India - Bangalore-based freelance lighting engineer, Guru Somayaji, recently worked on a production designing shows for premier local live music venue and festival / events production company, The Humming Tree.
One recent show was the concert for rising Indie artiste, Prateek Kuhad, when PR Lighting fixtures unexpectedly came to the rescue. The design brief for the show was that it should be ‘minimal and space like’, and the visual brief was to bring together the stars through the signs of the Zodiac. The show was to have been operated by the artiste’s lighting engineer, Mumbai-based Abhishek Roy.
“Using this brief, I wanted to design a rig that would have a lot of colour wash, and spots that would focus on key moments from various positions,” said the LD. “

China - The One Yeah Pop Up+ Festival took place on 16-17 March in Xi’an, gathering China's pioneers in electronic music and rap, as well as Chinese traditional style, cool street ball and B-box.
After deep consideration and careful selecting, the organiser chose NEXT-proaudio, which was supplied by Real Music Acoustics, local distributor of the Portuguese manufacturer.
“The electronic music sound effects were controlled fantastically and the sound pressure with the LA212x line array was really amazing allowing all the audience to have a fantastic music experience,” comments Richie Wang, CEO of Real-Music.
The system comprises more than 120 NEXT-pro audio speakers. The main hang adopts Next-Proaudio 's flagship product line array series, 15 LA212x per side, and 18 LAs418G per side stacked in front of the stage. Another nine LA212x per side for out-fill. 12

Nigeria - Considered the largest music event in Africa, The Experience interdenominational gospel concert, convened and hosted by Pastor Paul Adefarasin, as well as drawing a 700,000 crowd to its last edition in Lagos’s Tafawa-Balewa Square in December 2018, was also streamed live on the House on The Rock YouTube channel to viewers around the world.
The high-profile cast of performers was ensured optimum coverage at the huge venue by the impressive Outline PA fielded by Cytech, featuring GTO, GTO C-12 and Butterfly line array systems, LAB 21 infra-subs, DBS 18-2 and Subtech 218 sub-bass enclosures, DVS and Doppia point-source systems, with H.A.R.D. 212 wedge monitors for the artistes.
Outline’s Openarray-3D acoustic prediction software was used to plan the installation of the sound system that covered the 200 by 280sq.m, bounded by tiered seating 20m high a
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Indochine X PixMob Fan Immersion

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's - 40 thousand LED pixels on a ceiling!!! Indochine's whirlwind tour transports fans to another level of the live experience - immersing them from floor to ceiling with PixMob's X4 wristbands, and an LED ceiling made entirely of its NOVA Minis! With the vision of Indochine's creative team, PixMob used its LED fan-technology to turn attendees and venues into an ocean of effects, and a starry sky of LED magic. Très très cool!

Read more about the Indochine tour in the latest issue of LSi

Mexico - Electric Daisy Carnival (EDC) Mexico 2019 took over Mexico City’s Autódromo Hermanos Rodriguez racetrack for two days of electronic dance music, multi-media art, and a charged carnival atmosphere.
The flagship event for EDM-event promoters Insomniac, which takes place annually in Las Vegas as well as various other locations globally, drew over 120,000 participants and featured sets from many luminaries of the dance music scene including Alesso, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Kaskade, and Paul Van Dyk.
In addition to its record-breaking attendance and stacked artist line-up, the festival also marked its fourth year of collaboration with Calgary, Alberta-based sound system manufacturer PK Sound, which provided the immense deployment for the kineticFIELD main stage.
“We first became involved with Insomniac events at EDC Las Vegas 2015 when we provided

UK - A.C. Entertainment Technologies (AC-ET) provided the Welsh National Opera with a new surtitling system utilising AlphaPIX2 by Prolights LED video panels.
Welsh National Opera (WNO) was founded 75 years ago by a group of people from South Wales as an opera company that represented Wales as the ‘land of song’. With over 120 performances a year, the company now tours across Wales, England and internationally, with the aim to open up the world of opera to everyone. A key part of this is with the use of surtitles.
Ian Jones, head of lighting and sound for WNO explains: “Surtitling has become a very important part of an opera performance. It provides an easy way for the audience to follow the libretto whilst enjoying the music and dramatic performance.”
Ian was looking to upgrade the existing surtitling system; and after speaking with Chris Beardwell, tech

