UK - PSAV has appointed Nik Rudge as the company’s first managing director, international. Rudge will build upon the international business strategy to “best align teams in the UK, Europe and the Middle East to continue to improve on ways the company serves customers globally”.
Rudge most recently served as CEO of GovNet Communications, a public-sector business that operates training, forum, conference and expo events. He has also led multi-country divisions for ITE Group and UBM, two market-leading tradeshow and exhibition companies.
“Nik has vast international business experience in the events industry having led teams in fast-moving, complex and multicultural environments,” comments Ben Erwin, president of PSAV. “His general approach and business insight aligns very well with our purpose, mission and customer-centric culture at PSAV. We are eager to le

Denmark - Popular Danish band Nephew reunited this year after a four-year hiatus, announcing two major gigs in October 2018 at the Jyske Bank Boxen Arena in Herning and the Royal Arena in Copenhagen. Over 30,000 tickets sold out in a day.
Lighting designer Theis Wemuth of design company Create This was tasked with the production design - lighting, video and set - for the shows. He specified 149 x Robe MegaPointes as the main moving light fixtures.
The fixtures were chosen for their multifunctionality and brightness which Wemuth knew would be a perfect complement and contrast to the 420sq.m widescreen video backdrop that was central to the look and aesthetics of the stage.
Eight BMFL Spots were on the front truss, six working as remote follow spots in conjunction with six Robe RoboSpot systems, together with other lights, all of which were supplied by Copenhagen-b

South Korea - Merging Technologies has delivered one of the largest Ravenna/AES67 installations for its networked audio interfaces. It features 16 Horus units, 11 Hapi units and 35 8-channel Premium A/D cards and 37 Premium D/A cards. It is also the first major installation to feature Aneman Enterprise as the master control for the whole system and the list of show control and playout servers is no less impressive. There are eight Ovation systems for all zones matrix routing and processing and six Emotion systems for audio-on-demand playback which can all operate in DXD by virtue of the premium cards being fitted.
Paradise City is such a huge complex and the audio network is across four buildings and features 35 zones with 69 subsidiary zones and these zones encompass four floors of a hotel, three floors of pools and spas, two conference rooms, public areas including a patio

Europe - ER Productions has been working with the Chemical Brothers for a number of years, creating laser visuals worthy of the duo’s heady electronic shows. This year saw the pair appear at various festivals and venues across Europe and ER was on board for the ride once again, and this time bringing some exciting SFX into the mix.
Chemical Brothers Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons have spent nearly 30 years bringing big beat tunes to their fan base of dance and rock fans. The 2018 Chems live tour began in June, at Rockhal, Luxemburg, in June, and concludes at Corona Capital, Mexico City, this month.
The show design was to be a combination of mesmerising visuals, and ER Productions worked with production manager, James Baseley, stage manager Toby Dennis, touring lighting designer, Thomas Deschandel, and show designers, Marcus Lyall and Adam Smith to deliver another phenome

Belgium - A designer boutique hotel in the heart of Ghent is finding value in Dante Audio IP networking from Audinate for the business and entertainment needs of its guests. Designed and integrated by Belgian systems integration firm Round Group Audiovisual Engineering, the Dante network delivers high-quality background music in the hotel's atmospheric 1898 The Post cocktail lounge, as well as delivering pristine audio to all points, including audio support for presentations, meetings and events in a large multi-function room.
1898 The Post is a new venture from Zannier Hotels in Ghent that opened this past summer. Located in the upper two floors of Ghent’s old post office building, the hotel offers 38 guest rooms and public spaces that complement the building’s late 19th century architecture. Round Group was hired to provide a “very high-end sound system” for The C

UK - Art and artistry appear fundamental to a live performance by Bon Iver. For lighting designer Michael Brown this is reflected in the reliance on white light, shade and contrast. With that in mind, when the band asked production manager James Dean to prospect for an IMAG system, he sought more than just good technology.
“Although it’s not the first time we’ve used video for the live show (we have had video walls for content before now) it is the first time we’ve thought about using a full camera package for IMAG. We knew we would be playing bigger rooms and we wanted the audience to have the best experience possible. One of the great things Video Design offered that many others didn’t was a range of robotic cameras. Not having camera operators intruding on stage is important to the band and their stage performance.”
Dean took a four camera PPU from Video

