© JMT Show Concepts

Meet the Hippotizer power-users of Green Hippo’s Key User Support Group (KUSP). From an early age, Jorge Toro, owner of Florida-based JMT Show Concepts, has had a knack for technology and a head for business.
In his 25 years in entertainment production, he has constantly moved forward, letting nothing slow him down. In recent years, however, a fruitful partnership with Green Hippo has certainly contributed to that forward momentum.

Jorge Toro of JMT Show Concepts.

Jorge’s links with entertainment began in his teenage years, when he started helping out a DJ friend with his audio equipment in their native Puerto Rico. “I started working with him, carrying equipment, setting up,” he recalls. “He taught me how to do everything – and I was good at it.”

He progressed to mixing sound for bands in Puerto Rico, and after buying his own PA system, spent several years both renting and mixing. “It was good time,” he says. “I grew up a lot as a person, as a technician and as a company, until I decided to sell up and move to the States.”

To cement his audio knowledge, Jorge headed to Florida’s renowned Full Sail University to study a degree in Recording Arts, before returning to wider freelance opportunities in Puerto Rico. But Jorge is also good at recognising opportunity – and a change of direction was on the horizon. “A friend had bought a lot of LED screen, and asked me to be production manager, and look after all their gigs. I didn’t know anything about video, but I said yes.”

Hippotizer Boreal+ Media Servers at the Premios Tu Música Urbano awards show, broadcast live from Puerto Rico to an estimated 80 million people on March 5, 2020.

He learned fast, and successfully oversaw screen and content requirements for tours and festivals throughout Latin America. “We did a lot of shows – David Guetta, Rihanna, the Festival Presidente in the Dominican Republic, which is really big over there – a lot of things.”
This success led to a call from the production manager for Wisin & Yandel, the hugely popular Reggaeton duo, who wanted Jorge to manage the supply and setup of the video elements for a show in the Dominican Republic.

He agreed, but it was a tough gig. “We put all the gear on a ferry from Puerto Rico to the Dominican Republic, but the ferry broke down, so 80% of my gear arrived the night before show day. We had to set everything up and test it. But at the end of the day, we did a great gig for 60,000 people.”

Next, Jorge left the rental company to join Wisin & Yandel’s touring crew. Before long, he also became video director for Enriqué Iglesias – a role he continues to fill to this day – and various other artists. Finding his services much in demand, he founded JMT Show Concepts in 2015.
By this time, Jorge had a freelancer’s broad experience of media servers, but was increasingly intrigued by Hippotizer. “I met Kate Leahy, who taught me a lot about Hippotizer. I really liked the platform because everything was there. And once it was set up, everything ran smoothly. I asked a lot of questions: What about this? Why that way? How does that work?”

He encountered Hippotizer again on a Bruno Mars tour, and finally decided to invest after Enriqué Iglesias’s co-headline tour with Pitbull, when Pitbull’s crew were using Hippotizer. “It’s a brand, like Mercedes or BMW,” says Jorge. “I researched different products, but decided on Green Hippo because the brand was so strong and the product so good. We knew we would always get work with those systems.”

He invested initially in two Hippotizer Karst+ Media Servers, in May 2018. He recalls, “I opened them up and started playing with them, and on the same day I was like, ‘OK, I’m ready to do a show here!’ The user interface was so good.”

Hippotizer’s ease of setup and integration also impressed. “Sometimes I programme in ChamSys, but often the worst thing about media servers is that it’s such a pain to hook up to the console. So I plugged it in, moved a fader and it was there! I just fell in love with it. A week later I was doing shows with them.”
Discussing the software, he says, “Hippotizer is the easiest software to use. You have so many ways to manage your session, from the console, from ZooKeeper, from the Timeline into the ZooKeeper, from cues – it’s so easy. Sometimes, producers or creative people come to me and say, ‘We want to do this …’ – and from the way they explain it, you know they think it will be really difficult. And I’m like, ‘OK, give me five minutes!’.”

He adds, “Green Hippo has the most powerful computers on the market to handle the big stuff. You have everything in one box, and all the support you need. With some systems, you have the software, and maybe a computer you bought someplace, and it’s very easy for a company to say, ‘No, it’s the computer’s fault’. But if I have any issues with Hippo, I will always resolve everything in one call.”

Among the powerful features that Jorge singles out for praise is PixelMapper. “We did the Premios Tu Música Urbano, the big Latin Music Awards show, in March. We used PixelMapper to map everything, tile by tile, and it was easy. The computer ran really smoothly, everything was great.
I wanted to do it that way so we could highlight if a tile went bad during rehearsal or setup – we could say ‘OK, tile number 29 is bad’. Also, from my side, I could go to any tile and adjust the colour or brightness, or whatever was needed.”

Hippotizer’s intuitive interface also makes great sense from a rental operator’s viewpoint, as Jorge has easily been able to train his own techs to a high level of ability. Just two years after that first purchase, JMT now owns six Hippotizer systems – three Karst+ and three Boreal+. Jorge concludes, “Since we had the Hippotizer name, our gigs have grown, and we have done more important and bigger gigs as time has gone on.”

More information on the Green Hippo website

The EN 54-16 certification describes the required testing and performance criteria for a Voice Alarm Control and Indication Equipment (VACIE) for use in alarm systems installed in buildings, where the alarm signal is in the form of a tone, or voice message, or both.
The certification now covers the extended range of Powersoft’s fixed install dedicated amplifiers, including the Ottocanali, Quattrocanali, Duecanali, as well as the X Series.

The importance of PAVA systems is widely recognised as an effective way to produce a timely reaction in most people when using voice guidance in emergency situations as opposed to the response to text and alarm bell information, which under half of individuals respond affectively to. The use of clear vocal messages has been shown to greatly increase the response time and provide opportunity to guide occupants to the safest escape route.

