Projects

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USA - Among the qualities that make Tanzanite a much-sought after gem is its remarkable colouration, which changes from blue to violet to burgundy, depending on its crystal orientation. It is altogether fitting, then, that this stone lent its name to the Tanzanite Stage at the recent Gem and Jam Festival, which was held at the Pima County Fairgrounds.
Aside from the procession of jam band stars that appeared there from 25-28 January, the stage served up an array of beams and washes in ever-changing colours, thanks to a multi-faceted lighting rig that Matt ‘Jonezy’ Jones drove with a new ChamSys MagicQ MQ500 Stadium console.
“Some of the artists brought their own LDs, but we handled the majority of acts with the MQ500,” said Jones. “We had a diverse range of bands like Endoplasmic, Railroad Earth, Truth Cartel, Masego, and Breaking Biscuits (a side project by

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Europe - Thrash heavy metal megastars Metallica are in the middle of a world tour following the release of their number one album Hardwired … to Self-Destruct at the end of 2016, featuring a provocative in-the-round production design by Dan Braun for the arena section, with creative lighting by Rob Koenig and 72 x Robe BMFL WashBeams from Premier Global Production as the main lighting fixtures on the rig.
Rob has worked with the band for around nine years, and in that time, they have performed several in-the-round tours. It’s a format they prefer for getting physically and psychologically closer to their fans.
For this one – which started with a stadium section and is currently playing arenas – Dan’s idea was based around 52 video cubes suspended above the stage, 36 of which are on steel cables and a custom motion-controlled hoist system developed by T

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Vietnam - The Voice Of Ho Chi Minh City’s People (VOH) is the official radio station of Ho Chi Minh City. For over 40 years, the radio station has hosted programme broadcasts and live performances from its VOH Music One Theatre. In addition to station-organised concerts and tapings, the theatre hosts receptions, state delegations, business meetings, private events and more.
In order to keep up with the increasing demands of modern live productions and strict broadcast standards, VOH hired Ba Sao Investment to upgrade its aging sound system with a complete Harman audio solution.
“We wanted to upgrade from the previous system to better meet the latest production standards for audio, lighting and video,” said Mr. Le Cong Dong, Director, Voice of Ho Chi Minh City’s People. “The new system that Ba Sao Investment installed ensures the station’s rich legacy remai

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China - First Club is a new brand of nightclubs, commissioned by the Nuochuang Group, with its sights set on evolving the Chinese nightclub scene by combining art, fashion, music, sound, lighting and high-end social sophistication.
Both Mr. Wei, vice president of Nuochuang Group and Mr. Wu, president of the First Club Brand, agreed on the vision to create a nightclub that delivers high-octane EDM experiences unlike any other. Clair Brothers was the unanimous choice to provide the brand’s signature sound. “Their reputation for audio innovation and excellent service is world-renowned,” says Mr. Feng Min, First Club general manager.
Integral to the brand architecture is the Clair Brothers custom-designed sound system that includes the Clair Brothers kiT12, kiTCurve12, FF2-HX, CS-218, CB-FP14000/10000+ and CB-LM26 models.
“Our goal is to give club patrons a f

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USA - Grammy-nominated August Burns Red kicked off its winter tour in January in support of its seventh studio album Phantom Anthem. From Montreal, where the tour began, to the House of Blues in San Diego and everyplace in between, fans are packing venues. The deep transformative lightshow is designed by LD Victor Zeiser of Squeek Lights.
Working with his lighting director Dave Summers, Zeiser has created a seamless flow of big multi-faceted looks that draw audiences into the captivating music of his client. Impressively, he and Summers conjure up this magnetic visual aura with a relatively small rig anchored by Chauvet Professional Rogue fixtures.
“We have six Rogue RH1 Hybrids, four Rogue R1 Washes and three Rogue R1 FX-Bs, along with four NEXT NXT-1s and some strobes, that’s about it,” said Zeiser. “We applied the same design aesthetics to the rig as

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Thailand - Mahajak Development recently installed a building-wide multi-zone audio system by Harman Professional Solutions at 137 Pillars Suites and Residences Bangkok.
Opened in April 2017, 137 Pillars Suites and Residences Bangkok is a luxurious hotel and apartment building located in the popular Thonglor district of Bangkok. In addition to 179 residences and 34 suites, the building features a wide selection of modern restaurants, bistros and pubs.
In order to provide an elegant audio experience for residents and guests alike, 137 Pillars hired Mahajak Development to install a building-wide fibre optic multi-zone sound system that could be easily controlled from one central facility. After careful consideration, Mahajak selected an end-to-end Harman networked audio solution for its premium sound quality, intuitive operation and unmatched reliability.
“We’r

