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23 July 2024

UK - Manchester Printworks is a hospitality hub in the heart of the north of the UK. Comprising bars, restaurants, leisure spaces and a cinema, the venue recently received a £27m refurbishment which included the integration of the largest digital ceiling in Europe – measuring a total of 1,000m². The screen utilises augmented reality technology to display CGI content day and night, and a sound system from Renkus-Heinz envelopes guests in a world of entertainment.    

CUK Group supported the project as technical distributor, working alongside integrators PAS Sound Engineering. The new PA system was required to support the video wall content, as well as events held in the centre, which range from yoga classes to festivals and parties. Renkus-Heinz’s beam-steered IC Live Gen5 Series and UBX Series loudspeakers delivered the appropriate audio solution.

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23 July 2024

UAE - Dubai-based Spectrum Entertainment Services LLC has been an advocate of Ayrton lighting fixtures since its first investment in 2022 when it started building its stock with 100 Ayrton Cobra, 50 MagicBlade FX and 24 Zonda 9 FX units.

“The Cobra was an absolute must, especially for our outdoor events, in areas like AlUla in Saudi Arabia,” says Spectrum Entertainment Services LLC lighting designer, Andre Westraad. “The harsh outdoor conditions can be very tough on fixtures and we needed a solution that can handle all of the elements, plus being very bright and versatile at the same time.

“This year we began a search for a replacement for our workhorse profile fixtures. We also needed an upgrade in our LED Wash area as well. We had to keep in mind we need a product that is not just IP rated, but can take the punch when installed outside for

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23 July 2024

Ukraine - Popular rock band Karta Svitu launched their new album The Space of Important Things with a high-profile, hi-energy showcase gig at the Bel Etage venue in Kyiv, which was recorded for subsequent broadcast.

The show was directed by Mari Pogrebynska and Pavlo Zakrevskyi and included eye-catching lighting designed by Anton Semeniuk who utilised 32 x Robe Spikie moving lights, six ColorWash 575s and a BMFL Follow Spot controlled via a RoboSpot system among other lights, all supplied by lighting rental company, Alight.

Like everything in Ukraine, the show, production and entertainment industry has adapted to the realities of wartime, and while Alight has moved much of its equipment inventory to Poland for the moment – for obvious reasons – Anton explained that he was still very keen to use whatever Robe kit was available at the time

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23 July 2024

Portugal - Europalco staged the 2024 sales convention for the Super Bock Group, the largest Portuguese beverage company. Agency No More organised this event, bringing together 800 attendees at the Sala Tejo in Lisbon.

The 2024 sales convention sought to celebrate and inspire the Super Bock sales team, and No More chose Europalco to bring this vision to life. The preparation for this event took approximately two months and involved a team of 40 Europalco professionals.

The event’s theme, ‘Explorers’, aimed to transport the audience through various exploration scenarios, such as mountains, oceans, and space. The main challenge was to design a screen capable of immersing the audience in these dynamic environments. The solution was an impressive 180-degree screen design that enveloped more than half of the audience, measuring approximately 60 linea

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23 July 2024

Cleanfields – Dance music festival Creamfields has drawn up plans to massively reduce its impact on the environment. Festival organisers said its comprehensive three-year ‘Cleanfields’ plan will help to preserve its 600-acre site in Daresbury, Cheshire. They said the "primary goal" was to encourage attendees to "adopt more environmentally responsible habits" to ensure the site remains "clean and vibrant". A representative said the "call to action" would encourage the "entire dance music community [to] come together, enjoy the music and make a positive impact on our planet".

The festival is due to take place across the August bank holiday weekend and will see a host of acts perform, including headliners Calvin Harris, Armin Van Buuren, Chase & Status and Alesso. The event's representative said it was working with sustainability impact agency Bettern

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22 July 2024

Spain - Estopa is celebrating its 25th anniversary with a tour that is making a mark in every city they visit. One of the highlights of the duo’s celebration is the impressive stage production, featuring lighting designed by Juanjo Beloqui and a team supplied by Fluge Audiovisuales. Stonex, Ayrton’s exclusive distributor for Spain, is also represented during the tour through the presence of Ayrton Eurus and Perseo fixtures.

Having toured the United States and Latin America, they are currently visiting Spanish cities including Valencia, Seville, Madrid, and Bilbao, filling stadiums and creating an unforgettable show with lighting tailored to each of the venues. From Civitas Metropolitano to Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias in Valencia, this 25th-anniversary tour has reached new heights.

Included in the tour’s lighting fixture selection are 60

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22 July 2024

USA - Dave Matthews Band (DMB) brings its fusion of rock, jazz, and folk to sheds and festivals across the US this summer, carrying a Meyer Sound Panther system provided by UltraSound, LLC. The 32-date tour marks nearly three decades of collaboration between DMB, Meyer Sound, and UltraSound, a relationship that began with the band’s first headline tour in 1995.

