France - The Printemps department store at the intersection of Boulevard Haussmann and Rue du Havre became the first store in Paris to use 100 percent electric lighting in 1883. For this year’s Fashion Show Spring Vélizy 2 at the store, battery powered and Wi-Fi controlled LED WELL Fit fixtures from Chauvet Professional supplied by Axilum provided the lighting.
Axilum used 36 WELL Fit units in its lighting for the fashion show event. Many of the fixtures were used to illuminate displays, while others, positioned by the runway itself, played a more unusual role.
The WELL Fit units at the runway were placed on their sides so they could create a lattice work of crisscrossing light on the carpet as models paraded to showcase the latest fashions.
“We had free card from our client to recreate a friendly space,” says Lionel Tachet of Axilum. “So, we relied on our imaginations to use the WELL Fits in a unique way to create a path. The WELL Fits are powerful autonomous projectors with a high autonomy and Wi-Fi management, which made them very well-suited for this project.”
(Jim Evans)
Thailand - Mahajak Development Co recently outfitted the Toyota Buzz Co headquarters with a Harman Professional Solutions networked AV system to deliver audio and video in nine locations.
Toyota Buzz Vibhavadi is a Toyota dealership and headquarters of the Toyota Buzz dealership sales channel. In order to broadcast and distribute AV content throughout the facilities - and to eight additional branch locations - Toyota Buzz recruited the help of pro audio distributor Mahajak Development. Mahajak deployed a networked AV system in the boardroom, hall, fitness room, sky garden and mobile room to provide advanced audio and video control.
“After thorough consideration, our team designed and installed a Harman system that seamlessly delivers high-fidelity audio and video across multiple locations to meet the specific requirements of the client,” says Pongsakorn Kanchanachayphoom, project director at Mahajak Development.
Mahajak equipped the boardroom with JBL Control 14C/T full-range ceiling speakers. JBL 305P MkII powered studio monitors deliver precise imaging and impressive dynamic range for critical listening. The system is powered by Crown CT 475 amplifiers and routed through BSS BLU-101, BIB and BOB1 digital processors for maximum flexibility. The conferencing system also includes a video wall with 55” 3x3 seamless display screens, which are controlled effortlessly via computer.
The Toyota Buzz headquarters features a 1,000-seat hall for internal presentations, performances and activities. Mahajak outfitted the hall with compact JBL AE Se
Spain - ETC dealer Stonex has supplied 19 Source Four LED Mini fixtures to light the installations of acclaimed Indian artist and filmmaker Amar Kanwar at the Thyssen Bornemisza National Museum in Madrid.
The museum hosted the work of Amar Kanwar - Testimonios Relámpago and El Bosque Soberano. ETC lighting was used to enhance his exhibition which focuses on the concepts of nature, landscape, climate and human presence whilst criticizing the political state and lack of justice in his native country, India.
Kanwar’s artwork in La Sala de Las Semillas, is characterised by taking elements of nature from India and using them as an activist proposal. Different types of rice grains were collected and carefully categorized in small drawers. The room required a dim light that created a warm and intimate atmosphere. Kanwar selected ETC for the installation based on his previous experience with the company from exhibiting in different parts of the world.
Lighting designer Carlos Alzueta specialises in theatrical and museum lighting and worked on the project at the Thyssen Bornemisza. “Amar Kanwar has in-depth lighting knowledge and having used ETC before, was especially interested in using Source Four LED Mini fixtures for their reliability and superior optics,” comments Alzueta.
“For lighting in museums and exhibitions, it is useful to have the option of focusing, adjusting or cutting out light. We worked with a combination of neutral filters with different densities to adjust the light of the fixtures,” remarks Kanwar.
Th
USA - With a career spanning 19 years, 12 songs that have made Billboard's country charts, and word of a new major label record deal in the offing, country artist Craig Morgan is on the road this summer, touring with new gear in the form of an Allen & Heath dLive S5000 console/DM0 MixRack at front of house, an SQ-7 for monitors, and four DX168 I/O expanders on-deck.
