UK - Load cell company Broadweigh has passed its final audit to be granted full membership of the Lifting Equipment Engineers Association. LEEA is a representative body for all those involved in the lifting industry worldwide. It has taken three years to achieve full LEEA membership which is only available to companies that are ‘engaged for profit in the verification of lifting equipment’, and which, in the opinion of the LEEA directors, is competent and can give adequate service. Tom Lilly, application engineer at Broadweigh comments: “Three years ago, Broadweigh joined LEEA as an associate member because we strive to be the best – not only in the quality of product we offer but also in the role that we take within the entertainment industry. We then decided last year that we should be including a thorough examination in our recalibration and refurbishment se
Europe - As much of the world follows safe-at-home and social distancing guidelines and mandates, the Audio Engineering Society is bringing the AES Europe Convention directly to attendees. Originally scheduled to take place in Vienna, Austria, the AES Virtual Vienna Convention in now set for 2-5 June 2020, with an online format. The event is billed as “a front-row-seat to the AES event experience, utilising live streaming, on-demand audio/video/multimedia presentations, interactive Q&A and forum dialogues to realise the personal connection and emotional feedback that is at the heart of AES live events”. The AES Virtual Vienna Convention will explore “a gamut of audio engineering science, application and technology with presentations from some of the leading minds in the industry”. Further details on the AES Virtual Vienna Convention, which will
UK - Music Venue Trust (MVT) has launched a new campaign - #saveourvenues - in response to the continued economic threat to over 500 music venues throughout the UK. Following on from the launch of their Grassroots Music Venues (GMV) Crisis Fund last month, #saveourvenues is aimed at artists, music fans and the wider music industry and aims to raise both money and awareness. To date, the GMV Crisis Fund has raised over £182,000 thanks to significant donations from Amazon Music, SJM, a number of high-profile artists and music fans throughout the UK. From this week, The GMV Crisis Fund has been re-named the #saveourvenues fund and will form part of a wider initiative that will see artists raising money for individual venues with whom they have a personal connection. Artists are being encouraged to choose a venue that is currently in crisis from an interactive map and dro
UK - In a bid to iron out inconsistencies in the financial help offered to the UK’s smallest businesses, chancellor Rishi Sunk has introduced 100% taxpayer-backed loans for small firms. The Bounce Back Loans scheme, launching on 4 May, is a response to the slow take-up of emergency bank lending during the COVID-19 crisis, which has meant businesses could fold before getting loans. The scheme will require filling in a two-page self-certification form online and will unlock loans of up to £50,000 “within days of applying”. The government will guarantee 100% of the loan and there won’t be any fees or interest to pay for the first 12 months. To be eligible, a business: - must be based in the UK - must have been negatively affected by the coronavirus crisis - was not an ‘undertaking in difficulty’ on 31 December 2019
USA - Elation Professional continues its Elation Hour online presentation series Wednesday, 29 April, where three of America’s top lighting designers for television – Victor Fable, Joshua Hutchings and Ed Motts – join hosts John Dunn and Matthias Hinrichs for a Tools & Techniques discussion about the ins and outs of television and broadcast lighting. The free webinar will take place at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Standard Time in the U.S. The Elation Hour is a weekly virtual presentation that delves into the more personal side of product development while also addressing the technology and process behind the Elation’s most popular product series. The series also includes discussions with some of our industry’s most noted designers who share their experience across the broad scope of entertainment lighting. RSVP
USA - Rising high over the flatland at the mouth of the Manitowoc River as it flows into Lake Michigan, the Briess Grain Tower in Manitowoc, WI, has served a familiar landmark for sailors and townspeople for generations. On the night of Friday 10 April, the venerable structure offered another kind of hope and reassurance. From 7:45 to 11 pm, it glowed in blue against the clear, dark sky as a show of solidarity and support for the healthcare workers and front-liners during the Covid-19 pandemic. Local businesses, The Wharf Manitowoc, Powerhouse Productions and Brennan Seehafer Productions, came up with the idea of lighting the tower, along with another landmark, the decommissioned WWII submarine, USS Cobia, to honour these unsung heroes. “They are making great sacrifices to ensure that things continue to function during the pandemic, and this is a way for our communi
