Austria - The new production of the award-winning musical theatre extravaganza Black Rider at the Theater Bielefeld in Wallern uses Pixera media server systems, 4K projectors and tracking technology for realising a unique stage experience. Since its original premiere in the year 1990, The Black Rider: The Casting of the Magic Bullets has managed to combine classical culture, postmodernism and a music soundtrack to entertain audiences around the globe. Robert Wilson's artistic vision, coupled with the narrative skills of William S. Burroughs and the music of Tom Waits, laid the foundation for the enduring popularity of this avant-gardist work. The Theater Bielefeld's latest production by Michael Heicks uses cutting edge AV technology that helps Sascha Vredenburg's evocative video content come to life on stage. Within record time, the theatre de
Australia - DiGiCo consoles are finding additional life in the world of serious live stream events. One such place is in Australia for The Cube, a premium live streaming event space which is gaining serious traction in the world of live DJ streaming. The Cube can be compared to an entire festival stage, crammed into a compact streaming space. Its design is the combined effort of Melbourne AV retailer Concert Audio Visual, lighting and visuals specialists VizFx and Melbourne-based online radio station LESH FM. A DiGiCo SD9, supplied by DiGiCo’s Australian distributor, Group Technologies, was chosen for mixing pre-broadcast audio, as well as handling the stage monitor mix, DJ Booth audio and Front of House mix. Anthony Graziani, Concert AV’s sales manager and one of The Cube’s primary team members, says DiGiCo was the logical choice for the setup.
Austria - A new exhibition by sound artist Bill Fontana entitled Primal Energies opened 1 July at Kunsthaus Graz. Occupying the museum’s vast ovoid dome Space 01 Gallery, Primal Energies pays homage to the future of renewable energy through a mesmerising mix of video imagery and evocative soundscapes that portray our planet’s expanding wind, solar, hydroelectric and geothermal resources. While viewing images on the eight large screens, visitors are immersed in a blend of energy-related sounds reproduced by 64 Meyer Sound self-powered loudspeakers. The impact of the installation is further enhanced by dynamic spatial sound movements created and automated using a beta version of Meyer Sound’s soon-to-be-released Spacemap Go technology. Sounds and images for the work were recorded on location by Fontana with assistance from Scott George of London-based
USA - South Haven Baptist Church in Springfield, Tennessee, has been the community centre for a steadily growing congregation since 1986. It expanded its campus in 1997 to include a high school and a gym and then expanded again in 2005 to include an elementary school and a daycare facility. After its congregation could no longer comfortably fit in its sanctuary, the church moved services to the high school gym for a number of years. Centerline AV of Hendersonville designed and installed a Danley Sound Labs sound reinforcement system for the gym, which made the most of an imperfect situation. With an eye to the future, South Haven Baptist Church recently expanded its campus yet again, adding a 1000-seat sanctuary. And again, they called in Centerline AV to design and install a sound reinforcement system centred on a stereo pair of Danley J1-94 Jericho Horns – the same
UK - Martin Audio’s British headquarters in High Wycombe got a dramatic new look as part of Monday night's #LightItInRed campaign, which saw 700 buildings of every kind across the UK lit up in ‘emergency red’ to amplify the voice of the event and entertainment industry during this critical time. Martin Audio’s managing director, Dom Harter, comments: “The live events industry is on a precipice. Unless it receives urgent funding to safeguard its future, the shockwave of the resulting collapse will impact hundreds of thousands of jobs in businesses up and down the country and ultimately have a significant detrimental impact on the culture of Great Britain. “We continue to support all industry parties and partners in this fight. I would also like to offer my thanks to Nigel Meddemmen, our in-house lighting specialist, and Sophie Hoult for her stunning photogra
Taiwan - Described in 2003 by Time magazine as the ‘New King of Asian Pop’, Jay Chou has turned his signature sound - which fuses traditional instruments and styles with R&B or rock - into a global phenomenon. In late 2019, Chou’s record label JVR Music promoted the spectacular Carnival world tour to celebrate the artist’s 20th year in the entertainment industry. A Yamaha RivagePM10 digital mixing system was chosen to mix the performers’ monitors. Sound engineer Mr Luo began his career at an audio rental company when, as he says, “in Taiwan there were no such thing as monitor engineers”. As the number of higher profile artists began to increase, the demand for professional monitor engineers rose. Despite retiring from the industry after a decade, his reputation meant invitations from artists tempted him to become involved with the JVR Music team and
