Robe - LEADERBOARD - Feb 2025
Doughty - Banner - ABTT (27 May - 5 June)

Business

Details
USA - The Lightconverse and High End Lighting Challenge continues until 31 March 2015.

The organisers comment: "We truly believe that the most creative and advanced lighting specialists deserve to be recognized and awarded for their hard work. In order to do so, we have created the Premier Challenge contest in which you can submit a video of your work created in Lightconverse.

There is no particular theme for the Premier Challenge except that the design must be original.

First prize is a High End HedgeHog4 N console and Lightconverse Unlimited; second prize is Lightconverse Trace, with Lightconverse Media packages for third place and Popular Choice winners.

The Contest Winner will be announced at Prolight + Sound, held from 15-18 April in Frankfurt, Germany.

(Jim Evans)

Details
USA - There were plenty of good reasons for the people at NBC to feel good about Super Bowl XLIX: the ratings were astronomical, advertising sales were record breaking and the company's onsite party directly across the street from the University of Phoenix Stadium was nothing short of spectacular, thanks to some inspired event planning by Angel City Designs and a stylish lighting rig by James Schipper of Kinetic Lighting.

Schipper called on a plethora of LED fixtures from Chauvet Professional to strike a visually pleasing sense of casual sophistication at the NBC pre-game party tent. With 800 VIP guests, including a good representation of on-air talent, this was definitely not your typical Sunday tailgating party. Yet, Schipper's design conveyed a relaxed retro atmosphere while still emphatically stating that this was indeed a very special event.

"I enjoyed this project a

Renkus-Heinz - Banner - May 2025

Details
Australia - Sydney's Luna Park has a new ride that raises you 50mabove sea level for a bird's eye view of the magical city before unceremoniously dropping you over 80 km's an hour back to earth via an edge of your seat, white knuckle experience. Appropriately called the Hair Raiser, the ride has been lit in spectacular style acting as a beacon in the night sky.

Luna Park approached Show Technology for some ideas to light the ride in an innovative and creative manner, rather than just flood lighting the structure.

"They were also interested in the possibility of integrating the control of the lighting into the ride's control system," commented Mike Gearin, Show Technology's NSW technical sales manager. "We produced a few renders for them and they loved our concept."

It was decided that there was no better product than the Martin VC-Dot 4 lightweight string

Details
UK - d&b audiotechnik GB has announced the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (RCSSD) will be hosting two Y-Series product presentations at the Embassy Theatre in Swiss Cottage, London on Wednesday, 25 March. This is an opportunity to listen to the system up close and personal and learn more about this new series of loudspeakers.

"We'll start by taking a look at how d&b arrived at the Y-Series, which comprises both point source and line array loudspeakers," explains Steve Jones of d&b GB Education and Application Support." We'll then focus on the Y7P and Y10P point sources and what makes them so special; we'll also be listening to them with the B6-SUB, a single 18" bass-reflex design with a frequency response down to 37 Hz. Then we'll delve into the line source line up, have a listen, add the cardioid Y-SUB ... then turn it up.

"Y should you come

Details
Europe - Belgium-based engineering and automation specialists WIcreations is supplying several custom moving elements for the current European tour by French rock singer and multi-instrumentalist Calogero.

The tour is produced by TS3, also responsible for the acclaimed Mylène Farmer Timeless tour, for which WI designed and supplied bespoke automation. Based on this success, they returned to WI to deliver more imaginative, reliable and tourable engineering solutions.

Calogero's avant-garde lighting scheme designed by Dimitri Vassiliu is based less around traditional lighting instruments and is more about using the direct and ambient light - and darkness - created by LED screens with content flowing through them. For this ambitious idea to work, they required a series of six LED panels to move around the performance space, so they can act as light sources.

The six screens nee

Details
Russia - London-based creative technology expert Realtime Environment Systems Ltd (RES) has provided the know-how for a spectacular visual event to mark one year since the Sochi Winter Olympics.

The ambitious event at Sochi's beautiful Ice Palace featured a dramatic ice show and was staged by Russian TV company Channel One.

RES co-founder and project manager Mark Calvert and established freelance Ai technician Martin Harvey used two S6 Ai Media servers to bring pixel mapping, video playback and realtime generative patches for LED screen media, with one DVI output controlling 70848 Pixels @ 328 X 216 to control the 41 LED stems suspended above the rink. The show ran from an S6 Ai Media Server, with master slave hot backup S6.

