USA - The Sheraton Waikiki in Honolulu launched its Helumoa Playground Superpool series this autumn, comprising two distinct 3D pool mapping light show stories presented twice every evening to entertain hotel guests and the general public. Billed as the world's first permanent installation of its kind, the 3D pool mapping shows are projected across a 7,503sq.ft pool canvas, demonstrating lively displays of volcanic eruptions in Helumoa - the birth of Hawaii and the rise of historical Hawaiian resorts and water sports in Helumoa - the legendary story of Waikiki.
The Sheraton Waikiki hired PointCloud Media, a full-service production company specializing in 3D projections, to develop innovative, energized shows featuring graphic figures and images projected onto the nea
Russia - Roland digital consoles, Roland recorders and Roland digital snakes provided the portable production and TV studio solution for the MTV EMA Pre-Party in Moscow recently. The setup comprising the Roland M-400 Digital Console, Roland M-480 Digital Console, two Roland R-1000 standalone recorders and the Roland S-2416, S-1608 and S-0816 Digital Snakes, was used for the live production, mixing and recording of the sound for the entire event which was televised for MTV Russia.
The MTV Euro Music Awards took place at the GlavClub in Moscow. The chief sound engineer for the portable studio, Evgeny Ilin, specified Roland products for the job after successfully using them for various projects during the year. On this occasion, Evgeny enlisted the assistance of Roland Russia to supply the Roland products for the event as his own almost identical Roland rig was already being used.
UK - Australian dance-theatre piece Intimacy by Michelle Ryan and Torque Show recently traversed the globe to take up residence at the Southbank Centre in London. Part of the Unlimited disability arts festival, the piece was lit with eight Philips Selecon LED PLprofile1 luminaires, chosen for their crucial colourising flexibility by lighting designer John Ford.
Ford, of lighting design consultancy Relume, specified the Selecon luminaires when it came to lighting the piece during its previous run at the Malthouse Theatre in Melbourne.
"I chose the PLprofile1 luminaires as I knew I needed something flexible to get as many lighting options as possible into a small space, and a conventional rig can be limiting in that sense," says Ford. "I used the PLprofile1 luminaires in dance booms, because I wanted a wide range of colour, and they gave me the varie
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ETC Halcyon Silent
High End Systems Halcyon Silent builds on ETC’s legacy of fanless automated fixtures by incorporating features from the highly sought-after Halcyon family. Halcyon Silent perfectly balances silent operation with brilliant output of 18,400 lumens and high-impact features.
Europe - The new Philips ArenaVision LED is a lighting fixture dedicated for sports and multifunctional lighting applications. The unit brings a maximum design flexibility and high level of light quality, with no flicker effect in television application. Philips and Luminex worked together to bring an exclusive way to control and monitor these fixtures, offering maximum flexibility in switching between different types of events.
The partnership between the two companies started at RDM plug fest two years ago, and resulted in an agreement between both companies to share ideas and know-how. Luminex could bring its expertise in the entertainment market, and network based lighting control solutions.
A bespoke solution based on its Ethernet-DinMX4 and LumiNet Monitor V2 software was developed to provide advanced RDM monitoring, and easy to use merged control for the on tour lightin
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New Touring Series by Gravity – Every Scratch Has A Story
When the stage heats up, you need equipment that can keep up without compromise. The Gravity Touring Series has been specifically designed to meet the highest demands – for rental companies, professional musicians, concert organizers, and large event venues. Premium materials, exceptional durability, and impressive longevity make these products stand out. Whether on tour, in constant use, or under the toughest conditions: the Touring Series delivers maximum reliability and performance – every day, on every stage. FIND OUT MORE >>>
Australia - Australian national public broadcaster ABC has taken delivery of two Lawo mc2 consoles - one large Lawo mc²90 and one compact mc²56 - for its ABC TV studios in Elsternwick, Melbourne. Supply, configuration, installation and commissioning were carried out by Lawo's Australian partner for audio and video broadcast equipment, Professional Audio & Television (PAT).
