Australia - Eclipse Lighting and Sound recently secured multiple Martin by Harman MAC Quantum fixtures from Show Technology to supply music festivals, concerts, musical theatre shows and more.
Eclipse Lighting and Sound is an all-in-one production house that provides audio and lighting solutions for music festivals, concerts, corporate dinners, and musical theatre shows of all sizes across eastern Australia. MD Chris Neal was preparing for the upcoming festival season, and decided it was time to replace his aging Martin MAC 2000 fixtures with something that could deliver sensational lighting on stages of all sizes.
In order to meet these needs, Neal contacted Show Technology to find a powerful yet versatile fixture. Show Technology suggested the MAC Quantum, which combines the latest in LED technology with Martin's proprietary optical design.
"The Quantum fixtures are a great addition to the Eclipse Lighting and Sound family,” says Neal. “It’s been great sending such reliable fixtures out on gigs and not having people calling me for lamp replacements. We’ve already used them at the Canberra's main NYE celebration and recent CAT Awards - we were very impressed."
"Eclipse Lighting and Sound had been using MAC 2000 fixtures for a long time,” says Mike Gearin at Show Technology. “Chris wanted to upgrade to with the latest, most advanced Martin technology available, so we suggested the MAC Quantum fixtures. They were immediately impressed by how bright and sharp all of the fixtures were.”
(Jim Evans)
USA - August Hall is following in some giant footsteps. Opened this spring in the heart of Union Square, San Francisco, the 1000-capacity club is only a short distance from legendary music halls like the original Fillmore West, as well as leading current day entertainment sites like the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, The Masonic, and Great American Music Hall.
Building on this tradition, while adding new lighting and sound technology, the venue, which has a partnership with Live Nation, is hosting artists from every musical genre as well as comedians and corporate events.
Providing visual support for the diverse mix of performers that appear on its stage is a flexible lighting rig installed by Don Lynch of Commercial Audio Video Solutions, Inc, that features a collection of over 100 Chauvet Professional fixtures and LED panels.
“We worked closely with house LD David Belogolovsky of OwlVision to design a very rider-friendly rig that could work as well for an EDM artist as a rock band or spoken word performer at a corporate event,” says Lynch, who was also responsible for installing the hall’s audio, video, surveillance, and networking systems. “Our lighting rig had to be bright and punchy enough for some of the most intense acts, while still being able to provide subtle washes when needed. At the same time, of course, it also had to fit within the budget of a venue this size.”
After evaluating different options, Lynch and Belogolovsky put together a rig that includes: 16 Maverick MK3 Washes, 38 Rogue R2X Spot fixtures and eight STRIKE
UK Aurora Lighting is collaborating once again with lighting designer Gurdip Mahal plus gaffers James Tinsley and Adam Mitchell on Channel 4’s hit reboot of TV cult classic The Crystal Maze.
Following the production’s hugely successful format, Maze Master Richard Ayoade is back in the driving seat, guiding teams of intrepid adventurers through various themed ‘zones’ to take on a variety of dastardly challenges.
Filmed on an expansive set created by original series designer James Dillon at The Bottle Yard, Bristol, the show captures the charisma of the 90’s maze whilst incorporating a number of contemporary twists to update and enhance the look of the individual zones.
The sheer scale of the set requires a truly flexible lighting package that can both maintain ambient levels and shift easily between the moods created to accompany each specific area.
Combining creativity and versatility, the crew have installed a variety of automated fixtures including Martin MAC Viper Profile, Claypaky Sharpy and GLP X4s which allow swift alterations between moods or the addition of colour and movement to assist in highlighting action. The crew have also incorporated a number of Fresnels into the design, used to cleverly mirror the tungsten warmth of the original show.
