Italy - Milan-based production service Moviechrome has recently introduced its Moviechrome Pixel Reality Studio LED Volume, a cornerstone in virtual production and the first studio in Europe that features Absen PR technology with a 2.5 pixel pitch resolution. Powered by Brompton Technology LED processing, it is suited for a wide array of productions, from high-budget blockbusters to indie films, automotive inserts, packshots and consumption shots.
“The idea for the Moviechrome Pixel Reality Studio LED Volume stemmed from a desire to revolutionise the film and production industry with cutting-edge technology combined with our SFX team and Bolt robot motion control,” says Edoardo Mari, CEO at Moviechrome (Milano). “The initial concept was not solely client-requested but emerged from our foresight into the evolving needs of the industry. We recognised the increasing demand for more efficient, flexible, and creative filming environments, especially in the wake of challenges posed by global events such as the pandemic.”
The LED Volume spans an impressive 13.5m in width, 4.5m in height, and features a total resolution of 5400x1800. The motorised LED Volume ceiling is 5m in width, 3m in height, and includes resolution of 2000x1200. The entire set-up is driven by four 4k Tessera SX40 LED processors and eight Tessera 10G data distribution units.
The decision to invest in Absen PR technology and Brompton Technology LED processing was the result of meticulous research and industry analysis. “We aimed to integrate the best-in-class LED volume solution
Sweden - Established in 1941, Stockholm-based Berghs School of Communication offers an advanced curriculum that covers everything from brand strategy to content design, illustration, marketing and art direction. When the school made the move to the newly developed Gasverket – a former gas plant in Stockholm that is now home to a growing community of cultural, educational, and social enterprises – it required a reliable and flexible audio solution. Working alongside Stockholm-based integrators Scan AV, Berghs chose a Genelec Smart IP loudspeaker system for its new venture.
“We moved to a new building and needed high-quality audio in the open areas,” begins Bosse Hjerpe, facility manager at Berghs. “We turned to Scan AV for a solution that was flexible and – due to cost reasons – networked. The building was empty and needed to be equipped with everything, so a networked solution was much cheaper.”
Dragan Nedeljkovic, audio integrator at Scan AV, adds: “I’ve known Genelec for a while and my experience of working with Smart IP has been excellent, so I wanted to continue to implement this technology. I know all the advantages of a networked solution, so I asked Berghs to install the initial infrastructure with lots of network outlets, which gave us the flexibility to design the system however we liked.”
Berghs’ new home in the Gasverket is in a central part of the newly developed Norra Djurgårdsstaden district, a former industrial part of Stockholm that is currently undergoing intensive modernization. Aiming to be complete by 202
USA - When lighting designer Mitch Mueller wanted a profile fixture for key and front lighting for country singer Lainey Wilson’s debut performance at the outdoor Red Rocks Amphitheatre, he chose VL3600 Profile IP luminaires from Vari-Lite.
The Red Rocks Amphitheatre is an open-air performance space built into rustic natural surroundings in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. Mueller’s design included 32 Vari-Lite VL3600 Profile IPs, whose high output and premium features made it ideal for the design of the outdoor performance.
“When I was programming the show, I was looking to do a lot of spot breakup looks with gobos layered with big pan and tilt effects, and the VL3600 played the role perfectly,” explains Mueller. “Not only are they relatively quick for their size, they also have a multitude of different ways to add that texture I look for.
“The most surprising part of the light for me was the throw and zoom of the light,” Mueller adds. “For the Red Rocks show, I had them as my key light and front light fixtures (as well as my spot profile in the overhead rig) to illuminate the band and help provide a general stage wash. They did a great job with overall coverage while also being able to frame in the band cleanly when they needed a little boost.”
“The VL3600s have been a workhorse for PTP since we acquired them this past summer,” adds Andrew Sparks, co-owner of PTP Live. “They have been super popular as both sub-rentals on some rather massive international projects as well as our own shows. We were stoked to have them
UK - The National Theatre has extended its long relationship with GLP fixtures by becoming the first theatre in the world to take delivery of the manufacturer’s new impression X5 Bar 1000. This has been added to the rig in the Olivier Theatre in time for the staging of The Witches – a musical version of the timeless Roald Dahl tale – which runs until 27 January 2024.
