UK - Leading trade associations have backed a campaign to keep UK’s VAT rate on ticket sales at 5% to aid the live events sector’s recovery.
Last July, the government temporarily slashed the VAT rate to 5% from the standard rate of 20% to support businesses severely affected by the pandemic. The cut currently applies until 31 March 2021.
#KeepVATat5, initiated by LIVE (Live music Industry Venues & Entertainment), aims to convince the Treasury to extend the VAT rate cut for the next three years and comes ahead of chancellor Rishi Sunak’s hotly-anticipated budget announcement on 3 March.
“With the budget approaching, we must act now to convince the chancellor to #KeepVATat5,” says LIVE in a statement. “Of all the industry’s asks from government currently, keeping the VAT rate on tickets at 5% for the next three years will make the single biggest impact to the sector’s recovery. If it is reversed, the rate (...) will take millions from our industry when we need it the most.”
This week, LIVE is coordinating letters to Sunak and other prominent MPs, but the body is also asking those willing to help to write to their local MP (see .docx template here) and raise awareness of the campaign on social media by using #KeepVATat5.
The campaign is backed by some of the most influential industry bodies, including the Concert Promoters Association, the Association of Independent Festivals, the Musi

South Africa - The South African State Theatre in Pretoria’s 550 seat Drama Stage hosted both the rounds and finale of the 2020 edition of Idols SA, complete with a lighting design by Joshua Cutts of Visual Frontier and technical production delivered by Dream Sets for SIC Entertainment. This, the sixteenth series of Idols SA was directed by Gavin Wratten and broadcast on the Mzansi Magic network.
The show would usually have shifted to the 3000 capacity Carnival City Big Top Arena in Johannesburg for the finale, however this time, due to COVID-19 restrictions, everything remained at the State Theatre, and Josh drew on some imaginative and original lighting techniques to keep all the broadcasts looking fresh, interesting, and spectacular.
He devised a selection of special visual treatments, some of which were based around utilising Astera Titan Tubes which Josh deployed on three different shows.
Titan Tubes proved a suitable illuminated accessory for some of the dance numbers and worked well accompanying some of the choirs featured throughout the series backing certain artists and songs.
More than that, at times they were attached to set flats to vibe-up the backdrop for the house band, as well as positioned on their Astera floor stands to provide close-up side light for performers or dynamic fill-lighting for set pieces. “They are just very flexible,” stated Josh.
For the Dance Show they were integrated as another illuminated and kinetic element fusing with the dancers, either by being hand-held or having the choreog

UK - ITV’s This Morning is one of the longest running daytime programmes on British television. The show is broadcast from Television Centre in White City, West London, and is hosted by some of the UK’s leading presenters. Airing live, This Morning features a wide spectrum of topical material, from current affairs to showbiz, health, style and beauty, food, gardening and more. The show attracts around one million viewers per day, and this year reached its highest ever audience share of just under 30% of viewing.
During the first few weeks of December, the show featured a number of segments broadcast from outside locations at Television Centre. Head of Lighting for ITV Daytime, Matt Carter and his team used ETC fos/4 Panel lights (launched early in 2020) for the first time and were very impressed. He comments:
“We had two 24 x 24 size with the Daylight HDR Array, and two of the 8 x 24 with the Lustr X8 Array. I was immediately impressed by their output level, how flattering the softness was on the faces of our presenting talent, and the quality and depth of the colour tones. In the eight-colour LED versions in particular, flesh tones were warm and even, and the even wrap of light was particularly good on camera.
“Our presenters said that the lights were not intrusively in their eyes, and were easy to work in front of. In the past they have found the traditional HMI Fresnel lights to be harsh in their eyes, preventing them from easily reading autocue. The fos/4 lights certainly gained their seal of approval.
“Overall we w