Aurora have made key investment in products specifically for the show, in particular to build further on the growing inventory of LED products they are able to offer. Aurora has furnished the Crystal maze with a variety of low energy solutions. Of note are the numbers of C
UK - Originally constructed in 1808, Glaziers Hall is characterised by a blend of refined tradition and contemporary design. Sat beside the Thames, the building offers seven strikingly individual spaces for corporate events and functions. It also adjoins the historical London Bridge - a distinction made all the more tangible following the completion of the London Bridge Arches, a new subterranean space where the foundations of the bridge’s original wharf are visible.
Beyond the bare brick walls of the venue flows the Thames, while within the acoustically challenging space, an almost invisible K-array solution delivers smooth and precise audio coverage.
Previously a back-of-house zone, the newly transformed space is the seventh function area available for hire within Glaziers Hall, offering three long, arched vaults where original bricks are complimented by minimalist architectural lighting. At the far end of the vaults are the stones that adjoin the river, while to the right, visitors can gaze through three hermetically sealed windows at one of the British capital’s best-appointed wine cellars. The overall effect is unlike anywhere else in the city.
“The building is actually Grade II listed – the floor is actually all original Yorkstone paving from 1808, and we are on a raft in the Thames,” explains Glaziers Hall managing director, Samantha Enstone. “Our vision was to convert and use more riverside space and create a unique environment using the walls from 1808. But of course part of the challenge was to achieve the right balance of soun
Qatar - Losail International Circuit hosts the Grand Prix of Qatar every year, one of the flagship events of the MotoGP season. In 2008, the race became the first to take place by night, at a more advantageous time for television broadcasts but also in order to benefit from milder temperatures.
Thanks to a permanent lighting system, riders can ride on the 5.4km track at any time of the day. Since 2016, the Losail Circuit Sports Club team relies on Airstar to light up the paddocks where teams prepare and adjust their motorcycles.
The Airstar balloons have also provided lighting for the public area, where additional entertainment and attractions are offered to visitors, such as camel riding, falconry, or traditional Arabic coffee making. This year, the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani attended the event for the first time.
“The Grand Prix of Qatar is the only MotoGP race that is held under floodlights. However, the lighting has to be perfect to ensure the safety of the riders, as if they were riding in day time. In addition, we wanted to give a nice and pleasant atmosphere to the place, and that is exactly what Airstar balloons offer,” comments Juan Baquero, CEO of the Losail Circuit Sports Club. “We know and work with Airstar for three years now, they are part of our MotoGP event.”
For this first race of the 2018 MotoGP season, the Airstar Middle-East team has deployed 50 Pixocom balloons. Measuring 3m in diameter and with a power of 9kW, the Pixocom provided a glare-free, efficient and aesthetic light to the 32,000 spec
The Netherlands - Poppodium (Pop Stage) Patronaat is a popular three-room venue in Haarlem, a historic city outside of Amsterdam. The venue has recently upgraded the audio systems in two of its rooms by installing four SSL L200 consoles at front of house and monitor positions, all supplied by SSL Live distributor Audio Electronics Mattijsen (AEM).
Patronaat was started in 1984, in the renovated patronage hall / gymnasium of a former school building by the Pop Music Foundation of Kennerlerland. The venue went from strength to strength, and in 2005, after a brief relocation, a new Patronaat building was officially opened on the original site. The Foundation has been a long-term beneficiary of a substantial arts subsidy - common in cities around the Netherlands - and a founding principal of Patronaat was to use that subsidy, and income from bigger touring acts, to give smaller, up-and-coming acts a stage to perform on. It’s a strategy that continues undiminished today.
The complex has three rooms, sized as large (950 capacity), medium (350 capacity), and small (120 capacity), with independent entrances and in-out freight vehicle access into the middle of the building via the central Schlucht street. The combined rooms see an average of 130,000 visitors a year for around 500 productions.
Benno Linnemann, head of sound at Patronaat, says that a busy week might include up to 15 gigs, functions, or events throughout the building. "That's mainly live music, plus dance and some private and corporate bookings," he explains.
There are four SSL L200 con
Germany - With 35 acts performing across three floors over 14 hours to around 18,000 dance aficionados, the traditional Mayday EDM event in Dortmund followed a familiar theme.