“I had been looking for a new console since last year,” opens Morgan’s FOH engineer, Robert Harmon. “I narrowed down my search to three, but none of them worked out. Then I ran across a console I didn’t recognise online. It looked high-end. It turned out to be an Allen & Heath S5000. Having logged thousands of hours on a GL2400 and other Allen & Heath analogue products in the past, I have to admit my mind was having a hard time wrapping itself around this new digital offering.”
Harmon agreed to try the desk following a conversation with Allen & Heath’s Eastern Regional Sales Manager, Kevin Madden. He wound up using it for two shows and never gave it back, choosing to send the company a cheque instead.
“They told me it could be customised any way I wanted,” he recalls. “I heard that before, but this time it was true. Using a show file I wrote at home, it loaded correctly the first time and sound check went quickly for starting at zero. I configured the desk to mimic the layout of my old one exactly, that made the transition seamless. I also brought things to the top surface I never could before.
“I always wanted my matrix out with my
Spain La Ciudad del Rock Arganda del Rey hosted electronic music festival A Summer Story on 21-22 June as 100,000 attendees enjoyed the latest music trends highlighted by Claypaky fixtures.
The festival has become one of the epicentres of electronic music in Spain Its fifth edition, produced by Disorder Events, featured performances by more than 70 artists, as well as large screens and spectacular lighting that combined tungsten and LED technologies.
A Summer Story featured four stages with lighting designs that mixed moving heads, LED bars and blinders, among others, all controlled from a grandMA2 full-size console supplied by Stonex.
Disorder Events and Enrique Jiménez of Fluge Audiovisuales worked together to light four stages. Fluge Audiovisuales was once again in charge of providing the AV equipment, including Claypaky Sharpy PLUS fixtures.
The main stage had a pyramidal structure 35m high. Its integral design was by Eduardo Valverde of Pixelmap Studio with programming and operation by Juan Manuel Lázaro Ordiales.
The Live and Techno Stage, designed by Jiménez, showcased several types of Claypaky fixtures. “The difficulty of the design was that this scenario hosted two very different types of performances on Friday and Saturday. The lighting design had to respond to these two different configurations, so we needed very versatile equipment,” he says.
Jiménez used eight A.LEDA B-EYE K10 devices to meet the challenge. "A.LEDA K10 could act as a street light in wash mode during the daytime and work with the LED surface a
China - Elation has been providing lighting solutions for Royal Caribbean International cruise ships since the first Oasis class ship launched in 2009. That trend continues with Royal Caribbean’s latest luxury cruise liner, Spectrum of the Seas.
Custom-built for the Chinese market and accommodating 4,246 guests, Spectrum of the Seas set sail from Shanghai in June as the largest cruise ship in Asia. Similar to Royal Caribbean’s previously launched Quantum class ships, Spectrum of the Seas features first-at-sea amenities including Sky Pad, a bungee trampoline experience, and two-level family suites with an in-room slide.
Built at Germany’s Meyer Werft shipyard, Amptown System Company (ASC) served as system integrator for sound, light, video, projection, media control and networking of media technology for the entertainment areas of the ship, working closely with the Royal Caribbean architects and technical team under the leadership of Royal Caribbean’s Superintendent SLVR & Architectural Lighting, Christopher Vlassopulos. Vlassopulos co-ordinated the design and specification for all the entertainment equipment in all three Quantum class ships’ public spaces, including the entertainment lighting systems, and served the same role on Spectrum of the Seas.
Spectrum of the Seas is an environmentally friendly smartship with energy-efficient entertainment lighting systems. She boasts a similar lighting package template as the Quantum class ships although with some updates and changes. “To keep up with the evolution of LED fixtures, the newe
Flamboyant ‘90s pop icons the Spice Girls’ 13-date summer stadium tour, Spice World – 2019 Tour, kicked off at Croke Park Dublin in May to culminate in June at Wembley Stadium (where else!), transforming 1990s nostalgia into 21st century excitement as they went.
