UK - London’s The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama staged a production of the musical Spring Awakening recently, which saw lighting and video design students create, programme and operate the visual aspects using Hippotizer Amba Media Servers.
Central student Jack Fone took the helm in the pre-production process, alongside fellow Central students Adler Williams on animation and Simon Moss, who’s studying production lighting. The team created a striking set dominated by a huge crucifix stage back, flanked by projected images designed to augment the narrative.
The two Hippotizer Amba Media Servers were fed three live camera inputs, comprising two operated cameras backstage, and a locked off camera overhead. These fed four projectors, two for the header display and two for the back wall adjacent to the crucifix centre stage.
“I’ve been blendin

Spain/UK - PLASA has reached an agreement with Spain’s AFIAL to strengthen their partnership and deliver more benefits to members.
The new relationship will allow the two trade associations to expand their joint activities, which in the past year have included collaborations for the #WeMakeEvents campaign. Described as “the most important national AV association on the Spanish scene”, AFIAL represents manufacturers and importers of sound, lighting and AV technology in Spain and owns the Madrid-based AFIAL exhibition.
A joint statement says: “This collaboration was born from a solid and necessary union during the pandemic, that has evolved allowing the associations to continue to work intensely to support their members and the sector. This agreement will bring benefits for the members of AFIAL and PLASA.”
PLASA MD Peter Heath, director Nicky Greet and bo

UAE - Creative Technology Middle East (CTME) has announced further senior appointments.
Chad Smith is named project manager in the live events division. He has over 11 years of experience throughout the Middle East, Africa, Europe and Asia. Projects he has worked on include as Diriyah Season, World Air Games, Amway ALS & NPF Business Forum in Singapore, UAE National Day and many globally broadcast sporting events to take place in Saudi Arabia.
Nick Fenton has joined CTME as an AV project manager with over seven years of experience in the live events industry across the Middle East and South Africa. Over the years, he has worked on various large-scale projects, such as Jazz Fest, Red Fest, Arab Hope Makers, World Economic Summit, Dubai Rugby Sevens and Atlantis New Years Eve events.
Sam Connolly has been appointed head of lighting for the Middle East region. H

USA - Audinate has announced full availability of the Dante Application Library software development kit (SDK). Previously available to a select few, Dante Application Library is an SDK for PC and Mac that provides software developers with an ‘easy-to-use conduit to the greatest installed base of audio devices on earth: products and solutions connected via Audinate’s Dante, including microphones, speakers, signal processors, amplifiers, loudspeakers, and more’.
“Dante is the native language of professional audio,” comments Nick Mariette, senior product manager at Audinate. “The success of any audio software application hinges upon customers being able to easily connect to audio devices in the system they are using. More and more audio devices connect via Dante’s AV over IP. Dante Application Library brings Dante network functionality directly into applications,

USA - Brooklyn-based Volvox Labs (VVOX) tapped into the disguise Extended Reality (xR) workflow with Unreal Engine to create a visual experience for Dubfire’s recent live streamed concert from The Met Cloisters Museum in New York City.
Part of the Sonic Cloisters virtual electronic music series, which explores the parallels between techno and the art of The Middle Ages, Dubfire’s xR performance was the first time that the Cloisters had undergone such a digitally-enhanced display of its artwork.
“It was amazing to be able to take this project into such a location for one day and basically launch a full xR experience without any kind of rehearsal,” explains Kamil Nawratil, creative director at VVOX. “We would never have thought of delivering this kind of project without the disguise and Unreal Engine workflows. The creative possibilities, the photorealism of

Australia - Griffith University recently collaborated with Videopro, ThreeOneFive Innovations and Harman Professional Solutions to create an immersive active learning space using AMX networked AV solutions.
Founded in 1971, Griffith University is a public research university in South East Queensland with five physical campuses spanning three cities, and a sixth digital campus. With more than 50,000 students and 200,000 respected alumni, Griffith University is one of the world’s top-performing universities.
“The client requested a high-tech solution to connect two rooms so that staff could deliver multiple lectures without having to travel across campus,” said Chris Duckworth, owner, ThreeOneFive Innovations. “They also wanted to improve the learning experience for students with state-of-the-art solutions. To create a class-leading engagement space, we selected

