USA - This year marks dual milestones in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, for the 175th anniversary of the church's founding and the 200th birthday of its founder, Joseph Smith. Two of the most ambitious celebratory events were hosted in Utah, home to the church's headquarters, at the 11,000-seat Dee Events Center basketball arena at Weber State University in Ogden.
With a cast of over 2,200 performing in the round on the arena floor, the challenge for sound system provider Webb Audio Visual was to mount a system that could provide full, high-fidelity coverage to every seat without spilling onto the stage area and causing feedback issues. Webb AV's Scott Webb opted for a self-powered Meyer Sound system and cross-rented a MILO high-power curvilinear array system from Audio West of Yorba Linda, California.
From a technical standpoint, the show was distinctly different from and more difficult than most. "Literally the entire floor of the arena was the stage," Webb says, "and we couldn't have any feedback. With the MILO system and the way the (coverage) dropoff works, we were able to cover every single seat from the top (of the arena) down to the front row, with nothing pointing at the floor."
The main system consisted of 24 MILO family loudspeakers. Four arrays, each consisting of five MILO high-power curvilinear array loudspeakers and one MILO 120 expanded coverage high-power curvilinear array loudspeaker, were hung from a 30-by-30-foot truss rigged around the scoreboard. Low end was provided by four groundstacked 700-HP ultrah
UK - JTE's new PixelEights are rocking the streets of London as part of an exciting new window display at the Levi's Flagship Store in Regent Street. The rock & roll set is being used to promote the Levi's Ones to Watch 2005 Tour campaign that supports a number of new bands on a tour across the UK in December.
In conjunction with Levi's, communications agency Logistik created and installed a window concept, recreating the atmosphere and excitement of the Barfly venue in Camden using brick walls, backline, sound system and lighting rig.
Logistik's project director, Attila Keskin explains, "I wanted to add some pizzazz to the generic par rig - something that would really wow the people in the street! The PixelEights were recommended by PRG and as I had used PixelLine 1044s in the windows last year I was confident the fixtures would provide another dimension to the display. I am very happy with the result, loads of light is projected into the street and the effects really attract people to look in the window." All the lighting was supplied by PRG Europe London.
(Jim Evans)
USA - Founded in 1998, Jubilee Fellowship Church (JFC) has opened of a brand new sanctuary in Lone Tree, a suburb of Denver, Colorado. Set on a five-acre plot, the complex features a 6,730-square-foot main sanctuary that seats up to 700. Integral to the set-up is a self-powered Meyer Sound line array system designed and installed by Audio Analysts of Colorado Springs.
Audio Analyst's Robert Langlois says his main requirement for the system was that it be "flexible enough for the spoken word, yet have the impact required to handle the demands of a strong praise and worship team." He adds that the client also needed "a system that he could turn on and forget it is even there. The nature of Meyer's self-powered systems is such that an engineer, sound mixer, or volunteer doesn't have to have a working knowledge of power amplifiers and crossovers to run it. You just turn it on and it works. In this case, it rocks."
While the congregation is no doubt more focused on worship than on technical issues such as phase coherence, the benefits of the Meyer Sound system are readily apparent to members of the church. "There has been a tremendous outpouring of appreciation for the clarity and the balance," says JFC's Jeff Johnson. "Especially noticeable is the separation of the voices, and the presence of instruments that had been absent in our previous room. The M1Ds allow a precise presentation of harmonies and vocal ranges, while the USW-1Ps highlight the bass and drums in a way that was totally absent before. In many cases, the congregation
UK - Blackburn-based HSL supplied full lighting production and all lighting and video rigging for the recent Happy Mondays tour. This culminated in a massive sold-out late night show in Manchester Evening News Arena, taking the Madchester dance gurus back to their clubbing roots.
Lighting designer was Andy Liddle, who last designed for the Mondays back in the mid-eighties when they were supporting New Order. He was asked onboard to do these shows by tour manager Neil Mather. The tour was project managed for HSL by Mike Oates.
