production news

Coachella 2012 Lights the California Desert with LumenRadio CRMX Nova

At this year’s Coachella Music and Arts Festival in Southern California, over 150,000 people enjoyed an eclectic lineup of performers, including Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Radiohead, The Black Keys, and a special holographic appearance by the Lazarus of Rap, 2Pac.

Spanning six days over two weekends, the total event experience was enhanced by the dramatic lighting of the festival grounds, made possible with LumenRadio’s award-winning CRMX Nova wireless control. Two LumenRadio TX2 RDM transmitters controlled three DMX universes of 20 SyncroLite 7kW searchlights, and 260 ColorKinetics ColorBlaze fixtures. Seventeen LumenRadio receivers were placed on remote lighting towers up to three-quarters of a mile from the control centre.

Installed by Felix Lighting of La Mirada, CA, the LumenRadio units performed flawlessly, linking multiple universes of DMX in a wireless environment unusually full of radio traffic, including life-safety communication; numerous Facebook check-in stations; a special on-site AT&T cellular system; performance and production communications for the event’s six stages; and even the festival’s WiFi 'web' which operated in the same 2.4GHz spectrum as LumenRadio. At no time was LumenRadio’s performance hindered in any way, nor did the LumenRadio devices interfere with the other RF systems.

Felix Lighting president Dave McKinnon explains: “Based on our positive experience at Coachella last year, we were eager to use LumenRadio again this year. LumenRadio wireless control alleviates the problem of trenching cable to the remote towers. What makes LumenRadio shine is its ability to coexist with other signals in high-traffic wireless conditions. Everything went like clockwork, with the assistance of technical support provided by TMB and LumenRadio.”

LumenRadio’s CRMX (Cognitive Radio Multiplexer) technology represents the future of wireless lighting control. Unlike other systems which operate on the principle of overpowering other wireless traffic, LumenRadio actively searches for vacant spaces in the radio spectrum, and transmits at those frequencies. Furthermore, CRMX software allows the user to block out and not operate in specific areas of the frequency spectrum. LumenRadio products intelligently avoid interference with other wireless traffic, setting a new standard for performance and reliability.

www.tmb.com

24th May 2012

Clay Paky Sharpy Fixtures Shine on Pitbull’s PlanetPit World Tour

Rapper and pop singer-songwriter Pitbull, a Billboard Latin Music Award winner, has been playing to packed houses on his PlanetPit World Tour 2012 where Clay Paky Sharpy fixtures are in tune with the artist’s unique vibe.

The tour recently concluded a cross-Canada run, will be heading for Europe shortly and plans to return to the U.S. in the fall. Lighting designer Justin Geiger of Florida-based Impulse Creative Group designed a tiered rig with video in the centre for the Canadian dates. Impulse Creative Group consists of a design team with experience in live concerts, corporate events and houses of worship, which offers production design, system development and total show management.

"There’s a high-energy club vibe to the show; it’s very upbeat," says Geiger. "The venues mostly hold 8,000-14,000 people, and Pit is selling out all over the place."

Geiger "built everything around multiple heights and depths," placing six Clay Paky Sharpy fixtures on band risers, four Sharpys in each of the two wings and eight more across the top.

"They’re being used as the fast-moving fixture of the show," says the lighting designer. "They’re crazy bright for accenting strobe hits, and I use them for pulsing dimmer chases. In fact, I use them for every cue. The gobos are great, too."

Geiger notes that Sharpy fixtures appear to be "popping up everywhere" these days. "For good reason," he notes. "I had never used them before but told my production manager that I had to have them for the tour. And I just love them." Lighting fixtures for the Canada tour were supplied by Briere.

Geiger plans to redesign the rig for the next leg of the tour. "I hope to use all Clay Paky fixtures," he says. "I’d like to add Alpha Beam 700s to my inventory of Sharpys."

Francesco Romagnoli, Clay Paky area manager for North and Latin America, adds: "We’re glad that our fixtures are doing so well for this tour. Mr. Geiger is a great designer truly understands the impact that the Sharpy can have."

www.claypaky.it

22nd 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."

www.claypaky.it

18th May 2012

Outline GTO Line Array Speakers Help Deliver the Word for Joel Osteen America’s Night of Hope Event

Outline Grand Touring Outline (GTO) Line Array Speakers were used exclusively by Special Event Services (SES) to supply front-of-house sound for the recent Joel Osteen Ministries America’s Night of Hope 2012 event. The programme, featuring musical presentations and inspirational speeches, took place at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C., home to the Washington Nationals baseball team, and featured 12 stacks of six GTO speakers each, mounted on specially designed mobile speaker carts for easy “wheel-in” set up. Sound for the event was completely run from the ground level, with the sonic accuracy, clarity and punch delivered by the GTO cabinets. This allowed attendees to enjoy crystal-clear, loud, full-range sound from any vantage point in the stadium.

“For this event, we were asked to shoot all the audio up from the ground,” says Jason Farah, owner of SES. “The stadium seats 41,487, with the elevation of the top seats at 115 feet in the air and 250 feet back from the GTO speaker stack — that’s almost a football field away — and the sound was simply incredible. The band sounded full, rich, beautiful and clear. You could hear and feel every note. But when Pastor Osteen came out to deliver one of his messages, people in the farthest corner of the stadium, in the back row of the third seating deck behind the foul-line pole, were responding as enthusiastically as the audience behind home plate. GTO presented an amazing sonic experience.”

Reed Hall, senior director, audio and technical production for Lakewood Church Joel Osteen Ministries, was also impressed with the GTO set-up. “During our event in Washington D.C.'s Nationals Park, I had the opportunity to walk the entire stadium during sound check and the actual event,” he says. “The frequency response and clarity were incredible. At extreme edges of the park, the top rows are almost 300 feet from the speaker carts, yet the sound was clear, concise and had an impressive amount of low-end, considering the distance. For the past year I have had the pleasure of using this Outline rig in venues across the country and have been very impressed from day one. They just sound great out of the box, with no tuning and no subs. When Jason Farah from SES hands the Outline PA over in the afternoons, an 18,000-seat arena sounds like a 3,500-seat auditorium. SES has a little secret called GTO that puts them way ahead of the competition.”

