UK / Brazil - The recent AES Expo in Sao Paulo provided an opportunity for pro-audio UK brands to test the water in one of the world's most vibrant and rewarding markets - Brazil.

Under the umbrella of the APRS / UKTI national booth which branded itself as the 'GREAT British Audio Embassy', companies from the pro-audio, live sound reinforcement and broadcast sectors shared a single space at the AES Expo and Convention. It attracted a steady flow of new customers and existing clients cementing over £750k of immediate business, plus a catalogue of future deals that are making the prospect of South American trips increasingly alluring.

Brazil offers an enormous domestic market but is also seen as a gateway to the entire South American continent.

The success of these explora

USA - Meyer Sound has promoted Luke Jenks to the newly created position of director of product management. Most recently serving as the company's loudspeaker product manager, Jenks now represents the full range of company solutions, from loudspeakers to show control, system optimization, and passive and active acoustic systems.

As director of product management, Jenks is responsible for defining market needs, articulating customer requirements, and representing customer feedback throughout the lifecycle of a product. He also assumes direction of a newly formed product management team that encompasses market requirement definition, new product introductions, and technical documentation.

The team includes Richard Bugg, audio show control product manager, Todd Meier, digital products manager, Greg Thomas, technical writer, and Rong Wang, new product introduction technical project

UK - The historic Royal Opera House (ROH) in London's Covent Garden has worked closely with the lighting division of A.C. Entertainment Technologies (AC-ET) Ltd - an official UK sub-distributor for the High End Systems product range - to seamlessly upgrade their Wholehog III house video control desk to the flagship new Hog 4 console.

AC-ET's senior technical sales executive, Ben Taylor, was invited by Gareth Shelton, deputy manager of the ROH's sound & broadcast department, to demo the Hog 4 console in-situ to the venue's technical team.

Gareth comments, "Our department looks after all aspects of video projection on main stage shows. Specifically, we use our console for video projection programming with our media servers, so it was really important to ensure that the upgrade would provide a more powerful console capable of satisfying the venue's increasingly ambitious pro

featured content

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.

France - The Zenith de Strasbourg recently played host to a magnificent cine-concert of the first film of Disney's hit Pirates of the Caribbean series, The Curse of The Black Pearl. The film was screened in front of 6000 people to the accompaniment of the Strasbourg Philharmonic Orchestra complete with a 24-strong choir who brought Klaus Badelt's magnificent soundtrack to life.

The Zenith de Strasbourg, which is the biggest indoor arena in France was packed to the rafters for this spectacular one-off event. Strasbourg-based rental company, Lagoona, were brought in to supply the PA system, and Lagoona in turn, called on digital audio networking specialists, Espace Concept, to supply and manage the FoH console, microphones and networking. For the very first time, Espace Concept used an mc256 console from Lawo.

The suggestion came directly from Lawo's Hervé d

UK - As part of an ongoing process of preparing for the next wave of growth, Martin Audio has recently made two new strategic hires.

First, Bash Akhtar has joined as operations director. He has previously served as operations and manufacturing director of RLC Callender, Smiths Detection, and Harmonic Inc. Bash has earned a Fellowship in Manufacturing Management from Cranfield University and is a manufacturing systems engineer from the University of Hertfordshire.

Secondly, David Morbey has joined as the company's first dedicated Product Manager. He has previously served as global product marketing manager at D&M Professional.

Commenting on the hires, James King, director of marketing, said, "We're delighted to have Bash and David join us as we continue to build a world class team. Their expertise will enable us to further grow the business and support our customer base.

Chile - The Vina del Mar International Song Festival (Spanish: Festival Internacional de la Canción de Vina del Mar) is a music festival held annually since 1960 in Vina del Mar, Chile, and considered one of the most important musical events in the Americas.

Staged at the Quinta Vergara Amphitheatre, the festival features a song competition with two categories (pop music and folk songs), interspersed with performances by international music stars from around the world, encompassing a diverse mix of genres like rock, multi-lingual pop, merengue, salsa, reggaetón, bachata and many others.

