Digital Aid to accommodate the diverse line-up of artists with minimal sound interference from the nearby Moon Stage. “When we put
USA - The LA bureau of the Fox News Channel has seen its share of rising and falling news personalities but a constant star is ETC. The stage at the small studio in Culver City underwent a refurbishment and introducing a Plexiglas and stainless steel design with a curtain track backdrop. With its unusually high ceiling and excellent acoustics, the stage is now home to The Next Revolution with Steve Hilton Sunday night broadcast. The revamped set design came with a much-needed new lighting package provided by 4Wall Lighting’s Los Angeles office. Lighting Director Eric Reinig and his counterparts in New York specified a mostly ETC LED system. “It only made sense to go LED, for the flexibility and the reduction of heat onstage and the running costs,” says Reinig. “The old rig of standard 1K and 2K fixtures and old Strand gear was well past its prime.”
UK - Symphotech has collaborated with Blue Multimedia to provide concerts with two innovative and cost-effective signing solutions to aid the deaf and hearing impaired, in a bid to ensure both inclusivity and compliance with disability access legislation. Event health and safety company, Symphotech, is offering two forms of assistive technologies to ensure events are compliant with the equalities Act 2010. The first method involves using an Autocue operator and a downstream keyer to overlay live text onto the IMAG screens for the song lyrics. The second method uses a live signing presenter, who is situated off-stage in front of a green screen and their live signing is ‘floated’ over the live show and placed into the corner of the IMAG video screens. This option provides the presenter with a live feed of the performance and lyrics sheets to enable them to be reactiv
USA - Entering the BangON NYC party at Brooklyn’s East Williamsburg Warehouse on 31 December instantly conjured up feelings of journeying deep into our solar system. Hanging from the ceiling, as if floating through the vastness of space, were very large, colourful planetary orbs. The generously proportioned building, which stretches for nearly a city block and has a 35’ ceiling, served as an ideal setting for this celestial scene. It also provided Spencer Lavoie and Kyle McHugh with room to create an astronomically powerful lightshow that tied these heavenly bodies and other scenic elements into a transformative visual panorama with help from a collection of Chauvet Professional Rogue fixtures. “It was a treat to watch light beams crisscross one other over this sizeable amount of space and play off the scenic elements,” said Lavoie, who served as technical dire
UK - The latest Haz Restaurant - on Mincing Lane just off Fenchurch Street in London - is a fine example of a modern venue deserving of a high-quality sound system to enhance and complement the stylish interior. Located on the ground floor of the Plantation Place building, the restaurant’s long glass frontage creates a light and airy space, perfect for enjoying the excellent cuisine. Bose pro partner, AV Systems, worked closely with the restaurant’s design team, I-AM, to ensure that the chosen speakers not only sounded good, but fitted discreetly into the mix of crystal chandeliers and unique wooden slatted ceilings. A fully concealed Bose FreeSpace 3 system consisting of 24 satellite cube speakers and six sub bass units was installed inside the composite ceiling finish, above the line of sight. It is driven from a dedicated AV rack containing a Bose PowerMatch 85
Australia - Showtech Australia is one of a growing number of companies investing in and using Kinesys automation products regularly in both their day-to-day and custom work. The company was founded in 1987 by Tiny Good with headquarters in Braeside, Victoria, and a satellite office in Hong Kong - to serve the growing Asian market. Showtech Australia specialises in entertainment rigging, staging, automation, flying effects, technical and ‘uncommon’ services, applying expert knowledge and imagination to the intriguing world of motion control. Tiny was already familiar with Kinesys products before he committed to the purchases, as they had been working regularly with Kinesys elements … “basically I knew the power and scope of the Vector system, so I was confident it was the right choice,” stated Tiny. They have been purchasing and utilising Kinesys
UK - Formed only in 2015, The Hunna, a four-piece English rock band, kicked off 2018 by performing six back-to-back gigs in UK O2 Academy venues in early January. Travelling with them was lighting designer, Tom Campbell, who chose MDG’s ICE FOG Compack low fog generator and an ATMe haze generator to provide the band with the right mix of atmospheric effects to guarantee they, and his lighting, would be seen to best advantage. “Showcasing the lighting was especially important for this tour as the structure of the design forms the majority of the set,” says Campbell. “The backbone of the show design is centred around 108 lasers which are located on side towers. I use these to create various worlds, shapes and looks for the band to perform in, so I needed a hazer I could really rely on that would deliver a fine even haze day after day. MDG’s ATMe is ideal as it