"RES was challenged with providing the technical know-how, creativity, and server technology to realise the stunning celebration, which is exactly

Details
USA - Viewers of the Super Bowl Halftime Show have come to expect dazzling entertainment, but Katy Perry's turn at Super Bowl XLIX packed more fun and amazing eye candy into 12 minutes than they might have thought possible. Behind the scenes at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, lighting director Jason Rudolph used eight d3 4x4pro media servers from d3 Technologies to map the football field around the stage with content from 80 Barco projectors. The d3 servers also sent 4 feeds to control the LED stage, magically transforming the floor from a perspective-bending chessboard to a tropical island paradise and a dynamic graphic platform for an airborne finale. VER provided the d3 media servers, grandMA2 control consoles, and all projection and LED gear.

The size and scope of the Super Bowl Halftime Show might seem daunting for some media servers. But last year d

Details
USA - The University of Iowa Hawkeyes football team plays all of its home games in the 70,500-seat Kinnick Stadium, which is located on the west side of campus. It is adjacent to residences on one side and to campus buildings on the other side, one of which is the University Hospital.

Although it's fair to say that almost all Iowans stand behind the Hawkeyes (there is no pro team in the state) it's also true that Iowans who are recovering in the hospital deserve peace and quiet, even on game day. When school officials became disenchanted with the lo-fi sound and poor coverage of Kinnick Stadium's old sound reinforcement system, they worried that elevating it to modern standards would only increase game day complaints from the hospital.

Those worries have been allayed. Kinnick Stadium's new high-powered Danley Sound Labs system - the first in the world to use the massive Caleb

Details
UK - Culture Liverpool has appointed REM (Richmond Event Management), to provide site and production management for all of the city's annual events in 2015.

REM will provide full site and production management for events including Three Queens, Mersey River Festival, On the Waterfront Concerts, Transatlantic, Liverpool International Music Festival, Bonfire Night celebrations and Chinese New Year 2016.

Culture Liverpool delivered a varied programme of events in 2014 with three major events attracting 1.4m attendees and generating £55m into the local economy. Having successfully delivered elements of different Culture Liverpool events over the previous eight years, REM's award winning team has now been entrusted across all of the events, drawing on its deep understanding of the local ethos and the aspirations of Liverpool City Council to combine best value with modern prod

Details
Singapore - Martin Professional reports that the MAC Viper family is now widely available throughout Southeast Asia via several of the region's largest rental houses. Singapore-based companies CSP Production, Trio AV and Highlight Systems as well as Malaysia-based Orange Events have added more than 170 MAC Viper fixtures to their portfolios, putting the latest in intelligent lighting at the fingertips of lighting designers throughout the region.

Designed for use in a wide variety of events and entertainment productions, Martin's MAC Viper family is a complete series of high-performance moving head light fixtures that features intense light output and a slender body for fast movements.

Singapore's Trio AV has been working with Martin Professional for more than 15 years, providing regular support for regional trade shows, government and corporate conferences and a host of other

Details
UK - The UK's Lighting Industry received a boost this week as the Lighting Industry Association received a share of the Government's Regional Growth Fund to further develop its laboratory services (LIA Laboratories) and new Lighting Training Academy.

The funds will help the Lighting Industry Association create a new Lighting Testing Laboratory to cope with increased demand, which will house a unique R&D centre that will be available for UK manufacturers to use and develop new lighting products.

Alongside the new laboratory, the Lighting Industry Association will also build a Lighting Academy that will provide education, learning and awareness services for the whole lighting supply chain. Being sited at the Lighting Industry Association's HQ in Telford, means that the courses will have a distinctly 'hand-on' feel and will help drive the introduction of new lighting technology a

Details
USA - At the 57th annual Grammy Awards - held on 8 February 8, 2015 - Gwen Stefani performed using Audio-Technica Artist Elite 5000 Series Wireless with an AEW-T6100a Hypercardioid Dynamic Handheld Microphone/Transmitter. Stefani and Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine performed My Heart Is Open from Maroon 5's 2014 album V.

"Live broadcasts are extremely challenging, as we only have one chance to get it right," stated John Harris, co-music mixer. "I have been using Audio-Technica wireless systems for years, because of their sound quality and reliable performance."

(Jim Evans)

Details
Sweden - Lighting company Aura Light has acquired Zobra, a Swedish lighting company that develops and manufactures luminaires for public areas. This acquisition is an important step for the company to become a complete supplier of energy efficient lighting solutions.

