CLF Lighting fixtures galore on ParookaVille Time Lab stage, including Orion hybrids as sky beams on top of the round bunker structure.
The 2019 edition of ParookaVille at Airport Weeze featured an impressive number of CLF fixtures. The festival with 210,000 attendees took place for the fifth time. CLF fixtures were used in the Time Lab, Wacky Shack, Brainwash and in all the sales outlets throughout the festival area. Rent-All GmbH supplied over 700 fixtures.
LD Janik Hensen (Dekor Event) for Lighting Design, Stage Design by Stefan Dicks and lighting concept of Robert Sommer.
LD Janik Hensen (Dekor Event) took care of the lighting design, including the Time Lab, based on a Stage Design by Stefan Dicks and a lighting concept of Robert Sommer. In addition, his company took care of the site layout, production and material planning.
In the Time Lab, Aorun were used as main fixture, accompanied by the LEDbar Pro as a continuation of the LED surfaces. CLF Conan fixtures were used as washlight, because of their zoom function. All fixtures had to be lightweight, since the load capacity of the roof was limited. On top of the round bunker structure, Orion hybrids functioned as sky beams.
CLF Lighting LEDBar Pros at work at ParookaVille 2019.
Janik Hensen explained, “Thomas Koppers and I have set two stages exclusively on CLF fixtures. The many effect variations, the fast movements and the creative product approaches convinced us. But the reliability and outstanding rental availability were also important. All in all, the complete package was there. Especially worth mentioning is the LEDbar Pro is, it’s a multifunctional talent among the outdoor LED bars.”
Besides the Time Lab, the Wacky Shack area was also fully equipped with CLF fixtures. Furthermore, a huge number of Yara, Hera and Ares fixtures were used as ambient lighting. “All fixtures endured three weeks of rough festival conditions with dust, storm, extreme heat and colour powder parties, but we didn’t have a single technical failure from over 700 fixtures”, says Hensen.
Detail of CLF Lighting Beam6 installation.
Hensen’s main activities are event production and lighting design. With his company, Dekor Event, he develops sustainable concepts in the light and video area. The company relies on CLF products during many of their events. Recently, the historic St. Mary’s Basilica, the largest point of pilgrimage in north-western Europe, was illuminated during a visit of Germany’s president. Also, the company has a beautiful set of CLF Apollo retro fixtures.
The Marcel-Hélie hall, as seen from the top of the bleachers, the FOH is down at first row. You can see the 2-color tulle ceiling, the acoustic dampening and the absorbing panels down the sides’ bleachers.
Long-lasting jazz festival institution able to gather the biggest names in Coutances, Normandy, Jazz sous les Pommiers has received this year one of the first big Nexo M12 systems. SoundLightUp went there for an in-depth interview of sound and acoustics maestro Jean-Marie Roussel.
Jean-Marie Roussel, on one of the very few occasions he could actually pose for a SoundLightUp photo… we did take him by surprise.
When the spring burns with the desire to dress in summer fashion and colors and swing a little, Coutances in Normandy metamorphoses and lives jazz music in every corner of its city. A true common passion. We decided to meet Jean-Marie Roussel, essential player and technical support of this festival, to discover it and the city / festival and incidentally listen to good FOH mixes. Bet is won all the way!
Since we’re introducing Jean-Marie Roussel to you fellow international readers, you have to know that his spectrum is more than broad. Jean-Marie is a shareholder of the Atech / Atl company, which is the Norman vendor of the festival. He is also a partner of Auvisys, which is active in France and abroad in distribution of Pro audio, lighting, video and events’ automation, for institutional markets, but also for broadcast. Last but not least, JM Roussel it imports solutions for insulation and acoustic treatment, plus all the necessary measurement and analysis tools that go with this stuff. Suffice to say that this guy is the reassuring kind!
Eight M12, cabled here in passive mode behind some NXAMP4X4s.
SLU: The Marcel-Hélie hall seems pretty versatile, and includes here quite a number of acoustics solutions to improve its listening rendering.
Jean-Marie Roussel: Very, very versatile. It welcomes, in addition to this Jazz Festival, the indoor market of Coutances, sport events, or exhibitions. I made measurements and specified membranes which were made by the city technical crew and are installed throughout the entire festival on all its walls. I also specified lateral panels of Melamine foam, leg drops of heavy drape, and a long tulle ceiling for decoration, but also to dampen the high frequencies generated by the reflections on the concrete walls.
The acoustic treatment of the live venues becomes a very important market (and that is understandable, why stack loudspeakers to get a lousy result? Ed.). For example I did the treatment of the Marciac Jazz Festival marquee, another one for the Epau classical music festival in Le Mans. It’s useless to have super cars on a bumpy road (laughs).
One of the four cardioid M-SUB18 stacks hidden underneath the stage.
SLU: So, what’s the relation between Nexo and the “Pommiers” festival?
Jean-Marie Roussel: It’s an old story. I know the Nexo teams since very long, and I even worked as a subcontractor for them. It’s very good and affordable equipment. I have installed some in Africa and it is still doing well after all these years. The new M range is really good and the M12 is perfect for this hall. (He rides up a fader and the voice of Cecile McLorin Salvant warming her voice resonates, pure and crystalline). We have 8 M12 per side, 8 M-SUB18 in cardioid set-up and small bow under the stage.
One of the iD24s, the nifty versatile Nexo units, perfect to discreetly fill the first ranks of the audience.
I tighten it deliberately because I have to be careful not to make the hall resonate by its sides, otherwise it does go booming in the low frequencies. There are also four iD24s as lip fills and a pair of Nexo PS to precise the sound for the first rows on the sides.
Coutances swings as well
We let Jean-Marie completing his FOH rehearsal adjustments because he’s at the helm of the house mixing board, a venerable, still standin’, good ol’ Soundcraft Vi6, and it does sound like he knows where it’s at. I have a walk through the empty hall with fully-fledged deployed bleachers in the rear part, and it proves the merits of the treatment work up there.
Jean-Marie at the helm behind his SoundCraft Vi6 complemented by nice analog and digital peripherals galore.
The reverberation time if acceptable and you obtain a convincing rendering everywhere, including in the rear part of the venue, a mere 40 meters away from the PA system. Only the three last upper rows between the tulle ceiling and the target of the first M12 on top sound a bit dull and lack a bit of SPL, and some rows in the middle of the bleachers enjoy some dBs of extra low-mid. Were the system cabled in active mode, it would have been easier to smooth it all.
Nevertheless, when near FOH and our back turned to the first bleachers’ rows, one can appreciate the very nice phase rendering of the M12 and the quality of the Nexo waveguides, with tight mono recomposition. The M series might be positioned in an affordable segment of Nexo’s offering, no saving was made on the choice of the transducers, as Joseph Carcopino, the head of R&D in Plailly, hometown of Nexo, explained us recently. And you sure can hear it.
Cécile McLorin Salvant during rehearsal. A treat for the ears.
The extremely natural and respectful FOH mix from Jean-Marie unveils the natural rendering of these boxes. The treble is lovingly soft and fine, the medium is precise and present but without being agressive in any case. The lows are more discreet, but as we’re listening to a piano & voice set rehaersing with subtleness, this impression is quite inevitable.
Why hurting your back when you can actually roll’em in? ;0)
We will have the opportunity to get more bass some hours later with the beautiful set of saxophonist Sophie Alour, backed on this occasion by high class guests including Mohamed Abozekry playing oud, and then an Electro Deluxe set that closed the day with their legendary punch, all in this same hall.
Hats off to the technical teams coming in with total zen approach and attitude, and great kindness to achieve four rehearsals and sets in total smoothness for 4 different artists, and the local and national media crews and inevitable requests. Of course we’re far away from the festival’s beginnings, and a dinner beside Jean-Marie in the middle of the techies and artists gossiping about the former editions can testify this, in Coutances they know how to mix pleasure and discipline.
Black out (well, almost)
Cécile McLorin Salvant, a show all in subtlety and in complicity with the audience.
The audience enters the hall for this evening’s concerts, a demanding and connoisseur public who evolves, according to artists and tastes, Coutances now burst of a thousand performances during eight days, with plenty of choice.
Sophie Alour shares the stage with Mohamed Abozekry for a very classy, yet unclassifiable moment, the true definition of Jazz with a big J.
Jean-Marie stays on course and gives us a neat 83 dB(A) and 3-4 dB more in dB(C), without any frustration with a precise low spectrum. The last numbers will reach 87 dB(A), showing the capacities of the M units at low level. Some hours later, the strategy of the FOH guy of E2Lux, on the opposite, will be to tease 102 dB(A) et mask the low resonances by the SPL generated by the M12s and the M-SUB18s. It all goes smoothly with a well filled and fat medium, still very enjoyable highs and a real “concert” bass even if slightly restrained, proving that a 12” can hit as well as a pair of 10″ and go down a bit lower.
Electro Deluxe without Thomas Faure and its others “usual” horns, but with enough energy to make apples fall off the “Pommiers”.
The neutrality of this M12 box is not about its versatility. Confronted with sweetness it knows how to be cuddly and throw far, whereas facing a very dense and well compressed mix, it responds present and does not appear reaching the end of its potential, despite the reasonable number deployed in this not that small venue here, while working in passive mode only. It is true that there are 4X4s amps connected behind, the kind of processed amp that is difficult to take in default when it is necessary to deliver.
The Starway stand during last Prolight&Sound exhibition, relying a lot on their many decoration projectors.
Very much into the re-creation of vintage projectors fitted with LED sources, Starway declines its Vega in two versions. The biggie’s name is Maxi-Vega, the tiny is called Mini-Vega.
Mini-Vega and Maxi-Vega
The Mini-Vega, presented as a prototype on the stand, will see its outer ring fully integrated in its final version.
This small ancillary “lighting firefly” comprises a large warm white LED in the center, a RGB module behind the reflector to illuminate its golden dome, and two stripes of RGB Ledstrip inside and outside its peripheral ring to multiply multicolor effects. Practical, it is not only designed to be hung with a single hook or stand on its floor plate, but can also be assembled into a circular frame to group seven Mini-Vega altogether.
The Maxi-Vega, bigger and more powerful, is a replica of the standard Vega, XL size. Like the Vega, it has the ability to divide its rings into 8 individually-controlled sectors. On these brand new Vega models, the mains connectors are now PowerCON True1 in&out, the DMX512 is connected to two 5-pin XLRs (in/thru), and a silkscreened label on the unit body unveils a clever QR-code to display directly the DMX chart and the user manual on the user’s smartphone.
