USA - A Yiddish-language production of Fiddler on the Roof opened at Stage 42 in New York City on 21 February with direction by Joel Grey and lighting design by Peter Kaczorowski. Playing an important role in this version of the musical are Elation Colour 5 Profile LED ellipsoidal spots supplied by G Scott Designs. Associate designer is Ethan Steimel who says that Kaczorowski required a fixture that colour changed in a tight warm palette from no colour incandescent to gel colours L162 to L147. He adds that the designer also wanted to achieve a deep blue. The solution was found in the Colour 5 Profile LED ellipsoidal. Housing a 180W RGBAM (Red, Green, Blue, Amber, Mint) LED engine, the Mint LED enhances the production of variable white colour temperatures from 3,200 to 6,500K and increases the CRI. An exceptionally flat field of light, CRI over 94, and a professi
UK - It took less time for Dutch DJ legend Armin van Buuren to sell out his much-anticipated Wembley Easter show at SSE Arena than it did to play the five-hour long set, in what was his biggest date ever in the capital. The titan of trance sold out the venue, which is restricted to 6,000 for dance events (occupying the arena bowl and Tier 1 only) in just three hours - a feat posted on social media in advance by promotions company Lock ‘N’ Load Events. The specialist event organisation regularly turns to Capital Sound for its sound reinforcement requirements, and in turn look to Martin Audio’s MLA loudspeaker array as its first choice PA system. As Lock ‘N’ Load project manager, Alex Anderson explained, “I advised [artist’s management] that we needed MLA in there because of its programming capabilities with regards to external noise levels.
Belgium - The busy Vooruit arts complex in the centre of Ghent has transformed a historic venue, built in years before World War I, into a bustling arts centre with an impressive variety of cultural events. It has collection of different venues, all equipped with Nexo sound systems, but the jewel in the crown is the Concertzaal, where production company VDB-PA has just completed a permanent installation of Nexo’s modular STM Series line array. Design and specification of the new front-of-house system for the 1100-capacity Concertzaal was managed by Thomas Coene and Jan Van den Brande at VDB-PA, and marked a step-change in the 15 year relationship between VDB and de Vooruit. “They have been dry-hiring systems for many years,” says Jan Van den Brande. “They use their own team of technicians and came to us for the main PA, consoles and monitors, depending on the event.
USA - Ayrton, and its exclusive US distributor, ACT Lighting Inc, in conjunction with lighting equipment supplier 4wall Entertainment, supported Boston Ballet’s 2018–2019 spring season with the provision of Ayrton WildSun K-25 TC LED fixtures for Full on Forsythe, a trio of works from prestigious choreographer William Forsythe. The programme features Playlist (EP), Forsythe’s first world premiere to be created with an American company since 1992, the North American premiere of Blake Works I, and the return of Pas/Parts 2018. Boston Ballet’s lighting director, Brandon Stirling Baker, explains why he chose Ayrton WildSun K-25 TC: “As the lighting director of Boston Ballet it is my responsibility to maintain the work of over 100 international lighting designers in our repertory. I am always looking for creative tools and lighting equ
Italy - dLive was found in abundance again at this year’s Primo Maggio event in Rome, Italy. Broadcast live via the RAI national TV channel, the 29th edition of the annual event showcased eight hours of spectacular live performances from 31 major and emerging artists – including various national favourites such as Daniele Silvestri, Ghali and Subsonica – and attracted over 500,000 attendees. Supplied by local production company ABC and supported by Allen & Heath’s Italian distributors, Exhibo S.p.A, the full set-up comprised eight dLive systems, five IP8 Controllers, an SQ, DX Remote Audio Expanders and additional Dante, SuperMADI and gigaACE cards. As per past events, Primo Maggio featured its impressive rotating dual-stage setup – allowing for one act to line-check while another performed, minimising the changeover time between acts. Each stage had its
France - Nexo’s ID Series loudspeakers are playing a key role in a new digital exhibition in Paris, which offers an immersive AV experience with the paintings of Vincent Van Gogh. One of the most innovative artistic experiences in the city is currently hidden behind the unremarkable façade of a former ironworks foundry in the 11th arrondissement. Inside this 19th century space, one of France’s leading cultural producers Culturespaces has opened a new exhibition dedicated to Vincent Van Gogh. Van Gogh - the Starry Night is a visual and musical creation realised by Gianfranco Iannuzzi, Renato Gatto and Massimiliano Siccardi. In the same presentation is a short programme by Danny Rose dedicated to the imagery of Japan. Both use the AMIEX technology (Art and Music Immersive Experience) developed by Culturespaces in 2012. The AMIEX Concept is based on the virtua
