Pharos - Leaderboard - May 2024

Business

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Denmark - BroaMan's Danish distributor Danmon has been providing broadcast solutions to the country's public service broadcaster TV 2 for nearly two decades.

Last year, when they decided to upgrade one of their SNG trucks (DNK-47) from SD to HD, the Odense based facility moved its commentator intercom onto a Clear-Com platform and added a BroaMan Mux22 transmission device for signal routing.

This has enabled them to transport multiple data and video signals down a single fibre in the SNG truck, including HD-SDI, RS422, Sync and Ethernet network, using Dante as their audio platform.

TV 2 project manager, Kim Hansen, explains, "For years, the truck has been a key component in our technical setup for major sporting events (such as Tour de France, Handball World Cup etc.) where it acted not only as SNG, but as a small OB truck."

This latest upgrade involved stripping

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France - Every year, Mairie de Paris (Paris City Hall) turns the square in front of the building into an ice rink for the citizens of Paris to enjoy ice skating during the winter. This year technical audiovisual specialist, Novelty Group, decided to add enhancements to the traditional Christmas animation on the ice rink, and after conducting stringent testing on the SGM G-Spot LED moving head, placing it under a shower for three days, they were convinced by the IP-rating of the luminaire.

Supported by Sonoss, SGM's local partner, this year's festive installation went very smoothly. "This is typically the kind of site where it would have been very hard and expensive to install waterproof domes to protect standard moving lights, and thus making advanced animation impossible," says Vincent Criulanscy, product & project manager at Sonoss. He further adds that domes do not

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USA - As it approached its hundred-year anniversary as a congregation, Highland Park Baptist Church in Columbia, Tennessee sought to revamp its four hundred-seat sanctuary. It hired Church Interiors of High Point, North Carolina to help design and organize the work, which included structural and aesthetic improvements, as well as a new Sharp/Extron video system based around three huge LED screens and a cutting-edge sound reinforcement system.

Now, Danley Sound Labs horn-loaded loudspeakers and subwoofers deliver musical and highly intelligible sound, with power and processing supplied by rock-solid Ashly Audio amplifiers and digital signal processors. The sound system is zero compromise, exceeding Highland Park's hopes for fidelity and quality while still meeting their budgetary requirements.

"Highland Park's old sound system had an undersized sixteen-channel board and fr

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UK - XL Video supplied one of its new bespoke mini-cam packages and LED screens for the latest UK and European tour by talented singer / songwriter and Brit winner Ben Howard, working with lighting and visuals designer Andy Rowe.

The tour - Howard's most comprehensive to date in terms of video production - was project managed by XL's Paul 'Macca' McCauley who commented, "We are thrilled to be involved with this fast rising star and an imaginative production design with an interesting and different slant on video."

Andy, Macca, production manager Chris Pollard and tour manager George Sewell met before the start of the tour to discuss video requirements and practicalities, and XL proposed their Pixled F-25 LED screen as a lightweight medium resolution solution that met the creative brief, together with the four mini-cams, which needed to be discreet, tourable and cost-

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Europe - Helene Fischer's Farbenspiel tour of Germany, Austria and Switzerland in late 2014 marked the first set built by Brilliant Stages under Dark Arches Holdings ownership.

The German television presenter and singing star's sell-out tour saw her perform on a complex, multi-level stage with a large LED tree as a spectacular backdrop.

Working from a design concept by Stufish Entertainment Architects, with whom Brilliant Stages has worked on innumerable occasions, the main design realisation was driven from Brilliant Stages' drawing department, led by their chief CAD designer, Mel Welch.

Fabrication of the 22m wide x 12.5m deep x 2.1m high main 'A' stage took place at Brilliant Stages' site in Hitchin. The stage surface incorporated two 5m long travellators, a star trap and rear access steps, with the whole structure built on a rolling aluminium frame for easy deployment. T

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Romania - The glittering new Club NOA (Nest of Angels) has opened in the Romanian city of Cluj-Napoca following a major renovation of a well-known clubbing site on the Strada Republicii.

Oozing fashion and luxury, the club has a potent Martin Audio system based around the W8VDQ, at the heart of an advanced sound and lighting infrastructure costing €500,000 to put together, and boasting 65kW of sound.

The Sound and lighting systems were specified by Romanian installation specialists Simo Sound SRL (Disco Zone), with support from Martin Audio's Product Support Group. The 18 W8VDQ enclosures specified dominate the main room, combining line array and differential dispersion technologies to provide an advanced hybrid solution to the requirement of even coverage over wide angles and throw distances..