The system, which was commissioned recently, consists of one Lawo mc2-90 console with 105 faders and a Lawo 48 fader mc2-56 console system. Lawo's mc2-90 flagship console core was supplied with 27 MADI ports, 96 AES3 inputs and outputs, 8 DSP cards including a redundant stand-by card, fully redundant controller cards and power supplies.
After having been awarded the tender to supply the equipment and provide the installation services as head contractor in June 2014, PAT worked closely with the Lawo project
USA - Jands' flagship Vista L5 console is controlling a large rig on popular American country music duo Thompson Square's Just Feels Good tour, which features over 80 moving lights and a large configuration of HD video screens.
Thompson Square consists of husband and wife, Keifer and Shawna Thompson. The group have received three fan-voted American Country Awards, a CMT Music Award, and were crowned the 2012 Academy of Country Music's Vocal Duo of the Year - the first new duo to win the award in 20 years. They are now one of America's biggest country acts, selling more than 2m copies of their Grammy-nominated hit single, Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not.
Jeff Lavallee from Nashville-based lighting, rentals and production company, 44 Designs - which holds a large fleet of Jands Vista consoles - supplied the Vista L5 to lighting designer Larry Foote for the tour.
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AZOR® SP2 IP - Compact IP65 Spot Profile Moving Head
Compact design and IP65 protection for indoor and outdoor applications: the new AZOR® SP2 IP is the ideal solution for open-air events and outdoor theatres that require a powerful, weatherproof lighting system. An optimal partner for lighting designers and event service providers looking for a versatile LED show light in a compact housing.
AZOR® SP2 IP – the next generation of robust, weatherproof, and compact lighting for maximum creative freedom, both indoors and outdoors.
USA - Free Chapel in Georgia has opened a new satellite campus in Gwinnett with a Meyer Sound Mina line array loudspeaker system in its 900-capacity auditorium. The facility is the ministry's second venue to deploy Meyer Sound, following the success with a CQ-2 and MSL-4 loudspeaker system on its main campus in Gainesville.
"Our Gwinnett auditorium is easily one of the best-sounding rooms I've heard in a long time in terms of coverage smoothness," says Michael Henson, technical director for Free Chapel. "The spoken word clarity is outstanding. We get a straight unprocessed audio feed of Pastor Franklin's voice, and we've found that we have to do almost nothing on the console to make it sound great in the room. The clarity and presence of the Mina system create an optimum environment for worship by producing a sound that's immersive, but never distracting."
Denmark - Martin Professional has announced the immediate pre-order availability of their new M-DMX interface hardware for connecting lighting software and DMX universes as well as several new controller solution bundles, including the M-PC 2U bundle and the LightJockey 2 and M-PC+ Controller kit.
The Martin M-DMX is a rugged aluminium extruded device and is built with two XLR 5-pin DMX ports, a USB 2.0 connection and a K-lock slot for securing the device. The interface also features a new stackable design, LED indicators and isolated dual output. The M-DMX is compatible with Martin's LightJockey and M-PC software, M-Series Consoles, Fixture Upload software, and is backwards compatible with Martin's Duo-DMX interface.
Martin's M-PC 2U is a professional two-DMX universe package, bundling Martin's M-PC software and the newly designed M-DMX two-port DMX interface. As the latest e
UK - Lighting / visuals designer Jvan Morandi is enjoying his first tour with the UK indie rockers The Kooks, who have just kicked off a UK and European tour, with lighting, LED screens and several custom elements supplied by west London rental specialist, Colour Sound Experiment.
Jvan is not afraid of taking a creative risk or two, and the design involves a provocative synergy of lighting and video delivered with Jvan's trademark thought and intelligence. The set embraces a whole range of styles characterized by The Kooks own distinctive style, and for every number, Jvan's imagineering brings an individual look, theme or ambience.
It's also Jvan's first full tour with Colour Sound as a supplier, on which he comments, "I like working with this company. It's a very well-organized operation with excellent kit, everyone is friendly and highly knowledgeable - and generally th
UK - The latest in the successful series of PLASA Focus events will take place at the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre, Glasgow on 2-3 December 2014.
Aimed at bringing together audio and lighting experts working in the live events sector at a regional level, the show is a chance to meet representatives from industry leading companies to seek out the latest products and services - as well as a premier networking opportunity.
