Australia - As a long-term user of DPA microphones, the Sydney Theatre Company (STC) has been quick to adopt the Danish manufacturer’s Core by DPA amplifier technology, which has now been successfully incorporated into DPA d:screet Miniature, d:fine headset and d:vote instrument microphones.
Already the owner of a substantial amount of DPA stock, STC recently added 75 d:screet CORE 4061 Miniature Omnidirectional Microphones to its inventory and is putting them to good use on a number of productions, including a new version of Tennessee Williams’ classic Cat On A Hot Tin Roof.
Ben Lightowlers, STC’s head of sound and audio visual, says: “Once the new Core technology arrived, I was keen to put it through the rigours of a regular season at STC. The goal for us in theatre is to not distract the audience with an obviously mic’d tonality but rather aim for a more naturalistic augmentation of the voice. The new Core mics boast a more open frequency response, which is appealing when balancing vocal performances of varying dynamics in circumstances where some cast members are potentially quieter than others on stage.”
STC’s new d:screet microphones were supplied by DPA dealer Soundcorp, in conjunction with the company’s Australian distributor Amber Technology. STC’s DPA inventory also includes d:dicate 4017 Shotgun Microphones, d:fine Headset Microphones, d:vote 4099 Instrument Microphones, d:facto Vocal Microphones and more legacy d:screet 4061 Miniature Microphones than Lightowlers can count.
“In the 13 years I have been w

Spain - Covering 81 hectares of Spanish countryside, Palmeral Resort is a prime location for weddings and other family celebrations. Aiming to create memorable experiences and lasting memories, a zoned Yamaha audio system is deployed.
Situated at Talavera de la Reina in the province of Toledo, 140km south west of Madrid, Palmeral Resort is set amongst palm trees, fountains, attractive gardens and a lake.
The resort’s management needed to deploy quality sound in all areas, but with the versatility to manage each area independently or as groups, depending on the needs of each event. El Palmeral owner Esteban Robledo reports, "In a resort covering such a large area and with so many different zones, the use of analogue technology would obviously have been a mistake. Digital audio networking gave us the opportunity to centralise the control and the possibility to manage the entire system by one person,” he says. “It also reduced the complexity of the installation and would make considerable economic savings, not to mention the opportunity of expanding the installation using the same design philosophy."
With the variety of areas that needed to be covered, and the distances between them, Talavera de la Reina-based A/V specialist Telsokit chose a Yamaha solution, with an MRX7-D matrix processor as the core of a system covering 12 different zones and with 50 audio inputs.
The MRX7-D is supported by two MTX3 matrix processors, with two Tio1608-D I/O Rack units for additional inputs and outputs. The entire system is powered by five XMV8280 amplifie

USA - The Aiken Bluegrass Festival held this May at the Western Carolina State Fairgrounds featured a healthy dose of rock-infused newgrass sounds alongside traditional bluegrass.
Lighting this year’s festival, John Berret reflected the spirit of both branches of bluegrass music. Aiding him in this endeavour was a collection of Chauvet Professional Rogue fixtures, supplied by Quest Sound Productions.
“I really needed to be aware of the relatively limited space I had available while designing the festival rig,” says Berret. “At the same time that it had to be compact, my rig also needed to be versatile enough to create unique looks for 19 different groups representing different generations of bluegrass.”
With limited height and room for his design, Berret optimised the placement of all fixtures to enhance the impact of his lighting. He hung six Rogue R2 Spots and two Rogue R1 Beams on upstage truss, as well as ground stacking four Rogue R1 Beams on totems below the truss and four Rogue R1 FX-B fixtures about 3’ in front of the R1 Beams.
Adding the four Rogue R1 FX-B units gave Berret the impact of 20 moving lights, since each fixture has five independently controlled LED heads. Berret had these heads going in different directions at some points, then had them act in unison at others, to reflect the music being performed.
“The colour mixing, dimming and shape of the light from the Rogue FX-B gave me so much more freedom throughout the festival,” says Berret. “I was able to drive all the tripping concert goers over the

