UK - Lighting and visuals rental specialist Colour Sound Experiment supplied lighting and LED screens for the recent tour by UK rockers You Me At Six, which promoted their latest album VI. The tour also celebrated 10 years since their first album Take Off Your Colours catapulted them to the top of the charts. Haydn Cruickshank (H) and the team at Colour Sound worked with Jamie Thompson from MIRRAD who co-designed set, lighting and video together with Dave Cohen, with Cohen directing lighting and visuals on the road. Thompson explains that the design brief was to create “something big, epic, memorable . . . and cost effective”. Additionally, the band wanted to play two completely different sets - one comprising music from the first album, and the second featuring songs from the latest one and the other four in between. So, the idea was that the show wo
The Netherlands - Marking its 10th year as a major LED exhibitor at ISE, Absen will celebrate its 10th straight year as ta leading Chinese export brand for LED displays. In Amsterdam, ISE attendees will experience Absen’s largest ever stand, covering an impressive 264sqm. This year, Absen will focus on the Fine Pixel Generation - the company’s new line of narrow pixel pitch displays. During ISE, Absen will launch a number of indoor and outdoor LED solutions that are sure to satisfy all manners of fixed installation, rental & staging, control room and corporate applications. The company will also showcase its latest LED solutions for retail, live events and entertainment, as well as OOH and sports venues. This inventory will include the successful Polaris and N-Plus ranges; ensuring that the company’s regional partners and global BUs are up-to-date on Absen
UK - Sister companies Shooting Partners and Anna Valley have merged under the Anna Valley brand, which has been redesigned to represent a broader service offering and modern style. A new, responsive website has also been created to support the new brand. The two companies were subsidiaries of the Shooting Partners Group, which launched in 1989 as a camera-hire business and expanded to include AV technology, with the acquisition of Anna Valley in 2000. This announcement comes three years after the Shooting Partners Group underwent a management buyout and follows considerable business growth in existing and new markets. As well as establishing a new AV integration business unit and significantly increasing their rental business year-on-year, in 2017 the group also purchased live event specialists, Matrix UK Solutions which remains unaffected by this re-brand. The decis
USA - Panduit Corp has acquired global AV manufacturer Atlona. As part of the acquisition, the Atlona team will join Panduit’s Enterprise business group. Atlona will continue to serve its customers from its global headquarters in San Jose, California for all sales, customer support, and training related inquiries. “Atlona has been at the forefront in developing cutting-edge AV technology that embraces the full potential of the convergence of AV and network infrastructure,” explains Dennis Renaud, president and CEO of Panduit. “Their industry-leading solutions complement Panduit’s extensive physical infrastructure portfolio, which will allow us to offer customers a quality end-to-end solution as they move to increasingly complex network infrastructure systems.” Ilya Khayn, Atlona CEO adds, “There are strong synergies between our companies including
UK - Billed as the glorious finale to the Flat Season, QIPCO British Champions Day brings together leading jockeys, horses, trainers and owners from Europe and beyond for one of the most prestigious fixtures in the UK sporting calendar. As a grand finale to the proceedings, the 2018 event closed with a suitably grand after party for over 5000 guests. The event was staged within a giant Igloo domed roof structure provided by Fews Marquees which was built on the lawn directly adjacent to the main grandstand at Ascot Racecourse. The party featured performances from House of Angels, Ella Eyre and culminated in an epic DJ set from Jax Jones. Working on behalf of clients Generate Events, Light Fantastic provided full technical support to the show, including lighting, audio, video, staging and rigging along with design and fabrication of a host of bespoke scenic elements.
