Romania - The Timeshift festival in Bucharest was the debut for the largest roof ever engineered and sold by Milos. The massive MR5 Heavy-Duty roof measured 31 x 18m and covered the main stage of the first edition of Timeshift Bucharest Music Festival - an event where technology and music come together. The festival was a four-day event held from 20-23 July and featured a total of four stages, with the Milos MR5 roof covering the main stage. Featuring international artists such as David Guetta, DJ Snake and Bloc Party, Milos helped Timeshift ensure its mission of providing the means for its audience to “step into another dimension”. The client for this project was A.S.C. Systems Sound & Light, based in Bucharest. A.S.C. Systems has been in operation for 17 years and is one of the leading rental companies in Romania for stage, light & sound equipment.
Europe - L-Acoustics sound systems have been specified for the recent European tour of Grammy Award-winning artist John Legend, with BCS Audio supplying the equipment. BCS owner David Shepherd explains: “As is so often the case, the client specified an L-Acoustics system. This is one of the reasons we’ve been an L-Acoustics supplier for several years now. Their systems are rider-friendly simply because they make great sounding products and consistently deliver the high quality of sound the artists want. And we want to provide our clients with that high quality - you always know what you’re going to get with L-Acoustics. “We’ve been working with John Legend since 2014,” recalls BCS project manager, Nick Boulton. “His FOH engineer, Troy Milner, had been really impressed with a K1 system they’d used during the first run of shows he worked on with John and
Denmark - The Rhythmic Conservatory (RMC) in Copenhagen aims at supporting the creative forces of its students, musicians as well as producers, as they have more than 30 rehearsal rooms that are equipped with recording set-ups, including USB recording interfaces, external preamps, a MIDI keyboard and controller and studio monitors so the students can hook up their own laptop and capture and work on their musical ideas. In 16 of those rehearsal spaces, a pair of Dynaudio LYD 7 studio monitors has now been installed. “All of the new rooms are prepared with a basic set-up that allows our students to bring their own laptop and simply plug in,” says sound technician, Tim Harris, who took the lead on designing the new rooms. “They have access to record up to 16 simultaneous tracks and since most of our students have a DAW and their favorite sound and instrument libraries on
New Zealand - New Zealand singer-songwriter Bic Runga marked the 20th anniversary of her debut album with a tour across the country. The album, Drive, was released in August 1997 and won the New Zealand Music Award for Album of the Year in 1998. It went platinum seven times in New Zealand. The Auckland leg of the anniversary tour was held at The Civic Performance Art Theatre, with the main sound system supplied especially for the event was JBL’s new line array system, the VTX A12. “When we were given the opportunity to mix with the VTX A12, it was a no-brainer really,” says leading sound engineer Kevin Bennett, who mixed FOH for the show. “I have never received as many compliments from an audience as I did after this performance. Sonically the A12 is exceptionally smooth on and off axis. Very little tweaking was necessary to get the system to work
South Africa - MJ Event Gear supplied the full technical for the annual employee awards organised by building materials merchant Cashbuild. The annual Cashbuild Hall of Fame Awards were hosted at the Maslow Hotel in Sandton to recognise the top performers among its 4,700 employees based at stores in South Africa, Namibia, Lesotho, Botswana, Swaziland, Malawi and Zambia. Commissioned by Trace Elements, MJ Event Gear has provided the full technical for the event since 2010. MJ’s Theo Rood ensured the event, which catered for just over 200 guests, was stage manager for the awards. He relied on Robe moving lights, programmed by LD Gary Sam on a grandMA2 light, to create the fire and ice theme that lit the ballroom. Gary Sam said: “It’s always such a pleasure to work with the MJ team. Equipment-wise, the grandMA2 light worked well for me as I enjoy the MA pla
UK - Rental specialists Pinewood MBS Lighting worked alongside cinematographer Josie Williams on the award-winning film David and Bathsheba by directors Sammy Patterson and Dagmar Scheibenreif. Filmed at Pinewood Studios Underwater Stage as part of the 48hour Film Project, the film is a resplendent mix of storytelling and spectacular lighting and camerawork. Working with Robert Shears, Pinewood MBS provided supported and equipment to the shoot, including ARRIMax M18 and Dedo Octadome kits which the crew employed to good effect, particularly during the underwater sequences filmed by Dagmar Scheibenreif. Commenting on the support received by the production, director Sammy Patterson says: “Our heartfelt thanks go out to Pinewood MBS Lighting, Pinewood Studios and absolutely everyone who helped us and worked so hard to put this film together - we could not
