Production Designer, Ricardo Rojas’ creative relationship with Chicano Batman spans six years. “Our first show together was in a 1,500-capacity theatre in 2018,” he reminisces fondly – speaking to TPi’s Jacob Waite following their first arena show at the Kia Forum in their shared hometown of Los Angeles. “It has been so fulfilling to watch them grow and to play a small part in some of the more memorable moments in their career. I have always admired and respected their willingness to experiment with their music. You can hear their growth from album to album. The music has always been…
Author: Jacob Waite
As Sir Keir Starmer’s government marks its first month in office with its 174-seat majority, many UK businesses eagerly await the new government’s policies on their sectors. For the creative industry, the waiting includes how immigration policies will help address skills shortages through domestic and international recruiting. According to the May 2024 report published by the University of Arts London (UAL), the UK is still considered a global powerhouse in the creative industry and a major employer, contributing £124.6bn to the country’s economy in 2022 alone. The combined spending on film and high-end television production in 2022 reached £6.27bn, the…
Designed for live sound venues and networked recording studios, Apollo x16D Thunderbolt Audio Interface with Dante offers sound quality and expansion for up to 64 channels of realtime UAD plug‑in processing over networked audio, plus immersive audio mixing support for Dolby Atmos, Auro‑3D, and Sony 360 Reality Audio formats. “The Apollo x16D marks a milestone for us,” said Bill Putnam Jr., CEO of Universal Audio. “Networked audio processing plays a critical part of UA’s future, and Dante makes realtime UAD processing possible for more Apollo users, both in front‑of‑house live sound applications and in networked audio and post‑production studios.” “Audinate…
Lighting Designer, Ezra Donellan of Moon Bolt Designs specified over 200 Robe moving lights – 83 FORTES, 88 Tetra2s, 44 Tetra1s and 32 Spiiders, delivered by Gateway Studios & Production Services (GSPS), for AJR’s Maybe Man campaign. “It’s a very invigorating way to work,” Donellan said, citing the collaborative nature of the design process with Production Designer, Mitchell Schellenger of Station Six. “There are challenges, and we all enjoy dealing with these and finding the best solutions.” On tour, there’s a prominent curved video screen upstage, and a downstage ROE Visual Vanish screen divided into six sections, each independently moveable by…
Vizi Beam CMY combines powerful output with an exclusive collection of beam-shaping features. Lighting designers can unlock a spectrum of possibilities with CMY colour mixing, while high performance three-phase pan and tilt motors enable fast movement as well as precision. Designed to produce stunning aerial effects for large scale events and big stage productions, the unit is compact and convenient to rig, transport and store. At the heart of the Vizi Beam CMY is the powerful Osram Sirius HRI 310W PRO discharge lamp. Its light output is harnessed through precision-engineered optics to deliver a stunning 2° beam projected from a…
Allen & Heath, in conjunction with Harrison Audio, has announced the launch of Harrison LiveTrax, a new multitrack recording and virtual soundcheck software solution designed for simplicity, stability, and seamless integration with Allen & Heath mixers. “For many sound engineers, live recording is a critical task undertaken in a high-pressure environment,” said Keith Johnson, Senior Product Manager at Allen & Heath. “Unless you have the luxury of a dedicated crew and recording rig, you want a dependable and straightforward solution. Harrison LiveTrax is designed specifically for this task, while adding a new level of integration with our consoles beyond basic…
The panel topics and first speakers at Vision: 2025’s Sustainable Events Summit (SES) have been confirmed, returning to the Showman’s Show for its ninth edition on Wednesday 23 October 2024. Supported by title sponsor Festival Republic and hosted by The Showman’s Show, the action-focused summit will present the latest research, tools and knowledge, and brings together leading outdoor event organisers, local authorities, suppliers, and sustainability experts, to shape the future of climate action in the industry – this summit will include roundtables on sector strategy for 2030. Register here. The SES 24 morning is an invitation-only industry roundtable session, where…
Daði Freyr has completed three tours using KLANG:vokal immersive technology. Used as a standalone unit, KLANG:vokal integrates into the monitor system to offer the artists an improved in-ear experience, allowing Monitor Engineer, Sigri Hovde, to optimise her workflow and deliver superior results for the whole band. Representing Iceland in the 2021 Eurovision Song Contest catapulted Daði Freyr to international fame, subsequently garnering over 200 million streams and global tours. As well as recording and self-producing his debut album, the simply titled I Made an Album, Freyr is now looking forward to a Summer of worldwide dates, having just completed a…
As the UK’s largest festival, Glastonbury Festival impresses each year, offering attendees multiple stages and areas for live music and exploration. For lighting designers, directors, programmers, operators, production companies and rental houses, Glastonbury is an opportunity to liaise with industry insiders, share insights, and showcase emerging technologies. Speaking to TPi’s Jacob Waite as the dust settled on three stages’ worth of equipment, Glenn Gridley of GLX Productions shared his highlights from Worthy Farm… What is GLX Productions’ history with Glastonbury Festival? “We were first involved in Glastonbury Festival in 2017 at the Unfairground. Initially, getting to grips with everything was…
