UK - An important part of The University of York’s Department of Theatre, Film, Television and Interactive Media’s curriculum focuses on audio recording and delivery. To teach students in its audio programmes about loudness compliance and metering, the school relies on Nugen Audio’s VisLM plug-in.
“We first heard about Nugen from a commercial client who requested the VisLM software,” says Richard Sykes, technical officer, University of York. “We purchased a copy so they could use it when they came in to mix in our studios. We were immediately impressed with the software and have since incorporated it into the curriculum for our film, television and sound production programmes.
“The placement of the graphics makes long-form work a lot easier, which is especially important for students to properly understand what’s going on,” adds Sykes. “When you are

Germany - Landmark buildings glowed red throughout Germany Monday night, 22 June, for Night of Light, a massive expression of support for the events industry and a vivid reminder to the nation’s leaders about the challenges facing the businesses and individuals who make up this vital sector of the economy.
Initiated by Essen-based marketing agency LK-AG, the awareness campaign drew the support of EVVC, Germany’s venue association and thousands of businesses from every region of the country, including Chauvet Germany.
“We are proud to be a part of this important event,” said Thomas Fischer, managing director of Chauvet Germany GmbH. “The situation we face cannot be ignored. We must all pull together to ensure a prosperous future for our industry.”
In addition to lighting its home offices in red, Chauvet Germany provided fixtures to illuminate buildings

South Africa - In early March, before the arrival of the coronavirus, the University of Pretoria (UP) delighted hundreds of children from Pretoria, Mamelodi and Eersterust with a production of Hans Christian Anderson’s The Snow Queen at the Masker Theatre.
The work was directed by Professor Marié-Heleen Coetzee and was developed through a collaborative workshop process with students studying drama the University of Pretoria, together with UP Drama Department alumnus, Ben Pienaar, who played the role of Snow Queen. The University’s outreach programme, UP Partnerships in Progress, sponsored attendance for learners from Mamelodi and Eersterust, providing many children with their very first theatre experience.
When Prof. Coetzee first conceptualised the work, she realised that funding for the production was going to be a challenge, especially as the story takes

UK - Live From The Polar Bear heralds a return to live music from COVID-19 lockdown, with VMS Live supporting the Polar Bear and Sesh, presenting a 12-week series of gigs, starting 30 June 2020.
Shows will be live streamed from 8.00pm, with the first sessions featuring The Hubbards and Alice Simmons.
Other acts already confirmed are King No-One with Kitty VR, Polo and Lucy Tessier, Talk More and Jack Conman and Fever with Aimee Duncan.
VMS Live CEO Bert Van Horck comments, “We’re all passionate in our love for live music and very excited to be taking this first step back towards feeling the energy of a live gig again. Performing is a highlight for any artist, creating a special bond with their audience and we are providing a safe stage with high quality technical support to enable that. With social distancing limiting our ability to fill the venue, w

Vietnam - At the Hoiana Suncity gaming and entertainment venue, VISCO Joint Stock and ihD has deployed Harman Professional audio-visual (AV) and background music (BGM) solutions.
Hoiana is the first beachfront integrated resort in Central Vietnam. The resort consists of entertainment and gaming facilities, an 18-hole golf course; and hotel facilities.
"The client wanted the latest hi-tech audio-visual, background music, lighting solutions and LED video walls to enliven its gaming and entertainment venues. One of the challenges that we faced was that we began the project with 50 percent of architectural drawings, while the rest of the design was put in place as the establishment was being built," said David Chua, general director, VISCO Joint Stock. "We used HiQnet Audio Architect Software for programming and configuring all of Harman’s audio systems. Integrating a mu

USA - St. Matthew Catholic Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, offers 100-plus active ministries and is distinguished as the Catholic church with the largest congregation in the United States.
In 1996, to accommodate its large and growing membership, the church dedicated a 2,200-seat, fan-shaped worship space that presently hosts at least eight services each week. Although St. Matthew updated its sanctuary sound system in 2012 with a newer loudspeaker setup based on an exploded cluster design, in recent years, that system suffered from clarity and reliability issues, and ultimately succumbed to a lightning strike late last year.
The church’s production team had already been in talks with SES Integration of nearby Concord to design a retrofit PA system that would provide improved intelligibility, coverage and dependability. As the integration division of Winston-Sale

