Video and AV

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23 October 2024

UK - QuickLink has been instrumental in easing the remote production challenges of ITV Studios’ popular Saturday Night Takeaway television series.

Lifted Entertainment, part of ITV Studios, produces over 500 hours of television for UK audiences every year, ranging from Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway, The Voice, Countdown, and University Challenge.

Saturday Night Takeaway is a mixture of live and pre-recorded entertainment, with gameshow-influenced segments and regular surprise interactivity with viewers, including children facing health challenges and their families.

At the remote end, which could be literally anywhere in the country, laptops were initially used with either video capture cards or webcams. To take Saturday Night Takeaway remote segments to the next lev

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22 October 2024

UK - Bristol’s ArcTanGent ‘post-rock and experimental’ music festival kick-drummed its way to its Fernhill Farm location in September with headliners Mogwai and a host of alt-favourites performing amid live visual content. d&b Solutions company Production AV was challenged with supplying, rigging and operating the LED screens with all content driven by their own Hippotizer Amba+ Media Server.

To do the “infectious, thrashy rock” justice, Production AV’s Olie Goulding specified an 8m x 4.5m Desay M6 screen for the Main Stage, which was selected as the best size to fit the stage and structure. The team then coupled this with their playback and control solution with the Amba+ Media Server at its core.

“As each band was supplying their own content, the Amba+ made it easy to manage large amounts of data and provides a platform that makes

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18 October 2024

UAE - Sphere Entertainment Co and the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi have announced that they will work together to bring the world's second Sphere to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

“The vision for Sphere has always included a global network of venues, and today’s announcement is a significant milestone toward that goal,” said James L. Dolan, executive chairman and chief executive officer, Sphere Entertainment. “Sphere is redefining live entertainment and extending the reach of its transformative impact. We are proud to collaborate with DCT Abu Dhabi to develop Sphere in their city.”

H.E. Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, chairman of DCT Abu Dhabi, said: “We are excited to bring Sphere to Abu Dhabi in partnership with Sphere Entertainment, providing our residents and visitors with an extraordinary new form of entertainment. S

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18 October 2024

MENA - Brompton Technology has announced the appointment of Hassan Abu Minshar as technical sales manager for the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region. Hassan brings to his new role over two decades of experience in the Pro AV industry and in live events.

Prior to joining Brompton, Hassan worked with image processing manufacturer Analog Way where he successfully managed sales and operations in the Middle East, and built strong relationships with rental and staging companies, AV system integrators and LED manufacturers. His proven track record makes him an excellent addition to Brompton's team.

Hassan states, “I am thrilled to be part of a company that I have long admired for its commitment to delivering exceptional award-winning products. Brompton’s reputation for innovation and customer support aligns perfectly with my own values. I look f

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18 October 2024

The Netherlands/Slovakia - The global launch of the SRS Lighting VLAN-toolbox has been announced. This product is the result of a collaboration between Podiumtechniek B.V., a leading player in the entertainment industry, and SRS Group, a globally respected name in lighting, rigging, and power distribution technology. Together, they have developed a solution that will ‘significantly simplify the lives of AV technicians worldwide’.

The idea for the SRS Lighting VLAN-toolbox was first introduced by Paul van Schaik, co-owner of Podiumtechniek B.V. During the initial presentation of the prototype at CUE 2024 in Rotterdam, it quickly became apparent that there was a high demand for a simple yet powerful tool for network management specifically designed for AV professionals.

"After the presentation, we immediately saw the potential," says Paul van Schai

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17 October 2024

Thailand - Opened in September, Figment Studio is the product of a strategic collaboration between leading industry players to create ‘Thailand’s premier virtual production facility’.

The Studio Park, StageFor Co and Supreme Studio Co have invested over £4.6m into this venture. Featuring leading technology, including Brompton Technology’s Tessera LED processing, Figment Studio integrates virtual and real worlds.

Mr. Chayanont Ulit, Figment Studio’s managing director, says: “Our studio was born from the collaboration of business partners. These include The Studio Park, home to Thailand’s largest sound stage and a 216-rai (345,600m²) filming location in Samut Prakan, renowned for hosting major Hollywood productions, alongside StageFor Co., experts in XR and virtual production, and Supreme Studio Co, pioneers in bringing cutting-edge vir

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11 October 2024

UK - Launched in June 2023, Eastbourne, Sussex-based Racquet Studios was born from a film and photographic creative agency that recognised the potential of virtual production. A year in the making, and after rigorous testing and trialling, facilities for virtual film production, education, and specialist research and development were created, relying on Brompton Technology LED processing to power the LED setup.

