When Jennifer Lopez performed a moving medley of This Land Is Your Land and America Is Beautiful at President Biden’s inauguration ceremony, very few of the millions of people watching would have realised that a British technology played a key role in shaping the sound they were hearing.

Kevin Teasley

Behind the scenes, in the run up to the inauguration ceremony, Kevin Teasley, JLo’s Pro Tools programmer, music producer and musical director for her It’s My Party World Tour, used a comprehensive selection of Neve recording equipment to prepare the pre-recorded music that was vital to ensuring the success of her performance.

“The elevation of the final audio was superb and there is absolutely no doubt that Neve equipment helped us achieve the results we wanted,” Kevin says. “Neve is indeed a real go-to when I work in Live, TV, Film, Records, trailers, promos, broadcast, etc. Basically just about anything that I work on! Neve is included in my workflow on every single project from recording, mixing, and mastering.”

Based in Los Angeles, Kevin Teasley is undoubtedly one of the music industry’s most multi-talented and multi-faceted creatives. He is a composer, producer, sound designer, programmer and musical director, not to mention the owner and composer of TONIC Music + Creative, a trailer and TV production music company. His credits read like a Who’s Who of A-List recording artists and include JLo, Megan Thee Stallion, Britney Spears, Chris Brown, Neyo, J-Rock/Kendrick Lamar, Ciara, Usher and The Jacksons, among others.

JLo and her Team in Washington. Kevin Teasley is located on the top left of the shot, sporting the very same hat ;0) and jacket by the way…

Kevin’s involvement in President Biden’s inauguration ceremony came about because of his close working relationship with JLo. When she was asked to perform, her music team immediately got together to help her conceptualise and execute her vision.

“An important part of my role entailed working with all pre-recorded tracks and stems and putting it together into a full performance,” Kevin explains “I worked with the creative team, other music producers and arrangers and also managed the final prep of all audio, Pro Tools session/stems, to turn over to the on-site audio and music team in Washington DC.”

THE preamplifier. Introducing the 1073…

The Neve units used on this project include the company’s legendary 1073® Mic Preamplifiers, a 33609 Compressor Limiter and the 8816 Summing Mixer, all of which are housed in Kevin’s studio in Hollywood, CA in the legendary United Recordings Studios on the Sunset and Gower Studios lot.

“When I’m in bigger studios, I run virtually everything (pre-recorded tracks, stems, etc.) through a Neve console,” he says, “In smaller workspaces, I run every track and stem through the Neve 1073 pres, and then across the subgroups with the 33609 Compressor Limiter. I then have the track and stems split out to the 16 channel Neve 8816 to be summed back into Pro Tools to be printed.”
As stems and tracks can often come from different producers, writers and composers, Kevin finds that running everything through the 1073 helps to ensure uniformity.

“It gives me that consistent, beautiful Neve tone at the beginning input stage,” he says. “The Neve 33609 then helps to “glue” all of the subgroups together and the Neve 8816 glues the overall mix together when it’s printed back into Pro Tools.

It’s only a matter of taste, but the 33609 remains a remarkable compressor.

“Oftentimes, on the two insert mixes of the 8816, I put an outboard hardware EQ, colour box (for some sort of harmonic distortion) or parallel compressor on the first insert to blend into the mix. On the second insert, I will put a bus compressor to further glue together the final two-track print.
“Lastly, on the 8816, I use the width knob to widen the stereo field to my taste and that suits the type of track, song and/or performance. This all gets printed back into Pro Tools as a two-track final mix print. I then put some master buss processing on to finalize and polish the final master.”
With tight budgets and even tighter deadlines to contend with, Kevin says it is always a challenge to make ‘in-the-box’ mixes sound as though they have been mixed through a large console.

Ladies and gents, please, welcome the glue, AKA the 8816 !

“The Neve range is the perfect companion to elevate and enhance your sound in any hybrid studio that blends digital and analog,” he says. “I am always humbled and flattered when people compliment me and my team and/or ask me how I get the sound that I get.
Quite honestly, it is due in large part to the Neve product range. Just running audio through them, with a knob twist here and there, automatically makes things sound bigger, wider and with more 3D depth, as well as adding that classic Neve colour and tone.”

Although all the preparation for JLo’s Inauguration music was carried out in Los Angeles, Kevin did fly to Washington DC for the actual ceremony so that he could be on site for rehearsals and her performance.
“There was a live element to this project because we were fortunate enough to have the President’s own Marine Corp Band/Ensemble perform live to our our pre-recorded tracks,” he explains.
“It was an incredible moment in my career and one that I will never forget. It is something I will always be proud to have participated in and especially proud that my four year old son, Kaiden, can look back and say his father was a part of something historic.

Being part of a performance for any inauguration would be special, but this one in particular was so momentous that it really made me stop and recognize it as a “top tier” career and personal moment. It feels really great to be included in a relatively small professional circle of people who get to say they have done that!”

For more information please visit the AMS Neve website

Arbane Groupe has hired Christophe Palluat as its sales director for France. Palluat will work to create new sales dynamics with the APG and Active Audio brands.

Christophe Palluat

With over 25 years of expertise in the AV industry, Palluat brings a wealth of experience working with audio manufacturers and distributors, notably Arbane Groupe’s Active Audio.
“I worked in a number of roles before founding pro-audio distribution company Perfect Sound in 2009,” Palluat explains. “At the time, Active Audio’s commercial distribution in France was given exclusively to Perfect Sound, so I know Active Audio very well.”

