USA - John Garberson created the lighting rig for the Powerhouse hip-hop celebration at the Desert Diamond Arena outside Phoenix.
Garberson and his team at Creative BackStage positioned a potent lighting rig on the 60ft wide by 40ft deep stage, using fixtures supplied by LIT Lighting. At the same time, however, they made sure to arrange things so there was a generous amount of open space at the stage’s centre. This gave headliners Kevin Gates, Tech N9ne, Young Nudy, and other performers a chance to standout, and connect to the sellout crowd of 20,000 without distractions.
While the hip-hop stars performed their art against the ‘blank canvas’ they were surrounded and supported by dynamic lighting displays above them and to their sides. Principal lighting designer James Simpson and the visiting LDs used a rig anchored by 48 Chauvet Professional fixtures to create a rich variety of powerful, fast-moving looks that reflected the personalities and musical styles of the artists on stage.
“Our stage lent itself to creating a lot of majestic looks with its 40ft high front truss,” said Garberson. “We wanted to give the LDs a variety of lighting fixtures with different performance features, so they could go in any direction they wanted.”
Included in the show rig were 24 Rogue R2 Wash and Maverick MK2 Spot fixtures, as well as eight STRIKE 4 blinder and eight Rogue R3 Beam units. Garberson and L2 Matthew Berg arranged these fixtures in different configurations on overhead trussing and on five-foot and seven-foot truss stands to create a wid
World - The 1975’s appetite for touring is considerable and their schedule is gruelling, so their touring equipment needs to be able to keep up. Eighteen rounds of air and road freight can take its toll and reliable consoles that can withstand dust, heat, cold and humidity are vital as the team and their equipment cross multiple time zones. The tour relies on a DiGiCo Quantum 7 at front of house, and a Quantum 5 at the monitor position.
Monitor engineer Francois Pare states, “I don’t think I’ve used any other desk since 2016. Nowadays the shows are so involved, there aren’t many desks that can handle the number of channels we need. On The 1975, we have an eight-piece band, and the show is quite theatrical, there’s a lot going on effects wise on stage, so it all adds up.”
At front of house, Lee McMahon’s comments, “Building this show has been an amazing journey; the band really care about sonics and how to interpret album production elements in the live domain. That’s something I take very seriously. I want to present their craft in the best way possible, sometimes pushing the boundaries of what is traditionally achievable within occasionally hostile acoustic spaces. It’s been a lot of fun bringing this show to fans all around the world. I’ve toured with SD11i, SD12, SD10 and SD5 consoles at different times over the years, but the Quantum processing has given me a lot more room to do things the way I want to.”
Touring the world for 18 months is a mammoth undertaking and having a strong team behind you is essential. Demands
USA Country singer Scotty McCreery’s Cab in a Solo Tour is making its way through the US with a versatile setlist that transitions between upbeat anthems and touching ballads, backed by three upstage LED screens driven by tvONE's Green Hippo brand of Hippotizer media servers.
Landing at Boston’s new MGM Musical Hall at Fenway at the beginning of March, the North Carolina native’s production was ramped up as fans flocked to see McCreery. Striking graphics, animations and imagery from McCreery’s music videos were displayed on the three portrait LED walls, which were made up of ROE’s ultra-fine 8.33mm pixel pitch CB8 LED panels. The content was delivered by two Green Hippo Hippotizer Karst+ MK2 media servers sourced from 4Wall Entertainment and controlled using a grandMA3 console.
Production designer Drew Hornback of DH Production Designs created the concept for the 2024 tour in collaboration with McCreery and his production team. “This is the first time in a while that Scotty is carrying an LED wall on tour,” explains Hornback, who designed the set, lighting and video elements. “I chose Hippotizer Karst+ because it is quite the workhorse. Scotty and his band are playing many different types of venues this year, including festivals and varying-sized spaces, and I knew that this server could handle the amount of different content and output at each gig.
