production news
Production News Headlines
21/11/2008
Formula One Sound from Community
22/10/2008
Bandit Lights Jackson Browne World Tour
22/10/2008
Alicia Keys Stars on a Brilliant Stage
16/10/2008
Rosco Gobo Rotators on the Tour de France
15/10/2008
Anolis on Oakenfold Stadium Shows
08/10/2008
GLP Impression at VW Showcase in Beijing
03/10/2008
Robe Tungstens for Gold Coast Arts Centre
03/09/2008
grandMA at the Olympics Finishing Line
25/08/2008
Avril Lavigne The Best Damn Tour
Formula One Sound from Community
Over 200 Community R-Series loudspeakers provided the sound for the main spectator areas at the first Formula One race held at the newly built Marina Bay Street Circuit in Singapore. The event was the 15th round of the 2008 FIA Formula One World Championship and also the first nighttime event in Formula One history. The timing of the night event meant that it could be broadcast live at a convenient time for European TV audiences. The sell-out event attracted around 110,000 visitors who saw Renault's Fernando Alonso win the historic 61-lap race.
Valerio Maioli SPA were contracted to provide the lighting, CCTV and public address for the event and designed a system using 61 Community R.5-66TZ, 144 Community R.5-94TZ and 12 Community W2-218T to cover the main audience areas.
"With the spectators only yards from the track the loudspeakers had to provide the highest intelligibility with accurately controlled dispersion at exceptional sound levels," commented Community's John Wiggins. "Long experience with R-Series distributed systems at F1, NASCAR, Indy Car and other race tracks throughout the world has proved them outstanding, and a reference for this type of large scale, high SPL application. R-Series also meets all extreme weather requirements, and Singapore is one of our established test grounds with its high temperature, humidity and sometimes torrential rain."
Local construction was handled by Singapore-based Arina Hogan Builders (AHB) and the loudspeakers were supplied by Community distributor Spektra Electronics.
Martin MAC 2000 Wash XB's Light Obama Election Night Rally
By all accounts, November 4 was an historic day for America as the nation elected its first African-American President. The culmination of an arduous campaign came later that evening, in Chicago's Grant Park, when President-Elect Barack Obama held his presidential acceptance speech before a home town crowd of more than 100,000 revelers.
Called upon by event producer C3 Presents to light the rally was stage lighting rental and production company Christie Lites, lighting contractor and lighting supplier for the event.
"The job was somewhat unusual to light because it was outdoors and at the same time had to be lit for TV in a manner typical of an indoor studio," commented Huntly Christie, CEO of Christie Lites Orlando. "As such, it was a real mixed bag of lighting. However, the most prominent fixture on the site was the Martin MAC 2000 Wash XBTM. They were instrumental in making sure that the world witnessed this historic event."
Lighting designer for the event was Bob Peterson who described the evening and his assignment as such, "It was a very historical night with a feeling of excitement and also a sense of relief when the results were announced. I received directions from the Obama team that the lighting was to be appropriately conservative with no celebratory effects. The brief was to elegantly transfer from the exuberance of the campaign to the seriousness of the presidency."
The MAC 2000 Wash XB's, which made up two-thirds of the automated lighting package, were spread out across three 80' Stageco towers, a 30' 10 x 10 scaffold, a mobile Elevated LED Screen, and two stage backlight scaffolds. Light from the extra bright version of the MAC 2000 Wash was used for stage backlighting, for near audience lighting, and to illuminate a stately row of distant trees. Self-contained Musco mobile lighting trucks did a great deal of the far field lighting.
"As audience fill light the color temperature adjustment of the XB's allowed me to feather in the transition from the stage lighting (4800 Kelvin on President-Elect Obama) to the audience fill lighting (around 5800 Kelvin)," Peterson says. "I was thrilled with the CT variance capacity of the XB's and delightedly shocked at the light output from them. There was a bank of trees about 1000 ft away which they unexpectedly lit up."
The MAC 2000 Wash XB is a new 1500 W Fresnel that takes the optical and effect qualities of Martin's MAC 2000 Wash and adds greater brightness (over 60,000 lumens of power), new efficient fans, ballast, starter and more.
"The combination of Martin quality along with Christie Lites deserved reputation for phenomenal care and maintenance of all their equipment assured a fully functional system. We had no failures," Peterson stated.
Peterson does mention challenges, which he says were all present in the "cut shot," an important camera view from the southwest corner of the park through the President-Elect into the crowd all the way to the city skyline in the background. "The driving photographic issue was exposing to the skyline," he says.
Opening the iris to accomplish that task created concern about the amount of uncontrolled light from the huge corps of press photographers on hand. "I was a bit worried that we might be required to open up iris so much that the press lighting would be an uncontrollable competitive light source," Peterson explains. "In the end the hundreds of Chimeras and Kino's acted like the world's biggest softlight and filled his profile to that camera angle."
Championed by Emmett Belliveau of the Obama campaign with field general duties handled by his event producer John Liipfert of The Obama Campaign Team, the event came off without a hitch. The night had a magical air to it and the event was viewed as a success on all fronts. Much of the success on the lighting front can be attributed to the Christie Lites event staff of 15, including Account Rep Robert Roth who was on the job site from start to finish.
Roth was part of the event survey which took place October 14th and 15th, a mere three weeks prior to the event! That survey was led by C3, and Obama's advance team. All major departments were represented including lighting, video, staging, and audio, as well as security, and the United States Secret Service.
"Bob Peterson had a clear vision of the lighting and The Campaign Team (OFA) had a clear budget they had to adhere to," Roth comments. "We then got every body on the same page as far as what was doable and Bob sketched out broad elements of the lighting for them.
"The stage wasn't a traditional square covered stage and was expertly conceived by Bruce Rogers. It was then a question of us getting the supporting physical elements in place correctly to provide lighting positions. The XB was the primary base instrument. I've been using them since their launch, including festivals this past summer, and I am very impressed with the fixture's performance and reliability.
"A special part of this was the scale of the event and what was going to appear on the TV screen at home and in newspapers around the world the next day. That is where Bob excelled at his craft. The Obama campaign wanted a lack of visible production elements so that when the cameras looked past the President-Elect to the crowd there was not an abundance of technology showing.
"It was about the people, the skyline, the moment; Bob did a masterful job of getting it lit for still camera and television so that all the elements worked in balance with each other," Roth concludes.
Lighting Equipment:
72 x Martin MAC 2000 Wash XB
2 x grandMA console
6 x SyncroLite XL's
2 x Musco Type "C" Trucks
72 x Altman Focusing CYC
29 x 2 foot Ministrips
3 x Jem ZR33 Hi-Mass
3 x DF-50 Hazer
3 x Versa Fan
3 x M2 2.5k Lycian Spots
4 x Lycian 1293 3k Xenon Followspot
Lighthouse R4 Screens Impress at 2008 Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai
The Tennis Masters has returned to Shanghai from November 9-16, and the leading global LED display solutions provider Lighthouse Technologies (Lighthouse) is providing Qizhong Stadium with nearly 40 m2 of R4 4mm LED screens to bring more viewers closer to the action than ever before.
Being one of the most prestigious tennis tournaments in the world, the Tennis Masters bring together eight of the world's best tennis players for a series of intense round-robin matches to determine the champion, and Lighthouse is playing an important role in elevating the experience. In fact, Lighthouse LED panels are appearing at more and more sports venues around the world, indicating the increasingly important role Lighthouse and its LED technologies are playing in the world of sports.
"The Macau and Bahrain Grand Prix, Rugby Sevens in Hong Kong, stadiums in US, Australia, Italy, Denmark, Holland, Austria and London just to name a few, as well as the famous Lord's Cricket ground in London have all been excellent examples of how Lighthouse LED screens are creating dramatic impact at major sporting events around the world," said Peter Chan, general manager of Lighthouse Technologies. "We are also extremely proud to be the LED screen provider for the 2008 Tennis Masters. The R4-S screens we have installed at Qizhong Stadium reflect our continued commitment to making sports more exciting and accessible to sports fans everywhere."
