Bergamo, Italy – New visions for the future are told live, at the Bergamo Fair, through an RCF TT+ line array system with an unconventional system configuration. Visionary Bergamo 2021 is part of Visionary Days, a format where hundreds of under-35s discuss life challenges and ways they can shape the future.

Deux wedges TT 25 SMA et quatre des huit rappels pour les premiers rangs TT 052-A, des modèles compacts deux voies à dispersion conique.

The event unfolds over 10 hours of collective brainstorming and six inspirational talks, with 500 young people involved in over 80 round tables, all while streaming live.
An inspirational talk opens each session by introducing a topic and then passes the topic to the attendees to develop ideas and visions. A “dynamic poster” is then drawn up and printed at the end of the event, edited by “Lee”, an artificial intelligence, creation by the Visionary Days team.

Jacopo Mapelli

Produced and coordinated by GO-ON, a production studio specializing in highly innovative events, the original format has favored participation, creating a proactive part of the show that encourages continuous interaction among its participants.
The impeccable AVL set-up by Airone Service, managed by Jacopo Mapelli, deployed a scenographic set-up at the highest levels, with the audio setup based completely on RCF technologies.

Working together with the technical coordination of Lorenzo Polimeno, Luca Andreini, coordinator of the Visionary Days, comments: “We needed a versatile solution that could manage speeches with maximum intelligibility, high-powered music but also clear and understandable service communications. Airone immediately proposed the RCF solution, and I must admit that the choice was appreciated and shared. The event succeeded perfectly, with a quality that made us enthusiastic,” says Andreini.

Dos à la scène, l’un des subs amplifies à double 18” TTS 36-A.

Marco Piccini, the system designer, created the audio project using EASE Focus. “To get the best coverage of the audience, which sat 360 degrees around the stage, we used the center ring for the four TTL 33-A 4-module line arrays covering the two long sides of the venue. Two clusters of four TTL 31-A were used to cover the narrow areas,” Explains Piccini.
“We also created two cardioid configurations of TTS 36-A on the two longer sides, to have optimal low-frequency coverage without re-entering the stage.” For stage monitoring, four TT 25 SMA stage monitors were installed and 8 compact two-way TT 052-A speakers as front fills for the front rows.

Fabio Pecis, le directeur et créateur de Airone Service.

“The production was impeccable, and our RCF TT systems proved to be up to par, with the compliments of all the stakeholders,” said Fabio Pecis, owner of Airone Service. “We set up everything quickly, and the speed of optimization with RDNet 4.1 is certainly noteworthy. ”

More information on the RCF website and on the Airone Service website

When the state of Illinois eased its stringent lockdown rules, and Chicago’s busy outdoor events schedule resumed, one person who was primed and prepped was Matthew Brotz, who runs locally based LEC Event Technology.
Knowing that Chicago is capable of experiencing four seasons in a day, he realised that not only his large inventory of GLP product would need weather protection, but also moving heads from other vendors. GLP had the solution.

“Thankfully Matt contacted us in plenty of time,” declares GLP US president, Mark Ravenhill. “After discussing the comprehensive range of options that we offer, he settled on a combination of our Rain Covers, with different cover lengths, and a large quantity of Air Domes. Despite the current problems with the global freight system, we made it in time for all of his festival dates.”

LEC’s festival season reopened with The Summer Smash at Chicago’s Douglass Park and was followed by ARC Music Festival, Riot Fest and, most recently, Spring Awakening: Autumn Equinox at Addams/Medill Park. This involved working often through torrential rain and high winds. “We’ve [been fortunate enough] to have produced pretty much every large format festival in Chicago since Lollapalooza,” Brotz exclaims. “We’ve had full festival production on four back-to-back events – it’s been a whirlwind.”

GLP JDC1

But what he noticed was how few service providers were paying attention to Chicago’s volatile meteorological changes. “It seemed crazy that so few people had put time into acquiring domes or some sort of weather protection for their fixtures,” he says.
“They simply seemed to be bagging them. This year, we haven’t had a single fixture damaged by the weather, and we pride ourselves on that.” In the case of GLP fixtures that’s a lot of items, with the main stage at The Summer Smash alone featuring around 72 JDC1s.

Similarly, Spring Awakening was heavily populated with other brand fixtures encased in Air Domes and 80 JDC1s on stage two using Rain Covers where necessary. Available in three sizes to fit all moving head footprints, GLP’s inflatable Air Domes provide a secure ‘bubble’-like rain cover in an IP54 package that is fast and easy to set up.

As for the GLP Rain Covers, they offer almost complete protection from the elements, without interfering with the light beam or fixture movement. Available in three sizes, these are in the form of truss mounted metal ‘bases’, which allow a ‘skirt’ to be attached, covering the bulk of the fixture.

“We’ve had weather protection from GLP since 2019,” Brotz continues. “However, we’ve now expanded to 96 of the 400 Series ‘hats’, which we use with many of our other moving heads as well as the JDCs, plus 40 of the Air Dome 600 kits … I hadn’t previously been aware they had an inflatable dome system.”
And it’s an investment he has never regretted. “I had witnessed so many shows with vendors just bringing their dead fixtures out where they had been rained on. It’s a service we love offering to our clients, and the ROI comes back almost immediately, let alone without the headache of damaged gear.”

Since its first contact with GLP in 2019, LEC has steadily been building inventory to service largely work in the EDM (electronic dance music) sector, in which Matt Brotz started out as a DJ). “Our first purchase was 24 JDC1, and six months later I bought 32 more.
They are on every show. In fact, the two staples are X4 Bar 20 and JDC1 – I can’t get enough of them. With the 64 X4 Bars and a further 33 [impression] FR10 Bars, we are almost up to 100 battens, and with this inventory the benefit of EDM is our ability to design for the client.”