Liddle designed an adaptable rig based on four upstage/downstage 'fingers' of truss which were assembled in 10ft modules. This was for easy break down and installation into the smaller venues, whist still retaining the look and aesthetics of the stage. The fingers were raked with the upstage ends lower and the downstage ends higher points. At Manchester they appeared almost vertical in perspective when viewed from the auditorium.
For Manchester, each of the fingers - constructed from Tomcat 12 x 12 Truss - was rigged to its full 40 ft length, containing four Robe ColorSpot 1200 and four ColorWash 1200 moving lights, eight JTE PixelLine battens, four Martin Atomic strobes and four linear Moles. The creative idea behind the fingers was to form a 4 x 4 matrix of lighting sources, which fitted in neatly with the 6 video/LED screen arrangement.
On the floor were 10 MAC 300s and a selection of PARs. Liddle ran the show himself using a WholeHog II console and an expander Wing, with the PixelLines driven via a PixelDrive triggered by the desk. A
UK - Alton Towers has once again celebrated the end of season with three evenings of spectacular fireworks, lasers and special effects, and for the second year running Stage One built the huge supporting structure for the event's giant video screens.
The structure consisted of two 10 metre high scaffolding towers, positioned 18 metres apart and connected by a run of truss and track. Running along the track were six screen columns, each 1.2 metres wide by 6 metres high. The screen columns were directed by Stage One's Q-Motion control system, enabling them to move to the left and right in a pre-programmed set of sequences and groupings.
Marcus Exelby, Stage One's project manager for the job, said, "We can provide expertise and professionalism in abundance and linking that in with our unique Q-Motion control system really is a winning combination."Chris Foster, production manager, Alton Towers, added, "The success of our end of season extravaganza is a tribute to everyone who works so hard to bring it to fruition. Stage One is amongst an elite band of contractors who we can rely on to always deliver an excellent service."
The show took place on the evenings of 28th, 29th & 30th October and was split into six sections, each featuring music, fireworks, lasers, lights and other special effects.
(Jim Evans)
The Netherlands - This November, Russian President Vladimir Putin became the first Russian leader to visit Holland in more than 300 years, and Mojo Barriers were contracted to provide the security barriers.
The two day official visit involved the Russian President visiting Amsterdam's Dam Square to lay flowers on a national monument and Zaandam's City Square, before moving on to the Royal Palace in The Hague. The following day, he remained in The Hague for meetings with the Dutch Prime Minister.
Mojo Barriers worked with (Amsterdam and Zaandam) City officials and police officers to create safe areas within the cities so that President Putin's safety during the visit was ensured.
Across the two cities, more than 1300 metres of barriers were used to seal off areas of the Cities to the public and there were twenty road closures achieved using vehicle gates. Mojo Barriers was responsible for setting a barrier system that closed off specific areas around the Dam Square, the Russian Consulate, the Czar Peter House and Zaandam's City Square.
Patrick Jordan, MD of Mojo Barriers commented, "We are working on an increasing number of public and community type events. This high profile visit by President Putin highlighted the security advantages of using our barriers to create sterile, secure areas. Our barriers offer a robust temporary solution to police forces, in liaison with them we had to carefully plan the closed off areas of the two cities and set up the day before to ensure it was completely safe for the PresidentÃs visit, with minimum disruption to the cit
USA - A.C. Lighting is set to stage several major new product launches at LDI, alongside displays of its extensive inventory of entertainment technology brands. Chroma-Q will launch its Color Web - a modular, transparent LED matrix. The low cost 3' 3" square (1sq.m) panels provide 16 individually addressable colour mixing LED cells with a pitch of 10" (250mm), clip together easily on all four sides and can also be joined over distances for complete control of the display area shape and size.
Chroma-Q will also unveil its new Plus colour changer - the successor to the Original which combines its core features with new electronic features, increased capacity and other enhancements to provide greater flexibility and usability from the same low cost unit. The manufacturer's Color Block multipurpose LED fixture will also be on display with its full range of mounting options and new optics accessories - including LED pipe, pixel cap and beam shaping lens kits.