The Maxi-Vega is hung up on the left of the picture, while on the right you can see a matrix of seven Mini-Vegas.
– The Maxi-Mega is launched with a list price of 1,990 € excluding V.A.T. – the Mini-Vega is announced with a list price of 2,890 € excl. V.A.T. for a kit of 4 units coming into a flight-case.
FloodLite
Two newbies are launched around the Floodlite 650, a small “pocket” IP65 LED Blinder, IP65 rated, as well as its connectors.
The first is a Floodlite UV version, tiny as well, with a very nice glow. Designed from the request of a famous French Light Designer, Jérémie Bargues, for latest Mathieu Chedid (successful French hitmaker) tour, it comprises a 100 W COB UV LED with 60° angle. It can be controlled between 1 and 6 channels, weighing less than 3 kg, with a a list price of 390 € excl. V.A.T. The Floodlite HD, same format, includes a 200 W COB RGBW LED. The color mixing system has undergone a specific researches to deliver at the same time saturated colors and a halogen mode, with “filament inertia” and color correction while keeping a high level of light output.
Some of the different Floodlite range supports.
As for the rest of the range, it has specific and separate dimmer and strobe channels, and can be controlled 4 to 15 DMX channels. All the COB LED sources in this range have an adjustable PWM between 1 kHz and 50 kHz to prevent any flickering. Its list price is slightly higher at 450 € excl. V.A.T.
Particularity of this range, a collection of hanging accessories allows to group them in pairs or in quartet, in line or in square. As for the Mini-Vega, a circle support allows to group seven Floodlites, including a central one.
Kepler 350
In the lineage of the Newton, a fixed profile spot equipped with a RGBAL LED was unveiled last year. This Kepler 350 demonstrates the architectural interest of Starway.
Waterproof and dustproof, these IP66 products lower a lot the need for maintenance, thanks to their LED source. The one inside the Kepler 350 is a cold white 350 W and 7000K LED module.
As an effects projector, it comprises a mechanical CMY color mixing system, a motorized 8-40° zoom, and can deliver 16,000 lux at 5 metres distance in tight zoom, and 642 lux at widest open angle. It also includes a 3-facet prism, a 7-color wheel, an animation wheel, a Frost filter and a 7 rotating customizable gobos wheel. A waterproof hatch makes it easy to interchange them when needed.
With grey finish (quite common in architectural lighting) it can communicate back and forth to any controller using DMX/RDM in/out or via an optional Wireless Solution receiver, with two different modes the user can choose, 17 or 20 DMX channels. This 23 kg nice chubby newbie is launched with a list price of 4,200 € excl. V.A.T.
This one’s about beer… and pleasing people’s ears! For his new US stadiums’ tour, the rising star of Country Music is well served by a L-Acoustics K1/K2 combination supplied by Event Services (SES), configuring the system for each show with Soundvision’s new Autosolver tools.
In the two short years since he released his debut album, This One’s for You, Luke Combs has absolutely soared in popularity, distinguishing himself as the only artist to ever have his first six singles hit Number One on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart.
Recently honored as the newest member of the venerable Grand Ole Opry, the North Carolina native is now taking a breather between the first and second North American legs of his Beer Never Broke My Heart Tour, which is being reinforced via Special Event Services’ (SES) L-Acoustics K1/K2 loudspeaker rig. The first stretch of Combs’ arena headlining trek initially ran from March through July and quickly sold out every venue, prompting the musician to add a 29-date fall leg running from late September through early December.
“When putting together my production budgets for the 2019 tour, Michael Brammer from SES and I discussed the PA options in their inventory,” notes Production Manager Jerry Slone. “When I found out that K1/K2 would fit within our budget, it was a no-brainer! Although I’m currently serving as the production manager on this tour, I’ve also spent many years working with other artists as a front-of-house engineer, so I’m very familiar with L-Acoustics, which made it easy to choose K1/K2 as the rig we’d both need and want to have out with us.”
The loudspeaker complement for the tour is comprised of a dozen K1 flown over as many as six K2 downfills per side, with 12 additional K2 per side serving as outfill arrays, plus four ARCS II for sidefill as needed. Robust low-end reinforcement is delivered via a dozen KS28, deployed in a variety of configurations depending on each venue’s geometry. Three LA-RAK II, each housing three LA12X amplified controllers, provide the power and processing for the K1 and KS28 enclosures, while three LA-RAK, each with three LA8, drive the rest of the system.
The loudspeaker complement for the tour is comprised of a dozen K1 flown over as many as six K2 downfills per side, with 12 additional K2 per side serving as outfill arrays, plus four ARCS II for sidefill as needed. Robust low-end reinforcement is delivered via a dozen KS28, deployed in a variety of configurations depending on each venue’s geometry.
SES System Tech Joe Lefebvre spearheaded the system design for each tour stop using L-Acoustics Soundvision 3D simulation software. “I pre-planned every show I could with the Soundvision room data files that I had access to, and Vic Wagner [L-Acoustics Application Engineer, Touring] was super helpful in hunting down any room drawings I did not have,” Joe Lefebvre says.
“Having the files gave me a great head start on how I wanted to deploy the rig, and Soundvision’s new Autosolver tools are really nice! I’ve had particularly great results with the Autosplay and Autofilter features, which very quickly get the arrays to cover the whole audience evenly right out of the gate without me having to tweak much. The FIR filters and AIR COMP especially make tuning the rig a breeze and allow the system to throw energy where we need it and minimize it where we don’t. Even at the farthest distances from the arrays, we can still provide exceptional clarity and a full-bandwidth concert experience.”
Paired with a DiGiCo SD12 desk at FOH and SD-Rack loaded with new 32-bit input cards, the loudspeaker system’s smooth setup and tuning process ultimately translates into FOH Engineer Todd Lewis having a terrific experience with the rig night after night.
“We heard very positive comments from a lot of people on the sound during the first run, including from country star Mark Wills, who told me that he could hear every detail of every instrument, and could close his eyes and know where every player was on stage,” Lewis recalls. “I couldn’t ask for a better compliment than that! “Prior to starting with Luke in 2016, I was primarily a festival guy, and a production manager at The Orange Peel in Asheville, North Carolina,” he continues. “I had limited exposure to L-Acoustics up until we landed spots on some of the larger festivals, including Stagecoach. After having my ears on K1/K2, I knew it was the right choice for us.
Luke’s show demands power; not just sheer volume, but the ability to actually move you. The production isn’t particularly loud—102dbA max—but when we do go for it, we hear comments like, ‘That was one of the most physically aggressive shows I can remember being at.’ When I first heard this from a system tech, I wasn’t too sure I liked it. But I now know what he meant, and that it was a very positive thing.” From a logistics standpoint, Lefebvre points out that he appreciates the efficiency of K1/K2’s rigging and portability. “We have a great workflow and always get the PA up in a timely manner,” he says. “It’s definitely the quickest PA to get up and down that I’ve worked with, so zero complaints there. Loading out the rig takes about an hour, or less, which is very acceptable, and the PA’s modular design can always be configured in a way that works very well for us.”
The tour’s production manager agrees: “In addition to high fidelity and even coverage, regardless of the configuration, the ease of getting the rig up and down each day helps to keep the tour’s production schedule on schedule,” says Slone. “The system also packs nicely in the trucks helping, again, with time and budget. The L-Acoustics system sounds amazing, especially in the hands of SES as our sound reinforcement vendor and our great audio team using the tools available to them to make each show a success. It’s been a ‘win-win’ so far, and we’re excited to carry it out again on the next leg of the Beer Never Broke My Heart Tour.”
To the great credit of Ayrton, the new spot/profile Khamsin-S and wash/beam Bora-S, which were unveiled in November, were ready to be measured and dismantled in April for our usual SLU tests. Our only problem was: how could we test such powerful units in field conditions?
Wash/Beam Bora-S et Khamsin-S
The answer to this question was provided by Titian Parrot, technical director of La Sirène (a concert hall in La Rochelle, in western France), who opened his doors to us on one condition: that we would bring Stéphane Migné (lighting designer) and the two fixtures to his venue, which also benefits from a large selection of other Ayrton fixtures already installed there: Ghibli, NandoBeam and MagicBlade.
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Perfect! So, my former mentor and I reformed our old designer/operator duo for the occasion. Stéphane Mocret (lighting designer and writer for SLU) stayed back home in the Paris area and honed his measurement equipment for the entire technical aspect of the Khamsin and Bora in Ayrton’s showroom, brilliantly supplementing our observations and field tests.
Stéphane Mocret: “Each new Ayrton range is a challenge and a step forward. With Bora and Khamsin, it’s more like a leap. As for Bora, which is a very unusual and innovative wash fixture, the main advance is optical. On the other hand, the Khamsin is a rather conventional profile spot, but its mechanical design is an innovation.”
A protective shell for a flight case is supplied as standard with each fixture.
The first two examples of the premium class from Ayrton were shipped to the concert hall. Stéphane Chapron – decidedly a fashionable first name among lighting designers – settles us into his lighting control booth. He enthusiastically opens the cartons with us and takes out the two foam inserts protecting the Bora and Khamsin. As one of the first manufacturers to provide original protective shells that can be installed directly in flight cases, Ayrton has taken this idea to the point of stamping them with the name of the fixture. This is a useful detail, since Bora and Khamsin are completely identical to the naked eye, except for a small logo on the base, which is blended into the carbon black of the projector.
Ayrton fixtures are now available in two versions. One, called “TC” for “True Color”, has a quality of LEDs that ensures faithful colorimetry, while the other, more powerful and punchy, version is called “S”, for “Stage”. The “S” could also stand for “Sport”, and it is this one that we chose for our tests, as it is by far the best option for concerts. So we finish unpacking the Bora-S, a wash/beam hybrid, and the Khamsin-S, a profile spot, some of the most exciting units out there right now.
The two Stefs: Stéphane Migné, on the left, and Stéphane Chapron.
With just these two fixtures, we set ourselves a couple of additional challenges: first, to ensure a complete demonstration on a 12-meter stage, a minimalism that is the complete opposite of the mind-blowing cocktail of Ayrton’s shows, and secondly, to propose a double article for our readers, as these two fixtures are so complementary.
