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Dirty Rigger gets hands-on with Tomcat

This year’s event attracted 45 attendees from across the USA and Canada

Details: 14 March 2023

USA – The Dirty Rigger brand of workwear played a popular role in the latest Tomcat University five-day entertainment rigging training course, hosted recently at the company’s custom-designed training facility in Thousand Oaks, California.
Hosted by leading entertainment rigging specialist Tomcat USA, a part of Area Four Industries, the annual event provides ETCP (Entertainment Technician Certification Programme) renewal credits for those working in production rigging. This year’s event attracted a diverse mix of 45 attendees from across the USA and Canada, from students to seasoned touring riggers, business owners, stadium production managers and everything in between.
The course includes truss training, taught by Tomcat’s Adrian Forbes-Black and Keith Bohn, a

The rink is decked out with 10 LED screens, five projectors and 200 Lucenti Tubes

Hippotizers drive Flipper’s Roller Boogie Palace

Details: 14 March 2023

UK - America’s Flipper’s Roller Boogie Palace has landed in London, offering fun-seeking skaters an AV-rich, club-like experience. Billed as ‘the world’s best rink’, its West London location is decked out with 10 LED screens, five projectors and 200 Lucenti Tubes, all driven by Hippotizer Boreal+ MK2 Media Servers which were bought by the venue owners.
With the original Los Angeles Flipper’s known as ‘Studio 54 on wheels’ due to its disco soundtrack and famous faces, and the more recent New York Rockerfeller Centre revival resetting the party tone, the London incarnation has big shoes to fill. The new two-storey, 34,000sq.ft space is able to welcome 2,500 people per day, and is set up as a live music venue and bar-restaurant in addition to the rink.
Rigged around the main skating area are a number of screens, LED walls and projections, enhancing the vi

Pro Lab’s Pavel Shemiakin (left) with Out Board director Dave Haydon

Pro Lab appointed Middle East distributor for TiMax

Details: 14 March 2023

UAE - Out Board has appointed Pro Lab as the exclusive distribution partner for TiMax SoundHub, TiMax Tracker D4 and the full range of TiMax solutions in the Middle East. With a strong and extensive reach throughout the GCC and MENA regions, Pro Lab is an established name known for its pro audio-visual and stage equipment product portfolio.
The new distribution partnership addresses the dramatic increase in demand for TiMax immersive audio solutions in the region. As a versatile and autonomous spatialisation engine, designed to work effectively with any loudspeaker on the market, TiMax SoundHub was a logical addition to the Pro Lab’s product portfolio. TiMax offers Pro Lab’s extensive network the freedom to tailor system solutions according to their individual technical and budgetary requirements.
Pro Lab has invested in demonstration stock and the company’s newl

Blake Shelton gets down the honkey tonk

Details: 13 March 2023

USA - Steve Cohen and Bob Bonniol collaborated on the production and lighting design for Blake Shelton’s current Back To The Honkey Tonk tour. In the process, they created something that is likely to influence and inspire other designers for some time to come.
The creative journey began when Shelton, the multi-award-winning country music superstar and coach on The Voice, said that he wanted to create the distinctive look and feel of a genuine honky tonk bar for his new 2023 tour. Co-scenic designers, Cohen and Bonniol set about creating an evocative old-school look that matched this vision. In contrast to the retro vibe they were seeking to replicate, the duo used 21st century AI technology and the Unreal engine to achieve their vision.
Working with these tools was, in Bonniol’s view “a liberating experience” that freed them from many of the const

Giuseppe Verdi’s MacBeth opened at the Aotea Centre in Auckland (photo: Grant Triplow)

Robe Lights the way for New Zealand Opera

Details: 13 March 2023

New Zealand - The New Zealand Opera’s recent acclaimed production of Giuseppe Verdi’s MacBeth unleashed a classic and grisly narrative of power, politics, corruption, murder and authoritarianism that is every bit as pertinent today as when William Shakespeare penned the original play, circa 1606.
Lighting designer Matt Marshall was delighted to be part of a talented cast and creative team delivering this production for which he specified and used Robe T1 PC moving lights to provide special soft back lighting to delineate the cast and evoke a sense of separation between them and the large scape video projections across the set.
The performance opened at the Aotea Centre in Auckland, then travelled to the St James Theatre in Wellington and the Isaac Royal Theatre in Christchurch, impressing critics and theatre buffs and thrilling audiences.
It was the

