Business

Details
Portugal - Freevox, a leading distributor and manufacturer of professional lighting products, held its 2017 customer conference in Portugal, and Green Hippo attended, helping the French firm present Green Hippo’s line of video products.
The conference, which ran over four days, was held at the Algarve’s Club Med de Balaia resort, and was attended by more than 100 leading French companies, including installers and resellers from the image, lighting and sound sectors. Themed workshops, including specialised sessions supported by Green Hippo, enabled participants to experience new technologies, including digging deeper into features and benefits.
Freevox, along with attendees, acknowledged the event as ‘exceptional’. Christophe Masson, marketing and communication at Freevox, also highlighted Green Hippo’s support during the organisation of the in-depth sessions.

Details
Sweden - To celebrate its 20th anniversary, Swedish band, Weeping Willows, recently staged three concerts in the Ericsson Globe Arena in Stockholm, with Allen & Heath’s dLive S Class mixing system managing FOH, monitors and recording.
It has been 20 years since the band released its debut album, Broken Promise Land, and to mark the anniversary, the band were joined by Gävle Symphony Orchestra and conductor, Christoffer Nobin.
“We wanted to do something grand, and playing together with a symphony orchestra is something we love to do. Coming from Stockholm, we feel that the Globe Arena is the most magnificent place to perform,” said Weeping Willows singer, Magnus Carlson.
Two dLive systems were used at FOH, a S5000 Surface with DM64 MixRack for the orchestra and a S3000 with DM48 for the band, both fitted with GigaACE network cards. The monitor sy

Details
USA - Built in the 1980’s, Christ the Redeemer Parish Church is a thriving part of the community in Atco, New Jersey. From more humble beginnings, when Deacon Charles “Chick” McAleer was part of the team that helped wire the original Church, the initial sound system used just six pendant style loudspeakers distributed down the sides of the congregation seating. Localisation, intelligibility and overall sound quality were lacking for today’s worship services, which can be attended by over 800 people. Music now also plays a much greater part in many services.
The Church found JD Sound & Video through an internet search and, after seeing the work they had done for other local churches and Catholic high schools, invited them for a consultation. JD Sound & Video designed a system using Community’s E Eries Entasys loudspeakers, having previously used them with gr

Details
South Africa - Lighting designer, Michael Broderick will present a theatre lighting workshop at DWR Distribution on 25 May from 9am to 5pm.
Working as a lighting designer for over 15 years, Michael is keen to mentor people, particularly youngsters, who have a passion for theatre.
Topics include: Aims and Objectives of Stage Lighting; Controllable Properties of Light; Light and Colour;Lighting Positions and Angles; Lighting Instruments; Dimmers and Control and The Basics of Stage Design.
(Jim Evans)

Details
USA - Philips Lighting has announced that its stage lighting is providing lighting effects central to the artistic stage design of the Chicago-based alternative rock band Wilco’s world tour. In support of the tenth studio album, Schmilco, the tour is visiting the US, Europe and South America.
Lighting designer Jeremy Roth has pronounced the Philips Vari-Lite VL4000 Spot "integral" to the tour's ambitious theatrical set design - which is stylistically closer to a Broadway or an opera backdrop than a standard rock and roll set.
Wilco front-man Jeff Tweedy's visual concept for the tour was inspired by a 3D-forest scene theatre set in a Masonic temple in Santa Fe, New Mexico. In true experimental Wilco style, Tweedy wanted to emulate this juxtaposition of the natural world and overt theatricality for the band's show. He called upon Roth, the band's lighting design

Details
South Africa - The Blue Man Group visited South Africa for the very first time in February and March this year and, whilst performing at The Teatro at Montecasino in Johannesburg, they celebrated the 200th performance of their world tour. South African sound engineer, Christo Davis, has worked with Blue Man Group for the past year, mixing an average of four shows or more a week on a DiGiCo SD7, with his deputy sound engineer covering the rest.
The Blue Man Group, established in New York by three friends in 1991, are known for their award-winning shows that captivate audiences with music, comedy, fresh stories, custom instruments and technology.
“I did a show with them in Australia about four years ago and I just hit it off with the sound designer,” says Christo. “We have similar philosophies and approaches on how we like to do things and he’d been trying to ge

