Big changes at the Couleur Café, Belgium’s largest urban contemporary music festival – after more than 20 years in its Tour & Taxis location, the super-multicultural event has moved to a new venue in the beautiful park below the iconic Atomium in Brussels.
On the audio front, it’s business as usual, with regular sound provider Arto delivering NEXO concert PA systems for three stages, covering a huge variety of musical genres – reggae, hip hop, world, soul, funk, Latin, dub, club and electronic music.

La Red Stage désormais nichée en pleine verdure

Amongst the many different entertainments in the Couleur Café environment, there were three main stages. On the largest RED stage, artists such as soul-funk-reggae star Patrice, Serbia’s Emir Kusturica, legendary Jamaican band Toots and the Maytals and one of Africa’s biggest reggae artists, Alpha Blondy performed with NEXO’s STM modular line arrays in front of a 25,000-capacity crowd. This year’s edition of the festival was slightly downscaled, a consequence partly of the relocation but also because attendance at large events has been affected by fear of terrorism.
NEXO’s STM Series demonstrated its exceptional versatility in complying with the new parameters, scaling down to match the smaller stages without forcing Arto engineers to compromise on the format of the PA. 15 sets of STM M46+B112 per side were flown with 4x S118 subs per side, above a further 20x STM S118s on the ground (per side) in cardioid mode. The smaller STM main cabinets (M28) were used for downfill and frontfill. Arrays of 9x GEO S12 per side were used for outfills.

Backing up the Arto team was Val Gilbert, NEXO Engineering Support manager for Touring and Rental. Commenting on the mix of flown and groundstacked S118 subs, he explained, “the S118’s high-output performance means that 4x flown cabinets per side is enough just to complement the LF response in the far field. Ground S118 ratio remains close to the 1:1 ratio with the main and bass arrays, and the 20x subs each side on the floor are perfect for the more bass-heavy acts.”

La Red Stage et son système Nexo. Bien visibles au sol, 20 subs S118 en montage cardioïde. Si on ajoute les 8 en accroche, on arrive à un ratio important et nécessaire pour la variété de styles musicaux brassés par ce festival

Appearing on the second GREEN stage, located in a leafy amphitheatre, were diverse performers such as world-champion DJs Birdy Nam Nam,a new hip hop concept Niveau4 and the acclaimed UK singer-songwriter Lianne La Havas. Here the main PA comprised NEXO’s smaller STM Main module, the M28., in left and right arrays of 12x cabinets, paired with 6x B112 bass elements per side, and 8x S18 subs per side. As with the main RED stage, NEXO’s classic Alpha boxes were stacked as stage fills.
Describing the ratio of STM cabinets in the GREEN stage design, Gilbert explained that,” we don’t have a set ratio for the M28:B112, because the M28 is more than capable on its own. However for more bass-heavy acts like Birdy Nam Nam, the extra LF headroom offered by the B112 is much appreciated, without having to fly substantial subbass boxes.” The third small BLUE stage was also equipped with NEXO, using 9-module GEO D arrays per side, with CD18s for subbass.
FOH systems engineer for Arto is Christophe Loncour, now one of the most experienced STM Series users in Europe. “With the festival being at a new location, with logistics up in the air, it was essential that we could get the system up as quickly as possible. STM allows us to fly the PA very fast, plug in and switch on. We spent very little time tuning. More important, the system performed precisely as the original NS-1 prediction software told us it would, both in terms of coverage and tonal response.”

More information on the Arto TV website and on the Nexo website

Photo ©Ralph Larmann

The Claypaky Scenius Unico and Claypaky Mythos2 have been selected by award-winning lighting and production designer Mark Cunniffe and lighting director Matt Jones as the workhorse fixtures for multi-award-winning artist Ed Sheeran in his current record-breaking worldwide new album tour. Cunniffe has been working with Ed since the artist began touring in 2011, developing a close creative partnership that has evolved over time as the star’s music has spread to reach international acclaim.