DMB is out with a Panther system for the third time; the current configuration is anchored by 16 Panther large-format linear array loudspeakers per side, supported by 14 Lyon out-fills per side, eight Leopard front-fills on the downstage edge, and CQ-1 and JM1-P loudspeaker-fills as needed, with 10 1100-LFC low-frequency control elements per side hung behind mains in a gradient array.

Panther offers numerous advantages, says UltraSound senior systems engineer Tom Lyon, who has been working w

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22 July 2024

UK - In collaboration with the Open Broadcaster Software (OBS) Project, Shure has announced that the MV7+ is one of the first microphones to receive OBS certification. 

Certification from the OBS Project guarantees that the MV7+ microphone meets the criteria of functionality necessary to ensure users have a positive experience while using the microphone with OBS. The certification further indicates that Shure and the OBS Project will conduct ongoing testing to confirm the microphone continues to work seamlessly with OBS. 

“When you’re on stream, technology should help you to create and express yourself, not be a roadblock. Streamers deserve to know their audio gear will work seamlessly and simply with their broadcasting software,” shared Eduardo Valdes, associate vice president of global marketing and product management. “For this reason, w

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22 July 2024

USA/Europe - Icelandic singer Daði Freyr, has completed three tours using KLANG:vokal immersive technology. Used as a standalone unit, KLANG:vokal integrates into the monitor system to offer the artists an improved in-ear experience, allowing monitor engineer Sigri Hovde, to optimise her workflow and deliver superior results for the whole band.

Representing Iceland in the 2021 Eurovision Song Contest catapulted Daði Freyr to international fame, subsequently garnering over 200m streams and global tours. As well as recording and self-producing his debut album, the simply titled I Made an Album, Freyr is now looking forward to a summer of worldwide dates, having just completed a North American tour.

Hovde, has worked with many globally renowned artists over her career and is about to embark on a massive international tour with Norwegian star,

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22 July 2024

UK - When Vine Christian Centre in Bridgend decided to upgrade the audio system in their main venue, they turned to local integrator Spartan AV, who installed a high-quality solution in conjunction with technical distributor, CUK Audio.

The previous audio system had been in use for over 20 years, with recent temporary repairs made to prolong its life. Fundamentally, though, the system did not provide adequate coverage in a venue three times as wide as it is deep. Stand-mounted speakers had been added to improve coverage, at the expense of blocking site lines.

Sean Hales, Spartan AV operations director, reports: “The client was initially fairly set on a flown line-array system; however, after my initial site visit, I deemed that a correctly designed point-source system was the right way to tackle this project. Another consideration was loading on st

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22 July 2024

USA - AY Productions, a specialist in audio and intercoms, provides television networks with a team of communication engineers for the setup and operation of intercoms for a range of major sporting events.

Since AY Productions first started using Pliant Technologies’ CrewCom Wireless Intercom System, the company hasn’t looked back, deploying CrewCom for a range of live productions on major networks, such as the AFC Championships, the Super Bowl and the NFL Combine, among many other large-scale live sporting events.

As these types of productions have become more complex and technical, AY has expanded its CrewCom inventory, now carrying a total of 42 CrewCom CRP-44 Radio Packs (RPs) in addition to several CrewCom Radio Transceivers (RT), Control Units (CU) and SmartBoom headsets from Pliant Technologies.

Long-time Pliant users and AY Produc

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19 July 2024

Europe - AC/DC kicked off their Power Up tour on 17 May in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. Patrick Woodroffe and Terry Cook of Woodroffe Bassett Design worked on the production design for this widely anticipated tour.

“We wanted the stage lighting and video to work together and feel as one,” said Cook, who is the lighting designer for the tour, whilst Woodroffe serves as its creative director. “We knew from the start that we would have screens that opened to allow the look of the show to grow. The show concept was to start with a video intro, something the AC/DC fans love and want. We want to make it feel personal to them, so we localize the video at each venue.

“When the show starts, our first camera shots are of the fans, as this tour is all about the music and the fans. As the show continues, we want the stage to grow, which why the video

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19 July 2024

USA - AJR - Adam, Jack & Ryan Met’s current Maybe Man campaign which started at the end of 2023 and continues throughout this year. For the tour, Ezra Donellan of Moon Bolt Designs specified over 200 Robe moving lights, including 83 x Fortes, 88 x Tetra2s, 44 x Tetra1s and 32 x Spiiders, all delivered by Gateway Studios & Production Services (GSPS).

AJR comes with a fully realised visual concept and production design created by Mitchell Schellinger of Station Six, which is a combination of his and the band’s ideas. “It’s a very invigorating way to work,” comments Ezra on the collaborative nature of the design process. “There are challenges, and we all enjoy dealing with these and finding the best solutions.”

On tour, there’s a prominent curved video screen upstage, and a downstage ‘vanish’ screen divided into six sections,

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19 July 2024

Europe - With Highlite’s introduction of the A1.9i, DMT’s Alpha series now consists of three models: the A3.9i, the A2.6i and the new A1.9i. The DMT Alpha series was designed with quality and price in mind in order to offer LED screens that represent excellent value for money.