To deal with this variety in the music lighting designer Luis Pastor trusted in a highly flexible lighting control - the grandMA2. In total he used an MA System comprised of two grandMA2 full-size, two grandMA2 light, four MA NPU (Network Processing Unit), six MA 2Port Node and two MA VPU plu

USA - At InfoComm 2014 Barco will dramatize a 'Day in the Life' of a smart city, demonstrating how its large-scale visualization, wireless collaboration and enterprise communications solutions are woven into everyday life to connect people, places and technology.

In the Barco Booth C6308, visitors will interact with Barco smart solutions as they're experienced by businesses and consumers in the real world: innovative controllers dynamically stream and display intelligence to public agencies on giant video walls; event projectors powered with the latest presentation switchers wow audiences at live shows and entertainment venues; vibrant and interactive signage engages shoppers in a retail promenade. These are just a few of Barco's latest innovations on display at InfoComm.

"We want to show our customers how Barco is transforming the way people present and share information

featured content

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 - Orbital Sound is unveiling its new distribution line of Nemesis audio playback and control solutions on Stand No: 74 at the ABTT Theatre Show 2014.

Designed to address the challenging requirements of the theatre and live entertainment environments, the Nemesis hardware range comprises the core components required to achieve seamlessly integrated performances with the ultimate degree of control.

At the heart of the Nemesis line-up is the highly flexible CCS-2 Computer Control Switch, designed to allow two computer systems to share a keyboard, mouse, monitor, distribution of GPI data and MIDI messages - providing an essential degree of system resilience and invisible audio transition, should a problem arise with the Mac or PC-based sound playback system, typically running QLab, CSC or similar playback software.

In addition to the CCS-2, the current Nemesis line-up include

UK - With just three days to go, JHS is getting ready for its biggest Event yet which will feature a number of new products for the pro-audio sector.

The HK Audio NANO600 is now available in the UK and will be on show. Providing all the features and versatility as its 'little' brother (the incredibly popular NANO300) its inbuilt 475 watt power amp provides extra punch and headroom for larger venues, whilst still retaining the portability which is the trademark of HK Audio's Active ranges.

Lewitt Microphones have added the DGT650 USB and LCT550 to their portfolio. A new class in the USB microphone field, the DGT650 supports ASIO for Windows and OSX Core Audio and can be easily combined with mobile devices, thanks in part to its built-in lithium-ion battery. It also feature an onboard analog preamp, switchable high-pass filter, two attenuation settings and four different recordi

Germany - Laserworld has developed a new product line, the Diode Series, to fill the gap between their entry-level and their more professional laser light systems. The compact housing, built according to the Sealed Housing Technology, is equipped with a diode-only solution, which means great beam specifications at smooth colour fading behaviour.

The Diode Series is fully graphics capable and has a professional ILDA interface for computer control. Besides that, stand-alone mode, sound-to-light operation and DMX control is possible.

Two versions of the full colour whitelight lasers are offered: the Laserworld DS-800RGB and the Laserworld DS-1600RGB. Both have great beam specifications of ca. 3mm / 1.3mrad full angle and come with fast scanners at 40kpps.

Nightclub owners, mobile DJs but also rental companies will like these new units, as they well fit for medium sized rooms, b

UK - A.C. Entertainment Technologies (AC-ET) will showcase a selection of the latest lighting, audio, rigging and video solutions available from their vast portfolio of premium brands - on stand 38 at ABTT 2014, London.

Sales teams from AC-ET's four specialist product divisions will be on hand to demonstrate and discuss the latest technologies from leading marques which AC-ET are the exclusive UK dealer for, as well as over 200 leading brands available for immediate despatch from the company's multi-million pound inventory.

After receiving an overwhelmingly positive response when showcased at another recent UK tradeshow, the AC-ET stand will feature models from the UK-exclusive Prolights line-up of lighting and effects products. The impressive lighting range features an extensive portfolio of product lines from a wide selection of LEDs, including Pars, battens, moving lights,

Spain - YCD Multimedia has announced its participation with Coca-Cola in creating the Coca-Cola lounge at this year's CineEurope 2014 convention in Barcelona, Spain, June 17-19 2014.