We start by installing the Khamsin-S on the frontal truss, offset towards stage left. Meanwhile, the stage manager of La Sirène, accompanied by two apprentices, arranges a small set at our request: a white riser, a canvas, a drum kit and some amps… enough to test the precision of the profiling shutters and the projections of the Khamsin.
Positioning the brackets.
The wide handles of the spotlight are perfectly integrated into the aerodynamic design created by Ayrton’s designer Yvan Péard, without any breaks to disrupt the broad curves with no joints of the luminaire, except for the louvres on the sides and the rear for the ventilation. With almost 40 kg in your arms, the visual impression of lightness is somewhat diminished, while the slight lack of depth of the handles also surprises you the first time you use them. Once it’s switched on, however, the density of the unit becomes just a detail. Eight ¼-turn inserts are distributed under the base of the unit, between the four large reinforced rubber feet for positioning the unit on the floor. We place the Omega brackets parallel to the display, using the wider of the two proposed center spacings. It is possible to orient the unit perpendicularly, but not diagonally.
The connectors are grouped together at the back: the yellow socket of the PowerCON True1 power supply, the two male and female XLR DMX connectors, and the two EtherCon RJ45 connectors. The fuse holder is located in the middle, while the antenna of the LumenRadio CRMX TiMo receiver remains invisible, perfectly integrated under the polycarbonate layers that form the shell of the Khamsin.
Khamsin: DMX, sACN, ArtNet, with or without wires, at Ayrton the variety of control choices is not an option. The wiring reminder for the DMX connectors and the maximum power consumption are written directly on the connector panel, so there’s no need to run to the manual or search on your phone.
Coupling with a LumenRadio transmitter is done by selecting WDMX as the control signal, then resetting the wireless section to release the receiver and link it to a new transmitter.
Khamsin-S hanging on the stage-left front truss.
We use one five-pin DMX per truss, as well as a 10 A mains supply. With a peak power consumption of 1,150 W, we prefer to play it safe. While the power supply module with its active voltage regulation system is able to stabilize the current and operate between 100 and 240 V, at 50 or 60 Hz, the power required by these LED monsters is similar over time to power-hungry discharge moving heads.
Stéphane Mocret, back in the lab, explains the standards of the power supply installed in the base of the fixture:
Bora-S: Under the fireproof casing of these parts moulded from class V0 ABS PC, we find the PFC section.
Bora-S: on the other side of the base, there is the DC-DC section, which does not exceed 48 V. The two fans on each side provide air circulation that cools both power supplies.
The menu has remained identical to that on the Ghibli, with this LCD screen with automatic inversion and the famous navigation wheel, aesthetically beautiful but not very popular with technicians.
The display and its selector wheel.
I must admit that I am always in doubt when it comes to validating my options: one or two clicks? And to validate all my settings, how many long presses do I need to close it? The battery integrated in the menu display allows me to do some thinking while waiting to power up the fixture. The RDM link, previously quite limited at Ayrton, seems to have evolved in the right direction. I’ll have the opportunity to test it when I start it up.*
Jeff Vivier and Stéphane Chapron use the ramp on stage to transport the Bora to a truss that is ready to be hoisted up in the back. They position it opposite to the Khamsin. It’s a mirror image: the two moving heads being strictly identical on all the previous points, except the logo, of course, and for the slightly lower weight of the Bora. I will subsequently have the opportunity to discuss the secrets of the assembly of Ayrton fixtures with Stéphane Mocret.*
Stéphane Mocret : “Bora and Khamsin use the same yoke. Here, Ayrton has adopted a concept that has proved its worth on all the fixtures. On one side, there is the pan/tilt control circuit board, the three-phase stepper motor and a wiring harness that runs to the head. Inside the other arm are the mechanical components of the tilt system and the second cable run. The actuator for this axis is in the horizontal part of the yoke.
The interior of Bora is all very conventional. At the top of the image is the 178 mm spherical lens that was specially developed for Ayrton. It is this set of 13 lenses that gives it its optical qualities and originality.
An internal view of the Khamsin. Unlike with Bora, the chassis and cowling of the head are one and the same. This technical solution, although more expensive, offers many advantages, as well as saving space. The structure is notably stronger and also more rigid. This results in greater reliability and durability of the fixture.
Just remove the two ¼-turn screws that hold the Khamsin cowls in place and you’ll see this. Ayrton has optimized it to make everything fit! Even the safety attachment for the cowling has been redesigned to minimize space. And it is also very practical for disassembly on the ground and when it is flown.
This might seem like a detail to you, but for Yvan Péard, Ayrton’s development director, it means a lot. There is no room for improvisation inside the Khamsin, everything is meticulously designed to make it more compact. Although their design is completely different, Ayrton has managed to maintain a uniformity between the two fixtures without removing any parameters in the Khamsin.”
Together with Stéphane Migné, we choose to control them in Standard mode – 42 channels for the spot Khamsin and 32 for the wash Bora – an already impressive DMX envelope. Configuring them in the Basic mode would not make much sense, as this mode has overlooked the fine pan and tilt settings while keeping secondary functions such as LED matrix effects. Switching them to Extended mode doubles almost all parameters to 16-bit resolution.
Stéphane Migné at the console.
At sixty-four channels for a spot, this practically forces you to control them in Art-Net or sACN if you don’t want to multiply the DMX universes as soon as eight machines are connected. The built-in mini-switch will prove very useful in these cases for connecting the fixtures together via RJ45, with a preference however for the sACN protocol, which, unlike Ayrton’s integrated Art-Net protocol, does not require being limited to the first 100 universes, a limitation specific to the Ayrton switch.*
With the GrandMA2 console on, and with the libraries that we downloaded from the Ayrton website loaded, we turn on the two fixtures. Our first impressions are that the flux and the zoom are impressive. Accustomed to the standard dimensions of the stage at La Sirène, with sources hanging about eight meters from their targets, the stage managers rub their eyes and smile. Titian sums up his first introduction perfectly: “If I’ve understood correctly, with only these two units I can cover my entire stage? This changes everything!”.
Bora at stage right and Khamsin at stage left.
The optical section of the Khamsin is uncompromising, with its zoom and focus complemented by two frosts and two prisms.
To our right, the Khamsin, in its S version, offers a cutting, cold and steely beam. Its optical system provides a 9° to 58.5° zoom, shifting from one extreme to the other in record time. This a well thought-out range and it has a much more controlled focus than that of the Ghibli, except at the extreme limits of the range, where the sharpness of some gobos is not perfect.
On the left, Bora projects a much denser beam, with a nice natural white and a slightly cottony texture. For Khamsin, Ayrton has chosen a more refined approach, almost like a scalpel. The difference in the optical output is immediately noticeable, the 178 mm diameter of the Bora lens is ideal for this Wash and makes the 158 mm spot seem almost modest.
The zoom and focus of Bora are different. You can see the two flags of the progressive frost and the high-precision drive belts that are specially designed for the optical systems.
A curious detail for the layman, the concave lens of the Bora is neither a Fresnel nor a PC, but perfectly smooth, albeit thick. The naturally misty contours of the beam are produced thanks to an internal filter, less opaque than the usual lenticular glass of other washes.* The zoom range of the Bora is even more impressive. We measure a range from 7.8° to 63° without any problems.
Jeff, from Axente, the French Ayrton distributor, provides us with some information on the common source that Ayrton has chosen for these fixtures. It is a 750 W cool white LED module, with a nominal output of 60,000 lumens and calibrated at around 6500 K. The two fixtures, while using the same optical system with 13 lenses, have marked differences in their intended purpose, and therefore different performance in terms of photometric measurements.*
Of course, the LED matrix and the cooling system are identical on both models. The 750 W of white LEDs are mounted on a heat pipe consisting of an aluminum heat sink with copper alloy tubes running through it. The whole system is cooled using a ventilation path with six fans, three for intake and three for exhaust.
The collimator lens of the LED engine.
Stéphane Mocret: “The whole secret is in the optical section. It starts with the collimator lens; this piece of jeweler’s artwork homogenizes the matrix and creates a single beam. It then continues with the zoom module and the output lens
On these fixtures, the drive belts for the optical features (zoom and focus) have been carefully selected and come from the photo-optical industry to obtain maximum precision. The quality of the lenses was already very good at Ayrton but, for these two units, very high quality elements were chosen.
Looking through the output lens you can see all the details of the LED array!
These super-clear, anti-reflective lenses allow maximum light to pass through while providing perfectly uniform coverage.”
Stéphane Mocret’s measurements, performed after derating, show an average luminous flux of 34,000 lumens at 6500 K for the Khamsin, and 35,000 lumens at 6100 K for the Bora. These values mark a turning point. It is now clear that HMI, HTI and other lamps are now being overtaken by LED modules, and that the advancement of this new technology will soon reach its peak with LED engines exceeding 1,000 watts.
Photometric measurements of Khamsin-S
We start with the derating of the Khamsin. It is switched on at full power and its flux stabilizes in less than five minutes, with a 5% attenuation in Auto ventilation mode.
Tightest in-focus beam angle.
20° beam.
Widest in-focus beam angle.
Photometric measurements of Bora-S
Here again, we plot the derating curve, which shows an 8% attenuation after five minutes of heating in Auto ventilation mode.
Tight beam at I/10.
20° beam at I/10.
Wide beam at I/10.
On the stage at La Sirène, the intensity is such that one fixture on the back truss and one on the front is enough to create a comfortable bonfire, over the whole set with the Bora or by zooming in on the panel with the Khamsin. Above all, the lighting coverage is particularly uniform, normal for the wash but much rarer with a spot. Despite being comparable in stature to the famous Ghibli – to within two kilos – the Khamsin-S delivers 60% more light.
The beam of Bora-S.
Stéphane Mocret: “With the exception of the tight beam measurements – which are necessarily characterized by a hot spot in the centre – the more than 80,000 lux at 5 meters of the Bora and more than 60,000 lux of the Khamsin provide a particularly uniform luminous coverage when the zoom is opened up. If you were filming the result with a camera, you would get barely half an f-stop of difference over the entire diameter of the beam.”
In the shadow of Stéphane Migné.
Another LED source with high color rendering is available on the TC versions. The CRI of the TC models is intrinsically greater than 90 (where the S range is just over 70), at the cost of a 25% reduction in luminous flux and a lower, warmer color temperature of 5700 K (±350 K).