USA - Opened in 1892, Ryman Auditorium in Nashville is best known as the home of the Grand Ole Opry radio broadcast between 1943 and 1974. Its age and cultural significance led to its inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.
In partnership with Opry Entertainment Group, JBL, and Yamaha, AV integration company Clair Solutions recently completed a significant overhaul of the Ryman’s sound reinforcement system, which required a lot of upfront due diligence and testing, sensitivity to the venue’s historic interior, and a deft installation to work around the Ryman’s packed calendar.
“We installed the Ryman’s previous sound reinforcement system over a dozen years ago,” says Dan Heins, regional vice president at Clair Solutions. “It was a first-generation JBL VerTec system that served them well, but loudspeaker, amplifier, and DSP technolog

Germany - The International Automobile Exhibition (IAA), which took place in Hannover on 20-27 September, is the one of the world's most important trade fairs for mobility, transport and logistics. This year saw two of the show’s biggest names - DAF Trucks and Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles - rely on Absen’s Polaris products to ensure that their respective booths packed a visual punch.
DAF used its stand to showcase 90 years of vehicular innovation. This was illustrated by the classic DAF A1600 from 1967 through to the future DAF CF Electric Innovation, while a prominent position was taken by DAF’s latest LF, CF and XF ranges. The stand was based around the theme, ‘Proud of our Heritage, Leading Today, Ready for the Future’.
Providing the striking 30m x 4m video wall for the 2,500 sqm DAF stand was Netherlands-based rental and sales company, Bazelmans AV, whi

UK - A.C. Entertainment Technologies (AC-ET) has provided a range of video solutions, including an additional Hippotizer V4+ Media Server to Illuminate Lighting, to expand their rental stock offering.
Illuminate Lighting was founded by entrepreneur Jonathan Pask to provide lighting control systems exclusively to rental houses. Since then, he has expanded their offering to include video control systems.
Jonathan has deliberately kept the focus on these systems and credits that to the business’s strong growth. He commented: “I think what makes us successful is that we offer a concise range of services. Rather than offering everything, we strive to excel at what we do offer.
“Green Hippo Media Servers are our preferred choice because of their power, reliability and ease of use. They are the perfect tool for our diverse range of clients.”
Alongside th

Canada - RealMotion, the new technology venture stemming from award-winning experiential design firm Float4, has announced the market introduction of the next generation of its transformative RealMotion content generation and editing platform which now supports full integration with Notch software.
According to director of RealMotion Geoffrey Platt, the second generation updates stem from user requests and research, and they underscore the company’s commitment to make the RealMotion platform the most powerful, flexible and creative content generation and delivery system available for entertainment purposes today.
“We listen to our users,” Platt emphasized, “and we want to evolve RealMotion into a platform that optimizes workflows in the way that creative professionals work in entertainment today. By adding full integration support for Notch, we are directly ad

Christie has announced the launch of the Christie Mirage SST, a high-performance RGB laser projection solution featuring Christie TruLife electronics.
Featuring an ultra-compact, fibre-coupled projection head, the Mirage SST is suitable for complex, demanding applications including theme park attractions, dome theatres and planetariums. Weighting just 110 pounds (50 kilograms) and with its small form factor, the Mirage SST projection head enables installation where space constraints have previously been a barrier. The remote light source allows the chilling equipment to be placed away from the projector head, saving space and ensuring a whisper-quiet experience for audiences.
With TruLife electronics, the Mirage SST delivers 4K resolution at 120fps, or, with an optional license, 480fps at 2K resolution. High frame rates remove blurring and strobing effects in fast-moving imag

Ukraine - Kiev-based visualisation specialist LC product has adopted a new trading name - L8 LLC - following ownership changes at the organisation.
The company is now fully owned by the development team, with Dmitriy Giventar, the product developer, acting as a founding director. Existing Lightconverse users will continue to receive direct support from L8, which will exclusively develop, support and sell LC product.
The company says in a statement: “We have made this significant step in LC’s development to improve our support and supply the most technologically advanced product in visualisation world. We will continue to provide our customers and dealers with support and sales worldwide from our new offices.”
Lightconverse (LC) integrates and visualizes multiple show-related disciplines including lighting, video, laser, pyrotechnics, and moving object.