In conclusion, the LEC founder also commends GLP for its excellent customer service: “Mark [Ravenhill] will walk the kit to the FedEx offices himself if necessary to get stuff to us on time.”

For more info about GLP, you can visit www.germanlightproducts.com

Viewers were treated to a musical extravaganza hosted by British musician Olly Alexander in the form of BBC One’s The Big New Years & Years Eve Party. Filmed at London’s Riverside Studios, the two-part concert included guest performances from pop superstar Kylie Minogue and the legendary Pet Shop Boys.

© Guy Levy / BBC

The show included a pause for the countdown to midnight and footage of London’s “Big Ben” ringing in the new year before the action headed back to the show as Olly and friends continued the party. The Years & Years singer threw a spectacular New Year’s Eve party with a captivating lighting design from Gurdip Mahal, featuring more than 40 universes of fixtures.
To provide main and tracking backup control of the elaborate lighting rig, programmers Ross Williams and Rob Bradley selected a pair of High End Systems Hog 4-18 consoles – the flagship console of the Hog family – supplemented by two Full Boar 4 consoles and two new HPU Hybrid Processor units.

© Guy Levy / BBC

The main lighting system was supplied by PRG, with crew chief Tim Saunders responsible for the installation aspect and Ben Hornshaw providing WYSIWYG support for two days pre-production off-site. LED was supplied by LED Creative and Light Initiative, with Josh Grace in the position of production designer.

Williams has been a freelance lighting designer and programmer since 1995 and has won multiple awards for his work in television. Unsurprisingly, he is no stranger the challenges involved in productions of this nature.

“These shows with ever-increasing fixture counts and very limited rehearsal time can be quite stressful to say the least, and this one was certainly no exception,” he says.
“I definitely appreciate the increased performance and reliability I’ve noticed since first investing in both Hog 4-18 and HPU back in the summer. In combination, this appears to create an environment that enhances the overall user experience and has proved a positive one over a number of high-profile shows throughout the second half of 2021.”

Hog 4-18

Having owned almost all varieties of the console, with only the original Wholehog missing from his repertoire, Williams continues to keep a close eye on the latest developments in the Hog family.
“The move towards linear patching is a particular recent favorite software-wise, something which appears to be equally appreciated by the system techs too,” he says. “I’m looking forward to seeing where the software goes this coming year as the world hopefully returns to some sort of normality and more shows return.”

© Guy Levy / BBC

For more info about ETC, you can visit www.etcconnect.com

Pentatonix, the three-time Grammy Award winning a cappella group, just wrapped their 18-date Evergreen Christmas Tour 2021 where 45 Ayrton Khamsin-S profile luminaires served as the main fixtures for the show. Ayrton is exclusively distributed in North America by ACT Entertainment.
The Evergreen Christmas Tour 2021, in support of the new Pentatonix album called Evergreen, kicked off November 27 in Baltimore and wrapped on December 23 in Grand Prairie, Texas. It was their first Christmas tour since 2019, the coronavirus pandemic having sidelined last year’s event.

Production and lighting designer, Travis Shirley, who heads Travis Shirley Live Design in Houston and Nashville, has been working with Pentatonix for the last nine years. “It’s been quite a journey,” he says, “seeing them grow to where they are selling out arenas around the world. After last year’s Christmas tour was cancelled, it was time to rejoice with a new show full of the energy and love Pentatonix is known for.”

Shirley says the beautiful art direction of the Evergreen album informed the design of the show. “Choreographers and creative directors Lindsey Blaufarb and Craig Hollaman and I were inspired by the album artwork, which pays homage to the 1960s with silver tinsel and retro clothes,” Shirley points out.

“Then I channelled the look of The Johnny Carson Show and the Tom Hanks movie, That Thing You Do for the era’s lighting and scenography. We ended up designing around several curtain tracks starting with a metallic silver drape, then a vintage LED star drop and finally a red velour curtain.”
What Shirley needed for his lighting design were fixtures that enabled him to achieve a vintage look but with modern tools. He also required fixtures that were quiet since Pentatonix performs a cappella.

“Bandit Lites in Nashville, the lighting vendor for the tour, demo’d Khamsin for me,” he recalls. “It was love at first sight. Khamsin is a beautiful, well-rounded fixture. It had great brightness and colour temperature, and its LED engine made it nice and quiet.”

Ayrton Khamsin

Shirley admits that up until then he hadn’t used Ayrton fixtures because he felt they were more in the specialty lighting category and didn’t fit his specs.
“So it was really nice to see Ayrton play in the big leagues of meat-and-potatoes lighting with a multi-purpose fixture – and they’ve done a great job with Khamsin.”

He calls the fixtures the “workhorses of the show,” which was built around a forced perspective proscenium. “Khamsins framed all the edges of the proscenium, and they ran the gamut of applications from aerial effects to lighting scenic and principal artists.”
Kyle Lonvin, whom Shirley brought on board for the 2018 Christmas tour, served as the new tour’s lighting director; Pentatonix tour veteran Chris Smith was the lighting programmer.

Noting the compressed production timetable that typically comes with a month-long Christmas tour, Shirley says that Bandit Lites “took a lot of the workload off me. They took my ideas and drawings and adapted them to Bandit’s inventory. No one could have done a better job.” Shirley actually began his career with Bandit, “polishing theatre cable at age 18,” he recalls.

“How our relationship has changed and grown! Bandit Vice President Mike Golden and I had been trying to find something to do together, and I’m glad this opportunity came up.”
Shirley reports that the tour’s lighting crew said they’d had “zero problems” with the Khamsins during the run of the show. He has been so impressed with the fixtures’ performance that he plans to put them to work on some upcoming projects.

