UK - The Sugar Hut nightclub, bar and venue - made famous through its association with reality TV programme The Only Way Is Essex (TOWIE) -returned to TV screens earlier this month boasting a new refurbished look featuring Void Acoustics kit.
The venue has recently been acquired by the same experienced club operator who also owns London super club Studio 338 – a large music and arts venue on the Greenwich Peninsular, and sister club The Bridge (also in London). The team has consistently chosen Void as their audio system of choice for the last decade, starting with their install at Studio 338, which currently boasts a 4-point Air Motion system covering their large capacity multi-room club including one of the largest outdoor terrace arenas in Europe as well as a Loft Room and VIP level.
Sugar Hut has been celebrating 10 years of TOWIE. The venue’s re-opening and refurbishment has been eagerly anticipated and well-received.
“Being familiar with Void and the aesthetic quality of their products combined with their excellent audio credentials, it was an easy decision to specify Void throughout our Sugar Hut refurbishment,” explains Larry Field, technical manager and sound engineer for Studio 338 and Sugar Hut.
Acoustic challenges abound at Sugar Hut because it is located in a listed historical building, which, by its nature, provides a challenging layout. It is a maze-like 15th century coaching inn with a courtyard and hundreds of years of history.
Field comments: “From a sound perspective there are local residents to take
UK – The 2020 final of popular TV show Britain’s Got Talent wowed millions of viewers with a spectacular LED screen stage set and virtual audience, powered by Green Hippo’s Hippotizer Boreal+ and Karst+ Media Servers.
Three active Boreal+ and one Karst+ were used for the main system, with the same amount again running as backup for the live show. One Boreal+ fed the main stage LED display, driving 6K content to 3mm screens from supplier Anna Valley, with another Boreal+ dealing with camera overlay effects and live camera shots. The Karst+ fed Art-Net data from two lighting consoles to an array of SGM LED Tubes.
This was a very different finale, with no physical audience present in the studio due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In substitute, more than 1000 live feeds from viewers at home were fed to a new LED ‘audience wall’, positioned behind the judging panel. This was driven by the third Boreal+, with data fed in via NDI by broadcast graphics specialist, Happy Graphics.
The virtual audience was collated from PCs using real-time communications (RTC), and after being brought into the network via NDI was applied to a Hippotizer layer. Using VideoMapper, the team structured the feed to fit the different screens, using tint and colour match to unite them and make the virtual audience look harmonious with the video content and graphics, which were created by Ben Foley and Alex King at Buckloop Films.
Russ Grubiak served as Hippotizer programmer for the event. “As usual, we chose the Hippotizer because of the ease and speed we can m
World - When Kim Kardashian-West celebrated her 40th birthday this year, her husband Kanye West gifted her a hologram of her late father. Presented on the Holopops Ultra Holographic Projection System, the event was the debut outing for the innovative product but thanks to the occasion it secured a global launch that most manufacturers can only dream of.
Since then that single tweet has received over 35,000 quote tweets and over 18,000 retweets, with over 235,000 likes. Similar posts on Facebook and Instagram also went viral with over 14 million views of the hologram on Instagram alone.
Liz Berry, CEO of Hologramica and inventor and creator of Holopops, explains: “A social media frenzy started when Kim Kardashian West tweeted: ‘For my birthday, Kanye got me the most thoughtful gift of a lifetime. A special surprise from heaven. A hologram of my dad. It is so lifelike! We watched it over and over, filled with emotion.’”
The story has also hit global news channels and chat shows, bringing the Holopops Ultra unprecedented exposure.
Media outlets, including the BBC and CNN, have speculated on how the compelling and life-like holographic effect was achieved, but Berry can confirm: “We use our patent pending 3D Holonet in the Holopops Ultra Display System. This has already been proved to deliver high quality, super real imagery on full production hologram projects including BASE Hologram’s ground breaking An Evening with Whitney, The Whitney Houston Hologram Tour, Roy Orbison In Dreams tour and for opera fans, Callas in Conce
USA - Smaller crowds equal smaller lighting budgets. Like virtually every designer working a socially distant show, Evan Antal faced this reality when he met with his client to draw up plans to light Le Getaway, a one-day October outdoor event featuring jam band masters lespecial and Eggy in the Camp Getaway Berkshire resort in Kent, CT.