The R4-S panels were chosen for this event because of their ultra-fine 4mm pixel pitch, 2,000 nits brightness, wide viewing angles and a redesigned casing that makes each panel lightweight and extra slim, meaning installation and integration is an extremely straightforward process. Because they incorporate a fanless design, they're an excellent choice for indoor installations as well.
LED display technology continues to spread throughout China, Asia and the rest of the world as customers realize the significant value it adds to virtually any venue. Lighthouse has always been a key innovator in the field, and looks forward to joining hands with more Chinese and global clients to deliver the best possible video display solutions to sports stadiums, concert halls, shopping centers and office buildings around the world.
Martin MAC III Profile Passes Test on James Blunt
Martin Professional's new MAC III Profile is getting a thorough run through on one of this year's most popular and extensive world tours - and needless to say, stage fright has not been a problem.
"I'm impressed," commented James Blunt LD Paul Normandale, one of the first lighting professionals to get his hands on the new 1500 W profile spot. "The fixtures offer a significantly brighter tier of lighting, a great wide aperture source, a dramatic zoom, real strobing...and finally a real red!"
The James Blunt tour is one of a handful of field test outings for the new profile spot. The tour, which has been playing venues worldwide since early in the year, has embarked on a new leg (Europe and Canada) with a freshly designed lighting rig. The addition of the MAC III ProfilesTM along with an LED wall of Martin LC SeriesTM panels expands the show's visual impact for the larger venues that Blunt plays on the current leg.
Normandale, creative director and lighting, set and video designer on the English artist's prolonged 2008 tour, says he chose the MAC III because he was looking for a bright hard edge fixture for a high 48 ft trim and needed a powerful spot to complement a Martin LC Series LED screen. Capable of punching out over 33,000 lumens of power, Normandale says of the MAC III's: "Even at extreme zoom it has light to spare from a trim of nearly 50 ft across a video wall."
Located high in a circle truss arch, the MAC III's broad front lens projects a unique fat beam that looks great mid-air for a refreshing new look. "The high output is a nice feature and when you combine it with the broad beam it gives a much welcome, very different look," Normandale says.
The MAC III Profile is the first luminaire in Martin's third generation of MAC moving heads. It features an all new design both inside and out for greater performance and includes new 1500 watt lamp technology, a long list of innovative features and advances in control, handling, service and more.
Glen Johnson, who handles lighting direction and runs the lighting and video on the tour, commented, "So far there have been no failures in the rig, which for a new light is fantastic."
Normandale of Lite Alternative, the UK based lighting production company that serves as worldwide vendor for the tour (Upstaging & Lite Alternative in Canada), directs a rig of Martin MAC III Profiles, MAC 700 Profiles, MAC 250 Washes (changes to MAC 700 Washes in Canada), MAC TW1s, Stagebar 54L LED bars, and Atomic 3000 strobes with Atomic Colors scrollers.
A checkered wall of LC Series LED panels provides a stunning backdrop to the set. Twenty-two LC 2140 panels were chosen because of their 2 x 1 m configuration, Normandale says. "Moving trusses with the panels mounted on them reconfigure through the show, forming a true screen only once for one song. The interlock of the screens was critical and the modular speed of the LC made this possible." The LC panels use standard Prolyte CCS6 conical truss connectors, so linking the lightweight panels together is simple, and with no external power supplies or drivers, each unit comes with everything it needs built in, which reduces logistical costs and set-up time. Lighting control is from a Wholehog III console with Catalyst running the LC panels via fiber optic.
"Support has been great, as usual," concludes Glen Johnson, "with thanks to Mark Ravenhill, Matt Cowles and Simon Allan from Martin for allowing us to abuse their new light!"
Blunt's ‘All the Lost Souls' tour is truly a world tour having already played in the UK, US, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia. The current leg has him in Europe before hopping the pond for a string of Canadian dates beginning in mid-November.
Tour manager is Robert Hayden, stage manager Jonny Gallagher, lighting designer Paul Normandale, lighting director Glen Johnson and crew chief Mick Stowe.
photo: Allan Toft
d&b and Singapore's IGNITE Festival at the Republic Polytechnic
Modern educational institutions are not immune from the effects of the current economic maelstrom, especially these days when they're required to run on a solid commercial footing. Lowering costs is the fundamental and it can be achieved in many ways: embed a solid college culture to retain good staff; make staff training cost effective, and make school attractive to the students. Bizarrely the IGNITE
Music Festival staged this summer at The Republic Polytechnic in Singapore has some sharp answers to those imperatives. Maybe college can teach commerce a thing or two?
The premise was simple enough, Republic Polytechnic has a Cultural Centre, the TRCC (The Republic Culture Centre) headed by Mr Ganesh Kalyanam, within which is an able student body being tutored in the whys and wherefores of public presentation, sound, light, video - you name it they learn it. So what better way to learn than let them put together the festival, with a little guidance?
"The major preoccupation with all students is sound," began Tony Kam assistant director (Technical Operations). "If it doesn't sound good the excitement isn't there, and without excitement the festival falls flat. So there's a lot of attention paid to audio. We had two stages; a main stage for full on loud rock, and an acoustic stage for the more intimate experience - opposite ends of the performance spectrum requiring very different responses. The PA systems were put together by my in-house technical team at the Poly; they defined the system, position and size of rig, but naturally the students assisted, putting it up, and effectively it was they who ran the show. We purchased a Q-Series system from d&b audiotechnik last summer, and knew this would be ideal for the main stage."
Main stage featured a large Q1loudspeaker rig with Q and B2 subwoofers. "Since we bought into the Q-Series our in-school technical team have attended several seminars on System Design and Application, Theory and Practise and related subjects. These were run by Anil Suhood from the d&b Singapore office and Stefan Goertz from the d&b Education and Application department in Germany. Our team now has a great reservoir of expertise and, I believe, can make system designs for any application."
What has all this to do with the college's commercial imperatives? "The Polytechnic as a whole invests in high quality training in all aspects of its curriculum; as much as the school can afford, and it is a big part of our budget. It's an investment that sets us apart from other colleges. I am fortunate that the technicians all stay with us and have a passion for the arts. A big part of that is the fact we're always updating their skills. I am sure Sebastian Song (head of d&b's Singapore office) and d&b will continue being a major contributing factor in the training mix. The advantage of having a d&b office here in Singapore is that Sebastian is able to take members of our technical team and put them into lots of different environments off campus. That keeps them fresh, brings added skills back into the school, and sends a clear message to the students of real world experience. It is very exciting for the technical team to always be learning new skills outside of school, and that's an excitement powerfully transmitted back to the students. So, when we come to do a festival like IGNITE, the students and the technical team, have the confidence to explore new territory, as we did this year with the acoustic stage where we used the new d&b
E-Series loudspeakers. We had no experience of these new loudspeakers whatsoever, but Sebastian Song offered them to us. We looked closely at the technical specification and decided the needs of the festival's acoustic stage could be achieved with this system." Song supported the festival with a system of E12-D and E8 loudspeakers with E15X subwoofers.
"Experimenting like this also allows the school an opportunity to examine new products when contemplating further investment. Listening to the sound, these E-Series loudspeakers had the quality we wanted, like all d&b loudspeakers the sound quality is assured. Even though our set-up was between two buildings, which restricted our design to throw more energy to the back with the system we wanted, we had to re-splay the angles of the clusters just off the wall of the building to reduce reflections to the audience. This also helped the FoH sound engineer have a better mix position. Even with all the stress we had in the process of preparing this event, we experienced the potential of the new E-Series system and that gave us a good measure to judge by. My technical team and the students all agreed."
Coemar De Sisti Supply Opera Australia with Custom LED Solution
Coemar De Sisti Australia was contacted by Colin Alexander from Opera Australia regarding a lighting feature required for the upcoming production of Don Giovanni. The feature included hundreds of 300mm short fluorescents that needed to be DMX controllable. Through investigation they found a fluorescent fixture but had reservations about its suitability and the daunting aspect of control which was going to involve hundreds of dimmer channels.