UK - In May, the Call of Duty World League (CWL) Championship took place at the multi-sport venue, Copper Box Arena in Hackney, London. Creative Technology supplied live event facilities for client Gfinity on the event.
The CWL is the official eSports league developed around the Call of Duty game franchise and this highly regarded event in the eSporting calendar saw the best players in the world complete live on PlayStation4 in Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 from developer Treyarch Studios.
In the Amateur Stage area, Creative Technology supplied three Epson EB-L1755Q 15k projectors with backups and 3 front projection screens that were 6m x 3m. All content was shared via a disguise gx 2 media server and a Barco E2 screen management system was used to control all content distribution. One of the challenges faced was dealing with the sheer volume of content being sent from back of house to the screens. Fibre signal distribution was used throughout to feed the multiple screens in the venue.
In the main stage area, Creative Technology supplied a Panasonic PT-DZ21K 21k projector and backup onto an 8m x 4.5m flown front projection screen displaying game information, rankings, and statistics. Two 7m x 5m Absen LED screens were positioned either side of the main screen and Absen A3pro 3.9mm LED ground-stacked LED was positioned in the centre of the stage. Additional LED screens were positioned in front of the player desks displaying their faces as they competed.
Group company NEP UK supplied their newest IP based truck, Ceres, and a second OB truck to provi

Spain - Alfonso Luria Carrió has been appointed sales manager for d&b audiotechnik Spain.
Carrió, who has worked in the pro audio industry since he was 16, joins the team from SoundLight Spain. He will focus on coordinating the activity of all d&b partner organisations and consolidating growth in the fixed install market. Carrió’s appointment follows the announcement of Christian Orcin as the new managing director of d&b audiotechnik Spain in March.
“I am happy to join the d&b team, and very excited to be able to offer complete support for our customers across Spain along with a clear strategy and vision,” says Carrió. “d&b is very well known for the high quality of its products and the excellent education and support our technical team provides to the users.
“My contribution will focus on extending the presence of the brand across all sectors. Also, we will improve accessibility, expanding our activities and continuing the widening of our Partner Network.”
(Jim Evans)

USA/UK - Following the release of her second studio album, The Sun Will Come Up, the Seasons Will Change, Scottish singer-songwriter Nina Nesbitt has recently completed her headline North America and UK tour, accompanied by an Allen & Heath SQ-5.
With a compact footprint, SQ has rapidly found favour with touring acts, as Curtis McKenna (FOH / mons engineer) explains: “I was looking for an easily transportable fly-rig and I love the fact that with SQ, I can have my entire show in a case, jump on a flight and then show up anywhere around the world and not only have the same great sounding show as the night before, but have it up and running within five minutes. It just works right out of the box.”
Having been an Allen & Heath GLD user for the past four years, McKenna found the decision to purchase his own SQ-5 an easy one.
“I came across the SQ-5 while I was working for a hire company in Blackpool and the first time it was taken out of the box, I was instantly impressed with the workflow and how fast you could put a show together,” he adds. “It made complete sense to me to make the move from GLD to SQ as it meant I needed very little time to learn the board. But I think that also works for anyone too, if this console was in-house, you could just jump on it and have a show in 5 minutes and that’s what makes SQ so great.”
Having just completed her Australia and New Zealand tour, Nina is set to head back to the UK in time for festival season (with shows supporting artists such as Jess Glynn and Years and Years); McKenn

Europe - Released through Prolight Concepts Group, the LEDJ Spectra QX40 Pixel “gives the wow factor to any indoor or outdoor space”. This IP-rated exterior fixture will withstand the elements, illuminating event spaces, stages or facades in all weathers, says the company.
Utilising quad-colour technology from its 40 10W RGBW LEDs the Spectra QX40 Pixel can produce a wide colour spectrum from rich, primary colours through to subtle pastel hues. This, coupled with five segment pixel zone control, allows lighting designers to create stunning effects. This multi-use fixture can also be truss mounted via the included Omega clamps, making it suitable for use as a blinder, strobe or stage wash panel.
The QX40 features a heavy-duty alloy chassis with precise 180° tilt angle adjustment, quick release omega brackets, powerCON TRUE1 connectors and IP rated 5-pin XLR connectors both fitted with protective rubber covers. It also has an easy to navigate four-button menu with OLED display plus both wired DMX and W-DMX Sweden wireless DMX, further widening its application use.
The fixture offers a broad range of optional extras. The LEDJ QX40 has a long-throw 8° beam angle as standard but this can be easily changed with the optional 15° x 60°, 40° and 20° fast fit beam shaping lenses. Barn doors or a snoot to reduce glare and light spill are also available. Keeping the fixture safe is an optional custom designed flight case holding up to four units and accessories.
(Jim Evans)