With the new certification, businesses can now invest in amplifiers not only as part of an entertainment system, but also as a voice alarm system – such as one used in the event of an emergency or fire. As a result of the certification, Powersoft amplifiers now offer a solution for voice alarm system integration in the EU. Integrators, consultants and end users can now benefit from Powersoft’s superior range of amplifiers not only in an entertainment capacity, but also for security and safety purposes.

The brand new and Voice Alarm Certificated DueCanali 6404 DSP and Quattrocanali 8804 DSP.

For businesses, this new seal of approval on the Powersoft range of amplifiers brings another level of cost-effectiveness, this time for PAVA system. With the amplifiers now able to be used as part of an entertainment system (such as background music) as well as an emergency system, there is no need to invest in extra equipment for a certified Voice Alarm system.

Aesthetically and from a networking point of view, the two-in-one system also delivers – with less equipment required to be installed, customers are less likely to take notice of the technology and the larger PAVA system architecture is simplified.
Businesses will also be pleased to know that VACIE (Voice Alarm Control and Indicating Equipment) systems from other manufacturers are compatible with the certified amplifiers, allowing them to upgrade their VACIE systems with an amplifier that can supply more power without having to upgrade all the equipment.

Marc Kocks

“We’re always looking for ways to support our clients, and EN 54 certification is yet another step we are taking to ensure our clients always have the best options open to them,” commented Marc Kocks, Powersoft’s business development manager – fixed install – global application engineering manager.
“Safety and reliability have always been a top priority to us, and with this certification, we can offer our clients high quality, reliable equipment for their alarm systems.”

While the EN 54 specification covers the EU, local Codes of Practice do need to be taken into account when installing voice alarm systems, as they can differ in expected performance and design criteria, and may require used products to comply with EN 54-16 specification, depending on the size and complexity of a project.

Most Codes of Practice allow for deviations from the standard, as long as these deviations are well documented, justified and risk assessed. “Adding EN 54 certification to our already proven fixed installation product portfolio will allow for easy integration in any EN 54 compliant systems or a system that allows for deviations,” Kocks concluded.

More on the Powersoft website

Winter Park, Florida is the newest location for fast-growing Action Church, a worship community in the Orlando area that also has churches in the suburbs of Oviedo, Sanford and South Orlando.
The church experienced a startling 150-plus-percent growth between 2017 and 2018, less than four years after it was founded, catapulting it to the number-two position in Outreach magazine’s top 100 fastest-growing churches last year.

The Winter Park campus has the distinction of being dubbed the church’s broadcast site, from which Pastor Justin Dailey preaches the church’s Sunday message each week.
As such, that location is Action Church’s technology showcase, and its renovation reflects that, with state-of-the-art audio, video and lighting technology throughout.
That extends to the two KLANG:fabrik immersive IEM mixing systems installed there by Parrish, Florida-based HOW integration specialist Crown Design Group as part of the first phase of the venue’s renovation.

The Winter Park Action Church FOH where the main mix and mon feeds are created on a Allen & Heath desk.

“We designed, installed and commissioned all of the technology at this location, their largest campus, and they wanted it to be the most high-tech of all of them,” says Crown Design Group Co-owner Garrett Walker, a fact underscored by his company’s installation there of a touring rider-friendly L-Acoustics Kara loudspeaker system.

“They often have a lot of musicians onstage at once, and the lineup can change frequently, so we recommended that they use the KLANG systems, and they agreed. These are the most flexible, easiest-to-use in-ear monitoring solutions on the market today.” Walker says that the church required an IEM solution that could scale as their onstage needs changed, and also interface seamlessly with other systems and platforms they would use, most notably Dante, which is the network backbone for the church’s audio.

“The KLANG systems’ compatibility with Dante was a key factor in their choice,” he says, as was the systems’ ability to be operated via an iPhone or Android app. “That was very important, because while their front-of-house console can use an iPad app for remote control, not everyone has an iPad or tablet, but almost everyone has an iPhone or Android phone,” he explains.

Action Church Experience Director John Williams says that although the KLANG system is certainly a hit with their worship team, the savings that it provides in terms of additional gear and operator manpower is another big plus.
“KLANG provides us with the flexibility and audio intelligibility that our musicians and vocalists absolutely love,” he says. “But I personally think the biggest benefit is being able to offer quality, personal mixes on the platform without having a monitor console and an additional engineer to run it.”

The ubiquity of smartphones and the availability of the free KLANG:app sealed the deal, Walker adds. “And that really adds to the KLANG systems’ ease of use,” he adds. “Once we programmed the system, musicians and vocalists can have separate groups for the monitors, which makes it much easier to manage all of the channels needed for a large group on stage.

And the quality of the immersive sound is exceptional. So in terms of fidelity and operational ease, the KLANG systems win on all counts for the church. And, as integrators, the fact that it interfaces with so many other key systems makes it a great solution for us. That’s why we now recommend it to all of our clients.”

Action Church can be found online at Theaction website, while Crown Design Group is located at Crown Design Group website

Steve Payne

Founded in 1976 by Steve Payne, Soundworks has long benefited from a working relationship with Southard Audio, led by Mike Southard in neighbouring Harrisonburg, VA.

In 2019, the two companies jointly chose Martin Audio for the first time, becoming the first WPL users in the world with each company purchasing 24 WPL cabinets, 12 SXH218 hybrid subs and 12 iKON iK42 amps.