“They will definitely make their way onto my rock ’n roll shows,” Shirley says. “But the beauty of the fixture with its very even field shouldn’t be underestimated. Khamsin is a versatile fixture that can play rough and also put on a suit and tie.”

More information on Ayrton Khamsin-S fixtures and the extensive portfolio of innovative Ayrton LED fixtures can be found at www.ayrton.eu

Anolis Ambiane pure white and RGBW LED lighting fixtures have been installed at the 420-seat Auditorium du Louvre, an oak-panelled performance and presentation space designed by world-famous architect IM Pei within the Musée du Louvre complex in Paris, France.
The multi-purpose venue is used for a diversity of events like chamber concerts, spoken word performances, lectures, film screenings and numerous others.

A team from Anolis France was led by architectural lighting specialist Bruno Francois who worked closely with Anolis HQ in the Czech Republic, the venue’s technical / stage manager Didier Degros and installers / systems integrators Satelec to find a solution.
The project involved the replacement of accent lighting above the seats with 26 x Ambiane HP111 PW (3000K) fixtures and custom hangers, and upgrading of the previous PAR 56 wall lighting fixtures around the room, with 67 x Ambiane HP111 RGBWs with bespoke collars and brackets.

The wish to replace the original fixtures with more modern and energy efficient options had been ongoing for some time and the environment presented several challenges!
The Auditorium fixtures are extremely difficult to reach due to sections of the roof being completely inaccessible. It’s also a heritage listed building, so a complex set of rules must be followed for any work undertaken or any aspects that are changed.

This was also part of a wider lighting upgrade being applied – section-by-section – throughout the Louvre complex. As part of that, in 2020 Robe France supplied six T1 Profile moving lights to the auditorium to be used for key lighting, and Anolis responded to a tender put out for the auditorium lighting, and their bid was chosen.

Many of the Auditorium’s events involve a video element, so the flicker free operation of the T1s for HD camera environments was a must for Didier. With Ambiane featuring this same characteristic in addition to accurately matching the T1s in colour and the white temperature ranges, this put the brand in a strong position, together with the superior colour mixing of the wall washing Ambianes and the super-smooth theatrical grade dimming and DMX control.

Enthusiastic from the start, the Anolis team visited the venue several times for mock-ups, demos, experimentation, and lengthy discussions on finding ways for the venue to achieve the lighting it wanted. Due to all the rigging challenges involved, a completely custom solution was proposed to achieve the desired creative results as well as being physically possible – with a bit of intelligence and imagination – to install!

It was this zeal, the ability to think ‘out-of-the-box- and meticulous attention to detail that helped Anolis win the deal, and the lights were supplied to Satelec via Anolis partner SPX.
The original wall washers were installed in the Auditorium when it was built in the 1990s, via roof access above the ceiling, with convex pyramid-shaped mirrored structures created around the lights to bounce the light off and down the side walls.
The access was then closed off, and no drawings or plans could be found!

Bruno and the Anolis team were not daunted by this! After much back and forth, they created a special mounting bracket that enabled each Ambiane fixture to be held with both hands and inserted from below into the 20 cm gap in the mirror structure by technicians working at height, with the lens, mirror, and old PAR bulb and holders already removed.
The lens and mirror were then put back into place, and the same screws used to secure the Ambiane HP111 RGBWs in place.

A special short trim for the luminaire was also developed to assist the installation crew together with a custom bracket that gives the whole fixture a ‘wiggle’ factor of being able to slide and rotate it just enough to get a perfect focus onto the auditorium walls.
“We were doing this in the complete reverse order of the original installation,” explained Bruno, revealing that patience, lateral thinking and determination produced the result that pleased everyone involved.

The Ambiane HP was ideal with its excellent output, vivid colours and because the size was close to the old PAR 56s. The fixtures were fitted with 80-degree lenses and a 30-degree internal foil to spread the light horizontally for optimal interaction with the mirror elements – a trick discovered during one of the many test sessions.
The ceiling lighting above the seats was always intended to be white and the light planner, Ingelux, overseeing the wider Louvre complex lighting upgrade project, had already stipulated the CRI and DUV which should be below 0.002.

So, the Ambiane HP111 PW white LED engine was calibrated to produce the exact ‘pure white’ variant needed, and these fixtures are fitted with 20-degree lenses.
The standard mounting brackets for the units were changed for brackets that are L-shaped on both sides, allowing the fixtures to be mounted directly on the ceiling in the centre of mirrored ‘collars’ which are similar to those surrounding the wall washers.
All the Ambianes in the room are DMX controlled via a ChromaQ Vista L5 console. The ceiling lights are programmed in lines for sectional control, and the wall wash fixtures are individually controllable to produce light curtain effects.

Bruno comments, “It was a fantastic collaboration with Didier and SATELEC and sales company SPX (an Anolis re-seller), and we are all extremely proud of what has been achieved in such a prestigious Auditorium. It’s a tribute to everyone’s passion and commitment to finding exactly the right solution and in overcoming the many practical challenges involved to produce a great result.”

For more info, you can visit www.anolis.com or www.robe.cz

Earlier this year, the filming of Marvel Studios’ newly released Spider Man: No Way Home found lighting programmer Scott Barnes once again firing up his trusty Hog 4 lighting control setup, as well as bringing some new Hog 4 HPU Hybrid Processor units for the production.

Well-known for his use of Hog 4 control on Marvel’s films and other movies, Barnes said he approached the shoot for No Way Home quite similarly as he has in the past, but with ‘the biggest addition and MVP of the show being the HPU processor’.

