production news
Production News Headlines
23/05/2012
Victorian Opera Uses grandMA2 for Cinderella
27/04/2012
Paying Tribute to AR Rahman with Optocore
16/04/2012
The Phantom Appears in Jakarta
04/04/2012
Lighthouse Enjoys its Seventh Sevens
23/02/2012
grandMA2 joins Australia Day
22/02/2012
W-DMX at Natal Luz Gramado
22/02/2012
wysiwyg Tours with Roxette
16/02/2012
Digitalism Connects with iLive
New Malaysian Rental Network Agent D8 Transforms F1 Circuit into Rave with L-Acoustics
Malaysian rental company Digital Aid, more popularly known as D8, has become an L-Acoustics rental network agent, with the purchase of a Kudo WST line source system with SB28 subwoofers from local distributor, Sennheiser Electronic Asia.
D8’s system has already been used on several festivals and events including Future Music Festival Asia and Zouk@Sepang, both held at the Sepang International Circuit Formula One track outside Kuala Lumpur. These one-day events transform the Formula One track into an outdoor party for thousands of air-punching ravers, with emphasis on the best sound, lighting and production to showcase the live international and local dance acts.
24th May 2012
Victorian Opera Uses grandMA2 for Cinderella
Recently the Victorian Opera presented a new production of Cinderella, a traditional pantomime for the whole family. Based on the fable, Cinderella’s adventures were given a special treatment by Victorian Opera music director Richard Gill, who has written both the story and songs. This production saw pantomime return to the surrounds of Her Majesty’s Theatre, Melbourne. Cinderella featured a stellar line-up of artists from Victorian Opera and the world of music theatre.
Lighting designer for the production was Richard Vabre with Resolution X supplying the equipment. This production gave Victorian Opera’s head electrician and programmer Peter Darby an opportunity to specify a grandMA2 control package.
“The grandMA2 light is a fantastic console to program with”, exclaimed Peter. “We got some fantastic support from Show Technology. I love the grandMA2 light as it’s so flexible and so powerful. We had a primary grandMA2 light with another as a slave. That way I could program with the secondary grandMA2 light in the stalls with the primary console in place doing all the processing – the networking side of the grandMA2 consoles is one of its most brilliant features.”
Peter particularly likes the flexibility of the grandMA2 light, how you can configure it exactly how you like it. “The grandMA2 has a much more integrated and powerful effects engine behind it compared to the original grandMA console,” he said. “Another great feature is the built-in colour picker which I find the designers love. At one point we were running two grandMA2 light consoles, a laptop running grandMA2 onPC and another computer running the grandMA 3D visualizer. We built the whole show and plotted it with grandMA 3D at Res X’s warehouse as we knew we’d have a very limited bump in time.”
Show Technology Australia is MA Lighting’s exclusive distributor in Australia.
Photos: Jeff Busby.
23rd May 2012
Clay Paky Sharpys Deliver New Look to Bruce Springsteen
Clay Paky Sharpy fixtures, from Las Vegas-based Morpheus Lights, are giving Bruce Springsteen’s Wrecking Ball World Tour a look that The Boss’s previous concert performances have never had before.
The Wrecking Ball World Tour kicked off in the U.S. this spring in support of The Boss’s 17th studio album, "Wrecking Ball". Springsteen’s lighting designer Jeff Ravitz selected 16 Sharpy fixtures for his inventory after having seen them last fall.
"In putting Bruce’s tour together I thought the Sharpys would be an excellent replacement for the lights we were using inside the set platforms to push through," he explains. "I thought they’d be a nice change with a really defined and distinct look. The Sharpys also allowed us to use some great gobo patterns."
When Ravitz added Sharpys the idea came up of using hazers to paint the air and enhance the lights’ sharply-defined beams. Employing hazers – which are not all as singer-friendly as the MDG Atmospheres Ravitz chose - to help create interesting visual compositions was a first for a Springsteen tour. "Adding the haze really shows off the Sharpys," Ravitz reports.
He positioned the fixtures on stage shooting up through plexiglass windows that replace part of the deck and on two-side trusses shooting left and right on the custom-built Tate Towers stage. The Boss’s shows have typically been designed to be very horizontal to allow for maximum sightlines from every angle. But for Wrecking Ball Ravitz decided to add some Sharpys to a powerful vertical truss for a "very dynamic look".
He says: "We’re having a lot of fun with the Sharpys. Sometimes we use no colour, sometimes deep colour and sometimes ballyhoo. We feel we’ve found the right balance."
The Sharpys are proving to be rugged and reliable on the long tour schedule, Ravitz adds. "The crews tell me the Sharpys are pretty bulletproof and are working great every day."
Francesco Romagnoli, Clay Paky area manager for North and Latin America, adds: "We’re so pleased to see our Sharpys on this high profile and very popular tour. Mr. Ravitz is an excellent designer and it shows in the projects he works on. We’re glad to be able to help with our innovations."
18th May 2012
W-DMX on Laservision’s Wonder Full in Singapore
Wireless Solution Sweden AB Singapore distributor Laservision recently delivered the award-winning creation of ‘Wonder Full’ – the largest light and water spectacular in South East Asia. This breathtaking multimedia spectacular is currently on display at the doorstep of the Marina Bay Sands, Singapore.
Wonder Full is the story of Water and Light creating Life, told with cutting-edge water and light technology. This free 13-minute show is a water, land and sky based 360-degree experience unlike anything seen before. A three dimensional fantasy showcases the mediums of enormous water screens, vibrant multi-colour high powered lasers, searchlights, spot lights, fountains, surround sound, strobes, bubble factories, flame effects, LED lighting, high definition video projection and other special effects, spanning the 38 acre Marina Bay Sands site. The attraction is designed to act as a “beacon across the bay”, encouraging locals and visitors alike to visit the Marina Bay Sands Integrated Resort.
Las Vegas Sands Corp. enlisted internationally renowned Laservision to bring this vision to life. All mediums are controlled down to the millisecond by Laservision's Digital - Data Pump Series III via 20 media servers and over 50 kilometres of data cable & fibre optics. An elegant custom designed musical fountain spanning the waterfront event plaza with 18 individually controlled fountains reaching up to 20 metres in height, in conjunction with independent tilt mechanisms allows for a wide range of stunning liquid patterns. The fountains will be illuminated by submerged high-powered multi coloured custom LED technology. The water attractions also feature 3 enormous water screens creating majestic liquid walls spanning about 2000 square metres (1/2 an acre).
W-DMX was used for a majority of a total of half a million watts of light including 30 high powered multi-coloured moving searchlights located on the waterfront Event Plaza, Skypark and ArtScience museum oculus; one billion foot candles of light arising from the Oculus of the ArtScience Museum into the heavens; 15 high powered Stella ~ Ray and Light ~ Ray Laser Systems producing over 300,000 milliwatts of laser energy, capable of being seen for up to 55 kilometres outdoors; over 250,000 energy efficient intelligent LEDs; and 9 high powered High Definition Video Projectors enclosed within customised floating barges.
In addition to the innovative technologies employed, Laservision gave special attention to Green initiatives including the use of W-DMX, which reduces the carbon footprint by eliminating the need for excess cable.
“A Green show design was a priority for Marina Bay Sands, therefore Laservision incorporated a range of environmentally smart technologies,” said Paul McCloskey, CEO and founder of Laservision.
