UK - Since opening its doors 17 years ago, Suffolk creative entertainment, education and enterprise hub, the New Cuts Art Centre (The Cut), has gone from strength to strength, becoming a centre for arts in the community, and now offers a full programme of activities, including a weekly cinema, theatre, music, regular art exhibitions and an educational programme.
Looking to the future, the venue decided it was time to upgrade their existing lighting rig in the theatre to LED. As the space is used for a variety of performances and events, they needed fixtures that were versatile, easy to use and that could work for a range of styles - Prolights fixtures proved to be the answer.
Callum Macdonald of CM Lighting oversaw the specification and install of the lighting fixtures. He commented: “The theatre is a small community theatre that doubles up as a cinema. The programme mostly contains one-nighters and musical acts, so I wanted to create an easy to use fixed rig. There are no dedicated in-house technicians, so re-rigging for each act was not a viable option.”
After discussions and product demonstrations given by Benjamin Taylor of A.C. Entertainment Technologies - Prolights’ exclusive UK distributor - The Cut chose to invest in Prolights EclFresnels, EclProfile and Studio Cob PARs .
Callum continued: “I chose these Prolights products because of the light quality, colour and ease of use. In my opinion, the output of the saturated colours produced by the Studio Cobs exceeds that of some of the more expensive and popular equivalents out the

Australia - When Big Picture announced its partnership with South West Solutions and Ikonix to offer ‘the most technologically advanced and connected virtual event space in Australia’, the industry was anticipating something spectacular. They were not disappointed. Top-of-the-range technology means the new premium live event studio facility in Sydney transcends all expectations, with Brompton Tessera processing playing significant part in its success.
The live event studio offers a professional soundproof studio with full backstage facilities, global broadcast-grade fibre connectivity and industry-leading production technology.
The main studio set showcases a 40sq.m ROE Black Onyx 2.8mm LED screen, made up of 243 panels in its largest configuration, built in a concave curve. Dual ROE Carbon 3mm LED screens are used for presenter feedback, showing visuals like remote audiences and presenter notes, all connected by Barco E2 control system and disguise GX2C media servers.
The secondary set features an XR stage offering complete virtual set customisation with Panasonic 4k PTZ cameras, with total tracking integration to the disguise servers and presenter interaction in real-time.
“We chose Brompton for both our main and secondary sets, with four Tessera SX40 4K LED processors and 10 Tessera XD 10G data distribution units running in the main studio, with the XR stage using Tekken 3.9mm LED screens running off Brompton Tessera S4 processors,” explains Josh Moffat, business development at Big Picture.
“We have been using Brompton p

UK - After almost a decade of operation it was decided that the Sky Studios reception area needed to more contemporary, brighter and have a more inviting feel.
The Sky creative team approached David Atkinson Lighting Design (DALD) who had been involved with the various specialist lighting projects for Sky. General lighting of the space was quite a challenge as the existing metal tile ceiling is finished in dark grey with a charcoal floor, which limited the amount of ambient reflection. It was decided to introduce a fragmented linear lighting approach which would create a bold feature in the overall design of the space
Linear extrusion strips in varying lengths with opal diffusers were suspended below the ceiling and fitted with cool white 4000-kelvin LED with Dali gear. The grey granite reception wall was fitted with a full length floor to ceiling graphic light box which adds a real sense of depth as well as increasing the overall ambient lighting level of the space. The existing reception desk was fitted with a stretched printed fabric and backlit by 4000K LED strips.
To add further depth and perspective the main staircase link to the upper floors incorporates Pixel LED strips mounted to the edge of the riser, which runs a series of programmable sequences subject to any live events being held in the studios or simply the Sky spectrum.
Based on the studios being used for news and sport, the design team incorporated large showcases which featured items from sporting events. For continuity the showcases were internally illuminated with 4000K LED

