South Africa - DWR Distribution presented an exclusive demo of L-Acoustics’ L-ISA sound technology to over 100 representatives from rental companies and TV studios in Johannesburg.
The system, which was used in South Africa for the first time during the live edition of The Voice South Africa 2019, was demo’d at the Mosaïek Teatro in Fairlands, where the TV show took place.
The demo was presented by Tim McCall, regional sales manager and Tony Szabo, head of touring applications at L-Acoustics, along with Chris Pugh, technical support at DWR Distribution and Adriaan van der Walt, audio engineer at Multi-Media who specified L-ISA technology for The Voice.
“I think it’s awesome that L-Acoustics have invested so much into South Africa,” comments Duncan Riley of DWR. “We are one of their smaller markets, yet they treat us no differently to the larger players. Their passion is contagious, and it really does feel like a family. We received an overwhelming response at the demo from the entertainment industry and I would like to thank everyone for being there.”
“Over six million spectators have enjoyed over two thousand performances in L-ISA so far, and we have sent out people to gather information from the audience to see if they enjoyed the production and noticed a difference,” said Tony Szabo. “The feedback has been overwhelming, from people commenting that they felt closer to the performance, to artists saying that they receive a greater response from the audience.”
Chris de Lancey, director at Multi-Media

UK - The ALD has launched the ALD Awards for Excellence, a scheme aimed at students and recent graduates that replaces the annual Michael Northern Awards.
The ALD says the new format “better reflects” the association’s growing representation and introduces a restructured prize fund, with three categories instead of four.
Rory Beaton, head of the ALD’s Working Group for Awards, comments: “The awards have grown in stature and, like most things, need a firm foundation from which to grow further. With the consolidation of naming and prize structure, The ALD Awards for Excellence have a strong and flexible framework to shape them for the future.”
The awards are now open for submissions to current students studying in the UK, recent graduates (2017-present), or to corresponding affiliate members of the ALD. The deadline is set for midnight on 31 October and the winners will be announced during the ALD’s annual Lighting Lunch in December.
The categories are as follows:
The Michael Northen Award for Excellence in Lighting Design (sponsored by the Mousetrap Foundation) - £500 cash prize, a 512 ETCnomad package, a six-month mentoring scheme with a team of industry professionals to run alongside the initial stage of their career, a copy of Michael Northen’s book, Northen Lights.
The Fred Foster Award for Excellence in Production Electrics (sponsored by ETC) - £500 cash prize, a 512 ETCnomad package, a on

UK - PLASA has announced its line-up of seminar sessions in the run up to the PLASA Show 2019 (15-17 September, London Olympia).
In collaboration with top industry figures and brands, the programme will feature an array of creative achievements as well as advice on salient industry issues.
Pro audio journalist and consultant Phil Ward will lead a panel of industry figureheads - Chris Hill from Wigwam, Jim Griffiths from Vanguardia and Steve Jones from d&b audiotechnik - in ‘Equal rights for audio!’ They will assess how live performances, including the recent Spice Girls reunion tour, can neglect audio in the rush for spectacular video, lighting and set design.
Moving from concerts to theatre, Shure will present the future of audio for theatre productions, in association with Curtain Call. This panel will explore how the advancement of microphone technology, such as wireless and lavalier mics, continues to influence performance and push the industry forward.
Meanwhile, Women in Music will host a session on how to survive and thrive in the live music industry, sharing tips on how to create an impressive CV, keep busy during the slow season, gain recognition, and prevent burnout whilst on the road.
Continuing on this theme, Rose Bruford graduate Tom Harrison will speak on the lifestyle of technicians. Working on the road is notoriously hazardous for diet, sleep and exercise, but Harrison is equipped with the latest research and insights to help those interested in leading healthier and more sustainable lives.
James Simpson, L