Helping to bring the near-vintage flavour to modern sensibilities was a fan-based, fully-invested design team brought together by Creative Director Lee Lodge, comprising set designer Jason Sherwood, choreographer and stage director Paul Roberts and lighting designer Tim Routledge, under the art direction of Kate Moross, who succeeded in creating a show that was a fusion of theatricality and live music on a touring scale.
Into this set up Routledge, a keen advocate of Robert Juliat Dalis fixtures, introduced over one hundred RJ Dalis 862 150W LED footlights with the purpose of bringing a heightened sense of glamour to the girls on stage.
“Our main aim was to achieve two things,” he says. “Firstly, the show was to look amazing in daylight from the get-go - some stadium shows can be a little dull in the daylight hours and we wanted it to be ‘all guns blazing’ from the start; and, secondly, to ensure the Spice Girls and their dancers look glamorous at all times, by lighting them as beautifully as possible.”
The main challenge to maintaining this intensity of focus throughout the show came in the form of the 30m x 11m main stage and long 41m diameter catwalk that curved 34m out into the audience. “Followspots can only do so much,” says Routledge.
The answer was Routledge
World - Dreams and nightmares are the main themes of the Billie Eilish When We Fall Asleep world tour - the first major tour for this young internet sensation whose career is experiencing a meteoric rise. Helping this seventeen-year-old, Indie pop phenomenon to dizzying heights is the tour’s wonderfully creative set design, the central motif of which is a flown bed, inlaid with 24 Ayrton MagicDot-R lighting fixtures supplied by PRG.
Erik Anderson of Cour Design is the creative director behind this incredibly dynamic show. Anderson and his partner, Gordon Droitcour, have been working with Eilish since late 2017 and on this occasion, collaborated closely with production and lighting consultant, Nick Whitehouse at Fireplay, alongside lighting director and programmer, Tony Corporale and lead programmer, Dominic Smith.
The stage design is an intricate structure revealing a forced perspective with a diamond-shaped raked video floor and an overhead truss to match. Midstage there is the main feature of the flown bed which is iconic to much of what the singer has to say, and dramatically brought into focus by the novel lighting beneath. Anderson explains: “The MagicDots are rigged to the underside of the custom scenic bed piece (built by Gallagher Staging Nashville), and are utilized during three specific automation moments during the show. We needed a compact, fast-moving light that could be rigged in a grid formation, to act as a sort of custom chandelier when the bed underside was raked out toward the audience. At one moment we use this look to s
UK - The annual Marines on the Green memorial concert in the Kentish coastal town of Deal took on a special significance this year as it commemorated the 30th anniversary of the IRA bombing in Walmer barracks that killed 11 bandsmen. An unprecedented 12,000 people attended the event which was also an opportunity to upgrade the sound system from EM Acoustics’ compact Halo-C line array to the recently released medium format Halo-B system.
System tech Dave Shepherd, who has been involved with the Marines on the Green event for many years, felt that with the increased audience expected for the 30th anniversary concert, Halo-B would be the right choice. “We’ve used the Marines’ own Halo-C system in previous years, but with so many more people expected this year, it was the ideal scenario for the Royal Marines to experience HALO-B in action.”
Shepherd specified two ground stacks of four Halo-Bs on top of a single ST-215 sub per side for the main L/R system supplemented by two hangs of seven HALO-Bs and an MSE-218 sub on either side of the bandstand to cover the audience to the sides that stretched to over 120m away.
The system was driven from two DQRacks, EM Acoustics’ flagship touring rack comprising three high power DQ20D amplifiers plus a bespoke unit for signal/data/I/O and a mains power distribution/speaker output unit, which gave Shepherd detailed system control to ensure perfectly smooth coverage from the front row right to the very back of the audience.
“The location of the bandstand and the nature of the event means that our
UK - The latest production from Space Productions, the in-house company at off West End performance venue The Space, tells a story never really told, against a dynamic and eye-opening immersive sound design by the company’s Keri Chesser, who added impressive realism and intense drama using TiMax.
