Signalling brighter days ahead, New Zealand’s musical summer took a turn for the better for six weekends in January and February, as local rock outfit SIX60 took to the road for their SIX60 Saturdays tour. The band played a series of venues with a stellar line-up of local guests to the largest audiences the country has seen since the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, with SIX60’s long-time audio supplier, College Hill Productions along for the landmark journey. “The past 12 months have been a rollercoaster, everything happened pretty quickly,” said College Hill Productions Operations Manager, Reeco Adriaansen, on…
Author: Jacob Waite
Like many of his peers, 2020’s forced hiatus from life on the road gave Lighting Crew Chief, Keith Parrott the time to develop an idea he’d held onto for a few years. Speaking to TPi, the lighting specialist outlined what he had been cooking up while in lockdown – pun very much intended. “I’ve worked in the industry for over 15 years and throughout my time, like many others, I have worked those shows, be it a corporate gig or a festival, where you simply don’t have the facilities to get a drink or a bite to eat – either…
Diversify The Stage was founded by Noelle Scaggs, co-lead vocalist of alt-pop band Fitz And The Tantrums, in the spring of 2020, with a focus on transforming the concert, events, and touring industries to increase diverse representation. The organisation counts on the support of industry professionals and artists to build a culture of accountability that establishes inclusive hiring practices and greater access to equitable opportunities for Black, Indigenous and People of Colour (BIPOC); Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ); Female-identifying and Gender Non-conforming individuals. With over two decades of experience as a touring musician and a woman of colour…
As lockdown restrictions begin to ease and the touring and theatre industries take tentative steps back to work, it is my greatest hope that lighting production personnel can resume their professional roles with dignity and security, bolstered by a sense of community. There’s no doubt the pandemic has exposed the precarious position of the live events and theatre-based workforce. Existing as a huge tribe of freelancers, we have a very poor structure within which people have to carry out their duties. Though we are all in a cooperative situation, who do we turn to when things go wrong? I don’t…
Only Helix, known for its work with leading artists like Years & Years, Bat For Lashes, Amy Macdonald and Bombay Bicycle Club, has launched a new travel service that’s designed to meet the specific needs of touring professionals. OH Visas is rooted in an understanding of how the entertainment industry works, and has been developed to take the travel stress out of touring. Only Helix’s Steven Down and Tom Nicol are the masterminds behind the service, which will be headed up by travel industry specialist, Ben Young. “OH Visas was borne from our combined experiences, frustrations and successes with travel over the years,” explained Down. “Brexit…
PUSH LIVE has appointed Simon Hosken as Chief Financial and Operating Officer. Hosken previously held the position of COO and CFO for 15 years at Eagle Rock Entertainment. He joins PUSH LIVE after 12 months of significant growth, where the company powered over 600 live events, from world-leading outdoor festivals including EDC Mexico 2020, virtual multi-act streams for Inside Lands and Twitch’s Glitchcon, awards ceremonies including the London Football Awards, video games showcases for EA and Xbox, and PPV live streams involving artists such as Architects and Alejandro Fernandez. In his new role, Hosken will be responsible for the accelerated expansion…
Minneapolis-based REACH Communications has become the first company in North America to take delivery of a new DiGiCo Quantum225 console, which was put to use for a livestread show by Yam Haus at Twin Cities music venue, First Avenue. REACH’s former longtime lead audio engineer, Adam Bufis, now an independent FOH Engineer and Production Manager for The Revolution, SAINt JHN, and other artists, was elated for the opportunity to get in front of the new Q225 for a live show. “I’ve been using DiGiCo consoles for a dozen years, including the SD12, SD7, SD5 and Quantum338, and I have to say that…
In his role as Account Director, Scott Holman’s focus will be on experiential technology installations for live events, leading the way in helping to ensure the client’s objectives are at the forefront of all event technology solutions. Discussing his new role, Holman said: “I’m thrilled to be starting my new journey in the events industry with Immersive AV. The past year has been tough, but we can see light at the end of the tunnel and we’ll soon be back to what we all love and do best.” Holman brings over a decade of experience to the role. Scott has a thorough understanding of the technical…
Riedel Communications Bolero provides maximum communications flexibility and accelerates production workflows for White Light’s full range of on-site and virtual events produced throughout the UK and across Europe. “One of the many things that sets Bolero apart from other wireless intercoms is its ability to support multiple categories of users, such as camera operators, production managers, and Zoom technicians,” said White Light Venues Director, Jonjo Glynn. “With Bolero’s programmable beltpack, users are able to customise their setup to meet their individual needs, and user groups can be programmed to hear only specific types of comms from other groups. This type of…
