UK - The O2 Arena in London witnessed its largest audience at a single sporting event in history when hosting the UFC Fight Night on 19 March.
TSL were back at the O2 to put together an impressive rig with lighting over centre stage. The main component of the lighting system - Tungsten 6 Lamp Bars of Source 4 Pars evenly lit up the Octagon suitably.
It had been three years since UFC had returned to the O2 and as with any event it was imperative that everything ran like clockwork. Dom Sheerman, account director for TSL says, “Having been a regular event in the calendar it was great to be delivering a UFC show again, the last show previous to this was at the end of 2019 in Moscow so it’s been a long break.”
TSL assembled its established core team of technicians that have worked on UFC events multiple times to deliver lighting designer Jason Eible’s distinctive lighting design.
The lighting rig was a mixture of tungsten and LED fixtures controlled via Avolites Sapphire consoles.
There were a number of fixtures covering effects and eye candy for the camera. These included our SGM Q7s, Martin MAC Auras, Martin Mac Viper Performances, Pro Lights Studio Cobs and Elation Paladin Cubes.
TSL also supplied a number of Litepanel Astra panels for providing key light for the ESPN Studio and interview areas.

USA - The new Future Nightclub, located in the Underground Atlanta district of Atlanta, Georgia, is a crowd-favourite dance and entertainment venue for the city’s music lovers. Future Nightclub worked diligently to design an impressive production with video, lighting, and audio for the two-story venue. The Future Nightclub management team worked alongside local AV systems integration company, House of Music Productions, to accomplish this lofty goal by selecting the Pioneer Pro Audio XY Series sound system.
Future Nightclub owners Keith Young and Hoosh Mishu approached House of Music Productions in late 2019 to begin the system design process after acquiring a large, oddly-shaped, two-story retail space with a large staircase in the middle to be the club’s location. However, as renovations began to take form, the space was almost completely gutted, giving the new nightclub a large, open, main downstairs dance floor and an upstairs stage and show area; both with bars, lighting, video and audio to immerse the audience all night long.
"Once we understood the final space design, we started looking at different loudspeakers and sound systems to deliver the experience the club owners envisioned," comments Mario Auda and Jeremy Ladd, owners of House of Music Productions. "The owners wanted a sound system that looks great and sounds even better, and that could cover both floors of the club with the fidelity and dynamics needed for today's high-end, live DJ and EDM performances."
Auda worked directly with engineers at Pioneer to specify an appropriate so

Taiwan - Robert Juliat reports that 36 of its Dalis 860 cyclorama lights, complete with mini yoke and Quickrig systems, have been supplied to the National Taichung Theatre in Taiwan by DLHG Co.
The National Taichung Theatre (NTT) has three main venues: the 2007-seat Grand Theatre, the 794-seat Playhouse and the 200-seat Black Box theatre. The main location for the Dalis 860 fixtures will be the Grand Theatre which hosts a broad programme of musicals, opera, ballet, modern dance and drama. The Dalis 860 cyclorama fixtures will be installed in truss and groundrow positions to light the venue’s impressive 18m wide x 10m high cyclorama with a smooth, even, highly controllable coverage.
“However, the mini yoke and Quickrig system make it easy for us to transfer the Dalis units to our other venues as required,” says the venue’s head of lighting, Simon Hsieh.
No stranger to Robert Juliat products (the NTT has invested in RJ Cin’k 350LF Fresnels and Digitour 6S dimmers in the past), Mr Hsieh and his team were introduced to Dalis by Jackson Yu of DLHG Co. “The NTT team was looking for an LED product with good colour mixing and rendering, and multifunctional control via DMX and Ethernet protocols,” says Mr Yu. “Dalis 860 ticked all those boxes as well as being an award-winning fixture by a well-known and respected brand.”
The NTT took delivery of the Dalis 860 units in 2020 but was unable to put them to immediate use due to closures enforced during the pandemic. Now the venue has reopened, the technicians have had the opportunity to us

