UK - Roedean School, an independent girls school in Sussex, delivered a production of Oliver, enhanced with the recent investment of four new Chauvet Maverick fixtures. In the weeks before the production, Roedean School got in touch with Stage Electrics looking to expand their theatre’s front of house lighting solution. Stage Electrics’ regional sales manager Paul Roughton, liaised with the school to establish exactly what they wanted. “The school were clearly after a lighting solution that could deliver ultimate artistic precision whilst combining top quality colour mixing and exceptionally bright LED,” explained Paul. “After looking at several different possibilities they decided on Chauvet’s Maverick MK2 Profile and Spot fixtures.” After investing in two of both the Maverick MK2 Profile and Spot’s, Roedean wasted no time in putting these fixtu
USA - For automobile enthusiasts, history buffs, and anyone who’s generally curious, the Gilmore Car Museum is the place to go. Located on 90 acres in the rural town of Hickory Corners, Michigan, the museum opened in 1966 with just 35 cars from the personal collection of founder Donald Gilmore. Success and interest led to even more interest and success, and partnerships with other classic car organisations helped to grow the collection to nearly 400 cars that are displayed in an ever-growing number of outbuildings. Local AV integration firm Crookston Audio installed a paging system a decade ago centred on an Ashly amplifier that is still going strong. However, so much expansion has happened since then that the museum called the company back to extend it. Crookston obliged with new Ashly amplification and DSP, using Dante to feed signal to the more remote outbuildings
USA - Since opening in late-2011, Huntington, New York’s The Paramount has quickly established itself as the premier live venue on Long Island, one of the country’s top 20 media markets. Now, the venue has added a DiGiCo SD10, paired with an SD-Rack - which was installed at the theatre’s FOH position during a December renovation of the club’s entire sound system. According to production manager Sean Earley, the choice of the SD10 seemed almost inevitable, as the number of SD consoles being brought by touring artists with them into the venue had been steadily increasing in recent years. “We’ve just been seeing more and more SD10s and fewer and fewer of the other leading brands of consoles coming through here,” he says. “It’s pretty clear that the SD is becoming the console of choice for a lot of bands, so it made a lot of sense to put the SD10 in here.
Australia - The frenetic pace of the rugby sevens and tens competitions sees stripped-down teams competing in a gala atmosphere with lightning fast-halves and quick turnarounds between games. To sporting audio and comms provider Gearhouse Broadcast, this means having around 40 referees fitted with wireless mics and monitoring, sending audio to broadcast and the coaches, and receiving audio back through their in-ear monitors, all with one minute to changeover active frequencies between games. In this environment, Gearhouse relies on Shure Axient Digital wireless and Clear-Com matrices to make sure no-one misses a call. “The Rugby Sevens at Sydney’s Allianz Stadium were 79 games across three days, and the Rugby Tens at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium were 40 games in two days,” reported Andrew Henderson, OB supervisor at Gearhouse Broadcast. “At the Sevens, we had
UK - CPL supplied their new Roe 3.4mm LED screens and all associated processing and vision control for two major stages at the 2018 Hay Festival of Literature & Arts, the annual 10-day literature event staged in Hay-on-Wye, Powys, Wales. It was the first time the west-Midlands based visual and technical production specialist had worked on the event, for which they were approached directly by the event organisers and asked to be a video supplier after several recommendations. It was also the first time that the event had gone to LED for video display, having worked with projection festival-wide for several years. There are eight major live stages - offering over 5000 seats - and CPL was the video supplier for the two largest areas, the 1716 capacity Tata Tent and the Oxfam Moot stage which accommodated 921 people. Both featured an eclectic line-up of events running
USA - The Shreveport Aquarium in Louisiana commissioned Fusiform Design Workshop to assist with the building’s lighting, signage, and digital interactive spaces. Featured heavily throughout the exhibits, Visual Productions lighting controllers provide a robust and easy to deploy system for the special effect lighting. Fusiform is a multidisciplinary creative agency that has worked with clients to design everything from packaging to digital interactive spaces. Fusiform delivered four distinct signage systems and three lighting networks in the interactive elements for this aquarium. Three QuadCore solid-state lighting controllers were installed in the network, controlling mainly Gantum spots and track lighting in the shipwreck, underwater cave and stand-alone virtual reality room. In the stand-alone virtual reality room B-Stations were also used, so that each vi