Jands will show additions to its Vista console range designed to provide users with greater flexibility. There's also the new Vista E2 wing, which is designed to sit alongside a T2 or T4 console and provides users who prefer more hands-on control during shows with up to 40 additional playbacks.
(Jim Evans)
The Netherlands - The latest theatre production from Joop van den Ende Productions, Beauty & the Beast is reinforced through an Alcons ribbon sound system. Ticket sales of this touring musical have now exceeded those of the previous record holder, The Sound of Music.
The show requires 14 trailers to transport and will take in the thirteen largest Dutch theatres until June 2006. Sound design is by Jeroen ten Brinke, who has worked on many top musicals including 42nd Street, Rent, Saturday Night Fever, Cabaret and Miss Saigon.
For Beauty & the Beast, a co-production between Joop van den Ende Theatre Productions and Disney Theatrical Productions, ten Brinke used an Alcons ribbon sound system for the first time. The system consists of 28 Alcons LR14 ultra-compact ribbon line-array, four LR14B compact line-array bass, four BF302 bass system and 11 ALC4 controller-amplifiers, complete with SDP processing modules.
"Since the première in the Royal Theatre Carré in Amsterdam in September, we've received a lot of positive reactions to the sound," says ten Brinke. Preparations are now under way for the production to tour Germany.
(Jim Evans)
Czech Republic - The LEDBlinder 196 LT (launched at Frankfurt this year) and the 4-lite version LEDBlinder148 which debuted at PLASA 2005, will be Robe's main new product focus at LDI. The 196 and 148 units are the brand's first entertainment based LED products. Both of these high-impact units are fitted into the industry-standard 8-lite and 4-lite casings.
LEDBlinder 196 is an LED version of the poplar 8-lite Molefey, a staple of the rock 'n' roll world, featuring 8 LED modules, each with 12 high power Luxeon RGB LEDs. Each two or four pairs of the 4 or 8-lite modules are separately controllable for additional effects and flexibility. This product is aimed at all stage lighting markets and television productions as well as arenas and venue installations of all sizes. Robe says that they are also particularly relevant for environments were space is tight, as the units emit virtually no heat, so the temperatures remain comfortable.
The LEDBlinder 148 is a 4-way version of the 196 with all the same features, including a frost diffuser, which evenly spreads the light over a large surface area.
Offering 16.7 million colours, the units are pre-programmed with a stand-alone colour changing chase pattern and a rainbow effect. The white balance is pre-programmed via an onboard 4-digit LED control panel. This is an essential feature for TV applications. There's an electronic dimmer for light output adjustment from 0 to 100% (with no colour variation), and high speed white or full colour strobe between 1 and 25 f.p.s. Robe's LEDBlinders are DMX controllable, and there's
USA - Martin Professional will use LDI in Orlando to give a world premiere to three new products - a prototype version of the MAC TW1, an advanced tungsten wash fixture; Maxxyz PC, a computer based version of the popular Maxxyz console; and BigLite Xenon fixtures, high powered single arm moving heads.
Other new lighting, sound and fog effects on display will be the MAC 700 Profile; Stage Cyclo; MAC 250 Wash; updated versions of Maxxyz and the Maxedia Digital Media Composer; new Mania series lights; a new fan and multi-headed fog system from Jem smoke, plus a new subwoofer from Mach speakers.
The new MAC TW1 is a 1200W tungsten wash fixture that "brings to the stage features and patent pending technology to equip the lighting designer with the broadest possibility of effects, colours and design". A twin lens zoom system, full CMY colour mixing and choice of internal or external electronic dimming are contained in a sturdy magnesium structure that allows the fast and silent convection of heat away from the back of the fixture so the stage or set remains cool and quiet.
Maxxyz PC is the new computer based version of the popular Maxxyz console - an off-line and online editing tool that gives full Maxxyz functionality from a PC or laptop. It can be used for off-line programming and can be linked to any DMX interface device for direct control of fixtures.