USA - Conmy Hall, the historic events space used by the United States government in Fort Muer, Va, recently underwent a significant transformation with the installation of a massive 144ft by 14ft Christie CorePlus LED wall. Spearheaded by The Bridge Group and integrated and installed by Quince Imaging, the video wall is powered by a Christie Spyder X80 image processor with content management handled by a suite of Christie Pandoras Box solutions.
“Conmy Hall was originally built in 1934 as an indoor equestrian facility used by General George Patton,” says Cathy Arevian, CEO & managing director, The Bridge Group. But as the mounted cavalry was phased out, the Hall was converted into a gymnasium and later into an indoor ceremonial area. It’s now the U.S. Army’s principal performance centre, used for presidential functions and military ceremonies, as well as hosting multi-agency briefings and strategy sessions. The Hall, which seats 1200, also hosts US Army band concerts and productions by the Military District of Washington, both of which are open to the public.
Prior to the renovation, the space used two projection screens and large, vinyl-printed maps for multi-agency briefings and strategy sessions. “The equipment and processes became inadequate given the expanding needs and advancements in technology,” says Arevian. “After conducting several events using large format rental equipment and projection, it became clear that the versatility available using this equipment was worth the investment.”
In 2015, the project began, and vari

UK - Set in the tranquil parkland and ancient woodland of a Berkshire country estate, Medicine Festival 2020 proved to be a tonic for attendees and crew alike. It had been at least six months since most had been involved in any form of public event, but with safety measures in place, the five-day festival prescribed a healthy concoction of music, ancestral wisdom, art, wellbeing, future thinking, food, environmentalism, spirituality, dance and performance.
Audio Feed had been appointed as the sound partner long before COVID-19 turned the world upside down. When the organisers decided to go ahead, the Funktion-One specialists were tasked with updating the sound system designs for the three-stage set-up.
The decision to host the inaugural Medicine Festival in such challenging circumstances was founded in a desire to provide some much-needed positivity for the downcast events industry - currently fighting for its life in the fallout of the Coronavirus apocalypse. Organisers worked closely with West Berkshire Council to enable the event to go ahead on the Wasing Estate. The council and the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, were said to be delighted to have the opportunity to showcase how outdoor festivals can take place safely.
Safety measures included the reduced capacity (from 5,000 to 600), COVID-compliant risk assessments, social distancing, screening at the gate and a track and trace system for post-event.
Audio Feed’s Oz Jefferies relished the opportunity to get back to the business he’s dedicated the last decade to. He said: "It

UK - AV integrators, Old Barn Audio (OBA), have been specifying Martin Audio’s CDD series on a regular basis, ever since it was first released in 2015. And they have just added a new fitness centre to that roster.
When Steven Kelly, who runs the Natural Fit Gym in Tunbridge Wells with partner Shaun Harris, contacted OBA, their first requirement was a state of the art audio system.
“This is the first of what will be a series of upmarket gyms and they wanted the best,” recalls OBA director Phil Clark. “We told them straight away that they needed Martin Audio.” The client was reassured not only by this, but the fact that OBA are also based in the Kent spa town.
Another condition was that the speakers needed to be discreet. And so OBA opted for the ultra-compact CDD5. “Even though the CDD5 is the smallest in the CDD range they give great power, clarity and dispersion,” he says. “It’s a high-end solution, and being black, set against a black ceiling the sound source is virtually invisible.”
The gym, which includes a sunken swimming pool, is divided into four zones as far as sound distribution is concerned: café, main gym, changing rooms and members area. All four playback devices are individually controlled by the instructors’ iPhones and iPads, with bespoke music for many of the classes, played out at BGM levels.
“Steven Kelly was so impressed with the sound system that he will be running with Martin Audio again at their second venue, which will be in Hove,” continues Clark.
“We install CDD because they are