“We used WPL for the whole of last season and we were just delighted with it,” says Payne. “We looked forward to every opportunity we had to use it but for smaller events we still had to use a smaller, older system that we had in our inventory. That was hard! We did one very large jazz festival where we had 12 boxes per-side of WPL for the main PA but an eight box hang of this older system for delays.

I asked our System Tech, Bryan Hargrave, to check if the delays were working and when he came back he said ‘they’re working… but they sound like they’re broken!’ They just couldn’t match WPL. I knew then that we needed to invest more in Wavefront Precision. There was no hesitation, no doubt in our minds that it was the right thing to do. WPL totally sold us on the possibilities.”

From left to right Grant Howard, President, Steve Payne, CEO, Bryan Hargrave, Senior Tech, and Jon Barrows, System Tech.

Having sold his previous system, Payne was faced with the choice of adding either 8-inch WPS or 10-inch WPC enclosures to his inventory. “The WPC was the safe bet – that was the box that convinced us to buy the WPL,” Payne recalls.
“But then we went down to Florida to hear the first WPS coming into the States and we were stunned. The WPS is not your daddy’s 8-inch box – it is a different animal! The whole series is seamless when you move from one box to the next, the voicing is so similar. So my solution was to buy both WPS and WPC. We bought 16 of each plus another eight SXH218 subwoofers.”

The 24 WPL and 12 SXH218 hybrid subs on duty !

Payne continues: “All three of these systems are top-tier and designed to complement each other. How much noise do you need? We’ll plug in the appropriate box and the sound will be the same, the fullness will be the same, it’ll just have more oomph.
Further, because the voicing of the systems is so complementary, they can be happily integrated into a main hang, out-fill, front-fill and delay package capable of covering very large venues. Now we feel like we can go toe-to-toe with any system out there today.

“With many line arrays, when you walk the field and go further and further out, you can hear the change between zones. The changes can vary from subtle to quite noticeable to downright unpleasant, depending on the system. With Wavefront Precision there is simply no discernible change. It is smooth everywhere. It is not only consistent, it’s consistently really good.”

For more information on:

– The Soundworks website
– The Martin Audio website

Curl up nice an’ easy in front of a computer screen to watch the virtual demo of the new Claypaky products. It’s just like at Prolight + Sound, with presentation and demonstration by product families. And we scroll through, at our full discretion, videos and / or technical data sheets.

Arolla Profile HP

L’Arolla Profile-HP avec un moteur de 1200 W sous le capot.

Mastering a 1,200 W LED source in an 80 cm high projector, without compromising on the variety of effects is a feat that few rare manufacturers are capable of today.
Claypaky steps up on the podium with the Arolla Profile HP, a Profile Spot with motorized blades announcing 45,000 lumens of luminous flux at the surprising list price of € 11,060: aren’t we living in great times!

“HP“ obliges, the Arolla Profile ensures a homogeneous beam with a flat profile whose angle varies from 5 ° to 50 ° thanks to its 10: 1 ratio zoom. It is colored by a CMY color-mixing system, a progressive CTO and a 6-color wheel. To bring this beam to life Arolla offers a full range of effects.
An animation wheel, two gobos wheels (6 rotating and 7 fixed) in high definition and interchangeable dichroic glass, a framing system with 4 motorized blades with total closing mechanism and dedicated macro channel, two Frost filters, x4 prism, iris with 16 blades. And as often nowadays, a filter is built into one of the color wheels to increase the machine’s CRI.

Its optimized weight of 44 kg is rather classic for this level of equipment and power which requires top notch cooling. The Arolla has several ventilation modes that allow it to adapt to any type of use location. To reach this unbeatable price, this projector, developed in Italy, is assembled in China. Its availability is scheduled for September 2020

Tambora Batten

With a motorized tilt of 220° excursion, the one meter long Tambora Batten bar is fitted with 16 powerful 40W Osram Stage II RGBW sources, the same as that inside the HY B-Eye.
Each of them is individually controllable, an integrated switch allows you to link several Tambora in series, installed in a continuous line or in a matrix to ease the pixel mapping.

Claypaky Tambora Batten

This bar offers a 4°-40° zoom which you can control the softening of the edge of the beams in Wash mode. A channel is dedicated to controlling the color temperature from 2,500K to 8,000K, and the emulation of different types of lamps.
Arolla Batten will be launched at a list price of € 3,850.

Midi-B

With one LED ring more than the Mini-B, the Midi-B has 19 Osram RGBW sources of 40 W and a flux which reaches 10,000 lumens at the output of this small 40 cm diameter moving head. In the Beam / Wash category, its 4°-50° zoom allows you to go from a clear and concentrated light beam for aerial effects to a diffused edge Wash.

Midi-B en beam…

… et en wash à bord diffus.

Each of its three LED rings is individually controllable to generate animations that will provide great backlight effects in a small venue.
List price is € 4,350.

Mini-B PARled Aqua

IP65 rated products are fast rising today, as are installation products. After the SharpyPlus Aqua, it’s the Mini-B in static version which offers a rain suit to its users.

Mini B Parled Aqua, la version statique et IP 65 du Mini B.

Nothing else changes. We find the 7 Osram 40W RGBW sources, the 4-55° motorized zoom, the independent control of the central LED, the effect macros and the channel dedicated to the color temperature adjustment between 2,500K and 8,000K.
Its luminous flux reaches 3,000 lm.
Its list price is € 1,750.

More info on the Claypaky virtual booth

To visit it, you have to fill in an ID (it can be your e-mail address) and a password.

If the term “megachurch” is solely reserved to describe the world’s largest Protestant houses of worship, then St. Matthew Catholic Church of Charlotte is by all rights a “megaparish.”
With more than 40,000 parishioners from over 11,000 households currently registered as members, St. Matthew offers 100-plus active ministries and is distinguished as the Catholic church with the largest congregation in the United States.