Since opening, the facility has successfully supported business and production companies through technical innovation and created a progressive creative economy. It has now relocated to new premises to expand its capabilities and be closer to key partners, which include the University of Sussex, East Sussex College, and various independent training bodies.

“We have always intended to develop clear pathways to education through our facilities

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11 October 2024

Hungary - Lightware Visual Engineering has announced its latest AV solutions, designed to deliver flexible, high-quality AV-over-IP connectivity hybrid work and meeting room AV environments. The new Taurus TPN and Gemini GVN products address the growing demand for seamless, real-time connectivity and outstanding performance in collaborative workspaces and mission-critical environments, says the company.

The Lightware Taurus TPN is a device for large meeting rooms, boardrooms, and conference settings. It offers USB-C and SDVoE technology for high-quality HDMI 2.0 4K60 4:4:4 matrix switching over 10G Ethernet networks, with a range of up to 100 metres. Its independent USB 2.0 matrix switching layer supports multiple devices, providing users with automated and manual switching options. This ensures seamless video transitions and an exceptional AV experience, ma

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10 October 2024

Spain - Alfalite has been selected by Telefónica Tech, the technology arm of the global telecom giant Telefónica, to complete one of the standout installations at the new Espacio Movistar, the company’s latest flagship venue.

Located in the Telefónica Building on Madrid’s Gran Vía, the project is part of Telefónica's 100th-anniversary celebrations. Alfalite has designed and installed a five-sided immersive LED cube, covering three walls, the floor, and the ceiling, using its Alfalite Modularpix Pro 1.5 ORIM panels.

This LED cube creates an immersive sensory experience for visitors, leveraging state-of-the-art visual technology. The cube’s multiple high-resolution screens, combined with the durability of Alfalite’s panels draw viewers into dynamic and immersive content. The installation is part of Telefónica Tech’s strategy to infuse i

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08 October 2024

Turkey - Gen Z-oriented Fanta Fest returned for 2024 to visit seven of the country’s biggest cities, with five large LED screens displaying more than 43m pixels of performer-specific content, all driven by a Hippotizer Boreal+ MK2 Media Server.

Video designer and programmer Gürkan Çalışkan worked with Fanta Fest’s technical director Can Besbelli to deliver strikingly different visual content for the range of artists playing each venue, including prominent Turkish singer Tarkan Tevetoğlu and Turkish rapper CEZA.

Çalışkan was given media content from each performer’s production team, designed to the dimensions of the LED screens, which he loaded onto the Boreal+ MK2 Media Server using Hippotizer’s Media Management feature to organise the show.  

The LED screens were rigged stage left and stage right and as a backdrop, with two

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08 October 2024

UK - Holotronica was part of Brighton Festival this year, the largest annual curated multi-arts festival in England.

“We were very happy to install Hologauze for the visionary string orchestra, 12 Ensemble. Max Ruisi, the orchestra’s artistic director worked with art director Ben Ditto to create an immersive sensory experience using audio reactive, AI-generated holographic visuals on Hologauze,” says the company.

Holotronica installed a 10m by 5m Hologauze XL at the Corn Exchange venue in Brighton Pavilion Gardens. “We provided the installation so once our production team were on site, everything worked perfectly. We used a Panasonic RZ21, which provided the optimum brightness for the venue and the holographic visual piece enveloping the orchestra looked incredible.”

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07 October 2024

Portugal - Europalco has announced a new phase of expansion and innovation with its transformation into a group of companies: the Empowerment Ecosystem. This move aims to consolidate Europalco as the central brand of a dynamic ecosystem, with new companies strengthening its portfolio: New Audiovisuais, Rise, and Av Tech.

At the heart of this new system is Europalco, which takes on the role of empowering all the companies in the group. The Empowerment Ecosystem is built on a differentiated systemic narrative, where Europalco drives the growth and expansion of its companies, always focusing on the people who are part of this universe.

“The creation of the Empowerment Ecosystem is a natural step in Europalco’s evolution. We believe the synergies between New Audiovisuais, Rise, and Av Tech, backed by Europalco’s expertise, will ensure sustainable g

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07 October 2024

USA - Donald Glover’s recently completed The New World Tour was his last run of shows as the Grammy-winning artist Childish Gambino before he retired that stage persona.