The X5 Bar 1000 is a linear LED batten with 18 powerful 40W RGBL LEDs, a wide zoom range and the new GLP iQ.Gamut colour calibration algorithm, which creates ‘perfect white spectrums with excellent colour rendering’.
The new squared lens design ensures maximum lumen efficiency and gives an unprecedented curtain of light at its narrowest angle of just 3.5°, while delivering smooth and homogenous washes all the way out to its widest 60° wash.
These were among the features that caught the eye of Paul Hornsby, lighting resources manager at the National Theatre, which had also been the first theatre in the world to order GLP’s JDC1 hybrid strobe when it was launched.
He had first witnessed the IP versions of the impression X5 IP Bar 1000 at the 2023 Prolight + Sound Show in Frankfurt before the non-IP version was released several months later. A demonstration was set up at the National Theatre, with evaluating team impressed by the superior brightness and colour calibration when compared with their existing impression X4 Bar 20s.
The order for 36 units was consequently placed with reseller White Light. Of the acquisition, Paul Hornsby states: “We’ve had a
USA - UK manufacturer Prism Sound will be attending NAMM 2024 with a range of audio conversion products to suit the demands of professional users in music, broadcast, film and live sound.
On booth 16016 at NAMM, Prism Sound will be showing its recently launched Dream ADA-128 modular audio conversion system, along with its award-winning range of interfaces such as the Titan, Atlas and Lyra. In addition, it will highlight the recent – and significant - price reductions across these products, which means that there has never been a better time to invest in Prism Sound technology.
“These savings are substantial, and we have only been able to make them by looking carefully at our own costs to see where we could streamline our operation and improve efficiency,” says Prism Sound’s sales director Mark Evans. “What we haven’t done, however, is reduce the quality of our products – Prism Sound audio converters and interfaces are, and always will be, the best money can buy. Quality is our hallmark, and we certainly won’t compromise on that.”
The star of Prism Sound’s NAMM display is its flagship Dream ADA-128, which is named for its remarkable ability to provide up to 128 channels of premium Prism Sound 32-bit A/D and D/A conversion in a single 2U rack. Dream ADA-128 brings exceptional levels of flexibility, functionality, and cost effectiveness to the professional audio market without any compromise in sound quality, says the company.
Dream ADA-128 is aimed at audio professionals across many different disciplines, including music re
UK - Grammy Award-winning global super star, Burna Boy, brought his Love, Damini stadium tour to the 80,000 capacity London Stadium last summer in front of his largest solo audience to date, simultaneously becoming the first ever African artist to headline a UK stadium.
The tour celebrated his sixth album Love, Damini, with his electrifying performances, and dramatic production and lighting designs from Anthony Hazelden of Live Lighting.
Hazelden chose a quantity of Ayrton Huracán LT, Eurus Profile and Domino LT fixtures as the mainstay of his London Stadium rig, which were supplied by London-based Colour Sound Experiment. Ayrton is distributed exclusively in the UK by Ambersphere Solutions.
“We went with all-Ayrton gear because their products are all LED-sourced,” he explains. “Another major reason for our choice was our need for high power output, but also some IP-rating - and the Domino LT meets all of those needs. Most of the shows I design now are heading towards IP fixtures. Crucially this allows us to place units around the stage or the stadium which is something we just couldn’t do before.”
Hazelden rigged 40 Huracan LT as the main flown spot fixture on stage, with 30 Eurus Profiles at centre stage lining the risers, all within the protection of the stage roof. 32 of the IP-rated Domino LT fixtures were rigged on the FOH delay towers, catwalk and B stage, and in the stage right and left wings - all in areas that have no weather protection as the units’ IP-rating afforded all the protection that was needed.
USA - Lone Star Lights is a family-friendly Christmas light experience hosted at Carolina Creek, the Christian camp located an hour north of Houston, TX. ADJ was selected by Carolina Creek as the exclusive supplier of entertainment lighting for the event, with equipment supplied via Alabama-based Team Wilson Media. Its various areas, exhibits and attractions are illuminated by a variety of ADJ IP65-rated fixtures, including Hydro Series moving heads, HEX Series static washes and battery-powered Mirage Q6 uplighters.
Established in 2002, Carolina Creek offers overnight summer youth camps as well as year-round retreat facilities for churches, youth organizations and civic organisations, as well as corporate team building events. Hosting thousands of young people in the summer and busy most of the rest of the year, the holiday season has historically been a quiet time for the camp. Therefore, Lone Star lights was brought to life to utilise the site during the downtown and simultaneously rise funds for the organisation which awards hundreds of scholarships each year to campers from urban/inner city communities.