Colombia - The Suba district of Colombia’s capital city of Bogotá is celebrated for its inclusiveness, home to all social classes and Colombia’s indigenous peoples. It’s also where Iglesia El Lugar de Su Presencia wanted to make sure its message would be clearly heard and understood by everyone filling the nearly 4,000 seats of its newest church location.
Following an onsite comparative evaluation of four brands of loudspeaker systems -and later witnessing the L-Acoustics K2 arrays in use at Christ Fellowship Church in Port St. Lucie, Florida - El Lugar de Su Presencia chose L-Acoustics for its Suba campus, which celebrated its grand opening on 20 February.
Bogotá-based AVCOM, an L-Acoustics certified provider for install (CPi), integrated a full complement of L-Acoustics K, A, and X Series loudspeaker systems at the new church, which was constructed on the site of a former mall that had been leveled to make way for the beautiful worship space. Like many other projects, the Covid pandemic delayed work on the entire facility; the L-Acoustics system components were actually delivered onsite in June of 2020, but assembly couldn’t commence until a full year later.
In the meantime, AVCOM worked closely with L-Acoustics house of worship applications project manager Josh Maichele and Alex Soto, L-Acoustics applications engineer for Latin America and The Caribbean, using the manufacturer’s Soundvision software to design, implement, and calibrate a system that would fulfill the church’s high expectations.
First established in 1993 in the

UK - Spectacular sell-out lighting trail Woodyfest saw Vari-Lite VL2600 Profile fixtures from Signify deliver stunning projections, punchy colour-rich washes and breakup patterns on the rear façade of Scotland’s finest stately home, Hopetoun House in South Queensferry. These effects were augmented by far-reaching aerial light effects, created by the Vari-Lite VL10 BeamWash, which reportedly attracted the local community’s attention some distance away, and even caused some to speculate that the aliens were coming!
Woodyfest, produced by Wondrous Woods, with creative design and technical production from 21CC Group, ran for the second year within the magnificent woods and grounds surrounding Hopetoun House. The popular, and celebrated, annual lighting event took audiences on a magical journey along winding pathways, each of which led to exciting and dynamic installations, fairy grottos and waterwall projections. The 2km walk culminated with the beautifully lit, colour and gobo-washed rear façade of Hopetoun House.
Lighting designer Neill Fleming of 21CC Group, the creative producers and technical solutions providers for Wondrous Woods, explains: “We chose the Vari-Lite VL10 BeamWash and the VL2600 Profile luminaires because we knew they would be exactly right for this project. Protected from the Scottish winter elements in waterproof housing, they gave plenty of light output for a relatively low power consumption. Both the VL10s and the VL2600s performed without issues, and we found them to be reliable and simple to set up and program.

Italy - When Spazio Bizzarro, a red and white big top circus tent in Casatenovo, Milan, launched its latest project In The Air, it turned to BroadWeigh for its load monitoring requirements. The project, which was conceived in 2012, is a cultural sports and social centre, offering annual courses and workshops in contemporary circus and performative arts, including street art, music, theatre and dance.
Nicola Bruni, director of Spazio Bizzarro explains: “We knew we would need a reputable partner for this venture and selected Monkey Rigging to help us devise a rigging structure for our new indoor space, Il Delado. Working with Monkey Rigging’s Andrea Mammolenti, we came up with a solution that would give us a safe system for both the big top and Il Delado - the training spaces for this project.”
Andrea adds: “The challenge was to design a structure for the hangings in the Il Deladospace and verify the general safety of the hangers in the different spaces. It was also important that those using the system understood the importance of correct evaluation in the design phase of the hanging system through the demonstration of how much a performer of aerial disciplines can actually achieve in terms of a dynamic load.”
Andrea recommended the use of BroadWeigh 2.4 wireless load cells to carry out preliminary testing before using the new structure of Il Delado. The kit was also invaluable during a series of three safety events that Monkey Rigging conducted.
“We used 2.4 wireless load cells because, having to deal with ‘live’ loads

