Belgium - The popular Walibi theme park in Wavre near Brussels is renowned for its Halloween spectacular, when its rides are ghoulishly transformed. Awarded best Halloween attraction in Europe for three consecutive years - 2014, 2015 and 2016 - in the Diamond Theme Park Awards, expectations were very high for Walibi at the end of last year, and with the help of AV Stumpfl’s Wings IObox hardware module platforms, they were surpassed with the creation of Asylum.
The brief for Asylum was to transform a ride into a haunted house while making use of the latest automated AV technology to create an immersive and unforgettable experience for the public. DW Production was engaged to build from scratch all rooms and aesthetic decoration for the attraction as well as the music and effects and animatronics, with GSF Events taking the lead on the technical aspects of the ride with the help of AV Stumpfl’s distributor AED.
DW Production’s owner David Collet reports: “An old mansion house - once an asylum but since abandoned - is home to a vampire named Igor. He occupies himself by locking up and experimenting on zombies to turn them into vampires. He finds himself disturbed by human visitors during Halloween and decides to let them in in the hope they will be more receptive to his experiments. Unbeknown to the visitors, they will be victims of captive zombies gone mad – in addition to whatever Igor has in store for them.”
This story unfolds as visitors to the attraction pass through a series of eight rooms in total, starting with Igor’s hotel re
USA - Charlie Daniels’ Volunteer Jam has seen many different iterations over four decades, but none have been as distinct as Volunteer Jam XX: A Tribute to Charlie.
Produced by Blackbird Events, Bandit Lites provided the lighting for the Country Music Hall of Fame member’s twentieth instalment of Volunteer Jam which featured a setlist of over 30 songs from a diverse and talented line-up including Travis Tritt, Chris Young, Alison Krauss, Lee Brice, Chris Janson, Justin Moore, Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top, Alabama, The Oak Ridge Boys and Lynyrd Skynyrd.
"Volunteer Jam XX had a kind of “specialness” about it,” said Charlie Daniels in a release. “The calibre, quantity and variety of talent who took the stage crossed lines, demographics, genres and styles that, while truly diverse, blended together to make for what was most likely the most entertaining Volunteer Jam in its 44-year history."
“Bandit Lites and Charlie Daniels have shared a very long and positive relationship since the 70’s and there was never a question as to our desire to be involved with this production,” said Bandit vice president Mike Golden.
Bandit Lites provided lighting designer Mark Carver with Martin MAC Viper Profiles, VL 3500 Spots, VL 3500 Washes, Chauvet Rogue RH1 Hybrids, Chauvet Nexus 4x4 and Portman P1 fixtures with a grand MA 2 full console for control.
“The producers were looking for a balance between contemporary and old school looks,” said Carver. “It was also being recorded for AXS TV so attention was made to produce with a
USA - Established in 1977, the Big Apple Circus has been a mainstay outside Manhattan's Lincoln Centre for decades and has also travelled to countless cities on tour.
In 2017, the circus was purchased by BigTop Works, who decided to update Big Apple’s traditional circus presentation to a Broadway-like spectacle. Management hired veteran Broadway lighting designer Jeff Croiter to create a bold and modern lighting design for the revamped show. Partnering with lighting vendor Christie Lites, Croiter designed a powerful and versatile lighting rig that features a range of Martin lighting solutions, including Martin MAC Axiom Hybrid fixtures, MAC Aura washes, and MAC Viper Profile fixtures.
"We wanted the show to look incredibly stylized and sleek, like a modern circus - but not dark or uninviting," said Croiter. "Martin fixtures were a key part of the lighting design, and their versatility and durability were really helpful in creating the vibe that the circus wanted."
Croiter's design includes numerous Martin by Harman fixtures, including six Mac Axiom Hybrid, 28 MAC Aura, 32 MAC Viper Profile, three MAC Quantum Profile, and three MAC III Profile. The fixtures are deployed in groups of six and four, on each of the four main tent poles. Fixtures are also hung on a suspended ring and accompanying truss that surrounds the poles, as well as three follow-spot platforms.