Ireland - Thousands of people witnessed Dublin’s New Year Festival with a light show that illuminated the landmark Custom House and River Liffey. Lighting designer Matthew Kilmurry, of Kilmurry Design, controlled the spectacular effects using two Avolites Tiger Touch II consoles. More than 40,000 people enjoyed the New Year’s celebrations in Dublin, with millions watching live TV coverage of the ‘Midnight Moment’. This was billed as a ‘dazzling lighting spectacle’ featuring a ‘thrilling choreography of lasers and aqua beams’. “My brief for the event was to light up the sky and surrounding areas of Custom House Quay in Dublin city centre. The lighting needed to be dynamic, original and totally in-sync with the six-minute music piece that played at midnight,” says Kilmurry. “I pre-programmed to timecode, using Capture and a Tiger Touch II at home
UAE - Protec was called upon by Envie Events to provide full AV support for Bao: The Final Frontier EDM festival at Meydan Racecourse, Dubai. Bao attracted large crowds to the theatrical display and line-up of world class DJs. Artistes included the top 2 DJs of the DJ Mag top 100 Martin Garrix, and Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike as well as heavyweights Afrojack, Don Diablo, Nervo, R3hab and more. Mel Deighton, Protec’s project manager, worked closely with other suppliers to make sure the show was delivered beyond expectation and on time. Faced with considerable challenges along the way, he credits his team on delivering under pressure. “Due to the complexity of the production we were on-site 11 days for set-up, two days for the show and we were fully loaded out two days later. It was a challenging build which required cooperation with the staging company. Ou
USA - ARRI Rental has announced two additions to the team at its Atlanta facility. Peter Fodero, who has joined as operations manager, will oversee day-to-day management of the rental operation, while new client contact Kyle Baggett will focus on excellence in customer service. Fodero began his career as a production freelancer before joining another equipment rental house in 2011 where he held many roles, most recently as general manager. “I’m delighted to welcome Peter and Kyle to the team,” says Peter Crithary, President ARRI Rental US Camera. “Their extensive knowledge and close connections within the creative community are a tremendous asset.” Regional marketing executive Kelli Bingham will continue to focus on managing the company’s relationships with production and crew in Atlanta, as well as seeking new business opportunities. Working alongs
USA - California based pro-AV technology distributor Allied ProTech has appointed Jeff Miranda to the role of sales manager. Miranda brings near 15 years of experience in the professional audio industry having previously run his own integration company, and having worked in positions at TOA Electronics, Adobe systems, and most recently at Pacific AV as vice president of sales. Previous roles have included product management, applications engineering, system design, system sales, Miranda also has nearly two decades of experience as a live sound engineer mixing at many worship and entertainment venues. “Jeff’s broad experience, not just in professional AV sales, but also as an integrator, design engineer and mixing engineer, makes him the perfect choice to join us in this new role,” explains Rik Kirby, founder of Allied ProTech. “Over the last two years our busin
The Netherlands - Highlite International BV will be present during Integrated Systems Europe 2019, hall 7, stand Y190. At the Highlite stand various installation solutions from DAP Audio, visuals from DMT Premiere LED screens, effect lighting from Showtec and Infinity with the Furion and Signature series will be showcased. DAP Audio supplies an array of installation mixers equipped for zone control with multiple inputs. Amplifiers, like the analogue HP-series, the digital QI-Series or the 100V PA- or ZA-series offer possibilities for multi-roomed venues. In combination with the Celestion-powered new XI-MKII installation speaker series are ideal for fixed installations. Infinity will show the Furion Series, very fast and powerful LED-based moving heads, equipped with Wireless DMX. The Infinity washlight iW-720, the pixel controlled washlight iW-1915 Pixel RGBW Wash and
The Netherlands - At this year's ISE show in Amsterdam, Kramer Electronics will its software-centric ecosystem, management solutions, intuitive meeting space automation, elevated audio and connectivity solutions, and more. Kramer Platforms consist of hardware devices that are software-driven so one box serves multiple functions. It’s an innovative new way to lead AV designs with software and maximizing return on investment and customization options. With Kramer Platforms, AV professionals can combine best-in-class solutions, such as Kramer’s VIA collaboration system with a Kramer Control brain. On display at ISE will be next-generation Kramer Control, a code-free, cloud-based control platform. Kramer Network 3.0, an enterprise management platform enables IT/AV professionals to easily configure and manage their entire Kramer product range, Dante devices and
