UK - In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, disguise has launched disguise OnDemand - a virtual hub that features access to free training and webinars exploring key features and elements of the disguise workflow. Held in multiple languages, multiple times a day, the platform will feature exclusive content, including the opportunity for the community to take part in specialist discussions on key industry topics, and hear from customers during spotlight discussions on showstopping case studies.
Designed as a place for the community to learn and keep up-to-date on all things regarding disguise, free online training sessions take place on Tuesdays and Thursdays. They are planning on running a condensed version of the Fundamental and Pre-Production Workflows Training, broken down into a series of six one-hour sessions where attendees can learn the core features, including the timeline, stage, configuring output feeds, and how to set up devices.
As part of a wider initiative to reach out to the disguise community, disguise is also offering the Designer software free until September, and giving a series of discounted USB dongle giveaways, as well as partnering with Notch on a ‘codemeter’ dongle sharing scheme, allowing more people to access to both their software.
“We understand this is a really hard time for our industry, and disguise is committed to doing what we can to support our community of freelancers, partners and customers across the globe,” said Fernando Kufer, CEO at disguise. “These initiatives are vital to support our communit

UK - Martin Audio’s new weekly education webinar programme has got off to a flying start with all sessions for its Low Frequency System Design ‘sold out’. The popularity of this session highlights the appetite for industry education during this difficult time.
“Our new webinar series seems to have been embraced by the industry,” reflects James King, marketing director at Martin Audio. “We had over 1,000 registrations for the first webinar session, which is around 10 times the average registration for one of our webinars. In fact, we had to upgrade our software package to accommodate everyone. Added to this, the training area of our website is now the most visited page after our homepage, and that has never happened before.
“These are very challenging times for the pro audio industry, and we wanted to play our role in helping industry professionals to stay active and connected,” he continues. “We are delighted with the response.”
The live webinars will continue each Wednesday, with the next session being on Display2.3, Martin Audio’s software for system design and the optimisation of line arrays on Wednesday 8 April. Following this will be sessions on EASE Focus, Wavefront Precision line arrays as well as their control software package Vu-Net.
Further, Martin Audio is hiring freelance industry professionals as guest speakers to share their experience and expertise. The first session of that type is with renowned sound designer and FOH engineer Simon Honywill and covers festival sound. During this webinar, scheduled for Wed

Europe - Powersoft has scheduled further additions to is online training programme.
Says the company, “It's a pleasure to share with you the updated programme of our free training sessions. Join us from the comfort of your home to learn more about ArmoníaPlus, our experts will guide you through the creation of a project, its set-up, networking, and monitoring options.
“We are also offering free webinars that focus on Powersoft products network connections and Dante/AES67 integration, Powersoft HealthPlus, and to discover the features of our multimedia device, Deva, from advanced networking capabilities to its integrated applications.”
The training sessions are offered in English, Spanish, and Italian.
The programme includes: Armonia Plus 1.4 How to set-up your project using all options (7 and 9 April); Deva multimedia system for safety and emergency management (8 April); Powersoft products network connections and Dante/AES67 integration (14 and 16 April); Powersoft HealthPlus, system monitoring and remote control using 3rd party control plug ins (21 and 23 April).

World - Chroma-Q is offering free Vista by Chroma-Q lighting and media control training. Aware and saddened by the current market situation, they will be hosting weekly webinars to help you develop your knowledge and skills, from the comfort of your own home.
Says the company, “Understanding the importance to continue to support loyal clients and to continue education in the wake of cancelled events and one-to-one meetings, last week Chroma-Q hosted the first round of one-hour Vista 3 webinars, with an overwhelming 260 attendees. Each session ran twice, once each in BST and CDT time zones, making the training accessible to a wider audience.”
“Nurturing and developing the skills of our new and existing customers is so important to us. During a time where people may be unable to get on with their ‘usual’ jobs, we wanted to provide learning opportunities that we’re certain will come in handy in the near future,” said Paul Pelletier, global brand manager.
If you are interested in sharpening your Vista 3 skills, the Vista by Chroma-Q team will be bringing you a series of webinars every Wednesday and Thursday throughout April. Keep an eye out on the Vista by Chroma-Q website - course content and registration will be updated every Friday.
Visit www.vistabychromaq.com/training-events to register for the next webinars.