"The circus is in a tent and the audience seated is in the round," Croiter said. “Each of the four tent poles or masts has a series of MAC Auras and MAC Vipers that are used to li
UK - Adlib is delighted to be back on the road again with Irish rockers The Script, supplying a CODA audio system for FOH engineer Steve ‘Pato’ Pattison.
He and monitor guru Marc Peers are also both well-known Adlib regulars who have worked on previous Script tours and are both assuming engineering roles for the first time.
Adlib has provided audio for The Script’s four previous album campaigns which has included three arena tours and some stadium shows. Long term FOH engineer Richy Nicholson has actually flipped roles on this one, after many years of mixing FOH, he’s representing Adlib as the account handler, co-ordinating everything from the office and warehouse perspectives.
A top touring crew join Pato and Marc on the road including systems engineer Alan Harrison, George Puttock, Jay Petch and Laurie Binns.
It’s the first time The Script have used CODA in arenas, a decision made by Pato after using it on last summer’s album launch tour.
The main system set-up is main left and right hangs of 14 x AiRAY dual 12” speakers, complete with four ViRAY dual 8-inch downs, side-hangs of 12 x AiRAY with four ViRAY downs, plus an upstage hang of eight ViRAY and a centre cluster comprising another eight.
The flown subs are eight SC2 dual 15-inch bass cabinets, run in conjunction with a ground-stacked spaced array of 32 x SCP dual 18 subs. APS 10s and HOPS 8s are used for front-fills.
The PA drive system is digital from mic converters to the amps, so benefits from minimal signal degradation from multiple A to D conversio
USA - Early March saw the third incarnation of the Okeechobee Music & Arts Festival, a four-day multi-genre music experience filled with art and entertainment held at Sunshine Grove in the heart of the Florida wilderness.
The festival’s recipe of offering a range of diverse talent – this year saw Arcade Fire, Bassnectar, Halsey, Travis Scott, The Flaming Lips, Snoop Dog, and Khalid among many others – attracts a wide range of music fans.
Rob Ross, site lighting designer for the festival and president of Rob Ross Design, Inc., designs and oversees the installation of the site lighting at the festival and chose to highlight one of the most important symbols of the festival in dynamic lighting, a can’t miss 90-foot tall fire tower. The fire tower, which displays prominently in the festival’s branding, including website, posters, pamphlets and site map, can be seen from across the festival grounds and therefore serves as a gathering and meeting spot for guests.
“It was important for us to keep the fire tower at the forefront of our lighting design so that it would stand out and remain a symbol onsite, integrating the festivals marketing materials with the onsite guest experience,” said Ross, who has been involved with Okeechobee since its incarnation, working to develop the look and feel of the festival since 2016. “We used 16 Elation Paladins at the base of the fire tower to light up the structure and used the very bright lights to really give it life.”
The Paladin is an IP65-rated hybrid LED luminaire with zoom that functi
Poland - The noted Śląski Stadium (Silesian Stadium) in Chorzów, has undergone a complete rebuild to become one of the most modern football and sporting facilities in Europe.
The original stadium, opened in 1956, was a symbol of Poland's post-war rebirth. It has held some of football’s most important and memorable matches, played by legends of the sport including Johan Cruyff, George Best and Cristiano Ronaldo. It has also hosted massive concerts by bands like U2, AC/DC, Iron Maiden and The Rolling Stones. In 1993 the stadium became the official home of the Polish national football team.
The rebuild of Śląski Stadium has been a long and sometimes difficult project. Started in 2009, the new 43,000sq.m roof proved the biggest hurdle and its partial collapse during construction lead to long delays and a re-design. Despite the problems and additional costs, the national importance of the venue ensured the project would succeed and it was finally completed in late 2017.
In addition to the new roof, the modernization has included new stands, lighting, video screens and sound systems. Other facilities include a restaurant, food vendors and VIP boxes, and the stadium’s original speedway track has been replaced with a traditional track that allows it to host international athletic events.