Australia - South Australia’s Summer Sounds Festival was a four-week outdoor concert series offering the joy of live sound to a 2,100-capacity audience. Eighteen shows ran the whole month of January, with festival-goers safely and comfortably spaced in ‘party pods’ that accommodated four to six people each.
The festival celebrated Australian artistes such as Bernard Fanning, Spiderbait, and Hayden James. Through the collaboration of Five Four Entertainment, Groove Events, and Secret Sounds, the festival promoters looked to Adelaide-based L-Acoustics rental network partner Novatech to provide that dynamic live sound festival-goers have been craving.
Festival-goers could choose from VIP, gold, silver, or bronze seating packages. VIP pods occupied the first five rows and boasted an exclusive toilet block, faster drink service, and a choice of premium drinks.
With fans restricted to their pods, the challenge of providing consistent, clear coverage to the whole audience area was crucial, so the Novatech team approached this festival with a precise and careful sound design.
The main PA consisted of 12 K2 line array elements and eight SB28 subs per side, and four Kara for front-fill hidden behind scrims. For delay, Novatech turned to their Syva colinear line source, cleverly rigged to the rear of the Party Pod, with Syva Sub tucked below. The slender but powerful Syva provided ample coverage for the pods in the back rows while ensuring clear views of the stage. The sound coverage for festival attendees was matched by the Novatech team, who prov

Italy - Prolights has expanded its film and television division with the appointment of film lighting veteran Davide Bernarello as business development manager. Bernarello brings over three decades of experience across manufacturers, distributors and technical operator, having worked previously for companies including ARRI and Desisti.
“We are thrilled to be welcoming Davide to our team as we look ahead to 2021 with a positive outlook into the future of our company,” comments Fabio Sorabella, managing director at Prolights. “Davide will certainly be able to bring an important contribution within product and business development in a growing division for our organisation, through his extensive international experience.”
“I'm truly excited to be joining an emerging family company such as Prolights,” comments Bernarello. “Their dynamic attitude is very stimulating, with lots of product development happening in Italy, and a careful focus on quality and performance.”

UK - Martin Audio reports that the previously announced SXCF118 and SXC115 compact, high performance cardioid subwoofers are now shipping.
Purpose designed to partner the WPS and WPM line arrays respectively, these additions to the product portfolio are suitable for both live sound reinforcement and fixed installations, says the company.
The SXCF118, a flyable version of the SXC118, has been engineered to match the WPS optimised line array system, while the ground stack SXC115 will add low frequency extension to the WPM.
The SXCF118 combines maximum low frequency output with exceptional pattern control. It features an 18” (460mm) forward facing driver and a 14” (356mm) rear facing driver, each driven independently by separate amplifier channels and DSP. Each driver has its own chamber with optimised bass reflex porting. This arrangement produces a cardioid dispersion pattern which maximises the front radiation, while reducing unwanted radiation behind the subwoofer.
The SXC115 follows similar principles and contains a 15” (380mm) front facing driver and 12” (300mm) rear facing driver, each driven, again, independently by separate amplifier channels and DSP. Each driver, similarly, has its own chamber with optimised bass reflex porting. It is the perfect accompaniment to WPM or alternatively can be used with a pole mount for Martin Audio point source loudspeakers.
Martin Audio MD Dom Harter says: “We are delighted to actually start shipping these innovative cardioid subwoofers to customers. Demand has been strong and our init

China - Since re-opening its doors partway through 2020, the new I’m Han Night Station in Wuhan has been making international headlines thanks to more than just its lavish appointments and production technologies package. When the upscale nightspot welcomed much-hyped DJ crew Pink Panda to its stage in July, it marked the first time an international artist had performed in the city since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic - and it was a PK Sound Trinity system from Chinese distributor Polar Audio driving the high-energy party.
“Our vision with I’m Han Night Station was to spare no expense and deliver the finest nightlife experience you’ll find anywhere in the world,” comments Mr. Kane Lin of Singapore’s Dyson Kane Group, which oversees the club. “The audiovisual elements are obviously a significant part of that, and PK Sound has a global reputation for technological innovation and powerful, high-impact audio reproduction. The choice was clear.”
First opened in late 2019, I’m Han represents an $18.5m investment and boasts a 107,000sq.ft of space, including the Main Party Hall, four smaller themed halls, and over 30 Party K karaoke suites.
The expansive audio system in the Main Hall is anchored by PK Sound’s T10 Install line source element. The main left-right arrays flanking the stage comprise seven T10 Installs per side, with two smaller arrays of three T10 Installs each serving as delays midway through the hall.
“We’ve been very successful putting Trinity systems into some of the top nightspots throughout China thanks