Working in close cooperation with Littlebit Technology, as well as NEC Displays Solutions and Intel, YCD brings a rarely seen immersive digital signage solution to the Coca-Cola lounge. Coca Cola is the main sponsor for this year's CineEurope show and "it was important for us to help Coca-Cola showcase a complete digital signage solution for cinema complexes," said Eran Sharon, VP product management for YCD Multimedia.

From box office ticketing, concessions, future film promotions and wayfinding, each solution shown addresses today's Cineplex needs and business goals while incorporating immersive and experiential elements to enhance the movie-going experience. Content will be presented i

UK - Hall Stage has announced the launch of the DL-Lite range of rigging pulleys to complement the existing extensive catalogue of stage equipment, built up since the company formation 116 years ago in 1898.

Designed to meet a 5:1 safety factor - 60% higher than competitive products - DL-Lite has a safe working load of 150Kg, with the Hall Stage quality guarantee and warranty to back it up. Featuring Laser-cut 3mm steel side plates - no light gauge pressed materials - the pulleys are fabricated from high grade materials and components to complement the standard Halls Dynaline 8:1 units, sharing the same comprehensive selection of fitting & fixing options.

Finished in Hall Stages' non-reflective and durable powdercoat, DL-Lite pulleys feature triple cable retainer guides to secure ropes in the sheave profile and are fully proof load tested & CE marked prior to shipping.

Avail

UK - Contemporary UK folk band Bellowhead celebrated their 10th anniversary with two high profile shows at London's Royal Albert Hall and Manchester's Bridgewater Hall, for which lighting designer Emma Thompson created an eye-catching scheme which included Robe CycFX 8s, Pointes, LEDWash 600s and LEDBeam 100 moving lights - all from Robe's Robin range.

Emma has been working with the band for the last three and a half years. They tour regularly each year in autumn and spring and she is also a big fan of Robe products. The lighting design for these two special shows referenced that of the last tour but on a vastly expanded scale, with a big increase in the amount of kit used, most of which was supplied by Southampton based rental company, GLS.

"I've always used Robe fixtures in my Bellowhead shows," says Emma. "It's great technology, very solid and there is always

UK - Engage Production Ltd, specialist in interactive technologies for branded environments, has supplied technology and technical expertise to the world's first Bloomberg Hub, which has been unveiled at London City Airport. Engage supplied a digital display, media wall with audio distribution, as well as all the hardware necessary for technical integration.

The Bloomberg Hub provides "timely and relevant news, data, and information within a visually-compelling, technology-driven space". Engage's electronic wizardry, along with Bloomberg's rich content and design, all combine to create an interactive, energetic, and functional space devised "to make the business traveller's journey more productive, more efficient, and more enjoyable".

"It's a great privilege to be asked to work with Bloomberg again, particularly on such a big project and a world's firs

USA - When Sound Designer Darron L West and associate sound designer Charles Coes were looking to create a dazzling audio experience for William Shakespeare's fantasy play The Tempest, they turned to Masque Sound, a leading theatrical sound reinforcement, installation and design company, to provide a custom audio equipment package.

The Tempest is a co-production between The Smith Centre for the Performing Arts in Las Vegas and the American Repertory Theatre (A.R.T.) in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The play premiered under a big top tent in Las Vegas on 1 April and is now playing at the A.R.T's Loeb Drama Centre.

The Tempest tells the story of shipwrecked aristocrat Prospero and his daughter Miranda who wash up on the shores of an enchanted and strange island. They find themselves immersed in a world of trickery and amazement, in which Tom Waits' and Kathleen

Australia - ArKaos PRO's Australian distributor, ULA Group, were once again a proud sponsor of 2014 BMW Bruce Lynton Charity Ball, a prestigious event hosted in May at the RACV Royal Pines Resort on Australia's Gold Coast. Working together with Jesse Radatti from Digital Lighting Solutions, the team delivered a spectacular production for the ball, which has become one of the Gold Coast's prime events.