Details
The Netherlands - DGTL Festival took place at Amsterdam’s NDSM Docklands on 15-16 April and featured a huge stock of Funktion-One loudspeakers. The site, which is a short ferry journey from Amsterdam Centraal train station, welcomed around 15,000 partygoers for two days of electronic music.
The event prides itself on balanced programming. While other festivals hinge on large-draw headliners, DGTL combines those big names with local and international emerging talents. This year’s programme saw standout performances from the likes of Maceo Plex, Jamie Jones, Tom Trago (live), Jennifer Cardini, DJ Koze, and Joy Orbison back-to-back with George Fitzgerald.
Such a strong focus on the musical output meant that there was also a big emphasis on the quality of the sound production. The organisers drafted in Think! AV to deliver Funktion-One loudspeaker set-ups for five of D

Details
UK - The Association of Lighting Designers (ALD) has announced the launch of a combined liability insurance cover scheme for its professional and affiliate members. The insurance cover will eventually become a permanent benefit entitlement to be included within the annual ALD membership fee but, in this first year of launch is available to members as an opt-in service, for a small surcharge in addition to membership.
The policy offers public liability and products insurance as well as professional indemnity and is specifically tailored for those who work freelance as a “lighting designer or lighting technician, including the design, preparation, installation, maintenance and operation of lighting rigs, video and projection designer &/or technician, the teaching or mentoring of these activities and as a manager or technician in the theatre, entertainment and live event

Details
USA - The lively and varied 2017 US festival season continues with the 2017 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival staged at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, where Robe moving lights were chosen by leading LDs like Steve Lieberman of SJ Lighting who specified Spiiders and Pointes for the Yuma stage and Gabriel Fraboni, who added 90 x Spikies as specials for Dutch DJ Martin Garrix’s two sets in the Sahara Tent over the event’s two weekends.
The 125,000-capacity festival is one of the U.S.’s highest profile music and arts extravaganzas. It’s also one of the most in demand festivals, with 2017’s nearly 200,000 tickets selling out in three hours despite 52,000 more being available over the weekend than in 2016.
Steve Lieberman and Los Angeles based SJ Lighting has been involved in designing the Yuma Stage since it started six years ago and works in

Details
Switzerland - PMC Speakers has added a new date to its Hear More seminar tour, which gives musicians and producers the opportunity to explore the intricacies of its high-end professional monitoring systems.
On 6 June 2017 Powerplay Studios In Zurich - home to an SSL 4000 and Walt Disney’s original Neve 8016 mixing desks - will host this popular event, which PMC is holding in conjunction with MGM, Switzerland’s premier pro audio outlet and pro audio manufacturers SPL and Waves.
PMC will be bringing its flagship MB3 XBD-A main monitor system featuring the latest, Class-D amplification and Advanced Transmission Line design. Attendees will have the opportunity to hear great music and audio throughout the day played through “some of finest professional loudspeakers available”.
German visionary manufacturer SPL will demonstrate its IRON Mastering Compressor and

Details
USA - The University of Iowa knows how to maximize value. Carver-Hawkeye Arena, the 15,500-seat multipurpose indoor venue located in Iowa City that is home to the school’s legendary Hawkeyes basketball team - as well as the university's wrestling, women's basketball and volleyball teams - opened in 1983 and the sound system that was installed there then was the same one that fans listened to up until 2016.
When the school decided to upgrade the venue’s sound, its technology rep company, Sound Concepts, which is also the systems operator for the venue, knew that the school would be expecting that same kind of longevity from the next system, so it specified a DiGiCo S21 digital console knowing that DiGiCo reliability can be expected to see this new mixer through many upcoming years of unwavering service. In addition, the school also purchased DiGiCo's Purple Box MADI/Optic

Details
USA - WrestleMania 33 set a record last month as the most-watched WrestleMania ever. Dubbed an “ultimate thrill ride for the ages”, WWE’s signature event at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida featured 13 matches, including two world championships. A larger-than-life ring atop the massive truss centrepiece was designed and installed by All Access Staging & Productions.
Resembling something out of Gulliver’s Travels, the giant ring was a befitting symbol for the wrestling giants competing in this epic showdown. Around the perimeter of the giant ring were oversized red, white, and blue ultra-bright ring “ropes” illuminated by 2,000ft of Firefly FloppyFlex LED neon.
“The glowing ropes around the 80 x 80ft ‘ring’ crowning the real ring were dramatic eye-catchers,” says Erik Eastland of All Access. “Using the structure’s rooftop as t