The owners, Kàlmàn Jozsef, Horvàth Julieta and Kàlmàn Ladislau had already

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Poland - The National Theatre in Warsaw is one of the most important theatrical venues in Poland, dating back to the 18th century. So when the theatre decided to upgrade the old stage management system, Green-Go was the intercom system of choice chosen to create a party line network communication system.

Piotr Jankiewicz who is director of design and integration at Konsbud Audio, the company contracted to install the new system said, "The stage management system covers four stages located in two buildings which are separated by a street, under which is a mini stage located in the passage between the buildings. It was vital that we installed a system that guaranteed communication between all technical work stations. It had to be so much more than a straight forward intercom system."

The new system needed to be able to provide wired and wireless connection, party line

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Germany - A few months ago, the walls of St Margaret's church in Munich, Germany, reverberated with "eternal light," or Lux Aeterna. Organised by Christian Bischof, organist and choir director for St Margaret's, the November event featured music from Claude Debussy, Morten Lauridsen, and Gabriel Fauré, and was accompanied by a modern light show controlled by ETC's Congo Kid lighting desk.

Prior to the event's official conceptualisation, Bischof contacted lighting designer Ludwig Hacker to discuss the look of the lighting. Says Hacker: "He wanted to make a special event where the music is supported by a live light show that emphasises the impression and understanding of the music." After Hacker saw the pristine white walls of St Margaret's, he knew it would be the perfect playground for a state of the art light show. A career long ETC control desk user,

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UK - uTRAC has supported the Production Services Association (PSA) to offer its members an exclusive discount for selected workforce management packages.

Members of the live event production industry trade association PSA can now benefit from both the uTRAC Core and Core plus packages, providing a comprehensive application for managing and tracking high-volumes of labour.

Andy Lenthall, general manager of the PSA said, "It is our ongoing aim to offer membership advantages by bringing the latest resources from credible systems to benefit their businesses."

uTRAC's founder Ronan Moore said, "Following a fantastic year of new investment and exponential feature developments, we're pleased to offer PSA members our award winning solution for more streamlined crew scheduling and improved communication with their teams. Visit us at the Event Production Show for a live

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UK - It is estimated that by 2017 visitors from China to the UK will spend £1bn a year; currently there are approximately 150,000 Chinese tourists who choose to visit London each year. There won't be many who don't take the opportunity to visit Trafalgar Square, feed the pigeons, gaze up at Nelson on his Column and pop into the National Gallery before exiting through Admiralty Arch to walk down towards Buckingham Palace. These iconic images of London are at the top of the 'must see' list for every visitor.

So it comes as not real surprise that Weli Media, the London-based Chinese media organisation that specialises in cross cultural events between the UK and China, chose Trafalgar Square as the setting for a Chinese TV advert. The project required recording facilities for a large group of performers singing as well as foldback to provide tracks for them to dance to. Sound

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UK - Brazilian footwear brand Melissa's London store launch attracted a VIP guest list most fashion brands would dream of, so the pressure was on for the store design to impress. The 6,000sq.ft store would follow the brand's 'Galeria' concept, found currently in the flagship stores in Sao Paulo and New York, where shoes are displayed alongside art installations and sculpture.

Melissa's brief to Intevi, the digital solutions provider appointed on this project, was to blend their artistic designs with suitable technology to bring their creativity to life. Intevi knew it was going to need an impressive piece of technology to deliver on these requirements, leading them to super high resolution LED as the display choice.

Commenting on the project, Tom Scott, managing director of Intevi said, "We had previously worked with the contractors on another retail project and they knew

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UK - Rose Bruford College students, staff and guests gathered for Sir Richard Eyre's annual President's Talk on Wednesday 21 January 2015 at the College's Rose Theatre.

Sir Richard, who has been the President of Rose Bruford College since 2010 and was director of Great Britain's National Theatre for a decade from 1987 to 1997, is currently working on a number of theatre and television projects, including an adaption for BBC 2 of Ronald Harwood's play the The Dresser, that stars two great theatrical knights--Sir Anthony Hopkins and Sir Ian McKellen.

The talk centred around readings from Sir Richard's latest book What Do I Know? People, Politics and the Arts (Nick Hern books) and was followed by questions from the audience.