USA - Known locally as The Rock, M.M. Roberts Stadium is home to the University of Southern Mississippi’s Golden Eagles football team. It originally opened in 1932 with 4,000 seats and has since expanded to hold 36,000-plus Southern Miss fans. Its most recent expansion happened a decade ago, and although the expanded infrastructure and seating is in great shape, the sound reinforcement system that went in didn’t fare as well. After an overhaul installed by AV integration firm Sound & Communications, of Flowood, Mississippi, M.M. Roberts Stadium now commands a full Danley Sound Labs loudspeaker, subwoofer, and amplifier/DSP system.
“The old system didn’t stand up to the elements, and pieces of the speaker cabinets and components were failing,” explained Jeff Crowe, director of operations with Sound & Communications. “The coverage was going, the high end wa

The Netherlands - Christie Digital’s latest HS Series projectors are currently in use at the GLOW Eindhoven international light art festival in Eindhoven.
A total of 12 Christie D20WU-HS projectors, provided by Christie partner Sahara Benelux, are utilised in a video mapping installation on the face of the 19th century Catharinakerk, a neo-gothic Roman Catholic church located in the centre of Eindhoven.
“We’re delighted that Sahara Benelux has chosen to invest in our latest HS Series models, and it’s rewarding to see them already being used in high profile global events like GLOW Eindhoven,” says Miles Donovan, senior channel development manager, enterprise, EMEA, Christie. “The HS Series is an excellent choice for a wide range of applications, delivering high brightness and vibrant colours in a lightweight and compact form factor. It’s our pleasure to p

UK - Production Services Ireland (PSI) capped a busy Halloween period by supplying technical infrastructure and support for Belfast City Council's Halloween Monster Mash and Samhain Live Halloween TV special, which was filmed in Derry/Londonderry.
PSI specialises in lighting, rigging, audio and video - for sale and hire. In the build-up to Halloween, the company also supplied riggers for the visiting U2 and ELO productions at Belfast’s SSE Arena, and full technical production for Harlem Gospel Choir at the Ulster Hall and a major public event in Lisburn.
Monster Mash afforded PSI an opportunity to deploy its Adamson PA inventory, which the company acquired in April when it became a certified reseller and rental partner. It also supplied lighting, video, rigging and staging for the themed event that welcomed thousands of people to the Titanic Slipways.
Sound re

USA - As part of the LA-based Legends Football League, the Nashville Knights are a 7-on-7, tackle football team that incorporated into the league in 2018. Playing their inaugural season in the Nashville Municipal Auditorium, the Knights wanted to offer an in-game experience that would create a lasting connection with their fans.
Needing to supplement the production gear inside the multi-purpose event venue, the Knights worked with Elite Multimedia Productions who oversaw a complete game-day audio, video and lighting design.
“We try to design our in-game experience to be similar to what they do in the NFL to heighten the experience for our fans and provide a deeper connection to the action on the field,” says Candice Leisengang, operations manager. “When we started looking for production companies, we really needed someone who had the ability to do live audio, ca

UK - The UK entertainment technology industry is valued at £1.28bn in 2017/18 and its value is predicted to grow over the next five years, according to a new research report by PLASA.
The study - said by PLASA to be 'the most comprehensive study of the entire entertainment technology industry in many years' - is available to download from plasa.org. It delves into each market sector’s performance and also looks at the effects of macro-environment trends and employment.
According to the findings, all sectors have experienced growth, particularly AV and audio, which represent 38% and 27% of the market share respectively. AV is currently valued at £490m and has an increasing presence in many sectors including architectural and retail. Audio is valued at £340m due to its

The Netherlands - ROE Visual has appointed Emmanuel Pezant to the role of technical sales support.
An experienced LED technician, Pezant has worked as a video technician for over 15 years. Pezant has worked as LED and video technician for notable partners in the French market.
“Combining his practical skills with a commercial flair, Pezant will support our French speaking clientele in both their commercial needs as well as the occasional technical support. We are very pleased to have him joining our team,” states Auke Meijer, operations & sales director for ROE Visual Europe.
(Jim Evans)

