Michael Ledesma is one of our industry’s most renowned and longest serving lighting designers. He has been lighting the most enduring and beloved Carlos Santana, for the last six years on the guitar legend’s House of Blues residency in Las Vegas. For the latest run of House of Blues dates in May, Ledesma supplemented the house lighting system with a multitude of gear, including Elation Professional SEVEN Batten™ color-changing LED battens, Arena Par Zoom™ LED Par lights, and Protron Eclypse™ hybrid LED luminaires, with upstage Elation EVHD™ panels LED video screens. Innovative Concert Lighting supplies the gear for Santana’s shows at the House of Blues.
Carlos Santana’s House of Blues.
“An Intimate Evening with Santana: Greatest Hits Live” plays at the House of Blues in Vegas for eight weeks each year and is booked through 2020. Ledesma, who has been lighting shows for over 40 years for legends such as Paul Simon, Kenny Loggins and Gloria Estefan, complements the guitarist’s impressive playlist of Latin rock and blues hits through his signature use of vivid color and layers.
Much of that color comes from 16 linear SEVEN Battens that the LD uses as floor uplights to throw low front light on the band, as well as color onto patterns covering the drum and percussion risers. “It provides a good frontlight but isn’t overwhelming,” LD Michael Ledesma says of the linear lighting effect that houses 25W 7-color multi-chip LEDs. “The colors are good and the video guy has enough output from those to get a nice picture.”
Michael Ledesma, LD for Santana.
Providing more color and trimmed at about 24 feet are 16 Arena PAR Zoom RGBW wash lights with 10 to 60-degree zoom, used as overhead wash to cover the 40 ft wide by 30 ft deep stage. “The Arena Pars are awesome,” Ledesma says. “The best thing about them is their zoom. I can zoom them out really wide and they will wash all the way to the audience or I can run them narrow and they are great beams. They do double duty.” Also in the rig are a pair of Protron Eclypse, Elation’s new hybrid LED luminaire that Ledesma uses as a wash and strobe effect and 22 of which will see service on Santana’s upcoming tour.
Video strips left and right of a center screen are made up of high-definition EVHD3™ LED video panels, two strips of four panels on each side. The backdrop panels are 3.9mm pixel pitch, black-face LED display panels with a modular front maintenance construction that makes them easy to service.
Santana plays the Blues, and Elation has all the hues needed, indeed.
Besides the Elation gear, the HOB house rig of LED washes and 700W moving heads is also augmented with discharge and LED moving heads. Furthermore, as behind-the-scenes lighting tools help a show run smoother but often get little credit, Ledesma commends Elation eNode 8 Pro™ and eNode 4™ Ethernet to DMX routers, which he uses for DMX distribution and are ideal for large pixel-mapped DMX systems.
The ten-time Grammy-Award, three-time Latin Grammy-Award-winning rock icon and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer is also a top touring act, spreading his infectious brand of music on both U.S. and international tours. In June, Santana kicks off his “Supernatural Now” U.S. tour with a rig that also includes Elation lights so watch this space! The tour celebrates two important anniversaries in the band’s history: the 20th anniversary of their blockbuster Supernatural album and the 50th anniversary of their legendary performance at Woodstock.
Offering an exquisite gastronomic experience combined with various events IZAKAYA is a true hotspot in Amsterdam. At the beginning of 2019, IZAKAYA renewed its audio system and installed 12 C3108-96 modules in Custom White. The Dutch audio specialist 24/7 Amsterdam was responsible for the technical implementation.
12 RCF C3108-96 modules in Custom White at IZAKAYA Amsterdam.
This place is part of an exclusive restaurant chain named IZAKAYA, which maintains several locations in Europe, offers a high-class and sophisticated Asian cuisine and combines it with a bar concept setting new standards continuously.
The C3108 is an extremely versatile, unobtrusive, full-range 2-way loudspeaker system that integrates perfectly into the atmosphere of the IZAKAYA. With its wide dispersion angle, remarkable performance and efficiency, it offers a wide range of professional applications and is perfectly suited for the mixed use of the location. Due to its compact size, it is predestined for unobtrusive wall mounting or ceiling installation. The system delivers perfect sound and high performance without acting in the foreground within the location – just the way it should be. The mixed use of the IZAKAYA location in Amsterdam as a restaurant, bar, enriched with many events, including live music, demands a lot of flexibility talking about the sound system.
Detail of one of the twelve RCF C3108-96 modules in Custom White installed in IZAKAYA Amsterdam.
“That’s exactly why we chose the C3108 from RCF”, says Mike Ho from 24/7 Amsterdam about the location IZAKAYA and choosing RCF. “The Custom White modules integrate perfectly into the stylish ambience of the IZAKAYA location in Amsterdam. Their comprehensibility and assertiveness make RCF’s C3018 the perfect choice for the IZAKAYA. They also provide the necessary adaptability for that kind of top notch installation.”
The high-frequency section is a constant directivity horn loaded to a 1.4” compression driver with a 1.5” diaphragm assembly for smooth, wide dispersion. The low-frequency transducer is an 8” woofer with a 2” voice coil.
The IZAKAYA is part of the Entourage Group and is present in Amsterdam, Hamburg, Munich and Ibiza and has extraordinary competence in the Asian gastronomy. The concept combines the traditional Japanese dining experience with extravagant Japanese cuisine and ads a South American touch and high-quality cocktails to take it to a new level.
If you’re used to work with wireless DMX, especially in events or filming, many of you swear by LumenRadio. These typical jet black casings, are extended by an antenna containing the codes of their industrial shell. Tx transmitters operate with CRMX modules inserted directly into the projectors of many manufacturers, such as Arri, Robe or Ayrton among others, but also with Rx “boxed” receivers. The most recent developments, such as Nova FleX, know how to change mode, alternately transmitter or receiver, and understand the DMX-Ethernet protocols.
The MoonLite, in real size, fits in the palm of a hand. It supports the USITT DMX512 and Bluetooth 5.0 and RF protocols from 2402 to 2480 MHz.
Since May 2019, a new Lumen Radio module is available. Smaller, less expensive and Bluetooth compatible, the TimoTwo announces the next step of wireless DMX HF transmission. Embedded in a wonder of miniaturization, the MoonLite is described as a transmitter / receiver with integrated battery and Bluetooth configuration from the free CRMX Toolbox application.
With your iPhone or Android smartphone, a new era is offered to you, simpler, faster and especially more accurate. At a distance of ten to fifteen meters, the application detects in Bluetooth all MoonLite already turned on, shows them on your phone screen and sort them out by their signal strength and allows them to be identified one by one. Once spotted, just connect them to read their information and possibly change their settings.
Perfectly integrated, the MoonLite can be used in all situations (club, theater, convention, cinema or TV set) in case of DMX needs on battery.
Among these settings, besides the name, you can also access the wireless mode of the MoonLite (transmitter or receiver) and the identifier of the DMX universe used. With a simple color code, visible on all the LEDs, it becomes clear to see which transmitter communicates with which receivers, and on which channel. Above all, no need for tedious pairing between transmitter and receiver, the reconfigurations will take only a few seconds. Other settings allow to change the emission level from 0 to 100 mW, 40 mW being the typical level of use for 150 meters range in free field. At maximum level, the battery will wear out faster but the emission distance will be around 300 meters.
The CRMX Toolbox app makes it easy to configure LumenRadio devices.
The MoonLite can be powered directly by its micro-B USB port, for example from a Skypanel on a TV set, or thanks to its internal battery, providing 10 to 12 hours of working time in reception mode, and 8 to 10 hours as a transmitter. Last option, each MoonLite can be protected with a PIN code, to avoid mishandling.
With its clever hardware, this LumenRadio newbie breathes stability. Built to last, it has the same manufacturing quality as other CRMX products, in a reduced format with 2 flexible XLR connectors, male and female 5 points, Velcro type hook and various informative lights. The antenna is embedded in the black plastic coating, pierced by the single operation button and the status LEDs of charge, emission and mode. Even more stable with its disturbance detection technology, MoonLite also knows how to reduce its radio frequency footprint thanks to its dynamic transmission.
In the near future, LumenRadio plans to develop the CRMX Toolbox app to turn the MoonLite into a multifunctional toolbox. Thus, thanks to an update via Bluetooth, micro-USB or DMX, it will be RDM compatible, ideal for setting remote RDM projectors. Later in the year, a DMX menu will be incorporated to directly test his light kit from his smartphone.