Mexico - A full complement of Elation luminaires gave a spectacular closing to Colombian singer Sebastián Yatra's tour earlier this year in Mexico City, where he shared the stage with several artists, including Mexican singer Carlos Rivera. Chris Penso, an experienced lighting designer who has worked with Latin stars such as Franco de Vita, Carlos Vives, Chayanne and Marc Anthony, was responsible for lighting Yatra's tour.
For two special performances at the Auditorio Nacional in Mexico City, the amount of lighting gear was enhanced and to spectacular effect. At Penso’s disposal were 66 Chorus Line 16 LED pixel bars, 36 Rayzor 760 LED wash/beam lights, 34 Smarty Hybrid and 28 Smarty Max moving heads, 10 Fuze Wash Z350 single source par moving heads, 24 ACL 360 Matrix LED moving head panels, 20 Protron 3K Color strobes and 12 DTW Blinder 700 IP. Yatra worked with video engineer and content creator Williams Hincapie on the tour.
Penso commented about his lighting design: "The objective for this tour was to have a wide variety of textures, atmospheres and different sensations. Since Sebastian's repertoire is very diverse, we wanted to be able to go from very aggressive and dynamic looks to very subtle and minimal scenes.”
The LD revealed his favourite Elation lights to be the Chorus Line 16, positioned above the LED screen in the centre of the stage with others in musician platforms and on the stage proscenium; and the Rayzor 760, which were mounted in pairs on three parallel structures to project general washes or narrow beams thanks to its wid

USA - Hughie’s Event Production Services, a premiere source of quality event production service and professional industry equipment in the Ohio and Western Pennsylvania region, recently replaced some of its older AV rental equipment with new, cutting-edge technology.
The company found the solution it was looking for with EAW’s ADAPTive line including the Anna Loudspeaker and Otto Subwoofer. In addition to the ADAPTive line, Hughie’s also relies on EAW’s RS123 self-powered loudspeakers for a range of projects.
From its inception in 1953, Hughie’s Event Production Services has always placed the highest value on quality of service. The Hughie’s team embarked on an 18-month search to find its new PA system. “We’ve known that EAW has made quality products for a very long time and that’s one of the main reasons they were on our radar during our upgrade search,” says project manager Jim O’Connor, Hughie’s. “When we heard about EAW’s ADAPTive line, we were very intrigued. It was clearly a system that we had to take a better look at.”
On hearing the system, the Hughie’s team knew that EAW was the right fit for them and their clients. “We knew EAW’s ADAPTive system was the right call from the minute we heard it. The sound and the sheer versatility of the different types of events that we could do with it was very appealing,” adds O’Connor.
“With our new EAW ADAPTives, we can take a few cabinets for small, ballroom type applications, or we could take many of the same cabinets and do our large outdoor events like

Germany - Thomas Giegerich is someone who likes to keep ahead of the game. He and his team at bright! studios, based in Frankfurt, were already planning to add a new ‘extended reality’ division to their visual design and services business at some point during 2020, which was in anticipation of it being more widely adopted - in particular - by television productions and video projects.
The team at bright! studios were already working with real-time tracking and real-time rendering software like Unreal Engine and Notch as part of their creative workflow, as well as running a busy show and events equipment rental company from the same premises, so combining these skills into a new product was a logical step.
Further, with the launch of the xR services department in mind, they had already built a small production studio and produced some demonstration reels in January 2020.
So, when the coronavirus pandemic spread around the globe, all these plans were rapidly accelerated as they fast-forwarded their timeline from 12 months to 12 days.
In that time, the first iteration of a fully functional streaming xR studio started receiving bookings almost immediately as live events were shutting down worldwide.
More space was cleared in the warehouse by moving some of the events kit into exterior storage and the bright! Virtual Production Studio was born.
The initial studio set up includes Robe Esprite LED profiles and Spiider LED wash beams for front and overhead lighting, with some LEDBeam 150s for back light.
The studio area is equ