The GTO series of line array speakers, offering a unique combination of high-power output in a compact and relatively lightweight cabinet, feature Outline’s patented Butterfly design. The cabinets deliver clear, non-coloured, high-SPL audio capable of bringing listening environment quality to the live event experience. When coupled in an array, GTO’s unique V-shaped front baffle allows individual sound sources to be positioned much closer together than in conventional line-source systems. This facilitates superior acoustical coupling between high-frequency modules, thus producing a smooth yet extended HF response. It also creates the ideal “unbroken baffle” shape through an array, which minimises diffraction and deterioration of the mid-high frequencies, contributing to the far-field performance of the system. A GTO line array system is capable of delivering a true visceral response to the audience while maintaining clarity.

16th May 2012

Sapsis Rigging Provides Fall Arrest Training to War Horse National Tour

The national touring company of the Broadway play War Horse selected Bill Sapsis, president of Sapsis Rigging, Inc., to provide fall arrest equipment and training to the company’s crew.

Sapsis provided six horizontal lifelines and three self-retracting lifelines which were installed on the lighting grid that travels with the tour. Prior to the tour launch, he trained the road crew in the proper use, inspection and maintenance of this equipment at Hudson Scenic Studio in Yonkers, NY, where the touring scenery was built.

“With my career-long focus on rigging safety, this work in fall arrest training is a natural progression for me,” said Sapsis. “It’s gratifying to see national touring companies take this level of precaution in training the crew to use this equipment correctly. I’m very pleased to be doing this kind of work, and I know it will help prevent accidents.”

The 2011 Tony Award winner for Best Play as well as for Best Direction, Scenic Design, Lighting Design, and Sound Design, War Horse premièred at the National Theatre in London and continues its run at Lincoln Center and in London’s West End, as well as in Toronto, Ontario. The show begins its first national tour this autumn.

Sapsis often provides fall arrest equipment and training to Broadway crews and touring companies. Most recently, he worked with the crews of the Broadway productions of Bonnie and Clyde and Evita, and with the national touring production of Dirty Dancing.

16th May 2012

Solotech Provides L-Acoustics Systems for Bruce Springsteen

On 17th March 2012, Bruce Springsteen’s Wrecking Ball tour kicked off at Atlanta’s Phillips Arena, with an L-Acoustics K1/Kudo WST line source system provided by Solotech US Corp of Las Vegas.

Harnessing the power of Springsteen and his 17-piece band is FOH engineer, mix veteran John Cooper, who has provided mixing services for the Boss for the past ten years and also performs mixing duties for artists including Sheryl Crow, Wynonna Judd, Ringo Starr and Lionel Richie.

The K1/Kudo system provided for the Wrecking Ball tour consists of 60 K1 enclosures, 16 K1-SB subwoofers, 24 Karas, 48 Kudos, and eight SB28 subs. In many venues, the audience is in 360 degrees as the set design allows for unobstructed views from the rear. Sixteen V-DOSC cabinets are also brought along to provide delay fill in venues when necessary. All L-Acoustics speakers are processed and powered via the LA8 4-channel amplified controller and all LA8s are contained and interconnected via the LA-RAK. The tour also boasts the first wide-scale use of L-Acoustics’ NetworkManager 2 software, providing advanced control and monitoring of more than 76 LA8 controllers.

“Solotech personnel have been outstanding; they show a great attention to details,” says Cooper. “At this point in time I have not heard a more refined, more accurate and musical sound system.

Springsteen’s first concert tour since 2009 is presently scheduled to play dates in North America and Europe through September, with stadium dates recently added for Boston, Vernon New York, Chicago, Washington DC, Toronto, Moncton, New Jersey and Philadelphia. Solotech is providing full audio production services for the entire US Wrecking Ball tour.

In picture: David Brazeau, John Cooper and Etienne Lapre.

16th May 2012

Evita Returns To Broadway - With FocusTrack and SpotTrack

Andrew Lloyd Webber and Time Rice's Evita has returned to Broadway for the first time in 30 years, in a sizzling, scintillating new production directed by Michael Grandage, choreographed by Rob Ashford, designed by Christopher Oram with lighting by Tony- and Olivier-award winning lighting designer Neil Austin who received both Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle nominations for the show's lighting.

To keep track of that lighting as it was created and then what for what looks certain to be a long, successful run, Austin and his team turned to FocusTrack to document the lighting rig, and to SpotTrack to document the show's four followspots.

The rig itself is made up pre-dominantly of tungsten moving lights, including ETC Revolutions, Martin TW1s, Vari-Lite VL5Bs and DHA Pitching Digital Light Curtains, with some discharge punch then provided by VL1000AS fixtures and PRG's new Best Boy 4000, which made its Broadway debut on the show. The lighting is controlled from an ETC Eos console, programmed by Rob Halliday and now run by head electrician Kevin Barry.

As they have done on many other shows together and separately, Barry and Halliday used FocusTrack both to simplify the task of figuring out which lights were actually used in which positions (FocusTrack generates this information, as well as lists of which colours and gobos are actually used, automatically from the console showfile) and then to create a photographic record of each focus in record time.

"FocusTrack showed just over 900 lamp-focuses for Evita," Halliday notes, "so an average of about nine positions for each of our 110 moving lights. Add in some extra pictures - of whole washes of lights as well as individual fixtures - and photos from the side of the stage to show the shutter cuts of cross light, and that was a total of about 940 pictures. We wanted to do this with all of the scenery and props in the right place, and always said we could safely do that photo shoot in eight hours, and probably do it in four if there were no hold ups. We were given three, in the morning before a matinée … and we achieved that. That meant we took five pictures a minute, or one every twelve seconds, and actually we worked faster because we took time setting everything up, moving scenery, even having a proper coffee break along the way!"

FocusTrack makes this speed of working possible by linking to the console and the digital camera, getting each light into the right place before triggering the camera to take a picture. Once finished it then imports the pictures automatically, to give a complete, accurate record that allows the crew to maintain the rig. For Evita, Halliday also used FocusTrack's QuickFocus grid to show critical lights in key cues. "This is an update to FocusTrack since I used it on Billy Elliot," Kevin Barry notes, "and I think it's an extremely useful - now I can see an overview of how a state is made during a busy number or zoom in on the detail of a specific light when I have more time. My lighting rigs keep getting bigger and it's impossible to imagine maintaining it all without FocusTrack."

To round things off, when a little more time opened up in the schedule Halliday, Barry, associate lighting designer Dan Walker and assistant lighting designer Kristina Kloss also took the opportunity to photograph the show's conventional focuses, another 300-or-so pictures including front views of each light, additional side views of crosslight plus shots of the show's many practical fittings. FocusTrack again integrated control of the console and camera, with the pictures brought into FocusTrack's RigTrack module to ensure that the same level of detail available for the automated rig was also available for the conventional rig.