Running for its second season in 2023, Lone Star Lights took place select nights each week from the last Friday in November through Friday 22 December. The huge walkthrough experience featured over a million Christmas lights spread across 17 acres and arranged into a series of thematic zones. From classic Christmas scenes to Texas-inspired designs, the Insta-worthy light displays sat alongside a series of interactive experiences. These included wrangl
Australia - Broadcast and streaming rental specialist Gameday Hire has expanded its Green-GO setup by investing in a BridgeX quad network bridge interface, enhancing its remote production capabilities.
The Sydney-based company, headed up by Australian broadcast industry veteran Andy Liell, has heavily invested in Green-GO products over the last year with support from Rod McKinnon at Event Communications Australia.
Gameday Hire’s team travels across Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific, often delivering outside broadcast technology in remote locations that require rock solid communications. Incorporating the BridgeX into their existing, extensive Green-GO comms system means that the company can massively improve comms for their remote production solutions.
One such project Gameday Hire provides ongoing solutions for is an Australian sporting code. With three control rooms and multiple LiveU-based field production kits around the country, the Gameday Hire facility covers up to 8 x 3 camera matches per week, which are broadcast live on a major streaming platform. The facility was built around Green-GO comms using Dante interfaces for local commentary and 4 Wire interface carried over LiveU for the remote camera comms.
The BridgeX solution is essentially 'plug and play' once configured. Standard Green-GO devices are switched into an ‘online’ mode and establish a connection over public internet back to the BridgeX. Latency varies between 400-800ms from studio to remote, which the team says is very manageable for this application.
New Zealand - A once-in-a-lifetime experience for 10,000 Chinese visitors was boosted by a top line PA system that has never been used in the ANZPAC region before.
The massive delegation was flown to New Zealand in 12 waves over two months from 9 October to 5 December for the 2023 Amway China Leadership Seminar, produced by Encore Event Technologies APAC.
The Amway Diamond top performers were treated to an extensive programme of events and excursions that rewarded exceptional performance and elevated brand allegiance whilst enjoying the incredible sights and adventures New Zealand has to offer.
The event highlight was a stunning final gala night dinner which was staged 15 times throughout the period to visitor groups of approximately 600 per event. Held at the Viaduct Events Centre in Auckland and Queenstown Ice Arena the galas, which took a year to plan, treated guests to a spectacular night full of technological wizardry and heart pumping entertainment.
Using the L-Acoustics L2D Loudspeakers as a key component, Encore is the only company is the APAC region to have used the new speakers outside of the global pilot programme.
“These aren’t your everyday speakers, they’re arguably one of the finest on the market,” said Encore’s director of innovation and technology, Daniel Lourenco. “We flew the speakers in from France, which was no easy feat, however it was worth it to produce something incredible. These speakers reduce the amount of set up time and give greater horizontal dispersion at the front of the stage resulting in a s
UK - Those stuck in busy Christmas Eve M25 traffic as they drove home for Christmas were treated to the sight of Father Christmas as he began his delivery duties led by his faithful reindeer.
Celestial created a festive drone animation of Father Christmas flying over the M25 to spread Christmas Eve magic. Through technology, Celestial digitally displayed Santa and his sleigh using drones to delight and ignite imaginations.
Tony Martin, CEO at Celestial, comments, "At Celestial, we believe in creating experiences that defy expectations and leave a lasting impact. Our Christmas Eve drone animation is a testament to the endless possibilities that technology and creativity can unlock, with a touch of Christmas magic for families to enjoy."
UK - The Soho Kids Xmas Lights 2023 is now in its third annual edition. The project showcases the designs of pupils from the Soho Parish Primary School.
Soho Parish Primary School pupils, under the direction of Antonio Capelao, architect and founder of award-winning Architecture for Kids, a community interest company, coproduced 14 new street lighting panels this year to add to the 35 designed in the two previous years. Creating a total of 49 (and two commissions) luminescent installations that are lighting up the streets of Soho until 7 January.
