USA - Following the success of the recent Be Seen, Be Heard event in London, the Be Seen, Be Heard community is now bringing the conversation to prominent USA trade show, LDI.  

Organised by frame:work, Production Futures, and Disguise, the positive London event was hosted at Bluman Associates, London. It brought together thought leaders, industry pioneers, and emerging talents from the world of entertainment technology and design. Collectively, they presented panel discussions and storytelling sessions. These ignited insightful and forward-looking conversations around the value of diversity in the industry and how that might be achieved sooner rather than later.  

Additionally, the Be Seen, Be Heard manifesto was conceiv

France - L'Aéronef, a music venue in Lille, has installed a new L-Acoustics professional sound system with the help of certified partner SLS. This upgrade marks a new era for the venue, blending power and precision in a compact package that enhances sound quality and coverage, invigorating shows for everyone.

Olivier Wils, technical manager at L'Aéronef, comments on the upgrade: "The new L-Acoustics professional sound system significantly improves our audio capabilities. The clarity and coverage are impressive, allowing us to offer an enhanced experience for both artists and audiences."

L'Aéronef, established in 1989, sought to address the challenge of delivering high-quality sound in an intimate setting and with significant rigging constraints. The venue found its solution in the new L-Acoustics L Series, marking the first installation of this sy

Italy - Dancing with the Stars is one of the most popular shows on Italian television. Each performance is meticulously planned to deliver not only the dancers’ routines but also a remarkable visual experience for the audience, complete with stunning sets, lighting effects, and graphics. This year, to make the atmosphere even more magical, the production chose to use Ayrton Cobra fixtures, provided by Emmedue s.r.l., which played a key role in creating the scenic effects.

A total of 30 Ayrton Cobra laser-sourced fixtures were strategically placed to ensure impactful lighting and to create evocative atmospheres. The layout was carefully planned: 10 Cobra were positioned on the platforms to the right and left of the main LED wall, eight were placed on crossbars to create angled lighting effects and sharp, distinct silhouettes, six were mounted on th

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Case Study: Hans Zimmer Live

When award winning film composer Hans Zimmer brought his smash-hit tour Hans Zimmer Live to North America fall 2024, the show's audio team sought out to bring infrafrequency bass to the show to add new depth to the show's audio experience. The team chose Danley Sound Labs.

UK - Concrete Voids at London’s Southbank Centre is described by creator Tony Birch as anti-acoustic. The experimental audio project explores the acoustic possibilities of the empty concrete spaces that surround the Queen Elizabeth Hall auditorium to create an unconventional and organic sound environment. A social media moment and subsequent collaboration with TiMax panLab originator, Dan Higgott, provided the keystone for audio control in the project, which will see the first instalment of commissioned artist performances in March 2025.

The goal was to turn away from traditional soundscape designs and instead celebrate the unique hidden acoustics of the venue. Over the course of a year, sound engineer Birch, who has over 17 years of experience within the Queen Elizabeth Hall auditorium space, positioned a variety of repurposed and custom-built sp

Namibia - Jared Geyser has been behind many successful businesses in Namibia, including festivals and bars, for a number of years. But it was when his son, Guy, left university in Cape Town and wanted to get involved in a New Year’s Eve festival a couple of years back, that they first forged a relationship with Martin Audio loudspeakers. Shortly after, their company Plug & Play Event Solutions was set up in the capital of Windhoek to further develop their interest in PA and backline.

A friend in South Africa had tested Martin Audio products and recommended them. “So we bought Blackline XP12 and XP118 active subs, and eventually ended up owning 20,” said Jared. “While they are great speakers, they obviously couldn’t do the bigger work, so we then bought a Torus system.” But the latest prize is the acquisition of a flagship WPC line array – 2

Germany - The 30th anniversary of Prolight + Sound is all about fresh impetus. From 8 to 11 April 2025, the expo will present a newly designed and expanded area for theatre and stage technology that combines four central aspects: exhibition, education, knowledge transfer and networking. Visitors can expect an inspiring platform for exchange between generations and industry experts, as well as a comprehensive range of innovative products and services.

