Pharos - Leaderboard - May 2024

Projects

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Lithuania - The renowned state puppet theatre has undergone a largescale technical refurbishment valuing over 2.2m euros in its Grand Hall, selecting a DiGiCo mixing console to sit at the centre of a new audio system, with the aim of enabling more complex and high-profile productions.
Situated in the capital of Vilnius, and sponsored by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania, the Lėlė Puppet Theatre was established in 1977 in the restored house of the distinguished Duke Oginsky. The theatre’s main performance space required an overhaul of its stage, lighting and sound equipment, so the venue approached Sonus Exsertus, stage technology design and integration company, with the brief to install an industry leading system, which swiftly let to the selection of the compact, feature-filled DiGiCo SD12 at FOH.
“Installing new technology in the main hall wi

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USA - Nashville-based PTP Live has invested in 60 Ayrton Argo 6 FX lights for its live production work for music, festival and corporate clients and to bolster its rental inventory of lighting and video equipment.
The new Argo 6 FX lights expand PTP Live’s roster of Ayrton fixtures, which already includes Ayrton Khamsin S and MagicPanel 602 units.
“We’re doing a lot of shopping this year, adding a lot of new inventory,” says president Andrew Sparks. “We were looking for a fixture that was super bright, versatile and for outdoor use, and had great eye candy effects as well as general wash capabilities. We saw several different brands of fixtures, and the Argo 6 FX lights filled the bill.”
The Argo 6 FX is a versatile, fully-equipped luminaire designed for a multitude of applications. It offers all the features of a wash light and can generate many co

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USA - Nashville-based band Big Daddy Weave has been raising the roof and bringing down the house on their ongoing 2023 Heaven Changes Everything Tour. The Dove Award winners - including founding members Mike Weaver, Joe Shirk, and Jeremy Redmon, who met at the University of Mobile and formed the band in 1998, along with the newer rhythm section of Brian Beihl and Raul Jose Alfonso - have long been popular and enduring staples of the contemporary Christian music universe.
They’re also extremely conscious of the role that technology plays in their sound, so this tour saw the addition of a pair of DiGiCo Quantum225 consoles, used for both front of house and monitors. In fact, they liked what the Quantum desks did so much that they bought them, rather than renting them for the duration of a tour as is common. They made an investment in DiGiCo technology because of the long-ter

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Mexico - Xcaret is one of Mexico’s leading tourist attractions. At the end of 2021, the park’s technical team upgraded a problematic projector-based video system in its main Tlachco Theatre with ADJ LED video panels.
The new setup not only improved the clarity of the video content shown as part of the venue’s resident production but has also proven to be far more reliable than the previous system, following over a year of continuous use across daily shows.
Opened in 1990, Xcaret is a visitor attraction on the Riviera Maya that celebrates Mexico’s present and rich past. Located on the coast of the Caribbean Sea, 5km south of Playa del Carmen and 75km south of Cancún, the park showcases an area of natural beauty. Beneath a jungle canopy are a network of underground rivers and cenotes (flooded sinkholes) as well as ancient Mayan buildings, while on the coast is

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USA - Christie MicroTiles LED took the stage with Something Corporate during the band’s headlining reunion show at Las Vegas’ House of Blues on 20 October and their main stage performances at the Las Vegas Festival Grounds on 21-22 October as part of the When We Were Young festival.
Vocalist and pianist Andrew McMahon performed on a piano fully wrapped in Christie MicroTiles LED, which displayed images and lyrics from the band’s catalogue. Kevin ‘Clutch’ Page, principal, Procraft Media, who is also the bassist in Something Corporate, led the integration of this one-of-a-kind project.
Something Corporate returned to the stage after a 13-year hiatus. The performances also marked their first shows in 20 years with the band’s original line-up.
Bassist Clutch recalls the history of the band, and how they vinyl-wrapped McMahon’s piano with album artwork

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Italy - Vivitek reports that its DU8395Z, DU9800Z and DU9900Z projectors have been chosen for use in immersive projection experiences created by Playartmultimedia. The scenographic project has been enlivening events ranging from private wedding events to public town activities in over 150 venues across Italy.
Immersive projection experiences are much in demand, thrilling audiences with their fusion of colour, vivid images and punchy soundtracks. As with many modern artistic endeavours, the immersive rooms – or ‘Sala Immersiva’ - marries a labour of love with the latest in AV and IT technology to bring the visual extravaganza to life.
The driving force behind Sala Immersiva is Giuseppe Casciello, art director, Playartmultimedia. Commenting on the concept, he said: “My inspiration is spurred by the necessary and continuous evolution of this wonderful art form. F