USA - On 9 May, Björk opened her Cornucopia season at New York’s newest cultural centre The Shed, utilising a full 360 degree d&b Soundscape system powered by the d&b En-Scene object based mixing and En-Space room emulation software. Cornucopia is Björk’s most elaborate stage production to date incorporating stunning visuals, intricate stage movements and a fully integrated immersive sound design, made possible by the d&b Soundscape. Beginning the sound design conception in a studio in Iceland the production has progressed through production rehearsals in the Backstage Centre, London, to The Shed in New York City. Cornucopia’s sound was designed by Björk and FoH sound engineer John Gale, supported by Southby Productions, and Steve Jones from d&b. Steve Jones explains, “Björk wanted the sound for Cornucopia
USA - On the North American leg of their current Timeless tour, multinational classical crossover group Il Divo is being supported by a smoothly flowing and versatile lightshow anchored by Chauvet Professional fixtures, supplied by Showtime Sound LLC. A collection of 22 Rogue R2 Wash fixtures, along with 20 Rogue R1 FX-B units and seven STRIKE 4 multi-formatted lights, are used in the touring rig. Flown on the upstage and midstage truss and hung on vertical truss towers, the Rogue R2 Wash fixtures bathe the stage in even fields of richly coloured light. While the overhead RGBW units bathe the stage in a variety of colours to reflect different moods, their 12° to 49° zoom range allows changes in the coverage area throughout each show to create a variety of different looks. The linear Rogue R1 FX-B fixtures are used to frame the stage. With their infinite pan an
UK - At the beginning of May, a two-year project came to be realised for inspirational Guildford School of Acting lighting tutor Michelle (Mig) Burgess when her design installation Blackout was revealed to the industry. Harnessing the collective powers of light, sound and video in the hope of affecting genuine changes in an approach to mental health, Mig set about on her quest over two years ago. Mig is open about living with Bipolar II disorder – a condition with which she was finally diagnosed in her late twenties. And for the past couple of years, she has been formulating a plan to create a design installation to portray, in a sensory way, the mental journey inside a Bipolar II patient’s head as they transition through a manic episode. The result has been a highly provocative, moving installation, experienced alone for six minutes, and which, over
UK - Over a thousand delegates from the private rental sector gathered in London’s ExCel on 2 April to attend the Annual ARLA Propertymark Conference and exhibition. Protec European Events were trusted by their client Westrade Group Ltd to provide a full event technical service package. Moderated by BBC News presenter Julian Worricker, the conference focussed on the importance of legislation, and how to keep abreast of industry issues. Project manager Fraser McCaig reports, “Protec designed and built the 40m x 4.2m stage with six integrated 4m high x 1m wide LED video columns supported by OV40 truss 4m columns that we anchored to 100kg steel base plates with the set covered by seven colour Polycril wraps. We recessed the centre section of the set with laser line graphics for branding which was enhanced with DMX controlled LED strips on both sides and on top. We al
USA - Djembe! The Show is an energy-filled, theatrical concert experience that mixes traditional West African beats with modern takes on contemporary music that has toured Europe and even been featured on Ted Talks and Oprah’s Super Soul Sessions. It made its limited US debut at the Apollo Theatre in Chicago with lighting design by Zach Blane who used an all Elation LED lighting rig to accentuate the production. Support was provided by Elation dealer ILC. Djembe!, which opened 10 April and ran through 12 May, is a celebration of African culture with drumming and musical performances by a cast composed mostly of West African musicians. Guests of the show were handed a drum – a djembe – and invited to play along. The Apollo Theatre features a three-quarter thrust stage with the audience on three sides, a setup that gives guests an intim
USA - Convergent Technologies Design Group has completed the design of an outdoor sound system in the open quad area of the new Eastern Carolina University Student Union campus. Founded in 1907 in Greenville, North Carolina, East Carolina University is a public doctoral/research university. With over 5,500 academic and administrative staff and around 30,000 students, it is the fourth largest university in North Carolina. The new, 214,000sq.ft Student Union is the largest construction project on the main campus since the Science and Technology Building opened in 2001. It will house the Dowdy Student Store, five dining options, student government and trustee office spaces, meeting rooms, a theatre and a large ballroom. The facility also features a five level, 724 space parking deck and a new 6,500sq.ft regional energy plant. At the centre of the new campus is a lar