The designs by the pupils were judged by a committee, formed of industry experts, including Ayça Donaghy, CEO, and Bob Bohannon, head of policy and sustainability, from The LIA. The judges along with Hannah Peaty, assistant head, Soho Parish Primary School and Antonio Capelao, founder and co-producer of Soho Kids Xmas Lights, selected 14 of the 130 pupils' designs, to be manufactured into street lighting panels. Some of which, received an award from the RIBA and The LIA for their outstanding design works.
Antonio assisted by Hannah and Joshua Brooks, RIBA interim learning manager, delivered a series of design workshops to the children to initiate their journey as lighting designers. Their journey included a visit to the Andy Warhol: Textiles exhibition at the Fashion + Textile Museum, as well as partaking in research of their local buildings, cultures, communities and traditions. The LIA also contributed a short video showcasing the 'value of light' to the children for inspiration in their designs.
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USA - Fans flocked to cities across North America and Europe for a chance to see Beyoncé live during the Renaissance Tour: a 56-stop run to support her latest album.
Renaissance tour monitor engineer James Berry turned to DPA Microphones for a number of versatile solutions that would hold up rain or shine, including the new 2017 Shotgun Microphone.
“We did some beta testing with the 2017 and it ended up being a great crowd mic,” Berry explains. “The clarity and range of it was so full; we were able to cover more area with no distortion through the PA. I didn’t get any of that high-end distortion you hear with other shotguns. You can really ride it without getting any of that crunchiness you usually experience when the audience gets loud. I also didn’t have to high pass this shotgun as much as I do with others, which is rare.”
The 2017s were especially helpful for the live show recordings done at the Houston, Texas stops for the film. “We flew 12 2017s from the ceilings of the catwalk to capture the upper levels of the stadium,” Berry explains. “The small size of the microphones really helped to hide it within the camera platforms and front of house decks.”
Berry also deployed the 4017 Shotgun and 5100 Surround Sound mics for the crowd, as well as the 4099 Instrument, 4011 Cardioid Condenser and 4055 Kick Drum Microphones throughout the band. The team hung 4017 Shotguns on the ceilings and placed them in other areas around the floor. To capture the crowd’s full authentic energy while recording, Berry and the team had to
France - Director of photography Jean-Louis Rousseaux has been responsible for lighting the sets of television network France 24 since 2008 and knows what type of high-quality light is needed to create the desired look and ensure a visually engaging viewing experience. Last summer, he and his team lit two France 24 TV news sets using Elation broadcast lighting supplied by Elation distributor Best Audio and Lighting.
As on most sets today used to produce broadcast news magazines, France 24 installed LED screens around the entire periphery of the sets. The space was also equipped with soffits and spandrels made of RGBW LED strips and treated with a night and day material which has the particularity of allowing saturated colours to be obtained.
“The surface area used on the sets being small (50sq.m), I was worried about the impact of this entire LED installation on the colorimetric reproduction of the presenters in front of the cameras,” Jean-Louis Rousseaux commented. “I chose Paladin Cubes to allow me to compensate in colour for the dominance provided by the screens and LED strips. It’s a process that I have already implemented on the set of C’est dans l’Air and which has been working on a daily basis for three years.”
The Paladin Cube is a compact RGBW floodlight with 3 x 1 cell control. Output for such a compact unit is surprising at 3,200 lumens and operation is completely noiseless. “The possibility of controlling their diffusion angle and the fact that they are compact allowed me to place them on the entire periphery,” R
Germany - The Kinderlachen Gala in Dortmund was illuminated by Prolights products, an annual event celebrating individuals distinguished for their humanity, altruism, and civic engagement throughout the year.
René Geißel, responsible for the technical implementation of the event's lighting, selected the LED moving heads from Prolights' Astra series, including the Astra Profile400, Astra Wash19Pix, and AstraHybrid330 models.
"My requirement was clear: I needed a spotlight for the light show and another for white light," René Geißel explained. "The Prolights Astra Profile400 were excellent for white light, maintaining colour stability even at reduced intensity levels and with various zoom settings." For this year's light show, Geißel first used the new Astra Hybrid330, which proved to be versatile and functional across different lighting setup configurations.
Following the success of the Prolights Astra Wash19Pix positioned at the front edge of the stage last year, Geißel again included this LED washlight, equipped with a separately controllable pixel ring, in his setup as an eye-catching visual element for video recordings. "The Astra Wash19Pix captures attention and perfectly completes the scenic appearance of the stage."
