Drive-in concerts have become popular in the wake of COVID-19 lockdowns. So too have livestream shows. Orbit Eventos combined the two formats this September, with a hybrid show that offered fans the choice of watching at home via a livestream, or enjoying the DJ and band performances from their automobiles at a simultaneous drive-in show. Collaborating with Orbit Eventos, Colombian producer, Ricardo Ruiz, who has worked with Latin stars like Justin Quiles, Darkiel, Victor Manuelle and Grupo Niche, created the dual-purpose show at a park south of the city of Cali. Although the two-hour event offered fans the best of…
Author: Jacob Waite
When professional basketball resumed in the US during the COVID-19 pandemic, the NBA protected its players by establishing a “bubble” isolation zone at Walt Disney World near Orlando, Florida. Although the general public was not permitted in the stands at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports Complex where the games were held, fans were glad to be able to watch the season’s televised final games and the playoffs once again. Fuse Technical Group, which supplied all the court video systems, provided four programmers with an arsenal of grandMA hardware to play back and trigger various assets and effects during the games:…
Chris ‘Thumper’ Hathaway mixes lighting forms and colours with eight CHAUVET Professional Maverick Storm 1 Wash fixtures, among others on rig, supplied by Star Design Event Services for Blackberry Smoke’s Starlight Drive-In performance. “I have always been a big fan of backdrops, especially for Blackberry Smoke, given the nature of the band’s sound,” said Hathaway. “The band’s latest LP, Leave A Scar, was designed by the band’s drummer, Brit Turner, as album cover art. It’s a blow-through and has become our go-to piece for outdoor shows, including this one, even though it’s supporting a new album.” “A thing I really…
Torrential rain didn’t dampen the spirit or enthusiasm of Robe, Clearsound and Silverstone’s events and conference team who joined forces to transform the racetrack’s ‘Wing’ building and conference centre into a beacon of red light on 30 September 2020, in support of #WeMakeEvents Global Day of Action. Almost 100 Robe moving lights supplied by Clearsound and Robe helped light two key locations at Silverstone – The Wing pit lane and paddock building, which resembles the wing of a race car with extensive event and conference facilities on the higher floors, and the British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC) Clubhouse. Robe luminaires…
WorldStage has opened xRStage-NY for live and pre-recorded shoots in its Secaucus, New Jersey, space just minutes from Manhattan. Complete with a high-resolution LED stage, media servers, cameras as well as audio and lighting support, xRStage-NY provides a complete, one-stop solution for virtual events. The new stage has been busy right out of the gate with a steady stream of live virtual corporate projects and a high-profile XR production, with partners Aggressive and Momentum, for American Express featuring Alicia Keys. xRStage-NY marks the second Extended Reality facility for WorldStage. The company recently partnered with Intrepid Creative to launch a West…
Among the most emblematic theatres in Spain, Teatro Real or simply El Real, as it is referred to colloquially, has incorporated Ultraviolet C disinfection products supported by Stonex, to guarantee the well-being and health of performing artists, workers, and spectators amid the COVID-19 pandemic. This solution, it is suggested, is a complement to traditional cleaning and ensures 99.9% virus inactivation. With the reopening of its doors, the Teatro Real has adopted all the mandatory and recommended health measures from the Community of Madrid. Limited capacity, cleaning hands with hydroalcoholic gel, and the mandatory use of a mask during the entire…
Rentman has released a refreshed and optimised user interface (UI) for its event production management solution. After extensively collecting feedback over the past two years and interviewing countless users, the team has created a more organised, faster and friendlier management experience for the events industry. Since the latest version of Rentman was released back in 2016, the Rentman team introduced a multitude of new features to the existing software design. While additions were beneficial in providing more streamlined inventory tracking, quoting and staffing, they also led to an ever-increasing usage of screen space. “When you work in a fast paced…
Stagehand, founded by members of the Production Services Association (PSA) in 1998, has gratefully received £100,000 from PPL to boost its new COVID-19 Crew Relief Fund. Launched by Stagehand Trustees in September 2020, the fund was deemed a necessary move by the charity as a means to support crew, technicians and live events industry workers that have fallen through the cracks in Government aid. Open from mid-October, the fund will help those struggling to meet the cost of basic living – a roof over their head or food on the table. Established in 1934, PPL exists to help ensure that…
English National Opera (ENO) chose ADI.tv to support them in the delivery of the ‘world’s first fully staged’ drive-in opera, ENO Drive & Live at Alexandra Palace on 19 to 27 September. This ambitious outdoor project saw performances of Puccini’s La Bohème take place outside the Ally Pally, providing UK audiences with live opera for the first time since March Despite the creative and technical challenges of delivering fully staged performances beyond their usual venue, ENO in partnership with ADi.tv achieved the huge feat of transforming Alexandra Palace’s car park into a fully featured outdoor theatre on a vast scale.…