Behind the Scenes welcomes board members

Details: 13 March 2023

USA - The Behind the Scenes Foundation has added a number of new board members over the last six months intended to broaden industry representation and ensure continuity for future generations of entertainment technology professionals.
Chairperson Rick Rudolph states, “The Foundation has evolved and expanded its scope since forming in2005. Our mission now includes a Mental Health initiative along with the core of multiple needs grants. With increased programmes and the desire for more outreach and expertise, we have invited additional members to join the board of directors bringing fresh ideas and knowledge. I am extremely pleased to welcome them and grateful to our current and past members. The work we do is important, impacting our colleagues by providing help, hope and awareness.”
Joining the Board are Liz Campos, executive director of the IATSE Training Trust F

Both LEA and d&b audiotechnik have now joined the multi-manufacturer family

LEA and d&b join the PAVA Facilities family

Details: 13 March 2023

Europe - Following the initial ground-breaking PAVA Facilities collaboration that saw five professional audio manufacturers develop the first-ever multi-manufacturer voice alarm solution that fully complies with EN 54-16, the initiative continues to set the standard for the audio industry. Both LEA and d&b audiotechnik have now joined the multi-manufacturer family to achieve their EN 54 certification. More manufacturers are positioned to join in the near future.
When the EN 54-16 voice alarm standard was launched in 2008, it was designed for companies who only made the entire system. Since then, the work PAVA Facilities has been doing has allowed over 40 products to obtain EN-54 16 certification on an individual basis.
This method of testing professional products in a compliant manner benefits both sides of the equation. It makes it more straightforward for

Sixty82 appoints Omikron distributor for Greece

Details: 13 March 2023

Europe - Sixty82 B.V has announced that it has appointed Omikron Electronics as its exclusive distributor for Greece and Cyprus.
Omikron Electronics is a well-established company with years of experience, great product portfolio and a strong customer network in the Greek market. They have already built a substantial stock of Sixty82 products in Greece to meet the quick demand of their customers. They will also organise open days together with Sixty82 to welcome customers and introduce them to their products and solutions.
"We are very excited to partner with Omikron Electronics and expand our presence in Greece and Cyprus," said Rainier Smeding, sales director of Sixty82. "Omikron Electronics shares our vision of providing high-quality products and services to our customers. They have the expertise and resources to successfully promote our brand and grow our business i

The Six Day Race is one of the sporting highlights of the German capital

Cameo on track for Berlin Six Day Race

Details: 10 March 2023

Germany - From 27-29 January, the 110th Six Day 2023 took place at the Velodrom in Berlin. The cycling race, also known as the Six Day Race, is one of the sporting highlights of the German capital, sending the professionals out on to an impressive 250m oval track.
This year, the lighting in the Velodrom was the responsibility of AVM Event Veranstaltungstechnik & Service, which already has years of experience with the SixDays offshoot in Bremen, north Germany. With more than 300 Cameo spotlights used in Berlin, the full-service provider relied on an impressive lighting setup.
As the cyclists do their laps at top speeds of up to 80 km/h, what is needed above all is an equally bright and homogeneous illumination of the racetrack. AVM Event entrusted this task to a total of 116 Cameo Zenit W600-D LED washlights, which, with their high-resolution dimming behaviour and

The textbook’s contributors represent a diverse cross-section of production experience

Looking to the future of virtual production

Details: 10 March 2023

UK - Growth during the pandemic has left the video community wondering what virtual production will become in the future. Laura Frank wants the next generation to find out.
Built on decades of technical production experience, Laura Frank’s book Real-Time Video Content for Virtual Production & Live Entertainment (Routledge publishing) is ‘an attempt to capture history in the making, while drawing a roadmap for those who are learning how real-time video technologies relate in a fast-moving industry’.
“This textbook not only reinforces the path many chose to focus on during 2020, but also encourages the variety of the skills acquired for virtual production in other entertainment environments,” says the author.
When pressed on who this textbook is for, Laura explains: “A student may find the topic of real-time creative video overwhelming and no

Presentations and demonstrations showcased current and future technologies

OCA Alliance demos new developments at ISE

Details: 10 March 2023

Europe - ISE 2023 saw the OCA Alliance bring forward several new developments and announcements that will ‘continue to push the horizons of the AES70 control standard’. During the show, presentations, demonstrations, and new members to the trade association showcased current and future technologies and tools that will further broaden the OCA Ecosystem.
A prime focus of the presentations at ISE was the upcoming AES70-2023 revision to the standard. The new revision brings a wealth of new additions and enhancements to the AES70 standard aimed at making the standard more comprehensive, easier to adopt and implement, and expanding its functionality - while maintaining backward compatibility with existing implementations. As part of that effort, new standard adaptations will be released to support connection management for other media networking transports, such as AES67 and