Also used on the show was FocusTrack's companion, SpotTrack, used by Kristina Kloss to generate and manage followspot cue sheets for Evita's four followspots - two side auditorium Lycians and two side-stage Pani beamlights. SpotTrack allowed the easy generation and updating of individual spot cue sheets and caller cue sheets for Kloss and head spotlight operator Brian Aman. "SpotTrack takes the business of entering followspot cue data and simplifies it with everything in its place and a place for everything," Kloss notes. "The keyboard shortcuts make entering data faster so you have more time to look at the stage; it's simple to use and yet versatile enough for even a complex Broadway show like Evita."

Evita joins a number of other shows that have used FocusTrack on Broadway this season, including The Gershwin's Porgy and Bess, Nice Work If You Can Get It and Once, as well as long-running hits such as Anything Goes, Mary Poppins and Sister Act. Co-incidentally, Evita is at the theatre where FocusTrack made its Broadway debut with The Woman in White.

Those near Broadway next week will be able to find out more about FocusTrack and SpotTrack at the Broadway Lighting Master Class, at which Evita is the featured show and at which Rob Halliday will be speaking about FocusTrack on May 23rd.

15th May 2012

Masque Sound’s Audio Package Delivers Musical Celebration for Broadway’s Newest Smash Hit Musical

Masque Sound, a leading theatrical sound reinforcement, installation and design company specializing in live concert, television broadcast, corporate, industrial, theatrical, house of worship and sports events, has returned to the Great White Way, providing a custom audio equipment package for Once, the critically acclaimed new Broadway musical based on the 2007 Academy Award winning film.

Once arrived on the Broadway stage after a successful developmental run at the New York Theatre Workshop, for which Masque Sound also provided the audio equipment. The production broke box office records, concluding a sold-out engagement at the Workshop.

As sound designer Clive Goodwin worked with Masque Sound for the New York Theatre Workshop production, this made the transition to Broadway smoother, though not without challenges. "Moving the show to a 1,000-seat Broadway theatre and keeping the intimacy of the small 200-seat theatre that Once had been playing in was very challenging," says Goodwin. "In order to do this we needed a much larger sound system, with much more flexibility. We knew equipment selection and sound design were critical."

For the show, which includes some tender moments, Goodwin aimed to produce a gentle, intimate feel. His ultimate goal in working with Masque Sound, then, was to create an experience where the audience feels closer to the stage, partly through what it is hearing. To do this, he distributed speakers throughout the theatre as much as possible. This way, it was not necessary to turn up one large source of speakers.

Due to the size and shape of the theatre, and because of the level of excellence that must be attained with a Broadway production, Masque Sound, in consultation with Goodwin, designed an entirely new sound system for the Broadway run. Masque Sound’s equipment package included a DiGiCo SD7 digital console that offers a high level of inputs and outputs, as well as signal routing flexibility. In addition, Masque Sound provided a large Sennheiser wireless microphone rig and several different loudspeakers from Funktion-One and D&B.

"One unique aspect of the sound equipment was Clive’s use of the Funktion-One speakers," says Scott Kalata, Masque Sound. "These very unorthodox speakers had never really been used on a Broadway stage before, and we had to import them from the U.K. So we were all curious to see how they would perform. Clive knew they would help him upstairs, just because they were entirely horn loaded. By using them, he was able to cut down on the reflections and actually point the beam of sound at people, rather than have it hit walls, giving him the control he wanted. Clive is a genius and his strong desire to use these speakers turned to out to be a major success. They sound amazing and really add a sense of warmth to the show."

Another challenge faced by Masque Sound on this project was frequency coordination. Considering the show’s 72 channels of wireless, along with sharing a stage door entrance with two other theatres, there were numerous radio frequencies to manage in providing interference-free coverage. Although the frequency coordination was very complicated, Masque Sound’s team of experts utilized their many years of experience to ensure all of the wireless signals remained without interference.

"Masque Sound worked incredibly hard to make it all work for me and I am very grateful for that," adds Goodwin. "They supplied everything; they built a really flexible system so we could even experiment a little as well. They really did such a great job."

Once tells the story of an Irish musician and a Czech immigrant drawn together by their shared love of music. Over the course of one fateful week, their unexpected friendship and collaboration evolves into a powerful but complicated romance, heightened by the raw emotion of the songs they create together. Brought to the stage by an award-winning team of visionary artists and featuring an ensemble cast of gifted actor/musicians, Once is a musical celebration of life and love.

Once currently plays on Broadway at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre. The production opened to rave reviews on Sunday, March 18, 2012.

14th May 2012

Metric Halo on the road with Rising Hip-Hop Stars Macklemore and Ryan Lewis

The team of rapper Macklemore and producer Ryan Lewis is making some of the most forward-thinking hip-hop music on the planet. Lewis' irresistible beats and music form a sophisticated backdrop for Macklemore's tight rhymes and deceptively easy delivery.

Macklemore's subject matter - drug addiction, consumerism, race, and other weighty themes

- resonates with an authenticity that deftly sidesteps clichés to bathe familiar subjects in a fresh light. Lewis, who also handles many of the engineering duties for the duo, recently committed to purchasing a Metric Halo ULN-2 preamplifier/interface so that they could cut studio-quality tracks for their forthcoming album while on the road.

"I'm in the middle of producing a full-length LP with rapper Macklemore," said Lewis. "I needed a small unit that could deliver audio quality worthy of our debut LP. The goal is for Macklemore to be able to record at home or on the road, tracking vocals wherever he wants or needs to." Lewis learned about Metric Halo through online research and discussions with audio engineers in their hometown of Seattle.

"One of the largest consumer products for introductory home recording is the two-channel USB or FireWire interface," he continued. "Almost every company has their own version. Nevertheless, there honestly wasn't a lot out there that could compete with the ULN-2. Finding high-quality AD/DA conversion is hard, and finding high-quality AD/DA conversion together with fantastic preamps is almost impossible. The Metric Halo ULN-2 was exactly what we needed. It alone could match the quality of vocals we're tracking in the studio."

As an active member of the Seattle music scene, Macklemore earned a hometown following early on. But it was with his 2004 release Welcome to Myspace - which was heavily hyped by the then-new social networking site – that Macklemore earned respect and an eager following at the national and international levels. Success begat success, but in combination with a self-avowed drug problem, it also doused the creative flame that had committed so many fresh rhymes and ideas to paper. Macklemore languished for years before a one-month stay at rehab gave him the sobriety and creative perspective he so desperately needed. Now on a mission to make good on his promising start and with three successful post-rehab solo albums, Macklemore has joined forces with Ryan Lewis, and the two are poised to take the hip-hop world by storm with the forthcoming release.

