Rigging Team has joined forces with Rose Bruford College students to assist in the delivery of a live event staged at the college. Created as an opportunity to study working as part of a live production crew, the show allowed students to gain valuable experience, experimenting with a range of professional, industry equipment. Rigging Team Managing Director, Adam Searle commented: “Rigging Team are proud to have donated equipment in support of the project at Rose Bruford. Along with the regular training and tuition we provide, we’re always keen to help deliver experiences such as this to students looking to become…
Author: Jacob Waite
Creation X Recording, a music production business, enables full bands and individuals alike to produce songs and bring their projects to life. At the beginning March 2020, coinciding with the first UK COVID-19 lockdown, CXR’s Nikki McGuinness began building a hybrid recording studio from scratch for the business – enlisting the support of VDC Trading to supply custom-manufactured cabling for the build. The new room-within-a room studio, based in the grounds of 100-acre Birchin Inhams Farm in Wokingham, took 12 months to construct. Nikki learnt what materials to purchase and built the whole thing, including all the internal acoustic treatment,…
Powersoft has launched a project registration process on its website that will allow subscribers to receive a discount on Powersoft products to be purchased for any installation project, as well as direct support from Powersoft’s expert technical team. Registrants can be any company or user in the project chain, such as distributors, end users, system integrators or resellers, and the discount and support will be accessible to customers once the submitted project, after meeting certain requirements, has been considered eligible. To be eligible, registrants must provide, at least three months prior to the estimated product delivery date, all project details…
80six recently opened the doors to its virtual production studios in Slough. The VP facility boasts a preconfigured curved LED stage, ideal for shooting in-camera VFX with Brompton Technology products at the heart of the studio’s high-end technical backbone. The company has spent the last 20 months carrying out extensive R&D with LED and cameras for film and TV productions with trusted partners such as Epic Games, Dimension Studio, DNEG & OSF. “Throughout the last couple of years, we have carried out various tests that have given us a solid understanding of the principles of VP. We can now confidently…
Kicking off in Pittsburgh on 15 April and coming to a close in Brandon, Mississippi on 18 June, The Blessing USA Tour takes six-time GMA Dove Award winner Kari Jobe and husband/partner Cody Carnes on a 24-city run of shows at large houses of worship and theatres across the Midwest and South, including Dallas, Orlando, Minneapolis, Atlanta, Houston – with a DiGiCo Quantum338 in tow. Sponsored by illumiNations and CovidSafeChurch.com, the tour is implementing “socially distanced and/or reserved COVID-19 safe seating and capacities” in each venue, and tour members will be tested and everyone entering will be temperature checked, in…
Pixotope is celebrating three heavyweight additions to its global staff, following reported growth in use across the media and production sector. The new hires bring specialist experience to the development and delivery of virtual production solutions. Pixotope’s latest product ambassador ensuring excellence in customer delivery, Juan Rubio, is joining the team as a new Product Specialist and Evangelist. Based in the US, Juan’s career has spanned across Feature Film VFX, AAA Games, and Enterprise, having worked on blockbuster movies like the Matrix Reloaded/Revolutions, The Day After Tomorrow and The Watchmen. As an early adopter of VR, AR, and XR, Juan…
No stranger to the Eurovision Song Contest, having been part of the 2005 programming, Capture visualisation played a key role at this year’s show at Rotterdam’s Ahoy Arena. Since 1994, Capture has been developing and evolving the software in the pre-programming sector and now seen as one of the premier brands in this increasingly busy sector of the entertainment market. “Using Capture 2021 is almost like seeing the visuals in real life,” was Eurovision Lighting Designer, Henk Jan van Beek’s assessment of the Swedish manufacturer’s pre-visualisation software system. Famed for its extravagant feast of lights, video and FX, Eurovision Song…
PRG has joined forces with the Studio Wayne McGregor to create a flexible, COVID-19 secure space for recording, streaming, or basing virtual and hybrid events in the heart of London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Studio 3 at Studio Wayne McGregor offers a flexible canvas, meaning that PRG can provide a custom approach to every project and deliver production at any scale, from livestream corporate presentations to music video or hybrid event. PRG UK Director of Corporate & Events, John Montague said: “We’re really excited to open our partnership studio with Studio Wayne McGregor. The modern, energising space, in combination with…
Founded in 2018 by visual and production design specialists Greg Russell and Vello Virkhaus, Xite Labs was recently approached by Director, Mike Carson and The 92 Group to assist in the production of a virtual concert for Bryson Tiller. Xite Labs received a detailed brief with a set of storyboard images and a flow concept of the four dynamic worlds that they wanted to build. The 3D spaces were created by multiple highly skilled artists using Unreal Engine and Notch. The studio design comprised three-sides – including an LED back wall, an LED floor with rear lights at high angles…