For LD Thomas Gerdon, who has provided production design for five of the last seven events, the only important aspect was that a radical change, relocating the stage from the end of the hall to the long side of the rectangular room, gave him a massive 24m wide performance area to light.
This he accomplished with well over 200 fixtures from GLP - predominantly GT-1 and JDC1 hybrids - but also around 36 of the powerful impression X4 XL. This huge inventory was provided or sourced by Wiesbaden-based schoko pro.
This year Gerdon lit not only the main Arena stage but also the second Empire stage for promoters, I-Motion GmbH - commending their CEO Oliver Vordemvenne for his vision in endorsing the new stage position in his quest to keep the event fresh. “It gave us a totally new perspective and instead of placing lights over the audience, I could have them engage more closely with the lighting on stage.”
The designer relied heavily on the GLP catalogue to populate the giant 40m rig, both for the economy of being able to use versatile hybrid fixtures as well as performance reliability over such an arduous duty cycle.
“It was clear I would be using a lot of GLP equipment from the outset,” he says. “It is important to be cost efficient, so a hybrid fixture is very attractive. The GT-1 is a genuine hybrid with low weight, and having no base is a real plus.”
USA - Hall & Oates have hit the road with Train co-headlining a North American arena tour this summer.
Lighting designer Paul ‘Arlo’ Guthrie from Minneapolis-based TOSS Film & Design has selected a large complement of Claypaky Sharpy Washes and Mythos 2 fixtures for the rig.
For the new show, Hall & Oates and Train each do a set then the bands join forces for a dynamic finale. The tour launched 1 May in Sacramento and will conclude in Seattle in mid-August.
Guthrie has designed a look for the tour that “feels modern but harkens back a bit to Hall & Oates’s legacy,” he says. “The lighting is reminiscent of rigs past with newer fixtures and more modern equipment. The video component is also larger than before.”
Downstage a front-projection screen has the form of a curved theatre proscenium. Mid-stage is an upside-down ‘U’ composed of LED tiles. Upstage is a rectangular LED wall and simple scenic elements. “The lighting supports the scenic elements and adds depth between the video components,” Guthrie explains. “The show is lit very much like a TV show with very consistent levels. We’ve modelled the guys to look good to the eye and on camera for the IMAG displayed on the side screens throughout the show.”
Morris Leasing in Nashville is the lighting vendor for the tour.
Guthrie chose 86 Sharpy Wash 330s, which are configured in clusters in pods that move up and down on a hoist system.
The lighting designer also has 64 Mythos 2 fixtures in the rig. “One of the big considerations was
Singapore - Show production and equipment hire company The Show Company (ShowCo), supplied 120 Claypaky Scenius Unico fixtures for Katy Perry's performance at the Singapore Indoor Stadium as part of her current worldwide tour Witness: The Tour.
Designed by production designer Es Devlin and lighting designer Baz Halpin, who also produced the tour, Witness hooks in audiences with its whirlwind of rich video content, large-scale props and wide-eyed lighting effects, delivered in part by the powerful capabilities of the Claypaky Scenius Unico.
"The production is large format and makes a bold statement with its enormous 'eye-shaped' LED screen," says Halpin, "I wanted to make sure that the lighting design complemented not just the screen's shape, but was also able to compete with the incredible amount of light emitting from it."
After discussion with associate LD, Eric Marchwinski, Halpin chose the Claypaky Scenius Profile alongside the newest addition to the Scenius range, the Scenius Unico as the key fixtures in the Witness rig.
"The Scenius Unico has a wide application as a spot, wash and beam with great framing capabilities," says Joseph Gan, director of ShowCo, technical partner for the tour in Singapore. ShowCo invested in the Scenius Unico fixtures ahead of the show date to ensure that Halpin's lighting team did not have to settle for less than ideal alternatives. "Discussion about investing in the Scenius Unico fixtures started some time ago and the Katy Perry show was the deciding factor in making that next step," he says.
