The Resurrection of the Stadium

Impressive and enchanting despite the stigma of 24 years of abandonment, the Stadium has been brought back from oblivion, thanks to the magic of the city of Vitrolles and the Festival d’Aix, with the help of NEXO, Yamaha and the efforts of Texen, for five performances of Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, the Resurrection Symphony.

The Stadium in Vitrolles, as thousands of people have seen it over the years from the highway that runs adjacent to it.

We were delighted to be invited to get a behind-the-scenes look at the story with – just to name a few – Francois Deffarges from NEXO, Thomas Goeuriot from Texen, and Quentin Delisle, who was holding down the FoH mix on the day we came.

Without getting into the causes of this prolonged hiatus in the use of the Stadium, the idea to stage Mahler’s Resurrection there despite the many technical difficulties that had to be overcome, sounds like the best idea of 2022, and even beyond, since the partnership with the Festival d’Aix will continue for a few years to come.

The structure that supports the 400 tons of soil and allowed them to decrease this already substantial quantity.

For this Romeo Castellucci production, 400 tons of soil were poured into the hall on top of an elevated wooden deck, providing a very large performance area for the performers and extras.
The edge of this “earthy” platform borders on the pit for the chorus and orchestra, both of which are placed on level 0, on the Stadium’s ground level.

Finally, a word about the seating, which was reconfigured by cleverly cannibalising the seats that were still operable. Over the years that it has been left unoccupied, this venue has literally been stripped of every valuable object, including metal, circuit breakers and electrical wires, with extraordinary meticulousness, and what has not been stolen has been ruined by man or time.


An image of the Stadium before its partial renovation brought part of the seating back to life. The movable section at the bottom was set aside to create the orchestra pit. (photo: Mathias Pujade).

The Stadium, which is still sitting on red bauxite residue, underwent essential safety work in order to accommodate the public, albeit with a reduced capacity.

The tons of bauxite dumped there over many years still surround the stadium, but this has not prevented hundreds of spectators from returning to enjoy the sound of Resurrection.

The sound was provided by a collaboration between Yamaha for the mixing and the immersive object matrixing, NEXO for the distributed sound system and the monitors, and Texen for the supply of a large part of the package, the deployment of the whole system, as well as the assembly and management of the technical team.

The whole thing was conceived and coordinated by Rémy Bréan, who knew how to adapt the artistic requirements at two different paces, that of the Producer and then that of the Musical Director, in an environment that was, to say the least, unusual for a concert of this type and with an obligatory sound system. It was also Rémy who put together the technical team and formalised the technical installation documents.

A view of the front of the FoH sound system. The five P15s in the distance at the top of the bleachers are not shown. The subs visible on the catwalk were also rearranged.


Thomas Goeuriot, Director of Texen, and, on the right, François Deffarges, Engineering Support & Development Strategy Director from NEXO. No familiarity between the two…

We begin our visit to the Stadium – the cube designed by the famous architect Rudy Ricciotti – with François Deffarges from NEXO…

François Deffarges : We have some important products. The speakers for the choirs in the pit on the right and left sides of the orchestra are compact ID24s and super-compact ID14s.
The same types are also used in large numbers in the orchestra as monitors, supplemented by a few P12s where more SPL and extension in the bass are required.

SLU : Geo M6s on little stands along the “earthy stage”…

François Deffarges : Those serve as front fills and, using our processing, they pull the image downwards. Thanks to their very tight vertical coverage of 10°, they pass right over the microphones and the orchestra without creating any spill. On either side of the stands we have six ID84 columns positioned on their subs, and to complete the distributed coverage there are five P15s at the top of the bleachers in the distance, and finally six P12s above the audience pointing downward. At the far end of the stage, for a specific one-off effect, we have a pair of P12s.

A view of the venue from the top of the stands. Note the MSUB18 subs on the catwalk, four in the centre and two at either end. At the top you can see two of the six P12s downfills. Just for the record, all the catwalk grating has been replaced.

SLU : And for the front…

François Deffarges : Because the centre point is not critical in a classical scenario, the choice was made to place six arrays of four GEO M12 elements each, of which the top three boxes are 1210s (10° vertical coverage) and the bottom three are 1220s (20° vertically). The top three open at 80° horizontally, the bottom one at 120°.

This means that the coverage is optimised, precise and never distracts from the scenography, even from the top of the stands. The arrays are spread over 40 metres and the stage is even wider. Apart from the desire to deliver immersive sound, stereo sound was not an option here. The bottom end of the spectrum is rounded out by eight MSUB18 units.

A view of the system from one of the lateral technical areas, where the two NUAR amp racks that power the boxes were located. You can see the width of the pit and the metal slat that delimits the end of the earthen stage and carries the Geo M6s.

SLU : The immersive mixing matrix is Yamaha’s AFC Image?

François Deffarges : That’s right, we’re using only the object-based mixing component and not “Enhance”, which is the algorithm that enhances the acoustics. The venue already has quite a long natural reverberation, around three seconds and more in the low end, slightly asymmetrical and with reflections created by the absence of absorption material and some stolen or deteriorated diffraction panels. The processor is fed with Dante from the PM7 Rivage and outputs via a Dante stream to the NXAMPs and the speakers.

The reflectors, creating a sort of inverted orchestra shell, can be seen behind the railings at the bottom of the stands. These almost entirely mask the direct field from the strings.

SLU : In any case, the sound system was necessary…

François Deffarges : Absolutely. The Stadium doesn’t have the acoustics required for classical music, it wasn’t designed for that and, while the reflectors at the bottom of the stands are useful for the orchestra in the pit, they mask much of the strings for the front rows.
Rebalancing was indispensable. As you can imagine, this is not a real opera orchestra pit.


There is strength in numbers, so we are joined by Thomas Goeuriot, the director of Texen, with whom we “enhance” our visit with his insight and humour.

SLU : I guess there’s no point in looking for the mixing engine of the console…

Thomas Goeuriot : No indeed, it’s a Rivage PM7, the only model in the Rivage range that incorporates the mix engine inside the chassis. On the monitors, however, there is a PM5 surface with a separate engine.

The PM5 Rivage monitor console, with the most beautiful collection of garbage bags and polythene sheets ever seen in a venue, 400 tons of dirt and two excavators turning the dirt over was the reason for this.

SLU : And for the AFC?

Thomas Goeuriot : We have two processors, one is in-line and the other is already connected to Dante at the input, which a scene recall allows us to route in at the output to the system in case of a failure. We have a pretty big patch, about a hundred mics, which come in via two RPio222s and two Rio3224-D2s.

MS101-4, the new all-purpose and straight-forward enclosure that can accept anything (mic, line, etc.).

The network is connected via TWINLANe with fibre between the two consoles and the two RPio units, and via Dante for the two Rios and the FoH and monitor channels. The network is fully redundant.

SLU : Speaking of networks…

Thomas Goeuriot : We have a distribution point at FoH, other points in the pit at stage-left and stage-right, a point on the mezzanine for the amplifiers of the main system and two network distribution points at the top of the stands for all the columns and other surround enclosures.
Arte’s OB van has an Auvitran AVBx7 in the pit to convert the Dante into MADI. They take some direct signals and specific premixes that are routed into the Dante for them.


From bottom to top: the main AFC Image processor for Resurrection. A second processor is at FoH. At the top is the pair of Cisco350-28 switches.

SLU : You’re working with Cisco switches for the Dante…

Thomas Goeuriot : This works very well. We have a strategy in place where, if there is a problem, any technician can react in three quick steps. We have a network of SW1 primary switches that distribute the primary everywhere.

We have redundant devices and, by default, we also have a network for the secondary where everyone is connected to a trunk. It takes a bit of time to set up, but it works well.
We’ve just opted out of using the network’s own connections by transferring everything to more secure connections.
Texen’s specifications were to deliver a reliable and functional installation for the Festival, which will run it for a month, so we did what was necessary.


The network for Resurrection. Dante has never been transported so well!


The temporary cabinet that brings the power from the transformer into the venue.

SLU : The room was found to be completely stripped of copper. Everything had to be rewired?

Thomas Goeuriot : Exactly, it was done in such a way as to be able to stage the five dates, carry out all the rehearsals and guarantee the safety of the public, but without the wiring being permanent.
This choice was prompted by a certain concern about the safety of the Stadium at the end of the Festival. Let’s remember that everything had disappeared to the point that initially the power supply was carried out thanks to generators before EDF installed a new transformer for the hall.

SLU : What’s that little marquee at the entrance with the timpani? It looks like a miniature orchestra

Thomas Goeuriot : That’s what it is. This is one of the special features of this symphony. Mahler wrote specific passages that must be performed as if they were coming from the wings.

As we don’t have any stage wings here and, since placing this ensemble in the pit would not have been faithful to the composition or provided the desired effect, it was placed in the Stadium enclosure but outside the auditorium, on the access side to the stands, and it is AFC Image that gives the impression that it is playing “elsewhere”.


The marquee outside the auditorium, hosting the ensemble of instruments intended by Gustav Mahler. The magic of the immersive, the effect of “breaking up space” and “band” is perfect while maintaining the substance of the brass instruments.


On the day of our visit, it is Quentin Delisle handling the PM7 and the object-based mixing designed by Rémy. He explains this particular aspect to us.

Quentin Delisle.

SLU : Is this the first time you’ve worked with immersive mixing of classical music?

