Business

Details
Forever Young - Bob Dylan and Neil Young have been announced as joint headliners at London's Hyde Park as part of British Summer Time on 12 July though it's not yet clear in which order they will play.
Lip-Syncing - Rita Ora has been accused of lip-syncing during her performance at America's most famous Thanksgiving Day event. Organisers apologised to millions of viewers watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade for "technical difficulties" during the holiday feature. Rita Ora appeared to be out of sync with the vocals viewers heard during her televised performance.
Macy's, the American department store chain that throws the parade, released a public apology. The company said "several recording artists experienced technical difficulties that negatively impacted their performance." It added: "We apologise and want fans to know these issues were out of the artis

Details
Germany - Green Hippo occupied a key role in its German distributor’s 2018 open day. A key date in the industry calendar, the event attracted an impressive 250 industry professionals. Hosted by Christian Pies, sales director at Cast, the day included a programme of talks from industry professionals, as well as, of regular stops for ‘kaffe and cookies’.
Green Hippo technology was a running theme throughout the day. Green Hippo’s Tom Etra, technical sales manager and product specialist Suzy Stenning travelled to the event and the venue included a space dedicated to demonstrating Hippotizer’s abilities with 3D projection mapping
Green Hippo technology also prominently featured in the lecture given by Thomas Gerdon of Gerdon design. Thomas, a Hippotizer owner and user, presented a practical lecture on the design and programming of lighting systems in the combinat

Details
The Netherlands - Hans Peitsman’s Rotterdam based rental operation Peitsman Licht en Geluid (Peitsman Lighting & Sound) has made a major investment in Robe fixtures, including 36 x MegaPointes, 48 x LEDBeam 150s and 48 x Spiiders.
These are added to other Robe items in rental stock including miniPointes and LEDWash 600+s, and it follows previous purchases of LEDWash 300s, MMX Spots, DLF Washes and DLX Spots.
Peitsman Licht en Geluid was founded in 1994 and now has 25 full time employees. They moved into their current premises three years ago and supply premium full technical production packages – lights, sound, video, staging, rigging and trucking - to a dynamic mix of live shows and events, B2B and corporate clients, theatre and television productions, parties and public entertainments.
They also look after some venues and event spaces as the technical

Details
France – ETC has announced the opening of its newest office - in Paris. Local French distributor, Avab Transtechnik France (ATF) has been selling and supporting ETC products for over 15 years and has always shared strong values of service and innovation. When the owners of ATF, Jean-Louis Pernette and Christian Rezgui retired in May, an opportunity arose for ETC to acquire the French company and increase its presence in the European market. With this acquisition, ATF becomes part of the ETC family and is officially named ETC France.
"I am extremely grateful for the dedication and effort Jean-Louis Pernette and Christian Rezgui have contributed through their leadership of ATF over the years,” said Fred Foster, co-founder and CEO of ETC. “The close relationships they have built with our customers in France and the strength of the ATF team provide us with a solid foundati

Details
South Africa - Robe lighting’s CEO, Josef Valchar presented demonstrations at a successful South African Robe roadshow event which received a friendly welcome in Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg at the start of November.
Organised by local distributor DWR and also attended by Robe’s sales director Harry von den Stemmen, the roadshow was an opportunity for the entertainment industry to experience first-hand the new T1 Profile, iParfect, RoboSpot and SuperSpikie products.
The team was very busy from 10am to 5pm each day and gave five to six demos at each venue. “The response was impressive! We had close to 50 people in Cape Town, 40 in Durban and over a hundred in Johannesburg,” commented Josef.
“It was great to hear all the feedback and see the reaction first-hand to the products. Obviously, the main attraction was RoboSpot and the T1, but people als

Details
Denmark - As part of a new strategy plan, Matrix Sales has become, effective immediately, the new Wireless Solution distributor in Denmark.
Established in early 2011 Matrix Sales is a distribution partner for many international manufacturers, including SGM, Chauvet Professional and Eurotruss.
Urs Friis-Alstrup, lighting sales manager for the Danish company, comments: “We’re very excited to be working with Wireless Solution in our market, and to expand their presence not only in the rental market, but theatres, installations and AV and broadcasting. Their products pair well with our existent product line and fulfil a niche that we seek to reach”.
David Ferraz, international business development manager for W-DMX adds, “The new partnership represents a dynamic change to the company. Wireless Solution is working closely with Matrix to smoothen the transition