“The idea of the whole tour was to build a world – The New World, as a sort of parallel universe, conveying a feeling of high tech but LOFI,” says production designer Tobias Rylander. “The world was to be dystopian and futuristic, not revealing if we’re headed toward darker times, or if we have just come out of them. It is a world where technology is modern but broken – and a world of not so high resolution.”

Lit by a carefully curated collection of fixtures, including the Chauvet Professional PXL Curve, this show opens with Gambino appearing on one of the two side stages dressed in a futuristic space suit surrounded by smoke, lights and laser beams. As he be

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07 October 2024

UK - Holotronica provided a bespoke Hologauze installation for the Island in a River exhibition created by Matthew Rosier at the refurbished Yarm Town Hall Heritage Centre in Stockton-on-Tees.

The Island in a River film was designed to be viewed from outside at night. Reflections of the river Tees are projected onto the Hologauze and float past a canoe, connecting river use past and present.

The exhibition features a collection of local artefacts interpreted by 10 films, created by the artist in collaboration with local residents. The objects are displayed inside the exhibition centrepiece – a replica iron age canoe, carved by local volunteers throughout summer 2023.

The exhibition room is open to the public in the daytime, and so the installation was designed so that the Hologauze could be deployed each night for the Island in a River film

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01 October 2024

Spain - LED display manufacturer Absen partnered with sports flooring specialists, ASB GlassFloor, to supply its LED technology for the portable ASB GlassFloor system used in the 2023 FIBA U19 Women's Basketball World Cup in Madrid.

Held biennially, the U19 Women’s Basketball World Cup featured the top 16 qualifying youth women’s national teams from around the world, who competed in a 56-game tournament during the month of July.

As one of the hosts of the event, the WiZink Centre, home arena of Real Madrid’s basketball team, wanted to ensure the venue delivered an unforgettable and fully immersive experience for both players and spectators. In doing so, the venue enlisted the help of German sports floor solution specialists, ASB GlassFloor to install its innovative full-size digital LED glass floor, displaying not only court lines for play, but

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01 October 2024

Germany - Hamburg’s historic Kampnagel performing arts centre premiered the multi-disciplinary dance show Reparation Nation in September, featuring a three-projector-strong panoramic visual backdrop driven by a Hippotizer Nevis+ Media Server.

The production, by Germany-based South African choreographer Jessica Nupen, is an interactive installation of dance, opera, visual art, live soundscapes and polyrhythmic beats, exploring the empty spaces left by looted cultural assets on the African continent. It was created following public, site-specific and digital discussions, dance workshops, open rehearsals in Johannesburg, Hamburg and Dakar, as well as an intensive and inclusive research programme in close collaboration with the University of Hamburg, MARKK, Museum für Kunst & Gewerbe and the Lübeck Ethnological Collection.

To realise t

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30 September 2024

South Korea - Multimedia integrators SoundKoreaENG and Metaspace relied on Screenberry to power a 3D mapping show for the Seoul Light DDP 2024 Autumn Festival. The festival took place in downtown Seoul for 11 days from 29 August to 8 September.

The highlight of the event was a spectacular projection mapping show on the Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP), renowned as the world's largest three-dimensional amorphous structure. Designed by British-Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid, the DDP's futuristic exterior, with its fluid, curved forms, resembles a colossal mushroom hovering above the ground. This architecture offers an exceptional but challenging canvas for 3D mapping.

To illuminate the expansive 222m facade of the DDP, the production team employed 26 projectors (14 x Barco UDX-4K40 and 12 x Barco UDX-W32) placed in seven containers that were positioned at var

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27 September 2024

Germany - Adele’s 10-show residency at the purpose-built outdoor arena at Messe München in August earned a Guinness World Record title for the Largest Continuous Outdoor LED Screen (temporary). This record-breaking feat was made possible by Solotech, the official video supplier, who harnessed Brompton Technology LED processing to deliver the visual experience to nearly 750,000 Adele fans.

Brompton Technology’s Adam Callaway notes that the team collaborated closely with Solotech for over a year on the project, which included rigorous testing and validating workflows based on Adele’s Las Vegas residency and additional testing in the UK. “Brompton joined Solotech on site for three days to ensure smooth deployment of the workflows needed from our 4K Tessera SX40 LED processors,” he says.

