UK - Lighting control manufacturer Zero 88 stages a product awareness livestream airing on Monday, 24 August, which will be broadcast from The Congress Theatre, Cwmbran - the nearest local theatre venue to the manufacturing facility. Usually busy with a lively programme of music and performance shows in the centre of Cwmbran, The Congress has been repurposed to function as a virtual studio during the pandemic and for the immediate future. The Zero 88 team will be highlighting some of the brand’s newest technologies and product releases during the stream and will be joined by local singer-songwriter Tobias Robertson offering live entertainment. This presentation will last 30 minutes and embrace all three primary Zero 88 product categories - control, data, and power. The stream will specifically address the new ZerOS Server, the Splitter 8 and Gateway 4 /
Financial Guidance - Guidance has been published on how arts organisations can apply for the government’s £270m repayable finance scheme. The repayable finance was announced as part of the government’s £1.57bn Culture Recovery Fund, which also includes £622m of grants. Theatres can either apply for grants of up to £3m or for loans for larger amounts. With the repayable finance package, which is geared towards larger organisations, the government aims to "stabilise cultural organisations until they can return to sustainable operations". Applications will be "assessed against rigorous cultural and economic criteria" including efficiencies made to date and ongoing viability for the future. Organisations will also be asked to demonstrate national or international significance and outline opportunities to engage local communities through education and outreach. Arts
Europe - Elation Professional’s European office recently launched The Elation Coffee Break on Facebook Livestream, an online presentation series that takes a up-close look at some of the company’s most popular product series. Elation continues the webinar series on Thursday, 20 August at 11:00 a.m. CEST with Elation technical sales specialist Alistair Smyth and international sales manager Frederik Afif looking at the innovative qualities of the Rayzor 760 and Proteus Rayzor 760 LED luminaires. The presentation will air live on Elation Europe’s Facebook page. No registration is required. The Rayzor 760 is an LED wash effect with wide zoom and innovative SparkLED pixel effect that offers all new design possibilities. Also available in an IP65 version, the Rayzo
USA - Based in the Metro Detroit area, Allen Audio Systems has offered client- and artist-focused sound reinforcement solutions for indoor and outdoor events in and around the state of Michigan for over 30 years. Now, with the addition of a sizeable E-Series system from Adamson Systems Engineering to its inventory, the company is poised to continue that mission with a wider scope and scale. “We decided to invest in an Adamson E-Series system based on the overwhelming success of the S-Series system we purchased for the Agora Theatre in Cleveland a couple of years ago,” begins Mark Allen, owner of Allen Audio Systems. “The comments about that system have all been really positive, and many touring artists have raved about it. Given that, we knew the next system we would add to our inventory was definitely going to be Adamson.” After making that initial decision, o
UK - A webinar designed to unite the live production industry in developing new working practices for a more sustainable approach has shown a “clear willingness” for change, according to The Sustainability in Production Alliance (SiPA). The panel discussion, broadcast live on social media channels as well as via a Zoom video meeting, brought together many of the leading companies and individuals who are committed to a more sustainable future for live event production. The webinar was a collaboration between SiPA, the Association of British Technicians (ABTT) and The United States Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT). Top of the agenda was how the industry can use the current hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic to create a more sustainable approach to its work. SiPA’s Carol Scott, principal advocate for sustainability at TAIT and SiPA, was joined by
USA - Clearwing Systems Integration has included Ayrton Diablo profile luminaires in provision of systems design and integration for the LED lighting upgrade at Waterford Union High School’s auditorium and other venues. The school is located approximately 25 miles southwest of Clearwing’s Milwaukee office. Clearwing was charged with modernising the high school’s outdated lighting inventory from house lights to theatrical instruments as they migrate from conventional and tungsten-based fixtures to an all-LED roster. “Flexibility and performance were the biggest factors in lighting fixture selection, along with the energy and cost savings that went along with moving to LEDs,” says Mitch Van Dyke, engineering & estimation at Clearwing Systems Integration. “The school trusted us to get the best lighting we could for their budget.” Clearwing chose A