Despite these limitations, the event’s promoter had set lofty goals. “I was asked to put together a package that delivered big rock show looks on a pretty tight budget,” said Antal. “Because of the pandemic and the limited audiences, it’s become a razor-thin balancing act to make a show on a budget work for everyone involved.”
Antal met this challenge in stunning fashion, turning Le Getaway’s small (24ft’ x 20ft) mobile stage into a panorama of overlapping colours. Swirling gobo patterns and fast-moving beams. Helping him accomplish this feat were six Chauvet Professional Maverick MK1 Spot and six Maverick MK1 Hybrid fixtures supplied by High Peaks Event Production.
Flying his spot fixtures on upstage truss and arranging the hybrid units on the stage deck, Antal relied on their smooth transitions, wide zoom ranges and CMY colour mixing to create a variety of looks that outstripped the size of the stage and its rig in terms of the excitement generated.
“I punted my way through lespecial’s very dynamic and edgy sound, so the responsiveness of the Mavericks was very appreciated,” says Antal. “They zoom really wide, and all the different functions work quickly. They also snap from a frost
Monaco - Organised by the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, the Monte-Carlo Gala for Planetary Health was held on 24 September on the terraces of the Monte-Carlo Opera.
Dedicated to ‘Ocean, Earth, and Humanity’, an audience of ‘patrons, decision-makers, artists, and scientists’ gathered under an immersive dome.
For this event, designed and produced by the event agency TUFF Consult, the technical setup relied on five Modulo Kinetic and one Modulo Player, supplying 1,500sq.m of projection.
Since 2006, the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation has been working to protect the environment and promote sustainable development on a global scale. Since its creation, more than 540 projects have been achieved by the foundation’s international branches located in France, the United States, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Canada, Germany, Italy, Singapore, Spain, and China.
Running from 21-27 September, the Planetary Health Week reached its climax with its Gala held in the specific context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Presided by H.S.H Prince Albert II of Monaco with Sting as guest of honour, the gala brought together patrons, decision-makers, artists, and scientists to discover the initiatives carried out by the Foundation.
During the charity dinner and fund-raising auction, guests were immersed in images created by the studio Spectre Lab, featuring galaxies, forests, and ocean floors. To produce this immersive space, A/V provider Fosphor relied on 22 x Barco UDX-4K40 and four 20K Panasonic video-projectors to illuminate a half sphere o
UK - Shure supported students at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama who performed two new British musicals Catch Me and The Limit for their end of year productions with the equipment required to support a socially distant performance.
Final year students at The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama are required to perform what is usually a public musical to a live audience as part of their assessment. Due to COVID-19, their annual performance of Merrily We Roll Along had to be cancelled, leaving students with no end of year project and no opportunity to showcase their work to industry connections.
In this case however, Adam Lenson director and course leader, Paul Barker got creative. The school made the decision to put on a socially distant performance which would be recorded live and streamed via YouTube allowing agents and industry contacts to view the students work.
Adam Lenson explains, “We were facing the issue that amateur productions of most canonical musicals (including Merrily We Roll Along) can’t be filmed due to copyright and there was be no point going to the work of putting these productions together if no one could ever see them. So, I floated a mad idea. What if we did new UK musicals. Instead of one big show rehearsed in pieces what if we did four separate productions for each of the four groups of students.
“I suggested two productions of two new musicals. A five hander and a six hander. After going through lists of writers and musicals I landed upon two incredible new shows. T
Portugal - In April last year Porto-based rental company, LVT Audio, purchased a large Martin Audio MLA Compact and Mini array. Director Miguel Lindo notes: “Since the very beginning of our company we have placed our trust in the Martin Audio brand.”
Their upgrade to MLA came after they experienced the system at the Rock In Rio festival in Lisbon, sensing that they would have plenty of deployment opportunities in a work roster that prior to the pandemic included all types of show, from arenas, festivals and touring, to corporate events.
They were helped in their choice and set-up by fellow countryman and friend, Joe Lima, who now works as product support engineer at Martin Audio North America. “He is the best professional we know,” exclaims Lindo. “In March this year he trained our entire team.”
LVT Audio’s most recent deployment has been at the high profile Noites de Verao em Gaia (Gaia Summer Nights) - an eight-day festival promoted by PEV Entertainment that took place in the Gaia district of Porto in late summer. The location was an open space at the Municipal Stadium of Lavandeira.