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The Netherlands - Prolights' Jet Wash7 illuminated the Urban Garden room of the Vibes complex in Eindhoven. From a sports centre to a location for corporate and private events, Vibes is a concept location based on technology, innovation, knowledge and design and unfolds in various multifunctional rooms designed to host any type of event.
The Vibes team turned to Hoevenaars for the lighting of the Urban Garden room, a modern space based on the aesthetics of the urban jungle, with a surface area of 360m2 the room can accommodate up to 700 people, meeting the needs of events other than corporate ones, including live music.
For the lighting setup, the room was fully equipped with a selection of 16 Prolights Jet Wash7s, supplied by Full AVL, Prolights distributor in the Netherlands.
“We chose the Prolights Jet Wash7 for their versatility and adaptability" explained

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The Netherlands - Clear-Com and The Crew BV come together to bring the latest OB van technology to take on their variety of programmes and set locations. Based in Nederhorst den Berg, close to the broadcasting centre of the Netherlands in Hilversum, The Crew BV has a refreshing view on broadcasting. Focused on the skills and talent of their people, they seek out the best equipment and tools to accomplish their wide variety of work.
Their programming runs the gamut, from live sporting events to gameshows, talent shows to national fundraisers, from reporting to biographies, cooking shows to concerts. These wide-ranging programmes are set in studios, theatres, clubs and the outdoors.
Catering to their technical needs are two modern OB vans and a flexible mobile set that they have labelled ‘Flight Pack’. The flagship of the fleet is their new OBV2, a van that can proce

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UK - LPM Restaurant & Bar, a French and Mediterranean restaurant in the heart of Mayfair, recently upgraded their audio system to 1 Sound. Leonardo Dani, sales executive from 1 Sound, approached Middlesex Sound & Lighting Limited (MSL) looking for a UK installation partner to work on this project, which would mark the first 1 Sound installation in the UK. 1 Sound had previously been installed in LPM’s Miami restaurant location.
The design challenge was to create evenly distributed audio where the main dining area is an unusually triangular shape. MSL deployed 16 Cannon C5i’s for a premium audio experience. These 5-inch coaxial point sources were mounted and aimed using the C5’s C-Clamp accessory. The C5i’s were combined with 1 Sound’s ultra compact and discreet FSUB45’s. Six Floor subwoofers were distributed under existing banquet seating throughout all t

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Indonesia - Argo Visual, a multimedia equipment rental company based in Jakarta, is a long-time user of Brompton Technology LED processing. Since its inception in 2007, Argo Visual has achieved many milestones, including adding LED screens to its inventory in 2012. A significant breakthrough in 2018 saw it also take on big video mapping projects, including the Asian Para Games opening ceremony and 2022 G20 gala dinner.
Argo Visual’s favoured combination is Tessera SX40 4K LED processors powering its AOTO LED video wall. “Many of the projects we work on are seen on the world stage, so it’s absolutely vital that we provide the highest quality equipment,” says Alvin Antono, the company’s owner. As a company, Argo Visual works directly and very close with other leading manufacturers in the industry such as Panasonic, Christie Digital, and disguise.
A prime examp

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Denmark - The Royal Danish Opera in Copenhagen has invested in 80 Robe Forte luminaires in a package featuring 32 x Forte Profiles, 34 x Forte Fresnels, four Forte FollowSpots and 10 x iForte (IP rated) moving lights, as part of a technical upgrade.
Chief LX Sune Schou has worked at the Copenhagen Opera House for five years. The venue is one of the most modern such facilities in the world and is located on the island of Holmen in central Copenhagen. Sune is one of three chief LXs based there and is involved with all aspects of lighting production across all the Opera House’s performance spaces.
Designed by Henning Larsen and opened amid an international fanfare in 2005, an average of 12 world-class productions are staged annually, a mix of new and revival works all running in repertoire.
The quest for new moving lights started two years ago. There were moving

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USA - Guns N’ Roses have been touring the world this year, delivering hard-hitting shows throughout North America after having played in Europe and the Middle East over the summer. With them on tour is front of house engineer Dave Natale, who has used Austrian Audio mics for two of the most recent Rolling Stones tours.
For the world tour, Natale has employed Austrian Audio OC18 precision microphones for overheads and CC8 true condenser microphones on the hi hat, ride cymbal and cowbell on drummer Frank Ferrer’s kit.
Not only are these Vienna, Austria-made mics delivering on the drums, but Richard Fortus, Guns N’ Roses guitarist, also liked what he hears: “Dave put the Austrian Audio mics on my amps when he started with us. I have been so impressed with the sound of the OC18 on my Magnatone amps live that I had to try them in my studio as well. I’m blown away