An initial system design was put together by Dr. Piotr Kozłowski of Wrocław-based Acoustic Laboratory Pracownia Akustyczna, who subsequently approached Polish distributor Tommex to begin the process of equipment selection. Local company NOMA2 was brought
Canada - Lüz Studio continues to provide highly inventive lighting solutions from its base in Montreal - currently for American singer-songwriter, Børns, on his Blue Madonna world tour. This opened in Oakland, CA, at the start of the year and will travel the globe during 2018.
Set up in 2005 by lighting/video designer Matthieu Larivée, Lüz Studio has frequently turned to GLP’s X4 platform for its requirements, and this latest tour has been no exception. The LD has made versatile use of 16x X4 Bar 20 battens and 14x impression X4, supplied by Upstaging of Chicago.
Børns’ 2016 Dopamine tour had been non-production tour, with no lighting whatsoever, so instead Lüz Studio designed a backdrop that would be fun to be lit by local LD’s. “There were three separate layers of Red, Blue and Green, so depending on the lighting used, a different backdrop would be created.” Lüz themselves were involved in lighting some of a few bigger shows.
When they started working on what would be Børns’ first full production tour a few months ago, Matthieu Larivée wanted to do something special with the lighting that reflected the artist’s world. “He is always super chic, has a super strong artistic vision and his music is poetic,” he said.
“Designing a club tour usually means a lighting floor package. I wanted to keep that in mind but I wanted to have a visual reference that would differentiate a Børns concert from the other acts that play in a club.”
His idea was for a unique canvas that would work well with the lights.
Europe - Snake Newton, FOH engineer for Harry Styles, relies on DPA Microphones to mic up the entire drum kit for their current world tour production, performing over 20 confirmed dates across Europe before jetting off to Australia.
Snake opted for DPA d:dicate 4011 Cardioid Microphones on the snare top and ride, a d:vote 4099 Instrument Microphone on the hi-hat top and d:dicate 2011 Twin Diaphragm Cardioid mics on the snare bottom, rack toms and floor toms.
His choice won the approval of monitor engineer Charlie ‘Chopper’ Bradley, who says, “I usually defer to Snake on microphone choice unless there is something that really isn’t working for me in the mix. On this occasion I am very pleased that he’s using DPA on the drum kit because I now have one of the most dynamic and natural sounding drum mixes I’ve ever had on a live tour.”
Harry Styles’ current tour has been travelling around the world since March 2017 and will complete in California at the end of July 2018. DPA microphones have been on the equipment list throughout and were chosen because they are a tried and tested solution, says Audio Crew Chief Rod Clarkson.
“We have been touring theatres in 2017 then arenas worldwide in 2018, with a relentless schedule,” says Clarkson. “Several of the theatres in the 2017 run could be said to be bucket list venues for a solo artist, but are certainly much smaller than those Harry has previously played. Many of the venues certainly have their own acoustic and logistical challenges for a show of this nature.”
Coping w
USA - Located on a 10,000sq.ft deck overlooking the Fountains of Bellagio, Beer Park at the Paris Las Vegas Hotel & Casino provides an exciting rooftop experience.
With over 100 eclectic beer options, including 36 beers on tap, the developers of the flagship location wanted the outdoor atmosphere to be a shining example of how to best enjoy the Las Vegas life. In this environment, they now needed a high-definition video display to be a focal point in the dynamic audio/visual design, so they worked with the design specialists at Ponto Solutions who chose a FLEXUltra 1.9mm LED video solution from PixelFLEX.
“The restaurant/bar design market is a big industry for us, and we were very fortunate to have the opportunity to work with the developers of Beer Park,” comments Matt Abbrederis, Ponto Solutions. “They really wanted this location to be a premier entertainment experience through an environment that’s exciting and upbeat. They also wanted to be able to draw people in off the Las Vegas strip, so we put together a complete audio/visual package that would help them accomplish all their goals, which ultimately included the high-definition FLEXUltra LED video display.”