In addition to the use of W-DMX, Laservision incorporated extremely energy efficient lighting technologies into the design such as intelligent LEDs, Laservision’s water screen systems use a patented air-to-water mix ratio that aerates the surrounding body of water, and the restraint of use of excess pyrotechnics. As this attraction is located on Marina Bay, which is a drinking reservoir, the nightly spectacular is free of any falling debris from pyrotechnics that could comprise the quality of the water. On special occasions that call for extra celebration such and Chinese New Year and National Day, zero fallout pyrotechnic technologies will be used to minimise the environmental impact whilst still maintaining a premium effect.
The show was so highly acclaimed that Laservision was honoured for creating the ‘Best New Tourist Attraction’ in South East Asia during the Opening Ceremony for the 2012 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Tourism Forum in Manado Indonesia. Wonder Full was selected for its creativity in design, functionality, harmony with the environment and the overall quality experienced by audiences. This Award recognises Laservision’s continual contribution in delivering new and innovative solutions to the tourism industry stimulating economic development within the region. The attraction has quickly become the Number One Night Time Attraction in Singapore.
In accepting the award, Laservision’s Shannon Brooks (director of projects and marketing) stated: “Laservision has a long and enviable track record of producing number one night time Tourist Attractions around the globe. The recognition by ASEANTA of this success brings credibility to companies like Laservision who are at the forefront of the Entertainment, Attractions and Tourism Industry.”
Niclas Arvidsson, CEO of Wireless Solution remarked: “Laservision has been a great partner to Wireless Solution for so many of the biggest shows in their region. Wonder Full is one of the most spectacular shows to date and Laservision is well-deserving in their award.”
With offices in Singapore, Hong Kong and Sydney, Laservision are currently engaged on projects in Australia, Hong Kong, India, Saudi Arabia, Macau, The United Kingdom, Singapore and Russia. Laservision looks forward to expanding its scope of multimedia attractions throughout 2012 whilst continuing to entertain millions of spectators around the world every night with their unique technologies and Innovation.
11th May 2012
Mackie's DL1608 in the Field with Dierks Bentley and Brad
When Mackie launched the DL1608 Digital Live Mixer with iPad Control at NAMM earlier this year it turned more than a few heads in the industry. This full featured, 16-channel mixer introduced an entirely new take on live sound with its ground-breaking new paradigm – complete iPad control. As Mackie gears up for the launch of the DL1608’s Master Fader control app in June and the arrival of the DL1608 in stores worldwide later this summer, they’re field testing the app by putting it in the hands of front of house engineers in a wide range of real world scenarios.
Most recently, the DL1608 got some face-time with FOH engineers for Dierks Bentley and Brad (Stone Gossard, Shawn Smith, Regan Hagar, Jeremy Toback). Both engineers used the DL1608 for the first time on April 21, 2012 at Seattle independent music store, Easy Street Records. The live show was part of national Record Store Day, an annual celebration where 700 independently owned record stores collaborate with musicians to celebrate the art of music. Easy Street Records features a small venue with a maximum capacity of 750 people that commonly hosts afternoon shows with touring artists scheduled for headlining shows at larger Seattle venues later that evening. With an extremely tight front of house space, the venue demands a compact mixer solution that can guarantee premium sound and give the engineer massive control.
Both FOH engineers, Pugs (Dierks Bentley) and Barrett Jones (Brad), had time for only a quick tutorial before their 30-minute sound checks. Normally a FOH engineer wouldn’t touch a digital mixer they’ve never used just minutes before a show (especially since this performance would be streaming live on Sirius Satellite Radio), but in this case both engineers found the user interface intuitive and comprehensive, with all the functionality they expect in a digital mixer. "Although I had never used this mixer before, it was straight forward, easy to use, and well laid out," said Barrett Jones.
Besides having an intuitive interface that was easy to navigate with little instruction, another huge benefit of the DL1608 is the ability to control the mixer from anywhere in the venue. "It was great to be able to tweak the monitors from each monitor position on stage with the iPad controller... the ability to mix the show while walking around the floor was really nice," said Jones.
During the 10-hour day, which featured performances by four bands in total, the DL1608 performed without a hitch and Mackie received tremendous hands-on insight from the engineers. These real world field tests are an essential part of Mackie’s product design process. Stress testing the hardware in a variety of conditions ensures the DL1608 hardware will work reliably for customers. In addition, real world feedback on the Master Fader control application will shape future updates as it continually evolves through simple app store updates, adding value to the DL1608.
The Master Fader app will be available free in the iOS-App Store in June 2012. Mackie will also soon premiere a DL1608 video podcast series offering tons of great information about the DL1608, including all the basics, advanced how-to’s, and tips and tricks. Later episodes will specifically respond to questions that customers pose to Mackie’s Facebook and Twitter accounts. The DL1608 video podcast series will start in May 2012 in iTunes. The DL1608 will begin shipping in Summer 2012.
In picture: FOH engineer Barrett Jones.
4th May 2012
DPA Mics provide versatility for Penang World Music Festival
Malaysian DPA dealer AV United has supplied a number of mics to two companies staging the Penang World Music Festival 2012, Kinakoworx Productions and Echo Sound.
The annual event, hosted by the Penang State Tourism Development and Culture Office, was held at Penang’s Botanic Gardens. It featured 18 bands from as far away as Colombia and Mongolia as well as from neighbouring Indonesia, South Korea and the Philippines.
The DPAs – 10 DPA d:vote 4099D clip mics for drums and two 4099V clip mics for violins – were specified by the festival’s technical director Niall Macaulay for their ability to be deployed across a variety of musical instruments thanks to their mounting accessories for piano, guitar and bass, as well as drum and violin.
"This was my second time working with DPA 4099s," says the festival’s monitor engineer, Desmond Lee. "I did a jazz festival last November using a 4099 on grand piano, played by Cuban pianist, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, and was stunned by the sound quality it produced. It sounded natural, with great gain before feedback, which is a big advantage for me on monitors. It can also handle high SPLs very well. The best thing is the microphone can produce natural low ends but without creating problems such as distortion. The flexible adapters and accessories are a great add-on too.
"The sound quality of the DPA 4099 is just hard to beat, while its small size gives it a low profile and easy deployment, especially on violins."
Among the bands and instruments to be miked with the DPA 4099s during the festival were Malaysia’s Aseana Percussion Unit (Chinese fiddle and alto sax), Belgium’s Griff Trio (bagpipes), Africa’s Guinee Percussion (djembes and traditional African kora), Maite Hontele from Holland and Columbia (trumpet), Vietnam’s Phong Nguyen Ensemble (traditional bamboo instrument) and Grace Nono and Bob Aves Group from the Philippines (bamboo percussion).
In picture: DPA d:vote 4099s in use with Guinee Percussion, Penang World Music Festival.
3rd May 2012
Paying Tribute to AR Rahman with Optocore
Any concert dedicated to multi-instrumentalist and record producer AR Rahman — described as the world's most prominent and prolific film composer — requires a sound quality nearing perfection.
Meeting this audio challenge at the recent Classic Incantations concerts presented by the German Film Orchestra Babelsberg across five Indian cities was SOUND.COM.
This was the first ever tribute to an Indian composer from the western world, and working with Core Networks and Rapport Global, SOUND.COM was extremely proud to be associated with this distinctive production.
The Orchestra, conducted by Matt Dunkley, performed original scores and film music written by the Indian maestro accompanied by the choir and soloists from his own KM Music Conservatory in Chennai.
Once again the sound crew relied on their Optocore network to transmit pristine signals. SOUND.COM’s Sunil Karanjikar and Joel Dcruz toured the country with FOH mixing engineer Holger Schwark (on a DiGiCo SD10), playing back to back shows, while SOUND.COM’s MD, Warren Dsouza acted as stand-in systems engineer for the Delhi and Kolkata leg of the tour.