Quentin Delisle : Almost, but not quite. (smiling)

SLU : Tell us how the reverberation of the orchestra is handled. Is it mainly created by the room or is there an addition through AFC?

Quentin Delisle : The reverb in AFC Image engulfs the audience. The sources are localised by the main system and “wetted” by the reverb but the rest of the sound system – all the sides, downfills and rear speakers – supplements the immersive system by playing only the reverb. What comes out of the console is dry.

SLU : How is the reverb created?

Quentin Delisle : We decide which source, therefore which object, goes into the Image reverb generator. For the algorithm itself, we worked on the size of the room, its type, the placement and then we balanced the level to keep it natural.


There’s no better way to envelop the audience than by using lateral speakers, in this case three ID84s atop their IDS312 subwoofers. Look up on the left. That’s a P12 suspended on a yoke, and there are five more. To complete the surround quadrilateral, five P15s at the top of the grandstands cover the rear.

SLU : Are the rather resonant acoustics of the room, which also lacks any acoustic treatment, difficult to work with?

Quentin Delisle : No, it has its own reverb time and acoustic characteristics, but in relation to what we generate with AFC, it’s a complement.


Sébastien Noly, the FoH assistant and liaison between the technical and the artistic departments, or the other way round, is an important element in this production and has cross-disciplinary skills.

Quentin Delisle and Sébastien Noly behind their PM7 Rivage, a few minutes before the final performance.

Sébastien Noly : The rear section, that is, the stage end of the room, doesn’t get very acoustically excited, so it is not a problem. Before the dirt was poured in, we measured an RT of three seconds with a rise to five seconds at 125 Hz, due to the cubic shape and its inherent modes.

With the soil in here, on the other hand, the absorption is very significant, considering its surface, and this gave us the possibility to add a relevant and creative reverberation that blends well with what the room provides naturally.

François Deffarges : Yamaha has taken real rooms with different shapes and coloration, and you have selected the impulse responses of a large symphonic room by reconfiguring many of the values to create this match.

Quentin Delisle : Most of Rémy’s work was to calibrate the reverb, and then the mixing came almost naturally.

The placement of objects in the AFC Image Editor with each pair, for example brass-left and brass-right, being positioned spatially and, on the far right, a baseline level for the AFC processor’s reverb. We can see, for example, that the double basses, because of the length of the room’s RT in the lower part of the spectrum, are assigned lower levels here than the violins.

SLU : How did you assess the size of this room with respect to the composition?

Sébastien Noly : There was a lot of preparatory work and we have confidence in the talent of Rémy (Bréan). He created a 3D layout and François verified it in terms of the coverage.
There was also a scouting visit to the site at the end of April, together with the conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen and his assistant Aliisa Neige Barrière.

The Orchestre de Méditerranée was played in order to hear the imbalances inherent in the acoustics of the venue and we were able to integrate the amount of energy that the Orchestre de Paris, the Chorus of the Orchestre de Paris and the Youth Choir of Paris would have to deliver.

François Deffarges : We made sure that the electroacoustic installation was appropriate to the location and the performance, and, above all, appropriate for the conductor.

A close-up of an array of M12s. The top three boxes are 1210 models and open to 80°, while the bottom one is a 1220 which opens to 20° vertically and in which a flange extends the horizontal coverage to 120°. Note the cleanliness of the cabling and the rigging.

SLU : This electroacoustic integration is total, or does the orchestra manage to provide enough to only need to be “filled out”.

Quentin Delisle : I create a thorough balance of the orchestra in the spacialized amplification. The strings are the instruments that require the most amplified support, much more so than brass or percussion, but all of them need to feed the AFC reverb and take their place in the main system in order to be localized by the audience.

SLU : How do you manage the dynamics in the fortissimo passages?

Quentin Delisle : Our role is to provide the conductor with an acoustical environment, and then it’s up to him to make it his own and to work as if he were in a concert hall. I don’t play around with the dynamics. I only use multi-band compression to keep the spectral balance during the fortissimos.

Sébastien Noly : Nothing is modified and the degree of freedom that Quentin allows himself is in the order of 1 dB. On the other hand, the spatial modelling linked to the object-based amplification brings a lot of precision to the sound.

François Deffarges : The proximity of the orchestra’s miking allows greater dynamic range than would be the case if more air was left between instruments and transducers…


The Orchestre de Paris on location. The microphones are deliberately close to the instruments.

Quentin Delisle : Exactly, and this is where we intervene to attenuate certain defects linked to the sound capture, and then only when very high levels are encountered, but this job is done in collaboration with the conductor. He has benchmarks that have been established with his assistant who has followed all the rehearsals in the venue, and the final mix remains in his hands.

SLU : How many microphones are in the pit?

Quentin Delisle : There are about 90 and each section of instruments is divided into groups of several desks. There are eight on the first violins, seven on the second violins, six on the violas, four on the ’cellos, eight individual double basses and so on. Each group of desks is a stereo object in Image.


We can’t resist the pleasure of talking to Philippe Delcroix, the Technical Director of the Festival d’Aix, who was present at the venue.

Philippe Delcroix.

SLU : How did you decide on the Stadium as the venue for Resurrection?

Philippe Delcroix : In 2018 we welcomed a new Festival d’Aix director, Pierre Audi, and he asked us to find unusual places to produce works that are equally unusual.
I knew about the existence and the sad history of the Stadium, so we went to visit it with him without really believing in it, but he was fascinated by this venue. Remember, this was in 2018.

The city government of Vitrolles was quick to agree, so together we set out to find funding, with the intention of investing in an industrial wasteland and avoiding excessive costs for both the city and the Festival.
Our goal was to make the venue accessible and safe. As is often the case, we went beyond this with the assistance of the city of Vitrolles and, even if everything is far from being restored, the Stadium has come back to life.


A horn player of the Orchestre de Paris takes advantage of the space above the entrance staircase of the Stadium to warm up her pistons. We apologize for this stolen photo, but the image was too beautiful…

SLU : Were you interrupted by Covid?

Philippe Delcroix : Of course, and when we came back to the Resurrection project, I realised that the size of the room and the project meant that we couldn’t go it alone. It was therefore necessary to join forces with a certain number of partners, vendors and brands.

So, for the sound, I called Rémy Bréan, whom we’ve known for a long time and who, in my opinion, is one of the best, and then Texen: “are you with us, guys?”; and finally Nexo and Yamaha, with whom we’ve been collaborating for a long time for Parades. And the planets were aligning, even if we didn’t know yet that it would be more complicated than expected.

SLU : But everything is going well and we will meet again tonight for the final of the five concerts…

Philippe Delcroix : And it sounds incredible because the Orchestre de Paris and Esa-Pekka Salonen sound great right from the start, Rémy has done his part again and the technology deployed by Yamaha and Nexo is top notch. More than just five concerts, Resurrection is a real experience because the Stadium and Castellucci are more than just a show, you are caught up and enveloped by a sound of rare finesse.

SLU : Aix is becoming a festival with a ubiquitous yet discreet approach to technology.

Philippe Delcroix : It’s not possible otherwise, we’re talking about classical music and even more so about opera, and augmented acoustics is a delicate subject that conductors are increasingly taking on. It is up to us to surround ourselves with technicians, manufacturers and quality vendors so that this technical support is subtle.

SLU : What will be left behind after this great adventure at the Stadium…

Philippe Delcroix : For me, it’s already a personal satisfaction to have succeeded in bringing life back into a place that has been closed for more than 20 years, and then the certainty of still being there in 2023, 24 and maybe 25.

Dulcis in fundo

The show begins and we discover that the swallows or, actually, the swifts that have been circling the room for the last few minutes and that I have been searching for with my eyes, are in fact just very realistic samples.

The Mac with the swifts, with the help of Nuendo…

The cicadas, real ones in this case, take advantage of the open doors at the back of the stage and a bit to the sides, to intrude into Resurrection as well. What follows is a real contrasting mix of sensations magnificently carried by the room, the smell of the earth, the music and the power of the sound design.

Without really calling it envelopment, the orchestra and the choirs open up and are reproduced infinitely better than with a left/right. The spatial logic is respected, the sound is frontal with localisation consistent with what we see. The M6s pull the image down well and one quickly forgets the presence of the six flown arrays.

One of the five P15s that provide the rear ambiance for the audience. The lighting control booth and cable runs from the booth can be seen behind the last row of seating.

The voices emerge perfectly with a natural quality and precision that only a very good object-matrix system and a good mix can achieve.
The acoustics of the room are well masked, enhanced by the very beautiful and dense AFC Image. As a result, we start to get greedy and wonder what would have been the result of a little more downfill, rear and side reinforcement and an even more advanced spatial localisation of objects.

The closing dynamic, unsettling with percussion and the organ that strikes its lowest note in the eight MSUB18 units, is a masterly conclusion to this unique and successful show.

The chemistry between the composition, the performers, the scenography and the venue was made possible by solid, innovative and masterful technical choices. Congratulations to the teams from Aix and Texen, and to Rémy Bréan, as well as to the Yamaha and NEXO partners.


Sound crew:

Rémy Bréan : Sound design and FoH engineer
Sébastien Nolly : Musical consultant
Quentin Delisle : FoH engineer
Séverine Gallou : Monitor engineer

With the NEXO/Yamaha team in support and the Festival team in operations


We couldn’t leave without talking to Thomas Goeuriot and Texen, too many good vibes, competence and humour emanate from this man, so it’s Thomas’ time!