UK - Classical Spectacular, one of the UK’s most popular classical music showcases, returned to the Royal Albert Hall over the weekend to celebrate its 30th anniversary at the venue, backed by a major production featuring an indoor firework display, rifles and cannons. Lighting designer Durham Marenghi selected a variety of Claypaky fixtures for the Raymond Gubbay production.
“Each season I create a different truss architecture to keep the show fresh for repeat customers,” says Marenghi who has worked on the production for 30 years. “In addition to being visually entertaining, the structure must create the correct positions for lighting the orchestra, choir, military bands, and solo singers without glare, so they can read their music.”
Marenghi specified 16 x Claypaky Sharpy, 48 x Claypaky Sharpy Wash, 12 x Claypaky Scenius Spot, four Claypaky Scenius

China - Top Chinese names from their respective fields were appointed to stage the large-scale lighting and fireworks art performance A Warm Welcome to Friends from Afar. Director Zhang Yimou, stage designer Sha XiaoLan, sound engineer Jin Shaogang and music producer Laozai, supported by sound specialist EZPro, delivered the spectacular performance at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit held in Qingdao. The summit was chaired by the president of the People’s Republic of China, Xi Jinping, who welcomed leaders from SCO member countries around the world.
EZPro handled the setup, commissioning and operation of the sound system, meeting the challenges of design and build in the show area that was adjacent to the sea. EZPro sound engineer and international project manager, Zheng Lungang, explains: “The system was installed for two months of typical seas

USA - Continuing Fred Foster’s legacy of caring for entertainment technology professionals in need, ETC presented Behind the Scenes with a cheque during USITT for $14,937.81, representing the most recent proceeds from the company’s iRFR and aRFR (Radio Focus Remote) applications. Since the launch of the iRFR in 2009, ETC’s mobile app sales have now generated almost $370,000 in donations.
The iRFR and aRFR mobile apps enable convenient, touchscreen-based remote control for Eos family consoles and controllers. You can learn more about the apps from the ETC website and download them from the iTunes or Google Play stores.
“Behind the Scenes provides great relief to members of the extended entertainment production industry family who are dealing with financial hardship due to injury and illness,” said Kate Foster, ETC’s marketing scenic designer, upon presenti

UK - Sound masking specialists Cambridge Sound Management (CSM), recently acquired by Biamp, has appointed Polar as its exclusive UK distributor.
CSM’s award-winning QtPro and DynasoundPro technologies are designed to help organisations of all sizes protect speech privacy, reduce noise distractions and increase workplace productivity by meeting the challenges presented by the architecture of settings such as open-plan and private offices, call centres and lobbies.
CSM’s proprietary technology works by adding a low level, unobtrusive background sound into an environment. This ambient, specially optimised sound masking drastically reduces the intelligibility of human speech to promote a workplace that is measurably more acoustically comfortable and private without sacrificing architectural design.
More than 20,000 installations around the world already utilis

Germany - Robert Juliat will take its place at Prolight+Sound trade show in the Lightpower Village as the company marks its 100th anniversary this year.
Occupying a purpose-built stand in hall 12.0, C62, RJ will present its range of recently released LED profile fixtures, the Charles 960SX series. This range of powerful 600W LED profiles is available in three variable zoom ranges (29°/50°, 15°/40° and 8°/16°) for short to long throw applications.
Charles exhibits a high optical efficiency, a 6000K colour temperature and a CRI in excess of 90. The fixture delivers the maximum high output, a flat, even beam and excellent image projection at all beam angles. Smooth electronic dimming and an in-built power supply gives silent operation that is perfect for front of house positions.
From its range of followspots, the 600W Alice and Oz short and long throw follows