UK - PASMA’s new Safety Practitioner Zone and its partnerships with the Association for Project Safety, British Safety Council, IIRSM and RoSPA aim to help workers stay safe on scaffold towers. From 1 May 2020, members of these associations get access to a library of PASMA resources for updating their tower knowledge and sharing good practice. The library includes toolbox talks, tower reference guides, bitesize safety videos and details of upcoming changes to EN 1004, the design standard for mobile access towers. In the lead-up to launch, PASMA is celebrating by releasing a series of Toolbox Talks on social media, freely available to anyone who wants them. These one-page documents contain the content needed to deliver a safety briefing on five tower-related topics, reinforcing key messages that are taught on PASMA training courses: Monday: Never stand on an
USA - Century Village in Deerfield Beach, Florida is an adult community that revolves around activities taking place within a central clubhouse housing a 1,600-seat theatre. The site of everything from Broadway-style shows to concerts by national touring acts and current movies, the theatre recently upgraded its audio with the addition of a dLive S7000 Surface and DM64 MixRack from Allen & Heath. The new dLive S7000 system was provided by ShowPro of South Florida. “This theatre, along with a number of other smaller venues in The Sunshine State, are some of the biggest entertainment buyers in the Southeastern US,” says Showpro’s Nicolas Stoner. “That fact alone provides more than a clue of the number of live shows that pass through this room, which total over 100 per year.” Stoner, along with the theatre’s technical director Mike Prudente, first became a
South Africa - The SOS Charity Fund was established in December 2016, and from the start was met with generous support from the entertainment industry. The charity is now pleased to donate R50,000 to Feed our Crew, a non-governmental organization (NGO) that is providing temporary support through food vouchers to the technical and casual event crews during the Covid-19 lockdown period. While DWR Distribution established, administer and are a contributor to the SOS Charity Fund, the entertainment industry has fully participated in fundraising events. “Although DWR Distribution is also going through a tough time, the money we’ve raised for the SOS belongs to the people and not to us,” said Duncan Riley of DWR. “The SOS was established to help people in times like these, this is what it’s all about.” When all events were abruptly shut down due to Covid-19, Tam
Europe - Since their official debut at NAMM last year, Sennheiser’s IE 400 PRO and IE 500 PRO in-ear monitors have gained popularity and used widely. In response, Sennheiser asked four industry professionals to share their thoughts and experience of using in-ear monitors. Monitor engineer Niccolò Antonietti used the IE 400 PRO for the first time during Capital FM's Jingle Bell Ball last December. “I was mixing for Jax Jones and guest artist at the time,” he recalls. “Whilst doing soundcheck with my IEMs, I had a chance to compare them to the Sennheiser IE 400 PRO. What really surprised me was how good the frequency response on the Sennheiser IEMs was compared to my go-to pair of custom in-ears. I tried to crank the volume up to see how far I could go. Even at a high volume they still responded well with no distortion whatsoever. That’s pretty impressive for
Europe - At the end of 2019, L-Acoustics welcomed DeltaLive into the L-Acoustics Group, a family of companies focused on the design, manufacture and commercialisation of L-Acoustics sound systems. One of the stated aims of this acquisition was to devote resources to preparing the market entry for L-Acoustics private residential, multichannel extraordinary sound spaces, Island, Ocean, and Archipel. At ISE 2020, L-Acoustics announced a new division, L-Acoustics Creations, along with the official launch of the division’s flagship sound space, Island Prestige. To further support the commercialisation of L-Acoustics Creations auditoria solutions worldwide, L-Acoustics has designated DeltaLive as international distributor of the full L-Acoustics Creations product range. DeltaLive is represented by Paul Keating, director of corporate & private relationships for L-Acoustics C
USA - The Behind the Scenes Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Initiative has launched Be Scene - Be Heard, an anonymous, peer-to-peer chat app for backstage staff. “It’s often hard to talk with family and friends about how you’re feeling and what may be troubling you, but you may not feel quite ready to see a mental health professional,” says the charity. “Sometimes it’s easier to talk to people who don’t know you, but who can relate because they’re in this industry too. They get the crazy hours, the pressures of getting the show on every night or the right shot on set, and the void felt when the gig is over. That’s why Behind the Scenes has partnered with iRel8 to launch Be Scene – Be Heard. A platform to interact with your peers, talk about what’s on your mind, find comfort and knowledge from one another, and, perhaps, offer ins
