USA - The Warner Theatre, close to the White House in the American capital city, has since 2013 offered its visiting engineers, performers and artists the sonic advantages of an Outline Butterfly system tuned and maintained by house sound engineer Ishai Ratz.
Originally opened in 1924 and having hosted everyone and everything from Frank Sinatra to ZZ Top and from Vaudeville to cinema, since a full restoration in the early ‘90s it is an established showcase venue for the DC area.
Jason Farah of Outline’s US office describes the genesis of the new installation: “Following on the success of Butterfly and wanting to maintain the high performance-to-small footprint ratio, it made perfect sense to upgrade to Butterfly’s successor, Superfly. Superfly provides extended l

Germany - At Prolight + Sound 2024, Highlite International, celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, took the opportunity to present a number of new products from their brands Infinity, Showtec, DAP, DMT, Showgear and Wentex.
From Infinity, no fewer than four new IP65-rated Raccoon models were introduced: three Pars (P7/7, Junior P4/7 and Junior P7/4) and a strobe/wash combo (S420/4). The P7/7 is a high-quality RGBCALDB Par that features seven custom-made 7-colour LEDs with maximum brightness and maximum colour quality modes offering versatility. The Junior P4/7 is a more compa

USA - If you’re looking for a place to hear live country music day or night while enjoying a meal on the Vegas Strip, Ole Red is your ticket. The recently opened restaurant, bar, and live music venue in the heart of Las Vegas features a Clair Global Integration (CGI) and an innovative lighting design by Bryant Woelk, owner/ senior lighting designer of FXLighting LLC, featuring lighting from Elation.
The Blake Shelton inspired Ole Red, operated by Opry Entertainment Group, offers patrons a full experience with live music, delectable dining, and a vibrant bar scene. The first Ole
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ETC Hyperstar

ETC introduces the High End Systems Hyperstar: a new, companion to the popular Lonestar automated luminaire. Powerful, compact, and optimized for projection versatility, Hyperstar will help create uniquely beautiful designs for a variety of venues. Hyperstar is the same size as Lonestar, and is just as bright, compact, and affordable.

China - The Ballad of the Canal is an opera exploring the stories of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal. Created over 2500 years ago, the canal is a feat of engineering on par with the Great Wall of China.
The opera entwines both classical Chinese and western styles of opera, integrating these different forms successfully alongside an unamplified orchestra required a thoughtful solution combining the venue’s existing SD5s and two additional DiGiCo Quantum 7s. First performed at National Centre for Performing Arts (NCPA) in 2012, The Ballad of the Canal was the first

UK - Welsh ragga-metal band Skindred played their first arena headline show in March at the OVO Arena Wembley, with Claypaky Mythos2 and Sharpy Washes supporting the musicians’ intense, high-energy performance.
Will Furze, the band’s designer/ lighting director, discussed the show with Skindred band members last year while on tour. They wanted to incorporate existing elements of their stage set, which featured artwork from their latest album Smile, and lasers were a must-have as well.
Furze decided to use the existing tour backdrop and four vertical scrim frames f

USA - Christie has introduced its CineLife+ RBe projectors with Phazer illumination technology. The new projectors combine advanced features and electronics in an economical platform, with 2K resolution and brightness ranging from 6,000 to 11,000 lumens.
The CineLife+ series adds three new projectors: CP2406-RBe, CP2409-RBe, and the CP2411-RBe. With Phazer illumination, these projectors are designed for improved image performance on small, high-gain screens.
Featuring Christie’s new CineLife+2K electronics platform, projector set-up is quick and easy with auto-configurati

UK - The London Academy of Music & Dramatic Art (LAMDA) has announced a significant investment in audio equipment, with the procurement of a Shure Axient Digital Wireless System.
LAMDA is committed to providing exceptional vocational training courses, offering an innovative and inspiring environment where students can acquire the professional skills needed to pursue successful careers in acting.
Supplied through Shure UK by Autograph Sound, the new inventory includes 20 channels of Shure’s flagship Axient Digital Wireless system. The setup features Axient Digital ADX1
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Strictly FX Highlights

Strictly FX was founded in 1996 by industry veterans Mark Grega and Ted Maccabee. Our expertise and knowledge of the world’s leading pyrotechnic, laser, and flame manufacturers allows us to curate astonishing live events. With over 500+ shows performed a year, there’s good chance you’ve seen some of our work!

UK - Prolights Smart BatPlus, provided by Luminosity Lighting Services, illuminated the Blue Room and Music Room of Buckingham Palace for an exclusive TV broadcast shooting.
Luminosity Lighting Services strategically positioned the Smart BatPlus lights to ‘enhance the architectural grandeur of Buckingham Palace’. The lighting configuration focused on discreetly accentuating the pillars within both rooms, accentuating the intricate details and timeless elegance of the historic building.
“The innovative use of Prolights lights not only emphasised the beauty of Buckingham

UK - This year, ALPD will again be awarding in three categories - Lighting Design, Production Electrics and Programming, with each of the prize bundles being tailored to the specific needs of that speciality.
The Lighting Design Award is by application. The candidates for the Fred Foster Production Electrician Award and the Anne Valentino Award for Excellence in Programming are by nomination. The ALPD encourages lighting professionals who work alongside a production electrician or programmer whom they consider to be exceptional and worthy of recognition, to nominate them. There a

Australia - Andy Ciddor’s passionate and committed career in technology, production and live performance of over five decades came to an end on 30 March after taking advantage of Tasmania’s Voluntary Assisted Dying programme to end his struggle with stage-four bile duct cancer.
Starting in high school, out of frustration at the state of a school production his career spanned theatre, broadcast, production, teaching, consulting writing and editing – sharing his passion and mentoring the next generation of designers and technicians. He was followed into the industry by his bro