Taking the long view, Lewis cited Metric Halo's dogged commitment to future-proofing its equipment via upgrades as another excellent reason to go with the ULN-2. "Metric Halo is a company that is focused on the future of pro audio and that's why I'm so excited to be working with their products," he said. Later in the year, Lewis and Macklemore plan to follow up the ULN-2 with an eight-channel ULN-8, Metric Halo's flagship product, for use in their studio.

14th May 2012

Allen & Heath Flys the UK Flag at SXSW Festival

Allen & Heath’s iLive digital mixing system was selected by promoters, Cato Music, to manage FOH and monitors on the British Music Embassy stage at this year’s iconic SXSW festival in Austin TX, USA. Showcasing the UK’s brightest new bands and artists, the British Music Embassy was exclusively based at downtown Austin’s Latitude 30 club, where an iDR-48 MixRack and iLive-T112 Control Surface was installed at FOH, digitally split using a Dante networking card to a duplicate iDR-48/T112 for monitors.

There were performances from nearly 60 bands over the course of the week-long festival, including emerging talent Django Django, fiN, Maverick Sabre, Benjamin Francis Leftwich, Jonquil, Ben Howard, Slow Club, Twin Atlantic, D/R/U/G/S, Skindred, and Clock Opera.

"I ran the desk in a very analogue way, all inputs on the left banks, and master section on the right and some visiting engineers wanted things moved around but we always managed to get the bands ready in the 15 minute changeovers. Some band engineers had never used the desk before but were so stunned by the ease of use, sound quality and format of the system they promptly added iLive to their riders," explains FOH house engineer, Fabrizio Piazzini. "The festival patch included 37 channels but running iLive Editor meant I could drop all the channels for each performance on a single layer with just a few clicks. On the monitor side, we were running five mixes, with the odd band turning up with full IEM rigs. To ring out the wedges, we used the iLive MixPad app so we could actually EQ the system in the spot the artist would stand."

The iLive system was supplied by Allen & Heath’s USA distributor, American Music & Sound, which also supplied Turbosound loudspeakers and beyerdynamic mics.

"I think iLive was a critical piece of the set up and it delivered every night," commented Glen Rowe from Cato Music. "The British Music Embassy was a huge success this year and some sessions were so busy we set up more delays and opened the windows on the venue for people to hear outside!"

In picture: the iLive-T112 surface at FOH with engineer, Fabrizio Piazzini. photo: Andy Sheppard.

9th May 2012

Drake’s Club Paradise Tour Makes All The Right Moves with Elation Moving Head Video Panels

Like the Canadian rapper himself, the stage production for Drake’s Club Paradise Tour is bold, strong and masculine with a commanding presence. The focal point of the set is an industrial-looking backdrop, made up of 40 6’x6’2’ alloy frames, each harboring a number of integrated lighting and video elements, which serves as a fitting marquee for the actor-turned-singer, who burst out as Billboard’s "Top New Hip Hop/R&B Artist" in 2009.

It took an artful balancing act to turn this cutting-edge trove of technology into a stunning visual concept that, at the same time, wouldn’t overpower Drake and the hip-hop power players who perform with him on the club-themed tour, now entering its second U.S. leg. Among the individuals credited with walking this fine line are the tour’s creative director Willo Perron and lighting designer Patrick Dierson.

From both a design and functional perspective, the self-contained alloy frames – called "Paracubes" by the creative/production staff -- were key, said Dierson. Each cube is pre-rigged with its lighting and video contents, so that the units can be set up almost "modularly," saving considerable loading time. Aesthetic-wise, the diverse elements in each Paracube allow for the creation of some very different and unique looks. A real standout on this count has been Elation Professional’s EPV762 MH Moving Head LED Video Panel, which is mounted at a 90° angle, yoked out and spaced congruently with other video products within each cube.

A 7.62mm-pixel-pitch 19.2" square panel containing 3-in-1 RGB SMD LEDs, the EPV762 MH is capable of panning a full 540° and tilting 265° like a moving head light fixture. The innovative Elation panel was "an integral part of our design and we really wanted to see what they could do," said Dierson, who used 48 EPV762 MH units on the first leg of the tour. In addition to serving as moving video displays, the idea was that the articulating panels could be used without video as moving surfaces to reflect other light sources.

The effect created when the EPV762 MH panels start moving during the show has more than lived up to expectations, reports Dierson, producing a massive visual display "akin to the look of a huge cathedral pipe organ". "The audience really does a double-take the first time the video panels start moving," Dierson said. "The effect is done as a very bold statement, where the video image fades to a solid color video wall as the panels start to undulate. As the more ‘realistic’ video footage starts to come back into play, the audience is only putting various pieces of it together as the panels line up in various, random places within the design. Eventually the movement settles to reveal an image that’s seemingly back to normal. . for the moment. Aside from that, using the panels as surfaces for other lighting instruments to play off of allows us to produce some really fantastic effects, both with video playing on the panels and without."

Although he has gotten a lot of favorable feedback from industry peers who have seen the show, "nothing trumps an audience reaction," Dierson adds. "To stand at FOH and just watch people’s faces the first time the panels start moving is proof of the entertainment concept and completely justifies the product being there. Those are the moments that you strive for as a designer."

On top of that, the EPV762 MH panels have proven reliable workhorses on a tour that after finishing its first U.S. leg in March, headed off to Europe, and is now back for another series of coast-to-coast performances. The panels have "performed remarkably well considering what we’ve put them through," said Dierson. "Let’s face it. It’s a moving video panel being bounced all over the planet and then put through its paces rigorously. There are bound to be similar technical issues that you would expect from either one of its moving light or video panel brethren. The units are pre-rigged into our scenic Paracubes and very well protected and supported. That being said, they’ve also been shipped like that all around the world, so they go through a lot on a daily basis and still keep performing very well."

Proof being in the pudding, Dierson says that from the 48 EPV76 MH units originally specified for the Club Paradise Tour, "each subsequent leg has seen the number grow, as we’ve fallen in love with the unit. Our latest leg of the tour, which sees Drake back in the U.S. in May, takes the EPVMH count up to 96."

9th 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

Optocore Gets Punk’d!

When MTV’s Punk’d hit the airwaves on March 29 (10:00 p.m. ET/PT), few may have realised the massive effort required to capture the excitement of the pop culture phenomenon series, which punks celebrities with hidden cameras.