Photo ©Ralph Larmann

“The first thing that we created for Ed was so small it fitted into the back of a truck,” says Cunniffe. “Since then the shows have grown to reflect Ed’s natural career progression. For this tour, we wanted a show that could go from arena to stadium. We wanted it to play as wide as it possibly could.”
To achieve this, Cunniffe designed a goblet-shaped set, fondly named ‘the chalice’ by the designer who worked closely with Production Manager Chris Marsh and Jeremy Lloyd from international technical production practice, Wonder Works, in blue-printing the construction of the concept. The chalice comprises five curved video screens that begin at stage level and run up a central stem to flare out to create a live stage ‘ceiling’ of video and light before curving upward again to form a top rim. The structure was engineered by Tait Industries.

Photo ©Ralph Larmann

Between each of the video screens forming the chalice’s ceiling is a triangular pod – there are four in total – containing 10 Mythos2. Each pod moves in and out of the set via a Kinesys system recommended by UK rental experts Light Control Rigging (LCR). LCR, operated and owned by Mike Oates and Ryan Hopkins, worked in collaboration with US outfit SES to supply all the lighting fixtures, control, cable and crew for the duration of the World Tour.
“The new Clay Paky fixtures are brilliant,” says Oates. “They are very reliable. We needed fixtures that were tough and durable and able to withstand getting shipped all over the world. The Claypaky range have a wonderful colour mixing system and consistent bright output across all fixtures which helps give the show the impact it needs.”

Cunniffe also cites the size of Claypaky fixtures in being instrumental in his decision to select them, “With the Mythos2 I knew I could hang the fixture on its side,” says Cunniffe. “It is relatively light and it can fit through an aperture. I can hide 30% to 40% of the unit behind the structure and you just see the aperture and the lens. It looks as though it’s built into the production, as opposed to being hung on it.”

Photo ©Ralph Larmann

Photo ©Ralph Larmann

Photo ©Ralph Larmann

Photo ©Ralph Larmann

Photo ©Ralph Larmann

On working with Cunniffe, Oates remarks: “Working with Mark has been an absolute pleasure. He is a true professional at the top of his game. His vision and ideas are incredible and he gets across what he wants so well that it takes away some of the stress of bringing his design to life. With LCR being such a young company, it’s a fabulous opportunity for us to show what we can do. We love a challenge and this certainly has been one! Working with Mark and Claypaky has been a wonderful start for us as a young, fresh, ambitious company.”

Photo ©Ralph Larmann

As well as supplying the 128 Mythos2, LCR supplied the 32 Scenius Unico, 16 of which are hidden in the mother gird in four trusses of four, with a further four fixtures positioned on either side of the stage.
“When the lighting pods come in, upstage of that are four linear trusses with 24 of the Scenius Unicos that shine through the holes,” says Cunniffe. “However, you can’t see source, as the source is 56ft high. What you can see are the beams of light. It’s a secondary level of lighting that’s not visible.”

Photo ©Ralph Larmann

Discussing why he chose Claypaky’s multi-functional Spot and Wash light, Cunniffe says, “The Scenius Unico is the midpoint between theatre and rock and roll, so it has a bright beam, it’s at least twice the size of the Mythos and it has full shuttering. I think the Scenius Unico is a fantastic stadium profile, because it’s so bright and has such an advanced shuttering system. It just has a bigger presence.”

Adding to Cunniffe’s reasoning behind the selection of the Scenius Unico is Jones who, as the tour’s lighting director, is in direct contact with the units nearly every day. “What is useful about the Scenius Unicos is that they offer us a dynamic output; they can go from a wide flood to a narrow spot,” says Jones. “The fixture’s shaping system also allows us to go wide with the fixture and still trim down the horizontal plane of the beam.” Lastly, in order not to undermine the production’s attention-grabbing video content created by Montreal-based Moment Factory and Bristol, UK-based Shop, Jones and Cunniffe were keen to access fixtures able to provide a smooth and reliable dimming curve, devoid of any flickering.

Photo ©Ralph Larmann

“Ed is just one man on stage with a guitar, so what happens on stage in terms of light and video is extremely important,” adds Jones. “The audience would notice an imperfect dimmer curve. The Mythos2 dimmer curve is doing a great job of being uniform. It does well down at the low end, and it does well quite high too. Overall, equipment-wise it’s been a pleasure to work with the Claypaky fixtures – they just have great dynamics.”

Cunniffe agrees, “They’re a great bunch of people at Claypaky, and they’ve designed some really good products. They asked me for my input when designing both the Mythos and the Scenius Unico. I worked closely with Francesco Romagnoli, Paolo Dozzo and Marco Zucchinali at Claypaky who listened and incorporated my resulting opinions into their final product design, for which I will be forever grateful.”
The Ed Sheeran world tour is currently in South America. Following his headline slot at Glastonbury 2017, the US leg of the tour will commence in Kansas City on 29 June. The artist’s third studio album, Divide, has reached number one in 14 countries.

More information on le site Claypaky

AudioRent Clair AG has expanded its hire offering by adding two DiGiCo SD5s and an SD12, along with four SD-Racks which include 224 channels of DiGiCo’s brand new 32-bit Mic Pre-Amp.

Jürg Hügin, founder and president of AudioRent Clair (left) with Toni Scherrer, AudioRent Clair’s CEO.

AudioRent Clair is one of the Swiss market leaders. As the European base of the Clair Global network, it is also part of the world’s largest concert touring operation and has an impressive roster of clients, including the Rolling Stones and U2, who all place their trust in the services of AudioRent Clair.

Benoît Saillet, Montreux Jazz Lab FOH Engineer

Renown industrial companies including pharmaceutical corporation Novartis and financial services provider Baloise also count on the Basel-based company. To meet the high expectations of its client base, AudioRent Clair continually tests and evaluates the latest technologies and devices.
“We are very happy and proud to see so many DiGiCo products, including the SD7, SD10, SD9 and SD8 in AudioRent’s rental inventory,” says Hansjürg Meier from DiGiCo’s Swiss distributor, Tonspur AG. “We are even happier that they have now added the SD5 and SD12 to their rental stock.”

AudioRent Clair’s SD5 was deployed throughout Europe on tours with Queen & Adam Lambert, Katy Perry, Kiss and Shinedown, and made an appearance with Katy Perry at the recent Glastonbury Festival. For 2017 and 2018, the new consoles are also going to be used at the iconic Montreux Jazz Festival, which this year takes place from June 30th to July 15th.

AudioRent Clair’s 32-it Mic Pre-Amp

“Our new DiGiCo consoles mean we are going to reach the highest of expectations of live audio for both technological and qualitative aspects,” says Toni Scherrer, AudioRent Clair AG CEO. “And I’m exceptionally happy to be able to offer the DiGiCo 32-it Mic Pre-Amp, which is the newest generation of preamp available on the market.”

More information on the Digico website and on the Audio Rent Clair website

Robert Juliat’s award-winning Dalis 860 LED cyclorama lighting fixtures are currently playing a key role in Snégourotchka (The Snow Maiden) by Rimski-Korsakov at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, Russia. The opera premiered on 15 June on the 1740-seat Heritage Stage on a set designed by Vladimir Arefiev, with lighting by Damir Ismagilov.
In the largest installation of Dalis to date, Ismagilov chose to use 92 Dalis 860 asymmetrical LED units to illuminate three enormous lightboxes – the largest features of the set in this spectacular production – which form the backdrop to the Russian folk tale that tells of the Snow Maiden’s ill-fated love for the human, Mizgir.

Crédit Photo : Maria Lopashova

The lightboxes, each of which measure 22m wide x 15m high, are suspended 3m above the stage, and positioned upstage and on each side to form a box, covering the whole stage in width and depth to create an ‘endless sky‘ surrounding the acting area. They are used to provide an even sky-glow, coloured with different shades of cold white and light blue.
In the finalé, a strong tungsten light spreads on stage to symbolize the end of endless winter when the dead-cold sky turns to golden-amber as the brightest point of the show. To create this signature feature and maintain the ambience throughout the performance, Ismagilov required a very even, very strong wash for the lightboxes, and was tasked with finding a fixture that could handle the scale of the production and the challenges of the hanging positions and set design.
The lightboxes were constructed using screens and blackout banners to bounce light from the back drop onto the rear of the front screen, for a softer and diffused effect. They were built with just one lighting truss at the top and one at bottom – and no opportunity for hanging positions at half-height within the lightboxes to make the wash more even. The fixtures would not only need to be capable of providing strong and even cyc-light, but also be cool enough to operate close to the lightbox screens without melting them.

