Projects

Details
USA - North Montgomery High School auditorium in Crawfordsville, IN, is benefiting from a new technical upgrade, including advanced C21 dimming technology and Vision.net touchscreen control interfaces from Strand.
Looking for new power-saving LED house lights and stage lighting control infrastructure to replace their increasingly unreliable systems, North Montgomery High School turned to Associated Controls & Design (ACD) for help. “The existing wall controls had started to fail, while the dimmer racks were also failing and had started randomly flickering various circuits when the system was in use,” said Sean Cole of ACD.
Cole opted for Strand’s versatile C21 dimming system because it offered “the best level of flexibility and control for the needs of the auditorium”. He specified a combination of non-dim modules for the stage circuits, and IGBT modules

Details
Austria - To give the reimagined Starmania 21 a fresh look, lighting designer Roland Greil designed a dynamic and versatile lighting rig using Martin Professional LED lighting fixtures and creative video solutions.
Starmania is an Austrian televised musical competition that was originally broadcast from 2002 to 2009 on channel ORF 1. This year, ORF decided to bring the show back as Starmania 21, with a fresh cast of contestants and a new panel of judges. Taking the opportunity to give the revived show a fresh look, the producers hired lighting designer Roland Greil, who designed a lighting rig using a variety of Martin LED fixtures and creative video elements.
“The young talents on Starmania performed all kinds of music, from early 20th-century Austrian folk music to the newest chart hits and everything in between,” said Greil. “You wa

Details
USA - St. Mary’s Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Portland, Oregon has served as the centre of the Archdiocese of Portland since the site’s dedication in 1926. For nearly a century, the intricately designed and stately cathedral has been the host of important ceremonies for the 400,000 Catholics living in the greater Portland metropolitan area.
The cathedral has many ornate elements designed in the Romanesque style with a few Byzantine elements mixed in. These include remarkable stained-glass windows. an apse dome, and an expansive ceiling rising three stories high. Many original and historic components of the church remain intact – and the artistry in the design work is critical to preserve during any renovation.
These architectural flourishes, coupled with the expansive size of the main worship hall, resulted in a cacophonous space where achieving inte

Details
Norway - Nobody can deny that the last 18 months have been difficult and challenging, especially for our people-orientated industry. Limitations on work, movement and contacts have been hard on everyone. But as restrictions started to ease and the industry begins to open up, LiteNordic, Ayrton’s exclusive distributor for Norway, Sweden and Denmark, came up with an ingenious way to reconnect with their customers and lighting designers in a safe, fun way after a near two-year hiatus.
They hired a camper van, threw in a bunch of IP65 rated lighting fixtures, including Ayrton’s Perseo Profile and Perseo Beam, and took them out on a camping road trip. They set up camp in forests outside Norway’s three main cities: Stavanger, Oslo and Bergen where they invited lighting designers, rental companies, sales companies and other of their colleagues and clients to join them for a b

Details
Italy - Staged in the elegant courtyard of the Palazzo Farnese in Piacenza, the flagship performance of this year’s Notte d’Opera a Palazzo was a stirring representation of Puccini’s Tosca. The natural acoustics of the 16th century architecture were lifted powerfully yet naturally through TiMax spatial audio processing.
Complementing TiMax’s sympathetic spatial amplification and to ensure complete audience immersion, impressive virtual scenography was video-mapped onto the imposing façade of the building.
Federico Bianchi, designed the multichannel d&b sound system, drove the TiMax SoundHub processor and mixed the show on a DiGiCo console. With social-distancing maximised to ensure a Covid-safe environment for performers, musicians and the audience, positioning of the distributed loudspeaker system was inevitably challenged by an unconventional stag

Details
The Netherlands - Lighting designer Bas van der Poel from design practice Light Image used Robe’s new LEDBeam 350 moving light fixtures for the recording of a new series of German games show 99 - Eine:r schlägt sie alle! (99 - One Beats Them All!), which was recorded in the Netherlands at the circular Westergas venue - part of a former gasworks now sustainably reimagined as a popular event and cultural space - in central Amsterdam.
The 32 LEDBeam 350s - the first to arrive in the Netherlands - were delivered to lighting rental company Eventec which specialises in supplying lighting for the television and broadcast sector by Robe’s Benelux distributor, Controllux.
Eventec works regularly with the show’s production company, Fabiola BV, and was asked to supply lighting and rigging for the series’ three-week shooting period at Westergas. The show a

