direct from: www.etnow.comRegularsContentsthis monthJobs and CareersWeb DirectoryFeaturesIssue: 334GSMD Brings Music Back to Campus with Dante page 17December 2020German Unity Day is an annual celebration held on 3rd October.Production lighting included over 200 Robe moving lights: Pointes, Spiiders, BMFLs, etc.It can help our understanding of weighing by first understanding the difference between mass and weight. This shows what we are really measuring. Vejle Musikteater Makes New Robe Investment page: 12page: 14page: 2page: 31pages: 28 to 31Vejle Musikteater’s TM explained they purchased 16 new Robe ESPRITE LED Profiles which have been added to the existing 16 ESPRITES.LIGHTING | SOUND | VIDEORIGGING | STAGING | DRAPESw: hawthorn.bizt: 01664 821 111e: hire@hawthorn.bizWe don’t know when this dark cloud will lift, but when it does we are readyAVAILABLE TO HIREOPEN MONDAY TO FRIDAYL-Acoustics and JH Audio develop Premium In-Ear Monitor Reproducing Live Music’s Most Iconic Sonic SignatureL-Acoustics reinforces its mission of elevating the listening experience for professionals and audiophiles worldwide with its first offering in personal audio, Contour XO in-ear monitor powered by JH Audio. Contour XO is born from the meeting of two pro sound icons: Jerry Harvey and Dr. Christian Heil. Both pioneered technologies that forever changed the pro audio industry: multi-driver in-ear monitors and the present-day concert PA based on the L-Acoustics line source array.More on page 10What happens inside a load cell? by Tom Lilly page: 27Robe United with Germany contents this monthDecember 2020page no.Featurespage : 4page : 6page : 9page : 8Season’s Greetings to all our readersfrom Entertainment Technology Press17 Guildhall School of Music & Drama Brings Music Back to Campus Safely with Audinate’s Dante Guildhall School of Music & Drama in London is one of the premiere arts colleges in the world. Key to the School’s musical curricula is its annual award for The Gold Medal, a performance competition that began in 1915 and had taken place uninterrupted until 2019. Of course, because of the global pandemic in 2020, the annual May performance had to be put on hold as teaching moved online during the summer term. Audinate’s Dante is the de facto standard for digital audio networking, and distributes hundreds of uncompressed, multi-channel digital audio channels via standard Ethernet networks, with near-zero latency and perfect synchronisation. Dante allows audio, control, and all other data to coexist effectively on the same network. For Guildhall School, Dante enabled them to solve COVID-related challenges both with their live performances and their virtual learning environment.19 ETP Catalogue The Entertainment Technology Press Book Catalogue 27 Vejle Musikteater Makes New Robe Investment Vejle Musikteater, in the attractive fjord-side town of Vejle in Denmark is, usually, a bustling hub for live entertainment, events and all types of performance, as one of the busiest multi- purpose venues in the country offering a dynamic mix of band concerts, dance and DJ events, theatre production and conferences, events and presentations. Like most venues, it closed as Covid-19 spread worldwide, stopping the industry in its tracks in March. However, far from becoming a ghost- like shell of its former self, staff, management and crew have been busy in the last six months overseeing a complete technical refit and the Musikteater has just cautiously reopened for shows and business. During this long ‘dark’ period, the venue’s technical manager Rasmus Primdahl explained, they purchased 16 new Robe ESPRITE LED Profiles which have been added to the existing 16 ESPRITES acquired at the end of 2019 from Robe’s Danish distributor, Light Partner.11 Elation Europe marks a decade of lighting achievement Elation Professional B.V., better known as Elation Europe, has come a long way since opening its European headquarter office in Kerkrade, The Netherlands, in 2010. The once fledgling newcomer to the European lighting market has grown to become one of the most influential brands on the market, a decade of development in Europe that can only be described as a genuine success story. How did the company go from a little known brand in 2010 to one of the top players in the European entertainment lighting market just ten years later? Part of the answer lies in a passion that has driven Elation’s European office since day one.12 Robe United with Germany German Unity Day (Tag der Deutschen Einheit) is an annual celebration held on 3rd October, marking the anniversary of the nation’s unification in 1990, when the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic became one single, federal Germany. A production lighting design was created by Zound’z Unlimited’s Marcus Meissner – who is head of lighting and rigging at the company – and included over 200 Robe moving lights, a combination of Pointes, Spiiders, BMFL WashBeams, LEDWash 800s and a RoboSpot system.14 What happens inside a load cell? by Tom Lilly Many years ago, I went to a venue to swap out some hoists. We had previously installed some half tonne, single phase Lodestars but they were apparently struggling. From my distant