Canada - Green Hippo has appointed DataVisual as its exclusive distributor for Canada. Ottawa-based DataVisual will add Green Hippo’s Hippotizer Media Server product range to its comprehensive AV systems portfolio, improving its offering to clients across Canada’s pro-AV marketplace. Having enjoyed a long relationship with Green Hippo’s sister brands Magenta Research and tvONE, DataVisual found the Hippotizer range a “perfect addition” to its technology offering. “The fit between our two organizations has always been very good, as we both place a high value on the service and support required of more technically sophisticated products,” comments DataVisual CEO Lisa Kislich-Lemyre. “The addition of Green Hippo to that family was welcome news. We’ve had a lot of success with tvONE’s video wall processors, but Media Servers were the one piece of
USA - One year on from taking delivery of the world’s first Wavefront Precision Longbow (WPL) system, Richmond, VA’s Soundworks has now switched its entire inventory to Martin Audio, purchasing both 8-inch WPS and 10-inch WPC systems. Founded in 1976 by Steve Payne, Soundworks has long benefited from a working relationship with Southard Audio, led by Mike Southard in neighbouring Harrisonburg, VA. In 2019, the two companies jointly chose Martin Audio for the first time, becoming the first WPL users in the world with each company purchasing 24 WPL cabinets, 12 SXH218 hybrid subs and 12 iKON iK42 amps. “We used WPL for the whole of last season and we were just delighted with it,” says Payne. “We looked forward to every opportunity we had to use it but for smaller events we still had to use a smaller, older system that we had in our inventory. That was hard! We
UK - Last night (6 July), some of the UK’s most iconic venues and landmarks were lit up in ‘emergency red’ as part of the #LightItInRed campaign to draw attention to the critical condition of the live events and entertainment industry. A glimpse of hope was given to Britain’s arts industry on Sunday evening (5 July), as £1.57bn was pledged by the government – yet the supply chain behind the production of live events and festivals, including many freelancers, is still awaiting clarification as to what support they will be offered. Unlike other industries, live theatre, outdoor events, concerts, festivals and performances have been unable to safely resume due to social distancing guidance and other restrictions. Many predict these events may not resume until 2021. The #LightItInRed campaign aims to draw attention to the
USA - As a bright and fun landmark in the heart of West Palm Beach, the Canopy by Hilton is a new boutique lifestyle hotel with a stunning glass façade and fibre optic art hanging in the atrium. To ensure quality sound reproduction for their guests, management invested in the installation of a healthy assortment of loudspeakers from DAS Audio. ‘Skinny’ Greg Gilman, who is involved in a wide range of sound and music endeavors throughout the West Palm Beach area, including being a well-known DJ, was contracted to manage the Canopy’s sound system installation. Working in conjunction with Oakland Park, FL-based TM Sound, an AV design/build firm, the combined team deployed an assortment of DAS loudspeakers that drew from the company’s WR, Quantum, and Artec Series catalogues. Gilman discussed the project. “Most of the install inside the hotel is a blend of a ster
UK - With over 14,000 students, including 4,500 international students, the University of Bedfordshire is recognised as ‘internationally excellent’ in the areas of computer science and informatics and business and management studies. Now, with the addition of a new £40m teaching and laboratory space for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) courses, the University aims to build on its already strong STEM offering, thanks to an ambitious AV project incorporating Shure’s Microflex Advance MXA910 IntelliMix DSP Celling Array Microphone platform. This has provided students with a superior learning environment, as well as raising the profile of the university. Set out over four storeys and incorporating 6000m2 of floorspace, the university’s STEM building will also support and encourage the value of science and engineering to local schools and
UK - For the past 25 years, Sennheiser has been sponsoring Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA), with a Student Scholarship Programme, as well as its audio expertise and resources to the specialist institution. The relationship between Sennheiser and LIPA goes back to 1996, when representatives from each organisation met to discuss the impending launch of an exciting new school to teach the performing arts and associated disciplines, from design and technology and management to sound technology. This cohesive combination allows different mindsets to work together right from the start, encouraging understanding of each element’s needs and ways of working. From that first meeting a quarter of a century ago and until the present day, Sennheiser has been an active partner of LIPA. The scholarship is a way of helping the students chosen to study freely and achi
