UK - The eyes of the world were on the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Concert to witness a host of big-name singers perform on a specially created stage in front of Buckingham Palace. As the royal family, politicians, dignitaries and the public looked on, a show fit for a queen unfolded, backed by LED screen content driven by Hippotizer Boreal+ MK2 media servers. More than 200sq.m. of Roe Black Quartz LED screens, supplied by Creative Technology, were erected on the stage, which surrounded the famous Victoria Memorial statue in front of the Palace. These were split into one large LED screen upstage centre, and eight LED pillars edging out toward the audience. Tasked with media server programming was Matthew Lee, who was approached by lighting designer for the event, Nigel Catmur. “We had two Hippotizer Boreal+ MK2 servers, one main and one backup,” says Lee. “LED sc
USA - Calibre has appointed Mike Novak as sales director for North America. Novak hits the ground running with the Calibre New Product Preview Showcase event in Las Vegas revealing a One Canvas Solution incorporating the Calibre LEDFusion Pro with splicing features across multiple screens. Novak is based in Buffalo, New York. He has taken up the position at Calibre from Daktronics, where he managed various verticals including airport and transit, out-of-home advertising, spectaculars and reseller/AV groups, and developed new markets and revenue streams. “The Americas is the single largest market for growth in high-performance LED systems and solutions,” says Steve Su at Calibre. “I’m delighted to welcome Mike Novak to the Calibre team during our rapid growth phase. His leadership, collaborative style and experience in setting up sales strategy and channel devel
UK - Brompton Technology has announced two major feature advances as part of its Tessera v3.4 software release: Extended Bit Depth and Stacking. “These features enhance our already compelling feature-set, which is well-established as the processing of choice for both major live events and film and television production,” says Brompton’s CEO, Richard Mead.” Extended Bit Depth unlocks higher PWM bit depth output with a free firmware update for all existing and new panels fitted with the Brompton R2 or R2+ receiver card. Up to 3.3 additional bits of precision improves low-brightness performance – reducing visual artefacts and bringing out additional detail and nuance in dark areas of the image. This substantial increase in dynamic range offers a significant boost in performance that is hard to ignore for ICVFX and other LED on camera applications. With Extended
UK - The much-anticipated and publicised ABBA Voyage brings the 70s supergroup back to the stage in a blend of the virtual and physical worlds. Several years in the making, the ABBA Voyage show opened on 26 May 26 in a purpose-built arena designed by Stufish Entertainment Architects at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London. The production adds a new element to the live music experience by blurring the lines between CGI and reality, with The Guardian calling it a “jaw-dropping avatar act that’s destined to be copied”. Solotech worked under the direction of director Baillie Walsh, working alongside Aniara’s technical producer Nick Levitt and technical director Joe Frisina, and collaborating with concert producers Svana Gisla and Ludvig Andersson, Industrial Light and Magic (ILM) and TETRO and Greenwall’s Fredrik Stormby to provide audio, lighting, and v
UK - PLASA Show is returning to West London from 4-6 September, and those wishing to attend can now register via the event's website. Taking place at Olympia London’s Grand Hall, the entertainment technology tradeshow promises to deliver some of the latest technology, product demos, and delve into key industry issues. There will also be four showfloor theatres running over 60 sessions on a range of topics across the three days. The event will provide plenty of opportunities for networking with leading companies from audio, AV, lighting, rigging and staging, each one showcasing popular products and new releases. Some of the brands returning this year include Robe, Ambersphere, ETC, AC-ET, Adam Hall, L-Acoustics, Sennheiser, Chauvet Professional, Leisuretec, Highlite, Polar and
UK - North Star Engineers has appointed Jonathan Barker as creative director. Barker joins the North Star Engineers leadership team and will focus on the creative direction of the company, client liaison, and promotional content strategy and new business development. Barker brings with him more than 30 years’ experience working in the cruise ship entertainment industry, with notable projects on board the QM2 and with Carnival UK, P&O and Cunard. HIs varied career has also seen him write two musical theatrical productions and multiple music productions for television and film. “After more than thirty years working in the entertainment world, with a particular focus on the cruise ship industry, I’m thrilled to be working with North Star Engineers,” says Barker. “The team is highly ambitious and innovative with an excellent work ethic - I'm delighted to be o