Event Director, James Ashwood, comments: "There's a strong selection of lighting and audio companies at the Glasgow show including Robe, Avolites, Ambersphere, White Light, Black Light, Chauvet and Sennheiser, along with key dealers such as TMB, LMC, Warehouse Sound, Apex acoustics, HDPro, FBT and Polar Audio and rigging, trussing and special effects companies. Add to that the free to attend two-day seminar program and the rigging conference -
USA - Eventide has confirmed the formation of a strategic partnership with Yamaha to develop signature effects for a future update to its recently announced flagship live sound console, the Rivage PM10. The Eventide H3000 Live plug-in will include some of the most widely used signature Eventide effects used in the live sound industry.
"We have the utmost respect for Yamaha's deep roots in the music equipment industry. It is an honour to work with the company who is the largest manufacturer of musical instruments in the world. Their pioneering work developing some of the earliest digital consoles continues to be refined, incorporating the evolving demands for integrated workflow necessary for today's demanding live sound productions," noted Ray Maxwell, Eventide vice president of sales and marketing. "The marriage of classic Eventide effects with the state-of-the-a
USA - The Hollywood Bowl purchased a pair of DiGiCo SD7 digital mixing consoles - one for front-of-house, one for monitors - for its busy 2014 summer series of concerts, which came to a close in late September, enabling production staff to upgrade the operation of the installed PA system to 96 kHz resolution. This year's 15-week summer series, anchored by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, featured performances by major artists from all genres of music, including Gloria Estefan, Yo-Yo Ma, Elvis Costello, Herbie Hancock, Robyn, Steve Martin and a host of others.
The iconic 18,000-seat Hollywood Bowl may have been named Pollstar's best major outdoor concert venue for an unprecedented tenth consecutive year in early 2014, but the team behind its audio technology is not content to rest on its laurels. According to Paul Geller, production director at the Hollywood Bowl for more than three
Switzerland - Schertler has announced the release of its new, re-engineered range of DYN contact microphones. The DYN P48 Series features a collection of fully balanced, active, dynamic models with Class A electronics. Benefitting from the latest developments in microphone technology, the DYN P48 Series now combines even better sound quality with a more elegant lightweight design and more user-friendly operation, says the company.
Schertler's original DYN Series was first introduced over 20 years ago, with the contact microphones quickly achieving recognition for their ability to enhance the natural sound quality and characteristics of a range of acoustic instruments. The new P48 Series retains the best features from these original models while incorporating state-of-the-art, in-house developed active filtering technology that has enabled each microphone to be precisely matched
Hungary - The Tokaj Festival Valley is part of a HUF 2 billion regeneration project designed to put the area of Tokaj-Hegyalja in Hungary firmly on the tourism and culture map. The complete transformation of the valley includes an open air theatre and stage, as well as a purpose built facility for cultural events, sports events and concerts aiming to boost visitors to the region and bring increased business to hotels, restaurants and local businesses. The long awaited grand opening ceremony took place recently, with Roland digital consoles, digital snakes and audio recorders playing an integral part in the live sound production.
The Festival Valley specified a reliable, flexible audio solution which could adapt to a variety of applications and configurations ranging from spoken word to theatre to rock concerts. Although part of a permanent installation, the equipment also needed
UK - Using more lights than ever before STL created a light show with a punch at this year's Leeds Castle Fireworks display. Dubbed one of the South East's largest fireworks displays outside London, the Leeds Castle event in Kent, with synchronised lighting and fireworks to music, has become a draw for thousands of spectators each year and 2014 was better than ever.
Based on the outskirts of Maidstone in Kent, STL has designed and installed lighting at the Leeds Castle Fireworks display for five consecutive years. The company's ability to create a dramatic light show to music that compliments fireworks has become widely recognised, hence STL regularly works with pyrotechnic experts, Alchemy, who develop the theme for the annual Leeds Castle event.
Despite the essential maintenance work taking place on the exterior of the ancient building, which requires a permanent scaffold an
UK - SES has announced the opening of its satellite office within Pinewood Studios. With the continued growth of sales to the film industry, SES has taken space within the studios to better serve the production companies within.
