The annual New Year’s Eve show on broadcaster ZDF (Silvestershow) is a regular fixture in the German TV calendar. This year, Andrea Kiewel and Johannes B. Kerner welcomed the New Year in Germany flanked by numerous musical guests. Instead of the traditional fireworks display, a stage light show with no audience took place in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. As technical service provider for the event, AMBION was faced with the challenge of setting up and dismantling an open-air TV show in the cold, wet December weather. The show took place in the middle of the capital under the strictest…
Author: Jacob Waite
For more than 20 years, PRG has provided equipment and solutions for the biggest annual event in US sports and the cultural touchpoint that is the Pepsi Halftime Show. This year, the company contributed lighting, rigging, LED, video, networking, camera, projection, broadcast equipment, truss and gear rental to 2021’s big game. While the current state of the world meant that fewer brands and businesses were activating technology at pop-up events, parties and remote viewing areas, some truly exciting and innovative surprises were still in store, and we were thrilled to help bring them to life. LA-based creative team Production Club…
The first socially distanced live music event due to take place at The O2 arena with South East London band Squeeze, will now take place on 22 May 2021. The gig, which will see the venue’s capacity reduced from 20,000 to 4,700, will be the first live music event with fans since the venue closed in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A number of safety measures and extensive planning will be in place to welcome fans back to the arena safely. Squeeze Lead Singer, Glenn Tilbrook said: “I am so thrilled to be playing The O2 with Squeeze…
iMAG has recently revealed a new mobile virtual production facility, offering a 360° workflow, from in-house drawing team and rigging, to full LED set up controlled by Brompton Technology Tessera processing. iMAG has joined forces with film production company Treehouse Digital, which works with major episodic streaming companies such as Netflix and Amazon, as well as on films and commercials, for the project, combining their extensive experience in filmmaking with iMAG’s hardware, knowledge and expertise gained through years of working in high pressure live environments. “The true-to-life colour accuracy and image bit depth of High Dynamic Range (HDR) is becoming…
Originally slated to reopen Leicester’s Curve Theatre as part of a season of socially distanced ‘in-the-round’ shows, Sunset Boulevard in Concert was forced to become a streaming event due to continued lockdowns in the UK. Nevertheless, the technical production continued to be supported by GLP fixtures. Theatre Lighting Designer, Ben Cracknell specified a large quantity of the new impression 350 series by GLP. The multi-camera film version – which was scheduled to stream over an 18-day period starting 22 December – brought even more out of the venue, according to Cracknell. “What was already a fairly distinctive in-the-round production, using…
The Stagehand COVID-19 Crew Relief Fund, which was launched in September 2020, has achieved its target of raising £1 million by the end of 2020 and now looks to build on the £1.17 million raised to continue supporting live events industry workers experiencing hardship in 2021. As a result, a third round of grant applications will be open until 12pm on February 12. The grants of £500 help crew facing financial crisis and experiencing food poverty. Stagehand, the only UK charity that specifically helps music stage and road crew, has issued over 900 grants, but there are many more live…
Siemens recently partnered with EVOKE Studios and disguise to host 8,000 customers from 90 countries at Digital Enterprise SPS Dialog. The event offered customers engaging virtual content and introduced the new Siemens virtual showroom which showcased innovative 3D visualisations and tours using disguise xR. The disguise xR workflow, implemented by EVOKE Studios, powered the virtual showroom, which featured 56 exhibits in 12 topic areas, more than 130 product presentations and three real factory showcases. In addition, there were 21 stage presentations with 38 top-level industry speakers. A total of 8,000 customers from 90 countries connected to the event. During five…
Following the postponement of its in-person event this year, Showlight has announced a one-day Virtual Showlight will be held as a temporary interlude. The live online event will take place on 25 May 2021. The date coincides with the final day of the original event and the time has been chosen to best accommodate USA and European delegates, the night owls further east, and the sleepless in Australia and New Zealand. Virtual Showlight will host an online presentation of papers, each up to 30 minutes in length, from international keynote speakers, plus a live Panel Discussion. Q&A sessions will follow…
SLX recently worked alongside young artist, Cameron Flynn to create a digital performance that showcases the challenges faced by artists nationwide amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The performance, titled UNSKILLED, will be available to watch online from midday on 7 February 2021. Flynn was a member of New Adventures dance company on tour with Matthew Bourne’s production of The Red Shoes until the COVID-19 pandemic hit. “I was determined to use this time to do something meaningful. I didn’t want to moan about it but I wanted to convey a world where dance, performance and theatre didn’t exist yet all around…