UK - Martin Audio has announced the latest in its series of product open days, which have been running twice a year since 2017 at the company’s High Wycombe HQ.
The latest programme will run over five sessions spread across three days, on 17 September (at 10.00am and 2.00pm), 18 September (at 10.00am and 2.00pm) and 19 September (at 11am).
The event is aimed at existing distributors, dealers, integrators, rental partners and sound engineers as well as potential new customers wishing to gain in-depth understanding of Martin Audio’s platforms and at the same time take advantage of plenty of listening time in relaxed surroundings.
Many new products will be showcased for the very first time and tours of the factory and refreshments will also be provided. The demonstrations will include: the full line up of Wavefront Precision line arrays including the new WPS; subwoofers including the new cardioid SXC118; 3D immersive sound and wide stereo imaging with Sound Adventures; ADORN and CDD installation ranges; portable point source ranges including the new BlacklineX Powered Series.
Martin Audio MD Dom Harter comments: “The decision to refocus our marketing and prioritise a series of Open Days as an alternative to exhibition participation has proven an unqualified success. Each series of sessions has built on its predecessor with the result that now there is barely a spare seat in our dedicated theatre.
“Aside from providing existing members of the Martin Audio family with an opportunity to get up and close and personal with the products

UK - Green Hippo welcomed 18 of its most advanced Hippotizer practitioners to its latest UK ‘super user’ event in July.
A regular fixture in the Green Hippo diary, the event was hosted at the Leeds office of Hippotizer dealer A.C. Entertainment Technologies, giving the product team an opportunity to bring these leading Hippotizer experts up to date with the latest features, developments and initiatives. Additionally, it provides a forum for the exchange of highly-informed feedback and ideas from those working most closely with Green Hippo’s technology in a broad array of show environments.
“We run these events every six months or so,” says Tom Etra, senior technical sales manager at Green Hippo. “They are incredibly useful, both for us and our users. They’re an open forum for discussion and feedback with users who know our products inside and out.
He adds: “They work in various different disciplines - touring, theatre, installations, attractions - and they have great real-world experience and insight into where we’re going with the products. It’s a really productive environment - an amazing cross-fertilisation of ideas.”
The day began with the Green Hippo and AC-ET teams presenting the latest features in Hippotizer software V4.5. From AC-ET’s video division, Chris Beardwell showed the new VideoMapper and BeatBridge features, while from Green Hippo, Suzy Stenning discussed the Object to Output workflow, within Hippotizer’s 3D Mapping environment and Zep Mouris demo’d Hippotizer’s latest auto alignment capabilities.

UK - The end of May saw Brompton Technology complete two one-day training courses at the new Manchester HQ of visual technology specialist FIX8Group.
The course was led by Brompton technical support specialist Sarah James and attended by both local Brompton partners and locally-based freelancers, who were taken through the fundamentals of operating the company’s state-of-the-art T1, S4, M2 and SX40 LED processors and XD data distribution unit.
With screens and rigging provided by Manchester-based Brompton rental partner A to V, Sarah took the attendees through the processors’ easy-to-use interface, as well as giving them hands on experience with handy features such as ChromaTune colour correction, On Screen Colour Adjustment (OSCA), Dark Magic for colour smoothing in low brightness conditions, On screen display (OSD) and Genlock.
Neil Trenell, creative director and founder of FIX8, comments: “It’s been a pleasure to host the Brompton training at our premises this week. Their philosophy of quality and high production values aligns closely with our own. We have been regular users of their system so its been great have an opportunity to learn more about it and to welcome other partners who share our interest in the system.”
“With more and more of our processors in the market there is an increasing demand for technicians and freelancers with the knowledge to get the best out of our processors so making sure people have access to high quality training is key,” adds Brompton’s business development manager, Rob Fowler. “We are de

South Africa - As live production stages get bigger, heavier and more complicated with equipment suspended above the audience, safety is imperative. Ilan Bahar from Eilon Ron StageMaster recently visited South Africa, and in conjunction with local distributor DWR Distribution, presented load cell demonstrations to a variety of rental companies in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban.
Eilon, a family business, was established over 40 years ago and their safety monitoring systems are used in diverse applications including entertainment stages, aerospace with sales to NASA, wind turbines and shipment weighing to mention a few.
“The Eilon Ron StageMaster concept is very simple,” said Ilan Bahar. “When you hang equipment above people, you have to know the load of every point because there are limitations, such as the limitations of a roof. You have to make sure that you don’t cross those limitations and that is what the load cell does. It measures the load at every point, sends the data to the receiver and then you have it on a display where you can continually monitor the status.
“Before people used the load monitor, they would make calculations, but even if you are in a position where everything is stable, once you hit the controller, everything changes. The Ron StageMaster system helps to verify the plan and is also a second defence layer: First is the load calculation plan, and second is a realtime verification that the calculated loads are similar to the measured load. Both layers are necessary in order to provide an effective overload prot