The Optocore solution was used where the Input sources from the stage exceeded the 48 Mic pre amps available as standard on a Digi Rack. The additional 14 channels were picked up by an Optocore X6R-FX 16MI and transported to the SD10, interfaced coaxially to Optocore by means of a DD4MR-FX.
The DD4MR-FX and a DD2FR-FX also simplified a relatively tough job of multi-tracking each concert on two computers (one used as backup), confirmed SOUND.COM head of engineering, Sunil Karanjikar. Both computers used RME MADIface interface units to the multi-track and all inputs on the SD10 were MADI mirrored on the Optocore DD4MR-FX and DD2FR-FX to implement this solution. “This facility allowed us to multi-track a full 56ch system using just one fibre and one coax pair each for the two redundant systems,” stated Sunil.
The Bangalore show, where production fielded four main hangs of JBL VerTec, 36 delay clusters of paired VRX932LA boxes and a final row of SRX712M boxes, proved particularly challenging. “This was something of an audio milestone in India — and the fact that it was successfully executed was down to the Optocore node racks and Harman HiQnet System Architect, which managed the Crown I-Tech HD12000 power amplifiers,” said Warren Dsouza.
In Bangalore, the Optocore DD4MR-FX also collected outputs from the SD10 to be routed to four SOUND.COM OptoRacks, with each OptoRack consisting of a DD32R-FX and a X6R-FX 16MI. AES outs from the DD32R-FX fed the Crown ITech HD amplifiers, which were driving the PA and delay clusters, while the LAN and SANE ports were used to transport Ethernet data from the master computer to the Crown ITech HD racks, allowing for full system control (including delay and EQ) for each cluster. Optical isolation allowed SOUND.COM the freedom to use multiple power sources in the venue, keeping cable runs to a minimum.
Warren D’Souza stated that the tour had been executed to the highest level, while Sunil Karanjikar concluded, "The Symphony tour was personally very gratifying as we exploited technology to its maximum potential. This was especially true of the Optocore fibre optics, CAT5, AES and analogue, which handled all the audio transport, and the combination of optical and electrical MADI for the multitrack recording and replay. This was all due to the solid platforms Optocore and RME provided us with.”
Added Holger Schwark, “I think we had five very good shows, all totally different in circumstances, and I am extremely grateful for all the support we received, especially from SOUND.COM’s audio crew.”
27th April 2012
Florence and the Machine evocatively lit by Chris Bushell using Series 3000 Luminaires from Philips Vari-Lite
LD for Florence and the Machine, Chris Bushell, is using VL3500 Wash and VL3000 Spot luminaires from Philips Vari-Lite to deliver his evocative and atmospheric lighting design for the band's sold-out world tour. Playing venues such as Alexandra Palace, MEN Arena, plus a raft of vast spaces in Europe and the USA, Bushell’s lighting skillfully pulls the audience focus to the centre of the stage without losing the essential theatricality of the early Florence shows.
Lighting is ethereal with Bushell using it more as a statement than for big effects. He explains: "The overall theme is based around 1920s Baroque fashion and architecture. While a great deal of thought and planning went into the set, I also wanted the presence of the lighting to complement and exploit the space around the set piece. The VL3000 Spots were perfect for this. With their wide angles and long throw I was able to use them as top and back/side light. The VL3500 Wash fixtures fanned out from the centre mimicking the set and creating an almost physical beam presence in the air."
Indeed beams of lights hit the stage from a plethora of angles and heights to create an impressively architectural look. Working with the set, and arts and crafts style projections, lighting is angular and sculptural. Bushell uses a rich palette of colour; deep hues of orange, yellow, red and blue wash over the stage while Florence’s famously gothic alabaster white skin still shimmers seductively under clean sharp top and side light. "Another part of the original brief was "to employ an esoteric colour palette," continues Bushell. "In particular we use a certain teal green, which is used on the set along with particular golds and ambers. The Series 3000 luminaires were great for complementing and cutting through these colours, which I didn't necessarily want to appear on Florence's skin tone or costume. I find that getting the more fiddly colours right is much easier and consistent from a Philips Vari-Lite fixture. Things like the CTO's, Straws and Ambers along with subtle pinks and steels. This time round I played with them a lot more."
The show is all about Florence and at no point does Bushell upstage or lose her on what can often seem like a vast playing area for one singer. The lighting is clean, defined and focused. Bushell says he chose to use the Series 3000 luminaires because: "They still pack enough punch at long distances for great airborne effects, yet are also great for sympathetically lighting the subject. Overall this allowed me, along with considered use of DMX controlled followspots, to isolate and control Flo's environment, blending her in or separating her from the stage. Either way I had the control I wanted. So I was able to keep the intimate theatrical feel that Florence loves but in a large arena environment."
David March, director, European Sales for Philips Vari-Lite comments: "The VL3000 Spot and VL3500 Wash fixtures have had an undeniable impact on the concert lighting industry. Their colour and optical systems provide lighting designers with the exact tools needed to capture the essence of their lighting designs, and to have them showcased on a tour such as this is indeed a testament to their worth."
In picture: Florence and the Machine at Alexandra Palace photo: Sarah Rushton-Read
23rd April 2012
GLP Spot One Enjoys Perfect Hong Kong Début with Cantopop Stars
Hong Kong-based actor and Cantopop singer Leon Lai, recently enjoyed a week of sell-out performances at the 12,000 seat Hong Kong Coliseum. Production support for the artist’s Leon X U show, local rental staging company, AHM Engineering Co. Ltd, provided 28 of their newly-acquired GLP impression Spot One LED fixtures, to enhance the stage dynamics and give the ground-breaking fixture a spectacular Hong Kong début.
AHM already owned 32 of the German company’s impression 120RZ, reporting nothing but good experiences within the first year, with zero failures. The fixtures have not only enjoyed a heavy duty cycle within Hong Kong but also several events at the Venetian in Macau — urging AHM to consider further increasing their stock of impression 120RZs.
Introduced to the Spot One late last year by GLP Asia general manager, Michael Münz, AHM were so impressed that they immediately placed an order for 62 of the new fixtures.
The first 28 pieces were delivered in less than two weeks from order to meet the Leon Lai show deadline. Michael Münz remembers: “They literally came out of the airplane and went directly to the venue where they were installed out of the box and onto the rig.”
Having only seen the Spot One in their warehouse previously all production crew involved were stunned with the brightness and power of the beam — even in such a large venue as the Hong Kong Coliseum where the fixtures were used all around a central stage, both as floor FX and on the outer edges of the trussing.
The reaction was scarcely surprising since Spot One is the first fixture of its kind to be released to the global market. Harnessing the output of enough LED sources and being able to run it through the optical system of a spot fixture to create an even beam for RGB colour mixing (and focusable area for gobo projections) has provided LDs with a new dimension to their creative palette.
Fired by their initial success, AHM Engineering then provided a further 38 Spot Ones for another Cantopop exponent, Aaron Kwok, when his De Showy Masquerade World Tour Live Concert arrived at the same venue.
Kwok is famous for his dancing performance and extravagant stage design and AHM were happy to increase the presence of the Spot Ones to provide extra drama (in fact the artist holds a Guinness Book Of World Records entry for the largest revolving stage, measuring 10m x 9.44m).
The crisp colours of the Spot One, coupled with the fast movement, provided the perfect match for this action packed performance.
The Spots performed at a total of 21 shows in their first month of delivery, with no lamp adjustment necessary prior to their first use on stage.