The Netherlands - Powersoft’s compact transducer, Mover, is at the heart of a new four-dimensional nightlife experience in Amsterdam which allows visitors to take a deep dive into the culture and history of electronic dance music from its roots to the present day. Based in Amsterdam’s Rembrandt district, Our House has been a thriving nightclub and the beating heart of the electronic music scene since the 1980s. The venue has upheld its musical legacy by recently becoming a digital storytelling museum, promising a 75-minute journey into the music genre via interactive exhibits, shows and performances, telling the story of how electronic music - once a rebellious and secretive underground scene – has evolved. “When we came here, about two years ago, the place was very analogue: There was a sound system, strobes, smoke machine and some LEDS - that was about it,
Australia - This year marked the new era of remote broadcast experience, with Seven Network, a major Australian commercial free-to-air television network and the original broadcaster of Summer and Winter Olympic Games since 1956, working with Australia’s CT Group, part of the NEP Live Events, to create a virtual production environment with a top-end LED wall powered by Brompton Technology Tessera processing. “CT provided LED backdrops for Seven Network’s sports hostings during the pandemic, when travelling to venues wasn’t possible,” says Michael Judges, senior project manager for CT Australia & New Zealand. “As a result of this positive experience, we built a template with the client which they were subsequently able to use on the Tokyo and Beijing host broadcasts.” Judges explains that for this project, Seven Network wanted the highest resolution LE
France - Naostage, an engineering-led startup, has launched an automatic beaconless 3D tracking solution, making it easy for AVL rental-staging and fixed-install professionals to create immersive, interactive live experiences. Designed and engineered at the company’s headquarters in Nantes, Naostage’s tracking solution seamlessly identifies and follows artists, performers and visitors wherever they are in a defined tracking area - allowing for the automation of an array of lighting, audio, video and media effects in real time. “From outdoor festivals to touring shows, visitor attractions, immersive experiences and more, Naostage’s 100% automated solution streamlines and simplifies tracking workflow wherever it is deployed,” explains Paul Cales, Naostage founder and CEO, “helping artists, show designers and technical teams to improve productivity and reduce
UK - Technical event production and hire company Sterling Event Group has invested in Hippotizer media servers. Joe Timmons, head of vision at Sterling Event Group comments: “We work on a variety of events and it’s important for us to have media servers that can provide various solutions for different projects. Our previous media servers had reached end of life and so in choosing our new media servers we wanted to explore different brands and products.” Specialist entertainment technology suppliers, A.C. Entertainment Technologies (AC-ET) demoed and supplied Sterling Event Group with Hippotizer Boreal+ MK2 and Nevis+ media servers. “We demoed different brands and what struck me about Green Hippo was the ease of use and flexibility. The ability to have different operators using different control surfaces to trigger and manipulate content in real time is a
UK - disguise has launched a Metaverse Solutions division to continue the development of virtual production and audiovisual location-based experiences. The division will build on existing disguise solutions in order to allow businesses to take advantage of the unique opportunities the metaverse has to offer. Launched within the past two years, disguise’s extended reality (xR) workflow has powered over 600 productions in over 50 countries. These include the delivery of live events in the metaverse, such as Kaskade’s in Fortnite and Rocket League as part of its Llama-Rama event series as well as supporting launches for major brands like Gucci and Ferrari. “Our mission is to help create experiences that challenge expectations. We believe in connecting the physical with the virtual worlds, to create Gateways to the Metaverse,” says disguise CEO Fernando Küfer. “
UK - Production agency Colada Creative has joined forces with global video platform Vimeo to launch a new interactive tour experience for Edinburgh Zoo. Home of the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS), the zoo is one of Europe’s leading centres of conservation, education and research and is home to more than 1,000 rare and endangered animals and welcomes in excess of 800,000 visitors each year. However, with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the zoo has looked into other ways to reach its supporters and share the stories of the animals on site. The interactive video allows users to tour, view and meet some of the animals and zookeepers at the 82-acre attraction, without having to be on site. Director at Colada Creative, Jack Brodie, says: “Video has become a useful tool for tourist attractions throughout the past two years but, as we return to rela