USA - ATD Audio Visual, a full-service rental and staging event production company with offices in New York City and Los Angeles, provides high-end AV solutions for a range of clients in the live event space. The company was looking to add a reliable intercom solution to its AV equipment inventory and chose Pliant Technologies’ CrewCom wireless intercom system. A key feature of the CrewCom system for ATD Audio Visual is its flexibility to meet the requirements of live productions of any size. “CrewCom has unlimited possibilities - you can expand it, you can split it into two separate systems - it does whatever you need it to do,” says Or Israel, president, ATD Audio Visual. “We can easily add more transceivers for extending coverage in a larger venue, and/or additional Radio Packs (RPs) to increase user counts. The system is extremely flexible and modular, and
USA - In conjunction with Earth Day 2020, global design and BIM software provider, Vectorworks celebrated its latest award. The Howard County Department of Public Works’ Bureau of Environmental Services, Recycling Division selected Vectorworks as the winner of the 2020 Business Recycling and Waste Reduction Award. This accolade recognises local businesses for their recycling and waste reduction efforts during the 2019 calendar year. The winning submission, Greenworks, is an environmentally-based project presented at the company’s regular innovation discussions and focuses on methods to create a sustainable work environment. Employees from various teams and departments collaborated on the project that went into full effect a few months later. The project outlined implementing proper traditional recycling techniques and adding a new system to include recycling plast
USA - UK loudspeaker manufacturer PMC has appointed Sweetwater Sound as a US dealer for its entire range of professional studio monitoring products. Since the release of its twotwo range of nearfield monitors and the subsequent release of its Result6 compact nearfield monitors, PMC has been searching for the right US partner to help introduce more people to its professional product range. “As soon as we identified the need to carefully expand our reach in the US, everyone at PMC agreed we should establish a partner as dedicated to the client’s success as we are,” comments PMC sales manager, Luke Smith. “We quickly identified Sweetwater as the ideal partner for this expansion. Having worked with Sweetwater for many years myself, I knew their philosophy on customers always coming first would fit in perfectly with our own customer ethos at PMC. We are elated to
USA - Audio-Technica has been offering a series of resources to help users adjust to the circumstances brought about by the health crisis, including blog posts and tutorials educating on best practices and solutions for content creation and live-streaming, developing a home set-up, and more. Of particular note is the Basic Audio Techniques for Video tutorial series on YouTube, which features 13 different videos covering the basics of hand-held and lavalier mics, wireless systems, boom mics and more - concepts that are more important than ever in the DIY era of social distancing. The videos are “short and engaging, easy to follow and filled with useful info”. Most of the techniques outlined in these videos are applicable to both a home setup and the wider world of video production in the field (once our lives return to normal). In the clip Select
World - Chroma-Q is offering free weekly training webinars on a number of lighting topics. The multi-award winning LED specialists kicked off the series last week with a webinar about LED Colour in Practice. This included an overview of some of the technologies that go into creating tools for discerning designers, why small details can make such a big difference when it comes to the end result. “Supporting our wonderful industry and the individuals in it is our top priority,” explains Paul Pelletier, global brand manager. “It is important to us to use this time wisely and as an opportunity to help our industry learn new skills, as well as build on existing ones. We were delighted with the turnout of our first webinar and hope to reach even more people with
USA - On 22 April, Elation Professional is launching The Elation Hour, a weekly virtual presentation that will delve into the more personal side of product development while also addressing the technology and process behind the company’s most popular product series. Also on the schedule are a series of discussions with some of the industry’s most noted designers who plan to share their own personal insight and experience across the broad scope of entertainment lighting. Hosted each Wednesday by Elation national sales manager John Dunn and global product manager Matthias Hinrichs, the first Elation Hour presentation - Behind the Products - R&D - will take place on 22 April at 10:00am PT (6pm BST). The free webinar is an opportunity to hear about the more human aspect of a busy R&D department while gaining insight into the how and why behind some of E