Norway - Prostage, the Oslo-based distributors of Prolights, invited lighting designer Fredrik Jönsson to lead a two-day workshop hosted in Oslo’s Riksteatret. The designer discussed various design techniques, stories and lessons learned throughout his career in the entertainment industry.
Fredrik Jönsson designed the lighting for the international Eurovision final in Malmö in 2013 and in Stockholm in 2016 and was awarded an LLB Award for best Lighting Design for his work on the 2013 Eurovision final. In 2019, he designed the lighting for Melodifestivalen (the national Swedish Eurovision finals), bringing his grand total of live performances for Melodifestivalen to 103.
Jönsson drew from his vast experience of designing global concert tours, international events and broadcast and concocted the two-day interactive seminar program covering topics such as basic lighting principles, WYSIWYG, CAD Visualisations and methodologies in practice.
During the CTO and CRI discussions, the LD tested the RA series fixtures independently and commented on how impressed he was with the high standard of light quality, the 6000+K and the impressive measured open white values of over 92 produced by the RA2000 and the RA3000.
For the duration of the workshop a full Prolights rig was on display for visitors to get ‘up close and personal’ with the fixtures and ask the Prostage team any fixture related questions. The workshop was well attended and encouraged participation, discussion and debate.
Prostage sales manager Carl August Tidmann comme

USA - Experts in hearing wellness at Sensaphonics recently held a Gold Circle Seminar in Chicago to promote hearing protection practices in the music industry.
Five audiologists from across the US learned the basics of live sound production along with insights on how to help musicians and sound engineers achieve both robust stage monitoring while retaining their long-term hearing health. Sensaphonics president, Dr. Michael Santucci and sound engineering consultant Joe Tessone of Mystery Street Recording Company, led the two-day seminar.
“One of the biggest issues with IEMs is that they aren’t covered in audiology school,” says Santucci. “The Gold Circle Seminar fills that gap by teaching how IEMs work, how they are used professionally, and how they can be used more safely. Where others offer vague suggestions on how to use in-ears safely, Sensaphonics remains uniquely committed to musicians’ hearing health.”
The two-day seminar goes beyond taking ear impressions for custom IEMs, providing a unique mix of practical and technical product information. Participants learn through a series of classroom sessions covering topics like IEM and hearing protection technology for musicians; concert sound system design, backstage etiquette, and marketing to musicians, production personnel, and fans. Attendees are also trained in taking proper ear impressions to Sensaphonics specifications. The seminar concludes with a hands-on live music rehearsal at Mystery Street Recording Company in Chicago, working directly with a live band experiencing in-ear mon

UK - The PLASA Awards for Innovation 2019 are now open for entries from PLASA Show exhibitors. Products from all sectors of the entertainment technology industry are invited to be entered for the awards by 16 August.
Judged independently by a panel of industry experts, the Awards for Innovation are respected throughout the industry for recognising innovative new product design. All successful nominees will feature in the Innovation Gallery during PLASA Show from 15-17 September at London Olympia, culminating in a ceremony at the show on 16 September where the winner will be announced.
Product entries must demonstrate a new style of thinking, improve technical practice and safety, introduce new technology, materials or techniques, or offer new commercial advantages. Furthermore, an Award for Sustainability is reserved for products which achieve a significant reduction of power, utilise renewable energy or have a positive impact on the environment.
Awards set to be presented at PLASA Show not only celebrate innovative products - they also recognise the people who have led the way. Each year, the prestigious Gottelier Award, named after industry innovator Tony Gottelier, is presented to a pioneering product developer, with the winner voted for by PLASA members and registered PLASA Show visitors.
The 2018 recipient of the Gottelier Award was Unusual Rigging’s Alan Jacobi, with past winners including Wayne Howell, Anne Valentino, David Cunningham, Pasquale Quadri, Jim Bornhorst, John Meyer, Terry Clarke, Fred Foster, Alex Cooper, John Stadius