In production, once the certifications CE & amp; FCC obtained, it should be available now at a list price below 400 € excl. VAT.
Christine and the Queens returned to the stage under a new androgynous and animalistic identity called Chris, accompanied by the excellent dancers of the young La Horde collective. She imagined a scenography that would emphasize bodies and their relationship to space, nature and simplicity. It was a great artistic and technical feat for the set and lighting design team, because it was necessary to build a show that has all the characteristics of an opera and to adapt it to the timing constraints of a touring production.
At the AccorHotels Arena, one of the dates of Chris’ return to Paris, (from left to right) Camille Duchemin scenographer, Nicolas Olivier, lighting designer, Philippe Ducouret (alias l’Écu of MecaOctet) and Manu Mouton, production manager, tell us the story of the birth of this offbeat concert.
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Before we even ask a question, Manu Mouton, the production manager, takes the initiative.
Manu Mouton: “The first person to mention regarding the creation of the show is Christine. When I look at my notes from the very beginning of the project, I find all the themes of the final show. She’s the one with the ideas. We supported her because she didn’t necessarily know how to communicate it technically, but she knew exactly what she wanted.
SLU: How did all of you get into this project?
Manu Mouton: I was the technical director of the Justice project more than a year ago. It’s the same production. When Christine decided to set out again in a completely different direction from her previous one, Corida Production asked me to put together a team around her. The artist had a very particular brief: white light, no colors, no visible beams, no visible sources.
How about starting from the end: Chris and her whole audience under the snow!
She talked about bodies, seeing the muscles, seeing the sweat. She suggested painted backdrops and natural effects such as smoke, snow, sand, nothing harsh, nothing technological, nothing digital. I started the project with Philippe Ducouret, known as l’Écu, my accomplice on all these creations Justice and many others who, with his French company MécaOctet, builds computer-controlled machines.
From the beginning, we talked with Christine about natural elements including snow, and I remember seeing the most beautiful of these effects in a show, “Neige”, by choreographer Michèle Anne De Mey. We approached Nicolas Olivier who built these machines; he speaks the same language as Christine, and has extensive experience with snow and smoke for the theater.
From left to right: set designer Camille Duchemin, lighting designer Nicolas Olivier, Philippe Ducouret – aka l’Écu – of MecaOctet and Manu Mouton, production manager.
As a side-note, Christine arrived at the next briefing with some photos of dance shows she wanted to approach and we discovered that Nicolas was the one who had done the lighting for three quarters of them. He therefore created the light with layers, which corresponded perfectly to Christine’s universe.
I also worked with Thibault Richard, my collaborator in charge of technical coordination, who specializes in network management. Later, I called on the set designer Camille Duchemin. She picked up the snippets we had thrown about and began to assist Christine in writing the project and creating the canvases, choosing the images, and the printing work.
In terms of sound, Julien Decarne (FoH) and Vladimir Coulibre (sound designer and system engineer) proposed the L-ISA project. That’s a whole other story, but we worked on it a lot because it complicates the rigging. To make it possible, L-ISA needed to be integrated very early in the project.”
The backdrops, printed and painted
The first tight space, very forward on the stage, associated with the first scene. The performers’ bodies are very close to one another.
The mountain creates a more ominous atmosphere by the mere levels of light that reveal it. The eye is drawn to Chris.
SLU: Camille, how did you work with Christine on the project?
Camille Duchemin, scénographe: “Christine had a pretty good idea of the scenes she wanted, from the era of the Hudson River School. We divided the chronology into three parts. An initial terrestrial segment takes place in a small vignette, tightened around the edge of the stage to force the bodies into a first restricted space, with a look that is very much in line with this image.
The work of the profiles shows the path and the wings that will carry Chris into the next season of history.
An earthquake allows this first backdrop to disappear. The second part of the space opens up to a more tempestuous image: a raging sea, a more expansive and cinematographic image. The light fills the space differently and the choreography takes up more room.
The second space is deeper, more open and with liquid elements that, depending on the color temperature of the sources used….
… sends a different message.
We worked a lot on the methods of printing on the cotton canvases. They have been repainted to enhance the contours and volumes and to increase their depth. When you enlarge a 40 cm by 60 cm painting 100 times, you lose the quality of the brush stroke, you lose the excitement, which you then have to restore. The first canvas is rigid, the second is more flexible, subject to the storm, and it gets swallowed to make way for the third non-physical space. This empty space is defined by sand, snow, smoke and light.
The sand, lit only by a PAR CP 60, a magnificent scene full of poetry.
Unrestricted space, shrouded in smoke…
… the snow.
And it finishes with a final image in which she goes into the audience. She aims to push out the walls, to expand the possibilities, that’s what her texts tell us. We worked on the relationship between the bodies and the space. It is the light that reveals the qualities of the skin and gives it a grain, a substance that is very strong. ”
Writing in light
SLU: Nicolas, what were the challenges in the lighting?
Nicolas Olivier, Lighting designer: “These were to provide a refined lighting in comparison to what is usually done in a show of this size, to avoid video, undesirable smoke effects and, above all, to avoid designing moving beams in color. What I find so beautiful about the show is that the bodies and the artist are at the centre of the image, as opposed to a completely overwhelming and blinding scene, where the subject is sometimes lost. Here, the subject is the singing, the dancing, the bodies, the volume of the spaces created by the scenography, the different levels, the depth. As we learned to speak this shared language, the light that brings out materials, tones, skins, shapes and volumes was done quite naturally and quite quickly.”
Camille Duchemin: “Cutting out the sky or the ground, bringing the images to life to see them differently. The canvas with the seascape is shown in several different ways, according to the scenes. Sometimes it is integrated into the bodies, sometimes we just see the wave and Christine’s back. There are also all the profiles within the canvases that are part of lighting composition.”
A striking contrast of textures and light.
SLU: Camille, you are talking a lot about lighting and you, Nicolas, about material… so who is doing what, exactly?
Camille Duchemin: “It’s hard to say who does what. When the team works well, everyone at any given time does the scenery, the lighting. Each of us comes in with his or her own culture and very quickly everyone gets immersed in the thoughts of the other. Nicolas also did research on scenography and materials, while I did research on light.”
Nicolas Olivier: “And also the organization of the work process. We’ve all pushed our comfort zones.”
Camille Duchemin: “On this creation, two different cultures converge: the concert tour culture, which is not accustomed to long periods of rehearsals, and the theatre culture, in which it is normal to rehearse for several weeks. Here, we’ve reached a kind of operatic form, and each change of scenery and lighting needs to be thoroughly rehearsed to ensure that it enters the bodies of the singer and the dancers. These working cultures are different, so everyone was a little shaken up.”
A nice line of Robert Juliat Dalis 860s on the lip of the stage to illuminate the first canvas and capture the dancers.
SLU: What sources are you using?
Nicolas Olivier: “There is a little bit of everything. I use arc sources, PARs, and LEDs. I chose to use some Robert Juliat Dalis units on booms to light the second canvas and I used them as footlights for the first canvas and also to bring out the dancers when they are in the foreground. We have bars of PARs because we immediately recognized the need for filaments to illuminate the bodies, to feel them, to feel the sweat, the muscles in a natural way. I come from the theater, so it’s a tool I know very well.
The BMFL WashBeams, chosen for their power and wide coverage, coexist with the lines of CP61, a dozen, in total, to illuminate the dancers. On the left, a line of Dalis 860s provides the lighting for the raging seascape.
Where I stepped out of my usual work a little bit is that we had to put in a kit that could be installed in a day and that meets all these requirements for lighting. To avoid visible beams while, at the same time, having a sufficiently large and powerful wash and a motorized profile fixture, we then turned to the Robe BMFL Blade and WashBeam.
The Elidys sort of happened by chance. I wanted a lateral effect powerful enough to break up the surrounding light at times and the Elidy was perfect for this purpose. And so there is a technological source that appears in the show, and I think it works. It has a very beautiful color, very close to a halogen source.
The wall of Elidys is in two sections, positioned by Gis motors with servo drives developed by MecaOctet One is on the floor, concealed by the scenery, while the other is suspended.
On the left of the image, it sends a high-power side lighting on stage during the third immaterial part of the show.
