Digital Insanity teamed up with Glitterbox in August to deliver dazzling visuals for London’s We are FSTVL, choosing up a Hippotizer Nevis+ Media Server to pump out extra VJ prowess. Reading-based video production company Digital Insanity – which has created visuals for dance festivals including Snowbombing, Lovebox and Global Gathering – was at the helm of the Glitterbox/Defected stage over two days of fast-paced performances. Eight huge 512×1280 portrait, 3mm LED screens were rigged in a four stage-left, four stage-right formation, displaying branded punk style disco graphics, slogans, geometric beauty and live feed footage. A further two screens were positioned…
Author: James Robertson
When it was introduced in March, 2021, the Ovation Rêve E-3 set a new standard for LED ellipsoidals by combining a full spectrum of saturated colours with vivid whites featuring +/- green adjustments, along with a host of other features. Now CHAUVET Professional is rewriting the rule book again, with the new Ovation Réve E-3 IP, which offers all the output and performance of its popular predecessor, along with the added benefit of being an IP65-rated fixture. The brightest full spectrum ellipsoidal on the market, the Rêve E-3 IP has been designed to excel indoors or out in theatre, broadcast,…
Veteran audio engineers Ross Landis and Andrew Crow had the opportunity to demo an Allen & Heath dLive system earlier this year, and they both fell in love with the open format. “You can do basically anything, and set it up how you want,” recalled Landis. When it came time to tour with Grammy-nominated rock group Nothing More, the pair opted to each bring along a dLive S5000 surface – one at front of house, and one for monitors. Both Landis and Crow appreciated how many user-defined SoftKeys were available to them on the large format 28-fader dLive surface. “I…
HARMAN Professional Solutions has introduced the newest members of JBL Professional’s flagship VTX line array series, the VTX A6 subcompact dual 6.5-inch passive line array element and the B15 compact, arrayable 15-inch subwoofer. The A6 and B15 bring JBL’s top acoustic technologies to compact form factors for small- to medium-size touring and fixed installations, providing versatile solutions for production companies, touring acts, rental houses, theaters, houses of worship and anyone who requires superior sonic performance in space-critical applications. “When you choose the JBL VTX A Series, you’re building a complete ecosystem, with common acoustic profiles and rigging systems, consistent voicing…
PSCo will return to PLASA Show at Olympia London on 4-6 September to present its virtual production offering for the live events industry, supported by new ecosystem partners disguise and Brompton Technology as well as new solutions from Absen, Barco, Aluvision and Epson. PLASA Show is the leading tradeshow for live entertainment technology attracting some 3,000 rental companies and event professionals and 200+ international brands. PSCo will occupy 56 sqm of floor space, representing the company’s largest presence at the show to reinforce its commitment to supporting the live event and entertainment market. The star attraction will be a live…
In just a few years, the Elbjazz Festival has grown into one of the most popular jazz festivals in Europe. Attractive line-ups have played just as much a part in this as the spectacular venues in the bustling port of Hamburg. After a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic, the 2022 edition of Elbjazz on June 3 and 4 featured 44 acts worth listening to on several stages located in and around the harbour. Hamburg-based production company PM Blue has been providing sound reinforcement for the festival for several years and relied on Alcons Audio’s proven pro-ribbon sound systems on…
Multi-platinum recording artist Sebastián Yatra performed a show-stopping rendition of his hit song Tacones Rojos during a virtual concert powered by Evercoast volumetric capture technology, Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband network, and mobile edge computing. Produced by Verizon, Pandora, and the industry-leading virtual production and XR technologists at Magnopus, the concert featured a bilingual duet where Yatra performed alongside an AR hologram of himself against an immersive virtual environment with vibrant, eye-catching visuals. Evercoast CTO Sebastian Marino shared: “Evercoast’s volumetric capture technology reduces the cost of production and simplifies the creation of high-end 3D digital humans, enabling teams to integrate AR holograms…
San Francisco’s Outside Lands Festival, presented by Another Planet Entertainment and co-producer Superfly, returned to Golden Gate Park August 5–7, with headliners including SZA, Green Day, and Post Malone. This year, a Meyer Sound PANTHER large-format linear line array loudspeaker system powered the Lands End main stage, provided by Bay Area rental company UltraSound. While previous generations of Meyer Sound systems have been in place at the Lands End main stage since the festival’s inception in 2008, this year marks the first edition with the new PANTHER loudspeaker. Although it was introduced just six months prior to Outside Lands, PANTHER…
The owner of Envizion Group, Will Chandler has created a flowing set and lighting design for Grammy winners Bob Moses, on the Canadian duo’s current summer tour. Engendering this organic mood are his artful use of dark spaces, a blow through video wall, and a rig configuration that allows him to “hide” fixtures when not in use. “My vision was to maintain a level of transparency in the set,” explained Chandler. “Going into the design process, I wanted to incorporate video into the rig, but more as a scenic element and light source than as a traditional screen. The use…