Details
UK - Technical entertainment charity Backup received donations in excess of £25,500 during September alone, thanks to the generosity of Ambersphere, Claypaky, DiGiCo, Lightpower Collection, PLASA and LSi.
The month started with PLASA’s on-going collaboration with the PSA, which saw a group cycle from Chippenham in Wiltshire to London Olympia on the Saturday before the PLASA Show to increase awareness of mental health within the entertainment and events industries. Not only did they achieve their awareness raising goal, they also raised £1,615 for Backup.
Next to show their support was the Lightpower Collection, which exhibits its impresive collection of rock‘n’roll art - of which legendary rock photographer Neal Preston’s work is the core - around the world, with proceeds from the sale of its original prints donated to Backup and US charity, Behind the

Details
Germany - PRG Germany has struck a deal to add at least 100 fixtures of GLP’s new impression S350 LED moving head to its hire fleet.
Some of the units were immediately specified by leading LD Jerry Appelt for use on the second MTV Unplugged appearance by rock musician Udo Lindenberg.
GLP product manager Michael Feldmann and key account manager Oliver Schwendke had already conducted a product training following delivery of the first tranche of 40 units.
Schwendke comments: “We are proud to have supplied such a significant number of units to PRG Germany and to have them as an early adopter. The impression S350 offers just the kind of package they need, given the broad range of productions that they service.”
Feldmann adds: “We believe that the impression S350 with its high colour rendering, framing unit, form factor and weight, offers the perfect pac

Details
UK - KV2 Audio Europe, the exclusive UK distributor of KV2 Audio products, has moved into a new 10,000sq.ft facility on Hornbeam Business Park in Harrogate.
The new base houses larger amount of KV2 stock and is well serviced by road and rail from Leeds and York stations. A dedicated on-site demonstration facility has also opened – those who wish to request a demo should book an appointment with KV2 UK.
The audio solutions manufacturer has reported growing demand for its products in a variety of markets, particularly in West End and UK touring theatre, with 20 more shows having specified KV2 products. These include Kinky Boots, Motown: The Musical UK tour and a re-imagining of Swan Lake.
(Jim Evans)

Details
Spain - After appointing Spain’s VTècnics as a distributor, Clair Brothers has added another Spanish company as a rental partner, Grupo Friends.
Francisco Yllana, general director of Grupo Friends, comments: “We met up with technicians from VTècnics and they told us about Clair Brothers and their reputation globally. Until recently, it was nearly impossible to find Clair Brothers in Spain, but it was at this moment, talking to VTècnics, that we began to feel we could achieve the kind of market differentiation we aim for, with an exclusive team of the highest quality.”
The Spanish company purchased a C12 system and has already expanded its stage monitoring range with the Clair Brothers 1AM system. Grupo Friends also added the kiTCurve system for side-fills or, as the case may be, as a perfect mini PA for smaller spaces. To complete its Clair Brothers system, t

Details
Sustainable Art - An environmental programme designed to help arts organisations become more sustainable has helped its participants reduce their energy consumption by almost a quarter in the past six years, saving £16.5m as a result. The group of 136 of Arts Council England’s national portfolio organisations have also decreased their carbon emissions by 35% in this time period, according to a report on the scheme by ACE and green arts charity Julie’s Bicycle.
These figures are the culmination of a partnership between Julie’s Bicycle and the Arts Council that began in 2012 with the aim of encouraging arts organisations to become more environmentally sustainable. As part of the six-year programme, the 136 participating organisations consistently reported data at regular intervals across the period. 47 of these were theatre organisations, including the Royal Court and t

Details
UK - The UK Hog Factor competition final took place at Production Futures as two teams competed in a lighting showdown using High End Systems’ Hog 4 console.
Rose Bruford’s ‘Two CLCs and A Norwegian Walk Into A Bar’ won the lighting programming contest, whilst ‘Hogging Bruford’ finished runners-up. The finalists programmed to Foo Fighters’ Pretender.
The judges, including renowned LD Jonathan Armstrong and senior product manager for Hog consoles, Sarah Clausen, took into account the artistic impression of the live show as well as the programming style of the Hog 4. They agreed that the winning team “produced a better structured show in the desk, and had a better use of colour and contrast with their design, portraying a better journey throughout the song”.
Clausen comments: “Both teams showed a real ability to break down the song and s