To help streamline those operations, Gary Vahling of Coffey Sound, a Trew Audio company, long recognised as one of Los Angeles’ leading sources for audio equipment in the entertainment industry, relied heavily on Optocore’s latest intercom devices. To deliver the action amongst the production crew, Optocore V3R-FX-Intercom and X6R-FX-Intercom network devices were paired with Clear-Com’s V12-PDX4 display panels connected to a PiCo frame, which are part of the Eclipse Digital Matrix product line.

Optocore’s V3R-FX and X6R-FX interfaces provide four and eight ports via single module or multimode fibre respectively or CAT5 ‘SANE’ (Synchronous Audio Network plus Ethernet) ring connectivity that allows intercom to travel over the entire Optocore audio network. Along with fibre audio muxing solutions to and from Clear-Com’s remote panels, these units can also send and receive 4-wire audio around the connected ring. Better still, redundant LAN for IP panels and/or PC management can be made from anywhere on the network.

Six different interfaces were constructed by designer Gary Vahling – a remote camera rack, video rack, a director’s table, RF Mic rack, along with Intercom and Mix racks. The evaluation process needed to prove a vastly reduced set-up time, with simple plug and play, improved sonic fidelity and greater functional flexibility.

“I could see immediately that the plug and play facility would make for superfast setup, which reduces production costs,” noted Vahling. “And it went much further than that. The integration of the Optocore improved the quality of the entire audio package. The noise floor was reduced substantially, the dynamic range was increased, and the advantage of audio networking came into play.”

Optocore ticked all the boxes, at the same time demonstrating the vast amount of time saved using ‘one click’ reconfiguration changes for different scenes without rewiring. “The Clear-Com integration also included reduction of external cabling and increased sound quality in the communications circuits,” explains Vahling.

Director of Optocore North America, Bill Coons, stated: “This location sound solution provides a faster, quieter, smaller, lighter and less expensive option than they had previously. With this, fibre intercom for location production has now become a reality.”

In addition to the Optocore intercoms and Clear-Com display panels, Sennheiser MKH 8070 microphones with MZD-8000 Digital Modules were used with Neumann DMI-2 Digital Microphone Interface to fully take advantage of digital capabilities of the fibre optic audio network. A Yamaha O1V96 with Optocore YG2 card mixer was used as the interface’s centrepiece alongside a Sound Devices 788T for the show’s multi-track recording. Punk’d production sound mixer, Sean O’Malley, is pleased with the fast set up times and the overall sound quality.

“The gear has performed flawlessly on set, helping to herald in some amazing audio tracks and provide seamless communication within the crew. Communication is such an important factor during our reveals — if it fails, the entire episode could collapse,” adds O’Malley.

Since Coffey Sound provides packaged support systems for both large and small productions, the pairing of Vahling’s long term relationship with Punk’d made producer’s decision to work with Coffey Sound that much easier.

The Optocore solution had exceeded all expectations, says Vahling. “It has really brought this package to the next level with its ability to operate as a plug and play system. It has also significantly improved the workflow of the audio crew — and the sound quality project being sent to post is better than ever.”

30th April 2012

Clay Paky Lighting Fixtures Shine During TV Tribute to the Ladies of the Ice

Clay Paky fixtures lit up the ice and turned on the glamour when production and lighting designer Christien Methot of Design One employed a complement of Sharpy and Alpha Spot HPE 1500s on “Caesars Tribute II: A Salute to the Ladies of the Ice,” which aired on NBC on New Year’s Day.

The figure skating extravaganza features a roster of American Olympic medallists, including Nancy Kerrigan, Tara Lipinksi and Sarah Hughes as well as an international contingent, among them current world champion Miki Ando. The event, held at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, comes on the heels of last year’s figure skating tribute for which Methot handled production design.

Methot devised a circular motif for the show using thee circular video screens and a circular main stage with clean, simple lines. He mounted a circular truss above the ice with 16 Clay Paky Sharpy fixtures suspended on it.

“At the beginning of the programme the truss was almost touching the ice. As the opening light show began, it rose up and shot light everywhere,” he explains. “Then some fabric was released and hung from the truss, Kabuki-style, in the shape of icicles. The skaters interacted with the fabric and skated around it as the truss lifted and became a scenic element, another surface to play off the lighting like metallic chiffon.”

“I’ve used Sharpys before and think they’re the best thing since sliced bread,” says Methot. “In a light show scenario, their bang for the buck is outrageous, and you can see the light for miles! The only light that could do that used to be a 7000-watt lamp. Plus, they are so small and easy to handle – a crew member can carry two at a time.”

The lighting designer positioned 12 more Sharpys on the ground to supplement 20 Alpha Spot HPE 1500s, which served as “work horse” fixtures. “They were the main wash/template wash that really lit up the ice,” he reports. “I wanted to find the brightest light with the most choice of templates and effects. The 1500s were fantastic – extremely bright, wonderfully crisp, accurate and very fast for a light that size.”

Methot took advantage of the Dyna-Cue effect, which is unique to Clay Paky fixtures: “You tell a light that it’s part of a group of ten lights, then it does some of the smarts that you would otherwise have to do on a console,” he points out. “Thanks to the macro effect, we used some effects that we might not have otherwise thought to light.”

Previsualisation for the show was done at A.C.T Lighting; A.C.T is the distributor of Clay Paky lighting and grandMA consoles in North America.

“A.C.T was very helpful in pointing out some of these features during the previs on the grandMA 3D,” says Methot. “That allowed us to have a head start when we got to the venue.”

For the salute to the figure-skating champions Methot ran two full-size grandMA 2 desks networked together. Robert Bloom was the programmer.

Francesco Romagnoli, Clay Paky area manager for North and Latin America, adds: “We’re pleased that the our lights were able to so capably meet the needs of this event. Our gratitude goes out to Mr. Methot for choosing our lights and our partner, A.C.T Lighting, for working with them.”

www.claypaky.it

27th April 2012

Clay Paky Sharpys Help Give Dynamic Look to NBA All-Star Game Halftime Show

Pro sports leagues and their fans demand spectacular halftime shows these days, and the 2012 NBA All-Star Game Halftime Show was no exception. Lighting designer Otis Howard got some assistance from 30 Clay Paky Sharpy fixtures, which lent their unique look to high-octane performances by Pitbull, Chris Brown, Ne-Yo and Nicki Minaj.

"When you go into a show like this you need to appeal to the NBA, the client and the artists," says Howard of Otis Howard Design in St. Petersberg, Florida. "They wanted a dynamic halftime show – something on a par with the NFL. There’s always the challenge of making a show like this look big, and the 2012 show was the biggest they’d ever done. We had to come up with a lot of bells and whistles."