Germany - In cooperation with the Sennheiser SoundAcademy, Neumann will be offering detailed webinars on the basics of microphone technology over the coming weeks. In three one-hour sessions, trainer John McGregor will discuss all important aspects of Neumann studio microphones: Starting with the most important theoretical principles, through practical tips and application hints, to product care and maintenance.
The first session will be available on Friday, 3 April at three different times (8.30, 13.30 and 18.00 CET). The other two sessions will follow on 17 and 24 April. All webinars will be presented in English.
Interested parties can register at: https://www.neumann.com/webinars
For an overview of all the free Sennheiser SoundAcademy webinars on offer, please visit https://www.sennheiser.com/webinars
Neumann has also created a new hashtag #AtHomeWithNeumann to help guide its customers, fans and followers to informative video content that will be provided during the coronavirus crisis.

Germany - The ARRI Academy has announced the launch of a new course designed for all levels of lighting and video production professionals. Lighting Systems Control with Richard Cadena is an 11-part video course that serves as a guide to get you up and running with digital lighting control, using DMX, RDM, Wireless DMX, and ethernet-based networks.
The series consists of short, informative videos with classes ranging in length from five minutes to 34 minutes. Course attendees will gain a working knowledge of standard and emerging technologies and will be trained on the latest lighting technology. The complete list of classes is as follows: DMX, Building DMX network, Troubleshooting DMX network, RDM, Wireless DMX, Intro to ethernet-based networking, Testing ethernet-based networks: PING and IPCONGIF commands, Art-Net, sACN, Consoles, and ARRI LED Ecosystem.
The series is taught by Richard Cadena, an ETCP recognised trainer and certified entertainment electrician. Cadena brings over 30 years of lighting industry experience and has been training entertainment lighting professionals around the globe.
The series gives an overview of established and emerging technologies, best practices, and guides users on how to troubleshoot potential issues. Cadena’s insight into the discipline of lighting and the industry is extensive. In the episode on Wireless DMX, for example, he explains, “When people tell me, ‘Oh, I don't trust wireless DMX,’ I start asking questions.” Cadena continues, “‘Well, what kind of wireless were you using? Whose tran

Canada - Adamson Systems Engineering has launched a series of free educational webinars for current and potential partners and end-users around the world. The Adamson Education Webinar Series addresses some on-going challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic while keeping consistent with the company’s amplified focus on partner education for 2020.
“Everyone has been impacted by Covid-19 and its aftermath, though it’s been especially trying for the live sound community,” begins Jeremiah Karni, head of education at Adamson. “That’s why we’ve been working hard on ways to support and engage with our global network despite the fact that we can’t get together. In addition to offering informative, insightful, and interesting content for attendees, the webinar series also provides them another means to interact directly with our team, as well as their peers in the Adamson Network. It’s about asking questions, sharing ideas, and making sure that, as a community, we’re better poised to come out of this challenge stronger than ever.”
The Adamson Education Webinar Series launched in mid-March with a pair of episodes dedicated to the latest version (v1.2.8) of Adamson’s Blueprint AV 3D predictive simulation software, followed by an in-depth discussion and Q&A with Adamson’s head of education, Jeremiah Karni, and head of product and technology, Brian Fraser.
New webinars currently go live every Tuesday and Thursday. With past episodes already archived for on-demand access, the series will continue to cover a myriad of topics relevant to Ada