Colin then met with Peter Kemp, managing director of Coemar De Sisti, and they discussed the possibility of a custom LED solution. Peter proposed an LED strip with a diffused lens with built-in direct DMX control, requiring only an external 24v supply. At first Colin was sceptical of the idea, however Peter arranged for some handmade samples to be made with varying number of LEDs as Opera Australia had a strict budget they needed to adhere to.
In due course Colin was shown the samples and was very impressed with the results and pricing, and he felt it was the perfect solution to their problem. A few minor changes required to the sample such as the mounting system, blackout of part of the fixtures and end caps. These changes were made and a final hand-made sample submitted for the final approval.
One feature that utilises the LED is known as "the clock" which replicated the old style multi segment digital clock and each segment is one LED strip. Coemar De Sisti prepared detailed wiring schematics for the layouts which included all the inter-connecting cables for both 24v supply and DMX to assist Opera Australia when installing the systems. After everything was settled with samples for the project, Opera Australia requested Coemar De Sisti supply a complete system of LED strips and cabling system and manufacture began.
In April this year Coemar De Sisti supplied the complete system, and installation began. Colin was extremely pleased with the end results and raved about the products. "I am so happy with the Custom LED fixture that Coemar supplied and for the level of commitment and service that we received from Peter and his team. They worked hard to supply us with the right product for our 1m x 4m 'Clock' in our production of Don Giovanni. The LED clock had two forms: Act 1 when it was the Clock, it consisted of 121 x Custom LED fittings and then during interval the whole piece was re-hung vertically and an extra piece added to increase the quantity of LEDs to 151 and it became the 'Statue'. Peter worked with myself and lighting designer Nick Schlieper a year out from the opening night, showing us various options of LED fittings and power/control systems. When we first used the 'Clock' in the Opera House, it brought out quite a few ooh's and aah's from the creative team and crew - not always the easiest audience!"
As Coemar De Sisti frequently have clients with a demand for such a diverse range of custom made LED products, Peter Kemp travels at least once a month to China to work closely with the factory on required samples. This gives the company the opportunity to offer clients a tailored made product and provide them with exactly what they need.
XL8 and XL4 on Oasis World Tour Illustrate the Importance of Being Midas
The Oasis world tour 2008/2009 is a working demonstration of why Midas digital and analogue consoles are the choice of leading sound engineers. On stage, creating state-of-the-art monitor mixes for the band, is a Midas XL8 Live Performance System in the hands of Nahuel Gutierrez. Meanwhile, front of house engineer Bruce Johnston has gone back to his favourite XL4 for this tour after several years of mixing the band on digital boards. Both are extremely happy with their individual choices, which suit their respective tasks and preferences.
The second leg of the band's 14-month world tour got underway in Liverpool the day after new album Dig Out Your Soul hit the streets, and both engineers will be using their Midas desks of choice - supplied by Britannia Row for the European dates - throughout.
Twenty-seven year old Gutierrez has pretty much cut his teeth in the digital era, though this is his first time on an XL8, and his first time as Oasis' main monitor engineer. "Now I can get the analogue sound on a digital desk," he says. "I've been mixing for 10 years, with just the first three on analogue, and until now there hasn't been a console that could deliver the real analogue sound, and more than that, the Midas sound!"
The XL8 is allowing Gutierrez to create more complex monitor mixes than he's previously managed, storing his settings from each show and tweaking and perfecting them for the following one.
"It started quite simply, with 35 inputs, and around 20 mixes, and now I've gone up to 56 inputs with 38 mixes - for a six piece band!" he says. "For example: I do a mix of all the keyboards and bounce it down into two channels, so I've got control of all the keyboards with one fader and if anyone wants more keyboards it's easy; however the keyboard player can have individual channels and the submix goes to everyone else apart from him."
The band are on combinations of in-ear monitors and wedges with sidefills, so Gutierrez is taking advantage of the XL8's flexibility, capacity and features to pull off some really intricate monitoring. Guitars take up a large proportion of inputs, as does Liam's vocals which get split into three different channels for monitors, in ears and effects, the two latter mixes being gated using the onboard dynamics to cut out the stage noise. Gutierrez is also using the XL8's onboard compressors. "Having four different choices of compressor again means this console is a step ahead, and you can switch between them live with the push of a button and really hear the difference, without having to repatch or load a plug-in.
"There was a lot of room for expansion and flexibility on the XL8, which has meant I can try out new ways of doing things," he continues. "For me the POP (population) groups, which group the channels and bring them to you, are one of the best things. I'm also making good use of the Area B for songs which have cues; I have a bunch of channels I need to have handy all the time and access easily, and they're always over there in Area B."
Front of house engineer Johnston has worked with Oasis since 1997, starting off on an XL4 and working through various digital boards before returning to analogue for this tour. "Oasis are the perfect band for it; their last few records have been really dirty and fuzzy and compressed so I couldn't justify going back out with a digital board," he says. "I really wanted to hear what the XL4 would sound like going back to it, and I've found it's 100% better, it's like night and day. I felt digital was distracting me from mixing; I was so preoccupied with touching buttons and looking at screens that the sound became secondary.
"I always struggled with the drums on digital boards; I could never make them sound right. When I got back onto XL4 I pushed up the kick drum and there it was - that drum sound I'd been missing! My gut feeling is that the XL4 will be the Neve of the future."
In picture (top) Oasis monitor engineer Nahuel Gutierrez with the Midas XL8; (lower) Oasis FOH engineer Bruce Johnston with the Midas XL4.
Bandit Lights Jackson Browne World Tour
Bandit Lites is on tour with Rock & Roll Hall of Fame singer-songwriter, Jackson Browne. Promoting his 2008 album, Time the Conqueror, Browne is currently out on a world tour including stops in the United States, Asia, Australia and Europe.
Browne will be touring through March of 2009. Lighting and production designer, Dave Davidian chose to use an LED-based rig including American DJ PAR LEDs, ETC Source Fours, Coemar Impressions, Pulsar Chromabanks and 4lite inline moles. He also added Martin MAC 500s. Lighting is controlled by two High End Systems Whole Hog IIs. Davidian said the concept behind the design was in doing a smaller theater-based tour, to give the artist as many different angles and levels of lighting that they could within that format. Davidian provided Browne different levels of height with vertical trusses, horizontal trusses and sidelight angles both upstage and downstage.
Another key element to the design was to be environmentally aware when making design and equipment choices. It was something very important to Jackson Browne and something that he was very specific in his request to do.
"The fact that we're using a lot of LED fixtures saves a lot of power. It was important to (Browne) to use less energy and to leave a smaller carbon footprint as he comes and goes in each town," Davidian explained. "We believe it'll be the difference between a system that would normally be a 500 amp- 3 phase to a 200 amp- 3 phase per leg, so it's a significant reduction. It isn't a financial savings, and that wasn't his goal as much as he wanted to do all that he could to leave a greener planet."
Davidian added: "This is my first venture into LED fixtures. It's certainly new territory for me. This isn't the first ‘green' full LED system but it is one of the first. It is both interesting and challenging for me to break in new technology, especially because it mixes colors differently than we're used to."
Davidian said the big challenge that he dealt with was to provide a multi-layered, leveled rig within a system that has to be flexible with a quick set-up. Jackson Browne does early afternoon sound checks so Davidian had to create a lighting system that could be up and away by lunchtime everyday. "In the past Jackson has used a lot of straight trusses to facilitate set-up time but I really wanted to break away from that this time around and give him a little more varied looks," Davidian explained. "This is also the first tour that Jackson has multiple moving light fixtures. By going green, he has actually changed the look of his show from what is traditionally a par can system to more of a moving light, led system. It will certainly provide a different look for the show for him, his fans and for me."
Bandit general manager, Dizzy Gosnell added: "At the design stage, Dave (Davidian) and Dennis Scrimo (the production manager) asked if it was possible to provide an all LED par can system in addition to the Impression LED moving wash light. Jackson was keen to have a regular touring lighting system be as environmentally efficient as possible on power, and the 132 LED Pars and Impressions have certainly achieved that. Dave has been able to re-think how you work with the trusty Par and created a really fresh and inspiring show. The design options using it are really exciting for the future, and we are really proud at Bandit to be able to showcase this technology with such a well respected artist."