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UK - Manzi’s was a landmark London West End fish restaurant, which originally closed in 2006. Now, inspired by its legacy, The Wolseley Hospitality Group has added this brand to its estate in the centre of Soho.
Opened at the end of June, the operators turned to one of their regular suppliers, Marquee AV, to enhance the atmosphere by providing an advanced music system. This needed to be capable of delivering DJ levels within a restaurant environment, situated on two floors.
Project director Stacey Tough turned to Martin Audio’s popular CDD range knowing they would meet the key criteria: as the smallest in the range, the CDD5 specified was ultra-compact, the white versions would blend seamlessly into the general designer’s aesthetic and they would deliver the required levels, at both the top and lower ends of the spectrum.
To meet the purpose, 28 wall-mounte

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The Netherlands - On 9 September 2023 the Smeerboel Festival took place at the Grasweide Papendorp in Utrecht. Around 18,000 house and dance fans and other festival goers enjoyed the tunes of numerous DJs and acts. On different stages, equipment supplier Stagelight provided Infinity and Showtec fixtures to bring the performances to their peak.
The Smeerboel Festival entertained the crowds on a hot Saturday in early September with famous acts and DJs on six stages. For the Joy' and 'Basis stages, Stagelight supplied a whopping 178 Infinity iB-2R moving heads, 13 Furion S401 Spot moving heads and 59 Showtec Helix S5000 Q4 wash lights, which were also used as strobes.
Tom van den Burg from T.Y.S Productions was responsible for operating the Joy stage. Seventy iB-2R moving heads acted as a ceiling of light, accentuating the distinctive look of the transparent tent covering

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UK – panLab Console, the new spatial audio solution from Innovate Audio, enabled a surround sound performance at London’s Southbank Centre on 4 November, when cellist and composer Peter Gregson presented a performance of his 2021 album, Patina, in the Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall Foyer.
Patina was written and recorded for spatial audio, so a live surround sound presentation was a natural step – albeit one that required a touch of audio innovation. Called Patina 360, the presentation, in which Gregson was accompanied by the Carducci String Quartet, was planned by sound engineer Brett Cox, with help from one of the Southbank Centre’s senior sound technicians, Tony Birch.
Birch explains, “Our head of classical music, Toks Dada, invited Peter to stage the piece in the Foyer as one of our series of late-night classical events. The

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South Africa - The 2023 Brixton Light Festival in Johannesburg delivered its third – and largest to date – event filled with the magic, mystery and imagination evoked by light. It started during the covid lockdowns as a community-led and driven art-based lighting experience to unite the already tight-knit, lively and diverse neighbourhood of Brixton. The goal is to celebrate the spirit and importance of community, and the power of art and empathy.
Sound designer and Brixton resident Fried Wilsenach from Working Dog helped implement several lighting installations this year, including one illuminating the impressive Sentech Tower, a landmark that dominates the Brixton skyline and that of the surrounding Auckland Park suburb. The Tower is part of SABC’s (South African Broadcasting Corporation) broadcasting HQ which is also located there.
Fried in turn asked lightin

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Canada - Matthieu Larivée and the team at Lüz Studio have been relentlessly pushing the envelope of late, driving technology in new directions to transform stages in ways that would have been unimaginable not long ago. So, it should come as no surprise that following their widely acclaimed work on last year’s Jason Aldean tour, when they turned the entire upstage wall into a stunning 3D video screen, these creatives dramatically changed their plans for 2023.
Unlike its predecessor, this year’s just concluded Highway Desperado Tour had a production design that was dominated by a single vertical, centre stage video screen. Measuring 24’ high by 18’ wide by 6’ deep and angled at 20-degrees, the 8mm blow-through wall displayed captivating IMAG images and dynamic patterns accentuated by pixel mapped light from Chauvet Professional Maverick Storm2 BeamWash fixtures, wh

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Colombia - They knew her as Carolina Giraldo Navarro in her native Medellín, Colombia, but the world now knows her as platinum global recording artist Karol G. She’s the multi- pop culture icon, and trend-setting powerhouse who’s at home with reggaeton, Latin trap, sertanejo, and other genres that are creating a new artistic front in global music.
She recently completed the US leg of her headlining Mañana Será Bonito tour. It kicked off in August at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas and made stops in Pasadena, Miami, Houston, Dallas, and East Rutherford, NJ, and will continue later this year in Medellín, on 1 December, and on to Mexico City, Monterrey, and Guadalajara early next year.
It’s a non-stop whirl that needs a console that can keep up with her and the show, and that’s what they found with a pair of DiGiCo Quantum338 consoles, supplied by tour vendor C