Details
UK - Dating back to 2009, the Rewind Festival is an annual ‘80s music extravaganza that today generally takes place in three different locations.
Although this year Rewind Scotland had to be cancelled, the events at Capesthorne Hall, Macclesfield (Rewind North) and Temple Island Meadows, outside Henley (Rewind South) went ahead within a month of each other. The event is now back under the management of David Heartfield, whose leisure group Impresario Festivals had previously sold the brand to radio group Global back in 2017.
The events’ long-term sound suppliers, Capital Sound were in action at both sites, and with the exception of an additional delay tower at Rewind South, fielded identical Martin Audio MLA PA rigs. Once again, they worked alongside production manager Keith Morris, of Riverside Productions, as they have on many previous occasions.
Set on the

Details
UK - As part of this summer’s Theatre on Kew programme, The Australian Shakespeare Company staged an open-air production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, within the botanical surroundings of Kew Gardens. As an approved supplier at the venue, White Light (WL) was chosen to provide all lighting and audio equipment for the project.
Each performance during the four-week run began at twilight, to take full advantage of staging the Shakespearean favourite beneath the stars and canopy of Kew Gardens’ heritage trees. To enhance the play’s woodland setting and achieve lighting designer Peter Amesbury’s vision, WL specified a range of different lighting fixtures, all controlled by the HES Road Hog 4 console. The rig included Elation SIXPAR 200IPs and Chauvet Ovation E-910FC IPs, as well as SGM G-Spot Turbos. Look Solutions Unique hazers were utilised, to add to the sense

Details
UK - Following three years of project management and two years of site attendance, Unusual Rigging is delighted to unveil its role on the multi-million-pound refurbishment of Theatre Royal Drury Lane. The beautiful Grade 1 listed Georgian venue has been reimagined as an all-day stylish destination with one of London’s greatest auditoriums at its heart. Unusual Rigging was brought on board by LW Theatres and contracted for the ‘Behind the Iron’ works.
Mike Goodwin, senior project manager at Unusual Rigging explains: “This was a major project for Unusual, which we knew from the outset would require the considerable focus of a dedicated team: from design concepts through approvals with the LW Theatres Project Design Team, decanting 42ndStreet; transitioning The Lane from venue to construction site, co-ordination with the Principal Contractors (Gardner & Theobalds Lt

Details
USA - Dead & Company’s stadium tour is rolling into autumn, with more than 30 concerts scheduled and the grand finale on Halloween weekend. This latest iteration of the jam band is touring with audio production anchored by a Meyer Sound Leo system provided by UltraSound.
Meyer Sound’s enduring relationship with the Grateful Dead (and subsequent spin-offs) extends back prior to the company’s founding in 1979, with company president & CEO John Meyer consulting on the legendary Wall of Sound. The band was often heard through the Meyer-designed JM-3 and JM-10 loudspeakers from McCune Audio shortly thereafter.
“We’ve obviously been working hand-in-hand with Meyer for many years,” says Derek Featherstone, who doubles as both CEO of UltraSound and FOH engineer for Dead & Company. “I came on board in 1988, but I know UltraSound started developing prod

Details
USA - About 10 years ago, Cullman native Mason Felps got the chance to work his first major festival when he joined the crew at Rock The South. This August, he returned to his northern Alabama hometown as the festival’s production manager and lighting designer.
For Felps, who earlier this summer toured with Alan Jackson, the two-day festival brought back great memories. “Rock The South has a special place in my heart,” he said. “Our crew powered through a monsoon to put on this show. Yet, despite the storms, we wanted to do our best to make this festival special for the bands and the fans.”
Helping Felps and the production team make good on this goal was an impressive lighting rig supplied by Bandit Lites that featured 32 Chauvet Professional Rogue R2X Wash fixtures.
“We had a 60’ by 40’ stage with a steel roof,” said Felps. “Its height gave u

Details
UK - Martin Dudley and collaborator Malcolm Garrett created the lightshow for Heaven 17’s shows at the City Hall in the band’s hometown of Sheffield, and the Roundhouse in London.
Having worked with Heaven 17 for five years, Dudley was eager to light these shows, which would have the band perform in full the two albums that Heaven 17 founder Martyn Ware wrote and recorded with the Human League. He also appreciated how their evocative sound lent itself to rich imagery. Then there was also the opportunity to play his lights off against the video images created by Garrett, who was responsible for the original sleeve artwork for the two albums in 1979 and 1980, as well as many other LP sleeves of the era.
“I had been listening to the two Human League albums that made up this show for some time, but there was no time or budget for extensive pre-programming,” said Du