“It was the first live event held in Portugal in the middle of a pandemic,” continues the LVT man. “All security measures were taken by the local authorities and by the event’s producer, and these socially distanced shows served as an example for others.”
The festival line-up featured leading national artists and was capped at 2,000 spectators each day, which was a sell-out. These included Xutos & Pontápés; Miguel Araujo; M
The Netherlands - Throughout the summer and fall, more than 80 of ADJ’s weatherproof moving head beam and LED wash fixtures were used to light a temporary beach club venue in The Netherlands. Insight Beach Brabant offered visitors an opportunity to enjoy drinks, gourmet food and music in a large outdoor setting at a lake-side venue in the heart of the Dutch city of Eindhoven.
With the COVID-19 pandemic forcing the cancellation of concerts and festivals, as well as the closure of nightclubs and music venues, opportunities for relaxing and socializing have been rare. Offering a solution to this, Insight Beach was a large pop-up beach club with a limited capacity that assigned guests dedicated day beds to allow for social distancing.
From the comfort and safety of their designated space, visitors could enjoy a full menu from resident chef Pascal Ariëns of Restaurant By Pascal in nearby Oosterhout, drink cocktails from a fully stocked bar and listen to live DJ performances using ‘silent disco’ headphones. On Saturday nights the venue partnered with a variety of Dutch Dance organizations to bring in special guest DJs who delivered an authentic club experience in a COVID-safe way.
Lighting for the venue was supplied and installed by local rental company Trend Productions, a well-established supplier of lighting, audio and visual equipment. The company is used to providing production services for large-scale one-off dance events, so this long-term installation outdoors was an opportunity for owner Adje van Veghel to thoroughly test his inventory of
Switzerland - The Muehle Hunziken (Hunziken Mill) in Rubigen, southeast of Bern in Switzerland, is a popular concert venue that has been in existence since 1976. Since the former windmill’s conversion, it has hosted more than 4,000 concerts, featuring around 15,000 artists of all styles and genres.
The Mill houses an elaborate collection of quirky works of art, much beloved of its patrons, and regularly attracts internationally renowned artists to play intimate shows in its 500 capacity auditorium.
In spite of the prevailing Coronavirus restrictions, this summer, the management team at Hunziken Mill took the decision to upgrade the venue’s audio system. The existing system was at the end of its viable life, and was proving unreliable and increasingly expensive to maintain.
Chief technician and resident FOH engineer at Hunziken Mill, Tom Binggeli, arranged for several brands to stage demonstrations at the venue. The room presents a number of acoustic challenges, and he wished to be certain that investment in a new system would deliver the best possible audio and value for money.
One of the brands Tom was keen to hear in action was Coda Audio. Swiss audio specialists, Schallwerk demonstrated a system based around Coda’s APS product. Having considered all the options, The Mill’s team opted to go with Coda.
Tom Binggeli reports: “The first time I heard a Coda system was in a small pub with a DJ setup. The system consisted of two cabinets and a sub, and I was surprised how much power it had - very nice lows and clear highs. The seco
Germany - German Unity Day (Tag der Deutschen Einheit), celebrated on 3 October, marks the anniversary of the nation's unification in 1990, when the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic became one single, federal Germany.
Being the 30th Unity Day, the 2020 event took on special significance, with even more resonance added to the mix due to the challenges faced by everyone in dealing with life during the Coronavirus pandemic, and broadcaster ARD highlighted a very special TV show staged at the Metropolis-Halle in Filmpark Babelsberg, Potsdam which was organised by the Brandenburg Staatskanzlei (federal government).
The venue and Filmpark (dedicated to the history of moviemaking in the region) is a regular client of rental and production specialist Zound’z Unlimited Event Technology GmbH, also based in Potsdam, which was asked to provide lighting, audio and regular IMAG video for the telecast/livestream.
A production lighting design was created by Zound’z Unlimited’s Marcus Meissner - who is head of lighting and rigging at the company - and included over 200 Robe moving lights, a combination of Pointes, Spiiders, BMFL WashBeams, LEDWash 800s and a RoboSpot system.
Onstage, a diverse line-up of artists helped celebrate the dynamics of German music genres, from schlager superstar Roland Kaiser to the foot-tapping electropop of M.I.A., singer and actress Anna Loos to singer-songwriter Mark Forster and the Babelsberger Filmorchester, who backed each artist with special arrangements for this show.