UK - Celebrating the world of entertainment, the BBC Radio 1 Teen Awards recognises some of the UK’s unsung heroes alongside stars of music, sport and screen. The live event, held at the SSE Wembley Arena, fronted by Greg James, Mollie King and Maya Jama, featured a host of acts including Little Mix, 5 Seconds of Summer and Sigrid.
Working alongside gaffer Richard Gorrod and PRG, LED Creative assisted in building the vast ‘neon’ archways and circular truss system that spanned the areas above both the stage and the audience. The installation allowed the team to create a truly immersive viewer experience that extended beyond the main performance stage to fill the entire venue with a spectacular array of shape and movement.
LED Creative also provided a range of proprietary products, including the company’s Pulse Wands and Sigma Fairground fixtures paired with BYT

South Africa - Cape Town’s first Green Hippo Amba+ was put through its paces at the Shoprite Super Service Awards held in at the ExecuJet Hangar at Cape Town International Airport, with one third of the 2400sq.m space used for a jet plane parked inside.
Solid Group were appointed by Venturescapes Events to supply the full technical at the awards, attended by 600 guests. They took ownership of the Hippotizer Amba+ a few days before the event.
“We initially came up to visit DWR Distribution purely to attend the L-Acoustics Kiva demo with Richard Smith,” Alex van Dyk, owner of the Solid Group, explains. “Luckily we set aside enough time so that we could go through all the toys. Dylan Jones spent time with us on the Green Hippo, and we completely fell in love with it. Even having the baby Amba+, it’s incredible how powerful such a small unit can be, and this is t

Europe - Walking with Dinosaurs - The Arena Spectacular (read report in LSi November) is a $20m production based on the award-winning TV programme of the same name.
The show benefits from major improvements to animatronics, which have enabled the life-like dinosaurs to 'eat' and 'breathe' - and live arena experience has already been seen by over nine million people in more than 250 cities globally. 
Experience and expert technical knowledge has been essential in executing the brief, and South Wales-based Sonalyst was called upon to deliver. The audio, lighting, BlackTrax system and comms for the production were all provided by Sonalyst.
Project manager George Pakenham explains: “Being a

Columbia - DirectOut has expanded its worldwide business network with the appointment of VCR as its sole distributor for the Colombia market.
Based in Bogota, VCR will handle distribution of the full DirectOut product portfolio and provide technical and sales support.
Hernan Suescun, VCR’s CEO comments: “As a company, we aim to offer our clients the most advanced technologies available to the AV world, especially now that new IP technologies are rapidly developing. DirectOut has the best solutions in terms of audio networking, routing and conversion along with a well-known quality and reliability.”
Lorenzo Sassi, business developer at DirectOut, adds: “A few months after we met with VCR for the first time it was quite clear to us that both companies had a common interest in developing their business together. VCR not only has skills and a deep knowledge o

Argentina/USA - Over $10m worth of equipment has been seized from a black market organisation in Buenos Aires following a two-year undercover operation.
The equipment was retrieved on 13 September in a joint operation between Argentinian police forces, the NYPD major crimes squad, the FBI and the US embassy. The authorities said 10 raids had been carried out, with the kit believed to have been stolen from the USA and rented out to film and TV production companies on the black market in Argentina.
ESTA’s Production Equipment Rental Group (PERG) worked closely with the police to coordinate the identification of the recovered items via its searchable online database for missing equipment, Rental Guard.
Martin Pastor, NYPD major case squad detective, comments: “We have recovered over $10m in stolen equipment thanks to Rental Guard. I urge anyone who suffers a th

World - L-Acoustics has released a plugin to enable interoperability between its P1 processor and QSC’s Q-SYS designer software.
The integration will enable users to control and monitor L-Acoustics’ P1 through Q-SYS.
Jeff Rocha, director of product management for L-Acoustics, comments: “Following the successful introduction of a Q-SYS plugin for LA4X and LA12X in June, accompanying the P1 release with a complementary plugin seemed essential.”
The L-Acoustics P1 plugin for the Q-SYS platform as well as the LA4X and LA12X Q-SYS plugins are available from the L-Acoustics website.
(Jim Evans)

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