The two BMFL Blades and their RoboSpot Motion Camera of Robe’s semi-automated tracking system…
… and their back-stage remote controls, renamed “mopeds” by all the lighting crew.
We also have two “mopeds” (RoboSpots) that saved our skins, because I couldn’t use a traditional followspot in the room to do the job. I hung the backdrops, the first one in particular, really very close to Christine. I decided to place the BMFL Blades on the front truss and I got a very nice angle of attack where she just comes out highlighted.”
SLU: Do you resort to using progressive CTOs, ambers?
Nicolas Olivier: Yes, and to the minus green. I also resort to using the progressive frosts and the nature of the sources themselves as well: the arc lamp, the PAR, the warm LED of the Elidy. These whites create enough different color temperatures to satisfy our needs. The color exists in reference to what’s beside it or what you’ve seen before. Working with the whites gives the feeling that you don’t see the same song all the time by the gradation and nuances of white, the white that suddenly becomes a little grey. It was really this job that interested me and it has come about very naturally.
SLU: And what beam angles are you using?
Nicolas Olivier: The PARs are CP 61, but there are so many that we don’t consider them 60 sources. They act as one source. If I want a very directional backlight, a lateral one for example, I open the zooms of the BMFLs all the way, I put the frost on all the way and I use six of them, but it gives the feeling of a single fixture in terms of light, because we don’t use any haze at all so the beams are not visible.
SLU: Have you had color rendering problems with the discharge or LED sources?
Nicolas Olivier: With the Dalis, not at all. The lamp of the Robe BMFLs, on the other hand, tends to be a little green, but there is a minus green filter in the fixture that saves me and I always use it. ”
The natural element effects
The third section of the show puts the performers in a very poetic non-material space animated by snow, clouds of smoke on stage and in the room, and lines of sand that disintegrate. Some of the machines are rented from FX3 and others have been developed by MecaOctet, but all of them are controlled live by l’Ecu.
The buckets of aerated snow, suspended and hidden by border curtains. There are also about ten more of these around the room for a surprising and very successful immersive final effect. To the right is a truss with three BMFL Blades, then you can see the output lens of the BMFL WashBeams on two trusses, which cover the snow buckets and the first canvas. To the left in the picture, another truss of BMFL WashBeams is positioned in front of the second canvas.
SLU: How does this famous snow machine – that brought you into contact with Nicolas – work?
Manu Mouton: “This effect required stretching nets 12 meters long and on three levels, shaken by motors, and since it would have dripped a little before the effect, it would have been necessary to provide motorized shutters. The snow is a very important effect in the show, but lasts only 20 seconds. Investing that much budget in it wasn’t worthwhile. I finally went with a system of aerated buckets that spew snow – easier to implement and, above all, less expensive.”
SLU: How is the second backdrop made to disappear?
Manu Mouton: “We have two canvases for the raging sea backdrop. It was impossible in the specifications to have a canvas with good color and depth that was thin enough to be rolled up and that could then become tight and smooth the next day, so we doubled it. We drop the first one in the dark. It’s a second, lighter canvas that flutters in the storm and that, at the end, is rolled up in one second into a machine developed by l’Ecu.”
The more pliable version of the second canvas, less detailed and lighter, just before it gets “sucked up”.
SLU: How do you manage to maintain a cloud within the set?
Nicolas Olivier: “For the third part of the show, we use a black backdrop and 1.5 m farther downstage, there is a tulle, a clear screen. In this space, which we call “the jar”, the smoke remains stagnant because we manage to create a microclimate because of the difference in temperatures and we avoid air currents within it. The cloud doesn’t dissipate immediately, which produces an effect of depth. This system is the result of a research I had done for a previous project.
To the left of the BMFL Blade and WashBeam pair, you can also see the discreet presence of one of the sand tubes attached to its control unit.
On stage in front of the “jar”, we blow large jets of smoke with very rapid dissipation and in the room we use smoke machines to create clouds. It is a Le Maitre system that produces the trail of green smoke. The advantage with pyrotechnics is that the colors are very dense.”
SLU: What machine are you using to create lines of sand on “La Marcheuse”?
Manu Mouton: “I have about ten sand machines that were created by l’Ecu. It is a tube about 50 cm high and 8 cm in diameter. It has a duration of about 13 minutes of the effect. We use it for 3 minutes, so it’s practically a big handful of sand per machine.”
A beautiful little theatre set up in only an hour and a half
Manu is very enthusiastic and rightly so. The hanging of the 15 trusses needed for the backdrops, the border drapes, snow machines, PAR bars, fixtures etc. takes, all in all, no more than an hour and a half.
Manu Mouton: “We were in Saint-Omer (in France) at the Pas-de-Calais, the venue where we did all our rehearsals. At 3 m from the edge of the stage, with l’Ecu, we looked at the ceiling and said to ourselves that we would never be able to hang a traditional rigging system on tour, and we started to think about a system of trusses in a front-to-back configuration, a sort of mother grid, to hold the trusses. We don’t have such a high load, but we need 15 trusses because all the sources are behind border drapes, and that adds a lot of booms.
At the top level, three of the four 500 square trusses, which are equipped with the hoists for the many technical trusses.
On that day, Philippe Coudyser, the owner of Sonoss, and Frédo, from Régie Lumière (B Live Group), came to lunch with us. Philippe is in Lille, therefore nearby. And the story unfolded in a few hours between Sonoss, who manufactures, Régie Lu, who buys and me, who rents.
We started with a Eurotruss 500 square-section truss, completely open on the bottom, with a rail to which are attached 250 kg D8+ (double brake) hoists, which allows us to avoid the safety slings, so these remain available. This is important, since we have snow machines to refill, sand machines to refill, canvas releases, etc. We have developed a system of four square-section 500 trusses, 15 meters long and configured back-to-front. Each one of them is fitted with four 2-ton motors with load cells. So I only use 16 rigging points to attach to the ceiling at Bercy. In each truss are integrated 16 hoists, so 64 in total, ready to handle my 16 rigging points. It was Eurotruss, via Sonoss, that manufactured the 500 open truss with a central rail and 250 kg D8+ motors by Gis. Gis is a Swiss brand that manufactures small, light and manageable hoists.
The 500 square Eurotruss trusses open underneath to allow the end of the motors attached to the internal rail to pass through…
SLU: How are the 64 motors controlled?
Manu Mouton: Sonoss optimized the system by installing a control box at each end of the trusses. And so it’s all concentrated up above. I mounted a 32 A triphase and a mini Socapex to supply and control each box, therefore eight motors. So, in the end, I have eight power cables and eight control cables for the 64 hoists. As far as cabling is concerned, it’s nothing. I then converge my eight cables into my 60-motor remote control, and I have my theatre at my fingertips. Setup time: 1 hour and 30 minutes on the stopwatch! I also avoid a thicket of cables, the cost of 64 rigging points on the ceiling of the room, and a whole night of rigging.
The analog remote control for the 64 Gis hoists, built by Sonoss.
Today we have external load cells that communicate via wi-fi with a computer for load control. With the new digital remote that Sonoss has just developed, I can see the load applied to each motor. It’s a project that interests me for more conventional productions with higher loads, so I’m continuing its development.
In the long term, we plan to enlarge the rail integrated in the beam to allow the use of 500 kg servo motors and even 500 kg pulleys if we need 1 ton. Just like we do lighting prep, we will be able to do rigging prep, write presets and recall them. And then simply hang it up, with load monitoring, which is mandatory for me. It is essential to work with load cells, if only at festivals.
I would like to sincerely commend Philippe from Sonoss, who developed the system, and Frédo from Régie Lumière, who invested in it, because for me, on the budget side of the technical aspect, it is very complicated to allocate funds just for the sake of rapid set-up. It’s impossible to sell it to the artist, and it doesn’t mean much to the producer. They have been following us for a long time and Frédo, at the time, said “Okay, I’ll buy and rent it to you for nine dates!” This goes beyond the economic logic of a business.”
Conclusion
Breaking with all the shows we’ve seen, breaking with what she had done before, Chris certainly surprises and finally reassures. She asserts her will to get out of a framework that was suffocating her, she also accepts the storm that results from it and is blowing a real breeze of freedom, supported by her producer Corida, and her show design team. They have bent over backwards to satisfy her wishes. The lighting does not represent a support for the musical score, it bends to the needs of a scenography situated somewhere between opera and musical comedy.