“I spent 11 years working for Perfect Sound as their CEO and came to know and respect the APG and Active Audio brands beyond their reputations,” said Palluat. “When both brands announced their strategic partnership in 2016, I thought it was the perfect partnership that would pave the way to a great future for both brands.
APG’s product lines are excellent and Active Audio is known as the French manufacturer of the world’s largest range of column speakers. My experience tells me that both product lines will perform extremely well in the installation markets for AV integrators.”

Palluat’s immediate goal is to present Arbane Groupe’s comprehensive and complementary audio ranges and services to AV integrators across France and continue to grow the company base and reputation.

“APG benefits from a fantastic reputation with technicians in the theatre and arts, and our goal is to educate the wider market to the fact that the products are not restricted to technicians and sound experts. The products are actually very accessible and have been designed to be easy to use with exceptional performance,” Palluat explained.

Having started the role in at the end of last year, Palluat was pleased to find that Arbane Groupe has continued to make great progress over the years and praised the strategy to combine both the APG and Active Audio brands into the Arbane Groupe corporate entity.

“Through creating Arbane Groupe, the brands have seized the opportunity to use the synergies of both brands to provide customers with access to complete ranges of high-quality speakers and a sales and projection support team which can offer a very high level of expertise,” he said.

A variety of upcoming products and projects are identified by Palluat as many exciting opportunities to come. “There’s still a lot to do to develop the sales capacity and there are some fantastic new products to come this year. The company has a true history, great savoir-faire, technicality and above all, a real proximity to its partners and customers. It’s very stimulating to be part of it,” concluded Palluat.

Commenting on the recent appointment, Régis Cazin, Arbane Groupe’s CEO, said: “We’re really pleased to have Palluat on board with us after working with him extensively in the past. His expertise and approach to sales will be a great asset to us, as it was then, in growing our network across France.”

More information on the Arbane Groupe website

Marc Janowitz, of e26 design, chose 30 Ayrton Mistral-S LED spot fixtures as key features of his lighting design for Trey Anastasio’s The Beacon Jams. The 8-week ‘virtual residency’ was live-streamed weekly from New York’s historic Beacon Theatre throughout October and November 2020.

The jam sessions were aimed specifically at the home audience and filmed on stage in a reverse set-up with the auditorium as backdrop and the musicians facing the back wall.
“We wanted to create an intimate connection that felt like we brought the series of music sessions into the viewers’ own home,” explains Janowitz. “The reverse angle gave us something more like a studio environment into which Mistral fitted beautifully.”

Janowitz required a fixture that was light enough to mount on rolling C-stands and small enough to integrate into the performance area, yet full of features and with a great output: “Mistral was small enough – and pretty enough – to tuck into all the nooks and crannies between the artists and gave all the output – and the looks – that I needed,” he says.

Ayrton Mistral

Eighteen Mistrals were sited on stage to form a total ‘wrap-around’ that defined the space and fitted perfectly into the small spaces between the musicians and instruments.
“From here we used them mainly as backlight and sidelight, as eye candy, and to create beautiful flares behind the performers,” says Janowitz. “They were particularly useful in the reverse set up to fill the void on camera over the artists’ shoulders.

“The Mistral gave a natural lens flare which is very camera-friendly. Its precise movement allowed me to make small, live adjustments to its position to guarantee that flare in-camera from every perspective.”
Mistral’s small size and versatility also suited the film and television-style lighting, its low power-draw making it easy and fast to deploy. “Being LED sourced, we were also able to the set up the perfect refresh rate for the cameras.”

With different looks to generate for 20+ songs each week over the 8-week residency, with no repetition, Janowitz made full use of Mistral’s gobo and colour palettes. “Mistral has a wide gobo selection which opened up a lot of freedom – I had all the textures I needed,” he says.
“The impressive zoom ratio (6.7° – 53°) was also really great feature: narrow enough for overhead lighting without any spill, yet wide enough to cover the musicians fully at stage level – without any heat issues – even when placed in close proximity to the artists. That’s no mean feat in such a tightly packed stage and demonstrates exceptional versatility.”

Twelve more Mistral-S were rigged overhead to give high backlight. “I knew Mistral would be great at 12ft but realised they were also great at 30ft! Now my near side, reverse and close overhead lighting were all from the same fixture type, which homogenised how I was able to use colour, texture and intensity, and gave a beautiful balance.”

Trey Anastasio’s Beacon Jams marked Janowitz’s first use of Mistral and he was impressed. “Mistral is a great light to keep in my tool box: it fills the gap in the market for a nimble, small bodied, full-featured, punchy fixture.

It also looks attractive: the over-all look of the stage is important, and Mistral is definitely something I welcomed on the set and in the stage design. Those sleek curves and that distinctly French design go a long way!”

The Ayrton Mistral-S fixtures were supplied to The Beacon Jams by Pulse Lighting of Nashville. All proceeds from The Beacon Jams went to Phish’s The WaterWheel Foundation and its new Divided Sky Fund which was set up by Anastasio to help those affected by addiction and alcoholism, and help further plans to open a treatment centre in Vermont.

Excerpts from The Beacon Jams, can be viewed at twitch.tv/treyanastasio and https://www.youtube.com/user/treyanastasiotube

The full version of this news can be found on the Ayrton website news page

Marc Janowitz can be followed on Instagram at @e26design

For more information on Ayrton and its full range of LED lighting fixtures, visit the Ayrton website

The Budokan was built in 1964 as a martial arts competition space for the Tokyo Summer Olympics. The venue’s octagonal shape can make sound reinforcement difficult, but system engineer Ryuichi Kawakami selected Adamson speakers for their pristine clarity and excellent coverage.

