Germany - Prolight+Sound 2020 has been postponed due to coronavirus (Covid-19) concerns, Messe Frankfurt has announced. The annual entertainment technology tradeshow was initially scheduled for 31 March - 3 April, but organisers have now said it will take place on 26-29 May. Musikmesse, the music industry show that runs alongside Prolight+Sound, has also been postponed, with new dates yet to be released. Messe Frankfurt said in a statement: "The ongoing spread of Covid-19 in Europe called for a reassessment of the situation in close cooperation with the public-health authorities in Frankfurt who require that steps be taken to prevent event participants from high-risk regions coming to Frankfurt and visiting the fair when ill. "Given that these participants could also be infected by Covid-19, it is necessary to conduct a health check to prevent the infection spr
Security Measures - A new law proposed by the UK government will require venues to put measures in place to protect the public from a terrorist attack. Security minister James Brokenshire has announced plans for the new Protect Duty, following a manifesto commitment to improve the security of public spaces. The new law, which is to be consulted on this spring, would require owners and operators of venues and public spaces to consider the risk of a terrorist attack and take “reasonable measures” to protect the public from such an incident. Venues can include concert halls, stadiums and conference centres. Measures could include increasing physical security, staff training and incident response plans in case of an attack. According to the Home Office, the Protect Duty “reflects lessons learned following the terrorist attacks in 2017, as well as more recent attacks”. Br
USA - When Nicholas DeLaCruz, founder and CEO of High Rise Production, a Memphis, Tennessee-based production company that specializes in AVL sales, installs, consultations and rentals, signed on with Beale Street Blues Company, an organisation that manages many of the music and entertainment venues in the Memphis area, he knew that updating the sound system in the B.B. King’s Blues Club would be one of his first tasks. “When I was at NAMM, I had it narrowed down to about three or four audio companies, but meeting Tarik [Solangi, RCF vice president, sales & marketing] made all the difference,” states DeLaCruz. "The RCF HDL 6-A active line array modules are sleek and they don’t take away from the atmosphere of the venue. “B.B. King’s Memphis location is a really cool, vibey place and it’s hard to throw a system in there without taking away from th
USA - Rosco Laboratories was Behind the Scenes’ first Pledge-a-Product Partner and they continued their support with a cheque presentation by Chad Tiller, Rosco's vice president of global live entertainment, to executive director Lori Rubinstein in the BTS office. “Behind the Scenes goes above and beyond to help our colleagues and industry professionals in need and Rosco is proud to give back and support this outstanding charity,” comments Tiller. "This marks our 11th year of donating proceeds from Roscolux 359 Medium Violet, and we are thankful to Behind the Scenes for their commitment to the entertainment technology industry." Rubinstein gratefully accepted the cheque, saying: “We continue to be extremely grateful to Rosco for having led the way in our Pledge-of-Support programme and, particularly, for their long-term commitment to the charity. While some oth
Czech Republic - The 2020 edition of Rigger’s Voice turned its ear to voices from the north of Europe, as experienced riggers and production professionals from Scandinavia travelled to Area Four Industries headquarters in Roudnice nad Labem for this annual conference. Arriving from Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark, attendees took part in high-level rigging and support structure discussions that were led by Area Four Industries technical director Norbert Tripp from 11-12 February. Many questions were asked, various rigging, truss and support structure discussions held, and even truss stress tests conducted during the two jam packed days. Participants were also treated to a grand tour of the Milos factory. Ideas and recommendations from these experienced professionals, for helping steer future product development by Area Four Industries brands, were also provided d
South Africa - Multi-Media AV has recently taken delivery of 480 Absen Polaris 2.9mm LED panels, increasing the company’s inhouse LED inventory up to 220m2 (880 panels) of 2.9mm LED screen. The purchase is the largest single order of Absen’s Polaris LED series that local distributor, DWR Distribution has delivered on to date. “We have had Absen’s now discontinued D2V series LED screens in our inventory for a number of years and have been very impressed with the quality and performance of the units,” says Chris de Lancey, director of innovation at Multi-Media. “When looking ahead at bookings for the month of March, we realised that we would need to hire in an enormous amount of LED panels to meet demand. After analysing the cost of renting versus purchasing additional gear, we decided that it would be a good business decision to increase our inhouse LED offering,