With a pixel pitch of 1.9 mm, the DMT Alpha series A1.9i is an indoor HD LED screen with a minimum viewing distance of just 2 metres. Thanks to its higher pixel density, the A1.9i has the best screen resolution of DMT’s Alpha series models. For situations where screen resolution or minimum viewing distance is less demanding, the A2.6i or A3.9i could be the perfect choice.

Each DMT Alpha series LED screen measures 50 x 50 cm and comes in a lightweight cabinet that features an innovative quick-lock system for fast and easy mechanical interconnections. The cabinets also allo

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19 July 2024

UK - The panel topics and first speakers at Vision: 2025’s Sustainable Events Summit (SES) have been confirmed, returning to the Showman’s Show for its ninth edition, on Wednesday 23 October 2024.

Supported by title sponsor Festival Republic and hosted by The Showman’s Show, the action-focused summit will present the latest research, tools and knowledge, and brings together leading outdoor event organisers, local authorities, suppliers, and sustainability experts, to shape the future of climate action in the industry - this summit will include roundtables on sector strategy for 2030.

The SES 24 morning is an invitation-only industry roundtable session, where green leaders will focus on national policy priorities and sector strategy. A sustainable lunch is being supplied by Eat to The Beat, which will frame later conversations around food impact

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19 July 2024

UK - Part of the Insignis Academy Trust, Princes Risborough School in Buckinghamshire is a mixed-gender secondary school catering for children from the age of 11 to 18. The performing arts play an important role in the school’s curriculum, offering a route to qualifications, as well as the opportunity to participate in, and gain confidence from, being part of many productions run by the Performing Arts Department.

To support its dance, drama and music programmes, the school recently looked to enhance its audio provision by investing in a portable solution which could be easily operated in different areas of the school. The aim was to provide high quality background music reinforcement for dance classes, as well as a medium for small-scale spoken-word/music presentations and rehearsals. Flexibility was key, as was the need to stay within budget constraints.

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19 July 2024

UK - Focusrite has announced the release of RedNet Control v2.13. This software update enables RedNet PCIeNX card owners to expand audio channel capacity from 128x128 to 256x256 (up to 96kHz) by purchasing a one-time licence upgrade from Audinate.

This upgrade significantly enhances system capacity, enabling RedNet PCIeNX cards to simultaneously handle up to 256 inputs and outputs. This increased capacity allows for seamless audio reception from numerous sources and distribution to multiple destinations, such as large surround installations or live shows with extensive monitor mixes.

“Whether you're routing signals to a Dolby Atmos renderer, managing a multi-room studio setup, or handling complex live sound routing that includes recording, playback, and foldback to numerous locations simultaneously, the ability to manage all of this from a single R

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18 July 2024

South Africa - 2024 was the second year that South African lighting designer Renaldo van den Berg has lit the prestigious Metro FM Awards, which is a leading celebration of African musical talent and creativity.

Renaldo specified over 200 Robe moving lights to ensure that the high-energy-high-profile live broadcast on SABC was enjoyed by a massive TV audience as well as several thousand excited music fans catching the action in Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit.

This year, 19 awards were presented, with the lifetime achievement award going to Oskido, and multiple live performances followed the awards, with a full-on festival-style concert offering another glittering line up of Africa’s finest.

Johannesburg-based MGG Productions supplied a full technical, structural and set solution and Renaldo collaborated closely with MGG’s technical stylist

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18 July 2024

Spain - The open-air festival series I Love Reggaeton was held in Valencia and Madrid from the end of May to the beginning of June. Acts including Maldy, Nacho, and many more played in front of nearly 30,000 spectators on the impressive main stage, which provided the platform for an equally spectacular lighting design thanks to its sharp, pyramid-shaped truss structures. The star of the lighting rig was the Cameo PIXBAR 400 IP G2 LED bar.

Two hundred and thirty-six PIXBAR 400 IP G2s were required to trace the contours of the stage measuring approximately 50m in width and up to 20m in height.

“The purpose of the festival is to offer a comprehensive audiovisual experience,” explains Efrain Andrade from Spanish rental service provider Fluge Audiovisuales. “This meant the lighting design had to be an absolute eye-catcher. With the PIXBAR 4

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18 July 2024

USA - Hanover’s Live! Casino and Hotel Maryland’s Sports & Social sportsbook and sports bar, the centrepiece of the casino floor The R Bar, and the hotel’s entrance have been equipped with tvONE’s powerful CORIOmaster & CORIOmaster2 video processors, outputting multiple 4K feeds of live sports and graphics 24 hours a day.

The casino’s The R Bar, Sports & Social, and the hotel entrance are each outfitted with screens driven by CORIOmaster and CORIOmaster2 – tvONE’s most powerful video processor, which can display up to 40 4K video windows with no visible latency and up to 56 outputs.

The tvONE team worked closely with Live! Casino and Hotel’s director of AV, Ryan Dewey, to realise a video processing solution that would be robust and reliable to run consistently, processing large amounts of video data 365 days a year. A larg