Little distanced audience, yet big sound at the Budokan.

Kawakami describes the space’s challenges: “the Budokan is mostly built with wood, and many sections of the octagonal room have pillars and beams, so in the design process you must factor in the reverberation and reflections. The E15 speaker brings out an abundance of information across the whole frequency range, and it’s what makes the tuning so easy for me. I trimmed a few points to smooth out the system, and voilà it’s done.”

One array of E15 is taking his length and shape.

For this show, 108 Adamson E-Series and S-Series cabinets were deployed across the venue in a 270° configuration.

Kawakami flew thirty-two E15 as the main PA, accompanied by twelve E119 subwoofers flown in a column, twelve E15 as outfills, sixteen flown E12 for the 270° design and twelve ground stacked E219 subs for additional floor rumble.

Two sets of ground stacked fills were also used, comprised of four S10 and one S119 at each side fill position, as well as three S10 per side for rear coverage and a mixture of S10 and S10p for lip fills. The system was provided by Sunphonix, Adamson’s first and largest partner in Japan, as well as Blue Project.

One of the main A15 arrays flanked by 6 E119.

In addition to the side fills, Adamson M212 monitors were also used on stage. “M212s have always been great monitor speakers to work with,” stated Takashi Ono, monitor engineer for the group.

The M212, two 12” and a 3” driver.

“For Little Glee Monster shows, we use both in-ear monitors and wedges, but for a cappella songs I simply go with M212, to let the artists breathe and sing in each other’s presence.
The members of the group have told me that they actually prefer the experience of singing with floor monitors, that it feels more organic.”

Gakuji Okumura, long-time Front of House engineer for Little Glee Monster, was pleased with the performance of the Adamson system. “When it comes to mixing vocals live, the E15 is the best system out there. Its sonic characteristics make the musical experience authentic. Sit anywhere in the venue, and you’ll hear the best of the mix.”

More on the Adamson website

At AREA15, the new art and entertainment district located minutes from the Las Vegas Strip, visitors should expect the unexpected. Behind the looming exterior façade, the vast, 200,000 square foot interior houses a collection of themed retail and entertainment options, all surrounded by an air of cosmic mystery.

One principal attraction is a space called “The Portal” where, behind imposing metal doors, visitors can plunge into a 360-degree projection-mapped video experience supported by immersive audio enabled by Meyer Sound’s new Spacemap® Go spatial sound design and live mixing tool.

The 6,584 square foot Portal was initially conceived primarily as a large meeting and event space, one that could compete with the posh hotel ballrooms on the Las Vegas Strip while offering its own unique ambience. To that end, the projection systems were designed for four-wall coverage allowing surround video for either the entire space, or for one or two walls when the room was subdivided into smaller spaces.

The opening of AREA15 was delayed by the pandemic, and when the public finally was admitted the total numbers had to be limited to about 25% capacity. That put most meetings and party events out of the picture. Fortunately, with a boost from Spacemap Go, the Portal was transformed into an immersive experience where visitors could stay distanced in the spacious room.

“When Steve Ellison of Meyer Sound first introduced me to Spacemap Go, I didn’t quite get it,” admits David Johngrass, production manager at AREA15. “I figured I could do much the same thing with our digital console. But he pointed out that I would have to do things like bounce out a new track, and then drop it back into the show file. But with Spacemap Go I could do it on the fly, in real time, and here in the space so I know exactly the effect I’m getting. That’s when it clicked. This is huge, I thought.”

The Ultra-X40 the new Berkeley multipurpose workhorse.

Some basic spatial sound trajectories were incorporated into the first experience in The Portal, Gallerie 360, a 30-minute sound and light exhibition by digital artists Darpan and Max Cooper. “We’ve just scratched the surface with Spacemap Go,” says Johngrass.
“But over the coming months, as we move toward full reopening, we will be using it big time as we start pumping out more theatrical shows where we can fully utilize these tools.”

The overhead Meyer Sound system supporting Spacemap Go along with the other presentation modes comprises 12 ULTRA-X42™ loudspeakers in a 3 x 4 grid pattern. Deep bass is augmented by two 750-LFC™ low-frequency control elements, while the GALAXY™ 816 Network Platform, originally specified only for loudspeaker processing, now also accommodates Spacemap Go’s spatial sound mixing.
In addition to the overhead system, the pre-COVID-19 plans also called for a direct reinforcement system suitable for both meetings and nightclub-style celebrations.

For this application, Solotech specified a Meyer Sound system anchored by 10 LEOPARD® line array loudspeakers bolstered on the bottom end by four 1100-LFC™ and two 900-LFC™ low-frequency control elements. Rounding out the system are four ULTRA-X40™ loudspeakers for fills, four MJF 210™ stage monitors and a second GALAXY 816 for system drive and optimization.

System integrator for Meyer Sound installations was Solotech, under the general direction of Aaron Beck, business development executive and senior engineer. Also contributing were Design Engineer and Programmer Brandon Andreasen and Project Manager Kevin Roberts.
About AREA15

More information on the Meyer Sound website

Elation Professional’s European headquarters is pleased to announce that from March 1st longtime lighting professional Graham Hill will be serving as the company’s new Business Development Manager.
Graham is a familiar face to many in the industry, having developed a wealth of relationships over his many years in the entertainment lighting and electrical industries, including years as a key customer of Elation.

Graham brings decades of valuable lighting experience to the position and comes to Elation from a position as VP of Business Development at 4Wall Entertainment, where he developed and maintained customer relationships in Europe and the United Kingdom.
He is perhaps best known for his many years as Company Director of Static Light Company, the London-based supplier of lighting solutions for exhibitions, corporate events, and motor-shows.

