USA - At the 43rd annual American Music Awards, held at Microsoft Theatre in Downtown Los Angeles on 22 November, amplifier manufacturer Powersoft made its presence known with over (100) K10 DSP+AESOP amplifiers on site. With approximately 7,000 people in attendance, the programme was broadcast to over 10m viewers across the U.S. and featured performances by artists including Coldplay, The Weeknd, Demi Lovato and many others; the show was highlighted with a moving performance of Hymne à l'amour by Celine Dion, which eulogized victims of the recent terrorist attacks in Paris.

In addition to hosting an evening of lively performances, the AMA presented awards to a range of chart topping artists including One Direction, Ed Sheeran, Rihanna, Fall Out Boy and many others. Country artist Sam Hunt was recognized with New Artist of the Year, while superstar Taylor Swift scooped

USA - Equipped with a Meyer Sound Constellation acoustic system, the new Halloran Centre for Performing Arts & Education in Memphis, Tenn., can be instantly optimized to host a wide range of diverse events. With the push of a touchscreen button, Constellation adjusts the acoustics in the 361-seat theatre to host everything from educational programs to a regional film series, dance recitals, and music concerts of varied genres.

"As much as I understood what Constellation did before the system was installed, actually hearing the different acoustical presets is still stunning," says Alice Roberts, vice president of programming and education at the Halloran Centre. "It's astonishing how you can experience the subtle characteristics of an acoustical space just by clapping your hands. This alone will be a tremendous boost to our technical training programs in sound for

Brazil - Lighting designer and director of photography (DOP) Carlos Nogueira specified almost 600 Robe moving lights for a recent DVD shoot by leading Forro singer / songwriter Wesley Safadao, staged at the Estádio Nacional Mané Garrincha in Brasilia, Brazil.

The concert was attended by 50,000 fans who were all a part of the live experience as well as an essential element of the 24 camera - including a drone - DVD shoot, directed by Fernando Trevivan Catatau from UnicFilm.

The lighting kit was all delivered by Sao Paulo based Apple Producoes and included 160 Robe Pointes, a fixture which Carlos particularly likes for its brightness, power and versatility. One of the best known LDs and DOPs in Brazil, he is also a regular Robe user.

Also gracing the rig were 48 x BMFL Spots, 26 x ColorSpot 1200 ATs, 26 x ColorWash 1200 ATs, 120 x LEDBeam 100s, 60 x LEDWash 600s, 48

UK - The British Fashion Awards celebrate the breadth and depth of talent in the British fashion industry. This year's event took place on 23 November at The ENO Coliseum and was attended by some of the most recognisable faces in the world, including David Beckham, Lady Gaga, Naomi Campbell and Lewis Hamilton. Having already worked on several fashion showcases this year, White Light provided the lighting support, power distribution and project management for this event.

Across the evening, WL assisted with lighting of the building's exterior, the main auditorium along with the red carpet for when the high-profile guests arrived. This involved working closely with the Awards' lighting designer Petter Skramstad. He comments, "With the lighting, I wanted to keep it very clean and simple. We needed a few punchy effects for the actual award presentation yet we didn't want to cr

Russia - Moscow's Stanislavsky Theatre bears a rich cultural history and significance for the people of the city. Having recently undergone a technical overhaul, the theatre has opened its doors once again with an impressive sound system which includes, amongst other upgrades, a TiMax2 SoundHub-S48 audio delay-matrix plus a four-Sensor/twenty-Tag TiMax Tracker performer tracking system, all supplied by Moscow's Audio Solutions.

Going by the name of Electrotheatre, in homage to one of the first pre-revolutionary Russian movie theatres that occupied the same building in 1915, the theatre's current art director Boris Yukhananov is determined to combine truly avant-garde traditions with classical Russian theatre art.

The theatre has three main performance spaces, including the foyer which is often open for lectures, book presentations, discussions and children's plays.

The Ti

Europe - Shure Europe and U.S. based RF Venue, Inc. have announced that they have entered into an exclusive distribution agreement across the EMEA region. Shure Europe's regional distribution offices in Germany, the United Kingdom, and BeNeLux - alongside Shure Europe's third party distribution partners across EMEA - will now distribute and sell antenna and signal distribution products made by RF Venue that are designed to improve the signal quality and performance of professional wireless audio systems.

Boston, Massachusetts based RF Venue manufactures proprietary antenna products, RF distribution systems, RF to optical signal conversion modules, and spectrum analysis hardware and software for the professional wireless audio market.

