Pharos - Leaderboard - May 2024
Leeds - Main Banner - Apr24

Projects

Details
Canada - When construction began on Ontario’s new luxury hotel LEA Professional was chosen. Located just steps from Lake Ontario, The Pearle Hotel & Spa officially opened to guests in November. The hotel, which is part of Marriott's Autograph Collection, boasts 151 guestrooms, two dining facilities, expansion meeting space, two large ballrooms and a spa.
Branch AV, one Canada’s newest audiovisual solutions company, was tasked with designing and integrating the entire AV system from the ground up. The company, which was established in 2020 by Bob Guy and George Puthenkulam supported by a team of experienced audiovisual professionals, works across various industries including performing arts, government, education and entertainment. The team are laser focused on providing the best user experience for their clients.
For The Pearle hotel’s AV needs, the integrato

Details
USA - No one is quite sure, where or when the custom of wearing ugly Christmas sweaters started. Some say it began in the 1950s when TV singers tried to set a cozy tone on their holiday specials by wearing corny cardigans. Others trace its origins to the ‘80s when it became a staple of TV sitcoms every December.
Either way, one thing is certain, ugly sweater parties and events pop up everywhere across North America this time of year. Among the most popular is the annual Ugly Holiday Sweater Concert at the Mesa Amphitheatre sponsored every December by radio station 99.3 FM.
Except for a 2020 hiatus due to COVID, the concert has been held every year since 2015, featuring national acts like Silversun Pickups and Kings of Leon. On Saturday 11 December, the magic returned to Mesa with an Ugly Sweater concert by Grammy winning headliners Weezer, supported by up-and-coming
Leeds - Main Banner - Apr24

Details
Turkey - Shure worked with Patchwork Events, to deliver a live party in the sky with 18 hot air balloons in Cappadocia.
Patchwork, a specialist events and touring company based in London, were approached by a client who wanted to bring to life the idea of a live gig, in hot air balloons, in the sky. The brief was to provide high quality live audio to 18 hot air balloons, which took off from one location. One of the hot air balloons acting as the stage, with a live performance from DJ Bedouin. The other 17 guest balloons received live audio from the broadcasting balloon, to provide a different live event experience.
This project brought a number of challenges, such as how to transmit high quality audio over such a large distance, without latency. Hot air balloons are almost entirely reliant on the wind to move across the landscape and therefore, altitude was the only re

Details
Thailand - To provide spectators at the Nakhon Ratchasima Sports Complex an immersive entertainment experience, Mahajak Development Co., installed a range of Harman Professional audio solutions.
Home to the Nakhonratchasima Mazda Football Club, the Nakhon Ratchasima Sports Complex is the fourth biggest stadium in Thailand and hosted the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in 2007. The stadium area comprises the Nakhon Ratchasima FC football field, which is surrounded by a grandstand with a single roof on one side. The facility currently has a seating capacity of 25,000, but will be upgraded to 45,000 in the future.
The main challenge was that the audio system needed to be installed on the roof, which only covered one side of the complex, but also had to deliver sound coverage to every seat in the stadium. To meet these challenges and requirements, Mahajak deployed dynamic an

Details
USA - In October, Penn State University welcomed audience members to see Simon Stephen's adaptation of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, directed by Rick Lombardo with sensory-friendly performances at the Playhouse Theatre on the University Park campus using BlackTrax Real-Time Tracking.
The Tony Award-winning play is about 15-year-old Christopher, who has an extraordinary brain. Two sensory-friendly performances provided a welcoming space for all patrons with or without neurodivergent needs.
The characters in this production portray that neurodivergence is when a person’s brain does not function in a way that is considered “typical”. In telling this story about a neurodivergent character, Penn State has been helped along the way by various consultants and experts who helped deepen their understanding of various aspects of the experience

Details
USA - Sometimes what is old can become new again. Such was the case with the red brick building at 3700 Canal Street in the historic New Orleans Mid-City neighbourhood. Recognised by the New Orleans Historic District Landmark Commission, the building had been a church for six decades, until it was closed in 2012 in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
Eventually its owners put the spacious structure up for sale, and in 2019 it was reborn as a house of worship, slated to become the fifth campus of Baton Rouge-based Bethany Church. Led by pastors Jonathan and Angie Stockstill, Bethany planned to open the new church in 2020 until the COVID pandemic got in the way.
This August, the building finally began its new life as a church when it opened its doors to worshippers, after extensive renovations and repairs. Some of the stain glass windows and wrought iron from the original ch