Graham’s new role at Elation encompasses building collaborative relationships across the industry internationally, including working closely with lighting designers while communicating market insight to the Elation product team. He states, “This year is the 10th anniversary of my relationship with the Elation team globally.

My experience with Elation products and support has always been second to none, from the smallest to the largest clients. Over those years, supporting the most creative and demanding of clients meant that Elation was often asked to create specific products to suit the needs of an industry sector. They did not disappoint and some of those products are still in the range today.

“The very exciting role I am proud to take up will be to continue that legacy of client support internationally for the well-established Elation products. I firmly believe that with the award-winning product families that have launched over the past few years such as the Artiste, Proteus and Fuze ranges, as well as the additions of Obsidian Control Systems and Magmatic effects to the portfolio, it is now by far the most innovative and creative on offer to the industry.”

Graham has worn many hats over the years from operational management to directorship and brings a wide spectrum of competencies and strong market knowledge with him to support Elation customers. He has experience managing all aspects of business, including building networks and partnerships to coordinate and facilitate projects anywhere in the world. He has supported some of the world’s leading design agencies, and worked on projects and collaborated directly with partners around the globe.

“We have known and worked with Graham for quite a long time and are delighted that he is finally a full-fledged member of the Elation family,” stated Marc Librecht, Sales and Marketing Manager at Elation Europe.
“We’ve worked very close with him over the years and our collaboration with him as a customer has always been great. He has always felt a part of the Elation team and we are happy to have such an experienced professional on board who truly believes in our products and the people behind them.”

More info about Elation range of products are available on the Elation website

Jean-Jacques Vias (left) and Stéphane Brocard.

According to Jean Jacques Vias, NEXO’s Sales Manager for France, “the first step in the return to live events will be the staging of productions in smaller local venues, where social distancing and public health safety can be carefully controlled.

NEXO is seeing a lot of new clients in this sector, as public and private venues upgrade their infrastructure in anticipation of the end of lockdown.”

The Espace Bernard Giraudeau

In Noyelles-Godault, near the France-Belgium border, the Espace Bernard Giraudeau is a multipurpose venue, which has a 100 m2 stage and can accommodate up to 540 people seated. It plays a central role in the social and cultural life of its region, accommodating concerts, conferences, games and seated dinners.

The Espace Bernard Giraudeau and its ultrapurpose venue seen from the stage and its magnificent natural wood covering.

System contractors Alive Technology has installed a new NEXO GEO M10 mid-size line array, using MSUB18 subbass units and augmented with P8 point source cabinets. Powered by NXAMP4x2Mk2 amplifiers, the system also features a kit of six P12 monitor speakers.

Bertand Billon, Engineering support Nexo.

Engineers from NEXO’s ES Division attended the theatre to supervise the alignment and tuning of the new system. “It is a very reverberant room,” says Bertrand Billon, “but there is still a consistent ratio across the bandwidth.

Because there is a retractable bleacher stand of seating, we have two configurations, so we set up the system to switch from a seated audience to a full-standing one, where the line array clusters and outer front fills are moved.
We created two different scene memories in the NXAMPs and a custom page in NeMo (NEXO’s proprietary remote control monitoring software) so that it is easy to recall both set-ups.”

The GEO M6 compact line array system is proving especially popular with smaller auditoria, and three new installations demonstrate the versatility of these modules, which can be used in pairs, curved arrays of three or in line array of more. Paired with different NEXO subbass cabinets, they create a deceptively small SR solution, whilst being highly cost-effective in terms of amplification.

The insurance company Thelem

Five GEO M6 topped by a pair of MSUB12. Ready for meetings and some live music.

The well-known insurance company Thelem has a campus near Orleans, where it has extensively remodelled its existing facilities and constructed a new theatre auditorium for its corporate events.

Systems integrators Tech Audio worked closely with NEXO’s engineering support division to design and install a GEO M6 compact line array system, the smallest line array modules in the NEXO catalogue which allowed them to upsize the PA to handle music performance without having to use very large cabinets.

“We try as often as we can to fly the subs, in order to minimize the difference in level between the front and last rows,” explains Bertrand Billon.
“This specification had to be able to deliver a reasonable level and bandwidth for ‘light live music’ in addition to meetings.”

The new Maison du Technopôle

La Maison du Technopôle.

A closer view of the Technopôle’s three GEO M620 and hanged on the right, one ID Series sub to provide some low extension to the short M6 arrays.

In Saint-Lô, the new Maison du Technopôle boasts a fabulous modern design, housing 1,700m2 of space for research, start-ups and all kinds of innovators.

The facility also features a 234-seat amphitheatre which has been equipped by Auvisys with a ultra low-profile NEXO line array system.

Using just two clusters of three GEO M620 cabinets, discreetly hidden in the truss above the stage, the system deploys two small 10” subs from the ID Series to provide low end.

Credit Agricole new auditorium

And closing off an excellent run for the compact M6 line array system, Credit Agricole has opened its new auditorium at its headquarters in Guyancourt.

Credit Agricole’s new auditorium in Guyancourt near Paris.

Christophe Girres the Nexo’s Engineering Support Manager.

This is a much larger application of GEO M6, designed and installed by Novelty, together with NEXO’s ES Division engineers.

“This application is mainly for conferences, although they will sometimes feature a small band,” explains NEXO’s Christophe Girres.

“There are two clusters, each with four modules of GEO M620 cabinets, and augmented by two L15 subwoofers on the stage.

