UK - PLASA Show 2021 will reopen its doors this weekend to reunite industry professionals at Olympia London after a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic - and time is running out for visitors to secure their free entry passes.
Taking place from 5-7 September, the show will welcome back leading brands from pro audio, AV, lighting and stage technologies, who will take up residence in Olympia’s Grand Hall alongside the ABTT Theatre Show which is relocating for one year only.
“In light of the monumental shifts felt by the live events and entertainment sector over the past 18 months, PLASA Show 2021 will be people-centred, with inclusive networking spaces, support resources and learning opportunities,” say the organisers.
Free registration ends at midnight tonight, 31 August – those wishing to claim a free entry pass should head over to www.plasashow.com.
Exhibitor highlights include the show’s headline sponsor Robe, who will showcase their latest luminaires including the Forte, T2 Profile, iSeries, LED Beam and Esprite in regular show-stopping presentations. Also exhibiting will be Chauvet Professional, ETC, GLP, Avolites, Artistic Licence and SGM.
For pro audio enthusiasts, in attendance will be L-Acoustics, Shure, Sennheiser and Yamaha among many others. The stage is also set for bespoke staging from Race Furniture and Drapemakers; heavy-duty gear from Area Four Industries and NSP Cases; web-based services from trackingThis and Current RMS, and the
UK - ETC will be returning to the PLASA Show at the Olympia London this year for its joint ‘come-back’ industry event with the ABTT. ETC will be attending the trade show to connect and network with old and new faces, present in-depth product seminars and showcase newly launched fixtures on stand B29.
Sales Manager for ETC Ltd, Darren Beckley comments: “After a long and challenging period for our industry, we are really looking forward to returning to PLASA and catching up with our customers in-person. Throughout the past 18 months, ETC has continued to innovate and develop its product offering and we are excited to share some of those products with visitors to the show.”
Attendees will be able to join a series of seminars hosted by ETC product specialists during the three-day show. The available sessions will explore Comparing Moving Lights, Multi-emitter LEDs and Incorporating Augment3d into your workflow.
ETC’s stand B29 will also feature some of the latest fixtures that the company has launched including Lonestar, Source Four LED Series 3, Desire Fresnel, ColorSource Spot jr and more. For anyone who can’t attend the show, ETC’s online demo studio has product experts available to give tailored one-to-one demonstrations on these and any other ETC products, suited to your needs. Slots can be booked via etcconnect.com.
UK - The Royal College of Music (RCM) in South Kensington is home to various studio facilities, available for private hire in the heart of London. Services and facilities offered include music recording, video production, web streaming, audio-visual research and development.
The original studio was founded in 1967 and was the first electronic studio at any UK academic institution. Today, the studio complex is housed directly underneath the RCM Concert Hall. The Belle Shenkman Studio, a spacious live room, contains its own Steinway Model D grand piano, three control rooms linked to performance spaces around the campus, and three rooms dedicated to composition, production and editing. In addition to the core work within the College, RCM Studios offers a commercial service to clients including major broadcasters, record companies and leading international soloists.
Sam Glenister-Batey, head of events and venue hire at the Royal College of Music, says: “Our studio complex is truly a one-off location for musical endeavours, broadcasters and event organisers. RCM Studios are always in high demand from commercial clients, and we expect to see a significant increase in demand from corporate clients as hybrid events come to the fore.
“As a charity and place of education, all private hire of our studios helps to support the development of the next generation of talented musicians, as well as maintaining and developing the facilities. It is our ambition at RCM that no student should be denied an RCM education due to lack of funds, so part of the money rais
Europe - The Sennheiser Sound Academy is inviting everyone interested in wireless audio to a mini-series of two live seminars that will explain the new Evolution Wireless Digital system (for an in-depth technical review, read the September 2021 issue of LSi).
Seminar 1 takes place on 31 August at 12:30 p.m. CEST and gets you started on benefits, features and operation. Seminar 2 takes place on 14 September, again at 12:30pm CEST, takes things further by taking a more in-depth look at the system. The hosts will be answering any questions that participants need to address. To register, visit this link.
