Singapore - Prolights has entered into a distribution agreement for Malaysia and Singapore, with Acoustic & Lighting Systems. The Asian company is a household name in distribution of professional sound, lighting and accessories solutions. General manager, Eugene Yeo, comments: “We support customers in many sectors of the industry, and thrive to offer them the best solutions for their applications. We see Prolights as a manufacturer with a vast product catalogue, allowing to tailor our customer's needs to their offering. Their tech-savvy R&D and sales make our lives very easy - we can see they are product-oriented and very passionate about the products they release.” “We wanted to reinforce our presence in Asia, and Acoustic & Lighting Systems are the result of our ambition,” says Paolo Albani, international sales manager for Prolights. “Eugene and
Lockdown Priorities - When asked what the government should keep open in the event of a second national lockdown, just 2% of people said theatres should be the highest priority. A YouGov poll of more than 1,640 people asked each to rank what the government should keep open in order of priority. Top was schools and nurseries, with 57% putting this as the highest priority. Only 2% said theatres, cinemas and art venues should be the top priority, just below pubs at 4%, while 12% said arts venues should be the government’s lowest priority. When it comes to pubs, 4% said reopening them should be the government’s top priority, compared with 24% who said they should this should be the lowest priority. Only 8% of the public said the government should prioritise universities above the other types of establishments. But almost two in five people (39%) ranked them as their second p
UK - Immersive experience specialists Technically Creative have formed a collaboration with five other creative experiential providers to launch the Vigilante Group. The newly-formed group specialises in advertising, film, experiential spaces and design. The companies involved are Cod Steaks - design and build artisans focusing on museums and branded attractions; Burning reel - film production; Creep -a film, animation and visual effect postproduction company; Afew - designers and developers specialising digital experiences for the web; Arcadia - event specialists, and Technically Creative. Marc Broadbent, founder and director of Technically Creative says: “I am so excited for the companies, including our own, that have come together to form this exciting new collaboration. The Vigilante Group showcases the culmination of the achievements by so many of the dedicate
Australia - Situated in Melbourne’s east, the community at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church was being crowded out by a suburb fast-tracked for urban growth. Needing to relocate to a quieter location with room to expand, they became aware that a short distance down the road the St. James Uniting Church, with its striking mid-century early modern architecture, was looking to sell. A deal was done which duly led to a full-blown renovation of the church, including a sensitive, high quality audio visual fitout in the heritage-listed building. This included a Martin Audio O-Line as the sound reinforcement system. St. Paul’s Lutheran found an integrator in Mozaix that really understood house of worship requirements, and director Paul Tucker immediately struck up a rapport with the church’s building committee. Paradoxically, the original St James space had been
USA - New tools mean new workflows, and ETC has a long history of creating online tools to help Eos users evolve their programming skills. Now ETC is has announced the release of a new video learning series focusing on Eos Augment3d, the new 3D programming environment released with Eos v3.0. The 38-part video series may be found on YouTube or in the Expert Topics section of the Eos Family Video Learning Series, along with a new workbook to accompany the videos. The video series includes instruction on getting started with Augment3d, with topics such as importing 3D models and objects, adding, patching, moving and focusing fixtures, working with focus palettes in XYZ mode, and working with Staging Mode in Live and Blind. Additional videos take users through the Fixture Position Estimation Tool, which uses a series of focus palettes to calculate your fixtures’ position
UK - Green Hippo is launching an online version of its popular HippoSchool training for the first time, making it universally accessible in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The move means more emerging users of its Hippotizer Media Server range can access learning in a virtual environment ‘anywhere, anytime, while adhering to social distancing guildelines’. HippoSchool Online offers complete basic training of the Hippotizer ZooKeeper software - the control interface for Hippotizer and the hub for real-time control of the engine and all of its components. Sessions consist of two online courses that take approximately five hours to complete, with more courses in the pipeline. They are modular, with videos that the user can follow in their own time, featuring ‘Try It Yourself’ tasks to ensure full immersion into as-real-world use of the feature-packed software.