UK - Take one artiste, one hyper-cardioid wireless mic and 35 years of comedy history and you have Eddie Izzard’s Remix Tour Live. Take an unimaginably disparate collection of venues and halls, ranging from 2,200-cap down to 840 - some with tiered balconies, and some with no flying facilities - add in weird sound effects ranging from dinosaurs to Darth Vader (and a whisper to a scream) and you potentially have a mighty headache for the production team.
Eddie has toured with Martin Audio’s scalable, compact and versatile WPS line array previously, and her production crew are well aware of the system’s adaptability. In fact, Solotech senior account manager, Robin Conway, discloses that “the last Eddie Izzard tour [Wunderbar, in 2019] was part of the reason I bought WPS in the first place. This time around production and I wanted to try and provide the same level of consistency while retaining a single truck.” Hence the inventory was stripped back to a bare minimum.
The sound design was expertly reworked from venue to venue by the experienced FOH team of sound engineer, Scott (Scoobie) Scherban and system tech, Rayne Ramsden - working alongside production manager, Stephen Reeve. They knew to expect the unexpected, and as Rayne put it, “each venue has been a beast of its own.”
Production carried just 24 WPS to enable 12-a-side elements to be flown at the largest venue, Birmingham Symphony Hall (2,200-cap), as well as four SX218, half a dozen DD6 (generally as lip-fills) and a pair of XD12 for various balcony delays or side-fi
USA - Virtual event production company, The Famous Group, are well-known for creating memorable virtual fan experiences. Harnessing the power of Stage Precision’s SP software, The Famous Group has stepped into a new era of virtual event control, thanks to SP’s camera calibration tools, which they recently deployed on projects at the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.
“We’ve been working with the Carolina Panthers and Charlotte FC at the Bank of America stadium since 2022,” recalls Erik Beaumont, head of mixed reality at The Famous Group. “Unlike other projects, our work with these teams is ongoing, with mixed reality being used permanently. The mixed reality Panther has become an important part of games for the Carolina Panthers, and the need to recalibrate the system before every match was becoming a challenge in terms of resources and peoplepower.”
Before switching to SP, The Famous Group were using stYpe camera tracking, fed directly into Pixotope calibration software to manage the mixed reality elements of the productions for both teams. “This was very hands-on, and a task that needed to be repeated every game,” continues Beaumont. “We had trained the stadium’s in-house team to do this, but our team still needed to return for frequent readjustments as things happen and cameras get moved. This was not ideal - we needed a long-term solution.”
Using SP’s calibration tools, The Famous Group were able to set up an alignment system that the average user can calibrate. “We have used the calibration tools i
South Africa - JP Ridgard is an avid user of Obsidian Control Systems’ Onyx lighting control platform and in 2023 turned to the growing brand’s NX4 lighting console for the Lowveld Gin Fest in Mbombela.
“The NX4 proved to be a game changer for me during this event,” reflected JP, who procured the console from Obsidian’s local distributor in South Africa, Electrosonic. “Its built-in touch screen and ample work surface made it the perfect tool for both programming and playback.”
The 2023 Lowveld Gin Fest took place 9-10 September at the Lowveld Botanical Gardens and featured a strong line-up of artists. JP, a freelance lighting engineer, orchestrated an array of dynamic lighting looks that complemented performances throughout the two-day festival.
The NX4 is a full-featured console in Obsidian’s ONYX lighting control platform. It offers 44 playbacks (10 motorised, 12 sub, 22 playback executors) and other advantages like external monitor capability and EtherCON connectively. One of the standard features of the NX4 that JP finds especially useful is its 10 motorised main playbacks. “These were particularly useful for executing precise movements and controlling aspects such as speed masters, size masters, colour bumps, and override cuelists.”
JP also made use of the NX4’s 12 sub-playback faders. “These were perfect for controlling main intensities, stop FX, haze and any other elements that I needed immediate access to. The convenience of having these controls readily available on the sub-playbacks was a real time-saver duri
USA - The City of Paramount in California kickstarted the holiday season at the end of November with the 25th instalment of its annual Tree Lighting Celebration. Lit by a variety of ADJ luminaires, the free event was attended by thousands of locals and featured live musical and dance performances.
The evening culminated when Santa Claus arrived on the scene surrounded by a flurry of synthetic snowflakes created by six of ADJ’s powerful Entour Snow machines. He then joined city officials on stage to throw a large lever shaped like a candy cane which turned on the downtown Christmas lights.