UK - Touring and live events may be on hold for now, but learning and career development continue to move forward at the ChamSys Training Academy. The lighting console maker has been actively expanding its online education resources with new courses, tutorials and appointment opportunities being added on a continuous basis. In addition to providing programmers with the chance to sharpen their skills (and develop new ones), the academy is serving as a platform for them to remain connected to the industry in the wake of the closings and cancelations that have taken place.
Open to anyone, the academy offers daily online webinar training sessions. Conducted by active lighting designers and programmers, like Philip Watson, Brett Lorins and Charles Courser, these sessions cover a range of basic, intermediate and advanced topics.
The ChamSys Training Academy also features an expanded menu of video tutorials, including Beginners Sessions that provided a basic look at subjects like windows, buttons, faders and shortcuts; to Intermediate Sessions that deliver in-depth guides to topics like using the Execute Window to its maximum benefit. An extensive collection of Advanced Sessions is currently under development.
Another highlight of the academy is its free MagicQ and QuickQ online training sessions. Free of charge, the sessions provide practical user-friendly guides to mastering these powerful software tools.
For programmers and designers seeking a more personal learning experience, the ChamSys Training Academy offers one-one-one consultations duri

USA - High End Systems has announced new live events via its Study Hall programme, featuring webinars, Q&As, and round tables led by both employee experts and friends around the industry. “The content will be geared toward all our audiences around the globe, including dedicated events for just our dealers and reps - so be sure to log in to MyETC to see all the upcoming listings!” suggests HES.
This week’s schedule includes: Thursday, 2 April, 10:00 am CDT - Intro to Controls Networking - “It's all about making meaningful connections... between the components of your lighting system! ETC NYC's Nick Gonsman presents a special intro to the theory and practice of controls networking.”
Thursday, 2 April, 12:00 pm CDT - Let’s Go Hog Wild - “Join Maegan Wilson and Noah Allen, product support specialists for High End Systems, as they will cover the basics of the Hog 4 console, including console layout, navigation, patching, and controlling fixtures.”
Says HES, “We welcome your feedback, so please reach out to the HES Sales team with any suggestions and topic ideas. In the meantime, stay safe and stay connected.”

USA - Harman Professional Solutions is offering a range of free on-demand and instructor-led webinars hosted by leading knowledge experts from around the world.
The company has launched a new Learning Sessions eLearning programme, offered for free in conjunction with Harman Pro University, and beefing up its existing Live Workshop Series.
The Industry Expert workshops feature tips and tricks from front of house engineers, lighting designers, technicians and other industry experts, while the Harman Expert workshops feature in-depth product and solution webinars by Harman product specialists.
“We are thrilled to offer these free resources to help professionals in our industry connect and further their skill sets from the comfort of their own homes,” said Steve Mathis, senior manager, Harman Professional University. “The Live Workshop Series provides people with a way to learn about the latest equipment and techniques directly from the experts.”
Nearly 30 courses will be uploaded in April including six Live Workshop Series courses currently available for registration with topics covering live sound and pro lighting. Many more courses are in production for release in the coming months.
Courses include: Microphone Applications For Stage And Sound with Chris Pyron (1 April); Lighting for Churches: Live and Video with Lucas Jameson and Chris Pyron (7); Audio Challenges in Esports with Cameron O’Neill; Special Martin Lighting Product Launch with Markus Klüesener (15); Lighting Programming Workshop with Susan Rose

Europe - In order to keep up with the demand for more e-training courses, Powersoft, the Italian manufacturer of professional power amplifiers, has ramped up its capacity to deliver online training courses worldwide, with over 30 new sessions covering various subjects directly of interest to Powersoft customers and users.
Each course will last for one hour and will be conducted in English, Spanish, and Italian by experienced trainers and application engineers from Powersoft.
This week, Powersoft will offer insight on its new Mezzo amplifier range. During the sessions, attendees will learn about auto setup, power sharing, and remote control, as well as a number of other ground breaking features offered by the new half rack amplifier platform.
Next week’s sessions (beginning 6 April) will focus on ArmoníaPlus 1.4 and explain how to set up and programme a basic audio system with groups, monitoring, and remote control.
On 14 and 16 April, in the session entitled Powersoft products network connections and Dante/AES67 integration, trainees will learn how Dante and AES 67 protocols are integrated into Powersoft amplifiers and how they can be connected to networked environments using the set up and management tools.
Finally, on 21 and 23 April, Powersoft trainers will provide insight on ArmoníaPlus’s latest feature: Health Plus, system monitoring and remote control using third party control plug ins, including Powersoft ‘live impedance monitoring’ and cloud-based remote monitoring of all vital functions of a system. Informati