We are not talking about lighting design, we are talking about the use of illumination and Manu Mouton has recruited experts in the art of illusion with Camille Duchemin and Nicolas Olivier. The entire focus is on the bodies that express themselves with ferocious sensuality in a scenery or an absence of scenery that conveys 1,000 different moods through the magical interplay of light and natural effects. “We realized that simplicity can follow winding paths,” Camille Duchemin told me, and this team of technicians obviously likes extreme hikes.
Producing an Opera on tour is a technical challenge that they have overcome with their experience, their research skills and the investment of the entire team. Proposing an Opera in a large venue like the AccorHotels Arena for 18,000 spectators was, on the other hand, a really bold gamble….
When Moscow’s Dynamo Stadium was closed for demolition in 2008, the city turned its focus to the design and construction of a new multi-purpose facility that would better fit the metropole’s growing need for a state-of-the-art sports and entertainment complex. Opening its doors this year, the new VTB Arena includes the 26,000-capacity Central Dynamo Stadium, dedicated to football, and the Universal VTB Indoor Arena, a 13,000-capacity ice hockey facility. Both venues needed a sound system that could deliver power and quality for sporting events and entertainment alike.
62 ARCS II in 26 arrays are located around the pitch-side edge of the roof canopy of the main stadium for coverage of the lower seats.
Russian L-Acoustics Certified Provider Distributor Sonoruss was tasked with the challenge of designing and installing a PA that would not interfere with any other engineering systems, intrude on important video angles, or obstruct any view of the stadium’s large LED screens. Alexander Ananyev is the Acoustic Engineer at Sonoruss: “While both venues have clear primary uses, they are also multipurpose facilities and have to cater to other sports and other events, such as rock concerts and large-scale entertainment dates. We needed to ensure that there was uniform coverage, high SPL and the very best audio clarity possible.”
26 ARCS Focus and 45 ARCS Wide in 29 arrays are installed in delay positions further under the roof of the main stadium for the upper seating.
Using L-Acoustics Soundvision acoustic simulation software, Sonoruss proposed several designs for the main stadium PA, but some way into the process the facility’s roof design was substantially changed, so Sonoruss had to go back to the drawing board: “We proposed all-new system designs that included electro-acoustical calculations, architectural visualizations, and evaluations by external agencies,” notes Ananyev. “After lengthy negotiations and detailed analysis, the customer chose a solution based around the A Series medium throw range for the football stadium, and a K Series long throw configuration for the ice hockey arena.”
Detailed view of one of the 26 ARCS Focus and 45 ARCS Wide in 29 arrays installed in delay positions further under the roof of the main stadium for the upper seating.
The main Central Dynamo Stadium is the home of Russian football club FC Dynamo. It officially opened its doors on May 26thfor the closing game of the 2018–19 Russian Premier League between FC Dynamo Moscow and Arsenal Tula.
The PA for that space consists of 62 ARCS II in 26 arrays located around the pitch-side edge of the roof canopy for coverage of the lower seats, 26 ARCS Focus and 45 ARCS Wide in 29 arrays in delay positions further under the roof for the upper seating, and 30 5XT and 70 X8 short throw enclosures at suite level for the under-balcony spaces.
The indoor Universal VTB Arena has a more varied programme. Its main focus is ice sports, but it also hosts mixed martial arts, boxing, basketball and entertainment events throughout its schedule. It hosted its first ice hockey game for resident team HC Dynamo Moscow in January 2019.
30 5XT and 70 X8 short throw enclosures are positioned at suite level for the under-balcony spaces of the main stadium.
For that system, Ananyev specified L-Acoustics K2 line arrays. A total of 54 cabinets in six hangs flown around the central scoreboard location provide coverage of the bowl audience seating. Eighteen ARCS Focus in six arrays of three are distributed evenly around the grid, to cover the bowl floor for sporting events where this is a requirement.
He is very pleased with how both solutions are performing and has received extremely positive feedback from the client: “We have succeeded,” he states, “In creating a PA system that completely meets every one of the customer’s requirements.
“A high-quality sound system is a must for a successful modern sports complex. L-Acoustics technologies are powerful, lightweight and always form an aesthetically pleasant solution – something that was very important for the client in this instance,” concludes Ananyev. “The L-Acoustics sound system at VTB Arena is an integral part of the audience experience.”
Happy travelling lampies looking for a portable lighting control system, you got it there. Hathor Gate is the new Hathor system PC Windows, comprising the Hathor software and a USB – DMX 512 interface.
It offers all the features of the Hathor software, 512 control circuits and 512 DMX addresses that can be divided into several universes, compatibility with MIDI consoles, Korg Nano-Control, Behringer X-Touch, and Imago. Very portable indeed!
It includes the Wily! license and the Backup mode for Liberty, Freedom and Ocean consoles. This nifty little interface (65 x 65 x 40 mm) is powered by and connected to the PC via USB. The 2 In & amp; Out DMX 512 ports can be set as 1 Out port and 1 In port, or 2 Out ports.
Some key points of the Hathor software
The sophisticated lighting software for passionate people
Designed with theaters in mind, HATHOR offers a user friendly and comfortable programming environment
An optimized Channel Grid displays all essential information at a glance
Asserting that Penn’s Peak is a popular 1800-capacity entertainment facility in Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania, only tells half the story. This mountain top venue is set in beautiful surroundings, boasts jaw-dropping views and contains a truly spectacular auditorium, complete with wooden balcony structures and vaulted ceiling. Penn’s Peak plays host to a wide range of national and international artists of all genres and prides itself on providing its patrons with exceptional facilities. Most recently the production team at Penn’s Peak took the decision to install a new sound system in its auditorium. The team chose a system based around CODA Audio AiRAY, supplied by Pennsylvania based Saturn Systems.
The existing system at the venue was undersized and underpowered for what is a large, open, acoustically challenging space. Penn’s Peak is characterised by its predominantly wooden interior, the acoustics of which alter drastically when the hall is empty at soundchecks and full at showtime. The areas under the balconies on either side of the hall had also presented problems. The team was aware that the experience of patrons in these areas was nowhere near to delivering a satisfying audio experience and needed significant improvement.
As the venue’s audio lead (and highly experienced sound engineer) Chris Chalfin explains, the overhaul was long overdue: “As well as overcoming the inherent challenges presented by the acoustics, we also needed to take into account the very wide range of artists and genres that come through the venue. We needed a system that was clean, clear and in your face – something that had incredible vocal intelligibility.
My experience as a touring engineer of using CODA Audio on the road led me to the conclusion that it would be the perfect fit for Penn’s Peak. I’ve been convinced for a while that CODA will be the next major player in the audio industry – so much so in fact, that I was the first owner of a CODA system in the USA! When the team at Penn’s Peak had agreed that we needed to upgrade, I knew it was the perfect opportunity to put the venue ahead of the audio curve.”
CODA Audio USA arranged a series of on-site demonstrations which confirmed to all in attendance that Chris’s confidence in the system was well placed. It’s technical director, Michael Creason, then worked closely with Chris Chalfin and his crew to help design and optimise the system on-site, addressing their key concerns around improving clarity and headroom, low frequency definition and coverage.
The compact, lightweight (40kg) elements of the AiRAY system deliver an abundance of headroom for any application regardless of scale, effectively granting Penn’s Peak stadium levels of output with which to work. Where usually a system delivering this kind of power would be simply too big and expensive for the space, AiRAY makes it possible. To control the low frequency reverberation and keep the stage area ‘clean’, Michael and the team decided on a splayed end-fire subwoofer configuration, that dramatically reduced interaction with the venue surfaces, while reducing the deep nulls normally caused by spaced left/right sub arrays.
Since all CODA elements share the same sonic signature and fidelity, the team was able to overcome the issue of uneven coverage by employing HOPS8 in the areas under the balconies, ensuring that audience members in these areas shared the exact same experience of those in unobstructed seats.
Once the system was installed, the first run of shows emphatically dispelled any doubts anyone might have had about just how effectively it met the Penn’s Peak challenge. Chris continues: “I was confident from the outset. The previous system was not only underpowered but it felt disembodied. The CODA systems bring the show right in front of you – as if you have a pair of studio monitors sitting three feet away. The overall system works as a cohesive unit and provides extremely even coverage through the entire venue, something that had simply never been achieved before.”