Barnes explains, “I was fortunate enough to beta test the HPU during the pandemic lockdown, and even more fortunate to get the very first two off the assembly line to bring onboard Spider-Man. My systems tech, Derek Page, provided our standard Rack Hogs, I provided two HPUs, and then he ended up adding another HPU towards the beginning of our schedule. Spider-Man was the perfect show to break in the new HPU.

We used every bit of processing power those things could deliver! The show was loaded with lighting effects, and we must be a little more manageable with our Hog servers now, because we want to make sure that the HPUs get used on the stages that need them the most. The Rack Hogs were used for the lesser rigs. It’s also been very nice to be able to use any of the Rack Hogs or HPUs as extra processors too.”

“As was their typical setup, the team installed the servers (Rack Hogs or HPUs) on each of the stages they were using.
Scott continues, “We were at Trillith Studios, formerly known as Pinewood, just south of Atlanta. This is the same place we shot Ant-Man, Civil War, Guardians vol2, Infinity War, and Endgame.

We had seven stages there, plus a huge exterior bluescreen that was used for a couple of different sets. We used three Rack Hogs, three HPUs, three Hog 4 consoles, and a Hog PC tech console throughout the six months of shooting.

Each stage would have a Hog server set up near a corner. Then we would run two networks from them, the first being the sACN out of the FixtureNet port. This fed the entire stage and would be distributed via managed Pathway switches located in the perms and all around the set.
The other network was the HogNet from the HogNet port of the Rack Hog or HPU. This network was also run through the managed switches and additionally tapped into the studio network infrastructure, so we could easily connect to the other servers running on the other stages.”

Barnes enthuses that Stage 14 was a particularly fun rig that could not have been done without the HPU. “The HPU wasn’t enough – we had to add a few extra DP8000s to that stage! Half that stage was a horseshoe bluescreen, with over 100 Studio Force 72s, in high pixel count, to use as interactive light for various scenes. We pixel mapped the Studio Forces right from the console. We also had about 20 SoloHyBeam 3000s on that stage. The HyBeam 3K was our go-to mover throughout the show. I am a huge fan of this luminaire.

It is like the ‘sampler platter’ of movers. Multiple Frosts, Multiple Prisims, Framing Shutters, Gobos, Iris … it just has everything, it’s bright, and the High-Fidelity units have a perfect white light beam to use on camera. I was speaking to Mike Bauman, owner of LUX Lighting in Burbank, recently about these lights.

LUX provided a large amount of the movers we used, along with MBS. I never should have talked so highly about them after using them for the first time on The Prom. They’re getting very hard to find now. We just started working on Black Panther 2, and these lights are so popular now, you have to call far in advance to have any chance of getting some. We also used SolaFrame 3000 and SolaFrame Theatre fixtures.”

Director of Photography for Spider-Man was Mauro Fiore, who Barnes worked with several times in the early part of his career but had not seen in a long time. “Mauro is a well-known DP who won the Oscar for Avatar. Josh Davis was the CLT (gaffer), who had originally called me way back when I was still working on The Prom. Then Covid hit, and everything got put on hold.

Josh was someone I had worked with years ago on shows like Lemony Snicket when he was one of the electricians on the crew. We kept in touch over the years, and he had started working his way into gaffing. I was flattered that he called me to do Spider-Man. He is a pleasant person to be around and work for, and he is an excellent CLT. He will be a name you hear a lot in the coming years!”

Other key team members on Spider-Man were rigging gaffer Adam Harrison, fixtures foreman Phil Abeyta, and Derek Page, Barnes’ senior systems tech.
“Derek, Phil and I have worked together several times before, but this was my first big show with Adam. Adam is fantastic. He is a big advocate of networking and is a forward thinker. The four of us are now working on the next Black Panther together, but with a different DP and CLT.

For more information about etc and their lighting related products, you can visit etcconnect.com

Astera PixelBrick wireless battery-powered LED lighting fixtures proved a perfect solution for a major section of “Bolesworth Christmas”, a visually stimulating and fun illuminated trial experience staged at Bolesworth Castle, an impressive Grade II listed country house near Tattenhall, Cheshire, England.

Lighting designer Nick Jevons was asked to add lighting magic for the brand-new event concept at this site after being invited onboard by event producer Matt Bates. He discussed the initial ideas that were already germinating with Bolesworth’s live events team plus some of the locations they had in mind, and together with his own input, eight of these were developed as highlights for the 1.5-mile-long trail.

Nick immediately started imagining many different visual treatments that would delight and engage visitors. A major section of the trail was a large 400 x 300 metre lawn space in front of the Castle which needed dramatic hi-impact illumination, so Nick suggested utilising 48 x IBC tanks with internal light sources.
The IBCs – intermediate bulk containers – are industrial-grade containers engineered for the mass handling, transport and storage of liquids, semi-solids, pastes, or solids, and are popular on festivals and live event sites for ballast or weighting applications.

“The Cube Field” installation at Bolesworth was the first time Nick had used PixelBricks for an event, but he already had these very handy and robust new Astera fixtures in mind when shaping this piece of light art in his head.
“Obviously, I needed something fully battery powered and ultimately deployable as running power or data cabling across the area would have been completely impractical,” he explained, and sure enough, after the first tests, the PixelBrick proved itself an absolutely ideal choice.

The 48 x fixtures were fitted with dome diffuser accessories – one of Astera’s ingenious Accessory Pack items – and emitted a fantastic smooth light output that filled with whole IBC evenly, making them glow in the dark producing “the exact effects I envisioned,” stated Nick, delighted with the results.

Nick programmed the 48 x PixelBricks via his Avolites console using one transmitter, an Astera receiver and a DMX repeater which was sitting in the middle of the field, and these produced a wide variety of funky, fluid, and different effects and explosions of colour interacting with people as they ambled around the trail.