Germany - GLP is celebrating a landmark year in its history as it marks its 25th anniversary in 2019 Founded by Udo Künzler in a 200sq.m workshop in Karlsbad, southern Germany, the operation has developed into one of the leading stage and event technology companies.
Occupying their biggest stand to date - a 380sq.m space in hall 12.1, D36 - there will be plenty to entice lighting professionals, from the signature lightshows (this year choreographed by American designer, Nate Files) to the GLP beer, enabling LDs to chat informally at the bar with company representatives.
The KNV series of modules is this year extended from the original KNV Cube and KNV Arc with the addition of the KNV Line and KNV Dot, offering even more creative opportunities for production designers.
Launched alongside, is the impression S350 Wash - a logical partner for the S350 unveiled last

Belgium - As trampoline parks jump in popularity, proprietors seek new ways to stand out in an increasingly crowded market.
For the owners of JumpSky, creating this point of distinction involved adding bright colour-mixing Chauvet DJ SlimPAR fixtures, installed by Wim Zwarts of DiverZe.
“Our client wanted to create a better atmosphere in the trampoline park by enhancing the sound and light,” says Zwarts. “Being a former indoor tennis court, there were only general discharge lamps in the park, which limited the kind of looks they could create. I met with the client to present a total sound-and-light solution. From the lighting standpoint, the ability to create colourful, vibrant looks was a top priority.”
To achieve this goal, Zwarts installed 76 SlimPAR Pro H USB and 26 SlimPAR T12 USB fixtures throughout the trampoline park. Flown on truss above the tram

Singapore - To create an enchanting ballroom experience for weddings and special events at their luxury hotel in Marina Bay, Pan Pacific Singapore hired Mynalight to design a dynamic LED ceiling installation using Martin by Harman VC-Dot 1 strips.
Pan Pacific Hotels Group operates upscale hotels, resorts and serviced suites throughout Asia Pacific and North America for the redesigned 800-capacity ballroom Pan Pacific Singapore wanted to create an immersive and customizable lighting experience for thematic weddings and events. Pan Pacific Singapore hired Mynalight to design and deploy a LED lighting installation in the ballroom ceiling that could complement the elegant colour schemes, table settings and flower arrangements of the hotel’s wedding themes.
"Lighting the ballroom for Pan Pacific Singapore was an ambitious project, which we approached in our uniquely coll

USA - Progressive rockers Tauk began their national Let It Be tour on 31 January at the Portland House of Music, running through a June appearance at Michigan’s Electric Forest Festival.
Supporting the band’s long, winding riffs, as they take audiences on a mind-expanding journey, is a bright, and distinctly original, Scott Light lightshow anchored by Chauvet Professional Rogue R1 Beam fixtures.
Positioned on truss columns ranging from 1.5ft to 6.5ft in height, the 10 Rogue R1 Beam units in Light’s rig create an intricate matrix of overlapping beams across the stage. Shot in different directions and from varying heights, light from the 132W fixtures creates alternating areas of intense brightness and dark space, an effect that reinforces the shifting reality spirit of the band’s sci-fi inspired sound.
This effect is amplified by the Rogue R1 Beam

Europe - French-Israeli singer-songwriter Amir is currently making his way through France and Belgium as part of his latest 2019 European live tour. Backing up the artist on FOH duties is engineer Ivan Herceg, with David Chancereul on monitors; both using SSL Live consoles.
Supplied by Dushow, the set up includes an SSL L500 handling monitors, with Herceg opting for the smaller SSL L200, as it has performed so well for him on previous outings. Amir's tour is playing across sizeable arenas and Herceg is happy the L200 is more than up to the job.
“I love these 36 faders, and have found the L200 very good for me overall,” he explains. “So I can tour with the L200 easily, and it sounds fantastic.”
Herceg says it’s not only the overall smoothness of sound and presence of the instruments in the mix, but also that 'in your face' feel that he seems to be able t

UK - Allen & Heath continues to advance its flagship dLive mixing system with the release of the latest firmware update, V1.8, adding “a huge raft of power-features that engineers will love”, from MCAs and Talkback Groups through to a a new DEEP processing plug-in, the OptTronik.
In monitor world, V1.8 adds Mix Control Association (MCA), bringing the convenience of DCA groups and spills to monitor engineers, enabling simple control over multiple AUX/MTX sends via a single fader.
This update further improves ease of control by introducing A/B/C/D inputs, enabling up to 4 input sockets to be assigned to every input channel, and provides fast and seamless selection of sockets via SoftKeys – enabling rapid switching to a backup microphone, or to pre-recorded files on a playback system.
The addition of 12 assignable Talkback Groups, which can be populated wi