Details
USA - ANSI's Board of Standards Review approved four ESTA standards - three new or revised and one for reaffirmation without changes.
These are:
ANSI ES1.19-2018: Safety Requirements for Special Event Structures, is a new standard written as part of comprehensive event safety suite, with this section helping to identify design, fabrication, operation and use, inspection and maintenance requirements for the portable structures included in its scope. This is the first of several more to come, in a comprehensive set of event safety standards, co-branded and developed in conjunction with the Event Safety Alliance.
ANSI E1.29-2009 (R2018): Product Safety Standard for Theatrical Fog Generators that Create Aerosols of Water, Aqueous Solutions of Glycol or Glycerin, or Aerosols of Highly Refined Alkane Mineral Oil, is a reaffirmation of ANSI E1.29-2009. T

Details
Australia - Audio, video and lighting services provider NW Group recently bolstered its lighting inventory with Martin by Harman lighting fixtures, provided by Show Technology.
To serve the live concert and touring markets, NW Group specified MAC Aura XB and MAC Quantum Profile fixtures.
Graeme Whitehouse, general manager, NW Group, comments: “We’ve used Quantum Wash, Viper and Aura fixtures with great success for years. We were in the market for next-generation fixtures that could deliver rapid movement and beautiful colour mixing during high profile stage performances. After testing numerous fixtures with local supplier Show Technology, we decided to go with Martin MAC Aura XB washes and MAC Quantum Profiles.
“We’re extremely happy with our choice - the Aura XB and Quantum Profiles enable us to provide even more value to our clients in the arts and ent

Details
Italy - HK Audio has increased its presence in Italy by appointing Sisme as its exclusive distributor.
Effective immediately, Sisme will add HK Audio’s portable sound product range to a portfolio already including the likes of Sony, Audio-Technica and L-Acoustics.
Sisme works directly with system integrators and installers in the pro audio sector as well as partners in the AV and broadcasting fields. The distributor offers integrated solutions, technical and post-sales support, project design and product training.
Claudio Bugari, president of Sisme, comments: “We are happy to be HK Audio’s new distribution partner in Italy. In recent years, HK Audio has made significant progress in its product and marketing activities. We are convinced that this brand offers a great portfolio for the Italian market.”
Antonio Sciarrillo, Sisme’s national sales mana

Details
Europe - Prolyte Group presented its distributor awards at its bi-annual networking event for distributors.
The Partner Immersion Event was held at Prolyte’s International Training Centre in Emsdetten, Germany to bring together distributors from all over the world.
To thank partners for “the trust, support and contribution to the Prolyte brand”, Prolyte Group presented the following awards to their distributors:
Platinum Award ProlyteStructures: AED Distribution; Platinum Award StageDex: AED Distribution; Platinum Award StageDex: Bellalite; Platinum Award ProlyteStructures: Cast C.Adolph & RST Distribution; Platinum Award ProLyft: DWR Distribution; Platinum Award ProLyft: Huss Licht & Ton; Platinum Award StageDex: Stage Electrics: Project of the Year Award: DP Music; Project of the Year Award: EES - Entertainment Equipment Supplies; Consistent Devel

Details
UK - Edinburgh-based DM Audio is the latest company to join the Adamson rental partner network, having recently purchased a S10 line array system from Edinburgh certified re-seller, Live Systems.
The system consists of S10 line array loudspeakers with S119 subs powered by Lab Gruppen PLM20K44 amplifiers together with a full rigging package.
Dino Martino, director of DM Audio, comments: “We had been looking for a new line array system for some time and had evaluated all of the alternatives currently on the market for function, sound quality, rider-friendliness and value. We trialled Adamson line array systems on some of the events that we supplied over the summer and the S-Series really stood out for us as the best system for our client base, with exceptional sound quality, well thought-out rigging and amazing coverage. Another important factor for us is the aftercar

Details
South Africa - DWR Distribution will now be the sole distributor for Audix Microphones in South Africa.
Audix has been a well-known name in professional music for over three decades, with acclaimed international artists using its microphones, including Willie Nelson, Todd Sucherman of Styx, and Morgan Beatbox.
“Over the past two years, our company has seen tremendous growth in the audio products we offer to the industry,” comments Robert Izzett from DWR. “The one thing we did not have were microphones. Audix is one of the leading brands across the globe, and what makes the company special and approachable is their passion for the end user. By investing in research and development over the past thirty years, and listening to their customers’ needs and requests, Audix has developed innovative and performance driven microphones.”
“We are excited to have

Details
UK - Formed at the turn of the century, with the aim of providing lighting and production services to the theatre and events industry, Edinburgh-based Blue Parrot has enjoyed a long association with Martin lighting over the years. This has taken them from MAC 500s and 600s right through to today’s Auras and Vipers.
As their own theatre work increased, with MD Jonnie Clough himself a theatre lighting designer in his own right, the love affair continued, and just over a year ago the company invested in 12 MAC Encore Performance WRM moving heads specifically for a Christmas show at the local Royal Lyceum Theatre.
Of their purchasing decision at the time, Clough says: “It was our success with the Viper Performance that gave us the faith and confidence to invest in the Warm White Encores. I was impressed with the demo and we ordered them even before they were available.

