Shure is making the ShurePlus Channels App accessible to all, as it’s now available for free download to Android phone users via Google Play. From live events, to houses of worship and theatres, ShurePlus Channels is an ideal and accessible solution for seasoned audio techs and those looking to make their initial foray into wireless systems management. Originally launched in 2014 for iOS, ShurePlus Channels has given users optimal control from the palm of their hand, helping them oversee and manage Shure wireless systems while making important real-time changes using a mobile device. Users can monitor critical channel information for…
Author: Jacob Waite
Skiddle has announced it will hand out £50K of bursaries to kickstart the events industry, as part of a new ongoing partnership with the Night Time Industries Association. Skiddle’s Events Revival Fund, in partnership with the NTIA which promotes the unique contribution of the night time industry to the UK, will be awarded to events organisers in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales to help rebuild the industry in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. The money will support events organisers and promoters who plan to put on events in bars and nightclubs in a bid to revitalise the events industry…
A decade after first attending as a punter, Mason Felps returned to his northern Alabama hometown as Rock The South Festival’s production manager and lighting designer. For Felps, who earlier this summer toured with Alan Jackson, the two-day festival brought back great memories. “Rock The South has a special place in my heart,” he said. “Our crew powered through a monsoon to put on this show. Yet, despite the storms, we wanted to do our best to make this festival special for the bands and the fans.” Helping Felps and the production team make good on this goal was an…
Martin Dudley and Malcolm Garrett join forces to create an expansive light show, supported by a ChamSys MagicQ MQ80 console, for Heaven 17’s shows at Sheffield’s City Hall – the band’s hometown show – and London’s iconic Roundhouse. Having worked with Heaven 17 for five years, Dudley was eager to light these very special shows, which would have the band perform in full the two albums that Heaven 17 founder Martyn Ware wrote and recorded with the Human League. He also appreciated how their evocative sound lent itself to rich imagery. Then there was also the opportunity to play his lights off…
While on the road with Bruno Mars, GRAMMY Award-winning Recording Engineer, Charles Moniz and Live Sound Engineer, Chris Rabold rely on JBL Professional 708P master reference monitors to deliver crystal-clear sound for front-of-house mixing as well as recording backstage. Mars and the band frequently worked on new songs while on the road and needed a high-quality mobile recording setup that could be easily assembled in any setting. Moniz, who worked with Mars on his 2012 album Unorthodox Jukebox and 2016’s 24k Magic, selected JBL Professional 708P reference monitors for their studio-grade sound quality, high output and balanced coverage. Additionally, front-of-house…
Lighting Designer, Mathieu Cabanes discovered the new possibilities offered by Robert Juliat’s latest 800W LED followspot, Arthur, on Les Folies Broadway, a large symphonic show performed this summer at the Domaine D’O in Montpellier. “I use Robert Juliat followspots very often. I particularly appreciate the artistic touch that a followspot can bring to a live show,” said Mathieu Cabanes. “New products and technologies are offered to us every year and I like to study these and their functions and make sure I use the right tool for each application.” Cabanes first used LED followspots on a Robert Wilson show in…
Bringing Swedish composer, arranger and conductor Hans Ek’s ambitious arrangements to life is no mean feat – especially as most performances involve a symphony orchestra, multiple vocalists, a three to five piece band and, on occasion, a choir – so Monitor Engineer, Peter Fredriksson of PFL Nordic AB and FOH Engineer, Hans “Surte” Norin of Taking Care of Audio AB worked closely with Ek to handle the technically demanding live shows throughout Scandinavia. “We tour around and take our gear to the top-class orchestras here in the Nordics, and we use local PA on-site” explained Fredriksson. “Over the years we have…
Christie Digital has announced the M 4K25 RGB pure laser projector, designed as the company’s ‘smallest, lightest, and quietest’ all-in-one RGB pure laser projector on the market. First introduced in 2007, the original M Series was a game-changer for the ProAV industry. “The M Series packed a lot of features in a small package,” said Christie Executive Director for Technology and Custom Solutions, Larry Paul. “Features like the intelligent lens system and embedded Twist for blending and warping were unique at the time, plus its small size and weight, helped it to become Christie’s best-selling line of projectors and lenses.” The new 25,000…
What was the initial goal of TRANSFERABLE ENGINE (TE) technology? “The great benefit of LEDs is their long life. Unfortunately, all LEDs degrade over time, both in terms of output and colour shift. They reach a point when the output has degraded to such a point that it will become unacceptable. Changing an LED light engine was expensive in terms of engine, specialised tools, skills and time. This would usually be carried out at an approved service centre to avoid warranty issues, adding to the cost. LED light engines are purchased as part of the fixture. Frozen in time, with…