UK - Broadweigh Bluetooth is now an award-winning product - despite launching just one week ago. The product which made its debut on the A.C. Entertainment stand at the ABTT Theatre Show in Alexandra Palace, was awarded the Widget of the Year accolade at the annual awards ceremony.
The judging panel, which comprised an experienced group of working practitioners and industry peers, comments: "As a quick way to provide monitoring of small rigs, the Broadweigh load cell shackle - in conjunction with a Bluetooth connected device running the Broadweigh app - is exceptionally useful for those touring shows that require up to 12 points of rigging. The App also sums selected load cells to enable a maximum load to be identified. Use of this product will greatly speed up prep days."
Kelly Voysey, sales and marketing manager at Mantracourt Electronics, Broadweigh's parent company added: "We are delighted to receive this year's widget award at the show. Our aim was to bring a useful and affordable tool to a theatre technician's tool box - which would provide a clear picture of what is happening on the rig.”
She continued: "As a design and manufacturing company, our ethos is to bring intelligent, usable products to market. We believe the Broadweigh Bluetooth system fills a gap in the load monitoring solutions currently available. We look forward to bringing more Broadweigh innovations to our customers."
Johnny Marshall, senior rigging sales executive for A.C. Entertainment, Broadweigh's product partner in the UK, adds: "The Broadweigh Bluetooth shackle

USA - Orlando-headquartered Professional Wireless Systems has expanded their rental programme with the addition of Lucas Lewis, national rental manager. The announcement was made by Jim Van Winkle, general manager.
“Our organisation continues to expand,” explains Van Winkle. “We have always had a national rental presence but have lacked a specific point person - Lucas is now that person. This will allow us to provide our products and services to a broader base of customers. We are very excited to have him on board.”
Based in Orlando, Lewis is charged with not only working with production companies, but also reaching out to establish a presence with houses of worship, schools, and corporate AV.
Prior to joining Professional Wireless, Lewis worked with PRG as an audio asset manager where he oversaw the flow of assets internally moving between different locations to meet the needs of different regions. Before joining PRG he did commercial AV installs for Ford AV including teleconferencing, video networking and distributed audio.
(Jim Evans)

Germany - Over 300 exhibitors will be presenting their latest products and services for theatre, film and event technology at Stage|Set|Scenery, taking place at the Berlin Exhibition Grounds from 18 to 20 June. 
The expo is co-organised by Deutsche Theatertechnische Gesellschaft (DTHG) and Messe Berlin.
Dr. Christian Göke, CEO of Messe Berlin, comments: “With over 50 theatres, three opera houses, Europe's biggest museum complex and numerous exhibition venues, as well as some 1,000 companies representing the film industry, culture is a major economic factor in Berlin. By hosting Stage|Set|Scenery we are aiming to give the city's large cultural sector a platform for an interdisciplinary dialogue, opportunities for training and an inspirational event.”
Wesko Rohde, chairman of the board and managing director of DTHG, adds: “Creativity drives this industry. Together with many of its innovative partners we have organised a wide-ranging programme of conference events this year, with a clear focus on a dialogue involving practical issues. Be it at the RoundTables or on the special display areas - the fact that visitors can engage with creatives and experts and directly exchange views on the latest topics about modern and innovative events sets Stage|Set|Scenery apart.”
The RoundTables and special display areas have been integrated directly into the halls to ensure their proximity to the exhibitors, many of whom have actively contributed to the programme and setting up the special display areas. The LightLab curated by Manfred ‘Ollie’ Ol