Personal stories of Judi Dench, John Mortimer, Alan Bennett, Margaret Thatcher and Mary Soames (Winston Churchill's daughter) kept the audien

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Israel - Top Israeli technical production and rental specialist Argaman Systems from Rosh Hayain lost no time in investing in Robe's new BMFL Spot multifunctional moving lights, taking delivery of their first batch of 60 units to service a variety of ongoing and upcoming projects - one of which was the recent Israeli tour of Michael Flatley's Lord of The Dance's Dangerous Games show.

Dangerous Games started off at London's Dominion Theatre with a lighting design by Paul Normandale - well known for this inventive and out-of-the-box creative vision - before embarking on an extensive European tour which is still ongoing, as the mesmeric magic of Irish music and dance continues to enthrall audiences worldwide.

It played 12 sold out shows in four Israeli cities - Haifa, Beersheeba, Jerusalem - at the brand new 11,00 seater Arena - and Tel Aviv, where it played the 10,

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Poland - The biggest live event in Polish Mixed Martial Arts history, KSW 29: Reload, took place this month at Krakow Arena in front of over 16,000 audience members, with thousands more around the globe tuning into the live broadcast in Pay per View. Lighting designer and director Pawel "Spider" Pajak therefore chose the power and effects of the Clay Paky Sharpy, SuperSharpy and A.leda B-EYE K20 to ensure the tournament packed a serious punch.

Pajak's company Fish Eye was also responsible for the whole technical coordination of the event, with Marcin Szczakiel working as programmer and operator and Tomasz Szwelicki leading the technical department.

Organised by one of the leading MMA promotions in Europe KSW Federation, Pajak specified 40 x SuperSharpys, 32 x Sharpys and 24 x B-EYE K20 fixtures from prominent rental operation Transcolor for the event.

"The key

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Arts Education Funding - Youth dance and music schemes will benefit from an increased £109m in government spending in the coming year, after the Department for Education pledged its support for cultural education programmes. A number of projects - including the National Youth Dance Company and the BFI Film Academy - will be granted a share of £4m in the 2015/16 financial year. It was also revealed an extra £1.1m with be spent on In Harmony programmes - which aim to engage children in deprived areas with orchestral music - as well as National Youth Music organisations such as the National Youth Orchestra and Music for Youth's Schools Prom concerts.

The Music and Dance Scheme, which provides financial assistance to applicants for specialist arts schools, has also had its financial support bumped up by £1m - bringing its total funding to £29m. In addit

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UK - Well known throughout the entertainment industry for its lighting services, White Light will now offer sound equipment and services with the launch of a dedicated audio department.

The London-based supplier has earned its reputation for quality products and reliable service throughout its more than four decades in the entertainment business. The company has taken the decision to expand based on increasing demand, especially from existing clients. "Our success has always come from listening to and understanding our customers," explains Bryan Raven, managing director for White Light. "With more and more clients requesting sound packages and support, offering these services just makes sense."

Leading the department is Lee Dennison, formerly of Delta Sound and Autograph. Since his arrival at White Light in November 2014, Dennison has set out to build the c

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UK - When London's Royal Opera House decided to measure the electricity consumption of the Linbury Studio's stage lighting equipment, they opted for a MeasureMyEnergy system, provided by industry consultancy :entertaining sustainability. The modular nature of the MeasureMyEnergy system proved ideal for monitoring 36 key circuits across two separately located major distribution boards to monitor - plus mains incomers at 630 Amps per phase.

Tim Atkinson, technical director at :entertaining sustainability, said: "After a site visit to establish exactly what needed measuring, we put together a package that allowed the Lighting Systems Team to monitor the electrical consumption of the Linbury Studio in real time over the internet."

A 12- or 24-channel Power Distribution Monitor (PDM) with network access sits alongside each distribution board, with current clamps feeding d

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UK - Brazilian footwear brand Melissa's London store launch attracted a VIP guest list most fashion brands would dream of, so the pressure was on for the store design to impress. The 6,000 square foot store would follow the brand's 'Galeria' concept, found currently in the flagship stores in Sao Paulo and New York, where shoes are displayed alongside art installations and sculpture.

Melissa's brief to Intevi, the Digital Solutions Provider, was to blend their artistic designs with suitable technology to bring their creativity to life. Commenting on the project, Tom Scott, managing director of Intevi said: "We had previously worked with the contractors on another retail project and they knew we could deliver on the very distinctive brief Melissa had produced. In the large entrance hall, visitors would be surrounded on three sides by floor to ceiling LED screens. These screen

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UK - Registration is now open for BVE 2015 (24-26 February 2015, ExCeL London), which will welcome more than 240 exhibitors showcasing the latest products and technologies that take content from creation to consumption.