UK - PLASA Online, a virtual programme of talks, panels and presentations designed to help industry professionals navigate the COVID era, was hosted by PLASA last week. Thousands signed up in advance to watch the specially-curated programme, which spanned business advice, industry insights, technical developments, and product presentations. For those wishing to catch up on any of the sessions, the full programme will remain online until 16 November - recordings from each session can be requested by completing a form. The most popular session was an exploration of the 2020 Changes to Portable Appliance Testing Requirements with electrical expert and author of the new IET Code of Practice James Eade. In this session, Eade gave the viewers an overview of the recent chan
Europe - Registration is now open for Prolyte’s first free webinar. Taking placer next Wednesday 21 October (11:00 CEST), Eric Laanstra outlines the strengths of Prolyte trusses with the focus on multipurpose series. Eric will also cover in his 60 minutes webinar topics about truss in all its aspects; from strength in connection methods, forces, design methods and interpretation of numbers. Says Prolyte, “To achieve the number one customer satisfaction is always part of our philosophy. Save your seat and invite your friends and partners for the first Prolyte webinar. We will provide you the first-class education in the field of trussing and rigging.”
USA - The Audio Engineering Society is inviting students and educators to attend the AES Show Student Week, being held 19-23 October as part of its Audio Engineering Month events. Events will include exclusive Technical Programme content, meetings and events hosted by the AES Student Delegate Assembly (SDA), a virtual education and career fair, student competitions, student project critiques and more. AES Show Student Week partners are Audio-Technica, Genelec, IK Multimedia, and the Recording Academy Producers and Engineers Wing. Several highlights of AES Show Student Week include the Student Recording Competitions in six categories (Traditional Acoustic Recording, Traditional Studio Recording, Modern Studio Recording & Electronic Music, Sound for Visual Media, Remix, and Immersive Audio); the Saul Walker Student Design Competition sponsored by API (gear and soft
Europe - Prolyte has appointed Sound light and system (SLS), a sales partner for the company since 2014, as its new distributor in Portugal. Established in 2014, SLS provides complete solutions for the professional audio and lighting market in Portugal. “With the development of the market during these uncertain times, it is reassuring to have a strong trustable partner to further deliver high-end quality products and structural solutions that are in increasing demand in Portugal,” says Prolyte manager William Voskuil. Rui Nunes, SLS CEO, comments: "We’ve worked with Prolyte for years now and we firmly believe that Prolyte is in fact the best truss solution for the Portuguese market. Being a well-recognised and known brand, Prolyte is ahead of its game in the market, as it is not only used and trusted by everyone but also recognized for its potential to lea
UK - iMAG Displays has added a Brompton Technology Hydra to its inventory. The Hydra is an advanced measurement system custom-designed for LED panels fitted with a Tessera R2 receiver card. Panels must be measured with Hydra to benefit from Dynamic Calibration, the technology that enables Brompton HDR. iMAG has invested in a Hydra not just to recalibrate its own stock of LED panels, but also to make it available for hire to other UK rental houses so they can update their own panel inventory. The decision to purchase Hydra was made before the pandemic but was put on hold whilst the company – previously focused on servicing live events – realigned its focus and looked at new business opportunities. Such an investment may seem like a bold move in the current climate, but the decision was based on seeing first-hand the benefits of Dynamic Calibration and Brompto
USA - Symetrix has launched its newly designed, mobile-friendly website complete with a new community forum. Visitors to the website will find a visually enhanced, user-friendly format with improved navigation, functionality, and responsiveness on all screens and device types. The site features redesigned vertical focus pages, images and testimonials from real Symetrix projects, along with an online warranty claim form, and more robust support pages. “It’s important to us that the Symetrix universe of users can easily find what they need from our website, whether it’s technical information, product documentation, or project inspiration, and be able to do it all from a phone or iPad if they’re not in front of a computer,” explains Symetrix owner and CEO, Mark Graham. “The new website provides that functionality, along with a cool new forum to give us a pla