Abbrederis continues: “In our initial design concepts, we wanted to wrap the LED video around the entire centre bar to resemble the NHL centre-ice or NBA centre-court scoreboards. Since this was the inaugural Beer Park location, we ended up first installing a four-panel LCD wall. After things got up and going, they saw the need for the LED video, so we flew them down to N
China - Rock icon Wang Feng kicked off one of the country's most highly anticipated live music events in September 2017 with The Times tour. The major national tour supports his latest album 29, Guoling Lane which has propelled Wang Feng to even greater acclaim.
Debuting at the Bird’s Nest Stadium in Beijing, the tour has the popular singer performing in 30 cities over the course of 2017 and 2018. The production requested a sound system without delays on the field, to preserve sightlines and budget. Sound designer Mr Shaogang Jin chose an L-Acoustics K system, supplied by rental company Lab Beijing, for its long throw and even coverage.
One of China's most renowned sound engineers, Mr Shaogang Jin has designed sound and manned FOH for Wang Feng over many years both on tour and for the prominent reality TV show The Voice of China. He has also worked as master sound engineer of the opening and closing ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics in 2008. In addition to the powerful throw of the L-Acoustics K system, he cites L‑Acoustics' rugged and waterproof design, and ease of tuning, via LA Network Manager as the main factors influencing his system choice for The Times tour.
The system design consists of a total of 44 K1, 96 K2 and 24 Kara, plus 24 K1-SB and 40 SB28 subs, with K1 and Kara used for the main L/R hangs, K2 for out-fill and Kara for front-fill. Consistent bass coverage across diverse venues was accomplished with flown K1-SB and ground stacked SB28 subwoofers. The entire system was driven by 86 LA8 amplifier controllers.
USA - Even before the opening notes were sounded for Bob’s Biker Bash on 4 November, John Garberson knew it was going to be a great night. Behind the stage, the setting Arizona sun was blazing a glorious red that looked as if it came out of a classic western movie.
“It was the perfect setting for an outdoor concert, and everything that followed lived up to this beginning,” said Garberson, who served as the lighting and video production manager for the Phoenix Children’s Hospital fundraising concert, which was headlined by 3 Doors Down.
Contributing to the smooth flow and good mood of the evening was the versatile and power-packed lighting rig that Garberson and his team at Creative BackStage put together for the show. Anchoring that rig was a collection of 15 Maverick MK2 Spot, 25 Rogue R2 Wash and four STRIKE 4 fixtures from Chauvet Professional.
“We’ve been a part of Bob’s for six years,” said Garberson. “Pro Productions has us do the lighting and video with the mandate to create a rig that can create the most excitement for the crowd that turns out to support Phoenix Children’s Hospital. The thing we like about the Mavericks and Rogues is that they deliver a lot of pop, which allows us to create arena style looks at a one-off outdoor show.”
To maximize the versatility of the moving fixtures in his rig, Garberson flew them on three rows of truss, which was based on the 3 Doors Down lighting plot. The multi-platinum selling band’s LD Jay Branson, a partner and the principal designer at Two Pair Creative of Las Vegas, r
Romania - In need of an audio infrastructure upgrade, Bucharest’s Hard Rock Café turned to integrator Paradigma Teknik for a system with power, clarity and above all reliability, featuring Powersoft’s latest fixed install Quattrocanali and Ottocanali amplifier platforms.
Paradigma sales manager, Laura Angelescu, recommended a system of Martin Audio loudspeakers, and turned to Powersoft’s Romanian distributor AudioVision Store, for the amplification aspect of the installation.
AudioVision’s Marius Craiu, explains: “We have a very strong relationship with Paradigma Technik. We have worked with them for many years and Powersoft aligns very well with Martin Audio for many reasons, but primarily because of the powerful DSP: a kind of Formula 1 for series cars.”
Understanding the end-user’s needs from the installation, AudioVision specified Powersoft’s DSP+D versions of Ottocanali and Quattrocanali amplifier platforms to form the powerful and uncomplicated backbone for the restaurant’s multi-zoned audio system. Powersoft’s green energy product solution, packed with innovative signal processing and backed up for redundancy, ticked every box. The installation is managed by Powersoft’s Armonía Pro Audio suite, which offers complete and user-friendly web-based control of the system.
