UK - Car Park Panto partnered with DTS Lighting for their Horrible Christmas tour that reached more than 40,000 people over 15 venues. Coalition Agency sparked considerable press coverage for their UK Christmas tour on December 2020. At the end of a very difficult year for the entertainment industry, it was thanks to the drive-in format that 40,000 people could attend this experience which played Birmingham, Bristol, Liverpool, Manchester, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Cardiff. The performance, inspired by the children’s book series Horrible Histories by Terry Deary, explores what lies beneath the holiday season through the story of a young boy who wants to save Christmas. DTS enthusiastically accepted the chance to participate as technical sponsor to the event where the vintage style of this format allowed the public to watch the show from the safety of their
USA - PK Sound has announced the appointment of James Oliver as chief strategy officer. Reporting directly to founder and CEO Jeremy Bridge, Oliver is responsible for ‘the development, communication, execution, and sustainment of strategic corporate initiatives’. Oliver has also joined the company’s ownership group. Oliver comes to PK Sound following a seven-year tenure with Adamson Systems Engineering, most recently serving as director of marketing and sales. Throughout that stint, he spearheaded the development of turnkey system offerings and a sglobal distribution network that led to exponential year-over-year growth for the manufacturer. “Joining PK was the easiest transition of my career. The culture of the organisation and technological advancements of the product line are completely in tune with the live events industry of tomorrow,” comments Oliver.
USA - Commercial A/V integrator Verta Technologies was recently tasked with upgrading Southwood Presbyterian Church in Huntsville, Alabama with a PA system for its sanctuary and live audio needs. Christian Tuttle, CTS, managing partner, Verta Technologies and his team turned to EAW to deliver the audio to the sanctuary. The audio upgrade included four Anna 3-way full-range ADAPTive array modules, two MKD1064 2-way full range loudspeakers, two SB825 dual drive subwoofers and one UXA4410 Greybox-enabled amplifier. Southwood Presbyterian Church’s sanctuary was originally designed for spoken word, a choir and a pipe organ with natural reverberation in mind. “The result was a beautiful 50ft vaulted ceiling with an untreated tongue-and-groove wood finish,” says Tuttle. “Over the past 20 years, Southwood’s service has evolved to include a live band, and while the sa
Brazil - One of the biggest Brazilian live DJ shows in 2020 took place in xR, as local DJ and musician Alok attracted 750,000 people to his Alive live stream in December, also clocking seven million views on YouTube. The disguise xR workflow drove the music special with a vx 4 media server and two rx platforms enabling the show to incorporate content from render engines Unreal, Unity and Notch. Alok is one of the most prominent players in the Brazilian electronic music scene. Following the cancellations of all his live shows last year, the aim of the xR live stream was to bring a fresh way of broadcasting the artist’s performance to his large fanbase. Project director Fabio Soares from OkeStudio along with TheForce invited Sao Paulo-based, full-service AV company Maxi to provide the xR workflow for the show, along with disguise workflow specialist Tito Sabatin
UK - One of the UK's longest established safari park attractions, Longleat, recently became home to a temporary spectacular seasonal experience, The Land of Light. The Land of Light was a journey through several different areas and featured a host of bespoke creations. Longleat partnered with production and hire company, Zeal, who helped design and bring to life this experience. Steve Hough, Zeal’s managing director comments: “We partnered with Longleat in May 2020 after they had to postpone their regular Festival of Light. The goal was to create a new unique experience from scratch that took consideration of coronavirus during the installation and the event itself. From there, we developed concepts and went on to design, build and produce an experience focused on stimulating the senses that allowed people to immerse themselves in real li
USA - For the last 20 years, the Cincinnati Bengals have been taking on NFL rivals at Paul Brown Stadium. This 65,515-seat gridiron arena has always placed a premium on the strength and quality of its audio systems. Equally known as the site of performances by artists ranging from Kenny Chesney to Guns N’ Roses, PBS, as locals call it, subscribes to the notion that sound traveling throughout its concourses and seating areas should live up to concert-level expectations at all levels, whether it be on game day or for special events. To that end, a three-phase project to re-energise the stadium’s original, 20 year-old audio blueprint was just completed this autumn, debuting on 4 October before a reduced crowd that watched as the Bengals beat the visiting Jacksonville Jaguars. Designed and implemented by Nashville, Tennessee-based Durrell Sports Audio Management, the new sys
