Responding to an invitation from Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, more than 1,000 students from 130 countries attended a stupendous opening ceremony.
Six high-power lasers from tarm Showlaser and sixty precision deflecting mirrors transformed the open-air arena into a network of laser beams.
(Jim Evans)
The timing was chosen to coincide with the 2011 Prolight+Sound Exhibition in Frankfurt, at which Robe launched five new products - the Robin 600 PureWhite, the Robin 300 LED Wash, the Robin MMX Spot - the first of a new generation of 1200 Series luminaires, the DigitalSpot 3500DT and the versatile CityFlex 48.
The fast moving format of the 2011 IDC included a full presentation and overview of all the new feature-packed products, giving the distributors a preview ahead of the exhibition.
Robe's sales director Harry von den Stemmen kicked off the Conference, updating everyone with
Nordic, a new WST user, has moved increasingly into digital technology, with the decision to purchase K1, according to Nordic Rentals director audio-logistics-stage Jens Elsborg. "V-Dosc has been the reference since the early nineties, and L-Acoustics is the brand all technicians have on their rider and the brand all other manufacturers relate to.
"With the K1 package, that heritage is very well preserved. Buying a speaker system nowadays is also a choice of 'family'. By careful choice of age
"We have been using Allen & Heath's analogue consoles for the last 15 years and have always enjoyed their sound quality and durability," says Santa Maria's art and musical director, André Zampieri.
A&H's Brazilian distributor, Libor, introduced Zampieri to iLive, who decided to try out an iLive-T112 Control Surface and iDR-48 MixRack at FOH.
"I fell in love with iLive the first time I used it," reports Zampieri. "We've been using the system for several months now with great results. iLive gives us high quality audio with a flexible design that combines the conveniences of the digital world, such as the use of an iPhone, iPad or LapTop wi
Electronic Studio SA has installed a substantial audio inventory, supplied by ZAP Audio, to meet the client's brief of a high-quality multi-purpose easy-to-use state-of-the-art system. "The convention centre asked us to consider future expansion and interconnection with other rooms, as well as broadcast potential," says ZAP's Flavio Rudy.
"With the digital audio routing, we were able to achieve a high degree of flexibility, and also to tailor the system to different users: there are presets for 'simple' usage, as well as 'full-access' levels for live sound engineers."
For the largest auditorium, the 1,130-ca
Working for the show's producers and designers M-IS, Al Laith was commissioned to engineer and develop the superstructures and movement systems for the three heads. Each measured 20m high, 19m long and were 3m wide.
Al Laith had to ensure that they could safely be 'ridden' by up to 26 performers and driven for at least 1000m - in potentially seasonal windy conditions - for the celebrations following the conclusion of the 2011 Dubai World Cup.
The heads represented the three legendary equestrian bloodlines - the Darley Arabian, the Godolphin Arabian, and the By
Lighting designer Fabrizio 'Fab' Crico has worked for the Pooh during several periods dating back to 1978. He explained that the tour consists of a first stage in halls and a second, in theatres. In the halls, he used 11 battens assembled in a kitesurfing wing shape, and a large background LED screen that traced the history of the Pooh, and showed music clips. The trusses were coloured by the lights, so there was no need for screens to enclose the scenery.
In the theatres, the lighting design had to be adapted to the different spaces in order to maintain the basic characteristic ideas, which meant redistributing the lights. The backdrop consisted of a translucent sheet, reproducing the arabesque of the disc cover, partially illuminated by the wash lights. Thi
"We've done a couple of sponsored walks raising money for this great cause over the last couple of years, and this year we're doing 40Km and 60Km 'hikes' across the South Downs in May again under our team name EasilyLED," says managing director Nic Tolkein. "Myself and some of the team are doing the 40Km walk, and the others are really pushing the boat out and doing the 60Km.
"If you're able to make a donation to help our cause it will be much appreciated whether it be large or small. Every little bit will help bring us closer to our £3,000.00 target."