Featuring 6,200 tiles of ROE CB5 MKII, all calibrated us

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26 September 2024

USA - Martin Castañon’s design for the lighting rig at the 27th annual Santa Barbara Mariachi Festival called for 12 Chauvet Professional Color Strike M motorised strobe-washes and 12 blinders. But instead, he got zero blinders and 18 Color Strike M fixtures.

“The rig was originally supposed to have the Color Strike Ms on the up and mid truss for a total of 12 – blinders were specced out for the downstage,” recalled Castañon. “Somehow when the rig was built, we accidentally got the extra six Strikes instead of the blinders. In the end it worked out beautifully as it tied the whole rig together. It was great having the horsepower to punch things up for the crowd, especially in colour, not to mention when riding the beams on them. It looked like the night turned to day. I didn’t miss the blinders at all.

“I used the Strikes mos

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25 September 2024

France - Marseillais comedian Redouane Bougheraba’s On m'appelle Bercy tour, produced by Gilbert Coullier Productions, included sold-out performances at the Accor Hotel Arena in Paris, the Velodrome Marseille, and other large venues.

Supporting Bougheraba’s performance on his tour is an Andreas Monschauer lighting design that, like the popular comedian himself, is versatile, free-flowing and always engaging.

Monschauer is powering his shows with ChamSys consoles: a MagicQ MQ500M Stadium Console with a wing at Marseille, and a MagicQ MQ250M at the Accor Hotel Arena. Working with a scenic design by Vincent Rautureau (G the Imagineers), Bougheraba uses lighting and video to set a tone that is “at once dramatic and inviting”. He uses up to 80 universes of lighting. Supplied by MPM (which also furnished the sound), the lighting is run thr

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24 September 2024

Spain - The initial phase of Gran Canaria Studios, one of Europe’s largest virtual production stages to date, has been completed, offering an environment for international content producers looking to “leverage Gran Canaria’s film location incentives”.

Located on the 1,200sq.m stage 1 of the Gran Canaria Platos studio lot, the virtual production infrastructure has been designed and delivered by ARRI Solutions, integrator Video Cine Import (VCI), and ROE Visual. The Economic Promotion Agency of Gran Canaria (SPEGC) commissioned the studio to accommodate both independent and high-end national and international productions.

“The film industry is one of the region’s economic pillars; we are very committed to the development of this industry on the island and Gran Canaria is spearheading efforts to become a leading hub for TV and film,” stat

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24 September 2024

Canada - CAST Group of Companies reports that it has been certified by Great Place To Work. The award is based entirely on what current employees say about their experience working at CAST. This year, 85% of employees said it’s a great place to work.

"Great Place To Work certification is a highly coveted achievement that requires consistent and intentional dedication to the overall employee experience," says Sarah Lewis-Kulin, the vice-president of global recognition at Great Place To Work. She emphasises that certification is the sole official recognition earned by the real-time feedback of employees regarding their company culture. “By successfully earning this recognition, it is evident that CAST stands out as one of the top companies to work for, providing a great workplace environment for its employees."

“We are thrilled to become Great Pl

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18 September 2024

Germany - Diversified, a leading global technology solutions provider, has announced the appointment of Johannes Stehr as vice-president of Enterprise EMEA. This strategic hire underscores Diversified's commitment to developing world-class enterprise offerings and addressing the growing demand for consistent global technology standards with robust local support.

In this newly created role, Stehr will lead Diversified's expansion of Workplace and Media operational capabilities across Europe, with an initial focus on Germany. His appointment marks a significant step in Diversified's global strategy to enhance its ability to serve multinational enterprises with a harmonised approach to technology deployment and support.

"As organisations increasingly seek standardised technology experiences across their global footprint, they also require deep local exp

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17 September 2024

UK - Celebrating its “best show for many years”, PLASA Show once again took residence in the Grand Hall of Olympia London from 1-3 September, demonstrating continuous growth - occupying 10% more floor space, welcoming a steady 5% increase in visitors and showcasing over 30 new exhibitors.

Despite an unexpected heatwave in the city and the extended summer festival season, visitor figures for Sunday - the event’s opening day - saw a 9.5% increase compared to 2023, while day two’s footfall also exceeded previous years, according to the show’s organisers.

The show floor welcomed a healthy cross-section of industry visitors, from entry-level professionals to senior leadership, with 15% more students visiting compared to 2023 and 79% of attendees declaring “influential purchasing power”. Key job roles of those in attendance included directors