Details
Thailand - To create an efficient meeting space that supports collaboration and efficiency for guests, financial services provider Srisawad Power 1979 Co teamed up with Mahajak Development Co to equip its facility with a Harman Professional Solutions AV system.
Originally founded in 2008 by the Kaewbootta family as an automobile title loan business in Petchaboon province, Srisawad Power 1979 Co has since opened branches in other provinces to expand their service coverage. The company offers financial services to those who need aid but have limited access to services offered by banks and financial institutions.
Today, the company offers auto-backed loans and home-backed loans through its 1,627 branches. To provide a suitable environment for meetings and collaborations at the company’s main headquarters in Bangkok, Mahajak installed a comprehensive networked audio-visu

Details
Zimbabwe - Even before its release, Gwara, the 11th album by award-winning African superstar Jah Prayah, was touched by a sense of mystery. Months ahead of its recording, the singer/songwriter let fans know something important was coming by sharing social media images of a wide-open blue sky, a symbol of hope and boundless opportunity.
The very name of the album itself left itself open to many different interpretations, Gwara being a Shona word that could mean anything from frightfulness to a quest for new directions.
There is nothing timid about the album however, as the artist obviously chose the latter meaning, conveying as much with cover art that shows a woman walking alone down a beautiful wooded path. More importantly, its 16songs express a dreamy, hopeful sense of opportunities that await those who seek them.
Blessing Bero and Tatenta Gaylord Rushw

Details
UK - Andrew Pollard’s traditional Christmas panto, Queen of Hearts, is running at Greenwich Theatre until 2 January 2022. This year’s production is marked by a new sound design from Michael Woods based on a HALO-C compact line array system from EM Acoustics.
Woods is now in his fourth year of designing sound for pantomime at Greenwich Theatre and last year received an Offie nomination for Best Sound Design for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button which played at Southwark Playhouse in spring 2019.
In previous years for Greenwich Theatre’s panto, Woods opted for two point source loudspeakers on the proscenium for main LR and two more on towers in the auditorium as delays to help maintain the desired sound pressure levels from front to back of the auditorium.
“Whilst I have found this method generally acceptable, it did compromise sound quality

Details
Estonia - Vanemuine Theatre in Tartu - the country’s oldest and first Estonian language theatre - celebrated the opening of its 152nd season with an elaborate gala event staged in the city’s main square, with a lighting design created by Tõnis Järs featuring Robe moving lights.
Not only was it a great historic occasion, but it was a joyous moment for the public and everyone connected to the landmark Theatre representing the ‘hard re-start’ of Vanemuine as a lively cultural melting-pot for art and creativity and a vital community hub after the pandemic period.
The event’s main stage performance action included an array of ballet and operetta pieces, culminating in a full orchestral concert and collaboration between the Vanemuine Symphony Orchestra and popular Estonian electro-pop artist, NOËP, (Andres Kõpper).
Vanemuine owns a large quantity of Ro

Details
UK - A.C. Entertainment reports that Cromer Pier's Pavilion Theatre has recently added a digital dimension to its stage by installing a Prolights DeltaPix48T LED video wall backdrop.
With approximately 450 seats, Cromer Pier Pavilion Theatre audiences are entertained all year round with vocals, specialty acts and a blend of dance, in an intimate venue.
The team behind the Cromer Pier Show wanted to add new elements to the production and make a strong comeback following the enforced closure of the theatre due to the global pandemic.
Cromer Pier's director, Rory Holburn comments, “Our new Prolights DeltaPix48T screen has added a lot more versatility to the show and what can be achieved from a backdrop. The stage is limited in space, so we needed something that was fairly compact yet robust. We are delighted with how the DeltaPix has been performing and the huge a

Details
UK - Ministry of Sound celebrated 30 years of dance with a concert at O2 Arena, with dance classics reimagined by the 50-piece London Concert Orchestra in company with Paul Oakenfold and other guest DJs.
Ministry of Sound Classical presents Three Decades of Dance took clubbers on a journey through the dance anthems of yesteryear. Martin Audio’s signature sound, as featured in Ministry of Sound clubs worldwide, was provided by RG Jones and mixed by Phil Wright - a devotee of Martin Audio’s flagship MLA.
Working for promoters Coalition Presents, who produced the event with Raymond Gubbay, RG Jones - who already had a relationship with MoS, having provided equipment for some of their events - fielded 18 MLA a side. This was a similar configuration to that fielded for War of the Worlds at the same venue. Hangs of 12 MLA Compact provided out-fills on each