JLLive and beMatrix have joined forces to enhance the offering of both companies in the world of corporate events, exhibitions, trade shows, television, film and retail. Blending the expertise and creativity that JLLive brings from its background in the TV, film and corporate events space with beMatrix’s proficiency in creating sustainable modular frame systems for exhibitions and trade shows, the two businesses will offer fully immersive and interactive broadcast quality events, allowing brands to engage with their audiences more effectively than ever before. JLLive and beMatrix have identified, and are responding to, the needs of large corporates, agencies and brands…
In a snapshot of the full Showlight event, a series of papers will be presented by international keynote speakers, interspersed by a series of ‘video shorts’ from the likes of Peggy Eisenhower and Bill Klages. Virtual Showlight 2021 will feature a discussion panel based on the subject of diversity in the lighting industry, chaired by award-winning lighting designer, Paule Constable. David Bishop BBC Strictly Come Dancing BBC Strictly Come Dancing’s award-winning lighting designer, David Bishop, will outline the challenges of re-designing an icon of UK television after 15 years, the latest season of which required the incorporation of live augmented…
The London Climate Change Festival returned in 2021 with a televised broadcast, following last year’s cancellation due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The specially created concert, titled Song For Nature, debuted on Sky Arts on Earth Day (22 April) with Paul Smith of Apex Acoustics providing audio infrastructure for the concert as well as mixing live sound with a DiGiCo SD10 console. “The concert grew organically into a much larger event with performances by Brian May, Rob Brydon, Nathan Evans, Kerry Ellis, Janie Dee and Wayne Sleep, and many more along with the ENO Orchestra and choir,” recalled Smith. “Brian May…
Gianni Fantini has been named the new Sales Manager of NEXO Italy. The appointment reportedly maintains a pleasing continuity for NEXO’s customers in Italy, with the recruit prominently involved with the brand for the past 20 years. “I experienced NEXO for the first time in 1989 when I was the FOH engineer for Enzo Iannacci,” recalled Fantini. “We used an SI1000 system and I easily fell in love with it.” From his early career as a FOH engineer working with Italian and international artists, Fantini went on to start his full-service production company Joint Rent, purchasing NEXO’s GEO T tangent…
d&b audiotechnik has established a new service-focused business entity, d&b solutions GmbH & Co. KG, following the acquisition of UK-based multidisciplinary AV provider, SFL Group. d&b solutions will focus on delivering a higher level of service and integration, and end-to-end installation and production solutions to customers. The newly formed d&b solutions will act independently from d&b audiotechnik GmbH & Co. KG. d&b solutions and d&b audiotechnik will have separate, independent business structures reporting up to the d&b Group. The Managing Directors for d&b solutions are Amnon Harman (d&b Group CEO), Jens Nilsson (d&b Group CFO) and Michael Aldinger (d&b solutions…
The Institute of Sound, Communications and Visual Engineers (ISCVE) has announced the launch of its remote invigilation service for HS&E Assessments. The new online service means applicants who need a valid HS&E certificate to accompany ISCVE ECS card applications, can now take their HS&E assessment online. Prior to the launch of the new service in conjunction with ECS, applicants for HS&E assessments were required to take a test at an approved centre or at an event organised by ISCVE. The new online service reduces the requirement for travel to centres and allows applicants to take the assessment without having to…
Harmony arises when opposite forces are balanced. Gerry Dintelman demonstrated this ancient philosophical principle in convincing fashion in late March and early April when he lit I Watched Music On The Internet, a four-part six-hour livestream marathon featuring 11 different bands. Dintelman’s harmony wasn’t of the gentle flowing yin-yang variety either. Instead, it was a ferocious outpouring that balanced intensely coloured washes from set pieces with the piercing sharp-edge flashes of beefy movers. Playing the two opposing visual forces against one another, Dintelman created a design that fit tight as a glove as it gave each band a unique look.…
Green Hippo has released a major upgrade to its Hippotizer software which introduces an entirely new design, pre-programming and content delivery workflow. Version 4.6 builds on the familiar flexibility of Hippotizer’s real-time media manipulation system with an all-new planning, visualisation and timeline control architecture, opening up further creative opportunities for designers. “Version 4.6 is the result of some incredible work by our R&D team who have worked their trademark Hippo magic to implement a host of powerful, simple-to-use, project-enhancing features designed with the end user firmly in mind,” said Green Hippo Product and Development Director, Ryan Brown. “Hippotizer has always…
Avolites has rolled out the latest version of its lighting software Titan v15 which includes the highly-anticipated Timeline feature set. Timeline allows timecoded shows to be programmed and edited using visually-led tools, dramatically increasing the speed with which users can set up the full range of Avolites lighting and video effects for a project. Timelines allow you to create a precisely timed sequence which you can either run from the console’s internal timer or synchronise to an external timecode source. This is useful in a complex song in a show where the song is pre-recorded or run to a click…