UK - At the recent double premiere of the 2018 post-apocalyptic adventure films Mortal Engines and Aquaman in London’s Leicester Square, the red carpet was suitably soaked in a fittingly post-apocalyptic two-day torrential rainstorm. Fortunately, for movie fans who had turned up in droves to take selfies with stars like Hugo Weaving, Hera Hilmar and Robert Sheehan, the atmosphere on both nights was not dampened in the slightest, thanks in part to a large multimedia installation showing film snippets, custom created content and live action. IPS created the crowd-pleasing video screens with 106 PVP X6IP LED panels from Chauvet Professional. “The most complicated aspect of this particular project was that there were two different premieres on consecutive days,” explains Ian Brown, project coordinator at IPS. “Understandably, the designer and IPS
UK - Stage Electrics has announced it has won a £2m contract for the supply and installation of specialist production lighting and audio-visual infrastructure for Riverside Studios, Hammersmith. The broadcast, arts and entertainment venue closed in 2014 for demolition and redevelopment and is scheduled to fully reopen its doors again in 2019. The new 90,000 sq. ft. Riverside Studios will comprise three studios, small, medium and large, as well as public and community spaces including a two-screen cinema, rehearsal space and a number of restaurants and bars. The design of the medium studio is particularly flexible allowing for the easy alternation between theatre, music, events and television. During the consultancy phase of the project, Stage Electrics advised on the supporting infrastructure to allow it to function as a multipurpose space. The smaller studio is int
UK - The future of DJ exhibition BPM has been secured with the launch of a new limited company, BPM Shows Ltd. The show, previously organised by Marked Events as BPM | PRO, was initially cancelled following Marked Events' liquidation in the summer of 2018. But a joint effort led by some of the affected companies who worked closely with Pete Williams of Mobile DJ Network (MDJN) ensured BPM 2018 took place last October in a less costly, more business-friendly environment at Cranmore Park, Solihull. BPM Shows Ltd is led by show directors Steven Boys, an experienced mobile DJ/sound and lighting engineer with a background in weddings and events organising, and Jack Wilson (Kent Media Group). They will be supported by a team of well-known industry figures including Mark Parkhouse (FBT Audio) and Kris Dawber. Wilson comments: “We are very proud to officially a
The Netherlands - Modulo Pi has announced a new version of Modulo Kinetic, the media server designed for the most challenging projects. The all-in-one toolbox takes real-time simulation, interactivity, and tracking to the next level with a new upgrade that will be introduced at ISE 2019 in booth K135, Hall 14. Modulo Kinetic is a fully integrated real-time media server solution that can be used across the complete workflow including show study, simulation, encoding, playback and show control. Modulo Kinetic features a user-friendly 2D compositing tool with non-linear timelines, a low-latency live mixer, and a powerful 3D engine and show controller, all brought into one consistent environment. It handles the most advanced formats including Apple ProRes, HAP up to 8K+, and uncompressed still sequence TGA or 10-bit DPX. Through Modulo Kinetic’s intuitive and collaborat
The Netherlands - LED video processor manufacturer Brompton Technology will return ISE on stand 12-C105. The company will showcase its new Tessera processor software 2.2.0 for the 4K SX40 processor, to deliver an enhanced feature set that follows the easy-to-use style of its intuitive user interface. The SX40 is Brompton Technology’s highest-ever capacity processor and offers support for full 4K screens at 60Hz with 12 bits per colour output, a zero-latency up/down scaler that matches the source to the screen, plus all of Tessera’s industry-leading processing features such as ChromaTune colour correction, On Screen Colour Adjustment (OSCA), and more. Used in combination with the Tessera XD distribution unit, which is a sophisticated single box solution designed to manage the complications of mass cabling that can arise with large LED display systems, the SX4
The Netherlands - Green Hippo, the manufacturer of multi award-winning Hippotizer media servers, is set for an all-embracing ISE 2019. The company will operate its own stand (Hall 5, stand W100) where visitors will receive a comprehensive introduction and demonstration of the latest software and hardware development. Attendees can also understand more about Green Hippo’s 3D mapping workflow, demonstrated at numerous global events and projects such as Eurovision Song Contest 2018 and Energy City at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. Green Hippo will also be on show on the stand of its sister company, tvONE (Hall 1, stand M140). Paired together, Hippotizer Media Servers and CORIOmaster offer a unique control solution, delivering high-resolution, media manipulation with super-low latency, live capture compositing for a wider range of corporate markets and installations. <