Spain - Lighting designer Eduardo Valverde of Pixelmap Studios utilised the dynamic multi-functionality of Robe’s MegaPointe moving lights together with Robe LEDWash 800s and other fixtures to help create the atmosphere for Popland, a musical journey staged at the WiZink Centre in Madrid. The show was a diverse electronic and symphonic fusion illustrating pop, rock and dance music ‘moments’ from the last 50 years, presented by one of Spain’s most influential mix-masters, DJ Nano, in conjunction with Catalan experimental theatre company La Fura dels Baus and the Darevitam! Orchestra conducted by Bruno Axel. The event - three years in the making - was the brainchild of DJ Nano, who initiated with the concept together with Sharemusic! who produced this very special event with another two major Spanish promoters, Planet Events and Disorder. Eduardo and
UK - Pop artist Billie Eilish’s sold-out global tour dates feature flyable Allen & Heath dLive rigs at both FOH and monitor positions. Drew Thornton, FOH engineer, and Salim Akram, monitor engineer, use compact, 12-fader C1500’s to mix over 50 inputs from an array of live instruments and backing tracks. Their rig is fed by a quartet of DX168 stage boxes connecting to a DM0 MixRack via EtherCon connections. Thornton designed the dLive system to travel with the band. “Throwing down your stage box and pushing out everything patched and line-checked in 10 minutes is amazing,” he said. “We plug it in and it works like a dream. And I’m a firm believer that if you get your mix right, you can handle things with as few as eight faders. Having 12 faders on the C1500 is a luxury.” Akram noted, “I built my dLive show file on the airplane. I’ve been on a lot o
UK - After supporting various Esports Championship Series (ECS) shows at Wembley’s SSE Arena over the last few years, Sibar Production & Design, along with Capital Sound (and their Martin Audio MLA loudspeaker array), moved to the ICC Auditorium at ExCeL for the FACEIT Global Summit: PUBG Classic. FACEIT is the leading competitive gaming platform and organisers of some of the largest esports events in Europe and North America including ECS, Universal Open and the FACEIT London CS:GO Major. Capital has been regularly contracted to provide the audio reinforcement for such gameplay events by Sibar’s Simon Barrington, but this represented an entirely fresh challenge. According to Capital’s project manager Robin Conway, “It was based on a completely different gaming platform and different team and elimination set-up. “The space at ExCeL is tricky as was the de
Macau - Six Robert Juliat 600W LED Oz followspots have been installed as part of the recent upgrade of the spectacular Franco Dragone show, The House of Dancing Water in Macau’s City of Dreams. The powerful, long-throw LED models were supplied with push-pull, six-way colour changers and heavy-duty adjustable yokes in anticipation of the show’s extremely busy schedule. The House of Dancing Water has been seen by over 5m people since its premiere in 2010. It is probably the largest and most spectacular water-based show in the world and, after more than 3000 performances, the longest running show on the Cotai Strip. The show takes place in the purpose-built, 2000-seat, 270° in-the-round, House of Dancing Water Theatre and is directed by Franco Dragone. The story is focused around a huge 50m x 7m deep pool containing 3.7m gallons of water and involves 90
USA - The Flyer - San Francisco at Fisherman’s Wharf’s Pier 39 gives both tourists and locals alike a bird’s eye view of the city using cinematic artistry and HD film footage captured with the help of drones and helicopters, and blended with computer-generated imagery. As spectacular as the video is, though, visitors may be even more dazzled by the attraction’s audio thanks to an engaging cinematic soundtrack played back through a high-impact, high-fidelity sound system from L-Acoustics. The soundtrack and sound effects were written, created and produced by Mathieu Vachon, audio director for Triotech, the Québec-based company behind The Flyer - San Francisco. Triotech is quickly establishing itself as a major player in the global amusement and theme park industry, and its latest creation follows a fast-paced point-of-view narrative that both documents the city
South Africa - Black Coffee, a Durban-based rental company, has become more creative since taking ownership of the Hippotizer Boreal+ Media Server. John-Dee Styles, who heads the creative team at Black Coffee, put the Hippotizer Boreal+ purchased from DWR Distribution to the test for the first time at the Globe Theatre, a new multi-purpose dome structured venue which forms part of the Suncoast Casino. The event was held to celebrate the casino’s new upgrade and renovation, a project that took two years to complete. “We used our new Hippotizer Boreal+ with a backup system,” explains John-Dee. “We used 4 DVI outputs, two of which went to a double stack of 18K Barco projectors, for the main content. This was projected on a black gauze to create the clients desired effect.” The climax of the show saw a dancer performing behind the black gauze projection surface,