Ireland - Fiach is a new work by Philip Doherty that unites the disciplines of theatre, cinema and comedy in a live onstage and in-car drama, accompanied by large format video visuals, powerful sound system and theatrical lighting all in a Covid-safe drive-in viewing environment.
It is also an example of how a kit of eight Astera Titan Tubes, used with thought and invention by lighting designer Mick Murray can go a long way.
The Irish-language work was presented (with English surtitles) by Fíbín in association with An Taibhdhearc in a car park at Baile na hAbhann, Connemara, County Galway, starring award-winning actors Fionnuala Flaherty and Dara Devaney.
Producers Fíbín asked Mick Murray to create the lighting, video and staging designs. With an impressive array of idiosyncratic mixed media projects to his credit, Mick jumped at the chance and reached for Astera Titan Tubes – supplied by lighting rental and installations specialist Cue One – as a practical, powerful and aesthetically pleasing lighting solution.
Mick and Philip (Doherty), who also directed his work, discussed numerous elements and ideas. The requirement was for a mix of cinematic and theatrical lighting techniques and treatments, and for this to work properly, the quality of light was “hugely important” stated Mick.
As Philip really wanted to immerse the audience in the show, in the stage design Mick positioned the cars – the dealer’s Ford Capri and the policewoman’s unmarked Nissan Primera vehicle – on staging decks with the actors inside as

USA - Earlier this month, Essential Church in Huntsville, Alabama, upgraded their stage lighting to improve the production quality of both in-person services and the footage they capture for online broadcast. Conventional fixtures were replaced by energy efficient LED lighting from ADJ and sister company Elation Professional, improving the aesthetic appeal of the stage and at the same time reducing the church’s energy bill.
Like most religious congregations around the world, Essential Church have made online services a major priority this year. However, as they experimented with filming their worship and teaching in their auditorium, they realized that the lighting setup, while adequate for those attending in person, was limiting the quality of their video recordings. They brought in Christopher Watts of Watts Technology to advise on a cost effective, efficient and effective solution to add creativity to their stage lighting and also improve the quality of their online broadcasts. In turn, Christopher brought in lighting designer and regular collaborator Thomas Griffin of Lti Productions.
After visiting the church and discussing with leadership what they were looking to achieve from their lighting, Thomas designed and specified a new system. The current conventional front lighting fixtures were replace with LED fixtures, new LED pars and battens were installed above the stage, while a small number of existing LED fixtures were repurposed and integrated into a new DMX control system, which Thomas programmed to be easily operated by the church’s volunte

USA/Europe - During the COVID-19 pandemic, literally every aspect of life has had to be rethought, but few verticals have faced hurdles like education is facing today. Whether or not to hold classes in person or remotely has become literally a fundamental choice. Marist College, a private liberal arts college founded in 1905 in Poughkeepsie, NY, faced those same difficult options as it readied itself to start the new school year in late August.
Technology solutions from Audio-Technica made that task i easier and successful. The school acquired and installed 150 Audio-Technica U851RO Omnidirectional Condenser Boundary Microphones and 50 ATDM-0604 SmartMixers, which now outfit 50 classrooms at the school. But the story of how this project came about is an education in itself.
“We wanted to offer a learning experience as close to traditional in-person classes, using a blended synchronous model in which the teacher and half the class are live and the other half are remote, while still conforming to all the New York State and Department of Health requirements and staying within our budget,” explains Lee Walis, manager of technical services at Marist College, an AVIXA certified technology specialist who would design and install the systems.
“At first, I thought we’d need a high microphone count in each room, at least five in the smaller classrooms and a minimum of ten in the larger lecture halls, as well as multiple mixers per room to handle a variety of different processing needs. An additional design requirement is to include a voice-lift feat