New Zealand - The winner of multiple architectural awards, The Michael Fowler Centre in Wellington helps to define the Wellington skyline with its tri-level glass façade and towering concrete columns, which are often adorned in colourful light.
Recently, the 2,200-capacity venue, which is the home of the New Zealand Symphony and Orchestra Wellington, reflected another core value of its hometown: a commitment to protecting the environment, when it received a lighting upgrade that replaced tungsten fixtures with a collection of 268 Chauvet Professional Ovation LED units supplied by MDR Sound & Lighting.
The three-year process began in 2019, when the Wellington City Council, the building’s owner, approached preferred technical supplier NW Group to source a lighting solution for the heat and light related issues experienced on stage by performers. After evaluating different LED options,16 Ovation F-265WW LED Fresnels were chosen and fitted to the circular acoustic reflector which sits over the stage at 9m.
Replacing the 30 tungsten 575W fixtures that had been in the reflector, the F-265WW were addressed individually and set to two-channel intensity/zoom mode, reducing the need for height access equipment.
The installation of the F-265WW fixtures were only the first step in upgrading the lighting rig within the venue. In early 2020, the venue purchased 24 additional F-265WW fixtures and had them replace the existing tungsten units located around the perimeter of the auditorium at height to provide an even wash of performance light.
Rep

UK - The Bridge is a new addition to the PRG UK network, opening a hub for productions of all sizes in the heart of the country. The space has been designed to be completely flexible and has the facilities to support most production needs. Located just next door to the PRG UK headquarters in Longbridge, the space benefits from a direct link to PRGs equipment and expertise onsite.
From truck splits and prep to full studio productions and pre-production rehearsals, The Bridge can deliver, says PRG.
Production teams have complete privacy at The Bridge, with access to the space and the resources to run their projects through from planning to show day. Backstage, it offers a spacious 170sqm office space including a modern kitchen, showers, fully accessible bathrooms, bright and comfortable green room and artist dressing rooms, plus spacious production offices, a board room and a gallery viewing space.
Downstairs, The Bridge is home to a 17m x 35m clear floor production area with a minimum 6.2m height clearance. Wall and ceiling drapes line the space and spray insulation has been provided to ensure heating and soundproofing. The space includes a 400A 3 Phase Powerlock, dedicated high speed production internet, 24hr secure access, and parking for cars, tour buses and trailers.
“With the introduction of The Bridge to our Longbridge location, we are harnessing the power, space, technical capability and world-class experience of our business and people,” says Yvonne Donnelly Smith, sales director – music, PRG UK. “It really is a flexible space

South Korea - To outfit the Ulsan Munsu Football Stadium with the latest in sound system technology, TechDataPS Co selected and installed a range of Harman Professional audio solutions.
Built to host the 2002 FIFA World Cup, the Ulsan Munsu Football Stadium is a 43,544-seat venue at the heart of the Ulsan Sports Park. With three stories and two basement floors, the stadium features a roof covering 87% of the four-sided stands supported by steel trusses designed to emulate the whale skeleton found in the hemisphere petroglyphs at Daegok-ri, Ulju. Additional pillars allude to the Silla Gold Crown, which inspired the stadium’s nickname, Big Crown.
A spokesperson for TechDataPS Co reported that the client requested a comprehensive revamp of the stadium’s 20-year-old audio system, but the venue’s unique structure left the installation team with limited placement options. To meet these challenges, the installation team selected JBL Professional, Crown, BSS and Soundcraft audio solutions.
The installation team implemented JBL VTX A8 line array loudspeakers as the system’s primary solution. Additionally, the IP55-rated JBL AWC129 and VLA-C2100 durable loudspeakers reinforce the sound and coverage for the first floor and upper levels, respectively. Crown DCi 4|1250N and DCi 4|1250DA amplifiers offer efficient power for the second and third floors while the DCi 2|600N and DCi 4|600N models do the same for the ground floor.
For the central control area, Soundcraft Vi2000 audio mixers with Vi Stageboxes and a JBL 308P MKII monitor, powered by a