St. Matthew of Charlotte is now home to a new L-Acoustics Kiva II system designed and installed by SES Integration.

In 1996, to accommodate its large and growing membership, the church dedicated a 2,200-seat, fan-shaped worship space that presently hosts at least eight services each week. Although St. Matthew updated its sanctuary sound system in 2012 with a newer loudspeaker setup based on an exploded cluster design, in recent years, that system suffered from clarity and reliability issues, and ultimately succumbed to a lightning strike late last year.

A closeup of the three compact L-Acoustics Kiva II hangs.

Thankfully, the church’s production team had already been in talks with SES Integration of nearby Concord to design a retrofit PA system that would provide improved intelligibility, coverage and dependability.
As the integration division of Winston-Salem-basedtouring sound provider Special Event Services, which reinforces road treks for top artists like Luke Combs with its flagship L-Acoustics K1/K2 arrays, SES Integration quickly zeroed in on the manufacturer’s compact Kiva II enclosure as the right choice for the Ballantyne neighborhood Roman Catholic church.

“Size, weight and performance were the big ‘wins’ for Kiva II,” says SES Integration Director Trey Blair, who notes that houses of worship make up 85 percent of the longtime L-Acoustics Certified Provider’s business. “Since we would be hanging arrays from the church’s wooden roof structure, we required a lightweight solution that gave us excellent vertical pattern control, and the Kiva II was the clear solution for this.
Plus, we had previously done multiple projects with the system and were extremely familiar with its performance, so we knew from our experience that it would work well in this space.”

Four more Kiva II, finished in white, provide underbalcony fill.

Using Soundvision, Blair and his team created a new system design that ultimately featured a mono configuration of three Kiva II arrays—a central hang of seven enclosures flanked by twin arrays of six Kiva II.
Solid low-end reinforcement for the sanctuary’s wide seating area is achieved by two ground-based KS28 subs, concealed behind white scrims to the left and right of the stage.

Frontfill is provided by two compact 5XT coaxials mounted into the faces of pulpits on either side of the stage, while a total of four more Kiva II with white finishes are flown over the acoustically shadowed rear left and right seating areas for delay.
A single LA12X and three LA4X amplified controllers collectively power and process the entire system, which is now mixed on a new Allen & Heath dLive S5000 mixing console.

Another one of the benefits of the Kiva II system was that it was able to be swiftly integrated. “With no downtime possible on the weekends, we had to wrap the entire project up in five days,” recalls SES Integration Regional Manager Anthony Frampton.

“Our goal was to have everything done before their Christmas Mass, so we integrated everything during the first week of December, and they had their first service with it that Sunday. And what a difference it made! There is now consistent coverage throughout the entire sanctuary and highly intelligible speech delivered to each seat.”

The three Kiva arrays overhang the altar.

St. Matthew Communications Specialist and Content Director Jim Alvarez, who has been on staff for six years and a parishioner there for nearly two decades, is in full agreement. “I have known Anthony and the SES Integration crew for several years, and I trust them 100 percent,” he says.

“When I asked them to help us find the best solution for our sanctuary, I wanted every person to experience the absolutely clearest and crispest sound possible, and our new system does everything that they told me it would.”
“We have a large worship space, and the L-Acoustics loudspeakers perfectly fill the room. Every person in every seat at every Mass gets a vibrant, clear and beautiful sound experience. In fact, I’ve had several parishioners tell me, ‘Wow!

I had no idea how inadequate our old sound system was until it was replaced—this sounds incredible!’ I love it, too, and I’m thankful that we’re now able to once again fill this room with beautiful voices, music and sound.”

– For more details on Kiva II
– And on SES Integration can be found online at SES Integration website

PLASA Show will not take place at Olympia London from 6-8 September this year due to the ongoing impact of COVID-19. It will return to Olympia London in 2021 from 5-7 September.

“It is of course very disappointing to have to postpone PLASA Show this year which would have been the first in Olympia’s Grand Hall” comments Sophie Atkinson, PLASA’s Head of Events. “But I am in no doubt that it is the right thing to do for the industry at this time.

Behind the scenes, PLASA the association is working hard to support its members and the wider industry through government lobbying, research, and cross-industry collaboration. You can find out more about what we are doing during this time at plasa website.
As always, we are open to feedback and would love to hear from you.

We hope that by the time PLASA Show 2021 comes around the industry will be restored back to full health and we can celebrate with a fantastic ‘come-back’ show, face to face.
In the meantime, keep safe and in keep in touch. We will sorely miss PLASA Show this year and look forward to being able to meet you in next year.”

Find out more at the Plasa Show website

When it came to specifying a site-wide digital comms upgrade recently, the facility’s long-term head of technology (and resident sound engineer), Samuel Briand, was clear that an expansive Optocore fibre ring solution would best serve the park’s requirements.
He explained that previously they had worked mostly in analog but this has now been replaced with parallel Optocore, Dante and AVB networks.

Samuel Briand

“The first consideration was the vast distance,” he said, explaining the background to the specification. “The park is very large, requiring several hundred kilometers of cable length, and it was essential that we could pass the signals without loss of quality and without length constraints.”
The new system itself was conceived at the Park’s in-house design studio, overseen by Briand, with the company DV2 supplying the equipment and technical support.
Each of the featured shows has its own control room and runs autonomously, although the existing fiber optic network allows shows to be connected to each other if necessary.

“When we create a show, we connect the audio mixing studio to the show concerned and mix in the attraction by moving the screen, keyboard and mouse from the studio computer. The sound travels in the Optocore environment between the studio and the show, thus saving us from having to carry a big flight case with a ProTools HDX,” Briand explains.