USA - At the end of 2019, footwear giant Crocs made the decision to move its warehouse to a brand-new distribution centre in Dayton, Ohio. At the time, the company had no idea just how its operations would be challenged in the months ahead, or how important the safety and operation of the distribution centre would become as an essential facility. Fast forward to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic that has impacted every corner of the globe, Crocs took the necessarily steps to install an overhead paging system in its new distribution centreto ensure it was set up for business as usual in a world facing unusual circumstances.
In order to get the system quickly up and running, audio supplier Chapel-Romanoff Technologies (CRT), turned to LEA Professional to ensure Crocs could operate efficiently. CRT was commissioned to provide the overhead paging system for the facility which, at the time, had none.
CRT used four of LEA Professional’s Connect Series amplifiers including three of their Network Connect CS354 4-channel, 350 Watt units and one of their Network Connect CS352 2-channel, 350 Watt units. All four units include free access to the LEA Professional Cloud Platform, to provide systems integrators with powerful, reliable and secure remote monitoring and control capabilities.
“For this project we didn’t need a two-channel amp with 1000 watts but we also didn't want a 10-watt multichannel amp. LEA Professional is right in this sweet spot and provided us with an option for 4 and 8 channels in a single rack space between 200 to 300 Watts per channel,”

Colombia - TV singing contest The Voice continues to dominate global viewing habits, and The Voice Kids in Colombia on Caracol Television is one incarnation of the phenomenon. Like its sister shows around the world, the spectacle demands ever-better visuals as each season ups the one before.
For the latest Colombian kids’ version of the show, video designer Alvaro Fuentes, from Bogotá-based visual design company Visual in Motion, drew on his collection of Green Hippo gear to achieve the ambitious looks required by the production team. Fuentes’s Hippotizer armoury is headed up by a Hippotizer Karst, which alongside a family of Hippotizer Media Servers drove the content for Season 4.
“Because of the complex LED screens setup on stage, which were in different positions, sizes and resolutions, we needed a tool to map the content onto the surfaces,” says Fuentes. “That’s where Hippotizer is a huge help - VideoMapper is the perfect tool, making it really easy to make everything fit and synchronise.
“The other tool that we value the most is the DMX component, since we need to synchronize the video content and also the lighting fixtures, we wrap it all together in a lighting desk that controls everything via Art-Net.”
For The Voice Kids, Fuentes and his team positioned LED screens on every wall of the set. All were different sizes, including tall strips of 1m x 4.5m to contrast others at 3m x 4.5m. Between these screens, 3m x 4m boxes with the The Voice logo were displayed, illuminated by LED nodes mapped

Italy - GLP’s new KNV series has been used for the first time in Italy, on two high profile broadcast TV shows.
The first of these was Radionorba Vodafone Battiti Live, where DoP Massimo Pascucci featured a large selection of KNV Cube, KNV Dot and KNV Line in the scenography, working alongside set designer Luigi Maresca and show director, Luigi Antonini.
This popular musical show is produced by Radionorba and broadcast by TeleNorba and Mediaset on the Italia 1 channel. Hosted by Alan Palmieri and Elisabetta Gregoraci, it features leading artists and their hits of the summer.
Generally, the traditional five episodes are recorded during the months of June and July in five different locations that represent the main cities of Puglia. However, this year, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the show would have been cancelled were it not for a supreme production effort and the rapid drop off of infections. Thus a single location was chosen - the square immediately in front of the Aragonese Castle of Otranto - in order to avoid moving equipment and manpower.
All GLP fixtures are imported into Italy by distributor, Alto Lighting, and for this show were supplied by rental company, MOD Srl.
Massimo Pascucci had no hesitation in using GLP’s solutions after seeing videos of the KNVs in use. “Because in this show I had focussed a lot on using the lights graphically, the product seemed perfect to me,” he said. Thus 12 of the KNV Cubes were accompanied by 25 KNV Dot and 10 KNV Live. Each KNV format can be used independently, or seamlessly com