SLU : But first, how did you get into Texen…

Thomas Goeuriot : This takes us back to 1998 when I moved to the region as a contract technician, coming out of three years at Zingaro in the good old days when we had carte blanche on the technical side. My first encounter with Texen was because of a quote for an extension of the FRB patch at the Jeu de Paume where I was working, a theatre that had been fitted out by this same company.

SLU : And then?…

Thomas Goeuriot : A few years later, in 2007, I was asked to join the Grand Théâtre de Provence, which had just been built and had everything a technician could dream of at the time: PM5D, AD8 HR, Ethersound, Auvitran…
Of course I said yes and took advantage of the opportunity to renew ties with Texen, with whom we subsequently worked a lot to make this very innovative technique operational for the theatre’s first big projects.

SLU : Practical skills are in demand…

Thomas Goeuriot : …I ended up moving to Texen in 2016 as a Sound Manager, and three years later I replaced a manager who left the company.

SLU : You can climb up the ladder quickly!

Thomas Goeuriot : Texen is a cooperative, which partly explains this. The employees are the majority partners and power is controlled democratically.

SLU : What about NEXO?

Thomas Goeuriot : The collaboration with Nexo started when Texen was born in 1981. But I was still in high school then. (laughing!)

SLU : (His phone rings…) You seem to be running quite a bit!

Thomas Goeuriot : With the job I have, I shouldn’t even be here; we’re a relatively small company that does a lot of things, but I really don’t want to stop being out in the field, even if it sometimes gets to be hard.

SLU : Texen is essentially an integrator?

Thomas Goeuriot : We do a lot of that and always have, even before the Covid (he smiles). We don’t do stand-alone shows, that’s not our job.
We have clients, we install equipment for them, we sell it to them, we complete their fleet by renting it, and when we do a complete package, as with the Festival d’Aix, we do big performances like Parades on the Cours Mirabeau, which opens the Festival every year, or the Stadium, which is a very large operation for us.
And I’m more than happy to admit that without the help of NEXO, it wouldn’t be possible. Let’s also add MKPlus, a sound service from the Lyon region (Brignais), who is reactive and has a great NEXO fleet. Since 2016 we have been exchanging a lot of equipment.


Links:

– Watch the Arte TV recording of Resurrection
– Discover an excellent subject on the Stadium available on YouTube
– More info on Texen
– Visit the NEXO website
– Visit the Yamaha website
– Visit the AFC Image website

 

Robe Has Lucky Daye with Mark Ronson Shoot

New York based lighting designer Myles Mangino used the stylish appearance of Robe’s Patt 2013 luminaires and the great CRI and crisp optics of their Esprite moving lights to add a touch of class to a video shoot for music producer Mark Ronson featuring singer Lucky Daye.

The music video was for a special version of the slick, smooth and rhythmic groove, “Too Much”. Shot in Greenpoint Terminal Warehouse, an impressive former industrial space in trendy Brooklyn, New York City, Myles wanted a backdrop of large vintage looking light sources that would look great on camera and provide a warm tungsten glow so he decided on 32 x Robe Patt 2013s. These were sourced by the shoot’s production vendor, ATD Audio Visual.

Myles’ initial brief from the producers included a request for some tungsten warmth as background scenic to enhance an authentic retro vibe, and he “thought of Patt 2013s for their effect, and the way they look”. It was the first time he had used these lights on one of his own designs, although he was aware of them.
It was a big empty building, so he used the general warmth and richness of the Patt 2013’s glow to break up the room evoking a feeling of intimacy, whilst still maintaining the perception of it being a vast and potent space.

The stage was built in the center of the room with everything arranged around it, including the Patts, rigged on six vertical trussing towers around the stage, pointing both inwards towards the artists and outwards, bathing the walls in a beautiful, delicate luminosity.

The video was a full 360º shoot on a single Steadicam, and with half the Patts facing inward for lighting the artists and the other half facing outwards lighting the space, Patts were always facing the camera! “They worked great for this job with their shape and output, providing a great light source as well as nice background eye candy,” noted Myles.

The 11 x Robe Esprites were rigged above the stage on a circular truss in the roof and used for key lighting. This fixture has become a go-to for Myles when lighting videos, commercials, streaming events, and other camera-based projects.

“Yes, they are my new favorite fixture!” he declared. He loves the optics, the clean beams, the range of color corrected whites and the straight framing shutters which are always handy, although he didn’t use them much on this specific occasion.

Myles programmed and operated lighting on a grandMA3. There was a set up and rehearsal day followed by a single shoot day which all went very smoothly.

He approached lighting it like a fashion shoot coupled with a bit of art-house, starting “atmospheric and moody” and getting flashier and brasher with the lights as the song unfolded, which everyone loved in terms of style and ambiance.

“It ended up being a lot flashier than I initially thought,” stated Myles, adding that as an LD it was great fun to work on a project like this which proved to be an interesting video shoot and an inventive lighting showcase.

For more info about Robe lighting, you can visit www.robe.cz

 

Ayrton Perseo and Domino Profiles light up the Jova Beach Party 2022

There was great success for the summer tour of Jova Beach Party 2022, which saw the Italian songwriter Lorenzo Cherubini, aka Jovanotti, performing from June until September along beautiful Italian beaches, in front of stadium-size audiences totalling 550,000 spectators.

This was a project that wanted to break the mould, leaving behind the usual live circuits to collaborate with an ambitious ecological initiative that aims to clean up 20m sqm of beaches, lakes, rivers and seabeds.

“The beach is the most significant frontier line that exists, and bringing the party there is, for me, the most beautiful and difficult undertaking, and the most exciting…,” says the singer.
This is an ecological philosophy shared also by Ayrton, whose products were chosen for the main lighting design of the tour which featured two large sailing ships as its central motif.

Lighting designer, Paul Normandale, with the collaboration of lighting director, Dave Morris, opted for 68 Ayrton Perseo Profiles and 14 Domino Profiles rigged on the main stage and the floor for audience and effects lighting, and on front of house spot towers for movement and effects, plus a stage wash in case of spot failure.

“We chose Ayrton units because of their IP65 protection rating, but above all because of their reliability and light output,” said Dave Morris.
“The Perseo Profiles, used for most of the time with open zoom, were able to offer high levels of illumination of the audience, fulfilling the artist’s desire to be able to see the crowd at any time during the concert.

We used them mainly with dimmer and movement effects, and during each song they managed to create the right atmosphere, especially due to their bright colours.

“For the last stage of the concert at Bresso Airport we added a further 48 Domino Profile fixtures to the rig to cope with the increased number of spectators and the need for more lighting on the “Kontiki” B stage. The extra output of the Domino units gave us full coverage of the crowd, while still offering bright saturated colours.


Paul Normandale adds: “I have used Ayrton many times this summer across Europe and the UK because of their IP rated nature, and indeed their brightness, as well as their LED sustainable light source. For the Jova Beach Party we had twenty-one 3.5 hour shows without a set list, no roof, on a beach, with between 40,000 – 100,000 people. The Ayrton kit held up really well!”

Dave Morris agrees: “The Ayrton units really impressed us for their reliability throughout the concerts, withstanding the harsh conditions of the Italian beaches, from the 40 degrees of heat to strong storms and rain in different locations. In all this, the Perseo and Domino units proved to be up to the task, resisting everything the elements could throw at them, right to the end, with maximum performance.”

The Ayrton Perseo and Domino units were presented by the exclusive distributor of Ayrton in Italy, Molpass, and provided by the Italian service Agorà.

For more information on Ayrton Perseo Profile and Domino Profile and its full range of LED lighting fixtures, visit www.ayrton.eu

For more information on Molpass visit www.molpass.it for Agora visit www.agoraaq.it

Parni Valjak Rocks Pula Arena

“Valjak I Prijatelji” (Valjak & friends) was a very special show staged in Pula, Croatia, in the city’s magnificent Arena Roman amphitheatre venue and dedicated to Aki Rahimovski, lead singer of legendary Croatian rockers Parni Valjak. The enigmatic frontman died suddenly and unexpectedly in January aged 66, just ahead of a major tour, leaving everyone deeply shocked.

Slovenian lighting designer Nikola “Niko” Podlesnik was honoured to be lighting the emotionally charged gig. He chose Robe moving lights as the backbone of his rig to help deliver all the drama and sentiment of the evening, which saw the remaining members of the band perform with a series of famous Croatian singers taking on the vocals, including Rahimovski’s son, Kristijan.

Lighting equipment was supplied, together with the full technical production including audio and video, by Zagreb-based rental specialist Promo Logistika. The company has a large Robe inventory, all of which is out now as the demand for live shows and events skyrockets over the summer.

Previous to this show, Niko was booked to LD the 40-date Parni Valjak (Steam Roller) tour at the start of the year. After Aki’s passing, he lit another “Valjak I Prijatelji” gig at Zagreb Arena in March for which he used over 100 Robe movers. Very enthusiastic about the brand and his work, Robe is usually his first choice of moving lights.

Pula Arena has a permanent stage setup facilitated by the annual Pula Film Festival committee which is used extensively for that plus the other shows and events using the impressive space. Constructed between 27 BC and AD 68, it is among the world’s six largest surviving Roman arenas and the only one to have its four side towers fully preserved.

The performance space is a lot smaller than Zagreb Arena, but Niko and everyone else on the crew were delighted to be working in Pula again as the venue is so unique and has an amazing atmosphere.