Spitfire Sisters is the tale of the British and American women in the British Air Transport Auxiliary who, at the height of World War Two, were trained to use just a map and a compass to fly planes from the manufacturers to where they were needed in the action.
Using TiMax object-based spatial rendering Keri was able to depict action such as the intimate internal voices of the women’s thoughts whilst flying, by both isolating them for clarity while slightly diffusing them for dramatic impact.
Chesser explains: “We were able to make the sound of the aeroplane fill the room from a position overhead, but voices still came through clearly and separately. I had a few speakers rigged above the hearing level of the audience so, using TiMax I added some EQ to a voice while directing the aircraft sounds overhead.”
TiMax PanSpace was also invaluable for creating multiple panning effects to replicate the sounds of a dogfight taking place above the cast sitting out an air-raid in a shelter.
Two speakers secreted on the stage’s balcony level anchored the aircraft sounds above the heads of the audience, whilst the main house PA provided left and right wide imaging, plus a sub for low end. All speakers were connected to TiMax via its onboar
Belgium - The 89m high tower of the majestic Saint Bavo's Cathedral is off limits to the public, except for 10 days in July when Ghent rolls out the welcome mat for the Gentse Feesten. Normal rules, whether at the Saint Bavo’s tower or anywhere else in Ghent, don’t apply during this annual music and theatre festival that draws over one million people to this Belgian city.
Lighting the way for visitors at this year for the 176th edition of the festive event was a massive collection of Chauvet Professional fixtures that were used at over 15 stages and other venues. Among the fixture brightening Belgium’s second largest city during its annual escape from the ordinary were the Maverick MK1 Spot, Maverick Storm 1 Wash, Maverick MK1 Spot, Rogue R3 Wash, Rogue R2 Wash, and the COLORado Solo Batten. Additionally, over 200 COLORdash Par H12IP fixtures were used throughout the festival site.
Sono brought lighting excitement to the festivities at Korenmarkt with BSL using the COLORdash Par-Hex 12IP, while Phlippo Productions supplied the stage with Rogue R1 FX- B fixtures. Sono also used the COLORdash Par-Quad 12 IP at Nordic House and A-Pluss.
At Saint Bavo’s, Euro P.A. enlivened the whole square with COLORado Panel Q40 fixtures. The flexible and power-packed stage rig consisted of Maverick MK1 Hybrid, Maverick MK2 Spot, Maverick MK2 Wash, STRIKE 1, and STRIKE P38 units controlled by a ChamSys MagicQ MQ500 Stadium console.
In the shadow of the Saint Jacob’s Church, Matthieu Verpoort ran a powerful show on his ChamSys MagicQ MQ500 Stadium cons
UK - Adlib supplied full production - sound, lighting, video and rigging - plus crew for the recent UK tour by Daryl Hall and John Oates, whose impressive string of top 40 hits stretch back to the 1970s.
After the UK tour, an Adlib control package and video servers went on to the Latin American leg of the tour, and then returned to Europe with the addition of a full audio package for the third segment and euro festival run.
Adlib’s Craig Hamilton - based in the Glasgow office - project managed and co-ordinated all things sonic, liaising closely with Daryl Hall & John Oates’ audio team of FOH engineer Chris Salamone, monitor engineer George Squires and US supplier Firehouse’s stage tech, Jeff Child.
Adlib’s Billy Bryson was the system tech, Jay Petch was the monitor and stage tech for the UK section of the tour and Billy was also the tech on the European festival dates.
They again chose to work with an L-Acoustics PA to achieve the precise sound they wanted, deploying 12 K1 plus 4 K2 down-fills for the main arrays and 12 K2 for the side-hangs.
For lip fills across the stage six L-Acoustics X8 were utilised, with out-fills comprising four ARCS II per side.
Subs were 16 x KS28, deployed in four blocks of four, tipped on end. The onstage sub in each stack was reversed and run in cardioid mode, at the request of Chris Salamone in continuity with the setup on their most recent US tour.
