Brazil - The Masked Singer Brasil, the latest in the worldwide television franchise of the reality singing competition, premiered on 10 August with Claypaky Sharpy and Mythos 2 fixtures, illuminating stage at WTC Golden Hall, São Paulo.
Spectrun Design e Iluminação supplied 24 Sharpy moving beams, 24 Mythos 2 spot and beam lights and other Claypaky visual effects moving heads for the new series airing on TV Globo.
“When I was invited by the production company, Endemol Shine Brasil, and the director, Marcelo Amiky, to work on this project - which is unprecedented in Brazil [for its size and scope] - we needed high-performance, precision equipment, so Claypaky was my main choice for fixtures,” says Alexandre Augusto, the lighting designer and director of phot

USA - Chauvet Professional has appointed Scott Laurentz to its management team. Formerly with The Lighting Design Group in New York, Laurentz joins Chauvet as product resource manager for broadcast lighting.
In his new position, Laurentz will draw on his extensive global experience working on lighting projects to provide the Chauvet Professional and Kino Flo product development team with strategic input. He will also be involved in building customer relations and conducting training related to broadcast, studio, and film lighting.
“This position is part our product resource group focused on customer-focused product innovations and applications,” says Albert Chauvet, CEO of Chauvet. “Adding Scott’s expertise to the Chauvet Professional and Kino Flo brands will drive our ability to provide a full range of solutions for this market. In Scott, we not only have some

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
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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

UK - After two years away from the fields of Daresbury, Cheshire, LarMac LIVE delivered the electronic music festival cinch presents Creamfields with a line up of artists including Tiësto, Eric Prydz, Chemical Brothers, Carl Cox and Basement Jaxx.
Event specialists LarMac LIVE produced Creamfields’ return alongside its familiar technical partners.
“It’s like we’ve never been away,” said Ian ‘Lar’ Greenway, director of LarMac LIVE. “We’ve run countless scenarios and drafted numerous budget versions over the last two years, so when the time to get our first acts on stage and deliver finally came, it was really quite special.”
LarMac LIVE’s number one priority for Creamfields 2021 was to get the festival set up in a safe working environment.
“We knew there was going to be challenges, but I felt quite strongly that as long as we got th

USA - Martin Audio’s advanced Wavefront Precision (WPL) line array was out in force at the 38th Annual Norfolk Waterfront Jazz Festival in Virginia recently, headlined by David Sanborn and Boney James.
Local service company (and Martin Audio partner) Soundworks of Virginia have been providing sound services for this, and many other events promoted by Festevents in Norfolk, VA over the past decade.
Historically the client has asked Soundworks to set up systems at the Town Point Park, along with a ‘back up’ system indoors at the multipurpose, 11,000-cap Norfolk Scope, so that in the event of sudden bad weather they had an indoor option ready to go. “This year it was obvious the weather was going to be bad the entire weekend, so we just set the system inside the Norfolk Scope,” reports company president and senior engineer, Grant Howard.
Generally used as

Germany - To cater for post-pandemic live events, Alex-SOUND has added JBL Professional VTX Series loudspeakers and Crown power amplifiers to their inventory.
Based in Berlin, Alex-SOUND is a one-stop shop for casual and professional events, providing audio-visual system rental, photography, DJ services, catering and more. With COVID restrictions lifting and live events making a comback, Alex-SOUND decided to invest in a cutting-edge audio system.
The company turned to Audio Pro, the Harman Professional Solutions distributor in Germany, to upgrade their inventory with JBL VTX A8 line array loudspeakers, VTX B18 subwoofers and Crown I-Tech 4x3500HD power amplifiers.
“Despite the pandemic, it made sense for us to invest in the JBL VTX A8,” said Stefan Mendelsohn, owner, Alex-SOUND. “The VTX A8 is an incredibly versatile, high-quality speaker. Not only does

Nigeria - Love of Christ Generation Church has a rich history, founding multiple locations and fostering a forward-thinking faith in the UK and Africa. Its most recent congregation, opened this September, is a newly built cathedral on Landmark Beach in Lagos. The impressive, modernist building can accommodate 5,500 worshipers across its two main spaces to host church services, choir practice, bible classes, and more.
Ghana-based Amsons Audio was contracted to design and install the audio-visual system for this new building. The contract was the company’s first major project in Africa, and owner Eben Awuah knew it demanded a no-compromise approach. He centred his audio system around L-Acoustics K Series loudspeakers.
“My business partner, Charles Amoah, and I were in Abuja consulting on one of the biggest churches in Ghana when I got a call from Reverend Mother Abim

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

USA - Harman Professional Solutions has introduced the JBL-LCT 81C/TM metric lay-in ceiling tile speaker and the JBL-MTC-CSTeth1 retrofit safety tether for JBL Control 10, 20 and 40 Series ceiling speakers with press-in grilles.
The LCT 81C/TM delivers high output intelligibility for classrooms, offices, paging systems, airports, retail stores and any place where speech and music clarity are critical. This low-profile speaker features an efficient 200 mm dual-cone driver with 1-inch voice coil and high-performance transformer. Its wide 100-degree conical dispersion pattern translates to broader coverage with fewer speakers, and its high 96 dB sensitivity means loud and clear sound even at low tap settings.
Installation is quick and easy: Simply remove a standard 600mm x 600mm ceiling tile and lay the speaker in its place. With a shallow depth of just 103 mm (4.1 inches