Taking the 16-metre-wide stage with 8 metres of headroom as a starting point, and working in conjunction with the video designer Kristina Bengez, Niko specified 40 x MegaPointes, 8 x MMX Spots, 24 x LedBeam 150s and 12 x LedWash 600s together with two manually operated Forte Follow Spots.

“MegaPointes are a perfect fixture for a show and venue / stage of this size,” he commented, “They have masses of power and offer so many creative options,” all of which were for the 30-song set comprising all Parni Valjak’s big hits and other favourites, from power ballads to folk rock and several genres in between.

Twenty-four of the MegaPointes were in the roof trusses, with another 12 filling the left and right back corner positions which were angled at 45 degrees either side of the square upstage Led screen showing playback video. Due to the wind factor and the way it blows through the Arena, it’s not possible to have side skins attached to the stage.

The final eight MegaPointes were on the deck along the downstage edge of the stage for low front lighting and for shooting forward into the audience.
“It was very important to draw the audience into the action, involve them and help feed all the energy coming offstage out into the arena,” explained Niko adding that this two-way communication drove the lighting and video design, with IMAG images being fed onto two side Led screens.

MegaPointe has been a favourite fixture of Niko’s for some time. “A few MegaPointes can go a long way,” he stated. He loves the small size, the animation wheels, and the way you can create a full range of fluid and kinetic effects.

He also appreciates the zoom, the CMY colour mixing and, above all, the speed of the fixtures. Prior to this show, Niko was lighting the Slovenian version of “Your Face Sounds Familiar” for POP TV in Ljubljana using and all-Robe rig with MegaPointes as the primary fixtures.

The eight MMX WashBeams were on the front truss for lighting the band. This older Robe fixture is still very popular and much loved in the Balkans, and Niko also used these on the same TV show, noting their “great CTO” and camera-friendliness. That was relevant here was well as the show was recorded for later broadcast / distribution.

The LEDBeam 150s were rigged on the side trusses where they were great for filling in back-of-camera gaps, also useful for colouring the stage from different angles and with different effects. “They are so small and usable they fit almost anywhere!” he declared.

The 12 x LedWash 600s were positioned behind the stage and used to illuminate the amphitheatre architecture immediately behind the stage in a series of colours which, together with the stunning Croatian sunset, boosted the magic of the occasion.

Niko first utilised Forte FollowSpots at the Zagreb Arena show and reckons they are “incredible”. He comments on just how much Led technology for stage lighting has advanced in the last five years. “They have excellent CRI and colour and I love using them whether its TV or live” he commented on the Fortes.
Parni Valjak was founded in 1975 in Zagreb when the country was still Yugoslavia, and it was one of the bands that influenced him as a kid. “The creative inspiration for this show definitely came from deep inside me,” he said.

He had an open brief to craft a beautiful looking show as the artist’s management trust his skills and empathy with the music. As well as producing a great light show, he considered things like how comfortable they would be feeling onstage, with careful and considerate placement of lights. “This band are such a part of our history and culture, so respect is a very important element when lighting them. If they feel comfortable it helps them play a great show for their fans.”

In Pula that night a truly incredible show was delivered with passion and feeling by the band and all their creative team which included FOH sound engineer Nenad Zubak. The fantastic performance captured the hearts and minds of the 10,000 Croatians lucky enough to get tickets and celebrate the legacy of Aki Rahimovski with his closest friends and colleagues in the band.

Niko is based in Maribor, Slovenia, and trained as a kindergarten teacher before leaving to follow his dreams and enthusiasm for music and lights. He has been using Robe products for around 10 years, starting with the noughties flagship ColorSpot 1200 product, and continuing when the game changing LedWash hit the market in 2010. He’s a big Robe advocate, commenting, “Robe is innovative and keeps step with the times and changing technologies. I love working with the wide range of creative products.”

For more info about Robe lighting, you can visit www.robe.cz

 

L-ISA For Outernet, London’s £1bn Immersive Hub

Walking into the Now Building at Outernet, it may be the world’s largest wraparound video display, with over 2,000 square metres of 16K LED screen to show immersive video content. And while it certainly catches the eye, the ears are in no way left wanting.
Equally remarkable is the L-ISA immersive audio installation of 200 loudspeakers that plunge visitors into an immersive soundscape.

The Now Building, Outernet’s centrepiece, is used both as an expansive indoor/outdoor walkthrough space and as a closed venue that can host art installations, live concerts, film premiers, or any event the creative mind can imagine. In either configuration, Outernet is poised to bring a magnificent real-time spatial experience to a projected number of over 400,000 people passing through the space each day.

The Outernet London story started when Consolidated Developments bought a large part of Denmark Street, known affectionately as the UK’s Tin Pan Alley, with the intention to convert this piece of prime London real estate into an innovative, mixed-use development.

Whilst Outernet is technologically mind-blowing, the site has been treated with sensitivity, with the all-important façade of Denmark Street fully preserved. In fact, from Denmark Street, the only hint of its existence is its unassuming, erstwhile alleyway entrance. Stepping through, however, reveals the Now Arcade, lined floor-to-ceiling-to-floor with LED panels and loudspeakers, a precursor to what lies beyond.


L’écran LED du Now Building avec une vue sur les A10i Focus et Syva Low de L-Acoustics qui se trouvent en dessous sur les trois murs.

As well as the Now Building, Outernet includes Now Trending, a product sampling, interactive exhibit, and broadcast programme space capable of both VR and XR experiences. Now Pop Up 1 and 2 are adjacent to the Now Building and can accommodate pop-up shops or merchandise outlets for performing artists.

Mike Whittaker, directeur technique d’Outernet Global.

This grand-scale project was challenging yet exciting because of its sheer size and technicality. The team behind the avant-garde audio-visual installation included Consolidated Development owner Laurence Kirschel, Outernet Global CTO Mike Whittaker, engineering consultancy Hoare Lea, audio-visual consultancy Auditoria PTY, integrator SSE Audio, and L-Acoustics.

“Part of our creative brief was to deliver a multi-sensory immersive experience where visitors can see, hear, and even sense the aroma of the experience unfolding in front of them,” explains Whittaker.
“Our technical challenge was to create a ‘tech stack’ that would work seamlessly across innumerable applications and types of events, day after day. We needed to match the immersive video with immersive sound. For me, the sound was vitally important as it lifts the pictures off the walls and makes the hairs on people’s necks stand up.”


Un regard plus proche sur l’A10i Focus et Syva Low dans le Now Building.

The LED screens that line the Now Building create a giant glass box. To complicate things further, two of the four sides of the screen ‘room’ can be slid aside, transforming the venue from an enclosed room to an indoor/outdoor walkthrough space that faces a small plaza adjacent to one of the entrances to Tottenham Court Road tube station.

Pour alimenter individuellement un si grand nombre d’enceintes à un niveau de pression acoustique raisonnable, les LA2Xi, de très flexibles contrôleurs amplifiés, ont été choisis. En fait, un grand nombre d’entre eux …

As a result, the acoustical elements had to be carefully planned to adapt to any of the venue’s configurations whilst also being mindful that the site is in a mixed-use residential/business area. “We need to be considerate neighbours,” notes Whittaker.
Working alongside L-Acoustics from early in the project, SSE Audio, part of the Solotech Group, installed around 200 L-Acoustics cabinets across Outernet’s five ground-level performance spaces.

“With such a complex architectural structure, it’s important to get L-ISA to ‘know’ what condition the space is in. Ensuring we can work with its multiple configurations acoustically is vital, both for live and pre-recorded music,” says SSE Audio’s Senior Project Development Manager, Dan Seal, who worked alongside both L-Acoustics and Auditoria consultant Scott Willsallen on the sound system design.

Dan Seal, directeur principal de projet chez SSE Audio.

“The complexity of the project also meant that many disciplines had to be coordinated; creativity was key with loudspeakers being hidden in drainage channels, under screens, and above grills. But throughout it all, adherence to the high standards of the project was primordial.”

The centrepiece of Outernet is the Now Building which is equipped with speakers at transom-level and ground-level to achieve consistency and coverage across the whole space. Twenty-four X4i are positioned across the base of one of the massive LED screen walls, while a further 12 X4i are hidden in the drainage system of the other three walls.

Twelve compact SB10i subwoofers, which were developed specifically for the Outernet project to be hidden within the drainage gutters, provide low-end sound reinforcement. Eleven A10i Focus, accompanied by seven Syva Low subs, span the top of the three walls that can be opened for the indoor/outdoor space configuration. There are five optional cinema expansion points for deploying portable Syva/Syva Low systems.

“The introduction of the SB10i to the L-Acoustics range of products has opened up many possibilities for our Systems Integration projects,” adds Durno. “Options for positioning subwoofers were very limited on this project, both the Now Trending and Now spaces feature SB10i within the gutter system to extend the low-frequency performance of the floor level X4i, which are critical for screen-based audio content such as dialogue/music.”

Kyle Durno, Ingénieur d’application de SSE Audio.

“The challenge in all of these spaces was getting consistent shared coverage over the audience to ensure that, no matter where you are in the space, you are immersed in the sound,” explains SSE Audio Application Engineer Kyle Durno, who has been instrumental in programming the system. “We faced tough design constraints due to the video walls, so the combination of floor-level and transom-level loudspeakers was an effective solution.”