In view of the extensive distance and channel requirements, the redundant Optocore transport is used in all the Park’s main shows, such as La Cinéscénie (a huge outdoor stage for the evening shows), Le Dernier Panache (which follows the destiny of a French naval officer during the American War of Independence), Café de la Madelon (Parisian style cabaret) and El Sueño de Toledo (another historical nocturnal show). To give an idea of scale, La Cinéscénie alone requires 10km of fiber optics.

Three DD4MR and X6R along with some pretigious other tools from Merging and DiGiCo.

“We work only with single mode fiber,” the head of tech continues, “and each Optocore converter has redundancy at the power supply (one on mains and one on inverter).” A separate central control point manages the BGM only (which is distributed over a point-to-point network).

Samuel Briand has deployed a pair of Optocore DD4MR-FX MADI devices for use with the DiGiCo SD10 consoles, ten X6R-FX with AES-SRC and Line Outputs for the amplifiers, as well as AES-SRC with Mix Inputs for microphones (and finally, a V3R-FX). All devices have been upgraded with 2Gb singlemode transceivers.

The advantages of the new set-up can be clearly seen in Le Dernier Panache, mixed on DiGiCo.
“The Optocore network allows us to compensate all audio channels (around 96) from the A/D converters to the amplifiers and the processor.
So via Optocore converters we have a real matrix, boosted by the processing and mixing power of the DiGiCo consoles.”

As for the sound system generally, each show has its own broadcast soundtrack (eg symphonic music with voices and sound effects). Puy du Fou has been working with L-Acoustics for over 20 years and each show has a particular spatialization (L-ISA for Le Dernier Panache, 12 channels for La Cinéscénie, 7.1 for Le Secret de la Lance show etc).
For the BGM and general park distribution (shops, restaurants and hotels) mainly Fohhn speakers are used. In addition to DiGiCo SD10 and SD9T, the Park also deploys a range of Yamaha mixing consoles.

Samuel Briand is more than satisfied with the upgraded signal transport across the Puy du Fou site. “Fiber optics and an Optocore platform were essential to meet the specifications,” he confirmed.

For further information about Optocore visit the Optocore website

LED profile emulates 80’s aesthetic while handling everyday rigor on popular revival show at New World Stages. The recent Rock of Ages Revival at New World Stages in New York City was a resounding success, just as it was in its 2008 Off-Broadway debut at the same theatre prior to its successful 6-year Broadway run.

The Revival show started last June and after originally being scheduled to close in September was extended for an open-ended run, eventually shutting down when Broadway went dark in March.

Photo by Matthew Murphy

Lighting Designer Jason Lyons is the lighting designer of the musical since that storied 2008 New York debut. “Back then it was a bit of an experiment,” he explain. “We didn’t really know what we had and it exploded from there. It’s one of those rare shows that people can go back to over and over again and still have a really good time. I think that’s part of its success. You find new moments to enjoy every time.”

For the uninitiated, Rock of Ages is a jukebox musical that relate the story of a rock ‘n’ roll romance on the Sunset Strip during the glitz and decadence of the ‘80s. When the Bourbon Room is planned to be demolished (the local bar where most of the action takes place), it’s up to wannabe rockers to fight for it. With a score that features some of the biggest classic rock hits of the ‘80s, this hilarious, high-energy 80’s-era satire has grown up into a theatre classic.

Photo by Matthew Murphy

Jason has been using Elation’s Artiste Monet on the revival (supplied by Christie Lites), his first time working with the award-winning LED profile moving head and a significant upgrade from what he was using on earlier incarnations of the show.

Elation Artiste Monet

“I was really excited to use it for Rock of Ages in particular because over all the years of doing this show, from way back in 2008, we have used older fixtures.
Back then, we were just trying to get as much as we could for as cheap as we could so it was nice to have a reliable, cutting-edge fixture like the Monet. We really didn’t know what the show was back then, but we did know it needed that 80’s rock feel.”

Jason calls those early runs of the show a maintenance nightmare. “It looked great but the electricians had to do an amazing job to keep it up and running,” he explains.
“On every production from Off-Broadway to Broadway to all the international tours, those fixtures would get beaten up and every performance report was full of things to fix. When we came back to revisit it, I wanted to hang on to the aesthetic of the show but I needed it to be maintainable.”

The lighting that he was replacing with the Monets was the workhorse system of the show that was doing the most work. “It was really important for me to find a fixture that not only had the firepower and all the attributes that I needed to make the show work but would also be something that could handle the everyday rigor of doing such an intense show, something long lasting that the crew could easily maintain,” the designer explain.

Photo by Matthew Murphy

After consulting with Elation National Sales Manager John Dunn, which included a demo of the Artiste Monet up against other LED driven fixtures, Jason was pleased with what he saw. “I was blown away by the output actually; it was outrageous, so bright, and the quality of the white that came out of it was really nice.

It was much better than some of the LED driven fixtures I had seen before. Then we added in the SpectraColor mixing system and I got really excited. To have CMY and RGB with color correction over the top of it, it was fun to play with and opened up a whole different level of color mixing and detail that I feel we’ve always lacked a bit with just CMY.”

SpectraColor is Elation’s proprietary color mixing system that combines CMY with RGB flags and variable CTO to produce color combinations that have traditionally been hard for LED luminaires to achieve. “It produces better nuances of color and richer colors,” the LD states. “Having the RGB solid flags give you a much better depth of those particular colors, allowing both the depth of color and the specificity of tints.”