Noisily Festival made its return to Coney Woods in Leicestershire on 6 to 9 July 2022, following two years of postponements and said an emotional goodbye to its home of the last nine years with an unforgettable send off. The 7,000-capacity festival featured Funktion-One sound systems across the site – including a special surround sound setup on the main stage. Noisily’s production team once again teamed up with long-term collaborator and Funktion-One rental partner, Audio Feed, who has supplied the festival’s sound since it began in 2013. Noisily’s Will Hazlerigg explained: “The sound is, of course, a top priority. We’re…
Stage Right Lighting in Virginia Beach, Virginia expanded its Ayrton lighting inventory with 38 Perseo IP65-rated compact, multi-function luminaires, which have been flying off the shelves, according to Production Manager Doug Arble. ACT Entertainment is the exclusive distributor of Ayrton lighting in North America. “We’re based in the Tidewater area, which consists of seven cities, and from May to October we’re outdoors with concerts and special events,” he reports. “We were looking for a multi-function light with an LED source and an IP rating. We needed something that wasn’t excessively heavy that we could throw into a pre-rigged truss and…
Bobby Glowacki does a bit of everything on country music artist Brett Eldredge’s current Songs About You U.S. tour and lights the singer/songwriter using a versatile lighting rig from Elation Professional. Production design, lighting design, lighting programming, lighting operation, even lighting tech, he’s a virtual jack-of-all-lighting-trades working behind the scenes to make sure the show runs smoothly and looks its best. Eldredge is a bonafide country star with five No. 1 singles on the Billboard country charts and multiple accolades to his credit. Glowacki, who shares production designer duties with Bryan Bobbys, has been working with Eldredge for the past few…
AGF (A Greener Festival), the founders of the world’s first green standards for festivals and events have launched ‘A Greener Supplier Kitemark’ to provide green suppliers with independent and trusted verification and recognition of their sustainability actions. The issue of finding greener solutions is an important one and the music, sports and live event sectors are increasingly looking for suppliers and partners who have sustainability at the heart of what they do. By gaining AGF certification, suppliers will be able to demonstrate independently verified green credentials to their customers. The new certification will help events, festivals and tours identify verified…
Conceived and directed by Channing Tatum, Magic Mike Live is an unforgettably fun night of thrilling, 360-degree entertainment based on the hit movies “Magic Mike” and “Magic Mike XXL.” This first-class experience features some of the world’s most talented guys performing heart-racing dance routines in front of, above, and all around the audience. BlackTrax can be found at the center of the action, helping to create the lighting aesthetic only found at a Magic Mike Live show. We had the chance to speak with Don Gilmore, International Production Manager of Magic Mike Live Worldwide, and Paul Chadwick, Production and Head Electrician for…
Millions of Singaporeans celebrated their National Day Parade 2022 on 9 August, with events taking place across the island. The focal point of the festivities was The Float @ Marina Bay, where marching bands, live performances and the National Day theme song ‘Stronger Together’ were heard via a d&b audiotechnik KSL system flown high above the stage. “This was the first time we used the d&b KSL system for the National Day Parade (NDP), having used d&b J-Series in previous years, and I was impressed by both clarity and coverage,” says Peter Loh, Technical Director, NDP 2022, who has worked…
MA Lighting has now released the grandMA3 software version 1.8. In a very short release cycle MA presents massive workflow improvements and new functionalities in the following areas: New workflow for symmetrical movements Selection Grid tools Multipatch Additional Store modes Reworked Update menu In addition, lots of already existing features are taken to the next level. The DMX tester gets encoder bar control and the entire grandMA3 system can be set up offline with the help of device configurations. XYZ programming gets more powerful than it ever was. grandMA3 version 1.8 introduces the possibility of fading between MArkers and even…
German technology service provider, EBV Veranstaltungstechnik, has invested in Martin Audio’s Wavefront Precision technology, with the purchase of a WPM line array from territorial distributors, Audio Technica Deutschland. Based in Hettenleidelheim in the Rheinland-Palatinate, EBV is a family business with a long tradition. Elmar Breitwieser founded the company over 40 years ago and focused primarily on regional musical events, which he initially equipped with sound and lighting systems before adding stage technology. In 2018 Christian Breitwieser, son of the founder, took over the company and expanded the business from concert and festival events to corporate functions, conferences and more. Needing…
Pixotope has launched the Pixotope Education Program (PEP), a collegiate-level educational and community-building initiative designed to help enable the next generation of Virtual Production talent. Developed as a response to the limited talent pool, the PEP provides access to the software and tools that drive Virtual Production while connecting educators to experts from the global Pixotope community who can add breadth, depth and context to different curriculums. “In speaking with our customers and partners, a lack of available Virtual Production talent is often named as the number one barrier to entry,” says Pixotope Education Program Manager, Carina Schoo. “We’ve reached…
