UK - The Stage Bus, a Birmingham-based events production company that provides solar-powered staging solutions, has released the latest version of its newest stage, The Stage Box.
A concept that’s been designed and constructed at the company’s Halesowen HQ, The Stage Box is built into a converted 20ft shipping container. It provides a stage platform which can operate from the back of a truck, or as a detachable unit which can self-dismount using hydraulic legs. The entire stage is solar-powered, and can run for up to eight hours on a full charge.
The latest version of The Stage Box expands its power capacity with a modular solar battery system, allowing its running length to be extended past the eight hour mark. Combined with its nature as a self-contained unit which

Belgium - After two decades, six Grammy Awards, 80m record sales, and over 300 live concerts, the Black Eyed Peas haven’t lost a step, either in their exuberant hip-hop infused sound, or their get-up-and-dance stage presence. Both were on full display early this August at the Lokerse Feesten when the band electrified a packed house with a boisterous 16-song set that included hits from their early days, as well as tunes from their newest album, Translation.
Supporting the California-based quartet at the festival was a lively and colourful Alain Corthout-designed lightshow that was powered by a ChamSys MagicQ MQ250M Stadium Console supplied by Phlippo, Belgium.
Like the music of the band it supported, the lightshow flowed with a smooth, seamless rhythm, transitioning from soft moments to intense crescendos, always in sync with the performance on stage. Corthout,

Germany - The largest open-air concerts ever held in Munich, and the largest in Germany this year, took place at the Munich Exhibition Centre in August with over 300,000 fans total attending shows by Andreas Gabalier, Helene Fischer and Robbie Williams. Roland Greil lit the epic shows and massive 150m wide stage using a rig that included over 450 Elation Professional luminaires.
Austrian folk rocker Andreas Gabalier opened the concert series on 6 August with German pop queen Helene Fischer drawing over 130,000 for her performance on 20 August and Robbie Williams drawing nearly 100,000 to his show on 27 August.
Produced by Leutgeb Entertainment Group, the concerts were rare hometown gigs for Munich-based LD Roland Greil, a fact that made the shows even more special for the internationally respected lighting and production designer. With a huge 150m wide diamond-shaped
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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 - This year’s winners of the PLASA Awards for Innovation were announced last night at PLASA Show, Olympia London.
The Awards for Innovation, run in association with LSi magazine, are respected industry-wide for celebrating future-focussed tech that improves safety, efficiency and performance through new methods and materials.
33 products were entered this year. Seven nominees scooped an Award for Innovation, and a Gold Award and a Sustainability Award were also presented. This year’s judging team comprised of 12 independent technical specialists from a wide array of backgrounds, chaired once again by chartered engineer James Eade.
James Eade, commented, “It has been great to see big names launching products at what is acknowledged to be the most independent industry awards. It is heartening to see creative engineers in the industry continuing to devel

Energy Efficient - London mayor Sadiq Khan has pledged £1.2m to help creative spaces, including theatres, become more energy efficient, as heating costs spiral. Local authorities within Creative Enterprise Zones – which were established across London in 2018 with the aim of giving artists more affordable workspaces – will have access to the fund. Grants of up to £200,000 will be made available to invest in practical solutions that will lead to greater energy efficiency, aiming to help organisations counteract the pressure of rising heating bills.
Last month, theatres across the UK, including Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds and the Lowry in Salford, warned of extortionate increases to their heating bills. Theatres and other cultural spaces within the nine Creative Enterprise Zones – Croydon, Ealing, Hammersmith and Fulham, Hackney and Tower Hamlets, Haringey, Hounslow,

UK - Currently playing an extended run in London’s Garrick Theatre, The Drifters Girl tells the story of Faye Treadwell, the long-time manager of The Drifters, by interweaving her personal narrative with 20 concert-level performances of the seminal R&B/pop group’s chart-topping hits. To maintain the full impact of both the dramatic and musical elements, sound designer Tom Marshall deployed a strategically placed and balanced system of Meyer Sound point source loudspeakers and compact subwoofers.
The intimate Garrick Theatre is an acoustically and architecturally challenging venue that was built in 1889 and now seats 712 patrons on three levels.
“The Garrick has interesting challenges when it comes to putting a ‘pop’ musical in the space,” relates Marshall. “Loudspeaker positioning is tricky due to the nature of the proscenium opening and the fi

UK - Some 72 nations and territories came together 28 July – 8 August in Alexander Stadium in Birmingham for the 2022 Commonwealth Games. Lighting the opening and closing ceremonies of the quadrennial multi-sport event was Al Gurdon of Incandescent Design who used over 300 Elation Professional IP65 Proteus luminaires to light the festivities.
The opening ceremony was a visually spectacular and at times emotional show that featured dance groups, dream sequences, cultural parables, humour and even a 10m tall mechanical bull. A cast of thousands traced Birmingham’s history through themes of unity, diversity and resilience with the evening capped by a medley of hits by local heroes Duran Duran. The closing, just as impactful, focused on the region's musical heritage with performances by UB40, Jorja Smith and Dexys Midnight Runners, among others, including a surprise appeara
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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 - If there is a single festival that defines the English summer, it has to be Henley, which this year celebrated its 40th anniversary with a mix of music, comedy, art and grade A fun.
Production managed by John Harris, Henley’s main stage is placed in the River Thames, backed by a fleet of boats of all shapes and sizes. The site features a variety of other venues ranging from intimate comedy to cabaret and dance bands.
RG Jones has been providing audio at Henley since 1983 - most of it based around Martin Audio PA - and in a relationship surviving that long, the level of trust and commitment is obviously at its highest. Over the years, the style of the event has changed somewhat from the original, fully classical programme to what is now a much more commercial line-up, but with no less determination to deliver an unforgettable experience.
This year’s arti