Denmark - Ayrton has appointed Matrix as its new exclusive distributor for Denmark with immediate effect.
Matrix has quickly established itself as one of the leading sales and distribution companies for the entertainment industry in Denmark and enjoys strong relationships with customers and suppliers.
“Ayrton was the obvious choice for us, as we needed a high profile moving light brand to complete our lighting program,” says Jakob Hansen, sales manager for lighting and staging at Matrix. “The arrival of Ayrton’s new line of profiles, spots and wash fixtures was the deciding factor for us - they fit perfectly into our range of professional sound, light, stage equipment and audio-visual products.”
Matrix will focus on bringing the full Ayrton range of LED lighting products to the Danish market and the sales team are already out on the road with the new range of fixtures. “The Ayrton product range is strong and we are obviously excited about our role as Ayrton distributor,” continues Hansen. “Our expectations for the brand development are high - and very interesting when we look at everything that is currently on the international moving light market.”
“We are very proud to be represented by Matrix in Denmark,” says Linnea Ljungmark, international sales for Ayrton. “The company is known for its ability to find high quality brands and present them to the market with skill and dedication. We are extremely excited to be working with them.”
(Jim Evans)

UK - Third-year students from Mountview Academy recently performed BOY, an immersive play in which the audience could interact with the actors on stage.
Tasked with creating the sound design was student sound designer John ‘JP’ Guerrier, who had become familiar with the TiMax spatial reinforcement capabilities following a training workshop. He decided the technology would be ideal to support an immersive soundscape that every member of the audience would respond to.
Mentored by sound supervisor Dafyyd Gough - himself a professional sound designer - JP established a 10.2 loudspeaker system, including a pair of overheads, distributed around the Mountview’s black box studio theatre space.
TiMax created live overhead train announcements, supermarket PA effects and also a preacher’s speaker box effect with the help of the onboard EQ.
“We used TiMax extensively to create the obvious effects such as car pass-bys, for pulling focus and for chase sequences,” Gough explains. “There was a moment in the play where the main character gets stoned and we slowly started to spin the music stems around the room to mimic the character’s experience.”
Having previously been in sound teams on productions where TiMax had been used, Gough was familiar with the technology, though he insists: “I obviously take no credit - it was all JP - but [his sound design] obviously made a good impression.”
With Gough’s guidance, JP made sophisticated use of TiMax and its object-based static and dynamic imaging capabilities. Not only was

UK - Almost 30 years after the release of the original animated musical film Aladdin, the remake of the Walt Disney classic recently had its London premiere at the Odeon Luxe in Leicester Square.
Director Guy Ritchie walked down the ‘magic’ carpet at the glamorous event, as did stars Will Smith, Naomi Scott and Mena Massoud. Lining their route was an enthusiastic crowd of fans, as well as 72 Chauvet Professional F4IP LED video panels from IPS.
Arranged in seven separate portrait-shaped sections, each measuring in at 1.5m wide by 2.5m high, the IPS-supplied panels were used to display promotional materials related to the film, as well as to spell out the name Aladdin letter by letter in gold font against a deep blue background.
The exacting client requirements from the Limited Edition Event Design team required that a fully customised, 27m long Layher rigging solution was devised and installed along the length of one side of Leicester Square. According to IPS’s MD James Warden, the 4.8mm pixel pitch and high-contrast 5,500 nits output of the LED panels were essential to creating attractive visuals at the premiere event.
“Due to the proximity of the audience to the panels on Leicester Square, resolution was an absolute priority,” said Warden. “The images were crisp, regardless of where you were positioned next to the panels, and their brightness was fine even during daylight. It was also useful that they were IP rated since we had some rain. What’s more, the installation didn’t just look good onsite, it also came off beaut

Italy - Italian festival Ralf in Bikini took place on 25 April, offering 12 hours of techno, house and minimal music from Italian and international DJs, including Ralf, the event’s protagonist, at Cattolica’s Bikini Disco Dinner.
For the first time, the festival featured an Outline GTO loudspeaker system.
Emporio On Stage from Scandicci (Florence) was the rental company responsible for the sound design and the installation of the Outline systems, using GTO as the main rig and Mantas 28 systems for both the beach stage and the roofed zone.
Mauro Bianchi, owner of the White Events agency and co-organiser of Ralf in Bikini, stated: “I’d already had the pleasure of listening to the GTO at Rimini’s Music Inside Festival, in an indoor situation, and greatly appreciated its ‘elegant badness’.
At Ralf in Bikini, it was the first time I’d heard it outdoors, and I was even more satisfied: the sound performance and the impact on the public was beyond my expectations, to the point that we even received compliments from the clients – not just experts.
“We’ve already reconfirmed it for the 2020 edition of Ralf in Bikini, which will be the tenth and where we’ll be launching a stage dedicated exclusively to live music. I’ll try to use GTO whenever I can. For me it is currently the reference point.”
(Jim Evans)