Mazon Chan, owner and founder of AHM, who had wanted to move his company further towards greener and more cost-efficient products, is more than happy with their latest investment since it will enable them to reduce running costs. And Paul Leung, sales director of AHM, adds that the five-year light engine warranty eases the burden on their budget since they no longer need to calculate bulb replacement costs.
In picture: Leon Lai stage shots, showing the new Spot One in action.
20th April 2012
The Phantom Appears in Jakarta
The Phantom of the Opera made its grand performance in Indonesia in February and March after touring the world for the last ten years and setting the world's weekly box office record.
The Phantom of the Opera is the first international musical production Jakarta has seen in a long time. Produced by the Joyce Agency Of New York City and promoted by Big Daddy Entertainment, the show was staged at the intimate Nusa Indah Theatre Hall and was reinforced by a Turbosound Flex Array sound system supplied by Indonesia's biggest audio rental company, Sumber Ria.
Turbosound's Flex Array met all of the production needs, including sound quality, efficiency and multiple configuration capability, necessary to qualify for the project. The TFA-600H three-way mid-high provides high SPL with moderate amplification, and has a small visual footprint which worked well for this event.
According to Paul Schmidt of Entertainment Engineering, the design engineer and production FOH engineer, the show presented several production challenges which Sumber Ria made an exceptional job of overcoming. "As Indonesia had never had a show of this type before it was a big learning curve for all involved," admits Schmidt as he explains the intricately detailed audio configuration.
"The system was designed in a 7.1 configuration, and comprised of 112 inputs on stage, orchestra and house microphones, as well as all the miscellaneous inputs. In total there were 22 head-worn E6 mics with 24 channels of wireless beltpacks worn by the performers, and for the orchestra and miscellaneous needs, about 15 SM57s, 30 AKG D40s, 2 SM81s and a few others here and there."
The main FOH left-centre-right speaker system was all Turbosound: eight TFA-600H Flex Array mid/highs and four TFA-600L Flex Array subs for left main PA, the same configuration for right main PA, and six TFA-600H Flex Array mid/highs in the centre. Four TSW-218 double 18" subwoofers provided the low frequencies.
When it came to rigging the PA it turned out that the roof couldn't support more than 500kg per point, which ruled out suspending from it, and so a ground support system was devised. "The entire grid system over the stage was an amazing feat to say the least," says Schmidt. "I really don't think I can truly reflect in words the amount of work the locals did to make this happen - they were without a doubt some of the hardest working people I have ever had the pleasure of working with!"
"Turbosound was perfect for this application and room size," he confirms. "I never had a single complaint, and only got the thumbs up every night. I enjoyed mixing on the Turbosound rig and would do it again any time. I'm a long time Turbosound user, so I know what it has always done in the past and you guys continue to amaze me with new products. When the Turbosound gear showed up on the dock and the audio contractor asked me if it would do... all I could do was smile and motion them in to the lift!"
16th April 2012
MIDAS PRO2C Packs a Big Punch for Jessie J’s Asian and Australian shows
Monitor engineer Jimmy Nicholson has been using the MIDAS PRO2C live audio system for Jessie J dates in Australia and Asia. This included an early afternoon slot at the Future Music Festival in Brisbane and a headline tour of small arenas in tandem with a MIDAS PRO6 at FOH.
Nicholson’s setup for these shows started life on a MIDAS XL8 during a promo gig before being loaded into a PRO6 for a UK tour last autumn. Importing the show file into the PRO2C meant than Nicholson, a long term fan of Midas Digital, could replicate the show across the globe in a small, easily transportable package.
"Convincing our production team to ship a PRO2C to the other side of the world was easy - and now they've seen it in action, they want to take it everywhere with us!" he says.
"The PRO2C met all my requirements; in fact I found the layout a little easier to use than the PRO6, and some of the new shortcut buttons make things even easier than they already were. It's still amazing to think that almost all the processing power of a PRO6 can be squeezed into such a small console. The sound quality goes without saying - the fact you can now get the sound quality of an XL8 in such a compact package will, I think, be a game changer in the industry."
Nicholson had around 38 inputs from the stage, plus 'shout' microphones for every band member to communicate with Nicholson and their techs during the show.
"I ended up running 12 IEM mixes, one for every band member, plus backline crew and Jessie’s security," he explains. "In addition I was running an entire shout system from the PRO2C, which when coupled with the PRO6 at FOH for our headline shows allowed both engineers and backline crew to don IEMs and headphones and carry out a line-check with full back and forth communication on the headsets only. We cleared the stage of wedges and I was running subs for the drummer, keyboard player and a couple of subs per side for side fills."
Nicholson appreciated the ability to deploy his favourite MIDAS digital features on the PRO2C. "From day one with MIDAS Digital, the VCA and POPulation group system has been the key winner for me," he says. "I was more than happy to use a control surface with only eight input faders, as I know from previous experience that once you start using the POP and VCA groups, you only need a few faders to the left of the master section.
"The ability to patch internal busses to the 'external in' and PFL and AFL bus direct inputs of the monitor section meant I could run the shout system from the console, instead of requiring an external solution. The fact that the band could communicate with myself and their techs if they need to meant I could concentrate solely on Jessie for the show, and if they needed me I'd hear them 'shouting' in my IEMs."
This being one of the first outings for the PRO2C in the region, curiosity ran high as people spotted the tiny work surface on stage.
"I had a number of people, audio engineers included, come over and ask me if it was the lighting desk," says Nicholson. "I know it's a cliché, but it's so small you can forgive them. The look of puzzlement changes to disbelief when I explain it's actually a 64 input, 27 bus audio console that sounds like an XL8."
In picture: monitor engineer Jimmy Nicholson with the MIDAS PRO2C.
www.midasconsoles.com
11th April 2012
Clay Paky Sharpys are the Darlings of the Australia Day Harbour Celebrations
The 2012 Australia Day celebrations saw production and lighting designer Paul Collison create a glittering cityscape in the centre of Sydney’s Darling Harbour, using a battery of Clay Paky Sharpys.
On 26th January thousands of spectators flocked to the Darling Harbour precinct to celebrate the founding of the Port Jackson settlement in 1788. The merriment culminated in a multifaceted choreography of lighting, lasers, fire and water, which climaxed in a magnificent fireworks display.
"The Sharpys are awesome," comments Collison. "They’re small and extraordinarily bright, which made them absolutely ideal for this project for a number of reasons."
Collison’s brief - to build a small cityscape on a barge in the centre of Darling harbour. "We designed a cylindrical video screen surrounded by a number of towers," he explains. "This gave the illusion of a cityscape, particularly when it was dark. We staggered the hanging height of the Sharpys from the lowest point on the barge floor to the highest point on the central tower, a cool 23 metres high, which looked spectacular. This gave us a great expanse of height to play with. The design became less about delivering a searchlight effect and more about playing with the vertical plane."
Collison certainly couldn’t have realised the show with such dramatic effect were it not for the compact footprint and lightweight nature of the Sharpy. "Large scale searchlights could not have been rigged on top of a 23 meter high tower, especially one rigged to a barge in the middle of a harbour," explains Collison. "Its one thing to have the creative vision but it’s another to actually implement it safely. The size and weight of the Sharpys meant that the crew could actually rig it without risking life and limb! Not only that the Sharpys performed flawlessly. Where conventional searchlights might sometimes generate too much heat and fail the Clay Paky Sharpy is reliable every time."
Collison also noted that the Sharpys give a fantastic beam effect comparable to a searchlight, but the fact that he could also add texture to the beam and use them like a profile only amplified their appeal.