Some of the HOPS8 across the front of the stage for lip fill.
The system at Penn’s Peak comprises 10 x AiRAY per side, 8 x SCP-F subs configured in (2) end- fire arrays under the stage, supplemented by 6 x HOPS8 across the front of the stage for lip fill, 8 x HOPS8 for under-balcony fills and 2 HOPS8 for VIP suite fills. A monitor system comprising 10 x CUE TWO wedges, 2 x APS over 2 x APS SUBs as sidefills and an additional 2 x APS SUBs as drum fills, completes the picture. Everything is powered by a combination of CODA Audio LINUS14 and LINUS10C amplifiers.
Whilst the Penn’s Peak team is fully satisfied that its new CODA Audio system has completely revolutionised the venue’s audio offering, it is the reaction of visiting engineers and – perhaps even more importantly – the comments of its patrons, that sum up its impact. Chris Chalfin concludes:
“We’ve had nothing but stellar reviews from visiting engineers, as well as from audience members who are familiar with the venue. Many patrons go out of their way to comment on how radically the quality of the sound has improved since the system was installed. Most of the visiting crews and engineers have never heard of CODA before and by the end of the night they are just blown away by the system. The most common reaction we’ve heard from visiting engineers has been – ‘I’d put this system up there with the best I’ve ever mixed on…’ From my point of view, it’s gratifying to see engineers having that same ‘wow!’ experience that I enjoyed when I first heard a CODA Audio system.”
Penn’s Peak Production Manager, Dustin Rehrig adds: “The recent install of the CODA AiRAY system in our venue has been a wonderful addition. The sound quality is like no other. Our venue is not the easiest room to cover but CODA stands tall with flying colors! The clarity, warmth and thickness of the system is superb and loved by all the visiting engineers. Clearly the best investment we’ve made for our company.”
The installation of AiRAY at Penn’s Peak is a neat metaphor for the heights that CODA Audio is successfully scaling in the USA. The high praise of visiting engineers dovetails with reaction of music fans at this very special venue to make an irresistible case for the way in which CODA’s next generation technologies can deliver solutions of a higher standard for the very toughest acoustic challenges.
With such an abundant catalog, it would be tempting for Robe to rest quietly on its back-catalog. But it is bad knowing Josef Valchar, its leader and founder, who has elevated engineering up to the rank of religion. By revisiting some of its flagship products, it has corrected or evolved part of its 2017-2018 offering, with in particular an almost waterproof version of its bestseller MegaPointe. The prototypes were presented at Prolight + Sound.
IPointe, the version of the MegaPointe well armed to withstand rain.
Optical treatment and variable white
Projector lenses have always been a headache for maintenance. These plastic round plates naturally tend to pick up dust or Glycerol deposits from the smoke machines, or even get scratched during daily handling. So Robe invested a million euros in a specific treatment center designed by a French company, and placed in the heart of its factories.
This 8 meter machine is inspired by opticians’ processes by depositing two specific layers before cooking at high temperature. The first tank covers the lenses of an antistatic coating and the second of a protective supplement. This new patented Robe solution is now at work on the Spiider, Tarrantula, LedBeam and ParFect 150 lenses. Studies have shown a real barrier against dust and scratches, a decrease in cleaning needs and a gain in brightness between 1 and 2%.
A new version of the Spiider and Tarrantula will soon be available in white LEDs, to meet certain needs in exhibitions, architectural lighting and events. On this TW (tunable white) model, the four RGBW leds are replaced by two warm white leds and two cold white leds. This results in a CRI greater than 93 and a controlled color temperature between 3200K and 6500K.
T1 Wash
Following closely the T1 Profile, this series of projectors dedicated to theaters and TV sets, the T1 Wash also highlights its multicolored LED module developed exclusively by Robe. This MSL LED source (MSL stands for Multi Spectral Light LED) is by itself rich in colors and hues and is made of RGBAL diodes. All of its red, green, blue, amber and lime components provide a 10,000 lumens light output for 550 W of electrical consumption, with an impressive color accuracy and a CRI greater than 90.
Here presented fitted with a PC lens, the prototype of the T1 Wash is also adorned with a filter holder to add specific accessories or gels.
The color mixing management is proposed in three modes, adjustable at will: either in CMY or RGB, or with all the individual RGBAL channels, or by choosing out of the 237 pre-programmed colors of the DataSwatch filter, obtained thanks to the RCC algorithms, the Robe Colour Calibration.
The addition of a plus / minus green channel is intended for cinema applications, as is its new PWM manager (Cpulse Flicker-Free), particularly suitable for HD and UHD cameras. Capable of working from 2700K to 8000K, the T1 Wash can simulate a Tungsten source at 2700K and 3200K. Its ultra-thin 18-bit L3 dimmer, its EMS motion stabilizer and its light or standard Frost diffusers make its beam fade in in an almost imperceptible way.
The neat optics comprise a 7° – 50° zoom with sealed internal elements to avoid deposits of dust or fog fluid residues on the lenses. A framing system with four +/- 90 ° motorized orientation blades and an oval “banana” indexable effect (graduated scrim) make it possible to modify the size of its projection zone. Available with Fresnel lens or clear lens (PC type), this silent 22 kg moving head will be used as a Washlight or main light on all shows where total mastery of color and beam are a priority.
iPointe
This Robe new models’ overview ends up, once again, with a remix. Not yet of the cult Denominator, but with a waterproof version of the MegaPointe, the iPointe. Faced with the many troubles of service/rental companies providers when dealing with outdoor conditions, especially with Beam projectors whose beams may burn holes into inflatable protection domes (!), several manufacturers have developed IP65 versions of their moving heads. Figures 6 and 5 respectively indicate total protection against dust and splashing water in all directions.
The iPointes were shwon with a continuous drop of water 40 m wide, specially tailored for the Robe show.
These devices are not immersible (otherwise they would be IP68), but they can withstand – whatever their position – water falls or dust tornadoes without damaging their internal components. The absence of dust on lenses or effects wheels is a huge side benefit, reducing maintenance operations to external cleaning alone. To create its own IP65 recipe, the Robe R & D Department has designed in two years time an internal multi-layer system where specific filters and air pressure chambers are placed to repel fluids. If its appearance looks a bit like a prehistoric shell, the iPointe is almost similar to a MegaPointe, except its lamp power limited to 310 W, against 470 W for the original.
At the bottom of the device is the new configuration menu with NFC access.
Changes also, and for good reason, in the menu of the device. The touchscreen is abandoned because impractical once wet, in favor of a panel of settings and the integration of an NFC chip. This allows you to configure the projector from any Android device.
Usage information or data from internal sensors are also available, in particular the hygrometry sensor to detect any traces of residual moisture that thwart the tightness of the iPointe. Despite its nested construction, lamp change or maintenance and replacement of gobos remain easy and fast. These details pointed out (pun intended), the iPointe remains an extraordinary machine, equipped with an impressive zoom of 1.8° to 42°, a HotSpot setting of 7:1 to 2.5:1 and two modes: Beam and Spot.
In addition to mixing CMY mixing, 13 color filters, a wheel of 9 rotating gobos and another of 10 fixed, the beast has a wide range of effects. Framing system emulator to make the beam looks like a rectangle, beam reducers, variable frosts 1° (light) and 5° (medium), animation wheel and, last but not least, 6 prisms on 2 wheels combining into 12 “Flower” effects. The iPointe also has waterproof connections to access the DMX, RDM, ArtNet, MA Net, sACN protocols, and can also be controlled via a Web server or a Lumen Radio CRMX DMX512 wireless solution.
When a multi-purpose venue has 17 different spaces where a wide range of events can be held, it is important that the sound mixing facilities are both very flexible and portable. At De Meervaart in Amsterdam, choosing Yamaha has meant that both of these needs can be satisfied. In addition, long-term return on investment has been maximised by the new equipment being able to seamlessly work alongside reliable, older Yamaha equipment.
De Meervaart in Amsterdam: 17 spaces multi-purpose venue.
Located in Amsterdam’s Nieuw-West district, where a major programme of urban renewal has been carried out in recent years, De Meervaart is a multi-purpose venue which includes two theatres, three foyers, two studios and 10 further meeting rooms of different sizes. Between them they can host a diverse range events for between two and 2,000 people. These range from live music, theatre shows and major corporate events in the Red Hall (capacity 800) and Blue Hall (capacity 270), to a wide array of product launches, trade fairs, fashion shows, meetings, drinks receptions and more.