USA - Eastern Acoustic Works (EAW) has appointed AudioPros as its manufacturer’s representative serving Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Vermont, Connecticut, Rhode Island and both metro and upstate New York. This provides dealers, rental houses and regional production companies with access to EAW’s entire suite of products including its new ADAPTive Anya and Anna speakers, and Otto subwoofer. “Based on its solid reputation, we know that AudioPros will provide exceptional service to dealers and customers in the region,” says Paul Lamarre, national sales manager, EAW. “The Northeast territory is important for us as that is where our corporate headquarters is based, and we couldn’t be more excited to partner with our neighbors at AudioPros.” Settling into its new greater Hartford County, Connecticut space, AudioPros is a manufacturer’s representative
USA - Thriving and growing Daystar Family Church in Western Alabama hadn’t improved their video and lighting system since moving into their current facility well over a decade ago. That changed this year when AVL integrator Narrow Road Pro supplied and installed a complete new system. This included a large video wall, constructed from ADJ AV6X LED panels, along with a comprehensive lighting setup of LED-powered fixtures from ADJ as well as sister company Elation Professional. Founded by Bishop Patrick M. Schatzline and Lady Deborah Schatzline, with a congregation of just 50 people, today Daystar Family Church in Tuscaloosa, AL, has a congregation of over 1,300. Now pastored by Patrick and Deborah’s son Scott and his wife Kristi, it is multi-cultural, multi-generational, non-denominational church with praise and worship that is energetic and passionate. However, thi
USA - The 30 July Under The Skin livestream by the Grammy-nominated band Code Orange combined music from the band’s March 2020 LP Underneath with early songs presented during the Mudbangers Ball pre-show. Moving in step with this temporal tapestry was a harmoniously balanced Sam Jimenez lighting design that featured Chauvet Professional fixtures supplied by Star Design Event Services. “From a lighting standpoint, this show was really a blend of the old and the new,” said Jimenez. “We tried to blend the surreal with reality in a way that flowed naturally. This show was something the band has been leading up to. It’s the product of three months of back and forth with different creative ideas, budgeting, and designing. We ended up doing this at the Trafford Theatre Factory, in Trafford, PA. My friend Chris Robin, who worked as a tech on the
UK - As event professionals took to the streets of every major city across the UK on 11 August, in support of the PLASA-led #WeMakeEvents campaign, TechLED once again bathed Production Park, including the Studio and Rockwell cafe in the companion #LightItInRed campaign’s signature colour, emergency red. TechLED’s MD, Gordon Addison, once again turned to the power of Prolight’s LEDJ Spectra QX40 Pixel exterior fixtures to illuminate the buildings. While the Production Park team attended the protest demonstration in Leeds, the team at TechLED kept alive the signal of allegiance, with many other theatres and cultural institutions across the country affected by the continued inability to open during the coronavirus pandemic. Addison comments: “We would like to say a massive thank you to all our customers and everyone who came together on the eve of Tuesday 11 August,
Germany - An Allen & Heath dLive system recently mixed a special performance by around 50 musicians from the Heidelberg Philharmonic Orchestra, livestreamed against the backdrop of the Königssaal (Royal Hall), within the walls of the historic Heidelberg Palace. The performance was the centrepiece of a cultural evening on 10 July, staged by Heidelberg Theatre and Orchestra in partnership with the town’s municipal authority and livestreamed to Facebook and YouTube audiences. Full-service AV rental company, Konferenztechnik Kiel supplied the complete audio, video, lighting and streaming solution for the event. Freelance audio engineer, Eric Siemens headed up the sound team, ably supported by mic tech, Florian Montabaur, and by Martin Hildebrand, who directed the sound and video via intercom. Eric mixed the performance himself, choosing a dLive C3500 Surface, teamed w
Canada - Despite the current pandemic hitting the AV industry particularly hard, some organisations are making the most of the mandatory downtime by carrying out system upgrades that would have otherwise been challenging during regular event scheduling. This was certainly the case for The Selwyn Outreach Centre in Peterborough, ON, which recently pushed forward with some much-needed audio system upgrades. A DiGiCo S31 console, plus a KLANG:fabrik immersive in-ear system and KLANG:quelle headphone amps, purchased through DiGiCo’s Canadian distributor GerrAudio, are central to the solution. The organisation engaged Jason Reynolds, lead installation advisor at AV integrator, Production Service Industries, to design and supply a very capable, yet cost-effective front-end package for the upgrade. Anchoring the system is a DiGiCo S31 at front-of-house that is equippe
