Japanese Lighting Designer, Mitsumasa Hayashi created The Robe Lighting Show – a piece of light art at the Urayasu Mai Studio of the Nihon Stage Co.,Ltd. – featuring over 350 Robe moving lights. These were supplied by prominent Japanese rental companies, M-Tech Style and the Mula Corporation. The piece was commissioned by Masaharu Sakamoto who heads up LTG, Robe’s Japanese distributor. With live performances halted worldwide due to the pandemic, Sakamoto was keen to produce a lighting art video concept that could be enjoyed and appreciated by lighting enthusiasts worldwide. Sakamoto was inspired by the positive, robust power of Robe’s…
Author: James Robertson
California’s SilverLakes is best known for attracting sports fans and horse-riding enthusiasts with more than two dozen full-sized soccer fields and five equestrian areas. But this past New Year’s Eve, the complex upped its showmanship game by serving as the high-energy host site for a drive-in concert headlined by superstar DJ Kaskade, who rang in 2021 on an L-Acoustics K2 system deployed by San Diego-based Pro Systems AV. Completely selling out its maximum capacity of 700 vehicles, the show opened with sets from J. Worra and Ravell before Kaskade took the stage, wrapping up more than six hours of EDM…
Robe’s brand-new flagship, high powered, TE (TRANSFERABLE ENGINE) LED luminaire – the FORTE – makes landfall in France where brand new FORTES have been delivered from the Czech Republic via Robe France to rental and technical production specialist Concept Audiovisuel. The 40,000 lumen fixture features Robe’s new generation 1000W white LED light engine, complete with independent zone control for even higher output when zoomed in. The engine is fully and easily replaceable – dramatically extending the lifespan of this ground-breaking fixture. Concept Audiovisuel is based in Niort, western France, and was founded in 1998 by Pierig Burgin and Hughes Mongrand…
A distributor for many of the best-known audio manufacturers in Sweden, Soundware Sweden now boasts the L-Acoustics brand as an additional loudspeaker solution in its growing pro audio arsenal. “L-Acoustics is the missing piece of our puzzle,” said Marcus Lundahl, Managing Director of Soundware Sweden. “Soundware has been working with every piece of audio equipment from the microphone to the mixing console for many years, so adding loudspeakers was a natural step for us. And as we also distribute DiGiCo mixing consoles in Sweden, L-Acoustics is a logical addition for us, particularly as there is native integration with the L-ISA…
DiGiCo is offering New Hope for the start of 2021 with the launch of a competition that brings its friends around the world some much needed positivity. The competition is open now, is free to enter and has three amazing gifts up for grabs: a DiGiGrid MGB Madi to SoundGrid Interface; the first of the newly launched KLANG Kontrollers – Serial Number 1; and an incredible DiGiCo Quantum Range Console! “We wanted to look forwards and give a little hope for the new year, and we couldn’t think of better way to do it than by giving away three products…
When the Irish National Opera first started production of Least Like the Other, they had plans to tour the show around Ireland in August 2020. While the pandemic threatened to halt the production and performances, innovation through d&b Soundscape means that the show will go on — in a form unlike anything ever seen in Opera. Least Like the Other, Searching for Rosemary Kennedy is a thought-provoking work of experimental music theatre created by Brian Irvine and Netia Jones. The show traces events in the life of Rosemary, eldest daughter of Joe and Rose Kennedy, sister of JFK, using redacted…
Red Bee Media delivered the biggest livestream ever seen in the Netherlands, when Vrienden van Amstel (Friends of Amstel) was held as a digital event for the first time in its 23-year-old history on January 16, 2021. Participation surpassed all expectations, with an estimated 1.7 Million* viewers from across 120 countries worldwide. Amstel, event agency Tribe Company and media production company FabriQ Media Group, relied on Red Bee to make sure the ambitiously planned live event, with some of the country’s biggest artists, was delivered without interruption to audiences across the world. During headline act Armin van Buuren’s DJ set,…
It was the final day of Bocuse d’Or Europe 2020. Esteemed chefs from 24 nations had gathered with their teams in different rooms at the Saku Arena early in the morning to review their secret plans for the dishes they would be offering judges later that afternoon. All of them would be working with Estonian quail and eel catfish. The culinary wizard who blended these basic ingredients into the most sumptuous and alluring gastronomical creation would be crowned European Champion by Estonian president Kersti Kaljulaid. As the top chefs and their assistants met in secret that morning, Olev Luhaäär was…
MBSE has made a significant investment in over 500 Luminex network and lighting distribution devices. This substantial acquisition was supplied by sister companies A.C. Entertainment Technologies (AC-ET) and A.C. Lighting Inc, to the MBSE technical teams on both sides of the Atlantic. Created specifically for the entertainment industry, Luminex products are becoming increasingly responsible for managing the data behind many of today’s fixture heavy productions. Extremely capable and simple to use, Luminex systems provide the cutting edge solutions necessary to handle complex lighting data distribution. This blend of power and simplicity allows crews to manage even the largest network setups,…