Obviously, the constraints of color rendering only make sense in filming applications or on the sets of a theater with highly groomed sets and costumes.* In most cases, the colorimetric properties of the Bora-S and Khamsin-S will be more than sufficient, while favoring a comfortable headroom in terms of output. The only control parameter to keep in mind is the ventilation management in the options settings. The Silent and Studio modes will be highly appreciated for their total or acceptable discretion in theater, with the noisier Stage mode being the only one to offer an extra 2,000 lumens of flux. Our measurements are made in Auto mode.
Stéphane Mocret: “The measurements are clear, the Stage mode ventilates well. It reduces the temperature on the projector from 45° to 36.5° and reduces derating to less than 1%, but it also generates an increase in ventilation noise to 48 dB compared to 38 dB for the auto mode, which offers the best compromise. This is extremely important for LED sources, as light-emitting diodes are notoriously susceptible to high temperatures. The fixtures are equipped with sensors and thermal protection in the event of hazards, which are activated at an ambient temperature of 45°C or higher.”
Stéphane plays with the dimmer to feel its finesse at the lowest levels. The Ayrton intensity curves are remarkable, and this impression is confirmed by our laboratory measurements.
The dimmer curve of the Bora is a perfectly straight line from 0 to 100%… Bora-dimmer-10…
… and also from 0 to 10%.
The same applies to the Khamsin dimmer from 0 to 100%…
… and from 0 to 10%.
For a change, we start our examination with the gobos, intrigued especially by the wheel available on the Bora-S, which is classified as a wash.
Gobo projections: Bora from the left and Khamsin from the right.
Khamsin-S features two wheels with six rotating gobos each. The first one, which is really graphic, gives beautiful 3D effects in the smoke, with very fine pictograms and beautiful vortexes to rotate. On the second wheel, which is intended for set dressing, there are ambiance patterns and a dotted bar that I would have replaced with an ice texture.
A gobo from Khamsin.
A gobo from Khamsin.
The two wheels are practically attached to one another, which allows them to be superimposed and thus to create morphings, and gives full significance to the yellow helix gobo that completes the first gobo wheel.
The gobo selection of Khamsin.
The power reserve of the Khamsin has allowed Ayrton to offer particularly detailed designs, almost too refined for live electric concerts, but really interesting to work with in the theater.
A gobo from Khamsin.
A little later, while disassembling the spot, we discover a specific filter that automatically inserts itself when the gobos are inserted, to remove the natural iridescence from the lenses. The flux, meanwhile, remains unaffected.*
Including a gobo wheel on a wash/beam fixture is not new, but the design of the Bora is simply perfect. Simple shapes such as bar(s), triangles, multibeams like telephone keypads and a half-moon are incredibly effective, both in static and rotating modes.The wide, velvety beam of Bora-S brings a huge presence to these gobos.
A blue mid-air gobo from the Wash-Beam Bora-S and a gobo projected on the screen from the Khamsin.
Another common feature is the presence of a framing module with full closure and rotation of the unit through ±45°. The shutter blades of the Khamsin can be adjusted degree by degree. The unit is extremely miniaturized, allowing you to almost obtain a sharp focus on all four sides. The blades are reliable and precise, with relatively little distortion at wide apertures and the capability of creating an almost perfect line of light.
In the absence of any performers, we play around with highlighting the bass amp with the Khamsin, while creating a false reflection on the floor with the Bora.
Stéphane Migné, who is very sensitive to light effects in rhythm with music, enjoys being able to play the beat with openings and closures that are snapped at high speed. The system incorporated into the Bora-S is similar to a set of internal barn-door shutters, like the manual corrections of a Fresnel fixture, but detailed enough to be suitable for diagonals in dance or theater applications.
Stéphane Mocret : “As in most cases nowadays, the head is separated into two spaces, one close to the light source for the color and beam-shaping modules and the other farther forward for the zoom and focus optics, the frosts and prisms. The first module is the last element that is common to both fixtures, it is the framing module that also contains the iris. The modules are held by four screws and connected to the fixture by a sub-D connector. Ayrton’s development team chose to use screwed-in connectors to avoid false contacts. Reliability and safety are always the priority for the French manufacturer.”
The framing module of Khamsin. Quite a piece of machinery, in which each blade is controlled by two motors.
On the other side, you can see the iris and the rack and pinion system for the rotation of the module through ±45°.
To soften the edges of the shutter blades or gobos, Bora has a centered linear frost system that further diffuses its beam. This frost is extremely variable, with a very soft and progressive insertion. As for the Khamsin, it is equipped with two filters, one more and one less frosted, with an equally soft and effective insertion. Whether it is to break the sharpness of the projections or to simulate a wash transition, the two filters are suitable in any situation but cannot be combined.
The Khamsin.
The Bora
The progressive CTO is very dark at its maximum, descending almost to orange, but can be finely adjusted, from a cool source color temperature all the way to the low value of a halogen.
We move on to one of Ayrton’s greatest accomplishments, the colorimetry.
The Bora-S and Khamsin-S use an identical cyan-magenta-yellow color mixing system, combined with a progressive CTO corrector and one or two color wheels. The CMY mixture allows the creation of intense or pastel tones.
The hues are fine, the nuances are precise and, besides red, the blue and magenta are well saturated, as is the bright green. The result is even more polished on Bora, thanks to its greater diffusion and absence of iridescence.
UV / cyan
Coral / violet)
The Khamsin-S also offers two additional correctors located on a separate channel, with a very cold CTB and a very pink CRI (“tint”) filter, which is a little forced.
Instead, the Bora-S has a complete wheel of special colors, with a full- and half-minus green, full and half CTB, as well as two pink CRI filters. These CRI filters are designed to artificially increase the color rendering index by reducing some cold components of the LED source, at the expense of a decrease in luminous flux by a few percentage points. The complementary color wheel is identical for both fixtures. Strangely enough, there is another CRI corrector, as well as ultra-saturated versions of congo blue, red, green, orange and cyan.
Working with the focus, it is possible to focus on the disc of the color wheel, even with the Bora, for transitions like an good ol’ Diafora or Wybron color changer.
The second module of Bora is different from that of Khamsin. Even if the CMY and CTO parameters are the same on both fixtures, the Bora is of course a little easier. It is supplemented by two color wheels and the gobo wheel.
On the Khamsin there are two wheels of rotating gobos, an effect wheel and a color wheel on the opposite side.
On the other side are the eight flags of the CMY system, with the CTO also present on the Bora.
Quickly, we examine the usual functions. Thanks to the high-resolution stepper motors, the movements in pan and tilt of Khamsin and Bora are surprisingly fast for fixtures of this size, yet they are perfectly smooth.
Based on our tests and lab measurements, Khamsin and Bora behave identically with most effects. This makes sense, as they have the same technologies. The shutter parameter allows continuous strobing, random or pulsating, from 1 to 25 flashes per second.
A baton of light.
The iris is composed of fifteen blades, and allows closure down to 15% of the beam. The impact remains strong, with a beautiful baton of light at the end to almost simulate a beam projection. A pulse effect is also possible on the iris, with a nice dynamic that can be regulated in speed.
The LED modules of both fixtures permit a very rare little creativity, which was the source of many questions during the Ayrton show at Prolight+Sound. The specific scintillating effect presented in Germany consists in modulating the different sections of the LED matrix using dedicated chaser and speed channels at the start of the DMX chart. By closing the zoom tightly and playing on the focal length, this particular shimmer intensifies, something we tested at length during our stay in La Rochelle.
While the Bora stops there for optical effects, which include the CMY mixing with two color wheels and a CTO, an 8x zoom, an iris, a shutter, a gobo wheel, a progressive frost and a module with four internal shutters, the Khamsin adds two prisms and one animation wheel. This animation wheel works with the endless rotation of a metal plate engraved with broad striations. It is simple and easy to use for water or fire effects. Its focal depth is very short and does not allow you to focus on the shapes on the disc.
The prisms available are a 5-facet radial and a 4-facet linear type, on two separate mechanisms so that they can be combined. The diffractions obtained are tight enough not to escape from the cone of projection. They are very useful for accentuating the gobos and creating more sophisticated ambiences, in which the colors will naturally shift for more detail.
The prism of Khamsin.
As the effects add up in the Khamsin, Ayrton had the wisdom not to provide pre-programmed effects macro channels, which would have made the DMX table even more complicated. On the other hand, despite a somewhat condensed manual, the last control channel of each fixture is cleverly dedicated to the setup options. Without the use of the RDM, this allows access to ventilation modes, switching the menu display on and off, resets for each type of parameter or LED driver frequencies to avoid flickering in cameras.
At La Sirène, we spend half a day putting these latest Ayrton moving heads through their paces, under the amazed gaze of Titian and the staff there. With ease we program a series of memories while discussing the potential of each fixture. Where we thought we had a spot for concerts and a wash for the theatre, we find ourselves with two motorized fixtures that are at the same time complementary, very similar and with two strong characters.
Here are some short demos realized with Stéphane Migné and the lighting team at La Sirène.
Khamsin-S is a complete spot and profile fixture, which Ayrton has equipped with many features without falling into the trap of overextending itself. Each effect and gobo has been designed to be as simple and effective as possible.
The refinement and precision of the various optical mechanisms and lenses is almost perfect, with a very uniform illumination field, a high zoom ratio, a fine focus and a speed of execution that is rare on a fixture of this size. Power and color are the strong points of the Khamsin, which can be especially useful in opera or musicals, with its ventilation in silent or studio mode. The extra power in stage mode, combined with its speed, will also make it a popular choice for concerts, even if the clean lines of its gobos may surprise you.
It is a perfect match for the Bora-S, its wash/beam counterpart. This is an amazing fixture with a set of shutter blades, gobos and effects that have been particularly well chosen. Its beam has a unique density, suitable for use in fashion shows, rock concerts, conventions and theaters.
Italian audio innovator Powersoft has entered into a strategic alliance with Chinese audio manufacturer and rental house, Reyn Audio – the professional audio arm of Foshan YiFeng Electric Industrial Co. The Chinese sound specialist will receive training and support from Powersoft’s Italian HQ.
Massimo Minardi, Powersoft’s APAC account manager – OEM solutions, joining forces and shaking hand with Reyn Audio consultant, Tommy Su.
The company has an established presence in China and, thanks to the lighting expertise and inventory of its sister brand, ACME, it has been able to supply many of the region’s most important local and visiting artists with full production for shows that draw fans in their thousands.