Martin Professional Inc has been appointed the exclusive distributor in North America for BigLite 4.5, 6.0, and 7.0 Xenon fixtures. Manufactured by Zap Technology of France, BigLite products feature high
UK - The new Infinite bezel-less plasma wall proved a popular choice at the hairdressing and design exhibition Salon International, held at Excel this October, incorporated into both the Wella and Toni & Guy exhibition stands.
Salon International brought together hairdressers and hair brands for the three day event, with live shows and hair design taking place across the day with celebrity hairdressers and leading professionals in the industry demonstrating their work.
Wella designed and built its own 'village' at the show, and used the Infinite bezel-less plasma as the focal point for the Wella show stage. AV production company Mindset built a plasma wall using 16 Infinite plasmas which allowed images from the show to be displayed to the seated audience in the arena.
A second stand featured the world's first hanging Infinite screen, hung from trussing above an exhibition stand to show live action from the stage where top designers were showing their hairdressing skills throughout the show.
The third stand that featured the 'Infinite' plasmas was Toni & Guy, where a nine piece bezel-less plasma wall was mounted into the stand, again showing live action from the hairdressers to the assembled audience.
The 'Infinite' plasma system is distributed in the UK by PSCo, whose director, Stuart Holmes explained: "Salon International has been the first show to feature such a huge number of the Infinite plasma panels. Their high quality image is ideal for this exhibition because it shows every intricacy in the hair design and the audiences can see a high quality i
UK - Clockaudio's newly-announced RF product series has been developed in direct response to interference (noise) issues which have recently been introduced into microphones, IP Phones, hearing aids etc, by popular GSM-based devices such as PDAs, mobile cell phones, and mobile cell phones with two-way walkie talkie capability.
Clockaudio managing director Jim Hallington comments: "We have developed our RF Series technology through what is best described as popular demand. The ever-increasing ownership of handheld and pocket-sized portable technology - most notably Blackberries - particularly amongst the banking and business communities - has been causing major unwanted interference problems during important conferences and business meetings. Our new technology eliminates these problems."
The noise emitted from GSM based devices can wreak havoc on everything from a simple phone call to a complex videoconference, and everything in between. These GSM devices emit a periodic hand shaking "sync signal" to the nearest antenna tower - even when they are at rest - which creates noise, as well as data streaming noise when receiving or making calls, text messaging, sending or receiving e-mails or web surfing.
Depending on the distance of the PDA or mobile cell device to the antenna tower, these gadgets will vary their strength in order to ensure proper hand shaking which can result in loud distracting noises which takes the focus away from the real business at hand.
Clockaudio says that its new "RF Friendly" series of microphones complete
UK - Bristol nightspot Panache boasts a Harman Pro integrated audio system, that provides discrete dance floor, live performance, and ambient sound reinforcement. The 850 capacity night club comprises a restaurant, three bar areas, dance floor and live stage area, effectively in one open plan space.
Panache is locally-based installer CMP's largest audio project to date. CMP's Trevor Brooks collaborated with Harman Pro UK in designing a system that achieved its objectives through a process of zoning control, and careful placement and focusing of speaker coverage.
Separate speaker systems were configured for stage and dance floor, but with a control and amplification system common to both, while varying levels of background music were provided for distinct bar and seating areas.
For the dance floor there are four JBL AM4215/95 enclosures, plus two ASB6128 subs built into the base of the DJ platform. The separate live performance system consists of an additional four JBL AM4215/95s and four SRX718 subs.
As both speaker systems are never in use at the same time, signal processing and power to each is provided from the same control and amp rack. This comprises two dbx ZonePRO 1260s, cascaded to provide 12 inputs and 12 outputs, two Crown Xs700s amplifiers for the hi-mid enclosures, and a Crown Macro-Tech MA5002 VZ for the subs.
For the rest of the venue, including the stage left and stage right areas, the Guitar Cocktail Bar, and other bar areas, audio is distributed via JBL Control Series speakers; Control 25s, 28s and 30s. Power throughout is delivered by Crow
Italy - During SIB 2006, which takes place March 11-14 2006 in Rimini, leading entertainment venue designers will take part in a round-table debate with trade suppliers and manufacturers. The aim is to "analyse the transformation under way in entertainment and the evolution of the sector according to the experience of professionals who have designed Italy's leisure venues over the last 20 years". The gathering is running under the banner Where Will We Go Tomorrow Evening?.