UK - #WeMakeEvents has launched a supporter scheme to bring more useful resources and services to campaign backers.
Members of #WeMakeEvents Supporters get free access to webinars hosted by the campaign and PLASA in the past - including on topics such a Brexit, HR, IP, and various technical sessions – as well as credit checks for UK-based companies. Other benefits include free entry passes to the PLASA Show and PLASA Focus Leeds and an invite to #WeMakeEvents’ Zoom calls.
“Launched at PLASA Show 2021 in London last month, #WeMakeEvents Supporters has already seen a large uptake, demonstrating the ongoing high level of engagement to protect and promote live events and entertainment,” says the campaign in a statement. “Supporters can opt in to be listed on the webpage to add strength to the global movement which continues to amplify the voice of the industry a

Norway - Pixotope has added three names to its senior global leadership team.
Ben Davenport joins Pixotope as VP for global marketing, taking charge of Pixotope’s international communications strategy. Ben has established a 20-year career in B2B marketing for the technology, media, and entertainment industries, heading up leadership positions at AmberFin, Dalet Digital Media Systems, and most recently, working as head of portfolio & marketing strategy for Vidispine at Arvato Systems.
After seven years as enterprise account manager at Avid, David Cheng has been appointed as VP sales & marketing EMEA at Pixotope. In his role at Avid, David focused on the sales of Avid video solutions, connecting and coordinating with some of the biggest international media companies, such as Viacom, Comcast, and Discovery.
Travis Sims has become Pixotope’s strategic

China - Christie HS Series 1DLP laser projectors have brought a clock tower in Hebi to life with spectacular visuals that aim to boost cultural development and elevate its image as “a city that exudes elegance and exquisite charm”.
Affectionately known as China’s Big Ben, the 66m-high clock tower was built more than 20 years ago and is one of the most recognisable landmarks of Hebi, a prefecture-level city in northern Henan province known for its rich coal reserves. In a move to soften the city’s industrialized image and inject more vibrancy to Hebi’s administrative, cultural and leisure precinct known as New Century Square, the municipal government commissioned an exciting four-sided projection mapping show on the façade of Hebi Clock Tower. This means that spectators can enjoy the visuals regardless of which side of the tower they are facing.
The ambitious

USA - Solotech has announced a new leadership structure in the US in response to the company’s growth. The past two years have seen Solotech acquire Pro Sound & Video, SEAL, Miami StageCraft, and PSSL.
“Our systems integration expertise has been taken to new heights and our footprint in the United States has been significantly strengthened,” explains Philip Giffard, global president, sales and systems integration division. “With our solid positioning, the time has come to take another important step and consolidate our strengths to ensure succession in a context of undeniable growth”.
David Shoemaker is appointed president, sales and systems integration, US. Reporting to Giffard, Shoemaker has primary responsibility for profitability and growth. David is also responsible for defining Solotech's business strategy in concert with Kelly Prince, chief technol

Portugal - Prolights’ DeltaPix 29B, a 2.9 mm indoor rental LED screen, has made its debut in Portugal, with rental specialist BragaEventos purchasing the screen.
The Italian manufacturer released these new series at the end of 2020, to complement its range of LED screens with a rental-friendly solution and a good return-on-investment. The 29B range has the latest generation of Novastar A5s receiver cards with a refresh rate up to 3,840Hz, an SMD1515 LED source and a high contrast range. Besides being flicker free and high-definition, these series were made for the most demanding events and touring applications, with an intelligent back-up power system and easy assembly.
Paulo Dinis, CEO of BragaEventos, comments, “We were looking for a reliable screen that could be supported by a team in Europe and that we could cross-rental with other companies. Prolights has a v

UAE - Creative Technology Middle East (CTME) is the official live events audio-visual partner for the UK Pavilion at Expo 2020.
The UK Pavilion, which is situated in the Opportunity District at Expo 2020 is based around the theme of Innovating for a Shared Future and promises to offer ‘inspiration and excitement to visitors from around the world’. The six-month event will see the UK Pavilion host a variety of events from multiple trade missions and conferences to various live entertainment spectaculars, including the UK National Day event, which is set to bring the imagination of Glastonbury Festival to Dubai.
Andy Reardon, CTME’s managing director, comments, “CT Middle East will be delivering audio, video and lighting solutions alongside providing a team of highly skilled project managers and technicians for the duration of the event. The UK Pavilion