Sennheiser experts Jonas Naesby, Vincent Tilgenkamp and Volker Schmitt will meet seminar participants remotely in the two EW-D courses.
“Evolution Wireless will bring simplicity to your performance, show, service or talk while operating in the professional UHF spectrum,” said Volker Schmitt, technical application engineering manager, pro audio. “In our live seminars we will introduce the system to you and show you how easy it has become to set up wireless microphones.”
Seminar 1 will look at how to operate EW-D and get it set up with the help of the app, touching on all features and benefits that the system offers. Seminar No. 2 takes a detailed look at
USA - The Behind the Scenes Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Initiative has announced a key addition to its Toolbox Talks programme: One-Sheets on a range of topics designed to delve deeper into common issues currently impacting entertainment industry workers as they navigate fluctuating work situations and frequently changing Covid protocols.
As the industry continues to transition and re-open, industry leadership and supervisors are observing significant anxiety in the workplace and are requesting tools to help their crews better navigate and manage the return to work. One-Sheets briefly describe general mental health concerns such as anxiety, depression and substance use, and offer basic information and resources around these prevalent issues within the industry
We must continue raising awareness and normalizing the conversation around mental health and emotional wellness in the workplace and these flyers are designed to be posted in break rooms or be handed out with schedules or during toolbox talks. The goal is to convey the message that psychological safety is as important as physical safety, says BTS.
The Toolbox Talks programme was created to assist with language around mental health and wellness in order to facilitate respect in the workplace. Sample language is provided to incorporate mental health into daily safety briefings, and Toolbox Talks can be tailored to fit specific individual and group needs.
The Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Initiative, and programmes such as Toolbox Talks and One-Sheets, are committed to crea
UK - The programme for PLASA Show 2021 has been unveiled, bringing a rich line-up of seminars and training sessions to the trade event that takes place on 5-7 September at Olympia London.
Sponsored by Vectorworks, the programme is set to deliver in-depth content on the future of live production, immersive product experiences and plenty of practical training, bringing skills and knowledge to the forefront of the show experience.
All sessions are free for pre-registered attendees (you can get your free entry pass by 31 August - find out more here), with details of the schedule available on the show website. More content will be added over the coming weeks, say the organisers.
Vectorworks are delivering two technical sessions based on their software products, firstly looking at Concert Design and Pre-Visualisation with Vectorworks Spotlight and MVR Export, which follows a complete concert design workflow, from creating detailed drawings and rigging plots to exporting a fully functioning pre-visualisation model. Their second session, Schematic and Rack Layout Design in Vectorworks ConnectCAD, details the complete schematic workflow from creation of signal flow diagrams to designing rack layouts with ConnectCAD.
In addition to the Theatre Show Hub, the ABTT will be running a session on their Technical Standards for Places of Entertainment, whi
UK - The Sustainability in Production Alliance (SiPA) is joining forces with four greener touring, live entertainment and events organisations at this year’s PLASA Show for an open panel discussion to explore how we can transform, together, to create a better future.
Entitled Becoming a Sustainable Industry - because this is a not a rehearsal, the event will take place at the PLASA Show Seminar Theatre at Olympia London at 15:30 on 6 September. It will bring together key sustainability experts from SiPA, TAIT, LIVE Green, the Tour Production Group, the Theatre Green Book and isla, who will share ways in which the industry can reduce emissions and become net zero by 2050.
The hour-long, deep-dive discussion will be moderated by Carol Scott, principal sustainability advocate at TAIT and SiPA, with panellists Evie Redfern, a third-year Theatre Production student at Guildford School of Acting; Paddy Dillon, Theatre Green Book co-ordinator; Anna Abdelnoor, co-founder, isla; Sarah Rushton-Read, creative director at The Fifth Estate and principal advocate, SiPA; and John Langford, COO AEG Europe and chairman of LIVE Green.