‘It was quite a difficult setup because of the layout of the room’

Coda line array installed in Owla Bruges

Details: 10 March 2023

Belgium - When Jozef De Kesel, the Bishop of Bruges, declared that he could see no future for The Holy Family Church in the Langestraat Quarter of the city, the building ceased to be a centre for worship. Enter young entrepreneurs Mon and Zowie Hayen, owners of Brasserie Uilenspiegel, who envisioned the transformation of the 1904-constructed red-brick landmark into a multi-purpose events venue.
That vision became a reality with the creation of Owla Bruges, a 270sqm space suitable for concerts, performances, weddings, parties, corporate events, conferences, seminars, fashion shows, product launches and more.
High quality, flexible audio would naturally be essential to the venue’s success, although the team at Owla suffered something of a false start when its original installed system was deemed less than optimal during the first concerts staged in the space. Moving q

The musical is playing at a different venue every week until July 2023

Unusual handles rigging for The King and I

Details: 10 March 2023

UK - The multi award-winning Broadway production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s The King and I musical is touring the UK, following its sold-out season at The London Palladium. The musical which has been captivating audiences for over six decades, is playing at a different venue every week until July 2023 and is, according to production manager Jason Culverwell “Probably the biggest musical with a weekly turnaround, touring the country right now.”
Knowing how demanding the schedule was going to be, Jason immediately brought Unusual Rigging on board to handle the rigging requirements for the tour. “My relationship with Unusual goes way back, having worked with them on shows such as War Horse, Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time and Ocean at the End of the Lane. I knew that they would have all the knowledge and skills required to pro

Stephen Sanchez and Em Beihold duet on The Late Late Show

Elation KL Fresnel lights Stephen Sanchez

Details: 10 March 2023

USA - Lighting designer Bobby Grey of Notan Creative was brought in by 24/7 Productions to design a series of late-night talk show appearances for singer-songwriter Stephen Sanchez and chose to incorporate Elation Professional’s KL Fresnel 8 FC soft light as a retro look fixture in his design for a February performance on The Late Late Show With James Corden.
For the Late Late Show performance, Sanchez teamed with Em Beihold to deliver a duet of his hit Until I Found You.
For the performance, LD Grey placed 10 KL Fresnel 8 FC fixtures on C stands for a vintage Fresnel backdrop look. “I just love a Fresnel and feel it really personifies light as art. A big Fresnel has this great vintage Hollywood feel,” Grey stated, explaining that he originally tried to retrofit a classic 10" Fresnel with LEDs inside to get a colour-changing glow but gave u

The Special Tour covers Europe, the UK and North America through summer 2023

SSL Live in the mix for Lizzo’s tour

Details: 10 March 2023

USA/Europe - The latest leg of Lizzo’s The Special Tour is currently taking the pop singer who recently added a fourth Grammy Award to her collection, winning Record of the Year for her About Damn Time single - across Europe, the UK and North America through summer 2023.
Since the start of the tour in 2022, front-of-house engineer Nick ‘Gauge’ Todd and monitor mixer Rico Gonzales have both been behind SSL Live L550+ consoles supplied by global production provider Solotech. Gonzales additionally uses an SSL Fusion processor and an THE BUS+ compressor and dynamic EQ, and Todd has also recently added a Fusion at FOH.
The two engineers switched to SSL Live desks for the three-month-long first leg of The Special Tour, which got underway in September 2022. The pair made the move to SSL at the suggestion of Gonzales, who has been with Stevie Wonder since 2014, mi

Allen & Heath consoles will be in use throughout the festival

Allen & Heath ready to rock SXSW 2023

Details: 10 March 2023

USA - The annual South by Southwest (SXSW) festival in Austin, Texas has been celebrating the convergence of tech, film, music, education, and culture since 1987. For the past several years, Allen & Heath has had a significant presence at SXSW, with the company’s mixing consoles being featured at multiple performance stages.
This year will be no different, as Allen & Heath consoles will be in use throughout the festival - including the British Music Embassy stage, a venue for breakout UK music stars, where two flagship dLive S5000 surfaces will handle front of house and monitor mixing. Each surface will be paired with its own DM64 MixRack, featuring 128 channels of input processing and 64 configurable buses. Inputs from the stage will be fed into a DX32 modular stagebox, equipped with next-generation low-noise PRIME input modules.
Allen & Heath’s propr