USA - California’s SilverLakes is best known for attracting sports fans and horse-riding enthusiasts with more than two dozen full-sized soccer fields and five equestrian areas. But this past New Year’s Eve, the complex upped its showmanship game by serving as the high-energy host site for a drive-in concert headlined by superstar DJ Kaskade, who rang in 2021 on an L-Acoustics K2 system deployed by San Diego-based Pro Systems AV. Completely selling out its maximum capacity of 700 vehicles, the show opened with sets from J. Worra and Ravell before Kaskade took the stage, wrapping up more than six hours of EDM music in SilverLakes’ concert area known as The BackYard. Presented by Activated Events, Versa, and Nederlander Concerts, the event also live-streamed to an even bigger audience via the online Abracadabra Festival, which prominently featured Kaskade welcomin
When times get tough, artists adapt, relentlessly leveraging leading-edge production technology to explore ever more innovative ways of making an impact with remote live performances. And that’s exactly what drove the deployment of an Adamson Systems Engineering CS-Series loudspeaker rig for Tate McRae’s performance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Directed by Jonah Haber and filmed in Brampton, Ontario, the Alberta-based, global pop sensation’s performance of her massive international hit, You Broke Me First featured all the trappings of a high-end video shoot courtesy of Vancouver-based production house, Boldy, and set design, video and staging by Toronto’s Congo Blue Productions. Typically on video shoots, audio is an afterthought. Not in this case, explains Jeremie Ngandu, who designed the system for the production and credits the Adamson l
USA - Audinate, developer of Dante AV networking technology, has announced the availability of a software development kit (SDK) for manufacturers of Arm-based audio products. This SDK lets manufacturers deploy Dante audio networking as on-chip software in their products, reducing costs and conserving on space while delivering world-class audio performance. The Dante Embedded Platform SDK provides the tools needed to develop Dante-enabled products built upon 32- and 64-bit Arm Cortex-A processors using a Linux operating system, and supports online license activation for OEMs. The SDK allows manufacturers to validate their own designs for performance and capability, ensuring solid reliability for end users. “We’re very pleased to offer the first SDK for Dante as software,” says Nick Mariette, product manager at Audinate. “We’re just beginning to see the changes
USA - When the First Pentecostal Church in North Little Rock, Arkansas (FPCNLR), decided to upgrade its sound system three years ago it became the world’s first adopter of Martin Audio's then new Wavefront Precision Compact and Mini optimised arrays. Fast forward to the present and the church has added a new mid-size chapel on its campus for multipurpose use and brought in a new sound contractor. However, it has kept faith in the British brand that has served the community so well in the main church. This time the PA needed to reinforce events that were “too large for our rotunda space, too small for our sanctuary, and not quite casual enough to be held in our Great Hall,” according to the church’s director of communications, Zachary Ward. With aesthetics a prime consideration, the solution was found in the House of Worship favourite, the discreet O-Line
USA - A new immersive orchestral experience has brought back the spirit of live performance in a socially-distanced environment. With audio amplifier solutions from LEA Professional, residents in South Bend, Indiana, can once again enjoy the sounds of their local city orchestra in a more intimate and experimental setting. The new listening installation, Octet, came about as the South Bend Symphony Orchestra needed to re-think its performances after the pandemic forced a number of cancellations. “It was very important for us to not only give something back to our community - which was starved of live performance for the last few months - but also to invigorate our musicians,” said Halle McGuire, director of development programmes, South Bend Symphony Orchestra. “We knew that everyone was combating a level of Zoom fatigue and we needed to think outside of the box a
UK - Intu Lakeside’s new Leisure Realm, complete with immersive sound, light and multimedia environment, showcased its first seasonal update during the pre-Christmas shopping period. Designed by engineering consultants, Hoare Lea, the Leisure Realm features a multi-channel Meyer Sound audio system driven by the spatial rendering and playback capabilities of TiMax SoundHub across its three distinct external zones. The seasonal update evoked the spirit of Christmas; the bespoke sound design & music composition by Hoare Lea’s creative AV team used a mixture of sound FX, field recordings and re-scored traditional carols, spatially enhanced, panned and timed with TiMax to work with the sound system design & acoustic characteristics of each zone. Hoare Lea’s audiovisual lead, Kevin Luckhurst produced the sound design & content creation for the update over C
