South Africa - Second year students from the Department of Performing Arts Technology at The Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) visited DWR Distribution for an introduction to product training on 14 February 2015.

With a revamped syllabus, developed by Hardus Koekemoer (lighting lecturer at Department of Entertainment) and Wandile Mogodo (technical manager at the Breytenbach Theatre, the TUT training venue) this was the first time the 36 students were taken on a field trip, particularly to a lighting supplier to see the latest technology available.

"It's a matter of getting the students switched on," commented Hardus. Many students sign up for the three year diploma not fully aware of what the course entails. Some have never seen a live show before; others still ha

USA/Canada - With over a million albums sold, Canadian post-hardcore group Silverstein has defied expectations as well as easy categorizations. Moving seamlessly from reflective emo tunes to pop punk power chords, these young artists are bent on keeping their creative options open. This independent streak is enthusiastically shared by the band's LD Victor Zeiser.

Wanting to expand his creative direction as a lighting designer, Zeiser recently started his own rental company, Squeek Lights, and purchased his own gear so he could pursue his unique design vision. Included in this mix of fixtures are a collection of Rogue R1 Spot moving heads and COLORdash Batten-Quad 6 linear washes from Chauvet Professional.

Zeiser is using both of these Chauvet Professional LED products to stunning effect on Silverstein's current Discovering the Waterfront 10th Anniversary Tour. "After gett

USA - At SoundBox, the Meyer Sound Constellation acoustic system plays a keystone element in the San Francisco Symphony's radical new strategy for attracting younger audiences to diverse live music. The brainchild of symphony music director Michael Tilson Thomas, SoundBox has reshaped music discovery by removing the constraints of many typical classical music venues, including the acoustics.

"SoundBox is a new and experimental space for music of all kinds," Tilson Thomas explains. "Part of the experience of being in this space is to hear music of many different eras - from ninth century Gregorian chant to music composed today. Constellation from Meyer Sound provides the optimal acoustics for each genre and has helped us create a space where audience and musicians can explore a new kind of musical journey together."

SoundBox occupies Zellerbach A, a lofty, 7

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.

South Africa - DWR Distribution has been appointed as the exclusive South Africa distributor for Quartzcolor and IFF.

"These products are truly standard setters within the television and film industry," said Dave Whitehouse of DWR Distribution. "The brands are synonymous with quality and will be a fantastic addition to our stable."

Quartzcolor was founded in 1954 and has since been a leading lighting brand with a strong reputation based on pioneering fproduct innovations that have now become common names and standards in the lighting industry such as Redhead, Blonde and Bambino.

IFF offers a comprehensive range of lighting suspensions, from simple telescopic posts to pantographs, self-climbing hoists and modular systems with a wide range of mounting brackets and accessories.

Massimo Cecchini, Cosmolight international sales director, commented, "We

UK - You Me At Six celebrated the conclusion of their 2014 Cavalier Youth" album campaign with a UK arena double-headliner with US pop punk band All Time Low, bringing an interesting fusion of genres and uniting thousands of enthusiastic young fans equally into both of them.

Lighting and visuals designer Louis Oliver from creative practice Okulus specified 18 x Robe BMFL Spots and 40 x Robe LEDWash 600s among other fixtures for this final leg of the tour which were supplied by lighting contractor Zig Zag Lighting from Leeds.

Zig Zag was the second rental company in the UK to commit to purchasing BMFLs, and the lights have been working hard ever since on a variety of shows.

The You Me At Six design evolved and was developed over the year according to the venues and the format of the shows, and for these final arena dates, there was a general up-scaling of the orig

USA - Florida Georgia Line have begun their Anything Goes 2015 world tour, in support of their latest album, with a large complement of Clay Paky lighting fixtures.

Lighting designer and programmer Scott Cunningham selected the equipment from the inventory of Morris Light & Sound in Nashville. He is deploying 40 new Clay Paky Mythos fixtures, 24 A.leda B-EYE K20s, 14 Sharpys and 24 Sharpy Washes in the lighting rig.

"I've been using Sharpys since I started to work with the band," says Cunningham. "They love a good bright, poppy show, and Sharpys really make themselves known in clubs and arenas. And they're a real workhorse."

Cunningham surrounds the stage with Sharpys, which act as floor lights to accent the sets; he also positions them on the thrust. "They fill out the space from ground to ceiling," he says.

The tour is his first carrying Sha

UK - Ahead of revised HSE guidelines for the new Construction Design and Management (CDM) regulations that come into force on 6 April and will affect all event sites, an industry group has collaborated to create a new guidance document. Contributors include Serious Stages, StageCo, Star Events, Acorn Event Structures, Arena Group, Capita, Momentum, Symphotech, The Event Safety Shop, The Production Services Association.

The Guidance for the Management & Use of Stages and related Temporary Event Structures brings clarity to working practices within the temporary structures and staging industry.

