UK - Xerocon London 2019 returned to ExCel London on 13-14 November, bringing together accountants, bookkeepers, ecosystem partners and industry leaders. Over 3,500 delegates gathered to find out the latest news and updates from cloud-based accounting software company Xero. Creative technical production expert Hawthorn was chosen by agency Taylor Bennett Partners to deliver the full technical design and production for the two-day event. Led by Pete Harding, Hawthorn’s head of creative technical, the company was tasked to bring Taylor Bennett’s vision to life, delivering full technical production for the main conference plenary, exhibition space, break-out sessions and evening party. The event featured a mammoth LED screen, an impressive lightbox installation and a village green complete with a cricket pitch and projection-mapped pond. The main stage played hos
Europe - Skunk Anansie have recently wrapped up their 25th anniversary tour along with an Allen & Heath dLive mixing system at FOH. With a string of European festival and headline shows, the milestone tour followed the release of Skunk Anansie’s new live album, 25live@25 and finished with a run of UK performances. Long-time Allen & Heath user and FOH engineer Ben Hammond comments: “dLive is just the perfect console for me. I’m able to lay out each show file the same way so the shows are always consistent, whether it’s an outdoor amphitheatre or large indoor arena.” The full set-up (owned by Hammond) features a dLive DM64 MixRack and dLive S5000 surface fitted with a Dante card for virtual soundcheck and multi-track recording, and an AES 10 out card, which feeds Hammond’s speaker management processor. Rather than using external ha
South Africa - The popularity of d&b audiotechnik systems for live events has been highlighted by the number of rental companies that won business supplying a pair of major festivals in South Africa. Rocking the Daisies in Cape Town and In the City in Johannesburg both called on the skills of Bad Weather, which opted for an all d&b solution. The music festivals saw the likes of The 1975, Russ and Tash Sultana deliver crowd-pleasing performances with the same sonic signature on every stage. This was thanks to the popularity that the German manufacturer’s solutions have found in South Africa through the support of its local distributor, Stage Audio Works. This was highlighted by the number of companies involved in the festivals. Eastern Acoustics, Ampere and ULTRA all supplied d&b equipment for Rocking the Daisies, while Blue Array did the same for In the City.
Romania - Lighting and stage design studio M3 Studio in Bucharest selected a large complement of Claypaky fixtures for the latest tour by Andra, the best-selling Romanian pop and folk artist. Claypaky SharBars, Alpha Spot 800 QWOs, A.leda Wash K10s and Sharpys helped illuminate Andra’s 10 dates from April to September across Romania. M3 Studio, known for providing visual creativity for bands, clubs and shows, was charged with designing a compact show that would be easy to rig in the short time intervals available at each stop on the tour. A mobile stage was chosen for fast deployment on the road. “I opted for Claypaky fixtures because I’ve always been pleased with their optical systems and colour mixing,” says lighting designer Petrus Rogojinschi. Ten SharBars, in pairs, were attached to the roof of the stage; another 14 were placed in pairs on the floor
USA - Event production company Genetic Productions is out with Morgan Wallen as the rising country music star opens as direct support on Luke Combs’ Beer Never Broke My Heart tour, a North American stretch that wraps in mid-December with shows at the 20,000-capacity Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. Genetic has again supplied an Elation rig for the singer after having supplied Wallen’s inaugural headlining tour, Up Down, last year. Genetic serves as the lighting and video vendor for the outing, working closely with designer Zac Coren. The lighting rig includes 3° beams from Elation DARTZ 360 LED moving heads energizing the atmosphere while immersing the stage and crowd in colour and effect. Zac Coren, who serves as lead LD, says the DARTZ are the main focal point of his design. “They provide a lot of dynamic looks and have a great feature set to accomplish
Switzerland - In the summer of 2019, the Béjart Ballet Lausanne gave new performances of Dixit, the ‘cinema-ballet-theatre’ show written and directed by Marc Hollogne, in tribute to its founder, Maurice Béjart. To embark the audience on the choreographer's story and work, the company relied on Modulo Kinetic and its real-time tracking module, KineMotion. To pay tribute to its creator, the Béjart Ballet Lausanne worked with Marc Hollogne to write and direct Dixit, a show that combines dance, acting and video projection to tell the story of Maurice Béjart's life and work. To bring this show to life, the Béjart Ballet Lausanne used Modulo Kinetic, Modulo Pi's media server solution, as well as KineMotion, its real-time tracking plug-in. Lucas Borgeaud, technical director of Béjart Ballet Lausanne, explains: “We had already used video in s