Howard had seen Sharpys in action and was looking for an opportunity to use them. "They seemed like the right tool for the application: the unit was dynamic, and we needed something low profile that was small and fast. Sharpys are as fast as a mirrored head – that’s quite an innovation."

Mixed in with lasers and a large lighting complement the Sharpys really stood out, Howard reports. "They delivered a lot of bang for the buck. We had 20 on stage and created a lot of different looks with them, including grouping them in clusters to create a helix like you get with helicopter blades. We put the additional 10 fixtures under a four-foot high plexiglass disk that was rolled out for Neo. Nothing else moves that quickly."

Howard said: "I can’t use the word ‘dynamic’ enough to describe Sharpys. They’re so low profile but have this amazing output – it’s crazy!"

A grandMA console was used to control the lighting instruments. Howard teamed with programmer Mark Butts on the show, calling him "a great collaborator".

Francesco Romagnoli, Clay Paky area manager for North and Latin America, adds: "We’re proud that our Sharpys are involved in such a high profile project. Mr. Howard is a great designer and it shows in the projects he works on. We’re glad to be able to help with our innovations."

www.claypaky.it

25th 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

www.vari-lite.com

23rd April 2012

Clay Paky Sharpy and Alpha Profile 700 Fixtures Go Dreamin’ with Katy Perry Tour

It was a dream date for Clay Paky Sharpy fixtures and Alpha Profile 700 automated spotlights when they accompanied American pop star Katy Perry on her California Dreams Tour in support of her new “Teenage Dream” album.

Lighting designer Baz Halpin added 30 Sharpys to US leg of the tour after having used them for Taylor Swift and Lady Antebellum shows.

“Katy’s tour was very theatrical. It was set in a ‘Candyfornia’ world that was very colorful and thematically-inspired, very much like Katy herself,” he explains. “The show was divided into five acts with different colour schemes for each, ranging from pastel to dark to monochromatic.”

Halpin found that he needed “very small but punchy” fixtures on the floor upstage and along the perimeter of the stage. “Since we didn’t have rehearsals, I wanted a light I already knew about,” he says. “With Sharpy, I knew we could match colours with the Alpha spots and also have the benefit of quick, snappy changes of the colour wheel.”

He gives kudos to the Sharpys’ ability to “…cut through an already visually stimulating show. We could add to the look without muddling up what had already been programmed. The Sharpys were a nice exclamation point.”

Halpin utilised 64 Alpha Profile 700s as “multipurpose workhorses” on the tour. “They have a very strong beam, and I love the style of colour. We could throw a gobo on and use them as Profiles or frost the lights and use them as a wash. They’re great for theatrical themes as well as very dynamic up-tempo beams.”

The Alpha Profile 700 is the only 700 watt automated spotlight with framing system available on the market. It offers high luminous efficiency (28,500 lux at 5m) in a small, quiet package.

Francesco Romagnoli, Clay Paky area manager for North and Latin America, adds: “We’re proud that our lights are such an important component of this tour. Mr. Halpin has been a friend of Clay Paky for a while and it’s rewarding to see him use our fixtures in such interesting ways.”

www.claypaky.it

20th April 2012

API Hosts Event with Joe Chiccarelli at West LA Music

Famed producer, mixer and engineer Joe Chiccarelli is slated to appear for API (Automated Processes Inc.) at a special API JDK Day event. The special showing will feature a Q&A with Chiccarelli as well as a demonstration of his recording and mixing techniques using an API 1608.

“We are so thrilled to have Joe available to appear at this event,” said Larry Droppa, API president. “Getting Joe to explain his recording and mixing techniques in an intimate forum like this is a very rare occurrence, and API is honoured to have Joe doing the demo on a 1608. He has been a fan of API gear for many years and has the ability to get the equipment to bring out the best part of an artist’s performance.”

Chiccarelli rose to industry fame as an engineer and producer for acts such as the Counting Crows, The Shins, The Strokes, Jason Mraz, Elton John, The Killers, U2, Beck, My Morning Jacket, Tori Amos, White Stripes, Christina Perri and many others.

The event, a joint presentation sponsored by West LA Music and API, takes place at Westlake Pro (4101 Lankershim Boulevard, North Hollywood) from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. April 24th. API will be raffling off a JDK R22 Channel Compressor at the end of the presentation.

18th April 2012

Pete’s Big TVs Provide for Springsteen’s ‘Wrecking Ball’ World Tour

Pete’s Big TVs of New Castle, Delaware, continues its long-running relationship with Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band by providing video production/projection, equipment and crew for his “Wrecking Ball” world tour. The U.S. arena tour started March 18, hits Europe/UK this summer and returns to North America in the fall. Pete’s Big TVs will be with the tour all the way.

Pete’s Big TVs is providing its new DigiLED MC7 high resolution LED panels to ensure everyone in the venue has a look at The Boss and the band. “For this tour, we will be lighter, brighter, tighter, quieter,” said Pete’s Big TVs President Peter Daniel. “The MC7 high resolution LED video panels are lighter in weight than what we used on Springsteen’s past tours. Their resolution is higher at 7mm, which is perfect for broadcast quality. We’re tighter as we’ve got custom designed tour cases made by Tait Towers for the panels. Each case fits six panels, so load in, set up and load out is faster.

“But the biggest news is that we’re quieter because the MC7 panels emit no radio frequency interference. We didn’t want the ‘noise police’ in Europe to shut down the show because of any radio frequency interference from our screens - I heard about that happening to other shows last summer so I made sure, with these screens, that there was no way it would happen to this tour.”

Peter Daniel began working on the “no radio frequency interference” LED panels a year ago, once he found out that it was an issue in Europe, to prepare for Springsteen’s tour this year. As a result, Pete’s Big TVs is the exclusive North American distributor for the DigiLED screens for the next two years.

There are 384 MC7 panels comprising six screens: One huge screen dead center, two screens left and right, and three little screens upstage for the fans sitting behind the stage. Rigged in a shape like an upside down T, the panel configuration allows for Video Director Chris Hilson to achieve different camera looks.

“When Bruce has a guitar in hand, Chris shoots the wide screen, the bottom of the upside down T, and Bruce is 9 feet tall on this screen. But when Bruce is off his guitar and with the mic or not playing, we go into the Hero mode - and in the center part of the screen, Bruce goes from 9 feet tall to 18 feet tall.”

For the stadium shows, Daniel said the look will be similar to the look of the summer 2009 stadium tour with some surprises. “That last summer stadium tour, we put him in Hero mode at 35 feet tall in Europe, and he loomed up to 50 feet tall at Giants Stadium. Bruce’s team absolutely love it. It is so cool to see the image that large.”