"We're pleased to partner with the world's leading wireless audio brand to bring RF Venue products to EMEA regions," commented RF Ven

USA - Opening its doors for the first time in spring 2015, New York's Le District offers a very fresh take on French cuisine with a wide variety of vendors situated under one roof. The approach taken to the audio is similarly original, with music unexpectedly to the fore thanks to a high-quality infrastructure based around a single Symetrix SymNet Radius 12x8 EX open-architecture Dante DSP.

Locally-based El Media Group was enlisted to specify and install the audio system, and as co-founder and chief creative officer Ernie Lake observes, there were several primary factors that influenced the choice of DSP. "Firstly, this is a large site of around 30,000sq.ft and there needed to be the option to play back different music in different areas. Ultimately, the space was divided into eight zones - café, dining rooms and so forth - and we required flexibility of playback fo

Spain - Lío is the latest chapter in the Pacha success story. It's a top end restaurant, cabaret theatre, and world class club rolled into one. To deliver excellent sound fidelity and high sound pressure levels, with custom AmpPresets for different zones and program material throughout the evening, Lío has deployed a complete d&b audiotechnik solution.

Expectant guests arrive for a gourmet dinner and a live cabaret that rivals the best West End shows. Then, the restaurant turns into an exclusive port-side club where top DJs play until the small hours. Welcome to Lío Ibiza.

Part of the Pacha family, Lío attracts a discerning clientele. With its tempting food, service and entertainment, the venue, situated in the heart of Ibiza town, is booked solid throughout the summer months.

Because Lío encompasses a restaurant, cabaret theatre and club, it needed a flexible, high

China - Along the River During the Qingming Festival is one of the 10 most famous paintings in China. It captures the daily life of people and the landscape of the capital, Bianjing, today's Kaifeng, from the Northern Song period. Successive scenes reveal the lifestyle of all levels of society from rich to poor, as well as different economic activities in the countryside and the city, with manifest period clothing and architecture.

Chinese violin artist Ms. Song Fei's Along the River During the Qingming Festivalmusical was based on the famous painting that was made nearly a thousand years ago. This performance combined music with image to create a tremendously authentic spectacle, leading the audience to walk through that period of time. SongFei's musical played two days in November, at the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing, China.

Combining au

UK - Not yet a year old and Video Design has visibly made its mark on the touring and event industry. With systems currently out on Duran Duran and Marina and the Diamonds, since the company's inception in February of this year it has provided screens and video infrastructure for Take That's latest tour; Wear the Rose at the O2 London for the Rugby World Cup and all of last summer's concert events at Hyde Park.

"Yes you could say it's been a busy start," said the Video Design founder Alex Leinster, "in fact we've only now found the time to launch our company website. But for a young company we have a solid base of experience and frankly there's nothing we like better than engaging with a variety of demands. What we've done for Marina and the Diamonds and Duran Duran are good examples."

Show designer for Marina is the LD Rob Sinclair who comments, "Ma

Sweden - When car manufacturer Volvo needed perfect illumination for their Design Centre in Gothenburg, they turned to full production company Primetec. Known for delivering turnkey solutions, and with a track record within temporary events and installations for Volvo, Primetec felt confident to solve this task.

With full focus on the object being designer cars, lighting designer and project manager Mattias Oslak from Primetec chose the SGM P-5 W as his tool for this fixed installation. The P-5 W is a high performance luminaire with 44 x 10W cool white LEDs offering a stunningly bright output of 33,100 lumens with a 43? lens.

Mattias Oslak explains, "We step into an environment where the ceiling is white, and we need equipment that is compact and able to blend in the best way. For this purpose, the SGM P-5 W really makes sense in every way."

Colour temperature w

Ireland - When Ireland's Sound Design was called in to provide audio systems for "the best technology conference on the planet", Nexo line array and point-source systems were at the heart of its design solution. STM Series, Geo Series, PS Series and RaySub Series cabinets were on hand to provide the range and scale of sound reinforcement required for the nine-stage talk-fest that featured over 1,000 speakers addressing 42,000 delegates, at Ireland's premier conference venue.

Web Summit 2015 is a huge and rapidly expanding conference for business and digital entrepreneurs. Its subject matter is centred on internet technology, and its attendees range from Fortune 500 companies to the world's most exciting tech companies and start-ups, such as Amazon, Pixar, Google, Facebook and Uber. The 2015 event was hosted at the Royal Dublin Society, for 30 years the leading venue f

Canada - Metallica's longtime FOH engineer Big Mick Hughes is not one to shy from innovation, and continues to achieve firsts more than 30 years into his career with the band. For the first time, Metallica used an in-the-round Meyer Sound Leo Family loudspeaker system with 1100-LFC low frequency control elements in a TM Array configuration when the band inaugurated the 20,000-capacity Videotron Centre in Quebec City, Canada.