France - In December 2017, France’s Sorbonne prepared to ring in the new year and a new era of highly intelligible audio with the installation of an L-Acoustics Syva system in the university’s Grand Amphitheatre.
The configuration was designed to address the challenges of a reverberant space while complementing the architecture of the room, originally inaugurated in 1889 and classified as a national Historical Monument since 1975.
“The events we hold in the Grand Amphitheatre of the Sorbonne range from conferences, speeches, and awards ceremonies to concerts, and are all highly prestigious,” says the venue’s AV technical manager Mathieu Miot. “However, this is a very reverberant space with few sound absorption elements. Our old system was desperately lacking in directivity and resulted in a significant loss of intelligibility. We needed a system that would address these issues, respect the venue’s historical aesthetics, and that could be installed without any physical impact on the building.”
Audio consultancy firm Altia Acoustics was hired to conduct a public address system audit. Over the course of two years, a dozen people from different departments in the Sorbonne compared systems, which included beam steering technology and stacked line-arrays from a variety of manufacturers. As trials were in progress, Sorbonne event organisers continued to hire external service providers for their on-going audio requirements and L‑Acoustics Kiva was often the temporary rental solution provided. Hearing Kiva in action prompted the Sorbonne’
UK - Michael McIntryre’s Big World Tour is selling out arenas around the world.
With just one microphone and playback music, there is no need for a large format console, but the desk of choice needs to deliver sonic quality and extensive functionality. For Steve Carr, McIntyre’s Front of House engineer, the choice is the DiGiCo SD11, supplied by audio rental company Capital Sound for the UK and Ireland leg of the tour.
“The SD11 has all the wonderful features of the larger consoles in the DiGiCo SD range in a really compact, lightweight format, and that’s important on several levels” says Steve. “We use the SD11 because we don’t need a large surface to handle the show. It’s also great for the truck pack, it’s great for the service provider because it’s relatively inexpensive to hire out, and it offers a similar sound quality and power to the larger desks in the SD Range.”
Steve has been using DiGiCo since the SD Range was launched, first touring with the flagship SD7, then spec’ing the SD11 around seven years ago when he was project managing and babysitting FOH at festivals, using it for an auxiliary desk for music, DJs, etc.
“I became really familiar with the desk then,” he adds. “It’s a great workhorse and the sound quality is great. Ideally, I’d like to use SD Rack, but the DiGi-Rack I’m using for the tour works well for me.”
The tour travels throughout the UK and Europe until February 2019 and then continues in Asia.
(Jim Evans)
USA - The Hangout Music Festival, a three-day event that takes place on a sandy beach on the Gulf of Mexico, served up a diverse line-up featuring The Killers, The Chainsmokers, Kendrick Lamar, The Man and a host of other stars.
Supporting the music on the popular Surf Stage was a rig that included Rogue RH1 Hybrid moving fixtures from Chauvet Professional and Ilumipanels from sister company Iluminarc, supplied by Bandit Lites. Put together by lighting designer Dizzy Gosnell and project manager Gene Brian, the rig was run by festival LD Alexandra Gagnon.
A key element of the Surf Stage design was a series of overhead curved truss structures that conveyed images of rolling waves. Riding on those “waves” and adding movement and colour to them, were 18 Rogue RH1 Hybrid fixtures. The Rogue units were arranged in groups of six, flown on the three curved truss formations.
“The RH1 lights were used most often as beam fixtures,” says Gagnon. “Their fast colour scrolling really went well with the wave configuration of the truss. Our visiting LDs favoured the intense colour scrolling and the prism effects on the Rogues. They found the internal speed and effects to be a great asset. It gave them a different punch within the rest of the rig.”
Included in that rig was an impressive collection of beams, washes, blinders, strobes and four Ilumipanel units that were used to colourise the stage left and stage right scrim. Gagnon drew on the entire rig to create an array of powerful and engaging looks when she ran the board for supporting bands.<
UK - The annual Summer Exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts is one of the highlights of London’s cultural season, and its VIP Preview Party is attended by the elite from the art and fashion world as well as wealthy buyers. The Burlington House courtyard is turned into a concert venue for the event, and this year, the champagne set was entertained by chart-topping singer-songwriter Anne Marie.