memory of the reports we were given, the clutches were slipping so must have been lifting at least 600kg. Before we had installed the original hoists, the venue had points installed in the roof which were nicely marked with a safe working load (SWL). However, as I started installing the 1-tonne Verlindes, I realised that the SWL was 5000N, not 5000kg as the venue had supposed. For those that don’t know, 5000N is actually equivalent to a little over 500kg. This was a potentially very dangerous example of confusion over units, mass and weight. A lot of the time, in real life, it doesn’t really matter but I think that it can help our understanding of weighing by first understanding the difference between mass and weight. I’m sure that most of us learned it at school but never really saw the need to remember it! This shows what we are really measuring. from the editordirect from: www.etnow.comEntertainment Technology is published 12 times a year in conjunction with the leading industry portal www.etnow.comEditor: John OffordTechnical Editor: Jackie StainesPublished by: Entertainment Technology Press LtdThe Studio, High Green Great ShelfordCambridge CB22 5EGTelephone: +44 (0)1223 550805Fax: +44 (0)1223 550806Website: www.etnow.comemail: editor@etnow.com© Entertainment Technology Press Ltd.Subscription Rates:Annual Subscription for 12 issues (UK): £27.50Annual Subscription (overseas): £50.00Subject to acceptance, subscription is free to UK based industry professionals.Subscribe online at: www.etnow.com/etmag/Opinions expressed in Entertainment Technology are not necessarily those of the publishers. All rights are reserved and reproduction of any part in whatever form is prohibited without the prior permission of the publishers.etnow.com (entertainment technology news on web) is the industry portal site with news from around the world added daily under various sector headings coupled to an extensive archive. The site also features a books section where titles from Entertainment Technology Press can be ordered online via our secure Sage Pay credit card services.Issue: 334WACKIT Contest! Claypaky and CAST Group of companies are very excited to present the WACKIT virtual lighting design competition based on a concept by lighting designer Durham Marenghi and his partner Jennie. Whilst planning this event of course we had no idea that England would enter a second lock down and given that colleges are still open giving our students access to lighting systems we feel that this is actually a very appropriate time to launch our WACKIT competition.Two side-by-side competitions for professional and student lighting designers from UK and Ireland to create a virtual video of their work from a model of the prestigious Royal Albert Hall. CAST will support WACKIT with free WYSIWYG educational licences for the period of the competition for professional LDs and in the case of our student friends a 12-month free design educational licence.There are three amazing prizes to be won in both competitions (professional and student) and the initial judging will be done on-line on social media to define ten finalists from each group. The finalists will be judged in January 2021 by VIP LD jury of Paule Constable, David Bishop and Davy Sherwin chaired by Durham Marenghi.Durham explains further: “As the clocks go back and we enter a darker time in our lives we wanted to support our peers – both old and new – by offering something creative and worthwhile to do. We hope that the WACKIT competition will be embraced by an industry hard done to, bring a little light into these difficult times and show case the lighting talent that abounds in the UK and Ireland; a massive thank you to CAST and Claypaky for bringing this vision to life, stay safe, stay sane!”Find out more at www.wackit-contest.comwww.claypaky.comDecember 2020news4sunDial quad www.ArtisticLicence.comDims LED close to zero!For the smoothest fades with dimmable replacement LEDTrailing edge DMX512/RDM mains dimmerWake Up to Smart Sleep in Broadweigh’s Gen 3 ShackleA new generation of shackle from Broadweigh is set to be released. Regarded as the company’s hardest working shackle to date, this intelligent piece of kit takes all the benefits of Broadweigh’s tried and tested shackles and packages them up with some additional features including Smart Sleep.Smart Sleep is a brand-new feature of the Generation 3 shackle, keeping one eye open, even when asleep. Smart Sleep mode protects battery life and bandwidth by only kicking into fast transmission when it detects an anomaly.Tom Lilly, applications engineer at Broadweigh says: “With the new Smart Sleep, you can optimise your battery life and still monitor the load. If the load is stable, there is often no reason to monitor at a fast rate. You only really need to know when something changes. Smart Sleep monitors at a slow rate and compares the current reading with the last. If the difference is greater than the level set, then it will switch into fast mode until the load stabilises again. However, if you want to monitor at the fast rate you can still wake the modules using LOG100 or a handheld. This allows you to monitor at the fast rate when you know that something