To ensure homogenous performance between the near-field listening positions and the far-field, the team used the new spatial fill feature of L-ISA immersive technology. Spatial fill creates a virtual replica of the L-ISA Scene System and is an effective solution where shared coverage is less optimal. Using gain/delay-based algorithms for positioning audio objects, spatial fill improves object separation, coverage, and level consistency.

“We use spatial fill to improve the acoustic performance, especially in the near-field listening positions where the path-length difference between the floor and transom-level loudspeakers create negative comb filtering,” Durno continues. “The result improves localisation for near-field listeners.”

Next door to the Now Building, the trapezium shaped Now Trending space follows a similar audio configuration, with 34 X4i installed at ground level, 20 of which span the two walls covered by LED screens.

Le bâtiment et la zone Now Trending sont desservis par X4i au niveau du sol, SB10i caché au niveau du sol, et avec 5XT et Syva Sub fixés autour du périmètre de la salle au dessus du public.

An additional upper level of 13 5XT coaxial speakers, complemented by four Syva Sub, are suspended around the permitter of the room, while compact SB10i subwoofers are hidden in a gutter underneath the video screens. The adjoining Now Pop Up 1 and 2 spaces feature 14 5XT with two Syva Low and 12 5XT and one Syva Low, respectively.

Now Arcade est alimenté par X4i au niveau du sol en dessous des écrans, avec des subwoofers SB10i conformes à la norme IP55 répartis sur toute la longueur du couloir sous des grilles au niveau du sol prévues pour l’évacuation de l’eau.

The long, rectangular Now Arcade is designed as a walk-through to the other spaces but can also be used for private bookings. Here, there are rows of 19 X4i ultra-compact coaxial cabinets per side at floor level, along with eight SB10i subwoofers distributed throughout the length of the corridor.

All spaces are centrally managed via Q-SYS, with audio distributed via Dante and Milan-AVB across redundant networks. An extensive guest tie-line system enables incoming clientele to route audio throughout the venues, in addition to the in-house content production.

“On-site staff and visiting engineers have access to each system in all spaces, feeding audio to the relevant L-ISA Processors via analogue, AES, and Dante,” adds Durno.
“This highly flexible system provides visitors with the right level of control and freedom to configure Outernet for their event, without altering or damaging the system in the process.”

L-Acoustics was also involved with the commissioning of the system and training at the end of the project, with SSE Audio providing 24/7/365 support via Service+, a remote servicing solution provided by parent company, Solotech.

Outernet hosted UNICEF’s 75th anniversary Blue Moon Gala celebrations and the 20th anniversary of Mothers2mothers earlier this year. According to Whittaker, using L-ISA Immersive Hyperreal Sound offers the perfect solution to help bring entertainment and art experiences to all the senses.

“The team has tackled the technical challenge flawlessly, delivering a truly world-class solution,” concludes Outernet’s Whittaker. “From L-Acoustics, the world leaders in premium professional sound, to our display partners working with us on delivering the world’s largest permanently installed moving rig, we know we are in very safe hands.

These partnerships have not only been crucial to getting Outernet up and running, but also in accounting for various specification changes as it has evolved and in ensuring our future success. I’m enchanted with all the acoustical realms L-ISA is revealing to us.”

More infos on:

outernetglobal.com
hoarelea.com
auditoria.systems
sseaudio.com/Group
l-isa.l-acoustics.com

 

Meyer Sound PANTHER for Michael Bublé’s “Higher Tour”

Michael Bublé’s ongoing “Higher Tour” could best be described as an intimate party on a grand scale. It’s a full-tilt production in every respect, replete with a massive four-tier stage set to accommodate a full orchestra and backup singers – augmented on occasion by strings and a 10-piece choir – plus extensive lighting effects and four giant video screens.


For audio support, Bublé is again carrying a “dual hybrid” Meyer Sound reinforcement system, comprising both main stage arrays plus massive center-hung arrays which function as an over-specified delay system when Bublé is on the main stage and as an in-the-round system when he occupies the B-stage. This time, however, the tour has slimmed down its audio footprint by replacing most former LEO® Family and all M Series™ systems with 76 new PANTHER large-format linear line array loudspeakers.

“We are thrilled with the new PANTHER systems, not just sonically – we expect the best from Meyer in that regard – but also because these are much lighter and smaller boxes,” says Craig Finley, the tour’s veteran production manager. “No two‑ton motors out here! And PANTHER packs very efficiently. We are essentially carrying two systems yet it all fits in one truck. And the power requirements are lower as well.”

Craig Doubet facing his SSL Live and a pair of Amie studio monitors.

Bublé’s long-time FOH engineer, Craig Doubet, notes that the advantages extend to load-in/out time. “PANTHER goes up and down very fast,” he says. “We have 13 arrays in the air, and we now can get them all down and ready to roll out in 75 minutes.”

The logistical benefits from a slimmed-down system have not come with a performance penalty, but rather the opposite, claims Doubet. “It’s a different box to mix on, and it took a while to get my ears around it,” he says.

“But in the end, it’s right up my alley. It’s very detailed, and the dynamics are almost effortless. Michael wanted a louder show, with more of a party atmosphere, and these speakers definitely do it. We are all pleased by the vocal sound, which is just amazing. It sounds just like Michael everywhere.”

A detail from the B-Stage. Two “short arrays” of eight PANTHER and six LEOPARD completed in the lows by six 900-LFC subs.

The main stage system is anchored by twin front arrays each with 14 PANTHER loudspeakers over four LEOPARD® loudspeakers. The two side arrays each comprise 14 LYON® loudspeakers while the front fills are eight ULTRA-X40™ loudspeakers.
Low-frequency power comes from dual flown arrays of six each 1100-LFC™ low-frequency control elements supplemented by four 900-LFC™ compact low-frequency control elements on the floor.

The 48 PANTHER loudspeakers over the B-stage are flown as one array of 16 plus four arrays of eight each, with two LEOPARD loudspeakers under the long array and six each under the shorter arrays. Here, a total of 14 900-LFC elements, flown and ground stacked, drive the deep bass, and eight ULTRA-X40 loudspeakers contribute front fill.

Elsewhere, 16 MJF-210™ stage monitors provide foldback while a pair of Amie® precision studio monitors paired with an Amie®-Sub reside at FOH. Continuing a long-standing relationship, Solotech was again selected as the provider of the Meyer Sound systems as well as all other audio and video production elements.

From left to right Stage-B and A. 48 PANTHER for B and 28 for the A.

As on his prior “Evening with…” tour, Bublé takes a leisurely singing stroll to the B‑stage, with his voice in space tracked along the way using Meyer Sound’s Spacemap Go spatial sound design and mixing tool.
“This time, having the same PANTHER systems at both the main stage and the B-stage keeps the sound of Michael’s voice uniform in tonality as he gradually moves between the stages,” says Doubet. “It also makes it easier to match the arrays when tuning the system.”

A huge load of experience. From left to right : Francis Lussier, PA Tech; Jonathan Aube, RF engineer; Martin Paré, Monitor Engineer; Jeremy Walls, PA Tech; Renato Petruzziello, Monitor Engineer; Sebastien Richard, PA Tech; Craig Doubet, FOH Engineer; Fred Cantin, System Tech/Crew Chief.

Rounding out the key audio crew for the tour are systems engineer Fred Cantin and monitor engineers Martin Paré and Renato Petruzziello.

Michael Bublé’s “Higher Tour” opened on August 8, with 38 shows scheduled in North America. The tour continues with 34 more shows in Oceania, South America, Europe, and the United Kingdom, with shows scheduled through May 17, 2023.


More info for:

– Meyer Panther
– Solotech
– Michael Bublé

 

Video Tutorial : Maintenance of the High End Systems Solaframe 3000

The Profile Solaframe 3000 with its 1000 W led source, and motorized framing blades, were chosen by many prestigious theaters and opera houses in France for its punch, its quality of light, and its silence.

Sébastien Planche, Applications Engineer of ETC France, shows us the different functions of the fixture in detail which will help us find and repair any basic defaults or problems you might encounter. At the end of this presentation, there is a tour of the regular maintenance that should be done, and the correct way of doing so.



For more information with the website ETC / High End System

You can also read the bench test in SoundLightUp

 

Procom to distribute Adamson in the UAE & Saudi Arabia

Adamson, manufacturer of premium professional loudspeaker technology, has appointed Procom Middle East as its distributor in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

From left to right Raja Harfouche, Owner and CEO at Procom, Jasper Ravesteijn, Adamson’s EMEA sales director, Rami Harfouch, Business Development Manager at Procom and Anro Schroeder, Technical Sales Manager at Procom.

As part of this agreement, Procom takes responsibility of marketing, sales, and support of Adamson’s products in the region. In its inventory, Procom will carry the complete range of products, including all line array, subwoofer, and point source cabinets, as well as Adamson’s I/O Distribution units. Procom will have multiple demo systems in Dubai, including an immersive audio installation featuring the new Adamson Fletcher Machine.

Adamson Systems Engineering is one of the world’s most recognized manufacturers of loudspeaker technology and have been a mainstay in global tours and festivals for decades. Additionally, Adamson has systems installed in some of the most prestigious venues around the world.

Procom is a leading GCC & Middle East distributor of professional audio and lighting equipment. It is one of the most trusted names among the region’s AV professionals including rental companies, integrators, music venues, and in the hospitality sector. Procom offers customers project and product support resources across the region from its state-of-the-art showroom and demo-space in Dubai, and has a service center that will help administer Adamson’s factory warranty.

