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Q-SYS and Sennheiser boost zoo charity

The new audio-visual facility at Paignton Zoo

Details: 20 June 2023

UK - Paignton Zoo is an education and conservation charity with over 2,000 different animals set in naturalistic indoor and outdoor exhibits, based in Devon. Their mission is to conserve species and their habitats, helping to save endangered animals in both the UK and across the globe, whilst inspiring everyone to help in the fight to protect wildlife.
Revenue is key to their conservation efforts, and so Paignton Zoo is constantly looking to diversify, create additional income streams and secure sponsorships. With this in mind, an opportunity was recognised to transform a multipurpose space that was being underutilised, into a high-profile conference centre, which could also be used internally to promote their educational activities and rented out to external parties for meeti

Vari-Lites frame coronation ‘projection’

Details: 20 June 2023

UK - The high lumen output of the Vari-Lite VL3600 Profile IP from Signify was seen by millions of people for the King’s Coronation Concert, where landmarks across the UK were lit at part of the Lighting up the Nation event. Lighting designer David Bishop sourced 41 VL3600 fixtures, which were rigged outside Sheffield Town Hall in changeable weather with their IP-65 rating, to achieve the intricate Union flag design using their rich colours and optics system.
“I discovered the VL3600s at Prolight+Sound in Frankfurt, getting a demo and trying out the output and colour wheel mixing system,” says Bishop. “The Sheffield project was meant to be a projection mapping job with a few luminaires around the building as fill light. However, this approach changed after I realised I could use the VL3600s even at a 66m throw from the building to both create strong enough light and

Cameo lights up Palace of Westminster

Details: 20 June 2023

UK - In celebration of the coronation of King Charles III last month, the Palace of Westminster in London was illuminated in the colours of the Union flag - red, white, and blue. To illuminate the Gothic-style exterior facade in the national colours, lighting designer David Bishop chose a total of 74 units of Cameo Zenit W600 LED Wash Lights, supplied by Version 2 Lights.
The IP65-rated Zenit W600 fixtures were placed at the base of the building's facade over a width of more than 250m by David Bishop and gaffer Matthew Zelmanowicz, focused to uplight the historic building with a beam angle of 18°. When choosing the colours, the lighting team didn't have to think twice: blue, white and red - alternating across the entire width of Palace of Westminster.
“The Zenit W600 was the obvious choice”, says David Bishop. “Its power, reliability and IP rating combine to pro

Luca Giaroli (strategy and audio solutions manager), Diego Cárdenas (business development manager for Latin America)

DirectOut continues global business expansion

Details: 20 June 2023

Mexico - DirectOut has announced its strategic partnership with Aeris Group and the appointment of Diego Cárdenas as business development manager for Latin America. This collaboration marks an important milestone in DirectOut's expansion plan and reinforces its commitment to delivering enhanced local support throughout the Central and Southern American regions.
Aeris Group, renowned for its expertise in assisting brands in developing their sales networks in Latin America, joins hands with DirectOut to further drive growth and deliver solutions to customers in the region.
Diego Cárdenas, an experienced pro audio and acoustics engineer with over 11 years in the industry and a co-founder of Aeris Group, comments: “This is a very exciting time in the professional audio and broadcast applications world. I truly believe DirectOut's groundbreaking technology and solution

The key international show will connect 200+ exhibitors with 5,000+ visitors

PLASA Show launches free registration

Details: 20 June 2023

UK - The world of live entertainment technology will once again convene at Olympia London from 3-5 September for PLASA Show 2023. The key international show will connect 200+ exhibitors with 5,000+ visitors, who can now register free until 31 August.
PLASA Show will feature cutting-edge technologies from respected brands spanning pro audio, stage lighting, audio-visual, staging and rigging. These include Chauvet Professional, Epson, ETC, GLP, L-Acoustics, Nexo, PSCo, RCF, Sennheiser, Steeldeck Industries, TAIT, Triple E, Theatrixx Technologies, Vari-Lite & Strand, UK Rigging and Vectorworks, to name just a few. Furthermore, headline sponsor Robe will wow audiences with regular demonstrations of their latest lighting products.
In addition to the plethora of brands and new products, the three-day event will host 70+ keynote talks and interactive panel sessions. Acr

tvONE augments US senior sales team

Details: 19 June 2023

USA - Developer and manufacturer of video processors, signal distribution technology and media servers tvONE has augmented its sales team with the appointment of Vince Schuster as vice president of sales, Americas, and Kristen O'Hara as inside sales manager. The company has also fortified its support team by welcoming two new technical support associates, including Eric Sievers.
Vince Schuster brings more than 20 years of executive-level experience in audio-visual, information technology, digital signage, and display technologies. His career has taken him to roles including CEO and president of Salitek, a specialised manufacturer and distributor of video wall display solutions, plus key positions at Philips Professional Display Solutions and Panasonic Systems.
“We’re thrilled that Vince has joined the tvONE family,” says Andy Fliss, president, tvONE. “His profe