Every Hard Rock Café centres around its all-important rock stage, and here Angelescu specified eight Martin Audio W8WDQs supported by four WS218X subs, which Marius met respectively with the power of two eight-channel Ottocanali 12K4 DSP+D and a s
Philippines - Audiophile Components recently upgraded Café Havana Greenbelt’s aging sound system with a modern live audio solution by Harman Professional Solutions.
Founded by hospitality pioneer Larry J. Cruz, Café Havana is a traditional Cuban restaurant located in the Makati district of Manila. In its quest to celebrate all things Cuban, Café Havana features a nightly line-up of live salsa music for standing room only crowds.
When the restaurant’s previous sound system began to show signs of wear and tear after extensive use, management hired Audiophile to install a dependable, high-quality audio solution. Audiophile selected a complete Harman live sound reinforcement system comprised of JBL speakers, Crown amplifiers and Soundcraft mixing consoles.
With Café Havana’s nearly around-the-clock hours of operation, Audiophile faced a very limited timeframe to install the new system and rewire the existing audio and power cables. The seamless design of Harman’s audio solutions enabled Audiophile to overcome this challenge in a timely manner, ensuring the new system was installed and ready for the next day’s live music schedule without missing a beat.
For the main house system, Audiophile installed four JBL VRX932LA-1 compact line array speakers with JBL’s lightweight neodymium magnet Differential Drive woofer for high-power capacity. The VRX932LA-1 speakers were paired with two JBL SRX828SP dual 18-inch subwoofers.
The JBL speakers were powered by Crown XTi 6002 amplifiers. For mixing, Audiophile included a Soundcraft Si
USA - Clearwing Productions of Milwaukee used Elation Professional’s Level Q7 IP RGBW Par lights on Miller Holiday Lites in Milwaukee for the entire month of December in cold weather with no issues then rolled them right into ‘big game’ festivities in Minneapolis in January, where they continued to perform in even colder weather.
Clearwing, who stock hundreds of the Level Q7 IP Par lights, provided all of the lighting, decor, video and audio equipment for Miller Holiday Lites in partnership with GMR Marketing, their second year decking the halls on State Street with GMR Marketing and Miller Brewery.
Miller Holiday Lites is a yearly family-friendly tradition in Milwaukee, where guests are invited to take a mini-tour down State Street, decorated with festive holiday lighting courtesy of Miller Brewing Company. Guests had the chance to view a five-minute programmed light show before enjoying other Miller Brewery tour activities, such as experiencing the caves and sampling a wide variety of Miller products.
Used for uplighting and wash lighting in several areas of the production, the Level Q7 IP fixtures, which house seven 15W RGBW LEDs for nearly unlimited colour options, were the “workhorse” of the Holiday Lites display according to Mercer Pinkston, account executive at Clearwing.
“Honestly, the most impressive feature of the Level Q7’s is the durability,” she said. “All of these fixtures sat outside in freezing temps, snow and heavy wind for well over a month. An interesting thing to note is that these exact fixtures went s
UK - The Vegas Golden Knights hockey team not only continues to impress the sporting world with its outstanding play, they are doing it in typical Las Vegas-style. A striking projection mapping show uses Christie projection and processing technology coupled with the expertise of Image Engineering to engage the crowd and bring the story of the Golden Knights to life on the ice at T-Mobile Arena.
Bringing a professional sports team to Las Vegas – a city known for showmanship and world-class entertainment is no small feat, and the Vegas Golden Knights have embraced the challenge of playing their home games in the Entertainment Capital of the World. One of the top priorities of the team is to create a truly memorable fan experience. The first-year National Hockey League (NHL) club uses 12 Christie WU20K-J projectors, Christie Mystique Install, Christie Pandoras Box and Christie Widget Designer to create the on-ice show.
Leading up to the team’s inaugural home game on 10 October 2017, the Vegas Golden Knights and Image Engineering had been collaborating and planning for months on the pre-game and in-game entertainment. However, when the horrific mass shooting occurred in Las Vegas on 1 October, the team wanted to respond to the tragedy and do its part to help the community grieve, heal and persevere. This necessitated building an entirely new show.