Crédit Photo : Maria Lopashova

The Bolshoi team found the ideal solution in the Robert Juliat Dalis units, 46 of which were rigged evenly on trussing at the top of the light boxes, with another 46 rigged at the bottom, standing on platforms suspended on flybars and motor hoists. “We decided to use Robert Juliat Dalis 860 for several reasons,” explains the Bolshoi Theatre’s head of lighting, Ayvar Salikhov.
“First and foremost, the beam spread and angle is perfect for our needs: the output is strong enough to throw the light up to the full height at the top of the 15m lightbox and give an even wash using just the top and bottom rows, without a dark gap at half-height.

Robert Juliat Dalis 860

“Secondly, the Dalis has a wide colour range that can produce a tungsten-like spectrum, and its cold LED light source makes possible to set up many fixtures within the closed space of the lightbox with no fear of heat damage.
“Lastly, the dimensions and simplicity of the Dalis are exactly what we need. They are lightweight with perfectly simple cabling and a flexible rigging system – this is essential as Bolshoi is repertory theatre and we must be able to set up the lights really quickly. Similarly, Dalis‘s compact size, robust body and specially engineered flightcases are all equally important as the fixtures are stored in stock and are transported on stage for every show.”

Damir Ismagilov was equally happy with the choice of Dalis, both for its performance and for the aesthetic possibilities it gave to his design: “Due to Dalis’ ability to create a perfectly even wash of light across large surfaces in a wide range of intensity levels and colours, we were able to obtain the effect of huge isotropic, sky-like, light source that set the character of the lighting for the scenes and helped determine the special atmosphere as the action changed.
For example, a wide spectrum of cold shades of white and exceptionally smooth, seamless light transitions allowed us to portray a very precise feeling of a leaden sky that could imperceptibly fade into a dense twilight shade. In the finale we could mix a bright, saturated sunburst tone which harmoniously complemented the tungsten tones of multiple stadium-lamp clusters as they projected from the stage into the audience.”

Crédit Photo : Maria Lopashova

The team at the Bolshoi Theatre is already familiar with Robert Juliat as they have Robert Juliat Lucy, Flo, Victor and Aramis followspots in their inventory, alongside D’Artagnan profile fixtures and Jalousie automated shutters for HMI Fresnels: “We have used Robert Juliat for a number of years and are very happy with their great lighting quality and durability,” continues Salikhov.
“We find them the best on market in terms of light quality, size and ergonomics, and are very pleased with the high level of techical support we receive from Robert Juliat. “We are pleased to see that Dalis has the same reliability as we haven’t experienced any technical issues with them during the whole production. This has been a great advantage because it would be a very hard task to reach the fixtures inside the lightbox after everything is set.”
For more information on the whole Dalis family of fixtures, visit the Robert Juliat website

Legendary disco act, Chic featuring Nile Rodgers, performed an acclaimed set on Glastonbury’s Pyramid stage using Allen & Heath dLive S Class mixing systems. Supported by F1 Sound, John Ryan, Tech Production Manager and FOH engineer, used a S7000 linked by FibreACE to an onstage DM48 MixRack, whilst monitor engineer, Marco Della Torre, used a S7000 and DM48 with MADI for recording.

John Ryan, FOH of mister Hit Maker Nile Rodgers proudly showing the S7000 surface.

John Ryan, who has been mixing for Nile Rodgers and CHIC for the past 13 years, says: “From the first moment I turned it on, I immediately became friends with dLive. The system proves to be fast and easy to set up and have you ready to go on the fly, something that is quite frequent during festival shows where you are almost never allowed a sound check.
The basic features, right out of the box, are easy to spot on the dLive surface; quick assignable function buttons and pots where you would expect them to be, 36 totally assignable faders divided into 3 banks on 5 layers, amazingly great-sounding plugin emulations, a user-friendly menu and everything you need to know for any selected channel is clearly displayed on the two touch screens.

The Pyramid stage as seen from the FOH during Chic’s performance.