France - Over 160 Anolis LED luminaires have been used to illuminate public and connecting areas of the Les Bassins de Lumières, an imposing former World War II U-boat bunker in Bordeaux. Originally known as ‘Betasom’, four of the 11 vast submarine basin areas have been reimagined by private organisation Culturspaces for use as a sanctuary for immersive digital arts and mixed media installations. Nicolas Valette from lighting design practice 4eleven was asked to create a lighting scheme that highlighted the internal architecture of these impressive 115m long water-filled bays which have a draft of between 9 and 11.40m – with a tidal allowance of 1.5m. Each of these is separated by a 6m-thick concrete wall. In their former incarnation, each of the four giant basins could accommodate two submarines. Nicolas found a stark and raw beauty in the functional, br
South Africa - The South African entertainment industry joined forces on 5 August for the #LightSARed ‘Code Red’ activation. The campaign aims to raise awareness about the critical state of the country’s live entertainment industry and its support infrastructure. The industry is yet to receive financial support from the government five months since mass gatherings were banned due to the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving the whole sector out of work and with no cash flow to depend on. Over 500 buildings, structures, monuments, venues, spaces and places all over the country were lit including the side of Cape Town’s most famous natural landmark Table Mountain. Robe moving lights were used on many of the installations, and the various action was coordinated by project teams in major cities including Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, Free State, Port Elizabeth, East London
UK - As part of the #WeMakeEvents campaign, Calrec lit up its historic Nutclough Mill building in red on the night of 11 August to help raise the alarm for the live events and entertainment sector. Backed by a wide range industry bodies and companies, a series of events was held on Tuesday across the UK to highlight the plight of those struggling for work as a result of the pandemic. The live entertainment sector has been particularly badly hit, with calls to the government to step in and provide more assistance. Sid Stanley, Calrec’s general manager, comments: “This has affected our customers in every territory, and the impact on live events like sports and entertainment has been devastating. In the UK alone there are over one million people employed in delivering events, 72% of whom are freelance, and many of which have no access to any financial support. We work
The Netherlands - The UK’s #WeMakeEvents campaign received support in the Netherlands, where local companies took part in a nationwide Red Alert action under the banner of #WijMakenEvents. More than 250 buildings across the country were lit in red on the evening of 11 August. The original campaign is a PLASA initiative that was adopted by the VTTE (the Association of Technical Event Suppliers) in the Netherlands. Trussing, staging and hoist supplier Prolyte participated in the protest action on the night. The event industry and sectors have been at a complete standstill since the very beginning of the coronavirus crisis earlier this year. It has been more than five months, which means there are all costs but no turnover. Despite the government’s support during this period, companies are now on the verge of collapsing. In order to draw attention to this crisi
UK - In support of the PLASA-led #WeMakeEvents campaign, which culminated in a day of action coordinated across the UK on 11 August, Martin Audio joined other well-known entertainment technology manufacturers in backing the campaign. Alongside fully supporting the industry with social media - its Facebook posts alone reaching one million people on the day - Martin Audio helped organise a full TV production and livestream of the activities in London, including a helicopter swoop across the city. These included many of the capital’s major landmarks being lit up in red and people gathering along the banks of the River Thames and bridges, dressed in red t-shirts, wearing red masks and waving their own red lights. Martin Audio also supplied its loudspeakers as the main PA for the boat that took members of the press and industry professionals on a trip along the River Thames pas
UK - The UK events industry proudly came together in a show of solidarity under the #WeMakeEvents campaign banner yesterday (11 August) to ask the government to ‘throw us a line’ in the form of on-going and increased financial support. As part of the movement, over 715 buildings across the UK lit up in red to symbolise the imminent danger over one million people in the live events industry face unless the government provides additional financial support. 20 of the UK’s biggest cities hosted events to raise awareness of the struggling supply chain that facilitates events across the country. From the Minnack Theatre Cornwall to The Queen’s Hall Edinburgh, Principality Stadium Cardiff and the Millennium Forum Northern Ireland, the message was spread far and wide – the situation is urgent. In Manchester, 200 technicians pushed redundant flightcases through the c