“Some festivals will only require a 16x9 output for a centre LED wall, others will only use house side screens. Using the Karst+ system, I knew the team would be able to pull off each
Europe - Czech moving and LED lighting manufacturer Robe celebrated its 30th anniversary at the 2024 Prolight + Sound expo in Frankfurt and looked forward to another 30 years of lighting innovation.
The entertainment technology brand presented the finale of the Power of Imagination show, that entertained packed audiences five times a day and also staged a Rock ‘n’ Robe stand party on the evening of the second day, featuring Queen tribute band Queenie. Additionally, an array of new lighting products was launched and on the eve of the expo, Robe announced the acquisition of LSC Control Systems.
LSC joined the other Robe businesses – sister architectural brand Anolis, console manufacturer Avolites and control solutions provider Artistic Licence
The two public ‘dark demonstration’ rooms on the booth were constantly busy throughout the four days with the iBOLT, iFORTE LTX and the T32 Cyc attracting interest.
Robe CEO and co-founder Josef Valchar commented, “We enjoyed a truly amazing Prolight, the stand was busy, we saw a diverse mix of people from many sectors and from all around the world including so many of our own distributors who rocked up for the party, all of which made it very special.
“Everyone from our talented creative team who produced the show to our equally brilliant logistics, planning and administration teams that paid attention to every detail of the organising – from the products to the merch to the graphical elements, the refreshments and data gathering – both in advance and on site. A LOT of pe
Canada - Montreal studio Le Lab Mastering has built an all-Focal DolbyAtmos room, adding Atmos mastering to its offerings on top of fully analogue stereo, vinyl mastering, and lacquer cutting. The 7.1.4 Atmos studio features an all-Focal powered monitor configuration with Trio11, Trio6, Solo6, and Sub6.
The room’s layout features dual Sub6 subwoofers stacked under the left and right Trio11 monitors – four subwoofers total. This subwoofer configuration gives Le Lab’s Atmos room the ability to offer mastering for movie soundtracks and other formats that would need extended low-end response; It also offers a symmetrical low-frequency coverage in a smaller footprint.
Trio6 monitors fill out the centre and rear channels, while Solo6 are on the sides. Le Lab has already mastered a lot of legacy recordings remixed for Atmos, including Celine Dion, Sia, Whitney Houston, Usher, Yo-Yo Ma, and Eric Clapton, among many others.
Le Lab also has a stereo mastering room based around Focal Grand Utopia hi-fi monitors and Utopia EM subwoofers, “On the stereo mastering side, engineers have almost always been using consumer speakers because they’re the bridge between the professional studios and homes,” says studio owner and senior mastering engineer Marc Theriault. “I always liked the sound of Focal because they’re very natural sounding and that’s what I'm looking for.”
Although the Atmos mastering room at Le Lab wasn’t built with ‘legacy’ records in mind, the studio ended up mastering Atmos versions of many famous records on Sony’s
USA - The inaugural Montreux Jazz Festival Miami made waves this March, marking the festival’s first venture onto US shores in decades. The event presented diverse musical performances against a backdrop of waterfront vistas, with sound from the Montreux Jazz Festival Miami’s official sound partner, Meyer Sound.
The intimate 1,500-person festival held March 1–3 at The Hangar at Regatta Harbour, showcased a lineup led by headliners Jon Batiste, Daniela Mercury, and Daryl Hall, topped off each night with the Montreux Jam Sessions.
The Hangar - built in 1918 as the first continental naval air station in the United States - is a cavernous 20,000sq.ft space, with thin corrugated metal walls and vast expanses of windows, that presents significant acoustic challenges.
For 38 years, Meyer Sound has been the strategic partner and official sound provider of the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland. The Miami team comprised Jeremy Arditi, co-chair of Montreux Festival Miami and Sig Greenbaum, festival director for MJF Miami.
Navigating the venue’s acoustical intricacies, Pete Diaz Productions A1s Richard Gomez and Oliver Quintero worked with Meyer Sound’s sales and technical support services to optimize the audio experience for performers and audiences alike.