Bandit crew on this tour includes programmer, Nathan Alves and lighting technician, Steve Comer.
Alicia Keys Stars on a Brilliant Stage
UK-based stage set fabricators, Brilliant Stages have designed and constructed the dynamic and exciting set for the Alicia Keys As I Am Tour. Following a European launch at the beginning of the year and a summer spend touring the States, the tour has returned once more to Europe, before embarking on its final leg in Australia later this year.
Tour Producer, Steve Dixon, of Music Tour Management Inc, who has been responsible for producing tours for other high profile clients such as Justin Timberlake, Barry Manilow, Britney Spears and Mariah Carey, contacted Brilliant Stages before Christmas on the recommendation of Production Director, Jake Berry (U2, Rolling Stones, Tina Turner, Cher).
The creative team responsible for the original design concept consisted of Dixon, lighting designer Bryan Leitch (Siyan Limited), co-lighting director Nick Whitehouse (Visual Light Ltd), video designer Emric Epstein (VYV Corporation) and Martin Granger-Piché (VYV Corporation). Dixon called for a non-traditional use of video and worked with the rest of the creative team to enhance the music message with colours and textures rather than full on traditional video. The presentation of this video was to have a strong influence over the final design. The original concepts from Dixon, Epstein and Granger-Piché were drawn up by Seth Jackman and subsequently handed over to Whitehouse and Leitch further adaptation.
Brilliant Stages finally received the full information for the design in mid January, with the brief that it should be ready for rehearsals by the beginning of February, leaving them a turnaround time of approximately three weeks.
The core of the much-changed design centres around a convex video screen which provides the main projection backdrop. This, in turn, is surrounded by a 4' wide walkway curving around the screen at a height of 10' above the main stage.
Suspended directly underneath the walkway are twelve sloping panels of Philips I-Tiles, each measuring 12' x 4' and comprised of twelve individual 2' x 2' I-Tiles. These panels are hooked onto a track running around the front of the walkway to facilitate rapid assembly and are locked together in two sets (six each side) so they can slide off stage to create an entrance for the piano riser directly under the walkway and video screen.
The result is, as Dixon terms it, "a very dramatic set".
"We designed the set for maximum effect with the minimum of effort for the construction and transport crews involved," explains Brilliant Stages general manager, Tony Bowern. " The curved projection screen enhances the effect of a big set but it is actually very simple. The bi-parting screens, for example, are very effective but, along with the rest of the set, are efficiently designed for rapid set up and break down over the long tour."
David Mendoza designed a magic reveal sequence featuring Color Kinetics iColor Accent Powercore fixtures and a piano riser for Keys' initial entrance. Brilliant Stages created the piano riser as a circular truck, 10' in diameter, the top half of which revolves with the piano on top, while the bottom half acts as a steerable truck. Both truck and revolve were controlled by a Kinesys system to Brilliant Stages instructions.
Following the curve of the video screen at the lower level are band risers situated either side of central entrance. These are constructed out of Brilliant Stages' low, carpeted Dekex lightweight staging system and backed with the Phillips I-Tile panels as surrounding fascia.
Then came a real challenge - Dixon wanted the artist to be revealed in front of the projection screen on the centre of the upper walkway. Brilliant Stages had to devise and construct a method of making an electric ‘Star Trap' which would emerge from the piano revolve and be located into the centre of the walkway.
Brilliant Stages worked on the project with sister company Tomcat UK which used Tomcat medium duty box trussing to support the video screen and the curved outrunning trusses for the drapes either side. The main lighting rig was composed of thirty sections of Tomcat Swing Wing in a combination of 8' and 10' lengths, plus 5 rotating followspot chairs. "As usual, the turnaround from Tomcat was painless and rapid," says Bowern.
For the American leg of the tour a thrust stage was added. This catwalk was mounted on rollers for ease of fit up and was designed to interface with any height of stage during the three month tour. The catwalk takes Keys through the audience to a circular B stage, also designed by Brilliant Stages, which was originally intended to be 5' in height to conceal the piano beneath it.
However, a last minute decision was made to reduce this height to 4' leaving Brilliant Stages with the problem of how to house the piano within the foreshortened structure. This was overcome by replacing the legs of the piano with electric linear actuators (and the pedals with MIDI foot controls) which could alter the height of the piano as required.
This redesigned B stage and walkway were added to the touring combination only two weeks before rehearsals in another example of how Brilliant Stages is quick to respond, adapt and change according to the customers' needs.
"Brilliant Stages delivered in a crunch, on time and on budget," says Dixon. "When you are working to a tight deadline, it is very important that people can do what they say they can. Equally important is to say when something is not possible. Brilliant Stages' communication was very clear at all times, presenting us with a series of viable alternatives at any point when what we asked for was not practical."
Alicia Keys tour runs to the end of 2008 ending in Perth Australia.
photo Todd Kaplan
projectiondesign in Immersive eArts World Exhibition
As part of its ongoing commitment to exploring new frontiers in audio-visual communication, Norwegian high-performance projector manufacturer projectiondesign has announced its support for the forthcoming eArts Festival. The Festival, which started on 18 October in Shanghai, will offer a three week programme of events, performances and installations, uniting artists from all over the world and creating a fusion of art and new technology.
The eArts Festival activities will take place across a range of venues, each with its own theme. At the Shanghai Science & Technology Museum, the theme is ‘eLandscapes', in which curator Richard Castelli seeks "a total re-working of the screen-spectator relationship, for which new technologies and new narrations are necessary". Among the exhibition's wide variety of interactive and immersive displays is AVIE - the Advanced Visualization and Interaction Environment pioneered by the Australian-based artist and director of the UNSW iCinema Research Centre, Jeffrey Shaw.
The Shanghai implementation of AVIE will see 12 of projectiondesign's F20 sx+ DLP projectors firing two 1,000 x 8,000 pixel polarized stereoscopic images over the entire surface of a 360-degree screen, which can be viewed by 30 or more visitors using polarizing glasses. A cluster of seven high-performance graphics PCs delivers the image data to the projectors using custom geometry correction and edge-blending software.
Complementing the unique visualization and interaction features of AVIE is its spatialized audio system - a 14.2 channel system with custom surround-sound application software. With its speakers situated behind the micro-perforated projection screen, this system enables a fully immersive 360-degree placement of sound anywhere around the viewers.
As well as AVIE, a similar panoramic exhibit using two F20 sx+ projectors will take place in the Hampi exhibit. Five F20 sx+ projectors will be used in a dome configuration in the Hemisphere exhibit. A further six F20 sx+ projectors will be shown in the Globorama as well as 12 projectors configured in a hexagonal back projection in the Virtual Room exhibit. All areas of the event use the existing resources of both iCinema Centre and ZKM Karlsruhe to create an unprecedented array of projectiondesign products to create numerous spectacular visulization scenarios.
Industry-veteran Thierry Ollivier, sales manager at projectiondesign manages the Russia, Japan, Korea and France territories and played a key role in supporting the numerous projects and sponsorship of the touring, comments: "As video projector manufacturers, it is our responsibility not just to give our backing to established business and domestic applications of our technology, but to support artistic work which has the potential to give people an entirely new perspective on how they relate to, and interact with, projected imagery.
"An immersive experience such as this requires projectors with a very high degree of uniformity as well as high levels of brightness and contrast, and that is what our F20 sx+ delivers. In return for supplying these projectors, we are in the privileged position of being able to see, at first hand, how visitors react to such an immersive and interactive experience. This in turn deepens our understanding of how people perceive projected images and enriches our own R&D efforts going forward."
As well as the eArts installation, projectiondesign F20 sx+ projectors will also be used for two other projects, co-authored by Jeffrey Shaw and Sarah Kenderdine.
The first is Place-Hampi which includes a series of 3D stereoscopic panoramas inspired by the drama of Hindu mythology opening on November 12, 2008 and showing for the next 15 months (ending January 2010) at the Immigration Museum in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Rosco Gobo Rotators on the Tour de France
The 95th annual Tour de France - the best known cycle race in the world - was broadcast by the Belgian national broadcaster VRT, which presented their programme, including interviews with cyclists and other TV personalities, every night, in a different location along the route. Rosco brightened up the sets by providing gobos and a Gobo Rotator to animate the images.