UK - Founded in 1982 by Ann Stannard and the late Christopher Gable, Central School of Ballet offers vocational degree courses in dance at undergraduate and postgraduate level. Earlier this year, when the school moved to its new home, the Countess of Wessex Studios in the South Bank arts community of London’s Southwark neighbourhood, it also undertook a major new audio installation. Adlib worked with Central to deliver an L-Acoustics Ai Series system that offers a multifaceted solution throughout the entire new venue.
Boasting a fully equipped studio theatre, study, multiple resource centres, and a modern health suite, the Countess of Wessex Studios provides vital space to grow, nurture creativity, cultivate dreams, propagate ideas, and allow talent to blossom. The only thing missing was an equally impressive sound system.
“Adlib was recommended to Central’s project manager by a mutual acquaintance at Live Nation, who suggested that ‘concert-level’ sound should be aspired to from the outset,” says Tim Robinson, who led the project for Adlib. “The project began 10 years ago, but as it was essentially a bare shell, it needed a capital campaign to provide sufficient funding. I joined the design team in 2016 and provided design consultancy, with numerous revised quotations delivered throughout the project timeline, including budget and even architecture.
“Due to the UK Government restrictions associated with the COVID pandemic, there were various delays. We finally started the installation of the systems earlier this year, which I manage

South Africa - Located in Pretoria, Choose Life Church was founded in 2005 by Pastor John and Mandri Roebert. Embracing technology has been a part of Choose Life’s ethos throughout their journey, consistently ensuring that high quality systems are installed on their premises.
In fact, after purchasing the building in 2010, the first thing they did was renovate and improve upon the existing system. The first major project in 2011 was centred around the installation of a d&b T-Series audio system in their main auditorium, which was supplied and integrated by Stage Audio Works (SAW).
Recently, Choose Life Church called upon SAW once again, this time to implement a large Pixel Plus LED wall to act as the backdrop for their stage. A secondary requirement of this project was to upgrade their hardware and streaming infrastructure, to allow them more flexibility moving forwards.
Grant Boswell, technical support officer at Choose Life Church comments, “Our old stage backdrop was rather boring and dark, so we wanted to brighten and liven it up to make our auditorium look more contemporary and create an exciting stage feature. A couple of years ago we hired in a screen and fell in love with it, so decided it was time for a permanent upgrade. We did some research and received several quotes, but ultimately decided to go with SAW’s Pixel Plus solution. They were always the favourite, as we have an excellent relationship with them and felt assured that they would deliver a premium quality product.”
For the primary solution, Stage Audio Works imp

Lithuania - Keistuolių Theatre in Vilnius has reopened its doors after a two-year break to undergo a major overhaul of its underperforming sound system. The renovation brief required a versatile, modern audio system to optimise sonic distribution and quality around the venue, which led to the selection of DiGiCo, and its DiGiGrid networking solution, along with a compact S21 mixing console, as the centrepiece of the new system.
Opened in 1989, the theatre was originally built as a conference space, providing a multi-purpose setting to cater for various events. Consequently, the main hall suffered with poor acoustics when staging concert and theatre productions, causing the theatre major problems.
"We are a theatre that uses a lot of music in our performances, so the quality of sound is very important to us,” says Keistuolių Theatre director, Aidas Giniotis. “We had been tormented for a long time with inadequate acoustics and muddy sound, with waves hitting the back wall and gathering in the corners of the hall, and no degree of sound engineering could fix the problem.”
The decision was made to close the venue and consult a specialist firm to renovate the theatre and make it fit for purpose, with an improved audio system, new lighting, new chairs and better ventilation. Keistuolių Theatre reached out to national installation firm, Sonus Exsertus, which has a lot of experience implementing stage technology solutions in many Lithuanian cultural institutions.
Sonus Exsertus admits that it was faced with a difficult task, and this was one