Those expected to take part include owners and managers of Italy's major clubs, art directors, DJs, light jockeys, entertainers, PR staff and the key players in venues created by the designers, who "will participate actively in the discussion, asking questions and explaining their respective points of view".
A spokesman for SIB 2006 says, "An extremely interesting debate is predicted. It is likely to cover in depth the current hot issues associated with the evening entertainment sector and its effects on the market, seen from the different points of view of designers, venue owners, users and those who study this phenomenon at university level."
(Jim Evans)
Afterdark is the first CD compilation album in a new series presented by Stealth, the label of US house music maestro Roger Sanchez. Compiled and mixed by Sanchez and the electro-tribal-phile Tom Stephan aka Superchumbo - Afterdark Volume 1 "exposes some exclusive cutting edge frequencies".
In producing the set, the DJs used two new digital DJ devices from Pioneer - the award-winning DJM-1000 mixer and EFX-1000 effects unit.
Pioneer's '1000 series' (the DJM-1000 mixer and the EFX-1000 effects unit) is reportedly a sought after digital set-up for DJs performing in studios as well as in clubs, with a wide range of artists creatively exploiting this combination on CD mix compilations this year. Included among these are two albums presented by Renaissance: James Zabiela's Utilities and Yousef's Frontiers mix. While Wally Lopez, resident DJ at Pacha, Ibiza, also got down and digital on his mixed artist album, Perceptions of Pacha Volume II.
Reflecting on his use of the EFX-1000, Stephan says: "Pioneer has taken the EFX-500 and made it even better. It's easy to use and it sounds fantastic. Perfect for mangling your music and adding that extra live element."
(Jim Evans)
Ireland - SLS Ribbon Speakers (PRO8CON) were recently installed as part of the audio system in a new restaurant/club in Ireland. Bru Venue situated in the historic town of Drogheda on the east coast was installed by Grandstand Audio and supplied through SLS Irish distributor Aquarius Sound and Lighting.
Barry O'Loughlin, MD of Grandstand, commented, "As a longtime advocate of Ribbon, I was delighted to bring the technology to the appreciative ears of the owners of Bru."
Jim Donohue, who was consultant on the project, said SLS ribbon provided the clarity, coverage and sonic quality required in Bru. Making the install a truly international effort, Aquarius Sound and Lighting supplied processing by XTA (England) with sub-reinforcement by Musicson (Spain) and amplification by RAM Audio (Spain).
(Jim Evans)
USA - FocusTrack, the new database system for tracking and documenting the use of moving lights for theatrical productions, recently made its Broadway debut with the New York production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Woman in White. The show is previewing at the Marquis Theatre; its opening night is scheduled for 17 November.
FocusTrack was specified for the production by the show's lighting programmer, Vic Smerdon, who had successfully used FocusTrack to document the intricate moving light focuses on the show's London production. For New York, lighting designer Paul Pyant and his associate, David Howe, had adapted and expanded the rig, substituting new types of lights for some of the units used in London; the London FocusTrack allowed the team to match the focuses of the new units as well as providing all of the information needed to refocus the rig in New York.
FocusTrack's RigTrack rig database was then updated with the new rig, and FocusTrack used by Smerdon and the show's US lighting associate, Jared Sayeg, to keep track of the show as it changed and evolved during the rehearsal period.
Once the show was nearing completion, every focus used in the show was photographed and updated into FocusTrack to give a complete record of how the moving lights are used, to be used to maintain the show over the duration of is run.
FocusTrack can now also be found touring the US, with the national tour of Oklahoma!, lit by Ted Mather from the original lighting by David Hersey. Now playing split weeks and sometimes even one-night stands, FocusTrack allows the
Australia - ARX Systems has announced the addition of the DI Pre microphone pre-amplifier to its AudiBox range of precision tools, designed "to perform essential professional audio functions in an ultra-compact, flexible package".