Photo by Matthew Murphy

Twelve overhead Artiste Monet units are arranged in a pseudo diamond configuration that follows the shape of the main set bar and are used throughout as lighting beasts of burden.
“We use them for so many different things from carving out certain areas of the stage with the framing shutters, to really powerful open-white backlight and downlight spots, to full stage template washes and effect moments.”

As the show is essentially a rock musical, Jason also used them for air effects moments. “I found myself pulling them back a bit,” he said, “especially in the open white moments, which isn’t something I have ever done with this show before. What was great was being able to then use that to effect as well. To then hit it to full and get that extra punch was a fun feature to play with.”
Other lighting fixtures, many of them also from the Elation catalog, join the Artiste Monet™ in the rig. These include SixPar™ color changers doing backlight specials on the band and on scenic doors, as well as sidelight for extra color on set. Jason says he even uses their UV functionality for interesting toning.

Super compact ACL 360i™ single-beam moving effects are peppered overhead with a handful on an upstage handrail under a backing video screen and under the band platform. Lastly, ZW19™ and ZW37™ LED moving head beam/wash effects and Protron 3K™ LED strobes wrap the video screen.

Photo by Matthew Murphy

Lighting vendor for the production is Christie Lites, the leading rental house that Jason has had a relationship with for years. “We solidified our relationship back on that original Rock of Ages show at New World years ago,” he says. “They went above and beyond to make things work back then and they still do.”

Jason ends by harkening back to those maintenance nightmares he had with some of the early Rock of Ages rigs. “Those early rigs were definitely a challenge. I actually didn’t think much about the change we had made for a long time until John Dunn asked me how the Monets were doing on this show. What’s funny is that I hadn’t heard anything. All of those maintenance reports that would normally come my way didn’t exist! The lights have held up just great.”

For more information visit the Elation website

Gateway Church is ranked among the nation’s largest multi-site congregations with an average of more than 30,000 worshippers weekly attending 29 weekly services at nine campuses.
To further enhance worship at Gateway’s flagship Southlake campus, the 4,000-seat auditorium at that facility was recently upgraded with 51 new Meyer Sound LEO ® Family loudspeakers configured as a novel mono-stereo “hybrid” system.

The main system with the first ten rings of seating covered by three hangs of Leopard, then a very open stereo hang of Leo and two flown gradient cardioid arrays of five each 1100-LFC.

Like many other contemporary churches, the Gateway Southlake auditorium is designed with wide, fan-shaped seating that wraps around the stage. Although this promotes a greater sense of intimacy, it challenges audio system design in general and, in particular, makes it difficult to maintain a stereo image while ensuring high intelligibility throughout the space. Accordingly, the prior system based on Meyer Sound MILO line arrays was designed as an LCR mono configuration.

“This time we wanted to see if we could leverage the latest technology to open up our sound with a stereo feel for most of the congregation while still maintaining excellent intelligibility and without the effect being distracting to anyone,” says Brandon Conn, Gateway Senior Audio Engineer for Live Production. “We had already upgraded some of our satellite campuses to LEOPARD® line arrays, so we were confident that the clarity and control of the LEO Family would help us achieve this goal.”

The impressive venue able to provide fine audio to the 4,000 worshippers.

The new system was designed and engineered as a collaborative effort by Gateway Church audio staff, Meyer Sound Director of System Optimization Bob McCarthy, and system integrator Pro Sound & Video (a Solotech company). On-site installation was supervised by Pro Sound & Video’s Shaun Philips, assisted by TJ Volts, under the direction of company CEO Rod Sintow.

The eventual solution was to deploy three hangs of five-each LEOPARD line array loudspeakers aimed to cover the first ten rows of seating, all carrying a mono signal. The main center section with the great majority of seats is covered in stereo by left and right arrays each with five LYON-M main over six LYON-W wide coverage line array loudspeakers.
“The idea here was to create a stereo image where it works well, but not attempt it where it would compromise performance or intelligibility,” comments McCarthy. “Up front, a split left and right would be so wide it would pull you away from the stage. So there, a mono image reinforces an intimate connection with the stage, then from row 11 back it blends seamlessly into a more open stereo image.”

The UPQ-1P in charge of the distant seats.

Recalls the church’s Brandon Conn, “When we put the LEOPARD arrays in the satellite campuses we knew the new technology would be a game-changer, and that has been the case here as well.
We can hear the difference in overall output level, with the power on the low end, and with the intelligibility as well. Everybody who comes in here for special events is blown away by how great it sounds.”

To assure uniform frequency response front-to-back in the field of the main arrays, McCarthy implemented Meyer Sound’s new Low-Mid Beam Control (LMBC) in the tuning process. “When Bob inserted those filters, the improvement was impressive,” recalls Conn. “When he turned it off and on it was easy to hear the difference.”

The audio overhaul also included new low-frequency components, with the former ground-stack only system replaced by dual flown gradient cardioid arrays of five each 1100-LFC low frequency control elements for uniform dispersion throughout the auditorium.
Four new 1100-LFC elements placed under the stage enhance the visceral effect up front. Eight UPQ-1P loudspeakers replaced the former stage side fills, and five GALAXY 816 Network Platforms took over signal optimization and drive. The existing delay systems, comprising a combined total of 41 UPQ-1P, UPQ-2P and UPJunior loudspeakers, were tested, found to be performing perfectly, and left in service.

According to Brandon Conn, sound is now uniformly excellent throughout, but the subtle differences allow worshippers to select their preferred experience. “People who are musically inclined and want the stereo image will sit more toward the middle,” he says, “where those who want direct energy from the stage will congregate toward the front. And those who want it just a bit quieter will go to the back, but with no sacrifice in the fullness of the music or speech intelligibility.”

“I love the way the LYON and LEOPARD system allows us to deliver energy and clarity at many different volume levels,” adds Director of Live Production Broadcast Systems Jason Aulds. “Because of our many different types of events, and our desire to mix with dynamics at each event, we can swing 20 dB or more within the music portion of worship and not affect the integrity of the mix. And we are equally happy with what it offers for spoken word and our theatre productions.”

All nine Gateway Church campuses are equipped with Meyer Sound systems, with most satellite locations updated to LEO Family systems based on LEOPARD compact line arrays. “I love our continuing partnership with Meyer Sound,” continues Jason Aulds. “Their customer service as well as their investment in system design and support give us the consistently high level of audio experience we require.”

The productive three-way partnership also includes Pro Sound & Video, principal supplier for audio systems since 2007. “We always look forward to working with the audio team at Gateway,” says CEO Rod Sintow. “They are welcoming, forward-thinking and fully involved from beginning to end. When we turn the systems over to them, they know the technology inside-out and can get up and running right away.”

More on the MeyerSound website and on the ProSound website

© MKF Max Kalup

ETC and High End Systems participated in the ‘Night of Light’ initiative this week, a scheme created to highlight the dramatic impact of the global pandemic on the live event industry.
Across Germany, over 9000* buildings and landmarks were lit in red to mark a call for help to save the event industry. ETC lit the historic mining tower in Hausham – close to the ETC GmbH office in Holzkirchen – as part of the ‘Night of Light’s’ nationwide display.

The 40-metre-high monument was lit by ETC’s Source Four LED Series 2 Daylight HD, Source Four PAR, Source Four XT HID, ColorSource Spot, ColorSource PAR and High End Systems SolaPix 19 fixtures.

© MKF Max Kalup

The initiator of the project, Tom Koporek from LK-AG Essen commented: “The event industry will not survive the next 100 days. The current conditions and restrictions make the financial set-up of events virtually impossible.”
Alongside the organizers who have been greatly affected by the pandemic, there are also around one million employees and an industry that generates over ten billion euros at stake. ETC and High End Systems recognize the threat of the pandemic to this industry, and along with many other companies, supports the ‘Night of Light’s’ mission to draw attention to this and its appeal to politicians for help.

Rosi Marx, European Marketing Manager at ETC GmbH adds: “It was clear to us that we would be involved in the ‘Night of Light’ initiative and support their demonstration – to the public and the government – that the industry is at risk.”

More info about ETC products on the ETC website

For reference:

– Night of light show advance Map
– FaceBook Night of light

L-Acoustics is pleased to announce the appointment of accomplished audio industry expert Alan Macpherson to head the newly formed Americas division, encompassing sales, application, support, fulfillment and finance activities for all countries in North, Central and South America.

The new Americas Team.

Alan will report to Laurent Vaissié, CEO L-Acoustics, and Hervé Guillaume, CEO L-Acoustics Group. The company further reinforces the new division with the promotion of BJ Shaver to Business Development Director for the installation market and the appointment of William Cornell as Business Development Director for the rental market, both reporting to Macpherson.
“L-Acoustics is committed to supporting and growing our presence on the American continent. As we navigate through one of the most challenging times for our industry, we feel incredibly fortunate to be able to bring onboard two of the most outstanding and respected industry veterans, Alan and William, and confirm the well-deserved promotion of BJ. I’ve already witnessed Alan’s unflappable attitude, personal commitment, and long-term strategic outlook, which, combined with the unique ability to federate and inspire our teams, are the marks of a great leader,” shares Vaissié.

Alan Macpherson, CEO, L-Acoustics Americas.

Macpherson brings to L-Acoustics more than two decades of top managerial experience, primarily with Yamaha, where he most recently served as Vice President for Yamaha Corporation of America’s Integrated Marketing Group in Buena Park.
Over his lengthy tenure with the manufacturer, he had been tasked with spearheading the growth of the NEXO and Steinberg brands, in addition to Yamaha’s own professional audio and music industry product lines.

“I’m delighted to join L-Acoustics,” Macpherson enthuses. “The brand has earned its reputation not just by developing quality products, but by focusing on the systemic quality of its global network of partners and consistent innovation in creating tools that improve the workflow of sound professionals and relentlessly raise the audio bar.
L-Acoustics looks to the long game, developing processes and products for enduring success, and always with the improvement of live performance at the heart of what they do. That’s a perfect match for me and my vision.”

BJ Shaver, L-Acoustics Business Development Director, Install.

Also core to the success of the new Americas division are the newly created Director of Business Development posts conferred to B.J. Shaver for the installation market and William Cornell for the rental vertical. Based in Tennessee, Shaver has spent more than seven years developing the southwestern US market as Regional Sales Manager for L-Acoustics.
During that time, his sales and support focus has been heavily invested into the House of Worship vertical, a market considered essential to the current and continued success of the company. Prior to joining L-Acoustics, Shaver rose to the position of Vice President of Installation at Elite Multimedia in Memphis, Tennessee.
“B.J.’s ability to analyze and manage business opportunities, identify partners and foster them to success has allowed L-Acoustics to take our Southern region to the most performing region in North America,” says Vaissié. “Having him in this expanded role where he will continue to grow the install business across the Americas will be an invaluable component of our ongoing success.”

William Cornell, L-Acoustics Business Development Director, Rental.

Cornell comes to L-Acoustics after spending almost 15 years with d&b audiotechnik, where he built and managed sales operations in the Americas and rose to the position of CEO of the manufacturer’s US subsidiary. “William is a strategic thinker and has clearly demonstrated his talent for building trust and growth with customers year upon year,” describes Macpherson.
“His proven ability to plan and execute long-term business models will be mission-critical as we build the foundation of our Americas team and continue to strengthen our leadership position in touring and make strides into key vertical markets, such as Broadway and corporate.”