The show was
UK - Vaudeville Sound made use of binaural audio technology for the podcast Amazing War Stories with Bruce Crompton. Vaudeville Sound, an award winning sound design and mix company, introduced the idea of creating the podcast in 3D Immersive sound, to surround the listener in the true stories taken from museum collections to help safeguard the nation's historical treasures before they are lost forever.
As the shows were being compiled during lockdown, the voice recording and mix sessions were run remotely. Live output of the mix was shared with the director so the team could run through mix notes and make changes on the fly. Avid Pro-tools was used to edit and mix all shows with an array of tools from Nugen Audio, Noise Makers, Zynaptic & Blue Ripple Sound.
With detail of sound design and field recordings at film level, it was vital to use the correct sounds not just to drive the story but to be accurate to the various military equipment being discussed. “We feel podcast as a platform really lends itself to 3D immersive sound with many listeners consuming with headphones” said Luke Hatfield, group head of sound at Vaudeville Sound. “The binaural aspect really enhances the effect of a scene where we have a distant MG suddenly jump to the 10 O’clock position and bullet impacts flying up all around us.”
Designed to be heard via headphones, the listener is immersed in soldiers’ experiences, battles and places are truly brought to life. “The sounds needed to be very focused and clear in the mix to tell the story to avoid single
USA - The crowds that normally fill the Rawhide Centre in Chandler, AZ, on weekends for headliners like Kayzo, Adventure Club and Nightmare weren’t there this October. COVID-19 restrictions saw to that. But the intensity that shook up the 13,000 sq. ft. outdoor venue for Relentless Beats’ aptly named The Pod Experience was impossible to miss, thanks to the driving textured tracks laid down by the EDM stars, the delirious reactions of the fans who were able to score the limited number of tickets, and some fast-moving lighting by Luis Torres.
Wanting fans to be engaged with the artists on stage, despite being separated by pods, Torres dialled up the intensity level with some extra bright audience lighting and bold aerial sweeps. “Relentless Beats came up with a really good plan for providing fans with a way to enjoy this kind of experience safely,“ he said. “Fans were in these pods, but between the music and lighting, we made them forget about that, so they were all immersed in the same experience.“
Torres worked this magic with the help of 60 Chauvet Professional fixtures supplied by Hardwired Productions. He flew 12 Rogue R2X Beams in the air to create glowing effects over the entire stage and positioned four more units on the ground for aerial effects. To provide vivid colour washing, he relied on 20 Rouge R2 Wash units. A collection of 24 Nexus 4x4 panels was hung on four vertical truss fixtures as well as on the arched overhead structure.
Every weekend Relentless Beats stages a Friday and Saturday Pod Experience. Running about
Greece - St. Catherine's British School in Athens, Greece, took delivery of Prolights fixtures as part of the audiovisual installation of the new building of the school. The scope of the project highlighted the importance of selecting equipment that was easy to use by students and staff, along with being cost-effective to run and maintain.
Consultant and lighting designer Vagelis Delivasilis evaluated the LED range from Prolights, as well as other brands, and found Prolights to be a suitable solution for the project. Kariotis Audio & Lighting, Prolights' distributor in Greece, in collaboration with the consultant, came up with a comprehensive lighting package that could be flexible, allowing the school to run medium-scale theatrical performances, music events, conferences and orchestral plays.
Delivasilis made diagrams with the chosen fixtures, while Kariotis Bros' team made the procurement, installation, commissioning and training: “We were pleased that Mr. Delivasilis evaluated our proposal and got involved with the construction of the theatre space right from the start - this helped tailoring the best solutions according to the specification,” said Pandelis Kariotis, general manager for Kariotis. “Prolights was a great addition to the theatre, since the units are highly versatile, easy to use and extremely reliable.”
The list of equipment procured includes Prolights Pixie ZoomXB, EclFresnel TW, Lumipix 16H, EclProfile HD2 and Aria 700Profile.
“We found the equipment very intuitive, and since there will be a variety of perform
The Netherlands - Opened in 1984, Omniversum in The Hague was the first IMAX Dome theatre in Europe. Showing spectacular films on a giant domed screen that makes the audience feel part of the movie, a new, €1m projection system was recently installed to improve the experience. To make sure that the quality of the sound matched the images, a new Alcons Audio pro-ribbon system was also installed.