“We wanted to honour the victims, the survivors and the first responders - months of planning turned into a few days of planning. We were listening to the community and seeing what made the most sense,
USA - McNally Enterprises is a 30-year old family-run business that has grown into one of the biggest scenic event companies for corporate events in California. The company recently made a substantial investment in Eastern Acoustic Works (EAW) loudspeakers by adding a 12 enclosure Anna Adaptive System supported by six RADIUS RSX218 dual 18-inch subs as well as 24 RADIUS RSX208L line array cabinets, six RSX12M stage monitors and four RSX12 subwoofers to their inventory.
“My Dad started out years ago with EAW JF80s and KF300s,” explains Patrick McNally, director of events. “When we decided to upgrade to newer technology we checked out Anna and RADIUS. It was perfect, almost like coming full circle. Between both systems, we’re confident that we can provide our customers with the very best for years to come.”
Anna made its McNally Enterprises debut at a pregame event for the NBA All Star game held on the Event Deck in the Staple Centre parking lot. Like many of their jobs, the company provided the audio, staging, lighting, video and custom scenery for the occasion.
“When we fired Anna up it sounded amazing,” says company owner Meg McNally. “Our client was beyond happy and everyone involved with the event just couldn't get over how great it sounded. Anna really hit a home run for us.”
“EAW has already proven to be a company that supports their partners, which is something we value,” concludes Patrick McNally. “The training and help we have received is really impressive. We are very excited to be working with them again an
USA - Experienced production designer Travis Shirley has recently been turning to the GLP fixture portfolio in order to meet some of his more demanding challenges.
Having used the company’s new revolutionary JDC1 hybrid strobe with his long-time charge, Enrique Iglesias, he has now become the first major adopter of GLP’s new Force 120 high speed, variable direction fan unit with internal RGB LED lighting - this time with country rock band, Old Dominion, having been introduced to the five-piece on their previous tour by manager, Will Hitchcock.
In mapping out their touring plan for 2018 the band chose to embark on their own arena size tour before supporting Kenny Chesney on stadium dates later in the year. “There was a determination to have a presence throughout the entire year, whether in a support or headlining capacity,” acknowledges Travis.
With the need to be adaptable between both scenarios, the LD had become aware of the Force 120’s impressive launch at last year’s LDI Show, and subsequent videos of the unit in action at the expo confirmed his belief that this could provide a unique design solution. He duly spoke with his vendor, David Haskell, president of Nashville based Morris, and the two men were soon heading to GLP’s US HQ in Los Angeles to take a first-hand look.
They spent a day at the facility, thoroughly checking suitability for the design, as well as the deployment requirements. “The moment I saw it I knew it would be perfect for the band,” Travis confirmed. “We wanted to look at the light and durability
UK - Yamaha Commercial Audio UK has a key commitment to training the sound engineers of the future. One of the ways that the company achieves this is through taking training ‘on the road’ to education facilities around the UK. BA (Hons) Live Sound degree students at the Plymouth campus of dBs Music have been the latest to benefit from a session, provided by Yamaha’s Tom Rundle and Chris Irvine.
Founded in 1998, dBs Music provides a range of professional sound courses, aimed at students who want to be a DJ, composer, performer, producer, a live or studio engineer. The Live Sound degree course started in September 2017, with the emphasis very much on practical experience.
dBs has invested in a Yamaha CL5 digital console, plus Rio3224-D and Rio1608-D I/O units, for the course. To give the Live Sound degree students a more comprehensive rundown on Yamaha’s digital mixing systems, Tom and Chris travelled to Plymouth with QL5, TF5 and TF3 consoles, a second CL5, plus DXR10 loudspeakers and headphones.
“An important part of our Live Sound degree is guest lectures and technical presentations to enhance the curriculum, allowing students to see the latest technologies and to network with audio professionals and subject experts,” says course leader Jim Parsons.