Singapore - BroaMan MUX22 fibre multiplexer and Repeat 48 3G/HD/SD-SDI Video/MADI fibre extender were provided by Total Solution Marketing (TSM), along with full-service support, for the recent Singapore National Day celebrations. The event this year was rescheduled by the Government from its traditional 9 August date to 21 August due to the increase in COVID-19 cases.
These interfaces were deployed by The Show Company Pte, the appointed vendor of the multimedia committee for this year’s National Day Parade. The fibre-based solutions were used between transmitters and receivers, across distances averaging 250m - over LC multimode fibre to three different camera locations.
This enabled all data to be transported over a single duplex fibre, thus reducing the number of the cables otherwise necessary over long distances. At the same time, it ensured extremely low latency

USA - Christie and the University of Waterloo’s Vision and Image Processing Lab are celebrating a new milestone – the development and productisation of the patented algorithm that drives the resolution enhancement of the new Christie M 4K25 RGB pure laser projector. This is the latest success between the institution and Christie, which together recently wrapped up a third, two-year research project.
The collaboration between the Vision and Image Processing Lab at the University of Waterloo and Christie began in 2013.
“Years ago, we wrote out a set of problems we’d like help with,” says Mark Lamm, senior product developer, advanced research and collaboration, Christie. “The group at the University of Waterloo works on vision and camera research, and more recently, machine learning. It was a match – we had problems and they had interest.”
Waterloo a

India - The Centre for Materials for Electronics Technology (CMET) in Hyderabad enlisted KVIK Infotel to equip the facility with an end-to-end Harman Professional Solutions audio system.
An autonomous group under the Government of India’s Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology, CMET is a research institute dedicated to developing materials for electronics using local resources and supporting India’s technological industries.
Administrators at CMET wanted to utilise the facility’s auditorium for events including training sessions, conferences and seminars; however, the auditorium’s previous audio system lacked versatility for different types of events. To meet CMET’s goals, AV integration provider KVIK Infotel overhauled the auditorium with flexible and cost-effective JBL Professional, Crown Audio, Soundcraft, BSS and AKG audio solutions.

UK - The recruitment network for creatives and freelancers Curtain Call has re-launched an improved membership platform to help link up freelancers with employers - and PLASA members benefit from reduced subscription fees.
The network, which is free to join by freelancers, has a search and match algorithm that makes it easy for employers to find skilled available freelance technicians and creatives for project-based or long-term positions.
Businesses looking to recruit need to subscribe to search the database, with PLASA members able to get 15% off for 12 months by signing up through the Pioneers programme. For every PLASA member company that signs up, Curtain Call will donate £15 to #WeMakeEvents, and for every month of membership, the network will plant a tree. Ea

USA - SmartLabs has announced that Rick Sailor has joined the company as VP for business development North America & Canada.
Gary Hamer, SmartLabs global SVP for sales and business development, says: “Service providers are facing some difficult challenges now about the best way to provide video; how to package channels and maintain costly equipment. At SmartLabs, we can help local providers address some of those challenges in a profitable way that gives them a competitive edge, thanks to our global experience. We’re delighted that Rick has joined us to lead our US and Canadian expansion at this pivotal time.”
Rick Sailor adds: “The opportunity to lead the roll-out of SmartLabs to the US and Canadian markets was too good to miss. The company has been in the business since it was in its infancy and has such a good track record in multiple countries, operating

USA - Christie has announced the M 4K25 RGB pure laser projector, an all-in-one RGB pure laser projector that continues the original M Series, first introduced in 2007.
“The M Series packed a lot of features in a small package,” explains Larry Paul, executive director, technology and custom solutions at Christie. “Features like the intelligent lens system and embedded Twist for blending and warping were unique at the time, plus its small size and weight, helped it to become Christie’s best-selling line of projectors and lenses.”
RGB pure laser technology delivers twice the colour of the original M Series for vibrant, bright images that approach Rec. 2020 colour volume, a colour standard closest to what the human eye can see.
With TruLife+ electronics all the needed connections are built-in, eliminating the need for optional input cards. TruLife+ also fe