UK - A SSL console is being used on Imagine Dragon’s latest world tour in support of their Evolve album. Tour sound company Sound Image recommended the SSL Live L500 to FOH engineer Scott Eisenberg. "It was great to be able to bring up channels that sounded good right out of the box," he notes. "We were able to bring everything together really quickly, which is a tribute to both the band and the console." The Evolve show features two stages. The main stage is for the primary song list with full line-up, while a 'B' stage allows the band to switch to pared-down, unplugged interludes that include viola, cello, acoustic bass, and keyboards. This was one of the main challenges for Eisenberg - two stages, lots of instruments, and lots of inputs: "It's about 80 inputs between the two stages," he says. "Around 50 from the main stage, a dozen from the B S
UK - West End fringe venue The Space and its in-house company Space Productions, are building a solid reputation around great acting and direction as well as new and challenging drama. The company’s sound designer, Keri Chesser, is dedicated to pushing the boundaries of sound design within the intimate site, confidently manipulating the audio framework of productions using a TiMax SoundHub spatial audio matrix. Chesser and the Space Productions team have recently staged a minimalistic adaptation of Howard Barker’s The Castle, where TiMax once again topped her tool kit. “I love to use TiMax,” she explains, “It makes me braver with my sound design. Makes me want to discover new ways of manipulating the audio rather than just sticking to the limitations of the speakers I have.” The invisible loudspeaker set up comprised just seven cabinets: two co
Germany - When pop singer Nena celebrated her 40th stage anniversary, the radio and TV host Thomas Gottschalk led a constant stream of top international stars coming and going to honour the occasion. Peter Maffay, Gianna Nannini, Wolfgang Niedecken von Bap and Dieter Meier of YELLO were among the illustrious guests along with other well-wishers like Sasha, Samy Deluxe, Frida Gold or The Boss Hoss. Even Dave Stewart insisted on passing by for a duet. Impressively staged, the event was set in the round in Hamburg’s Mehr! Theatre. For the occasion lighting designer, Manuel da Costa, was commissioned by Herr! Media, a production company which specialises in music production. Manuel and Nena have known each other and worked together for many years. For example, the lighting designer and the musician collaborated closely on the format The Voice Of Germany. “But ov
USA - The 51st Annual Country Music Association (CMA) Awards brought together some of the biggest names in country music for an evening of memorable performances which was broadcast on ABC to 14.3m viewers. Sennheiser microphones and wireless systems were present throughout the broadcast, which was reportedly the channel’s most-viewed Wednesday night programme in three years. Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley hosted the evening, both speaking and singing through a Sennheiser SKM 5200 handheld transmitter and MD 5235 capsule combination - all running through a Sennheiser 3732-II receiver. Underwood also received a nomination for Female Vocalist of the Year. After an understated a cappella rendition of Amazing Grace by Eric Church, Lady Antebellum and a bevy of other performers joined Darius Rucker for a rendition of erstwhile Hootie and the Blowfish hit <
Poland - Alcons Audio has recently added a new territory to its global spread of users, with Polish event production company Offstage using its QR, QM and VR series pro-ribbon systems on a wide range of events. Two of the most recent have been corporate orchestral concerts in the Baltic resort of Sopot. Based in Łęgowo near Gdansk, Offstage provides concert sound, lighting and staging services for national and international clients. In September, its Alcons pro-ribbon loudspeakers were used for a corporate event at the Sheraton Hotel in Sopot where the Polish Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra Sopot and guest performers entertained guests in the hotel’s Baltic Panorama Ballroom. For the orchestral concert, Offstage used L-R arrays of an Alcons QR24 modular line-source array column and QM24 LMF array extension, plus VR8 compact versatile monitors as frontfills. The syst
USA - After producing the US Open Squash Championships in Philadelphia for seven years, IMS Technology Services noticed a distinct improvement in the audio quality after switching to Martin Audio CDD-LIVE speakers for this year’s event. IMS director of audio Chris Leonard comments: “We definitely upgraded the speaker coverage with the Martin Audio CDD-LIVE 12’s and 8’s. They had a major impact on the environment with their low-end extension and consistent wide coverage. There’s no good place to put subs at this event, so having a speaker with the low-end power of the CDD-LIVE series really helped us out with adding excitement to the audio quality and coverage. This was the seventh year we’ve done this event and by far the best sounding one yet.” The Championships take place at Drexel University’s Daskalakis Athletic Centre with a custom ASB glass squas