Australia - With over 15 years serving the events industry and providing a complete range of AV production services, Australian company Audio Visual Events (AVE) continued with its precise level of technological achievement and client satisfaction even when live events ground to a halt.
By partnering with Create Engage and Sydney Masonic Centre (SMC), the company brought On Air to life, offering a plethora of high-end audio visual and virtual event capabilities, enhanced by powerful and intuitive Brompton Tessera processing.
“AVE, Create Engage and SMC have long-standing relationships and have delivered many successful events together over the years, so we knew we could count on them when the pandemic engulfed the events industry,” says AVE’s general manager, Paul Keating. “Together, we focussed on ‘why’ we should create the On Air studio, with key goals being saving jobs, helping our clients, supporting our industry, and building a product we can all be proud of.”
From there, AVE and its partners created On Air; a state-of-the-art, semi-permanent studio in the heart of Sydney’s CBD, which provides AVE’s customers with an innovative platform to live-stream and share their messages in a timely, cost effective and safe way.
The studio is equipped with high-resolution Panasonic robotic cameras, a large, fine pitch LED screen backdrop, stage lighting, microphones, presentation computers and confidence monitors.
“We installed a 7m by 2.5m LED screen in the studio that consists of 70 Unilumin UPADIII P2.6 LED til

UK - Unusual Rigging's work as designers and installers at English National Ballet's new HQ on London's City Island has been recognised as the building, delivered by Glenn Howells Architects has won the prestigious AJ100 Building of the Year award 2020.
The building was chosen ahead of eight other finalists and recognises the finest building completed by an AJ100-listed practice in the last 12 months. In choosing the ENB, the judges said three key aspects made the £36m project stand out from the impressive shortlist with one judge commenting on the range of functions accommodated by the building, which Glenn Howells has managed to pack on to relatively tight site 'with an almost Rubik's Cube-like stack of dance spaces slotted within'.
These include a suite of rehearsal studios and a full sized theatre space with stage and fly tower to accommodate full dress rehearsals in-house, together with all the ancillary studio and administration spaces and facilities needed to support the company's national touring programme. Everything from a tutu room to a loading bay for HGVs is provided.
Mark Priestley, head of capital projects at Unusual, comments: "This is a well deserved win for Glenn Howells Architects and of course we are thrilled to have been such an integral part of the process which led to the delivery of such a fine venue.
“This project broke new ground for Unusual as we were employed by ENB first and foremost to consult on this project. We then won the tender through BW Workplace Interiors to carry out the technical fit out. We also work

South Africa - For those who refuse to give up on life, events and making memorable occasions, DKSS has announced Pop-Up Events and their in-house virtual live studio.
Midrand based technical supplier, DKSS, has surrounded itself with upbeat clients and suppliers to create unusual events during these unusual COVID-19 times. The company's in-house studio, more like a television broadcast space, consists of a 12m x 4m stage with a 13m x 13m (12.5m x 3m) curved Absen PL 3.9 Lite screen, while lighting includes 18 Robe LEDBeam 150s for fast beam work and a quality wash and 12 MiniPointes, particularly useful when hosting a band or music production on stage.
"Our saving grace has been the relationships built with our suppliers over the years," say CJ de Klerk and Warwick Lawson of DKSS. "Changing the look and feel of the studio is as easy as picking up the phone and requesting furniture, draping or a call to Fogtech for additional equipment." The studio can be set up as a hybrid event to accommodate a small, seated audience.
While the virtual studio currently has four events for the coming months, it's DKSS' Pop-Up which is causing a stir. Pop-Up can host up to 250 guests indoors or 500 guests outdoors in adhering to the current South African gatherings regulations. "It means that clients can choose to come to us, or we can go to them with our micro-studio solution," said de Klerk.
DKSS have taken it a step further and will either solely provide the full technical and live stream solution at events or clients can take advantage of their various pa