UK - Stage Precision (SP), and technical business development specialist, Neutral Human, have announced a strategic partnership alongside the launch of Stage Precision to the wider market. SP is an independent data and control platform that enables users to build complex control-systems and previsualise or pre-programme technological workflows for the global live events market. “The industry’s creative technologists have adopted SP as part of their trusted workflows. It has enabled the high-end projects to develop with pioneering complexity, so now it’s time for the wider industry to discover such this ground-breaking tool,” says Neutral Human’s founder, Sarah Cox. “What drew me to working with SP is the fact that the product is community-led. Its development comes from working alongside its userbase on real world challenges and finding solutions to
France - The 75th edition of the Cannes Film Festival is, for the first time, hosting a virtual production space powered by disguise - marking a new milestone in virtual production’s expansion into the European film and television industry. Film and television group Film Soho, is partnering up with virtual production innovators disguise, ROE Visual, global video solutions provider CVP and content studio ZOAN to showcase a virtual production stage in the garden of the Grand Hotel in Cannes - hosting many of Cannes Festival’s A-list participants. Visitors will step into a virtual production volume, powered by disguise and will become fully immersed into rich environments such as expansive city scapes and lush Icelandic country scenes - all designed in Unreal Engine and Notch. Visitors can drop by the space during the festival to receive demonstrations of the techno
Australia - Now in its 12th year, Vivid Sydney will transform the Harbour City into an illuminating fusion of creativity, innovation and technology. From 27 May to 18 June, it will host more than 200+ events celebrating the essence of Sydney’s soul including its diversity, beauty, resilience, First Nations culture, and vibrant creative community. Providing insightful access into what exactly goes on is TDC - Technical Direction Company, a team of project managers, creative technologists, designers and engineers. Alex Rendell, technical project manager at TDC, takes up the story: “After 12 months of planning, our team are so excited to be back working on Vivid Sydney again. The project is a huge logistical and technical rollout for us. It is going to be bigger and brighter than ever. Vivid Sydney will showcase the largest projection mapping display at any single event eve
UK - The People’s Property Portfolio (PPP) is a community benefit society with a mission centred on urban regeneration. Determined to create real community spaces in a way that is social and authentic, the society aims to secure buildings through community ownership to help develop social enterprise and support cultural activity. The society recently launched its work in Bradford, marking the occasion with an event at Assembly Bradford, a creative workspace for freelancers, remote workers, small businesses and creative organisations. To complement the presentation of its vision inside the building, PPP engaged arts company The Brick Box and artist Fabric Lenny to create an eye-catching and dynamic live artwork on the Assembly’s exterior frontage. The Brick Box producer Harry Jelley consulted with Bradford-based Pro Audio Systems (PAS) over the best way to achieve the art
France - Christie is the official projection technology partner for the 75th Cannes Film Festival. The event, which runs 17-28 May, will see projectors from across Christie’s broad portfolio powering screens throughout all venues. The festival is set to welcome approximately 35,000 guests, a significant increase over last year’s 24,000. Christie will provide installation and show support for the occasion, as it celebrates its 16th year as technical partner. “It is a tremendous honour to continue our association with Festival de Cannes, with its renowned prestige and rich history making it a truly unique celebration, year after year,” says Adil Zerouali, senior sales director, Cinema EMEA, Christie. “We will aim to showcase this year’s outstanding line-up of films in the most visually impactful way possible with our leading projection technology. It’s great to s
Europe - Manufacturer of innovative 3D audio technology Holoplot has announced its partnership with Creative Technology, adding Holoplot products to Creative Technology’s audio portfolio. This partnership marks the arrival of Holoplot’s audio performance capabilities in the UK. Consisting of Modul 96 and Modul 80-S, Holoplot’s X1 product line is a new category of sound system, granting users a previously impossible level of control over sound. Holoplot technology provides a broad range of practical and creative capabilities - whether solving challenging acoustics in complex environments or adding authenticity and depth to immersive spaces. The synergy between Holoplot and Creative Technology was underlined at Creative Technology’s conneCT Open Day in December 2021 - where the company invited a diverse group of designers, creatives, and users from various indust