USA - SGM will launch the G-Spot Turbo at LDI to mark the start of a new series of IP65-rated LED moving heads that will eventually include a Spot, a Profile, a Wash, and a narrow Wash-Beam. The G- Spot Turbo is based on an optimised additive colour mixing to match the highest demands of colour rendering and total output. The IP65 rating and the integrated patented dehumidifier in the fixtures ensures perfect inner cleanness and no accumulation of externally induced particles and liquids on internal optics and light sources, such as smoke fluid, dust, dirt, airborne pollution and humidity on internal optics, gobos, or the light source unit. The patented SGM dehumidification, not only removes humidity, but also prevents oxidation and condensation, which can lead to corrosion. The G-Spot Turbo is a solution for those in need of a powerful LED moving head with good chro
USA - ETC’s booth at LDI 2017 will be awash in colour as the new ColorSource CYC luminaire makes its debut at the Las Vegas Convention Centre. From 17-19 November, visitors to booth #2773 can demo the new fixture – a compact, affordable five-colour LED cyclorama light that specialises in smooth washes and rich colour – and see its optics in action on the booth’s cyc. Among the other products making their first appearance at LDI are the Ion Xe and Ion Xe 20 consoles, which update the compact Eos family desk with backlit keyboards, increased output, and the option of built-in faders. LDI attendees can also see new varieties of the Irideon FPZ architectural luminaire. ETC will present talks and events throughout the show. On Friday morning, Jim Uphoff will introduce the ColorSource CYC to the hungry attendees of the New Technology Breakfast in Room N112. On Saturd
USA - When MTV’s TRL returned to the air on 2 October, after a nine-year hiatus, it represented a homecoming of sorts for Mike Grabowski of the Lighting Design Group. Having worked on the star-studded programme in the final years of its original run, Grabowski was familiar with the challenges of lighting a live show with a mix of artists and programming formats. He also knew first-hand how to work within the parameters of MTV’s Times Square studio. Based on this experience, Grabowski was focused on building his new TRL design around a moving fixture that could not only create a continuous stream of vibrant visuals, but also looked good on camera in its own right. He was looking for a light that fit this bill, when his phone started ringing. At the other end of the line were friends and associates with voice and text messages about the new Maverick MK Pyxis from Ch
Europe - Gary Numan is on tour promoting his his 21st album, Savage (Songs from A Broken World), with Luke Edwards of Cue Design working on his lighting design. Edwards has been Numan’s lighting and visual designer for the last four years keeping everything looking fresh and interesting onstage and for this tour, he specified 36 x Robe moving lights for the touring package with 18 x Spiider LED wash beams and 18 x of the new LEDBeam 150s. The artist initially gets involved in the style of the stage design when planning a tour, then leaves Luke to bring his own touches of lighting magic to the table. For this one they wanted to include a video element and make the show look as awesome as possible, all the time reinforcing the album themes based on the blending of Western and Eastern cultures in a post-apocalyptic world, arid and desertified by global warm
Poland - Tommex Żebrowscy Sp. J. has recently completed the design and installation of the audio systems for the new water sports facility - Zatoka Sportu - at the Academic Sports and Teaching Centre of the Technical University of Łódz. Tommex designed the main pool area system using EN 54-24 certified loudspeakers. Twenty-three Community R2-94Z-EN are used for the 1,700 capacity spectator grandstand, with a further five R1-66Z-EN covering the pool itself. The system’s control room houses a Dynacord CMS 1000-3 mixer and the Community DSPEC226 digital loudspeaker processor. Marcin Zimny, the commercial director of Tommex, explained the sound system: “With high humidity and difficult acoustics, we chose Community R Series loudspeakers. Their extreme all-weather ability can handle the humidity long-term and their accurate coverage patterns enabled us to design the
UK - Hawthorn is once again heading out on tour with 80s new wave group OMD (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark). The company will be supplying lighting & crew to the band as they take their The Punishment of Luxury Tour around the UK and Europe. The band, which has sold over 40m records worldwide, is returning to the stage in support of their 13th studio album The Punishment of Luxury. Having kicked off at Liverpool Empire on 29 October, the tour will run through to 8 December, closing at the Les Docks, Lausanne, Switzerland. The concert touring division at Hawthorn is supplying lighting to specification for the performances, including Clay Paky Sharpy and Sharpy Wash, Robe BMFL Spot and Ayrton Magic Blade-R fixtures. Hawthorn is also providing rigging, drapes, dimmers and distro, as well as supplying two lighting crew for the performances. Mi