The Alcons Audio pro-ribbon installation complements a new Evans & Sutherland ESX projection system, which uses a blended array of five Christie D4K40 RGB laser projectors to produce a seamless, uniform image across the 23m diameter dome.
Delivering high quality sound reinforcement in a dome-shaped room like Omniversum provided many challenges. These included acoustic issues, because the large projection surface also creates a lot of rearward reflection from the speakers, as well as making sure every seat in the audience enjoys full coverage with direct sound and that every member of the audience hears all audio channels, so they experience the intended sound imaging.
“When we decided to spend over a million Euros on a new projection system, we knew the investment would not be worth the money if we did not also invest in the best sound system,” says Berend Reijnhoudt, Omniversum executive director. “After looking at several options, we chose the Alcons pro-ribbon solution because it was the best choice for us to complement a special visual experience.”
The system was installed by Delft-based Westamp Geluid. “While measuring the acoustic
Russia - Russia-based automotive photography specialist Denis Minchenkov used eight Astera Titan Tubes to enhance a night-time photoshoot featuring an Audi Q8 SUV for auto tune-up company MTR Design.
That quest to capture vivid colours, glistening reflections and the richness of the dark, stark and deliberately wet floored environment of a low-ceilinged parking garage beneath an office block saw Denis choose Titan Tubes for his primary lightsource, having used the Astera products extensively in his work over the last couple of years.
He positioned the Titan Tubes around the car, some hung from the ceiling of the parking garage on catenary wires and others on the floor on stands. The Asteras were all run wirelessly and controlled using the IR remote.
“The IR remote control means I can shift the setting of the whole shoot in a matter of seconds,” he declared. The Titan Tubes were supplied by Zoom Prokat Company.
The Netherlands - Given all the highly original interpretations of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake that have beguiled audiences almost since the moment the ballet premiered in 1877, one may be tempted to think there is nothing much left to add to the mix. Not so.
Guy Weizman and Roni Haver, the co-founders of Club Guy & Roni, which collaborates closely with Noord Nederlands Toneel, have created simultaneous live and online versions of the star-crossed love story that are not only outlandishly fresh and original in the way they interact with one another, but also deeply resonant during this era of COVID-19.
Contributing to this impressive accomplishment are 18 COLORado Batten Q15 fixtures from Chauvet Professional that were supplied by Lichtpunt Theatertechniek. The designers rely on the IP65-rated RGBW linear fixtures, which were selected in a shoot out involving six different products, to produce magical shades of pink and blue that underscore the myriad and varying moods during this production.
The show‘s lighting designer Maarten van Rossem arranges the battens in an array of configurations, such having them built into a fictitious 8x8m swimming pool in one scene. With each scene, this production sails further and further into the seemingly infinite undercurrents that animate Swan Lake.
During each show, the live audience (which is greatly limited as a result of COVID-19 restrictions) walks from scene to scene. As they do, they must make choices, which determine the course of events. Meanwhile, the online audience, which is wa
South Africa - PlatformZA, a digital pay-per-view media channel which was germinated during the first COVID-19 lockdown, is a completely new concept for South Africa and the brainchild of Christiaan Ballot from technical supplier Blond Productions and production manager Pieter-Jan Kapp (Kappie) from PJK Project Management. A small subscription fee covers an amount of free content and the pay-per-view price varies for other material.
Ballot and Blond Productions would usually be working together extensively during the arts festival season which has effectively been canned this year like almost every other ‘live’ event as the country fights the pandemic.
Like so many new COVID-era inspired projects, PlatformZA started with a series of Zoom chats between connected industry people and influencers, during which, explains Christiaan, “It became very apparent that there was the need for a mechanism other than streaming to which artists and producers could bring their content.”
With the whole industry being affected, the pair wanted to proactively offer artists like comedians, singer-songwriters and bands plus other performers and presenters working in all genres of visual entertainment - from vlogs to games shows to cooking demos - “the chance to produce high-quality new material cost-effectively with full and professional technical production facilities and crew,” stated Christiaan, in addition to be able to host quality content that is made elsewhere.
To facilitate the former, they have tra
Germany - MOG Technologies has completed more than 350th installation in the German market, reports the company. With the support of Broadcast Solutions, who’s been a partner for a long time, MOG has successfully delivered its 354th order to Germany with SWR’s latest purchase of 10 units of mDECK Densu X-2.
