USA - Innovation is nothing new at the Today Show. The first early morning news programme, and one of the longest-running shows on television (it debuted on January 14, 1952), this American icon has thrived by pioneering new concepts like the celebrity meteorologist, and early morning concerts by major recording stars. In keeping with this tradition, the show recently raised the visual bar for morning TV music segments, when its lighting director Peter Greenbaum upgraded its Citi Concert Series stage to create a wider array of concert-style looks by adding 25 Chauvet Professional Maverick MK Pyxis fixtures, supplied by WorldStage. “The Pyxis creates an extensive variety of effects that you don’t see on a TV concert type of stage,” Greenbaum said. “Its powerful centre beam is also new for me, but I fell in love with the fixture after WorldStage showed it
USA - Drawing a record crowd of over 13,500 industry professionals, The Work Truck Show 2018 was the largest event in the history of the NTEA. Held inside the Indiana Convention Centre, the event saw an unprecedented number of vehicle launches, including the much-anticipated launch of the new XL Series from Hino Trucks USA. Desiring a dynamic and exciting tradeshow environment worthy of their inaugural Class 8 heavy-duty trucking solutions, they enlisted the assistance of production provider Elite Multimedia who created a momentous LED video, lighting and audio design. “We’ve been exhibiting at The Work Truck Show for 18 years now and this is definitely the benchmark show for the work truck industry,” says Sheree Greenhalge, assistant manager marketing, Hino Trucks USA. “Each year the show generally has many new product launches, and this ye
USA - Bandit Lites returned to The Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival for another epic weekend of stellar music, comradery and community with activities including a silent disco, yoga, comedy acts, a marketplace and a sustainability focus. Working with Lambda Productions, Bandit Lites supplied the lighting package for multiple stages and provided additional lighting support for several performers. More than 150 artists took to the 700 acre field. Headliners Muse, Eminem, The Killers, Sheryl Crow, Alt J, Bon Iver, Future, Bassnectar, Paramore, Khalid and Sturgill Simpson kicked the party into top gear as thousands took to the field. Bandit’s package for the main stage system consisted of nearly 230 fixtures, including Robe BMFLs, Clay Paky Mythos, GLP X4 Bar 20, VL 3500 Washes, VL 3000 Spots, Solaris Flare Strobes, Lycian M2 spots, and two Grand MA 2 Full consoles for
New Zealand - David Kendall Audio Visual recently installed an end-to-end networked audio system by Harman Professional Solutions at the Wellington Cathedral of St Paul. Located in the historic district of Thorndon, the Wellington Cathedral of St. Paul is the mother church of the Anglican Diocese of Wellington, attracting a vibrant community of worshippers each week. In addition to serving an important role in the Anglican Church, the ornate architecture and refined acoustics of Wellington Cathedral also make it a popular venue for choral and orchestral concerts. With sound reinforcement playing a critical role at Wellington Cathedral, management wanted to ensure optimum audio quality and balanced coverage during church services and concerts. To achieve these goals, management hired David Kendall Audio Visual to upgrade its aging sound system with a complete Harman n
USA - Months after the opening of hit Broadway musical The Band's Visit, celebrated sound designer Kai Harada has won a Tony Award for Best Sound Design in a Musical, including fully object-based 3D sound courtesy of Astro Spatial Audio. The Band's Visit was the big winner of the night at the Radio City Music Hall, with a total of 10 wins out of 11 nominations, including Best Musical, Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical, and Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical. The critically acclaimed show, which opened in November 2017 to rave reviews at Broadway’s Barrymore Theatre, tells the story of the Alexandria Ceremonial Police Orchestra’s arrival in Israel for the opening of an Arab Cultural Centre, only to find out that they have boarded the wrong bus to the wrong town - with some inevitably amusing consequences. The show marked the Br
UK - Newmarket Racecourse in Suffolk has undergone a major upgrade to its PA, with new systems designed and installed by integrator AudioTek. Known as the home of horse racing, and with a history spanning three and a half centuries from the time of King Charles II, the prominence of the racecourse is sustained by its unrivalled programme of races and events and its continual modernisation that ensures high standards for visitors. AudioTek was chosen to do a full survey of the current site and to recommend a new solution to the problems and complaints that the venue had been having. From this it soon became obvious that certain areas on site were having issues, with a combination of aged components failing and the need for an upgrade to a more modern sound from the original speech PA with its limited frequency bandwidth. AudioTek identified and proposed solutions