UK - Sennheiser Sound Academy training courses for the first half of 2020 are now available to book online. Run by Sennheiser’s Andrew Lillywhite and Joe Mahoney from the Customer Development & Application Engineer (CDAE) team, the courses are designed for RF techs, AV integrators and technicians, sound engineers, designers or consultants, live event professionals, equipment resellers and apprentices, who want to further their understanding of the specific area of each course. A wide variety of courses are now available, including Wireless Mics Monitoring Essentials, held at Sennheiser UK offices in Marlow as well as at Arnolfini in Bristol; RF Best Practice for Production and Touring course in London; Wireless Audio for AV Integrators, held in Marlow and London; Audio For Meeting Rooms & Conferencing, taking place in London and Sc
Europe - Adam Hall, Vari-Lite and Strand have pulled out of Prolight+Sound 2020 amid growing concerns over the coronavirus outbreak sweeping across Europe. The moves will put pressure on the organisers of the tradeshow, due to take place at Messe Frankfurt on 31 March - 3 April, to clarify whether the event will go ahead. The virus has recently spread to more European countries, causing disruptions to trade events on the continent, including the postponement of Messe Frankfurt's architecture and lighting show Light+Building until September. “Although we were looking forward to meeting our customers and presenting our newest innovations at the fair, we must do our part to help to contain the issue,” explains Sameer Sodhi, business leader at Vari-Lite and Strand at Signify. “The health, safety and well-being of our employees, customers and partners is and remains o
Italy - MIR Tech (formerly Music Inside Rimini), the annual live entertainment technology tradeshow, has been postponed. The Italian Exhibition Group (IEG), which organises the show, has taken the decision "in light of the critical international situation caused by the Covid-19 emergency". MIR Tech was due to take place 8-10 March at the Rimini Expo Centre. New dates will be announced following consultations with exhibitors and the wider sector. IEG has also moved to postpone its other March shows, including Enada Spring, the International Amusement and Gaming Show, the accompanying Rimini Amusement Show, and the spring edition of Abilmente Vicenza the Creative Idea Show.
Canada - CAST Group has launched a new education programme to offer scheduled and on-demand training and education sessions on BlackTrax and wysiwyg. New online classes for wysiwyg are now available to both new and experienced users. The two-hour seminars are crafted to focus on specific areas of wysiwyg to save time and help users work more efficiently. Each seminar covers essential knowledge needed to be successful with wysiwyg, as well as new features and tips and tricks. CAST Group offers custom training on a case to case basis. In additions to the official sessions, BlackTrax users can benefit from free monthly webinars exploring how to create live experiences using realtime tracking. This live webinar lasts around an hour, with at least 15 minutes for you to ask questions about tracking and automation during the Q&A session.
UK - Doughty Engineering celebrates its milestone 50th anniversary this year. The company first registered as Doughty Trailer Sales Ltd in February 1970 and spent the first 10 years of trading manufacturing trailers, before metamorphosing into the Doughty Engineering that is well-known in the entertainment industry today. Julian Chiverton, sales director, comments: “We are extremely proud to be celebrating half a century in business. When Russell Doughty, Mervyn Lister and my father George Chiverton started out in 1970, little did they know that the Doughty brand would become synonymous with clamps and other kit relied upon by riggers and lighting designers across the world. Their business was trailers, then designing and manufacturing attachments for rough terrain and forklift trucks in the farming and construction sectors. But by the mid-eighties it was clear tha
France - PlugFest, the technical event for entertainment lighting interoperability organised by PLASA, is now underway in Lille. The annual three-day event welcomes manufacturers, developers and technicians from across the continent to test their products and learn about the latest protocols. For the third year running, PlugFest has sold out, with delegates from major lighting manufacturers such as Robert Juliat, Claypaky, Chauvet, Eaton, GLP, ETC, TMB, ChamSys and Highlite. The event’s expert hosts, Hamish Dumbreck (JESE Ltd), Peter Willis (Howard Eaton Lighting) and Wayne Howell (Artistic Licence) are set to host a series of break-out sessions covering RDM, DALI, RDMnet, Art-Net, sACN and LLRP, as well as recent ESTA TSC developments. Nicky Greet, PLASA’s membership, skills and technical director, comments: “We’re delighted to present another PlugFest