Details
USA - While on the road with Bruno Mars, Grammy award-winning recording engineer Charles Moniz and live sound engineer Chris Rabold rely on JBL Professional 708P master reference monitors to deliver sound for front-of-house mixing as well as recording backstage.
Mars is known for riveting and tightly-rehearsed live shows with his backing band the Hooligans, and most recently, with Anderson.Paak as the R&B duo Silk Sonic. Mars and the band frequently work on new songs while on the road and needed a high-quality mobile recording setup that could be easily assembled in any setting. Moniz, who worked with Mars on his 2012 album Unorthodox Jukebox and 2016’s 24k Magic, selected JBL Professional 708P reference monitors for their studio-grade sound quality, high output and balanced coverage. Additionally, front-of-house engineer Chris Rabold uses them to dial in

Details
USA - When Cooperstown, New York, came alive for the triumphant return of The Glimmerglass Festival, sound designer Andrew Harper called upon Masque Sound to provide a custom audio equipment package for the summer opera and musical theatre festival.
“Normally all productions are done inside at the opera house where there is no amplification at all,” says Harper. “This year, the producers created an outdoor stage on the lawn, with the singers and audience outside but the orchestra was located inside. I was tasked with combining the two worlds of the singers and the orchestra, while also creating a great experience for the audience outdoors, all while keeping everyone socially distanced.”
Harper had worked with Masque Sound previously and had full confidence they could provide all the equipment he needed to be successful. “I had the pleasure of working with Mas

Details
UK - The seventh annual Outcider Festival, a summer weekend event in Compton Martin in the West Country brought together a blend of over 30 different bands, artisans, food purveyors, and a generous selection of locally brewed scrumpy cider.
Although the main stage setting was decidedly rustic (the festival took place on a farm), the lighting kit supporting the high-energy performances was strictly up-to-date, featuring Chauvet Professional LED fixtures supplied by BH Sound & Lighting Hire.
James Marshall of BH joined with Finlay Wort in designing the lighting rig. Their focus in this collaboration was on versatility, as they knew they’d have to support a diverse mix of acts from polka punk act The Dreadnoughts and ska bands, to Sunday morning ’cider-obics’ and rock sing-alongs.
“Fixture positioning and keeping plenty of options open on the console wer

Details
France - Lighting designer Mathieu Cabanes discovered the new possibilities offered by Robert Juliat's latest 800W LED followspot, Arthur, on Les Folies Broadway, a large symphonic show performed this summer at the Domaine D'O in Montpellier.
"I use Robert Juliat followspots very often. I particularly appreciate the artistic touch that a followspot can bring to a live show,” says Mathieu Cabanes. “New products and technologies are offered to us every year and I like to study these and their functions and make sure I use the right tool for each application.
"I first used LED followspots on a Robert Wilson show in Indonesia, I La Galigo. They were Japanese models and the result was quite disappointing because the power was supposed to match a Robert Juliat Cyrano followspot, but in fact they were weaker than a Robert Juliat 710 profile with iris. The colour al

Details
USA - Justin Kitchenman of Align Design Group is using some favourite Elation lights on five-time Entertainer of the Year Luke Bryan’s Proud To Be Right Here Tour scheduled through 16 October with 35+ shows.
Kitchenman had just got the Cole Swindell Down To Earth tour design out the door when Covid hit in 2020, then spent a year working on livestreams and other smaller projects. When he got the call in April that long-time client Luke Bryan was planning a 2021 tour, he was understandably ecstatic.
The LD, who has been designing for Bryan for a decade, had a design in place from last summer’s cancelled tour, a show he thought he’d never see realized. When the decision was made to pick up from where they left off in 2020, however, the design was back on the table. “I had come to terms last summer that that design was dead,” he said, “so I was thrilled when it

Details
UK - Shure has announced that, in collaboration with Pro Audio Systems and PSA4AV, they have upgraded the microphone system at Lucky Voice’s Holborn karaoke venue, with the new to market SLXD Digital Wireless system.
In 2019, Lucky Voice opened the doors to a new 5000ft venue in Holborn, which is home to 10 karaoke rooms and had a requirement for a minimum of 20 microphones.
Supplied by Pro Audio Systems and installed by PSA4AV, Lucky Voice had a requirement for a high quality, wireless microphone system that was going to stand the test of time. Craig Walmsley, senior technician, PSA4AV states: “Lucky Voice have been previous users of Shure and we knew that was the only brand that was going to meet all the requirements of the brief. We were really pleased to be the first to get hold of the brand new SLXD Digital Wireless system, in partnership with Peter Butler at