Adlib specified an Outline Newton multisource processor which matrixed between the main DiGiCo SD10 FOH console, the DiGiCo S21 backup
France - Production designer Jean-Christophe Aubrée has taken over the lighting for two major stadium shows, featuring French band Indochine (aka Indo).
It was a comfortable position for Aubrée, to find himself in. Having previously worked with other well-known artists, and formerly operated in an assistant design capacity with Indo, he stepped up for the last two last shows of the long-running 13TOUR, which took to the road back in February 2018.
Nicola Sirkis, Indochine’s leader, decided to create a whole new show for these two last stadium dates as a big surprise and experience for the fans. And helping provide a fitting finale were well over 1,000 lighting fixtures, including 794 GLP impression X4. All were supplied via PRG France from their bases across Europe.
The vast majority of the X4s were consigned to the lighting roof with another 36 populating the cross-shaped stage and proscenium edge, creating volume and depth, and 36 of the smaller impression X4 S positioned around the band on stage.
Jean-Christophe Aubrée has regularly turned to GLP’s LED solutions on festival rigs across Europe. “Most recently, I have been using the X4 Bar 20 and the awesome JDC1 hybrid strobe to create very interesting looks,” he says.
At the Stade Pierre-Mauroy in Lille, where the shows took place to sell-out audiences of 30,000, the lights were hung at a height of 30m, and therefore needed to deliver full power.
“I was looking for a reliable product that would achieve consistency over 758 units without any variation in terms of co
UK - Westlife are back after a seven-and-a-half-year hiatus, with a new production for the 20 Tour ahead of their much-anticipated new album, Spectrum.
One hundred and forty-eight Robe MegaPointes were prominent on the touring lighting rig - specified by lighting designer Tom Sutherland.
The first leg of the tour culminated in two sold out nights at Dublin’s Croke Park stadium playing to 170,000 fans. The gig was streamed live to cinemas worldwide.
Tom Sutherland of DX7 Design is part of a new creative team. He was asked onboard by show producer / director Brian Burke, and the two combined forces to create the production design that is supporting Nicky Byrne, Kian Egan, Mark Feehily and Shane Filan on the 20 Tour.
The performance space is defined by a large 70ft wide video screen upstage - which splits in two horizontally - and a full video floor, with columns of side and top lighting making up a large and dynamic box. Upstage at the back was a flying platform running the whole stage width, and several of the lighting trusses that also moved.
With musicians stationed just in front of the left and right stage wings, there was a totally clean space for the group to use, and the emphasis was all on the four of them, supported by slick video treatments and classy matched lighting looks.
Tom specified MegaPointes to be the principal hard-edged and effects fixtures, chosen for their brightness and versatility which enabled him to create a series of perfect ‘fun factors’ for the colourful, upbeat extravaganza of movement and
USA - Using unfamiliar gear can often present challenging situations for recording professionals. But taking that leap into the unknown can also lead to new experiences that help you to develop better quality recording solutions. This is something that producer and engineer Siegfreid Meier experienced when recording a new live album for punk icons, Face To Face, using the JoeCo Blackbox BBR64-Dante recorder as part of his setup for the first time.
The 250-capacity venue of Saint Vitus in Brooklyn, NYC, presented a challenge for Meier’s usual recording set-up. “The stage at the venue is tiny – there’s barely enough room for the band and their gear,” he explains. “I did a little bit of research beforehand and I thought the long runs of Dante would probably be the best way to record the show without leaving all of my gear on the stage.”
With this decision made, Meier turned to local audio specialists Gotham Sound to help him create a rig for the show. “Gotham set me up with this tiny little rack that they had built and it has the JoeCo Blackbox BBR64-Dante on the top of it,” he recalls. “We spent a day going over the rig and they took me through all of the Dante stuff. They were extremely helpful, I got a crash course in it and the next day I was setting up with the band.”
Over the next three nights of recording live sets, Meier gained some real insights into the BBR64-Dante and the advantages it could offer him: “The BBR64-Dante records to an external USB device. It labels the files really nicely and it just goes. It’s one of
Russia - A&T Trade and Music Trade have deployed Martin Audio’s WPL PA on the main stage of the Zolotoy Gorod eco park, one of the largest country parks in Russia, located near the city of Tula.