The Hangar was equipped with nine Meyer Sound Leopard compact linear line array loudspeakers and four 2100‑LFC low-frequency control elements per side, with Leopard and 900‑LFC side-fills; MJF‑210 and MJF-212A stage monitors and Ultra‑X40 compact loudspeakers as front-fills,
USA - “I don't know that there's another desk that we could really do it all with,” says Chad Olech, front-of-house mix engineer for Fall Out Boy, talking about managing the band’s complex comms infrastructure that sees three separate talkback lines coming into his DiGiCo Quantum5 console, as well as mixing a great show for fans.
“I don't think there's another manufacturer that makes something that would do what we need it to do in this situation. I'm sure we could work our way around it, but it wouldn't be as seamless and as easy.”
Rob Smuder is one of those comms sources, as he mixes the band’s monitors from a DiGiCo Quantum7 console, along with the stage manager and backline crew lines. “The main reason that I use the Q7 out here, honestly, is the matrixes,” says Smuder, who has worked with the band since 2018. “We have a ton of talkback mics that are routed all over the place; each backline person has two talkbacks, one to talk to the crew and one to talk to their band member; and all the radios go through the console.
“Meanwhile, the front-of-house has three talkbacks to go to various places. There’s a pretty robust network of us talking to each other during the show. It can get pretty chatty! But the Quantum7 matrix helps me route all of that stuff so much more reliably and effectively, and that lets me focus on the stage mixes.”
Fall Out Boy were the perennial punk-pop favourites of MTV and the Teen Choice Awards and after a hiatus from late 2009 to 2013 came back, driven by their tight package of two guitars
UK - In early March, sound designer Simon Honywill used TiMax SoundHub with TiMax TrackerD4 performer stagetracking to spatially enhance an already incredible – and quite unique – immersive performance by the Paraorchestra musical ensemble. The Nature of Why, composed by Will Gregory and choreographed by Caroline Bowditch under the artistic direction of award-winning conductor, Charles Hazelwood, was performed within a 14m circular space on the Lyric Stage at Theatre Royal Plymouth, with 100-120 audience members mingling amongst the players and dancers for each performance.
Though it wasn’t the first performance of The Nature of Why– an interpretation of the famous interview with physicist Richard Feynman which asks in empirical terms why certain physical properties occur, such as magnetic attraction and slippery ice - it was the first time the immersive theatre experience had benefitted from TiMax spatialisation. Simon Honywill described it as, “…categorically, the most mind-blowing spatial audio experience I’ve ever had.”
He explained: “TiMax SoundHub was perfect for the show especially with TiMax TrackerD4. It added so much to the performance. We realised just how good it was when, in that space full of people, heads turned immediately towards the viola solo at the beginning of the performance. The localisation was so clear and accurate.” Honywill was joined on-site by OutBoard’s Dave Haydon who assisted with TiMax SoundHub and TrackerD4 programming for rehearsals and provided support for the run of the three shows.<
UK - Jones AV, provider of advanced integrated theatre and medical training facilities in Europe has launched a new technology to turbocharge the environmental sustainability of integrated operating rooms.
As part of the development of the new ‘Integrated Operating Theatre of Things’ (ITOT), Jones AV looked to revolutionise operating room AV set-ups to overcome audio limitations, harness smart power management, reduce the number of devices via a fully digital signal chain, and scale down travel with full remote control aiming to meet Net Zero 2045 targets within the NHS.
The company installed the first ITOT system at the Cambridge Surgical Training Centre in September 2023, unveiling its solution after 18 months of intensive research and development incorporating a demo operating theatre. The system is optimised to deliver superior technological performance while reducing energy consumption to less than 75% of comparable systems.
One of the main challenges in operating theatres is audio interference, particularly from electrosurgical devices such as surgical knives. Jones AV sought a digital solution that would offer superior audio quality, reduced power consumption, and remote serviceability. Producing consistent and good quality audio in training environments, without the requirement for personal microphones, which can be challenging in a sterile area, was a key objective, allowing for better legibility for lectures and recordings of teaching materials.