Valley Aid - Manic Street Preachers frontman James Dean Bradfield will join Grammy award winner Amy Wadge in a fundraising event for flood victims hit by Storm Denis in the Welsh valleys. Bradfield will play at a two-day Valley Aid concert in March. Thousands were affected in Wales by widespread flooding and flood warnings and alerts are in place across Wales. Crowdfunding pages have already raised thousands for flood-hit communities. Now Welsh musicians are rallying to help raise funds for the valleys in a two-day festival at the Pop Factory in Porth on 13 and 14 March. Mobile Menace - A conductor twice stopped an opera in Cardiff after mobile phones rang in the audience. Carlo Rizzi was conducting Welsh National Opera's new production of Verdi's Les Vêpres Sicilienes, at Donald Gordon Theatre at the Wales Millennium Centre on Saturday night. Audience members
UK - Out Board and EM Acoustics have joined forces to present a combined series of demonstrations offering offer a unique opportunity to experience TiMax spatial mixing, immersive 3D effects animation and vocal localisation with live stage-tracking using TiMax SoundHub and TrackerD4 on a multichannel immersive EM Acoustics system. Mark your diaries for Tuesday 3rd-Thursday 5th March 2020 as this amiable event will take place at SARM Music Bank Studios. Out Board’s Dave Haydon and Robin Whittaker will be running sessions that cover: • TiMax SoundHub new HARDCore FPGA processing, PanSpace auto-calc spatial rendering and TimeLine showcontrol workflows. • TiMax TrackerD4 all new Precision Stagetracking for live performer vocal localisation and fx panning.
EM Acoustics will formally demonstrate the Reference Series R10 flagship point source louds
Germany - Milos provided the design, static calculation and delivery of Milos truss products for a high wire bike climbing course for client, On The Ropes. On The Ropes is based in Radevormwald and has been led by owner Hajo Muller since 1995. Their main focus is on the planning and building of rope courses at height that are in-tune with the natural surroundings. They also plan and build climbing walls, adventure stations and customized structures. One of their past standout projects includes the Big TeePee complex, which is the world’s biggest teepee, that was designed and constructed for Expo 2000 in Hannover. The High Wire Bike project started with a rough concept provided to the A4I Germany office by On The Ropes. With this rough idea in hand, Area Four Industries technical director Norbert Tripp designed a feasible structural solution and carry out all structur
UK -The Second Edition of festival and outdoor event sustainability report The Show Must Go On has revealed the latest industry figures, trends and practices. Five years since the first edition was published, the new 126-page report, which has been crowdfunded by the industry, gives an insight into sector sustainability, and reflects the progress made in technologies, materials and operational practices to reduce environmental impacts. Its main chapters, authored by experts in their own fields, cover Governance, Resources and Waste, Water, Food, Energy, Travel and Transport. The report also marks the launch of an online Knowledge Hub, www.vision2025.org.uk, a free-to-access resource that will feature case studies, briefings and a supplier directory. More than 100 festiv
Europe - Chinese LED manufacturer Absen has moved to allay any concerns caused by the global outbreak of Covid-19 by stocking more than 5,000sq.m of LED product ready for shipping, with further 27,000 sq.m in production covering the company’s array of indoor, outdoor and rental display products. The stock comes from the company’s manufacturing base in Huizhou as well as Absen’s European headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany, and across the regions covered by its network of distributors. Absen is also planning to move its European offices into larger premises by 30 March. The new warehouse is expected to provide the capacity to hold twice the amount of stock than the company’s current one. The manufacturer has also reported that its factory has been “working at full capacity to meet high demand - with orders up in Europe by 128% when compared to the same pe
UK - Fineline Lighting, based near Bristol, hosted over 20 lighting designers across two days on 17-18 February for basic and advanced MagicQ training, in partnership with ChamSys. The ChamSys team were joined for the training by Chauvet ChamSys product specialist Rebbecca Cadd. The basic course covered the use of all MagicQ products including the range of PC Wings and MagicQ consoles. It taught attendees about starting new shows from scratch, layouts, patching, recording and editing cues, cue lists and chases, FX programming and pixelmapping. The advanced course covered advanced MagicQ features including advanced patching, media server control, timecode, scheduled events, execute window and group FX. Aziz Adilkhodjaev, international business development manager at ChamSys, comments: “Massive thanks to Rob and Sevim [Sangwell, Fineline directors] for or