South Australia’s Summer Sounds Festival was a four-week outdoor concert series offering the joy of live sound to a 2,100-capacity audience. A total of 18 shows ran the whole month of January, with festival-goers safely and comfortably spaced in ‘Party Pods’ that accommodated four to six people each. The festival celebrated Australian artistes such as Bernard Fanning, Spiderbait, and Hayden James. Through the collaboration of Five Four Entertainment, Groove Events, and Secret Sounds, the festival promoters looked to Adelaide-based L-Acoustics rental network partner Novatech to provide that dynamic live sound festival-goers have been craving. Festival-goers could choose from VIP, Gold, Silver, or Bronze seating packages. VIP Pods…
Broadcast by Choice FM, a two-hour virtual party recently took place on the island of Cyprus to raise funds and morale for families impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Featuring local DJs and performers, United We Can was filmed on top of one of the tallest buildings in the city of Limassol. An ADJ lighting rig, supplied by Sound & Vision By DJ Nick, illuminated a series of rooftop performers and the Cypriot skies above. The venue for the video shoot was the rooftop of Cedar Oasis, a 16-floor tower located in the centre of the city of Limassol. The DJ…
Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) remains scheduled to take place 1-4 June 2021 in Barcelona. ISE Managing Director, Mike Blackman has responded to the announcement by AVIXA that the InfoComm 2021 show is set to take place in Orlando in October 2021. He has penned the following: “Dear ISE community, Following today’s announcement that the InfoComm 2021 show will now take place in Orlando in October 2021, we want to confirm that Integrated Systems Europe, remains scheduled to open live and online on 1-4 June 2021 in its new home at the Fira, Barcelona. Whilst we recognise there continue to be…
When the new Biden-Harris administration asked New Radicals frontman Gregg Alexander to play You Get What You Give at their 20 January virtual Parade Across America, producers ESM Productions and A/V provider Synergetic stepped in to help make it happen. “Scott Mirkin, President & CEO of ESM Productions, had seen our new studio streaming space and called just a few days before the Inauguration as he thought the stage would be a good setting for the New Radicals performance,” commented Jason Weldon, President and CEO at Synergetic. “When he came in to refresh his memory, as soon as he walked in,…
Founding Avolites Director, Steve Warren concludes his series of articles featuring key figures in live events industry – the series examines the changing roles of the sector, especially amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and how, as a collective, the sector must keep up with technological advancement and innovation.
In response to reports that the UK Government is planning to raise VAT on ticket sales back up to 20%, Live Music Industry Entertainment and Venues (LIVE) is coordinating letters addressed to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak and other key decision makers in UK Parliament to reduce the VAT on tickets to 5% amid the COVID-19 pandemic. To support the initiative, LIVE suggests the following steps: 1. Write to your local MP to urge them to #KeepVATat5. Download this template letter with instructions, or personalise however you see fit. 2. Encourage your friends, colleagues, networks, mailing lists and…
iMAG joined forces with film production company, Treehouse Digital in October 2020 to pioneer a mobile LED virtual production facility. When the COVID-19 pandemic flipped the events landscape firmly on its axis, the collective were primed to assist the film and live events industries navigate their way through the global restrictions. The result is a mobile facility that offers a 360° LED workflow, which includes an in-house drawing team, rigging specialists and a full LED set up. “We were quick off the mark with our full-service mobile VP solution and it has definitely been paying off,” said iMAG MD and…
FIX8Group has responded to the surge in demand for virtual events by partnering with the spatial visualisation and collaboration tool, Cavrnus to deliver innovative event design and delivery solutions. The move reflects the unprecedented challenges by the event industry in the face of COVID-19, as more global events transfer to the digital domain and require true collaborative, online planning. Cavrnus enables event designers to build and share immersive and interactive 3D virtual environments, such as conference rooms, exhibitions and stores. FIX8Group says that adding Cavrnus to its stable will facilitate enhanced options for anyone needing innovative technical delivery of online…
INFiLED has revealed the opening of a new EMEA office and showroom situated in the heart of Barcelona, Spain. This investment proves INFiLED’s commitment to the ongoing growth in the LED market to meet the varied and growing needs and expectations of industry customers. The brand-new full-renovated space of 500m² located in the heart of Barcelona serves as working space for the European Sales and Marketing team as well as a facility filled with INFiLED’s latest products for both fixed and rental installations. In recent years, the city has been voted as best location to host Integrated Systems Europe (ISE)…