UK - SARM Music Bank rehearsal studios in London recently hosted a major series of demos from UK loudspeaker manufacturer, EM Acoustics and Out Board, immersive spatial reinforcement and performer tracking specialists.
In the spotlight was the y Reference Series R10 point source loudspeaker from EM Acoustics - seen for the first time anywhere at ISE 2020 - and the HALO-B medium format line array. Out Board showcased the new HARDCore FGPA processing for the TiMaxSoundHub and the all-new TiMax TrackerD4 precision stagetracking for live performer vocal localisation and multimedia effects control.
Held from 3-5 March, EM Acoustics’ Mike Wheeler deems the event to have been “a huge success” with high attendance figures and, more importantly, positive reactions from the industry.
Renowned sound designer, Sebastian Frost, whose credentials include plays, musicals and operas the world over as well as live events and installed visitor attractions, was very taken by what he heard: "I was so impressed by the R10, I’ve already specified 10 of them for a major new production that will take place later in the year."
Bobby Aitken, another award-winning West End and Broadway theatre sound designer, was equally impressed with the new Reference Series loudspeakers: "The new R10 point source loudspeakers sounded great and I'm really looking forward to spending some time with the upcoming R8s. The combination of a rotatable horn and the ability to swap the horn between two different included versions will make it a really interesting loudspeaker for the

USA - Over the next few weeks, ADJ will host a series of live video broadcasts that will provide educational content and in-depth product overviews. Each installment of Stay Connected will have a specific focus and provide an opportunity for lighting and event professionals to upskill from the safety and comfort of their own homes ready for when the covid-19 pandemic is over.
This is the season that ADJ, like many in the industry, would usually be exhibiting at trade shows around the world, demonstrating its latest products to new and prospective customers. In lieu of these industry events, which have all been cancelled or postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak, ADJ wants to offer something of the tradeshow experience but in a way that can be accessed safely in these times of social distancing and home working.
ADJ wants to serve the industry by providing free education to help event professionals prepare for returning to work. Each Stay Connected session will be packed with practical ideas, tips and insight designed to teach, equip and inspire. broadcast via Facebook Live, each video will also feature interactive elements allowing viewers to ask questions directly to the product specialists on camera.
“We are living through unprecedented times,” comments ADJ USA’s national sales manager, Alfred Gonzales, “and our hearts go out to everyone who has been affected by the worldwide coronavirus pandemic, especially within the lighting industry that we love and serve. We are also sad to be missing out on the opportunity to meet wi

Europe - LED lighting manufacturer Astera has launched Astera Academy, an online resource of free webinars dedicated to the company’s hardware and software offerings.
Available at www.astera-led.com/academy, the new venture enables interested parties – lighting and visual designers, DOPs, directors, gaffers, grips, engineers and techs - to utilise and maximise their time in self-isolation to learn.
The Astera Academy is doing its bit to help make the best out of the worldwide situation and assist the creative and resourceful entertainment technology industry to be ready to hit the ground running when life and business return to normal!
The Astera Academy offers free webinars allowing people to learn more about the AsteraApp and various Astera lighting fixtures.
Topics will include subjects like Getting Started with the AsteraApp to discover its best tips, tricks and less well-known features, with additional topics to be added in the coming days.
Each webinar is streaming twice a day - to cater for Europe and Asia, with an afternoon session for the convenience of the Americas - and will last between 30 and 60 minutes. The broadcast is coming from Astera’s European HQ in Munich, and all times are listed as central European time zone (CET).
Astera’s Jesper Sørensen will be presenting the sessions. He has been doing this worldwide in the last months, and while that’s now not possible in person, his interesting and highly accessible style of knowledge transfer can be enjoyed online.
Astera’s sales & mark