Massimo Minardi, Powersoft’s APAC account manager – OEM solutions, commented: “As their business has grown, Reyn Audio has started to get requests for systems that are comparable with the big players in the market, and with a similar level of usability. Considering the high profile and the size of the events that they are catering for, our ArmoníaPlus software and the X4 amplifier models have been the best choice for them. As they are a manufacturer with specific needs, the best solution was to create a business alliance with the opportunity of direct support from our headquarters in Italy.” Powersoft has identified China as a market with big potential moving forward, which makes this alliance all the more important for the regional insights it can provide.
Some members of the Reyn Audio Salesforce with Massimo Minardi.
Reyn Audio consultant, Tommy Su, also gave his thoughts on the partnership: “Co-operation with Powersoft is a well thought-out choice for us. Although other manufacturers in the industry are using similar platforms, we were concerned about the integration between the speaker system and the DSP amplifier. The intuitive system design of ArmoníaPlus is very efficient and perfect for our needs.
“We hope that, through our co-operation with Powersoft, Reyn Audio users will be able to enjoy a more powerful and convenient operating environment. At the same time, we hope to take advantage of their professional division it order to optimise the speaker system and amplifier integration environment.”
Luca Stefani, Powersoft application engineer.
Powersoft’s application engineer, Luca Stefani, already conducted two technical training sessions at the Reyn Audio headquarters in Foshan, with a third session to be held in the second half of 2019. Powersoft’s international customer service manager Marco Mannucci also visited in May to instruct Reyn Audio employees on service training.
This period of initial activity has also seen the delivery of the PT-Lite – a special version of Powersoft’s end-of-line testing machine, which is mandatory to help customers such as Reyn Audio ensure that a repaired product will function just as well as a brand new one.
Minardi continued: “Our common goal is to make Reyn Audio as independent as possible in order to offer the best and most efficient support to their customers. This will also help to avoid any headaches when it comes to language barriers or issues with time zones.” “Although Powersoft is already well-known in the Chinese market,” concluded Tommy Su, “but we also believe that the market potential will increase thanks to the suitability of ArmoníaPlus. We hope to work together with them moving forward to promote the products and educate the market further still.”
Wannabe in perfect lighting conditions? Just tell Tim Routledge what you really, really want is Dalis! Flamboyant ‘90s pop icons the Spice Girls’ 13-date summer stadium tour, Spice World – 2019 Tour, kicked off at Croke Park Dublin to culminate at Wembley Stadium (where else!), transforming 1990s nostalgia into 21st century excitement as they went.
Helping to bring the near-vintage flavour to modern sensibilities was a fan-based, fully-invested design team brought together by Creative Director Lee Lodge, comprising set designer Jason Sherwood, choreographer and stage director Paul Roberts and lighting designer Tim Routledge, under the art direction of Kate Moross, who succeeded in creating a show that was a fusion of theatricality and live music on a touring scale.
The Dalis 862 LED asymmetric footlight.
Into this set up Routledge, a keen advocate of Robert Juliat Dalis fixtures, introduced over one hundred RJ Dalis 862 150W LED footlights with the purpose of bringing a heightened sense of glamour to the girls on stage. “Our main aim was to achieve two things,” Tim Routledge says. “Firstly, the show was to look amazing in daylight from the get-go – some stadium shows can be a little dull in the daylight hours and we wanted it to be ‘all guns blazing’ from the start; and, secondly, to ensure the Spice Girls and their dancers look glamorous at all times, by lighting them as beautifully as possible.”
The main challenge to maintaining this intensity of focus throughout the show came in the form of the 30m x 11m main stage and long 41m diameter catwalk that curved 34m out into the audience. “Followspots can only do so much,” says Routledge.
These were shielded by customised waterproof enclosures, purpose built by the tour’s lighting supplier, PRG. “It rained a lot on the tour so we definitely needed them! But they did the job as there were no adverse effects on the Dalis at all,” confirms Routledge.
“We were able to use the Dalis footlights to augment the followspots and keep the Spice Girls and the huge dance troop beautifully lit at all times,” explains Routledge. “Dalis 862 is the tuneable white version wich gives the full range of warm to cold white, so we fixed them to a key colour that was a match for daylight and utilised them as keylights throughout. In this way we could introduce a soft light that was great for the cameras, and rounded out the faces where the followspots flattened them. This gave us the glamour lighting we were after and added a different dimension to the Spice Girls which really helped them pop out on that big stadium stage.”
On occasions, the full-on, up-tempo momentum of the pop show, gave way to moments of pure theatricality where the Dalis footlights really came into their own. “In Queer Tango, for example, we lit the two dancers using only the Dalis footlights and a couple of backlights, and they looked beautiful,” confirms Routledge. “The Dalis did a great job in lifting the performers out from the background and add a bit of glamour to the show.”
Routledge has used Robert Juliat Dalis fixtures many times over the past year on several large-scale projects including Christine and the Queens, Sam Smith and Stormzy’s famous Glastonbury headline set which has been hailed as a festival game changer. “I’m an huge fan of Dalis so it was the obvious choice when it came to the Spice Girls tour,” he says.
Modulo Pi is pleased to announce the immediate availability of Modulo Player v5.2, as well as a new version of its embedded live mixer which now includes full integration of Stream Deck control pads. Modulo Player is a cost-effective hardware and software system combining the extensive capabilities of a media server and a live mixer.
The embedded low-latency live mixer is available for MacOs and Windows through a dedicated application. Operators can work at the same time on Modulo Player’s software and the live mixer application, allowing cost and time saving. The mixer’s intuitive user interface allows to access Program and Preview screens, create an unlimited number of destinations and mix engines, work with presets, manage layer properties and transition effects including borders, keying, mask, fade, flying.
A new version of the embedded live mixer now offers full support of the Stream Deck and Stream Deck XL control pads by Elgato. Thanks to an editor directly integrated in Modulo Player’s remote software and mixer application, operators can now easily customize the LCD keys of the Stream Deck. All parameters entered in the editor appear in real-time on the Stream Deck pads.
Modulo Player and its embedded mixer can support any number of Stream Deck pads at the same time, providing a user-friendly solution to control presets or recall tasks. Modulo Player v5.2 further extends the show control capabilities of the system. On top of the existing wide library of video-projectors, mixers, and matrices that can be controlled through Modulo Player, Modulo Pi is adding more than 40 new devices which can now easily interact with Modulo Player.
The new devices include NDI PTZ cameras control, as well as a series of USB phidgets such as controllers, sensors, motors, GPIO, RFID tags, etc. Now included in Modulo Player’s internal library, the phidgets expand the interactivity and automation capabilities of Modulo Player. One can easily create tasks in Modulo Player that will trigger automatically depending on the phidgets’ variables such as temperature, humidity, lux levels, distance, and more. All enhancements and references of the new supported devices are included in Modulo Player’s new user manual.
About Modulo Pi Founded in 2010, Modulo Pi has developped a new generation of Media Servers in close collaboration with Image Studios, Venues and Technicians all over the world. With more than 15 years of experience in innovative media server solutions from its creator, Modulo Pi offers mainly 2 solutions: Modulo Player and Modulo Kinetic. Designed for quick and effective adaptation to any project, these solutions are used on hundreds of productions acros a wide range of applications: events, theme parks, museums, tours, and more.
Leo is roaring everywhere these days in China. China’s burgeoning music festival scene is in full swing this summer, with many exuberant and eclectic gatherings across the vast nation relying on new Meyer Sound Leo® Family systems provided by Stage Arts Groups (S.A.G.), a diversified production and artist management enterprise based in Beijing.
One standout event in S.A.G.’s non-stop summer schedule was the MTA (Music Technology and Art) Festival, staged at the Tianmo Nature Scenic Area northwest of Beijing and drawing audiences of more than 50,000. For three days in late June, the stark desert landscape was transformed into a surreal environment — a fluorescent wonderland for hosting multi-media art performances, cutting-edge music and ‘disruptive technologies’. Music performances included top Chinese acts (Li Chen, Escape Plan, Higher Brothers and New Pants) as well as international artists (Khalil Fong, Jay Park and Isaac Gracie) spanning the musical spectrum from folk to pop-rock, hip-hop and pop-punk.
To deliver the eclectic mix with full impact at the main stage, S.A.G. deployed a potent system based on dual main hangs of 16 Leo-M line array loudspeakers, each with two underhung Lyon™-W loudspeakers. 12 Leopard loudspeakers supplied front fill and 27 1100-LFC low frequency control elements — arrayed as nine 3-high stacks in cardioid configurations — delivered mammoth bass impact with minimal on-stage intrusion.
“Meyer Sound LEO Family systems are ideal for festivals like MTA,” says S.A.G. Founder and Board Chief Executive Zhang Bo, who also mixed at FOH for groups without their own engineer. “They have exceptionally low distortion even when reproducing very high levels. They also have a lot of headroom, making it easy for engineers to do their job beautifully.”
Also contributing to the success of MTA was Zhugen Wang who served as sound designer, system engineer and monitor engineer. “I really appreciated the Galaxy™816 network processor and Compass® control software,” he says, “and I particularly like the way the new proprietary Low-Mid Beam Control ensures greater uniformity of coverage. Also, deploying the 1100-LFCs as an arc in cardioid stacks allows an even spread of massive lows throughout the audience without disturbing performers onstage.” MTA was produced by Sound Summer, Ltd., a music, content and performance organization focused on youth culture in China.
Top-billed domestic and international acts at Rye Music Festival
The prior month, a Leo Family system was on hand to power the main stage for the Rye Music Festival, hosting 25,000 daily for two days at Beijing’s Changyang Sports Park. Top-billed domestic and international acts included The Jesus and Mary Chain, Jolin Tsai, Jay Chou and No Party for Cao Dong.
The system deployed here was similar in most respects to that for MTA, though with the addition of twin outside hangs of 10 per side Lyon line array loudspeakers and two delay towers each with twelve Leopard line array loudspeakers. “The challenge here was to deliver uniform coverage for an area 150 meters deep to ensure the best possible audience experience,” says S.A.G.’s Zhang Bo. “Fortunately, the LEO Family system makes it possible without compromises.”