Hilson is basically directing three different shows on each night of this tour, Daniel said. “He’s doing a show for the fans watching on the side screens - which is a different aspect ratio. Then for the people behind the stage, he’s directing the images for them. Then he’s doing the big dead center screen in the middle of the P.A. for the recording of a possible DVD, if one is done.”

Pete’s Big TVs video team, which Daniel dubs “the best in the business,” includes award-winning Video Director Chris Hilson, Video Engineer Paul Whitfield, camera operators David “Legs” Driscoll, Kim Hampton, Mike Colucci, Will Farnham and Matt Travis (son of production manager George Travis), with Rob Villalobos on robotic camera. Phil Summers is LED Technician.

Pete’s Big TVs has worked with Springsteen since 1999, Daniel said. “It’s so comfortable to work with the management team of Jon Landau and Barbara Carr, production manager George Travis, and of course Bruce. Along with LD Jeff Ravitz. It’s a warm, inviting place to be.”

The tour runs to May 2 in the US, then hits Europe May 13-July 31, returning to the US in the fall.

17th April 2012

AP Security Heads for Rio

The beginning of February saw AP Security being asked to represent the UK on a trade mission to Rio de Janeiro, the host city of the 2016 Olympics. General manager, Andy Stevens, was lucky enough to be AP’s representative and, whilst there, met with senior members of the Rio Organising Committee, as well as all three levels of government.

"Rio will stage an incredible Games," says an impressed Andy. "The country's passion for carnival and celebration will see to that and, with the iconic backdrop of Copacabana Beach, Sugarloaf Mountain and the legendary Maracana Stadium all supplemented by a brand new Olympic Park, it will certainly bring Rio to the world.

Referring to the 2012 Games, he added: "There is a huge amount to which Rio is firmly looking towards London to learn and understand. Rio's private security industry operates very differently from the UK’s; they admire what we do and I was able to talk at length to Games organisers and stadia operators about what we at AP do day in, day out.

"There is a huge desire to replicate elements of the UK's approach to stewarding and civilian security at major events in Brazil and I'm delighted to say that they know all about AP now."

Andy denied the fact that Copacabana Beach got the majority of his interest, but did say that he was lucky enough to visit the Consul General's private residence where AP Security is now featured in the Guest Book.

11th April 2012

Record-Breaking 268 Meyer Sound Milo Loudspeakers Support Papal Mass in Mexico

At Bicentennial Park near Silao, Mexico, a sun-drenched, open-air Mass celebrated by Pope Benedict the XVI gathered a sizeable crowd that the Associated Press estimated to reach 350,000 people. To ensure everybody could hear words and music clearly and to full effect, more than 375 Meyer Sound loudspeakers converged at the site – including 268 MILO line array loudspeakers, likely the most ever deployed for any single event.

The daunting challenge of audio system design was shouldered by Rodrigo López of Mexico City-based consulting firm Zero Phase. His assignment was to provide uniform coverage across a vast, irregularly-shaped area – over a kilometre wide and a half kilometre deep – comprising uneven hillsides, sloped parking lots and open fields. To augment the main stage Milo arrays, López plotted a system of 40 delay towers laid out along 12 delay lines. Arrays on most towers were configured with five to eight Milo loudspeakers, with some delay lines deploying contingents of 30 M3D and 32 Mica line array loudspeakers.

Pressure was high at an event of this scale. “I had some worries about getting clean, isolated signals out to all the towers,” he admits, “but from that point, I was confident the Meyer Sound systems would perform flawlessly. And even with very high afternoon temperatures, there were zero problems.”

An all-Meyer Sound solution was the obvious choice for the event from the outset, López continues. “Meyer was one of only two makers with enough suitable loudspeakers available in Mexico, and I did not want to mix manufacturers. And only Meyer could also supply the very highest level of performance and technical support. So it was not hard to make that call.”

The Meyer Sound roster also included 32 700-HP subwoofers, ten UPA-1P loudspeakers for stage foldback and various fills, six MSL-4 loudspeakers for in-fill, and a Galileo loudspeaker management system encompassing 24 Galileo 616 processors. Three SIM 3 audio analysers were used for system tuning. The event was mixed on DiGiCo SD7 and SD10 consoles.

The flawless audio throughout the event was noted and appreciated by dignitaries in the front VIP section. “Apparently they’d had problems with sound the day before with another system,” says López, “but when they first heard the pope speak, they turned around and gave us big smiles.”

In addition to the papal homily, the day’s program included music from a 70-piece orchestra and a 40-voice youth choir.

5th April 2012

DiGiCo SD10 has Maxi Appeal in Brazil

DiGiCo’s SD10 has just made its first venture into Brazil, with one being purchased by events company Maxi Audio Luz Imagen, based in Sao Paulo. Used on a variety of events, the company is very happy with its purchase.

Maxi Audio technical manager Sandro Monteiro had been impressed by the DiGiCo consoles on show at InfoComm 2009 and, with sound engineers at Brazilian events asking for DiGiCo consoles, he began to investigate what would be the best option for the company.

"As a sound rental company, we need to offer the best products to our clients," he says. "The DiGiCo SD10 has fantastic sound which has the same ‘colour’ as that of an analogue console. The digital processing has great clarity, the preamplifiers are high quality, the workflow is straightforward and the MADI system is really useful. On top of all that, the console has a great price!"

Training on the SD10 was provided by Renato Carneiro, an associate of Antonio Lorenzetti DiGiCo’s representative in Brazil.

"Renato was a great choice for the training," Sandro continues. "He made learning the desk very straightforward. I have known Antonio for several years and he has always made things very easy. With DiGiCo he is exactly the same - the support is excellent."

With the SD10 in the company’s inventory, Sandro is hoping that it will help to increase the number of events that Maxi Audio is asked to support.

Maxi Audio owner José Augusto Martins concludes: "We have had a lot of positive feedback from clients and sound engineers. I think we will be adding SD7 and SD9 consoles to our inventory sooner than we imagined."

www.digico.org

28th March 2012

LMG Extends its L-Acoustics Inventory with K1 System

LMG, Inc., an Orlando-based full-service provider of audio, video and lighting support, recently added a quantity of L-Acoustics K1 WST line source enclosures and accompanying K1-SB subs to its arsenal for live event production.