USA - Elation Professional has introduced the Fuze Teatro, a refined moving head luminaire that can be used to visually craft any scene without drawing attention to itself. Designed for any application where a noiseless, fully-automated framing fixture with full-spectrum colour range and quality is required, the Fuze Teatro is fanless for completely silent operation.
Illuminating the performing arts with automated luminaires has traditionally been a challenge. The technology required to provide the desired lighting levels, colour quality and remote positioning usually c

UK - More than 200 students from institutions around the UK tuned in live to Production Futures’ new YouTube channel for the launch of the Production Futures Studio TALKS podcast last week. Cheshire College, LIPA, The Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, and Norwich University were all represented, with in some cases, tutors bringing whole classes to the session.
The inaugural podcast with lighting designer Tim Routledge was presented in conjunction with the BBC’s Bring the Drama Festival, which sees the Corporation joining forces with some of the UK’s prominent cultural

USA - John Garberson created the lighting rig for the Powerhouse hip-hop celebration at the Desert Diamond Arena outside Phoenix.
Garberson and his team at Creative BackStage positioned a potent lighting rig on the 60ft wide by 40ft deep stage, using fixtures supplied by LIT Lighting. At the same time, however, they made sure to arrange things so there was a generous amount of open space at the stage’s centre. This gave headliners Kevin Gates, Tech N9ne, Young Nudy, and other performers a chance to standout, and connect to the sellout crowd of 20,000 without distractions.

World - The 1975’s appetite for touring is considerable and their schedule is gruelling, so their touring equipment needs to be able to keep up. Eighteen rounds of air and road freight can take its toll and reliable consoles that can withstand dust, heat, cold and humidity are vital as the team and their equipment cross multiple time zones. The tour relies on a DiGiCo Quantum 7 at front of house, and a Quantum 5 at the monitor position.
Monitor engineer Francois Pare states, “I don’t think I’ve used any other desk since 2016. Nowadays the shows are so involved, there aren

USA Country singer Scotty McCreery’s Cab in a Solo Tour is making its way through the US with a versatile setlist that transitions between upbeat anthems and touching ballads, backed by three upstage LED screens driven by tvONE's Green Hippo brand of Hippotizer media servers.
Landing at Boston’s new MGM Musical Hall at Fenway at the beginning of March, the North Carolina native’s production was ramped up as fans flocked to see McCreery. Striking graphics, animations and imagery from McCreery’s music videos were displayed on the three portrait LED walls, which were made up

Europe - Czech moving and LED lighting manufacturer Robe celebrated its 30th anniversary at the 2024 Prolight + Sound expo in Frankfurt and looked forward to another 30 years of lighting innovation.
The entertainment technology brand presented the finale of the Power of Imagination show, that entertained packed audiences five times a day and also staged a Rock ‘n’ Robe stand party on the evening of the second day, featuring Queen tribute band Queenie. Additionally, an array of new lighting products was launched and on the eve of the expo, Robe announced the acquisition

Canada - Montreal studio Le Lab Mastering has built an all-Focal DolbyAtmos room, adding Atmos mastering to its offerings on top of fully analogue stereo, vinyl mastering, and lacquer cutting. The 7.1.4 Atmos studio features an all-Focal powered monitor configuration with Trio11, Trio6, Solo6, and Sub6.
The room’s layout features dual Sub6 subwoofers stacked under the left and right Trio11 monitors – four subwoofers total. This subwoofer configuration gives Le Lab’s Atmos room the ability to offer mastering for movie soundtracks and other formats that would need extended lo

UK - The Institute of Sound, Communications and Visual Engineers (ISCVE) celebrated a successful ISCVEx 2024. The two-day symposium, which took place from 19-20 March at the historic Coombe Abbey, near Coventry, brought together more than 250 attendees in a showcase of knowledge, technology and community.
ISCVE hosted a varied line-up, which started with an engaging AGM and featured an illuminating member’s presentation from Jason Williams on Species AI Capture – The challenges and rewards of working on environmental and conservation projects. Participants then enjoyed camarad

USA - The inaugural Montreux Jazz Festival Miami made waves this March, marking the festival’s first venture onto US shores in decades. The event presented diverse musical performances against a backdrop of waterfront vistas, with sound from the Montreux Jazz Festival Miami’s official sound partner, Meyer Sound.
The intimate 1,500-person festival held March 1–3 at The Hangar at Regatta Harbour, showcased a lineup led by headliners Jon Batiste, Daniela Mercury, and Daryl Hall, topped off each night with the Montreux Jam Sessions.
The Hangar - built in 1918 as the first

USA - “I don't know that there's another desk that we could really do it all with,” says Chad Olech, front-of-house mix engineer for Fall Out Boy, talking about managing the band’s complex comms infrastructure that sees three separate talkback lines coming into his DiGiCo Quantum5 console, as well as mixing a great show for fans.
“I don't think there's another manufacturer that makes something that would do what we need it to do in this situation. I'm sure we could work our way around it, but it wouldn't be as seamless and as easy.”
Rob Smuder is one of those com

UK - Voyage Audio, the San Diego-based creators of Spatial Mic have appointed Emerging as their exclusive distributor for UK and Ireland.
The original Spatial Mic product employed USB/ADAT connectivity and this has been joined more recently by a Dante version. Both microphones have eight-capsule arrays that support 2nd Order Ambisonics. The body of the mics contain high-quality A/D conversion using a high-resolution Skyworks clocking scheme and built-in 32-bit XMOS processor.
The applications for the Spatial Mic are as diverse as its specifications. It is equally at home i

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