The Netherlands - RME and DirectOut have introduced Digiface Ravenna. The mobile audio interface is based on the proven Digiface Dante and features a Ravenna module developed by DirectOut. The device allows the transmission of a total of 128 audio channels coming from Ravenna and optionally MADI via a single USB 3.0 connection. RME thus expands its Digiface series with a powerful Ravenna model for USB and standalone operation.
"We have known and admired RME for many years as a provider of professional computer interface technology and are very happy about this cooperation.” says Claudio Becker-Foss, CEO/CTO of DirectOut. “The combination of RME’s experience in programming computer interfaces with DirectOut’s Ravenna expertise will create a great new asset for the Audio-over-IP market. Both companies are committed to leading edge development and maintaining their prod

USA - Bandit Lites has invested in some of the latest new offerings from Chauvet Professional. Jake Tickle, Bandit vice president of business and innovation, made a trip to visit the Chauvet facility in Florida and upon return told chair Michael T. Strickland that Bandit must order an initial stock of 100 of the yet unreleased Color Strike M. Bandit did just that.
Upon release, 60+ went out on the new Luz Studios / Keith Hoagland designed Jason Aldean’s Rock N’ Roll Cowboy Tour where they are an essential part of the look. To further create the overall concept, Bandit purchased one hundred Strike 4 Array units which were then all married with 60 Maverick MK Pyxis that Bandit had purchased at the start of the year. Legacy Chauvet Nexus AW 7 x 7 are also incorporated into the design.
Color Strike Units are also scattered across other shows, including country sensati

Italy - Cesare Cremonini's Stadium Tour 2022 Milano, which started in Milan and closed with a resounding event at the Imola racetrack, has just ended. The eight sold-out dates of the tour celebrated the Bologna singer's 20-year career with the aim of leaving behind the long period of downtime due to the pandemic and getting back on track with more drive and enthusiasm.
"We want to give the opportunity to bring back good memories to all of us, to build beauty again, not only artistic beauty, but the beauty of positive emotions and good moments to remember of one's life," says Cremonini himself during a monologue in the show.
The project and lighting direction were imagined and designed by lighting designer Mamo Pozzoli, Cesare's longtime collaborator. For the occasion, Mamo created an imposing wall of light built with different units but amalgamated in a look that is ag

France - A tailor-made sound system was developed and installed by Amadeus within the Théâtre de l'Archevêché at Aix-en-Provence International Music Festival to subtly modify the acoustic characteristics of the theatre space using 35 microphones processed through Holophonix and more than 50 speakers to play the innovative mix of a live orchestra, choir, and stage performers for a performance of Mozart’s Idomeneo.
Musical director and conductor of the Pygmalion Orchestra and Choir, Raphaël Pichon, made a special request to Amadeus to design and implement an audio technology system combining active acoustics and sound spatialization to maximize the audience’s experience of the opera.
“The work carried out in collaboration with Amadeus’ teams could be compared with some kind of ‘sound restoration’. The Théâtre de l'Archevêché is a unique place

Europe - Shure is teaming up with Netgear to deliver faster and more reliable integration when installing Shure Microflex Ecosystem products with the Netgear AV Line M4250 switches. The combination of Shure’s legacy in AV, along with Netgear’s commitment to AV over IP will help integrators with limited networking skills save time configuring rooms.
Built from the ground up for 1G AV over IP, the Netgear AV Line M4250 switches combine years of networking experience with best practices from leading AV professionals to simplify and elevate the installation process. A new AV-centric browser-based user interface enables key AV network settings, selectable profiles for popular AV devices, and a sleek front panel with various mounting options. Now, M4250 switches come pre-installed with two Shure profiles to optimise switch settings and customise VLANs for control and audio whe

UK - On the eve of PLASA Show 2022, it was announced that Robe Lighting has agreed to acquire Artistic Licence.
“This is a great acquisition for Robe”, stated Josef Valchar, CEO Robe Lighting s.r.o., “It provides products that complement our own production, and will add value to sales made throughout our global distribution network”.
The acquisition of the Artistic Licence business and products is an important part of the strategic growth plan of both Robe and Anolis brands say the two parties. This purchase from Singularity UK holdings has also enabled an ongoing product design agreement.
“I look forward to helping develop the Artistic Licence business using the significant Robe subsidiary and distributor network,” said Artistic Licence CEO Wayne Howell. “I am also excited to be involved with new product development for a brand leading business th