Ingo Aicher, managing director at Jones AV explains: “We continually struggled wit
Hungary - After working with leading Hungarian artiste, Magdolna ‘Magdi’ Rúzsa for more than a decade, Martin Audio’s Hungarian partner, BG Event, is accustomed to rising to different challenges.
When it comes to the creative element, they strive to scale new heights with every collaboration. Two recent shows at the 12,500-cap László Papp Budapest Sports Arena proved no exception.
Rúzsa requested a 50m-long catwalk thrust, linking to a 6m x 6m ‘B’ stage. While her standard five-piece rock band would occupy main stage, there was a very different set up awaiting on the small ‘in-the-round’ secondary stage, where a 10-piece orchestra would perform. To achieve the end-result required some clever positioning and time alignment of nearly 200 Martin Audio speakers deployed by the service provider.
BG Event project manager Gábor ‘Mazsi’ Bácskay consulted with regular freelance system designer, Marci Mezei, to discuss a system that would require two unique EQ profiles in his mixer, muting and automatically changing time alignment depending on which location was being used. Also, he knew that such a long extension would obviate the need for further delay points in a venue measuring 120m distance from the stage to the back row seating.
The main stage PA comprised two hangs of MLA, each 15 elements deep plus an MLD downfill, with two hangs of 12 deep MLA used for out-hangs. A flown hang of eight MLX subwoofers was deployed on the left wing, supported by additional groundstacks of MLX, six per side, in an end-fire configuration.
Europe - Throughout February 2024, German rap artist Luciano worked his way across Germany, Switzerland and Austria on his Seductive tour. One of the first German-speaking rappers in the UK drill style, Luciano was Germany’s most streamed artist on Spotify in 2022. For this year’s tour, 80 Ayrton Cobra fixtures were supplied by TDA Clair GmbH.
Cobra is Ayrton’s first IP65 laser-sourced fixture. Designed for rendering a D65 white point that allows perfect colour reproduction, Cobra has an output of 386,000 lux at 20m, a 38x zoom ratio and zoom range of 0.6° to 23°. It also sports a highly innovative colour section, graphics capability and continuous pan and tilt.
The Cobra fixtures were specified by Stop Making Sense’s Timo Martens who created the lighting design for the tour with support and cooperation from Bertil Mark (also from Stop Making Sense), and Raphael Demonthy. The Stop Making Sense design collective was responsible for the entire realisation of the stage, the lighting, the content production, as well as the programming and supervision of the project.
Martens explains why the Cobras were chosen for this tour. “In order to create the greatest possible impact with the lamps, so that we could practically make backdrops out of light, we needed a moving light that would provide maximum output with a low weight and a great CMY colour mixing. We compared a lot of moving lights and finally decided on the Ayrton Cobra, which we have not regretted.”
Forty-eight Cobra units were rigged around a specially made 10m circular truss
Morocco - When Theatro Marrakech opened its doors in 2003, it was the very first nightclub in Morocco, and today, the 2,000-capacity is thriving. Before becoming a nightlife hotspot, Theatro was Africa’s first music hall, inaugurated over 60 years ago, and from this past, the club has kept both its décor – a mix of dramatic theatrical and dynamic Moroccan themes - and an immoderate taste for show.
Theatro Marrakech recently upgraded to a premium L-Acoustics K2 sound system to attract leading international artists who know and appreciate the brand. Inspired by a visit to Omnia Las Vegas and its L-Acoustics professional sound system, Theatro management worked with Paris-based nightclub consultant Timothée Renard of the Fox Agency and L-Acoustics certified provider integrator Potar Hurlant for the upgrade. "Our main objective was to integrate a rider-ready sound system to attract internationally acclaimed artists and provide a unique experience for all of our clubbers, from the main floor to the intimate VIP areas," commented Renard.
Timothée Renard and the POTAR team, with the support of L-Acoustics application engineer Pascal Charousset, created a different sound design for each section of the space: the central dance floor, a mezzanine, an ultra-VIP lounge facing the dance floor, and a mini-VIP zone just behind the DJ booth.