The park operates year round and welcomes guests from all over the world. Music Trade, A&T Trade’s Tula-based partner, were requested to design a sound system that would serve artists all summer long.
The main stage of the Zolotoy Gorod presents a multi-genre line-up featuring artists for pop, folk, orchestra, rock, electronic and theatrical performances. "We needed a universal speaker system that would sound great for any challenge,” says Sergey Bobrov, owner of Music Trade.
The scalable resolution of WPL offers greatly improved coverage consistency and control compared to a standard line array and provides a flexible pathway to advanced array control.
The main PA comprises 10 Martin Audio WPL elements flown on each PA wing, with eight further WPC each side as out-fills. A cardioid array of 12 SXH218 subwoofers stretched across the entire width of the stage, provide low frequency support.
"With WPL we made the perfect choice and are delighted with the result," Bobrov confirms. "We are also grateful to the engineers from A&T Trade for their comprehensive support in system design."
The season opened on 1 June with a series of retro music artists headlining: these included Natascha Wright (ex La Bouche), Sheyla Bonnick of Boney M and Pupo.
The stage has been operating every Saturday since, and will run until September.
UK - The 2019 UK edition of the art and music festival WOMAD once again featured the d&b Soundscape, delivering an enhanced live sound experience that equally served the dynamic range of programme, the touring front of house engineers, the artists, and the musically inquisitive audiences.
The WOMAD d&b Soundscape stage line up featured some of the most inspiring artists and performances of this year’s festival, including the acoustic mastery of Saving Grace featuring Robert Plant, drum and bass DJ LTJ Bukem, Kenya’s Muthoni Drummer Queen, and Roosevelt Collier, whose blues, rock and gospel sound was described as ‘dirty funk swampy grime’.
The d&b Soundscape stage is the result of a relationship between Real World Records - the music label owned by the founder of WOMAD, Peter Gabriel - and the d&b team. Born from a mutual ambition to enhance the sound experience at WOMAD for both artist and audience, using a d&b Soundscape system.
Prominently positioned within the main arena site in Charlton Park, Wiltshire, the Soundscape stage held capacity audiences of over 4,000 people and was created to galvanize WOMAD’s mission to be the “best sounding festival’ featuring ‘the best music you’ve never heard”, and curated to give acts from around the world a space to showcase their landscape of genre-diverse sounds.
“This stage was special, because of the incredible sound experience that was created,” says Chris Smith, festival director. “WOMAD is a festival for music lovers, but it is also about innovation in m
Saudi Arabia - The inaugural edition of Jeddah World Fest on July 18 took place in the grounds of King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah, and attracted a sell-out crowd of almost 40,000. This was the largest music festival held in Saudi. Protec delivered an extensive audio, lighting and rigging package for their client The Manual on behalf of Roqu Media.
This event ties in with Vision 2030, a progressive plan which sees the country open up as an entertainment destination and relax some of its stricter laws around events. With the country’s General Entertainment Authority set to inject upwards of an estimated $60bn into the sector over the next decade, Jeddah World Fest is the first of many events which will fuel the AV and events sector in the Middle East.
Featured artists included Janet Jackson, 50 Cent, Chris Brown, Liam Payne, Steve Aoki, Tyga, Future, R3wire and Varski.
Project manager for Protec, Luke Doyle reports, “The show looked and sounded incredible. The stage structure was the largest ever seen in the Middle East. This type of event had never been done to this scale in KSA and it was a great show to be a part of for sure. Definitely one to remember. The crowd were fantastic and it was almost emotional to witness.
“As the line-up wasn’t 100% confirmed until last minute we were under immense pressure to fulfil the technical rider for each artiste. We had catered well technically for the event using stock from our Riyadh and Dubai warehouses, however, we had to move quickly to discuss the requirements with the relevant artiste’s
Italy - Summer 2019 sees the latest edition of the Jova Beach Party. Inspired and headlined by Italian singer, songwriter and rapper Lorenzo Cherubini (Jovanotti), the infamous travelling ‘festival village’ is mid-way through its summer-long tour armed with over 100 Prolights fixtures.