USA - While today’s wireless equipment is easy to use and designed to keep the thornier technical issues out of the way, many gremlins lurk invisibly in the realm of the airwaves. The more users know about them, the better their end results will be. That’s why Lectrosonics has produced the new video series Wireless Side Chats, hosted by vice president of sales and marketing Karl Winkler and available as a playlist on the company’s YouTube page. Winkler, who earned degrees in stringed instrument performance and audio engineering, then embarked on a career in concert sound before joining Lectrosonics in 2004, explains “vital topics in a straightforward style that’s highly approachable for audio beginners”. Originally broadcas
USA - Bandit Lites’ Nashville shop is being transformed with an expansion that encompasses the entire building and multiple departments. With a new suite of offices for the sales team, a new Technical Service Division shop and a prep floor area growing from 18,000sq.ft to 44,000sq.ft, the expanded shop will be better equipped to handle Bandit’s business including world tours, corporate events, festivals and system installations. “Bandit had outgrown its current space,” comments Bandit Lites general manager Mark Steinwachs. “Making this move gives us more room to prep ever-growing shows as well as still giving us room to grow in the future.” Bandit’s team has been practising social distancing and adhering to current state requirements, and select members were able to proceed with streamlining the expansion of the spaces including a mezzanine for i
UK - Solid State Logic (SSL) has received the Queen’s Award for Enterprise for its excellence in innovation, for audio technology for broadcast. Since its launch in 2015, the System T broadcast platform has quickly gained a reputation for delivering in mission critical performance applications, with “a unique broadcast feature set, modular system approach, and pristine high-quality audio delivery”. With AoIP-based routing at its core, plus full immersive and next generation audio features, System T has been designed for the challenges of modern broadcast production, whether in the studio for news and entertainment programming, or for OB covering live events and sports. Nigel Beaumont, SSL managing director, comments: “At Solid State Logic we are incredibly proud to receive this award as we celebrate our 50th anniversary. We dedicate it to all our amazing
Pirate Radio Pioneer - Tributes have been paid to Ronan O'Rahilly, the founder of Radio Caroline, the first pirate radio station off the UK, who has died aged 79. His death was announced by the current Radio Caroline, which still operates off the Essex coast. The station was founded in 1964 to compete with the BBC and launched the careers of many well-known DJs, achieving enormous popularity. O'Rahilly, who lived in Ireland, had been diagnosed with vascular dementia in 2013. Radio Caroline was the first of several pirate radio stations that challenged BBC radio's dominance in the 1960s. The station played pop music all day, while the BBC only played pop for an hour a week. After the Marine Broadcasting Offences Act was passed in 1967, Radio Caroline continued to broadcast from ships until 1991, when the Ross Revenge was shipwrecked off the Kent coast The station, which start
USA - Owing to the social distancing required to fight the coronavirus pandemic, live-streamed video has seen a surge in popularity over recent weeks. Individuals, organisations and corporations are all using this technology to stay in touch with their audiences, but many aren’t equipped with the necessary lighting technology to do it effectively. For this reason, ADJ has created a series of new lighting packages that are designed to make it easy and affordable for both individuals and organizations to enhance the visual appearance of their video recordings and live streams. “With a bewildering amount of choice available, ADJ wants to make investing in the right live stream lighting as simple and cost effective as possible,” explains ADJ USA’s national sales manager, Alfred Gonzales. “Our new Live Stream Lighting PAKs feature carefully selected bundles of lig
USA - Eligible candidates who have received a notification of acceptance from one of the four examinations offered by the Entertainment Technician Certification Programme (ETCP) may begin scheduling appointments at PSI’s owned and operated testing centres. ETCP is also still accepting applications from eligible riggers, entertainment electricians and portable power distribution technicians. The ‘rush fee’ has been waived and those who are accepted will be processed as quickly as possible. PSI has recognised the impact that ETCP’ Certified Technicians are making by dedicating their equipment and knowledge to this critical initiative. The ETCP Programme has been added to the list of credentialing programmes that certify essential personnel. as they will be allowed to work alongside healthcare workers, law enforcement, and first responders charged with building