Projections of a bike, used in the outside courts during the evening, consisted of one fixed gobo of the bike frame, whereas two Gobo Rotators did the moving wheels. There was also one fixed gobo of a bike, projected without moving parts, which was used for interviews and placed in the hotel that the cyclists stayed in.
The gobos and Gobo Rotators proved a hit with the lighting designer Karel Perneel, who's said: "I used them every day without any problem. I was very pleased with the result."
Anolis on Oakenfold Stadium Shows
Anolis ArcLine Outdoor Optic LED strips have been installed into Paul Oakenfold's spectacular bespoke rolling riser DJ platform, which is being utilised for his opening sets on Madonna's ‘Sticky & Sweet' world tour stadium shows.
The ArcLines were supplied by Anolis UK's Scott Callis to Litestructures, whose Gareth Mallon designed and built the booth in conjunction with DJ equipment specialist, Pioneer, following instructions from Oakenfold.
Oakenfold wanted the structure to be as spectacular as possible and help make a real impact during his performance on the stadium sized stages. Complete with integral lighting and plasma screens, it can be assembled by one person in an hour which was another key criteria of the brief. Measuring 3 metres wide by 1.2 metres deep and 1.5 metres high, they needed a robust, powerful and bright LED lightsource to backlight the ‘Paul Oakenfold' logo emblazoned across the front of the structure.
The ArcLine Luxeon Rebel K2 LEDs are well protected inside the sturdy aluminium extrusion that features on the outdoor version of this product, which is also IP rated, and therefore protected from the elements on outdoor shows. The ArcLines backing the logo have been programmed to produce a blue hue to match the corporate colours of Oakenfold's record label, Perfecto. Additional ArcLine Outdoor Optic LED strips have also been integrated into the trussing legs of the structure for general colour washing and effects. All fixtures have been programmed and are run via the Anolis ArcPower 72/K2 driver unit.
Oakenfold comments: "My future global touring schedule will include more and more large stadium shows, both with Madonna and my own Perfecto events. It made sense to custom design my own console for such high profile appearances, and more importantly, a console that is easily transported, can be adapted and expanded for any specific reason or occasion, and is visually appealing. I have been very impressed with the level of professional support and advice received from Anolis, Litestructures and Pioneer, and I am delighted with the beautiful piece of staging technology that has been produced."
L-Acoustics Kudo for Andreas Bocelli Tour of Australia and New Zealand
Italian tenor Andreas Bocelli has completed an arena tour of New Zealand and Australia with an L-Acoustics Kudo line source array system provided by Norwest Productions. The tour included a show at the Sydney Acer Arena, the largest in the southern hemisphere, where Bocelli broke his previous world box office arena record, putting $AU3.273 million through the registers.
The concerts featured a 76-piece orchestra and a 60-piece choir together with baritone Gianfranco Montresor, soprano Paola Sanguinetti and guest star Tina Arena accompanying Bocelli.
"As each orchestra member is playing towards the conductor, the orchestra itself can be considered a point source," says sound designer Andrea Taglia, whose priority for the main system was to preserve the orchestra's sound image, retaining a sharp correlation between the visual of the musicians playing live and the sound system reinforcing it. "I designed a full mono system with a centre cluster of between 12 and 15 Kudo cabinets, depending on the venue, to cover the floor. There was a left and right hang, again of between 12 and 15 Kudos per side, to cover side balconies; left and right side hangs of eight Kudos per side to cover audience seated at the sides of the stage; delays of one or two clusters of six to eight Kudos for covering the front of the balcony and an arc delay subwoofer system of 12 SB218 subs on the ground in front of stage."
Kudo was chosen because its variable horizontal directivity kept the focus on the audience, avoiding reflections. On the side balconies, an asymmetrical configuration of 55°/25° gave smooth dispersion of SPL and frequency for those close to the 55° angled loudspeakers, while those further away enjoyed good high frequency penetration and SPL thanks to the 25° angles. Fully open Kudo cabinets with 110° angles, often rigged at around 15m from the floor, helped cover the front rows without much image shift, while those closed to 50° gave a good focus for the audience further back. "In Melbourne we didn't use delays as the rigging points didn't allow this, and with a centre cluster of 15 Kudos we could easily cover the floor and centre balcony up to an amazing distance of 76m from front of the stage!" says Taglia.
Another benefit of Kudo was that its small footprint preserved sightlines, while its easy captive rigging system allowed the full system to be rigged in a few hours, leaving plenty of time to focus, trim, align and EQ the day before the show. This meant that show days were relaxed and focused on mixing.
Taglia used L-Acoustics' Soundvision prediction software in conjunction with seating plans and rigging points for the different venues. "As both the Soundvision predictions and venue databases were very exact, we only needed to trim the system using an inclinometer and laser pointers mounted on top of Kudo bumpers," he says. "Kudo is a true line source array so a cluster of even 15 cabinets will be heard as a single huge loudspeaker with perfect fusion of all components. With a little tuning the sound image and frequency response will be enjoyable for any audience member.
"Soundvision helped define what was needed months in advance, allowing us to plan the tour budget accurately and give the crew a printout of the system report. This software is highly reliable, with amazing precision that can solve any problems and glitches."
It wasn't just the sound crew who appreciated the Kudo system. "The promoter, local venues and audiences were amazed that the sound system was virtually invisible, giving the illusion that the sound was coming directly from the orchestra on stage," concludes Taglia. "This was noted in the press by several journalists who appreciated the natural and clear sound reinforcement, regardless of the venue or the seat."
GLP Impression at VW Showcase in Beijing
At the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, Volkswagen presented a showcase in the heart of the Olympic site on the so-called ‘Olympic Green'. This and the fleet of vehicles provided by the company were the twin pillars of VW's Olympic commitment. The two-storey building was magnificently lit by 120 GLP impression luminaires from RS Rockservice.
The LED searchlights were arranged in a ring beneath each of the five sunshades around 7.5 metres in diameter. This made it possible to bathe the entire showcase in different colours to create different moods. As a result of its compact design and numerous mounting options, the impression blended in perfectly with the design of the 2,000 square metre Volkswagen Olympic Pavilion.
In picture: GLP impression on the Olympic Green in Beijing. Photo: GLP
Robe Tungstens for Gold Coast Arts Centre
Eight new Robe ColorWash 750AT Tungsten fixtures have been added to The Gold Coast Arts Centre's moving light system. Arts Centre technical manager Chris Dbais, states:"We needed some new fixtures, and the Robe Tungsten's were the best choice for excellent reliability and great features."
Robe's Australian distributor, the ULA Group, provided the Arts Centre with some demo Tungstens, which were utilised on the ‘Whitlams Orchestral Tour'. After this, everyone was happy and so it was a very easy decision to purchase. Another big advantage was the level of local service offered for the Robe products, on which Dbais says: "I'm well impressed with ULA's fantastic technical support."
The Tungstens are being rolled out in the coming weeks for the Centre's annual in-house production of smash-hit Broadway musical, The Boy from Oz. Lighting director Scott Allan has included the fixtures in his rig, and Dbais comments that he is "excited" to see what the LD comes up with.
The Gold Coast Arts Centre is a multipurpose facility incorporating an Arts Theatre, Art Gallery, Comedy Clubhouse, board rooms, function facilities, cafes, costume hire and chapel. The Arts Theatre is an 1174 seat auditorium, with full stage facilities for theatre shows, conventions and product launches, etc. The Centre also hosts a wide variety of touring productions and special events in addition to staging their own productions and performing arts summer schools.
In picture: GCAC technical manager Chris Dbais, ULA's sales and support Jesse Radatti, GCAC venue services manager Marcel Takac, and GCAC technical co-ordinator John Wallace.
Barco Helps Put China's First Spacewalk in Full View
Barco joined in the Shenzhou VII space program in providing large screen projection for the command and control of its first spacewalk.