Finland - The 2020 series of Finland’s Tanssii tähtien kanssa - a version of the BBC’s popular Strictly Come Dancing TV show - culminated at the end of December following a visual feast driven by Hippotizer Montane+ RTX Media Servers. A host of Finnish household names participated in Series 13 of the show, ranging from politicians to rappers, actors to YouTube stars. Their performances were backed by a mix of live feed and pre-made content, displayed on a huge LED screen backdrop and on smaller screens behind the judging panel. The live shows were seen by an average audience of more than one million, which is a sizeable chunk of Finland’s 5.5 million population. At the visuals helm was Nordic events and experiences company Bright Group, headed up by designer and creative director Eero Helle, video operator Tero Kärpijoki and chief video tech Topi
UK - DiGiCo has launched New Hope, a giveaway that offers some much needed positivity to the pro audio community. The competition is free to enter, with entrants having to pick three 'lucky' numbers and complete a form to be in for a chance to snap up the gifts - a DiGiGrid MGB Madi to SoundGrid Interface; the first of the newly-launched KLANG Kontrollers - Serial Number 1; and a DiGiCo Quantum Range Console. “We wanted to look forwards and give a little hope for the new year, and we couldn’t think of better way to do it than by giving away three products that will be incredibly useful for the future,” says DiGiCo general manager, Austin Freshwater. “It gives all of us at DiGiCo, DiGiGrid and KLANG great pleasure to know that, when the world of live productions returns, we can provide the opportunity for the lucky winners to add an extra touch of magic to the
USA - MXL focussed on the complete Revelation line during Believe in Music Week, including its original Revelation, the Revelation II, which was announced earlier this year, as well as the most recent Revelation Mini FET. Borrowing concepts from the renowned Revelation tube microphone, the REV II offers musicians the clarity and versatility of the classic Revelation but is more accessible to musicians on a budget, says the company. Offering the itube mic sound, the REV II is designed for capturing ‘crystal-clear vocals and instrumentals for a variety of genres’. Although geared towards studio use, the Revelation II is a versatile and flexible solution that is suitable for both home and studio recordings, and its simple set up makes it an appropriate solution for recording while on the road. Adding to the mic’s versatility, the mic’s polar pattern selection is
USA - Harman Professional Solutions reports that JBL Professional and AKG products earned honours at the 36th NAMM Technical Excellence & Creativity (TEC) Awards. The annual TEC Awards honoured best-in-class products in the professional audio community, and were presented at The NAMM Show 2021’s Believe in Music Week. AKG Lyra USB microphone received the 2021 NAMM TEC Award in the category of Microphones, Recording. JBL EON ONE Compact personal PA received the 2021 NAMM TEC Award in sound reinforcement loudspeaker category. AKG K300 Series headphones and JBL DSi 2.0 amplifiers were also winners. “On behalf of the entire Harman team, I would like to say it’s an honour to have been recognised by the industry across these four very important audio categories,” said Karam Kaul, vice president, audio, Harman Professional Solutions. “We would like
Italy - Ever since its release in 2013, Powersoft’s M-Force linear transducer has redefined what was possible in the realm of infra-bass, reaching well below the conventional frequency range. The Italian manufacturer has sought to push its boundaries even further with the introduction of the new and improved M-Force 301P02 and its associated reference designs, which have been created to ensure that everyone from AV professionals to amateur speaker builders will be able to benefit from the company’s powerful technology. “Although the original M-Force has had a great life cycle, we knew that the time was right for our patented infra-bass technology to take another leap forward,” said Powersoft’s sales manager for OEM solutions Giacomo Previ. “This new iteration of the M-Force linear motor transducer comes equipped with high voltage and high current connector
Grammy Award-winning mixer Chris Lord-Alge (Green Day, Muse, Bruce Springsteen) has kept a busy schedule during the COVID-19 lockdown, taking on projects from a wide range of artists. In addition to applying his mixing skills to these recordings, in many cases he has been tracking artists’ vocals himself. “In March 2020, I devised a makeshift vocal booth at my facility that we were able to disinfect after every use,” he explains, “and everything could stay properly distanced to adhere to the health guidelines of the situation. Originally I set this up just as a temporary solution for a project or two. But nine months later, this setup is still in use, right where we assembled it.” Key to the success of this vocal recording setup is the Audio-Technica AT5047 cardioid condenser studio microphone. “The AT5047 is a game-changing microphone in a lot of ways,” C