Mix of acts on Mango “Future” Stage
The Leo Family moved on to Changsha at the end of July for the Mango Music Festival, produced by Hunan Broadcasting and presented in front of the network’s headquarters. Here, the system was deployed at the “Future” stage where the mix of acts spanned singer-songwriters, pop and indie rock. In Late August, S.A.G.’s Meyer Sound systems will support the Dome International Music Festival in Qingdao. In addition, the system was tapped to handle reinforcement chores for the China Media Group’s Voice of China TOP Charts Ceremony in June.
Originally founded as an AV, lighting and staging rental business, S.A.G. has expanded in recent years and diversified into a full-range service provider for entertainment design and production professionals in audio, lighting and stage design. S.A.G. supports at least (normally) two major headline tours annually along with more than 50 live music concerts featuring popular Chinese artists.
S.A.G. also provides live sound mixing and streaming services for concerts, festivals, TV shows, award ceremonies and sporting events using their well-equipped outside broadcasting vans and highly experienced support teams. The S.A.G. portfolio also includes live entertainment production, music publishing, and production and distribution of music recordings.
Steady demand for Leo, Lyon and Leopard systems
The demand has certainly been steady for S.A.G.’s systems. Leo, Lyon and Leopard systems anchored a system for the Haunted Night 4H Trendy Music Festival in Chengdu in mid-July. This EDM and street dance festival was heavy on hip-hop and rap, with Chinese artists joined by leading acts from Germany and Canada. Mr. Zhang also notes the marked increase in acceptance of Meyer Sound’s latest systems by leading Chinese artists and production managers. “Leo Family systems are known and accepted on tech riders by most artists,” concludes S.A.G.’s Zhang Bo. “There are not that many systems available now in the Chinese market, but we expect that to change in the months to come.”
The commitment of the American giant Chauvet who bought ChamSys in 2017 was obvious at Prolight + Sound 2019. It is on a much larger stand than the past ones, focused on products but also reserving a large space for the reception of customers and users, that we discovered the new QuickQ Rack console, the rack-mount version of QuickQ consoles. It is mainly intended for fixed installations and remote control.
It is a completely stand-alone console, which allows to program and restore light programs and cues without other node or controller. It has 4 DMX universes to send via the Art-Net and sACN network protocols or two 5-pin DMX / RDM XLR outputs. It comprises an HDMI port to connect an external touch screen, and a wifi card for totally mobile programming and control using the QuickQ Remote Control application.
The QuickQ Rack, rackable version of the QuickQ consoles.
The QuickQ Remote Control app for IOS and Android tablets and smartphones, allows to program and control the QuickQ Rack in Wifi.
The rack offers 4 Phoenix connectors to connect up to forty 10-stage wall switches. This is a very interesting possibility, especially for museography. Audio input and output are also an asset for this market. The presence of Midi In and Out connectors indicates that it is also possible to control its memories with a midi controller.
Outputs, network, DMX, Video and remote switches, everything’s aboard!
On the front plate of the rack you get 10 buttons triggering scenes, cues, effects you would have first recorded into this clever gizmo… On the programming side, you have three options: either using the programming interface of the rack, accessible on the external screen. The Software is the same as that of the QuickQ consoles. One can also use the free software QuickQ Designer which includes a programming interface and a visualizer.
The last option is to program on a QuickQ console and then load the show in the Quick Rack which is also equipped with a “Hot take-over” system to connect a console to the network to control the projectors of the room. As soon as the console is disconnected, the Quick Rack automatically takes over the kit.
A preview of the up-and-coming Timeline window of the MagicQ.C3-1 : with the integration and visualization of the audio, this will ease the Time-Coded shows interfacing for sure.
We were able to preview the future Timeline window of the MagicQ range. It is based on the integration of Open Source software Audacity through which it will be possible to integrate an soundtrack, and to visualize its audio spectrum to position more easily the light effects and cues.
We will then see very simply the exact location of a “bump” or orchestral attack, it will accurately set the trigger of a cue and its start or stop of an effect and its duration. The release date is “any day now”.
Parookaville Desert Valley Stage equipped with 2 hangs of 10 x CODA Audio AiRAY.
Sited at Weeze airport, a former military base in the Lower Rhine region of Germany, this fifth edition of Parookaville proved very popular with critics, who hailed it as a major step forward in delivering a truly state-of-the-art experience for those in attendance. World renowned headliners played on multiple stages, one of which was the Desert Valley Stage where Tillmann Stockschläder of service providers ENTEC, in cooperation with audio specialists TEQSAS, deployed a CODA Audio system.
Coda Audio AiRAY used here for DJ monitoring.
This event is one of the largest electronic music festivals in the world and this year attracted around 200,000 visitors over three days. The Desert Valley Stage is one of the largest at the festival, covering an area of more than 5000 sqm and CODA Audio AiRAY was used as the main PA as well as for DJ monitoring.
Front-fill was taken care of by CODA Audio APS. 2 hangs of 10 x AiRAY were used as a stereo application complemented by 24 x CODA Audio SCP sensor-controlled subs in an end-fired cluster. Restrictions on height and load capacity were easily overcome by AiRAY’s light weight (just under 40kg per unit) and compact dimensions (67.4cm x 35.6cm).
Coda Audio AiRAY line array.
TEQSAS Application Engineer, Michael Linden commented: “The system delivered a uniform sound distribution across the frequency spectrum up to the required depth of 80 metres. Even in the sub area the SCP subwoofers have been able to match this standard with the end-fired arrangement.
The consistently positive response of visitors to this new sound experience was achieved thanks to CODA’s ring-diaphragm driver technology and the unique sensor technology in the sub-bass. The system produced great power with negligible distortion and we deemed it to be a success. We’re looking forward to next year!”
An investment of 150 Sharpy Plus units, Claypaky’s brand new high performance hybrid lights, has just been completed by AMG International.
Some of the crew members of AMG International, from left to right, first row: crew member #1, crew member #2. Standing, second row: crew member #3, crew member #4, crew member #5, crew member #6, crew member #7, crew member #8.
AMG International was founded on the experience and intuition of Gino Vinciguerra, and is today one of the leading companies in the industry. It has four offices in Rome and Milan, and one of the most complete assortments of equipment in Italy. AMG has been supplying television studios, theatres, events and shows since 1965. AMG’s customers know they can rent a wide range of materials and services: lighting and sound equipment, video projections, generators, stages, rigging, and technical management services to meet every staging need.
Alex Vinciguerra, General Manager of AMG International.
Alex Vinciguerra, General Manager of AMG International, asserts: “Our initial requirements were to add a high performance light to our range, one which was suitably versatile for our events. In order to choose the equipment which suited our needs best, we carried out a series of comparative tests and asked lighting designers and operators for their opinions. Claypaky’s Sharpy Plus was the only one that really had all the features we were looking for, including power, versatility and low weight.”
The Claypaky SHARPY PLUS is a fully fledged hybrid light, with two independent operating modes, weighing only 23 Kg (50.71 lb). In BEAM mode, its aerial effects stand out thanks to the unit’s extraordinary light output. In SPOT mode, its light is diffused more evenly allowing you to project wonderfully uniform visual effects.
Alex Vinciguerra went on to add: “We have always seen Claypaky as the benchmark in our industry. We have a lot of Claypaky models in our stock, including the Scenius Profile, Mythos, Sharpy, Sharpy Wash, and Alpha Wash, Spot and Profile units. We have always appreciated their reliability and versatility of use. When we saw the Sharpy Plus units at work, they immediately struck us as the natural continuation of the quality choice we have always made. We therefore opted for a notable investment, also because of their competitive price when considering their excellent top leader performance.”
Sharpy Plus: the new big player in the Hybrid league.
Alex Vinciguerra concludes: “AMG International has worked for the most important television shows in Italy in recent years, including X-Factor, Italia’s Got Talent and the David di Donatello Awards. What our company offers its customers today is a ‘turnkey’ package that provides the production team with an all-round set of services, including the rented equipment, TV studio rigging, hanging units and lighting desks to control the show professionally. We have always fitted a large number of Claypaky lights at all these shows, and from today onwards, with the Sharpy Plus units in stock, you can be sure you will see them more and more often on stages at our shows!”
Female technicians are only a few, gifted, modest and talented, one more reason to meet ChaCha de Cayeux mixing FOH for Hyphen Hyphen, talk about her career and listen to her mix on a beautiful afternoon at the Zenith in Paris.
First, what is the difference between a female technician and a male technician? None, except half a century of tightly locked habits, and finally starting to move. Time is coming, let’s add a bit of lubricant with this report to loosen the process.
Charline “ChaCha” de Cayeux, behind her YAMAHA CL5.
We sneak in a downsized Zenith on a beautiful afternoon of June. A heavy black curtain reduces it’s its capacity to 4,200 people. This is just right, as what is lost for income is gained for audio quality. It’s a good thing, what the profits lose, the sound wins. In the dark, the FOH position booth is easy to spot. easily recognizable. ChaCha is leaning on her CL5 and unrolls titles in total complicity with Santa and the rest of the band.
[private]
We take advantage of her work on some titles to wander walk through the rows of seats and the very big pit. The sound is fat and thick big, very well produced and sharp. The system tuning is really good, the mix too, but we will come back to it a bit later. Matthieu Marionneau has had the responsibility of the system design and tuning, and he knows the K1 inside out! in and out!
Everyone is focus on work working, so we do not interrupt Kiki, the lighting operator, on the left and Chacha the FOH engineer that we guess on the right. The right balance is already there, the ratio between the main, the flown subs/floor subs and the outfills and central cluster is perfect.
Once the system is tuned and the lights set up for the last title, here’s the surprise: a convinc-ing cover of famous French hit “XXL” by Mylène Farmer. We introduce each other ourselves and begin the interview by: “Let’s have a beer and go outside?”
SLU : Charline, when did you and the audio world met?
ChaCha : It’s been 10 years and I started at 21 years old. This That also answers the question about my age (laughs). I grew up in Agen, in the South of France, and there was almost nothing except the Florida where I spent a lot of my spare time. Piano lessons and a bunch of concerts, includ-ing the beginnings of General Elektriks. It made me want to work in music first, and next in Pro Audio the sound. But it also could have been lighting!
SLU : And the school… What about school?
ChaCha : I was a good student. “Bac S with a mention” and “Hypokhâgne” because I wanted to apply for the FEMIS or Louis Lumière, but after a year of preparation, I preferred to switch to a “BTS Au-diovisual” that did not close the doors of those two top schools…
SLU : And then you started working!