(Jim Evans)
The game show designed by established LD Chris Kempton and supported by Richard Martin Lighting (RML) comprises of numerous raucous rounds. A frozen chicken is the prize for the winning team, economy sausages for the runners up.
Kempton's lighting specification includes Pixel Par 90, GLP Impressions, Stage Bar 54, MAC 700, MAC 600, VL1000TS, Alpha Beam 700, Alpha Was 1200, Alpha Wash 700 and VL3000 Spots.
(Jim Evans)
AVC needed to meet the main objective of supplying up to eight channels of digital audio recording for court hearings across all courtrooms, with full redundancy. These recordings needed to be shared between all interested parties (judges, lawyers, transcription services), with security and usage tracking possibilities, and finally archiving.
Each syste
"The film exhibition market in Korea is fast-growing and extremely competitive," says Brooke Lee of Kinoton Korea, supplier and integrator of the fully self-powered Meyer Sound EXP system. "The dynamic power and accuracy of EXP proved a perfect match for the upscale 'M' concept, which features luxury seating, a 19m-wide screen, and Sony 4K digital projection."
The 'M' screen at the new Kintex multiplex is equipped with EXP Acheron 80 and Acheron 100 screen channel loudspeakers, supplemented by Acheron LF low frequency screen channel loudspeakers. Sub-bass thrusts from six X-800C subwoofers, and immersive soun
Amidst all the uproar it would seem near impossible to be heard across the stadium, but Turbosound's Flex Array delivered. The diminutive PA system was loud and clear even with the huge din from the crowd. In fact the sound levels were so high that Game Referee Jeff Crowe was not able to hear Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakarra's call during the toss. This unusual event resulted in a 're-toss', much to Indian captain MS Dhoni's displeasure.
The audio system for the match was exclusively Turbosound, provided by rental company E2 Tech. The fully active four-way system consisted of 24 Flex Array TFA-600HDP self-powered mid/highs, 12 NuQ-12DP two-ways, 12 dual 18'' TSW-218DP self-powered subwoofers and 12 TFA-600L F
Light Relief is a charity established by and for the entertainment lighting industry, to help in times of extreme hardship. Formed specifically to help theatre lighting designers and those working in the field who are not in regular full time employment, Light Relief can provide either practical support or financial help, depending on the individual need.
The Hell Rider course comprises separate run (5km) and bike (8km) loops and the team has eight hours in which to complete as many laps as possible. Over the eight hours Claire, Philip and Simon will each be completing over 30km of hilly, off road terrain in this tough challenge.
Whilst the team members are keen runners and bikers an
Global Action Sports, who have the worldwide rights to create the Nitro Circus show, had already worked with George Gorga when he was sound designer for Crusty Demons. For this show, they commissioned him to create a soundtrack as well as design and operate the audio system.
"With Nitro Circus we were able to build the show from scratch, trying to retain elements from the television show whilst creating an exciting live show," said Gorga. "It's sort of scripted but can be very unpredictable."
For the outdoor Nitro Circus Live shows Gorga opted for a JBL VerTec PA system gro
LSI Projects responded successfully to a system design inclusive of all lighting, audio and AV integration, by theatre consultants, Drama by Design, who designed and specified all the technical systems for the theatre, worth half-a-million pounds.
Drama by Design's Andrew Stone comments, "The requirement of the College was to have a professional standard performance theatre - and that's why we opted for the PixelPars because they are professional standard, as opposed to some of the cheap alternatives. They offer bright, even light output. They are durable and they last. It is essential for technical theatre students to get experience of what they
Featuring a 1200-Watt subwoofer and two 400-watt satellites, L.U.C.A.S Alpha weighs in at a comparatively light 96kg but has all the power of a big rig setup. This is suitable for Jemain's act, as he performs variously with a band and as a solo singer to backing tracks.
"The power and clarity from the L.U.C.A.S Alpha is incredible - a real step up from the system we were using and, amazingly, in a much more manageable package," says Jemain. The system was supplied by HK Audio 'Concert Sound Partner' Arranpaul Audio. in Blackpool.