India - Genelec is set to greatly expand its presence within the flourishing AV and home audio markets of Asia and the Middle East, following the high-profile appointment of Arun Kumar to the post of regional business manager. A respected audio industry veteran whose depth of experience stretches back more than 20 years, Kumar has already played a key role in the development of markets in the region. He is perhaps best known for the many years he spent successfully establishing and driving one of the subcontinent’s leading systems integration companies, eventually growing his team to more than 70 people. Later, he assumed responsibility for sales, marketing and operations for the Bose brand across the entire SAARC region. Reporting directly to sales director Ole Jensen, he will be based in Delhi, while his work will complement that of long-standing sales & suppo
The new Christie APS Series of 3LCD laser projectors, now shipping, deliver up to 6,500 ISO lumens, which is among the brightest in the industry for this class of projector. The Christie LWU650-APS and Christie LWU530-APS have a five-year or 10,000 Hour warranty (whichever occurs first) and 3,000,000:1 contrast ratio, creating an unmatched combination of contrast ratio, brightness, warranty, durability and affordability. The Christie APS Series are designed for classrooms, boardrooms, and other small-space environments. Combining the affordability of 3LCD technology with the reliability, performance and operational life of laser illumination, the omnidirectional APS Series offers customers tremendous value without sacrificing quality. Featuring an efficient laser illumination system and patented optical light path design that uses only one motor, the APS Series provides up
UK - Stage Electrics has been appointed to supply film and TV studio lighting hoists, production lighting, sound, video and comms infrastructure and motorised grid systems to Leeds Beckett’s new Creative Arts building. The scope of the contract covers five film & TV studios, three performing arts studios, music studios and mixing & screening rooms, a 180-seat theatre, an 80-seat studio theatre and a 230-seat cinema for film screenings. The building, currently under construction and due to complete in 2020, will house the university’s School of Film and Music & Performing Arts department. Engaged by SES Engineering Services, on behalf of the main contractor, Downing Construction, Stage Electrics is set to begin on site in June of 2019, with the company’s Matthew Addison assigned as project manager for the development. He comments: “The term ‘
USA - Located on the campus of the University of North Carolina, the Carolina Basketball Museum originally opened in 2008 and chronicles the history of the UNC basketball programme. Highlighting Carolina’s numerous NCAA and ACC Championships, along with the players, coaches and staff members that made it all possible, the interactive museum recently underwent a renovation on the heels of its 7th National Championship. Working with the experiential brand specialists at Advent, the museum wanted to update their main video display as part of the branding refresh, and they did so using a 2.8mm FLEXTour LED video solution from PixelFLEX. “We had previously worked with the University of North Carolina on an update for the Smith Centre locker room that went really well, so they asked us to come back and take a look at the Carolina Basketball Museum,” began Davy Fisher,
USA - Atlona has promoted industry veteran Blake Jochum to the role of territory manager for Florida effective immediately, following a very successful period as an inside sales representative. Jochum will represent Atlona’s commercial and residential AV product lines, and support David Pendleton, Southeast regional manager, to cover the many business opportunities that exist state-wide. Jochum will also work closely with Atlona’s state-wide partner network to drive sales and business development. He reports to Scott Ettinger, director of sales, Eastern region. Jochum has spent the majority of his career in Florida, and has developed a strong network of industry relationships along the way. Following six years as an AV programmer and lighting technician for Pensacola-area nightclubs, Jochum joined All Pro Sound as corporate sales manager, integrated systems.
The Netherlands - ROE Visual is gearing up for ISE 2019 with a new selection of products and integration options aimed at the rental and system integration markets they serve. ROE Visual is located in Hall 12, stand F50. This year’s stand design will feature a massive Sapphire SP1.5 screen, a Diamond 2.6 video wall and the Black Marble LED system in various applications. Next to these high-end products the ROE Visual stand design incorporates the ROE Strip and the newly released Vanish V8 LED panel. The versatile Black Marble system has evolved from a fast-building LED floor to a full-fledged system that provides stylish and unique integration solutions, to create floors, multi-level platforms and walls suited for architectural, broadcast or event applications. The system has four different finishes for a classy or fashionable look. The Sapphire platform is bil
Europe/Asia - Two teams will take part in the 2019 Mongol Rally to raise money for technical entertainment charity Backup. The rally, which takes place in July and spans 10,000 miles from the Czech Republic to Ulan Ude in Russia, requires participants to ride a very small vehicle, with no support or set route to the finish line, which must be crossed in four to eight weeks. Team Backup, comprising Salvador Avila, Ethan Forde and Duncan McLean, are aiming to raise £50,000 for the charity, with team The Nomadic Numpties of ‘Turbo’ Anthony Hall and ‘Henri’ Abby Cooper targeting