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South Africa - Future Menus 2023 by Unilever was recently held in Durban where top chefs from around the world encouraged local chefs, restaurants, and hotels with ideas to create modern comfort foods to boost the use of wild and pure foods, incorporate mindful proteins when cooking and to create low waste menus.
Insane Sound was commissioned by experiential company Matriarch to supply both the full technical, which included the use of their new Absen Neptune NT 2.9 Lite series screen, as well as the manufacture and installation of the complete set.
For Vimal Rawjee, who started Insane Sound in 2004, business has always been about a personal commitment; to go the extra mile and to offer professional equipment with quality in mind. The Covid-19 pandemic put a major strain on his company when the live events industry took a large knock, and soon after, Insane Sound’s

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Italy - Prolights products illuminated the Marrageddon festival, a celebration of Italian hip-hop, conceived and hosted by hip-hop artist Marracash.
With two dates between Milan and Naples, the festival hosted a line-up that included Fabri Fibra, Salmo, Guè Pequeno, Lazza and Madame, attracting more than 130,000 tspectators.
To support such a large entourage of guests it was necessary to design a lighting setup that was up to par with the live performances of the festival; the lighting design was entrusted to Giorgio De Cassan, alongside Lorenzo De Pascalis, who oversaw the entire artistic direction of the festival.
For the lighting setup, the team relied on rental company Mister X Service, selecting a wide range of equipment, including 130 Prolights projectors: 40 Sunblast 3000FC, 50 Astra Wash19Pix, and 40 VersaPar.

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USA - California punk rockers The Offspring’s FOH engineer, Greg Bess, chose Britannia Row Productions for 2023 audio solutions, culminating in a US autumn tour.
Bess has worked with The Offspring for 26 years, yet his relationship with Britannia Row dates back even further - four decades and counting.
“The first time I contacted Brit Row was in 1979, when I wanted to drop in on Pink Floyd’s The Wall tour,” he begins. “I’m proud to say that I’ve now known Bryan Grant for longer than I haven't.”
Fresh from summer festivals, The Offspring - whose members comprise lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Bryan ‘Dexter’ Holland, bassist Todd Morse, drummer Brandon Pertzborn and lead guitarist Kevin ‘Noodles’ Wasserman - embarked on a North American tour in support of 10th studio album Let the Bad Times Roll.
Venues included Irvine’s F

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USA - Right from the start, Papa Roach fans at Newark’s Prudential Centre knew that the trailblazing metal masters were going to be coming at them in full force. Walking onto a dark stage, the band started to play Between Angels and Insects as the background behind them suddenly erupted with strobing images from a massive video wall that ran almost the entire width of the stage.
The menacingly raw and powerful images on the wall were repeated on the extended riser, making the band members on it look as if they were being absorbed into the foreboding video. It was exactly the kind of evocative narrative that German lighting designer Mathias Kuhn and the band from northern California envisioned when they sat down to plan the production for the Revolution Live tour in support of Shinedown.
“Video is by far the biggest part of the show,” said Kuhn. “The band

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UK/USA - Three leading West End/Broadway theatre lighting designers are using GLP’s new impression X5 Wash - all supplied by Paul Anderson at Sparks Theatrical Hire - to light current or upcoming shows.
Leading the charge was Paule Constable, who originally requested them for Guys and Dolls at London’s Bridge Theatre. This has been followed by Tim Lutkin, who is responsible for lighting The Crucible at the Gielgud Theatre, and Paul Pyant, who is in production for Noises Off at the Theatre Royal Haymarket.
“These are three highly respected designers,” observes Anderson, himself a premier theatre lighting design specialist. “Early on in the [Guys and Dolls] process we approached Paule to see what equipment she would desire. As she had just lit a show on Broadway where she used the impression X5s, she requested them.”
Sparks o

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Malta - Manta, a luxurious poolside Mediterranean experience in the heart of Sliema, opened this year with a 1 Sound audio system. Black Box Pro is the AV integration company that was contracted for this project. Black Box Pro signed on to be 1 Sound’s exclusive distributor in Malta earlier this year making this their first project to include 1 Sound shortly after signing.
This lido and restaurant offers a captivating ambiance, and breath-taking views on the Mediterranean Sea. This restaurant called for elegance in every aspect and especially durability regarding the loudspeaker installation. The 1 Sound units are IP55 and saltwater resistant with stainless steel 316 accessories and hardware.
Black Box Pro was the first to install 1 Sound’s newly released Cannon C8s for Manta which offers tranquility and lively entertainment with an in-house DJ, saxophonists, and
  1. Celestial brings drone show back to Frome
  2. Elation lights impact on Latin Music Awards
  3. Clear-Com connects Ed Sheeran’s Mathematics
  4. Waves eMotion in the mix for Gus Dapperton
  5. Claypaky lights Croatian Pink Floyd Show
  6. Christie projection powers Prague’s Signal Festival
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