Alison Willis, Event Director, said: "BVE is the number one destination for the UK broadcast industry to launch their new products and services. The internet is great for research, but nothing beats actually meeting vendors who can explain their products in human terms or, for the vendors, meeting the people who will use their products. It's also a chance to see pieces of equipment in action - press buttons, flick switches and get excited about the technology. We have over 60 new exhibitors this year, many product launches and some exciting innovations that may well turn out to be the new must-have solutions."

Leading manufacturers including Sony, Pan

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Spain - San Sebastian-based Entertainment Equipment Supplies (EES) has signed an agreement to become Doughty Engineering's Super Dealer in Spain.

EES is a successful importer and distributor of equipment and accessories for professional entertainment lighting in Spain and Julian Chiverton, sales director at Doughty, hopes this partnership will see his company's name grow in popularity in the region.

"EES is very much regarded as the premier supplier of lighting equipment and accessories across the region. It has been supplying the needs of Spain's touring market and new venues for over twenty years, with the CEO, Nacho Acha-Orbea, building the business around delivering quality and reliable solutions to his customers' technical problems. Doughty is already known in Spain but we are confident that with EES as our main representative for the region Doughty's reputation will

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The Netherlands - Panasonic Visual Solutions division has launched a training programme exclusively designed for visual professionals, such as resellers, system integrators, AV rental companies and distributors.

The Panasonic training programme includes several levels to develop Panasonic visual product knowledge and gain special certifications.

Split between projectors and display (which have three and two levels respectively) Panasonic partners can engage in free online training sessions through the Academy portal to gain Visual Professional certification.

When Visual Professional certification is attained, face to face training is made available to gain Expert, and Advanced Expert (projector only) certification, which takes place at the Panasonic European headquarters in Wiesbaden, Germany.

Panasonic European training manager Siegmar Küll, said, "Greater product k

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France - Award-winning French attraction Puy du Fou has become the world's first theme park to introduce a drone fleet with embedded intelligence to enhance the visitor experience.

France's second most-visited theme park (after Disneyland Paris) allows visitors to witness history being brought to life through over 60 shows - from the Vikings and Knights of the Round Table, to Richelieu's Musketeers and Gallo-Roman gladiator games.

The park's flagship show Cinéscénie - which, at over 23 hectares is also the world's largest night show - provides a look through the ages and utilises the latest advances in technology and artistry. It was for this show that the drone technology was created.

Nicolas de Villiers, President, Puy du Fou, says: "The team was searching for a way to incorporate new heights to Cinéscénie. We wanted to create the biggest c

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Egypt - TIU opened its doors in November 2014, unveiling a new nightlife concept from three of Egypt's best-known operators and promoters. The new venue, which resides where Tamarai once stood, has brought a new direction to one of Cairo's most famous night time locations. With an emphasis on quality and with a desire to create the city's best clubbing experience, TIU's owners opted for a Funktion-One sound system.

Tamarai was one of the most well known venues in Egypt. It was admired for its glamour and exclusivity but as Egypt's political landscape took a seismic shift, the appetite for such attributes naturally subsided. Tamarai's owners, Ayman Baky and Ahmed Beltagy, in keeping with the general mood in the country, plotted new beginnings. The partners teamed up with Ahmed Ganzoury of ByGanz Events and drawing from a formidable pool of knowledge and expertise, the trio create

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UK - Lighting designer Ewan Cameron joins an increasing list of LDs to specify Robe's new BMFL Spots. He caught the BMFL fever on UK rockers Status Quo's most recent 'Status Quo Live 2014' tour.

Status Quo's distinctive 'boogie rock' sound has earned them over 60 chart hits and a Brit Award for 'Outstanding Contribution to Music' in a career spanning 45 years. They are still going strong, with more energy than ever, delighting their very loyal original fanbase as well as at least two generations of new - and equally enthusiastic - younger Quo fans.

Ewan took over the LD slot at the end of 2013 when Quo's previous LD - almost as legendary as the band - Patrick Marks - decided to retire after 25 years in the 'hot seat'.

When it came to creating a lighting design for this tour, Ewan wanted to retain a continuity with some of the classic Quo aesthetics that Pat had evolved over

  1. Koninklijk Theater Carré upgrades with Yamaha
  2. Audinate rolls out Dante AV Networking dates
  3. ARX's MSX splitters with Pope Francis in Sri Lanka
  4. Lawo gives first-class service at Australian Open
  5. GDS improvises on a theme at Chichester
  6. PLASA Focus: Orlando hits high pre-registration numbers
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