UK - FIX8Group is responding to the surge in demand for virtual events by partnering with the spatial visualisation and collaboration tool Cavrnus to enhance its event design and delivery solutions.
The move reflects the unprecedented challenges faced presently by the event industry, as more global events transfer to the digital domain and require true collaborative, online planning. Cavrnus enables event designers to build and share immersive and interactive 3D virtual environments, such as conference rooms, exhibitions and stores.
FIX8Group says that adding Cavrnus to its stable will facilitate enhanced options for anyone needing innovative technical delivery of online or hybrid events as the industry re-emerges.
“We're always looking at how we can use best-of-breed technology to help us produce world-class events,” comments Neil Trenell, creative director and founder of FIX8Group. “Cavrnus allows us to take our existing skillset into collaborative software environments to offer a solution that will work for both our event teams and our clients.
“By adopting this technology and absorbing it into our event design workflow we can open up new avenues for collaboration and event design in the virtual world. We believe this will offer exciting opportunities for our clients who wish to collaborate on a global scale. The world is changing, but new solutions are at our fingertips.”
FIX8 says that although video conferencing and screen sharing can be useful in creative collaboration, Cavrnus takes the process to “a whole new level

USA - Renkus-Heinz has appointed Dudley McLaughlin to the position of national sales manager and Garrison Parkin to the position of western regional sales manager effective 1 February. The positions both cover the North American region.
McLaughlin has been with Renkus-Heinz since he was hired as western regional sales manager in 2018. Parkin joined the company in 2019 as southwestern territory sales manager.
“Dudley and Garrison are both important members of the Renkus-Heinz family,” said Harro Heinz, chairman and co-founder of Renkus-Heinz. “And while their success is well documented prior to 2020, it took commitment by everyone on our team to ensure we continued shipping product and supporting our partners over the past year. Dudley and Garrison are prime examples of that commitment. Their promotions will help us better serve our partners going into 2021 and beyond.”
“There are reasons to be optimistic as we enter 2021,” McLaughlin said. “With this new team structure, we will be able to better support everyone who relies on our solutions. These moves mean dealers, integrators, consultants and end-users across North America will each have an additional point of contact with Renkus-Heinz. And we believe offering that increased level of support and collaboration will be key moving forward.”
The moves come one month after the announcement of a new director operating across Asia, Oceania and SAARC, and in the midst of multiple new product announcements from Renkus-Heinz.
“We have worked diligently over the past year to ens

USA - Utah-based tenor trio Gentri recently performed in a socially distant livestreamed concert at Salt Lake City’s Maverik Centre, where Nicolas ‘Murph’ Murphy supported their evocative cinematic-like performance with an artful blend of bold light and shadows.
Relying on sharply focused beams and a variety of light angles, Murphy sculpted the three tenors on stages, amplifying their charismatic qualities. He also endowed the stage with greater depth by balancing bold swaths of light with shadows, and mixing reds and greens with vivid ambers, blues and other hues.
Murphy, the owner of Murphy’s Production Services, pre-programmed this 11-universe, 82-fixture show, which he ran on his MagicQ MQ500 Stadium console, in a few hours with help from his ChamSys MagicVis software.
“The group’s production manager is an old high school friend of mine,” he says. “I was able to get a recording of every song they planned to perform. I tend to listen to the track a few times and then program out what I visualized in my head. Kind of my normal process when I am afforded the time. Due to our limited time available in the venue, I pre-programmed everything in MagicVis at my house in less than a day, something I was able to do, because it’s so easy to work with this software.”
Arranging his fixtures, which were supplied by Clear Lamp AV, on stage left and stage right vertical truss structures as well as on three rows of overhead truss, Murphy created distinctly different looks throughout the concert to reflect its evolving moods. “My des