“Adamson has strong brand recognition among audio professionals in the region. This potential can be unlocked with hands-on product demonstration, support, training, and, last but not least, product availability. We intend to deliver exactly that” says Rami Harfouch, Business Development Manager at Procom.

Jasper Ravesteijn, Adamson’s EMEA sales director and Rami Harfouch, Business Development Manager at Procom.

“In Procom we found the ideal partner for Adamson,” says Jasper Ravesteijn, Adamson’s EMEA sales director. “Initially, we began working with Procom for Saudi Arabia. Their professional attitude and limitless enthusiasm made us expand the partnership to include the UAE as well.
We at Adamson are all excited to work with Procom and expand our network of satisfied users in the region.”

Adamson has been focused on innovation for more than 30 years with an insistence on building all components in their factory in Canada, allowing for the development and rigorous testing of new technology.

Adamson’s key developments include Controlled Summation Technology, highly engineered cone designs, manufacturing with Kevlar™, a highly innovative co-linear drive module, and a truly unique rigging system that combines ease-of-use and controllability. As a result, Adamson loudspeakers can be driven at the highest possible output while maintaining pristine clarity and can be used for decades without reduction in performance.

Kiran Tauro, Adamson Education and Applications Engineer.

Kiran Tauro, Adamson Education and Applications Engineer for the Middle East, Africa, and Turkey will be working closely with Procom on training, design, and system implementation.

In 2020, Adamson launched the CS series which combines the performance of Adamson’s sub-compact S-Series loudspeakers with onboard amplification and DSP, plus Milan™-certified AVB connectivity. The CS series has been described as the “future of intelligent loudspeaker design”.

Earlier this year, Adamson launched the Adamson Fletcher Machine, an immersive audio tool that is considered one of the most advanced and versatile in the industry, relying on both amplitude and time localization so objects are clearly perceived in their intended position.

The meticulous craftsmanship and attention to detail, together with compelling and cutting-edge technology, have made Adamson a brand synonymous with audio excellence and distinction on the world scene. It is time for the Middle East to experience this.

More information on the Procom website and on the Adamson website

 

LEaT con 2022: new Convention in Hamburg from October 18 -20

From October 18 – 20, 2022, the most important brands in the event and entertainment industry will come together in Hamburg to launch the new and first LEaT Convention at the Hamburg Messe exhibition center.
Over 150 brands will take part in the premiere at the Hamburg Messe & Congress site and, as exhibitors, are looking forward to an intensive exchange with visitors in the four thematic squares.

From the first event – the LEaT con X, which took place in the middle of the hot pandemic phase in October 2021 with great courage also in Hamburg – the character and concept of the LEaT events has spread throughout the industry and is very popular. This year, for example, the number of brands represented multiplied from 20 to over 150.

The organizers of LEaT con are pleased to have a broad exhibitor field, which will present visitors with a wide range of solutions from the fields of audio, lighting, video, staging, networks and infrastructure in terms of topics.
“We are very proud that we were able to convince so many partners this year especially now also from the audio segment of our concept and the vision of LEaT con. We have had an open ear from the very beginning and have incorporated the needs of the exhibitors into our concept,” said Duc Nguyen, Director LEaT.



About LEaT
LEaT stands for “Live, Entertainment and Technology” and is aimed at all players in the event industry. The new hub brings together technologies and services from the event sector, from both the live and install markets.

LEaT sees itself as a new, overarching industry platform that, with its four complementary pillars LEaT con, LEaT con X, LEaT academy and LEaT Jobs, sustainably strengthens the cohesion, exchange and networking of the industry.
The motto “Sharing Knowledge . Shaping the Future” describes the basic idea of knowledge exchange and joint advancement of the industry: LEaT is from the industry and for the industry.
LEaT con is the new convention for entertainment technologies that deliberately breaks away from the classic trade fair concept. The networking convention is a unique mixture of exhibition and customer experience that will inspire visitors to LEaT con and sustainably carry and promote the community spirit of the industry.

LEaT is a brand of Ebner Media Group and is presented by EVENT PARTNER, PRODUCTION PARTNER and PROFESSIONAL SYSTEM, the leading trade media in the event, entertainment and technology sector.


Further information on LEaT con 2022

 

Ayrton invites you to the first ever in-person Women in Lighting RDV

Ayrton is proud to host the first ever in-person Entertainment Lighting Sessions for Women in Lighting at the Ayrton head offices in Paris on 20th October 2022. The full-day event promises to be one of inspiration, motivation, networking, personal and professional development and community for women.
Date: 20th October 2022 – Time: 9.30am – 5pm – Location: 2 Rue de Vitruve – 91140 Villebon-sur-Yvette – France

Ayrton is an active sponsor of the Women In Lighting (WIL) project which aims to promote the work of women lighting designers, and all women who work in lighting, across the entertainment industry by showcasing the skills and capabilities of these talented women, celebrating their achievements and encouraging others to become involved.

Ayrton invites you to come along and enjoy the company of this growing community of women who are all about connecting, collaborating and empowering each other.

The programme for the day looks like this:

9.30 am A special warm welcome at Ayrton Lobby
10 am Introduction from Light Collective and Ayrton
10.30 am Keynote Speaker: Yanina Kovalevska
11.30 pm Keynote Speaker: Briony Berning from Ambersphere Solutions
12.30 pm Catered Lunch & Networking
1.30 pm Keynote Speaker: Akari-Lisa Ishii from I.C.O.N
2.30 pm Keynote Speaker: Cristina Martinez from ACTLD
3.30 pm Coffee Break
4.00 pm Moving Lights Demonstration


Four keynote speakers from France, UK, Belgium and Ukraine, will be sharing their stories:


Yanina Kovalevska

Ukrainian Yanina founded rental company PR MUSIC in 2005 which has since developed to include several other companies and projects such as AVEcON – a conference of AV&Entertainment companies, EdIsOn Camp – an informal polytechnic education campus, and Stagemart – a distributor and provider of technological solutions for show business. Further expansion came with the formation of a new company in Poland in 2021. Yanina will share the skills that are key to the success of her business.


Briony Berning

UK-based Briony spent her formative years in France before returning to the UK to study at the University of Glasgow. She was the first technical apprentice a the National Theatre of Scotland and has worked for Scottish Opera and the National Theatre. Now Key Account Manager with Ayrton’s exclusive UK distributor, Ambersphere Solutions, Briony will share her story of an entire professional work life spent in the perfomance lighting sector, with specific emphasis on theatre lighting.


Akari-Lisa Ishii

Winner of numerous design awards, with offices in Paris and Tokyo, Akari imbues her work with innovative touches of Japanese culture, French spirit and international experiences. Her talk, Narrative Lighting, will focus on the vocabulary and importance of story-telling within successful lighting design.


Cristina Martinez

Born and raised in Venezuela, Cristina is a Lighting Designer and Architect based in Brussels since 2014. She is Senior Lighting Designer and Project Manager at ACTLD, and also the ambassador for Women in Lighting for Belgium since 2018.
Her talk will give An insight into design processes through different project typologies

More details on the keynote speakers can be found on Ayrton’s social media pages


WIL founders Sharon Stammers and Martin Lupton of Light Collective will both be at the Entertainment Lighting Sessions along with the team from Ayrton. Light Collective is a UK based lighting consultancy that has worked all over the world.
Their creative portfolio of work houses more than architectural lighting design and has grown to encompass many innovative projects which include light art installations, film making, light activism, marketing projects, competitions, curated exhibitions, lighting awards, branding, trade stands and shows, epic parties, pop up events, guerrilla lighting, community projects and light education.

Please share this invite with the women in your team and with your customers and designer contacts. Those who are unable to attend in person can still take part online. Just follow the link in the Eventbrite registration.

Registration for in person and online attendance is free of charge. Please reply by clicking on this link.

We all look forward to welcoming you to this inspiring day of networking.

More on :

– The Ayrton website
– The Light Collective website
– The Women in lighting website

Ayrton Domino Profile on tour with Cremonini

Cesare Cremonini’s Stadium Tour 2022 Milano, which started in Milan and closed with a resounding event at the Imola racetrack, has just ended. The eight sold-out dates of the Tour celebrated the Bologna singer’s 20-year career with the aim of leaving behind the long period of downtime due to the pandemic and getting back on track with more drive and enthusiasm.

“We want to give the opportunity to bring back good memories to all of us, to build beauty again, not only artistic beauty, but the beauty of positive emotions and good moments to remember of one’s life …” says Cremonini himself during a monologue in the show.

The project and lighting direction were imagined and designed by Lighting Designer Mamo Pozzoli, Cesare’s longtime collaborator.
For the occasion, Mamo created an imposing wall of light built with different units but amalgamated in a look that is aggressive and elegant at the same time, thanks to very elaborate dynamics and original research on monochromaticism.
80 Ayrton Domino Profile S and 50 Ayrton MagicPanel R were included in the lighting plot.

“We built an LED wall divided into about 500 units of different types, whose spatial distribution organized in large arrays offered me the opportunity to constantly play on the dynamics of the lighting and the sudden changes of colour,” Mamo says.
“I wanted to build a show that would seek a dialogue with the audience sometimes even in an aggressive form, in which the perception of depth was linked to the interaction with the video world and its colours.


This was possible thanks to the considerable frontal extension of the stage (60m) fully occupied by light blocks that formed the two-dimensional framework of the set, while the large central screen/portal represented the 3D element through the combination of front lights cutting, and behind, the screen itself. This gimmick allowed me to seek the right light-visual interaction and characterize the look of each song in an ever-changing way.”