UK - In addition to enjoying a busy touring and festival work schedule of this summer, London-based lighting and video rental specialist Colour Sound Experiment supplied LED screens and processing to the recent UK leg of the Manic Street Preachers Resistance is Futile tour. The 5mm Roe LED on the tour was part of a massive investment by the company - totalling over £1m in new LED screen earlier in the year. This purchase added 230sq.mof LED to Colour Sound’s existing extensive screen stock which means they can offer a variety of pitches for all occasions, including 2.6, 6, 7 12, 20 and 30mm as well as the new 5mm. The screen was specified onto the Manics tour by Toby Vogel who co-ordinates and manages all-things-video for the band on the road. Says Toby, “I have known H (Colour Sound founder Haydn Cruickshank) for many years and we have worked t
USA - Gypsy Sally’s Georgetown nightspot isn’t the largest club in the US capital, but it does host one of the most diverse ranges of musicians, from popular funk and jam bands like Kung Fu and The Nightowls, to the Afro Zen Allstars drummers and The Portland Cello Project modern classical ensemble. Supporting this eclectic array of very original artists with light is Sean Keegan, who has been the production engineer at Gypsy Sally’s since 2016. “Essentially anything having to do with the actual production of a show here is handled by me,” he explained. “That includes running FOH, monitors and lighting.” The “lighting” part of Keegan’s mission became much easier and more rewarding recently, following his acquisition of a ChamSys MagicQ MQ40N console. “We got the ChamSys after we added eight moving fixtures, four Chauvet Professional Rogue R1 Washe
UK - Attendees at this year’s ABTT Theatre Show were eager to experience the d&b Soundscape sessions as visitors packed into the Londesborough Room at Alexandra Palace, London on 6 and 7 June. Powered by the d&b DS100 Signal engine, an audio system processor based on a powerful Dante enabled signal matrix, the d&b Soundscape “enables unparalleled creativity through its two software modules En-Scene and En-Space”. The Soundscape sessions proved to be extremely popular, with the d&b GB team demonstrating the new creative tool by deconstructing audio content from a number of typical live event scenarios. Using sound objects, the team recreated a range of scenarios in d&b Soundscape: a traditional theatre, a small gig and Verdi’s AIDA from the Sydney Opera House. d&b also showed how an experimental sound artist was able to manipulate
South Korea - Tongsuh Technology, Ayrton’s exclusive distributor for Korea, recently sold 12 Ayrton Ghibli LED spot luminaires to Art Won+ Stage Lighting, for its production of Peter Schaffer’s Amadeus, which ran for two months at the Gwanglim Church BBCH Art Hall in Seoul. The production’s lighting design was created by You Sub Won, principal lighting designer & CEO of Art Won+ Stage Lighting, who reports: “I first saw Ghibli when Tongsuh brought it to me for a demo and I instantly fell in love with it. We know the trend in the market has been towards LED moving spots and we particularly liked Ghibli’s excellent dimming quality - the dimming curves were as smooth as those you get with tungsten. It is a very silent fixture with an attractive design, qualities that are both very desirable in the ‘open plan’ environment of the theatre.” For
UK - This month the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London was transformed into an immersive spider's den of video-mapping, robotics, pyrotechnics, acrobatics and high energy music as the Arcadia Spectacular landed to celebrate its 10th anniversary with its only two UK dates of 2018. The production's award-winning visual feast of a show, Metamorphosis, took centre stage alongside a performance by an Australian Aboriginal tribe, the Whadjuk Noongar and sets from DJs including Leftfield and Rudimental. Alongside the Arcadia team was the show's long-term lighting and visuals control partner, Avolites, celebrating five years of partnership with the Arcadia team as continuous providers of the latest lighting and media server control technology and support. This, combined with the creative minds of founders metalwork artist, Pip Rush and concert structure specialist,
UAE - The new Mercedes-Benz Actros and Arocs trucks launched in the Middle East and Africa in style with tarm Showlaser to the fore. The regional launch of the new generation of heavy-duty trucks - the new Mercedes-Benz Actros and Arocs - was celebrated in “an evening of extraordinary style in the sea,” just off the Dubai Marina and Jumeirah Beach Residences on 7 March. Attended by more than 300 VIP customers and media from the Middle East and Africa, and hosted by Daimler’s Commercial Vehicles Regional Office, the dramatic reveal of the new models included an off-shore laser show display in proximity to Dubai’s new Dubai Eye Ferris Wheel. Within just eight days, tarm Showlaser's team created this striking show with a total of 10 full-colour laser projectors and a 360-degree smoke-installation with a total of 18 fog/haze-generators with fan. tarm Sh