Holding a wide range of stock, SES are able to deliver within a very short time of receiving the order, or indeed , customers are able to collect directly. Production companies often require equipment at very short notice, so to have items available immediately will save time and money, and reduce stress.
SES has available from stock, a wide range of power distribution, cables, socapex products, DMX, Gaffer tape, cable ties and Cee form connectors. SES can be found in Block G, room 102.
Qatar - Nicolas Kyvernitis Electronics Enterprises (NMK) reports successful roadshow seminars in Doha and Oman.
The NMK Roadshow that took place in Doha, Qatar on 10 November 2014 and in Muscat, Oman on 18 November 2014 attracted a varied audience from systems integrators to end users. The attendees could choose to attend either morning session or afternoon sessions. The total number of the attendees reached 84.
NMK product specialists teamed up with the manufacturers' representatives to deliver the presentations and product demonstrations. Due to the variety of products on show, there was a chance for each attendee to experience gear from different parts of the industry and understand how complete turnkey solutions work. Several brands distributed by the company, namely HK Audio, Shure, Roland, Neutrik and Clear-Com were presented at the event.
UK - Orbital Sound, the theatre, live sound and entertainment technology specialist, has announced the appointment of Andy Simmons to the post of director of sales. Joining Orbital in November, Andy brings over 25 years of international sales and marketing experience, gained within the pro-audio sector in association with many key brands, including Crest Audio, XTA Electronics, Peavey and KV2.
Andy will be fulfilling a strategic role at Orbital, working to develop the company's long-term sales plan, while making full use of the product-specialist expertise available within the organisation.
MD Chris Headlam comments, "At Orbital we have real passion for what we do and are always looking to add extra elements that enhance our service. With Andy's arrival we are focusing on how we innovate within the whole 'sales' field, on the basis that we are already a well-established a
USA - Lightwave International has announced a laserbased lighting fixture called Phenom to be released at LDI 2014 in Las Vegas this week.
The Phenom combines traditional lighting features with lasers' crisplydefined effects and vivid colours. The Phenom also boasts intrinsic audiencescanning safety, DMX control, an integrated media server, fullcolour laser output, and a speedy moving head.
Intrinsic audience scanning safeguards are permanently calibrated by Lightwave International to ensure Phenoms are always audience safe at a minimum distance of 9.1m. No operator, hardware, or software error can defeat the intrinsic safety design once rigged. Any Phenom rigged 9.1m or more from the audience will always perform under the FDA CDRH regulated maximum permissible exposure.
The Phenom is the first moving head laser to implement intrinsic audience scanning safety, making
Belgium - Barco is to expand its projector portfolio with a cost-effective single-chip DLP projector producing 12,000 centre lumens light output. The brand-new RLS-W12 offers WUXGA (1,920 x 1,200) resolution, extended warping and blending, and HDBaseT technology to provide video over a single Cat 5 cable.
This new projector is suitable for small- to medium-sized venues, and its optional rental frame makes it equally suited for the rental and staging market as well. The projector will be commercially available from December 2014 onwards.
"Our RLS-W12 projector is a smart choice for customers who are looking for a cost-effective projector that delivers the brightness needed for large screens," comments Richard Marples, strategic market director venues & hospitality at Barco. "Designed for fixed installation in museums, theaters and conference auditoriums, it's als
USA - Le Maitre is set to make several announcements at LDI this week, with new products right across the board from haze to flames to pyro.
LDI will see the unveiling of a brand new hazer - the EcoHazer, making a world first preview on Le Maitre's booth.
Le Maitre hazers are already known for their incredible output and low power consumption, not to mention the haze fluid which converts to produce the purest, most efficient and long lasting haze on the market. The new EcoHazer takes the environmental aspect even further and Le Maitre believes that it is the most energy efficient water-based hazer on the market today!
The EcoHazer consumes a low 100-150W, a rate that other haze units on the market with a similar output simply can't match, with many requiring up to 1500W - that's ten times the electrical energy! The EcoHazer uses a completely new heating system borne out of L