UK - Academy Music Group (AMG) has once again enlisted the support of Liverpool-based Adlib, to co-design and install a high-end touring specification for its audio and lighting systems at its newest venue in Scotland, the 3,000 capacity O2 Academy Edinburgh.
A category B listed building, the former Corn Exchange was built in 1909 and acquired by Academy Music Group in August 2021, to build on its legacy as one of the city’s largest standing, multi-purpose spaces, and develop it to become one of the major must-play venues in Edinburgh for live music and entertainment.
The project was led by AMG’s group operations manager, Steve Hoyland with Adlib’s managing director Andy Dockerty, who together specified the L-Acoustics K2 system.
“Our latest acquisition, O2 Academy Edinburgh, has huge potential, with the right capacity to bring more world-class shows to the city. By investing in brand-new, state-of-the-art sound and lighting production facilities, we can really enhance our offering for a wider variety of events, as one of the major venues in our portfolio,” says Steve Hoyland.
“We have a long-standing relationship with Academy Music Group,” says Dockerty. “Working together with the team and O2 Academy Edinburgh’s technical manager Rob Watson, was key in designing, specifying, and installing an audio system to provide excellent venue coverage in what had traditionally been a complex room for audio.
“The lighting system also provides a high level of industry-standard fixtures and options meaning that any touring artiste

UK - Sound Technology, the UK distributor of Martin Professional, has reported that a large quantity of the MAC Ultra Performance were supplied by various dealers, including White Light, Stage Electrics and Hawthorn. The high-output profile luminaires replace existing generics and tungsten sources. A total of 23 have been added to the standard overhead rig, replacing older generics within the 1,150-capacity Olivier Theatre, with a further 10, provided earlier by White Light, to be stored in Lighting Resources to be called on as necessary by lighting designers.
Matt Drury, head of lighting, explains: “In the Olivier we needed a punchier fixture and had been looking at an alternative source prior to lockdown. We knew that by 2022 we would need something of that ilk but during the interruption the MAC Ultra Performance and MAC Ultra Wash came along, and they did so at just the right time.
“In addition to being an automated LED fixture with greater power, it has a complementary colour palette to our Martin MAC Encores.”
The lighting team initially used lockdown to carry out its own evaluation before deciding. “Sound Technology set up the demo via Zoom during lockdown - which was brave and bold,” stated Drury. “At the same time, we also considered other brands.” This was later followed with an on-site demo.
On the final evaluation panel were members of the lighting department, including Jack Williams, Olivier lighting supervisor, Marc Williams, lighting ops manager, Daniel Murfin, lighting control manager and Paul Hornsby, lighting r

South Africa - Situated in the heart of Cape Town, GrandWest Casino and Entertainment World is the largest venue of its kind in South Africa, featuring a Las Vegas-scale casino, two hotels, conference facilities, dining establishments, an ice rink and the Grand Arena - a 5,000 capacity multi-purpose venue that has played host to acts such as Bryan Adams, Sting, James Blunt, Rammstein and Kylie Minogue.
In 2020, the arena underwent a thorough refit of its audio system, with the replacement designed around DiGiCo’s Quantum 338 digital mixing console, chosen to fulfil the requirements of international touring riders and deliver quality audio, processing and connectivity within a space-saving format.
The Grand Arena first started researching new technology in 2017 when the current infrastructure was approaching the end of its lifespan, and an upgrade needed to be found.
“A dialogue began about which console would be the best fit for the venue. We considered several options from the SD Range and then, to our excitement, the Quantum 338 was launched,” explains DWR’s Kyle Robson. “We instantly knew this console would be perfect for the arena. It ticked all the right boxes for what they were looking for and they were extremely eager to get the ball rolling on the upgrade. Not only was the spec ideally suited, but the budget allowed for the purchase of two Quantum 338 consoles to oversee both FOH and monitor duties.”
With the console unanimously agreed, and DWR appointed as the official audio supplier and installer for the project, the sys