The main dance floor and an upper balcony are covered by an L/R system of six K2 per side with four KS28 in cardioid configuration flown behind each hang, while three flown A15 Wide per side provide in-fill to the main
UK - Sterling Events Group recently added to its professional audio offering through a substantial investment in EM Acoustics loudspeakers. Since adding to its portfolio, Sterling has deployed EM Acoustics systems on multiple high-profile projects.
The investment, comprised of 24 R8 Reference Series loudspeakers, complemented by 12 S215 subwoofers, has granted Sterling Events Group access to a powerful audio arsenal, enabling them to offer high-quality sound solutions to an expanding client base.
"EM’s R8s have proven to be a game-changer for us. We recognised the need for a an accessible, yet still high-quality option to meet diverse demands of some of our client base,” commented Tom Wright, assistant head of audio at Sterling Events Group. “The Reference Series fits the bill, offering remarkable musicality and great value when compared to other brands. Coupled with the different flying and mounting options, we’ve been able to use the R8s on all kinds of projects.”
Sterling Event Group has deployed the R8s on several recent projects, including graduation balls at prestigious UK universities, JD’s recent annual retail conference and Nottingham Light Night. The R8's adaptability has enabled Sterling to cater to a diverse mix of event types.
"On some projects, we have integrated the R8s with our existing set-up, and always tend to use EM Acoustics DQ20 amplifiers to run the system,” adds Wright. “We’ve received positive feedback from both engineers and event attendees when we’ve used the EM boxes.
“One of the key
Singapore - Wild Rice @ Funan is part of a modern performing arts complex sitting at the heart of Singapore’s lively civic and cultural district. Built in 2019, the main Ngee Ann Kongsi Theatre space offers an intimate 358-capacity space with Singapore’s only thrust stage, which was inspired by the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Swan Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon in the UK.
In 2022, the theatre took delivery of a new Robe moving light package – 10 x T1 Profiles and 16 x ParFect 150s – which joined the original lighting rig that was specified by theatre design consultants Charcoalblue when the venue opened. More recently, the theatre invested in Robe again, purchasing Tetra2 moving LED battens and LEDBeam 350 wash beams to boost the general lighting rig.
The fixtures were delivered via Robe’s Asia Pacific office, and these lighting investments were overseen by Wild Rice’s then technical manager, Sagaya David Kanagasingam, who has worked at the theatre since 2019.
David explains that Robe T1 Profiles were first used at the Wild Rice in 2020 for a production of Peter Pan, the annual pantomime show that year, and they were specified by lighting designer Michael Chan who wanted additional key lighting for faces.
Before then, David had used them a few times at the renowned Singapore Repertory Theatre (SRT) where he had worked for many years. There he also worked with Robe’s original DL7 theatre orientated luminaires, which he was instrumental in getting into SRT’s main venue.
David and his Wild Rice team which inclu
USA - The 2024 edition of Premio Lo Nuestro dazzled on many levels, not the least of which were what critics called the “historic collaborations” that were performed throughout the three-hour programme.
The Univision TV special featured reggaeton performer Don Omar doing a rendition of Danza Kuduro with pop-punk rocker Machine Gun Kelly. Then there was Mexican music sensation Carin León joining forces with country music star Kane Brown in the world premiere of their song The One (Pero No Como Yo). Camilo and Evaluna also broke new ground at Miami’s Kaseya Centre by performing their song PLIS for the first time on television.
The spirit of collaboration also drove the creative juices behind the vibrant production that supported the iconic awards show according to lighting designer Tom Kenny, who described the process this way: “Production designer Jorge Dominguez and I worked together to create multiple levels and lots of linear lines. With the help of a wonderful team, including Mark Butts, Fuji Convertino, Alex Flores, Ronnie Skopac House of Sam, and The Univision producers Uli and Uji, as well as the crews from 4Wall and Acme, we managed to pull off this huge colourful show.”