High End Systems has released the new HPU hardware for Hog 4, along with an update to Hog 4 OS with v3.14 software. HPU replaces both the DMX Processor 8000 (DP8K) unit and the Rack Hog 4 in a modern, 2U rack mounted unit. This processor unit can be run in either Console mode or in Processor mode with a 64 universe capacity. The new Hog 4 OS v3.14 Software includes several advancements in functionality in addition to bug fixes. A new patching structure allows users to patch to internal universes, which then get mapped to outputs on consoles, DP8Ks,…
400 freelance professional musicians from all corners of the live events and entertainment industry have joined forces in support with musical figures including David Hill, Raphael Wallfisch, Emma Johnson and Tasmin Little, Bill Barkley to perform in Parliament Square and Centenary Square, Birmingham, shining a light on the need for targeted support for freelance musicians and all those who work in the arts and entertainment sector. The collective are joined in solidarity by the Musicians’ Union, The Incorporated Society of Musicians, The Musicians’ Answering Service, Emily Eavis, Jools Holland, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Dan Smith of Bastille and more. Conducted by renowned…
Eastern Acoustic Works has named DirectLink Marketing as its manufacturer’s representative serving Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and the El Paso, Texas area. “With over three decades of industry experience, DirectLink Marketing has a reputation for representing only top tier brands – we are honoured to have EAW as part of its esteemed line card,” commented EAW President, TJ Smith. “Principal Dave Larsen has a deep understanding of his customer base and the market, and we look forward to better serving this expansive territory.” Based in the Salt Lake Valley, UT, DirectLink is a manufacturers rep firm that…
For those that allow us to rock (we salute you) It’s the first time in almost half a year, I’m sitting down to write a leader with some travel stories to tell. It may be baby steps, but this month, both Jacob and I ventured out to witness events in the flesh, rather than what has now become our ‘new normal’ of Zoom and phone interviews. While earlier this month, I made the trip to Newcastle to meet the team powering the Virgin Money Unity Arena, Jacob headed to Liverpool to witness Liverpool Digital Music Festival 2020. After our respective…
Spearheading the launch of a COVID-19 verification tool, Norwegian-based creators have developed the MovementPass app to ensure the industry is prepared and ahead of the game, when live events can operate again, with corroboration that ticket holders are COVID-19 free. The mobile phone-based app provides an end-to-end solution that is “simple” and “effective” for users. Designed to be used across the globe, the main feature of the app is to verify whether a concertgoer has COVID-19 antibodies. MovementPass then becomes the user’s ‘immunity passport’, providing confidence in the ability to move freely and gather together safely with those who are…
ROE Visual US has received its anticipated purchase of a Brompton Technology Hydra system for its West Coast office in Chatsworth, Los Angeles. Hydra can perform recalibration on all LED panels equipped with Brompton R2 controller cards. This means that the panels, once measured, will benefit from Version 3 of Brompton Tessera Processor software and be fully compatible with Brompton’s Dynamic Calibration technology, to allow greater brightness, improved colour gamut and, crucially, the ability to display HDR imagery. “When we saw the Brompton Dynamic Calibration system in prototype form at LDI last year, we knew it was going to be…
The 10th anniversary edition of the iHeartRadio Music Festival took place recently in Los Angeles. Among the stellar cast was Usher, broadcasting from a red-lit stage. Both his 20-minute set, and the generic lighting rig at the iHeartRadio Theater LA, were studded with GLP fixtures—supplied by locally based Volt Lites and put to work by LD Matt Ardine and programmer Mark Butts. While the generic rig itself contained a ceiling of 36 GLP X4 atoms—described by Ardine as “an inexpensive way of making the lighting rig look large” — along with no fewer than 77 discreet GLP FR1s, Usher’s set…
Backstage Academy has launched three brand new postgraduate degrees for 2021, to bolster the skill-set of the sectors’ graduates entering the live events industry in a post COVID-19 world. Located at the world-renowned Production Park in South Kirby, Yorkshire, the higher education institution has launched the degree programmes, which will start in January 2021, to reflect the changing needs within the live events and creative sectors. With audience habits evolving, the Academy has seen a rising demand for graduates who can effectively move between different live events disciplines and demonstrate business acumen, in order to successfully navigate the post-COVID-19 landscape as…
North America’s National Hockey League (NHL) spectacularly returned to play – without live audiences but with massive enthusiasm, determination and impressive TV and online followings – for the 2020 Stanley Cup playoff series, which was originally suspended in April following the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic. Lighting equipment was supplied by Solotech and included over 200 Robe moving lights – a mix of Robe Pointes, Spiiders and Tarrantulas used by Lighting Designer, Tom Kenny. The 24-team playoff format comprising Eastern and Western Conferences was staged in two Canadian hub cities – Edmonton and Toronto – over two months with two…