The travelling Jova Beach Party festival is spending July and August making its way from the south, stopping at 15 beach locations until it reaches the summit of Plan de Corones, hosting festivals as they go. Jova Beach Party will welcome over 63 international acts, DJs and artists from around the world. From riviera to riviera, the main stage is set to entertain visitors from evening to night. With such a vast space available, the festival village includes children’s’ play areas, sees people sunbathing, swimming in the sea, and has frequently featured as a travelling wedding venue.
In addition to Jova Beach Party’s desire to bring people together, they also teamed up with The World Wildlife Foundation (WWF) in a bid to raise awareness of the environmental impact of litter on beaches. Armed with the philosophy of, ‘leaving the beach cleaner that it was found’ the Jova Beach Party continues its tour of the Italian coastline. Along with Jovanotti, the event welcomes the likes of Benni Benassi, Paradise Club, Afrotronix, Bombino, Ackeejuice Rockers and many more acts from all corners of the globe.
The Jova Beach Party commissioned over 140 IP rated Prolights ArenaCOB4FC from rental company Agorà.
When discussing the design elements of the Jova Beach
USA - Professional AV systems integrator Sound Designs has completed the design of a new sound system for St. Mary of the Assumption Catholic Church in Hockessin, Delaware. With roots that can be traced back to the 1700s, the current church was built in the 1960s with transepts forming its T-shaped layout and wooden pews facing a centre sanctuary stage area. With a large congregation, the church holds two daily mass services and six weekend services.
A number of contractors were invited to bid for the project, with Sound Designs’ Community E Series solution being chosen as the preferred design. John Dezell from Sound Designs explains: “Some proposed hanging array loudspeakers, but this would have disrupted the visual aesthetics of the space and blocked views of the recently installed stained glass windows. With a high, beamed ceiling and reflective surfaces we needed a system that would provide excellent pattern control and aesthetically merge with the architecture.
“We consulted with Community’s technical applications team and decided that slim column line source loudspeakers provided the best solution. Demonstrations were arranged on-site and at the Grand Opera House in Wilmington. The sound quality and coverage of the E Series loudspeakers were outstanding and we were subsequently awarded the contract.”
The loudspeaker system is primarily used for live vocal reinforcement with periodic programme audio and, occasionally, instrument microphones are deployed. The main system consists of two column arrays, each comprising two ENT-FR high pe
Argentina - PR Lighting fixtures were out in force when a group of associates and event planners known as the Burkina took over the Zarate Yacht Club on the outskirts of Buenos Aires to celebrate the country’s annual Friendship Day.
The ensuing ‘Fiesta Burkina’ saw 3,000 people revel under the lighting to the music of well-known DJs such as Mariano Trocca and Federico Prieto - part of an advanced production that was masterminded by local sound and light technology specialists, Caio Sonido.
The venue, located on the coast of the Parana River is familiar to Caio Sonido, as it is here that they produce their annual end of-year party (on 31 December) when more than 6,000 people join in the festivities. The company has been providing all infrastructure, including LED screens, staging and structural effects, to the Yacht Club for events stretching back more than 25 years.
Lighting technicians from Caio Sonido designed the lighting rig which was programmed and operated by Vieites Valentin and Cordoba Axel.
The effects included 20 PR Lighting JNR 350 BWS and16 x XR 300 Beam. The company has a huge inventory of more than 150 PR Lighting fixtures, built up over a 12-year period and in addition to the above, includes such products as Pilot 575, XR 1000, JNR Flat PAR and XLED 590 Zoom.
At the Zarate Yacht Club the JNR 350 BWS and XR 300 Beam were easy to rig as the roof has a solid infrastructure suitable for hanging all sound and lighting. The JNR 350 BWS were suspended from four rigging points, forming an H with the truss sections, onto whic
Canada - Time seemed to stand still at the Centre Vidéotron, Quebec City, on 25 May, as French-Canadian stars from the 1960s and 70s performed at La Tournée des Idoles. The artists were supported by a light show designed by Andre Langevin, with help from programmer Francis Guitard and systems tech Jerome Guitard.