Australia - Two ARX MSX-32 Mic/Line Splitters were specified by Melbourne based audio contractor Intavent to provide reliable and agile broadcast mic splits for the broadcast box at the Flemington Racecourse. The ARX MSX-32’s were required to be installed in time for the annual Spring Racing Carnival - of which the Melbourne Cup is the jewel in the crown - and where the eyes and ears of the horse racing world would be focussed. Australians refer to the Melbourne Cup as the race that stops a nation. In fact, its reach extends well beyond Australian shores to Europe, USA, South Africa, Asia Pacific, the Middle East and beyond. The first link of the audio signal chain is a vital one and the Victoria Racing Club (owners and operators of Flemington racecourse) chose the two ARX MSX-32 to provide the primary feeds to send Hills race call around the racetrack, around
Switzerland - For nearly four weeks this past summer, the Swiss town of Vevey on Lake Geneva came alive when one million visitors participated in the 12th Winegrowers’ Festival. The Fête des Vignerons takes place once in a generation and pays homage to century old traditions of wine-growing. Recognised by UNESCO on its list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, the celebration unites an entire region of winegrowers with the local community. The highlight of the festival is Le Spectacle, a three-hour show performed in a temporary arena featuring 5,500 amateur actors in costume, 1,000 choral singers, and hundreds of musicians. To ensure a flawless performance, the audio team selected the Shure Axient Digital wireless system and PSM 1000 in-ear monitoring system to power the 20,000-seat venue. A total of 324 channels of Axient Digital and 40 channels of
Cambodia - ABA Bank head office recently acquired Martin lighting equipment from Harman Professional Solutions, in collaboration with Bright & Eternity Co, to achieve maximum visibility and enhance the architectural features of the building. Located in the centre of the capital city, Phnom Penh, along one of the busiest roads - Preah Sihanouk Boulevard, ABA Bank’s head office witnesses thousands of people pass through every day. The bank and the head office building has overseen a major phase of growth and development, comprising of several rented buildings, a mix of back and front-line offices, and exclusive executive spaces for the top-management. Also, contributing to the landscape of the city is the bank’s contemporary façade made of a mixture of vertical louvers and corrugated box panels. “The challenge at the ABA Bank’s head office was to highlight a
UK - Success is serving the independently owned, 1,700 cap Electric Brixton well, a two-step refurbishment programme refining the venue’s image and functionality. LED fixtures light the building’s front wall, which has been resealed and repainted, amplifying the Electric’s standing on Brixton Hill. Through the doors to the main space the second room wall has gone, improving sightlines and bringing more flexibility in terms of operating the area. It also makes for a much larger bar stage left and quicker service. An LX console front of house, with additional motors above stage and across the room, and new fixtures, gives LDs easier access to the venue’s lighting equipment and more capacity to shape the image of a performance/club. Production manager, Tom Cull, comments: “This is all brand new, state-of-the-art equipment. It was about improving the
USA - As one of this year’s most anticipated Broadway musicals, Moulin Rouge! The Musical has captured the hearts of critics and audiences alike. Its performances and production design combine to create an extravagant experience thanks to the talent on and off the stage - and, in part, to the power of Eos. “ETC’s products are why we can make this show happen,” says lighting designer Justin Townsend. “There is just so much data - nothing else could have driven the show.” Most people are familiar with the 2001 motion picture, a stylistic spectacle from the mind of Baz Luhrmann, so it was important to the musical’s creative team to make something that both honoured the film and stood out for itself. “We didn’t want to just recreate the movie,” Townsend says, “but try to create a live Moulin Rouge experience.” The over-the-top scenery b
South Africa - A recent technical upgrade at Joburg Theatre includes four Robert Juliat Cyrano 2500W HMI followspots which have been installed for use in the 1000+ seat Mandela Theatre. The complex’s largest auditorium, The Nelson Mandela Theatre, regularly sees over 75% of capacity audiences and remains open a minimum of 50 weeks in each year. In the past decade, it has hosted many hit shows, including William Kentridge’s acclaimed interpretation of Mozart’s The Magic Flute, the West End and Broadway musicals West Side Story, Chicago, The Color Purple and Spamalot and top-of-the-line global touring shows, such as Le Grand Cirque, Lord of the Dance and Brazouka. Joburg Theatre is also the permanent home to Joburg Ballet, Jill Girard and Keith Smith’s Peoples Theatre Company, and one of the country’s most