“We have a long relationship with Yamaha Commercial Audio and it was an excellent next step to get an expert like Tom to explain the more complex aspects of our CL5, as well as demonstrating other consoles in Yamaha’s digital range.”
Tom led the day with a series of practi
USA - The Cathedral Church of the Advent, a 3,600-member Episcopal church in Birmingham, Alabama, recently completed installation of an Allen & Heath dLive system with C3500 Surface, CDM64 MixRack, IP8 Remote Controller and eight ME-1 Personal Mixers for the musicians.
Kent Michael, the Advent’s mix engineer, says, “We had recently ushered in a service on Sunday evenings that incorporated more modern instrumentation, so we needed a system that would be versatile and powerful enough to mix a full band for the evening service and simple enough to operate by our volunteer staff for the traditional services.”
dB Integrations of Gainesville, Georgia designed the Cathedral’s new audio system, installing the C3500 Surface on a rolling cart to make it easy to access for the church’s modern service. They also provided an IP8 Remote Controller for volunteers to mix the traditional services.
Catering for the different services, Michael uses dLive’s layers to manage the church’s multiple sources and scenes to select and route these sources for each service. “I’ve got a scene for the modern service, another for the traditional morning service, and a scene with Automatic Mic Mixing for events and services that are unmanned,” he said. The traditional scene assigns selected channels to the IP8 and Michael notes, “I’ve got the IP8 paired with the MixRack so we don’t have to roll out and set up the full surface for our traditional services.”
The church’s new system also includes eight Allen & Heath ME-1 Personal Mixers an
USA - The World According to Sound is a San Francisco-based immersive aural romp of a public radio touring show. Co-creators Chris Hoff, a sound engineer, and Sam Harnett, a reporter/journalist, mishmash detailed sounds and present them in dramatic fashion to audiences ranging from 80 to 140 people eager to witness the extraordinary.
Hoff comments: “Our show invites listeners to re-imagine the world through their ears instead of their eyes. We pass out eye masks, turn out the lights, and take sounds from all over the world and move them around the audience using a ring of eight loudspeakers – the Clair Brothers kiTCURVE12+. All these sounds will swirl around you while you sit in total darkness with only your ears to guide you.”
To recreate sounds as diverse as bridges creaking, ants marching and mud pots gurgling to historic street sounds of Berlin, musical performances by a washing machine, and the creepy howls one hears while crossing the Gobi Desert, requires talent, showmanship and the right gear.
Harnett offers some background: “Working in public radio news, our job is to produce stories using words and sounds, basically just presenting information with a hook or a pretty package, which can become stale after a while. So, in 2015 we came up with an idea to create a show that is all about sound instead of language and narrative, a show that gets into long stretches of sounds with extreme depth, without narration, so you can really lose yourself.
The venue size for the show shouldn’t be too gigantic or too minuscule, and th
UK - Following the re-boot of Top Gear, the team behind the series are back in the driving seat for another round of the high-octane motoring magazine show.
Filmed in front of a live studio audience at the show’s studio home at Dunsfold Park, Top Gear features a high-tech, semi-industrial installation by designer Rudi Thackray, lit by award winning lighting director Gurdip Mahal. Encircling the studio floor with crisp, bright lines and bold, vibrant colours, the set uses the audience as an integral part of the design and features a selection of carefully highlighted classic cars with a giant illuminated Top Gear logo framing the main presenting area.
In creating the show’s look, the lighting crew, headed up by gaffer James Tinsley and including long time Top Gear collaborator Paul Tibbles, used a number of low energy and LED illumination solutions from Aurora’s growing range of energy efficient products.
A selection of GLP X4 and X4 XL heads with their efficient LED, highly controllable colour and versatile beam/wash capabilities help deliver the rich vibrancy within the set. Aurora also provided a number of Martin Rush LED Pars to add to the intensity of colour used throughout the design. Chroma-Q Space Force fixtures are used for the provision of uniform ambient lighting above the audience, whilst Showtec sunstrips give an extra blast of in camera illumination.