It’s great to see the Sharpy being used in such a creative way and as part of such an uplifting and celebratory project," says Pio Nahum, chief commercial officer for Clay Paky. "Running at 189W and weighing in at just 16 kg there’s always room for a Sharpy in any lighting rig. The fixtures produce a sharply defined beam, free of any edge halo or discoloration. They also offer an interchangeable colour wheel, with fourteen fixed colours, and an interchangeable gobo wheel, with seventeen fixed gobos. This gives designers and end users, working on all kinds of projects, the creative flexibility they require in any situation."
photo: markbedson.com
10th April 2012
Lighthouse Enjoys its Seventh Sevens
2012 marked the seventh year that Lighthouse was chosen as the official LED screen supplier for the annual Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens, which sees 24 rugby teams from across the world compete for four prestigious trophies. This year saw the company really at the cutting edge, as its new VideoBlades panels wowed rugby fans in two key locations.
The climax to the event saw Fiji beat New Zealand 35-28 in the final for the HK Sevens Cup, while Samoa, Kenya and Canada won the Plate, Bowl and Shield respectively.
As in previous years, Lighthouse supplied screens for the North Stand of the HK stadium and in the Sevens Village at the Indian Recreation Club, this time providing one of the company’s brand new VideoBlades SkyRolls at each location. Measuring 6 by 3.375 metres, the screens relayed real-time footage, action replays, match facts and sponsorship information in unsurpassed quality. Whether fans were in the stadium or watching at the Sevens Village, they didn’t miss a second of the action.
VideoBlades is a 12.5mm pixel pitch, modular LED video screen which delivers superb image quality both indoors and outdoors. Uniquely it is deployed from a patented rotating structure, making it function like a window shade, which can be raised and lowered as desired.
“We were honoured to be asked to be the official LED screen supplier to the Hong Kong Sevens for another year, thanks to the high quality and reliability of our LED panels,” says Lighthouse managing director Peter Chan.
“It was the ideal platform to show off the capabilities of VideoBlades to a large audience, which combines the well-known quality and robustness of our panels with previously-unattainable flexibility. The Hong Kong Sevens is an event that we always look forward to and hope to be a part of for many years to come.”
4th April 2012
Radiohead Returns to the Road with L-Acoustics
Radiohead recently embarked on its first North American tour in four years and is firing on all cylinders with a full L-Acoustics K1/KARA/KUDO system supplied by Firehouse Productions of Red Hook, NY.
The North American portion of the tour, which kicked off at Miami's American Airlines Arena on February 27th, is divided into three legs, the last of which will wrap up at Toronto's Downsview Park on June 16th before heading overseas to Europe, Southeast Asia, Japan, New Zealand and Australia.
For most of the arena stops on the domestic tour, Firehouse is deploying left and right arrays comprised of 14 K1 line source elements with four KARA hung below for downfill. Coverage for the far left and right audience areas is addressed by outfill arrays featuring 10 K1 with six KARA flown beneath.
Sub arrays of eight K1-SB are flown adjacent to both of the primary K1 hangs, while 24 SB28 groundstacked in cardioid mode bolster the low-end reinforcement. Horizontal arrays of four ARCS on each side of the stage provide nearfill, as do six dV-DOSC spread out across the stage lip.
For larger venues, Firehouse deploys a delay system exclusively comprised of KUDO featuring left, center and right arrays of nine enclosures each flown in back of the FOH mix position. Amplification and processing for all loudspeakers is provided by LA8 amplified controllers housed in LA-RAK touring racks.
At the helm of the system each night is Radiohead's longtime FOH mix engineer Jim Warren, supported by system designer/engineer Sherif El Barbari and Firehouse system tech Jamie Pollock.
Said Warren: "I have yet to find another system which combines the even coverage and the dynamic sensitivity of the L-Acoustics K1/KARA system. With the use of KUDO delays in the larger arenas on this run, we have been able to further improve on the coverage, especially into the rear corners of the room, and have been able to minimize the amount of energy directed at areas where it was not required with very pleasing results."
At Warren's request, the tour's mix position is also equipped with a pair of self-powered L-Acoustics 108P and single 115P low-frequency extension cabinet. This small system acts as a reference when working on the mix from ProTools during the day as well as serves as a monitor during the show. A third 108P at FOH acts as a shout system for communication with the monitor mix area.
According to Rolling Stone magazine's website, Radiohead front man Thom Yorke revealed that the band has worked up more than 75 songs for this tour, including additional new songs and deep-track B-sides.
"Radiohead's list of songs to choose from each night is very diverse," notes El Barbari, who designed the system. "When it comes to styles and facets, their music is extremely dynamic and ranges from very quiet to physically capturing, which requires a PA system that performs evenly throughout various SPL levels. K1 and the rest of the L-Acoustics range of cabinets are well known for performing neutrally at all levels without changing tonality or coloring the sound, which makes this system the perfect match for a band like Radiohead."
On the band's previous North American trek in 2008, Firehouse officially put K1 through the world's first high-profile tour run. According to El Barbari, who was extremely pleased with the results then, this year's outing is even better thanks to the addition of KARA, digital AES cards for the LA8s, and the use of the new LA Network Manager 2.0 software.
Following the North American leg, the tour turns to Liverpool-based Adlib Audio to provide a similar PA for the European and UK portion. Firehouse, however, will continue to supply the control for the full duration of the international tour.
In picture: Radiohead's full touring system, including KUDO delays, at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis.
21st March 2012
Clay Paky Sharpys Go Worldwide with Evanescence Tour
Clay Paky Sharpy fixtures are making their mark on the Evanescence Tour, the world tour by American rock band Evanescence in support of their eponymous third album. After a successful start to the tour in the US last year, the band, with frontwoman Amy Lee, is currently playing to packed houses in Japan, Hong Kong, Indonesia and Australia.
Lighting designer Dan Hardiman of UK-based THC Design is using more than a dozen Sharpys as part of the upstage floor lights. He positions them in pairs on draped cases and utilises them for aerial lighting effects and to back light the band.
“Amy Lee is very creative; it’s great to work with an artist who wants to be involved in all the creative aspects of a live show,” says Hardiman. “The music has strong contrasting elements: Amy’s soaring angelic vocals, the crunchy guitars, the haunting piano sections, the ethereal orchestral accents. So it’s important that the light show reflect the juxtaposition between them.”
He reports that: “All elements of the lighting design have been chosen for their impact and compact stage footprint. Downstage on the floor are several vertical auto-truss towers full of wash lights for my side wash. Upstage are several five-foot towers with wash lights to back light the band. Between these are pairs of Sharpies for aerial effects and low beams. The roof is a standard rock & roll layered truss rig with PARs, ACLs, moving lights, blinders and strobes.”
Hardiman notes that the rig has had several incarnations, depending on the type of venue from stadiums and arenas to more intimate theatres and clubs. He boosts the number of Sharpy floor lights if the stage is bigger than 50 feet wide.
The core element of the show, he says, is the back lit backdrop, which was adapted from Amy Lee’s idea of recreating the album artwork: the band’s name with lights coming from behind it. Hardiman figured out how to achieve this with soft goods and a huge gobo of the band’s logo. The band does not like strong key light and is kept fairly moody, a look that Hardiman balances with intensive moving light effects.
Hardiman was introduced to Clay Paky Sharpys last summer on the Goo Goo Dolls USA shed tour when he chose them as a lightweight fixture whose beam he could see in daylight. “I had 17 of them around a motion-controlled horseshoe truss,” he recalls. “I fell in love with them, as did everyone who saw them. We did a few indoor shows, and their brightness, movement, speed and colour temperature made them stand out from the rest of the rig. They held their own happily against 1200W fixtures and greater. There’s no other fixture that offers a similar impact with such a compact size and weight and low power.”