“Throughout the enforced hiatus of lockdown individuals and organisations, from all sectors of the live entertainment industry, have joined forces to build back more sustainably,” says Carol Scott. “With COP26 looming, there has never been a more pressing time to go green. Everyone who can effect change, no matter how small, must play their part in protecting the planet. The PLASA Show will provide the ideal forum for us t
UK - Following its recent re-location to a larger premises, Stevenage based film, television and event rigging specialists Rigging Team has expanded its footprint, not only to accommodate a growing inventory, but to also provide space for a much needed, industry specific, training centre.
Rigging Team managing director, Adam Searle explains, “Training is something that we have been passionate about for many years – although there is no substitute for real-world experience, everyone can benefit from gaining additional knowledge or skills. The courses are designed specifically to suit our industry - whether it’s a specific discipline, or a bespoke combination of courses,”.
The new 2,600sq.ft Rigging Team Training Centre, located just 20 minutes from London by train, features a generous classroom and presentation space, along with a practical training area where trainees get ‘hands-on’ with equipment. A custom built, multi-level structure has been installed with flexibility in mind, enabling safe practice in rigging and work at height.
Adam continues, “Our trainees benefit greatly from the scope of this purpose-built facility, where multiple scenarios can be encountered in a safe environment under the watchful eye of experienced trainers. The versatility of the set-up allows us to create an almost infinite combination of situations, which, in turn, encourages candidates to think away from their ‘standard’ solutions.”
The initial phase of the development is open for business, with the first release of courses already receivin
USA - The Behind the Scenes Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Initiative has posted the Autumn schedule for online Mental Health First Aid training for entertainment industry workers in the US at btshelp.org/mhfa.
The Delta variant has now clouded the road map for the return to work and created additional stress and anxiety for those scheduled to resume work over the next few months, as well as those currently employed who are trying to cope with constantly changing safety protocols. Reports from around the industry show a rising level of concern for the mental wellbeing of industry workers, and individuals who have responsibility for others working with or under them are increasingly asking for training in how to provide support to those workers.
Mental Health First Aid takes the fear and hesitation out of starting conversations about mental health and substance use problems by teaching you how to recognize the signs and symptoms that suggest a potential mental health challenge, how to listen non-judgmentally and give reassurance to someone who may be experiencing a mental health challenge, and how to refer a person to appropriate professional support and services.
Whether you are in a supervisory position or simply want to be able to assist co-workers, this training will provide you with the skills you need. Post class evaluations continue to be extremely high with over 97% of respondents rating the class value as very high or high value and over 96% stating the training covered issues they have previously seen arise in their workplaces.
UK - TV lighting specialist Version 2 has launched a new Lighting for Radio podcast series that offers an intimate glimpse into the lives of some of the UK's leading TV & film lighting professionals.
Each episode will talk to some of the industry's leading lighting experts as they share first-hand experiences and lessons on how they reached the top of their profession.
Nick Edwards, managing director of Version 2 explains the concept of the podcast. "Born out of a lockdown idea, this behind the scenes podcast series will give listeners and I hope In particular students’ ideas for their future career paths,” he says.
Hosting every conversation is broadcaster Nia Visser, whose career credits include work as a radio presenter with the BBC and currently Jazz FM.
The first episode, which is available now on all popular podcast apps, talks to Nick Edwards himself about his 25 years of dedicated television lighting experience, having held technical, commercial and management positions at some of the industry's biggest and well-known companies PRG, Panalux and Aurora, after his training at the flagship training facility in BBC Wood Norton, all before founding Version 2 back in 2016.
Nick talks through the whole journey, starting from where it began at St Clement Danes School and why Nick has subsequently gone back to be a governor of the school. To working as a technician across the UK, Europe, and the Middle East with show credits including The X-Factor, The Brit Awards, Live Earth, The Royal Variety Performance, MTV Europe Awards, Th
UK - Responding to post-pandemic staffing demands and a need for improved entry level training for crew, a collective of industry professionals established Event Crew Training and has released its first course - Event Crew Essentials.
Identifying that post-pandemic there would be a need to recruit a large volume of new and inexperienced crew and sharing a view that the existing training was not fit for purpose, the collective saw the period of stagnation created by COVID-19 as an opportunity to create an online portal that not only provides the required training but gives trainees knowledge that will enable them to feel comfortable in their new working environment.