Asked to describe his impression of Global Citizen’s Vax Live, The Concert To Reunite The World, Lighting Designer, Tom Kenny answered with a simple six-word phrase. “Full of Grace, Full of Light.” The globally televised event, which raised $302m, enough to procure 26 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. As for the light, Kenny and the Diversified Productions Services team ensured that it was present in full force at SoFi Stadium, supporting the performances of Lopez and fellow stars Eddie Vedder, Foo Fighters, J Balvin, and H.E.R. with a rich variety of dynamic looks that reflected each artist’s individual style.…
In a year where the music industry has relied on online connectivity, livestreaming was one of the only ways artists were able to connect with fans, providing hope and entertainment while also generating income, says LIVE (Live music Industry Venues & Entertainment) in response to PRS for Music’s proposed livestreaming rate. “PRS for Music’s proposed streaming tariff is unacceptable because it is now higher than initially proposed and due to be backdated. This leaves people in the potentially bleak position of needing to raise funds for activity that happened some time ago: it unfairly targets those artists who relied on livestreaming…
DRPG recently delivered one of its first live events with an in-person audience in 2021, namely the end of season awards for Wolverhampton Wanderers. Prior to COVID-19, the celebration is attended by players, sponsors and fans. However, in-line with health and safety guidelines, the showcase was limited to attendance by club sponsors only. Blending a traditional awards format with full production values and presenting pre-recorded films from players. The event included a drinks reception and a sit-down dinner on tables of six with social distancing in place. Emma Stanley, Producer at DRPG, supported the event and talked about the excitement…
Stockton Globe, Ambassador Theatre Group’s new, 3,000-capacity, flagship music and comedy venue has unveiled the completion of its £28m restoration by Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council. The iconic Grade II-listed Art Deco Globe, which has stood empty since 1997 and closed as a live entertainment venue in 1974 is packed with brand-new features including the flexible standing and seated configuration, new purpose-built bars, VIP areas, dressing room suites, orchestra pits and of course the additional 200 capacity gig venue and cafe bar, The Link. The venue will be will be run by Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG) and has been designed with a…
BRIT Awards 2021 made history on 11 May as 4,000 audience members gathered at London’s O2 Arena for the UK’s first indoor live music concert in 14 months. In celebration of the best in British and international pop music, The BRIT Awards audience – made up by primarily of NHS key workers – brought hope back to live music crews. The test show marked a momentous return to multi-artist, large scale productions, and although the limited numbers presented challenges, the Britannia Row team was happy to take up the mantle. “Safety was paramount”, Crew Chief Steve Donovan explained: “The BRITs…
Reflecting the intensity of 2CELLOS’ cover of Bon Jovi’s Livin’ On A Prayer music video shoot was a dynamic and intricately layered light show designed by Crt Birsa of Slovenia-based Blackout, who operated the six-universe, 126 fixture, timecoded show on a ChamSys Magic MQ80 console. Birsa created myriad patterns of light to play off the music video’s unique venue: a 33m long tunnel in a former military warehouse. To focus the viewer’s attention firmly on the geometry of the setting, he kept his colour palettes simple. “I didn’t want to go multicolour,” he said. “Basic palettes were the most well-suited for…
Robe lighting has launched two new products as part of the company’s all-weather IP65 rated iSeries – iPointe65 and iSpiider. Modelled on the Robe MegaPointe, iPointe65 is designed, developed, and manufactured to be sealed against water and particle ingress – the unit adheres to the IP65 rating. iPointe’s aluminium housing provides a dust-free environment for the optical, gobo and colour systems, eliminating the need for frequent cleaning and maintenance. Near-Field Communication (NFC) technology enables access setup, diagnostics and other performance-related features directly from a mobile device using the Robe Com app – even when the fixture is not powered. The…
Brompton Technology has joined forces with White Light (WL) to showcase the game-changing new functionality of Tessera V3.1 software. New features such as Frame Remapping and High Frame Rate+ have unlocked capabilities to revolutionise virtual production and provide a wealth of ground-breaking opportunities for creatives in broadcast and live events. With WL’s history of deploying XR solutions around the world, Brompton felt that SmartStage was the perfect environment to push the boundaries of these new applications. Frame Remapping within a SmartStage LED studio enables multiple cameras and shooting modes to each see their own unique render perspective. It also means…
Cruise, a story of a man diagnosed with HIV in the 1980s, opened in the West End’s Duchess Theatre on 19 May, marking the first new show to open since the easing of restrictions across the UK. A milestone for the arts, Cruise is the first new show this year to welcome audiences back to theatres in England, having been pummelled by the impacts of COVID-19. Responsible for bringing the story to life is Stufish and Set Designer, Nik Corrall. In the same vein as Channel 4 TV series, It’s A Sin, Cruise is a celebration of life, queer culture and survival.…