Italy - The Galli Theatre in Rimini, a historic venue on the Romagna Riviera, has now reopened 75 years after it was hit during bombing in December 1943.
The famous theatre, which was inaugurated by Giuseppe Verdi in 1857, came back to life on 28 October 2018. The reopening took place to the sound of the voice of mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli. She performed Cinderella in a semi-staged version, accompanied by the Musiciens du Prince.
The reconstruction and modernization of the mechanical stage equipment and other systems was entrusted to Decima 1948, a leading firm in the field of design, development and implementation of technological solutions for the theatre and show and exhibition venues. Decima 1948 has carried out work on prestigious stages such as the Teatro La Fenice in Venice, the Verona Arena, the Teatro Massimo Bellini in Catania, and the Teatro Regio in Parma.
“Decima is currently involved in work around the world, from Hong Kong to the Middle East," said Enzo Trovato, CEO of the company, "but the Galli project was very important for us. Our decision to propose a lighting system consisting of 100% traditional halogen lights was the result of a careful reflection on the budget and the characteristics of the Galli Theatre itself. ADB was virtually the only possible choice in order to ensure high quality and the required features: they are traditional, but they are also the best!”
The project involved more than 150 ADB lights including Europe C101 and C201 units (the classic 1 and 2kW PCs that made ADB famous), Europe F201 fixture

Belgium - RTL-TVI, a Belgian television station owned by the RTL Group, is the most popular television channel within French-speaking Belgium. Amongst its highlights is its coverage of Champions League football which it delivers from a versatile virtual studio in Brussels, filmed against a green screen background created by Zero Density.
For the successful creation of this virtual studio, director of photography at RTL Belgium, Filipe dos Santos, searched for a high quality, low energy lighting solution which would allow him to create a green screen environment suitable for the high standards of broadcast and the exacting demands of a highly technical augmented reality system.
After extensive research, Dos Santos chose a combination of Robert Juliat Dalis 860 Cyclights, Dalis 861 Washlights and Dalis 862 Footlights due to their exceptional control and light quality, quietness and low running costs. The Dalis units were supplied by AED Distribution, Robert Juliat’s exclusive distributor for the Benelux countries.
Seventeen Dalis 860 Cyclights are rigged in the grid and used to light the backdrop green screen and the presenters who are situated 1m-1.50m in front. The Dalis 860 fixtures successfully deliver a seamless wall of light with no unsightly overspill. Four Dalis 861 Washlights are used at the angles to cover this critical area with even light and maintain uniformity. Finally, seven Dalis 862 Footlights are sited at the front of the studio space at floor level to light the presenter at the front section of the green screen area who moves arou

Europe - Over the past 15 years, country & western band, The BossHoss, have built their reputation effortlessly, year after year. This Spring, they returned with their eighth studio album Black Is Beautiful. And from mid-March to early April the band toured Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
mdc licht.gestalten. GmbH & Co. KG from Mettmann was responsible for the lighting, video and set design of the tour as well as the programming of the show. The lighting design was created by the company’s Jonas König, who also accompanied the tour as an operator.
The design brief was typical BossHoss: a classic rock ‘n’ roll stage with plenty of unconventional elements, in which a variety of different looks could be created. "The stage didn’t want to be too 'clean', but at the same time had to be able to carry the rock 'n' roll feeling," recalls Jonas. "Accordingly, the show needed to look 'big' and create a ‘wow’ experience in every venue."
He approached this concept via a stage that was initially shrouded in black curtains; these parted to reveal the arsenal of installed lighting technology gradually during the show, with surprises guaranteed. The fairly classical front / middle / back truss arrangement was broken up by large distances in between. All lighting and video technology was housed within the trusses. In order to be able to reveal the effects gradually, the trusses were covered by three metre-high and 18m-wide banners, which could be opened with the help of motorised curtain rails. Behind the curtains, a matrix of PAR64 six