USA - This past Memorial Day weekend, rental company Main Light Industries sponsored Illuminate Delaware, a four-day event in which landmarks in Wilmington and around the state were illuminated as a tribute to essential workers on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as fallen U.S. military personnel.
Based in Wilmington, Main Light Industries is one of the largest rental companies in the United States yet the company also plays a valued role in their local community. Main Light employee and lifelong Wilmington resident John DiEleuterio coordinated the effort with assistance from Electro Sound Systems, BEW Productions, Wake Media, and Spaceboy Clothing, as well as a sizeable team of volunteers.
A collective of Delaware lighting and event industry professionals gave their time and energy to help make the event a reality, helping with designing, progr

The Netherlands - With over 30 years’ experience of mixing live music and theatre, Richard van Dorland is a Dutch sound engineer with a musical heart. Working with artists who mix acoustic and electric instruments to craft songs with a high level of dynamics, he sees himself as an extension of the musicians and their performance. His investment in an Alcons Audio pro-ribbon system has ensured that audiences enjoy every detail of the sound.
“I pride myself on having an ear for detail,” he says. “I give every musician the attention they need, creating space for their instrument and the ensemble sound. Each instrument gets its own place in the acoustic image, creating a clear balance to give the listener an open, transparent experience.”
Richard is well known in the Netherlands for his work with various national and international artists, including renowned Dutc

UK - Version 2 has been supporting a growing number of crews with low energy solutions both in the studio and on location.
Working with a number of leading lighting directors, the Buckinghamshire-based lighting rental specialists have supported coverage on a selection of premier summer events with products form their low energy inventory. First up was a visit to Worthy Farm, Somerset as Broadcast Partners for the BBC’s comprehensive coverage of the 2019 Glastonbury Festival.
Making use of a selection of V2 low energy fixtures, lighting director Oli Richards and gaffer Paul Evans made last year’s Glastonbury coverage a completely LED lit event. The Version 2 team deployed a pair of lighting trucks to help deliver the look for both the ‘live studio’ areas and the considerable number of interviews held remotely across the vast festival site.
The studio set-

Germany - Supermodel Heidi Klum spent from the end of January to mid-May 2020 searching for Germany’s next top model. She found what she was looking for in the form of Jacqueline Wruck, when the grand final of the popular TV programme Germany’s Next Topmodel was held at Studio Berlin Adlershof (minus the audience).
LD Manuel da Costa and his team from mdc licht.gestalten were responsible for the lighting design of this lavishly equipped show. Additionally, in collaboration with the video technicians, he oversaw the technical settings of the cameras and supported creative producer, Joy Hayat Berhanu and her team, in the individual productions of the show.
Manuel describes the setting for this year’s finale: “The real problem was the non-existent audience,” he reports. “In the past few years we have always been in large, full 10,000-seat halls for the

New Zealand - Industrial Sessions, a new live streaming and recording studio in Queenstown, has equipped its space with Claypaky HY B-EYE K15 and Mythos 2 fixtures. The studio marks a collaboration among TomTom Productions for lighting, video and set design, Soundpeople for audio and multi-track recording, and Shotover Media for camera and direction. It is located in the TomTom Productions warehouse.
“Our purpose is to bring high-quality live streaming to Queenstown and the world by giving local and national musicians a space to perform and connect with their audience in a time when they can’t perform as usual,” says Hamish Edh, managing director of TomTom and co-creator of Industrial Sessions. “The space is also used for corporate meetings, a pretty popular usage given the COVID-19 restrictions on gatherings. We do one or two Industrial Sessions a week and convert t

The Netherlands - Restaurants in Amsterdam recently began to re-open their outdoor spaces, and in an effort to enrich the customer dining experience, AVL Rent teamed up with food wholesaler Bid Food and popular Dutch rapper Lange Frans to stage a day of performances at six popular eateries.
Lange Frans’s whistle-stop tour involved arriving at each venue by car, performing two or three songs, taking a bow and moving on to the next assignment.
Wouter Ruijiter, owner of AVL Rent, explains: “Times are very tough right now, but from the start of lockdown we kept our minds open to every possibility, thinking of ways we could operate safely within the restrictions. People love live entertainment and their appetite for it was only going to increase during this crisis. As soon as certain restrictions began to be lifted, it was clear we could do something on a small scale th