The Event Crew Training portal is designed to be a benchmark for entry level crew and technicians looking to start a career in the events industry. Its initial offering covers a range of topics, including understanding stages, live event jargon, departmental load in and load outs, health and safety and manual handling, providing participants with the practical knowledge they require. This new-found awareness ensures essential elements are addressed, thus elevating the standard of health and safety in the workplace and enabling crew companies to meet legal compliance.
Event Crew Essentials takes approximately 90 minutes to complete and costs crewing companies £20 per access token. One token provides training for one member of crew.
The Event Crew Training team believes this training will establish ‘an important foundation for the live events industry and hope th
India - Boutique audio enterprise, Audio Academy in Bangalore added the compact Audient ASP4816 mixing desk to its setup last year. The facility offers professional audio education programmes as well as providing commercial recording, music production, sound design and Foley services, and the compact mixing desk has settled in very well.
“We were looking for a console that would serve as both a teaching tool as well as a highly functioning mixer for professional studio bookings,” explains studio manager Gautham Pattani. Part of a hybrid setup in the studio, the analogue desk’s array of connectivity options means it can work easily with the outboard gear and send audio straight to their Pro Tools DAW.
“Our multi-monitor setup helps reveal every detail in the recording and mixing process. Dedicated hardware controllers, industry standard converters, high quality mic pres and a selection of microphones help us meet the demands of any project,” he says, referring to the independent musicians, producers and sound artists he works with, as well as his students.
“The console serves as our main monitor controller for all aspects of production. A summing desk while mixing and a preamplification stage while multi-track recording.” Aside from the fully-featured monitor control offered by the British desk, Gautham also enjoys the parametric EQs, bus compressor and its flexible routing capabilities.
The recording studio and adjacent spacious live room allow music production students to work on their commercial assignments. Each student is re
UK - Final year students at Wakefield’s Backstage Academy, the versatile skillset learnt studying over the pandemic has strengthened their resilience and eagerness to reinvigorate the sector. The experience of adapting through adversity has set them up for the best chance of success upon entering the industry; driven to cater to the UK’s pent-up demand for live events post-pandemic, says the academy.
Offering degrees, short courses and bespoke training in live events, the South-Kirby-based institution held an end of year showcase of student talent last week. The campus’ Final Major Project Series saw the culmination of third year students honing their skillsets and the coming together of the craft they learnt over the pandemic and three years of study.
For Backstage Academy’s Live Events Production course leader, Johnny Goodwin, this year’s projects are significant - not just because they serve as a capstone contribution to the students’ third year final grade - but because the 2021 themes address the feasibility of the industry’s survival post-COVID. The showcase is a demonstration of the skills the industry’s newest tranche of practitioners will need upon entering the industry (such as live streaming) in hastening its bounce-back to pre-pandemic levels.
Johnny said: “You could say there is something primal in the coming together of people to enjoy culture through a shared experience – whether that’s at gigs or in theatres. These final year projects from our Backstage students have really brought that to the fore, demonstratin
UK - In the summer of 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, a live music training initiative was launched, designed to provide a broad set of technical skills to black women who wanted to break into the industry.
The 3T (Tour Tech Training) course was founded by singer-songwriters Nao and Mura Masa who wanted to provide visibility and confidence for black women.
The initiative had three key principles: It had to be free to participants (it was funded by Native Management, Sony Music UK and supported by donations from several other private individuals and companies within the industry); It was to take place over 12 weekends (24 days in total) and It had to cover the fundamentals of touring to be useful to attendees (such as loading/ unloading trucks, cable making, changing strings on guitars, building LED walls, tuning RF kit, audio patching, reskinning drums, looming etc.)
The programme attracted almost 600 entries in three days and 10 individuals subsequently were chosen to participate in the sessions. Successful applicants were selected on their personality and transferable skills.
A number of organisations in the industry were approached to help support the initiative in terms of time or donations of equipment. VDC was one of these. It provided free audio, video and data cables to enable the course attendees to learn how to solder and make cables, a vital skill on the UK touring scene.