South Africa - The Academy of Sound Engineering Cape Town, a tertiary institution for the entertainment industry, and DWR Distributions teamed up for an audio workshop to give the sound engineering students exposure and practice on some of the industry’s higher-end gear like L-Acoustics, DiGiCo and Audix.
“ASE Cape Town lecturers are all active industry professionals; this keeps them engaged with the technological developments. Basically, we are massive gear heads which is the reason we want our students exposed to some of the great products that a company like DWR distributes”, says Gaston Roulstone a lecturer at ASE Cape Town.
Jaco Beukes from DWR Distribution went to the Cape Town campus to give the students some “play time on some of the best toys”. “Before I began my portion of the workshop, I had the students set up the audio equipment with some real-life scenario problem solving and troubleshooting”, says Beukes. The result was a DiGiCo SD12 and S31 connected by a stage rack monitoring the L-Acoustics Syva and 5XT’s. This was the loudspeaker for the Audix Microphones on a drum kit. “I wanted to show them what this gear they could do,” adds Beukes.
Roulstone continues: “It was wonderful for our students to get the chance to set up and listen to the latest L-Acoustics PA system with a top end DiGiCo mixing console and a drum kit surrounded by Audix microphones. Allowing them to record and mix the drum kit gave them the opportunity to not only utilise the products but also to hear the various results from source to the fi

UK - Registration is now open for PLASA Show 2019, which returns from 15-17 September to bring over 200 brands lighting, audio, AV, rigging and staging brands to Olympia London.
Mirroring the growth of the AV sector, this year’s show will present an array of next-generation LED screen technology from major players such as Canon and Midwich. Furthermore, Netgear will share its networking and integration solutions.
The audio presence at the show has been growing rapidly over the last few years and in 2019, the show will welcome Void Acoustics and CUK Audio in addition to Bose, d&b audiotechnik, Yamaha and Adam Hall among others.
Meanwhile, live audio demos will double this year, with L-Acoustics taking a dedicated demo space and KV2 Audio demo'ing its products, which feature across various West End and Broadway productions. There will also be back-to-back speaker demos from Adam Hall, Shermann Audio, Ohm, Aura Audio, RCF and Void Acoustics.
New for 2019 will be Stage To Studio, an initiative organised in association with Sound On Sound and Headliner magazines, which will see a band being recorded live and mixed by a professional engineer. Following this, a competition will launch, inviting people to submit their own mixes of the band performance for a chance to win a pro audio prize.
Lighting industry professionals will once again be able to see products from global industry leaders, including Claypaky, Elation, ETC and Robe. Joining the

UK - Nexo’s Experience Day roadshow arrives in London on 3 July (Wednesday) to spend the day at The Mill’s rehearsal facility in Wimbledon.
With three line arrays from Nexo’s Geo M family on show at the 430sq.m. studio, the event provides an opportunity to ‘check the spec’ of Nexo’s latest PA products. Entry is free and catering is provided.
The line array systems featured in the showcase will be the recently-launched Geo 12, as well as the Geo M10 mid-size line arrays, and the popular compact Geo M6. The systems will be set up with Yamaha PM7 and PM10 Rivage digital consoles at FOH, running Dante audio network.
Nexo and Yamaha system experts will be demo the systems and discuss a range of topics including Dante networking, system monitoring with Nexo’s proprietary NeMo tools, and integrating Yamaha consoles with NXAMP powered controllers.
To register for the events, please follow this link.
After the summer, Nexo is planning further Experience Days in Leeds, Edinburgh and Dublin. Anyone wishing to reserve their place for these events should email Gareth Collyer at gareth.collyer@nexo.fr.
(Jim Evans)

USA - ADJ Lighting has planned a two-day summer ADJ road tour event at Soundcheck Nashville to demo its latest lighting, audio, and video technologies and offer informative tech sessions on a variety of lighting and video control solutions.
On 16-17 July, ADJ Lighting will be in Nashville, Tennessee, at Soundcheck Nashville studios, 750 Cowan Street, where the company will spotlight its latest lighting, audio, and video technologies recently shown at InfoComm tradeshow. The showcase will include ADJ’s IP65 outdoor rated lighting solutions.
“Nashville is of my favourite ADJ road tour dates because we always have a strong turnout of lighting professionals. In fact, this is our fifth year in a row at Soundcheck Nashville,” comments Alfred Gonzales, national sales manager of ADJ USA. “ADJ is coming off a very successful InfoComm show. We’re looking forward to talking to installers and production companies about our wide range of IP65 outdoor rated lighting, plus all of our other professional lighting, video and Avante Audio solutions.”
ADJ will offer hands-on demos of the AV2 high resolution video panels, plus the recent debut of the Hydro Wash X7 IP65 rated moving head beam, the Hydro Beam X2, and Hydro Beam X1 IP65 rated beam moving heads; Vizi Wash Z19, Vizi Wash Z37, and Par Z Move zoomable moving heads; Entour Ice low-lying fog machine, and the Encore Burst Series of blinders; as well as other pro-line products for professionals looking for lighting solutions for event production, houses of worship, nightclubs, bars and lounges, fun cen