Denmark - The largest music venue in the Nordics has refreshed its acoustics with the evoke system from Flex Acoustics to provide optimal conditions for any kind of music, from rock to classic. An event on 9 May will mark the world premiere, with a live presentation for architects, acousticians, and sound engineers taking place in Aarhus, Denmark.
Evoke is a powerful variable acoustics technology that transforms a hall acoustically in five seconds - with barely any visual change to be seen.
Using the evoke technology, multipurpose halls can present a wide variety of styles of music with literally optimal acoustics: from choir, chamber music over brass bands to rock concerts and even cinema. All with ideal reverberation time in every frequency band to ensure an optimal sound experience and performance.
The Evoke system consists of several panels of any surface finish, such as wood, leaving a high degree of design freedom to architects and designers.
"Since it is challenging to present evoke's accuracy and power only by our well documented acoustic data, we hope interested professionals will leave their zoom calls and experience the magic of Evoke first hand at our event in May", says Niels W. Adelman-Larsen, founder of Flex Acoustics.
Jonas Knive, head of production of Aarhus Concert Hall, elaborates on the venue´s new investment: “Our small hall was optimized acoustically by installing 150 evoke panels. The result is striking and uplifting. There has been a huge improvement for the benefit of both audience and performers. E

USA - Oregon-based audio production and installation company Alpha Sound has reported two successful Nexo ID series installations this year in local churches. Central to the high levels of performance achieved in St Paul’s Episcopal Church and Kingwood Bible Church, both in Alpha Sound’s hometown of Salem, is the deployment of a pair of Nexo’s new ID84 columns as the main speakers, supplemented by ultra-compact ID14s covering smaller areas of the churches.
Alpha Sound’s Devin Sheets reports, “When we first got our hands on the ID84, we discovered something very different from a conventional column loudspeaker. Firstly, the soft dome tweeter array lends what I would describe as an almost ‘hi-fi’ sonic characteristic, with an open, natural high end that’s perfectly suited to speech reproduction, which makes up so much of a typical church service.
“Then there’s the coverage. With continued downward off-axis response intelligibility, we found that a pair of ID84s mounted 20 feet up delivered consistent SPL and frequency coverage right to the very back of the venue. It’s fair to think of the ID84 as a viable substitute for a small line array in applications where the budget is limited.”
The system at St Paul’s uses a pair of ID84s in what is a long, narrow, and semi-reverberant liturgical space. With a shared sonic signature, ID14s are used to cover the transept, choir, and overflow areas.
A similar system is deployed at the Kingwood Bible Church, where the main space is somewhat shorter at 55ft, with relatively dry acoust

Belgium - Schouwburg is the municipal Theatre in Kortrijk in the West Flanders region and is located right at the heart of this city in Schouwburgplein (Theatre Square). Flanked by several historic buildings, it offers two stage spaces, an 800-seater main hall and a smaller 120 capacity space that is scheduled for a complete rebuild over the next two years.
The theatre has recently invested in Robe T1 Profile and LEDBeam 150 moving lights and is now in preparation for - hopefully - being able to return to full post-pandemic programme of live performances.
The Schouwburg Kortrijk’s newest Robe moving lights were a recommendation by lighting technician Lander Riemaeker who has worked there for eight years and often lights the venue’s own productions. He also engages in external freelance work as an LD, programmer, and operator.
It was Lander who brought the first Robe fixtures - LEDWash 300s - into Schouwburg Kortrijk shortly after he started working there eight years ago. Before then, he was regularly using Robe products whilst working for rental company PVL and always found Robe to be a solid option.
The LEDWash 300s were very successful, so when the time came to find a spot luminaire with a good output, smooth dimming and framing shutters, several different brands were considered, and after shootouts, Robe’s T1 Profile proved to be “by far the nicest option and the best investment” comments Lander.
Lander was already familiar with Robe’s first-generation DL theatrical LED moving light range through working at the theatr