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UK - The current tour by All Time Low is indicative of the frenetic pace this band sustains. Barely had they left rehearsals than the run of five gigs through the UK had ended and they’re off across the Atlantic for some North American dates that takes them through to the end of June. Once again LD Jeff Maker has designed a high impact show, the back of stage being dominated by a fractured, post-industrial looking LED screen supplied by Video Design.
“I’ve worked with Video Design on and off for the last couple of years”, says production manager Tom Clifford-Loynes. “This short UK tour - all back to backs - has been typical of the service they provide. Great equipment and first-class crew; we’ve had absolutely no issues with any of the hardware. The crew have been wonderful as usual; don’t forget the screen is quite a big piece of real-estate yet here we are tw

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UK - Hosted by comedian Jack Whitehall and once again held at London’s The O2 Arena, this year’s BRIT Awards saw two of Britain’s most exciting breakthrough pop acts, Stormzy and Dua Lipa, take home the top prizes, and Sennheiser’s Digital 6000 series get taken to extremes.
Britannia Row Productions provided all requirements for the show’s audio system, which was designed by BRITs’ head of sound Colin Pink, with a combination of Sennheiser Digital 6000 and 9000 series microphones proving the majority choice for both artists and presenters.
As well as winning both British Album Of The Year and British Male Solo Artist, Stormzy gave an epic performance beneath an indoor waterfall effect which soaked both him and his SKM 6000 as he sang his hit singles Blinded by Your Grace, Pt.2 and Big for Your Boots.
“When I was told about Stormzy’

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UK - HSL is on the road again as lighting suppliers with Scottish rockers Simple Minds and their long-time lighting designer Stephen Pollard who has created another innovative look for the band’s new Walk Between Worlds album.
Released in February as part of a celebration of the band’s 40-year career, the album is a blend of the introspective yet optimistic elements of their music with some huge electronic and stadium rock moments that kept them on the ‘alternative’ side of cool. The performance features the entire new album, bookended by a careful selection of Simple Minds early material and classics.
This was a showcase tour for the new album. As such the show paused for two Q&A sessions between Jim Kerr, guitarist Charlie Burchill and journalist / radio presenter Billy Sloan. The Q&A sessions included chatting about the new album and how the

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Mexico - The first Latin Festival of Salsa at the Mexico City Arena hosted some of the greatest exponents of this musical genre. These included Víctor Manuelle, who has received numerous awards during his wide ranging musical career, such as the Billboard Latin Music Awards; Puerto Rican artist, Eddie Santiago, who boasts an extensive international career; Oscar de León, the Venezuelan artist who is known worldwide as the Pharaoh of Salsa, and special guests such as the Sonora Dynamite of Lucho Argain.
The Mexico City Arena is one of the biggest indoor venues in the World, with a capacity of 22,300 seats and 128 suites, with around 100m distance from the loudspeaker array bumper to the rearmost seat (depending on the height of the array). Officially opened in 2012, it’s one of the most important concert venues in México.
“We needed smooth coverage and a

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USA - Atlanta-based North Point Ministries, whose 38,000-plus weekly worshipers make it Outreach magazine’s second-largest house of worship in the United States, has acquired eight new DiGiCo SD5cs consoles for three of its six locations.
The Browns Bridge and Buckhead campuses have each installed two SD5cs desks at front of house and monitors, while the main campus in Alpharetta (North Point Community Church) has installed a total of four new SD5cs consoles, for FOH and monitors in the main auditorium and in a second large auditorium used for overflow, events and other applications and which is designed to mirror the AV capabilities of the main auditorium.
These are in addition to the DiGiCo SD10 console installed at the Alpharetta campus and used for the church’s online broadcasts, and multiple SD9 and SD10 desks at the other campuses. Each of the three location

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USA - Having illuminated some of the world’s most prominent clubs and biggest EDM festivals, Southern California-based production design specialists SJ Lighting, with Steve Lieberman at the helm, have established themselves as a leader in entertainment technology design for electronic dance music.
That reputation continued with the opening of Academy nightclub in Hollywood in January, a new 1400-capacity space for EDM junkies that has been renovated, rebranded and updated with the latest sound and lighting technology, including lighting effects from Elation Professional Platinum Beam 5R moving head beam lights and Pixel Bar LED battens.
Academy, formerly the nightclub Create and before that Vanguard (both production designed by SJ Lighting), is a joint venture between Exchange LA and Insomniac, the Pasquale Rotella-led event production company behind some of music’