Spain - Casa Batlló, the famous Barcelona architectural work of the modernist architect Antoni Gaudí, has fused Panasonic projection technology with a pioneering cultural visit to create an award-winning experience. The multi-sensory museum offers a glimpse into the mind of the greatest exponent of Catalan modernism through an artistic immersive experience. Using Panasonic technology, Casa Batlló has reinvented various spaces across the building. The Gaudí Dome room uses 36 Panasonic projectors (PT-RZ660 and PT-JS200 models) and a dome with more than 1,000 screens to represent the mind of a young Gaudí. The natural universe that inspired the Catalan architect comes to life, allowing the visitor to participate in the creative experience. The projectors, equipped with ultra-short throw lenses, allow video to be projected onto surfaces that are difficult to map with any ot
Sweden - IP video technology specialist NewTek has announced a partnership with Lanlink distribution. Headquartered in Stockholm, Lanlink has been a NewTek platinum partner supporting the Nordic region and empowering video content creators for decades through the evolution of NewTek’s solutions. Now as a distributor, Lanlink can get the latest NewTek products to customers with a streamlined process, leaving no wait time to create video. “NewTek has always had a strong user base across the Nordics, and with Lanlink as a certified distributor our customers, end-users, and future customers have easier, and faster access to our cutting-edge products. With the depth and breadth of experience that Lanlink has of our company and solutions, we are confident we will see an expansion of NewTek users across the region, expediting our growth throughout the Nordics,” states
Spain - Audinate has announced that Cypress Technology (CYP) has adopted Dante AV for a new family of AVoIP extenders designed for use in multiple markets including HoW, education and conferencing. As an ODM, Cypress Technology’s extenders with Dante AV are expected to launch by the end of 2022. Compatible with existing Dante audio products, this simplifies system design for system integrators and installers. Dante AV is a feature-complete AV over IP solution for the Professional AV market, implementing a codec, local HDMI and HDCP, ancillary data channels, and control. The on-board Dante AV Module provides Dante clock synchronization, control, discovery, transport, messaging, management, updates and more. A comprehensive set of hardware documents, design files, and a complete software SDK allows OEMs to create complete, fully interoperable Dante AV products qui
Finland - Nordic Entertainment Group’s Viaplay streaming TV service has a new studio in Helsinki, complete with wraparound LED screen backdrops driven by Hippotizer Boreal+ MK2 Media Servers. The broadcaster’s built-for-purpose studio, designed and ordered by Viaplay and built in collaboration with NEP Finland, features a curved 2.6mm LED screen behind the presenter’s table comprising 4416 x 960 pixels and standing large at 11.5 x 2.5m. It displays live feed, pre-made and branded content as the channels air sport, film and original drama. Rigged to the right of that is a straight 2.6mm screen that is 1920 x 768 pixels or 5 x 2m and there are two further screens – a circle screen above the table is made from 2.9mm flexible LED panel that is 3612 x 172 pixels or 10.5 x 0.5m and another 98" Panasonic display. All of this is VideoMapped using the Hippotizer Boreal+
UK - Blending technology with creative direction, London-based Bild Studios specialises in visual engineering and creative design for live productions. Founded by live industry veterans Rowan Pitts and David Bajt, Bild now has a 14-strong team that has decades of experience working on some of the world’s largest video installations. After a successful pilot in summer 2020, Bild ventured into a new territory of film and TV by introducing its MARS Volume virtual production facility. Powered by Brompton Technology Tessera LED processing and featuring an AOTO LED volume, the facility is dedicated to technical precision and has been serving up the infinite creativity of VP technology to companies of all sizes and budgets with the aim to service the widest range of projects “Traditionally a live events company, Bild Studios worked mainly in media service, specifying cont
Romania - During the pandemic, like others in their business, the Marbo Trade team shifted their focus to create a digital production facility for supporting livestream and broadcast productions. However, they didn’t stop there. Rather than restrict themselves, they expanded their horizons to create a bona fide virtual production studio in Bucharest, complete with extensive Unreal Engine 3D creation capabilities. Many believe that VPX Studios Romania is the first facility of its kind in Eastern Europe. It is certainly one of the most well equipped. Drawing on the capacity of its Unreal Engine, it allows the design team to render real time 3D images on the wall from the tracked camera perspective and updates it as camera moves across studio. The team can also feed the LED volume with high-quality photorealistic images in a 10 bits HDR colour space for a real-life camera exp