Rear, left to right: Menno van der Gaag (sound Meervaart), Martin Keereweer (head of technical dept, Meervaart), Jasper de Vries (sound Meervaart), Per Duringshoff (freelance sound engineer), Jeroen Gorissen (sound Meervaart), Rob Verschoor (sound Meervaart).
With many international artists performing at the venue, alongside the needs of extreme flexibility and portability, De Meervaart technical head Martin Keereweer has relied on Yamaha digital mixing consoles.
“About 13 years ago we invested in Yamaha M7CL-32 and LS9-16 consoles, which still work flawlessly,” he says. ”But with the busy schedule of events here, there was a constant demand for more equipment. We will continue to use the M7CL and LS9, so it made sense to invest in Yamaha again.” This opinion was reinforced by Gijs Kater of Kater Audio, a touring veteran of over 25 years who has mixed so many shows at De Meervaart that, as he says, he probably knows the venue and its staff ‘better than his own living room’.
“Gijs is recognized as a walking encyclopaedia, a true ‘audio professor’, so his view that we should continue with Yamaha, because of solid and reliable performance over the years, coincided totally with ours,” says Martin. With 11 technicians and a group of freelance engineers working at the venue, as well as visiting engineers, it also made sense to add consoles that are widely known throughout the industry, as well as every mixer being portable and flexible enough to be used on any event in any of the venue’s many spaces.
Yamaha QL5, ready to go!
Supplied by Kater Audio, De Meervaart invested in Yamaha QL5 and QL1 digital consoles, plus two Rio3224-D2 I/O units. Proof of how Yamaha digital consoles provide an excellent long-term return on investment was provided by the purchase of Dante-MY16-AUD2 interface cards for the M7CL and LS9, allowing both the new and old consoles to work seamlessly alongside each other on a Dante network.
Jan Prins demonstrates the QL series consoles.
Yamaha’s Jan Prins visited the venue to train staff on the new QL consoles, which was a straightforward process. “It was not difficult to learn the QL mixers, because the workflow is very similar to the M7CL and LS9,” says Martin.
“With the similarity of user interface and the Dante interface cards for the older consoles, it is perfect for us that the new and old can work alongside each other, enhancing the flexibility of our audio systems at De Meervaart.”
The only Latin brand of the golden quartet of the 2000s, Claypaky is one of those cult manufacturers of intelligent projectors, like Martin, Vari-Lite and High End. Driven by the vision of its founder, the late Pasquale Quadri, supported by the charisma of its director Pio Nahum, Claypaky has gone through three decades of intense change without faltering.
All the new models presented at Prolight+Sound.
The return of the Transalpines, who had become Germans after Osram’s takeover just before Pasquale Quadri’s passing, was crucial, however. The success of the Sharpy in 2010, then the B-Eye three years later has slowly faded, despite exciting machines such as the Unico or the Axcor 900. While our entire industry seems to be out of its global recession, Claypaky kills suspense in the bud with the revolutionary Xtylos (see report already posted here), an Axcor still expanding, and the HY B-Eye 15 and K25, long-awaited successors to the famous B-Eye models.
HY B-Eye K25 and K15
Partially unveiled during last Plasa, the HY B-Eye K25 and K15 follow the inevitable B-Eye K20 and K10 by doubling their power. Similar to their elders with this candy box still adorning their large fascia, a yoke and a base inspired by the Axcor series, their matrix boarding 37 and 19 LEDs, however, have undergone a radical change.
Between the exceptional brightness of their LEDs and the revisited design of almost transparent lenses, it is a real fire mouth that offer us the new K25 and K15.
Say goodbye to the Osram 15 W RGBW multi-chip, it’s a Stage II Osram Ostar of 40 W which provides the brightness. Powered at 30 watts to ensure absolute uniformity of many HY B-Eye’s over time, the light emitted by these LED chips is channeled to the very heart of the lenses. This tailor-made process provides a homogeneous flow at maximum efficiency, which therefore requires some consumption for both models, 1100 VA and 600 VA for the K25 and K15, to give a phenomenal flow. Color accuracy also gains several steps, with better RGBW distribution, a dedicated channel to control color temperature, a white balance from 2500 to 8000K and simulations of various sources, including the famous halogen lamps.
If the rest of the functions are identical to the Aleda B-Eye, DMX mapping included, many improvements are made to perfect their use. For instance, the mechanical zoom, whose wide range from 4° to 60° could jam under certain conditions, improves with automatic internal parking by the battery during the power failure of the machine.
In the same logic, the bidirectional rotation of the front panel now takes place without having to tighten the zoom beforehand, and is more rugged and silent than before. To conclude with these new strong points, let’s quote the integration of the Kling-Net protocol, while also very fashionable indeed, and that will greatly simplify video and light mixes in the LED mapping.
The first HY B-Eye K25 and K15 deliveries, with more than a hundred already in the pipeline at the time of the PL+S show, predict a success as big as the K20 and K10.
Axcor Wash 600
Large diameter front lens, the Axcor Wash 600 is positioned as the perfect companion for the Axcor Profile 600.
Built on the base of the Axcor Profile 600 with which it can be flawlessly associated, this Wash moving head is distinguished by its large 200 mm lens, its zoom range from 5° to 55°, a framing system module and its very complete color control system.
Available in two LED source versions, the Axcor Wash can be selected according to one’s needs. In standard version, 500 W of white LEDs provide a 28,000 lumens / 6500K light output, with CRI limited to 70. The HC version has its CRI go up to 90 with 21,000 lumens light output and 5600K white calibration. In both cases, a choice of the output lenses is also possible, either in clear lens, in peeble convex (PC) or even in Fresnel, which will necessarily change a little the zoom range and luminous flux. These different lenses are interchangeable and can be purchased as a (clever) option.
No special optical effects for this moving head whose wash features collection is particularly rich, but Claypaky offers a judicious CMY color system, a CTO linear corrector and two color wheels, one with a CRI filter.
Mini-B
Small but sturdy, this could be the motto of the Mini-B, the small brother in the HY B-Eye family.
Some of you may remember the K5, this little brother a bit neglected from the Aleda series. It comes back today as the Mini-B, a concentrate of energy in a tiny body. 7 kg, about thirty centimeters high, faster than a Sharpy, with a floor bottom low price, but yet 240 W of top-notch RGBW LEDs, the Mini-B is likely to creep everywhere.
Designed with an outer ring of 6 LEDs and a central point, the Mini-B obviously does not lend itself to kaleidoscopic movements nor Vortex. Yet, its zoom from 4° to 55° allows the transition in the blink of an eye from a nervous Beam to an effective Wash with the carefully chosen colors.
The two LEDs zones can be controlled independently from the lighting desk or thanks to the internal macros to provide extra graphical effects. Smaller ever moving head to be manufactured by Claypaky, the mini-B should be available at the time of reading this.
CloudIO
A diagnostic and test tool for service technicians, the CloudIO automates a number of complex tasks. Usable with most Claypaky projectors, this interface is equipped with a touch screen and four encoders for manipulation, as well as DMX, Ethernet, USB and wireless connection.
The data from the projectors are quickly analyzed, classified and sorted. Updates are available immediately, as well as online support from Claypaky if needed. The information collected makes it possible to monitor each machine, organize its maintenance and check the status of the projector, such as the number of hours the lamps have been used or the problems encountered during operation. The CloudIO multiplatform system will become increasingly important with the addition of advanced features in the forthcoming months.
Dutch Jazz Festival “Jazz in Duketown” in ‘s-Hertogenbosch is the largest event of its kind in the Netherlands using nine stages and attracting over 175,000 visitors. Once again this year the international stars playing on the Main-Stage on the city’s marketplace and attracting the largest crowds could rely on excellent sound conditions with dBTechnologies’ VIO L212 Line Array Systems.
New dBTechnologies Full-Size Line Array VIO L212 on the Main-Stage of Jazz in Duketown Festival.