"Never before have I heard that amount of low end - with such tightness - when we played in the round," reports Hughes. "The TM Array works fantastically well. The 1100-LFCs just have an ungodly amount of power.

"Working in the round, you have to get a grip on what you're doing - fortunately, Leo is very controlled at all frequencies," continues Hughes. "You're in the near field of one part of the PA, but you can have proble

UK - Dolby Laboratories and Ministry of Sound have confirmed a collaboration to bring Dolby Atmos sound technology to dance music.

The Dolby Atmos residency at the Ministry of Sound nightclub in London will launch on 23 January, 2016 with Hospital Records, the first in a series of special events with a lineup of top electronic artists who will "transform their music into a multidimensional, immersive sound experience with Dolby Atmos".

To support these events, Dolby will outfit the venue with its exclusive Dolby Atmos sound system, which combines Dolby Atmos audio processing technology with a network of additional speakers designed to complement the club's existing setup.

With more than 60 speakers, 22 channels, and a bespoke lighting environment that takes advantage of complementary synchronized lighting cues generated from music mixed in Dolby Atmos. Ministry

Slovenia - Theatre and performance is right at the heart of Slovenian culture and entertainment, and Robe has made some serious inroads in this sector thanks to a good selection of products and the enthusiasm and hard work of its Slovenian distributor, MK Light Sound, based in the picturesque capital, Ljubljana.

Founded in 1949, Ljubljana City Theatre (Mestno gledalisce ljubljansko - MGL - also known as Ljubljana Municipal Theatre) is the second largest drama theatre in Slovenia and located right in the centre of the charismatic old town. It has recently invested in Robe's LEDWash range with the purchase of four LEDWash 600s and 9 x LEDWash 800s ready for the new season.

Andrej Koleznik and his colleagues Bostjan Kos, Aljosa Vizlar and Bogdan Pirjevec make up the four strong lighting department. All were involved, together with technical director Joze Logar in the collective

UK - As cities across the UK jostle for the unofficial crown of 'Christmas Capital', city centre retail experience Liverpool ONE's spectacular 'Switch On' event pulled one of the biggest crowds, with an estimated 45,000 people rocking up to enjoy the festive vibes and a special lighting and sound show - with a little help from Adlib.

Adlib provided lighting and sound for the 12-minute specially composed soundtrack show produced by Liverpool Empire Theatre that preceded the illumination of a giant 30m tall Christmas tree, made up of 280 illuminated LED hearts, located at the end of Paradise Street.

Both lighting and audio systems were designed to ensure that the buoyant crowds could fully enjoy the occasion. "We were delighted to be asked back to work on it this year," commented Ian Rubert, who co-ordinated the lighting installation on site.

Lighting was designed

South Africa - Everyone has special childhood experiences that they treasure for the rest of their lives. For the young students in the Truida Kestell's Primary School gospel choir, such an event took place recently when they performed before family, friends and community at the annual Truida Kestell Choir Festival.

Adding to the specialness of the occasion was a stunning stage lighting kit, the sort normally reserved for a full theatrical production rather than a school choir performance. Lighting designer Fanie vd Walt, owner of Fanjan Productions, was able to create this impressive stage package without overshooting the festival's budget by using a collection of value-driven fixtures from Chauvet, acquired from South African importer Audiosure.

To give the stage the punch one would normally expect from a larger production, the LD called upon two Chauvet Professional Rogue

France - The first live concerts to be staged in Paris after the 13 November terror attacks were three emotionally charged shows at the AccorHotels Arena by French singer, musician, Johnny Hallyday.

The Paris dates were part of the current Rester Vivant (Staying Alive) tour, to which top French lighting designer Dimitri Vassiliu has brought his huge experience, fertile imagination and talent for lateral thinking to create a vibrant and powerful 'big rock show'.

The design features 36 x Robe BMFL Spot moving lights on the rig which are integral to the show, and are being supplied by lighting contractor Dushow which has invested heavily in Robe this year. For the AccorHotels Arena performances, an additional 20 x BMFL Spots were added to the rig to light the audience.

With nearly 200 tours, 18 platinum albums, worldwide record sales of over £80m and a formidabl

USA - Light is central to the art of multimedia artist Tupac Martir, who's been called a "light magician" and "creative visionary" for illuminating concerts for Elton John, Sting and Beyoncé, major festivals like Coachella, and London Fashion Week shows for designers Stella McCartney, Vivienne Westwood and the late Alexander McQueen.