USA - After avid musical instrument collector Steven Kern Shaw passed away, Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee received a generous donation of more than 500 vintage instruments. 100 of them are now on display in a venue that is part art museum, part performance hall. The grandson of one of America’s great composers, Jerome Kern, Steven Kern Shaw grew up surrounded by music. Spending much of his life acquiring iconic stringed instruments, it was Shaw’s wish that “these instruments be played and heard”. Belmont is known for high-level graduates in the music and entertainment industry and seemed like a natural place for an instrument donation of this magnitude to be housed. The focus on the history of stringed instruments is apparent. One exhibit shows the history of the mandolin and includes renowned instruments designed by Lloyd Loar in the 1920s. There
South Africa - “The TimeCore from Visual Productions really makes training and our demos very easy to do,” enthused Dylan Jones, 3D visualisation and media server expert, from South African distributor DWR, “Clients lately have been really interested in the product wherever it is shown.” For the recent Green Hippo training at DWR, Jones and Green Hippo’s Suzy Stenning, used the TimeCore to generate SMPTE timecode into the sync manager component of the Green Hippo Boreal Media Server. The sync manager allows external timecode to be interfaced with and routed in, the Green Hippo Media Server. Once timecode was received from the TimeCore they demonstrated its uses with the timeline component, allowing users to programme and then playback their timeline via timecode. Stenning comments: “The generator feature on the TimeCore allowed us to easily demonstra
UK - Rental facility Dry Hire Lighting, based in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, has invested in over 50 of Robe’s popular MegaPointe moving lights which will be added to their already substantial stock of the Czech brand. This is due to ‘general demand’ states Dry Hire Lighting’s Rob Merrilees explaining the reason for this latest purchase, adding that the MegaPointe has fast become a ‘fixture of the moment’ since its launch in September 2017. Dry Hire Lighting has been consistently purchasing Robe luminaires since the company was founded in 2011 with the goal of making all major brands available for cross rental and guaranteed to be meticulously maintained and prepped, as well as supplied in unbranded flightcases. The company is run by Rob who is highly respected in the entertainment technology and production world. With expansive knowledge and exper
UK - A KV2 Audio system has been installed at Egg LDN, a multi-purpose venue in the heart of London’s Kings Cross. Firmly established in the London nightlife scene, Egg LDN is now in its 15th year and has secured its place as a successful corporate venue, having hosted different private functions from intimate product launches, networking events and board meetings to themed parties for a range of notable clients. The management and technical team at with venueEgg wanted to mark the 15th birthday with developments and upgrades, including the audio systems throughout the venue. Having become increasingly aware of KV2’s growing reputation within the dance-industry, including high-profile installations throughout Ibiza, Ben Short contacted KV2 Audio to discuss how they might go about improving the audio system in the venue. The initial phase was to look at
UK - Martin Audio and Capital Sound added a new event to their summer festival programme, with the 10-day All Points East (APE) moving into Hackney’s Victoria Park. Promoted by AEG, rental company Capital Sound were brought in by production company LarMac LIVE, with whom they have worked at this challenging venue on many previous occasions, to provide sound reinforcement for the event. Two weekends of top entertainment (including Björk and Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds) bookended four days of ‘Open House’ community activity in the park, including open air cinema. Capital Sound provided site coverage, and their account manager, Martin Connolly, underlined the benefit of having a single point of contact for all the various stages. His crew equipped the main stage with Martin Audio’s MLA, hanging 13 enclosures and an MLD Downfill each side, with 14 M
Trinidad & Tobago - “It doesn’t make any sense to have great mics or a powerful computer if you have a poor interface with sub-standard preamps and A/D converters. Every part of the signal path has to be pristine,” says Kevin Sones of Earsightmusic, who relies on his iD22 from Audient. “This is why I trust iD22 to be at the centre of my system.” Kevin utilises the iD22’s ADAT expandability to his advantage, by connecting it to his 8-channel mic preamp from Audient, ASP880 and giving him access to up to ten inputs. Together the two Audient units are integral to his work recording live bands and orchestras around the islands of the Caribbean, including Dominant Seventh, the National Steel Symphony Orchestra of Trinidad & Tobago as well as the National Philharmonic Orchestra of Trinidad & Tobago. Kevin has been delivering training courses for Ear