Contributing to this collaborative accomplishment was a collection of 277 Chauvet Professional fixtures supplied by 4Wall Entertainment. Positioned through the raked overhead truss structure as well as on the tiered stage deck the 187 Maverick MK3 Washes and 90 Rogue R1 BeamWashes added a dynamic flavour to the production with their rapid pan
Italy - In 2015, in an extraordinary display of unity, 1,000 musicians and hundreds of volunteers including producers, videographers, sound engineers and more, converged in Cesena, Italy to perform Foo Fighters' Learn to Fly live in order to realise a video.
This video was a viral musical plea to Dave Grohl, asking him to play in their city, and marked the inception of Rockin'1000, now cited as the world's largest rock band. Since its viral debut, Rockin'1000 has evolved into a global phenomenon, orchestrating annual events across Europe and Brazil.
Rockin'1000 selected L-Acoustics for its global reach and the versatility of K Series, both crucial for their travelling shows. The debut use of this system occurred at the Stade de France in 2019, installed by the France-based L-Acoustics certified provider Dushow.
Luca Stefani, sound engineer at Rockin’1000, commented, “There are many reasons why we request L-Acoustics systems for our events such as its global availability (since we need more than 100 of the same model for these productions), the perfect balance between sound quality and high SPL, the precision of the acoustic prediction software, its good stack capability and scalability, the ease of setup, deployment and management.”
Last summer, Rockin'1000 not only performed in Rome and Madrid but also emotionally returned to the origin of their journey, the Dino Manuzzi Stadium in Cesena, for a special fundraising concert aiding the flood-stricken areas of Romagna. With a thousand musicians participating, the event's complexit
Argentina - Tale of Us, the Italian DJ duo based in Berlin, made their fourth stop on the Latin American leg of their Afterlife world tour when they recently played Buenos Aires.
Claypaky lighting took centre stage at the Mandarine Park & Tent at Punto Carrasco on 8-9 March for the two shows.
The duo is known for curating shows that transport audiences to another dimension with artistic activations, visually impactful installations and unique soundscapes, created by themselves and a variety of extraordinary supporting artists. They launched Afterlife in 2016, a show billed as an odyssey through the realm of consciousness, an immersive experience that transcends the limits of reality.
Lighting designer Pascal Bach was involved in the design of Afterlife. For the Buenos Aires show, BALS (Buenos Aires Live Show) provided a large complement of Claypaky fixtures to showcase the one-of-a-kind spectacular.
“This type of show requires lightweight, fast and sharp beams in order to achieve a visually stunning installation that is up to standards. With Claypaky Sharpy Plus and Unicos, we were confident that this objective could be achieved without any problems,” says Hugo Mossi, commercial director at BALS.
The design specified four Claypaky Scenius Unicos, two per side, extended in lateral sections inside the stage structure. They were specially positioned to act as follow spots for the performing artists.
A further 36 Scenius Unicos, 18 per side, were mounted on each side of the lateral stage structures. They were oriented to prod
Saudi Arabia - Lighting designer Thomas Giegerich of bright! studios and ES:ME Entertainment Services teamed up to illuminate an agal art piece for Saudi Arabia's 2024 Founding Day celebration and used over 250 Elation Proteus luminaires to fulfil the brief.
The event, held on 22 February, commemorated the founding of the first Saudi state and showcased the ‘heritage and spirit of the kingdom’.
An agal, a traditional cord worn by Arab men to secure their headcloth, served as the centrepiece of the art installation, symbolising the cultural richness of the region. Thomas, managing director of bright! studios, brought his expertise to the project, crafting a dynamic light show that captivated audiences and could be seen across Riyadh.
In partnership with Alex Wuerfel, CEO of ES:ME Entertainment Services, Thomas orchestrated the intricate lighting design using Elation's IP-rated Proteus fixtures, chosen for their beam characteristics as well as their adaptability to the often harsh environmental conditions of the Middle East. Alex, a long-time collaborator of Giegerich's, recommended the Proteus fixtures.
“At this time of year in Saudi it’s more about the possibility of heavy rain than a sand storm so it was an easy choice for me to make,” stated Alex, who has relied on Proteus on similar projects across the region since 2019. “I like to use Elation Proteus with their marine grade specification because they work under all conditions.” Alex fulfilled the role of technical director for the event, with ES:ME Entertainment Services se
France - At Les Rencontres Trans Musicales (aka Transmusicales or Les Trans) The music starts at 9pm and continues virtually nonstop until morning. This process is repeated over the course of four days inside 100,000sq.m of cavernous airport hangers at Rennes Airport Parc Expo.
The festival was founded 44-years ago by Béatrice Macé and Jean-Louis Brossard, who still run the event today.
Whether it’s Iranian American trip-hop innovator Rahill, or French Israeli jazz drummer Roni Kaspi, the festival embraces a potpourri of artists for the express purpose of finding “the next big thing”. Les Trans has done quite a good job in this quest. Nirvana got what many regard as their first big European exposure at the festival, so too did Björk, Cabaret Voltaire and Daft Punk.
Future stars, as well as established artists, performing in the festival’s spacious Greenroom hanger were supported by a dynamic and colourful lightshow with all the flexibility necessary to reflect their highly individualised styles and personas. This was accomplished thanks to a skilfully crafted lighting design by Julien Trochu the LD of West Evénement, that featured a collection of Chauvet Professional fixtures.
Drawn from West Evénement’s own inventory, these fixtures included 10 Rogue RH1 Hybrids, which were used to provide parallel beams above the stage, as well as for counter lighting; and 24 Rogue R2 Washes, positioned on the periphery of the room and arranged in blocks of six. Also adding to the visual impact were six Vesuvio II RGBA+UV LED colour mixing fo
Canada - BlackTrax brought their expertise to the live sports industry and added a new level of immersive artistry to the recent NBA All-Star events. Whether you were spectating from home or within the arena, the NBA raised the bar by transforming how fans engage in sports broadcasting through the integration of immersive technologies, including BlackTrax, into the games as they happened in real-time.
In collaboration with ASB GlassFloor, the NBA left fans in awe as the traditional glossy hardwood floor was upgraded to a 27m-pixel screen displaying real-time visuals and animations. Certified for the highest level of professional sports competitions by federations such as the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and International Volleyball Federation, ASB GlassFloor is more than just a flooring system; it's a versatile, multi-functional solution.
The surface of the court, known as LumiFlex, became the focal point of the evening, featuring graphics, video relays, and interactive games.
BlackTrax played a crucial role in enhancing the excitement and interactivity of the games, thanks to its seamless integration with GlassCourt OS, the interactive software solution developed in partnership with ASB GlassFloor. Integrated with both LumiFlex and GlassCourt OS, BlackTrax was used to not only track hosts, players, mascots, entertainers, and audience members but also trigger animations that enhanced the players' movements in real-time.
The collaboration between BlackTrax and GlassCourt OS was instrumental in transforming the LED court into a
USA - This year’s Academy Awards featured a number of notable musical performances. With the help of Shure wireless audio technology, the industry’s most experienced professionals brought the evening at Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre to life, making certain that all 10.5m viewers watching the event around the world ‘could enjoy every blockbuster moment with crystal-clear audio quality’.
Overall, the Academy Awards’ production team deployed 50 channels of Shure Axient Digital wireless, monitoring the spectrum with Shure Wireless Workbench. The team, comprised of professionals from ATK and Soundtronics, also deployed 16 channels of Q5X PlayerMics that were combined with Axient Digital wireless receivers to deliver superior digital transmission and spectrum efficiency.
Originally developed for the NBA, Q5X PlayerMics are super concealable, bendable, and are designed with Shure Axient Digital radios. Each Q5X PlayerMic was paired with Shure’s TwinPlex Premium Subminiature microphones to provide the most transparent audio while remaining easily concealed.