South Africa - Bad Weather is a creative technical production house based in Cape Town. The company has been using real time technology to create interactive experiences for massive public attractions since 2017. Today, the company has enhanced its portfolio with end-to-end streaming solutions for virtual production built on StreamWorks by Stage Audio Works – a platform comprising hardware and software as well as support and expertise.
When the pandemic struck in early 2020, Bad Weather, like many, was forced to revaluate its product and service offering. “Our philosophy revolves around creating a bridge between creative and technical to bring experiences to life,” explains Bad Weather creative director, Jonathan Bandli. “When the live events sector effectively ceased to exist overnight, the transition to virtual solutions offered us a means to continue to service ou

South Korea - To provide high-quality sound that elevated the audience experience, TechDataPS Co equipped the Yangsan Culture & Arts Centre audio solutions from JBL Professional and Crown Audio.
Opened in 2002, the Yangsan Culture & Arts Centre is dedicated to promoting the arts community in Yangsan City, including hosting a wide range of performances. The venue includes a nearly 800-seat grand concert hall, a mid-sized 300-seat outdoor stage, a small 167-seat indoor hall, an exhibition room and a practice room.
TechDataPS reported that the centre requested a user-friendly audio system with powerful subwoofers in order to deliver pristine and impactful sound quality to all seats, but the venue’s deep balconies made even coverage a challenge. The installation team selected JBL speakers and subwoofers alongside Crown amplifiers.
TechDataPS installed JBL V

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

UK - For the virtual iteration of the annual WhatsOnStage Awards, lighting designer Jack Weir used Martin Professional lighting solutions to translate the excitement and grandeur of live performance through the computer screen.
Held annually since 2001, the WhatsOnStage Awards celebrate excellence in the British live theatre industry. However, due to social distancing regulations, this year’s ceremony was a virtual live stream broadcast from the Turbine Theatre, a more intimate venue than the show’s usual large-capacity locations like the Prince of Wales Theatre and the Dominion Theatre.
This year’s show required a lighting system that effectively translated from the stage to the screen and performed efficiently despite the limited space, power and personnel available. Organisers turned to Jack Weir, a 2016 WOS Award nominee for his lighting work on the West End

Canada - Working with his board operator Jerome Robitaille and TD Eden Ashby, lighting designer Gil Perron pushed his LSM Ambiocréateurs supplied lighting rig in myriad directions for five different shows videoed over a five-day period in support of a wide range of performances by leading artists from Montreal’s 2SLGBTQI+ community.
Through it all, Perron drew on the versatile performance features of 34 Chauvet Professional Maverick MK3 Profile fixtures positioned on his fly system. “It’s no big secret that my go-to light for TV is the Maverick 3 Profile,” he says. “It has the brightness, colour schemes, gobo package, and, when dialed in, a perfectly nice 4300k with bang on render.”
To ensure that his looks remained distinctive throughout the entire festival and reflected the personalities of all performers, Perron generally limited the number of Maverick

World Music - Ed Sheeran, Lizzo and Billie Eilish were among stars to take part in a 24-hour gig to raise awareness of climate change, vaccine inequality and famine. Over 60 artists performed in The Global Citizen festival in cities including New York, London and Seoul. The event kicked off on Saturday in Paris, where Elton John performed in front of the Eiffel Tower. He took to the stage following a pre-recorded performance by the K-pop band BTS.
The show, believed to be one of the biggest-ever international charity events, was organised by Global Citizen - a charity working to end extreme poverty by 2030. Unlike most events of this nature, organisers were not aiming to raise cash, but to use participation as evidence for world leaders that people support bold action on the issues.
"Across six continents, artists will help rally citizens in demanding that governments,

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

UK - Shure partnered with Autograph Sound to upgrade the audio equipment at Epsom College as part of a centralised AV control and integration system installation.
Founded in 1855, Epsom College is a co-educational independent school, located in Surrey.
The school, which has a long-standing relationship with Autograph, worked together with them to design and supply an AV solution that connected three areas of the building - Big School, the main auditorium in the building used for assembly, events and music concerts; The Main Hall, a smaller auditorium for assemblies, large meetings and parent’s events, and finally, The Chapel, a space which was used for services only but is now becoming more diversified.
As part of the new audio-visual upgrade, the college had a requirement for wireless microphone and Autograph supplied eight channels of Shure’s latest SLX-D

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

UK - Middlesex Sound & Light (MSL) recently completed the ninth installation in the high intensity 1Rebel gym infrastructure, with the completion of 1Rebel Oxford Circus.
Their eighth premium site in London, the brand has a portfolio that extends to the Middle East (which was completed late last year). Described as a fitness-fashion hybrid, boasting nightclub quality production values, each site features sound reinforcement from the Martin Audio catalogue.
Originally introduced to owners Giles Dean and James Balfour around four years ago as a replacement for their previous sound supplier, MSL provided a sophisticated AV upgrade of the first two venues, which were already in the estate, before setting out a design blueprint for future roll-out.
Project manager and designer Toby Jones confirms that Martin Audio products - from BlacklineX and CDD through to AD

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