An integral part of the concept is the ‘Theatre College’, which offers expert knowledge on relevant topics with high-quality, bilingual seminars and workshops – realised in collaboration with leading industry associations. The new Theatre Stage is the centrepiece, where presentations and the Theatre Talk invites exhibitors and the trade audience to exchange ideas. The Networking Area, with daily events and

UK - The recently opened Kingpins in Manchester’s Arndale Centre – the largest establishment to date in the estate of UK sports venue brand, Roxy Leisure – has opted once again for Linea Research amplifiers. Leeds-based Audioserv, the group’s audio supplier and integrator for over a decade, installed a zoned and distributed audio system, powered and intelligently controlled by a system of Linea Research amplification and Symmetrix.

Audioserv’s founder and MD, Pete Rollinson, explained that the audio for the new Kingpins followed a similar template to its sister brand venues across the UK, with distributed audio throughout the venue, from the front door to the furthest gaming area and on to the restrooms. “Having worked on all of the Roxy and Kingpins sites so far, the brief for the audio generally stays very similar. There's no stage, so there is

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OPUS X4 PROFILE – the most powerful LED moving head from Cameo to date

The OPUS® X4 PROFILE is the new flagship model from Cameo and is among the most powerful LED moving heads on the market. Equipped with a 1,400-watt LED white light engine, this spot profile moving head produces an enormous light output of 50,000 lm, providing powerful spot and gobo projections on even the largest stages and much more.
www.cameolight.com

UK - Celestion has announced that the popular TFX0412 4” ferrite magnet coaxial driver is now available for individual purchase through retailers. With a rigid pressed steel chassis, the TFX0412 is a fully combined LF loudspeaker and HF compression driver that provides a very cost-effective solution for a variety of applications requiring compact, discreet sound reinforcement.

The TFX0412 features 1.25” diameter LF and 1” diameter HF copper clad aluminium voice coils powered by a common magnet motor assembly, where the same magnet is used for both the LF and HF elements. This enables the voice coils and hence the acoustic centres of the two transducers to be brought as close together as possible, delivering further improvements in signal coherence and time alignment, for a more natural sounding audio reproduction.

With the delivery of both low-

USA - LED Studio is set to unveil its latest outdoor rental display innovation, the Vista Series, at DSE 2024 in Las Vegas next month. Visitors to Booth 3135 will be among the first to explore Vista’s advanced features, including ultra-high refresh rates, ‘exceptional’ contrast, and a modular design that enables fast and flexible installation.

The Vista Series offers a variety of pixel pitch options, ranging from P0.9 to P2.5, ensuring tailored options for a diverse array of outdoor applications and viewing distances. With a 10,000:1 contrast ratio, 99.8% DCI-P3 colour gamut, and 4,000 nits brightness, the Vista Series ensures visuals are vibrant, true-to-life and impactful. Its high refresh rates of up to 7,680Hz deliver fluid and seamless visuals, ideal for dynamic content.

Built to last, the Vista Series boasts a 100,000-hour lifetime and IP

France - Unusual Rigging has announced its participation at this year’s JTSE show in Paris, taking place on 27-28 November 2024. Visitors to Stand 092 119 in Dock Pullman will have the opportunity to meet with the team and explore how Unusual can devise creative solutions for their rigging challenges on upcoming projects.

Unusual’s attendance at the show comes as the company continues to thrive, marked by its recent 40th anniversary celebrations and the successful opening of its new branch in Paris earlier this year. The expansion, initially as a means of preparing for the Paris 2024 Games, is also a strategic move to address the increasing challenges of working in the region post-Brexit.

Mark Priestley, project manager at Unusual Rigging, comments: “The Paris branch was opened to overcome the operational obstacles of working in Euro

Elephant Trap - Members of the House of Lords have expressed “profound concern” about the UK’s arts sector following chancellor Rachel Reeves’ autumn Budget, with one peer dubbing it an “elephant trap” for culture.