The 48 x PixelBricks were purchased specially for the project by Hampshire-based lighting rental specialist Liteup, which supplied these, together with all the other lighting equipment, power distro and crew for the Bolesworth project.

Liteup’s Marc Callaghan commented, “We already stocked Titan Tubes so the decision to add more Astera products to our inventory was an easy one.
The reliability of the wireless control and the battery life make the product ultimately usable, not to mention the colours and brightness which we love! Adding the accessory packs alongside has made the PixelBrick into an extremely versatile lighting fixture for a variety of shows.”

Nick uses other Astera products like Titan Tubes regularly in his work and knowing the reliability and scope of the wireless technology, was confident to run all these PixelBricks off the single transmitter.
“The Cube Field” was one of eight diverse installations ranging in size and complexity making up ‘Bolesworth Christmas’ which also incorporated other art works like sculptures and a Christmas market, and utilised other stunning environmental elements of the extensive grounds including woodland.

Challenges included dealing with some very inclement weather – the set-up and period initially planned as the first week was affected by two serious storms (Arwen and Barra) that hit the UK at this time – but everything still went ahead. “The PixelBricks were rock solid throughout,” noted Nick, adding that working outdoors in the winter was a big learning curve for all involved but at the end of the day there was “nothing that could not be solved by a good cup of tea and a think!!”

He added that it was “excellent” collaborating with a client like Bolesworth, prepared to push the production values and create a high-quality visitor experience in spite of galvanising circumstances! The festive event was a massive hit with the public, running right up until Christmas Eve.
With Covid uncertainty still affecting live events across much of the world, outdoor illuminated trails have surged in popularity as a new, safe, and entertaining way of providing some theatrical magic highlighting special seasons and themes, and we are sure to see a lot more Astera products used in this way.

For more info you can visit the Astera website

The world-renowned Vienna State Opera House in Austria – also home to the Vienna State Ballet – has invested in new Robe Forte HCF LED moving lights and Forte HCF FollowSpots, selecting the high CRI LED engine option for these powerful fixtures which utilize Robe’s unique TE (Transferable Engine) technology.

TE is a powerful, intelligent, and eco-friendly lighting solution enabling different engines – high powered, high CRI, ‘tungsten’ etc., – to be used in the same fixtures. They can be changed quickly and easily in 5 – 7 minutes!
Vienna State Opera purchased 10 x Forte HCF luminaires and 4 x Forte HCF FollowSpots which work in conjunction with a customised RoboSpot control system, explained Deputy head of lighting Robert Eisenstein.

The Opera House has a busy repertory schedule, and these Robe luminaires – delivered via Robe’s Austrian distributor Signal – replace the old manual-focus generic FOH tungsten fixtures with brighter, more adaptable, and more sustainable lights, and have upgraded the traditional follow spots in this impressive 1,709 seat and 567 standing capacity Renaissance Revival styled venue which opened in 1869, when it was the first building to be erected on the Vienna ring road!

Deputy head of lighting Robert Eisenstein.

With a throw distance of 50 metres to the stage from the FOH positions, they needed the most powerful and the quietest fixtures.
All the other options tested were either too physically large, too noisy, or not bright enough. While the FOH positions are not directly exposed to the audience, the 10 fixtures are in a partial boxed area and the noise does escape and reverberate around the venue!

The HCF LED engine version Forte were required for achieving perfect skin tones, for the excellent colour rendering and “fantastic” range of tuneable whites.
The fact that the FOH gallery lights no longer have to be manually focussed means valuable between-production changeover times can be saved by having moving lights, and that the system is hugely more flexible for accommodating the needs of all productions.

Robert and his colleagues are all delighted with the results, as are the visiting lighting designers who have so far benefitted from using the new system.
RoboSpots were first tested in the house three years ago when a system was rented in for the Vienna Opera Ball. This was a big success, and they knew it worked.

However, it wasn’t until the Forte was launched earlier this year, together with the FollowSpot version, that all the stars finally aligned to offer an impeccable match between follow spots and FOH lighting.
Everyone was super excited to be able to use the same luminaire with the same quality light. The Opera House follow spot slots rooms are in the high gallery in the middle of the FOH lighting positions which were already very tight for space, so having a small fixture was essential.

Photo Ingo Dombrowski

They wanted the human touch of the operator being involved rather than having a tracking system, so the Forte FollowSpots are fitted with Robe’s LightMaster kit handles which enable the follow spot operators to control the size and the intensity of the fixtures, while the other parameters are run via the venue’s main ETC GIO lighting console.

Some custom software allows the output of the inbuilt Forte FollowSpot cameras to appear on monitor screens attached to the wall of the follow spot box together with some of the RoboSpot system features, but essentially allowing the spotters to simultaneously see the stage in classic style.

They can turn the crosshair marker on or off via the LightMaster buttons and can zoom the camera in and out. “Robe was flexible and willing for us to work with their RoboSpot software to get the precise solution we needed,” stated Robert.
He thinks that Forte is a powerful, viable and “highly effective” moving light for bigger performance houses and venues like this and mentions that all the visiting lighting designers so far to use the new system have been “very satisfied”.

As a brand, Robert thinks Robe is focused on delivering quality innovative products, especially with the Esprite and Forte and other TE range fixtures utilising a powerful white LED engine and CMY colour mixing.

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

The PowerLink Truss & Stagebox by KLOTZ AIS is an extremely robust, ergonomic and easy-to-use new power distribution system. It’s various application possibilities are a big advantage.

The PowerLink presented by Nils Westerwell, European Sales Director.

This brand new product is at home not only in event technology, but also in theatres or TV studios.