Belgium - Social distancing protocol has kept many of Volvo Van Kasteren’s customers from visiting the dealership’s new showroom on Grembergen Stone Road in Sint-Niklass, but those who were fortunate to attended the facility’s grand opening celebration, held just weeks before the lockdown went into effect, still have vivid images of a memorable evening.
Taking place in mid-February, the two-day event, which introduced Volvo Personalized Service (VPS) concept to its market, featured the latest hybrid and electric vehicles, such as the XC40 and XC90, set against the background of a sleek glass and metal showroom.
Accenting the sights of the celebration was a lighting rig, brought in for the occasion by Solico Event & Expo Technics, that featured Chauvet Professional WELL Fit and Rogue fixtures.
In keeping with the engineering tradition of Volvo, the temporary lighting system was the result of a carefully thought out design process. Thanks to this attention to detail, Solico was able to overcome the challenges of lighting an event in a space that was created to function as a retail environment.
“Highlighting the combination of cars without our light getting in the way required planning, because there were no hoist possibilities in this facility,” said Solico’s Davy Vandaele, who served as project manager. “This was something we have done before. That said, all mood lighting had to be placed correctly to illuminate the vehicles and the venue without distracting the guests during their visit. It was especially important for us t

India - AM Integrated Solutions and GRS AV Solutions recently outfitted RYU Bar with a complete Harman Professional sound reinforcement solution to ensure quality audio quality for patrons and party-goers alike.
Opened in January, RYU Bar is one of the latest additions to the popular nightlife scene in the bustling city of Gurgaon. Named after the Japanese word for dragon, RYU Bar delivers a pan-Asian experience, bringing together food, cocktails, music and décor from Chinese, Japanese and Malaysian cultures. To ensure immersive sound throughout the main space, rooftop terrace and private lounges, the owner hired AM Integrated Solutions and GRS AV Solutions to install a complete Harman Professional sound system, consisting of JBL loudspeakers and subwoofers, Crown amplifiers and BSS digital audio processors.
“RYU was a uniquely challenging project for us, in terms of finding ways around the venue’s low height limitations while meeting the client’s vision of a bar that transforms into a nightclub in the evening,” comments Aashish Mahindru, consultant, AM Integrated Solutions. “I am very happy with what the compact JBL AC28 speakers and ASB6128 subwoofers deliver with some excellent sound tuning.”
In order to meet the client’s volume requirements and work within the limited height of the venue, the installation team required a compact PA design with high SPL output and balanced coverage. AM Integrated Solutions and GRS AV Solution outfitted the main venue space with four JBL AC28/26 two-way loudspeakers and two ASB6128 double 18-inch s

USA - The long, hot summer of COVID-19 saw live music safely come back to Chicago’s lakefront with the new Lakeshore Drive-In venue. Artist management company AudisBliss spearheaded the project working with LEC Event Technology, (LEC) to transform a parking lot just west of the Adler Planetarium into an in-person concert venue that keeps the safety of the attendees, artists and employees in mind.
LEC provided Ayrton Perseo-S fixtures for the stage, the first compact, multi-function luminaire with an IP65 enclosure rating developed for intensive outdoor use.
“The Lakeshore Drive-In is one of the most respected drive-in operations in the country and the only sustainable drive-in model in Chicago, which is operating very successfully within COVID guidelines,” says Matt Brotz, owner and director of Operations at LEC. “LEC took on the role of hardware provider producing the event under a strict budget and with no room for failure. We’ve been very happy with the Ayrton Perseo fixtures and so has the client.”
“With the Lakeshore Drive-In we’ve given our guests the closest experience to a normal live show,” notes Adam Weiss, co-founder of AudisBliss. “We put on these concert events to bring gigs back to the community and give people the opportunity to enjoy live music safely - and see the best views in the city. Chicago needed this.”
The parking lot accommodates about 200 socially-distanced cars; guests can leave their vehicles to set up chairs within the boundaries of their parking spaces. Delivery of food and artist merchandis