Designed, engineered and exclusively distributed by Elation Professional, Magmatic Crisp and Crisp Max are strong and affordable speciality effect solutions. With its small size and easy mobility, Crisp is a set-it-and-forget-it snow effect. The unit weighs 15.2kg with a hanging bracket that doubles as a carrying handle. Crisp uses Magmatic’s specially formulated APS-4L dry-on-impact snow liquid to create a snowflake that mimics the look and feel of real snow. Crisp Max includes a 20-litre fluid tank hidden inside a road case with durable casters for extra protection and easier portability. The unit’s 10m-long hose can be rigged on a standard…
Where does the Maverick Silens 2 Profile fit within the CHAUVET Professional arsenal? The Maverick Silens 2 Profile was engineered with one goal in mind. The fixture answers an issue which has existed in theatres for many years now. Lighting designers and operators all want the versatility that a feature packed moving head brings. The ability to focus on various parts of the stage without having to use several static profile fixtures to do it. The issue has always been that the ambient noise created by these fixtures is enough to ruin the performance for those in the audience. With…
Folk by the Oak was the last festival to adhere to tier three COVID-19 guidelines, following the easing of lockdown restrictions. The husband and wife team of Caroline and Adam Slough of JSL Productions were determined to host the event for their festival team, artists and loyal audience, despite the additional COVID-19 hoops they had to jump through – enlisting the support of Symphotech to make the event a reality. “We turn-around from Saturday’s proms event overnight, to the folk festival on Sunday with quite a small crew and we keep infrastructure light to make that possible with a reduced…
As the UK-based live events sector slowly begins to return to normality – with music festivals, exhibitions and conferences welcoming in-person audiences for the first time in 18 months – and the festival world trying to make the most out of what is left of the late UK summer and early autumn, shortages for trackway, toilets and fencing as well as the lack of suitably trained crew is an issue now which may carry on into 2022. It has been documented that plenty of talented members of the live events sector, who were considered as experts in their field, and…
While most concerts are limited by worldly constraints, a virtual concert can be whatever an artist wants it to be, giving them the power to shape fan experiences and realise fantastical concepts at a much higher level than is possible in real life. The Madison Beer Immersive Reality Concert Experience takes this idea and runs with it, turning one piece of content into the type of transmedia campaign that can thrill fans from YouTube to VR. For all the leeway afforded to them by 3D, the production team — led by — still saw value in maintaining a measure of…
There are few companies from the world of live events that have not diversified their business models since the emergence of COVID-19. Spartan Crew is a clear example of this entrepreneurial spirit; with its usual work within the live events sector drying up overnight, the company made strides to move into the field of agency work. After founding Spartan Crew in 2017, established crewing professionals, Paz Brennan and Ciaran Boylan had taken their business from strength to strength, until the “horrendous” effects of COVID-19 kicked in. “Not only were live events halted, but a lot of a foreign crew went…
In 2020, Peter Rice, Course Leader for Theatre Sound at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and member of the Association of Sound Designers, created a new arm to the Association. Named the Educators Working Group, the aim was to consolidate the minds and experience of various educators and engineers to answer the simple question; what is expected of new graduates and what skills are highly sought after by the industry? “Before I took up my role at RCSSD, I was working at the Young Vic Theatre,” began Rice. “Back then I knew most of the other engineers…
Having upskilled amid the lockdown of live events, TPi Breakthrough Talent, Cedric Duré of Outdream Creative was finally able to put his newfound capabilities to the test for My House – an interactive dance performance with Unreal Engine, utilising a system originally designed for consumer/prosumer VR gaming market as an indie BlackTrax. Duré was brought into the project by the show’s Director, Junior Akwety, following a prior discussion about his eagerness to explore and enhance his interactive content and real-time tracking capabilities. “It’s amazing how one good impression can lead to so many new opportunities,” he began, discussing how he…
Tipper and Red Rocks are a match made in electronic heaven – a place where the monolithic meets dimension and fidelity. The enigmatic, spotlight-shirking producer first played the 9,500-capacity venue in 2015. In the days that followed, glowing words flowed onto pages, photos and videos incapable of capturing the real-life magic flooded the internet, and everyone agreed that this performance, in which music, art and sound design came together to form a mesmerising bundle of ‘wow’, was very special indeed. Last month, Tipper returned to Red Rocks for two consecutive nights, armed with a new sound experience for the famous…