The comprehensive guidance is freely available from contributors' websites to help anyone who has duties under the revised CDM regulations to prepare in advance of their introduction on 6 April 2015. It builds on the HSE (Health and Safety Executive) draft guidance issued on its we

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

Belgium - Barco has added two new indoor LED displays to its display portfolio for retail and advertising. Designed for fixed indoor installation in fashion retail, automotive retail, banking or transit advertising applications, the V4i and V6i feature 4mm and 6mm pixel pitch, respectively, and combine the renowned Barco image quality with excellent contrast.

"We offer an extensive portfolio of both indoor and outdoor LED displays with low, medium, and high resolution for all types of applications in the retail and advertising market," comments Carl Rijsbrack, vice president retail & advertising at Barco.

"With the addition of the V4i and V6i to our V-series LED displays, we are expanding our range of medium-resolution displays with cost-effective models. All around the globe, Barco products have proven their worth by offering exceptional image quality, ultimate

Australia - Lawo's Australian partner Professional Audio & Television (PAT) has supplied, configured and commissioned a Lawo crystal system for Canberra-based community broadcaster 1CMS.

Having previously supplied a single 12-fader Lawo crystal console in 2013, PAT have now supplied further two 12-fader crystal consoles and a crystal base unit frame. The three consoles will be used in the two main on-air studios and one production studio. All three studios are connected to the main Lawo crystal base unit frame via MADI fiber for audio networkability, while the IP control network allows for logic control such as talkback and profanity delay.

PAT's Broadcast Technician Nick Brown was programming the system, "We wanted to provide the full Lawo flexibility while keeping the system easy to use. Lawo's zirkon configuration software was used to program all on-air delegation, tal

UK - Martin Audio has released details of a new book, The Martin Audio Experience. A glossy hardback book featuring nearly 150 photographs, it charts the history of Martin Audio, from its humble yet highly transformative Dave Martin origins right through to the modern day era of MLA.

It has been edited by James King, director of marketing, who said of the project, "It's been a labour of love over the last four months and we've been so lucky to have some really insightful interviews and amazing photographs from our partners covering the Dave Martin era, as well as leaning on some superb stories and photos for the current MLA success."

King continues, "We wanted to produce something for everyone in Martin Audio so they could always be connected to the company's roots, as well as a thank you to our long serving partners around the world, and of course our pe

UK - When Gary Willn reviewed the varied roster of work being serviced by his long running company, CSR Lighting, he sensed that the versatility of SGM's LED portfolio would not only provide unique solutions for him, but also his many dry hire customers.

The Nuneaton-based company opened their account by ordering a batch of P-5 LED washlights. "I have an enjoyment of outdoor projects and SGM's IP-rated products are wonderful - taking the industry to the next level," he says.

Aside from providing RGBW colour washes of building exteriors he has also found great application of the fixture for permanent side stage washes on theatre shows, using the white light through the 43° lens. "On the other hand we also undertake a lot of corporate work and for these a complete colour mix, or mix of pastels and whites, is essential."

He said that in the regular Ch

USA - Belying its modest exterior, The Troubadour has featured prominently in the entertainment history of Los Angeles almost since the day it was opened in 1957 by the late Doug Weston.

Showing no signs of slowing down after nearly six decades, the legendary venue, which was named by Billboard in 2014 as one of the top five must-play clubs in the country and by Rolling Stone the year prior as the second best rock club in America, has just become even more attractive to touring artists with a major upgrade of its PA system to L-Acoustics components. Rat Sound Systems, Inc. of Camarillo served as the designer, supplier and installer of the venue's new house system.

Dave Rat, president of Rat Sound, and general manager Paul Freudenberg began discussing the upgrade - the first for over two decades at the club - with The Troubadour three years ago. "With the ven

UK - British alt.rock band Dry The River spent the second half of February on a UK tour to promote their latest album Alarms Of The Heart. With budget and space requirements at a premium, a Yamaha QL1 system was the ideal solution for engineer Lee McMahon to mix both front of house sound and monitors.

Last year, Lee and the band decided that the best way of getting consistency from show to show was to move from wedges to in-ear monitors, with touring a console making it possible for Lee to mix them as well as the house sound.

"I had to consider the logistics of carrying an audio control package in a splitter van alongside a full backline, so the QL1 and Rio3224-D combination was the ideal lightweight, powerful system," says Lee. "The tour took in venues where floor space was at a premium, so I wanted a solution that wouldn't eat up sellable areas. The siz

Ireland - High Kirk Presbyterian Church in Ballymena has upgraded its PA system with a Martin Audio MLA Mini Multi-cellular Loudspeaker Array, supplied and supported by Ireland distributors, Rea Sound.

After two years of research - visiting trade shows and suppliers, reading specifications and reviews, and listening to systems - it was going to take something special in a speaker system to please the church's technical team; and they found what they wanted in Martin Audio's award-winning MLA platform.

The requirement had been for a complete replacement of the PA system in the 600-capacity church. According to Rea Sound's account manager, Roger McMullan. "Shifting emphasis to modern worship music meant that the old system, which was 20 years old, could no longer cope."

After extensive listening tests, the team came down unanimously in favour of the MLA Mini.