UK - Every part of the professional audio industry is currently affected by the unprecedented challenges which we all face from COVID-19. Yamaha says the most important priority is to protect the health and safety of everyone within the industry. The company is closely monitoring this fast-developing global situation and following all advice and guidelines issued by the World Health Organization (WHO) and public authorities in each region.
“We have many important, long-term relationships throughout the industry, including partners, customers, many freelance technicians and clients, whose lives and livelihoods are being impacted by this unprecedented situation. Our thoughts are with all of you. We want to support you as much as possible and contribute to helping the industry get through this difficult and complex time.
“Since 1990, Yamaha has been proactive in developing and maintaining practical education programs. These are designed to help users deliver better results in both live and installed audio, as well as achieving a more efficient workflow. Now consolidated under the ‘Audioversity’ banner to accelerate our training initiatives, we are currently expanding our online education resources further to support you. We hope that our online content will bring some benefit to you in these difficult times, helping you to be ready for when the industry is able to return to some sort of normality.”
Available from Yamaha’s YouTube channel, these include:

Germany - Lighting control specialist Madrix has scheduled a free live streaming programme to start next week.
“To stay connected with our industry and lighting community, we would like to invite everyone to join us live on YouTube from the Madrix headquarters,” says marketing manager Martin Fritzsche. “We will be offering an update on what we are working on to stay connected. Among those is the world premiere of a brand-new hardware product.”
The programme includes:
Madrix: 2020 March Update - an overview over the latest updates regarding the company’s range of LED lighting control solutions made in Germany; Madrix Radar - Unleash the full potential Of RDM - Learn how to unlock unprecedented RDM functionality with this brand-independent tool with fully automatic 24/7 device monitoring and automatic e-mail notifications; the world premiere of the next “powerful Madrix control unit”, and Madrix 5 - software update - Learn more about creative pixel mapping in 2D and 3D as well as the latest features and possibilities.
All sessions will be streamed on YouTube for you to watch them live on your smartphone, tablet, laptop, or desktop computer. Subscribe to the MADRIX YouTube channel.
All events will also be linked on Facebook.

UK - Martin Audio has unveiled a series of weekly webinars aimed at helping technicians stay up to date with the latest technology during this unprecedented time for the industry. The live webinar series will begin on Wednesday 1 April with all sessions remaining available on the Martin Audio website.
The live webinars will begin with Low Frequency System Design, presented by Simon Purse and will be followed by sessions on Display 2.3, EASE Focus and WPS Optimised Line Arrays. In addition to these initial sessions, the company will be adding a variety of topics over the coming weeks, covering Martin Audio’s products and software, as well as more general pro audio topics.
In addition to this, in the coming months Martin Audio will also be hiring freelance industry professionals as guest speakers to share their experience and expertise.
“These are unprecedented times for the pro audio industry, and we want to play our role in helping industry professionals to stay active and connected,” says Dom Harter, managing director at Martin Audio. “We hope that through some live online training we can help people to interact with their friends and colleagues while also learning something new. In these challenging times we all need to be supporting the AV industry and the thousands of hard working people that help make it great and that will continue to make it so, long after this difficult period comes to an end.”
The schedule for the weekly sessions is sti

UK/USA - By popular demand UK TiMax developers Out Board have announced a Spring season of ‘One-on-One for One’ online training sessions with TiMax specialists in the UK and USA.
Anybody interested in developing their leading-edge skills in the rapidly growing use of TiMax immersive audio, spatial mixing and showcontrol may well want to check this out. Sessions are open to all sound designers, sound engineers and production sound techs worldwide on a first-come, first-served basis. Simply register to download TiMax SoundHub software (Mac or Windows) from outboard.co.uk and enter “1on1” into the About You section. Alternatively contact Out Board direct on software@outboard.co.uk.
Out Board will respond with an invitation to select an available time and date for a personal, one-on-one, one-hour Skype screen-share training session, with Dave Haydon or Robin Whittaker in the UK (GMT) or Duncan Crundwell in the USA (EST). The session will cover standard TiMax dsp functions of mixer, matrix, eq, delay, source/zone groups and snapshots, as well as advanced task-based spatial rendering and immersive showcontrol programming tools in the uniquely integrated TiMax PanSpace and cue-driven TimeLine workflows. The session will also introduce the new TiMax TrackerD4 precision stagetracking interface which controls TiMax SoundHub via OSC.
There’ll also be a look at programming touchscreen OSC control of levels, cue/snapshot recall and spatialisation processes on generic tablet apps such as TouchOSC and Lemur.