Having had a positive experience with them on the Goo Goo Dolls tour, Hardiman says: “The Sharpys were the obvious choice for me to use on Evanescence as the floor-beam fixture.”
During last summer’s Goo Goo Dolls tour only one Sharpy required servicing in six weeks, he notes. “They are performing great on Evanescence. We have a 100 percent success rate currently.”
On the US legs of the Evanescence Tour the Clay Paky Sharpys were provided by Epic and LMG Touring. A.C.T Lighting is the North American distributor for Clay Paky.
Francesco Romagnoli, Clay Paky area manager for North and Latin America, adds: “We’re pleased to see the Sharpy on so many Rock and Roll tours internationally and we’re glad that Mr. Hardimann is having so much success with the fixtures.”
15th March 2012
Clay Paky Alpha Moving Heads Add Colour and Punch to Turkmenistan’s 20th Anniversary Independence Gala
Central Asia’s oil-rich Turkmenistan celebrated the 20th anniversary of its independence from the Soviet Union with a multimedia extravaganza lit by Luc Lafortune, one of the creators of Cirque du Soleil, with an extensive package of Clay Paky Alpha moving heads.
The size and sweep of an Olympics opening ceremony, the event highlighted the tremendous economic growth of Turkmenistan in the last two decades and linked its history and cultural heroes with its future prospects. It was staged by Filmmaster Events, Milan, on October 28 in the capital’s Ashgabat Stadium, which was recently enlarged and refurbished.
Lafortune, a lighting designer with nine shows currently running, including all of the top Las Vegas productions, was brought on board in July. “It was a very short turnaround for a show of this magnitude,” he notes. “Designing lighting for a theatre in Vegas is very different from designing lighting for a stadium. Everything is so much bigger – you need a lot of very powerful fixtures, but we were limited to 575 fixtures due to power issues. It was very challenging to keep things dynamic.”
Rome-based Agora supplied Lafortune with a large complement of Clay Paky moving heads, including 80 Alpha Beam 1500s, 50 Alpha Profile 1500s, 100 Alpha Spot HPE 700s and 90 Alpha Beam 700s.
Lafortune designed the lighting keeping the Turkmen aesthetic in mind. “They were very proud and eager to show the world that they have come of age and that their destiny is a bright one,” he explains. “It was all about brightness and colours. We had to put aside everything we know from working in the west and start with a blank page.”
While opting for a bright and colourful palette, Lafortune also had to maintain “a certain degree of elegance” for the gala ceremony. “It would have been easy to go down the path of something that might look tacky,” he says. “The celebration had to come across as something very precious – like giving a nice gift.”
Lafortune spent a good deal of time in the capital of Ashgabat observing how the Turkmen light their monuments. “They use very bold colours. If you find the right colours you can have two colours unexpectedly work well together. I wanted the Turkmen to recognise themselves when they watched the show.”
He deployed 100 Alpha Spot HPE 700s around the periphery of the field to punctuate the stage area where an elderly storyteller related the country’s history to a group of children and acted as the show’s narrative element. “They were a means of illuminating the actors without touching the ground because there was projection as well, and we didn’t want to interfere with that,” Lafortune explains. “The challenge was being able to light the actors without distorting the projections. Putting the Alpha Spot HPE 700s on the perimeter of the field allowed me to do that. They have an amazing amount of output – the beam is so tight, they really kick. I was surprised!”
Lafortune positioned 90 Alpha Beam 700s primarily around scenic devices, including the LED screen, where they enhanced the shape of the screen and provided lighting effects. He used Alpha Beam 1500s on front of house trusses and some Alpha Profile 1500s with gobos. “At certain moments there were no projections and I didn’t want to have to use white light, so I still needed a lot of power to get the output,” he says. “The 1500s were great at that. I could get colour and output at huge distances with flat angles.”
The lighting designer was pleased with the speed of the fixtures’ movement, “particularly on some of the larger lights – it was really quite surprising,” he reports. In addition, “the colour mixing has really come a long way. People sometimes pack so much stuff in fixtures that you can’t get good colour. Somehow, Clay Paky has managed to pack a lot in the 1500s, yet we could still mix the colour we wanted and they weren’t unmanageably big.”
The robust lights also held up under a gruelling schedule in a largely desert climate. “We worked them really hard – they were on for very long periods of time,” says Lafortune. “Turkmenistan is mostly desert, with lots of dust. We had no problems – they lights were great and performed magnificently.”
Pio Nahum, Clay Paky sales and marketing director, adds: “We’re proud to supply the lights for such a high profile and important event. I’m glad that the Clay Paky line of fixtures was able to meet all the needs of Mr. Lafortune, a very important designer in our industry.”
12th March 2012
Television Set for Million’s Poet 5 Highlights Advancements in Stage Fabrics
Innovation in stage fabrics, laser cut finishing, and High Output LEDS for cyclorama diffused lighting effects along with the technique of custom bending steel framing for set decoration is offering major improvements for the industry in build-up time, weight of set pieces, safety, and special effects. Substituting traditional installations with lightweight fabrics and energy efficient LED lighting that only requires a small distance between the light source and diffusion cloth for cyclorama lighting effects on stage opens up a new world of possibilities for event and stage design.
ShowTex Middle East's new 3D compound curve bending machine shaped the steel framing for the 36 metre long "wings" covered in seamless StretchTulle for the set design of Million's Poet 5, the fifth edition of the televised competition for the most talented poet in Arabic poetry.
A high precision custom designed fabric layout and ShowLED laser cut patterns resulted in complete fabric and lighting integration. The ShowLED High Output Animation System combined with Frost diffuser foil F-welded with invisible joints created cyclorama light effects.
Onstage, the wings and walls were made out of a steel frame with 3D compound curves. Lighting for Million’s Poet 5 was provided by a video controlled ShowLED high output system driven by a grandMA media server. The ShowLED V-Box creates an interface for any media server. ShowTex’s Frost foil with invisible HF-welded joints served as a flexible diffuser cloth. The top wing was covered with Stretch Tulle, an elastic stage gauze, constructed by sewing specialists to produce no visible seams in the fabric, so any light and projection effects are pure and uninterrupted visually. Width of the wings was approximately 5 metres with a total length of 36 metres. Walls of the set started at a height of 3.5 metres running down to 60 cm. in compound curves. The ShowLED High Output LED patterns were laser cut with high precision and custom designed layout. The fabric panels themselves were laser cut to ensure the smooth flow of the fabrics.
23rd February 2012
grandMA2 joins Australia Day
Celebrated annually on 26th January Australia Day (previously known as Anniversary Day, Foundation Day, and ANA Day) is the official national day of Australia. The date commemorates the arrival of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove in 1788 and the proclamation at that time of British sovereignty over the eastern seaboard of New Holland. Community festivals, concerts and citizenship ceremonies accompany the day in large and small communities and cities around the nation. A special event is always the celebrations in Sydney – like this year in the town’s Darling Harbour.
For the show taking place there lighting designer and video content producer Paul Collison again relied on MA Lighting products. In detail he used TWO grandMA2 light and an MA NPU (Network Processing Unit) as well as the grandMA2 3D software for previsualisation.
Said Collison: “We had to build an iconic display in the middle of the Darling Harbour bay and needed a concept that could entertain an audience with a specatular show to end the day. Our control room was some 250m away from the barge on which the display was built. We ran fibre for all services through the air to the edge of the bay, from there, the fibre dropped to the bottom of the bay and ran out to the barge. Needing a fully redundant system, we had the means to run the show from the main control room, or from the barge itself.”