ChaCha : Exactly! I did an internship at the Bataclan and they offered me to stay the year after. So I started live audio engineering in this venue in 2008. Then I spent a year at La Flèche d’Or, also in Paris, as the audio manager and then I started touring.
Adrien Mauroux, who is in charge of Hyphen Hyphen’s monitor mixes (in-ears and wedges) on this tour, taught me how to mix monitors at the Bataclan. He works with Audrey Schiavi and Eric Gabler, the owners of a rehearsal space, the Studio 440. The company is also the audio sub-rental provider of the Bataclan. So I started on monitors there, (She changes her mind) No, first as stage hand, and after that on monitors for piano/vocal sets, until the day you’re told that you will do monitors for the headliner!
SLU : What was your first big gig?
ChaCha : Larry Graham, the incredible bass player from Sly & The Family Stone for whom I had prepared a SM58 for the lead vocal and then the sound engineer arrived with a condenser mic instead. Can you imagine the feedback? “You’ll see, they’re all really cool but quite deaf”. Yes, absolute-ly, but there was such a crazy level on stage. That night I did not understand what was happen-ing to me. Larry arrived on stage and stood in front of me at the desk, pointing his bass and telling me -up, up, up… Total panic! (laughs)
Olivier Lude at the Zenith in June 2010 on his Midas with Matthieu Chédid, AKA -M-!
SLU : And then? Who was the icing on the cake that triggered another lead, and then on and on?
ChaCha : Olivier Lude! He recommended me on a tour: “She’s my assistant, she’s great” I was his assis-tant in the studio on an album of -M-. I was 22 years old and had almost never toured yet. I was hired at FOH for Tom Fire, and since it went well with “W Spectacle” production compa-ny, I was asked to mix Winston McAnuff & Fixi for 200 gigs. I learned a lot on this long tour since we went through all types of venues and festivals, including heavy SPL ones like Reggae Sun Ska. When you arrive with a beatboxer, a piano and accordion player, and you hear big reg-gae bands soundchecking, you’re on pins and needles! (laughs) I improved a lot. For example, it made me feel more confident about my EQ choices, when I did not dare to undertake certain choices at first!
SLU : But which sounded great…
ChaCha : Yes, and I finally admitted it!
SLU : And you then definitely switched to live sound…
ChaCha : Yes, I prefer live sound from studio work, at least for now. I remember one day, when after two weeks of very, very long and offbeat studio schedules, I confessed to the studio producer: “I’m knackered”. I had sunken eyes down to my knees, but I was happy because Alain Bashung (huge French singer, now departed, Ed.) was coming the last day to do his last takes before unfortunately he passed away. But I was called the next morning: “You can have a rest, we replace you today” Damn. (laughs!)
Derya in 2015 with Arthur H, switching from system engineering to front-of-house mixing, like Vladimir Coulibre, a certain Laurent “Bellote” Delenclos, or Matthieu Marionneau (mong many others)…
SLU : It’s Derya Uzun (FOH mixer & system engineer) who told us about you and your good work. Did he also play the role of the icing on the cake?
ChaCha : Somehow. To make it short, at 16, as a big fan of -M-, I harassed his manager to come to a soundcheck. A year later he contacted me, to attend a soundcheck and 2 shows at the Zenith de Toulouse. Can you imagine the size of the venue? (yes!) I went nuts! A driver was waiting for me with my name at the train station! Derya took care of me during these 2 days. He answered ALL the questions I could ask. Later we met again on a Arthur H tour and one day he even welcomed me on his setup for a support band. I was stressed like never before!
SLU : How did you get the job with Hyphen Hyphen?
ChaCha : The band was looking for someone, if possible their own age, for a better understanding of their music, and why not a woman, so my name came up. They asked for my resume, and then we went for a drink to know each other a little more, we listened to the album and after a day of rehearsal, they told me: “OK, it’s you”. Now we’ve been touring together for almost a year and a half.
Santa, Laura, Adam and Zoé in the light of the IVL Squares from Minuit Une.
SLU : You sound very eclectic musically.
ChaCha : I’m not stuck in one particular musical genre. Currently, in addition to Hyphen Hyphen, I mix Sofiane Saidi & Mazalda and it’s good, they play really well on stage. And I also used to work for the Bataclan before the terrorist attack, necessarily less now. I also mixed a few weeks ago a show in live streaming for TV channel Culturebox, it was Ar-naud Rebotini who played at La Cite de la Musique the soundtrack of the “120 BPM” much awarded French movie… There were woodwinds, strings, synths, guitars, and as I was not in charge of the FOH mix, I really could focus on the live streamed mix with more freedom. I loved it.
SLU : You’re always discovering…
ChaCha : Of course, we always discover and learn every day. It’s endless! I’m lucky because I always got along very well with my artists so I’m having fun.
SLU : Hyphen looks like a very produced show.
ChaCha : Yes it is, but it’s very interesting because somehow it is like a mastering work every night on the mix that I make on my CL5. It’s new for me because I’m used to tour without my FOH package. Now we have the FOH and MON desk and some other elements that stick with us on the road, but we use the PA and the wedges of each venue.
Matthieu Marionneau
SLU : And Matthieu Marionneau?
ChaCha : Tonight Potar Hurlant (an historic Pro Audio rental company now part of the Novelty group) brought us a K1 system and, in charge of the design and tunning: Matthieu. He is super nice, open to comments, and he has a smile that gives you trust! But above all, he is one of the best. I also like L-Acoustics systems, it is really dynamic and really open sounding.
SLU : How did you determine your favourite PA ?
ChaCha : Easily. I’ve noticed that in some festivals, when I do not change my mix too much, it’s a K1 sys-tem. I deducted that it fitted me well.
SLU : Usually you arrive in a venue and you tune the PA on your own ?
ChaCha : Yes, « 1-2 » in a microphone, a few songs that I always play, and let’s go. I would love to have Matthieu all the time on tour with us just to learn. I love to chat with him. I respect the system tuning part because it is the heart of the matter.
Zoe (the drummer) has a very beautifully deep snare, it helps to make a nice pop music sound! The hi-hat has a SM 81 with a low cut at 400 Hz. I prefer its color more than the KM184 Neu-mann which is a bit too bright. On the toms we have E604 Sennheiser on which I work a lot on the attack so you can hear them through a mix already heavy in the low and low-mid frequen-cies. And finally, the overheads are two KM184 which I also cut a lot in the lows. I use it mainly for cymbals that I also get a lot from the vocals’ mics.
Santa putting her Axient transmission to the test!
SLU : Santa’s voice?
ChaCha : This is a Shure Axient Digital transmission and the head is a Telefunken M81. She wanted an M80 but it is too bright. The M81 sounds exactly the same, except that it is attenuated from 6kHz. Both backing vocals are wired Beta58 mics. In addition to this, we have the bass, 2 elec-tric guitars, 2 acoustic guitars, a small keyboard and 10 tracks from Ableton Live (including a click). With the ambiance mics, we have a 42 inputs patch.
SLU : Console and effects?
ChaCha : I have the Transient Designer and it belongs to me, yaay! (laughs) One channel inserted on the kick drum and the other on the snare. For the voice of Santa I use a DBX160. I tried a Distressor first but I wasn’t really happy with the sound.
Three strategic elements. The 160, the SSL compressor and the Vitalizer. Few buttons, a lot of pretty sound.
So I came back to the 160 that I love with its OverEasy and which, on top of that, has only three buttons. I go straight to the point. On a stereo subgroup where I have everything except vocals, I insert a Vitalizer SPL. I open just a touch of the Stereo Enhancer. The process button is convenient to bring some air in the very high frequencies and clean a little in the low-mids. Finally, on my master bus, I in-sert a SSL stereo compressor. This is very useful in very reverberant rooms because it cuts part of the attack and suddenly reduces the excitement of the walls.
SLU : And in your desk?
ChaCha : Still on the master, I have a dynamic EQ and a multi-band compressor which I use especially from 0 to 100Hz to compress and boost the lows. I use it very softly according to the rooms, and finally I have a 31 bands EQ but once again, it is less and less useful. I like to have these treatments at my fingertips even if I do not use them. I like the CL5. It is simple, intuitive and there is everything in it. The only thing that could be improved is the Snapshots part. It’s too rigid.
SLU : Are the onboard effects enough for you?
ChaCha : Yes. They’re OK enough. Initially, I had a SoundGrid server with Waves plugins in my control package. I prepared it all at Dushow but the first day of rehearsal I had CPU problems with naughty little clicks. As I always put efficiency and caution first, I went back to what the CL5 provides and it’s very good, even if I equalize the effects a lot. Of course, I would have liked to go with a more powerful console like the Avid S6L or Yamaha PM7, but we had only 2 days of preparation and a few days of rehearsal. The risk was to spend more time learning and preparing the desk than mixing, and I didn’t want to waste time. I also love the Midas sound but less its accessibility.
A Siena 400, a photo collected from the old beautiful French stuff specialist, ALV.
SLU : Did you work on analog console first or start directly in digital?
ChaCha : Noooo, I started with analog at the Bataclan. We had a Midas Siena at monitors and a H3000 at FOH, so yes! I had the chance to put my hands on analog first.
I learned baby-sitting with analog inserts and complicated requests from sound engineers, and with Audrey (Schiavi) supervising me: “I let you do it… but… it’s not the way!” It’s funny today to mix on an analog desk because you end up with six compressors, six gates, four reverbs and you have to make choices. A real Back to Basics. The asset is that you can work subgroups without fear of latency and phase problems, and if you have a good gain structure, it works.
Santa well surrounded. It takes what is needed when covering the “XXL” hit!
SLU : I saw that you add one-off effects, Adrien on monitors must do the same ?
ChaCha : No, I’m sending him two subgroups, one with all the voice reverbs and a second with the de-lays and the distortion effect on Santa’s vocal (on one song only). It brings consistency. And he already has enough to do! I used to manage the in-ears from the front of house before he ar-rived, so Santa needed to keep the same effects.
SLU : Do you see an increase in the number of female technicians?
ChaCha : Of course, there are more and more, and plenty more coming up!
SLU : And with the guys?
