The latest 5.6 firmware update to the Yamaha CL/QL digital mixing console series features the addition of preamp remote control options for Neutrik’s new NA2-IO-DPRO DANTE audio network device. “There’s no doubt that the future within the Pro AV market is based on interoperability between different devices within an application,” commented Neutrik Product Manager, Florian Frick. “We have found the perfect partner with Yamaha to enable this feature for better ease of use and enhanced customer experience.” With the CL/QL firmware update Yamaha added this specific support for Neutrik’s small but powerful I/O solution, adding more flexibility in a network…
Author: Jacob Waite
The newly-established The Vertical Theatre Group has launched The Vertical Theatre – dubbed a vision for a ‘future-proof’ live performance venue. Put forth as an ‘innovative and tourable’ solution, the free-standing venue is designed to help guarantee the new future of live entertainment, and The Vertical Theatre Group is optimistic that this venue, which allows for social distancing, will be ready to roll-out later this year with the ambition to have multiple venues around the world in due course – providing a much-needed boost to the struggling live entertainment industry. The Vertical Theatre Group have begun initial discussions with potential…
Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG) has revealed the appointment of Rebecca Baker as Head of Marketing and Communications at Stockton Globe. The appointment comes as ATG also announces the opening of a new key role for its new 3,000+ capacity North East venue; Technical and Buildings Manager, with a number of additional positions to be added in the coming weeks. Successful applicants will be part of a team that will welcome acts such as Paloma Faith on her fastest selling UK tour date, Steve Hackett and Ronan Keating as well as the company of We Will Rock You on its debut…
Subsidiaries of Rock-it Cargo USA – Rock-it Cargo and Sound Moves – have joined forces together under the new brand name, Rock-it Global. The firm will merge the offices, vendor networks and expertise of both subsidiaries together to ensure that the full capabilities of each are available to clients. Over the decades, the live event and music touring industry has been able to choose between Rock-it and Sound Moves, the two leading providers of logistics to the live event and music touring community around the globe. This business combination will put the full force of each company at the disposal…
Independent Venue Week 2021 announces a full schedule for its eighth edition, which will take place next week from Monday 25 January to Sunday 31 January. This year will be digital to prioritise the health and well-being of the community, featuring over 141 virtual events taking place. Over 110 venues across the UK have signed up to take part playing host to performances, ‘In Conversation’ interviews, panel discussions with industry professionals, the official IVW Quiz hosted by Duglas Stewart of BMX Bandits and the online premiere screening of ‘On The Road with Independent Venue Week’, with a live Q&A. Music…
We knew it was coming; leaving the EU would always mean less freedom of movement for goods, vehicles and people. There are issues to deal with, none of them insurmountable – this is event production after all. Of course, announcing a deal on Christmas Eve was a rather cruel twist when most of us were looking forward to a bit of a break; the industry’s most ardent Brexiteers (all six of you) would point out that even the timing was midnight in the EU rather than here. It was pointed out that looking for the words ‘music’, ‘culture’ or ‘entertainment’…
In a break from regular tradition, the team from Jack Morton and some of the live event industry’s best-known companies and creatives joined forces to produce a 10-minute New Year’s Eve show, designed for home-viewing and created in collaboration with the BBC. Jack Morton’s creative team worked with On the Sly for music production, Titanium Fireworks for pyrotechnics, and SKYMAGIC for the swarm drone sequences. Lighting was designed by Durham Marenghi, with Paul Cook assuming the role of Associate LD and Programmer. Marenghi called on the expertise of Lights Control Rigging, ER Productions, the Signify team, Atelier Ten and the…
Sam Smith, Blossoms, Fontaines D.C., Newton Faulkner and Flogging Molly will join more than 40 international artists uniting to raise vital funds to fight food poverty, help struggling music acts and entertainment industry workers. The exclusive two-day virtual festival called Music Feeds has been organised by ethical retailer Co-op and Everybody Belongs Here, the promoter working to do good in the entertainment industry. Music Feeds will run over two nights on 28 and 29 January 2021, with all net profits being donated to three key charities: FareShare (helping to provide around 2.5 million meals), Stagehand and Help Musicians. As part of Music Feeds, Co-op will donate a total of £1m. Co-op has campaigned hard to raise awareness of food poverty and was one of the first signatories to Marcus Rashford’s new Food Insecurity…
Set out at as a five-episode run of tutorials, Panasonic’s L.I.V.E (Live Integrated Video Experience) Series was launched in the last quarter of 2020 with the goal of providing customers with an insight into the ever-expanding virtual studio sector. Collaborating with a number of studios, including Creative Technology’s London facility and CustomProject’s Barcelona location, the Panasonic team hopes to provide viewers a glimpse into the future of virtual events and the technology behind such developments as AR, XR, robotic cameras and much more. Speaking to TPi, Panasonic’s Guilhem Krier, Manager of Product Marketing and Business Development, described the origins of…