Europe - Pro audio manufacturer Audac has introduced a series of online seminars aimed at professional audio engineers, systems integrators and technicians.
‘With these first online seminars we have taken a new look at what educational tools we have to offer to the installers of our innovative audio solutions.” said Tom Van de Sande, CEO at Audac. ‘We noticed that we are getting a lot more momentum all over the world, which is why we had to adapt our educational offer so that we can easily reach these new users as well.”
These videos are the start of a complete database of online training videos that will highlight all functionalities of Audac products. Audac will work with two different levels: Level 1 is an introduction to the Audac range and will be available to everyone. Level 2 will be a hands-on training of our different products and functionalities and will be available to anyone with a log-in to their specially designed training platform.
(Jim Evans)

UK - To provide Scottish customers with a hands-on experience with their products, Ambersphere Solutions is heading to Glasgow. The open day workshop is on Wednesday 26 June and is held in partnership with the Royal Conservatoire Scotland.
The latest entertainment control and lighting products from Astera, Ayrton, MA Lighting, Robert Juliat and zactrack will be on hand. Visitors will be able to try out the consoles and fixtures in a real-world environment with assistance and guidance from Ian Green and the Ambersphere technical team.
Products will include the grandMA3 range, the Ayrton LED moving light range, 100% wireless range from Astera, 3D tracking solutions from zactrack and the Dalis Cyc and Footlight range as well as the latest LED Followspots from Robert Juliat.
Philip Norfolk, sales director of Ambersphere comments, “Here at Ambersphere it’s very important that we let the customer get hands-on with the products. Tradeshows and demos in bright warehouses are not always ideal, so having an opportunity to present in the New Athenaeum Theatre is fantastic.”
The event runs from 10am till 6pm and is free to attend. Register here at http://info.ambersphere.co.uk/scotland
(Jim Evans)

Europe - Audio technology innovator Holoplot has confirmed details of a webinar that will introduce its 3D beamforming and wave field synthesis technologies.
Taking place on 3 July at 16:00 CEST, the webinar is free but requires registration, which can be made on Holoplot’s website.
With high-profile installations in museums, concert halls, and many other public venues, immersive audio has become a significant global trend during the last few years. But it is often the case that immersive sound installations are time-and cost-intensive exercises involving complex audio design work and multiple loudspeaker positions.
Into this emerging market, Holoplot has launched a solution with its technology that offers a simpler and more effective method of delivering immersive sound experiences. In this special seminar, Holoplot will introduce this technology and explain how it can be applied to a wide variety of installations and applications.
Based in Berlin, Holoplot is pioneer in wavefield synthesis and 3D beamforming. Its technology has been applied to immersive audio projects in venues around the world. The current product range is based around the Io audio module, the Eta processing core and the Orbit software interface.
During the webinar, Holoplot will provide an overview of its 3D beamforming capabilities and explore the possibilities of sonic immersion and wave field synthesis. Specific topics t

USA - L-Acoustics has expanded its AVIXA Certified Technology Specialist (CTS) Renewal Unit (RU) provider status to include two new training modules.
Engineers participating in the company’s Variable Curvature Line Source (3.5 RU) or Loudspeaker System Calibration (3.5 RU) training modules - either at an L-Acoustics location or via a certified provider - will now also be able to receive CTS Renewal Units.
Etienne Corteel, director of scientific outreach at L-Acoustics, comments: “Across the globe, our L-Acoustics training programs are on track to deliver over 6,000 certifications in 2019. Expanding the AVIXA CTS offering to two of our strategic trainings is a mark of quality for the engineers who look to L-Acoustics to provide not only the highest standard in equipment, but also the highest standard in education for the professionals who design, implement and calibrate our systems around the globe.”
Variable Curvature Line Source training teaches systems engineers and designers how to optimise a line source for coverage, SPL and frequency response. It highlights key design parameters for the physical deployment and the electronic settings of a variable curvature line source. This course offers an overview of rational design methodology using Soundvision modelling and simulation software, including an introduction to the new Autosolver tools.
The newly introduced Loudspeaker System Calibration training teaches system engineers how to calibrate a loudspeaker system in a touring, rental or fixed installation project. The course covers bo