The DI Pre features balanced XLR mic input, balanced jack output, user-variable+10 to +60dB Gain control, 20 dB Pad with status LED, Clip LED and Phantom Power switch with status LED. Typical applications include interfacing microphone and line level signal sources to professional audio systems for studio, performance, broadcast and Installation.
The DI Pre is powered by an external 12 VDC supply and is housed in a heavy duty all-steel chassis finished in matt textured powdercoat, with epoxy screen printing and slip resistant rubber pads. Security features include Kensington-type computer lock slot and optional bracket kit for under-table mounting.
For stereo and dual channel applications the DI Pre is also available in ARX's double header two-channel format as the DI Pre Duo.
(Jim Evans)
UK - black light has played a pivotal role in bringing over 10,500 visitors into the Perthshire Big Tree Country, by designing and building a spectacular lighting and video installation for the annual Enchanted Forest project.
For seventeen consecutive nights in late October and early November, visitors enjoyed the spectacle, with black light's work recognised by an interview on prime time BBC news programme Reporting Scotland.
Several different areas of woodland were looked at as potential venues by landowner the Forestry Commission. Faskally Wood, near Pitlochry, was chosen after consultation with black light project manager Paul McGreal about the creative possibilities it offered. "The site surrounds a small loch, so there was a lot of potential for using the water as a canvas," says McGreal. "It meant visitors would see the various installations from many different vantage points, providing a constantly changing view."
The Forestry Commission Scotland runs the event under the banner of the Perthshire Big Tree Country Initiative, whose partners include Perth and Kinross Council, Scottish Enterprise Tayside and Perth and Kinross Countryside Trust, with additional funding from Event Scotland.
The site covers more than a mile of paths. "It would have been very easy to string festoon lighting along the paths, but that would have been extremely dull for visitors," says McGreal. "Our way is to throw light at features and use the bounceback to light the path, ensuring that everything provides optimum interes
USA - Martin Professional will be showing a prototype version of a new tungsten MAC luminaire, the MAC TW1, at the upcoming ETS-LDI show in Orlando. The MAC TW1 is a 1200W tungsten wash fixture that promises "an array of avant-garde features to equip the lighting designer with the broadest possibility of effects, colours and design".
Martin says: "Innovation runs through the product with newly patent pending technology removing any obstacle to creativity. The lower colour temperature of the MAC TW1 brings the warmth of traditional theatre and TV looks up to date. An innovative twin lens zoom system allows for greater flexibility in fixture placement without the need to change the front lens, and a full and comprehensive CMY colour mixing system provides a full range of colours, from delicate pastels to deep saturation."
The MAC TW1 features a choice of internal or external electronic dimming. Users can choose the internal electronic system or connect to an external dimmer for consistency in dimming curves among all fixtures.
A full auto-sensing switch mode power supply equipped for internal 80V lamp control gives a higher lamp output and provides the fixture with global consistency with everything contained within the fixture - eliminating the need for external power boxes and cables. Additionally, Intelligent Logic Control protects the lamp from operating before the fixture's electronic safety devices are running.
(Jim Evans)
UK - Pioneer Corporation has introduced the S-FL1 NXT-based portable loudspeaker. Utilizing NXT's highly dispersive SurfaceSound technology, the S-FL1 is aimed at mobile DJs, small music venues and open-air events, providing a rich, immersive audio performance from compact, lightweight units, according to Pioneer.
NXT SurfaceSound is especially suited to public address applications because of the wide directivity characteristic of the technology. The S-FL1 is open-backed, allowing high quality audio from both sides of the loudspeaker. Easy to set up and operate, the die-cast aluminium construction of the S-FL1's enclosure is extremely durable and able to withstand the rigours of constant transfers between venues, and set-up and break downs for events, say the company.
Weighing less than 10kg and just 5.5cm in depth, the S-FL1 is easily portable, enabling the budding musician or DJ to create a highly professional sound in seconds, say Pioneer. The system is also suitable for conferences and corporate events where a multimedia presentation is required.