Details
USA - Partech Lighting recently completed an installation package of 12 High End Systems SolaSpot 3000 luminaires in the Andrew Brady ICON Music Centre, a new music venue on Cincinnati's riverfront. The venue features one main floor and two balcony levels overlooking the inside stage.
Based in Cincinnati since 1988, Partech’s focus is entertainment lighting production as well as LED video walls, media servers, and related services. Their history with High End Systems goes back 30 years with use of products such as Intellabeam, Studio Spot and Studio Color, Cyberlight, and DL2s. They’ve also enjoyed a long and successful relationship with their client MEMI Music & Event Management Inc., supplying services for multiple venues throughout the Cincinnati and Dayton, Ohio areas.
Partech developed a system specification for The Andrew Brady ICON Music Centre that the

Details
Spain - Luis Ángel Rodríguez's latest business venture Shock Bilbao Club opened its doors in February 2021 in downtown Bilbao with music played through RCF TT+ Series speakers.
Since the first conversation with Sonort Audiovisual, supplier of all the sound systems, Luis Angel Rodriguez asked for the best sound quality for his club. Ricardo Carus, founding partner of Sonort Audiovisual explains the design process. "Looking for clarity, uniformity, and sweetness, the only choice for us was RCF TT+ Series. We choose four units of TT 10-A for the dance floor combined with an HDL 12-AS subwoofer giving more power and range to the zone.
For the bar zone and the restaurant area, we installed TT 052-A combined with a second HDL12-AS sub getting total coherence and equal timbral in the whole space." Carus continues, "For the processing and management of all the speaker system

Details
USA - When the time came for Colorado’s St Andrew United Methodist Church to evaluate the effectiveness of its installed sound system, it encountered a problem that will be familiar to houses of worship all over the world.
While the style of worship practised at the church had changed over the years to fully embrace musical celebration including live performances and playback, the aging sound system was no longer fit for purpose, having been originally designed for more traditional spoken word sermons. Determined to transform not just the sound quality but the overall experience of the congregation, the church’s leadership began the search for a solution.
The new system needed to deliver audio quality and flexibility without requiring any major construction changes to the church itself - a challenge that was given to regional systems integrator Equalized Production

Details
Namibia - Located amid the African bush not far from Namibia’s capital Windhoek lies The Midgard Country Estate, one of O&L Leisure’s retreats. The estate, self-described as “a paradise where the earth rises again, fertile and green” appeals to a variety of potential customers, possessing 46 newly decorated bedrooms, a bar, two swimming pools and a host of other leisure facilities.
Midgard’s audio-visual technology required an update, ensuring that guests are entertained, and conferences run seamlessly. Stage Audio Works’ Namibian office was responsible for AV design and integration, most recently providing a comprehensive turnkey Audac-based distributed audio system for the restaurant and bar area.
SAW Namibia has been involved with the Midgard Estate since 2020 when they were first called in to update the AV systems in Midgard’s conference venues.

Details
UK - The Ford Ranger has been used in virtually every conceivable application since it first appeared in 1983, especially when modified into the more muscular ‘Ironhide’ variety. Now it can add another item to its list of incarnations: DJ stand.
Capitalising on the growing popularity of this American vehicle in the UK (its sales there increased by 76-percent between 2015 and 2020), Welsh performer DJ Weekesey joined forces with ASG Audio Visual to shoot a promotional video from the back of a black modified Ranger Ironhide.
Laying down the signature mixes that have made him one of the region’s top club artists, Weekesey put on a dynamic four-minute show, using the truck itself as a stand. “It was a 4.5- ton DJ booth,” says ASG’s director Scott Cooper. “The video not only served to highlight Weekesey’s talent, it also drew on the image of the Ironhide to

Details
USA – One of the newest and brightest hubs for Houston’s performing arts scene, The Gordy, has equipped its three theatre spaces with stage lighting technology from Vari-Lite and Strand.
Designed by architects Gensler and theatre consultants Charcoalblue, The Gordy is named for philanthropists Russell and Glenda Gordy, and home to performing arts producer Stages. Its three intimate theatre spaces - the 252-seat Sterling Stage, the 220-seat Lester and Sue Smith Stage, and the 134-seat Rochelle and Max Levit Stage - provide settings for a variety of live theatre experiences.
“For lighting, flexibility was key, alongside quality of light output, a deep colour range and smooth dimming resolution,” said The Gordy’s technical director, Joel Burkholder, who chose over 300 Vari-Lite and Strand fixtures, including 200 tungsten-source SPX ellipsoidals.
“We love
  1. AV community rallies to support child-care unit
  2. Amadeus has designs on National Drama Centre
  3. Audient installed at University of Nebraska
  4. Martin Audio helps protect Battersea falcons
  5. EM Acoustics plays lead role in CFT’s South Pacific
  6. Massive Chauvet count for Central Park concert
Page 196 of 461

Latest Issue. . .