Anchoring the rig, which was supplied by LSM were 36 Chauvet Professional Maverick MK3 Profile fixtures. The new high output (51,000 source lumens) profile fixture was selected by LSM after extensive research.
“This is the first of what will be many shows for us with the MK3,” says Gil Perron, the resident lighting designer for LSM. “We compared six other units to this fixture before choosing it for our inventory. As a rental company with a wide range of clients and projects, it was important for LSM to choose a lighting instrument that would be as effective at large scale arena shows as it is at corporate events.”
According to Perron, the Maverick MK3 Profile resolved a “very basic dilemma” for LSM. “In the past we had to ask ‘do we go for high output or high CRI?,” he says. “As it turned out the MK3 was the only luminaire that could bridge that gap, with a very powerful LED engine for rock and roll, and a drop in CRI filter that we believe will become a very frequently specified request from theatrical, corporate and TV LD’s. Aside from the CRI, there was the absolute necessity of having a framing system that the MK3 satisfies. The presence of framing on movers is fast becoming a must on many projects in our
UK - AV solutions rental company Video Design has reported a busy summer, including work on high-profile tours and festivals.
“We started the summer run casually with a really successful tour for Rita Ora in May,” reports company head Alex Leinster. “Then mid June and production manager, Steve Voudouris asked us to support a quick sweep through the UK arenas plus a couple of shows on the continent for Lynyrd Skynyrd. Nice camera package, large rear screen full of lovely content - no dramas. And things soon hotted up.”
Leinster continues: “Stormzy commanded the stage at Glastonbury, supported by the outstanding vision of creative director, Chris ‘Bronkski’ Jablonski fused with LD Tim Routledge’s lighting. Production manager, Joel Stanley pulled it all together at extremely short notice, and yes, we sweated some bullets assembling the diverse elements of LED screen that defined Bronski’s iconic set. Even so, working for a visionary like him was well worth it.”
As Glastonbury revelled in the music another Video Design team, led by Richard Corns was busy in Hyde Park with Barclaycard Presents British Summer Time (BST). “The 950sq/m of WV8HD that we installed across the full panorama of the main stage and wings was fed by a very carefully chosen HD camera and Disguise gx2 package,” he said. “Artists the stature of Barbra Streisand, Celine Dion, or Florence + the Machine have very distinct styles; these are not the sort of shows for an ever-hungry camera. It might sound counterintuitive, but through that huge panorama of LED the
UK - Mark Ronson’s ‘Broken Heart’ visual and lighting design concept was initiated by his creative director Jed Skrzypczak and is a combination of two mirrored silver heart set pieces which wrap the DJ booth, coupled with integrated lighting that is co-designed by award winning LD Tim Routledge and Ben Cash from Flare Lighting.
Framing these scenic pieces are four ‘half heart’ lighting props, graceful curved metal stems each rigged with 21 equidistantly-spaced Astera AX3 Light Drop wireless LED fixtures - 84 in total.
The artist wanted something eye-catching and cool to go match the music – a largely fluid set, carefully crafted for each show, with some centrepiece anthems and other parts inspired by the magic and vibe of the moment.
He wanted the lighting and the look to be theatrical and dramatic as well as different from a ‘standard’ electronic setup. In addition to the Asteras, there is a row of BMFL moving lights at the back together with tilting LED battens upstage, also part of the extras package.
The two offstage AX3 heart stems are slightly further upstage, adding depth and three dimensionalities, while a large video screen plays a dynamic selection of visuals throughout, all helping to connect Ronson’s immersive mixology with his audience.
The idea was to use the Asteras to add this architectural context to the lighting design and he co-ordinated this aspect of the lighting design. The AX3s are attached to the stems via their magnetic back plates which are extremely strong and one of the beauties and ingenu