Kick-starting a debate about the impact of the Budget on arts, heritage and cultural organisations on 14 November, conservative peer Amanda Sater cited the Society of London Theatre and UK Theatre’s warning that 40% of theatres and performing arts venues face closure over the next five years.

SOLT and UK Theatre’s appeal for an urgent pot of funding to stave off these closures was snubbed in a Budget that outlined plans to increase government spending by almost £70 billion a year over the next five years – almost half of which will be funded by tax increases.

Sater called on the government to consider the impact

UK - The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) has announced the launch of three new MA degree courses in technical theatre, with courses in Theatre Costume, Stage Management, and Performance Lighting Design commencing in September 2025.

These MA programmes aim to bridge the skills gap in the industry by training the next generation of technical theatre professionals in highly specialised areas essential to live performance. Each new course has been developed in response to the evolving demands of the industry, underscoring RADA’s commitment to equip the sector with supported technical specialists through in-depth and hands-on training.

The MA in Performance Lighting Design will enable students to have a sustained and lifelong career as lighting designers. Students will examine what it means to use lighting as a powerful creative tool for storytelli

USA - Floridian hard rockers Creed reunited and hit the road for their first tour in 11 years, creating a maelstrom of energy and momentum so successful that it propelled their music back into the Billboard charts, together with this year’s new Summer of 99, and Are You Ready? tours, which were among the fastest selling rock shows in the USA.

The production design was created by Mathias Kuhn and included 80 Robe moving lights and LED fixtures – 36 MegaPointes, 30 BMFL Spots, four BMFL FollowSpots, 10 Footsie2 LED footlights and four RoboSpot remote follow systems – all supplied by Bandit Lites out of Nashville.

The initial summer tour played a mix of arenas, theatres and amphitheatres with 10K to 36K capacities and the most recent leg stepped up to arenas, including Madison Square Garden, which were all completely sol

France - With a population of 57,300 and listed in the 500 cities where Life is good in France, Blanc-Mesnil is located just to the north of Paris, midway between the Stade de France and Charles de Gaulle airport.

Cultural life in the city revolves around the 710-seat Théâtre du Blanc-Mesnil which stages a variety of productions ranging from comedy and theatre to dance and music.

Sound reinforcement at the theatre comprises a Nexo STM system provided on a long-term rental basis by Loiret-based technical sound and lighting solutions specialists SPL, supplement by the theatre’s own inventory of Nexo speakers and powered controllers.

Clusters of six STM M28 main modules are flown beneath three STM B112 bass extension modules either side of the 22m-wide stage, with further sub-bass extension from ground stacks of three Nexo S118s.<

USA - The David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Centre – home of the New York Philharmonic – has various Eastern Acoustic Works (EAW) products installed, including 18 Anna Adaptive Loudspeakers, six AC6 Adaptive column loudspeakers and four Otto Subwoofers.

The venue was modernised in collaboration with AVI-SPL and acoustical consultant Akustiks.

The David Geffen Hall project included an extensive redesign of audio-visual systems, acoustical systems and major infrastructure. AVI-SPL was responsible for the implementation of the PA and distributed audio, cinema systems and LED displays for closed captioning and projection, all supported by robust networking solutions.

EAW was chosen for the project by Akustiks' senior consultant Sam Brandt. Having worked with EAW for many years, Akustiks and AVI-SPL knew the brand’s Adaptive technology was right

USA - The building at 2103 Lyon Street, Houston, had a very good run. Home to Moncrief Lenoir Manufacturing, it turned out an impressive array of metal fabrications for eight decades, until it closed in the 1990s.

Today, the venerable structure has come alive again, only instead of producing metal products, it’s creating shiny new vistas of imagination for guests as the home of Meow Wolf’s Radio Tave.