The Venue at Thunder Valley’s inaugural concert season kicked off with a the Eagles

L-Acoustics strikes twice at Thunder Valley

Details: 10 March 2023

USA - The Venue at Thunder Valley Casino Resort is a new 4,500-seat entertainment space officially christened on Valentine’s Day this year. Under the aegis of the United Auburn Indian Community Tribal Council, the $100m, 150,000sq.ft entertainment complex in Lincoln, California, approximately 30 miles north of Sacramento, is already proving the value of its approach to venue technology with the first run of shows.
That started with the Eagles’ Hotel California 2023 tour, followed by Bruno Mars, and then Santana with Bryan Adams, plus The Black Crowes, Frankie Valli, Ringo Starr, and many more in the wings, all using The Venue’s newly installed L-Acoustics K2 sound system.
Touring artists like these are attracted to the venue for its controlled acoustics and leading-edge technologies, with the L-Acoustics K2 system as its audio flagship. “With a system like K2 i

Amy Luley - director of global sales operations

Meyer Sound appoints director of global sales

Details: 10 March 2023

USA - Meyer Sound has promoted Amy Luley to the position of director of global sales operations. In her new capacity, Luley will assume responsibility for overseeing and coordinating operational activities of the Meyer Sound sales teams both in the United States and internationally.
Luley was promoted to the new position based on the e sales success achieved in her prior position as director of U.S. sales operations. She will continue in that role, but now in addition to Meyer Sound’s team of sales managers in the United States, her responsibilities have been extended to include supporting the operational activities of director of international sales Scott Gledhill (Asia Pacific), Meyer Sound Europe managing director Wolfgang Leute (sales for Europe, Middle East, and Africa), and director, Latin America operations Jocelyn Moras. She will continue to report to senior vice p

The band played 46 concerts in 22 countries across the continent

Brit Row backs the Cure on European tour

Details: 10 March 2023

Europe - The Cure played 46 concerts in 22 countries across the continent with audio reinforcement from long-time rental partner, Britannia Row Productions.
“Exciting, powerful and dynamic” is how The Cure’s FOH engineer Paul Corkett describes the band’s latest sonic offering. “Robert [Smith, frontman] has a huge amount of input in the shows; how they sound and how they look.”
Continuing a relationship that has lasted decades, Brit Row, part of the Clair Global group of brands, provided equipment, crew, and international support for the recent tour, which was led by production
“To achieve the desired sound, I use one delay for vocals, but no other FXs from my console,” Corkett explains. “I hardly use any compression – when the band play hard, Robert wants the audience to really feel the dynamics of the songs and the performance of each indivi

March 2022 marked the 50th anniversary of the Millmead Centre's opening

Guildford church installs full Dante network

Details: 09 March 2023

UK - The vibrant Guildford Baptist Church is in the heart of the Surrey town. Established in 1824, the church has expanded its facility many times as its congregation grew. It recently took another big step forward by completing a £7m renovation of its Millmead Centre, including a new, facility-wide AV system based on a Dante network.
Graham Bennewith, installation director at DM Music, was the engineer and manager for this project. DM Music focuses almost exclusively on providing technology solutions for churches and protected historical buildings.
Opened in 1972, the Millmead Centre at Guildford Baptist Church has a 650-seat auditorium, multiple meeting rooms, classrooms, offices, a recreation hall, a lounge area, and coffee bars. March 2022 marked the 50th anniversary of the Millmead Centre's opening and the end of these renovation and upgrade projects.
“Fr

‘The direction of this show was to honour key figures of the Underground Railroad freedom’

Bandit lights Black History Honours series

Details: 09 March 2023

USA - Central City Productions recently premiered a new television series entitled Black History Honours. The four-part docuseries honoured heroes of the Underground Railroad and featured musical tributes from gospel music artists with a lighting system provided by Bandit Lites.
Don Jackson, founder of Central City Productions, shared: “The unique perspective of our Black History Honours series honours the lives and legacies of the Underground Railroad freedom activists. As well, in this post-covid season, where African American museums are struggling to maintain and increase attendance, our series underserves the fact that black history and black museums matter”.
Lighting designer Andre’ Petrus sought to create a lighting system that would complement the performances without becoming the focus points.
“The direction of this show was to ho

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