“For the first time I used a substantial number of Domino Profile IP65 fixtures, arranged on long linear trusses in front of the stage as well as on the floor on the catwalk.
It’s an exceptional fixture that allowed me, through power and reliability, several creative possibilities and constant performance even in extreme weather conditions, especially during rehearsals, a crucial moment in the planning of any show.

Similarly, through the consolidated matrices of MagicPanel (a product I have been using for many years), I pushed particularly on the graphics side, using the MagicPanel in Extended Mode.
As is my habit, I rarely used both fixtures in tracking beam mode, preferring instead an open management to maximize the flare effect when looking at the source. I was interested in constantly engaging the whole stadium, and the incredible zoom openness of the Dominoes, in this respect, is unique.”


A special note goes to the highlight of the tour: a rotating mechanical bridge that, from the beginning of the concert, lifted Cesare into the audience … with a single Domino positioned above the bridge itself on the opposite side to illuminate the artist in an original two-way dialogue.



The Ayrton fixtures were presented by Ayrton’s exclusive distributor in Italy, Molpass, and supplied by Agora service

For more information on Ayrton Domino, MagicPanel, and its full range of LED lighting fixtures, visit www.ayrton.eu

Donny Osmond a success with Tom Sutherland design and full Elation rig

Donny Osmond recently completed his 100th solo residency show at Harrah’s Las Vegas beneath a rig of 140 Elation luminaires with lighting design by Tom Sutherland of DX7 Design. Just getting started in what is expected to be a multi-year residency, Osmond opened the show, “Donny,” last September less than two years after he and his sister Marie Osmond ended their hugely successful 11-year Vegas residency.


The song and dance show is an energy-filled musical journey through the legendary entertainer’s musical career and includes all new songs and highly original numbers. With the former 11-year residency an indication of how long this solo residency may last, venue operators Caesars Entertainment sought to purchase lighting gear for the 544-capacity Harrah’s Showroom as a cost effective solution for an anticipated multi-year run.

“We needed something that would be able to hold its own in a room that size, something with longevity that would still look as good years down the road as it did on opening night,” stated lighting designer Tom Sutherland, who also handles production design on the show.

“We worked through some different brands and looked at some different options and knew Elation had the fixtures we wanted. It all worked within our budget so that was great.”

Full-service production company 3G Productions supplied and installed an Elation rig made up of 46 SixBar 1000 LED battens, 18 Smarty Hybrid moving heads, 30 Fuze Wash Z350 LED washlights, 22 Dartz 360 LED moving heads, 20 Proton Eclypse effect lights, and 4 Artiste Picasso LED moving heads. Lighting maintenance and support for the show is from Blue Planet Lighting.

Because “Donny” isn’t the only show in the Harrah’s Showroom, the designer needed a rig that was useable for other shows coming in. “I couldn’t get overly bespoke with a design that was only for one show,” Sutherland said. “It had to be a flexible rig for whoever they put in on the months that Donny is off.”

That flexibility of rig meant that hybrid fixtures would need to play a role. “I knew we could get big effects out of the Smarty Hybrids,” Sutherland said of the compact, multifunctional CMY moving heads, luminaires that can easily transition from beam to spot to wash light.

One of those impactful looks takes place in Osmond’s performance of “Close Every Door” from “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” in which the designer uses the Smarty fixtures to create a cage of light around the singer. “That’s a moving part of the show and always an audience favorite,” he said.

It was important for the designer to line the edge of the stage with lighting, which is where the Dartz 360 come in. Sutherland has used the narrow 3-degree-beam LED moving heads in the past on Dancing with the Stars and Celestia and is familiar with their performance. “They are one of my favorite fixtures,” he says, “so bright and really compact and work in a space like the Harrah’s Showroom so well. They bring a huge amount to the show.”

Another fixture Sutherland knows well from his designs for Dancing with the Stars, as well as American Idol, is the SixBar 1000 linear LED bar. “It was vital to me to have one key light that would hug the video wall and give the set a framing so that’s where the SixBars came in so well,” he said.
Filling out the rig, the Fuze Wash Z350 wash lights function as “workhorses of people lighting” while Artiste Picasso moving heads provide key light from the front truss. The Protron Eclypse units provide strobe firepower when needed.

“Donny” is a real crowd pleaser with numbers that range from rock ‘n’ roll to romance. The show includes several highly original moments such as a ‘rapography’ that covers Osmond’s entire career and a segment where audience members can request any song from any of his 65 albums. “It’s really a heartfelt show and it was a real joy to work with him,” Sutherland closes. “You really leave the room feeling like you get your money’s worth.”

“Donny” Las Vegas Residency
Caesar’s Entertainment / Raj Kapoor Productions
Lighting & Production Designer: Tom Sutherland
Associate Designers: Joe Holdman, Hunter Selby
Assistant Designer: Jasmine Lesane
Lighting Programmer: Harry Forster
Lighting Crew Chief: Jon Farber
Creative Director: Raj Kapoor
Assistant Creative Director: Rita Maye Bland
Choreographer: Nappytabs
Video Content: Raj Kapoor Productions


For more info about Elation Lightin, you can visit www.elationlighting.com

 

Robe Rocks Roskilde 2022

Roskilde – Denmark’s largest and highest profile international music festival and a glorious and diverse celebration of music, art, activism, and freedom – celebrated 50 years this year with a fantastic line-up across multiple stages, with Robe moving lights playing a major role on the famous Orange Stage and in the expansive Arena Stage venue.

The fiftieth anniversary had been due to take place in 2020 but was delayed two years due to the pandemic, and while a small version of the festival took place in 2021 in one of the barns on its site just south of Copenhagen, this edition had an extra special resonance in addition to guests being able to enjoy the fabulousness and dynamics of live music and real in-person human interaction again!

Arena Stage

Lighting designer Sune Verdier and his team once again ran production lighting for this stage, ensuring that all visiting lighting designers, directors, and operators were well accommodated and that all artists on the stage – bringing their own LDs or not – looked great.
Due to the substantial ground support at its core, the Arena Stage tent can accommodate the largest amount of flown production elements – and the greatest headroom – of all the performance areas on site.

The production lighting design featured 40 x Robe MegaPointes and 48 x Spiiders at the heart of the rig, positioned on 10 automated trusses plus front and back fixed trusses and left and right side-ladders. This setup meant that even if a single performer was onstage – like a singer-songwriter or a DJ – the space could be filled with lights and look very cool!
Sune has been heading up the Arena Stage lighting team since 2013 and involved in the festival since 2005, and the main objective is to offer “the smoothest and best festival lighting technical experience.”

Multiple Choice

In advance, guest LDs are presented with a lighting rig ‘Menu Card’ featuring 8 dynamic and different trussing configurations created using 10 trusses on an automation system, so each performance can look unique. Once selected, the stage is set by Sune and his FOH team during the changeover.

Some will bring in additional touring lighting and LED specials packages which are dovetailed with the house ‘top rig’.

Above and beyond the standard technical requirements, there is always a warm welcome waiting at FOH together with a supply of festival essentials, energy drinks, water, beer, sweets, chocolates, and other snacks for those needing a sugar boost whilst working there. And, naturally, the famous Arena Stage FOH sofa and coffee table zone, which is squeezed in each year despite an ever-expanding production area!

“We want to make guests feel comfortable in all ways and ensure that everything from programming to getting refreshments is easy, efficient, and convenient and delivered with a smile!” underlines Sune, who advances the concept and the overall attention to detail each year based on assorted feedback.

Teamwork

He once again worked with his key regular team including Nicolai “Gubi” Schmidt, Fredrik Heitmann, Christian Olsson and – making his Roskilde debut – August Thede.
New for lighting production this year were the two side ladders, each rigged with a 3×3 matrix of Robe Spiiders, which made a real difference in emphasising the depth of the stage and were also great for filling back-of-camera shots for the IMAG video mix.

Dust is a massive issue in the Arena Stage as that part of the site is normally an equestrian arena, so the ground is covered with a special fine mulch specifically for horses, which with all site activity and stage action results in clouds of super-fine particles everywhere, including in the fixtures. Sometimes, haze is not even needed!
Sune is a big advocate of Robe fixtures and usually there will be some Robe products somewhere on whatever rig he is working on, and while the sealed optical chambers of Robe’s Forte and Esprite would be ideal in this situation, he also has to work with the appointed rental company’s stock and to budget!

MegaPointes & Spiiders

“I was very happy to have MegaPointes and Spiiders as the main lights,” he commented, “MegaPointe is a fantastic signature luminaire – powerful, versatile and providing so many choices.” He said the same is true for the Spiider as a ‘foundation’ product that is robust and reliable, “bright, and with a great range of colours.”
Apart from not having any issues with the lights, Sune notes that all LDs and operators are happy to see Robe on a festival rig spec!

Robe MegaPointe

Spiider LED wash beams


Other lighting on the Arena stage this year included wash moving lights outlining the stage, 27 x 2-lite Moles for blinders and 20 strobes, plus a load of 2K conventional fresnels for front general lighting and six profile moving lights for keys.

The Arena Stage hosted 25 eclectic performances over the four main Roskilde days with a particularly action-packed Friday featuring 10 bands, so changeovers are tight, and with pre-programming starting at 9 in the morning and the final acts going on at 3.25 a.m., the days are long! However, the pace is steady, and Sune and the team plus their counterparts in audio and video have it tuned to a fine art.