AJ Sutherland, course director and freelance production manager, said: “We are very proud of the difference that this initiative will make to under-r
USA - In response to ongoing demand, the Behind the Scenes Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Initiative has posted new online Mental Health First Aid training classes in August for entertainment industry workers in the U.S. at btshelp.org/mhfa.
As the entertainment industry returns to work, the stress of coming out of isolation to high pressure situations, feeling out of shape physically and mentally, and constantly changing Covid protocols are taking their toll. Anxiety and uncertainty are impacting many, as one attendee said, “With the added stress the pandemic had brought us, I foresee even greater need of these skills.”
Mental Health First Aid takes the fear and hesitation out of starting conversations about mental health and substance use problems by teaching you how to recognize the signs and symptoms that suggest a potential mental health challenge, how to listen non judgmentally and give reassurance to someone who may be experiencing a mental health challenge, and how to refer a person to appropriate professional support and services.
Whether you are in a supervisory position or simply want to be able to assist co-workers, this training will provide you with the skills you need. In a post class evaluation, over 98% of respondents rated the class value as very high or high with 95% stating the training covered issues they have previously seen arise in their workplaces. An attendee commented, “Being able to participate in this class, among others who are in the same industry, and facilitated by someone who has decades of experience ma
UK - Audiologic, in partnership with GVAV, has delivered a hybrid teaching space at the University of Birmingham, providing a seamless learning experience for students, whether they are in person or remote learning off campus.
The University of Birmingham has recently developed a new purpose-built Teaching and Learning Building. Developed as an education hub, the facility provides spaces for teaching that adhere to the University’s modern learning experience standards.
The Teaching and Learning Building includes a 500-seat lecture theatre, a 250-seat interactive lecture theatre, ten seminar rooms, as well as individual study sections, collaborative group workspaces, and areas that accommodate creative break-out sessions.
The entire teaching facility has been fitted out with hybrid teaching in mind. Now, more than ever, it is essential that lecture theatres are fitted with the latest AV technology to ensure that remote learning is as close to the in-room experience as possible.
Matt Turner, head of HEFE Digital, University of Birmingham, says: “The university has been looking at the use of hybrid teaching in order to support students who find themselves unable to come to campus, mainly overseas students because of the current restrictions. In the first instance, this has been a small-scale pilot, with academic colleagues who have been running sessions with students in the room and overseas on Zoom.
“The purpose is so that students can be taught together, but also so that our academic colleagues don’t have to teach the session mo
UK - The past year has been difficult for the professional audio industry. Continuing education during this time has been in high demand, and Shure is responding to the need by announcing a new, free training programme specifically for audio professionals.
“We want to equip everyone with various levels of technical knowledge including people who are new to the audio industry as well as experienced professionals and help set them up for success as the industry begins to reopen,” said Eduardo Valdes, senior director, global marketing, for Pro and Consumer Audio at Shure.
The Pro Curriculum is a new eLearning training from the Shure Audio Institute. The programme is divided into three tiers: Level 1: Fundamentals To become a successful audio professional, a strong understanding of industry fundamentals is essential. This program covers core essentials such as maximizing performance of microphones, wireless systems, and other technologies.
Level 2: Shure Product Training Audio professionals know that to be the best, they need to stay on top of the latest advancements in products and technology. In Level 2, training focuses on how to set up and use Shure products.
Level 3: Advanced Application Training Level 3 builds on Level 1 and Level 2 to provide targeted training for a variety of professional applications. This training approaches audio challenges as a system, addressing concerns in audio, wireless, networking, and more, to successfully set up and deploy audio systems.
“This is a completely new curriculum designed specifically for
USA - The Meyer Sound Spacemap Go US Roadshow will roll across the country through the summer and fall with stops in 10 cities, including sessions in conjunction with the Church Facilities Conference & Expo (CFX) in Dallas, 21-22 September and InfoComm 2021 in Orlando, 26-29 October.