London-based rental house Fisher Productions provides production for the show, which presents some interesting acoustic and practical challenges. Following its success with the Nexo STM Series modular line array with Laura Mvula last summer, Ben Webb of Fisher AV decided to specify STM ground-stacks again, “for the simplest reason, we have extremely tight set-up deadlines at the Royal Academy, and we can wheel in the plug-and-play STM system and be ready to go in minutes”.
The cobbled courtyard is surrounded on all sides by the Royal Academy and the Royal Geographical Society offices, so soundcheck opportunities are minimal. Inevitably, slap-back can be a factor in this confined space, made even worse this year by a monumental Anish Kapoor sculpture, erected in the centre of the courtyard, directly in front of the PA.
For Fisher Productions, Ben Webb specified compact ground-stacks comprising 3x STM M28 main modules, over a B112 bass module, over a S118 sub. Either side of the main STM stacks are three LS18 18” subs, the third of which is primarily used to support a pole-mounted array of 3x GEO M6 compact line array modules providing out-fill. This w
Israel - Moshe Kimchi Lighting Design has recently invested in Robe technology, with an initial purchase of 60 x Halo RGB LED rings, quickly followed by 18 x MegaPointes. The purchases were made via Robe’s Israeli distributor, Danor Theatre and Studio Systems.
Company owner Moshe Kimchi is an Israeli lighting designer whose work typically involves designing the project as well as supplying the lighting kit. He used the Robe fixtures for his Journey into Space installation at the 2017 Festival of Light in Jerusalem where he was one of the contributing artists. The Halo RGBs were an integral element of a symbolic giant spaceship that he created, complete with lighting effects synced to a soundscape.
Kimchi also used them to help light a large sculptural, illuminated menorah (nine-branched candelabrum) built at the Jerusalem municipality square for the Hanukkah holiday.
The 18 x MegaPointes were a substantial investment for a medium sized company and Moshe was the first of two companies in Israel to receive them. Since then, the lights have been out every week on different shows and events.
At a recent Independence Day dance party in Tel Aviv’s Hangar 11 venue, he used both sets of fixtures.
“As with every show we do, lighting has to send out a strong message to the audience and our goal is for them to go away with a lasting good impression of how the evening looked and felt atmospherically,” he says.
(Jim Evans)
UK - Live coverage of the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle was viewed by millions worldwide - and ‘attended’ by four Hogs.
UK lighting designer and programmer Bill Peachment, Gaffin Riley and Will Plenty supplied four High End Systems Road Hog 4 consoles for Sky News’ live coverage of the 19 May event in Windsor.
It was a marathon for everyone watching and for the media covering it. While Peachment’s day started at 4am and stretched to midnight, he’s used to long days and was “proud to be a part of it." Activities surrounding the wedding were scripted to the minute, but anything could happen at a live event. Peachment wasn’t worried. He’s trusted Road Hog 4 consoles to see him successfully through his career of television and musical events in the UK.
"Live TV is a fast-moving environment," says Peachment. "We don’t get rehearsal time, so button pushing has to be minimal to get the desired effect and the Hog is good for that."
Peachment, Riley and Plenty own and supplied the Road Hog 4 consoles, positioning two at each of two locations: at the top of Windsor Castle for the site of the wedding, and along the Long Walk - a two and a half mile (4km) path that served as the main part of the open-air carriage parade after the ceremony. Midway along the Long Walk, Sky News set up an open-air tent where the reporters interviewed special guests.
"We needed the consoles because we were constantly adjusting the lighting from sunrise to sunset. I spec'd Road Hog 4 because I and other programmers on the event use them
Europe - A-ha are currently out for an extensive tour of the UK and Europe, running from early June till late August, playing a variety of headline shows in UK stadiums and European festival appearances.