is going to chance, such as when a lift is happening.”Generation 3 shackles are also paired with a Broadweigh designed bow which has undergone rigorous testing over the Summer. The bow comes in black as standard and has been treated in a process called Tufftride which is a surface heat treatment involving a Salt Bath Nitrocarburising treatment carried out at around 580°C for short periods of time. This produces a hard-wearing surface which increases corrosion resistance, increases wear resistance and improves fatigue strength.The shackle also features a ‘one- swipe’ power cycle which completely removes the need to open the battery enclosure when hard pairing. A neat Broadweigh magnetic fob with built-in pozi-screw head and thumb screw attachment can swipe past the shackle enclosure to cut power.Elliot Van Laere, product specialist at Broadweigh added: “We continue to develop and listen to the requirements that the forever evolving entertainment sector needs and out of our conversations with users and continual R&D, the Gen 3 shackle has been born. It really is our most powerful and intelligent wireless load shackle to date. It is intuitive, smart and the perfect choice for load monitoring. The black stainless steel bow sets the Broadweigh shackle apart from the rest. The finish is durable, looks the part with laser etching and will blend seamlessly into the eaves. The ability to power cycle without the need to remove batteries is also a huge advantage to our users.”Added visibility has been built-in to Gen 3 so users can see when the most recent calibration was carried out on the shackle and the largest load that the shackle has seen. Load shackles are precision pieces of measuring equipment and despite being rugged, damage due to misuse could happen at any time. Broadweigh toolkit software retrieves calibration and peak-load data his data so users know when to take action. With Full LEEA membership, Broadweigh can provide thorough examination and calibration services from their HQ in the UK.Robert Willmington-Badcock, managing director of Mantracourt, the company behind Broadweigh explained: “It’s vital that we understand exactly what tools are needed for event professionals to do their job on a tour or in a venue and develop and manufacture products that prove we have listened carefully to user feedback. Our ethos is to develop products specifically for the entertainment industry and to continually improve the features and tools within our systems. We are confident that we can do this like no-one else; the demands in rigging are extremely challenging but Broadweigh is more than up to the job. No other shackle packs everything in like this one and we are extremely proud that our products are designed and manufactured in-house so we really know our kit inside out.”Broadweigh is offering an upgrade option for owners of existing Broadweigh shackles to take advantage of the new firmware without losing investment in the precision load pin.Speaking about the Generation 3 shackle, Kelly Voysey, marketing manager for Broadweigh stated: “ In the midst of COVID which has rocked our incredible live events industry, we have kept our focus and although delayed by a few months, have kept our development schedule on track. Broadweigh is a global solution and is adaptable to many applications and there are active project happening in the world right now. We are seeing our customers adapting and finding ways to make projects work albeit on a different scale. When you have the ability to engineer better solutions, you don’t hold back.”fos/4 Fresnel added to ETC’s portfolio of studio fixturesETC has announced the addition of the Fresnel to the fos/4 studio family. Fresnels have been around for generations and are known for their smooth wash, adjustable zoom capabilities and incredible brightness. With the addition of LEDs, however, many Fresnels became more about the technology and less about beautiful light. ETC’s fos/4 Fresnel takes the most desired features of an incandescent Fresnel and adds in the nuanced colour mixing, smooth fades, and LED technology of ETC’s other professional grade fixtures. With fos/4, you get a true Fresnel with an LED engine, not the other way around.The fos/4 Fresnel includes all the features you’d expect from a standard Fresnel. Adjust the 15-50 degree zoom from either the front or the rear of the fixture. Use the accessory slot to add any number of beam-control accessories such as barn doors and soft boxes. The adjustable yoke enables easy balancing of the fixture after focus, and the homogenised optic gives you an impressively seamless beam of light. Remote control and contactless features of fos/4 include wireless communication using City Theatrical’s Multiverse technology and contactless programming using ETC’s Set Light app via NFC from a mobile device.Like the fos/4 Panel, fos/4 Fresnels are available in two arrays: Lustr X8 for the full gamut of colour mixing and Daylight HDR for the brightest whites. Both arrays include deep red LEDs for the most nuanced rendering of skin tones, fabrics, and scenery of any fixture on the market. The fos/4 Fresnel outputs up to 9700 lumens, so it will never compromise on brightness.fos/4 