Czech Republic - Perhaps one of the most unusual cultural buildings in Europe, the airship at DOX Centre for Contemporary Art in Prague appears to float above the surrounding buildings. For those that venture inside it, a Yamaha audio system proves that the sound. Named after fictional traveller Gulliver, the 42m long, 120-capacity steel and wood airship features a zeppelin-shaped structure on top and is a permanent space for lectures, exhibitions, screening and other cultural events. The venue features an AV system specified and installed by Martin Vondrášek of the Prague-based AVT Group. The audio system comprises four Yamaha VXS5W speakers arrayed along each side of the ‘body’, powered by an XMV8140 multi-channel amplifier, with signal distribution and processing by an Yamaha MTX5-D matrix processor. Audio inputs come from wireless microphones, a
USA - Set against the striking backdrop of the Hollywood Hills with its famed Hollywood sign, the Hollywood Bowl is the summer home to the Los Angeles Philharmonic. The Bowl has also been the winner of 13 consecutive Pollstar Awards for Outstanding Outdoor Venue since 2004, which was coincidentally the same year that L-Acoustics was selected to help maintain the audio excellence at the venue, first with V-DOSC, then with the 2013 installation of the only K1 system currently installed in a North American venue. Just prior to the 2017 season, the Hollywood Bowl furthered its pursuit of sonic excellence with the acquisition of 18 AVB-ready L-Acoustics LA12X and 10 LA4X amplified controllers, all sold and installed by Rat Sound. With this addition of 28 new LA Series amplified controllers, the Hollywood Bowl has completely refreshed and updated its power infrastructure, fu
The Netherlands - LD André Beekmans from The Art of Light deployed 170 CLF Aorun beams during the 2017 edition of the Amsterdam Music Festival headlined by Armin van Buuren, Hardwell, David Guetta, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike. Together with design studio 250K, Beekmans designed a square stage in which the Aoruns were placed in different matrixes. Beekmans says: “I really like the double prism of the Aorun. Besides that, the colors are very useful. Guest LD’s were also very happy with the impact of the Aorun beam.” In the center of each square filled with Aoruns were placed four Ares fixtures, or 60 in total. All Ares fixtures were used without diffusors in order to get the punchy effect of the 21° beam angle. Beekmans frequently uses the Ares for their light output. “The CLF Ares is one of the best options on the market as it comes to output with sat
UK - Lighting and visuals rental specialist Colour Sound Experiment delivered lighting and video equipment for Neil Marsh’s show design for popular alt.trance aficionados Above & Beyond at London’s O2 Arena. The one-off show was effectively a soft album launch for their new Common Ground work and comes ahead of an extensive 2018 tour which will kick off in the US. Neil took the base elements of the design for this show from their recent AGBT250 show at the Gorge Amphitheatre, near Seattle in Washington State. The band host a weekly two hour radio show - Group Therapy Radio – and celebrate every 50 radio shows with a large ‘ABGT’ live event staged in a different county each time. As a one-off, Neil’s philosophy was to take a lighting and video design concept that he knew worked very successfully and keep things straightforward given t
Europe - This summer’s Celine Dion LIVE 2017 tour, in support of her Encore un soir album, took the Canadian songstress on a 25-date tour of Europe in her first major tour for eight years. Dion’s lighting designer of 28 years, Yves Aucoin, put together a lighting design that featured 24 Ayrton MagicPanel-R fixtures. He says: “Celine takes her craft – and her audiences – seriously, and we spent a long time carefully listening to every song in her repertoire before choosing which she would perform and how they should look. Her collaboration with the design team comes in the early stages of a tour, after which point she concentrates on her performance and leaves us to our work on the visuals. She performs 26 songs in the show but selected 48 in total, switching between French and English from city to city. “On a tour of this scale, with venues t
USA - A portable church setup designed to go in and out of a middle school gym every weekend, Preston Trail McKinney required streamlined equipment for its audio, video, lighting, staging and furniture setups. Martin Audio Wavefront Precision Mini (WPM) was specified to address the venue’s limitations. As described by Clark senior design consultant Peter Fitton: “The church is transported into a middle school gymnasium with a 16ft. x 32ft. stage, a 40ft. rear lighting truss upstage and lighting trusses on both sides of the auditorium about midway through the house that provide front light for the stage and house lighting for the audience area. The video system includes a video playback server, a switcher, an 11ft. tall x 14ft. wide screen in the centre and a 13,000-lumen projector in the back of the room. The school provides seating for 300-350 congregants. “For