UK - Pro audio loudspeaker brand Inspired Audio has announced a major restructuring of its operations in the both the UK and also in Asia. As part of the restructure, co-founder Chris Scott, who left the company at the end of 2018 to establish a production facility and to concentrate on product development has re-joined as both managing director and sole shareholder, while fellow co-founder Gareth Hunt has left the company. Commenting on the restructure Scott says: “My roots have always been in the design and manufacturing side, so leaving to re-engage with that was a natural step for me, although as I was building for Inspired and also designing the latest product for them, in a sense I didn’t really leave. In a similar vein Gareth’s roots have always been in the retail side of the pro audio business, so this restructure see’s Gareth returning to concentrate
UK - PLASA has responded to the UK government’s pledge of £1.57bn funding for the arts with the following statement from its MD, Peter Heath: “While PLASA is pleased to see the government deliver a generous rescue package to arts institutions across the UK, they have only addressed the tip of the iceberg. We hope that the government will announce further support for all the manufacturers, suppliers and freelancers who help make the UK a global leader in events. “Theatres and venues are absolutely essential to the cultural fabric of the UK, however, they only represent the public face of a vast industry. Each arena concert, musical show, arts installation, or corporate event relies on a complex supply chain, often involving hundreds of professionals. To put on a single arena show requires an average of
USA - The Audio Engineering Society’s first Audio Product Education Institute event will address real-world experiences in voice integrated product development with the theme Successful Smart Speakers and Voice-Enabled Products. "Today, some of the most sophisticated voice processing is already in our pockets. Smartphone production numbers are hard to beat in the consumer electronics industry,” says Mike Klasco, CEO, Menlo Scientific, and committee member of the Audio Product Education Institute (APEI), a new AES initiative. “This fiercely competitive market is driving continuous product design improvements, but many companies are also repeating many painful mistakes and are forced to re-learn audio fundamentals long recognized by the audio industry. I’m faced with highly instructive examples of that in my consultancy business,” continues Klasco.
UK - At the end of April, British war veteran and walking hero, Captain Sir Tom Moore, raised more than £32m for NHS charities by walking 100 laps of his garden before his 100th birthday on 30 April. On his birthday morning, thousands of people worldwide offered their well wishes to the former tank commander. Joining the widespread celebration, Captain Sir Tom Moore thanked the public for their overwhelming generosity from his home in Bedfordshire. Speaking to the BBC Breakfast team, his voice was heard loud and clear thanks to Sennheiser’s Digital 6000 wireless microphone system. Broadcast sound engineer, Paul Cutler, who has been working with clients such as the BBC, ITV, ITN and Sky for over 23 years, was in charge of audio on the day. “I have worked with BBC Breakfast on several other interesting large scale outside broadcasts and special features
Belgium - Audac's new AMP203 Dante mini stereo amplifier will come equipped with a new innovation called TouchLink, a system that can be used for creating virtual zones by linking multiple compatible devices. In Audac Touch 2, users can select multiple devices or amplifier channels that should react to the user as one zone. A typical application example is a large open area where multiple compatible amplifiers are used. When these are virtually linked, all devices or amplifier channels with the same TouchLink-assigned zone will be following each other’s settings (including volume, input, muting, and so on). This means that devices installed throughout the same area will be simultaneously operated by one single control such as a volume fader from the Audac Touch 2 app. Additionally, a wall panel physically connected to one of the linked devices will automatically c
USA - Performance Manager Applications for Concerts & Festivals and Audio Engineering: Setting up a Vocal Template for Recording Sessions Among New Harman Live Workshops scheduled through Mid-July. Other Topics include Basic Introduction to Martin P3, Fixintogetmixin: How to Build Your Best Mix! (Parts 1 & 2) and Rightsizing Esports: Technical Solutions from Schools to Stadia. Available workshops, scheduled through the middle of July, feature lighting or audio experts who have extensive industry knowledge and experience working with various artists including Bob Seger, DJ Khaled, Enrique Iglesias, Janet Jackson, Linkin Park, Mötley Crüe, Pitbull and many others. Over 75 Live Workshops have been conducted since the programme’s introduction and are now available at Harman Professional’s
UK - A.C. Entertainment Technologies (AC-ET) will be holding webinars in conjunction with media server manufacturer Green Hippo this month. Introduction to Hippotizer will take place on Thursday, 9 July at 3pm-4pm BST. It will provide an overview of the Hippotizer V4+ software and Hippotizer PLAY, the free-to-download demo version. On 16 July from 3pm to 4pm BST, Get started with SHAPE 3D Mapping will go through the basics of how to set up your Hippotizer and 3D environment using SHAPE. Visit the AC-ET website to find out more and register your place.