UK - Highlite UK has embarked on a UK roadshow during October and early November to present some of its new latest products. After hosting the first session at its office in Calne, the company is heading to Future Technical Solutions in Torquay on 15 October; Subfrantic in Bromley on 20 October; Vector Lighting in Milton Keynes on 22 October; MRL Productions in Clacton on Sea on the 27th; Stage Management Company in Leeds on the 29th, and Musicmann in Walsall on 3 November. Those who wish to attend should register via Eventbrite. “We will be taking the roadtrip to seven venues,” says Highlite. “There will be two sessions at each venue, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. The first session will take place from 10am until 12:30pm and
UK - PLASA Online 2020, a five-day programme of business, technical and product sessions, kicked off yesterday and will run daily until 16 October. The week-long programme includes live key notes, panel discussions and training sessions designed to provide education, guidance and inspiration during these challenging times. In light of challenges that have emerged in the COVID era, chartered safety practitioner and production manager Tom Goode will discuss event production in the new COVID environment. Joining him will be Karl Raw, Health and Safety Inspector for the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), Dominique Perrissin-Fabert, Health and Safety Manager for the Royal Opera House, and Ben Stephen, Head of Operations & Production for the Albany. Together they will share how they have adapted workplaces and practices and will answer questions from the virtual audience. In
UK - PLASA’s Managing Director Peter Heath spoke to the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee on Employment and COVID-19 on 6 October. Alongside Horace Trubridge from Musicians' Union, Abigail Pogson from SAGE Gateshead and Julian Bird from UK Theatre, Heath gave evidence of the live events and entertainment sector is suffering and why the sector needs further government support. The session was broadcast on Parliament TV and is available in full here: //parliamentlive.tv. During the introduction, Heath commented: “The events industry has been absolutely devastated, but the question is, can it survive? This is subject to how soon we can return to work and what support
Mixed Reactions - Venues and organisations including The Cavern Club in Liverpool and the London Symphony Orchestra are to receive a share of £257m government arts funding. The Cavern, which hosted early gigs from The Beatles, has been given £525,000 to fund the recording of performances from local musicians. More than 1,300 organisations are set to benefit, including the Birmingham Royal Ballet and the Bristol Old Vic. Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden described the move as "a vital boost". Fairport’s Cropredy Convention music festival has been awarded £200,000 under the scheme. Gareth Williams, Cropredy’s festival organiser, said: “We have all seen how hard this Covid pandemic has hit the festival industry; 2020 has basically been a write-off. This most welcome grant from the CRF secures the future of our festival for 2021 and will help us cover any additional costs
UK - Sound, Light & Laser FX has been known as SLLFX by much of the industry for most of its existence. Now, as part of a larger rebranding and investment initiative, the Birmingham-based AV rental company has officially taken SLLFX as its name. The new name and logo is just one element of a full brand refresh and investment process that has helped to transform the equipment rental company. The investment process started ahead of the UK’s national lockdown with the addition of Unilumin HD LED screens to the company’s hire stock. Following this, during lockdown the company launched two streaming services. First, a streaming studio complete with full DJ setup and LED walls for DJs to deliver the professional look they are used to at clubs. Joining this is the mobile media centre, a fully mobile virtual venue for corporate clients looking to overcome Zoom fatigue
USA - Point Source Audio has introduced an AVIXA-approved training course in the professional use and cleaning of body-worn microphones on the heels of its recently launched Mike’s Academy online educational hub. Titled Body-Worn Microphones and Personal Audio Equipment - Applications and Maintenance, the course will deliver 1.25 Renewal Units (RU) towards achieving or retaining CTS / CTS-D certification. Focusing on both the everyday use and upkeep of high-end body-worn microphone technology, the course will provide invaluable insight into close contact mic placement as well as teaching artists to effectively self-mic - a particularly hot topic in the midst of the current global pandemic. The course will be available to newcomers to AVIXA certification as well as current CTS holders. Point Source market development manager Mac Johnson comments, “AXIV