The PowerLink has been designed with sufficient spacing to allow gloved hands to pass between the powerCONs.

The PowerLink Truss & Stagebox is equipped with one input and four outputs of the NEUTRIK powerCON True1 plug. It offers a power carrying capacity of up to 16A /250V.
Due to the compact size and the ergonomic arrangement of the connections, easy handling is ensured in tough everyday stage use – even with work gloves.

The plastic housing is designed with rounded absorber edges and a robust surface to absorb shocks. This ensures that any external shocks are optimally diverted.

Inside the box, stiffening cross ribs, in conjunction with six housing screws, give the PowerLink Truss & Stagebox a very high level of resistance and provide compliance with current safety standards.
A fall from truss height is easily absorbed, which underlines the robustness and durability. In addition, the housing is ultra-light.

Easily and quickly attached to a truss via two PowerLink Clamps.

The PowerLink Truss & Stagebox can be easily and quickly attached to a truss via two PowerLink Clamps; additional securing with two O-rings is also possible.

Alternatively, the box can be equipped with an optional metal bracket underneath. This has 2 pre-drilled holes as well as an M10 screw connection to ensure secure fastening.

As a useful accessory, KLOTZ AIS will add coloured rubber sleeves to the PowerLink’s portfolio. Fitted with these, the power distributor is optimally marked so that circuits can be quickly distinguished from one another even at a greater distance.
KLOTZ AIS has protected the design and registered it with the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) at the beginning of October 2021.

Klotz PowerLink Truss & Stagebox presentation video

The PowerLink Truss & Stagebox System will be available from the second quarter of 2022 at a MSRP of 154.70 € incl. German VAT and incl. postage within Germany.

Enquiries and pre-orders with the desired quantities can now be sent to KLOTZ AIS by e-mail : [email protected]

And more information on the Klotz website

When Portland’s Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall reopened after a pandemic hiatus, those patrons attending the season debut of the resident Oregon Symphony were delighted to hear a striking difference in the sound of the orchestra.
Following the installation of a Constellation® acoustic system, they experienced for the first time a rich and balanced natural reverberance distributed evenly throughout the hall.

The 2,776 seats Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall.

On stage, the musicians could hear each other clearly despite disappearance of the massive and ungainly physical stage shell. The Rose City’s beloved Italian Rococo Revival landmark had acquired a new and highly flexible acoustical signature.

With a current seating capacity of 2,776, the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall is one of a quintet of venues operated by the appropriately stylized Portland’5 Centers for the Arts.
It was built in 1928 as a vaudeville house, transitioning to movies only two years later, and finally going dark in 1982. After a $10 million renovation project, the venue reopened in 1984 as a multipurpose concert hall and as the new home of the Oregon Symphony.

Robyn Williams

“Ours is the first vintage movie theater restoration to install Constellation, and that made it a bit of a learning curve,” says Portland’5 Executive Director Robyn Williams.
“It’s a sophisticated system but it’s getting rave reviews. The audience experience is much better. Those who don’t even know Constellation is in here are saying the hall sound is very good now, and those who do know about it say it’s a game changer.”

The 1984 renovation did include significant changes to the architectural acoustics, including installation of a large stage shell, to make the baseline reverberation suitable for symphonic performances.

But problems remained. Seats under the deep balcony experienced noticeable sound imbalance and attenuation, for example, and the massive stage shell still fell short of distributing sound evenly throughout the hall. Also, the aging shell was difficult and time-consuming to move and store, and it was starting to raise safety concerns.

Look closely on the half top of this shot. The wires and the black dots hanging are part of the 86 ambient sound sensing microphones, in this case purposely placed vertically to the orchestra spot.

Williams and other key decision makers had initially set aside an active acoustic solution, based in part on experience with an earlier generation system from a different manufacturer at a hall elsewhere in Oregon. But Williams changed her mind after experiencing Constellation at the San Francisco Symphony’s SoundBox venue.

Three UPM featuring the right color and delivering the right ambience. Three among 294 loudspeakers.

“I immediately realized this could be the solution we had been looking for,” says Williams. “The shell was at the end of its life, and we were reluctant to spend far into six figures for a solution that served only one arts organization.

Constellation would not only improve acoustics for the symphony on stage and in the audience, but it would afford flexibility for the wide variety of other musical genres we host here.”

Scott Showalter

Key decision makers, including Williams, Oregon Symphony President and CEO Scott Showalter, and symphony musicians made trips to Berkeley to hear Constellation at Meyer Sound’s headquarters and UC Berkeley’s Zellerbach Hall.

Following a consensus decision, the wheels were set in motion. Historic preservation specialists Architectural Resources Group worked with The Shalleck Collaborative theatrical consultants on overall planning and providing the framework for technical specifics from Meyer Sound’s own Constellation team.

A couple of barely visible MM-4XP mini loudspeakers.

“It’s transcending, a night and day difference,” remarks the symphony’s Showalter. “The musicians can hear each other better, and the sound is more visceral in the audience. Regardless of where you are sitting, you hear a true balance of all the instruments.”

As installed, the Constellation system comprises 86 ambient sound sensing microphones and 294 meticulously positioned small loudspeakers, with various combinations assigned to four distinct acoustical zones on stage and in the hall.

A typical Constellation D-Mitri engine’s room sporting a lot of network-based digital audio processing and distribution units and many Meyer Smart Power racks called MPS -488HP, to feed with 48 V DC the small active speakers all over the venue.

Acoustical enhancements are created using the patented VRAS algorithm, hosted in a D-Mitri® digital audio platform. Installed by Sound Image, it is the largest Constellation system in the United States in terms of total loudspeaker and microphone deployment.