USA - Gateway Church is ranked among the nation’s largest multi-site congregations with an average of more than 30,000 worshippers weekly attending 29 weekly services at nine campuses - eight in the Dallas-Fort Worth area plus an extension campus in Wyoming. To keep pace with the latest audio technology, and to further enhance worship at Gateway’s flagship Southlake campus, the 4,000-seat auditorium at that facility was recently upgraded with 51 new Meyer Sound Leo Family loudspeakers configured as a novel mono-stereo “hybrid” system. Like many other contemporary churches, the Gateway Southlake auditorium is designed with wide, fan-shaped seating that wraps around the stage. Although this promotes a greater sense of intimacy, it challenges audio system design in general and, in particular, makes it difficult to maintain a stereo image while ensuring high intell
Germany - The end of June saw Brompton Technology take part in one of Europe’s first face-to-face industry events since lockdown, the AV Innovation Days (AVID), organised and hosted by LANG AG at its LANG Academy in Lindlar. Designed as an accompanying event for InfoComm Connected, LANG hosted the three-day fair with both new and familiar AV technologies on display, whilst adhering to strict hygiene and safety rules. Leading LED panel manufacturers showcased their innovative solutions, with Brompton partnering with INFiLED to demonstrate how its panels have benefitted from Brompton’s HDR solution. “The event offered a perfect platform to discuss some of the key developments in the AV industry, such as the increased use of curved, or faceted, applications which are based on a variety of corresponding products. Also, the emerging trend of virtual LED studios inste
UK - Technical solution provider White Light (WL) and leading AV production supplier SFL have announced their intention to launch a strategic partnership. Under the new partnership, both companies will continue to trade separately and keep their existing bases but will now share equipment and personnel when delivering a full production service. They will work on corporate events, conferences, festivals, ceremonies, concerts and any other form of live entertainment, as well as supporting events which take place within WL’s approved and managed venues as well as other opportunities as they arise. WL MD Bryan Raven comments: “At WL, the question we always ask ourselves is how can we provide the very best service possible for our customers? Therefore, when the opportunity arose to form a strategic partnership with SFL, we knew this was something we couldn’t turn dow
UK - Artists including Sir Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones, The Cure, Radiohead, Coldplay, Dua Lipa, Annie Lennox, PJ Harvey, The 1975 and Blur are among the names demanding immediate action to save live music in the UK by signing an open letter to the UK government's Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Oliver Dowden. The move is a bid to “show the vital importance of the UK’s live music industry, ensure the Government cannot ignore live music and make noise to get the public and financial support the industry needs to survive”.
The full letter reads as follows: “Dear Secretary of State, “UK live music has been one of the UK’s biggest social, cultural, and economic successes of the past decade. From world-famous festivals to ground-breaking concerts, the live music industry showcases, supports, and develops some of the
Italy - Outline has announced further additions to its V-Series range of portable loudspeakers. Designed specifically for users who transport and operate their own sound systems, the V-Series now comprises five separate pre-configured rigs, all of which major on speed and simplicity of setup, ease of transport and superb audio quality. From the super-compact V6.5 kit (weighing under 40kg for the complete system, which will fit comfortably in the back of a small car but which has a maximum power output of 3,000w) through to the mighty V15 kit which pumps out 12,000 watts while still an easy one-man lift, there is V-Series kit to suit virtually any portable application, says the manufacturer. Outline’s V-Series systems are 100% made in Italy from top-grade components. All the loudspeaker enclosures feature high quality birch ply construction finished in a super-tough p