UK - PLASA Show, London’s international event for entertainment technology, will once again open its doors at Olympia London from 4-6 September. Thousands of professionals from across the live sector are expected to attend the show, coming together to celebrate the industry’s strength and innovation following the pandemic. Tickets are still available for £15, which will increase to £20 on the door.
200+ global brands will sit side by side in Olympia’s Grand Hall, representing the very best of pro audio, lighting, audio-visual, rigging and staging technologies. These include the show’s headline sponsor Robe, as well as fellow lighting brands Chauvet Professional, Claypaky, Ayrton, Avolites, ETC, Elation, GLP, Vari-Lite, Martin, TMB, plus many more. The pro audio sector is well covered, with brands such as d&b audiotechnik, Sennheiser, Yamaha, DiGiCo, Shure, RCF

UK - TAIT has confirmed the appointment of Mark Dakin as managing director of TAIT Neasden & Haverhill in the UK.
Mark brings to TAIT over 40 years of production and technical direction for London’s principal opera companies and major performing arts venues, including the Royal Opera House, National Theatre and English National Opera.
In this new role, Mark will oversee local business operations, team and clients, whilst working closely with the Global Executive Group.
Mark Dakin comments: “The one thing that links the many varied roles I have held over the 40 years of my career, is the artistic application of technical expertise, the joy of collaborative practise and the balancing of the systems that enhance and deliver the artistic vision of creatives and optimise the business imperatives of producers and organisations.
“I am thrilled to be join

The Netherlands - Pliant Technologies debuts its CCU-08 CrewCom Control Unit at IBC 2022 (Stand 10.C53). The CCU-08 is the latest addition to the CrewCom system and gives users the ability to use up to eight 4-Wire ports while retaining all the same features of the current companion CCU-22 and CCU-44 products.
Like the current Control Units, the CCU-08 Control Unit contains no radio and is frequency agnostic and can therefore control and monitor any device across CrewNet regardless of radio frequency bands being utilized. With the combination of CrewCom Radio Transceivers, the new CCU-08 supports up to 82 Radio Packs, 18 in Normal mode and 64 in the recently released High Density mode, across all RF bands.
“The CCU-08 is an important addition to the CrewCom lineup,” says Gary Rosen, vice president of global sales for Pliant Technologies. “The CCU-08 adds the abil

UK - Avolites has released its new standalone video application Prism Zero to bring simplicity to complex video design and integration. The application expands the Prism range of live production tools alongside significant upgrades to Prism Player. The new platform is designed for venues, corporate events or art installations where there may not be a video specialist on site.
Prism Zero expands the set of complementary tools to give designers a straightforward platform to integrate video into their projects. Building on the feature set of Prism Player 1.1, the software enables media to be easily integrated, previewed, cropped and played back.
Prism Zero connects directly with all Avolites Titan lighting consoles via NDI connection and is controlled through the Synergy settings in both platforms. Playback, layer control (such as aspect ratio and colour adjustment), med

UK - Le Mark Group will be exhibiting its extensive product range at this year’s PLASA show. Two new Dirty Rigger products will take centre stage; the V3 edition of the heavy-duty backpack and four-way stretch ladies’ work trousers will both be showcased on Stand E20.
Additionally, Paper-Tak– a paper-based alternative to generic PVC tape will make its debut. Visitors will also be able to see a selection of Le Mark’s best-selling tapes, labels, flooring and crew wear, with a knowledgeable team on hand to answer any queries.
Speaking ahead of the show, Stuart Gibbons OBE, managing director, Le Mark Group said: “We’re delighted to be returning to the show again this year and we’re really excited to see what people think of the new products we will have on the stand. The Dirty Rigger backpack has been built around industry feedback. It’s comfortable to wear

UK - Production Futures exists to create opportunities for young people to learn, train, network and develop real careers in production across every area of the live event, music, touring, theatre, TV, broadcast and film industries.
As part of the promotion for its forthcoming Production Futures On Tour autumn events, the organisation will host a seminar at this year’s PLASA Show on the subject of Creating an Inclusive Workforce - How Can the Industry Attract Young Talent?.
Chaired by CEO Hannah Eakins, the panel, which includes Jas Parekh (Production Futures), Koy Neminathan (Sales Director at Avolites), Amy Kerr (field sales support manager at Robe) and Ollie Jeffrey (head of production and technical at Royal Albert Hall), will discuss solutions to the skills shortage in the live sector.
Hannah Eakins explains: “Since the pandemic, live events

Indonesia - Located on the perimeter of the Podomoro Golf Complex in a leafy suburb of Jakarta, At-Thohir Mosque was built by the extended family of automotive magnate, the late Teddy Thohir. The pearlescent house of worship features 29 domes meant to signify family. The building, which can welcome up to 1,900 worshippers, is a gift from a government minister, one of Mr. Thohir’s sons, to the local community and was inaugurated this spring by Indonesia’s president.
Wishing to maintain the grandeur of the building - its clean white interior, adorned with gold calligraphy representing the 99 meanings of Allah - the mosque’s technical committee required a powerful and pristine sound system that would discreetly fit into the building’s aesthetic. With recent government guidelines putting a cap on sound volumes at 100 decibels and limiting amplified audio to inside build

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