Fresnel is currently available with a seven-inch aperture, with 10- and 5-inch variants scheduled to be available in the coming months. Bright, quality colour, with the Fresnel beam you need. Like all ETC products, the fos/4 Fresnel is backed by ETC’s 24-hour support and unmatched warranty.www.etcconnect.com4Issue: 334news5Hippotizer powers virtual audience and LED staging for Britain’s Got Talent FinalThe 2020 final of Simon Cowell’s hugely popular TV show Britain’s Got Talent wowed millions of viewers with a spectacular LED screen stage set and virtual audience, powered by Green Hippo’s Hippotizer Boreal+ and Karst+ media servers.Three active Boreal+ and one Karst+ were used for the main system, with the same amount again running as backup for the live show. One Boreal+ fed the main stage LED display, driving 6K content to 3mm screens from supplier Anna Valley, with another Boreal+ dealing with camera overlay effects and live camera shots. The Karst+ fed Art-Net data from two lighting consoles to an array of SGM LED Tubes.This was a very different finale, with no physical audience present in the studio due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In substitute, more than 1,000 live feeds from viewers at home were fed to a new LED ‘audience wall’, positioned behind the judging panel. This was driven by the third Boreal+, with data fed in via NDI by broadcast graphics specialist, Happy Graphics.The virtual audience was collated from PCs using real-time communications (RTC), and after being brought into the network via NDI was applied to a Hippotizer layer. Using VideoMapper, the team structured the feed to fit the different screens, using tint and colour match to unite them and make the virtual audience look harmonious with the video content and graphics, which were created by Ben Foley and Alex King at Buckloop Films.Russ Grubiak served as Hippotizer programmer for the event. “As usual, we chose the Hippotizer because of the ease and speed we can make changes to content, and use layers to build up sequences that seem to be thrown at us while rehearsing,” he says. “We always face very challenging timescales, and I don’t like to say it can’t be done! The producers expect it to happen and using Hippotizer, we deliver.He added: “The producers loved that adding flares and manipulating colour could make a typical ‘conference call’ of at-home audience members look totally glamorous and upbeat.”Grubiak says he utilised a number of Hippotizer software features to achieve the looks seen during the live final broadcast: “Once we have the lighting and staging in place, I use the effects to tune brightness, masking, mirroring and then a few additional visual effects. The on-board generators seem to use little resources in the engine, but give us good effects out of the Art-Net lighting fixtures.”The upgrade to the Boreal+ and Karst+ media servers was actioned by Bill Peachment of Little Mouse Productions, in order to meet the show’s demanding requirements.“This was a big show, and the team needed power and flexibility,” explains Peachment. “The Boreal+ media servers offer just that; they’re a perfect solution and the delivered great results.”Reports suggest that Britain’s Got Talent producer, Fremantle, was keen to make the finals ‘bigger and more daring’ to compensate for the lack of a live audience, and in terms of sheer visual impact, the team went all out to deliver, alongside lighting designer Dave Davey and moving light programmer Alex Mildenhall.photo: Russ Grubiak www.green-hippo.comBritannia Row Training Receives Lifeline Government GrantBritannia Row Productions Training (BRPT) has been awarded £152,000 as part of the Government’s £1.57bn Culture Recovery Fund (CRF) announced by the Culture Secretary to help face the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic and to ensure it has a sustainable future.Britannia Row Productions Training is one of 2,049 cultural and creative organisations across the country to have been awarded £409m of urgently needed support (up to 24th October 2020). The Culture Recovery Fund grants programme is being administered by the Arts Council England on behalf of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. Further rounds of funding in the are due to be announced over the coming weeks.BRPT was founded in 2012 to provide holistic training for those wanting to enter the live events industry as live audio technicians. Courses available from colleges and universities are not targeted enough for this niche sector, making it hard for graduates to enter the workplace as invariably a certain amount of re-training is required. Furthermore, these institutions tend to lag behind with teaching the latest technologies, equipment and working practices.All BRPT training courses are written, kept up-to-date and delivered by tutors who are industry practitioners working at the top tier of the industry. BRPT has developed and offered a range of courses which have allowed for part-time study through to intensive full-time courses and a 3-year BSc Hons degree.BRPT students book onto its courses for a variety of reasons. Some already make a living from live audio and simply want to increase