Designed with superior SPL, LF and throw capabilities for large venue applications, plus a captive rigging system for exceptional accuracy and quick setup, the large-format K1 seamlessly complements LMG's current inventory of KUDO enclosures used for fill and delay, SB28 subwoofers, and other audio gear. LMG Director of Audio Services Kevin Bridges states, "If all L-Acoustics had done was put the same rigging on the existing V-DOSC, I would have been happy. But they have done so much more. The added detail, especially in the midrange, coupled with an incredible amount of output make this the best sounding system I've ever heard."

LMG offers a wide range of L-Acoustics products as part of its rental inventory. "We have a history of success with the L-Acoustics product line and have significantly increased our inventory in recent months with the addition of the KARA, KIVA, KILO, and SB28 solutions," says LMG CEO and President Les Goldberg. "The K1 series is a perfect system to round out our offerings for both show and concert touring clients with large venue needs."

With offices in Orlando, Tampa, Las Vegas and Dallas, LMG has provided video, audio and lighting support for some of the world's largest conventions and meetings, nationally televised events, international concert tours, and Fortune 500 company business presentations.

27th March 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

Musical Polymath Jack Hale Dotes on Metric Halo

Jack Hale does it all, and he does it all well. An instrumentalist, a musician, a composer, an engineer, and a producer, Hale has enjoyed a storybook career. Inspired by the successful and meaningful lives of his father and uncle, musicians both, Hale took up the trumpet at thirteen and quickly obtained a virtuosic proficiency that earned him a place in the music department at the University of Memphis. Hale befriended John Fry and Joe Hardy, and they gave him the keys to Ardent Studio to use as he wished in the off hours. Meanwhile, Hale was selected as the trumpet player in the Memphis Horns and had a hit single to his credit at the tender age of twenty (on Al Green’s “Full Of Fire”). While touring as a trumpet player with Johnny Cash, Cash recognized Hale’s genius and hired him to be his musical director. Hale held the position during the last decade of Cash’s life, which was one of the most prolific periods in The Man in Black’s storied life.

The ebullient Hale is good natured and humble, recognizing that his list of accomplishments (which could go on and on and on – he’s worked with everyone!) is in equal measure good fortune and dedicated professionalism. These days, he spends most of his time producing and engineering high-profile artists and shepherding the talented musicians who, if the winds of fate are fair, will blossom to become high-profile artists. Hale has come to rely on the three cornerstones of Metric Halo’s product line to speed his workflow and guarantee the impact of his projects. “I rely on Metric Halo’s ULN-8 interface, ChannelStrip plug-in, and SpectraFoo sound analysis software for everything I do,” he said. “In fact, even though I have a refrigerator rack loaded with the best outboard hardware you can imagine, I would still feel like I had every necessary tool at my disposal if you stripped me of everything but a computer and my Metric Halo hardware and software.”

Hale started engineering in the halcyon days when landlines were called phones and analogue recording was called, simply, recording. He was oriented to the almost-tangible sounds he got using SSL, Neve and Harrison consoles and the rack of drool-worthy gear he amassed from the proceeds of his early production gigs (allowed because the musician gigs still paid the rent and put food on the table). When hard disc digital recording entered the scene, Hale tried the available plug-ins at the time and found them, in contrast to the analogue sounds with which he was acquainted, soulless. “I could see the advantages of hard disc recording,” he said. “And it was hard, after so many years of compromising productions for the lack of available tracks, to resist blossoming sessions up to fifty tracks or more. Sure, I could rely on my outboard gear to process a few of those tracks, but not fifty. I really needed a plug-in that sounded great.”

Metric Halo’s ChannelStrip was that great sounding plug-in. “Metric Halo offered it as a free trial, so I tried it,” Hale said. “I couldn’t believe how great it sounded. The compression was responsive and the EQ had the authenticity of a good hardware unit.” Hale used ChannelStrip on countless projects, and it is still the workhorse in his mixing environment, be it Digital Performer, Logic, or Pro Tools. Nevertheless, Hale put ChannelStrip to its most powerful use during his last sessions with Johnny Cash. “I had used ChannelStrip on a song I produced for Johnny called “The Man In White.” He had a cold or something at the time and I was able to get the sound of his vocal back rather easily with the Metric Halo gear. I remembered that when I recorded his vocal on “Missionary Man” as Johnny was suffering the effects of a degenerative disease, as his voice was not all that it had been. I used ChannelStrip to sculpt his voice back into form matching timbre between different passes to make a really good comp.”

When it came time to get a portable interface, Hale asked a knowledgeable friend for a recommendation. “He said, ‘if you want deadly-accurate preamps and converters, you need a Metric Halo ULN-8,’” Hale reported. “I tried one and found he was absolutely right. I was blown away by the clarity of everything I was hearing. It was like someone switched on the ‘clear’ filter!” Hale purchased three ULN-8s, two that could stay at his home studio (Hale House Productions) and one that could travel with him in a shoulder bag.

Although initially intimidated, Hale has come to depend, in the truest sense of the word, on Metric Halo’s MIO Console (he also reports that today, that barrier to entry has been lifted by Metric Halo’s user-friendly improvements). MIO Console allows users to route signal between all the inputs and outputs of a Metric Halo hardware interface and the inputs and outputs of an editing or recording DAW (e.g. Pro Tools). Moreover, it offers its own recording functionality and, where applicable, controls Metric Halo’s sophisticated onboard DSP. “My workflow is literally ten times faster with MIO Console than, heaven forbid, without it,” Hale said. “I build channels, perform zero-latency monitoring, and customize routing with it, among many other things. It’s ideal when you have a larger input configuration for a particular song and can store/recall the MIO console with every parameter you created or adjusted, every time you return to work on the song. Same goes for mixing. I would hate to do without MIO Console.”

Hale also runs Metric Halo’s SpectraFoo software at all times and constantly flips to it to verify that a recording or mix is problem-free. “When I took the time to internalize SpectraFoo’s array of – at first glance – geeky tools, the world changed for me,” Hale said. “In addition to being able to align my speakers and shoot my room, I use it on a daily basis to diagnose problems, or to catch problems before they become audible.” For example, Hale and the musicians he works with use a lot of vintage gear, which, in addition to its obvious charms, comes with some inherent instabilities. During tracking Hale takes snapshots or movies of SpectraFoo’s tools (like phase correlation maps, spectrographs, and the like) and then uses those snapshots as points of reference on subsequent days. “It’s really easy to see when a tube is failing – way before you can hear it,” he said. “Or I can tell if an apparently missing frequency is due to equalization (and thus fixable) or a phase problem (and thus unfixable). Spotting problems like that early on can save a costly day’s work.”

16th March 2012

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