USA - NAB has announced the cancellation of the upcoming NAB Show 2021, which was due to take place in Las Vegas from 9-13 October. The annual convention/exhibition, which in 2019 reported attendance of 91,000, is one of the largest events on the calendar for broadcasters and their technology providers. In recent weeks, the show had suffered exhibitor withdrawals - including Sony and Canon - due to the spread of the delta variant of COVID in the US, with the organisers opting to scrap the in-person event in favour of offering select virtual sessions through its Amplify portal.
“For more than a year, we have worked tirelessly to bring our industry together safely in Las Vegas at NAB Show," say the organisers in a statement. "Unfortunately, the pandemic and surge of the delta variant has presented unexpected and insurmountable challenges for our global community.
“As

UK - Calibre UK is now shipping the flagship Calibre LEDFusion Pro screen management solution.
Announced in April, the all-in-one screens are available in 130-inch or 163-inch sizes and are sold either as a stand-alone unit (A130C-15 and A163C-09) or a multi-system solution for advanced screen management (W236CF-15 and W260CF-15). LEDFusion Pro brings advanced operational features, energy saving and installation benefits.
“Calibre LEDFusion Pro was introduced earlier this year incorporating the feedback received from our integration partners for a more complete, sustainable and future-proof system that could be expanded without limits,” explained Steve Su, general manager at Calibre UK.
New product demo sites in Dallas, USA and Hannover, Germany will open in Q4, 2021.

Namibia - Located amid the African bush not far from Namibia’s capital Windhoek lies The Midgard Country Estate, one of O&L Leisure’s retreats. The estate, self-described as “a paradise where the earth rises again, fertile and green” appeals to a variety of potential customers, possessing 46 newly decorated bedrooms, a bar, two swimming pools and a host of other leisure facilities.
Midgard’s audio-visual technology required an update, ensuring that guests are entertained, and conferences run seamlessly. Stage Audio Works’ Namibian office was responsible for AV design and integration, most recently providing a comprehensive turnkey Audac-based distributed audio system for the restaurant and bar area.
SAW Namibia has been involved with the Midgard Estate since 2020 when they were first called in to update the AV systems in Midgard’s conference venues.

The Netherlands - Construction is underway and progress being made to build a new children’s transitional care unit in Amsterdam, showcasing how the AV community has come together to support the project with donations of product, time and services. In a joint venture between ISE, its co-owners CEDIA and AVIXA, and generous contributors from the industry, The Jeroen Pit House will be furnished with a state-of-the-art entertainment space for chronically ill children and their families to enjoy.
The Jeroen Pit House, which is being built within the grounds of the Emma Children’s Hospital, will make the difficult transition from hospital to home easier, safer and steadier for chronically ill children and their families.
Over 30 AV brands have committed to providing services and product for free to develop the media space, which will include a sensory room and home cin

UK - The PLASA Show returned to Olympia London from 5-7 September, receiving high acclaim and marking a return to normality following the 18-month closure of the live events sector.
As the first entertainment technology tradeshow in two years, the PLASA Show 2021 co-located with the ABTT Theatre Show and succeeded in reuniting the industry for three high-spirited and productive days in Olympia’s Grand Hall.
Even though the number of attendees was reduced this year, they remained top quality and similar to previous years: 2/10 were company owners or directors and half were specifiers or final decision-makers. Theatre and touring were most prominent with one third of those attending working in production or venues.
Anticipation was high as the doors opened, with a steady stream of visitors keen to check out the next generation of products and catch up with colle

UK - The CPL crew led by Lee Gruszeckyj were back working on a festival site again, providing video design and production for Camper Calling 2021 which took place over four days at Ragley Hall, Warwickshire during the UK’s August Bank Holiday weekend.
The festival, organised by Jazz Events, was back with a lively musical megamix and additional fun and adventure.
CPL working via Urban Audio Productions supplied a video equipment package comprising screens, cameras, and control. The last event was in 2019, and each year the production values and scale of Camper Calling are increased alongside the great attention to detail that ensures it retains its friendly boutique style.
The big change up on the video front from 2019 was rigging the side stage IMAG screens in portrait format, a move suggested early in the design process by CPL to frame artist close-ups and

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