The Roadshow demo sessions are principally focused on Spacemap Go, Meyer Sound’s spatial sound design and live mixing tool, although the touring system also showcases other new technologies as incorporated in the Ultra‑X20 compact loudspeaker and VLFC very low-frequency control element.
“We are taking Spacemap Go on the road so customers and users can experience it first-hand,” says Daniel Rivera, sales manager, West for Meyer Sound and principal organiser of the tour. “You cannot fully appreciate the power of Spacemap Go until you hear it in action, and you can’t grasp its power and intuitive operation until you have the iPad controller in your hands.”
In addition to CFX and InfoComm, currently confirmed cities and dates are Atlanta (12 July), Boston (27July), Philadelphia (11 August), Lititz, PA (12-13 August), Clearwater, FL (23-27 August), Seattle (8-12 November), Portland (29 November - 3 December) and Los Angeles (27-29 December). An additional five cities are tentatively scheduled.
Accompanying Rivera throughout the tour will be US sales manager, East Michael Armstrong-Brown, who will co-host the demo sessions and provide technical support. Regional sales managers will join the duo at selected events. Additional Roadshow stops are planne
UK - Music Support, the charity created by and for music industry professionals to provide help for UK workers affected by mental ill-health and/or addiction, has been commissioned by Tour Production Group (TPG) to deliver pioneering Addiction and Recovery Aware training.
Co-ordinated by the TPG, donations totalling nearly £20,000 have been provided by contributions from Backup Tech, Massive Attack, Hipgnosis Songs, We Need Crew, and Rock-it Cargo. A bursary scheme has also been specially created to enable 100 touring freelancers working in the technical and production side of the industry to take the course free of charge.
Live music has suffered immensely since March 2020, and support groups and vital online networks have become a part of daily life for out of work crews. Formed in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, TPG has hosted online weekly discussions about issues faced by the touring industry ever since.
As Music Support turns five, its collaboration with the TPG reinforces its desire to positively impact the health and wellbeing of live music and events workers.
TPG’s Mental Health and Personal Wellbeing facilitators are tour manager Suzi Green and production manager Nick Gosling. Green comments: “Engagement with our members showed that addiction is one of the biggest challenges touring crew and musicians face. After a number of TPG members completed Mental Health First Aid Training, we felt a separate short course in addiction and recovery awareness would be really beneficial.”
The course is suitable for anyone
UK - Peerless-AV has announced that it will be hosting an AV exhibition and networking event on 16 September at Lord’s Cricket Ground in London.
AV and digital signage brands signed up to take space at the exhibition, include Absen, Philips, Samsung, NEC, Kramer, Sony UK, Iiyama, Datapath, Hypervsn, Signagelive, Tripleplay and Matrox. The AV User Group, AV Magazine and AVIXA Women’s Council UK will also be involved.
“After a long time planning and deliberating, closely following the latest government announcements, we’re very pleased that we can finally push ahead with our exhibition and networking event,” comments Keith Dutch, managing director - EMEA, Peerless-AV. “For many AV professionals, ISE 2020 will have been the last time they had face-to-face interaction of this scale. I think I can speak for the majority in that, as restrictions ease, we’re all eager to get back to live meetings, training sessions and presentations.
“This event will give partners the opportunity to showcase their latest innovations and technology at a convenient, central location, to an audience keen to find out what’s new in the world of AV and Digital Signage.”
UK - It has been a tough year for the entire industry and none more so than those studying the performing arts, with colleges having to radically re-think not just the teaching process and online learning, but also the realisation of practical coursework modules.
Second-year students on the Creative Lighting Control (CLC) and Lighting Design (LD) courses at the UK’s Rose Bruford College of Theatre and Performance thought out of the box and forged ahead with the staging of their annual Live Event project, delivering a full programme of music entertainment in a fully covid compliant environment.
The action took place at the 330-capacity Rose Theatre on the college’s Sidcup, Kent campus, comprising a series of shows featuring the talents of four live artists – two solo acts, a band, and a DJ – with performances either livestreamed by the Lighting Design students or recorded music-video style for broadcast by the CLC students instead of being played to a live audience.