Shenzhou VII, China's third manned spacecraft, successfully lifted off on Thursday, 25 September at 9:10pm at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Gansu province. The pride of China, the Shenzhou spacecraft, with astronauts Zhai Zhigang, Liu Boming and Jing Haipeng on board, will orbited the earth for 68 hours over a three-day period.
Barco SLM R12+ projectors were used to command and control the entire launch program at both the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center and Beijing Aerospace Control Center. The monitoring continued through the duration of the spacewalk and concluded with its culmination, when the astronauts' re-entry module landed in central Inner Mongolia.
When employed in conjunction with an event as momentous at the Shenzhou VII spacewalk, product reliability was paramount to success. Still, more than just delivering a superior, advanced technology product in support of the event, Barco is also providing on-site technical standby around the clock via a specially assigned technical team.
The SLM R12+ is a powerful large-screen projector that features the unique quality of three-chip DLP colors and a very bright 12,000 lumens light output at a sharp price-to-quality ratio. Its bright light output makes it suitable to operate even in venues with lots of other light sources.
"There's no understating the importance of the Shenzhou VII launch and China's aerospace program," says Mr. Xie, the command and control leader of Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. "From top to bottom, it needs to go off without any problems. In this sense, Barco has greatly contributed to the effort with its reliable products and highly professional support."
"To participate in and provide support for the Shenzhou VII spacewalk is a true honor for Barco," says Frank Christiaens, managing director of Barco China. "Product reliability is the crucial factor for customers choosing Barco. We're always happy to be able to provide state of the art technical support in any and everyway possible."
Robert Juliat Followspots Highlight Beijing 2008 Olympic & Paralympic Games
In front of 91,000 spectators at the Beijing "Bird's Nest" National Stadium, and an estimated worldwide television audience of 4 billion, the Opening Ceremony kicked off at eight minutes and eight seconds past eight, on the eighth day of the eighth month, 2008.
After a ceremony which lasted over three hours and showcased some of the most advanced technology, the event culminated in the signature lighting of the Cauldron with the Olympic Flame. This was undertaken in dramatic aerial fashion by Chinese sporting legend, Li Ning, a gymnast who won three golds at the 1984 Games, before starting a successful sports clothing business.
The number 8 is considered a lucky number in China, associated with prosperity. Eight Robert Juliat Lancelot 4000W HTI followspots were used to cut through the vast quantity of light produced by the largest moving light rig in history, highlighting critical scenes of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Olympic & Paralympics Games 2008. Eight Robert Juliat Cyrano 2500W HMI followspots were also used across other Olympic-related events across Beijing.
Chief lighting designer for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies was Mr Sha Xiaolan who worked closely with director Zhang Yimou to create the spectacular effects.
Jamie Boey of Robert Juliat China which supplied the Lancelot and Cyrano followspots, spoke to Mr Sha. "Mr Sha was delighted with the performance and quality of the Robert Juliat followspots," says Boey, "and confirmed his decision to use Robert Juliat was based on sound technical reasons."
"The brightness of the Lancelot was a deciding factor," affirms Mr Sha, "since more than 2700 units of 1200W moving lights used in total, so it needed to be able to cut through this amount of light.
"The projection distance was, at times, was more than 200m. The Robert Juliat Lancelot therefore had to fully comply with our requirements for the best ‘distance versus light output' ratio, which it achieved with its extremely narrow zoom range of 2° to 5°.
"Obviously, we must not forget the light quality which gives both flatness of beam as well as sharpness of projection. All these are possible thanks to its excellent optical system.
"I especially like the dimming mechanism which allows a very low output yet maintains its light quality. I also like its user-friendliness and operational smoothness despite its weight, and the fully closing iris mechanism. These are all high-performance, unique features of the Lancelot.
"The Lancelot is a well design followspot with an excellent optical system - a high quality product giving excellent performance.
"Robert Juliat products are excellent!" concludes Mr Sha. "I hope that there will be more new products from them, not only with new technological break-throughs, but which also retain the excellent performance and quality."
grandMA at the Olympics Finishing Line
After 17 days of athletic highlights the Summer Olympics 2008 recently ended with another stunning show in the Beijing National Stadium. Similar to the Opening Ceremony, more than 2,300 DMX controlled fixtures were used to create a worthy finish for the Olympics. And again, three grandMA full-size plus three grandMA full-size as backup, two grandMA light as well as 46 MA NSPs proved their power by controlling the gigantic lighting rig.
Paul Collison, who was responsible for the control system and broadcast lighting, reported: "It always amazes me that the first time people really focus on the Closing Ceremony is two days after the opening. Beijing was no different. What made things very hard was we only had three nights with the stadium lights off. In total this amounts to only 18 hours of programming. Compare this to the six months of programming and thought that goes in to an opening and you start to see my point.
"For that reason most of the closing show was busked. It's not everyday you get a show with 2,000 plus fixtures that is busked. However essentially that's exactly what we had. Mr. Sha, lighting designer for the ceremony, was calling colours and levels and the operators worked hard to facilitate his requests. It was a true example of just how versatile, fast accessible and absolutely reliable the grandMA control system is. To go from something so meticulously planned as the Opening Ceremony to the free flow of ideas that was the closing was amazing to see.
"For the closing we dropped one of the grandMA light consoles into the pit so the LEDs in the tower could be checked properly before it was erected," Collison continued. "This worked well. We knew beforehand the operators would be busy during the show so utilising the multi-user aspect of the grandMA was the perfect option for us.
"A grandMA system was also used in the London's stunning handover show, when a red London bus drove around the stadium and transformed an English lawn into a performance stage," reported programmer Tim Routlegde. "The bus and stage were lit by a variety of LED products, was designed by lighting designer Durham Marenghi, and controlled from laptops running grandMA onPC sending data to an MA NSP and a MA 2Port Node onPC."
The final lighting elements were 26 specially created LED umbrellas that formed two big screens on either side of the bus. These were fed by a grandMA video media server with content created by Routledge.
"To be inside the bus on its journey was the most exhilarating experience of my life; it was both the shortest and longest eight minutes of performance I have ever done and the MA Lighting products were perfect for the show," says Routledge. The showfile was uploaded to laptops inside the bus for the show performance because space was very tight inside - I also never thought I would be controlling headlights and indicators of a bus from a lighting console!"
The handover show during the Closing Ceremony included performances by British singer Leona Lewis, Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page, and football star David Beckham, representing the change from Beijing to the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Instead of relying on the host to offer a stage, the London team used the "double-decker" red bus, a typical vehicle of public transport in London, for their show. Following this, Guo Jinlong, the Mayor of Beijing, handed over the Olympic flag to the Mayor of London,After the vast success of the two Olympic ceremonies the grandMA system will also be used at the Opening and Closing Ceremony of the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games that commence on 6 September.
Clay Paky Alpha Wash 1200s Light Up Olympic Ceremonies
Clay Paky Alpha Wash 1200 luminaires played a key role in colouring the various scenes for what will be remembered as one of the most spectacular, colourful and thrilling ceremonies of the beginning of this century. More than 2,300 DMX controlled fixtures transformed the main stadium into a sea of lights.
"These are the Games of the records, and so was the opening ceremony," stated Sha Xiao Lan, lighting designer of the opening and closing ceremonies. And to control this never before seen rig of lights I chose the grandMA system from MA Lighting."
Over 100 Clay Paky fixtuires were employed in the lighting inventory.
Solotech Takes No Chances with Sennheiser and Neumann on Céline Dion's World Tour
Céline Dion is on a year-long world tour following her residency of nearly four years at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas. This current 'Taking Chances' Tour began on Valentine's Day 2008 in South Africa and by the tour's completion it will have encompassed 120 shows in over eighty cities on five continents, before winding up in Florida in January 2009.
Dion and her crew have long relied on Sennheiser wireless microphones and personal monitoring systems, as well as Neumann microphones. The Taking Chances Tour is no exception, with dozens of channels of Sennheiser RF equipment, courtesy of the singer's exclusive sound, video and lighting provider, Solotech, accompanying her on the global jaunt.