Meyer Sound Project Director for Constellation John Pellowe, formerly a classical recording engineer for Decca Records in London, supervised the exhaustive tuning process, using a variety of ensembles on stage as the musical source.
The system’s debut came in early October with the Oregon Symphony’s first subscription concert under new Music Director David Danzmayr.

Aware that the venue serves a variety of clients other than the symphony, Robyn Williams applauds the expanded acoustical flexibility. “When they lowered the baseline reverberation for Constellation, it made the hall better for louder amplified music with Constellation off, while at intermediate settings the hall is better for jazz and light pop concerts.”
Well aware that there are dozens of other movie palaces across the country now repurposed as multi-use concert venues, Williams expects the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall may become a mecca for her peers.

A very difficult room for the sound to travel under the balcony and give a good show at every seat. The Constellation helps a lot in such a case.

“Constellation is something that breathes new life into these grand old buildings,” she says. “It creates a new and flexible acoustic without large reflective panels or floating clouds, so it doesn’t impair the visual aesthetic. It is discreet and respectful of historic architecture.”

286 loudspeakers, some very easy to spot, some others cleverly hidden, all indispensable.

Based around a patented breakthrough in digital processing for acoustic spaces, Constellation places a multichannel reverberator between arrays of microphones and loudspeakers distributed throughout the room.
The reverberator increases the apparent volume of the physical room while varying the gain on the microphones changes the apparent absorption or reflection of room surfaces.

By supplementing early reflections or extending reverberation, sound in the room behaves as if the room were larger, differently shaped or constructed with materials exhibiting varying degrees of absorption or reflection. The sound energy introduced into the room is continually recaptured, with the room reflections decaying in level according to the preset program to create the specifically desired reverberant effect.

All components of the system are supplied exclusively by Meyer Sound, with the Constellation team responsible for design and commissioning.

More information on:

– The Meyer Sound website
– The Sound Image website
– The Portland’5 website

After consultation with the ISE exhibitor and visitor community and in the light of the increasing impact of the Omicron variant in Spain, Integrated Systems Events announces that ISE 2022, scheduled for 1-4 February, has been postponed and will now take place on 10-13 May 2022 at the Fira de Barcelona Gran Vía.

Mike Blackman, Managing Director of Integrated Systems Events, said today: “We’ve been closely monitoring the conditions in Europe and have been working hard on your behalf to balance health and safety concerns with the need for commerce and in-person interaction.
It’s been a challenging time for so many over the past two years, and whilst we cannot wait to meet up with everyone at ISE 2022, listening to our exhibitors, owners and stakeholders, we have agreed the best course of action is to postpone the show edition for three months.

“By moving the event to the spring, it provides time for our community to rebalance and for confidence in international travel and meetings to resume. We will be working closely with all our exhibitors and stakeholders to ensure a smooth transition to the new dates. We look forward to hosting the global AV community at ISE 2022 in May in our new home in Barcelona.”

David Labuskes, CEO, AVIXA commented: “While balancing the commitment to both commerce and gathering has been difficult in these uncertain times, we believe the postponement of the ISE show until May does just that. Our community hungers for the opportunity to reconvene in 2022.
This schedule makes that all the more possible for all of us. Beginning with ISE, we are looking forward to the summer of AV where we will have the opportunity to come together at InfoComm in June and InfoComm Beijing in July – it could not be a better way to gather and reinforce the opportunities and success for our industry.”

Daryl Friedman, CEO, CEDIA added: “We want to ensure ISE 2022 will be a great success for visitors and exhibitors alike as it has been for nearly two decades, and that starts with bringing together as much of our community as possible.
We know the entire home technology industry is enthusiastic about coming together in-person, and we are confident this move to May will ensure the most vibrant return for all participants. We cannot wait to connect with all of you in Barcelona this spring.”

We look forward to making this event a success and would like to thank our stakeholders – exhibitors, sponsors, visitors, media partners, contractors, and the team at FIRA Barcelona – for continuing to support us through this difficult and ever-changing situation.

The ISE Conference programme runs from Monday 9 May through to Friday 13 May 2022.

For more information, please visit www.iseurope.org

2 lignes de 12 Karif LT sur les ponts et la même disposition au sol encadrent les DJ sur la scène de la Brixton Academy. ©Sophie-Harbinson

Lighting, sound and video specialists, Colour Sound Experiment, supplied 48 Ayrton Karif LT LED beam spot fixtures to lighting designer Samuel Tozer of Vision Factory when he lit the drum and bass DJ duo, Hybrid Minds, for a one-off performance, produced by NTRP, at Brixton Academy in London in October.
The recently-released Ayrton Karif LT was the main lighting fixture in Tozer’s rig which was almost exclusively composed of Ayrton Karif LT and Ayrton Eurus.

Ayrton Karif LT

Tozer specified Karif LT because he needed a multi-use hybrid fixture in a compact body, with the capacity for the narrow beam looks traditional to D&B music, but also able to deliver wide textured prism looks. “The Karif could give me all of these things and is small enough to use in large quantities to give me plenty of creative scope,” says Tozer.

Twenty-four Karif LTs were rigged evenly on 3 overhead trusses and the arrangement replicated at stage level with twenty-four Karif LT acting as floor units – the only fixtures on stage – sandwiching the DJ duo of Matthew Lowe and Josh White in between.

From here, Tozer used the Karif LTs to define the visual architecture of the show with big beam looks shooting out into the audience and creating wide open space and texture on stage. He used two Ayrton Eurus fixtures, chosen for their framing ability, as keylights on Lowe and White.