Meyer Sound has announced the immediate availability of LEOPARD-M80 narrow coverage linear line array, a new variant of the LEOPARD loudspeaker designed for focused coverage and long-throw applications. LEOPARD-M80 is identical to the existing LEOPARD design except that it provides a precisely controlled 80° horizontal pattern instead of the 110° coverage of the original model. “LEOPARD has been one of the most successful loudspeakers in our company history and is by far the best selling member of our line arrays,” noted Meyer Sound Vice President and Chief Loudspeaker Designer Pablo Espinosa. “With the introduction of LEOPARD-M80, we will extend this…
Over the past 25 years Music Bank has established itself as one of the premier rehearsal and backline hire facilities in Europe. Top touring artists and productions have long-standing relationships with Music Bank’s team, and know they are always going to get a great facility and great service when they come to rehearse or hire equipment. In recent months, Music Bank’s director Jimmy Mac has been busy modifying the studios to create a state-of-the-art live streaming space, allocating its DiGiCo SD12 to mixing duties to ensure familiarity and total flexibility for visiting engineers. “We knew people would want to use…
ADJ has introduced the latest edition to its range of lighting control solutions, the LINK. This unique hardware/software system combines the processing power, wireless connectivity and multitouch screen of an iPad with lighting-specific tactile controls and a four universe DMX interface to deliver a unique control solution. Powerful and user-friendly, the LINK fills the void between small single universe DMX controllers and large format lighting consoles. It is designed to simplify control for aspiring lighting designers, small production companies, churches, community theatres and performances spaces, providing a new connection between lights and creativity. The ADJ LINK control system is powered…
Theatrical musical producers Deep Bridge created a special streamed ‘Home Edition’ version of their 2020 Christmas Show, with appearances and special Christmas collaborations from a host of celebrities and music stars, all presenting unique festive musical moments. The event was recorded over three days at Deep Bridge’s HQ in Antwerp with lighting designed by David Smeets of event design and production company The Creative Factory, (TCF) based in Meerhout. Smeets specified Robe moving lights including T1 Profiles, Spiiders, LEDBeam 150s, Tertra2 LED bars and BMFL WashBeams all of which were supplied by rental company L&L Stage Services. The action-packed artist…
As with many events last year, the annual Nuland Verlicht community celebration in the Netherlands had to transition to a virtual format in 2020. However, instead of scaling back, Lighting Designer, Bart Stofmeel instead used this as an opportunity to create a truly awe-inspiring light show in the large and atmospheric church that hosted the recording. Using hundreds of fixtures, including ADJ 7P HEX IP and 32 HEX Panel IP washes and Vizi CMY300 moving heads, he created a stunning backdrop to the evening of performances that was enjoyed by thousands of people from the comfort and safety of their…
Chauvet Germany, a wholly owned subsidiary of ChamSys’ parent company, is now exclusively responsible for selling and servicing the complete line of ChamSys products in the German market. In conjunction with this move, which reflects ChamSys’ commitment to building on its success in Germany, Frank Alofs has been appointed the German Business Development, Training and Support manager. Highly regarded throughout the industry, Alofs brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to his new position. “We’re very excited to be direct in Germany and to welcome Frank to our team,” said Henning Oeker, Operations Manager for Chauvet Germany. In his new…
Although 2020 was a dark year for many, there have been glimmers of light along the way; software provider Stardraw.com has been pleased to record two significant milestones during the 20th anniversary year of its incorporation: firstly, in 2020, for the first time in the company’s history, more than 250,000 user sessions for Stardraw Design 7 were logged. Secondly, as a result of new processes and practices introduced in 2019 to streamline the Product Request Service, the queue of approved Product Requests was reduced to zero for the first time ever. “While we may not have felt like celebrating our…
Jonathan Wyner has started his term as President of the Audio Engineering Society beginning January 1, 2021. “Jonathan has proven his leadership and vision during his year on the AES Board of Directors as President-Elect,” commented outgoing AES President Agnieszka Roginska. “The AES is in excellent hands for the coming year.” President Wyner’s experience includes 30-plus years as both an active AES member and as an audio technologist. Wyner’s professional industry involvement currently includes his roles as Chief Engineer at M Works Mastering, Education Director for iZotope in Cambridge, MA, and Professor at Berklee College of Music in Boston. Wyner’s…
Lectrosonics introduces two new transmitters as the latest generation in the award-winning Digital Hybrid Wireless SM Series product line: the SMWB/E07-941 (single AA battery) and SMDWB/E07-941 (dual AA battery), covering the Part-74 license-only frequency range from 941.525 to 959.825 MHz. The two new transmitters have the same dimensions and features as the earlier UHF SMWB and SMDWB units, including the ability to either act as a transmitter or as a body-worn recorder. RF power for these models is selectable at 100, 50, or 25 mW. They feature the standard TA5 connector with servo-bias mic input, as used on all previous…