Details
UK - The South Downs Planetarium at the Sir Patrick Moore building in Chichester, Sussex, UK, reopened following a technology upgrade and installation of a new media server and show control system from 7thSense Design.
The upgrade of the 100-seat star theatre was led by Brighton-based immersive experience experts TEQ4. Working closely with TEQ4, 7thSense integrated a single Delta Nano Media Server and show control system as a cost-effective yet powerful solution for the two-channel fulldome display.
Martin Howe, founder and managing director of TEQ4 commented, “Delta was the obvious package for this project. It can play uncompressed images straight from Fulldome content without the time-consuming slicing that is often necessary. Also, the enhanced User Interface feature allows the operators to control the entire system from a browser running on a tablet. This all-in-

Details
Europe - Holotronica, owner of Holo-Gauze, 3D display solution for large hologram effects, has announced Gerriets GmbH as its exclusive European sales partner. The German company will distribute Holo-Gauze in the UK, Europe and Russia and featured the system on its stand at Prolight and Sound in Frankfurt.
“Gerriets is enthusiastic about this partnership with Holotronica for Holo-Gauze and is looking forward to a great future for this product,” comments Andreas Gause, director for marketing and key account management at Gerriets.
“We’re absolutely delighted to be partnering with Gerriets and look forward to seeing Holo-Gauze being used in even more countries and for even more fantastic events and broadcasts,” says Holo-Gauze inventor and Holotronica owner/CEO Stuart Warren-Hill. “Holo-Gauze is ideal for live events, allowing live performers to be situated

Details
UK - Avolites has announced the appointment of Canada's AVL Media Group and Malaysia's Acoustic & Lighting System (A&L) as its new distribution partners for Canada and South-East Asia respectively.
The two new partnerships will see Avolites' products available across Canada, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia. The move comes at a time when the Avolites' brand enjoys its largest order book in company history and a rapidly growing international client base.
Of the Canadian expansion Andrew Hope, managing director of AVL Media Group, says, "Avolites is an iconic brand offering an exceptional portfolio of lighting and video products, unique in the Canadian market."
The AVL Media Group partnership was officially launched at Expo-Scène - the only major Canadian event dedicated to lighting, sound, and video technologies. The trade show was held at the

Details
UK - A KLANG:technologies 3D IEM demonstration and Audinate training event is to be held at Metropolis Studios, London N4, in conjunction with HD Pro Audio.
Jointly hosted by KLANG:technologies and Audinate, the training event combines an in-depth overview of KLANG:technologies’ 3D audio binaural IEM processors and Dante based headphone amplifiers, with full Audinate Dante training leading to Level 2 Dante Certification.
Taking place on Friday 12 May 2017 at Metropolis Studios, Studio B, the event will start with comprehensive Audinate Dante training and conclude with an overview and practical demonstration of KLANG:technologies software and hardware, with hands-on experience for all attendees.
The event is free and anyone interested in attending should contact HD Pro Audio as soon as possible at info@hdproaudio.co.uk. Direct booking may be made online at https

Details
UK - The Institute of Sound and Communications Engineers (ISCE) has confirmed dates for ISCEx 2018, its seminar and exhibition event. Taking place on 6-7 March 2018 at the Coombe Abbey Hotel and Country Park in Warwickshire, ISCEx 2018 includes a pre-event networking dinner, seminar programme and exhibition event, open to members and non-members.
Ros Wigmore, manager for ISCE comments: “ISCEx proved to be a very successful and enjoyable event earlier this year, starting with a pre-event reception and dinner, followed by an excellent programme of seminars attracting the largest audiences we have experienced and culminating in a packed exhibition room throughout the day.
“We aim to build on the success of this year’s seminar programme which included three excellent and engaging presentations, including a seminar by Dr Gillian Rollason from Action On Hearing Loss,

Details
France - Ace Event, a major event staging company based in South West France, was recently called on by lingerie brand Allande to technically manage their annual fashion show in Biarritz.
Every year, the French lingerie brand organises its official fashion show and Ace Event has been responsible for the technical aspect of the show for eight years. The lucky few attending the show were not only dazzled by the new collection, but also by the production delivered by Ace Event around the 60m long catwalk, with a full light, sound and video show.
Over 100 lighting fixtures were installed to highlight the venue and the new 2017 collection. Guess were treated to live and recorded content projected on six screens, while complex video mapping animated the back of the stage. It took three days for the Ace Event technical team to transform the Espace Bellevue into a beautiful fa