(Lee Baldock)
UK - Shepherds Bush Empire recently hosted singer James Blunt on the first leg of his UK tour. Lite Alternative provided the lighting, with MAC 2000 Profiles and MAC 250 Washes. The MAC 2000s were chosen for their reliability, brightness and colours, say Lite Alternative - and as far as the lighting team were concerned, the fixtures lived up to their workhorse reputation: ". . . just worked and worked on a demanding tour where we played a huge variety of venue sizes . . ." says lighting operator Glen Johnson.
Paul Normandale, lighting designer at Lite Alternative, noted: "The MAC 250 Washes are small and punchy. We found them reliable and surprisingly bright, which was everyone's reaction that evening."
Johnson talked animatedly about the lights: "They are great units, which we are keeping on the design even for the Arena leg early next year. Nice beam spread with a smooth dimmer curve. We didn't swap a single unit or have any issues - 'bomb proof' springs to mind on the 250 Washes!"
Jessica Oakley of Martin Professional is pleased with the performance of these new fixtures. She says: "The 250 Wash has been really well received from rental companies and venues alike. The main comments are on how much brighter these units are compared to the MAC 300s and how quiet they are."
The James Blunt tour continues in the New Year into larger arenas round the UK.
(Lee Baldock)
UK - The South Bank Centre's head of production, Andy Scorgie contracted Richard Nowell Sound Services to install a new paging system in the Queen Elizabeth Hall.
"We badly needed to move with the times by finding a system sympathetic to the different requirements of the various art forms hosted at the Hall. Each event needs to have specific information relayed," explains Scorgie.
Needing to route messages over an increasing number of zones (which also incorporates the neighbouring Purcell Room), Scorgie wanted the new paging front end to be able to plug into the venue's existing infrastructure. He was also aware that the system needed to comply with Health & Safety audits, Lambeth Council inspections and LFB licensing requirements.
RNSS' operations manager, Andrew Cotton recommended the Australian Monitor DigiPage system (distributed in the UK by Fuzion plc), the system was also recommended by suppliers, Amber Sound, who pointed out that aside from DigiPage's clarity and flexibility, it does not depend on its own internal infrastructure, and can thus be used with other outboard equipment.
Andrew Cotton, whose company is HQ'd in the basement of the Queen Elizabeth Hall, adapted the system to allow twenty zones to function off the expanded 16 x 16 switchable matrix router, connected to the existing amplifiers and loudspeakers.
The QE Hall and Purcell Room share a common foyer, presenting problems when two shows are going up simultaneously. "One simple improvement that DigiPage has made is getting customers into the theatre on time," obser
UK - Slingco has installed two CABLEnet tensioned wire grids into the new 1200 seater Perth Concert Hall in Scotland - the first new build full scale concert hall to be constructed in Scotland since 1990. The £17 million project is the result of an international architectural competition chaired by Eva Jiricna and won by BDP's Glasgow office in 1998.
The main Gannochy Auditorium is a completely flexible concert Hall space, and it's here that the two tensioned wire grids are installed. The grids were, originally specified by theatre consultants Carr & Angier as the safest way for technicians and maintenance staff to work flexibly at height in the roof space above the stage and auditorium. Slingco's Nick Dykins was contacted by BDP two years ago as the build entered its final phases, and asked to submit a tender for the grid installation.
The installation was project managed for Slingco by Nick Dykins, the Rochdale-based company's entertainment industry specialist. One single CABLEnet covers the space directly above the stage, measuring 20 metres wide by 7 metres deep. The second one covers the orchestra pit and the auditorium area immediately in front of that, it consists of six separate but conjoined CABLEnets, measuring a total of 16 metres wide by 5 metres deep.
The CABLEnet system is created by weaving and tensioning high tensile steel cable within a frame, which is then hoisted to the required level in the theatre or concert hall to create a safe 'virtual floor'. Lighting, audio, AV technicians and riggers can then work on this with complete confidenc