their knowledge in certain areas. The motivation for most students is to be enabled to enter the industry. BRPT has seen hundreds of its graduates secure their first jobs in the industry, with many more rising quickly to senior roles.In March 2020, the company’s training activities were – and have remained – suspended due to the restrictions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Being awarded a Culture Recovery Grant, BRPT now has the ability to offer all potential students to study with BRPT at a distance, online. The grant is a lifeline for the company. Over the next five months, most of the grant will go to audio and video professionals who will be working on producing the online training - and provide them with much-needed income. Marketing of the online courses will begin in late November with the first courses scheduled to be available in January 2021.Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden comments: “This is more vital funding to protect cultural gems across the country, save jobs and prepare the arts to bounce back. Through Arts Council England we are delivering the biggest ever investment in the arts in record time. Hundreds of millions of pounds are already making their way to thousands of organisations.These awards build on our commitment to be here for culture in every part of the country.”ETC postpones in-person trade show attendance Out of concern for the safety of its employees and global community, ETC has announced that it will not participate in traditional trade show exhibitions until July, 2021. The company has instead decided to focus its resources on remote demos and online events.With this in mind, ETC has been hard at work converting in-house demo spaces throughout the company’s offices into studios for online product demonstrations. Customers may now use an online portal to schedule live, one-on-one demos of some of the company’s newest fixtures: ColorSource Spot jr, Source 4WRD Color, and the fos/4 Panel and fos/4 Fresnel studio products from the comfort of their own homes or workplaces. ETC hopes to make online demos a permanent resource for customers looking for the latest in lighting technology.ETC is also turning its focus to online events and programmes. The company’s online Study Hall seminars – ongoing since the beginning of the pandemic shutdown – continue to provide remote learning and Q&A opportunities, with past sessions posted to an ever-growing YouTube library. Having held a successful training workshop for reps and dealers over the summer, ETC is also planning customer-facing events in the first half of 2021.“Live trade shows, customer visits and training in our offices around the world, all these activities will return to us in the future,” says David Lincecum, ETC’s vice president of marketing. “For the short term, we will focus our business plan on learning new ways to connect with customers.”www.etcconnect.comDecember 2020news6New Chauvet Professional COLORado Batten Q15 is Versatile by DesignInspiration and creativity (not to mention client needs and spatial limitations) are taking the shape of lighting rigs in many directions. Now there’s an extremely bright batten that can go right along with them. The new IP65 rated COLORado Batten Q15 features an array of rigging options that make it right at home in a wide range of designs.The adjustable trunions on this one-metre long RGBW LED batten, which can be adjust without tools on its integrated track, have been given an even greater degree of versatility with the addition of quarter-turn omega brackets.Adding to the COLORado BattenQ15’s adaptability is a new system for joining different units together. Integrated into the end caps of the fixture is a system to connect units seamlessly for perfect row alignment. Since these attachments are weight bearing, the COLORado Batten Q15 can be hung ‘icicle style’, or arranged in tower configurations using the included hanging/floor mount plate.“Given the demands of today’s market, when lighting rigs are being set up in many different types of settings, we feel that adaptable rigging options have never been more important,” said Albert Chauvet, CEO of Chauvet. “The COLORado Batten Q15 combines a high degree of rigging versatility with outstanding performance features.”Among those performance features is the intense output from the new fixture’s 15 x 20 Watt LEDs, which render beautiful and vivid colours and lend themselves to sizzling pixel mapped displays without the ‘skittle’ look often associated with battens.Capable of transitioning quickly from a smooth colour wall wash to a stunning effect, the COLORado Batten Q15 features an elliptical 42 to 15-degree beam spread, a stowable glare shield, colour temperature presets from 3,200K to 10,000K, and selectable smooth dimming curves.Designed to excel indoors or out, and in broadcast studios as well as on concert stages, the COLORado Batten Q15 is intended to be as versatile as it is reliable. “Our customers are being asked to be more flexible and imaginative than ever today,” said Chauvet. “We developed this product to help them meet that challenge.”Strand Debuts Smaller NEO Console with Most Powerful Feature Set in its ClassStrand, the Signify entertainment lighting brand, has announced the new NEO Compact 10 lighting console. This new, more compact version of the popular NEO Console is now available globally and brings the power of NEO software in a ten-fader lighting control console perfect for education, theatre or house of worship applications.