As a solution to increase flexibility in daily operational tasks, mDECK was developed to help production teams to record, ingest, transcode and play multiple channels of any media formats, while supporting file-based and baseband contents simultaneously. mDECK is also able to perform hybrid operations that can vary, according to its different models.
“From well known Central Ingest System to Powerful Professional Media Decks, MOG has been present in the German market for years, and we couldn’t be more proud for once more, achieve this huge milestone,” says João Pereira, sales director at MOG Technologies. “We are very thankful for the trust that both our partners and customers have placed in us, and our solutions.”
MOG’s products and solutions have been helping German broadcasters and media companies to simplify their production and post-production workflows, while reducing operational costs. They’ve been using mxfSPEEDRAIL, a family of turnkey software and appliances that can support multiple video gateways for years, and now, more recently, there’s been a higher demand for mDECK, one of its most recent products, that increases flexibility on operational tasks by performing multiple operations in a single box.
Additio
USA - Livestream performance producers VYE have collaborated with Clair Global and production company Genetic Productions to create a pay-per-view live stream performance space at Clair Global’s facility in Nashville.
“We wanted to give fans everything they’re used to seeing at a concert with moving lights, video walls, etc. and blend that with high-quality video streaming and a multi-camera setup for broadcast,” states Danny Zacharias of VYE, who designed lighting for the live stream space using gear from Elation Professional and sister company ADJ. “Add to that a Virtual Live Audience and this is really a virtual live event experience like no other.”
Zacharias started working on what would become VYE late in 2019 with business partners Maggie Seidel-Laws and Jayme Braun. VYE is a turnkey producer of professional virtual events that fans can watch from anywhere. VYE handles ticketing, streaming, producing, live production, and thanks to their strategic partnerships, the studio space, gear package, and crew
“This was a pre-pandemic plan for us, but in early 2020 we got the ball rolling quickly with production partners. Everyone is trying to figure out how to offer an experience without being able to do a traditional live event,” he says. “One of the things we wanted to do was to help artists monetize streaming and start performing again so they can get their crews back to work and connect with their fans.”
Zacharias worked with Genetic Productions, now part of PTP Live, to secure lights and video gear while audio specialist
UK - Sound Stage Lighting Live (SSL Live) has been busy installing a combination of CDD and Adorn series speakers, BlacklineX and ceiling speakers for use in venues ranging from leisure and hospitality to immersive fitness centres.
The company, which was set up by brothers Elliott and Jack Smith three and a half years ago, had also added a Martin Audio WPC scalable line array to the company’s events subsidiary pre-lockdown.
The brothers are firm believers in Martin Audio. “We liked the clarity of sound, functionality and ease of deployment,” they say. “We also liked the reliability - we have since installed 500-600 installation speakers and there has never been a problem.”
All four Martin Audio commercial ranges feature in Red Fox & Peacock’s new flagship Lytham House, a multi-zone bar/restaurant, occupying a prime position on the coastal resort of Lytham, on the Fylde coast.
Run by Ross Robinson, the company’s other venues - The Eagle at Weeton, The Ship at Freckleton and The Queen’s Hotel, Lytham - are already equipped with Martin Audio from SSL Live.
“From an audio perspective the owners trust us, and once again we have given them the best speakers for the purpose,” they say. The site, a former Italian restaurant on a large plot, was left empty for two years as potential buyers waited for the price to drop. Eventually purchased by a local building contractor it was promptly leased back to Robinson’s company and the interior designers set to work in creating a multi-zonal, upmarket venue, incorporating restau
UK - SLLFX, executive producer Pete Goulding and PSP AV recently deployed the rental company’s new Unilumin UPADIII HD LED screen for a live broadcast from telecommunications provider Gamma Communications. The broadcast was organised as an internal event for employees and featured a number of musicians, as well as a Zoom call style karaoke section starring staff members from the Gamma Communications team.
SLLFX, has seen its livestreaming services in popular demand since the UK’s lockdown began.
The Unilumin screen is a new addition to SLLFX’ extensive inventory of equipment and is designed specifically for live broadcast. The curvable screen can be installed and disassembled by one person, with a handy modular design and optional ground stacking system for maximum flexibility depending on the application. SLLFX also supplied a pair of Novastar VX4S processors to control the visuals.