With the band revisiting their original trademark electronic sound, show designer Stu’ Farrell has conceived a thought provoking staging for the band that sees specialist supplier Video Design provide some unusual LED and a distinct degree of autonomy for Julien Hogg, Farrell’s long-time collaborator and custodian of all things video.
“The visual concept is intended to make the audience think about what they are seeing,” Hogg began. “Stu’s design sees three long strips of LED on the front of double wide risers approximately three-foot tall, one for each band member. The Vanish25 panels we have from Video Design are chosen to allow the lighting behind to shine through, and for the LED to be part of the effect. We also have an eight-foot tall screen of V25 across the back of stage.
“The Vanish panels as the name suggests, are all see-through; we have what we call Sabbath Pods, square frames of lighting that are set behind the LED. With fewer pixels in a shine through panel (25mm pixel pitch) you have to be careful about what you put through the LED. The panels have 50% transparency and were chosen deliberately to achieve the effects Stu’ wanted; they have proved perfect for the design.”
For the early dates Hogg is supported by Rob Stansfield, “Rob is an LED panel specialist,” explained Video Design MD Alex Leinster. “We p
UK - Rumoured to have cost £20m to develop, the opulent new Hide Restaurant in London’s Mayfair, is the brainchild of chef, Ollie Dabbous in collaboration with Hedonism Wines.
With spectacular views over Green Park from the three-storey building on Piccadilly, it features a sound system infrastructure comprising matched Harman components, specified and installed by Penguin Media Solutions.
The three floors, swathed in an earthy combination of antique oak, bronze mirrors and aged brass, are linked visually by a spectacular pressed-oak spiral staircase, and audibly by background music, routed by BSS Soundweb, delivered by an array of JBL ceiling speakers and processed in Crown’s advanced multi-channel DCi network amplifiers. Two amp racks - one in the basement and one on the Mezzanine - are connected via BSS’ proprietary BLU-Link, with all channels fully assigned.
All Harman products were supplied by Sound Technology Ltd, the UK and Ireland distributors, and supported by Hugo Burnard, Senior Applications Engineer at Sound Technology’s Application Team.
Working to a design conceived by Tatiana and Hedonism’s Evgeny Chichvarkin, along with These White Walls studio and Lustedgreen architects, Penguin’s Director of Operations, Dylan Thompson has not only equipped the two main restaurants and basement Bar with JBL but also five private dining rooms, corridors, toilets and other service areas.
Thompson comments, “The reason we specified Harman components and went to Sound Technology was because it’s a one stop shop, and when yo
USA - After performing more than 70 concerts so far this year, Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats continue their 2018 tour for fans in Europe and North America with monitor engineer Davy Gleeson using an Allen & Heath dLive S Class to mix the band’s in-ear monitors. “They started with wedges,” he said. “But the in-ears help Nathaniel balance his voice with the band. And, the boys like to boogie on stage so this keeps it clean for them.”
Gleeson, who also acts as production manager and stage manager on the tour, had used an Allen & Heath GLD when he worked at Black Box Pro Audio of Glasgow, Scotland. “We were very impressed with the GLD’s sonic quality and user-friendliness,” he said. “So, when the dLive came out, I put it on the rider for Rateliff’s tour. It’s got the same work flow as the GLD but pumped up on steroids. And, I’ve AB’d it with other digital consoles and it sounds a lot better.
“I have a scene for each song,” continued Gleeson. “And, with the dLive’s cue-list editor, I can drag-n-drop songs to create a new set in about 20 seconds. It’s super easy.” He uses the dLive’s Virtual Sound Check to review monitor mixes with the band. “The VSC is simple,” he says. “One click of a button and you’re going; another click and you’re back out again.”