The Netherlands - punQtum B.V. has announced a cooperation with Cymatic Audio in the fields of logistics, service and procurement. Arie van den Broek, founder of both companies, comments: “When it comes to back-office operations, it made sense to join forces to avoid unnecessary costs. However, this arrangement will not affect the distribution channels of either company. punQtum remains a strictly business-to-business direct sales operation, whereas Cymatic Audio products will remain available through our valued dealers and distribution partners in the market.” punQtum was established in 2019 to focus on professional tools for the live event and professional audio industry. With a firm commitment to the pro audio community, punQtum has set out to develop tools that are based on open technology standards and designed to make a difference. “We listened carefully t
Europe - Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) has engaged support from its global community in a charitable project for the Emma Children’s Hospital in collaboration with the Amsterdam University Medical Centre. Multiple AV brands and a CEDIA Award-winning installer, Woelf, are working together to create an entertainment room at Het Jeroen Pit Huis, a new transitional care unit for chronically ill children and their families in the grounds of Amsterdam University Medical Centre. “We are pleased that we can use our industry connections, and those of our co-owners, CEDIA and AVIXA, to bring together the very best products, design and installation expertise to support this project and build something wonderful for a very worthy cause,” comments Mike Blackman, MD of Integrated Systems Events. “This space will be a source of enjoyment, excitement and escape for all those stay
UK - The Knight of Illumination (KOI) Awards has announced the appointment of five new judges across its three categories for the 2020 Awards. The KOI Awards invites critics, journalists and industry professionals to form its three independent judging panels for the categories of Concert & Event, Television and Theatre. Critic, broadcaster, and chair of the Theatre judging panel David Benedict is joined by three new judges: Mark Pullinger, an experienced opera critic and editor of classical music magazine Bachtrack; Sarah Crompton, dance critic for The Observer and theatre reviewer for Whatsonstage; and Susannah Clapp, theatre critic for The Observer. Each will serve a two-year term on the Theatre panel, where they join existing judges Louise Levene of the Financial Times, deputy arts editor and music critic of The Times Ne
Europe - Audio-Technica has announced a partnership with Audio Pro Business which will see the Swedish speaker manufacturer join Audio-Technica’s portfolio of distributed brands in the UK, Ireland, France and Spain with effect from 1 March. Audio Pro Business commercial installation speaker solutions will join brands such as Audio-Technica, Allen & Heath, Genelec, Audient and Artnovion in Audio-Technica’s offering. With a 40-year history in speaker design and manufacture, pioneering technologies such as wireless audio and lighting rail quick connections, Audio Pro Business wireless speakers allow easy installation, flexibility and audio quality while allowing customers to connect to modern streaming media services. Gary Maguire, commercial director Audio-Technica EMEA, says: “We are delighted to be representing Audio Pro Business in our UK and Ireland
UK - PLASA has announced a series of professional development training events for this spring and summer. The first event will focus on changes to employment law and take place at ETC’s premises in west London on 25 March. During the session, HR professional Nicky Gleadow will ensure delegates are aware of their obligations and that their businesses are compliant with the legislation changes that will be enforced from April. On 16 April, Gleadow will also present a workshop on mental health and diversity for employers at Shure’s Rose Shure Experience Centre in London. The session will help employers understand how to promote good mental health in the workplace and ensure employees are not subject to discrimination. On 2 July, James Eade will present the IET code of practice on in-service inspection and testing of electrical equipment. The event will take p
USA - Full-service event production companies Frost Chicago and Frost Florida have added Ayrton Diablo and Ghibli fixtures to their lighting inventories. This is the companies’ first purchase of Ayrton products, distributed exclusively in North America by ACT Lighting, Inc. Frost Florida took delivery of Ghibli LED spot luminaires last year. “We were looking for an LED framing fixture with a high lumen output and CMY and CTO variable,” says Matthew MacPherson, general manager and head sales executive at Frost Florida. “Ghibli checked all the boxes; it was everything we needed at a reasonable price point. We couldn’t be happier with them and our clients are happy as well. They’ve proved to be an amazing workhorse for us.” Daniel Cortes, Frost Florida’s lighting director/designer, agrees. “Our Ghibli units have been in non-stop use; they’re great work