USA - When award-winning songwriter Victoria Shaw required lighting for her music performance and storytelling series Songwriters Under The Covers with Victoria Shaw, Bandit Lites delivered.
The show is described online as “a new, intimate, music performance and storytelling series created in collaboration with award-winning songwriter Victoria Shaw puts the spotlight on the songwriters of some of music’s biggest hits across pop, rock, and country. Top-selling songwriters share the little-known stories behind their hit songs along with an intimate live acoustic performance on stage”.
For the second season, viewers can expect to see Ken Mo, Clint Black, Tommy Shaw (of Styx and Damn Yankees) Bob DiPiero and Garth Brooks. Lighting designer Mark Carver was tasked by the producer to create a warm and inviting atmosphere in order to make the artist on stage an

Australia - Power and protection are the keywords with dimming and distro and Sydney’s National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) now has both thanks to LSC Lighting Systems.
NIDA is Australia's leading centre for education and training in the performing arts and features six professional performance venues, studios and rehearsal rooms. As the largest of the performance venues at NIDA, the Parade Theatre offers seating for audiences of up to 707 people in its three-tiered, horseshoe-shaped auditorium. The Playhouse is a 155-seat amphitheatre, designed for more intimate productions. NIDA has three smaller black box theatres - the Space, the Studio Theatre and the Reg Grundy Studio - that are frequently adapted to suit different production needs.
NIDA recently decided to upgrade its dimming and power distribution systems with LSC Lighting Systems GEN VI dimmers and APS

Japan - Founded in Los Angeles in 2012, 800º Degrees Woodfired Kitchen boasts eight outlets across the US, two in the Middle East and three in Japan. The latest, at the Tokyo International Forum, features a Yamaha background music system.
The first 800º Degrees restaurant in Japan opened at Tokyo’s Shinjuku City, followed by one in nearby Minami Aoyama. The latest is in the heart of the city’s Marunouchi business district, with seats for 100 diners and a VIP room for 10 people.
“While maintaining the core Californian brand and taste, we have a dedicated concept for each restaurant, with a specially-designed interior and menu in each location,” says Mr Kazuma Suzuki, general manager of the market development department of Lumine Co, the Japanese retail developer which has brought the 800º Degrees brand to Japan.
“The new restaurant is relatively large

China - State broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) has installed China’s first full IP video mobile system for video production. This premiere mobile studio project uses the Lawo V__matrix software-defined IP-routing, processing and multi-viewing platform as its core technology infrastructure.
CCTV, in conjunction with Lawo China and video partner Acro-bright, worked in cooperation with China’s large regional system integrator, Beijing Yutian, to achieve this success, the latest in a number of joint Lawo / CCTV installations which include HD / UHD OB vans, audio SCRs, and studios in CCTV’s Beijing headquarters.
The UHD 4k designed mobile studio installation, originally planned to play a central role during the Summer Games 2020 broadcasts from Tokyo, began construction in January 2019 under the supervision of the CCTV Production Department. The project’

Iceland - The National Theatre of Iceland has made the leap to digital with Sennheiser. Reykjavik’s premier arts venue regularly attracts large audiences who expect the very highest quality every time the curtain raises. When it was time to update the venue’s audio equipment, Sennheiser’s Digital 6000 wireless microphone system - including the SK 6212 mini-bodypack transmitter - was the choice for Kristinn Gauti Einarsson, head of sound at the theatre.
With three different shows every day and more than 10 premieres each year across its five stages, the National Theatre is operated with a leaner team and budget than most national theatres.
Einarsson shares the secret behind their success: he has worked with the same musical composer, set designer and director for six years. “It’s so amazing to start new, great shows with the same team. Our collaboration and co

Germany - As part of a rebranding campaign, Volkswagen’s new showroom design is being rolled out at some 10,000 facilities across the globe. Prior to the COVID-19 lockdown, groups of invited dealers got to “test drive” the new retailing concept through Volkswagen Brand Experience Days, an event involving 50 nations, where guests could get a first-hand look at a real replica of a new store.
Accenting the aesthetic features of the harmoniously balanced showroom concept was a lighting design by Markus Axmann of Maxx Lichtdesign who used a collection of Chauvet Professional Ovation and COLORado fixtures supplied by Hildebrandt Veranstaltungstechnik, which was entrusted with the overall technical implementation.
“Brightness and colour temperature were extremely important in reflecting the new design concept,” comments Martin Hildebrandt, CEO of Hildebrandt Veranst