Details
UK - Technical event production provider Blitz has invested in Yamaha’s flagship digital mixing system, Rivage PM10.
The company has a long association with Yamaha and a substantial inventory of QL and TF series digital consoles, as well as CL5s and the legendary PM1D, one of which was used for over a decade on Phantom of the Opera in London’s West End.
As a former touring and theatre mix engineer, Blitz director of sound Aron Ross appreciates the advanced capabilities of Yamaha digital mixers. Working alongside the company’s chief sound engineer, Rob Handyside and head of theatre and sound project development, Martyn Hunt, all were keen to work with the Rivage PM10 digital mixing system.
“We are really excited about the new technology and the enhanced capabilities that Rivage PM10 offers,” says Aron. “The Rupert Neve Designs SILK processing i

Details

The Long Goodbye - Elton John has announced UK dates for his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour, saying they will be emotional and "incredibly special". The singer, who began his mammoth three-year goodbye tour in the US in September, will continue to play across the world until 2021, with more than 300 shows planned. Two UK dates had already been confirmed for next year, and there will now be more again in November 2020, kicking off at London's O2 Arena. Sir Elton will also play arena shows in Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Aberdeen, Glasgow and Leeds in 2020.
"The Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour will take us to many places that have meant a lot to me over the last 50 years, but these UK shows will be incredibly special," he said. "The UK is home, and where my heart will always be. To celebrate some of the incredible moments we've shared with my Britis

Details
UK - Down Hall Hotel & Spa was the early autumn setting for the Green Hippo SHAPE 3D projection mapping masterclass. The sessions took place on two September days with over 30 places taken and attendees travelling from Denmark, Finland, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland, as well the UK.
The first day offered a fundamental introduction to SHAPE 3D projection mapping. Opening with talks covering models and basic content, topics progressed to Hippotizer set-up, closing in the evening with both building alignment and blending practice. Day two shifted up the gears, delivering an advanced-level masterclass – participants took part in a detailed look at complex SHAPE products and setting up complex projects. The advanced syllabus also involved creating content with Notch, as well as building practice and demo station work.
Both days involved access

Details
Japan - Astro Spatial Audio (ASA) has announced its entry into the Japanese market with the appointment of Audio Brains. As the official Japanese solutions partner for ASA, Audio Brains will provide training and support whilst spearheading the expansion of Astro Spatial Audio’s immersive audio technology into the country’s live entertainment sector.
As part of the renowned MSI Japan group, Audio Brains has a portfolio of brands including Powersoft, AVID, Symetrix and Martin Audio – including the Sound Adventures immersive audio package, which is driven by Astro Spatial Audio.
Audio Brains director, Sam Yamashita comments, “Astro Spatial Audio can be used with any loudspeaker you choose, whereas other systems are made by specific manufacturers for use exclusively with their own speakers. It is the best solution for achieving a fully immersive audio experience wh

Details
USA - Lighting designer Herrick Goldman, principal of HG Lighting Design and Evoke Collaborative recently presented the Behind the Scenes charity with a $1,000 donation representing a portion of the firm’s design fees over the last year. HG Lighting Design was the first company to pledge a service rather than a product to Behind the Scenes and this donation marked HGLD’s second annual cheque presentation.
HG Lighting Design provides lighting services for a wide variety of markets including theatre, dance, and corporate events, as well as permanent installations for museums and other venues. Goldman, who designs all around the globe, has long been a supporter of the Behind the Scenes charity. Goldman says: “Our industry is filled with so many wonderful people, it’s a pleasure to be able to support our family members in times of need. In late 2018 HGLD is launching Evo
  1. Operational changes at Lightconverse
  2. Martin by Harman showcase event at LIPA
  3. PSI delivers for Halloween spectaculars
  4. Powersoft strengthens Deva distribution in Italy
  5. SBA named Spanish Adamson E-Series partner
  6. ESTA announces 2018 election results
Page 242 of 1813

Latest Issue. . .