ChaCha : It depends, sometimes some guys still talk to me as an intern and not as a 40 years old guy. And it’s funny they need to tell women about how they understand audio better than us. Like: “No, I don’t need to turn down the input of the PA, but you should put -10 dB on your mix. Don’t you know that a digital desk only sounds good when you reach the first green LED only?” And he says that before I’ve even sent anything to the PA (laughs!).
I also remember a guy, adorable beside that, who told me: “Wow, you mix well the sound for a girl, can I take a selfie with you?”. Or another one in a festival who was trying to figure out who was mixing. I was behind my desk with headphones, talkie and all the audio equipment. He ended up asking someone from the staff: “But who is the guy mixing? I don’t see him and it sounds great… -It’s the young woman over there. -Ahhh yes ok…” There are also some good sides of course! And usually the bands with only male members are very happy to have a girl in the team.
Charline and the boys. From left to right Valentin Nebati, lighting assistant for the show at the Zenith, Denis Guillebot aka Kiki, lighting operator, Matt Marionneau, system designer and en-gineer for the Zenith, and Chacha, FOH audio engineer.
SLU : Are you lifting heavy equipment?
ChaCha : Yes, carefully. I remember a venue where the manager saw us carrying the CL5 with another girl, noticed that it was necessary to lift it up over an obstacle. Two other girls from the bar came to give us a hand. He was just there, watching us, and only moved to help us when he noticed that I had scratched my skin against a wall and was bleeding. It was abroad so we were treated to a great: “I like hard working girls!”…
Matthieu’s PA system, simple and very efficient
A system more than comfortable for 4,200 people. The KS28 cleaning the back wave is the 4th from the top or the 3rd from the bottom!
As Charline says, Matthieu Marionneau is a real Plus in the team and his work on the design and the tuning offers her a perfect audio material to sculpt.
Matthieu Marionneau : Tonight we have 8 K1s and 4 K2s per side, reinforced by 6 KS28s hooked behind, in a cardioid 3-1-2 mode. One of them is the sub at 180°. We also have two stacks of 3 SB28s per side to bring a little ground effect for the first rows. 4 ARCS II front fills per side also cover the front rows and a 6 Kara central cluster fills the hole in the center of the venue, due to a 22 meters opening. The system is fully driven by LA12X amplifiers/controllers.
SLU : How do you send the signal?
Matthieu Marionneau : In AVB via Gigacore Luminex switches. The new models from L-Acoustics arrived a bit too late. The backup is in AES and the switch is made automatically by the controllers, with of course an alert sent.
They were not all sold and replaced by KS28, here’s the proof. In ground reinforcement, three SB28s. Notice above the configuration with 4 ARCS II.
SLU : Is this a standard configuration of Potar for the Zenith of Paris?
Matthieu Marionneau : Absolutely. It was used with Christophe Mahé last year.
SLU : How does K1s and underneath K2s behaive together ?
Matthieu Marionneau : Naturally! Both are full range and overlapped on the lowest octave 30-60 Hz by the KS28s.
SLU : What do the SB28s bring?
Matthieu Marionneau : Some infras on about ten meters for the people in the pit. We do not go too far and too strong since they are at -12dB. It avoids getting too close to the 118 dBC new legislation. We always look for solutions according to the rules while keeping a physical dimension to the sound.
Here is the machine to fill the holes. 6 Kara’s, and let’s go!
SLU : What are Matt’s news?
Matthieu Marionneau : “I’m on tour at FOH with Charlie Winston and it’s one of the best tour of my career. It plays well, it’s good music, and everyone on that tour is awesome, and… “ blackout !
Blackout
To set the mood, the 4,200 fans of the band tickle 100 dBA. From the first notes, we see that the sound of the venue has changed since the soundcheck, and, as always, in the good way. Chacha’s mix is full, dense and well run. A nice job with an elaborate kick drum/snare/hi-hat balance, exactly in accordance to the Pop Music style of the band, with an attack that is well heard without annoying the VU-meters (thank you Transient Designer !) but also a sound aes-thetic that is respectful while being effective.
Flying Adam!
The songs scroll without false notes and with enough energy to make the audience move. We sometimes flirt with the 102 dBA level but the official average is below. Nice work also on Santa’s vocal who relies on Charline’s finger and on his DBX 160 to send out serenely heavy sound. The dBs are well under control and the mastering work encapsulates all the naturalness of the sound. Nice job with not much, or actually yes: talent and passion.
– François Beuchot for Franz & Fritz : Light Design – Denis Guillebot (AKA KiKi) : Light director on tour and adaptation for the Zenith – Valentin Nebati : Light assistant for the Zenith – Stan Kopec : stage manager + backline – Adrien Mauroux : Mix monitors – Charline de Cayeux : FOH Mix – Matthieu Marionneau : System audio engineer for “Le Zenith” Paris
– Flavien Glancer : Truck driver, Artys – Taric Saïd : Le Zénith Technical Director – Camille Linard : Backliner for « Le Zénith »
Group : – Santa : lead vocals – Laura : bass, SPDS Pads, backing vocals – Adam : guitar, SPDS Pads, keyboards, backing vocals – Zoe : drums, sequences
Sometimes it can get rainy in the Stuttgart area… Dormettingen is a town 80 km away, and this is where this year’s Elements Festival, a 2-day showcase of great vibes and fabulous house music – techno and tech house to future house, hardstyle and EDM – took place in a beautiful amusement park. This proved the perfect occasion for the Robe’s new IP65 rated iPointe moving lights to be prominent among lighting fixtures on the main stage.
Elements Festival main stage at night.
Lighting for the main stage – located in a natural amphitheatre-like dip in the topography – was designed by Raphael Herrmann whose company Prolite Event also co-ordinated the supply of the lighting kit which included 8 x Robe Pointes and 16 x LEDBeam 150s as well as the 22 x iPointes, plus some other lights.
Raphael has lit the main stage since Elements Festival started five years ago and has been involved in designing and supplying lights and running his own associated business since 2000 when he was aged 18. Being dance / DJ orientated, the Elements stage set-up was different to a standard rock event. The set was also designed by Raphael with a 35-metre-wide pyramid structure supporting striking columns of LED, with a large scenic / LED event logo sign in the centre upstage and above the DJ riser. The highest point of this back wall was 14.5 metres.
Wet Robe iPointe at (sometimes) rainy Elements Festival.
An overhead canopy provided immediate weather protection above the DJ, but the main structure was completely exposed to the elements. Other challenges included lighting for daylight … as only the final acts of the two-day event each night played in full darkness, so Raphael needed high output fixtures that registered in daylight and were weather resistant. Realising that iPointes would be suited for all the uncovered positions on the stage, Raphael utilised 22 luminaires which were rigged to the top of the LED structure at the back and positioned on the deck and in front of the PA wings … all completely in the open.
The volatility of the weather didn’t disappoint, as bouts of sunshine were regularly interspersed with violent downpours of rain … and the iPointes were put to the test, indeed! Due to the shape of the design, “They were the main light to carry the show” said Raphael Herrmann, “giving those huge super beam looks and mid-air effects that are so important for dance music festivals.” The standard Pointes were centrally above the DJ booth below the canopy roof and proved an “ideal” complement to the iPointes, allowing numerous effects that could fill the black hole immediately behind the lower central area of the DJ booth.
Elements Festival in the daytime, very popular gathering indeed! And high output fixtures like iPointes still register in daylight.
Raphael has been using Pointes for a while in his work for their great beams, multifunctionality and mid-air effects. Eight LEDBeam 150s were tucked away behind the DJ on the main stage, and another eight were spec’d for the Lakeside Stage where they were also the primary backlight for the DJ. This was the first time that Raphael had used the iPointe, a brand-new Robe fixture that has just gone into production.
It’s been developed following the success of the standard Pointe for dance style events – Robe’s R&D realised that a complimentary water-resistant version would be an asset for outdoor shows and seasons, and launched the iPointe early 2019. “The large zoom range is really wide”, reports Raphael. Also helpful were the high output and the rich colours. “It’s simply a great extension for outdoors and we do not need to use domes which can sometimes have distracting reflections!”
From left to right is Andreas Mohl, Sebastian Seibert, Dennis Hertrich and Raphael Herrmann from Team Prolite.
Two lighting operators ran lights for the Elements 2019 and both were also suitably impressed with the iPointe. Sebastian Seibert commented: “They are definitely in a class of their own in terms of powerful, bright and well-engineered IP rated spotlights. The incredible zoom range is what I needed for EDM!”
Dennis Hertrich agrees: “The beam power, even at a great distance, is amazing and you can still clearly see the beams piercing the sky. The IP protection saves us serious amounts of work on site in not having to use domes etc. The effects are great, the choice of gobos is perfect for me. In summary, it’s a great package, working immediately ‘out of the box’ and seem properly reliable.”
Some of the event lighting kit was cross rented by Raphael from NicLen. Marcel Bognar built the set and co-ordinated the décor, video was operated by Marc Schuler and the event was organised and hosted by Happyland GmbH.
“Siriusly”? We like play on words and couldn’t resist this (nasty) one. Nevertheless, this new appointment of Sirius Sound & Lighting Systems as RCF new exclusive distributor for Greece is anything but a joke. Sirius Sound may be a newly-established company, but there are strong reasons for RCF to choose it. Speaking of the new appointment, RCF sales manager Massimo Bruni, said, “We selected Sirius Sound for their high technical qualification of their managers, which will help RCF consolidate its primary role in the Greek market.”
RCF and Sirius Sound and Lighting Systems in a forecast successful partnership.
RCF, celebrating its 70th anniversary this year, boasts a wide range of products in its extensive portfolio, for applications ranging from professional audio for both rental PA and permanent installations, as well as commercial audio.
Sirius Sound’s mission is to create a solid and long-term business relationship with its customers and support a nationwide network, with the desire to stand out and establish its name in the Greek market. One of its principal aims is in the field of training and seminars in Italy, through the RCF Audio Academy, where targeted seminars are conducted by specialists to promote a high level of understanding and knowledge.
RCF Audio Academy is an important asset for RCF Distributors all over the world.
Sirius Sound & Lighting Systems sales manager, Mr Giannelos said, “It is a great honour to co-operate with the best, aiming high to ensure that RCF broadens and strengthens the position it deserves in the Greek market through Sirius Sound & Lighting Systems.”
He also emphasises the importance of collaboration with a specialised team of experienced audiovisual engineers in being able to provide high-quality technological solutions using RCF tools.
Khamsin-S. What we like:
Khamsin-S. What we dislike:
