The National Theatre, situated on London’s South Bank, has been a revered national institution for over fifty years. Its three theatres, the 1110-seat Olivier, the 890-seat Lyttelton and the 400-seat Dorfman, play host to a wide range of theatre performances from bold new work to re-imagined modern classics.
They’ve chosen more than 50 Robert Juliat Dalis battens for cyclorama lighting.

Robert Juliat Dalis are used in architectural fashion by LD Bradley King on Anaïs Mitchell’s musical Hadestown which plays in the Olivier Theatre until the end of January. © Helen Maybanks.

The NT technical department have the responsibility to provide the best quality equipment in order to maintain the highest standards for all productions.

Robert Juliat is therefore very proud that the lighting department has invested in yet more Robert Juliat lighting equipment over the last 12 months to add to its already large inventory of RJ fixtures.

Over 300 Robert Juliat fixtures

The National Theatre lighting team with their new Robert Juliat Dalis and Cin’k fixtures. Left to right: Paul Hornsby, Lighting Resources Manager, Matt Drury, Head of Lighting and Laurie Clayton, Lyttelton Lighting Supervisor. © Julie Harper

“We have over 300 Robert Juliat 60ma0 Series 1kW and 700 Series 2.5kW profile fixtures, mostly used as generic lighting in the Olivier and Lyttelton theatres where they are rigged on the front of house bridges,” says lighting resources manager, Paul Hornsby.
“The latter are especially suitable for the long throws in the Olivier and Lyttelton where they give that punchy 2.5k look that everyone wants and which has yet to be achieved by any LED equivalent.”

2018 saw Paul Hornsby’s department make a sizeable investment in 54 award-winning Dalis 860 300W LED cyclorama battens.
“Our aim was to be able to light a full wrap-around cyclorama in the Olivier, which we are able to do beautifully using 48 Dalis units (24 each on top and bottom).
The cyclorama for Common, for example, measures 8m high by 21.5m wide – so you can see the size of the space they have to cover!

“We chose Dalis because we were looking for an LED solution to replace our old tungsten cyclorama lights. We compared various products and felt that in terms of size, coverage and output, Dalis was the best on the market.

Look and feel of a traditional cyc batten

Robert Juliat Dalis illuminate the backwall for David Hare’s production of I’m Not Running in the Lyttelton Theatre © Neill Pollard, Lyttelton Lighting.

“Dalis also has the advantage that it feels and looks like a traditional cyc batten. They are compact and bright so give us the throw we need for the venue, but can also be put much closer to the cyclorama cloth than other units, because they require much less space. It is a very versatile unit.”

This was not the first time Dalis 860 has appeared on stage at the National Theatre. Summer 2017 saw award-winning lighting designer, Paule Constable, employ a whole top run of Dalis 860 to great effect on the production of DC Moore’s Common.

“It’s great to have a very nice, flexible colour-change solution with very minimal power consumption,” confirms Hornsby. “On full output, using four coloured cells, we use only 10% of the energy that our old 500W and 1kW tungsten cyclight fixtures used, not to mention a considerable saving in gel – some shades of blue would only last for one performance!
We’ve never had any complaints about the colour choices or absence of a tungsten source either – designers can find all the colours they need and the coverage is extremely nice and even.”

The Dalis fixtures are currently in use on productions in both the Lyttelton and the Olivier theatres. The Lyttelton sees lighting designer Jon Clark employing 20 units, in two rows of ten, for David Hare’s production, I’m Not Running, not as cyclorama lighting but for flood coverage on the 10m back wall of the set.

Even cover at low levels

“Jon wanted an even cover at a low light level, and to be able to mix the colour to suit the set designer’s wishes,” says Lyttelton Lighting Supervisor, Laurie Clayton. “He was able to achieve this perfectly with the Dalis units, which he had previously used on the production of Absolute Hell to light up the structure of the Lyttelton stage.”

Robert Juliat Dalis are used in architectural fashion by LD Bradley King on Anaïs Mitchell’s musical Hadestown which plays in the Olivier Theatre until the end of January. © Helen Maybanks.

Prior to its Broadway run, Anaïs Mitchell’s musical Hadestown, is now playing in repertoire at the Olivier where LD Bradley King is using 12 Dalis 860 fixtures in an architectural fashion to uplight the back wall of the set in different colours.
“The Dalis proved to be very bright and work very well, even though they are very close to the wall of the set,” confirms Hornsby.

It is not just the visiting lighting designers who have been happy with the RJ Dalis fixtures. “All of our technicians here love Dalis,” says Hornsby, “which are very robust with a good build- quality and have so far been problem free.”

Joining Dalis in the Olivier are three new RJ Cyrano 2.5kW HMI followspots which are now permanent fixtures in the followspot box at the back of the auditorium. “We needed to replace our old followspots with something good, reliable and bright that could cover big musical productions, like Follies, in the Olivier,” says Hornsby.
“We chose Robert Juliat because they make excellent followspots. They are well known, which means the operators know how to use them, and they are easily available to hire should we need any more.”

No LED equivalent for tungsten 5kW… yet

Last but not least, the National Theatre also purchased sixteen new RJ Cin’k 350LF 5kW tungsten Fresnels for the Lyttelton Theatre’s basic rig where they will operate in overhead positions.
“There is still no LED equivalent to a tungsten 5kW fixture and the 5kW tungsten Cin’k is in great demand by lighting designers because our venues are so big, “ says Hornsby, “so we are reliant on their bright sources.”

The Cin’k 350LF Fresnels supplement 16 RJ Cin’k 325LF already owned by the National Theatre in the resources hire stock, alongside 30 RJ Lutin 306 1kW units.
“The little Lutins are used a lot in our new Dorfman Theatre, hired from the resources stock to supplement the basic rig,” concludes Hornsby. “They are ideal for fitting into the smaller space of the Dorfman.”

I’m Not Running and Hadestown run at the Lyttelton and Olivier theatres respectively until the end of January 2019.

More information on Robert Juliat’s full portfolio of LED, tungsten and discharge lighting fixtures.

DPA (Danish Pro Audio) will be using their booth at forthcoming Prolight + Sound 2019 exhibition as a platform to show artists and performers its new and unobtrusive d:fine™ CORE 6066 Subminiature Headset Microphone. Small is Beautiful indeed!
This model is claimed as being the ultimate in wearable tech and the perfect solution for anyone who wants freedom of movement on stage.

Forming part of its recently introduced 6000 Series of tiny, high-end pro audio microphone capsules, the d:fine CORE 6066 is an attractive headset that is very comfortable to wear and so easy to fit that even the most inexperienced artist or performer can mount it themselves.
With DPA’s famous sound quality guaranteed, this one size fits all headset is also very secure thanks to a clever three point spring mechanism that helps it grip below and over the ears as well as behind the ear. With a fully adjustable boom and a redesigned cable attachment that allows the cable to run down the wearer’s back, it is particularly useful for performers who want to incorporate rigorous dance routines into their set.

60% smaller but as powerful as the 4000 series

Since its launch, DPA’s new 6000 Series has continually astonished end users because it is so small and so nice sounding.

Measuring just three millimetres (0.12 inches) in diameter, 6000 series capsules are 60% smaller than the company’s existing 4000 series, but equally as powerful because they all incorporate CORE by DPA microphone amplification technology that reduces distortion and increases dynamic range.
The 6000 Series also includes the d:screet™ CORE 6060 and CORE 6061 Subminiature Microphones that can be fitted to clothes in the form of a virtually invisible lavalier.

DPA will also be showing on their Prolight & Sound booth other microphones that incorporate its ‘CORE by DPA’ amplifier technology. These include its 4000 Series of d:screet™ miniature lavalier, d:fine™ headset and now d:vote 4099 Instrument Microphones – one of the most natural-sounding instrument microphone solutions available today and seen as the preferred close-miking instrument mic on the market.

d:vote 4099 for instrument use

Designed for use with every woodwind and acoustical instrument, the most popular being guitar, violin, cello and trumpet/saxophone, the award winning d:vote 4099 is known for its discreet size.
Its versatile mounting/clip options make it useful in a wide range of applications, from studio and theatre to live performance and broadcast.

The new version also has a more streamlined design that features a foam cover to help decrease vulnerability to wind or movement during a performance.

Top vocal mic for top artists

DPA will complete is Prolight + Sound line up with its hugely popular and award-winning d:facto™ Vocal Microphone range, which includes an extremely linear version for sound engineers who want to design the complete sound pattern and create their own unique sound.

Already the vocal microphone of choice for artists such as Sting, Stevie Wonder, Bruno Mars and Ellie Goulding, the d:facto™ Vocal Microphone combines the very best of cardioid and supercardioid directional characteristics to ensure minimum bleed, high spl before feedback and an exceptionally natural sound.

Using DPA’s flexible adapter system, the microphone can be transformed from a wired version with a handle to a handheld wireless microphone seamlessly integrating with all leading wireless solutions such as Sennheiser, Shure, Sony, Wisycom, Lectrosonics and Line6.

The entire range will be on show at booth 8:J80, which DPA is sharing with its new parent company RCF. More information on DPA microphones website.

Los Angeles-based Elation Professional’s home team Rams might not have come out victorious in Super Bowl LIII but the company was a winner nonetheless as its new Rayzor 760™ LED wash/beam light played an integral role on the American football championship’s celebrated halftime show.

Held February 3rd at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta and broadcast live on CBS, the Pepsi Super Bowl Halftime Show featured a headline performance by Maroon 5, along with rappers Travis Scott and Big Boi.
Production design was by Bruce Rodgers of Tribe Inc. with lighting design by Bob Barnhart of 22 Degrees for what is the most-watched musical event of the year in the U.S.

The Super Bowl Halftime Show marked the live show debut of Elation’s Rayzor 760, a unique LED luminaire with 7 x 60W RGBW LEDs, 5 to 77-degree zoom, continuous pan and tilt, and new SparkLED™ technology.
Barnhart, who has lit over 20 Super Bowl Halftime Shows and says he was happy to audition the fixture, positioned 45 Rayzor 760s in an impressive 60-yard row behind the large M stage at field level.

“When we layout a Super Bowl Halftime light plot we look for different layers that give us effect, scale and diversity,” Bob Barnhart stated. “When Eric Loader showed me the new Rayzor 760, I immediately told him I had a place for them on the Super Bowl.”

Barnhart placed the Rayzor 760s on a field truss all the way upstage, close to the first row of seats. “I wanted to use the 760 to color the air in the background, which becomes a nice layer to offset the beams in the foreground,” the designer explained.
“We also used the continuous pan and tilt to give a different tool for tempo and scale. The quickness of the LED engine also allowed us to dual purpose the fixture as a strobe.”

Although the designer did not get the chance to feature the fixture’s patent-pending SparkLED™ effect – white LEDs placed inside the fixture’s seven oversized lenses that create a unique sparkle effect – he anticipates employing it in the future.
“I think the venue was too large to properly show off the SparkLED,” he says, “but we played with it. I look forward to having that option on other shows where it can really shine.”

The Rayzor 760s produce a well-defined mid-air beam or can spread exceptionally wide for an even wash coverage and performed very well during the 12-minute musical halftime performance, holding their own against the 100s of other higher power lights around them.
“The fixtures performed really well and not one needed attention from the crew,” Barnhart says. The Rayzor fixtures were supplied for the Super Bowl Halftime Show by PRG.

Other Elation lighting fixtures were used elsewhere in the stadium, namely the company’s new feature-rich Artiste Picasso™ LED profile moving head, employed as front key lights on the CBS Sports stadium broadcast studio, and the Colour 5 Profile™ LED ellipsoidal spot, which was used on the field set.

Leading up to the Super Bowl, Elation products were spotted all around Atlanta, supporting the numerous events surrounding the game.

More information on Elation Lighting Rayzor, and Artiste Picasso, and Colour 5 Profile.

Ministry Of Sound’s [MoS] orchestral tour, The Annual Classical, reimagines legendary Sony Music compilation, The Annual, the best-selling dance compilation of all time, as a ground-breaking live production.
At the helm of the complex live mix is sound designer, Phil Wright, mixing on a DiGiCo SD7 supplied by RG Jones, and delivering huge sounds as much-loved chart toppers receive a classical reworking.

Ready for the show.

“In the last couple of years, we’ve seen all kinds of classical dance music shows take to the stage, but the design brief from MoS was to make this a genuinely live performance, meaning no playback!” says Phil Wright.

With the brief in place, a collaboration between Coalition Agency and Raymond Gubby Ltd, which runs the 55-piece London Concert Orchestra, began with British composer Tom Player tasked with producing arrangements for the orchestra.
Amongst the hits are The Chemical Brothers’ Hey Boy Hey Girl; Insomniaby Faithless and Moloko’s Sing It Back. The large-scale orchestral production called for Phil’s long-trusted mixing companion.

Only four busses and two channels not in use

Phil Wright.

“It was always going to be me and a DiGiCo console,” he says. “I thought about an SD10, but it became obvious that I needed a bigger desk and therefore I decided on an SD7. It’s been the perfect choice and even on a console with the huge capacity of the SD7, I had only four busses and two channels not in use!”
The Annual Classical is no ordinary show, as Phil explains: “On stage, we have 55 people plus backing vocalists, guest singers and extensive effects. I’m running 12 FX racks in my SD7 and another 6 in Waves externally with my own DiGiGrid rig. It turned out to be the ideal way.”

Phil has two SD-Racks on stage, taking inputs and sending outputs to a pair of Martin Audio DD6s.
A total of 17 performers use personal mixers.

MADI stream out of the SD7 to the personal monitoring set ups

Annual Classical in action.

“With the compatibility, I could drive a MADI stream out of the SD7 to the personal monitoring set ups,” Phil continues.
“I was sending 40 channels to the personal mixers, and using 16 sub groups, which was driving a very high Aux count for this show.”

The SD7 also ensured a smooth production filtered through to other departments.
“It’s been a very close collaboration between Tom and I, and it quickly became obvious that we’d needed a click track – both for people to listen to and as a visual reference,” notes Phil. “Some of the pieces were 20 minutes long and featured a mix of five or six tracks, so it’s easy to get lost without it.

“I worked with Tom to construct a visual click system for the show which works off my dual redundant system. The musicians received an audible click and visual reference, which I could output to the lighting and sound console. While some cues are manual, the SD7 can do some of this itself based on the timeline, which was particularly useful to our lighting department.”

Additional benefits

FOH position.

The SD7 provided additional benefits, explains Phil: “With running the show from a click track system with SMPTE, I’ve been able to snapshot every music number and subdivide some of them.
This way I can put FX on the instruments. I utilised the screen in the SD7 with a copy of the visual click system so I could easily follow the progress.”
Full rehearsals took place at the new Music Bank facility and the tour premiered at London’s Royal Festival Hall in late-January.

“It was phenomenal,” says Phil. “There’s a 10-minute film introduction to the event which explains the history of the MoS club, and the history of devising The Annual Classical. As it ends, the conductor hits ‘go’ and from the first beat, the audience stood up and never sat down again! I’ve never seen a reaction like it!”

Following its stellar debut in London, the Annual Classical tour will continue throughout the UK from May-June.

Legendary Ministry Of Sound logo. Remember when they projected it on Buckingham Palace frontage?

For more information on DiGiCo SD7, Phil Wright Sound, Ministry Of Sound Annual Classical.

Due to massive success, Brompton Technology’s recently initiated training programme is adding new dates (see below), for anyone interested in learning more about the extensive capabilities of the company’s TESSERA LED processing for its T1, S4, M2 and SX40 LED processors and the XD data distribution units. Free to technicians working in the LED screen sector, they are already proving highly popular.

Held at Brompton’s HQ in Ealing, London, the sessions take attendees through the fundamentals of operating its state-of-the-art LED processors, familiarising them with the easy-to-use interface and giving them hands on experience with handy features such as ChromaTune colour correction, On Screen Colour Adjustment (OSCA), Dark Magic for colour smoothing in low brightness conditions, Fixture Processing and Genlock.

Attendees will also get first-hand experience of the new Tessera Processor Software 2.2.0 for the 4K SX40 processor which delivers an enhanced feature set, including:

• Panel On Screen Display (OSD),
• Processor Redundancy,
• 90 degree rotation,
• and Chinese language support in the user interface.

For more information, or to book your place on these sessions, and also express interest in sessions in other areas of the world, sand an e-mail to [email protected]

Ayrton announces the appointment of PRG K.K. as its new exclusive distributor for Japan. Ayrton’s full range of products, including its new powerful, compact, lightweight LED profiles and wash lights, will be promoted and supported on a day-to-day basis by PRG K.K.’s dedicated technical sales team, a team which has earned the reputation for the highest standard in customer service.

Part of the PRG K.K.’s technical sales team.

Established in 1984, PRG K.K., a subsidiary of Production Resource Group, L.L.C., is a leading production service provider for the entertainment industry with a remit that covers a wide variety of markets including concert tours, theatre, television stations, theme parks, commercial facilities and schools.
Its customer base that encompasses agencies, event organizers, designers, promoters, television and theatre producers. Since PRG K.K.’s distribution division opened in 2001, the team has engaged in sales promotion for some reputable moving lights brands, now turning attention towards Ayrton.

John R. Swain, PRG’s CEO of Asia and Australia.

“PRG is very excited to be a part of this next level in our relationship with Ayrton,” says John Swain, PRG’s CEO of Asia and Australia. “We recognized the innovative solutions that Ayrton lighting products offer clients across a broad range of professional environments.
The ingenuity of Ayrton’s product solutions is ideally suited to PRG K.K.’s client base in Japan.”

“We chose to become an Ayrton distributor because their renewed focus on an innovative, lightweight and quality product line is an excellent fit for the Japanese marketplace,” says Yuji Tanaka from PRG K.K.

“We believe the new Ayrton product range offers unique advantages in terms of their high output, full set of features, and remarkably compact, light-weight housings.

Jerad Garza, international sales for Ayrton.

International sales for Ayrton, Jerad Garza, comments: “We are delighted to welcome PRG K.K. as our new partner in Japan.
Their energy and approach to the market combined with their customer focus and Ayrton’s philosophy of ‘Smaller, Lighter and Brighter’ is a great fit, and we cannot wait to see positive things happening.”

“Ayrton already has a well-established reputation for its effects lighting fixtures, concludes Yuji Tanaka. We aim to develop that perception further in the Japanese market so the Ayrton brand becomes synonymous with high quality, high performance moving lights.

New fixtures such as Ghibli, Khamsin, Bora, Mistral, and now Diablo and Levante, will be readily available and fully supported for our customers.”

More information on PRG K.K. and Ayrton products.

With the steeply rising demand for Yamaha’s Rivage PM7 digital mixing system, it is being specified on more and more tour riders. The Belgian tenor Helmut Lotti’s World Tour is one of the first to see the PM7 go truly global, accompanied by a Nexo audio system.

The five month tour has seen Lotti promoting his latest album Soul Classics In Symphony with shows in Austria, Belgium, Germany, Scandinavia, South Africa and Switzerland.
The tour’s audio rental company is Revolution Event Support, whose owner Bart Faut is the tour’s production manager and Front of House engineer.

For the tour Bart specified a Yamaha Rivage PM7 monitor console, with a CL5 mixing FoH sound. I/O is taken care of by Rio3224-D2 and Rio1608-D2 racks. The Nexo PA is a mixture of flown and ground-stacked Geo S12 and Geo M6 with LS18 and RS18 subs, powered and managed by NXAMP4X4s and NXAMP4X1s.
Lotti is backed by the Golden Symphonic Orchestra – a 22-piece band, including string and brass/woodwind sections, piano, two guitarists, bass guitar, drums, percussion and backing vocalists.

Large number of stereo monitor mixes

Bart Faut with the CL5 at FOH.

“When we were planning the tour we felt it was better to have everyone on in-ear monitors. However, the number of stereo mixes needed was greater than the 32 busses of a CL5,” says Bart Faut.
“I discussed this with Yamaha’s Stef de Pooter and he told us about the Rivage PM7, which at that time was under NDA.
We were immediately convinced about what it could do for us. “I have always been a big fan of Yamaha consoles – we still have a PM3500 in the warehouse.

Bart Faut, Helmut Lotti and Kristof Haagdoren with the Rivage PM7.

With plenty of busses for the in-ear mixes. the Yamaha sound quality, ease of use and reliability, we knew that the Rivage PM7 was the console we needed.”

He continues, “It is the ideal monitor console for this production, thanks to the large number of inputs and the amount of monitor sends.
The PM7 seamless compatibility with Dante, our R-series I/O racks and CL5 at FoH is also crucial indeed. The onboard plugins are perfect for providing each performer with a very comfortable sound.”

As you would expect, Lotti is meticulous about the quality of his in-ear sound. But the PM7 has ensured he is happy at every show. “He absolutely loves the sound,” says Bart.
“With a Yamaha console on monitors, he’s always confident that it will sound like he wants it to, but the PM7 has raised the bar even higher.”

The tour has been monitor engineer Kristof Haagdoren’s first experience of Rivage PM7 and he found it a very straightforward console to learn.
“I love the PM7’s sound quality and ease of use. Having eight inserts per channel make it very flexible and copying mix busses with or without sends comes in very handy for mixing monitors,” he says. “The built-in FX-racks are very good and I really like the onboard compressors. Of course the Rupert Neve Designs SILK emulation is sublime and pleasingly subtle.”

At Front of House, the CL5 is ensuring that Lotti’s voice sounds warm and natural, blending perfectly with the music. “We try to make as broad a sound as possible, where each instrument has its place and is sufficiently transparent, but with an overall fairly low volume for Helmut’s audience, yet without sacrificing the intensity and experience of the show,” says Bart.

Special PA setup

Nexo Geo setup.

For the Hamburg show, limited flying limits meant that a special PA setup was necessary, with a centre cluster of Geo S12 and an LS18, the latter being flanked by flown Geo M6.

Geo S12/LS18 were stacked at ground level. This highlighted how versatile the tour’s audio package needed to be.

“Hamburg was a typical example of why we need a very flexible system. The Yamaha/Nexo combination allows us to create the ideal sound plan to guarantee 100% coverage of the audience, which can be different in every venue,” says Bart.
Another important factor on the tour is how straightforward the system is to set up and, crucially, being able to rent equipment locally, if needed.

Kristof Haagdoren (monitor engineer), Stef Schrijvers (system tech), Bart Faut (FoH engineer/production manager). Michael Nijs (backline tech) and John Hellinx (stage audio & RF engineer) with the Rivage PM7.

“Thanks to the Dante network, it’s easy to route multichannel audio around the venues without having to worry about timing or network issues.
It just works. We go from console A-D to the NXAMP inputs fully within Dante, which makes a huge difference in sound quality and ease of use,” says Bart satisfyingly.

“Yamaha and Nexo are also a safe bet for local rentals, which makes it easy for us to add extra equipment if we need it.”

More information on Yamaha Rivage PM7 digital mixing console, Yamaha CL Series digital mixing consoles, Nexo Geo S12, Nexo Geo M6, NXAMP processing amplifiers.

The versatile and compact LightShark console is making life on the road much easier for PA and lighting company Black Cat Audio, which is currently deploying the console on the international theatre show Someone Like You – The Adele Songbook.

Katie Markham, brilliantly impersonating Adele.

Someone Like You – The Adele Songbook is a live concert performance, celebrating the music of one of our generations’ finest singer-songwriters. Conceived and produced by Chameleon Music Marketing, the show features Katie Markham leading a talented six-piece band through Adele’s hits plus much more in an internationally acclaimed show.

The world class show faithfully recreates Adele’s three record-breaking albums 19, 21 and 25 – including Chasing Pavements, Make You Feel My Love, Set Fire To The Rain, Someone Like You, Hello, Rolling In The Deep, Skyfall and many more.
It also pays homage to some of Adele’s musical heroes, from Etta James to George Michael, via The Cure, to name but a few.

Variety of venues on hectic tour schedule

Northamptonshire-based Black Cat Audio has been providing lighting and sound services to the show since its inception. With a hectic UK touring schedule to contend with, they needed a small footprint lighting console that was quick to set up, easy to use and capable of dealing with a wide variety of venues – from 350-seater arts centres to large 2,000 capacity theatres.

Black Cat Audio’s lighting engineer Karl Thompson.

“We looked at a number of alternatives but the LightShark console was the only one that ticked all the right boxes,” says Adey Osbourne, Black Cat Audio’s Technical Director.
“It has a lot of interesting features that we really like, such as a proper hardware unit with faders and built in software so that you don’t have to download anything to a computer.

“At the end of last year, we redesigned the show and decided to invest in some new equipment including the LightShark,” he adds. “We had rehearsals at the start of this year, which gave us our first opportunity to use LightShark and start to programme the sequences we wanted.

Since then we’ve been fine tuning as we’ve gone along. I really like the fact that it is very easy to create profiles – and that we can do this on the road.”

Katie Markham, brilliantly impersonating Adele.

Although some of the venues the show is visiting have their own lighting rigs, Adey Osbourne decided to tour with a dedicated rig that consists of four Chauvet 375 moving heads, four 4 Uking 105W LED washers, eight QTX LED par cans, two moving head UKing 100 moving head spots, four Evolution par bars, eight other LED slimline par cans and 10 generic par cans.

Walk around the theatre and see it happening

Karl Thompson walking around the theatre during a rehearsal, and actually seeing what is happening.

“We are using our own rig so that we can deliver continuity at every venue,” he explains. “The LightShark controls everything, from the position and movement of the lights to the colour changes and Gobo’s.
And all this can be done from either the console or from a tablet or iPhone, which means our lighting engineer Karl Thompson is free to walk around the theatre and actually see what is happening rather than being stuck in one position.”
Osbourne adds “The reaction to LightShark has been very positive and whenever the tour visits to a new venue, the lighting technicians are keen to see what it can do.
This console has a great future because it is ideal for so many different applications.”

“It is perfect for medium-sized touring productions like ours, but it also has a lot of potential in fixed installations like theatres and arts centres, as well as nightclubs and Houses of Worship. For its price it packs a lot punch and I can’t see much else that competed with it in this segment of the market.”

More information on Work LightShark console.

Live sound for the globally popular Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) mixed martial arts events has punched through the roar of arena crowds with more impact and clarity thanks to a new, custom-configured Meyer Sound reinforcement system based on Leopard line array loudspeakers.
Dedicated only to audio support for all UFC events in North America, this “dream system” comprising 120 loudspeakers was devised specifically for the demands of UFC bouts.

Audio system architect and FOH engineer

The principal architect behind the system is Daniel Bonneau, senior director of audio production for Bloomfield, Connecticut-based ConCom. This production company has provided both live AVL and broadcast production services throughout UFC’s existence.
As the FOH engineer for nearly all UFC events over the 10 years — easily more than 300, he surmises — Bonneau steps up his game by leveraging the newest generation of Meyer Sound technologies.

Daniel Bonneau, the only one in the stadium fighting with his ears.

“We’d been using a Meyer MICA®-based system for nearly seven years and it had done very well,” Daniel Bonneau says.
“But when we made the change to Leopard, the sonic quality immediately stepped up to a higher level.

We wanted a box that could deliver a huge impact to the crowd when playing walk-in music from the truck, but also had the clarity needed for the interviews afterwards — even when the fighters are exhausted and holding their mics down by their belts. The Leopard system accomplishes both, and handily.”

Along with power and clarity, Bonneau also sought a system that could go in and out quickly, scale to arenas of any size with seamless coverage, and hang high out of sight-lines for fans and TV cameras.

Where do we put the processors?

One key element of his solution was to implement a fiber-optic AVB network for linking FOH to the GALAXY™ processors for the arrays.
But as the arrays had to be flown high above the center scoreboard-mounted video screens, the question arose: Where to best place the array processors?

Bonneau’s unique solution was to build two custom steel pods, one flown on each side of the center scoreboard, and each serving three purposes.

The top portion provides storage for the cable looms connected to the three Leopard arrays covering each end of the arena; the pod’s side incorporates racks for power distro along with two Luminex AVB network switches and four GALAXY processors; and the bottom provides rigging points that support two different configurations for the 1100-LFC low frequency control elements.

“It’s unbelievable how much quicker things are going now,” reports Bonneau. “We’re saving over an hour on load-in and at least a half-hour on load out. If points are clear, we’re typically floating off the ground in three hours.
The way we package the system, the array boxes are rolling on carts of four, with our side hangs twelve deep and end hangs sixteen deep. So it’s click-click-click on three or four carts and you’re done.”

Leopard roaring arrays

The entire arena seating bowl is covered by the six-hang exploded center cluster of Leopard arrays. “With the old system we used eight arrays, but we would get some slapback from the big video screens hung at the 45-degree positions,” says Bonneau.

“Now, with the six array configuration we avoid firing at the screens, but the wide horizontal of the Leopard still gives us seamless coverage. Also, I have all the headroom I need to handle walk-in music, which varies greatly from track to track, and I have ample gain before feedback in the post-fight interviews.”

For musical deep bass as well as visceral impact effects, the system also incorporates a total of eight flown 1100-LFC elements along with four 900-LFCs tucked under the Octagon competition platform.
Also directly underneath the Octagon mat are five Sennheiser 421 microphones that are routed directly to the 1100-LFC elements. “When a fighter gets picked up and thrown down, it lays your hair back when he hits the mat,” says Bonneau. “The fans may not be consciously aware of the effect but it intensifies the total experience.”

With a flown array trim height typically at 60 to 80 feet, a separate system is required for the floor seats. Eight UPA-1P loudspeakers are mounted to lighting fingers extending out from the signature UFC lighting truss rigged over the Octagon.
In addition, eight UPQ-1P loudspeakers are mounted on the main lighting truss. This configuration allows Bonneau to tailor a custom stereo mix for each of the four quadrants, with one high-impact mix for UFC executives seated at the Octagon and a boost in vocal clarity for the press section.

No loudspeakers in the frame

Bonneau is thrilled by the way the system has elevated the experience for fans in attendance despite the limitations of broadcast. “To help the broadcast team we try to avoid showing any loudspeakers in the frame,” he says.

“So we’re using these compact Meyer line arrays, little UPQs and UPAs, only eight 1100-LFCs — and we’re just crushing major arenas with them. We have not been able to accomplish this with any other manufacturer’s systems. When we deployed this rig for the first event, we knocked it out of the park.”

Daniel Bonneau with lead systems engineer Jason Macalik and PA techs Michael Arnold and Eric Harrison.

Bonneau also gives full credit to his crew, lead systems engineer Jason Macalik and PA techs Michael Arnold and Eric Harrison.
Bonneau mixes the UFC events on a Yamaha CL-5 digital console, relying on a pair of Meyer Sound Amie™ precision studio monitors for near-field reference.

The wireless system is Sennheiser digital with Neumann KK205 capsules, while wired microphones are Neumann KMS 105.

More information on Meyer Sound Leopard Series.

High End Systems, manufacturer of the Hog consoles, is pleased to announce the fifth annual Hog Factor National Collegiate Lighting Show Programming Competition.
The top teams in the country will be brought to LDI 2019 in Las Vegas where they will compete to win school prizes.

Photo taken during a previous Hog Factor competition.

Universities are invited to enter as many teams as they like, of up to three students each. The competition takes place in two phases.

Phase One is an open competition and will consist of each team providing a performance lighting piece, programmed on a Hog you own or on Hog 4 PC.
This can be downloaded free of charge with a special demo version of Capture visualization, which will be made available to all teams.

Once performance piece submission closes on June 30th 2019, the top three teams will be selected by July 31st.

Photo taken during a previous Hog Factor competition.

Phase Two will see these three teams programming a performance lighting piece based on the High End Systems 2019 LDI booth design.

These top teams will then be invited to perform their pieces live at LDI 2019 on the High End Systems’ booth where the winners will be announced.

GOOD TIMES BAD TIMES – LED ZEPPELIN
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HIGH HOPES – PANIC! AT THE DISCO
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MAKE ME FEEL – JANELLE MONAE
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Photo of the winning team from a previous Hog Factor competition.

Photo taken during a previous Hog Factor competition.

More information on High End Systems Website.

Privilege Ibiza made the smart decision to employ the Clair Brothers C12 loudspeaker system, and some more Clair Brothers gear to cover the entire venue. As the largest nightclub putting on a special season-end event, its magnitude is difficult to ignore.
This mammoth club can host up to 10,000 guests at one time.

Clair Brothers’ C12s in action at Privilege Ibiza.

Open since 1993 on the Spanish island of Ibiza, this gigantic venue welcomes litterally hundreds of thousands guest over the season, each invited to be themselves and express themselves as they want.
Possessing a staff two-hundred strong, a ceiling height of twenty-five meters, a dance floor for days, an impressive live stage, large windows and a glass dome for an observatory view of the stars at night, three floors, several terraces, plus a huge swimming pool with a DJ booth above it, this unforgettable club leaves nothing to chance.

The fact that this is the largest club in the world allows management to redesign the venue for individual parties and artistic shows. For this event, they didn’t hold back, calling on Clair Brothers’ Spanish distribution and rental partner, VTècnics, to recommend and design a sound system worthy of this special occasion.

International team effort of collaboration

Josep Maria Serra, production manager at VTècnics provides some back story: “The Clair Brothers team understands the concept and value of global sharing between its partners.

On this occasion four companies in southern Europe shared their equipment and knowledge which allowed us to achieve the best sound possible.
My company, VTècnics, worked with other Clair Brothers partners Grupo Friends, also from Spain, Audio Concept from France, and Prase Media Technologies from Italy. It’s a total team effort of collaboration and pitching in together!”

The downside of the venue

A downside of being such a massive venue with the ornate design features, such as glass and metallic surfaces all around, the acoustics present a real challenge to finding a strong, yet balanced sound throughout.
Serra points out, “The venue does not have good acoustics because it has so many reflective surface elements. And the floor has a giant swimming pool with a cover on it, which unfortunately works as a big resonance box.
We needed to create a sound system that was strong on clarity, with powerful subs, that would be easy to control. The Clair Brothers C12s and iS218s more than delivered.”

An additional challenge for setting up the sound system was the presence of a monstrous lighting system.

“We had fixed anchor points to hang the C12s,” explains Serra. “It was impossible to scroll the anchors in any direction because within the structure was a twenty-ton pro-lighting rig.
It was essential to respect those loading points.”

The final sound system

The final, exclusively Clair Brothers, sound system designed for the big event consisted of twenty-four C12s, twenty-four iS218s and eight FF2s for the main stage.
They also supplied eight i212s and two iS218s in an additional hall; twelve i212s and four iS218s in VIP Zones 1 & 2; four kiTCurve12s, two kiTSubs and four C12s in VIP Zone 3; two C12s and four iS218s for the DJ set monitor; and all amplifiers were CB-PLM12K44s and CB-PLM20K44s.

The VTècnics production team that expertly pulled off the evening were sound designer, Francesc Güell; system engineer.
Other members of the team were Narcis Solé; sound assistant, Juan Carlos Álvarez; and monitor engineer, Konstantinos Ftoulis.
“It was a super fun night for all of us and the sound was great,” concludes Serra.

“One promoter in attendance went so far as to say that this is the best sound he’s heard on the island of Ibiza in thirty years. Thanks, Clair Brothers!”

More on Clair Brothers ranges

and VTècnics distributor/installer.

Jon Trincas and Steve Hough from Co1ab produced the edgy and eye-popping lighting show for The Streets’ new tour. They used 120 x Robe Spikies and 30 x Robe Spiider LED wash beams on 15 custom dolly/frame pods, all delivered from Blackburn rental company LCR.

Respected young designers

Co1ab unites the talents of Jon and Steve since a few years now. They are respected young designers who pooled imaginative and creative resources to deliver the right look for the visceral raw wit, energy and stark reality of The Streets, led by Mike Skinner.
Steve was originally contacted by The Streets’ tour manager Keith O’Neill when they played some ‘come back’ gigs in 2018, which culminated in three incendiary gigs at Brixton Academy.

The phenomenal interest in The Streets live resulted in this run, comprising a short UK tour with a lighting floor package, followed by five shows at Brixton, three in Manchester Apollo and three at the O2 Academy in Birmingham.
All were sold out, ramping the excitement and showing just how much we’ve all missed the vocal mastery and stand-up rapping skills of Mike Skinner!

Intense but not too distracting

The brief for lighting was “intense but not too distracting”, and knowing they would not use any video, Jon and Steve knew they would have to rely on lighting to provide all the visual elements.

The design was based on 15 custom dolly/frame pods, made from pre-rigged truss and flown in 3 rows of 5.
The bottom ones were ground supported, with the top two rows lined up exactly and flown beneath one another on special steels.

LCR had all the necessary metalwork and rigging fabricated, and all the fixtures associated with these travelled in the pods for expedient get ins and outs. Each pod contained 8 x Spikies, two Spiiders, three Hexalines and an LED strobe and together these formed an impressive back wall.

This strong structural element “ticked all the boxes” comments Jon Trincas in terms of having the power and intensity right there for specific tracks, while being able to pull right back to minimal when necessary. “Whether it was the massive Spikie looks or a single shaft of spot light, we could retain the essential rawness that at core of this show” added Steve.

In addition to the frames, they had two overhead and two side trusses which were loaded with spot moving lights and strobes, with some more on the floor in the small gaps between the lines of pods.
Having done the tour last year, Steve and Jon had precise ideas of what they needed from the rig in relation to the rhythm and flow of the set, which was hugely dynamic – from total chaos to jittery calm – all carefully crafted by the artist.

Spikies were selected as a small and punch lightsource that would physically fit into the frames… and the budget! It was the first time Co1ab has spec’d Spikies, and they specifically wanted a fixture with a zoom, that had to be fast and offer good colours. The flower effect was an additional feature used almost as a ‘bonus’ during programming.

Looking more to LED solutions

Jon had used them for a show in the US and was very impressed. He explained that until recently, many Co1ab shows utilised discharge fixtures as the main lights, but as “these are not always reliable and pull a lot more power when scaling down to smaller venues”, they have now started looking more to LED solutions.

“Robe have led the way with their LED range of fixtures for a while now” states Jon, adding this this was perfect timing to put a decent quantity of them together and “see something work consistently every night”.

The Spikies were rigged in the top parts of the dolly frames to get them as high as possible, with the Spiiders immediately below.

Steve explains that he became “blown away” with Spiiders mid 2018 when he had them on a show and realised their incredible capabilities as a consistent and excellent quality wash luminaire.
He then started exploring the possibilities of using the central flower effect (the same LED used in the Spikie), and absolutely loved that, so Spiiders have started featuring in several of their designs.

Jon comments that both types of fixture are versatile for their own roles in this rig. “The Spikie works well as a solid beam light and as mini wash fixture to some extent with the good zoom ability”.

As well as using the Spiiders as traditional wash fixtures, he also likes the ring / zone control for pixel mapped effects and the centre flower for something totally different and unexpected.

Factory visit

Steve and Jon have also visited the Robe factory in the Czech Republic, and Steve relates that the R ‘n’ D team there generally value the opinions of those out there on the touring front line! They also really liked the personal touches that were evident at the company.

They programmed the fully timecoded show together with super early starts and very late finishes! Robe UK lent a Spikie unit to assist the process, and were on hand with any support needed.

Both admit being similar in personality, outlook and work ethic, with language alike ensuring a coherent workflow. “It’s almost like working with a clone of yourself” smiles Jon.

Steve adds that they complement and bounce off one another extremely well and share a similar thought process when programming. Their notes from the first full production show were 90% identical when matched up. Control was via two grandMA2 light consoles.

Steve was joined on the road for the Brixton and Manchester shows by LCR’s James Townsend, Dan Groves and Aiden Cartmell, and Aiden crewed the first week of the preceding European shows which utilised the floor package and four of the frames.
The rest of that section, Steve tech’d on his own. LCR’s account handler was Mike Oates. Steve concludes: “The great teamwork between us (himself & Jon), LCR and the entire Streets touring crew has been a pleasure”.

More information on Robe Spikie and Robe Spiider.

Live events supplier Gearhouse becomes largest L-Acoustics supplier in South Africa following recent investment in large number of K2 and KS28 L-Acoustics cabinets, 36 LA12x amplified controllers in LA-RAKII and eight P1 AVB processors.
Gearhouse South Africa has been growing rapidly for a number of years, taking an increasingly dominant role in major South African live events.

Live events supplier Gearhouse has invested in additional K2 and KS28 L-Acoustics cabinets, 36 LA12x amplified controllers in LA-RAKII and eight P1 AVB audio processors, making it the largest L-Acoustics Certified Provider in South Africa and boosting its ability to service even the most ambitious national events.
This investment also makes Gearhouse the first company on the continent to meet the new KX Standard for its large format systems.

Global Citizen Festival in 90,000 capacity FNB Stadium in Johannesburg

Set-up for massive Global Citizen Festival in the 90,000 capacity FNB Stadium in Johannesburg.

In December, this new capability was put into service at the massive Global Citizen Festival in the 90,000 capacity FNB Stadium in Johannesburg.
This event is part of the Global Citizen organization which aims to end extreme poverty, and Gearhouse’s participation in the event marked a significant shift for the company.

Gearhouse took on overall management of the audio side, including liaising with artist management for a raft of mostly local talent supporting some of the world’s biggest acts. These included Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Ed Sheeran, and Pharrell Williams.

Gearhouse divides its L-Acoustics stock between its three main offices – Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Durban. With the most recent investment, that stock now consists of 48 K1 and 48 K2, 24 Kara, 12 ARCS II, 66 dV-DOSC, 48 V-DOSC, and 36 Kudo.
The stock of subwoofers now runs to 16 K1SB, 24 dV-SUB, 24 KS28, 64 SB28, and 16 SB18. There are also 52 115XT HiQ stage monitors, plus LA8 and LA12X amplified controllers, and eight of the latest P1 AVB audio processors.

Covering all levels

The Global Citizen Festival required a substantial proportion of those resources and made full use of Gearhouse’s additional inventory, as delay tower deployment had to be limited to protect the irrigation and drainage systems under the FNB stadium’s playing surface.

Lewellyn Reinecke, Head of Audio, Gearhouse South Africa.

Gearhouse Head of Audio, Lewellyn Reinecke explains: “We’d really prefer to have four delay towers but, because of the restrictions, it’s two hangs plus one on a V tower. At the front we’ve previously used 14 K1 main hangs and then 15 or 16 V-DOSC for the out-hangs, but our increased stock means that we can now use K1 across the board.”

The FNB Stadium has five distinct seating levels, and level five, which starts at around 40 metres from the ground and goes up to about 60 metres, is normally treated by Gearhouse as a completely separate venue “that gets its own transportation, logistics, and crew,” explains Reinecke. “Up there, you walk about a kilometre just to go around it once.”

Gearhouse uses between 16 and 19 hangs of six elements for level 5. “We prefer to use Kara for that, because they are lighter and are very power-efficient, taking just one LA8 or LA12X for a hang of six,” says Reinecke. “That’s crucial, as the venue doesn’t allow us to use its power in the roof, so we have to run power all the way from the generators.”

L-Acoustics P1 AVB processing

Hangs of six Kara elements for level 5.

Reinecke notes that the company has benefited by using the new L-Acoustics P1 AVB audio processors, which incorporate an EQ station with delay and dynamics processing, and AVB, AES/EBU and analog audio bridging.

He states: “The feedback that I have received from the crew has been phenomenal. The AVB works with all the LA12X amplified controllers and we are able to monitor the whole system. It is quite an amazing thing to see.”

Overall, Reinecke says that the new K Series stock has brought new opportunity to Gearhouse and has made a big difference in the field. “The new stock and the improved coverage has helped us a lot,” he says.
“It means we can get on with our main jobs, without having to worry about how we reach every part of the biggest venues – and the KS28 is a lot lower and louder…

“Having such a complete system makes a big difference. It’s given us a lot of headroom to play around with, which is to the benefit of the audience, and the engineers.”

More information on L-Acoustics and Gearhouse South Africa.

For the upcoming festival season, HVR Showequipment has expanded its rental stock with no less than 66 CLF Aorun beam fixtures! First impressions by Dennis Sommerdijk, co-owner of HVR Showequipment.

HVR Showequipment is a full service rental company. Founded in 1999, the company now has 20 employees. Besides the Aorun, the rental inventory also holds a significant amount of CLF Yara and Ares fixtures.

An example of a big concert realised by the HVR team.

The investment is based on a high market demand for large numbers of powerful beam fixtures.
Dennis Sommerdijk commented: “Especially for festivals and dance events we were looking for a large quantity of powerful beams.
In addition, we received a lot of requests for the Aorun specifically. They are mentioned in a lot of riders and designs in the nearby future.”

Aoruns ready to shine real bright after unpacking in HVR warehouse.

“Based on a number of productions in the past year, we know that the Aorun excels in light output. Furthermore, the movement and effect speed is outstanding.
Our entire team was therefore quickly convinced; we had to get the Aorun,” said Sommerdijk.

After delivery, all Aoruns were deployed immediately in the Amsterdam Ziggo Dome for the Charly Lownoise and Mental Theo anniversary show.

Another impressive example of HVR implementation of CLF Lighting projectors.

More information on the CLF Lighting Aorun.

Thanks to a high-specification NEXO STM Series modular line array installed by Alkor and Yamaha Music Europe Turkey, one of Istanbul’s largest nightclubs, the latest in the group of Jolly Joker venues, is making a big impact on the city’s entertainment scene.

The Jolly Joker Vadistanbul has been opened by Hakan Polat, İbrahim Sayın and Ahmet Çelenk, a new addition to a collection of clubs spread all across Turkey. The 2,000-capacity club has a large stage, and plays host to a busy rota of popular Turkish artists.
Installation company Alkor collaborated closely with Yamaha Music Europe Turkey to present a NEXO proposal to Hakan Polat and the Jolly Joker’s audio engineer Eren Öztürk.

Pointing the microphone towards the monitor

After a live demo, they selected the NEXO STM Series modular line array system, with NEXO’s 45°N-12 line monitors on-stage, from a competitive tender, citing the system’s power, clarity and ease of use as the reasons for their choice.

“The angle of coverage from the compact 45°N-12 monitors played a big part in the decision,” said Eren Öztürk. “I pointed the microphone towards the monitor, as most singers do, and no feedback squeal came out of the 45°N-12.”
Stage monitoring uses up to 12 of NEXO’s unique 45°N-12 line monitors, with a dedicated drum monitoring set-up of NEXO PS15-R2 and LS18 sub.

Omnipurpose STM modules for FOH

The main flown PA uses, each side, three cabinets of STM M28 omnipurpose module with 90° dispersion and two cabinets of M28 with 120° dispersion.

At the top of the arrays are two STM B112 bass modules, and below, are six a side STM S118 subs, running in cardioid configuration. Four of NEXO’s super-compact ID24 cabinets are used as front fills. Front-of-house and monitor mixing is done on a Yamaha CL5 digital console, using two RIO3224Ds and two RIO1608Ds to facilitate the Dante network.
System design for the venue was made with NEXO’s NS-1 proprietary modelling and prediction software suite. Fine-tuning on site by David Hochstenbach from NEXO’s Engineering Support Division improved HF throw, and reduced low frequency energy on stage.

For more information on Nexo STM products and Yamaha in Turkey.