Taiwan - J.studio, a commercial recording studio in the centre of Taipei, has made a Neve 8424 console the centrepiece of its main control room because it gives the facility the routing flexibility, modularity and freedom it needs to combine a modern, digital workflow with its extensive collection of analogue outboard equipment.
and is now offering recording, mixing and mastering facilities to all types of musical genres including classical, jazz, EDM, and pop.
“We especially love working with Taiwanese indie bands as many of the bands we have worked with have had their full creative potentAudio engineer Zhu Chiao Chen opened J.studio in 2019 ial realized in our studio space,” Zhu Chiao Chen explains. “Our approach is to bridge old school gear and apply modern techniques to achieve sonically unique results. The studio is equipped with Urei 813C main monitors and we love collecting all types of vintage audio gear. The 8424 console is what connects everything together.”
J.studio’s new 8424 replaces an older console that had reached the end of its working life.
“We were starting to encounter a lot of problems because buttons and knobs were slowly wearing out and this was hindering our workflow,” Zhu Chiao Chen explains. “As an alternative, the 8424 was an affordable option in this market segment and it allows us to seamlessly use the gear we want to use alongside it. Plus we are big fans of the iconic Neve sound.”
Like many businesses, J.studio has had to come to terms with the impact of the global Covid-19 pandemic that

UK - If you’ve ever fancied owning an industry-relevant personalised number plate, now’s your chance! The plate, which reads A1 DMX is currently owned by a prominent lighting director, who would prefer to remain anonymous. It has been kindly donated to LSi to be auctioned in order to raise funds for the #WeMakeEvents campaign.
The LD says: “Some of us working in TV and film studios are fortunate enough to have kept some of our work since the COVID pandemic closed the majority of our industry last March. So many of our friends and colleagues, particularly in music, events and theatre, haven’t had any work at all during that time and have had little or no support from the government.”
“I would like to try to help out in a small way. I know many reading this in LSi will have homes and offices cluttered with old equipment and industry memorabilia. Some of this might be quite valuable, so I’d ask everyone to consider helping out by raising funds for #WeMakeEvents in a similar way, if they feel they can.”
He continues: “In my case, I have the UK vehicle registration ‘A1 DMX’ which, for a number of reasons, I cannot put on my current car. I purchased the plate from the DVLA in the early ‘90s, largely to put a smile on the faces of friends and colleagues around me. As a young, ambitious board op in the ‘90s, its first car was a Peugeot 205 GTi!”
“As the years have gone by, it has transferred several times onto bigger and better cars. It has definitely achieved my ambition to raise a smile, and has no doubt caused

USA/Denmark - DPA Microphones co-founder Jens-Jørn Stokholm and R&D manager Ole Moesmann will soon be bestowed with an Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Technical Achievement Award for the innovative development of the brand’s high-performance, miniature lavalier microphone technology.
The pair’s accomplishment is among 17 scientific and technical achievements to be honoured by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in a virtual Scientific and Technical Awards presentation on Saturday, 13 February. The ceremony will be available on the Oscars website starting at 1pm PT.
The Academy’s Scientific and Technical Awards honour those whose discoveries and innovations have contributed in significant and lasting ways to motion pictures. First developed by Stokholm in 1996, DPA’s 4060 Omnidirectional Miniature Microphone continues to be a popular solution for sound designers and film sound engineers around the world.
Since its development, DPA has expanded its miniature microphone into a complete product line, which also includes the 4061, 4062, 4063 and 4071 miniature mics, as well as the 6060 and 6061 subminiature mics.
An expert in the miniaturization of electronic and electro-mechanical devices, Stokholm initially began developing miniature microphone technology for the hearing aid industry. Later, he and his business partner Dan Ingemann Jensen, joined forces with DPA Microphones Co-founders Ole Brøsted Sørensen and Morten Støve to develop a miniature microphone for the professional audio industry based on hi

Ireland - When the Irish National Opera first started production of Least Like the Other, they had plans to tour the show around Ireland in August 2020. While the pandemic threatened to halt the production and performances, innovation through d&b Soundscape means that the show will go on - in a different form.
Least Like the Other, Searching for Rosemary Kennedy is a thought-provoking work of experimental music theatre created by Brian Irvine and Netia Jones. The show traces events in the life of Rosemary, eldest daughter of Joe and Rose Kennedy, sister of JFK, using redacted archive materials only recently pieced together. The show’s original operatic production featured 15 live musicians including, a string quartet, keyboards, wind, brass and an improvisational ensemble.
In March of 2020, with growing concerns about COVID-19, the show’s production team realised that they would not to be able go ahead as originally planned and like many around the world, they were forced to think of alternative ways to bring this show to audiences.
“It was critical for us to continue with the production in some capacity,” commented Gavin O’Sullivan, head of production, Irish National Opera. “We had been working on the show for months and at a time when the entire industry is being threatened, we wanted to continue to employ our hard-working team and find a way to share this spectacular show.”
For the performance to go on, health guidelines meant that the number of performers on stage would have to be dramatically reduced if

France - Based in Ris-Orangis and owned by Communauté d’Agglomeration Grand Paris Sud, Le Plan opened in 1984, with a new venue built in 2014, and was recently awarded the prestigious contemporary music scenes label (SMAC) by the French Ministry of Culture.
A hub for Parisian music lovers and a reference venue for first-class sound quality, Le Plan’s audio system has recently been upgraded with L-Acoustics K and X Series delivered by Audiolive, replacing its previous 17-year-old system.
Le Plan hosts a varied national and international programme covering the entire spectrum of contemporary music genres from hip hop to pop, rock, and more. Le Plan’s audio team also has a mission of raising awareness of key developments within the contemporary music scene, and hosts specialist courses in live sound recording and mixing for students from EMC University. The venue’s two concert halls, seating 830 and 200, are open to professional and amateur musicians for masterclasses and conferences.
“Our previous system had served us well, but we wanted to continue being a reference venue for great sound, and it was time for an upgrade,” says Benjamin Feuillade, sound engineer at Le Plan. “Following internal discussions with our director, Fabien Lhérisson, and technical director, Jean-Noël Paquier, we made a list of our key requirements for the new main system, secondary areas, amplification, monitoring, wiring and rigging, which we put into a tender document.”
A key criterion was to have at least the same low frequency output as the previous

USA - Nautilus Entertainment Design, Inc. (NED) has announced that after 30 years in business, the company founders Laura and Jim Tetlow, are selling their stock to the company ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan.) With this sale, the company will become 100% employee-owned. Jim Tetlow will continue in a consultancy role as principal consultant and lighting designer for select shows and projects in an effort to provide NED’s clients with a multi-year seamless transition.
Jim Tetlow comments, “When we started the business 30 years ago, our focus was on lighting design for TV and live events. At that time, it never occurred to us that we would expand into so many more disciplines including architectural lighting design, A/V system design, and theatre consulting. One of our proudest achievements is the fact that we have built a team of professionals that excel in their work across live events, cruise ships, architectural installations and themed entertainment.”
Continuing in their leadership roles with NED are principal consultants Bill Havens and Brian Pratt, both of whom will assume the responsibilities of managing directors.
Joanna Rodriguez, vice president of business operations will serve as chief financial officer and came to NED three years ago from Bank of America.
Jim Tetlow states, “Laura and I are excited about this new chapter in the life of the company and we are confident that moving forward, Bill, Brian and Joanna’s roles will provide the continuity and leadership for Nautilus to continue to thrive and grow.”
S

UK - Neutrik has announced that with the recent version 5.6 firmware update for its CL/QL digital mixing console series, Yamaha has added preamp remote control options for Neutrik’s new NA2-IO-DPRO Dante audio network device.
“There’s no doubt that the future within the Pro AV market is based on interoperability between different devices within an application. We have found the perfect partner with Yamaha to enable this feature for better ease of use and enhanced customer experience,” says Florian Frick, product manager for Neutrik.
With the CL/QL firmware update Yamaha added this specific support for Neutrik’s small but powerful I/O solution, adding more flexibility in a network setup for Line, MIC and AES signals.
“Yamaha is delighted to have been able to integrate control of the NA2-IO-DPRO into the CL/QL series with the release of our V5.6 firmware,“ says Motome Tanaka, Yamaha manager, marketing and sales group. “This collaboration further extends the options for CL/QL systems. In combination with the R series, customers can make their systems even more flexible.”

UK - The popular children’s Christmas show at Salisbury’s Salberg Theatre went ahead thanks to the efforts of the Wiltshire Creative team.
Moving the holiday production from its usual 149-seat studio to the 517-seat Salisbury Playhouse Main Theatre, and cleverly rearranging the audience area, the creatives at Wiltshire were able to offer local youngsters the chance to enjoy this yuletide tradition in comfort and safety as they staged a production of Little Robin Redbreast.
“Because of the devastating effect of COVID-19, we were unable to put on our usual pantomime,” said Matt Bird, senior lighting technician at Wiltshire Creative. “However, we were determined to provide families with entertainment this year in a socially distant and safe fashion, so we moved to the larger space and limited seating to 148.”
The move to the Salisbury Playhouse Main Theatre involved performing the show on a larger stage than originally planned. Helping to make this transition without compromising the visual impact of the production were two Chauvet Professional Maverick MK3 Spot fixtures from Vesta Productions that were brought in to supplement the house rig.
“Originally the show had been presented in a much smaller studio space, and then had to be expanded to be more appropriate to the larger stage space,” said Peter Hunter, lighting designer of the production. The additional fixtures did a lot to help the creation of the different moods and locations.”
The Maverick MK3 Spots were placed on either side of the FOH area. From these p

UK - The city of Liverpool has a long-standing history for its vibrant nightlife and club scene. And so the opening of the refurbished Mansion nightclub was met with eager anticipation and much hype by locals and tourists alike in early Autumn 2020.
Owners Dean Jones, along with DJ’s David Whelan and Mike Di Scala (better known and DJ duo Camelphat) are familiar with making sure they match, or, more often exceed the expectations of their audiences, and so their discerning choice of sound system for the refurb was made with an enormous amount of input and plenty of consideration. “As DJs one of the favourite sound systems we perform with are Void systems and so we wouldn’t have chosen any other brand for our own club,” confirms Mike.
Mansion is a house and tech house nightclub, with a capacity (in usual times) of 1,000. It has been designed as a multi-purpose venue spanning two floors with two mezzanine balconies and VIP booths, a terrace and several dancefloors. These various spaces collectively offer capacity for product launches, conferences and private parties as well as regular club nights. The club had closed in January 2020 with a planned refurb expected to take place in time for re-launch in April 2020. Sadly the re-opening was delayed until August 2020 which was then met with even more excitement and anticipation.
“We are focussed on a VIP clientele and with so many options for our target audience in the city we had to make sure our offer was second to none,” expands Mike. “We are familiar with Void sound systems and after le

China - Hundreds of GLP’s JDC1 hybrid strobes were deployed by lighting designers Mat Stovall and Trevor Stirlin Burk at the new Pudong Football Stadium in Shanghai for the League of Legends World Championship 2020 Finals - the pinnacle of the eSports community and the concluding event of the season.
Organised by Riot Games and ConCom Inc, the event took place on a massive scale. ‘The Worlds’ was broadcast in 16 languages and across 21 platforms setting a new record; an indicator of eSports’ increasing appeal.
The live event saw 888 active JDC1 heads in use - corresponding to a lucky number in Chinese numerology. All pieces were sourced from Christie Lites, and were supplied via main contractors, CT Asia Pacific. Christie Lites’ account executive was Robert Roth, and senior project manager was Bobby Braccia; both worked closely with CT Shanghai’s Aaron Ross Durdin and the rest of the CT team to facilitate the visions of the designers.
Most notably, the versatile JDC1’s were used during the spectacular opening ceremony to highlight a giant free-standing, 33m high, 65-tonne Paifang (traditional Chinese architectural central arch), fabricated by Star Live. They also back-lit two giant 18m x 32m LED screens, on which the gameplay was displayed. Finally, they formed the centrepiece of a rectilinear, so-called giant ‘poppy field’, interspersed with beam lights in the 33,765-capacity arena (socially distanced for a maximum of 6,000 people).
Although the design went through several iterations the large creative canvas of the JDC1 hy

South Korea - Arthur, Robert Juliat’s new 800W LED followspot, made its global debut at Big Eoul Madang (Yongin Cultural Foundation) in Seoul, which became the world’s first venue to receive the new followspot.
Arthur is an 800W LED followspot with a 5.5° - 15° zoom that has been designed for long throw applications in larger venues. Complete with all the ergonomic, optical and maintenance benefits expected from Robert Juliat products, Arthur is already becoming a firm favourite with opera houses and theatres around the world.
The first two Arthur followspots were shipped to Big Eoul Madang in late summer 2020, having been supplied by Robert Juliat’s exclusive Korean distributor, C&C Lightway. The pair were specified by the venue’s lighting designer, Mrs So-Jin Kang, who chose them as the perfect match for Big Eoul Madang after seeing them at LDI 2019 in Las Vegas.
“We were already familiar with the quality of Robert Juliat products having 36 RJ 700 Series zoom profiles (18 each of RJ 710SX2 and RJ 713SX2 models) in our generic rig,” says Mrs Kang. “However, Robert Juliat’s reputation for excellent followspots is well-known and the new Arthur did not disappoint. It delivers a bright, uniform beam, is easy to control for both dimming and irising and, having an LED source, gives out less heat and saves on power. It ticked all our boxes.”
Yongin Cultural Foundation is a multipurpose cultural hub that hosts a wide variety of performances for the city, which has over one million inhabitants. ‘Eoul Madang’ translates as