The studio’s three rooms all feature extensive sound treatment from Portuguese specialists Artnovion

Artnovion treats acoustics at KAD Studios

Details: 19 June 2023

UK - The recent opening of Bradford recording facility KAD Studios is the realisation of a long-time dream for owner Karl Dunnachie. Located in the centre of the city, KAD features two production rooms and an impressive DJ set-up, which Dunnachie aims to make available for both pro and aspiring producers, musicians and DJs.
The studio’s three rooms all feature extensive sound treatment from Portuguese specialists Artnovion, turning the 200-year-old building into a highly usable, musical-sounding space. Previously used as a chiropodist’s practice and left vacant for several years, the building required a back-to-brick restoration and conversion, which allowed Dunnachie the opportunity to design the creative spaces from the ground up, as he describes:
“I was in touch with Artnovion - through UK distributor Audio-Technica - throughout the build process and they were

Simon Horn calls on ChamSys for Anastacia tour

Details: 19 June 2023

UK - Simon Horn designed the lightshow for Anastacia’s current tour. Originally scheduled to start in February 2020 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the singer’s seminal hit I’m Out Of Love, the tour had to be shelved because of COVID.
This year, supply shortages and budget constraints still lingering from the pandemic lockdown made it impractical for Horn to get the level of video he wanted for the tour. He more than compensated for this, however, by creating a captivating background using geometric configurations of light that he is running on a ChamSys MagicQ MQ500M Stadium, which, like his lighting rig, is supplied by 4Wall Entertainment.
“I have always stood by the idea that if you are going to use video, and do it well, it takes money,” said Horn. “There are some shows I’ve seen that were ruined by the desperate desire to use v

Creative Rock Thailand was looking to upgrade its existing 700W moving lights to LED fixtures

Creative Rock Thailand invests in Ayrton Diablo

Details: 19 June 2023

Thailand - Total Solution Marketing Thailand (TST), Ayrton’s exclusive distributor for Thailand, reports its first sale of Ayrton fixtures into Thailand with the purchase of 16 Diablo S by Creative Rock Thailand.
Creative Rock Thailand, which specialises in servicing high end international conferences, was looking to upgrade its existing 700W moving lights to LED fixtures. “We had been hearing of the growing popularity of the 300W LED Ayrton Diablo so we compared it with several other LED moving light brands,” says Creative Rock’s managing director, Wikran Maneesri (Nit).
“We found the Diablo to be compact and light weight and surprisingly very bright for its size. It has everything we need for the conference market: framing shutters, good colours, smooth dimming and great output. It is very versatile, which means we can use it across many segments including

Ragnarok is a new work by Kim Fupz Aakeson (photo: Miklos Szabo)

Robe iFortes light Danish deer park production

Details: 19 June 2023

Denmark - Lighting designer Ulrik Gad specified Robe iFortes for the Royal Danish Theatre’s 2023 summer production, Ragnarok, a new work by Kim Fupz Aakeson which premiered and is being staged at the Jægersborg Dyrehave, a deer park and forest north of capital city Copenhagen. The park is known for its undulating topography, tranquillity, ancient oak trees and large populations of red and fallow deer.
The show runs for six weeks in a natural amphitheatre space that has had some performance infrastructure added over the years. All departments of the Royal Danish Theatre collaborate to produce a new summer show every second year, which alternates between playing this site and another just outside Aarhus in the western part of Denmark. This is the fifth summer show that Ulrik has lit.
The stage space is completely open, and the usual challenges of outdoor per