The Tour features a seven-piece band, three backing singers and eight dancers, and is presented in a variety of formats, including in the round, according to each venue configuration
"The fact that we are travelling almost everywhere on the planet with the wireless microphones means that the system has to be really flexible in the choices of the carriers' frequencies," explains Dion's front-of-house engineer, François 'Frankie' Desjardins. "Sennheiser has been a pioneer in that domain and that's one of the main reasons we are using them. We use Sennheiser wireless microphones and belt packs, along with other wireless equipment, because of the flexibility of the system and the great variety of mic capsules. We can always find a microphone that will do the right job in the extensive list of products from Sennheiser or Neumann."
The audio crew, which on this tour includes monitor engineer Charles Ethier, RF engineer Marc Thériault and audio system engineer Mario St-Onge, in addition to Desjardins, makes its recommendation regarding the main vocal mic, but overall say goes with Dion herself.
"She has the last word on the choice of capsule," confirms Desjardins. "On this tour, she is using a Neumann KK 105 S mounted on a Sennheiser SKM 5200 handheld transmitter. The background vocal microphones are Sennheiser MD 5235 capsules mounted on SKM 5200 handhelds."
The Taking Chances Tour is carrying an extensive catalogue of Sennheiser RF equipment that can operate reliably anywhere in the world. The tour's microphones include ten SKM 5200 handheld transmitters with a choice of cardioid and super-cardioid capsules. There are 20 EM 3732 true-diversity twin receivers; 36 EK 300 IEM G2 bodypack receivers; 24 ultra-compact SK 5212 bodypack transmitters; and 12 rack-mount SR 350 IEM G2 twin transmitters, plus a variety of antennas, splitters and combiners. The wireless equipment is monitored and coordinated remotely via four NET 1 systems.
Sennheiser is the first choice for the Taking Chances Tour because of the breadth of the product range and quality of the Company's equipment. But equally important to the crew is the knowledge that as soon as a question arises, Sennheiser will be there with the answer.
"We get super technical support from Sennheiser," explains Marc Thériault, the tour's audio RF/electrical engineer. "Sennheiser is always prepared to go the extra mile to accommodate the specific needs of Céline Dion's elaborate stage presentation, which places extra demands on the equipment. I can talk with a Sennheiser engineer and do some customization for the way that we use it. That's very important for this tour."
Other microphones include Neumann KM 184 and KM 150 condensers, evolution series e 902, e 906, e 835 and e 835 S dynamics, e 914 condensers, plus four each of the MKH 40 and MKH 60 shotguns to pick up audience reactions.
Even the production crew uses a number of Sennheiser HMD 25 boom headsets.
"The HMD 25s are used primarily by the backline people to communicate on the 'party line'," continues Desjardins. "Those are modified by Sennheiser Canada. They have a magnetic switch in the boom so when the boom is up the mic is off. The speakers are the ones found in the HD 25. The people have an SK 5212 transmitter to talk and an EK 300 to listen to their respective mix during the show so they can be fast to troubleshoot a problem. Some other HMD 25s are used as a standard intercom system by the stage manager and lighting director."
Céline Dion's world tour continues across North America this September.
JM Rental Purchases 1,000 Panels of Lighthouse 4mm LED Screen
In a move that sees further expansion to its LED rental business, Hong Kong-based JM Rental has acquired 1,000 panels of Lighthouse R4-S 4mm LED screen to add to its already significant inventory of Lighthouse panels.
This is the second largest purchase of Lighthouse screen in 2008, after the company's similarly significant purchase of R16 panels in January.
Established in 1997, JM Rental is one of the largest LED display rental companies in Asia, having built up a team of visual professionals that can manage projects of any scale, and a network of global rental partners that enables it to support thousands of events and programs around the world.
"We endlessly invest in the best resources to support our worldwide AV partners," says Kenneth Yip, operations director of JM Rental. "This included the acquisition of 1,000 panels of R16 at the beginning of 2008 and a further 1,000 pieces R4-S panels in August from our strategic technology ally, Lighthouse Technologies.
"Our core mission statement is ‘Perfecting vision'. We distinguish ourselves with our inventory of renowned and reliable LED screen that delivers state-of-the-art visual excellence, together with a range of professional services which includes creative LED experience design, multimedia interactive programming, original visual and audio creation to video jockey service, to create the necessary sparkle for any event.
"We feel that we are more than just a technology partner. We provide a one-stop, total visual solution, from simple LED display installation to the most sophisticated LED application, ensuring that the intended solution is delivered to the audience effectively and with visual impact."
This cohesive approach and solid LED inventory will aid JM Rental's expansion into markets outside Asia and further support its global AV partners.
"As other rental partners have found, making an investment in a high-end brand of LED screen brings significant benefits," says Lighthouse's general manager Peter Chan. "We are proud that JM Rental has chosen to invest in Lighthouse and we look forward to supporting them in their continued growth."
Avril Lavigne The Best Damn Tour
Lighting designer Brent Clark was tasked with putting together a lighting rig that would complement Canadian pop rocker Avril Lavigne's new style while not overpowering her on stage. Brent, who has been working with Lavigne since the summer of 2007, states: "She is going in a new direction which includes dancers and a huge video wall, so my job was just to make sure she looked great at all times."
Lavigne kicked off an extensive world tour last spring, promoting her latest release, ‘Best Damn Thing'. Brent uses a large Christie Lites supplied Martin lighting package on the tour, European leg counts consisting of 50 MAC 2000 Washes, 20 MAC 2000 Profiles, 8 MAC 700 Profiles and 12 Atomic 3000 strobes each with Atomic Colors scrollers. Fixture counts were slightly higher for the US leg. ‘The Best Damn Tour' see's Lavigne traveling in Europe, North America and Asia.
Brent's mandate was to keep it simple and follow the mood of each song. In a seldom seen show of automated lighting restraint, Brent uses little to no movement in the show. "I have long said that just because the lights move doesn't mean they have to," he says. "It was decided that there was to be hardly any movement in the show so there are no crowd sweeps or random movements. Throughout the show I set a cool look and make it change color to match the song or chase to the beat."
Brent continues: "Because video is such a huge part of the show, as well as costumes that I had to color match, the color palette was pretty much laid out. Basically the fixtures needed to punch through the massive video wall from both front and behind. Trim for the most part was pretty high so they also needed to wash the stage from about 12 meters."
Brent mentions his two favourite lights as the MAC 700 Profile and the MAC 2000 Wash. "I love the speed of the MAC 700 Profile head as well as the animation wheel, and I have always tried to get MAC 2000 Washes on my tours since it came out, it's so punchy. I put the PC lens on it and it is so beamy and strobes so well, I just love it."
All the MAC 2000 Profiles and 32 of the MAC 2000 Washes are located in six truss fingers above the stage. Fourteen MAC 2000 Washes are at floor positions with four on trusses behind a MITRIX video wall. The MAC 700 Profiles are also on trusses behind the video wall with the Atomic strobes spread on the floor and on towers behind the video wall.
"I do not think one MAC 700 had to get fixed on the tour. All in all, the gear held up well despite some pretty rough driving all over Europe. It was a fun show to light," Brent says.
Brent expresses his thanks to the crew "for without them the tour would not have happened". He also thanks Christie Lites "for doing a great job of taking care of us and getting us the gear we needed to do the job."
photo: Allan Toft / KB Hall, Copenhagen
Martin MAC 2000 Wash XB Colors Singapore National Day 2008
"The MAC 2000 Wash XB's are awesome! It's an absolute winner!" That's how lighting designer Paul Collison described Martin's new extra bright MAC 2000 Wash fixture's performance on Singapore National Day 2008.
As in past years, this year's National Day celebration was on a grand scale with large numbers of Martin automated lighting fixtures used to bathe the Marina Bay venue in swathes of celebratory colour: 320 MAC 2000 Washes, 60 MAC 2000 Wash XBs and 20 MAC 2000 Performances. Lighting production was by Showtec Group of Singapore.