Details
UK - Following a record-breaking run on Broadway, Pretty Woman: The Musical has gone global with productions in London’s West End, Germany, and a major US tour. The production team has remained faithful to John Shivers’ and David Patridge’s original sound design based on a comprehensive KV2 Audio point source system.
The show originally opened at London’s Piccadilly Theatre and had already broken the theatre’s advance box-office records, when the pandemic intervened. A year later, the show has now moved to London’s Savoy Theatre on the Strand and continues to play to record-breaking audiences. David Patridge designed the show at the Piccadilly, and UK associate designer, Greg Pink then modified it for transfer to the Savoy. Nik Dudley engineers the show every night and is delighted with how it sounds.
“Greg’s design uses ESR215s as the main L/R p

Details
The Netherlands - AV rental and production company Houben Souren has installed Elation Fuze Profile and Colour 5 Profile luminaires in two auditoriums in the recently refurbished Maastricht Exhibition and Convention Center (MECC).
As the audiovisual partner for the biggest convention centres in the southern part of the country, Houben Souren enjoys special insight into the audiovisual needs of the venue and drew upon its close relationship with Elation’s European office to realize a successful installation.
The upgrades to the facility, begun in 2019, included investment in new lighting equipment for two newly renovated auditoriums. Under the supervision of theatre consultants Theater Advies bv and the MECC, Houben Souren won the tender and was awarded the contract to deliver and install the new lighting gear.
Tijs Verfurth, operations manager at Houben Souren,

Details
Poland - Robe supported the fourth edition of the Stage of Tomorrow (Scena Jutra) conference, staged at the Teatr Wielki Polish National Opera in Warsaw, organised by the Stage of Tomorrow Foundation and its president Rafal Rzeczkowski, with Polish production technology sales specialist Prolight and Teatr Wielki, the latter represented by technical director Malgorzata Szablowska.
The one-day event featured over 150 production industry related presentations, seminars, and discussions with a focus on the theme of virtual, extended, augmented, etc. reality and its potential for events and shaping the future.
Three main presentation areas - Stage of Inspiration, Stage of Discussion and Stage of Partners - were constantly busy and explored a lively array of topics including sustainability; new technologies and their use in entertainment; art and promotion, education, and f

Details
UK - Coming off the back of a shrewd yet confident reinvention, electronic pop trio London Grammar hit the road in support of their latest album, Californian Soul, with a control package from Britannia Row Productions and a PA system from Eighth Day Sound. This was the first time such a partnership has come to fruition since Eighth Day’s acquisition by Brit Row parent company, Clair Global Group.
“I use Brit Row because Tom Brown is an amazing client handler,” declares production manager, Mark Sunderland. “And for this tour, I was worried because Jake [Rudd, FOH engineer] wanted to move to a d&b audiotechnik system. At first I thought it wouldn’t be available to us, but it worked out due to Eighth Day becoming part of Clair. Reassuringly, we could have the kit required and maintain that same level of service. Even though our rider is technically from tw

Details
USA - HBO’s recent broadcast of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony took place inside Cleveland’s NBA arena. Key to creating a sense of intimacy within the walls of the 152,970sq.ft. Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse was a lighting design by Allen Branton and production design by Bruce Rogers that drew audiences - TV and live - into each performance, while also allowing the stage to stand out against its cavernous surroundings without being overwhelmed.
Helping Branton accomplish the latter goal was a collection of 104 Chauvet Professional COLORdash Accent 3 compact washes, which like the rest of the rig, was supplied by 4Wall Entertainment. Positioning the RGBA fixtures along the sides of the stage as well as in the blacked-out seats behind and to either side of it, he used them to define space and maintain consistency between camera shots.
“The COLORdash

Details
USA - Located in Marietta, Georgia, North Metro Church is an inclusive house of worship where a dynamic array of music is a key part of its services. Ranging from quiet background ambience to full on praise rock, the installation of a sound reinforcement system that could reproduce music at all volumes with equal high quality was key.
AV specialist Austin Sound Design, based in Auburn, Georgia, has installed audio systems in many houses of worship and knew that an Alcons pro-ribbon solution was the best way to cover the large width, depth and height of the North Metro Church auditorium.
“I attended a demo hosted by Alcons’ David Rahn and Scott Hough a few years ago,” says Austin Sound founder Chris Austin. “I have always appreciated ribbon technology and was immediately drawn to the superior performance of the Alcons pro-ribbon systems. After years of listening

Details
Denmark - Cirkusrevyen (Circus Review) is the longest-running review performance in Denmark, with a six-month season kicking off every year since 1935 except for 1945 (due to fire) and 2020 (due to Covid). Staged in a purpose-built big top tent in Klampenborg, Dyrehavsbakken north of Copenhagen, the 2021 season was lit for the first time using Robe Esprite moving lights.
The lighting spec also included a Robe RoboSpot remote follow spotting solution, LEDWash 300+s and LEDBeam 150s, all supplied by rental specialist Live Company, who were working on their second season as a supplier.
Lighting designer Malthe Haugaard was designing his fifth Cirkusrevyen season, which started in May, initially to restricted audiences due to Coronavirus rules. As these were gradually relaxed, ticket sales opened up.
A new production design is created for each season, just as a new