“I loved using the Karifs and found them very reliable,” he says. “The huge number of gobos gives me plenty of variety and choice, and the zoom range (2.8° – 47°) is great. They are just the right size for moving at speed and using in large numbers, and gave me the perfect range of options for the Brixton Academy. It’s good to try out the latest technology and they looked amazing. They are great, tiny, punchy units.”

©Sophie Harbinson

Colour Sound Experiment now owns 160 Karif LT fixtures which it recently purchased from Ayrton’s exclusive UK distributor, Ambersphere Solutions, to expand its existing stock of Ayrton fixtures.
“We originally invested in Karif as the smaller of the Ayrton units, since we already carry 50 Ayrton Eurus for mid-range and 80 Ayrton Huracan LT for long range applications,” says CSE’s Alex Ryan. “However, it quickly became apparent that Karif LT can hold its own in the medium size venues and is perfect for those such as the 10,000-capacity Brixton Academy. It really punches above its weight.

© Sophie Harbinson

“We chose Ayrton because they have designed a standardised, homogenous range to cover all sizes of venue: small, medium and large. The fixtures are also extremely reliable – much more than most – which is very important when you are dealing with them on a daily basis. And the price point is such that we can afford to invest in good quantities of each, enough to service a couple of shows at any one time. For a rental house and production house they give us creative and financial flexibility.”

The full story can be found on the Ayrton website at: https://www.ayrton.eu/live/sam-tozer-chooses-ayrton-karif-lt-for-hybrid-minds-brixton-academy-show/

More information on Ayrton Karif LT and Eurus and Ayrton’s full range of LED lighting can be found at www.ayrton.eu

The Hybrid Minds performance at Brixton Academy was produced by NTRP.

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Perinic Sistemi d.o.o. is the latest company to be appointed an exclusive distributor for SIXTY82, and will be covering the Croatian market with immediate effect.

Perinic Sistemi d.o.o. is a respected company that has been operating in the Croatian market for over 25 years. Beginning life as a rental company for sound systems, the company expanded its business over the years to include the full range of equipment needed for the entertainment industry. In order to succeed in the rental business, they were quick to recognize the need for high quality products that could both be durable and reliable, which is where SIXTY82 fits in.

“The main reason we chose to be a SIXTY82 distributor is because of the long term relations we have with the company’s top-quality and experienced personnel who have always been extremely professional, fast and patient with all our questions and requests,” says Iva Perinic from Perinic Sistemi. “The products are high quality, made to last, and at the same time easy to use.”
Perinic Sistemi will distribute the whole SIXTY82 product line, selling as well as renting out the products. They believe that the Perinic Sistemi rental department itself is great promotion: “If it’s good enough for us – and we use only high-quality products – than you can be sure that the SIXTY82 is your right choice!’’ confirms Iva Perinic.

So how will Perinic Sistemi develop the SIXTY82 brand in their area? Perinic Sistemi believes that SIXTY82 products promote themselves and the best way to develop the brand in their market is by showing the products ‘in action’ to its customers. As a result, they invite customers along to live events or to their premises to discover the SIXTY82 products and show them its potential.
“You need to have a product that you can rely on, and if you have great support from the company and factory as well, that gives you trust in the products. The best way to sell a product is if you really believe in it, and that you believe you can support your customers after the purchase,” says Iva Perinic. “We are very excited to be a part of the SIXTY82 team!’

Formidable Queen frontman Freddie Mercury took to the stage in the form of tribute performer Michael Kluch and his band in September, for a huge concert at Prague’s 18,000-capacity O2 Arena.
The group, named Queenie, played the ‘Queen Relived’ show with a rock ‘n’ roll lighting design and a mix of pre-made and live feed visuals driven by Hippotizer Boreal+ and Karst+ Media servers.

The three-nighter, big budget production took more than a year to plan and programme, with the staging and tech taking 16 trucks to transport. Renowned show designer and creative Martin Hruška staged an impressive display of pyrotechnics and lighting pizazz, backed by a huge upstage LED screen.

The visuals depicted images of Mercury, played by Kluch, on stage. Lighting designer Lukáš Patzenhauer was in charge of the visuals, controlling the Hippotizer Boreal+ and Karst+ Media Servers via his ChamSys MagicQ MQ500M console.

“I fell in love with Hippotizer,” says Patzenhauer, who has worked with some of Czechia’s biggest music and TV stars. “It’s such a user-friendly platform, enabling me to harness the power of VideoMapper, effects and masks to create incredible visuals via DMX control from my desk, matching the colours often to complement my lighting design. The Timeline feature in Hippotizer V4 allowed me to playback the show simply, despite a complex array of visuals and effects.”

The Hippotizer Media Servers were supplied to the production by Prague-based distributor LightNeq, and their Hippotizer specialist Karel Bartak, who assisted Patzenhauer during show setup and programming.

Show designer Martin Hruška, who designed the visuals continues: “Some of the video content was created in other programs, such as Cinema 4D, Adobe After Effects and others. Some songs were manufactured in the form of livecam and colour corrections and effects adjusted within Hippotizer. “Hippotizer gave us reliability, speed and great synchronization with the lighting. It’s a really great product.”

The production team were also supported by Green Hippo’s Central Europe Sales Manager Evzen Zomer. “The team were really impressed by the Boreal+ and Karst+ Media Servers, and ZooKeeper,” says Zomer.
“Both Martin Hruška and Lukáš Patzenhauer used many of Hippotizer V4’s powerful features, including a creative use of LED blocks using VideoMapper which optimised output use, reducing the number of LED processors needed to drive the content to the screens, which looked fantastic.”

The three-nights of shows, which had been delayed due to the pandemic, rocked the O2 Arena with the buzz and drama of Queen’s music and performance, reinterpreted by Queenie for the Queen Relived show. On the back of its success in Prague, the show is now gearing up for international dates.