“grandMA2 was the appropriate control system to use on this project”, commented Collison. “I could program in 3D using grandMA3D and had the rock solid network of grandMA2 for the show. Furthermore I had my main and back-up consoles in the control room and additionally an MA NPU and a grandMA2 onPC system on the barge in the middle of the bay. If there would have been a problem with the fibre, we could still have run the show locally from the barge. All in all, it was a lighting, video, fireworks and laser spectacular. A 26 minute sound track all linked together via SMPTE Timecode to culminate in the day’s festivities.”
Andrew Walsh worked as producer, Nick Eltis as technical director and Ian Baldwin as well as Ian Anderson as production manager. Chameleon Touring Systems delivered the lighting equipment. Show Technology is MA Lighting’s distributor in Australia.
photo: markbedson.com
23rd February 2012
VWV Invests in Robe MMXs - and Helps Save the Rhinos
Johannesburg-based VWV, One of South Africa’s leading production companies - responsible for the spectacular closing ceremony of the 2010 Soccer World Cup amongst many other events - has invested in Robe’s new ROBIN MMX Spot moving light fixtures.
"They are currently building up a carefully selected stock of their own lighting technology, which is starting to expand," explains VWV technical director Jonathan "Jonno" Royston, who co-ordinates all the company’s technical requirements.
The purchase of the eight MMXs is the start of an expansion in the kit they own. The units were supplied by Robe’s South African distributor, DWR, also based in Johannesburg.
Royston first saw the MMXs in action on the Robe stand at the PLASA 2011 lighting and sound exhibition in Earls Court, London. He was "Highly impressed" with the gobos, the animation wheel functionality and the high light output, and recommended that they make the investment. "I believe that you don’t need so many of them to produce a really great lighting show, either using them as front projected gobo effects or punchy back lighting – or a combination of both!" he comments.
This is VWV’s first Robe purchase, but Royston has been familiar with the brand for some time and also seen various Robe products in action on their diverse rosta of shows and events.
DWR and the Robe lighting factory in the Czech Republic turned the delivery around in lightening quick time, so the eight new units could immediately be used on a ‘Save The Rhinos’ event for the Wildlands Conservation Trust’s Rhino Conservation Project staged in Nelson Mandela Square, Sandton, Johannesburg.
Here, they were mounted on vertical trussing ‘totem’ towers concealed behind a wooden hide – where interested parties walked-in and talked to Rhino experts about the animals’ plight, and discovered how they can be proactive in contributing to the campaign to save them.
Six of the MMXs were used to project a selection of fabulous patterns and ‘liquid’ animations on the front face of the Sandton Library building at the end of the Square, with two units swirling around a couple of striking Rhino logos. The nightly show was programmed by lighting designer Sean Rosig, and it ran for three weeks to raise awareness of the need to save these wonderful animals from extinction.
It was Rosig’s first chance to use the MMX Spots – although he has used Robe products on many of his designs in recent years. He also really liked the units, saying: "They are great for dazzling aerial effects as well as more moody things like fire, water and snow effects."
He adds that features like the DMX controllable hot spot are extremely useful, which means you can get a nice even light field, even when the beam is irised right down. Although he didn’t really use this for the Save The Rhino’s show he says it will be amazing for rock and music gigs.
VWV’s MMXs were the second batch to be delivered in South Africa. Pretoria based retail company Blond Productions took delivery of the first to add to their growing rental stock.
22nd February 2012
W-DMX at Natal Luz Gramado
W-DMX by Wireless Solution Sweden AB recently helped bring a holiday shower of lights to the Natal Luz Gramado Festival in Brazil. Billed as the biggest Christmas party in the country, Natal Luz saw an audience of approximately 1.4 million people. The season lasted 74 days and the result exceeded the perspective of the organisation.
Four W-DMX transmitters and 12 W-DMX receivers handled a flawless signal to 48 Moving Spot IM700s, six Clay Paky Alpha Beam 1500s,12 Atomic 3000s, 36 Moving Wash IM575s, eight Laser System DMXs, 60 Fire Machine DMXs, 36 Par LED 3W AQUALEDs, and eight fog machines. 120 Canais dimmers plus control was from a grandMA Ultra Light console and a grandMA NPU.
Daniel Ridano, owner of Lighting Bits based in Sao Paulo, Brazil was both the technical consultant and distributor for W-DMX for the show. Ridano has a background in lighting consoles and DMX control and has been a W-DMX consultant since 2010, with some of Brazil's biggest shows to credit, including the 100-year anniversary of the discovery of Machu Picchu in Peru and the Bradesco Seguros Christmas Tree in Brazil, recorded as the worldâs largest Christmas tree.
Natal Luz was commissioned by the Do Natal Luz organisation and the technical production was handled by Veritas, with head technician Carlos Alberto Fumanchu and Carlos Fabio da Silva. Ridano commented:"They needed a DMX signal distribution system that could withstand long distances and a varied climate in a central area of town for a long period of time. After consultation, it was decided that W-DMX by Wireless Solution was the best way to solve this problem. It didnât let anyone down â the system worked perfectly throughout the entire season."
"We're very happy with Daniel's successes with W-DMX in South America," said Niclas Arvidsson, CEO of Wireless Solution. "He knows DMX technology extremely well and has made many big event possible."
22nd February 2012
wysiwyg Tours with Roxette
wysiwyg, the award-winning previsualisation suite from CAST Software of Toronto, Canada is on the current world tour of the superstar band Roxette. The Swedish band, headed by Marie Fredriksson and Per Gessle, was formed in the late '80s and are known for their international hits, including "The Look", "Listen To Your Heart", "Joyride" and the classic love ballad "It Must Have Been Love", which was featured on the soundtrack "Pretty Woman" and sold 9 million copies. The group has had 33 chart-busting singles and total record sales exceeding 75 million.
Roxette began their current world tour in Feb 2011, their first world tour since 1995, and have so far visited Europe, Russia, South America, and South Africa, with the 2012 leg covering Asia, Australia and Scandinavia, for a total of over 120 performances.
Calle Brattberg is the lighting designer, set designer, programmer, and operator for the tour, as well as creator of the wysiwyg design used for lighting the show.
The main lighting for the Fall leg of the Tour was supplied by Starlight in Sweden, consisting of 40 Martin MAC 2000 Wash, 39 Vari*Lite VL3000 Spots, 11 Vari*Lite VL2500 Spots, 10 SGM Ribaltas, 11 Cromlech JARAGs, 14 Martin MAC 301 LED washes and 18 2-lites by James Thomas Engineering. Brattberg's own company, LXworks, is the supplier of the MA2 lighting desks and signal racks and Hippo Critter media servers by Green Hippo. The 2012 part of the tour will pick up different kits from different vendors at almost every show, although using the same design.
Pre-programming for all lighting and video was all done by Brattberg using wysiwyg Perform, beginning in September 2011 in his previsualisation studio in Stockholm. Video content was created by Brattberg, alongside Peppe Tannemyr of Digigobos.
Brattberg explains: "The benefit of working with wysiwyg is enormous. All preprogramming including video content was made and adjusted in wysiwyg before we went to production rehearsals and it saved me a lot of time since the rehearsal time was only three days with the band." (The band has been together for over 20 years so long so rehearsals are not necessary for the music.) As well, and just as important for the tour, all communications with vendors and venues were enhanced and simplified by reference to the plots done in wysiwyg.
Brattberg continues: "I was using R27 for all the pre-programming, however, the 2012 segment will be done in R28. I will also be using R28 in 2012 for many other projects such as the popular Peace & Love festival plus the Swedish Melodifestival 2012."