Romania - The Steaua Stadium is a new, multi-purpose stadium located in the Ghencea neighbourhood of Bucharest. With a 31,000-spectator capacity, it’s the home of CSA Steaua Bucuresti and is now the largest sports complex in the country.
A replacement for the outdated stadium, the new venue was used by the North Macedonia team during preparations for UEFA Euro 2020, before being officially inaugurated in the summer of 2021 with a football match between Steaua and OFK Beograd.
The contractor for the Steaua Stadium chose an LED lighting system from Philips Signify, featuring 252 Arena Vision LED DMX and 152 Uni Flood RGBNW fixtures. The lighting control system comprises an LPC 1 (Lighting Playback Controller 1) and a TPC (Touch Panel Controller) from Pharos Architectural Controls. The LPC 1 offers 512 channels of DMX/eDMX, while the TPC offers 512 channels of eDMX for a total of two DMX universes of control, as required for the project.
Featuring individually controllable and independently running timelines and scenes, the control system offers the ability to build dynamic, precise and fully bespoke pre-programmed lighting effects using the Pharos Designer 2 software. The system also provides the added benefit of real-time manual overrides.
The TPC is a sophisticated touchscreen lighting controller offering vast design potential with a fully integrated user interface and a single power-over-ethernet (PoE) network connection. As well as being a stand-alone controller in its own right, the TPC has a 4.3” fully customisable touch panel and ca

Germany - From corporate meetings to formal galas, the Congress Centrum Ulm in Southern Germany, is a destination venue for a wide range of science, economic and cultural events. The centre’s 11,500sq.ft, 1,500-seat Einstein Saal, or Einstein Hall, and the foyer of the Congress Centrum Ulm (CCU) recently underwent a sound system re-design with Renkus-Heinz ICLive loudspeakers playing an integral role for a smart, future-proof audio upgrade.
Named after Albert Einstein, who was born in Ulm in 1879, the CCU’s Einstein Hall features a movable stage and proscenium for use as an orchestra pit or stage extension. The venue’s vast wood-panelled walls, towering ceiling and tiered balconies create a stunning view toward the main stage. While architecturally appealing, these characteristics lead to acoustic challenges.
With the new audio system, the city of Ulm, property developer of the CCU, wanted to deliver a high-quality sound experience to every seat in the house and employed the audio consultant office HF-Medientechnk to design the new audio system with a special emphasis on the spoken word. Live music - including full orchestral performances - also feature in the venue.
HF-Medientechnik modelled the acoustics of the hall with EASE software and auditioned several loudspeakers to find the best solution for the was chosen. At the same time, the system was compact enough to allow the use of additional mobile equipment of external event promoters at the sides of the stage without any restrictions.
The ICLive digitally steerable array system fro

UK - Back To The Future, Alan Silvestri and Glen Ballard’s popular musical is currently playing London’s Adelphi Theatre, delighting audiences with a spectacular hi-energy production in a show produced by Colin Ingram and his team and directed by John Rando.
Award-winning lighting designer Tim Lutkin and lighting consultant Hugh Vanstone worked closely together and specified a zactrack SMART automated follow system for the show, which allows single and multiple lighting fixtures to be selected and to follow actors and dancers using a combination of tag-and-anchor and UWB (Ultra-Wide-Band) real-time radio tracking technology. This package brings considerable flexibility to the production.
In addition to enabling specific lights to be used as remote follow spots, activated from the console cues for precise moments, Tim has developed a style and creative treatment utilising zactrack with multiple light sources, which has been successfully applied on several shows including three major productions at Disneyland Paris.
“I specifically wanted to use this technique on Back to The Future,” explained Tim, referring to highlighting groups of performers - chorus, dancers, etc., - with several moving lights dotted all over the rig. Rather than having light coming only from one angle or dimension as in ‘traditional’ follow spotting, zactrack SMART allows simultaneously selected lights to cover all angles and illuminate and track their targets from a 360° perspective all around the stage.
This produces a sculpted layer of light