UK - With social distancing still in place and lockdown restrictions continuing to cause tension for many, London-based artist Marcus Lyall and not-for-profit arts organisation Illuminate Productions have transformed a soon-to-be-demolished office block in London Bridge into an interactive public artwork powered by sound.
In this new site-specific work, Lyall invites interested parties to join a Zoom call where they can scream or otherwise vocalise their feelings, with a light installation instantly illuminating the building in response to the voice. “The louder and longer your outburst, the bigger the response from the building,” say organisers. “The building interprets every voice and scream differently, to create a unique response for each guest. You can participate using any device that supports the Zoom app. Please scream responsibility.”
Screams will be p

USA - Among the buildings devastated by the hurricane Harvey in 2017 was First Baptist Humble, in Humble, Texas, which had 18-inches of water in its sanctuary. Determined to rebuild its campus, the 111-year old house of worship gave itself a new name, United City Church, and remade its sanctuary interior, adding an advanced AVL system installed by Stark Raving Solutions that featured Chauvet Professional LED fixtures.
The new 1,200-seat church was scheduled to host services for the first time on Easter Sunday, 2020, but fate intervened once again in the form of the coronavirus. With the lockdown in effect, the church couldn’t reopen on schedule and had to limit itself to online streamed services. Almost two months later, however, with restrictions on public gatherings eased, the church was able to welcome limited groups of worshippers to its new sanctuary, following social

UAE - The new Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai unites three lighting brands from Cooper Lighting Solutions - Zero 88 for entertainment-style control, iLight for architectural-style control and Ephesus LED sports lights.
The interior lighting and control systems together with all associated infrastructure were delivered as a turnkey solution during last year by Eaton Lighting Systems - now known as Cooper Lighting Solutions (CLS).
These aspects of this flagship project were managed by Peter Coles (business manager), supported by Martin Piper (iLight International training & support manager), Jon Hole (Zero 88 product manager) and Cooper Lighting Solution’s two EMEA project teams - one based in the UK, the other in Dubai, who together oversaw the process from design to final delivery in close collaboration with UAE-based lighting installation contractor, BMTC.
The v

South Korea - Festival of Lights, an entertainment lighting company founded in 2013, has added 70 Claypaky Sharpy Plus fixtures to its inventory.
The firm designs and operates lights for numerous concerts, festivals and television programmes. As the K-pop phenomenon has gone global, Festival of Lights has also done overseas tours for Korean musical artists. Its comprehensive services range from rentals to design, installation, operation and maintenance. The company has particular expertise in show operations, and its young operators are known for their creative lighting designs.
The Sharpy Plus has two independent operating modes. In beam mode, it offers enhanced aerial effects and an extraordinary power output (over 300,000 lux at 10m distance). In spot mode, the light is diffused in a more even way, which means visual effects can be projected with excellent uniformi

Europe - Prior to the recent lock down period in Europe, Japanese ‘android diva’ Hatsune Miku toured Europe again with production company Proper Productions and Capital Sound providing sound reinforcement with Martin Audio’s MLA loudspeaker array.
Hatsune Miku had previously toured Europe for the first time back in late 2018. The three European dates covered venues (including London Olympia) that were completely diverse in size and dimension, and the ‘Vocaloid’ music sensation, using a computer generated voicebank developed by Crypton Future Media, performed a shrill, high octane ‘thrash’ metal repertoire to an adoring set of fans.
Developed in 2007, Hatsune Miku is actually a 16-year-old blue haired virtual persona, who is seen onstage as a 3D hologram projection. Yet such is the Japanese fixation with anime culture she has over 2.5m followers on social

Ukraine - The coronavirus pandemic didn’t dampen anyone’s enthusiasm for the 2020 final of singing competition The Voice Ukraine, which was broadcast live from the Kiev studios of TV channel 1+1, produced by Volodymyr Zavaduyk, directed by Tri.Direction and lit by Eugene Kostyra, also working closely with DOP Sergey Petrov.
To create an original and spectacular lighting design for this socially distanced television event, Eugene utilised Robe MegaPointes and Spikies as a key part of his lighting rig which were supplied, along with all the other lighting equipment, by Ukraine’s largest rental and production company, Alight.
It was the tenth season for the popular show and Eugene has been involved with the lighting since the fifth series (as well as two series of the ‘Junior’ edition).
Tri.Direction - directors creative team of the show developed t

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