The stage right with four M620 and, resting on the stage close to the brick wall, one of the two L15 subs. Easy to spot on the edge of the stage, two out of four ID14, very handy little boxes for front fills.

We’ve also used of our new super-compact ID14 speakers, with 100°x100° dispersion, for frontfills. The entire system is powered by one NXAMP4x1Mk2 and a DTDAMP 4x 0.7.

The sound is clear and well-balanced, and there is more headroom than they will probably need, but the client is totally satisfied with the system.”

More information on the Nexo website

Due to the pandemic and travel restrictions, Integrated Systems Events, AVIXA & CEDIA announce ISE Live & Online in Barcelona, Munich, Amsterdam and London, supported by a comprehensive digital offering.

Integrated Systems Events Managing Director Mike Blackman explained “We have reached this decision following extensive discussions with our exhibitors over the last few months, and more explicitly, these last 10 days.

Mike Blackman

All along there has been a clear demand for a four-day ISE show in Barcelona in June. However, uncertainty surrounding the pandemic and international travel remains, which means we are unable to run ISE 2021 in its traditional format.

Our exhibitors have made it clear that there is a desire to get the industry together, but on a local level. In response, we are targeting Europe’s key markets across the AV sector and aim to deliver a quality audience who want to meet potential suppliers, existing customers and network with their peers.”

“For 2021, we have a rich and exciting digital offering” said Blackman. “We are proud to be working with CISCO on this innovative approach. We will be bringing ISE to four cities in June and continuing with our popular RISE Spotlight programme throughout the year.
Working with the industry in this way, we will be providing meaningful opportunities for sales teams to meet their customers, for people to experience product innovations, and of course, for networking.”

David Labuskes

“COVID has taught us all to listen more attentively,” said David Labuskes, AVIXA CEO. “Listen to our neighbours, our family, our co-workers, our customers and our market.
I believe this approach reflects what we’ve heard, a strong desire for prudent and safe face-to-face gatherings that can reinforce business connections and initiate growth. We are honoured to be in a position to offer these to our community.”

Giles Sutton

Giles Sutton, joint CEO of CEDIA added: “Everyone in the industry is missing the human interaction that is such a vital part of our industry – the opportunity not just to see, hear and touch new products and innovations in our sector but also everything that ISE brings in terms of learning, networking and that all important sense of community.

The ISE team has worked tirelessly to ensure that guidelines could be in place to protect our exhibitors and visitors on-site. However, there remains uncertainty around current travel restrictions and the ability for our global audience to take part in person.

The success of ISE has been built on broad industry support and that is the reason why we have taken these decisions this week. We look forward to a debut show where our community can all be together again in Barcelona in February 2022.”

Mike Blackman concluded: “We have been humbled by the many messages of support that we have received from our customers and partners who have appreciated the steps we have taken. We look forward to continuing to serve the industry in the year ahead and cannot wait to come back together in Barcelona, delivering the ISE show in February 2022.”

More information on the ISE website

Liberty University has invested in a complement of 20 Ayrton Khamsin-S LED profile luminaires for the new Liberty Arena on the Lynchburg, Virginia campus.
Liberty Arena seats 4,500 spectators and is the home of the university’s men’s and women’s basketball and volleyball teams whose games are broadcast on ESPN+. Liberty University previously purchased Ayrton Mistral fixtures for a multi-use event space, which hosts a wide array of entertainment programs and gatherings.

“We wanted bright LED fixtures that would really pop and enhance the fan experience in our new dedicated sports arena,” says Amy Caun, lighting director and Tier 2 production technician in Liberty’s Event Production department.
Designed for scenic applications, the Khamsin-S is equipped with a new LED module delivering powerful metallic white light with a record-breaking output of 40,000 lumens and a colour temperature of 6500 K.

“We like to stay with one product line, and ACT Lighting arranged a shoot-out with Khamsin and another Ayrton fixture,” she explains. “We were really impressed with Khamsin’s design, how sleek and compact it is for such a powerful fixture. Khamsin also had great saturated colours, and, being an LED fixture, we don’t have to worry about lamp life.”

In addition to the Khamsin-S fixtures, the new arena boasts a Daktronics center video board stanchion display, court table and 360 degree video ribbon display plus four 4K laser projectors for court projection, all of which play a role in creating an immersive fan experience.

“Before a game starts all of these elements work together to excite and engage fans and players alike,” says Caun. “We’ve designed each of these elements to complement each other and together create a thrilling environment.”

During the starting lineup the Khamsin-S units, which are mounted on truss on either side of the court, illuminate the players and court and build excitement.
Custom gobos featuring the Liberty Flames logo and mascot project onto the court and seating. The Khamsin-S are also deployed going in and out of halftime and for celebratory effects after a win.

“Although the coronavirus pandemic means there are currently very few fans present during games, that actually has given us time to really dial in the production in the new Arena,” notes Caun.
“Once more fans are able to attend again, we know they’ll enjoy a high-quality, in-person experience and the Khamsin fixtures play an important role in helping us create a thrilling game experience.”

The Khamsins were purchased from Whitlock, now AVI-SPL. Ayrton is distributed exclusively in North America by ACT Lighting, Inc. www.actlighting.com

More information on Ayrton Khamsin-S, Mistral and the extensive portfolio of innovative Ayrton LED fixtures can be found on the Ayrton website

Khamsin teston SoundLightUp: Khamsin-S & Bora-S, the wind of Madness

Broadcasting in Hannover dates back to 1924, moving to the current site in 1950 with the construction of what was then the most technically advanced broadcast station in Europe. The original, 350-seat Kleiner Sendesaal concert hall was joined by the 1250-seat Großer Sendesaal in the 1960s, home to the renowned NDR Radio Philharmonic orchestra.