Lithuania - Located on the westernmost edge of Lithuania near the Baltic coast, UAB ProDJ is a full-service technical provider working in many areas of production, from television through to festivals, opera, sporting events and arena-scale concerts. Their in-house facilities include dry hire, logistics, rigging, lighting, video, crew and technical support.
The company took delivery of an Outline Mantas 28 Golden Configuration rig during lockdown, a ready-to-roll complete solution designed for audiences of approximately 600 - 1500 (and also suitable for integration with all Outline GTO, C-12 and Superfly kits as down- and out-fills when required).
The equipment list includes 16 Mantas 28 compact line-array enclosures, eight DBS 18-2 subwoofers and a single Newton 16+8 system processor, plus a complete suite of rigging, cables, pre-wired racks, weather protection and even a two-day training course for operators. The entire system is powered by a pair of ‘GTA-Otto’ Grand Touring Amplifier Series 8-channel 2U rack amplifiers.
CEO Dovydas Bajoras comments: “We decided to work with Outline for lots of reasons: firstly they appear on many riders and in our view Outline offers a better class of manufacturing than anyone else. Also the price-to-performance ratio is very good - we tested other systems but some were not as compact as Mantas 28 and others were much more expensive but without Outline’s audio performance.
“We will have more than 20 events this year with Mantas 28 and more than 50 planned for 2021. We had and still have plans to b

Austria - The Vienna Volksoper, or People’s Opera, is Vienna’s largest theatre for opera, musicals, classical concerts and ballet. The theatre offers one of the most diverse musical programmes in the country, ranging from Carmen to Kiss Me Kate, and Coppelia to Cabaret, as well as productions for schools, lots of local German operetta performances and much more besides.
The venue is also the first in Vienna to open its doors to the public after the summer break, but more importantly in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, with a performance of Strauss’s Die Fledermaus on 1 September followed by a revival of Cole Porter’s classic musical, Kiss Me Kate on 2 September. Both will be benefitting from the audio reproduction of a new KV2 audio system, which also happens to be the first ever to use KV2’s new control & diagnostics tool for remote system management and control.
The new sound system for the 1339-capacity venue was designed by Martin Lukesch, director of sound and media technology at Vienna Volksoper. “Here, it’s all about the music!” explains Lukesch. “As a repertory theatre with a hugely varied performance range - we can be staging a rock musical one night and a classical ballet the next - the demands on the sound system are enormous. Our season starts on 1 September and we have rehearsals every morning and performances every evening, non-stop, until 30 June. This was my starting point when it came to designing a new system. It had to be able to fulfil the needs of all the different types

Czech Republic - Škoda world premiered its new Enyak iV all-electric SUV in the main hall of the O2 Universum event and conference complex in Prague.
This event generated a buzz of excitement, not just because of this landmark vehicle, but also as one of the first properly ‘live’ events delivered safely and spectacularly in a post COVID-19 world.
Germany-based creative producers Schachzug collaborated with event planners Pure Perfection, technical specialists MacomNIYU and technical supplier Ambion, with the latter delivering the lighting, audio, video, SFX, staging, etc.
The MacomNIYU team had started speaking to lighting designer Chris Moylan from Berlin-based design company Optikalusion about the event back in in January, well before anyone realized how changed the world would be by showtime!
Chris created a highly flexible lighting scheme for the event, with his choice of beam fixtures being 54 x Robe MegaPointes. He also utilised three Robe BMFL Spots operated via three separate RoboSpot remote BaseStations, which joined around 450 lights on the rig all supplied via Ambion.
As the COVID relevant rules were constantly changing almost daily, the show evolution was also fluid right up to the last moments as recommendations about distancing, mask-wearing and audience numbers shifted. As the show dealt with these demands, Chris ensured that he had enough lights to cover all possibilities.
All the crew were tested prior to starting work on site, then rigorous mask-wearing and social distancing was enforced during the build a