Brattberg happened to be one of the lucky winners of the daily prize drawing at the CAST booth during PLASA 2011, winning a one-year wysiwyg Perform Membership. "This was just icing on the cake," explains Brattberg, "I was already using wysiwyg - in fact it's such a standard in Sweden that it's actually difficult to work efficiently with others if you don't have it. So winning a year Perform membership was the perfect prize. Thanks CAST!"
Brattberg adds: "I'd also like to thank Starlight for their great support of gear and great engagement in the project, and One Two sales in Sweden, the retailer for wysiwyg and all of the LXworks lighting gear. Finally, the whole Roxette band, management and crew for just being fantastic professionals for being so great to work with."
22nd February 2012
Indian Megastar Performs In Dubai with Outline Butterfly
Whilst not perhaps immediately familiar to Western audiences, the name AR Rahman could hardly be better known in his native India. In fact, with total sales in excess of 300 million units, the Indian composer, singer-songwriter, record producer, musician, multi-instrumentalist and philanthropist is one of the world's best-selling artists. A prolific writer of film scores (including 'Slumdog Millionaire' and '127 Hours'), he is noted for his integration of eastern classical music with electronic music sounds, world music genres and traditional orchestral arrangements. The two-time Academy Award winner is also a member of Mick Jagger's new band Superheavy.
In early December 2011 the great man and his troupe performed at the Dubai Cricket Stadium for a capacity crowd. Production was provided by the Muscat-based Talentz Centre LLC, the largest production operation in Oman and whose expertise in large-scale events takes them all over the region, including the UAE. The company has invested significantly in Outline Butterfly systems with the MD, Baltazar Fernandez, quoting the productsâ consistency, quality and flexibility as key factors in his company's ability to handle visiting international acts.
The company deployed their compact Outline Butterfly system comprising a 16 per-side flown main L&R system with eight further enclosures per side as âwrapsâ. Twenty Outline Subtech 218 subwoofers provided low frequency reinforcement, and the whole system was powered by Outline T-Series amplifiers. Despite the size of the venue and crowd, only one mono delay tower comprising eight Butterfly high packs and four Subtech subwoofers was required.
The Dubai Cricket Ground poses particular challenges for visiting production companies, being well known for its âslapbackâ echo generated by a combination of the roof covering the seated area, the huge video screens and the plastic material used to protect the playing surface during events. Outline's senior technician Francesco Ferretti was on hand to assist with tuning the system using the company's own 'Open Array' 3D prediction software. The accuracy of this system plus the extremely tight dispersion characteristics of Butterfly meant that the unwanted reflections were kept to a minimum resulting in exemplary coverage and intelligibility throughout the audience area.
FOH engineer KJ Singh said: "Despite its small footprint, I was very impressed by the clarity and power handling of the Outline Butterfly system we used for the AR Rahman concert in Dubai. Mr. Francesco from Outline did a fantastic job of tuning and aligning the system very quickly and it was amazing to hear its wide, even dispersion, especially considering the difficult acoustic environment that we were in. I am a convert!"
21st February 2012
L-Acoustics K1 Heads Out on Jane Zhang Tour of China
Chinese rental company LAB, the country’s first-ever L-Acoustics Rental Network Agent, has purchased a K1 WST line source system from exclusive Chinese distributor Rightway Audio Consultants.
LAB used the K1 system for the first time for pop singer Jane Zhang at the Mastercard Center, Beijing, part of her Personal Look tour of China. A system of 12 K1s and three Karas per side was flown, with six K1-SB subwoofers suspended behind each K1 hang in a cardioid configuration.
In addition, 24 Kudos were used as side hangs for offstage fill and six Karas for front fill, with a total of 12 SB28 subs. The monitor system included 16 115XT HiQ active coaxials, two MTD 108As, four ARCS and four SB28 subs. The whole system was powered by a total of 45 LA8 amplified controllers in 15 LA RAKs, controlled using the LA Network Manager. L-Acoustics Soundvision proprietary acoustic modeling software was used to design the system.
Technical director of LAB, Don Lo, was very excited and happy to use K1 system for the first time on Jane Zhang. "The K1 lived up to all our expectations," he says. “It was a great system with exceptional SPL and excellent sound quality. I really love the power of KI, and we are all looking forward to using it on more show in the very near future.”
20th February 2012
Digitalism Connects with iLive
Popular German electro house duo, Digitalism, has been touring the globe this year carrying an Allen & Heath iLive digital mixing system to manage FOH and monitors.
"Early on in the tour, the band only carried one iLive system, to keep monitors consistent," explains FOH engineer, Daniel MacBean. "However, we were so impressed with how easy the system is to tour with and set up that we decided to get a second system in for FOH. It literally takes 30 seconds to set up at FOH: plug in Cat5, turn on power, and I'm good to go!"
The band has performed in America, Europe, Asia and the international festival circuit this year using two iDR-48 MixRacks and iLive-T80 Control Surfaces connected using Dante, which provides a digital split between the FOH and monitor systems and provides additional recording facilities.
"After ease of use, the most striking feature about iLive is the sound quality. It really is the most analogue-sounding digi board I've ever used. If you shut your eyes it genuinely sounds analogue, it has warmth that you canât find in any other digital desk. Plus, the effects, reverbs especially, sound amazing with very little fiddling, and the EQ's, dynamics in particular, are a definite cut above the competition," explains MacBean.
In picture: the iLive-T80 surface during a recent performance by Digitalism in New York.
16th February 2012
‘It Must Have Been Love’ as Vari*Lite Gives Roxette ‘The Look’
2011 was a fantastic year for Swedish Pop duo Roxette as they embarked on their first world tour since 1995. Forming the backbone of LD Calle Brattberg’s spirited lighting design were Philips Vari*Lite VL3000 Spot luminaires, supplied, for most of the tour, by Scandinavia’s largest rental company of stage, lighting and sound equipment - Starlight.
So successful was the 2011 tour that this year Roxette will embark on yet another ‘Round the World’ popfest with another 65 shows planned for 2012, and Brattberg will be with them. “The look for Roxette is fresh, sharp and vivid,” explains Brattberg. “I wanted the lighting to work in synchronicity with the well-known, upbeat Roxette pop anthems. I also wanted the feel of the show to resonate with the ever faithful fans.”
Lighting is indeed animated and colourful, however Brattberg has been careful to light the duo from a number of angles and, as the mood of the music changes, the Roxette set is punctuated with dramatically intimate, tightly focused looks.
“The reliability and accuracy of the VL3000 Spot’s optics and zoom are ideal for achieving the diversity of moods the Roxette set demands,” says Brattberg. “The ability to rotate a gobo smoothly, really slowly or zoom out to max and maintain the same focus are some of my favourite features. I‘ve always found the luminaires to be reliable with consistently uniform output, even across a large number of fixtures.”
Brattberg, who is based in Stockholm, is no stranger to the Philips Vari-Lite brand. “My first contact with Vari*Lite was in 1986 with the VL2b, and I can honestly say I have never looked back,” says Brattberg. “The output and quality of projected gobos and the vibrancy of the colours remain unbeatable. They move better than any other light and are spot on accurate every time. In fact, the VL3000 spot has everything I could ever want in a spotlight.”
The Vari*Lite VL3000 Spot luminaire features a 6:1 zoom optics, CYM colour mixing, variable CTO colour temperature correction, a six-position colour wheel, three gobo/effects wheels, a beam size iris and separate dimmer and ultra-fast strobe mechanisms. A standard pallet of gobos, effects and colours are provided, however custom gobos, effects and colours are available.