UK - On 14 June, Her Majesty The Queen, accompanied by Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, officially opened Chester’s Storyhouse theatre. The Chester Storyhouse theatre was built in 1936 and is a Grade II listed building. It was originally the city’s Odeon cinema but had been disused since 2007 - until a £37m RE:NEW project initiated by Cheshire West and Chester Council set about converting and extending the original building. Stage Electrics were tasked with installing and supplying sound, production lighting, AV equipment, paging and technical infrastructure for the entire project. The specialist integrator delivered the production lighting equipment, AV infrastructure and Front of House audio systems. In addition to the fully automated, DCI compliant cinema system, Stage Electrics also installed a versatile HD video distribution network throughout the ven
UK - Nuffield Southampton Theatres City (NST City) is a new arts complex in Southampton. It needed highly flexible solutions for its production lighting, performance audio visual systems, which have been recently been installed by specialist installer and integrator, Northern Light in a half million pound plus year-long installation. The history of the NST dates back to 1964 when, with support from the Nuffield Foundation, the University of Southampton built a theatre on its campus for the people of Southampton. NST City is its second venue. Sited in the very heart of the City, it houses a fully flexible 450-seat main house which doubles as a cinema, a 133-seat black-box studio, workshop, rehearsal space and screening facilities, as well as offices, bar, café and a restaurant. “Northern Light was selected through competitive tender to supply and install the production
USA - Event production house GVPmedia of Houston is responsible for lighting Ring of Honor events, a popular pro wrestling touring circuit that incorporates high-flying wrestling with mixed martial arts. Ring of Honor (ROH) puts on a high-energy, electric live show and GVP uses the power and dynamism of an all-Elation automated rig. ROH matches are intense affairs that are also filmed for TV, Internet Pay-Per-View or DVD release. An important step in building up the exciting atmosphere is the energy created from pre-match introductions as loyal fans anticipate seeing their favourite wrestler enter the arena. GVPmedia has been working with ROH for the past three years, providing lighting, LED video displays, and rigging for a growing list of events across the U.S. For an ROH event in February at Centre Stage theatre in Atlanta, GVP turned to its inventory of Elation h
UK - Lighting, rigging, audio and video provider SLX has a long-standing relationship working with Bristol Museums for equipment hire and live events and has supplied AV and lighting support for an exhibition titled Bristol Music: Seven Decades of Sound. Bristol Museums, known for driving imaginative new exhibitions, developed concept plans and set out the initial themes for the spaces need in this exhibition. They then brought in SLX to propose creative ways that AV and lighting equipment would help add value to deliver an experiential exhibition for their visitors. The exhibition, which has decade booths spanning Bristol’s musical history, presented a challenge in that they needed to ensure audio clarity in each booth whilst not bleeding into the next. To counter this SLX supplied directional speakers with an acoustic curtain to contain any spill. Ryan Str
Ireland - Waterford, one of Ireland’s oldest cities, founded by Norwegian pirates in 914, recently celebrated its roots at its inaugural International Viking Festival and Roadshow. Taking place over three days, this event marked the 1,100th anniversary of the conquest of York, England, by King Reginald of Waterford. With all eyes on the city, the pressure was on for Waterford Council and Waterford Treasures Museums to select the right partners and suppliers to bring this historic moment in time to life. The highlight of the event was a spectacular night-time Viking Roadshow - two 45-minute theatrical performances which took place on the last day in the Apple Market in the city centre. The specially commissioned theatrical piece by creative director Craig Morrison, set for a live tour in 12 of the most important Viking sites in Europe, was to be the jewe
USA - Live production and event management company Mountain View Staging (MVS) has invested in a FLEXTour LED video solution from Nashville-based PixelFLEX. The HD, curveable LED video display is designed for live entertainment productions and can be configured traditionally and off-set, with each 500mm x 500mm tile front-serviceable. An integrated climbing ladder allows for quick access to displays flown high overhead. Peter Johnson, Mountain View Staging CEO and owner, comments: “We have been in business for 18 years and have been using LED products for the last 10. Since LED now rivals projection, we have switched priorities to the new technology to keep up with changing demand from our clients. It’s all about the increased resolution, contrast, dynamic range and image quality, and the FLEXTour solution checked all the boxes for our priorities.” Johns