“The combination of sophisticated features, quality-built hardware and small form factor makes the new NEO Compact 10 Console the most powerful lighting console in its class,” says Fernand Pereira, global head of marketing and product management, Vari-Lite and Strand at Signify. “The NEO Compact 10 offers the full capabilities of Strand NEO software optimised for a smaller footprint, with seven different onboard effects engines as well as user-configurable buttons, faders and palettes that let you adapt NEO to the way you work.”To simplify operation further, the NEO Compact 10 includes an internal 7” touchscreen that makes it easy to program a complete light show at the operator’s fingertips, while the ability to add an external touch monitor brings the full programming capabilities of the NEO software for more complex productions. Thanks to the integrated ten-button numeric keypad and command line support, the NEO Compact 10 offers fast programming of its advanced effects capabilities.“With a feature set that’s unrivalled at its size and price point, the NEO Compact 10 can be used anywhere, whether that’s at front of house, in a rack as a backup show control interface or on the go as a portable desk,” explains Pereira. “With four DMX universes (up to 2048 channels) by default and upgradable to ten universes (up to 5120 channels), the NEO Compact brings powerful capabilities to virtually any size space.”In addition to the NEO Compact 10 Console, Strand is also debuting the NEO Compact 10 PC Wing, a USB control surface accessory for Strand NEO PC that is based upon the same hardware design as the Compact 10 Console. The ten-fader USB wing offers NEO PC users the same ten-button numeric keypad for fast programming, as well as a touchscreen interface that allows users to quickly select palettes and groups. With the NEO Compact 10 PC Wing and a laptop running NEO PC, users can easily program upcoming shows from anywhere or run a live production with tactile buttons and faders right from their laptop.To add support for the NEO Compact 10 Series, Strand has released NEO OS version 3.11. The software update also brings enhancements to cue lists and the magic sheet, as well as a new matrix timing tool and other changes. The new software is available for the Strand NEO Console, NEO RACK Playback Controller, and NEO PC. The update is available for download at Strand’s website.“The new NEO Compact 10 Series ushers in a new generation of lighting control solutions from Strand,” adds Sameer Sodhi, Business Leader, Vari-Lite and Strand at Signify. “The NEO Compact 10 Series joins Vari-Lite and Strand’s full range of luminaires, controls, and power and data distribution products to offer theatrical environments a complete solution with industry-leading capabilities from a single manufacturer.”The Strand NEO Compact 10 Series is now shipping.PMC Opens New Factory to Cope with Demand for CI Monitors Loudspeaker manufacturer PMC has opened a new factory in Bedfordshire to cope with burgeoning demand for its world-beating CI series.Since launching last September, CI monitors have proved hugely popular with the installation market where they are delivering Hollywood studio audio quality. Incorporating the same proprietary PMC technology as the company’s multi award winning audiophile speakers and studio monitors, these slimline speakers are designed with a shallow depth for on-wall and in-wall custom installations. This design feature also makes them ideally suited to professional studios that are embracing Dolby Atmos immersive audio for music and film mixing and want discreet monitors for their wall and ceiling channels.“In addition to the flourishing custom installation market, CI monitors also form an integral part of our loudspeaker systems for Dolby Atmos and we anticipate a sharp uptake in demand as more and more professional studios embrace this format for music mixing,” says PMC’s owner Peter Thomas. “Thanks to its almost limitless headroom, power capabilities, pin-point accuracy and sonic fidelity, PMC’s system goes well beyond Dolby’s own minimum requirements, making it the template for many internationally acclaimed studios such as Universal’s Capitol Studios in Los Angeles and the legendary Dean Street Studios in London.”Based on an industrial estate in Sandy, just ten minutes from PMC’s head office in Biggleswade, the new factory covers 6,000 square feet and includes additional space for warehousing. Alongside the very latest manufacturing equipment, PMC has invested in facilities for stringent acoustic testing and critical listening, which will be carried out on every monitor before it is despatched.THE WORLD'S FIRSTTRANSFERABLE LED ENGINE#RobeInnovationDecember 2020news8The ALD Announces the Winners of the ALD Awards for Excellence 2020The ALD – for people in performance lighting – has announced the winners of