Details
Belgium - Visual design practice Painting with Light's Paco Mispelters has added imagination and style to the current Studio 100 tour of new youth musical Unidamu.
The tour visits four Belgian theatres and is a co-production with TV channel Ketnet. The Unidamu (Universe of Dance & Music) journey started with Ketnet Musical, a talent scouting competition TV show with a mission to source new singing, dancing and acting talent, resulting in 24 fresh and enthusiastic faces picked from 12,000 hopefuls to make up the cast.
Painting with Light and Studio 100 have enjoyed a long and positive working relationship and this is the third edition of the musical show. It has a strong anti-bullying narrative and tells the tale of two worlds - a reality which is grey and devoid of music, fun or entertainment and the sci-fi fantasy world of Unidamu - fil

Details
USA - Praise Cathedral in Greer, South Carolina, is a Pentecostal church with a blend of traditional and contemporary worship styles. The recent replacement of the cathedral’s audio system has seen a newly-installed Alcons LR7 Micro line-array system earn high praise from the cathedral staff.
Built 19 years ago, the cathedral has a 2600-strong congregation, which is led each Sunday by a 150-piece choir and orchestra in music ranging from hymns to modern worship choruses. With many elements of its original audio system still in use, in 2016 it was realized that a major upgrade was needed to fulfil the expectations of present-day services.
"After consulting with the Senior Pastor, a committee was set up to oversee the upgrade," says Daniel Scarbrough, Praise Cathedral media pastor for the past six years. "We brought in a specialist consultant, who suggested a range of

Details
USA - Antioch Bible Baptist is not the largest church in the world, but it is making a difference in every corner of the globe. Each fall the suburban Kansas City house of worship hosts a Go Global Missions Conference, at which its members are asked to make a promise to support one of its 75 global missions, which stretch from Uruguay to the Philippines to Tanzania. The church doesn’t confine its work to overseas either; operating under the motto, Not in the city but for the city, it also does a great deal of outreach work closer to home.
Wanting to devote its resources to these missions, the church is careful not to overspend on its main campus north of Kansas City. However, music plays an important role in its two Sunday services, and its sermons are featured on live podcasts, so it needed quality sound and lighting systems to engage worshippers. It got both recen

Details
UK - Stage Electrics has supplied the University of Huddersfield with a raft of live sound equipment to allow students on its BA (Hons) Music Technology, BA (Hons) Music Technology and Popular Music and BMus (Hons) Creative Music Technology courses to get hands on experience with the latest digital products.
“Working with digital consoles for live sound is something we have wanted to develop into our courses for quite some time,” says the university’s Stewart Worthy, who teaches the courses along with fellow lecturer Alex Harker. “The other part of the university already runs music technology courses with industry standard analogue consoles such as Allen & Heath and Avid, but we wanted to do something different in our area, offering two different consoles with different operating principles to give our students a more diverse experience. We’re delighted that we

Details
USA Power amplifier manufacturer Powersoft [InfoComm Booth 5871] will not only once again demonstrate their suite of power amplification products on the show floor at this year’s InfoComm show, but the company has announced that it will provide attendees with an opportunity to earn certification renewal credits while learning how to easily design and specify fixed install systems using DSP integrated Class D power amplifiers. This is made possible via by an on-site training session hosted by Powersoft’s Marc Kocks that will also grant 1.5 Renewal Units (RUs) and a Certificate of Completion.
Powersoft has been named an official InfoComm International Renewal Unit (RU) Provider. This will allow the more than 10,000 professionals holding InfoComm International’s Certified Technology Specialist (CTS) credential to earn renewal units towards their certification by completin

Details
UK - Robe's new Spiider LED wash beam is a versatile fixture that is making an impact in many environments and even a few Spiiders will go a long way as lighting designer Gareth Weaver recently demonstrated when lighting a UK tour of intense dance piece The Suffocating Truth, created by Lukas McFarlane of The Untitled Dance Company.
The show visited five cities and played totally different spaces in each. Apart from being highly adaptable, Gareth needed a rig that would fit into a trailer and work aesthetically in the six unique venues, that was also flexible enough to provide dynamic lighting for the work which explores sexuality, expectation and emotional crises.
In addition to the four Spiiders which were on the floor at each corner of the space, Gareth also used four Robe DL4S Profiles on Manfrotto stands. Moving lights were “absolutely essential to get th
  1. Laser-sharp projection for Saville
  2. EMLD is in command with MA
  3. Mavericks back students at Gebouw-T
  4. Elation lights pop-up venue Club Nomadic
  5. La Traviata at Joburg Theatre with grandMA2
  6. Avolites in control for Yes concerts
Page 310 of 1813

Latest Issue. . .