Avolites has unveiled the new Diamond 9 console in two versions: D9-330 and D9-215. Both new visual canvas controllers deliver inspired creative control to production designers in lighting, broadcast and AV, allowing them to create, program and command their ultimate performances. The Diamond 9 consoles are the result of years of technical innovation from the Avolites team, utilising their 45 years of industry experience, feedback from designers across the industry and award-winning industrial designers to create the ultimate control surface. The Diamond series is designed by Visual Designers, for Visual Designers and everyone in-between to intuitively combine lighting, media and…
Offering several services including content creation, show direction and laser programming, the Boxcat Design team has accrued several top-level touring clients including, Swedish House Mafia, Creamfields and Jonas Blue over the past few years. The latter of which provided the team the opportunity to collaborate on virtual show in 2020, the likes of which they had never attempted before. “The concept of ‘virtual shows’ has always been at the back of our minds, even pre COVID-19,” began the company’s Business Manager, Oliver Van Gent. “We had already been throwing around the idea of doing a virtual event. With the arrival…
During the trying adjustment period of 2020, whether you were involved in corporate events, sports or live music, one piece of common ground which organisers the world over shared was the move towards virtual events as a temporary replacement for their physical counterparts. From rudimentary livestream sets on social media to the involvement of more complex virtual studios with content creators, the exploration of virtual events, along with AR (augmented reality) and XR (extended reality) have added an extra dimension to the ‘virtual conversation’. Having already worked on this technology for several years, disguise has been at the heart of…
Accomplished Video Director for the likes of Drake, Kendrick Lamar and Maroon 5, Johnny Hayes is among the growing number of video specialists trading the physical stage for a virtual one, overseeing a series of shows livestreamed in online video game, Fortnite. Standing firmly at the forefront of the gamification of live music, Fortnite shattered records in 2020 when over 12 million players watched Travis Scott’s Astronomical concert. Hayes and Show Designer, Guy Pavelo of Far Right Production welcomed the arrival of a further trio of artist sets on Fortnite including, Dominic Fike, Anderson .Paak and Slushii. The performances were…
Creativity thrives under constraint and a 21st Century pandemic is no exception. While in-person audiences in the UK are currently on hiatus, the industry has turned its attention to crafting livestream performances for musos in lockdown. Although the consensus is that virtual experiences are not a long-term replacement for the energy and excitement of live shows, the possibilities to create interactive experiences are endless. With no audience to contend with, the goalposts of a live gig are constantly shifting – filming locations are now more diverse than ever before. Over the past six months, TPi has spoken to the teams…
Live music in Colombia returned in a surprising way in September 2020, with a weekend of drive-in shows situated just outside of the capital city, Bogota. Vibra Radio T&M Drive In Festival was held from 25 to 27 September and featured performances by legendary Colombian music acts such as Monsieur Periné, Siam and ChocQuibTown. The event marked the first large-scale live music event held in the country since COVID-19 put a stop to shows in the country. Traditionally, drive-ins rely on an FM frequency to transmit sound to car stereos at the event. That’s what concert goers were led to…
While some may argue that too few artists have done their bit to raise awareness for the people of the music industry who since March 2020 have been forced to stop practicing their profession, one artist who has stepped up to the plate is singer-songwriter and former One Direction star, Niall Horan. Joining forces with the crew-led organisation, We Need Crew, on 7 November 2020, the singer welcomed fans from around the globe to bear witness to a one-off performance from the eerily empty Royal Albert Hall, with all profits going to his touring family and technical entertainment charity, Backup.…
Following an extensive development phase, B2B marketplace Prozaar was launched in late 2020 with the aim of serving production companies, suppliers, and freelancers across the globe. The online portal enables easy access to equipment and crew, connects companies and provides a new digitised, cross rental model. Prozaar Founder, Girts Pütelis developed the concept while working as an Account Manager at LiteCom Group. He informed TPi that the platform was several years in the making and it was not until the first global lockdown in March 2020 that Pütelis was afforded the luxury of time to turn his idea of the…
In a bid to return to some semblance of normality following an incredibly difficult 2020, armed with a facemask, dictaphone and hand sanitiser, TPi made the short trip to Future Yard’s work-in-progress music venue and artist hub on Argyle Street in Birkenhead. Meeting at a suitable social distance, TPi chatted to the organisers, tutors and guest speakers behind Sound Check – a brand-new volunteering scheme designed to introduce 16 to 24-year-olds in Merseyside to the skills required to pursue a career in the live music industry. Following the success of 2019’s inaugural two-day music festival – which saw a series…