Gigant’s Simon Kemme and Jasper Ellenbroek

DiGiCo desks double up at Apeldoorn’s Gigant

Details: 19 June 2023

The Netherlands - Partially funded by the municipality of Apeldoorn, Gigant is a versatile cultural centre in the heart of The Netherlands, featuring as of 1995 a cinema, a pop stage, a city stage, two theatres, a café with a terrace, and a course house hosting educational workshops in various art forms, including visual arts, circus, ensembles and orchestras, contemporary music and theatre amongst others.
Since it was established in 1977 in an old school building, Gigant has focused on popular music and art-house performances, with international artists such as U2, Nirvana, Herman Brood, Golden Earring and UB40.
Recently, the venue’s technical team has upgraded their console fleet by adding a DiGiCo SD12 and Quantum225 digital mixing consoles, supplied by Ampco Flashlight Sales to replace their existing console setup. Whilst Ampco recognises the SD12 as the ‘all-

More than 161,000 fans witnessed WrestleMania over two sold out evenings

Hippotizer army takes on WrestleMania visuals

Details: 19 June 2023

USA - Inglewood California’s 70,000-capacity SoFi Stadium hosted the 39th annual WrestleMania with a blockbuster two-night event enveloped in LED screens and scenic video technology driven by an army of Green Hippo’s Hippotizer Boreal+ media servers.
More than 161,000 fans witnessed WrestleMania over two sold out evenings, energised by high octane video content created by the WWE Media Graphics Department. The visuals were displayed on multiple entranceway LED screens, custom Ring Post, Ring Skirt, and LED Barricade. All these screens were supplied by ScreenWorks, a division of NEP. Upstaging provided Saber LED batons - a double row LED effects product that borders truss and scenic elements. In addition, the SoFi Stadium In-house Infinity Screen and five levels of ribbon boards were also controlled by the Hippotizer Media Servers.
The massive amount of content mean

Kyle Robson from DWR with Emmanuel Sibisi and Jeremy Kusner of JK Productions

JK Productions looks to the future with DiGiCo

Details: 16 June 2023

South Africa - Jeremy Kusner, owner of JK Productions for the past 22 years has invested in a DiGiCo S31 digital mixing console.
“We looked at various brands and models and eventually chose the DiGiCo S31 for many reasons,” says Jeremy. “First, for the great support and people at DWR Distribution. Over the years we’ve bought various other bits of gear from DWR, but this is our first major purchase and knowing that DWR has always got our back it became a very easy decision. We are super excited because it’s going to put us into a different league, enabling us to get those bigger gigs that we are looking to do, and the future looks exciting.
“DiGiCo is an incredible brand with such pedigree and heritage, and it will be super exciting to see the console on our gigs and showcase it to our clients. We feel like grown-ups now that we own a DiGiCo desk. The desk i

Elodie shines with Chauvet from Zalight

Details: 16 June 2023

Italy - On 12 May, super-model/actress Elodie performed before a capacity crowd at the Mediolanum Forum in Assago.
Contributing to the magic of the evening was a massive light show by Blearred, a lighting design studio with offices in London and Milan. Filling the venue with intense monochromatic colour palettes and bold videos fed to large LED walls, the design captivated fans as it drew them closer to Elodie’s personality and performance.
A lighting rig of international level dimensions and quality energised the show, which was produced by Vivo Concerti. At its centre were 68 Chauvet Professional Color STRIKE M motorised strobes, exclusively distributed in Italy by Zalight.
Ivan Russo, technical project Manager from Blearred, comments: “We used the Color Strike M during the event in 24 channel mode. Of the 68 units, 40 were positioned vertically on ladders

The newly-acquired fixtures were first deployed on Depeche Mode’s Momento Mori world tour

4Wall Europe bolsters Elation inventory

Details: 16 June 2023

Full-service video and lighting company, 4Wall Europe, added Elation Proteus Rayzor Blade tilt FX bars to inventory this past spring and immediately deployed the units on the European leg of Depeche Mode’s Momento Mori world tour. The Proteus Rayzor Blade is a tiltable linear LED light that can function as a wash, strobe or FX light, all inside a compact IP65 design.
Darren Poultney, managing director EMEA at 4Wall Europe, commented on the purchase: “We are thrilled to have invested in these impressive fixtures from Elation and to continue to grow our lighting fleet for concert touring, corporate events, exhibitions and beyond. The high-demand fixtures touched down in our warehouses and were very quickly prepped for Depeche Mode’s world tour, supported by our 4Wall US team who delivered the fixtures on the US leg. We can’t wait to see the results.”
The lig

The Chabadnikim in rehearsal (photo: Louise Stickland)