Jazz in Duketown Festival used dBTechnologies systems already last year. Because of superb experiences back then, dBTechnologies was the system of choice for the 2019 edition and the festival deployed the new Full-Size Line Array VIO L212 on the Main-Stage. The VIO L212 system is the most powerful line array system in the product portfolio of Italian audio specialist dBTechnologies. In total, 10x L212 modules each plus 2x L210 as downfill were used as the main array at the right and left of the stage. For front- and outfills 8x L208 modules, also from the VIO family, were in place. Event service provider in charge RPSoundtechniek, relied on 6x S218 and 12x S118R subs as subwoofers. Sidefills were 2x VIO X15 and 2x VIO S118R. During the festival, the VIO L212 Line Array System could prove its class in the sophisticated sound performance required at jazz concerts.
8x TT+25-CXA from RCF as front wedges provided the stage-sound for Marcus Miller and his band.
The festival’s first highlight was Marcus Miller’s performance at the Main-Stage on Friday. Bassist/multi-instrumentalist Miller has collaborated with many greats in the international jazz world, adding his chops as a studio and session musician, producer or solo artist, for example with Miles Davis, David Sanborn or Aretha Franklin. 8x TT+25-CXA from RCF as front wedges provided the stage-sound for Marcus Miller and his band. Drummer Alex Bailey used 1x VIO S118R and 1x VIO X12 module as drum monitors.
“Jazz in Duketown is a typical festival situation where the schedule is very tight, and the time for a soundcheck is very limited. I could tune the FOH mix very quickly, and the sound quality impressed me very much. The even balance of the whole spectrum in all positions, far away from the stage, close to the speakers and at the side was really excellent – well done dBTechnologies,” says Daniele Di Giovanni, FOH mixer for Marcus Miller during the concert at Jazz in Duketown. Di Giovanni is a renowned FOH pro and also works for such greats like Lee Ritenour or Dave Grusin.
One side of VIO L212, the dBTechnologies’ full-size line array.
The VIO L212 is dBTechnologies’ full-size line array for large sound reinforcement applications. Despite its fully active design, the VIO L212 is one of the most compact and lightweight 2×12″ line array systems in its class.
The VIO L212 is an active 3-way line array system designed for the largest live applications, providing 3200 W RMS and 142 dB maximum SPL. The L212 offers optimised dispersion and impressive headroom, as well as fast and easily configurable rigging solutions. All VIO modules are easy to combine and form a single cast line array system. RPSoundtechniek easily integrated the smaller VIO L210 as downfills into the Main Line Array, build with VIO L212 modules.
Rob Pigmans, Sales Manager at dBTechnologies, on the use of the VIO system: “The VIO system from dBTechnologies not only offers perfect sound, a basic requirement for such a jazz event. It also has many features that greatly simplify rigging and make the use of mixed systems child’s play. All modules of the VIO family are perfectly matched to each other, which makes working with the VIO system so perfect.”
The VIO L212 also leaves nothing to be desired in terms of installation and calibration. The integrated RDNet interface allows the systems to be operated with dBTechnologies’ own Aurora Net software and adjusted according to the measurements – of course used by RPSoundtecchniek.
The 2019 Arena tour of SAVEUS featured an impressive setup with brand new CLF Orion fixtures. SAVEUS is a Danish electronic pop/soul act with frontman Martin Hedegaard. LD Theis Wermuth from Create This was asked to create a spectacular look for the 2019 Arena shows in Copenhagen and Aarhus. With the idea of creating big pods of light, needed for an electronic/digital look, he included ladders with 24 CLF Orion hybrid moving heads and 32 CLF Ares LEDwashes as main light.
Saveus with Aorun and Ares fixtures from CLF Lighting.
Lighting Designer Theis Wermuth.
Theis Wermuth explained, “I wanted a powerful hybrid fixture that could make beams and nice breakup looks. The CLF Orion was more than perfect for this. They were used for creating nice, subtle looks, but also for powerful highlights.
For strobe effects I searched for a powerful LED fixture. I was hugely impressed by the output of the CLF Ares when using them before, so I decided to use them as LED strobe.” As well as this show comprising the ladders with 24 CLF Orion hybrid moving heads and 32 CLF Ares LEDwashes as main light, both fixtures will be deployed as well for the SAVEUS festival tour.
All equipment for the shows was supplied by Sound & Light. This medium-sized rental company is based in the northern part of Denmark and founded in the 80s. The main activities of Sound & Light are medium sized productions, tours and a significant amount of dryhire.
Frederik Lisborg, Sound & Light CEO, asserts: “We do our very best to make sure that all equipment looks and works like new. We have been using the CLF Ares for one year now and it hasn’t let us down. Based on the service level of distributor Atendi and CLF Lighting, the CLF Orion was the go-to fixture when looking for a hybrid replacement.”
Sound & Light provided the CLF fixtures.
“The CLF Orion fulfils our need for a powerful hybrid fixture, with CMY color mixing. It ticks all the boxes; fantastic output, large zoom ratio without the need to change modes, nice gobos and mid-air effects. Furthermore, the build quality is great and the fixtures are easy to service”, says Lisborg.
After the shows, the CLF Orions went on to their Danish TV-debut, doing the TV2-North “Årets Nordjyde 2019” television show. The fixtures are booked all summer, starting with Aalborg Carnival, the largest carnival in Northern Europe. After that, they head out for the summer for the SAVEUS summer tour, with Theis Wermuth as designer.
When playing live, Martin is accompanied by his live band consisting of Simon MacGregor on keys and synth, Kasper Krabbe on guitar and synth, and Mathias Miang on drums.
Martin Hedegaard with his live band: Simon MacGregor on keys and synth, Kasper Krabbe on guitar and synth, and Mathias Miang on drums.
Saveus lead singer and band leader Martin Hedegaard. Quite a performer!
Powersoft has hired Raymond Tee as application engineer for the APAC region. He brings a wide range of experience in live sound and fixed install application to the role and will report to Powersoft’s global business development manager for fixed install and application engineering manager, rack amplifiers, Marc Kocks.
Tee’s primary duties will be to support Powersoft’s distribution networks and end users in the region, enabling them to get the most out of the company’s products, as well as providing training and support for control software platform, ArmoníaPlus.
Marc Kocks, Powersoft’s Business Development Manager.
Marc Kocks commented: “Raymond has proven to be a perfect fit thanks to his work as application engineer for other manufacturers, as well as his experience with local Malaysian companies. The APAC region is a very important one for Powersoft, with many established and emerging markets, and this appointment strengthens the team even further.” After being chosen for the role, Tee undertook an intensive training period at the Powersoft headquarters in Scandicci, Italy and he has been conducting training sessions with end users and distributors in the APAC region since then.
“At Powersoft we invest heavily in enlarging our application engineering team,” continued Kocks. “We want to help customers getting back the value they paid for our products, and we put in place a global team available 24 hrs-a-day to assist end users, consultants, system integrators, rental companies and distributors with design support, training and integration of our products.”
Raymond Tee, new application engineer for the APAC region for Powersoft.
“It was the technology inside Powersoft amplifiers that have always impressed me,” said Raymond Tee. “I first came across them in early 2000s when I was working in Malaysia as a system engineer. Back then we were used to very chunky amplifiers, and to see a unit so compact able to deliver such power without compromising the audio quality was simply mindblowing for me. When I discovered that I was going to be able to work for such a company, I was ecstatic!”
He added: “All of the people I met during my time in Italy were very professional and proud to be part of the Powersoft family. Throughout my career working with various companies, I’ve realised it’s a very rare thing to rub shoulders with the founder of the company. At Powersoft, I’ve been able to experience just that. To see the founders of a company that I’ve so admired still hard at work is a real privilege.”
For this 2019 edition, the Eurovision Song Contest was staged at the Tel Aviv Expo Centre, Israel, which featured a stunning lighting design created by Ronen Najar and Dakar Azulay. No less than 15 grandMA2 consoles graced the FOH technical area, controlling 71,061 parameters and a mix of over 2,500 light sources and LED fixtures.
Twenty-six countries battled out the final whittled down from 41 original entries, watched live by a worldwide audience of around 200 million enthusiastic fans plus 7,500 in the arena, Hall 2 at the Expo Centre. The 2,500+ light sources and LED fixtures were lighting the main stage – another elegant design by Florian Wieder – the auditorium and the green room. As any ESC fan will know, the green room is a vital area for the broadcast, capturing the emotional thrills and spills of the delegations as the points are awarded and they yoyo up and down the leader board.