World - Industry professionals looking to make use of any downtime caused by the coronavirus disruption across the events industry can now access various web workshops and seminars for free.
Lighting professionals can look to the Avolites website for upcoming online tutorials, webinars and support on the company’s Titan and Ai platforms.
Ambersphere has added ‘free for freelancers’ grandMA2 user training and network introduction classes, details of which can be found at training@ambersphere.co.uk. The grandMA2 user course will be 24-26 March and the grandMA2 Network course will be the 27 March.
Meanwhile, ETC has made its LearningStage classes free until 15 May; these include Introduction to ETC’s Prodigy training, training on the Element console, the Eos family and the Mosaic Designer software. 
Obsidian Control Systems is offering free online classes covering the Onyx control platform and Netron data distribution range. The courses take place weekly on Tuesdays (Introduction to Netron), Wednesdays (Onyx 101) and Thursdays (Onyx Advanced) each week.
MA Lighting's free e-learning portal MA University is the place to check for all things grandMA.

USA - In light of the coronavirus outbreak and the challenges it presents the entertainment industry, Obsidian Control Systems will provide free weekly training sessions covering the Onyx control platform and new Netron data distribution range.
These classes will be hosted online and are available globally for anyone interested in learning more about Obsidian’s advanced yet intuitive lighting control products.
Every week a different range of topics will be discussed in an open forum that encourages user interaction and questions. Topics will include navigating the new Dylos pixel engine to the building of cue and playback structures, as well as FX creation. The Onyx workspace environment will be discussed in depth along with any other topics users are interested in addressing.
For details and registration, visit obsidiancontrol.com.

South Africa - DWR Distribution is now offering training free of charge. New to DWR’s schedule is a Networking and Lighting Protocols workshop presented by Jannie de Jager on 1 and 2 July at DWR Distribution's base in Johannesburg.
De Jager will cover topics such as network protocols, show control protocols, planning a network and troubleshooting.
Delegates are to supply their own laptop or PC and an optional network switch. Please also bring a valid ID. Delegates are requested to supply their own packed lunch.
Bookings can be made online at dwrdistribution.co.za.

South Africa - DWR Distribution is holding DiGiCo training sessions presented by Kyle Robson in Cape Town (28 April) and Durban (14 May).
Delegates will be given a full demonstration of the DiGiCo S and SD Series digital mixing consoles as well as theoretical and hands-on training. DiGiCo is a user-friendly platform, and Kyle has useful tips and tricks to share.
Those participating are requested to bring along their laptop or PC with an Offline Editor pre-installed. Please also provide a copy of your ID. The cost is R700 and includes a light lunch and refreshments.

South Africa - Vectorworks Spotlight Training workshops will be presented by Dylan Jones at DWR Distribution in Cape Town (15 -17 April) and Durban (20 - 22 May).
The three-day sessions will allow users to explore the power and flexibility Vectorworks Spotlight has to offer. Dylan will cover topics such as layouts and palettes, basic tools, classes and layers, Spotlight tools, intermediate tools, worksheets and reports, 3D modelling, resource management and file import and export.
Delegates are requested to supply Vectorworks Spotlight installed on a PC or MAC, a keyboard, mouse, screen and a valid ID. The cost is R2,100 and includes a light lunch and refreshments.

World - Optocore will host a free New Fiber Solutions webinar on 11 March (Wednesday) at 15:00 CET.
Company representatives will discuss the latest solutions and innovations from Optocore, along with partner company, BroaMan. They will explain how to use Optocore and BroaMan devices and network solutions in installations, from basic one-device solutions to advanced fiber networks.
To take part in this webinar, follow this link.