Russia - An Outline sound system has been installed at the Ekaterinburg Stadium ahead of the 2018 World Cup in Russia. The 64 matches that comprise the tournament are to be hosted across a dozen stadia up to 1,800 miles apart. One of these is the Ekaterinburg Stadium, originally opened in 1957 then subject to a major redevelopment completed in 2011. To meet FIFA specifications, it will feature temporary space for fans, with extra covered seating on the outside of the stadium perimeter behind both goals, taking its capacity up to just over 35,000. In preparation for the four World Cup matches scheduled to be played there, an Outline sound system has been installed based around their new Stadia series of products designed specifically for this application. A total of 223 Outline loudspeaker enclosures have been deployed throughout the stadium to provide seamless co
USA - The sixth annual K-LOVE Fan Awards returned to Nashville for an evening honouring contemporary Christian artist and hailed as the only fan-voted awards in Christian entertainment. Bandit Lites provided the lighting for the event which featured 15 live performances and appearances including Natalie Grant, Hillsong Worship and Casting Crowns. With the awards taking place at the Opry House, home to live broadcasts of the Grand Ole Opry, production designer Scott Moore and lighting designer Mark Carver had to fashion a high-energy rig that could be installed quickly enough to allow for programming by Carver, programmer Andre Petrus and media programmer Tony Fransen, and then effectively disappear for the Opry’s Tuesday, Friday and Saturday night shows. “There is a very limited amount of space in which to rig the various bits of automation required to conceal th
Belgium - Versuz, a leading nightclub in the Hasselt area and one of the best 50 clubs worldwide according to DJ Mag, updated its lighting rig following an extensive renovation. Fairlight, distributor for CLF Lighting and Martin Professional in Benelux, was responsible for installing the new equipment in the venue’s Main Room. Together with Bert Gemels and his technical team they managed to dismantle the old construction and install the complete new setup within four days. Together with one programming day, the club was up and running for another weekend full of events. Yves Smolders, general manager of Versuz, reports: “From the very first contact I enjoyed working together with the Fairlight team. They all have a down to earth approach and think along with our budget and needs. I am convinced that this is just the start of a long-term cooperation.” Bas
Philippines - Cove Manila is Southeast Asia’s newest entertainment space, a 9,000-sqm, $200m entertainment venue touted as the largest indoor beach club in the world. Located in Okada Manila, a five-star integrated resort in the Philippines capital, Cove Manila also includes a luxurious nightclub that’s putting the country on the map as an EDM stop for top DJs. The entertainment technology package used to dress the venue in lighting and visual effects is, not surprisingly, large with a host of top manufacturers involved including Elation Professional and sister companies ADJ and Acclaim Lighting. Cove Manila, with its bayside atmosphere, five-star amenities plus nightclub, lies within a 120m wide by 40m high glass-domed space. The AVdesign for the indoor Beach Club and nightclub includes over 1,000 lighting fixtures, which work from a variety of locations – palm
South Africa - Three all-female teams of young lighting designers scooped the top accolades at this year’s St Mary’s Battle of the Bands. The annual competition was hosted on 17 May at The Edge Theatre at Saint Mary’s, Johannesburg and featured two celebrity judges attending the finale - Prime Circle’s Marco Gomes and The Parlotone’s Neil Pauw. In the lighting design category, first place went to Saint Mary’s Zaneli Steeneveldt, who was assisted by Ghita Economakis and Sanam Soni. In second place, St Mary’s Erin Kersten was assisted by Ella Roseveare, Amy Leishman, Jordan Dart and Caitlin Bloom. Third place was awarded to Parktown Girls, a joint effort by Leia Singh, Lailah Naidoo and Roxana van Weely. DWR Distribution was a sponsor for the fourth consecutive year, supplying lighting gear and audio for the event along with prizes for the best young light
Mexico - Rock/hip hop band Café Tacvba’s Niu Güeis have become one of the most popular Latin artists of the past 25 years. Touring in support of their eighth studio album Jei Beibi, the group is as fiery as ever, moving effortlessly through different musical genres, and infusing each with their own unmistakable brand of verve and style. The colourful, scenic-rich stage show that fans have long expected from Café Tacvba is also very much in evidence on the Niu Güeis tour, thanks in no small part to an immersive, richly coloured lightshow designed by Félix Peralta with help from a collection of Chauvet Professional fixtures. Peralta is using 72 Nexus Aq 5X5 panels, supplied by Meridian Pro Audio, in his design for the tour. Configured in six large vertically-oriented rectangles that run across the upstage deck, the panels provide a stunning backgroun