USA - Calrec’s Artemis Beam audio console is proving to be a success for Sean Prickett, owner of broadcast audio engineering company and rental service Drop Ship Audio in Los Angeles. With 340 channel processing paths and powerful Bluefin2 and Hydra2 technologies, the new Artemis console is being used on a popular reality show in its fourth season, installed in a studio with a major US network. Drop Ship Audio is no stranger to Calrec. The company owns two Brio digital audio consoles, the most powerful and compact console in its class, and previously a Summa console. With regard to its new Artemis Beam, Prickett said, “We’d been looking for a larger, full size fly-pack console to replicate more of the experience you would have in a traditional TV truck. I mixed the previous three seasons of this reality show for a major network on an Apollo and the ability to have the
World - DPA Microphones and Rycote have announced the winners of the Pay-It-Forward Film Contest Giveaway. The brands joined forces to support the film industry during these unprecedented times by offering first-time and indie filmmakers the opportunity to win a customised DPA/Rycote filming kit. The winners of the contest are Jacob Deming of the United States, Lijie Cheng of Singapore and Sergey Martynyuk of Austria. The winners will receive three DPA mics - the 4097 Micro Shotgun, 4017 Shotgun and 6060 CORE Subminiature - along with an array of Rycote accessories. Aspiring and indie filmmakers around the world were encouraged to participate in the DPA/Rycote Pay-it-Forward giveaway campaign, which concluded late last year. The applications were reviewed and judged by representatives from both brands, as well as a group of film experts, comprised of Tim
UK - Over the past 25 years Music Bank has established itself as one of the leading rehearsal and backline hire facilities in Europe. In recent months, Music Bank’s director Jimmy Mac has been busy modifying the studios to create a live streaming space, allocating its DiGiCo SD12 to mix duties to ensure familiarity and total flexibility for visiting engineers. “We knew people would want to use Music Bank as a streaming location for the same reasons they use it for a rehearsal space,” says Charlie Bryson, monitor engineer for Rod Stewart’s band and long-time DiGiCo user who started his career at Music Bank and has returned during the pandemic to look after all things audio for the live streams. “The new studios offer huge, great sounding, well-serviced rehearsal rooms with a plethora of backline and instruments available to hire right across the hallway.” Th
USA - Meyer Sound has announced immediate availability of Leopard-M80 narrow coverage linear line array, a new variant of the Leopard loudspeaker designed for focused coverage and long-throw applications. Leopard D-M80 is identical to the existing Leopard design except that it provides a precisely controlled 80° horizontal pattern instead of the 110° coverage of the original model. “Leopard has been one of the most successful loudspeakers in our company history and is by far the best-selling member of our line arrays,” notes Meyer Sound vice president and chief loudspeaker designer Pablo Espinosa. “With the introduction of Leopard-M80, we will extend this remarkable success by offering system designers more options for tailoring coverages to the exact requirements of the venue.” Because the vertical coverage and rigging hardware are identical to the original
China - When Mikkel Borg Bjergsø started experimenting in his kitchen with his childhood friend Kristian Keller in 2003, the initial thought was to recreate the beer they most enjoyed and save themselves some money in the process. Today Mikkeller exports craft beer to over 50 countries and operates an equal number of bars and restaurants around the globe. The latest venture is Mikkeller Shanghai, the brand’s first bar in China and a step into a new and developing market. Designed by Mikkeller’s own designer, Camilla Monsrud, the bar is a fusion of Chinese architecture with Nordic minimalism, including a Genelec 4000 Series sound system. The accent throughout the bar is on raw, natural materials. Wooden furniture and soft lighting contrast with concrete floors and exposed brickwork. The Genelec 4030 loudspeakers are a match for the quality and aesthetic crit
Italy - As part of a project funded by the European Union, a former military barracks in northern Italy has been transformed into a ‘social activation hub’. BASIS Vinschgau-Venosta aims to facilitate the development of ideas in economy, culture, education, social development and is designed to bring people of all ages, backgrounds and experience together. The multi-use space features a comprehensive yet versatile Alcons Audio pro-ribbon audio system. The former Druso army barracks was opened in 1937, closing in the late 1990s. In the summer of 2020, the completion of a long-term project saw the building given a new life as BASIS Vinschgau-Venosta. It’s the brainchild of Hannes Götsch and is designed to host a wide range of events, including theatre, live music, movies and club nights. Hannes knew Wolfgang Sauter, founder and owner of the Austrian audio specialis