Both venues are used for over 100 live concerts, shows, awards ceremonies and similar events every year, many broadcast live or recorded for later transmission.
With the needs of guest artists, production riders and audience expectations rising, both venues have recently had their audio specifications upgraded, including the installation of a Yamaha RIVAGE PM7 digital mixing system in the Großer Sendesaal.
The Landesfunkhaus Niedersachsen audio team has worked with Yamaha digital mixers since the mid-1990s, initially with an 03D and 02R, later adding an 01V96, LS9-32, M7CL and PM5D.

The development of the CL and QL series was crucial for the venue because, in addition to the widely-accepted Yamaha menu structure, routing audio via Dante made the implementation of larger productions easier. The RIVAGE PM series further improved the team’s options for operation and audio routing.

Systems integrator Amptown System Company (ASC) specified the RIVAGE PM7 system, thanks to its channel count, sound quality and support for flexible two-user operation. In particular, the convenience of two-person operation lets engineers mix a large production, with an orchestra and band, from one control surface. The high number of mix channels, first-class effects and dynamics processors were more reasons for purchasing the system.

Another important factor was the ability to quickly and easily exchange configurations between Yamaha digital consoles of different series. With other Yamaha digital mixers at Landesfunkhaus Niedersachsen, this has greatly accelerated the in-house workflow and ensures visiting engineers can save time creating their mixes.
ASC also provided training for Großer Sendesaal staff on the new system, ensuring the team was quickly up to speed with the RIVAGE PM operating system.

More on the Amptown system website and on the Yamaha website

Danish rental operation Live Company made a massive investment in Robe Esprite and LEDWash 300X moving lights, together with a RoboSpot remote follow spot system, in March 2020 just before the pandemic hit effectively closing the live concert and event industry worldwide.

From left to right Peter Clausen with Mikkel Bedsted.

“We felt it was a bit like some ironic sort of April Fool’s joke,” commented Live Company’s Peter Clausen, one of the owners together with Mikkel Bedsted and two other business partners.
However, they are extremely pleased with their kit, and the Esprites have been busy despite a challenging year working at a fraction of the normal pace as Live Company is lucky enough to have had a steady flow of work throughout the pandemic.

Live Company purchased the 22 x Esprites – with Robe’s Transferable Led Engine light source a great asset for any rental house – for Cirkusrevyen, Denmark’s premier revue show which is staged at a big top venue in Dyrehavsbakken, a northern suburb of Copenhagen. Live Company was appointed lighting vendor for the first time in 2020 having supplied the season’s chief LX and lighting console operator since 2017.

‘My Name is Greta’ photos are by Mikkel Bedsted

In 2020, due to a couple of important anniversaries, Cirkusrevyen lighting designer Malthe Haugaard, who likes working with Robe products very much, wanted to change up the rig, and was keen to try out the Esprites.
Over the past four years, a variety of Robe fixtures – including Pointes, MegaPointes, DL4S and DL7S Profiles – have been used in the Cirkusrevyen show, and for the 2019 season, LEDBeam 150s and MegaPointes were utilized in numerous imaginative ways.

“This time we wanted a fixture with a wide zoom that could also produce punchy beams for the big dance production numbers,” explained Malthe, recalling how he, Peter and Mikkel had visited Robe at the Prolight+Sound expos in Frankfurt and Plasa London that year (2019), assessed the new products on offer and decided to go with Epsrites.

While the 2020 season was cancelled due to the pandemic – it has currently been rescheduled to run May to August 2021 with a slightly different cast, so the fixtures will still get their chance to shine!
“We often use these trade shows as meeting places and melting pots for discussion and for assessing products being brought to the market,” comments Peter, adding that Robe’s Danish distributor Light Partner is also extremely proactive at demonstrating any new technologies.

‘My Name is Greta’ photos are by Mikkel Bedsted

“Robe makes very reliable and stable products that have a decent amount of longevity,” stated Peter, “the ESPRITE is a good example of a luminaire designed to be relevant for a long lifespan and deliver great value”.
Live company’s Robe investments started in 2012 with LEDWash 300s to cover their work in all sectors and particularly for theatre and musical productions, as well as for their value as solid dry hire assets.
Initially, they had three different Robe products in stock – LEDWash 300s, DL4S Profiles and LEDBeam 150s, to which 36 x LEDWash 300Xs were added plus the 22 x Esprites and the two RoboSpot systems for Cirkusrevyen.

‘My Name is Greta’ photos are by Mikkel Bedsted

The Epsrites had some work during 2020, including in performances of “Mit navn er Greta” (My Name Is Greta) a new work scheduled to play at the Aveny-T theatre in Copenhagen directed by Emil Rostrup, starring Karla Løkke and based on the work and achievements of climate activist Greta Thunberg.

Lighting was designed by Jim Falk who used seven Robe Esprites controlled by one RoboSpot BaseStation running in conjunction with a grandMA2 ultra light console.
He needed a fixture that was powerful and flexible as the show design concept is based on digital scenery and a setup whereby one person could control several lights, so RoboSpot was a great solution, positioned in the wings by the fly bar control.

‘My Name is Greta’ photos are by Mikkel Bedsted

“Epsrites are a great fixture,” stated Jim, a freelance LD who is using them for the first time together with a single Robe SilverScan which is rigged mid-stage-centre above the main performance area.
He wanted this particular fixture for the wide-angled reach of the mirror movement as the venue’s over-stage trim height is relatively low and observes that he can also see SilverScans being used similarly in much larger spaces.

Working alongside Jim on the production’s creative team is playwright William Lippert, sound designer Viktor Dahl, video designer Adam Ryde Ankarfeldt, set designer Jon Stephensen and costume designer Michael Nøhr.
After a run at Aveny-T, the show is currently scheduled to play for three months and then tour around Jutland, although this might change as everything stays fluid during the continuing pandemic.

For more press info about Robe range of products you can visit the Robe website

Italian audio manufacturer Powersoft has announced a further 12-month warranty on their renowned rack amplifiers for all customers who register their product for free to MyPowersoft, Powersoft’s online portal. This free extension brings the total warranty length, including the four years standard warranty, to five years.

As of the Monday 22nd of February 2021, all customers buying Powersoft amplifiers on or after this date will need to register their product on MyPowersoft within 30 days of purchase to benefit from the extended extra year warranty.
All customers who have previously purchased a rack amplifier prior to this date, that is still covered by the standard four years warranty, can extend their warranty by a year by registering their product into MyPowersoft by the 23rd of April 2021.

Iacopo Vannucchi, Powersoft’s customer care and service centre manager, commented, “In the last year, we’ve all seen and experienced unprecedented struggle within our industry. This is our way of offering a helping hand during these trying times.”
MyPowersoft is Powersoft’s online portal, in which users create profiles which enable them to take full advantage of their products and the exclusive benefits that come with the account.

By registering a product to MyPowersoft, users can check their product’s history and current warranty status. Users also benefit from direct technical and commercial support from the team, as they can request and track their product repairs.

Other benefits include access to the Power-Sharing and Comparison tools, examples of Powersoft designs, and webinar session access with Powersoft’s audio experts.

“We want to provide our customers peace of mind that we have their products covered for years from the first day of purchase, and we’re going to continue to do so long term,” Vannucchi said.
“This extra year brings our product warranty for our rack amplifiers to half a decade, free of charge. This warranty is a testament to the reliability of our amplifiers and the trust we place in them.”

For further information on warranty coverage please visit the Powersoft website

So Midwest, Inc. provided turnkey creative and technical services for Self Destructor, the new music video for rock band Chevelle. Executive producer and production designer, Robb Jibson, selected Ayrton Perseo fixtures for the video, which So Midwest concepted, designed, directed, produced and edited.

Ayrton Perseo

Focusing on science deniers and written before the coronavirus pandemic, Self Destructor is the lead single from the band’s upcoming, space-themed ninth studio album, Niratis (an acronym for Nothing is Real And This Is a Simulation).

“Coming up with a theme of a visitor from space carrying a glowing energy orb that would ultimately suck the band inside its energy, we back-tracked the story to come up with the script and the shot list,” says Jibson of the concept, which combines performance footage with clips of Chevelle on a night hunt for the spaceman.

Jibson chose a complement of Perseo-S fixtures for the project, the first compact multi-function luminaire with an IP65 enclosure rating developed by Ayrton for intensive outdoor use. He was impressed by Perseo’s output per watt and IP rating since So Midwest was shooting in late November in Chicago.

“We were able to run them off a really small and quiet generator,” Jibson recalls. “The Perseos could sit in the mud and get rained and snowed on; we could have many per circuit and deliver a ton of output with really crisp optics!”

The Perseos were used to create otherworldly lighting effects for the nighttime pursuit of the spaceman. “We wanted the forest scene to have this really volumetric vibe, smoke and light with the naked foliage creating these sweet breakups,” Jibson notes.
“We wanted to follow the visitor as he hid the energy orb. Having this thicket of trees allowed us to place the Perseos roughly 125 feet apart, six to a side, and really illuminate the scene in a fun way.”

He reports that the fixtures performed “flawlessly and looked really great on the Sony FS7 camera with no shutter or frequency refresh issues like fixtures with crappy PSUs.
I’m happy that Ayrton has a fixture like this in the market. Perseo enables you to do things that just a few years ago you couldn’t do without more pain, much more power and after-rental cleaning charges to the dismay of the production houses.
“We had fun on the video and were excited that our touring client Chevelle enlisted and trusted us to handle this vital part of their image. We like to think we put a live production design spin on it,” Jibson says.

Josh Stone directed and edited Self Destructor with Rudy Schieder the director of photography. Floyd Dillman was the unit producer, Tyler Roach the gaffer and lighting programmer, Nick Maty the lighting tech and Josh Gordon the production assistant who was also conned into being astronaut #1. Matt Barker handled the post VFX and colour grading.
“Matt Brotz of LEC – Live Events Chicago, the production company called upon to support this project, has been an earlier adaptor of quite a few products from us, and the Ayrton Perseo fixtures were no exception,” adds Aaron Hubbard, regional sales manager at ACT Lighting.

ACT Lighting, Inc. is the exclusive distributor of Ayrton fixtures in North America.

More information on Ayrton Perseo and the extensive portfolio of innovative Ayrton LED fixtures can be found on the Ayrton website

Deux T1215 ouvrant verticalement à 15° et en bas de l’array, un module T1230 qui offre le double, une façon très simple de couvrir verticalement 60° tout en gagnant un contour appréciable dans le grave. Naturellement 2 dB séparent les deux modèles avec 128 dB de SPL Max pour T1215.

It took three years of work for engineers at Martin Audio to imagine, calculate, model and finalize Torus, the company’s first constant curvature array.

For applications that typically require a throw between 15-30m (50-100ft), a full-blown line array is not always practical, optimal or affordable. Conversely, a point source solution may not be sufficient in coverage and SPL.
Torus is a constant curvature array designed to fill that gap, combining optimised coverage, SPL profile and cost efficiency.

However, Dom Harter, managing director, said, “It is much more than just another constant curvature array. Torus was in development for three years in an exhaustive bid to further the acoustic concept and performance achievable.

Dom Harter le directeur général de Martin Audio lors du lancement virtuel mais pour autant officiel de Torus et Display 3.

“Typically, constant curvature arrays have adjustable horizontal dispersion but their performance can vary considerably in terms of tonality and effectiveness of coverage when different dispersions are selected.

Equally, many lack sufficient sensitivity in the mid-band frequency, critically important for voice projection and clarity. They also can suffer from comb filtering. Torus fundamentally addresses these areas and more.”

Each Torus cabinet is designed for a flexible horizontal dispersion pattern and this can be manually adjusted between 90°, 60° or 75° (asymmetrical) via the unique Dynamic Horn Flare™.

Une vue en détail du Dynamic Horn Flare alimenté par trois moteurs de 1,4” à dôme en polymère HT, un guide pouvant être réglé manuellement entre une ouverture symétrique de 90 et 60° ou bien asymétrique de 75°.

This not only moves and locks the waveguide but also adjusts the horn mouth, including the low diffraction termination into the baffle, to ensure correct geometry and optimal performance in each of those settings.

The Dynamic Horn Flare™ is moved by a rotating mechanism accessible from the front grille so is easy and intuitive, while leaving the grille design to be both smart and fully protective of the drivers within.

Un des quatre mécanismes permettant de modifier la dispersion et accessible sans besoin d’outil depuis la face avant de l’enceinte.

A vertical pattern of either 15° or 30° is achieved via two separate cabinet types: T1215 and T1230, respectively. These cabinets can also be combined to fit venue and coverage requirements.

Torus features a phase plug mounted in front of the 12” neodymium driver to increase mid-band sensitivity and allowing the crossover point to be pushed slightly higher before three 1.4” HF polymer dome neodymium compression drivers takes over.

Le 12” partiellement recouvert par une pièce de mise en phase, une solution intelligente pour obtenir du gain dans le médium et ainsi profiter de petits moteurs dans leur zone de confort pour générer un haut sans aucune coloration.

The sonic performance is not compromised even when driven at higher SPL, and a lot of very clean and undistorted high frequencies are generated.

Pour découvrir Torus avec un film :

Display 3

Torus is also the first product to take full advantage of Display 3, Martin Audio’s all new prediction and optimisation software, and the second big announcement from the event.

Display 3 is set to be a powerful tool for both live and installation projects. It works seamlessly with Sketchup for sophisticated venue modelling, or allows for more simple venue and shape creation.

Martin Audio Une version bêta déjà bien aboutie de Display 3 !

Initially, Display 3 will natively support prediction and optimisation of Torus, with line arrays being imported from Display 2. Over time, however, Display 3 will incorporate all Martin Audio line array, point source, ceiling and subwoofer solutions for a complete self-contained system design, prediction and optimisation platform.

Et pour avoir un aperçu des fonctions de Display 3 en…3 minutes, cliquez ci-dessous :

Summing up, Harter said, “These two major announcements show both the resilience and the ambition of the company. Through the pandemic we had a proactive approach with the continuation of R&D investment and the belief that companies that consistently add value to their customers will have a brighter future.
The introduction of Torus enables Martin Audio to compete in more applications and Display 3 will develop further to be a leading 3D design and prediction software that enhances the working lives of installation and live event professionals.”

Torus will start shipping worldwide from April and similarly, Display 3, still beta, will have a public release at that time.

For more information on Torus and Display 3 visit the Martin Audio website

Technical production and LED screen hire company, iMAG, has recently pioneered a state-of-the-art mobile Virtual Production facility, offering a 360-degree workflow, from in-house drawing team and rigging, to full LED set up controlled by Brompton Technology Tessera processing.
iMAG has joined forces with film production company Treehouse Digital, which works with major episodic streaming companies such as Netflix and Amazon, as well as on films and commercials, for the project, combining their extensive experience in filmmaking with iMAG’s hardware, knowledge and expertise gained through years of working in high pressure live environments.

© iMAG

“The true-to-life colour accuracy and image bit depth of High Dynamic Range (HDR) is becoming extremely popular, particularly within virtual production,” says iMAG MD and Technical Director, Alex Strachan. “We had already invested in ROE Visual LED panels and Brompton Technology processing for our live work. Now, having purchased a Brompton Hydra measurement system, our entire fleet of LED panels is Brompton HDR-ready, which means we can offer our clients the absolute best in terms of image quality.”

iMAG’s system is ‘tour ready’, allowing it to be transported either in full, or to specific dimensions, to any desired filming location. The largest set up has been deployed at the Bournemouth International Centre (BIC), and comprises a 20m by 5m curved LED backdrop using ROE Black Onyx 2.8mm with a ROE MC7 ceiling for ambient lighting, all controlled with Brompton SX40 processors.

“Our aim is to be a one stop shop. In virtual production, every single element matters,” concludes Strachan. “There is a clear appetite for high-quality, lifelike visual content for the world’s major productions and now for smaller-sized projects, too. Our top of the range LED equipment combined with Brompton processing, and our flexible virtual production set up, means that we are ready to support any project, big or small.”

More information about Brompton technology range of products can be found on the Brompton Website