A holiday traditional which started a quarter of a century ago, the City of Paramount’s annual Tree Lighting Celebration has become one of the biggest events of the local community calendar. It regularly attracts crowds of 8,000 to 10,000, however this year’s 25th Anniversary edition smashed all attendance records by welcoming an estimated crowd of 15,000.
Attendees were treated to dance and musical performances by Latina Art Foundation, Kimberly’s Dance Studio, Mariachi Las Catrinas, and the Disneyland Carollers. Following the appearance by Santa and the official lights switch-on, the event closed with a set by Vilma Diaz, the former lead singer of Cumbia band La Sonora Dinamita, which prompted dancing in the street to end a memorable celebration.
For the second year running, technical production for the event was provided by Ambient Pro, with the principal, Victor Nava, serving as production manager. The company was responsible for building the sta
Australia - An array of stars gathered to celebrate the life and legacy of the late Michael Gudinski at Mushroom 50 Live! In Melbourne at the end of November.
Gudinski founded Mushroom Records in 1972. Over the years, he recorded, promoted and nurtured a generation of transformative Australian stars like MacKenzie Theory, the Skyhooks, The Choirboys and Kylie Minogue, among many others. Along the way, he became a legend, earning the title ‘father of Australian music’.
Honouring his legacy, the Mushroom Group recognised Gudinski’s half-century of achievements by holding Mushroom 50 Live!, a live and broadcast show that featured 50 songs from 50 years of the record label Gudinski founded. Although the programme covered a wide range of eras, genres and onstage styles, the personality and passion of each performer was beautifully reflected in a versatile lighting design that featured 60 of the new Chauvet Professional COLORado PXL Curve 12 motorised battens from Showtools International.
Lighting director Hugh Taranto, and programmer-operator Chad Spenser deployed the fully pixel-mappable RGBW to accent the production design by Travis Hogan and Simon Johnson, so it best supported the diverse performances on stage.
According to Taranto, the PXL Curve 12 fixtures were used for various purposes, including effect lights, footlights, beams, and more. Taranto noted that the IP65-rated fixtures impressed all the designers associated with the show thanks to their pixel mapping prowess, as well as their 12 independent heads, each with individual zoom,
UK - Stereo Covent Garden is the creation of Experimental Group, known for luxury hospitality spaces throughout Europe and the United States. A vibrant and varied music programme is offered each night, beginning with a house band providing relaxed vibes, before the stage is turned over to a rotating series of resident DJs.
The interiors of Stereo Covent Garden have been designed by London-based studio Afroditi, which has created a moody atmosphere for Stereo's interiors, using lighting and mirrors reminiscent of the prohibition-era. Considering the opulent interiors and the wide area to cover, it was crucial to design a compact sound system that could provide crystal-clear sound while also fitting within limited available space or diverting customers' attention.
Solotech UK Group was appointed to design and install the lighting and audio solution for Stereo. Solotech chose a combination of L-Acoustics A Series and X Series as the ideal audio solution for this project, to provide a versatile soundscape with optimal sound coverage for the various areas which included a main stage, bar, DJ booth, and restroom, while remaining discrete and melting into the décor.
“We wanted a clean, clear and precise soundscape,” explains Mikey Sorbello, music coordinator at Stereo Covent Garden. “We knew that L-Acoustics is renowned for its impeccable clarity, depth, and richness, and were confident this would give Stereo Covent Garden innovative sound.”
The main stage sound system consists of two clusters of six L-Acoustics A15 Wide with two KS21 subwo
USA - There are strong evocative feelings tied to time and place in Jane Chambers 1980 landmark play, Last Summer at Bluefish Cove. That’s often the case with cultural milestones, a category this play certainly fits into, being the first major lesbian drama.
Lighting designer R.S. Buck and the rest of the production team appreciated the significance of this when they worked on a recent production of the 43-year-old classic at the Fountain Theatre in Los Angeles, but their vision extended beyond the play’s historical context to focus on the stories of the eight women portrayed in this drama.
"As we worked on the play, we were less interested in highlighting it as a period piece, and more in showing the authenticity and relevance of these women’s stories,” said Buck. “So, all of us on the design team worked hard to create a world that didn’t distract any member of the audience from what was happening on stage. For lighting, that meant minimal subtle changes – with a very clearly visible rig of LED fixtures, which, of course didn’t exist 40 years ago. My goal was to be almost imperceptible, while contributing to the unfolding of the story.”