UK - Illumination specialists, LED Creative is supporting production designer Alex Craig on the new series The Ranganation, produced for the BBC by Zeppotron.
Recorded in two stints at Elstree Studio D and Television Centre, the show is hosted by comedian Romesh Ranganathan who is joined by a studio panel, comedians and expert guests to take a humorous look at the week's biggest talking points.
Working alongside award winning lighting designer Gurdip Mahal and art director Ben Telford, LED Creative provided a selection of products to help create Designer Alex’s vibrant, neon-esque look that accompanies the show.
A key feature within the design is the artistic use of LC Alpha Neon LED. Blending the convenience and versatility of traditional neon with LED technology, the product proved the solution for shaping the oversize graphic icons mounted against giant LED framed panels surrounding the main stage area.
Commenting on the project, Alex says, “I wanted to add a neon look to the set, and LED Creative’s Alpha Neon seemed like the perfect product to create a series of large-scale graphic icons, each of which has quite a bit of detail and intricacy in its design. The consistency in the colour and brightness of the product enabled us to create 4 individual designs, including a portrait of Romesh, our host, which have worked out really well and look great on camera.”
The use of light by the team constructed a juxtaposition of old and new between the clean linear look of the framed LED artworks and the simulated warm tungsten gl

Japan - Cho Kabuki: Yoshitsune Senbonzakura (Yoshitsune and the Thousand Cherry Trees) is one of the most popular kabuki plays in Japan. Senbonzakura itself, a ‘Vocaloid’ song launched on the Japanese video-sharing website Nico Nico Douga, originally became a major hit leading to live stage performances and novels, and creating a new collaboration - Hanakurabe Senbonzakura. This was a kabuki production first, bridging the past and the present, and premiered at the Niconico Chokaigi Festival in 2016.
When the ‘Cho Kabuki supported by NTT’ event was held recently at Makuhari Messe Event Hall in Chiba, Martin Audio Sound Adventures system made an auspicious Japanese debut. This is known as one of the main event booths of Nico Nico Super Conference, which is annually held in Makuhari Messe during the May public holiday and is designed with the aim of reproducing Nico Nico Video live -described as the melting pot of Japan’s internet.
In addition to the famous Kabuki actor Shido Nakamura, Kuniya Sawamura, Choshi Nakamura, and a ‘vocaloid’, Miku Hatune - who represents the virtual reality world - perform together. It is an interesting composition that combines traditional Kabuki performance with modern technology such as CG, VR, AR, and motion capture.
It was therefore fitting that this year’s Hanakurabe Senbouzakura was performed in a more upgraded version than in its premier year, providing a backdrop for Sound Adventures to show its ability to move audio objects in space.
Martin Audio loudspeakers, in combination with Astro

Denmark - Flipside Soundsystem has designed and installed a Yamaha-based audio system at a new bouldering gym in Copenhagen
“Pretty much everyone at Flipside enjoys a fair amount of indoor bouldering, so we were both surprised and excited when Josh Glanville and Francesco Ragazzi of Beta Boulders asked us to work on the sound system for their new 10,000sq.ft bouldering gym,” says Flipside managing director James Cooper. “Our first instinct was to want to achieve something that sounded better than the gyms we all climb in.”
Although Beta Boulders has climbing and training areas, it is also much more. With a yoga studio, cafe and co-working spaces, it is designed to bring people from all over the Copenhagen area together.
“We connect people through climbing, work, culture and needed an audio system that could be used by any staff member, but flexible enough so it could be used across different type of events and scenarios,” says Francesco. “We wanted to make the space come alive, without the background music being too low or sounding too different across the various spaces. And we needed it in a short time-frame.”
This meant that Flipside had to cover both large, reverberant areas in the climbing zones where higher SPLs would be needed, and more intimate zones for the yoga studio, cafe and changing rooms. “In the climbing areas we had to design out the risk of either ending up with loud and quiet areas or ending up hearing more reverberant sound from the room than from the speakers,” says James.
The answer was 36 Yamaha