Amazing Vibes

As well as delivering a great service they also all enjoy the camaraderie of the Arena Stage and the amazing vibes of the overall event.
While 2022 was August’s first Roskilde, Fredrik, Sune and Gubi have all been working together on this stage for some years, and it was Christian who originally passed the lighting organisation over to Sune in 2013 allowing him focus on the demands of his day job working as a top Microsoft software engineer.

The technical production co-ordination starts several months in advance for Sune, and Christian always returns to work the event weekend each year, enjoying the spirit of Roskilde, the music and staying connected with everyone.
Also integral to the lighting team’s smooth running was Joakim Krogh, head electrician on stage from the rental company, and Louise Voigt, who co-ordinates all the advance production with bands both before and during the festival.

Orange Stage

This year the Roskilde Orange Stage lighting production was also a Robe lighting rig with 82 x MegaPointes, 80 x Spiiders, 10 x BMFL Wash XFs, four BMFL LTs (Long Throws), two BMFL Spots and a 6-way RoboSpot system which was supplied by Victory Tour Production.

Orange Stage lighting technician Mathias Jensen commented that everyone was super-impressed by the RoboSpot system with the four BMFL LT fixtures shooting almost 75 meters to the stage.

For more info, you can visit www.robe.cz

 

M/S Viking Glory is on the right tack with L-Acoustics

Owned and operated by Viking Line Abp, a Finnish shipping company and a market-leading brand in passenger traffic on the northern Baltic Sea, Viking Glory is the latest addition to Viking Line’s fleet and commenced her daily voyages between Stockholm, Mariehamn and Turku in March 2022.

Built at Xiamen Shipbuilding Industry’s shipyard in China, Viking Glory features many advanced, innovative technologies that make her one of the most environmentally friendly vessels in the world. Also on board is the state-of-the-art L-Acoustics sound system that augments the experience of travelling through some of the world’s most magnificent archipelagos by offering an unparalleled sonic experience.

Jorma Tikka, Intersonic’s Sales Manager

“We were thrilled when Viking Line got in touch with us about supplying an audio system for their new vessel,” says Jorma Tikka, Intersonic’s Sales Manager. “Along with advanced technology, delicious food and friendly service, the team wanted world-class entertainment, which is what Viking Line is known for and which is also why they got in touch with Intersonic – after all, we are one of Finland’s leading AV equipment suppliers!”

All hands on deck, the Intersonic team worked closely with Viking Line’s AV Manager Tuomas Sointula and Project Manager Aki Parkkila to design the L-Acoustics sound system that would provide perfectly balanced and evenly distributed audio across eight areas of the ship: the Vista Room Club, Vista Lounge, Torget, Algoth’s Bar, Kobba Restaurant & Bar, Fyren private restaurant, Market and Conference.

The Vista Room Club & Lounge, referred by the Viking Line team as ‘your living room onboard’, is a space to enjoy beautiful sunsets and sunrises through tall convex windows that extend from floor to ceiling.

The Vista Room Club & Lounge is provided by A Series and X Series. A couple of 5XT can be seen on the ceiling.

After the dusk, the brightest stars of the entertainment sky take the stage at Vista Room Club, with four A15 Wide, an A10 Wide, two X8, 17 5XT and four KS21 subs, powered by seven LA4X amplified controllers, offering a top quality live music experience.
The audio at the Vista Lounge area is served by two L-Acoustics X8 cabinets as well as an SB15m high-power ultra-compact subwoofer, powered by two LA4X.


The ship’s social hub, Torget. X8 provide the audio.

Torget is Viking Glory’s social hub where guests can share bubbly toasts before midnight or set up coffee meetups in the morning, all the while enjoying the spectacle of the sea outside large windows, as well as a gigantic LED screen positioned in the centre of the space and extending over two floors.

The sound is delivered by L-Acoustics X8 sound system, which offers exceptional coverage capability throughout the entire space in an aesthetically pleasing package. The entire audio set-up comprises eight X8, three 5XT, and four Syva SUB speakers, all powered by four LA4X.

The atmosphere in Algoth’s bar is provided by L-Acoustics X8 speakers and SB15m subs.

In Algoth Niska’s bar, named after the famous Finnish adventurer, guests can enjoy an extensive menu of cocktails and tune into the atmosphere thanks to the L-Acoustics X8 speakers and SB15m subs.

When the hunger starts biting, Viking Glory has plenty of food options on offer all served up with great audio.


The relaxed Kobba restaurant is complemented with discreet X8 cabinets.

The relaxed atmosphere of the bistro-style restaurant, Kobba, is complemented with discreet X8 cabinets, whilst the Fyren private restaurant can be booked for breakfast or dinner for up to 12 people and has four 5XT, delivering captivating audio that complements the unbeatable views of the archipelago.

Market is another option for those looking to enter the tasty world of the Baltic Sea’s first shopping hall. Featuring multiple food stalls offering international cuisines and delicacies baked in the ship’s own bakery, the space enjoys perfect acoustic coverage delivered by eight carefully distributed 5XT.


Each one of the Viking Glory’s 14 conference rooms deliver sound by 12 X8 cabinets and two SB15m subs.

Finally, Viking Glory’s brand-new conference facilities feature 14 flexible conference rooms that can accommodate up to 400 people and all feature cutting-edge technological solutions, which also include a top class sound system delivered by 12 X8 cabinets and two SB15m subs, amplified by two LA4X.


Pauli Molnár Intersonic’s system designer

Intersonic’s system designer Pauli Molnár comments that he deployed an L-Acoustics P1 processor and M1 software to calibrate and tune the system.

“I have used the M1/P1 system for all my calibrations since it became available. The tuning workflow is a bit different compared to previous methods, but once you get the hang of it you won’t look back.
The entire journey from using L-Acoustics Soundvision, with its quality indicators and Autosolvers, to M1 and all the tools available in Network Manager, is now all part of the integrated service that L-Acoustics delivers and which we find exceptional!” exclaims Molnár.

“We are very pleased to bring the industry-renowned L-Acoustics sound signature to the Viking Glory, making it the first ship in Viking Line’s fleet to have an L-Acoustics sound system integrated throughout the entire vessel,” concludes Tuomas Sointula.

“The sound quality of the system matches the highest standard of this ship’s facilities and is so versatile. Whether you want to enjoy your favourite tunes at the restaurant and bar, organise a conference or dance until dawn at the club, L-Acoustics brings a new level of audio experience which is all part of Viking Line’s promise to deliver the travel experience of tomorrow.”

More information on the L-Acoustics website and on the Intersonic website

 

The Air Force Museum of New Zealand fully lit with Vari-Lite

Visitors to The Air Force Museum of New Zealand are seeing its collection of historic aircraft in a whole new light, thanks to a new LED rig and control solution from Vari-Lite.

The museum took the opportunity during a rearrangement of the main Aircraft Hall display area to replace the existing lighting system to the LED rig to dramatically reduce power consumption and provide a more flexible, long-lasting and dynamic solution.

More than 100 powerful, honeycomb-lens SL Punchlite 220 fixtures are now installed, beaming rich, blended and saturated colors onto classic airplanes such as a Spitfire, Hudson and Avenger, and washing the space with hues.

To control the luminaires in the Aircraft Hall, and for multi-room control of six other spaces including further display areas, lecture theaters, restrooms and the main atrium, the technical team invested in a Neo Compact 10 Console.

A Vision.Net architectural control system has also been installed for a seamless, integrated lighting control experience across all the sites to help the team manage looks, power lighting scenes and simplify management.

“We needed a replacement control system that would be able to manage a large number of fixtures, run multiple cue lists, accept inputs from a variety of sources, and run time-based events,” says David Nicholson from the museum, who oversaw the project.

“The Neo and Vision.Net combination offers this solution and we are now using the C10 for programming the lighting states in the Aircraft Hall with great success. There were many benefits, including the C10’s compact size enabling us to easily move around the museum doing programming as we moved from plane to plane.”

In addition to the lighting, the Neo C10 and Vision.Net duo are also being used to run timeclock-based events such as audio announcements, video playback via screens around the venue, as well as building start-up and closedown each day.
The museum’s technical team is using the full-featured Neo operating system software on a PC to control more than 500 desk channels, with regular events activated by its internal timeclock scheduler.

“Vision.Net screens provide all the human interface requirements around the complex,” Nicholson explains. “There are touchscreens in five locations, and three physical button panels. The panels allow local control of some features, as well as more general functionality such as turning full complex on or off, putting the system into Event Mode to disable or play announcements and activating on-demand display features.”

The Vision.Net system’s preset commands are all monitored by Neo, which in turn runs shortcuts to turn on and off required cuelists. Commands that Neo initiates are run back through the Vision.Net system to keep all Vision.Net screens in sync with the real-world system status. The Vision.Net system also facilitates the customization of each screen depending on its location, as well as password-locked and hidden screens for additional setup and maintenance options.

The new rig was designed by Nicholson in collaboration with lighting designer Joe Hayes, as well as Grant Robertson from Christchurch-based Vari-Lite supplier The Light Site, who also managed the initial design concepts of the Vision.Net and Neo setup.
Glenn Stewart from Kenderdine Electrical supplied the Neo and Vision.Net hardware and conducted all the Vision.Net programming. Darren McKane from The Light Site did all the Neo cue and integration programming.

For more info about Vari-Lite, you can visit the Vari-lite website