Zobra develops, manufactures and markets luminaires for public areas. The company offers a wide range of luminaires and focuses on innovative product design. Zobra's head office is situated in Vimmerby in Sweden where they also have their production. The company has been growing rapidly the recent years and has received external acknowledgement for their performance.

"This acquisition is an important part of Aura Light's growth strategy and we have seen an increased demand of complete lighting solutions amongst our customers. This is important for us in being a complete lighting supplier, offering light sourc

Details
China - The 135 year old Shanghai Symphony Orchestra now has a new home in the Shanghai Symphony Hall, which celebrated its long awaited grand opening in September. The Hall has a full complement of ETC equipment, including a Sensor 3 Power Control system with ThruPower modules, Source Four PAR fixtures, and an Eos family lighting control system.

The venue contains two separate performance spaces: the Main Hall with 1,200 seats, which serves as a performance and rehearsal space, and the 400-seat Chamber Hall, which is used for recording and broadcasting.

ETC Sensor3 power control racks dim both halls' stage lighting. "You can always expect a smooth and natural dimming curve from ETC dimmer racks," says Xingxing Dou, the lighting director at the Shanghai Symphony Hall. "They deliver maximum reliability with a minimal failure rate compared to most brands on the ma

Details
UK - XL Video renewed its long-term touring relationship with Bryan Adams, who celebrates the remarkable 30th anniversary of his seminal Reckless album, one of a string of ground-breaking projects that has made him the bestselling Canadian rock artist of all time.

The production design for this tour was created by Willie Williams. XL's Paul 'Macca' McCauley has managed the account for the last three years, although XL's association with Bryan Adams' live work goes back several more years.

Macca worked closely with Adams' own video director Marc Ledoux and Encore operator Sebastien De Bellefeuille in co-ordinating and setting up the tour, together with production manager Andy Proudfoot.

Macca commented, "It was great to be working with Bryan Adams and his team again - there were many familiar faces. Visuals are a vital element to the stage presentation and he's an

Details
USA - Masked rockers Slipknot are making headlines with a fifth album release, the addition of new band members, their Knotfest concert series and the launch of the Prepare for Hell tour - and Clay Paky Stormys are along for the wild ride.

The band just marked the debut of their fifth studio album, .5: The Gray Chapter which was quickly followed by performances 25 and 26 October at their own Knotfest in San Bernardino, California. They began headlining the Prepare for Hell North American tour afterwards.

Trevor Ahlstrand, lighting designer/production designer for Slipknot, is using a package of 30 Stormys CC, obtained from Christie Lights, on the shows. The new Stormy uses the latest LED technology while retaining all the charm of the classic strobe. He has positioned a few on each piece truss and several in a row on the floor.

"The show is very asymmetrical with

Details
Sweden - Rhapsody in Rock is an annual series of live shows which combines classical and rock music, performed by a symphony orchestra alongside its founder - Swedish pianist Robert Wells - a contemporary band and vocalists. In March the production heads out on the second leg of its 25th anniversary tour, where three Yamaha CL5 digital mixing consoles will again provide their own Rock solid performance.

A former child prodigy, the classically-trained Wells founded Rhapsody in Rock in 1989. Performing everything from Liszt to AC/DC. It has played to nearly two million people in the USA, Russia, China, the UK, Scandinavia and Germany.

The 25th anniversary tour is playing multiple dates throughout Scandinavia and features a fully redundant Dante network with three Yamaha CL5 consoles, one providing the main front of house mix, manned by Thomas Malbeck, one submixing the orchestra

Details
UK - Sheffield metalcore rockers Bring Me The Horizon played a one-off show at London's Wembley Arena closing a phenomenal year, celebrating the conclusion of their 18 month global Sempiternal album cycle ... and their 10th anniversary.

The band's lighting designer Ben Inskip chose 70 x Robe moving lights as the backbone of the show - because he knows the products and knew they would deliver the results he wanted. He needed multi-purpose lights that could perform several tasks and that all balanced well together as an integrated package.

Ben has worked with the band since 2009. He has a great rapport with them and they trust him implicitly to come up with interesting design concepts for their live work, which in this case also included upstage video projection. Being a one-off, possibly the most important parameter was that the design was practical and quick to load-in

Details
UK - Britannia Row Productions Training is now offering a new range of courses. From complete beginner, to professional wanting to progress their career, Brit Row is opening up more opportunities than ever to learn about live sound from a company with 40 years experience in the industry. Training is now based at Britannia Row Productions head office in Twickenham. Courses for 2015 include:

A Talk on Live Sound Industry - one day - An overview and insight into what the Live Sound Industry is all about and how it works.