Helping Buck realise this goal was a lighting rig that featured 30 Chauvet Professional fixtures from the theatre’s house rig and rented from Preston Productions. Included in this group were two Maverick Storm 1 Washes, 12 COLORdash H7 Pars, and six Ovation E-910FC ellipsoidals from the theatre’s rig, as well as two Maverick Storm 2 Profiles, two Rogue Outcast 2X Washes, and six Ovation
Australia - While visitors to the BBC Earth Experience in Melbourne are being transported on a journey through the natural world, a new video explains the technical magic behind the scenes.
The BBC Earth Experience is an immersive exhibition narrated by Sir David Attenborough which has recently opened at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre.
Produced in collaboration with Moon Eye Productions, Live Nation, BBC Studio and Tinker Imagineers, the multi-room digital art experience guides visitors through Earth's diverse ecosystems across seven continents.
What sets Melbourne’s BBC Earth Experience apart is the playback technology used for this installation Australian video technology and production supplier, TDC, harnessed the innovative BeeBlade media server from HIVE to power the entire project.
Michael Hassett, managing director, TDC begins the behind-the-scenes video narration. He explains, “The main difference is that we’re inserting the HIVE players in the projectors and the great thing about that is it saves a lot of space and power. There’s no cable distribution system, no control room, just the media player in the projectors in the venue.”
The entire exhibit is equipped with 70 Panasonic projectors with 55 creating the central 360-degree high resolution immersive panorama comprising over 127 million pixels. HIVE software enables the precise positioning and timing of every single one of them.
This is the latest digital art installation for TDC following the technical design and engineering of projects for th
Sri Lanka - The production of Kuweni the Musical by Charitha Attalage showcased the seamless integration of Allen & Heath's audio equipment with the multidisciplinary performance.
A captivating multi-sensory experience uniting a diverse team of composers, musicians, visual artists, songwriters, and more to create an immersive performance, the musical took place over four days with five sold-out shows at the Nelum Pokuna Mahinda Rajapaksha Theatre.
Allen & Heath's audio solutions played a pivotal role in bringing the production to life, with the equipment line-up including a dLive S7000 Surface, two DM64 MixRacks, four DX168 expanders, and three networking cards (gigaACE, Waves V3, and Dante 128x128).
Handling both FOH and monitors on the dLive S7000 was audio engineer and founder of rental company Universal Sound Productions, Malinda Lowe. Leveraging the dLive system, Lowe orchestrated a complex setup of 128 inputs and 64 outputs, ensuring impeccable audio quality throughout the show's 90-minute duration.
“As a sound engineer, I travel around the world for work, and I get to used different types of boards every time,” said Lowe. “Last year I wanted to try the dLive on our Australia tour, and I loved the ecosystem and the workflow of the board. When we were planning for the Kuweni the Musical concert, I knew the consoles I owned at the time were not going to meet this kind of complex requirement. I had many challenges to overcome with the music director's requirements, so I decided to invest in a dLive system – the fi
USA - An accomplished painter when she isn’t busy as a LD, Denise Simpson says that she often likes to play with colours to do things a little differently when designing shows. This was evident this December when she lit The Christmas Experience, a well-orchestrated one-hour musical programme at the Lexington Baptist Church.
“Often one of the unique ways that I create looks is by slightly offsetting colours in some of my big monochromatic looks,” remarked Simpson. “I generally lean towards monochromatic looks as I am building up the end of a song, and also for those big high energy numbers. I love building bright saturated colour scenes.
“In this case, I chose my colour palettes based on how the music felt to me and how the performers and musicians presented the piece. Also, very important to this event, my palettes were chosen by working closely with the media team to compliment the video visuals they were using.”
Following this approach, Simpson, who works for ACS Sound and Lighting, called forth some deeply engaging monochromatic looks that immersed the stage, as well as its backdrop and the ceiling above it, in rich immersive palettes that included classic Christmas reds, as well as non-traditional colours like blues and purples. At other times, she also added an extra level of depth and balance to the stage by segmenting different sections with blocks of colour.
Working closely with Jacob Powers, the media and technical director at Lexington Baptist Church, Wes Howard the church’s photographer-videographer, producer