this year’s Awards for Excellence, which exist to highlight the new generation of young production talent emerging from UK universities. The winning students have all created award-winning portfolios that succeed in demonstrating their skills to best advantage, in a disrupted year where the number of lighting opportunities available to them may have been reduced.Winners are traditionally announced at the Annual Lighting Lunch but will this year be showcased to the ALD membership via its bi-monthly magazine, Focus, and then through the ALD’s social media channels in a two-week series of posts.Indicative of the ALD’s widening membership base, the Fred Foster Award for Production Electrics, the most recent addition to the awards portfolio, proved to be a popular choice receiving a large number of applications this year. Guildhall School of Music and Drama’s, Liam Sayer rose to the top of the ranks to win this award. The judges appreciated his attention to detail, his innovation and problem solving. They also commented that his testimonials were impressive and shone alongside a clearly articulated work ethic.The coveted Michael Northen Award for Lighting Design was won this year by Euan Davis of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA). The judges were very impressed by his research and demonstrated collaboration abilities which he used to break a complex play into parts to find a language for each piece. They also commented on the flair he showed in the use of his rigs.Josie Ireland, studying this year for A-Levels, received a well-deserved Francis Reid Award for Best Emerging Lighting Designer. The judges praised Josie’s use of video with lighting as well as her versatility and clarity as a designer. The judges were impressed with how she integrated feedback from previous years’ applications to inform and evolve her work.The Blue-I Theatre Technology Award for Excellence in Video went to Liam Strong (Guildhall School of Music and Drama). The judges felt he had worked incredibly hard on his portfolio which demonstrated the beautiful designs he had created. One judge commented that Liam was one to watch as “the next big thing in video!”ALD chair, Johanna Town, said: “I’m overwhelmed this year by the response to the awards and the dedication demonstrated by the entrants. Each of the winners has demonstrated real flair in their chosen discipline as well as determination and that gives me great hope as they begin to forge their professional paths.”In picture: Liam Sayer (Fred Foster Award for Production Electrics), Euan Davis ( Michael Northen Award for Lighting Design ), Josie Ireland (Francis Reid Award for Best Emerging Lighting Designer) and Liam Strong Blue-I Theatre Technology Award for Excellence in Video.Will Stringer is the 2020 winner of Sennheiser’s Student Scholarship Programme at LIPAContinuing its quarter-of-a-century tradition of sponsoring the world-renowned Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA) with a Student Scholarship Programme, Sennheiser has announced the name of yet another brilliant student who has been awarded the coveted scholarship. William Stringer (pictured) will receive full financial support for his tuition fees and accommodation costs, as well as being given the benefit of access to Sennheiser key contacts and the company’s vast audio expertise.Since 1996, Sennheiser has been an active partner of LIPA, with both organisations striving for the common goal of supporting the talent of the future. Providing them with the tools necessary to succeed has resulted in a beautiful and noble relationship that has gone from strength to strength over the years. This year’s winner was chosen by Tim Sherratt, Sennheiser’s strategic planning manager and Henrik Oppermann, Sonosphere’s creative director.“It is a real privilege to be selected for this year’s scholarship,” says Stringer. “Despite these uncertain times, I am very much looking forward to making best use of Sennheiser’s abundance of contacts and experience, which is the result of the company’s 75-year heritage. The generous financial contribution and industry support this Scholarship will provide me with whilst studying for my Sound Technology degree at LIPA will be invaluable.”Stringer further explains how the course has already delivered a wealth of knowledge, state-of-the-art facilities, and lecturers that offer a breadth of professional experience. With just under two years left on his course he: “Cannot wait to continue studying and make full use of the Sennheiser Scholarship,” he adds.