Live Sound Basic two-day PA Course - Learn how to jump onto a small P.A. This two-day course is suitable for anyone who needs or wants to do this and is not entirely sure how to go about it - from the person working with their friend's band, to the teacher who needs to get the PA system out of the cupboard a couple of times a year and make it work for the school

Details
USA - When designers are faced with the biggest lighting challenges they turn to the industry's brightest lights. This is just what Dall Brown Lighting, with the support of Chroma Designs, did when given the task to light the exterior of the University of Phoenix Stadium for this year's Super Bowl. Dall Brown and Troy Eckerman teamed up to tackle the job of bathing the aluminium skin of the stadium in colour for the NFL's annual week-long celebration and season finale.

As has often been the case Syncrolite LLC was the company relied upon to meet the huge task at hand. This year, for Super Bowl XLIX, Syncrolite supplied 19 XL 8K xenon moving lights with their patented OmnicolorTM system that allows for true additive or subtractive colour mixing and incorporates VFL lightshaping diffuser film lenses that provided the beam spread and control elements necessary to pull-off this supe

Details
USA - Katy Perry's glittering halftime show at Super Bowl XLIX in the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona was an eye catcher. Lighting designer Bob Barnhart of LA-based Full Flood chose a large array of amongst others Clay Paky Sharpy, Mythos and A.leda B-EYE K20 fixtures for the 12-minute show. Jason Rudolph, the lighting director in charge of the video system, used a grandMA2 light console to control the projection and inflatable, illuminated orbs.

Super Bowl XLIX marked Barnhart's seventeenth big game and his fifth as the primary or sole lighting designer. He served as lighting designer on last year's Bruno Mars halftime show at Met Life Stadium in Rutherford, New Jersey.

Even before the halftime talent is selected, the venue sets the scene for the production and lighting design. "It all depends on what creative options the stadium offers," says Bar

Details
The Netherlands - After proving the OCA control architecture in the field on global tours and major music festivals, the OCA Alliance is promoting the OCA message to the wider market.

At and around ISE 2015, several of the large number of OCA member companies exhibiting at the show participated in various activities to promote OCA. These included a presentation to members of the press, to carry the OCA vision of a common remote control standard to the AV industry, as well as presentations to AV consultants and system integrators. Meetings with numerous manufacturers also helped move forward the process of making the OCA vision reality.

OCA Alliance member companies Yamaha Commercal Audio, TC Group and Salzbrenner Stagetec, joined d&b audiotechnik in presenting the current status and future vision of Open Control Architecture, as these relate to the AV Installation and Systems

Details
UK - Manchester's Royal Exchange theatre has reinvested in TiMax technology via its recent purchase of a TiMax 2 SoundHub via Autograph Sales. TiMax will provide the audio system management and spatialisation resource for the theatre and the many varied productions which grace its boards each year.

The natural endpoint of the original TiMax Classic Rack system, after 16 years in constant use, coincided with a time of flux in the theatre's sound department. Within a year, the department had turned around so as to be entirely new and justifiably an immediate decision to replace was put on hold.

Head of sound, Sorcha Williams, explains, "We viewed the situation as an opportunity to really explore our options. As sound designers came in with their productions we invited them to choose what they wanted to use, so we had a Galileo and a Yamaha DME, and then a sound designer cam

Details
UK - PRS for Music, the organisation that represents over 100,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers, has chosen PMC loudspeakers for the listening room in its new offices in Kings Cross, London.

PRS for Music relocated to Two Pancras Square at the end of 2014. Moving to this prestigious new building gave the organisation the opportunity to create a working environment that was ideally suited to its needs. Part of that process involved installing a dedicated listening room that could be used for any critical listening tasks, including judging entries for the annual Ivor Novello Awards, which celebrate the best British music writing.

PRS for Music director and Music Producers Guild Chairman Steve Levine was responsible for the listening room project and for the choice of PMC monitors. As a multi-platinum music producer, Levine has crafted hits for artists such as The B

  1. Star Events takes on Beaver 84 event portfolio
  2. Clay Paky drives dynamic looks on Sky Sports F1 show
  3. International Year of Light gets bright start with SGM
  4. SGM lights up Finnish Ski Championships
  5. Dubai's Access All Areas adds MLA Compact
  6. Ayrton celebrates New Year's Eve at Nippon Budokan
Page 1682 of 1802
Astera - June 2025
GLP - MPU - Feb, Apr 2025

Latest Issue. . .