UAE/Europe - AO Technology has launched AO Drones, a new division in its portfolio of visual design services. Utilising advanced technology developed specifically for entertainment applications, AO Drones’ software facilitates flexible, fast show creation for both indoor and outdoor environments, says the company. AO Drones currently serves the Middle East region from its UAE hub, and Europe from its German HQ. However, with partnerships in America, Asia and Africa, the business is able to deliver shows worldwide. “We’re thrilled to bring AO Drones to the market,” says AO producer Marco Niedermeier. “Over the last couple of years we’ve merged 25 years of experience in visual design and entertainment technology development with this innovative new drone technology, to enable live visual design to achieve a who
UK - With one of the most distinctive voices to emerge from the UK in the last few years, Freya Ridings has had a busy start to 2019. A headline tour (including a sold-out show at London’s Roundhouse) in support of her debut studio album garnered rave reviews and she’s set to follow up with a series of US dates later in the year. Ridings’ front of house engineer Tim Morris has relied on an array of Audio-Technica microphones throughout the tour, on both vocals and band backline, including an AE5400 cardioid condenser and AE6100 and ATM610a hypercardioid dynamics for main and backing vocals and the diminutive AE2300 cardioid dynamic instrument mic for snare top. “I love the response of the AE5400 condenser on Freya’s voice,” says Morris, “and it’s my favourite option for things like TV appearances, where it really delivers a studio-like sound. For the
Singapore - Concept System recently upgraded the ballroom and function rooms at the Grand Copthorne Waterfront hotel with Martin by Harman RUSH LED light fixtures. Overlooking the picturesque Singapore River, the 30-story Grand Copthorne Waterfront is located in one of Asia’s most popular tourist destinations. The hotel’s management recently decided to upgrade the antiquated lighting systems in the ballroom and function rooms with efficient LED solutions, and hired Concept System to outfit the property with Martin RUSH MH 1 Profile. "Elaborate functions like weddings and banquets require stunning visual effects," says Gerald Fong, senior sales manager at Concept System. "The Grand Copthorne selected Martin fixtures because of their quality, efficiency and Harman’s remarkable service, and specifically asked us to use Martin’s LED fixtures in their grand ballroom
Japan - It’s impossible to walk through the prefecture of Gion and not be swept up in its vibrant pace of life. The most celebrated geisha district in a city that is itself the cultural heart of Japan, the neighbourhood is renowned for its dining and entertainment attractions. Both of these offerings are found in the Kyoto Sushi Theatre, a lively venue that serves up a culinary and artistic feast for its customers. Creating a colourful and engaging backdrop for this dual experience is an Andy Hinago-designed lightshow that features a collection of Chauvet Professional fixtures, supplied by PRG Japan. Given that the ‘theatre side’ of Kyoto Sushi Theatre features not only traditional Kabuki, but also more modern, western-style Shingeki performances, Andy (who owns GOTTA, Inc.) placed an emphasis on versatility when putting together his rig for the venue. This led
Australia - Melbourne-based lighting rental and production company MPH Australia, headed by Matt Hansen, continues to invest in Robe products, with the latest additions being over 80 MegaPointes, 50 Spiiders and 50 BMFLs. These join a growing inventory of Robe moving lights, currently in the region of 700, including BMFL Spots and Blades, Pointes, LEDWash 600s and LEDBeam 100s. Hansen has made the commitment to Robe’s newest tech after having utilised the products on shows - including his own - for several years. He founded MPH (Matt’s Party Hire) in 2006 initially to stock LED products like SoftLED cloth and the company has grown into a much larger ‘party’. Having the new technology onboard has been “incredible” says Hansen. “They have been out constantly, and that’s set to continue; MegaPointes and Spiiders are both products ‘of the moment’.”
USA - The Shed’s executive team joined elected officials and artists to celebrate the opening of New York’s new arts centre during a dedication ceremony just days before the space opened to the public on 5 April. Located on West 30th Street between 10th and 11th Avenue, The Shed is commissioning and presenting new work from artists working in all genres, including Steve McQueen, Steve Reich, Trisha Donnelly, Anne Carson, Ben Whishaw, Renée Fleming and Björk, among others. Specialised Audio-Visual (SAVI) engineered and installed a d&b V-Series line array in The McCourt, The Shed’s largest space in the 200,000sq.ft Bloomberg Building. “SAVI and d&b audiotechnik are part of the team that connects The McCourt to its artists via technology,” explains Michael Cusick, president of SAVI. “The d&b sound system in The McCourt plays a daily role a