USA - Genelec has completed a new demonstration facility at the company’s US headquarters in Natick, Massachusetts, where visitors can experience the full range of Genelec professional audio products in configurations from stereo through immersive 9.1.6. The new Genelec Experience Centre, the first in the United States, joins existing Genelec demonstration facilities in the UK, Germany, China and India. This latest Experience Centre is a total rebuild of a former surround sound demo studio designed in-house in 2004, with Will Eggleston, Genelec Inc. US marketing director, providing the acoustical design. Earlier this year, Eggleston called on world-renowned studio architect and designer Francis Manzella, president and principal designer at Francis Manzella Design, to create a new aesthetic and acoustical treatments for the renovated space, which serves as a mix room, a th
UK - Technical entertainment charity Backup has set up a new fund to help industry workers who have received no or limited government support during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. The Hardship Fund will provide financial assistance to crew/production personnel, and people working in the technical supply chain across the UK entertainment sector, including those from live events, theatre and TV and film. The fund has been allocated an initial £200,000, with further fundraising in progress. £100,000 was raised by Backup and its supporters, including #WeMakeEvents, whilst charity Light Relief matched this with a further £100,000. Backup chairman John Simpson comments: “The technicians and their families in our industry, particularly freelancers, are experiencing incredible hardship at the moment and, with the lack of ongoing financial support from the government,
UK - Persistent and torrential rain didn’t dampen any spirits or enthusiasm at Silverstone Circuit in the UK where moving light manufacturer Robe UK, rental and production company Clearsound and Silverstone’s events and conference team transformed the race track’s Wing building and conference centre ‘resplendent red’ for the evening of 30 September 2020. This massive effort was in support the #WeMakeEvents Global Day of Action. Nearly 100 Robe moving lights supplied by Clearsound and Robe helped light two key locations at Silverstone – The Wing pit lane and paddock building, which resembles the wing of a race car with extensive event and conference facilities on the higher floors, and the BRDC (British Racing Drivers’ Club) Clubhouse which was a couple of kilometres away on a different part of this enormous site. The Robe luminaires were combined w
UK - From 12-16 October, PLASA is hosting PLASA Online, a five-day programme of curated business, technical and product sessions. Each session is designed to provide education, guidance and inspiration during this challenging time. Several leading brands will present their latest products, including lighting brands Chauvet, Elation, ETC and Martin. Sennheiser will showcase their new range, and Adam Hall and Highlite will take a look at a variety of their products for both lighting and audio. DiGiCo will detail how they use Audinate’s Dante with their mixing platforms, Vectorworks will host a training session on event production and design, and Broadweigh will present case studies of their wireless load monitoring solutions being used in international shows and tours. Business webinars are planned throughout the week: renowned economist Roger Martin-Fagg will outline
Canada - ALC NetworX, developer of the Technology & Engineering Emmy Award-winning Ravenna technology, has welcomed Canadian audio electronic experts, Eon Art, to the Ravenna community. Based in Chandler, Quebec, Eon Art specialises in the design and manufacture of ultra high-end, high-fidelity audio electronics, and more recently - since the acquisition of Venus Acoustic in 2017 - hi-fi loudspeakers. The company also offers laboratory services for the audio industry and boasts the largest audio electronics lab in Canada. With a limited production run every year, Eon Art’s products are highly sought after by audiophiles worldwide. According to Eon Art founder, CEO and chief electronic designer, Stéphane Hautcoeur, joining the Ravenna community is a logical step. “Our Tachyon digital audio converter (DAC) is a concentrate of the highest musical technology that
UK - Torpedo Factory Group has upgraded the audio-visual system at the central London home of the Royal Over-Seas League (ROSL), a non-profit private members organisation originally formed in 1910 with the collective aim of bringing people together from around the world to meet, socialise and foster an interest in the Commonwealth. A long-standing and fervent supporter of the arts, ROSL has over the last 65 years developed a diverse portfolio of activities in music, visual arts, and literature. ROSL Arts regularly supports talented young professional artists and musicians through an annual music competition as well as a programme of music and visual arts scholarships. In providing performance opportunities for its prizewinning musicians, concerts and other events such as wedding receptions, banquets and conferences take place at the ROSL’s historic Princess Alexandra