Europe - Björk has kicked off the European portion of her critically-acclaimed Cornucopia tour deploying a d&b Soundscape Immersive sound system as the show scales up dramatically from its debut in New York’s new arts centre, The Shed, to a run of largescale arena dates including London’s O2 arena. Cornucopia is Björk’s most elaborate stage production to date, incorporating stunning visuals, intricate stage movements and a fully integrated immersive sound design. Cornucopia’s sound was designed by Björk and FOH sound engineer John Gale, supported by Southby Productions, and Steve Jones from d&b, utilising the d&b En-Scene object-based mixing and En-Space room emulation software, running on the DS100 system processor and a comprehensive d&b KSL speaker system as an integral part of the concert performance design. “Bjö
Germany - Thomas Gottschalk once again gathered a who's who of ‘80s cult stars at the TUI Arena in Hannover for Gottschalk's Big 80s Show. Performances by Kim Wilde, Paul Young, Thomas Anders, Marc Almond and many more could be experienced on the set's four show stages, with the concert broadcast by ZDF. Lighting cameraman / gaffer for the production was Michael Donecker. Frank Hofmann - better known as FH - from Scan Design Berlin was responsible for the show lighting design of a production that lasted for several hours. FH, who developed a penchant for lighting design early in life, today works predominantly for TV productions. He notes: “I wanted to create a vintage look that could be interpreted in a modern way - that is, to imitate the looks of those days but using modern technology.” The set itself was dominated by video elements. A huge LED display
USA - Rhett McLaughlin and Charles Lincoln Neal III (Rhett & Link) have been blazing a trail with their mix of music and comic antics. Their routines include ‘rap battles’ that feature unlikely antagonists, such as the Wright Brothers vs the Mario Brothers and Leonardo Da Vinci against The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Lighting this pair of comedic musicians on tour requires a design that is powerful enough to accent punch lines and ballyhoo moments, while still serving up softer, subtle looks that create theatrical moments for sketches. This is precisely what the design team of Rebecca and Bryan Hairston delivered for Rhett & Link when they stopped at the iSaenger Theatre in New Orleans recently. Helping them were a group of Chauvet Professional Maverick, Rogue and Ovation fixtures supplied by See-Hear Productions. “Everything came together for us at th
Australia - On Sunday 6 October, the Canberra Raiders squared off against the Sydney Roosters at the NRL Grand Final in front of 82,922 spectators at Sydney’s ANZ Stadium, with millions more watching the broadcast. Impressive numbers - as was the 229 radio microphones active at the ground that Peter Twartz, radio frequency manager for the stadium and the NRL, had to coordinate to work flawlessly with one another. Wayne Mulder, engineering coordinator for production provider JPJ, made Peter’s job that bit easier by using Shure Axient Digital and PSM1000 IEMs across pre-show entertainers OneRepublic, the choir, MCs, hosts, and national anthem performers. All up, 52 channels of Shure’s premium wireless mic and monitor products kept the show running flawlessly in an extremely hostile RF environment. “At JPJ, we wouldn’t use anything else but Shure Axient for th
USA - Garth Brooks wrapped up the 2019 leg of his Stadium Tour with a record-breaking, sold-out show of 85,000 people at The University of Tennessee’s Neyland Stadium. Knoxville is the tenth city this year to welcome the tour following sold-out performances in St. Louis, Glendale, Gainesville, Minneapolis, Pittsburgh, Denver, Eugene, Boise and Regina. The concert at Neyland is his second show there since 2003 and comes on the heels of Brooks winning County Music Association’s Entertainer of the Year award for the seventh time. Bandit Lites has provided the lighting for Brooks for more than three decades, and the Grammy-award winning artist once again entrusted his massive vision to the Bandit team. Brooks also gave an impromptu shout out to Bandit Lites during the concert, sharing how he has worked with Bandit “ever since we could afford lights”. He praised t
USA - As Wheel of Fortune begins shooting its 37th season, the popular game show has been replacing its ageing lights with LED fixtures requiring less power, generating less heat and needing little maintenance. Joining the show’s upgraded rig are Ayrton Khamsin compact LED profiles provided by Sony Set Lighting. “LEDs have finally caught up to where they’re able to replace a 1200W arc source,” says lighting director and programmer, William McLachlan. “I’ve used Ayrton fixtures on other shows; they’re building interesting lights that are becoming mainline workhorse fixtures.” It was through McLachlan’s long-time relationship with ACT Lighting, the exclusive distributor of Ayrton fixtures in North America, that he learned about the new Khamsin fixtures. “We wanted to expand the show’s plot with moving key lights, and Khamsin had just come out