(Jim Evans)
The sound system which served it so well for the past 30 years was recently decommissioned and a new infrastructure designed and specified by media consultant, Rolf Mayer of Bischofsheim-based IFB Consulting. The audio network was based on a QSC digital Q-Sys platform.
Over 1000-years-old, this Romanesque Cathedral - with its striking red fascia which dominates the Mainz skyline - spans a length of 116m, while the ceiling height ranges between 28 and 54m.. From an acoustics perspective this produces an extraordinarily long reverberation time of up to 12 seconds - not an insignificant challenge to overcome.
In providing superior audio in an environment for congregations of up to 4,000 people, He
Both Woodall and Frengley have worked closely together in the past and it was the latter's extensive experience of touring EAW systems for many years (while a director of premier rental company, Canegreen) that drove them to the brand.
But they weren't looking for an off-the-peg solution for the main PA system, as Ian Woodall confirms. "What we really needed was a KF730 on steroids," he quipped, referring to the company's small format line array. Such was their enthusiasm that they headed to Frankfu
Arena supplied all of the mile and kilometre marker towers along the 26.2mile route, which the 36,000 runners passed by from Blackheath to the finish line in St James Park. Arena Group built the markers that signified distance achieved, from the first mile to '800m To Go' on the main and Red Route, totalling approximately 60 individual constructions.
Owing to the busy location, only six of these towers were built on the Friday prior to the race, with the remaining markers being constructed the Saturday before, complete with sponsors' branding.
Arena's project manager, Martin Clark comments,"As the marathon route runs straight through the
A star-studded, red-carpet event was held at London's Abbey Road Studios, where guests watched the premiere of Epic- a film featuring the pictorial music memoires of the 21 finalists - and saw Mark Ronson and the Business Intl. perform live.
Litestructures was commissioned to design, produce, install and implement a structure for the event that comprised a series of physical and digital components creating a large scale AV 'photo-wall'. The brief called for a v
Litecom took delivery of Supertruss amounting to 265m in length - more than two and a half football pitches - and it has been in constant use since. The truss has been on many major televised shows in Denmark including X Factor, and the Zulu Awards.
Litecom MD, Kristian Dreier, comments, "We wanted to start up our own rigging department to make everything easier, more flexible and to be able to rig our own projects, with black truss, instead of the normal aluminium look we could rent."
"No one in the television industry likes to look at aluminium trusses, so we've always had to cover
The first day of the seminar will focus on post-production, while the second day will concentrate on professional broadcasting and particularly the radical changes happening in production and distribution of broadcast, film and music as a consequence of new ITU and EBU standards.
For example, the groundbreaking and comprehensive EBU R128 loudness recommendation is investigated from a multitude of angles, while only a few weeks earlier, ITU's loudness standard, BS.1770, will have been updated. The consequences of BS.1770-2 will also be evaluated and put into practical perspective.
TC Electronic Audio Seminar takes place
The three companies involved are Fumasoli Service from Aosta (Valle D'Aosta), Electra Service. from Mantova (Lombardia) and Amandla Production (from Lucca Toscana). The founding partners decided to form All Access during the first demo of the MLA, organised by Audiosales, the Martin Audio distributor in Italy, following their reaction to the system.
Since the three companies have always used Martin Audio's systems - from the old modular system, to the RS800, the F1, the W8, the W8L Longbow, the W8LC and the W8LM - the recommendation had been proposed by head of Audiosales, Stefano Rocchi, who could see the synergies that could be exploited.
The town's 13th century Gothic castle with its connected theatre and conference centre will be the main venue for the presentations and exhibition. All delegates are able to stay within the pedestrianised town; vehicle access is deliberately restricted in order to retain the medieval feel of the UNESCO Heritage site.
Showlight's organising committee chairman, Ian Dow, says, "The decision to take the four day event to the town was taken after visiting a number of different potential areas, and it was the intimate feel and stunning backdrop of ?eský Krumlov that won us over.
"Showlight offers a unique opportunity to listen to and consider the experiences of lighting professional