Gleeson uses the dLive’s on-board effects exclusively. “I’ve got the multi-band compressor and the dynamic EQ on every channel along with a few reverbs. And, since we’re doing a lot of flying around, I don’t have to carry an ext
Poland - Production company PogoArt, owner of the largest Nexo PA system in Poland and a recent investor in Yamaha’s new Rivage PM7 digital mixing system, has helped Wroclaw Opera to stage an epic production of Guiseppe Verdi’s Nabucco. The sell-out performances of one of the most recognisable operas in history was presented outdoors, with the Wroclaw Opera building itself featuring in a special stage design capable of accommodating up to 350 artists.
Wroclaw Opera is accustomed to outdoor performance, but the production of Nabucco in Wroclaw’s central Plac Wolnosci was a most challenging one, featuring a 700sq.m stage with three levels for orchestra, ballet dancers, soloists and the Wroclaw Opera Choir. Marcin Nałecz-Niesiołowski, director of the Wroclaw Opera, who was conducting the performances, admitted that large productions are always a compromise because of the changing acoustics.
Against the backdrop of the opera house, the massive stage demanded a high-performance PA system, so director Krystian Lada called upon Sławek Pogorzała of PogoArt to provide a modular line array, the Nexo STM Series, coupled with Yamaha Rivage PM, CL and QL Series digital consoles.
“The most important issue was to achieve even coverage of the audience area, providing the highest-quality sound. STM M28 line array modules disperse over a very wide angle so this made it easy. Front-fill completed the coverage of the middle of the audience in the first rows,” says Pogorzała, owner of PogoArt.
For the main PA, left and right arrays of
Australia - Novatech Creative Event Technology has given its 12 Elation Proteus Hybrid fixtures some serious punishment over the last few months. First, they left them outside for five weeks in February in Adelaide, copping the full heat of a SA summer. They then migrated north for four weeks on the beach at The Gold Coast for the Commonwealth Games.
The Adelaide Fringe Festival’s Parade of Light saw projection art from creatives including The Electric Canvas and Illuminart light up the heritage-listed buildings along Adelaide’s North Terrace, while Novatech’s Proteus stock beamed colours and break-ups.
“We had the Proteus out in three pods of four, controlled from a PC,” said Ashley Gabriel, director of sales and marketing at Novatech. “We were projecting across a major six-lane road onto buildings, while fighting lots of ambient light and a background LED wash. The Proteus punched through really well. Their light output is chunky and bright, even when using their prism.”
The next challenge for the Proteus was surviving four weeks on the foreshore of The Gold Coast. Four Proteus were mounted on a stage for aerial lighting, a further four mounted on that stage’s FOH tower, and the remaining four used for site lighting and break-up on buildings. Control was courtesy of a High End Systems Hog 4. “All 12 units came back without anything getting in to them,” explained Ashley. “There was no ingress of any sand or moisture from the beach, and no corrosion, which we saw in some other equipment. The Proteus came back in to our w
USA/UK - The latest incarnation of The Killers’ stage set owes much to the band’s Nevada heritage. As the band originally emerged from 20th Century Las Vegas, the design was to reflect an image of the small towns that straddled the American West.
Long-time Killers LD, Steven Douglas explains the process, “Our set designer, Josh Zangen from Fireplay had already put in place a large water tower stage right that harked back to the original look of the small American town and we felt something was required to balance that look on stage left.”
“We talked about something that was reminiscent of old Las Vegas signage and casino awnings. Josh came back with the initial drawings of large lit arrows pointing at a downward angle; the band loved them.” The design was put out to Jon Perry of Perry Scenic who, in turn, subcontracted the project to Specialz.
Specialz MD, Dave Smith fills in the gaps, “We were sub-contracted by Perry Scenic to design and manufacture four lighting trays with conventional E27 GLS 40W bulbs and edge RGB LED lighting to the periphery of 2 scenic arrows measuring 19’ 4” / 6M and 16’ 5” / 5M respectively. With efficient transportation and ease of rigging in mind, we opted to split each arrow in two with each of the four sections having a six circuit mains Socapex input and an RGB LED input.”