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USA - Encompass AV recently supplied a Martin Audio CDD sound system for the Gibsons Italia restaurant located in a spectacular setting on the Chicago River. The restaurant has quickly become known for its sophisticated combination of Italian food and steaks and luxurious setting.
A $20m build, Gibsons Italia is a high-end, four-storey restaurant, bar and lounge with a dining space for private functions on the roof deck with floor to ceiling windows that offer views of the river and skyline.
Encompass owner Tim Pickett explains: “We were contracted to provide exceptional sound throughout the entire venue and weren’t given a budget because the owners just wanted it to be the highest quality. So, we selected the Martin Audio CDD Series because it’s worked so well for us in other restaurant and club installs.”
Gibson Italia’s ground floor is basically a

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UK - With three churches already serving its population of 2,300, it’s perhaps surprising that one of them is building a new one in the fenland village of Isleham in Cambridgeshire. But the congregation of High Street Church outgrew the existing chapel and a larger building became a necessity.
In 2009, they began construction of The Ark, which, at 2,200sq.m, is believed to be one of the UK’s largest green oak buildings constructed in living memory. Now fully weather-proof, it is expected to be completed in the not-too-distant future.
Jonny Billitt from event production and equipment hire company MTS Live, and a committed wysiwyg user for more 'typical' lighting design applications, takes up the story.
“Designers and builders from the project initially contacted me for advice regarding the uplighting,” he explains. “The main design requirements were t

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UK - The award-winning Chroma-Q Space Force LED space/soft light has been proving its versatility for Big Shed on several major TV and photographic projects.
Manchester-based Big Shed's 4,000sq.ft of professional studio facilities is the ideal space to shoot large sets, automotive photography, TV commercials and videos.
After being impressed by a demo, Big Shed's Justin Windle has sub-hired in the Space Force for several big-brand clients' shoots, including utilising six units to top-light a 5sq.m, 360-degree revolving stage used to shoot stop-frame imagery of revolving cars. The Space Force's shallow profile allowed him to gain nearly a metre in elevation compared to the studio's old, conventional space light fixture.
Another project required emulating the even lighting of a large hospital floor. The six units were evenly spaced to light the 50ft wide set, and

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USA - Country singer Miranda Lambert captures the heartfelt openness of the summer of love in her aptly named Livin’ Like Hippies tour. Opening with a cover of the John Prine classic, That’s The Way The World Goes Round, her 20-song set takes audiences on a lively, freewheeling road trip that offers an unruffled look at life, love and happiness.
Lambert’s lighting designer, Paul ‘Arlo’ Guthrie, strengthens the connection between the artist and her audience in this deeply personal show with help from the warm white glow of Chauvet Professional STRIKE 4 fixtures, supplied by Upstaging of Chicago.
Guthrie is using 40 of the multi-formatted fixtures on the 23-city arena tour, which kicked off on 23 January. Flying an equal number of STRIKE 4s on downstage and mid-stage truss, he relies on the warm white luminaires (each of which has four 100W COB L

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The Netherlands - Held in the prestigious Royal Theatre Carré in Amsterdam, the third annual Amateur Musical Awards featured lighting design by Coen van der Hoeven, who specified a large High End Systems rig for the show, including 16 SolaSpot 2000s, 40 SolaSpot 1000s, six Shapeshifter C1s, 20 UNO and Hog 4 control.
The team’s production time was only one day, so Coen’s challenge was to get a show with 250 performers, 16-piece orchestra and 17 show numbers up and running in just a few hours.
The LD also had to reckon with a live television broadcast. He explains, “We put together a group of the best specialists in theatre. V-Productions took care of delivering the equipment, together with AED Group Holland. Their board operator Kaj van Dijk programmed the Hog 4, and we ran the show on WYSIWYG during the dress rehearsal in a sports hall. Our crew chief Tijs Winte

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Belgium - The popular Walibi theme park in Wavre near Brussels is renowned for its Halloween spectacular, when its rides are ghoulishly transformed. Awarded best Halloween attraction in Europe for three consecutive years - 2014, 2015 and 2016 - in the Diamond Theme Park Awards, expectations were very high for Walibi at the end of last year, and with the help of AV Stumpfl’s Wings IObox hardware module platforms, they were surpassed with the creation of Asylum.
The brief for Asylum was to transform a ride into a haunted house while making use of the latest automated AV technology to create an immersive and unforgettable experience for the public. DW Production was engaged to build from scratch all rooms and aesthetic decoration for the attraction as well as the music and effects and animatronics, with GSF Events taking the lead on the technical aspects of the ride with th