Each year, the College reaches out to different industry players for the Live Event project looking for partner companies on the technical side who will participate by providing equipment, and those responding this year included Avolites, Colour Sound Experiment, ER Productions (lasers), Neg Earth Lights (NEL), Rigging Team, Tom Young (MA3) and White Light, among others.
Neg Earth was the sole provider of the Robe equipment in the form of LEDBeam 150s, PATT2013s and two MegaPointes running on two RoboSpot systems – organised in conjunction with NEL’s Sam Ridgway.
UK - Registration is now open for PLASA Show 2021. The London-based trade event for entertainment technology is returning to Olympia London on 5-7 September - and for one year only, the ABTT Theatre Show will be co-locating with PLASA Show, bringing two popular industry event under one roof.
This year, PLASA Show is moving to Olympia’s largest space, the Grand Hall, which will allow for a more awe-inspiring show experience, wider aisles and larger social areas to ensure the safety of visitors and exhibitors.
Visitors will be able to connect with leading brands from the pro audio, AV, lighting, rigging and staging sectors, whilst the free seminar programme - details of which will be revealed in the coming weeks - will offer business advice, unpack technical topics, and present the latest creative achievements. There will also be various interactive offerings including live audio demonstrations, lighting console training, and more.
The ABTT Theatre Show Hub will have its own dedicated area on the expanded show floor, giving the popular show autonomy to retain its conversational atmosphere, reminiscent of its usual home at Alexandra Palace. During its time at Olympia, the ABTT will celebrate its 60th anniversary - an impressive milestone, which will be marked in style throughout all three days.
PLASA MD Peter Heath comments: “With live events and entertainment returning, slowly but surely throughout 2021, we are confident that it is the right time to bring back PLASA Show. And we are equally pleased to partner with the ABTT, whose Theatre S
UK - Brighton-based Acute Audio Productions which has produced international festivals and concerts for Mainstage Festivals and NVS Promotions, has launched a new sub brand, Audio Production Hire (APH).
Headed by managing director Giles Bristow, APH offers “new tailored pro audio production services and training platform ‘Sound System engineering - the environmental approach’ exclusively using DAS Audio products”.
“In April 2020 as the pandemic closed down the event sector AAP went to work on a post covid business recovery plan and created APH in readiness to launch new services, and a CPD training programme. The brief is to offer personal tailored services to the end user, driving hire and sales of DAS Audio,” says Bristow. “Together with audio engineer Simon Ryder, we have created a brand-new module based training programme for the industry - Sound System Engineering - The Environmental Approach from Beginner to Advance.
“These training modules have been designed to highlight the environmental approach to sound system design and the capabilities and effects of being able to control the sound wave / audio map from the PA System and the benefits and use of the setup of the system on a network. To achieve this AAP has worked with the training department at DAS Audio to ensure that the training content that has been created in the UK is approved by DAS Audio.”
The courses are accessed through the APH website, the more advance courses have one to one live teacher training sessions built into them. The DASnet, EASE FOCUS and DASa
USA - A new book about the techniques and issues of lighting design for live events and productions being shot for broadcast, webcast or IMAG, has been published by Routledge and their media technology division, Focal Press.
Lighting for Televised Live Events: Making Your Live Production Look Great for the Eye and the Camera unlocks the science, art, philosophies, and language of creating lighting for live entertainment and presentations that work for the television camera as well as for the live audience. The authors, Jeff Ravitz and James L. Moody, each have extensive lighting design credits in both live and televised production and have brought their experience and insights to the book in an attempt to explain the common denominators between live and televised presentation lighting.
Ravitz explains, “The television camera has become an ever-present part of most productions, whether for live streams, TV specials, music videos, or, just as importantly, the IMAG screens that so many shows use. Over the years, I learned that a few, but significant, adjustments can make a live show look so much better for the viewer who watches on their TV, computer, tablet, or phone. They can only see what’s being shown by the camera, and for what it’s worth, there are millions of those viewers out there. The twist is that these shows can also retain all the beauty and dynamics of the live show and still look great for the audience in the venue.”
The book explains the science, art, and aesthetics of the subject and includes production case studies co