The choice of light source was down to Douglas and Zangen. “Using conventional 40W GLS bulbs may seem a little old fashioned but it was a very deliberate retro choice,” comments Douglas. “Again, it all harks back
UK - Field Day 2018 celebrated its short move from Victoria Park, Hackney, to Brockwell Park in Brixton by spectacularly overcoming the noise pollution issues with which both these sites have traditionally been dogged.
PA specialists, Capital Sound, ended up equipping all seven stages, with their account manager Paul Timmins able to declare an astonishing SPL of 100dB(A)15 on main stage - thanks to the deployment of Martin Audio’s MLA, with its unique ability to limit offsite noise thresholds while maintaining unprecedented levels in the main bowl.
Residentially bordered on all sides, Timmins was mindful of Lambeth Council’s restrictions on sound escape at the nearby Clapham Common. But with careful orientation of the stages, and strong focus on rear rejection - coupled with some inspired optimisation programming in the Martin Audio software - they were able to deliver the anticipated sonic atmospherics to nearly 30,000 fans, while maintaining offsite escape to within the maximum 75dB(A) stipulated.
Aside from Martin Audio’s PA, Timmins accredited this success to the amount of early planning that had taken place, involving promoters Broadwick Live, production company Ground Control, noise consultants Three Spires Acoustics and F1 Acoustics, who undertook site modelling.
Capital had been brought in by production manager Tommy Sheals-Barrett. “We’ve done Field Day for many years and it was good to be working with a new team at a new venue,” Paul Timmins continued. “Everyone was aware this was a notoriously difficult site. It was ob
Australia - Bloom - a new 24-hour underground club in Geelong, Australia - boasts an international-grade Funktion-One sound system, designed and installed by Full Throttle Entertainment.
At first glance, the sleepy seaside town of Geelong, 75km southwest of Melbourne, may seem an unusual choice of location for a club targeted at Australia’s clubbing cognoscenti. For the creative team behind the project, however, new venue Bloom is a perfect fit.
Bloom’s owners Ayman Muhor and John Kennedy - working with Aaron Cashion, Luke Jeantou and Adam Metwally - are well versed in the local club scene, having established and run a succession of the town’s best-loved venues and club nights. In creating Bloom, their aim was to take things to the next level: to provide a world-class club where music lovers could come together and lose themselves for the night - a venue that has one of the best sound systems in Australia.
To this end, Cashion approached Full Throttle Entertainment, who in turn recommended Funktion-One. Full Throttle’s Adam Ward recalls: “When Aaron came to Full Throttle he was pretty specific about his requirements for the project. The venue needed to raise the bar for the local area in terms of production value with a specific focus on the quality of the audio system.”
Cashion asked that the system be able to deliver a world-class level of audio, one worthy of showcasing the very best in underground music. As well as impressing a clientele long underserved by the local club scene, the team wanted to ensure the audio would satis
Australia - Over 6,600 athletes and team officials from more than 71 nations and territories descended on Australia’s Gold Coast to compete in the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games in April.
Audio production specialist and official sponsor Norwest Productions deployed over 500 L‑Acoustics cabinets, including 124 K2, in 22 sporting venues.
“With the Games being held in our backyard, we’d always set our sights on being involved,” says Norwest’s Gra Whitehouse. “But the ceremonies audio project was an open tender, with all the usual pre-qualifying requirements, specifically around workplace safety processes and, of course, competency for the actual delivery of an audio project of that scale and nature. We knew we would need a watertight plan and some strategic investment.”
With their eyes set firmly on the prize, at the end of last year Norwest Productions decided to add 370 L-Acoustics cabinets to its inventory, including a substantial K2 system, as well as K1-SB, KS28, Kiva II, SB15, ARCS WiFo, LARAK II and LA4X amplified controllers.
“Our investment took our national inventory to around 900 of France’s finest and the results were superb,” says Whitehouse. “Combining this new stock with our existing inventory of dV-DOSC, Kudo, and 12XT, we were able to put together a proposal that delivered almost all games systems as a single-brand solution, with the exception of some application-specific paging systems.”
The remit for the entire contract was about achieving excellence for the spectator. Each audience member