Occupying over 25,000 sq.ft. of the former warehouse, Radio Tave, which is Meow Wolf’s fifth permanent exhibit in the USA, opened on Halloween. Like its four predecessors, the newest Meow Wolf site ‘immerses visitors in a fantastical, mind-expanding universe formed through the fusion of imaginative scenic art, engrossing sound, and transformative lighting’, which in the case of Radio Tave, was created by Chris Werner

Japan - CLUB CITTA' is a popular venue in Kawasaki. Opened in 1988, the club has seen historic performances from Nirvana, Oasis, Radiohead and many more and is a popular stop for many Japanese and international touring bands. The input from touring engineers was enough to convince Toru Yamamuro, general manager of stage production at CLUB CITTA', that their planned console upgrade should be to a DiGiCo Quantum 338.

“We introduced our SD8 back in 2012, updating the SD with a 32-bit card in 2019, so when the time came to upgrade our system, we asked various people about the Quantum and the feedback was very good,” Yamamuro says. “We also received enquiries from overseas artists who wanted to use the Quantum 338, so we had a strong desire to install it ourselves, and we were able to make it happen.

“With the addition of Mustard Processing and Sp

USA - Tulsa, Oklahoma-based Integrity Lighting has invested in Ayrton Cobra2 laser source luminaires for its production and rental inventory. ACT Entertainment is the exclusive distributor of Ayrton lighting in North America.

“The Cobras are our first Ayrton fixtures and they won’t be our last,” says lead lighting designer, Joshua K. Hall. “When ACT demo’d several Ayrton fixtures, we were so impressed by the Cobras that we couldn’t not buy them. Their versatility as a searchlight and a great hybrid light on stage is great for us.”

Hall likes “the smoothness of the overall beam – no hot spot, very even throughout” and Cobra’s IP65 rating, which is “absolutely essential for any kind of weather, and we get it all.”

Lighting designer and marketing director, Carter Nance, notes that the fixture’s “CMY mixing system gi

USA - The Obsidian Control Systems team will highlight the Onyx platform at a dedicated booth (#2243) designed to offer hands-on demonstrations, showcase the latest products, and provide expert insights into how Onyx can elevate professional lighting control for a wide range of productions.

“At this year’s LDI, we’re showcasing products in an interactive, purpose-built environment, and creating an experience where attendees can directly engage with Onyx tools,” commented Obsidian sales manager John Lopez. “We welcome everyone to get hands-on, ask questions, and meet our newest team members, Daniel Boerner and Edward Smith. Whether you're a seasoned pro or just starting out, we invite you to stop by for a talk and a hands-on demo.”

The booth provides more space to highlight the Onyx platform with an expansive video wall simulating a large-

USA - Brompton Technology is set to showcase its latest Tessera solutions at LDI 2024 next month at the Las Vegas Convention Centre – West Hall. With a strong focus on live events and broadcast applications, Brompton (#2861) will highlight its powerful HDR content capabilities, new features in Tessera v3.5 software such as Extended Bit Depth and Dark Time Insertion, and its groundbreaking TrueLight technology, which redefines standards for colour accuracy.

The Brompton booth will allow visitors to experience Brompton’s latest advancements through a dedicated broadcast and live events demo area, where comparisons between HDR and SDR content, HDR content with and without Extended Bit Depth, and features like Dark Magic, Puretone and Dark Time Insertion will be on display. Those seeking a deeper look into the potential of TrueLight can experience a speciali

USA - Studio Technologies has introduced the Model 352A and Model 354A talk stations. The units support Dante audio-over-Ethernet digital media technology and are designed for voice paging applications, including theatre, live event and industrial applications. Broadcast applications can also be supported by using the products’ integral IFB (talent cue) capabilities.

The units offer a complete solution for routing voice and background audio along with playback of pre-recorded audio files. The Model 352A unit supplies two independent ‘talk’ channels, while the Model 354A unit supplies four independent ‘talk’ channels with each channel able to be individually configured to match the needs of specific applications.

As part of the unit’s Dante capability, both models support AES67 as well as the Dante Domain Manager (DDM) software application

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