“This was a highly anticipated event, with the added pressure of it being a live broadcast, so we knew that a high-end solution was required,” explains Adam Turbill, MD of SLLFX. “The Unilumin screen is a fantastic addition to our stock because it’s so versatile for both indoor and outdoor events and it always delivers. It was the obvious choice for this project and gave the team at Gamma Communications exactly what they needed.”
The high-specification screen was used as a backdrop for the presenters to display branding, show information, animated logos, viewer polls and other elements. As well as the equipment, SLLFX’ team of technicians provid
Spain - With headquarters located in the Murcian city of Cartagena, the Regional Assembly of Murcia is the autonomous Parliament of the Region of Murcia and one of the autonomous communities of Spain. In light of the recent pandemic and guidelines imposed by the country’s health authorities, the Assembly decided to adapt the Patio de los Ayuntamientos building for use with plenary sessions and important debates.
Working with the Assembly’s technical department, Cartagena-based system integrator Castellini Audiovisuales and Shure Distribution partner EarPro worked together on a system that met the requirements of the Assembly: wireless with a long battery life, voting and interpretation capability, plus an encrypted audio signal with flexibility to cover a variety of needs and uses, with Shure Microflex Complete Wireless (MXCW) system the preferred choice of all.
With an installation that consisted of 30 units, battery efficiency and effectiveness was catered for by the inclusion of the SB930 lithium-ion rechargeable battery, powering conference units and maintaining performance throughout use. The system also includes an AES-128 encrypted audio signal that helps guarantee security and audio privacy, along with a voting function with different configurations allowing external mobile devices to be connected into the unit. Another feature of MXCW is its capacity to work with up to 8 channels of simultaneous interpretation - a must-have requirement of the Assembly.
The MXCW640 Wireless Conference Unit can be configured into ‘chairman’, ‘delega
Jamaica - Before the pandemic brought large public gatherings to a halt, Tech Diva Ja organised Our Heroes: Walking in their Light, illuminating the works of original sculptors and artists in vivid colours with help from Chauvet Professional WELL Fit fixtures supplied by Phase 3 Productions.
An all-female design collective led by Nadia Roxburgh, Tech Diva Ja is made up of technical artists, engineers, choreographers, lighting designers and production managers. Also working alongside the Tech Diva Ja team at the event, which was held in Kingston’s National Heroes Park, were industry pioneers, Rufus McDonald and the late Franklyn ‘Chappie’ St. Juste.
This project, which paid tribute to Jamaica’s National Heroes, continued Tech Diva Ja’s work that previously reimagined Kingston’s public art spaces at night. Located around the nation’s capital, these spaces include popular statues like Negro Aroused by Edna Manley and Evolution by Chung Knight and Raymond Watson, among others. They serve as both canvas and inspiration for the colourful lighting work done by the team.
Using predominantly battery-operated lighting by Chauvet Professional from Phase 3 Productions Limited, the monuments were individually lit, completely transforming the space and giving a whole new interpretation to the presentation of the heroes.
With different lighting designers working on each monument, each presentation evoked a different feeling specific to the hero being reflected. The Right Excellent Marcus Garvey, Jamaica’s first National Hero, known int
Vietnam - Elevating its audio systems, the Van Don International Airport hired integrators Ba Sao Invest Co and their partner Thien Van tech Co to design and install Harman Professional airport sound solution.
Located on the west coast of the province Quảng Ninh, Van Don International Airport covers an area of 800 acres and contains a single runway. Handling 2.5m passengers and 10,000 cargo tons per year, the airport is equipped with four jet bridges, four baggage carousels, eight security gates and 31 check-in counters.
Wanting to enhance its facility and provide travellers with clear announcements, Van Don International required a modern airport audio system that also helps workers communicate and streamlines productivity. Using JBL Professional loudspeakers, Crown amplification and BSS signal processing, Ba Sao deployed a solution that delivers quality sound across the airport.
“The client required a highly flexible and scalable solution that can support the airport’s audio and communication requirements,” said a spokesperson for Ba Sao Invest Co. “After evaluating their requirements, we decided to use Harman’s audio equipment to provide superb speech intelligibility and audio coverage at the airport. We set up JBL open-back ceiling speakers coupled with pattern control speakers to deliver maximum clarity across the airport.”
Ba Sao selected an assortment of JBL Professional loudspeakers including JBL 8138 and 8128 full-range, open-back ceiling speakers and Control 23-1 two-way, ultra-compact modelss.
CBT 100LA-LS line a