Australia - Telstra recently installed a complete AMX by Harman AV control solution in Deakin University’s new Telstra Trading Room, a realistic stock exchange simulation room on the university’s Melbourne campus. Established in 1974, Deakin University is one of Australia’s fastest growing research universities, winning numerous awards and consistently ranking among the top universities in Australia. In order to provide its business students with real-world insight into the workings of a live stock exchange environment, Deakin Business School partnered with Australian communications provider Telstra to create a simulated trading room complete with tickers, displays and a large video wall providing real-time finance updates. Deakin worked with Harman Professional Solutions distributor avt and Telstra to design a state-of-the-art AV control system that could handl
Denmark - Young Danish singer, guitarist and chart-topping rising star Jacob Dinesen played two spectacular arena shows to kick off his 2018 summer tour, one in his home region of Aabenraa and one in Copenhagen, with Robe MegaPointes and Spiiders prominent on the rig. Lighting for these two shows was a completely new design, also programmed and operated by LD Niller Bjerrgaard. Niller had only just joined the Dinesen production team for these shows after being recommended by FOH sound engineer Mad Mikkelsen – the two also work for high profile DK heavy metal heroes Volbeat. Niller took on the Dinesen project with a skeleton design already in place created by Jacob Beckman. He discussed this with the band and their production manager Jonathan Koch, added in some of his own ideas and the resulting rig and brief was to create a big expressive rock rig, which was p
USA - Southern Indiana’s Floyd Central High School puts a special emphasis on the performing arts, a focus that has produced one of America's premiere high school theatre programs. Last year, Floyd Central was one of a handful of schools across the U.S. selected by Disney Theatrical Group to test the Tony award-winning Broadway musical Newsies before it is made available to schools everywhere. Newsies ran at the high school, located in Floyds Knobs, last November, selling out all six performances. Lighting industry pro and Floyd Central alumnus Michael Nevitt of Crossfade Design, LLC served as lighting designer and lighting mentor on the production. “Disney wanted to see what the challenges would be for high schools and Floyd Central could then provide them with feedback,” explains Nevitt. “For example, how to get around the fact that there are lots of
Poland - Protec European Events partnered with their client Xerox once again to deliver the audio, lighting, video and rigging at the Xerox Forum 2018 held in Warsaw. This event, held in the Doubletree Hilton from 22-24 May, included three days of presentations and 23 seminar sessions with the highlight being the Xerox International Operations Premiere of the new Xerox IridesseTM Production Press. Xerox hosted 400 of their top graphic communications customers, resellers and business partners from around the world. The project ran in a few separate spaces or scenes – a daytime conference, a pre-reveal with Kabuki curtain, the reveal element and finally, the conference and demonstrations on the new machine. Sean Godefroy, HOD Protec video, chose three Barco 20k projectors, one for each side screen and one for a kabuki drop drape projection. He chose the Ch
USA - Innovation is nothing new at the Today Show. The first early morning news programme, and one of the longest-running shows on television (it debuted on January 14, 1952), this American icon has thrived by pioneering new concepts like the celebrity meteorologist, and early morning concerts by major recording stars. In keeping with this tradition, the show recently raised the visual bar for morning TV music segments, when its lighting director Peter Greenbaum upgraded its Citi Concert Series stage to create a wider array of concert-style looks by adding 25 Chauvet Professional Maverick MK Pyxis fixtures, supplied by WorldStage. “The Pyxis creates an extensive variety of effects that you don’t see on a TV concert type of stage,” Greenbaum said. “Its powerful centre beam is also new for me, but I fell in love with the fixture after WorldStage showed it
USA - Drawing a record crowd of over 13,500 industry professionals, The Work Truck Show 2018 was the largest event in the history of the NTEA. Held inside the Indiana Convention Centre, the event saw an unprecedented number of vehicle launches, including the much-anticipated launch of the new XL Series from Hino Trucks USA. Desiring a dynamic and exciting tradeshow environment worthy of their inaugural Class 8 heavy-duty trucking solutions, they enlisted the assistance of production provider Elite Multimedia who created a momentous LED video, lighting and audio design. “We’ve been exhibiting at The Work Truck Show for 18 years now and this is definitely the benchmark show for the work truck industry,” says Sheree Greenhalge, assistant manager marketing, Hino Trucks USA. “Each year the show generally has many new product launches, and this ye