USA - A forest of nearly 100 Astera Titan Tubes were used by lighting designer Nook Schoenfeld to create some high impact lighting effects during a sizzle-reel shoot to get player highlights for NHL ice hockey team Minnesota Wild, who are based in the Excel Centre Arena, St Paul, Minneapolis. These are shown when the players’ names flash up onscreen before and during a game and are also used to highlight players on televised ads, interstitials and other promotions through a season. These clips are shot during a designated ‘media day’ about two weeks ahead of the season opening each season. Creative designer Chad Gilmour of the Minnesota Wild worked directly with creatives Mark Hussey and Nook to come up with a new look to produce the footage. Chad brought in DoP Robert Durland who found he needed very little lighting other than four ellipsoidals to shoot through
Finland - The Rantakylä School Centre in Mikkeli has recently undergone a major audio upgrade with two Allen & Heath SQ digital mixing systems. With around 700 students, the renovated school centre prides itself on providing the latest cutting-edge technologies. “When our huge renovation project started, it was clear in our minds that our audio system needed to be as accommodating and up-to-date as possible without compromising on an easy and intuitive user interface,” explains Juha Lindbohm, a music teacher at Rantakylä school. “As we have several event locations within the premises, the key requirements for us were: a reliable audio network, wireless control and integration with lighting and video.” The school turned to Allen & Heath’s Finnish distributor, F-Pro, who recommended two identical systems featuring an SQ-6 equipped with a Dante card a
South Africa - Music lovers gathered for the RMB Starlight Classics at the Country Club Johannesburg in September to experience a harmonious journey that has become a springtime tradition over the past 20 years. The RMB Starlight Classics is hosted twice annually in Johannesburg and at Vergelegen Wine Estate in Somerset West respectively. Sam McGrath and Joanne Jaques from Jam Events have managed the production since its inception in 1998, which is one of the crown jewels in the South African event calendar. “RMB Starlight Classics is an amazing product and has grown beyond anything we thought it would,” explains McGrath. “We have reached a point where the technical team is a family.” Gearhouse South Africa once again provided the dome structure, as well as all lighting requirements. Peter Abrahamse, who has worked on the event since 2005, was appointed as pro
Poland - Singer-songwriter Dawid Podsiadlo found fame by winning the second series of Poland’s X Factor in 2012, securing himself a recording contract with Sony Music. Following the success of his two Diamond certified albums, Podsiadlo embarked on a stadium tour, where FOH engineer Rafal Smolen relied on SSL L300 consoles, supplied by GMB Pro Sound and Polish distributor Audiotech Commercial. “The L300 was the best possible choice for this tour,” says Smolen. “I got comfortable working with it, as it quickly became apparent that whatever I did on this console would always sound exceptional.” One of the Dawid Podsiadlo concerts was held at the National Stadium in Warsaw, which Smolen says was always intended to be a 'one of a kind' show. “We wanted it to be a real, one-time event that would really amaze people and make them want more. That was
USA - The Pink Shell Beach Resort & Marina, located at the northern tip of Estero Island in the Fort Myers area, has won awards for its amenities and striking beauty. The resort is positioned in a prime location along the Florida shore and boasts premiere beach access, restaurants, a spa and incredible pools. That said, the location also comes with some expected Floridian challenges, such as a recent hurricane that did damage to the resort’s audio system. But, while many would see this as a problem for the destination, Pink Shell saw it as an opportunity to reimagine its entire soundscape and AV experience for guests. And at the heart of the new system sit a number of Ashly Audio solutions. “When I showed them the Ashly offerings, and then the price we could install a complete system at with Ashly, they were immediately on board with adding additional features
Germany - Founded in 1952, the Maxim Gorki Theatre is Berlin's smallest with 440 seats, and regards itself as a contemporary city theatre in a historic setting. In autumn 2019, the Maxim Gorki Theatre (MGT) adopted a new audio infrastructure. Central to this is a Lawo mc²96 production console as FOH console in the main hall, and a Lawo mc²56 console that serves as a backup and a remote console for the preparation of new projects. The mc²56 is also used as a recording console for the venue’s in-house recording studio. A Nova73 compact serves as the setup’s central router with five Dallis units available as stageboxes, two of which can be used mobile in combination with the mc²56, or on stage. Further Dallis units are located where most of the inputs and outputs are needed, in the orchestra pit and in the basement (Amp-City). The ‘local inputs and outputs’ a