Cameri Theatre Tel Aviv invests in Robe

Details: 16 June 2023

Israel - The Cameri Theatre in Tel Aviv is one of the busiest and most recognised in Israel, and since 2003 has been located in the vibrant cultural hub that is the Tel Aviv Performing Arts Centre. Founded in 1848 shortly after the State of Israel itself was formally established, the theatre is focused on producing local works. It has five halls, the largest with a 1000 capacity and has recently invested in Robe Esprite moving lights and Tetra2 moving LED battens.
These were the first moving lights in the venue and were initially purchased for a production of Kaymim Achadim lit by Nadar Barnea, explained technical manager Shabi Aaron Nahum, who is delighted with the new fixtures.
The very first Robes in the house were ParFects, so they were familiar with the brand through these and generally. After making the decision to invest for the production, they specifi

The production is scheduled to tour from January 2024 (photo: Lucia Romero)

Astera AX3s assist My Mother’s Courage

Details: 16 June 2023

Spain - My Mother’s Courage is a bold new theatrical co-production by Teatro de la Abadia in Madrid, Ur Teatro Company and Palma de Mallorca’s Teatro Principal, recounting a multi-layered narrative based on Jewish Hungarian-born George Tabori’s true story recalling how his mother Elsa Tabori escaped from Auschwitz and the Nazis during the Second World War, using her wits and determination.
Multi award-winning lighting designer Nicolas Fischtel, AAI, was asked onboard by director Helena Pimenta with whom he’s worked on other projects. Lighting was absolutely integral to the storytelling, which took place over the course of one single day, and also in providing environmental and locational details and context.
Nicolas used five Astera AX3 LightDrops as part of the lighting rig, which were located on scenery elements and props that were moved around the s

Mrs Doubtfire - back in the West End (photo: Manuel Harlan)

Unusual role in West End with Mrs Doubtfire

Details: 16 June 2023

UK - When Simon Marlow was brought on board as production manager for the stage version of Mrs Doubtfire in London’s West End, he turned to Unusual Rigging to meet the show’s extensive rigging needs.
The adaptation of the ‘90s movie starring Robin Williams, originated on Broadway, before transferring to the UK where it enjoyed a successful run at the Manchester Opera House. It opened at The Shaftesbury Theatre on 12 May and, like most big scale musicals, boasts several large scenic pieces to be rigged, flown and stored - along with extensive lighting and sound rigs.
Simon commented: “Unusual Rigging has provided all the rigging motors, grid diverts and general rigging for this complex show which is multi scenic and heavily automated. The Shaftesbury theatre is much smaller than the Sondheim Theatre on Broadway where it originated so getting the show to

Music of the Spheres is the first tour to feature PixMob’s 7-LED wristband

PixMob enhances Coldplay fan experience

Details: 16 June 2023

UK - There was much to celebrate when Coldplay performed the third of four shows at Etihad Stadium in early June as part of its eco-conscious Music of the Spheres world tour. The venue’s usual residents, Manchester City F.C. had just won the F.A. Cup at Wembley, ahead of one of the most visually enchanting live productions in recent memory providing the party of a lifetime for 60,000 ecstatic fans.
For PixMob, the Canadian technology developer behind the crowd’s “game-changing” LED wristbands, this leg is also the first since it announced its expansion into Europe with the opening of a new base in Brussels. “Having been involved in projects on the continent for the best part of a decade and seen increasing demand, we decided to get closer in order to better service the market,” commented Ysabel Vangrudenberg, managing director of PixMob Europe.
S

Yamaha AFC was used to create the spatial feeling of a classic concert hall

Yamaha AFC and Nexo enhance South Korean opera

Details: 16 June 2023

South Korea - A recent production of Verdi’s La Traviata in Busan wowed audiences with enhanced acoustics and amplified sound and effects that tracked the performers as they moved around the stage.
Staged at in the open air at the cultural complex and former wire factory F1963, Yamaha AFC was used to create the spatial feeling of a classic concert hall, while each performer wore a TTA Stagetracker location sensor along with a wireless microphone pack.
The sound was reproduced in three dimensions by multiple speakers positioned around the venue including five Nexo P12s along the top of the stage and Nexo ID24s suspended on wires above the heads of the audience. Additional Nexo PS speakers filled in from the sides, with amplification and processing for all Nexo speakers coming from NXAMPMk2 powered controllers.
Building on a successful earlier production o

Lars Noske joins HOF management team

Details: 15 June 2023

Germany - The HOF team continues to grow and has gained another event technology expert in Lars Noske.
Lars will work as product manager, and will reinforce HOF‘s product development and product management team. He has been working in the event technology industry for many years and is already very familiar with HOF's portfolio.

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