"The Shure TwinPlex lavalier mic is still the state of the art for live television specials like this year's Oscars,” said Pat Baltzell, sound producer for the Academy Awards. “Unlike Broadway shows where the performers are trained to project their voices, the movie actors prefer to speak confidentially, like they do on film sets. So, the challenge is more difficult to get their voices to the back row in a 3,300-seat theatre.
We also chose to use the TwinPlex lavs on the drummers/vo
Germany - This week, the biggest and brightest names in international sports and media technology will gather for SportsInnovation at the Merkur Spiel-Arena in Duesseldorf. At this, invitation-only event, ARRI is set to present its impressive technology portfolio of camera and stabiliser equipment that ‘elevates live entertainment and sports broadcast environments to new heights’.
ARRI is new to the roster of selected exhibitors at SportsInnovation this year and presents a bespoke lineup of tools and workflows that are helping to shape the future of spectator sports. During the event’s Innovation Games, ARRI showcases its Multicam and camera stabiliser systems through live game demonstrations in partnership with the Deutsche Fussball Liga (DFL) and the National Football League (NFL). These real-life applications, featuring live soccer and American football matches, endorse the benefits of using ARRI technology for live sports entertainment and present various broadcast solutions that professionals can use today.
The ARRI equipment on the field includes a 12-camera ARRI Multicam system setup with ARRI Signature Zoom lenses and the camera stabiliser systems TRINITY Live and 360 EVO.
USA - When the Sphere opened last fall to resounding acclaim at the Venetian Resort Las Vegas, another eye-opening yet distinctly intimate entertainment venue made its debut at the same resort, Voltaire. Presented as an entirely new kind of entertainment space, Voltaire features architectural and theatrical lighting by renowned design studio Lightswitch, with Elation luminaires playing an essential role in crafting its atmosphere.
“I think it’s interesting to compare and contrast those two modalities, two totally different experiences and two ways of thinking about entertainment,” Lightswitch principal John Featherstone says of Sphere and Voltaire. “Both venues offer experiences pushed to the extremes, one a massive edifice of technology that immerses you in a grand experience, and the other a beautiful, small, intimate space that offers a remarkably personal experience.” There is a need for both, he emphasises, so that people can curate the kind of experience they want.
Lightswitch were brought to the project by award-winning environmental and scenic designer Derek McLane, a frequent Lightswitch collaborator. Lightswitch curated a one-of-a-kind aesthetic for Voltaire, drawing upon their expertise in architectural lighting design, theatrical system design, and entertainment creation. Norm Schwab, principal at Lightswitch’s San Francisco office, collaborated with Featherstone on the cross-disciplinary project.
Voltaire is fashionably chic. Guests are enveloped in an opulent, art-deco-inspired ambiance, complete with plush furnishings and
UK - Celebrating two decades since their formation and gearing up for the release of their first album in five years, January saw British rock band Bring Me the Horizon (BMTH) embark on a sold-out arena tour across the UK and Ireland.
The nx_gn wrld tour featured a display including a 500-panel LED setup, courtesy of Video Design and powered by Brompton Technology LED processing. Video Design’s Alex Leinster comments: “Not only is this tour promoting the band’s new album, it’s also an anniversary year for them, so we were asked to create their most awe-inspiring display yet, something to suit the scale of an arena and festival stage.”
Video Design was responsible for supplying and managing the screens, processing, and camera package. “On a fast paced, highly technical, large-scale production like this, it was crucial for us to use the top brands to ensure the best quality and reliability. That’s why we specified ROE LED screens coupled with Brompton Tessera processing,” adds Leinster.
Known for their electrifying performances in over 50 countries and recent headline slots at Reading & Leeds and Download festivals, Bring Me the Horizon's new tour supports their album, Post Human: Nex Gen, set for release later this year.
Its visual centrepiece comprised a large V-shaped ROE CB5 Visual Carbon LED screen flanked by smaller IMAG screens, all powered by four Brompton Technology 4K Tessera SX40 LED processors, along with six Tessera XD 10G data distribution units, with two feeds running on a closed loop to provi