Australia's famous Choirboys, supported by local group,The Accidents, were entertaining the crowds until late into the night. The evening's celebrations were crowned by a pixel mappable chandelier, installed as a centerpiece in the Grand Ball Room. This was controlled by ChamSys MQ 60 console through ArKaos PRO media server technology to create a festive atmosphere for the event.

Bruce Lynton Prestige Automotive Group dealer principal, Beric Lynton, explains that the event's sole

UK - On the eve of the International Theatre Engineering and Architecture Conference 2014 (ITEAC 2014), taking place this Sunday until Tuesday (8-10 June), the Association of British Theatre Technicians (ABTT) looks forward to welcoming leading experts in the backstage arts, to London for 'one glorious week in technical theatre'.

As recorded in its Memorandum of Association, the ABTT was founded to achieve "the advancement of public education in the technical subjects connected with the theatre and theatrical presentation and the promotion for the benefit of the public of good theatre design and technical presentation of theatrical works".

Both ITEAC 2014 and the ABTT Theatre Show at London's Old Truman Brewery on the following two days (11-12 June), fulfil this objective through the exchange of ideas and information amongst those concerned with the accommodation and

UK - Distributor HD Pro Audio will be exhibiting at ABTT 2014. The company will be showing a wide range of professional audio products, with the SSL Live, L'Acoustics, Timax and BroaMan taking centre stage.

"This is the first time the SSL Live console will be shown at ABTT," commented HD Pro Audio's Andy Huffer. "The SSL Live sets new standards for audio quality and transparency, which are so critical in theatre sound. SSL has combined that ultimate sound quality with a compact foot print, rock-solid stability and incredible flexibility - it's a dream to use and provides the way forward that engineers want."

Huffer continues, "With such a premium range of audio products setting the standards for the performing arts, we're really looking forward to a very busy ABTT show."

HD Pro Audio will be on Stand 24 and Andy Huffer and Tom Turner will be on

South Africa - When Canadian singer-songwriter Tamia came to South Africa on her three city tour, six Robe Pointes were used for the Johannesburg leg of the tour hosted at the Carnival City Big Top Arena. Magz Schoeman, head of lighting at Carnival City was the lighting designer for the show hosted on the 27-28 April.

Schoeman started her journey by getting her hands on Tamia's music. "Tamia's sound is very chilled and after the first song, I thought pink." With soft pastel colours in mind, Schoeman used six Robe Pointes, eight Robin 100LEDBeams, eight Robin 300s, four Robin 600s, six Robe MMX Spots, four Martin MAC 550 Profiles and 12 MAC 575 Krypons and six bars of 6 LED pars to create something special and a design which was complimented by the event organizer.

"The Pointes were great," said Schoeman. "It was the first time I used them and I love th

UK - Blackout was commissioned to transform East London's Old Truman Brewery to make it catwalk ready for Graduate Fashion Week (GFW) 2014.

A platform to showcase fashion's future rising stars and known for launching careers of the likes of Stella McCartney and Julien MacDonald, this year's GFW attracted over 25,000 guests, hosted 20 catwalk shows and showcased over 40 talented universities.

The annual event, in its 23rd year, made the move to the edgier East End, deciding on the Old Truman Brewery as its new venue. Blackout's experienced rigging and draping team were called in to install two catwalk structures; one using ground supported truss and the other flown using 10 half ton motors.

"The two catwalks were held in completely difference spaces, Catwalk A was upstairs in a much lighter room with skylights and Catwalk B was located on the ground floor," explaine

Latest Issue. . .

Save
Cookies user preferences
We use cookies to ensure you to get the best experience on our website. If you decline the use of cookies, this website may not function as expected.
Accept all
Decline all
Analytics
Tools used to analyze the data to measure the effectiveness of a website and to understand how it works.
Google Analytics
Accept
Decline
Advertisement
If you accept, the ads on the page will be adapted to your preferences.
Google Ad
Accept
Decline