“Alan joined the team just before the crisis, and while we’d certainly never choose this type of onboarding situation voluntarily, it’s been a valuable learning experience for all of us,” explains Hervé Guillaume.
“Alan has confronted the battle head on, and the full team has rallied with him, developing a collective resilience and digging deep to find creative ways to help the company and our partners weather the storm.

“With this new leadership structure and the full strength of our team, we’ll be well poised to return from this difficult season stronger than ever and ready to serve our industry as it moves forward to recovery and beyond,” concludes Guillaume.

More on the L-Acoustics website

Ayrton is very happy to introduce Athens-based Megaevent as its new, exclusive distributor for Greece. Founded in 2001, Megaevent has provided exclusive distribution and support of top-quality products in lighting, sound and AV equipment across all sectors of the entertainment market for nearly 20 years.

“We always look forward to new technologies and our target is to provide these together with the best after-sales support to all our customers,” says Megaevent CEO, Sotiris Kolios. “Through our many years of experience we have selected the best partners to work with, centred on respect for companies with great R&D and continuous evolution.

Ayrton has proven to be one of them: we have watched Ayrton’s progress over the years and, like most of the lighting designers in Greece, hold their brand in high regard. We believe their products to be leaders in every aspect, and are confident of the manufacturing quality of Ayrton products, the accuracy of their specifications and the visual effects that result. It’s clear that Ayrton has been working hard all these years to provide a full catalogue of products that fits every type of need in any lighting or visual show.

“Of course, bringing a brand to market at this time will be challenging, but after a closer look at the present Greek market, we know Ayrton is going to be a new heavy-duty tool for us. We are looking forward to distributing the whole Ayrton product line, backed of course by our high level of support. Our goal is to build a large rental network which will enable our customers to work together and provide rental solutions in our market and abroad.”

“I first met the Megaevent team at ISE and immediately felt a ‘click’ with them,” says Ayrton’s Jonas Stenvinkel. “Since then we have had many meetings over Zoom due to the global lockdown situation and our relationship has grown and strengthened.
They have a fantastic team and we share the same values, and I’m convinced that Megaevent is the best partner for Ayrton in Greece. We will do all we can to support them and the market in Greece during these tricky initial stages and onwards into the future. We are looking forward to a truly dynamic new working relationship together.”

The arrangement takes place with immediate effect. Mega Event Website

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

Lighting designer Brenton Slattery from Scene Change Brisbane chose Astera AX1 and Titan Tube wireless battery-powered LED fixtures to create a memorable light sculpture and high-impact messaging for the 2020 Anzac Day commemorations.
The sign spelt out ‘LEST WE FORGET’ in bold, bright, positive letters and was highly visible on the waterside lawn at Howard Smith Wharfs in the Queensland state capital.

Photo: Matt Van Dalen

Brenton is based at the Howard Smith Wharfs multi-venue site comprising a series of tastefully regenerated – and now heritage-listed – riverfront buildings on the Brisbane River, overlooked by Story Bridge which was constructed around the same time, between 1934 and 1940.
He took up his post in February after three years of freelancing, and now he and his team coordinate technical requirements for Scene Change Brisbane’s diverse events schedule that include conferences, presentations, awards shows, weddings, and private parties.

Photo: Matt Van Dalen

Scene Change has an in-house inventory of sound, lighting and audio kit including the 48 x Astera AX1s which were used for this installation. The additional seven Astera LED fixtures needed to make up the lettering were Titan Tubes supplied by Astera’s Australian distributor, the ULA Group.
Astera sales have accelerated since the ULA Group was appointed the distributor at the start of 2019, and Brenton observes that they are specified on a lot of shows, which is why Scene Change made the AX1 investment. “I love working with Astera … the lights are super versatile and come with such a range of rigging options and excellent battery life.”

Photo: Matt Van Dalen

For this installation, they were rigged to a metal frame which was built from a combination of trussing pieces, scaffolding elements, custom stands, and cross pipes plus some ratchet strap technology!
Seven beam type moving lights were positioned behind the completed Astera sign to provide effects and background lighting.

All the AX1s and Titan Tubes were run wirelessly which saved time and fuss on cabling and Brenton programmed all the lights including the Astera sign via a grandMA2 light console which gave a wide variety of looks and effects including changes and elegant, fluid movements.

A 2-minute pre-programmed show ran every half hour between 9 p.m. and midnight the evening before 25th April which is officially Anzac Day. In between each show, the Tubes returned to a static amber colour and stayed that way until 6.30 a.m. on Anzac Day itself.
The sign could be seen from vantage points all over the city and along the river.

Photo: Matt Van Dalen

The rich amber represented the rising sun of dawn when the Anzacs made their famous amphibious landing on the shores of the Gallipoli peninsula in April 1915 which began the land phase of the Gallipoli Campaign of the First World War (leading to the capture of the then Ottoman capital of Constantinople (now Istanbul).

The end of the installation coincided with “Light Up The Dawn” – an initiative started by the Australian veterans organisation RSL – which saw hundreds of thousands of Australians nationwide joining together and lighting candles at 6 a.m. on Anzac Day in a powerful show of solidarity. This year, in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, this had additional resonance.

Photo: Matt Van Dalen

To ensure the Astera installation kept running through the night, Brenton pre-set the fixtures to the 20-hour battery period. “The calculation is extremely accurate, and we had 20% of the batteries remaining by the time we were taking everything down in the morning.”
Brenton worked closely with Adam Tetro, Scene Change’s operations manager on the event planning and logistics, which included designing the sign framework and working out the

For more info on the Astera LED website