UK - With government guidance now emerging for the events industry, Showforce has partnered with industry safety specialist The Event Safety Shop (tess) to develop COVID-19 protocols and risk assessments specifically for the global crewing business. The new working practices have been written in-conjunction with Showforce’s NEBOSH qualified health, safety and training manager, Laurence Jones and the highly experienced team at tess. They are designed to minimise the risk of infection and ensure the safety of Showforce’s crew, clients and fellow contractors in the working environment, wherever practicably possible. The protocols and risk assessments consider travel to and from site, additional sanitisation procedures, dedicated welfare areas for crew, social distancing, temperature checks for all crew before commencing work and the development of work bubbles or bu
Pantos Postponed - Four of London’s biggest pantomimes have become the latest major productions to postpone their 2020 performances amid ongoing uncertainty from government about reopening. The Hackney Empire’s annual show will not take place this year, neither will pantomimes at the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre, Theatre Royal Stratford East and the Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch, which will not be staging a pantomime for the first time in nearly 70 years. Last year, the four pantomimes attracted audiences of more than 145,000 and typically employ over 280 freelancers. A joint statement from the four venues said: "The production process for such a large-scale show as panto would have begun at the start of August. Without an announced date from the government on when theatre performances can resume without social distancing, making a panto economically viable, these thea
UK - Today’s We Make Events day of action has already generated interest from some of the UK’s largest media outlets, helping to promote the wide-spread protest action taking place throughout the day. At 7.45am, BBC Breakfast featured a segment on the planned event in London. The demonstration will see a boat sail down the Thames from the Westminster Pier, passing by key cultural landmarks including the National Theatre and the Tate, lit in red, whist socially-distanced crowds will line the river’s banks and lower a rope of lights to symbolise the ‘throwing of a line’ to an industry battling for survival. BBC Breakfast’s arts correspondent Rebecca Jones said in her report on the event: “Those taking part say while livestreams, virtual fe
Germany - Berlin-based full service live event and technical production specialist TSE AG has been utilising the unexpected downtime of the pandemic in a number of constructive ways including professional development and launching a new exercise for all their trainee staff and apprentices called The Next. This is designed to encourage their budding new talent in the fields of event management, production and organisation, lighting, visual, production and audio design to shine through. The trainees themselves initiated the idea of setting up and creating a lighting, sound, and visual show environment for use as a series of dynamic live streams and recordings. TSE’s available technologies had to be used inventively, and the set up was built in their warehouse in Berlin’s lively Neukölln area, for which the trainees used some of the large stock of Robe
USA - Chauvet has doubled its capacity to serve customers in the west region of the US by opening a 35,000sq.ft satellite facility in Las Vegas. The new office-warehouse-service centre complex is twice the size of the company’s West Coast Burbank, CA satellite facility that it will be replacing as of now. “Our investment in a new, larger and more technologically advanced facility reflects our commitment to this industry - and our belief in its future,” said Albert Chauvet, CEO of Chauvet. “Being in Vegas will enhance the level of service we’re able to offer our customers.” Combined with the company’s global headquarters in Florida, the new Vegas operation gives Chauvet the capacity to ship to any point in the 48 contiguous United States within three days, maximum. The Las Vegas facility will stock Chauvet Professional, Iluminarc, Chauvet DJ and Cham
UK - The ALD’s successful Lumiere Scheme, which has for the last five years created pathways for lighting practitioners to work as an assistant to established designers on a diverse range of new productions, has been reformatted in response to the current pandemic situation. This year, a modified scheme entitled ALD Lumiere 20:20, will pair 20 emerging lighting practitioners with 20 lighting designers, representing a wide spectrum of work, for a series one-hour online conversations across the 10 weeks from mid-September. ALD Lumiere 20:20 is an opportunity to gain direct access to a designer and to inspire creative conversations about the art, the craft, the life of live entertainment lighting. Lumiere 20:20 will involve weekly mentor sessions between Lumière and lighting designer, each having different topics to consider as a starting point. Although this