Singapore National Day is an important cultural event for the people of Singapore. Held annually every August 9th, this year the event marked the 43rd anniversary of the city-state's independence. The event's location is quite spectacular with over five thousand performers forming a mass picture on a 120 x 80 meter floating platform, a grandstand holding over 30,000 spectators at its side. "It is a truly breathtaking site," says Paul Collison, who took his position in the lighting hot seat for the second year running.
The 60 MAC 2000 Wash XB fixtures formed the bulk of the stage's front wash for the National Day event. The MAC 2000 Wash XB is a 1500W Fresnel that takes the proven optical and effect qualities of the MAC 2000 Wash and adds even greater brightness, new efficient fans, ballast, starter and more. Replacing 180 standard MAC 2000 Washes from 2007's event, the MAC 2000 Wash XB's were fitted with the brand new micro-Fresnel Lens.
"With the XB's I'm getting more level on stage and much better control, and the new lens has taken them to a whole new level," Paul comments. "They were sent directly from Martin's Danish headquarters and gave much more control over the 100m+ throw to the stage."
"The shallow angle of the FOH position caused all sorts of grief last year with excess ambient light being thrown on to the construction site on the other side of Marina Bay. The new lens' 9 degree spread was perfect to tidy this up. [Note: Using the micro-Fresnel lens at that angle gives a fixture efficiency of 31 percent.] It's like they were designed for this show. I wouldn't do another show of this scale without the micro-Fresnel Lens in the arsenal."
Also in the system were some 320 MAC 2000 Washes along with 20 MAC 2000 Performances, which Paul says were ideal for locking down performers on the promenade. "I love the Performances, they are so very versatile. I'd have them on every show I do if I could."
This year saw the introduction of video as a major part of the scenic landscape with 1,800 square metres of custom made LED netting framing the back of the stage. Four MA Media PC's drive this. "The influence this has on the view is amazing," Paul says. "I've always liked playing with video and lighting however I've never had the chance to work with such a massive screen and have total creative freedom to entwine it in to the lighting landscape. Playing between the lighting fixtures and the screens is a lot of fun. On such a big scale as this it's something you need to be careful with not to take over the whole stage."
Control is also via MA. One session handling almost 16,000 Parameters is the backbone of the lighting system. Over 1 km of Multi Mode Optic fibre connected four data distribution points on the platform.
Meyer Sound Matrix3 Drives the Pulse of Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremony
Few live events have the power to draw an audience of billions, but the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics easily surpassed that landmark. The largest international sporting event of the 21st century was also the most technically complex Olympics ceremony ever, broadcast for the first time in High Definition and surround sound. At the heart of it all was Meyer Sound's Matrix3 audio show control system, which managed all technical aspects of the performance, including audio, motion control, pyrotechnics, and lighting.
The audience of nearly 95,000 in National Stadium included over 80 heads of state, international celebrities and VIPs, along with more than 17,000 performers. The crowd and viewers around the world were treated to an event like no other, including audio from a stunning Meyer Sound system designed by event technology specialist Gary Hardesty of Sound Media Fusion LLC (SMF).
As Beijing Olympic Ceremonies chief designer of audio systems and technology consultant to Top Olympic Partner Panasonic, Hardesty explains that the venue's complex acoustics were rife with potential reflectivity issues. "This was the stadium's first event, so the acoustics were a complete unknown," he observes, adding that the large stage compromised potential loudspeaker locations, making it virtually impossible to use conventional non-powered systems. "With more than 56 high-definition TV cameras in the venue, I needed to design a system that was low visibility, kept as much energy off the field as possible, and yet would deliver the kind of sound you'd expect for an event of this magnitude."
Hardesty called for a distributed system comprising multiple stacks of three Meyer Sound MILO line array loudspeakers on the field of play to cover the two lower levels, and to augment the new Panasonic LA3 line array speakers covering the upper level seating. Hardesty took special care to ensure the systems would integrate successfully.
Providing powerful low end were 700-HP subwoofers, arranged in cardioid pairs and topped with an additional MILO cabinet focused on the lower level audience. Hardesty reports the system's relatively diminutive size belied its power. "The results were amazing. By far the best sound I've heard in a large venue. From our vantage position, if you closed your eyes it didn't sound like the speakers were as far away as they actually were."
For Hardesty, one of the most critical aspects of the system was the performance and reliability of Meyer Sound's Matrix3 audio show control system, which was not only used for virtually all audio outputs, but provided the time code for the entire event. "It's hard to overstate the importance of Matrix3 in the system," he says. "All the audio, from the console outputs to the WildTracks hard disk playback, was routed through the Matrix3. But even more importantly, time code from the Matrix3 triggered the entire event - sound, lighting, projections, pyrotechnics, video - every aspect of the show was dependent on the Matrix3."
A veteran of multiple Olympics, including Salt Lake, Torino and Athens, Hardesty has long called on Meyer Sound to deliver world-class performance, and he cites more than just audio quality in choosing Meyer Sound. "Great sound is just the beginning," Hardesty says. "For us, Meyer gear is also about reliability. There's no room for error in an event this size. The Matrix3 gave us the flexibility we needed for such a complex system. And Meyer Sound's support is second to none; they've always stood behind their equipment."
Of course, none of it would mean a thing if it didn't sound good, and Hardesty reports the Olympics organizers were overwhelmingly pleased. "They came to us with a mission: to deliver the best-sounding Olympics opening ceremony anyone has ever heard. With Meyer Sound, I was able to deliver."
SMF will call on Meyer Sound for the Olympics closing ceremony on August 24, as well as the opening and closing ceremonies for the Beijing Paralympic Games, held on September 6-17.
High End Systems Sets Records at Beijing Olympic Ceremonies
High End Systems (a new member of the Belgium-based Barco Group) not only played a starring role in the Olympic opening ceremonies, but helped set some records: for the largest quantity of media servers (110 HES Axons) in any live event, and for creating the largest High Def projection -- in this instance, one clip covered a screen encircling the stadium that measured 1,942 feet long (592 metres) by 45 feet high (14 metres).
All effects were achieved in "real time" using the Axon media servers and projectors with 78 HES Orbital Heads. Four Wholehog 3 lighting consoles controlled the Axon media servers in the ceremonies, connected with 12 DP 2000s.
HES Axons created a number of non-stop visual effects in the show: from the projected visuals encircling a video ring - called the "membrane" - around the top of the stadium, to the projections on the Globe. The HES Orbital Heads were used to project images onto performers on the field.
Olympic Ceremonies lighting designer is Sha Xiao Lin. Dennis Gardner is the chief lighting programmer and digital lighting/video programmer. Gardner says: "The show was the largest I have ever done. Normally I have worked with about 6-8 media servers and this was just huge at 110! This was my first time to use Axon and I found it very easy to use and very flexible. For the scale of the show, it was ideal!."
"The Globe was projected on from eight projectors, external to the Globe, set up in four groups approximately 90 degrees from one another," Gardner explains. "We had no Orbital Heads for this one as we needed a much bigger image and more brightness. We used Axons and their blending feature to help achieve this effect. We had the Globe recovered with white material to get the best from the projection; the original was dark grey."
Gardner describes the Wholehog 3 console setup: "We programmed the show on one Wholehog 3 network running version 2.6 software. We had the network set up as: one server console that was never touched and just used as the server; two client consoles at FOH for myself and (my programming assistant) Steve Kellaway; and one console as a roamer for programming around the stadium to get better viewpoints. I have been using the Wholehog 3 console since its birth and I feel it's the best tool for the job. The ease at programming lots of media servers and being able to link to timecode was a joy. The show was run on LTC timecode, which came from the music. The whole system was rock solid."
HES distributor Leifull in China purchased and installed the HES equipment, and also created the media server room specifically for the Axons. HES sent four product specialists to help with set up, with Zach Peletz from Austin serving as product support on the scene from May until the closing ceremonies, to be televised Aug. 24 on NBC-TV. The closing ceremonies will use the same equipment but in a different design, described by Gardner as having a "bit more party feel".
Another Wholehog 3 worked in the TV broadcast booth in Beijing's International Broadcast Center. Broadcast lighting director John Pappas used the console to control a media server for Seven Network Australia's broadcasting.