“The application process for the Sennheiser Scholarship has been fine-tuned over the years, which means that we can ensure we support an outstanding student each year, who will go on to great things in the professional audio industry,” says Sherratt. “Will is a very talented student and we hope that this scholarship will help him achieve his full potential. We wish him a bright future and hope that both we and the industry will be seeing much more of Will in the coming years!”Outline presents the world’s toughest compact power amplifierLeading European pro-audio innovator, Outline, has announced the launch of its latest design, the all-new L3000 multi-purpose amplifier.The L3000 has been created to offer a compact, powerful DSP-equipped multi-channel amplifier that can be configured to drive most loudspeaker configurations. Additionally (and uniquely) its form factor eschews the traditional 19” rackmount format, its mechanism being housed in a super-tough, lightweight chassis using the same materials and roadworthy polyurea external coating as Outline’s tour-grade loudspeakers.Its modest dimensions make it ideal for a huge range of audio installation projects, notably those where space constraints (especially at home) make it impossible or impractical to find space for traditional amplifier racks. L3000 allows 3kW of pure audio power to be tucked away out of sight: under a bar, on a shelf, in a cupboard or anywhere that’s convenient to the application, but if you really want to put it in a rack, Outline also supply a dedicated rackmount kit that allows one or two L3000s to be secured in standard enclosure.Featuring two inputs and four outputs, the unit’s routing and operational parameters are configured using Armonía Plus, the amplifier’s management software which also offers control of input / output levels and EQ, delay, polarity, crossover filters and limiter settings. Its combination of power, onboard DSP control and flexible operation make it an extremely cost-effective option for powering virtually any installed sound system.Like all Outline products, the L3000 is 100% designed and manufactured in Italy using only the highest quality components.7news9Issue: 334Chauvet DJ Expands Line with New Power Packed FixturesChauvet DJ is offering customers exciting, value-driven ways to create bold, new looks as they jump start their live entertainment and event businesses by unleashing a stunning array of product introductions that include the company’s first CMYO colour-mixing fixture and the first Intimidator to use built-in RGBW colour-mixing instead of a colour wheel.Covering a broad product range, from washes, to movers, to pin spots, the new fixtures represent the latest in lighting technology. Many of them offer advanced DMX control features.Among the new wash units are the Wash FX Hex, a powerhouse multi-purpose effect light that packs a punch with hex colour (RGAW+UV) LEDs and six chasing zones, as well as the Kinta HP, which features dazzling displays of thousands of multi-coloured beams. The Kinta HP also boasts new colour mixing capabilities, as it is the first Chauvet DJ effect light to feature an innovative grouping of a CMYO (cyan, magenta, yellow and orange) as well as RGBW (red, green blue, white) colour-mixing.In the spot effect category, the new 6Spot RGBW is a complete ‘pack & go’ lighting solution fitted with high-intensity quad-colour (RGBW) LEDs that allows users to achieve total room or stage coverage with six individually adjustable heads, all of which are on a single bar for easy setup and tear down.The popular Intimidator line has been expanded with two new movers: the Intimidator Beam Q60 and the Intimidator Scan 360. Featuring full 360-degree pan and tilt, the ultra-fast beam unit is the first Intimidator without a colour wheel. Instead it is fitted with a bright 60 Watt RGBW colour mixing LED. When 360-degree movement isn’t needed, a built-in totem mode keeps the light on and over the dance floor. Intimidator Beam Q60 has powerCON-compatible power input/output connections for power linking and a quarter-turn hanging bracket allows for quick removal when needed.Intimidator Scan 360 is a feature-packed scanner fitted with a 100 W LED designed for mobile performances. This fixture delivers razor sharp and whip-fast beams to dazzle dance floors and packs a crisp, three-facet rotating prism to split the beam and cover larger areas. Motorised focus projects crisp gobos from nearly any distance.Chauvet DJ once again boldly leads the way with new wireless DMX technology with the introduction of D-Fi XLR. This cutting-edge technology provides instant wireless communication through compact battery-powered wireless D-Fi receiver (D-Fi XLR RX) or transmitter (D-Fi XLR TX) units that plug directly into the XLR port of DMX compatible lights. The D-Fi XLR Pack includes one transmitter, three receivers and one multi-charger.EZPin Zoom Pack takes pin spot lighting to new heights of versatility with its manual zoom adjustment. The unit is equipped with a handy magnetic base that affixes to most metal surfaces, eliminating the need for clamps. Together with the rechargeable battery, this feature allows the fixture to be placed anywhere.In addition to these new products, Chauvet DJ is offering a convenient new packaging option for one of its most popular pin spots with the introduction of EZLink Par Q1BT Pack. EZLink Par Q1BT Pack bundles four EZLink Par Q1BT fixtures and one IRC-6 remote into an easily transportable VIP gear bag perfect for the mobile entertainer.“We are excited to offer this rich variety of new products and technology,” says Chauvet DJ senior product manager Allan Reiss. “It’s encouraging for all of us to see the event industry making strides to thrive again and we’re happy that we can provide some powerful new lighting tools to help it get there.”Next >