MA was chosen by several on the creative and technical team co-ordinated by ESC’s head of production Ola Melzig, including Jack Collins, the event’s lighting systems and control specialist who has worked on several ESCs in recent years. The decision was based on it providing the most rock-solid reliable and flexible system option.
“The multiuser functionality and ability to control every fixture from every console and to alter fixture types to suit your needs were two big advantages of the MA architecture”, commented Jack Collins, “plus the network’s overall stability and troubleshooting facilities”.
Once the installation and the production period were up and running, Collins watched all the grandMA2 system monitors from his console and could read out every command and, if necessary, search the history, track down errors and pass the information back to the programming team. Macros – another area where MA is very strong – were also an essential part of the lighting process for a show with short changeover times and many complex sets to accommodate. This enabled timecode information, presets, views, starting and preparing cues to be changed in an instant.
Three grandMA2 full-size plus a backup were utilized as the main show desks, and 11 grandMA2 lights – six active and five backups – were also in the lighting network, created using 20 x MA NPU (Network Processing Unit), 25 x MA 8Port Nodes and two Swisson 8-port nodes, running on 10 UPS’s.
The lighting fixtures were supplied by several leading manufacturers, a massive job which was co-ordinated via Danish rental company Litecom, including any extras packages requested by individual delegations. The production also had to cope with a show-stopping interval performance by the Queen of Pop herself, Madonna, whose creative lighting requirements were overseen by LD Al Gurdon.
Four dimmer city areas were connected via fibre and fed data and power to the whole rig. Three were located on a balcony running down one of the long sides of the venue – with cable runs added in via holes made in the wall. Dimmer City 2 was positioned behind the enormous upstage LED wall to provide power for the Matrix, which was built along the rear and sides of the stage area using Litecom’s MX Ladder system, holding a total of around 650 lighting fixtures.
The fully redundant ethernet network infrastructure comprised 22 x Luminex 16xt and 12r switches, all monitored closely by Collins from his PRTG software.
Operating the main show lighting console was Angelo Di Nella (on a grandMA2 full-size). Joshua Cutts ran the audience lighting – also a major element of the broadcast – on a grandMA2 light. The key lighting was looked after by Ivan Eftimov on another grandMA2 light, all running with backup consoles. Playback video was operated via another light run by Yahav Tenne complete with backup, while Moti Aroshas took care of the green room lighting, again utilizing a grandMA2 light with full backup. Dakar had a grandMA full-size on which he ensured that all the crucial key lighting levels and master intensities were spot on for the cameras … and Collins’ system desk was also grandMA2 light.
Najar didn’t operate a desk on this occasion; however, he creatively directed the overall show lighting and each delegation’s lighting in conjunction with all the operators. Integral to the programming team were lead programmer Matti Murray, who ensured the night-time sessions ran productively and efficiently assisted by Chris Bolton. The dazzling array of glitz, glamour and superlative pop music was delivered with characteristic style, multiple WOW factors and much vibrance by Melzig and his highly talented team. The 2019 ESC was memorable for many reasons including being won by Netherlands singer Duncan Lawrence and his co-written ballad “Arcade” – the first time NL has won since 1975!
With the new A Series unveiled at Infocomm 2019, d&b audiotechnik introduces the augmented array: an advanced loudspeaker concept born from the d&b applied evolution system development philosophy. Combining variable splay angles, two approaches to acoustic optimization, and advanced waveguide design, the A-Series addresses applications where coverage flexibility in both the horizontal and the vertical is paramount. Wilkommen! Unveiled at Infocomm 2019, this new A Series brings a quick and simple answer for both Touring and Installation markets, with 2 loudspeakers, or 4 if we count up the installation versions. The main point here os more about a new philosophy, the variable angle array with point source speakers. This yet unseen speaker coupling versatility open the doors of a variety of markets which single point source or fixed curve arrays can’t address properly.
A two speakers coupling cover vertically 30°, this coupling is lowered 10°…
… and here is the same, augmented 10°.
Realizing all the adaptability of a point source cluster with the extensive control options of a d&b line array, the system comprises the AL60 and AL90 loudspeakers, with ALi60 and ALi90 offering cabinets designed specifically for permanent installation.
A “classic” T-Frame with 4 enclosures, the simplest way to get between 120 and 150° vertical coverage.
Horizontal hanging set-up, where the angling offset between each enclosure is preserved. Vertically, you just have the 60° or 90° choice.
Using the appropriate frame, up to four AL60/AL90 and ALi60/ALi90 loudspeakers can be flown either in vertical or horizontal arrays. Variable splay angles between adjacent cabinets can be set in five degree increments from -10° to +10° allowing the finest of adjustments and ensuring sound is directed precisely where it is wanted.
The coupling of 4 speakers can achieve a 120° total coverage, but triggers some accidents in the low mids…
… and this is where the amplifiers’ DSP can correct this with the Midrange Directivity Control (MDC) and flatten the overall coverage.
With the corresponding frame, it is possible to hang up to four AL60/AL90 in vertical or horizontal mode to perfectly cover the zone you need to control. To achieve this, it is possible to vary the angles by steps of 5° between -10° and +10°. The “sum” of two enclosures with a native vertical coverage of 30° can provide a result of 60°, but can also vary between 50° and 70°.
The good wiring way to know which boxes are “internal” or “external”.
To flatten perfectly the coupling in the very sensitive area where you have at the same time 10-inch speakers and drivers, and whatever the chosen angle is, the 200 Hz – 2 kHz band can be granted on request by an algorithm embedded into the amplifiers, called Midrange Directivity Control (MDC). Just specify which are the “internal” and the “external” enclosures, let’s call this a “mini-Array Processing”.
The Array Processing of the same 4 speakers array, this time perfectly optimized with a 20 cm resolution.
If you ever feel like it, the “real” Array Processing can be helpful to give a perfectly linear frequency response and the close field coupling, or for longer throw. In both cases, MDC or AP, you won’t be able to couple two speakers per amp output. Midrange Directivity Control (MDC) ensures frequencies between 200Hz and 2kHz are evenly distributed, regardless of the splay angle. With 60° horizontal dispersion and directivity control down to approximately 550 Hz, the AL60/ALi60 can cover a distance of up to 30 meters.
The AL90/ALi90 – with its 90° horizontal pattern control down to 370 Hz – is sonically and mechanically compatible, ensuring the same optimal acoustic result is achieved consistently anywhere, at any angle – whatever the configuration.
No kiddin’, these ARE d&b models ;0) AL60 on top, AL90 below.
The AL60/AL90 loudspeakers share a passive 2-way design featuring one 1.4” exit HF compression driver with a 3” diaphragm mounted to a wave shaping device, and two 10” neodymium LF drivers. The combination of sophisticated waveguide design and the symmetrical bipolar arrangement of the LF drivers allows a smooth overlap of the adjacent frequency bands in the crossover design.
The wave segments of each cabinet couple without gaps and sum up coherently. The weight of the two models is the same, 23 kg, and the frequency response is 60 Hz to 18 kHz @ -5 dB.
The frequency response of the AL60 in CUT mode or standard mode. It could be less perfect, but it would be more expensive!
The A-Series is compatible with a range of d&b amplifiers and subwoofers so that the system in its entirety can be tailored to meet specific application needs. The companionable four channel 30D, D20 and D80 amplifiers provide extensive user-definable equalization containing two 16-band equalizers with parametric, notch, shelving and asymmetric filters as well as delay capabilities of up to 10 seconds.
The V-GSUB and Vi-GSUB are recommended for low frequency extension using the A-Series, with many more options available for mobile and install, large or small.
Wolfgang Schulz, Product Manager d&b
Wolfgang Schulz, Product Manager d&b says: “The A-Series, augmented array provides our customers with a new set of scalable solutions that work as a standalone system or in combination with the full range of d&b systems. The flexibility of the splay angles, the Midrange Directivity Control function and the ArrayProcessing capabilities enable the A-Series to address a huge range of applications with coverage consistency that is unparalleled.”
The first deliveries of this new system should occur Q4, 2019. Our Pro Audio team will try and get a listening test of a whole set up as soon as some demo units are available for this, we’ll keep you posted!
A rear view of the AL60 with its very « line-array style » hanging points, the only limitation is that you only have three choices, on one side 30°, 25° and 20° on the other one 30°, 35° and 40°.