Aurora project manager Ben Taylor reports, “The Top Gear team have done a fantastic job using bold, intense col
UK - ProLights LED fixtures are helping shows to shine at the Elgiva Theatre in Buckinghamshire, with the venue recently upgrading their house lighting rig from the brand's extensive range to cover the diverse day to day production needs of their lighting rig.
Located in southeast England, The Elgiva presents a wide-ranging programme of professional and amateur productions, top comedy, musicals, ballet/dance, one night shows, professional pantomime, movies, and private events.
Initially the theatre invested in ProLights' StudioCOB FC LED PARs and later decided to further upgrade their house rig with ProLights Eclipse FC LED ellipsoidals and Luma 700 LED moving spots. All fixtures were supplied by ProLights’ UK dealer A.C. Entertainment Technologies (AC-ET).
Elgiva Theatre's technical manager, Tristan Collett, comments: "After searching for years we have finally found the lights we have been looking for! The ProLights LED fixtures are incredible value for money. Not only are they very 'green' in terms of their energy consumption, but they deliver great quality light output and lots of control options that were lacking in other similar style fixtures we considered."
Andy Mahaffey from AC-ET's lighting division, who dealt with the sale, adds: "Having now seen them in situ in the venue and having heard some of the feedback from users, the ProLights Eclipse and Luma 700s in conjunction with the Elgiva's existing ProLights StudioCOB FC fixtures have made a hugely positive impact on the theatre's lighting offering."
(Jim Evans)
UK - Sound and communication specialist integrators T.G. Baker have transformed the entertainment experience for Wolverhampton Wanderers FC fans, updating the PA/VA system at Molineux Stadium in Wolverhampton with a Nexo solution.
Molineux, the club’s home ground since 1889, was the first stadium ever built for the Football League. It was one of the first grounds in the UK to install floodlights, and one of the founding hosts for European club games in the 1950s. Now owned by Fosun International, a Chinese conglomerate and international investment company, this 31,000-capacity stadium continues to innovate.
Called in by Steve Sutton, Wolves head of operations, the T.G.Baker team was asked to design and install a new audio system for entertainment and public address/voice alarm. “Our old system was 24 years old, and well past its recommended working life,” says Sutton. “Our new owners and Laurie Dalrymple, our managing director, were very keen to deliver a top-class programme of entertainment on match days.”
Match days at Wolves feature a dynamic programme pre-game and at half-time, with live pitchside interviews with footballers and pundits, and more recently a full pyrotechnic display, synced to audio. “All of this was limited by the capability of the loudspeakers,” explains Sutton. “We were getting many complaints, not least from our frustrated DJs.”
T.G.Baker, the Glasgow and Blackburn-based audio specialists, has a substantial track record in specifying stadium sound reinforcement systems, with more than 20 venues on the
UK - Paul Heaton’s lighting designer on his current UK tour, Patrick Sollitt has over 70 tunes on his current song page, with new ones being added all the time. “With such a large back catalogue going back 20-plus years ago to Paul’s days with the Housemartins, onto The Beautiful South and his current hits, we draw on a wide range of music,” says Sollitt. “It’s a nice challenge to have to create unique looks for so many songs.”
Sollitt is meeting this challenge with a robust, fast-moving and very flexible six universe lightshow that features 34 wash, 24 spot and six beam fixtures run on a ChamSys MagicQ MQ500 Stadium.
“I would describe the lightshow as ‘big,’” explains Sollitt. “We put a lot of brightness out there and change things up quite a bit as the music goes from full on pop to delicate ballads. Paul conveys a range of emotions and mixes styles from various points in his career. We vary our lighting to reflect these moods.”
A ChamSys user since 2007 when he was lighting the Pigeon Detectives tour, Sollitt began working with the MagicQ MQ500 Stadium in 2017 whilst touring the UK with another legend, Russell Watson. He’s since used the console on a variety of tours and festivals.
“There is a lot to like about the MQ500,” he says. “Having two screens is really convenient, as are the greater number of faders. The build quality is impressive, and the desk is very well equipped for busking with generous screen space for executor pages and many additional executor buttons above the playbacks.”
Howev