USA - Bandit Lites returned to The Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival for another epic weekend of stellar music, comradery and community with activities including a silent disco, yoga, comedy acts, a marketplace and a sustainability focus. Working with Lambda Productions, Bandit Lites supplied the lighting package for multiple stages and provided additional lighting support for several performers. More than 150 artists took to the 700 acre field. Headliners Muse, Eminem, The Killers, Sheryl Crow, Alt J, Bon Iver, Future, Bassnectar, Paramore, Khalid and Sturgill Simpson kicked the party into top gear as thousands took to the field. Bandit’s package for the main stage system consisted of nearly 230 fixtures, including Robe BMFLs, Clay Paky Mythos, GLP X4 Bar 20, VL 3500 Washes, VL 3000 Spots, Solaris Flare Strobes, Lycian M2 spots, and two Grand MA 2 Full consoles for
New Zealand - David Kendall Audio Visual recently installed an end-to-end networked audio system by Harman Professional Solutions at the Wellington Cathedral of St Paul. Located in the historic district of Thorndon, the Wellington Cathedral of St. Paul is the mother church of the Anglican Diocese of Wellington, attracting a vibrant community of worshippers each week. In addition to serving an important role in the Anglican Church, the ornate architecture and refined acoustics of Wellington Cathedral also make it a popular venue for choral and orchestral concerts. With sound reinforcement playing a critical role at Wellington Cathedral, management wanted to ensure optimum audio quality and balanced coverage during church services and concerts. To achieve these goals, management hired David Kendall Audio Visual to upgrade its aging sound system with a complete Harman n
USA - Months after the opening of hit Broadway musical The Band's Visit, celebrated sound designer Kai Harada has won a Tony Award for Best Sound Design in a Musical, including fully object-based 3D sound courtesy of Astro Spatial Audio. The Band's Visit was the big winner of the night at the Radio City Music Hall, with a total of 10 wins out of 11 nominations, including Best Musical, Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical, and Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical. The critically acclaimed show, which opened in November 2017 to rave reviews at Broadway’s Barrymore Theatre, tells the story of the Alexandria Ceremonial Police Orchestra’s arrival in Israel for the opening of an Arab Cultural Centre, only to find out that they have boarded the wrong bus to the wrong town - with some inevitably amusing consequences. The show marked the Br
UK - Newmarket Racecourse in Suffolk has undergone a major upgrade to its PA, with new systems designed and installed by integrator AudioTek. Known as the home of horse racing, and with a history spanning three and a half centuries from the time of King Charles II, the prominence of the racecourse is sustained by its unrivalled programme of races and events and its continual modernisation that ensures high standards for visitors. AudioTek was chosen to do a full survey of the current site and to recommend a new solution to the problems and complaints that the venue had been having. From this it soon became obvious that certain areas on site were having issues, with a combination of aged components failing and the need for an upgrade to a more modern sound from the original speech PA with its limited frequency bandwidth. AudioTek identified and proposed solutions
UK - In addition to enjoying a busy touring and festival work schedule of this summer, London-based lighting and video rental specialist Colour Sound Experiment supplied LED screens and processing to the recent UK leg of the Manic Street Preachers Resistance is Futile tour. The 5mm Roe LED on the tour was part of a massive investment by the company - totalling over £1m in new LED screen earlier in the year. This purchase added 230sq.mof LED to Colour Sound’s existing extensive screen stock which means they can offer a variety of pitches for all occasions, including 2.6, 6, 7 12, 20 and 30mm as well as the new 5mm. The screen was specified onto the Manics tour by Toby Vogel who co-ordinates and manages all-things-video for the band on the road. Says Toby, “I have known H (Colour Sound founder Haydn Cruickshank) for many years and we have worked t
USA - Gypsy Sally’s Georgetown nightspot isn’t the largest club in the US capital, but it does host one of the most diverse ranges of musicians, from popular funk and jam bands like Kung Fu and The Nightowls, to the Afro Zen Allstars drummers and The Portland Cello Project modern classical ensemble. Supporting this eclectic array of very original artists with light is Sean Keegan, who has been the production engineer at Gypsy Sally’s since 2016. “Essentially anything having to do with the actual production of a show here is handled by me,” he explained. “That includes running FOH, monitors and lighting.” The “lighting” part of Keegan’s mission became much easier and more rewarding recently, following his acquisition of a ChamSys MagicQ MQ40N console. “We got the ChamSys after we added eight moving fixtures, four Chauvet Professional Rogue R1 Washe