France - After a recent move to La Joliette district, the Jesuit community of Marseille required an audio system for their newly built chapel and adjoining conference room which is housed on the ground floor of their five-storey building, which also hosts private habitations.
The Jesuits were so impressed by Ecclesia Sound’s recent sound upgrade in their Saint-Ferréol church in Marseille - which also boasts Active Audio column speakers - that they trusted again the system integrator with their chapel.
For this project, Ecclesia Sound had the luxury of fitting the cabling prior to construction, ensuring the chapel’s aesthetic would not be compromised: “I got on the project in October 2020, exactly one year before the delivery of the site,” states Joachim Fritsch, acoustic engineer and founder of Ecclesia Sound. “I was able to redraw the original wiring plans, which also gave me an opportunity to place all the ducts in the right place.”
Active Audio, a brand of Arbane Groupe, has two of its Ray-On 110 passive column loudspeakers installed in the chapel to deliver the sound throughout the hexagon shaped room, which seats up to 60 people.
Due to the speaker’s discreet size (128mm width) the system integrator could easily fit the equipment flush with the back-lit stained glass windows to maintain the integrity and beauty of the space.
“A temporary fabric-ceiling had been fitted awaiting the permanent wooden replacement, so ceiling speakers were not an option,” comments Fritsch. “After speaking with the architect, we agre

France - On the northeastern border of Paris, the Philharmonie de Paris complex is the musical epicentre of the City of Lights, encompassing an amphitheatre, concert hall, museum, an exhibition hall and studios and workshops. The newest addition to the complex, the Philharmonie des enfants (Children's Philharmonic) was created for children aged four to 10 with the mission to develop hearing sensitivity through interactive games and immersive sound installations.
Children take their first steps into the world of sound and music in the new, purpose-built venue. The space encompasses five different themed areas, one of which aptly named Plein les oreilles! (Earfuls!), has been equipped with L-ISA Immersive Hyperreal Sound technology.
Plein les oreilles! is a blend of specially created musical films, stories, concert recordings and sound experiences. By combining fully-spatialised sound, via L-ISA technology, and 360-degree video projection deployed from floor to ceiling, visitors are enveloped in a truly sensory experience. From the beginning of the project design, Mathilde Michel-Lambert, director of the Philharmonie des enfants, wanted to create an immersive room that encompasses new areas of creativity, and seamlessly combines sound spatialisation with the visual narrative to awaken the senses of the audience.
“Knowing that the use of virtual reality headsets, mobile phones and tablets is not recommended for children under 10, we designed Plein les oreilles! with this in mind,” Michel-Lambert explains. “None of the audio-visual elements are

The Netherlands - Theater Aan de Parade in Den Bosh has been closed for a complete refurbishment since August 2020, with a reopening set for 2023. During this time - COVID regulations notwithstanding - the venue has planned to stage productions in eight venues in and around the city including Hall 8 of the city’s Brabanthallen exhibition centre, which has 860 seats and is the largest of the temporary venues.
The lighting rig installed in Hall 8 for the first production run featured Robe T1 Profile and LEDBeam 350s moving lights which were specified by lighting specialist Gertjan Stads and supplied by Unlimited Vision & Sound, a local rental company based in Rosmalen.
These have been added to the Robe DL4S Profiles and LEDWash 300s already owned by the theatre to make a versatile all-purpose rig in the roof which is good for lighting a vibrant range of shows - from comedy to drama and dance.
Robe was first introduced in this theatre back in 2017. The venue closed for asbestos removal, and moving lights were then needed in the small hall as the fly bar system was no longer operational, so this prompted the switch to greater flexibility through utilising moving lights.
The DL4S Profiles were installed for front lighting requirements while the LEDWash 300+s joined the rig to replace the old PAR cans, a process for which Gertjan and his team advised.
They also noticed that as most lighting people and directors were used to working with conventional lighting fixtures, what was needed was a period of adjustment to be able to optimise