Restr

UK - On 28 February the Odyssey Arena in Belfast played host to the boxing match relayed on live TV in the UK, featuring super bantamweight champion Carl Frampton defending his title against American Chris Avalos. Boxing in his home city, Frampton, also known as 'The Jackal', defeated Avalos inside five rounds and continued his winning streak.

Creative Technology's (CT) services were engaged to supply the IMAG screens rigged above the ring. Four 18sqm displays were flown from truss using CT's new ROE MC7 LED tiles and fed with the live footage also broadcast on ITV.

Paul Seeger, CT project manager, commented, "This was an important fight in the boxing calendar with 11,000 people watching in the sold-out Arena.

"Our aim was to enhance the audience's experience which was achieved through the use of our new 7mm resolution tiles. With their high levels of brightness an

Indonesia - With the opening late last year of The Mirror Lounge & Club, Seminyak, the international vacation hotspot on the west coast of Bali, has become an even more popular tourist destination. With a capacity of 1,000, the club is the latest, and one of the largest, high-profile additions to the Seminyak scene.

To accentuate the club's distinct layout and features, local integration firm Monalisa Tunggal Jaya (MJT) selected a wide array of Martin Professional lighting fixtures, which they've been installing across Indonesia since 1996.

Owned by Indonesian entertainment organization All In, Mirror caters to an eclectic mix of both local and foreign clubbers. Panelled mirrors are mounted in the corners of the club, which features high ceilings and a rectangular floor plan oriented around the DJ, dispersing the crowd to the sides of the stage.

"Even with Mirror's high

South Africa - Metric Halo, maker of high-end professional audio interfaces, plug-ins, and sound analysis software, has appointed Benjamin Pro Audio as its distributor in South Africa.

Based in the South African capital of Pretoria, Benjamin Pro Audio specializes high-end equipment for studios, acoustic consultation, and acoustic design. It will handle Metric Halo's entire product line, from its flagship eight-channel ULN-8 preamp/converter to its Production Bundle of plug-ins - and everything in between.

"Benjamin Pro Audio's extensive knowledge of the gear they sell for use in the studio and on location, as well as their commitment to finding the right solutions for their customers, will serve Metric Halo well," said Stu Buchalter, Metric Halo's vice president of worldwide sales

"They're passionate about audio, and they only sell equipment that they believe

USA - Verizon Wireless is turning up the wow factor in stores and malls around the United States, from their two-story flagship store in Chicago to the Mall of America in Minneapolis, to Houston, Santa Monica, and Boston.

Smaller "Smart Store Plus" locations that include some, but not all, of the new design features of the flagship stores are also making appearances around the United States starting in Seattle.

One of the first video features customers see when entering the stores is the Brand Focal, a video column consisting of over 100 Christie MicroTiles. The feature sits at end of the entrance walkway and displays the Verizon logo on a dynamic, animated background that interacts with shoppers using the motion tracking technology of Microsoft Kinect.

Further into the store, shoppers can explore features of various phones and service plans on the Product Wall, a

UK / USA - Noble Audio, the California-based IEM and CIEM specialist, has unveiled its first UK demo facility. The new resource, which is based in London, makes the entire Noble Audio range of IEMS available for demonstration. Visitors can also have ear-impressions taken for Noble Audio's bespoke-fit models.

As of March 2015, Noble Audio's full product range, which starts from just £230, will be available to try from an easily accessible smart London facility. Noble Audio has partnered with a high-profile professional audiologist, Gisele Flower, to demonstrate the range and take the impressions.

Based in north London with a regular consultancy in Harley Street, Gisele Flower is also known as the 'musician's audiologist'. Gisele's clients include some of the world's best-known musicians and bands. Noble Audio's uncompromising high-performance in-ear monitor range has prov

UK - A final few tickets are available for Rob Halliday's Computers in Entertainment talk tonight at the National Museum of Computing, Bletchley.

In his talk, Halliday will look at how computers moved into entertainment lighting, from pioneering systems such as Strand's IDM up to the remarkable Lightboard created for the National Theatre, which still has some tricks that the current generation of PC-based control systems in use today can't replicate. The common link across all of these systems: lighting's critical need for things to happen right now, right on the beat of the music or the snap of an actor's fingers, not a few moments later when the computer decides it's ready.

The event takes place at The National Museum of Computing, Bletchley, Milton Keynes on Thursday 12 March 2015. Doors open at 7:00pm. Tickets range in price from £4.50 - £7.50.

To purc

UK - Star Events took a depth of infrastructure and technical expertise to Southampton for the Queen to officially name P&O Cruises' new £473m flagship, Britannia - at 143,000 tons, the biggest ship built for the British cruise market.

Subject to strict accreditation and security checks in step with the event's Royal profile, Star Events supplied a 20-20 roofed grandstand, seating 1,325 invitees, a performance stage, ground support for an LED screen and PA, as well as a tiered press platform.

The company also devised a solution for the quayside fix of the zip wire behind the bottle smash. Working closely with the technical production manager Kal Butt and a US specialist team led by Mike Walsh, Star had to overcome the tidal effect on the height of the ship and the fixing point at the middle of the grandstand.

Star Events' project manager, Phil Addyman, comments, "

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