UK - Nexo will present the Geo M12 mid-size line array in a real-world production environment as part of two roadshow events held in partnership with Yamaha this summer.
Visitors will have the chance to get hands-on with the three-line array systems in the Geo M family: the new Geo 12, the Geo M10 mid-size line array, and the compact Geo M6.The Nexo system set-up will include the PM7 and PM10 Rivage digital consoles, running the Dante audio network.
On 26 June, sound engineers, rental providers and audio installation professionals will get the chance to audition the full range of Geo M high-output line arrays in Birmingham’s Resorts World Arena.
On 3 July, the location is The Mill Rehearsal Studio in Wimbledon, London. This purpose-built production studio has more than 400sq.m. of space, with a trim height of 6m for the line arrays.
Nexo and Yamaha system experts will be demonstrating the systems, and discussing a range of topics including Dante networking, system monitoring with Nexo’s proprietary NeMo tools, and integrating Yamaha consoles with NXAMP powered controllers.
To find out more about the two events and to register, please visit: nexo-sa.com/geo-m12-experience-days
Further Experience Days are currently being planned. These are set to take place in Leeds, Edinburgh and Dublin.
(Jim Evans)

South Africa - In response to popular demand, lighting designer Michael Taylor Broderick will once again present a two-day theatre lighting workshop on 19 and 20 June at DWR Distribution, Johannesburg.
Michael instils a sense of passion to those working in a theatre environment and topics include stage lighting, controllable properties of light, lighting positions and angles, light and colour, elements of design and lighting instruments.
The workshop will be held at DWR, Block C, Unit 1, Kimbult Industrial Office Park, 9 Zeiss Street, Laserpark, Honeydew. The cost is R1 700 for both days and includes lunch and refreshments. Kindly let us know if you have any dietary requirements.
Bookings can be made online.
(Jim Evans)

The Netherlands - Elation Europe will be holding a training day dedicated to Obsidian Control Systems’ Onyx lighting control platform on 3 July at the company’s European headquarters in Kerkrade.
The Onyx foundation training, running from 9:00am to 5:00pm, will take users from console start-up through software layout to patching and running a basic show, with the objective to gain confidence in patching and running a show from scratch while acquiring a basic understanding of features. Features to be covered include software layout and philosophy, patching, creating, changing and deleting groups, changing and deleting pre-sets, cue lists and chases. The cost is €150.00 (excluding VAT if applicable) and includes a NX-DMX interface for every participant. Participants should bring a laptop to run with the supplied Capture Visualiser file. 
Those wishing to attend need to register by 26 June.
(Jim Evans)

UK - Wakefield-based Backstage Academy recently presented a graduation showcase, which saw third-year students assessed across five presentations.
The students were assessed in a project-based environment, with each team working under a project manager. The event was supported by many industry partners, some of whom had arrived fresh from attending PLASA Focus Leeds.
Vice-principal Rachel Nicholson explained the idea of designing real world concepts - effectively transforming black box studio/stages into coruscating jewels - had grown out of the Live Visual Design & Production course. “It’s the first time we’ve presented the work in this fashion,” she confirms. “The team looked back at last year and decided they wanted more scope to visualise. Our live visual design course has always been project based, so we adapted that to the other courses - which seemed the most natural thing in the world to do.”
All shows had come entirely from the imagination of students, she said. “They are exploring the cutting edge of new technology and what can be done, but at the same time, it’s also a validation of the confidence placed in the students by the lecturers. Neither could we have done it without the support, passion and enthusiasm of our industry partners. The Graduation Showcase is just one day but it represents three years’ hard work.” In fact, many of those industry partners had already set up training days for students in advance, in order to build operational skills with the platforms.
The five distinct concepts, staged by s