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USA - Charlie Daniels’ Volunteer Jam has seen many different iterations over four decades, but none have been as distinct as Volunteer Jam XX: A Tribute to Charlie.
Produced by Blackbird Events, Bandit Lites provided the lighting for the Country Music Hall of Fame member’s twentieth instalment of Volunteer Jam which featured a setlist of over 30 songs from a diverse and talented line-up including Travis Tritt, Chris Young, Alison Krauss, Lee Brice, Chris Janson, Justin Moore, Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top, Alabama, The Oak Ridge Boys and Lynyrd Skynyrd.
"Volunteer Jam XX had a kind of “specialness” about it,” said Charlie Daniels in a release. “The calibre, quantity and variety of talent who took the stage crossed lines, demographics, genres and styles that, while truly diverse, blended together to make for what was most likely the most entertaining

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USA - Established in 1977, the Big Apple Circus has been a mainstay outside Manhattan's Lincoln Centre for decades and has also travelled to countless cities on tour.
In 2017, the circus was purchased by BigTop Works, who decided to update Big Apple’s traditional circus presentation to a Broadway-like spectacle. Management hired veteran Broadway lighting designer Jeff Croiter to create a bold and modern lighting design for the revamped show. Partnering with lighting vendor Christie Lites, Croiter designed a powerful and versatile lighting rig that features a range of Martin lighting solutions, including Martin MAC Axiom Hybrid fixtures, MAC Aura washes, and MAC Viper Profile fixtures.
"We wanted the show to look incredibly stylized and sleek, like a modern circus - but not dark or uninviting," said Croiter. "Martin fixtures were a key part of the lighting design, an

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UK - Adlib is delighted to be back on the road again with Irish rockers The Script, supplying a CODA audio system for FOH engineer Steve ‘Pato’ Pattison.
He and monitor guru Marc Peers are also both well-known Adlib regulars who have worked on previous Script tours and are both assuming engineering roles for the first time.
Adlib has provided audio for The Script’s four previous album campaigns which has included three arena tours and some stadium shows. Long term FOH engineer Richy Nicholson has actually flipped roles on this one, after many years of mixing FOH, he’s representing Adlib as the account handler, co-ordinating everything from the office and warehouse perspectives.
A top touring crew join Pato and Marc on the road including systems engineer Alan Harrison, George Puttock, Jay Petch and Laurie Binns.
It’s the first time The Script have

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USA - Early March saw the third incarnation of the Okeechobee Music & Arts Festival, a four-day multi-genre music experience filled with art and entertainment held at Sunshine Grove in the heart of the Florida wilderness.
The festival’s recipe of offering a range of diverse talent – this year saw Arcade Fire, Bassnectar, Halsey, Travis Scott, The Flaming Lips, Snoop Dog, and Khalid among many others – attracts a wide range of music fans.
Rob Ross, site lighting designer for the festival and president of Rob Ross Design, Inc., designs and oversees the installation of the site lighting at the festival and chose to highlight one of the most important symbols of the festival in dynamic lighting, a can’t miss 90-foot tall fire tower. The fire tower, which displays prominently in the festival’s branding, including website, posters, pamphlets and site map, can b

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Poland - The noted Śląski Stadium (Silesian Stadium) in Chorzów, has undergone a complete rebuild to become one of the most modern football and sporting facilities in Europe.
The original stadium, opened in 1956, was a symbol of Poland's post-war rebirth. It has held some of football’s most important and memorable matches, played by legends of the sport including Johan Cruyff, George Best and Cristiano Ronaldo. It has also hosted massive concerts by bands like U2, AC/DC, Iron Maiden and The Rolling Stones. In 1993 the stadium became the official home of the Polish national football team.
The rebuild of Śląski Stadium has been a long and sometimes difficult project. Started in 2009, the new 43,000sq.m roof proved the biggest hurdle and its partial collapse during construction lead to long delays and a re-design. Despite the problems and additional costs, the na

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Canada - Lüz Studio continues to provide highly inventive lighting solutions from its base in Montreal - currently for American singer-songwriter, Børns, on his Blue Madonna world tour. This opened in Oakland, CA, at the start of the year and will travel the globe during 2018.
Set up in 2005 by lighting/video designer Matthieu Larivée, Lüz Studio has frequently turned to GLP’s X4 platform for its requirements, and this latest tour has been no exception. The LD has made versatile use of 16x X4 Bar 20 battens and 14x impression X4, supplied by Upstaging of Chicago.
Børns’ 2016 Dopamine tour had been non-production tour, with no lighting whatsoever, so instead Lüz Studio designed a backdrop that would be fun to be lit by local LD’s. “There were three separate layers of Red, Blue and Green, so depending on the lighting used, a different backdrop woul
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  6. Harman fuels the rhythm at Café Havana
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