Ecuador - Martin Audio has appointed Quito-based Mejor Sonido as its new distributor for Ecuador - the first time the British brand has had direct representation in this South American country.
The move was confirmed by Berenice Gutierrez, director of Pro Active Latin America and Latam Sales for Martin Audio, who handle all Martin Audio’s sales activity on the continent. “This is the first official distribution partner in the country and I’m proud to get them on board, and into the LATAM Distributor Partnership,” she said.
She said the groundswell of interest had been building in the country for some time. “Martin Audio had been approached by several system integrators, rental companies and major distributors due to the wider product catalogue and solutions that the brand has developed in recent years, covering markets such as installation, rental / touring, broadcast and MI.”
After deliberation, Mejor Sonido were appointed. “We are proud to get the support of Ernesto Vallejo, Lorena Parra, Dave Escobar and Eduardo Leon at Mejor Sonido, who already report a high level of customer support in their country, notably with BlacklineX Powered. During the pandemic this has received great feedback from their team and market.”
Ms Gutierrez said she had known the Mejor Sonido family for many years, adding that the company now had the experience to unite the entire Martin Audio community under the manufacturer’s new business model “with a multicellular powered line array on the one hand and any of our other new systems on the other

Finland - Sirkus Finlandia, Finland’s biggest touring circus, completed a successful tour of the country late last year with a lighting rig composed almost entirely of Ayrton fixtures. The Ayrton products were supplied and supported by Ayrton’s exclusive distributor for Finland, Oy Lafoy Ltd of Helsinki.
Established in 1976, Sirkus Finlandia is a family run business with an international reputation. Before the coronavirus pandemic hit, Sirkus Finlandia had planned a 250-date tour across 115 cities from April to November, with audience capacities of 1600.
The pandemic may have delayed its plans but it certainly didn’t stop them. Determined to keep the show on the road, the company still managed to bring its colourful, uplifting show to the Finnish people over the summer, performing 108 shows in 23 cities to reduced audiences from the beginning of June until the start of November – a major achievement in these difficult times.
Sirkus Finlandia’s lighting designer, Eero Auvinen, incorporated Ayrton Perseo IP65-rated fixtures into his design for the first time - a design which already used six Ayrton NandoBeam S3 wash lights and eight Ayrton MagicDot-R. These were rigged over the main ring on trusses suspended from the Big Top’s supporting structures and used pre-show to light the audience and create eye-catching visuals.
Throughout the show, the NandoBeam S3 fixtures were used as front lighting, while the MagicDots and Perseo units created an array of wonderful effects, textures and colours that provided a magical ambience for the hug

USA/China - The World Championship (Worlds) is the crowning event of Riot Games’ League of Legends. Last year, like many other productions, the world’s most watched esports event migrated to the virtual realm and was broadcast live for over 240 hours using the most advanced and pioneering XR (Extended Reality) and MR (Mixed Reality) technologies, relying heavily on Brompton’s Tessera 4K SX40 LED processors to ensure quality image reproduction on its LED video set.
League of Legends tournaments have traditionally featured a host country, with teams touring different cities for each round of the games. However, with the challenges posed for both travel and live audiences, Possible Productions, a creative developer agency that has been working with Riot Games since 2016, looked for a solution that would give a sense of evolution to the tournament while broadcasting the entire production live from Shanghai.
“The key challenge that Riot presented us with was extending the feeling of campaign throughout the entire month of the tournament without physically bringing people to different locations,” says Michael Figge, creative director at Possible Productions. “It quickly became apparent that in order to bring different places to us, we needed to build a highly advanced extended reality stage that would sustain hundreds of hours of live broadcast of mixed reality content.”
With a tight schedule, Possible Productions put a crack team in place, including those that had worked on the Disney+ The Mandalorian TV series, and Riot’s engine