Graduating in 2000 from Omaha, Nebraska's Creighton University with a bachelor's degree of fine arts, Martir tapped Avolites' Tiger Touch II lighting control console when he returned to his alma mater this fall to present a special art installation called Unique, a self-described giant "graphic novel" brought to life with light and shadow.

"Using new and old etching techniques, the story is told through twelve chapters, with eight drawings per chapter," Martir describes. "The 96 drawings are th

UK - Alexandra Palace in North London was the venue for the Wombats' largest production during their current tour, which has encompassed the UK, Europe and Australia since the beginning of 2015.

LD Dan Hill reports, "This was essentially a larger, more intense version of the lighting rig we've had out lately. In London earlier this year, The Wombats played Brixton Academy and the show at Alexandra Palace really grew from that - nothing crazy, but extensions of what was already there to cater for both the larger crowd and the bigger, wider stage that Ally Pally provides. I wanted to keep things as dynamic and as fun for the band on stage and for people in the crowd as it was back in Brixton."

Hill's rig is heavy with fixtures from the Ambersphere Solutions family of brands with Clay Paky and Ayrton units making up over half of the total design and with a grandMA2 Li

UK - A special event hosted by the Audio Engineering Society Scottish Group has been hailed one of the most successful to date. The event hosted at Edinburgh Napier University last month focused on Front of House sound. Leading staff from BBC Scotland and pro-audio company The Warehouse Sound Services presented to over 100 students in audio related education and industry professionals.

The AES Scottish Group is headed up by Dr David Moore of Glasgow Caledonian University and Jim Hunter, senior sound supervisor for BBC Scotland. Hunter has been a television sound supervisor for 25 years. He continues to deliver both live and recorded shows, in studios and on outside broadcasts. Dr Moore is a lecturer in audio technology and leader of the BSc Audio Technology degree programme at Glasgow Caledonian University.

The event kicked off with Andrew Britton, operations resource manage

Europe - Engineering and automation specialist WIcreations is supplying multiple automation elements and control to the massive Rester Vivant tour by French megastar Johnny Hallyday, who is known for impressive and spectacular live shows and a great rapport with fans which has spanned a remarkable career stretching back over six decades.

Belgium-based WI was approached to produce an automation solution for three distinctive digital and scenic set elements - a huge skull, six moving video screens and five moving lighting pods - by Hallyday's production director Roger Abriol. WIcreations has enjoyed a long and productive working relationship with Roger who has looked after Hallyday's tours since the start of his career. WI is one of his go-to companies for automation, creative engineering and thinking 'out-of-the-box'.

WI's project manager is Koen Peeters. Chris Das is

South Africa - Following their recent appointment as an ETC reseller by local ETC preferred dealer Prosound, Electrosonic SA has negotiated the sale of ETC Eos Ti and Giocontrol desks to Cape Town's Fugard Theatre. Technical manager Benjamin Du Plessis took delivery of the consoles for the opening of the second season of David Kramer's new musical Orpheus In Africa in August.

Robbi Nassi, Electrosonic's technical sales & support manager, explains, "ETC's Regional Manager for Southern Africa, Jeremy Roberts visited and demonstrated the consoles' outstanding new colour mixing system. This proved to be enough for them to decide on an Eos Ti for their Main Theatre, and a Gio for their Studio Theatre, which is currently being used as a back-up console for Orpheus on an ETC network. DMX Gateways and all the necessary channel assignments were purchased as part of a complet

Jordan - Sennheiser has announced that it has entered into a partnership agreement with Jordan-based Advanced Solutions. As an authorized partner, the reseller and systems integrator will now offer products from Sennheiser's System Solutions range which includes conference and translation, tour guide, and a wide range of wired and wireless microphone systems.

According to Sami Janho, general manager at Advanced Solutions, the timing is now right for the aggressive expansion of Sennheiser's market share in Jordan. He said, "A reasonable portion of the market now demands reputable and reliable products accompanied by a high level of service. Organizations are keen to explore best-in-class solutions which provide a clear long-term roadmap and grow with their business needs. We see this as the opportunity for Advanced Solutions to extend its conversations with existing clients

Latest Issue. . .

Save
Cookies user preferences
We use cookies to ensure you to get the best experience on our website. If you decline the use of cookies, this website may not function as expected.
Accept all
Decline all
Analytics
Tools used to analyze the data to measure the effectiveness of a website and to understand how it works.
Google Analytics
Accept
Decline
Advertisement
If you accept, the ads on the page will be adapted to your preferences.
Google Ad
Accept
Decline