Germany - Alcons Audio comes to Prolight + Sound 2019 with a number of new pro-ribbon loudspeaker developments, bringing enhanced benefits to small, medium and large-scale live productions.
Exhibiting at Hall 8.0, Stand G71, Alcons is highlighting it’s steadily increasing expansion into the live touring and festival markets with significant additions to its L-series of true line source, vertical array loudspeaker systems, highlighting Alcons’ commitment to bringing the many benefits of pro-ribbon audio quality and directivity to medium/large venues and outdoor festivals.
Positioned between the LR18 compact mid-size and LR28 larger-format systems, the new LR24 mid-size pro-ribbon line-array features a new, specially-designed pro-ribbon transducer. The LR28B low-frequency module sets a new benchmark for arrayable sub-extension, with a new 18" ultra-low distortion woo

Germany - Artistic Licence will be launching sunDial quad, its new DMX/RDM or Xicato GalaXi controlled mains dimmer. Using trailing edge technology, the product provides smooth fades with dimmable replacement LED, CFL or incandescent sources, with exceptional performance even at very low intensities.
Also on show will be the award-winning DMX controller, matisse, along with the latest splitters, gateways and media server, dVnet.
Artistic Licence CEO and product designer, Wayne Howell, will be present throughout the show to answer questions.
sunDial quad offers a professional solution, with four user-selectable dimming curves providing optimum results for a broad range of fixtures. sunDial quad has been designed to be extremely resilient, with intelligent features that reduce ongoing maintenance needs.
The standard product, sunDial quad dmx 1k, is controlle

Germany - MDG will be exhibiting at Prolight+Sound in the new Hall 12.0 Stand D44 beside its exclusive German distributor, cast C. Adolph & RST Distribution.
MDG will present a selection of its range of atmospheric effects which includes the Me Series of fog generators, the ATMe haze generator, the ICE FOG Series of low fog generators and the award-winning theONE dual mode haze and fog generator, plus a number of accessories including the Round Floor Pocket.
Central to the display, with its new black version on show for the first time in Germany, will be the WPE Series of rugged, non-stop, variable output, IP55-rated haze and fog generators: the ATMe WPE haze generator and Me1 WPE and Me2 WPE fog generators.
The new black WPE Series has been designed to encase all the benefits of standard MDG haze and fog generators in a sturdy, yet discreet, black housing t

Germany - Chroma-Q will continue to celebrate its 15th year as a producer of performance LED lighting products by showing its latest range of LED Solutions at Prolight + Sound.
Chroma-Q has been a pioneer in the development of LED lighting for entertainment applications since launching the Color Block DB4 in 2004. The brand's latest generation of lighting solutions utilises Chroma-Q's proprietary homogenised optics, colour management and dimming technologies - drawing upon 15 years of LED expertise.
The Brute Force LED alternative to traditional light sources such as a quarter ‘Wendy Light’, will be making a big impact this year. Capable of delivering up to 140,000 lumens and drawing just 15 amps at 240V, the larger Brute Force 6 is a versatile, controllable fixture.
After its unveiling at the show last year, the Studio Force II has been adopted in a number o

Germany - Ayrton’s new compact Levante and Diablo 300W LED wash and profile luminaires are ready to ship and will be celebrated in full force at Prolight+Sound 2019.
Levante is a miniaturised version of the Bora wash light, endowed with outstanding performance capabilities in an ultra-compact form that matches the dimensions of Mistral.
With Levante, Ayrton has created a wash luminaire that can actually sculpture light and added a high-transmission diffusion filter to the zoom lens group to erase the edge of the beam without changing its angle. A variable linear frost system allows the user to adjust the desired diffusion level with precision.
Weighing just over 20kg and with a light output greater than 20,000 lumens, Levante’s optical system is specially developed for optimum wash applications. Its many features include a barndoor module allowing shutters

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