A handy “HELP” button is available for first time users. Dragging and dropping channel strip assignments to your surface is quick, reliable and definitely one of the most useful features when organizing your layers, especially when you want to keep specific channels right on top, stored in each song of your set list, without the need for hunting down a channel that is originally assigned to a lower layer.
The superb sound quality, processing and nearly non-existent latency almost makes you think you’re working on an analogue desk. The dLive is now on our production rider as my preferred FOH mixer.”

Marco Della Torre, an Italian smile to add even more fun to Nile’s stage left

Monitor engineer, Marco Della Torre, adds: “I have been using digital desks for many years, and I think I can summarize my experience with dLive in 3 words: easy, compact, connections! You only need two minutes to scan and remember all the buttons/knobs on the surface, and then you can mix – it’s easy and quick.
Everything you need is there in a small frame, and believe me, this is very important for monitor engineers! We’re always on the run looking after the musicians, and it’s very helpful to have, and be able to reach, all of the features. Also, dLive is so light! I really love the fact that you can switch network protocols just like a matrix dot-to-dot, and this is without using surface processing! You simply plug in the cards you need, cross patch and it’s done. I not think there’s any other brand on the market that allows you to do this. Finally, oh yes, the sound in amazing!”

More information on the Allen & Heath website

S Group has expanded its SSL stock with the purchase of two Live L200 consoles, the new mid-scale digital live mixer that combines the outstanding sonic performance, accelerated workflow, and advanced feature set of SSL Live into a cost-effective package that makes it accessible to a much wider audience.
S Group is a touring and events rental and systems integration specialist based in Alès, in the South of France. It was founded by CEO Leon Van Empel in 2001 and has since gone from strength to strength, building up an impressive portfolio of tours and festivals, and supplying everything from core sound and light systems to screens, rigging, and staging systems and support.

The SSL L200, 144 mix paths (full processing – 96 kHz) / 48 fx, fully compatible with L300 / L500, features the same SuperAnalog pre-amps (direct coupling) and the Tempest 64-bit floating-point audio engine. It integrates 2 Dante cards (2 networks).

The company took the audio lead back in 2013 when it invested in two SSL Live L500 consoles, initially for front of house and monitors duties on French R&B artist Amel Bent’s tour. Since then, the L500s have been popular choices, being used on prestigious events such as the epic Les Prodiges and Musiques en Fête.
Most recently, it has taken the lead again by adding a pair of L200s to its inventory, with the first outing going to Ivan Herceg, Front of House Engineer for the successful French-Israeli singer and songwriter, Amir.

“It became obvious that just having the two L500 consoles was too limiting,” says Van Empel.
“We wanted to keep that high-end solution for our most demanding customers, but were also under constant budget pressure from many others. When SSL came to me with the L200 concept, i was instantly convinced this was the perfect solution: an SSL console, with the reliability, the pedigree, and the sonic signature we already trust, fully compatible with the others in the range, with Dante integration, and at a price that makes it much more affordable for the many mid-range tours that were already asking for SSL.
“We quickly made the decision to order two L200s, and Ivan Herceg was immediately very enthusiastic about using an L200 at FOH for Amir. It’s quite a demanding show for sonic performance, and Ivan had previously used an SSL L300 on Lilly Wood and the Prick’s tour, so already he knew what might be possible.”

Herceg had already taken an L300 on an 18-month tour, so for him the move to the L200 was a natural one. “Having an in-built Dante port, and having 36 faders aligned for FOH is just great,” he notes. “…Especially when using Super Query to develop sub-mixes or feeds to a mix.” SSL Live consoles can now manage the routing across an entire Dante Network.

Ivan Herceg behind “his” SSL L200 FOH desk with additional screens.

“The new version 4 software brings many improvements to the whole range,” he continues. “For me, particular highlights are the XY routing and the new Submonix plug-in for the internal FX Rack.” Submonix generates up to four independently filtered bands, each transposed to one octave below the original signal and mixed back in to underline and enhance elements like kick drum and bass instruments.

“The L200 matches the L300 and L500 for sonic quality,” states Herceg. “There’s an amazing depth of definition, and headroom as excellent as any analogue benchmark. The feeling is fantastic, and the FOH mix sounds absolutely great on any system – even small ones.”
S Group’s new SSL consoles already made their mark for the company. Van Empel: “We were very proud to be the first SSL Live adopters in France in 2013, and once again to be the first adopters for the SSL L200 in 2017.”

More information on the Solid State Logic website and on the S Group website

The Jiangsu Centre for the Performing Arts, located at the Olympic Sports Center in Jiangsu Najing, is the largest modern theatre in China second in size only to the National Grand Theater located in Beijing. It was designated as a world-class exhibition of works of art, the international exchange of arts activities platform and a public education platform for the promotion of arts.
Its Opera Hall is equipped with 2 x grandMA2 full-size, 2 x grandMA2 light and 2 x grandMA2 fader wing whereas its concert hall relies on 2 x grandMA2 ultra-light and 2 x MA 2Port Node as well as 2 x MA DMX Booster.

Xu Zhi Yong, project manager for ACE – Advanced Communication Equipment Co Ltd., MA Lighting’s exclusive distributor in China, commented: “The choice for MA was an easy one. Not only is it a well-known brand in China, it has a great reputation to be extremely stable and reliable.
For this project we had to meet the different requirements of the Jiangsu Centre for the Performing Arts. They need to be really flexible to host performances of operas, ballets, dramas, symphony concerts, folk arts and large variety shows. The grandMA2 is simply the best solution thanks to its flexibility and networking possibilities.”

MA Lighting centre Arts Scene Jiangsu

Zhejiang Dafeng Industry Co., Ltd delivered the lighting equipment for the Opera Hall, Beijing North ACE Digital Technology Co., Ltd. the lighting equipment for the Concert Hall.

Further information on MA Lighting website

Lighting Designer Sooner Routhier selects VDO Sceptron 10 LED video fixtures to create an innovative lighting design that blends video projection with a futuristic and highly customized outline. In just a few short years, The Weeknd has become one of the most dominating artists in pop music, winning multiple GRAMMY Awards, topping the Billboard charts and earning millions of fans worldwide. Recently, Lighting Designer.
Sooner Routhier was hired to design the stage lighting for The Weeknd’s 2017 “Starboy: Legend of the Fall” world tour. The performance features numerous projectors that display video content on custom surfaces, including a large spaceship shaped structure suspended above the stage.

Photo : ©Steve Jennings

Routhier wanted to add LED fixtures to the set that would enhance the visual experience, without competing with the projected video content. In order to achieve this goal, Routhier deployed more than 650 Martin VDO Sceptron 10 LED video fixtures to create a unique blend of lighting effects, video projection and vibrant imagery. “Rather than put a flashy light show over the top of everything, our goal was to work with the video design and ensure that any lighting we added to the set didn’t take away from the projection,” said Routhier. “When we attempted to match every single note to lighting, it got messy and the overall vision wasn’t adhered to properly. By outlining the set with the VDO Sceptrons, we were able to create a “Tron like” edge to the video content. It provided more depth to the structure as a whole.”

Photo : ©Steve Jennings

The Sceptrons are controlled by Martin P3 System Controllers, which receive content from the same video server as the projectors. The Sceptrons alternate between neon lighting effects and video content, which creates a dynamic visual presentation that changes with the music.
During the initial design phase, Routhier knew she wanted to line the set with thin LED video fixtures that were available in different lengths, since the projection surfaces varied in size. Routhier has worked with Sceptron fixtures on numerous other tours, and she knew their robust build quality, versatility and flexible sizing options would be perfect for the “Starboy” tour.

More informations on the Martin website

WIcreations has supplied staging, elevators and extensive automation elements to the highly acclaimed Take That ‘Wonderland’ tour which kicked off at the Genting Arena, Birmingham, UK.
The lively, colourful carnivalesque aesthetic is the vision of the band’s creative director Kim Gavin and the result of some serious creative and technical talents who have collaborated to bring action packed drama to a strong, highly entertaining performance by the band.

The WI team was led by Hans Willems and Koen Peeters and the company was asked on-board by production manager Chris Vaughan. They worked closely with production designer Ray Winkler for Stufish, scenic designer Misty Buckley, lighting designer Tim Routledge and video designer Alex Leinster to specify and construct the numerous custom elements. To deal with the complex and rigorous health and safety aspects of the project WI brought in Cristiano Giavedoni of Blumano as the dedicated safety manager.

Photo : ©Kris Goodman – The Flying Lampie

WI designed and built the 20 metre diameter circular stage for the in-the-round show from scratch. It is the first time the band has embraced this particular performance concept, which allows them to get close to their fans … and is wowing the crowds.
It is also the first time that WI has developed this specific circular staging system. As with all their constructions, it is designed for touring – to be built and de-rigged quickly and straightforwardly, and travelled expediently in a series of dollies which pack logically into the truck.

The understage space is optimised to provide quick-change facilities as well as technical areas. In the middle of the stage is a large – 9.5 x 6 metres – stage elevator which is used in various positions during a number of songs and lifts to 4.1 metres above stage level (itself 1.9 metres off the ground)… to the delight of the audience. At its busiest, the elevator accommodates the three members of Take That – Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen – plus 12 dancers.

Photo : ©Kris Goodman – The Flying Lampie

It has a lifting capacity of 10 tonnes and is based on four of WI’s TP6 lifts which were developed for large spectaculars. It forms part of a TT logo shape within the stage when in the down position, and also contains an LED floor. It is dubbed the ‘TT’ elevator by production. The framework and mechanics were initially built at WI’s facility in Heist-op-den-Berg, Belgium and the ‘donut’ shaped LED floor fitted around the perimeter during a later stage of the development process.
The elevator movement is controlled from FOH by an operator using a Vector control system. As it emerges from the stage, there are 10 passive roll-drop projection screens on the sides. UDP protocol generated by the Vector controller sends the positional data of the elevator to the d3 media server dealing with the playback video, so the projected video image is synched and scaled on the sides of the elevator to match its movement.

Photo : ©Kris Goodman – The Flying Lampie

Inside the TT elevator (when up) is a secondary suspended platform on four motion control hoists. A hatch opens up in the decking and the band walk down to take up positions on this for one song which is sung ‘in the underbelly’ of the TT-elevator.
In the main circular stage there are four other WI ‘band lifts’ – in each of the stage quadrants – for musicians, and each of these rises up to stage level, complete with a pantograph access staircase below stage level which is utilized by the backline technicians to service and communicate with their relevant musicians.
These band lifts are all controlled by locally stationed operators standing under the stage near to the lifts … because it is essential that they have a real visual view of what is going on before any of the machines are activated.

Photo : ©Kris Goodman – The Flying Lampie

Up above the centre of the stage is a TT shaped mother grid designed as a technical area, and this provides positions for three technicians to work during the show who are co-ordinating elements of automation, sound and lighting. This mother grid is also housing four WI flying winches that suspend a 4.5 x 2.25 metre rippling flying carpet – a custom item made by WI – near the top of the show. Sitting on this is a sitar player who alights onto the stage during the show’s opening scene.
A rectangular shaped water curtain is also rigged to the mother grid, together with an array of audio and lighting racks, dimmers, amplifiers and power distribution units. 14 x roll drop screens are attached to the mother grid, surrounding the TT-logo shape. Further offstage is a 17 metre diameter circular WI tracking system that allows the continuous tracking of several props and acrobatic accessories used by aerial performers as they are tracked around the edge of the stage.

Photo : ©Kris Goodman – The Flying Lampie

The train of 8 slave trolleys is moved by two zero speed tracking trolleys. Each of the 10 trolleys carries a zero-speed 250kg capacity BGV-C1 motion hoist that is used for the vertical motion of the stage props during “It’s All For You.” In another song, the same hoists are used to suspend 10 bungies complete with performers.
Another 16 roll drop screens are suspended around the perimeters of the stage which fly in and out independently and can form a complete crown masking the stage. The TT elevator, roll-drop screens and the flying carpet are all controlled by the Vector console at FOH operated by Ross Maynard, who has over 160 cues in the show. A WI team of five is looking after all the automation and staging on the road, crew chiefed by Brecht Moreels.

Photo : ©Kris Goodman – The Flying Lampie

Koen and Hans originally started work on the project in December last year, “It’s an extremely complex and ambitious show that has evolved over that time and in the process entailed a real collaboration between all the departments and disciplines. The teamwork has been incredible, everyone has been a pleasure to work with and it’s also been one of the most rewarding tours we have worked on to date,” says Koen. Hans adds, “We are very proud to be working with Chris, Kim and such a highly regarded team and to be a part of delivering such an amazing show which is being so well received”. The results of everyone’s endeavours can be enjoyed in the UK until the middle of June.

For more product and general info, check WI Creations website

ARRI is pleased to announce that Christian Léonard joined ARRI Lighting as Senior Director Business Development on April 1, 2017.
Christian Léonard will be supporting ARRI’s EMEA activities in the broadcast and theatrical lighting market with a special focus on France.
For this important role within the ARRI Business Unit Lighting, Mr. Léonard brings expertise and a network garnered over decades of experience in the professional lighting industry.

Markus Zeiler, General Manager Business Unit Lighting, says: “With his profound knowledge, Christian will help us gain more momentum in the broadcast and theatre world in which our LED products have already been successfully implemented. We are happy to welcome Christian to the ARRI family.”
Sigrid Müller, General Manager Lighting System Group & EMEA Sales, also comments: “ARRI and Christian have worked on many successful, joint broadcast projects in the past and it is our honor to welcome him to our team.” She further adds: “We are not only gaining a trustworthy business partner but also a long-term good friend.” ARRI is delighted to have engaged Christian Léonard for this exciting new role and wishes him great success.

Contact Christian Léonard – Mail : [email protected] – Tel : +33 6 07 56 78 25, and visit le site Arri

The new DM0 mix rack

Allen & Heath has signalled an increased focus on installed sound by deepening the integration of its dLive digital mixing systems into multi-purpose venues. A raft of new releases, control options and expanders adds to the dLive ecosystem to create a distributed, integrated, scalable and accessible solution, handling every aspect of a venue’s audio world from simple boardroom tasks to a full scale live show.

Allen & Heath dLive Install concept

A new dLive MixRack targeted at distributed audio scenarios, the DM0, has been added to the family. DM0 is a 4U mix engine, housing Allen & Heath’s XCVI FPGA Core and providing enough processing power for 128 channels and 64 buses at 96 kHz with a latency of just <0.7 ms, in keeping with the existing dLive MixRacks. Interfacing to audio networks for access to hundreds of sources and destinations is provided by DM0’s three 128ch I/O ports, accepting cards for all major audio networking protocols, including Dante and AES67.

The IP1 wall plate remote control (TCP/IP)

Other new products include a new DX Link I/O card and DX Hub ½ rack unit, which now enable a dLive system to connect up to 48 audio IO devices, located up to 100 m apart to meet the needs of the largest venues. A new wall mount expander, the 16 in / 4 out DX164-W, joins the recently released DX168 stage box and the modular DX32 in the DX expander range. Integration with third party equipment has also been enhanced with the unveiling of a new GPIO unit, allowing dLive to control lighting, curtains and more.

Remote control options have been extended with the introduction of the programmable IP1 wall plate remote control, giving non-technical users control over functions such as music source selection, level control, or preset recall. Up to 96 IP1, IP6 and IP8 remote controllers can now be added to a dLive system via standard TCP/IP networks, in addition to console style mixing surfaces, tablet and laptop control, offering a multi-user, multi-point control architecture over wired or wireless networks.
“What we’re doing with dLive is bringing together the best aspects of audio management systems and live mixing consoles to create a 360 degree solution for today’s multi-purpose facilities.

If you look at environments like schools and colleges, houses of worship or arts centres, they need to handle everything from background music and meetings right through to large scale live performances: until now there really hasn’t been one system that can excel in all situations,” said Nic Beretta, Allen & Heath’s Head of Product Marketing. “With this extension of dLive and upcoming software features focused on installation, we’re allowing our customers to create incredibly powerful systems, and yet make these accessible for all levels of users, from the fitness instructor to the AV professional.”

Below a Video introduction:

More information on Allen & Heath website