Details
Europe - Following nearly three seasons of extensive prototype testing of Audio-Technica’s 8.0 Microphone Concept at MotoGP, the Grand Prix motorcycle racing Championship, commercial rights holder Dorna Sports S.L. has moved to make the 8.0 microphone a core audio component of its future programme broadcasting which includes ambitious plans towards remote production.
Located at Dorna Sports’ Barcelona, facility, the extensive remote production suite, which is planned to be phased in through the 2024 Season, will include a custom-built 7.1.4 / 5.1.4 dedicated audio control room to mix immersive audio received from the track in real time. Audio-Technica 8.0 Microphones are to be located at the podium, parc fermé, pit lane and key positions around the racetrack.
While the audio control room will remain static, audio acquisition at the track needs to capture the compl

Details
USA - While the COVID pandemic compelled performing arts companies to stretch their horizons to reach audiences, Michigan Opera Theatre went further than many during the period, presenting programmes in the Detroit Opera House parking garage, among other non-traditional venues for opera.
Then, for one weekend in September, Blue, a contemporary American opera by Jeanine Tesori and Tazewell Thompson, was staged at the city's open-air Aretha Franklin Amphitheatre, a mostly pop-music venue where recent shows included performances by Chaka Khan, Machine Gun Kelly, Erykah Badu, and UB40.
Awarded Best New Opera of 2020 by the Music Critics Association of North America, Blue is about a young Black couple raising a son in modern-day Harlem and their struggles with police brutality. With its all-black cast, the opera is a celebration, tragedy, and timely and highly

Details
World - To support first-time and indie filmmakers through the height of the pandemic, DPA Microphones partnered with Rycote on a Pay-it-Forward giveaway in late 2020 from which three lucky winners acquired a full cinema mics kit from the brands.
The contest’s prizes included DPA’s 4097 Micro Shotgun, 4017 Shotgun and 6060 Core Subminiature microphones - along with virtual mentoring sessions, an array of Rycote accessories and other equipment loaners. The recipients, Lijie Cheng of Singapore, Jacob Deming of the United States and Sergey Martynyuk of Austria, have been hard at work putting their new gear, and skills, to the test.
Singapore-based production sound mixer Lijie Cheng was excited to upgrade his microphone arsenal upon winning the competition and has already utilised them for an upcoming web mini-series, Maybe Marriage, and a short film, A Man

Details
UK - The Wilberforce Monument, a statue dedicated to 18th / 19th century politician, philanthropist and anti-slavery campaigner, William Wilberforce, which stands on a 31m high Doric column in the grounds of Hull College in the UK, has recently been re-lit using Anolis ArcPar 150 Zoom LED fixtures.
Graham Roberts of event technical production company HPSS designed the new lighting scheme which is part of a city-wide urban regeneration initiative driven by Hull Council that includes illuminating key city centre buildings and historical landmarks.
The Monument – which is Grade II Listed and near to Wilberforce’s birthplace – was previously lit, but a more robust and weatherised colour-changing LED solution that would offer sustainable, cost-effective, and flexible options was needed.
It was important that the new lighting could be integrated and co-ordinated

Details
USA - To provide Barrington Stage Company’s (BSC) production of A Crossing: A Dance Musical with versatile lighting that elevated the show’s lively music and energetic choreography, lighting designer Jason Lyons selected a range of Martin Professional lighting solutions, provided in part by Christie Lites.
Founded in 1995, BSC is a non-profit theatre company that is dedicated to developing original and compelling works by diverse voices, such as the Tony Award-winning The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee among many other productions. A Crossing: A Dance Musical, created in association with Calpulli Mexican Dance Company follows a group of migrants on their journey across the US-Mexican border.
As the play covers raw and relevant topics like immigration, sanctuary, fear and hope using little to no spoken dialogue, the production required
  1. ChamSys drives Seiler und Speer at Nova Rock
  2. Sharpy Plus fixtures shine on Gary Clark tour
  3. Zero 88 FLX delivers control to LightsOn
  4. Vari-Lites create Chris Stapleton’s wall of light
  5. Zappa Group commits to DiGiCo
  6. Mavericks light marathon Faust production
Page 102 of 380
GLP - MPU - May-June 2024
Robe - Large MPU
Leeds - MPU - Apr24

Latest Issue. . .