SWG Events joined forces with fellow Martin Audio network partner 22live recently to field 80 loudspeakers from the British manufacturer at Ashton Gate, home of Bristol City FC, over a memorable weekend. The Saturday event, called Ashton Gate Presents BS3, saw American singer-songwriter Ne-Yo headlining an all-star 10-act bill, that included Craig David, Jess Glynne, Dizzee Rascal, DJ Spoony and local legend, Roni Size, which had the 27,000-capacity crowd in raptures. The staging then changed for the Sunday, which saw Kings of Leon playing the venue as part of their Can We Please Have Fun world tour. SWG Events’ Head of Sound,…
Speaking exclusively to TPi’s Jacob Waite, Joe Bleasdale, Megapixel Product Marketing Strategist, shares how in collaboration with NEP Sweden and Creative Technology (CT), the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 upgraded from a traditional baseband system to a fully redundant 100G ST 2110 network for its video distribution and LED displays using Megapixel’s newly released 100G input module for HELIOS. Having first featured at the Eurovision Song Contest in Rotterdam in 2021, and on multiple productions since, 2024 marked Megapixel’s first edition as an official Technical Supplier. “This year, the production team wanted to do the whole show on 2110, which has…
Taking place at Feanedock Woodlands, a striking 70-acre woodland site part of the UK’s National Forest, Timber Festival has a significant focus on sustainability and the climate. Each year, event organisers produce a sustainability report which documents the steps the festival undertakes in line with its creative design, production, and vendor teams. Timber Festival Director, Rowan Cannon, is among the founders who set up the festival after seeking a sustainable festival option and finding none, deciding instead to launch her own. The festival organisers also run the Just So Festival, aimed at families with young children. In fitting with the…
The Spanish open-air festival series, I Love Reggaeton, was held in Valencia and Madrid from the end of May to the beginning of June. Genre greats such as Maldy, Nacho, and many more played in front of nearly 30,000 spectators on the impressive main stage, which provided the perfect platform for an equally spectacular lighting design thanks to its sharp, pyramid-shaped truss structures. The star of the lighting rig was the Cameo PIXBAR 400 IP G2 LED bar. 236 PIXBAR 400 IP G2s were required to trace the contours of the stage measuring approximately 50 metres in width and up…
The latest tour of Vasco Rossi captivated thousands of fans with epic concerts at the San Siro Stadium in Milan and the San Nicola Stadium in Bari. Vasco delivered unique emotions, thanks also to a perfect synergy between music and cutting-edge technology. The power and versatility of the Ayrton Cobra, chosen and controlled by lighting designer, Giovanni Pinna, once again allowed for the creation of spectacular stage designs and breathtaking light shows, accompanying Vasco’s music in a sensory journey that touched the hearts of all present. Thanks to the quality of the projections and the perfect synchronisation with the music…
Dave Matthews Band (DMB) brings its eclectic fusion of rock, jazz, and folk to sheds and festivals across the US this summer, carrying a Meyer Sound PANTHER system provided by UltraSound. The 32-date tour marks nearly three decades of collaboration between DMB, Meyer Sound, and UltraSound, a relationship that began with the band’s first headline tour in 1995. DMB is out with a PANTHER system for the third time; the current configuration is anchored by 16 PANTHER large-format linear array loudspeakers per side, supported by 14 LYON out fills per side, eight LEOPARD front fills on the downstage edge, and…
With a career spanning television, corporate events, architectural, theater, and musical events, Xavier Costas has made a significant mark both in Spain and internationally and turns to Obsidian’s ONYX lighting control platform to bring his visionary designs to life. Costas’ journey with ONYX began over two decades ago and over the years, he has witnessed its evolution. “ONYX has changed over time and has adapted to new technologies and the demands of programmers,” he recalled. “Right now, I really like the intuitive aspect of the desk, how easily you can patch the products or fixtures you use in your designs.…
LAV Projekt has been appointed the exclusive distributor for Renkus-Heinz throughout Croatia. Patricio Valenta, who heads up the audio department of LAV Projekt, is delighted to be representing Renkus-Heinz. “In our endeavour to establish ourselves as a premier system integration company in Croatia, we place great emphasis on innovation and adaptability,” he explained. “We firmly believe that the groundbreaking technologies and integration ease offered by Renkus-Heinz will be pivotal in our success as distributors and system integrators.” He makes special mention of Renkus-Heinz’s prowess for delivering high-quality audio in demanding spaces. “As we’ve been working on a lot of projects…
The Arcadia stage at Glastonbury Festival, presented annually by a uniquely talented collective of creatives, engineers, programmers and technicians, is one of the most recognised festival stages in the world. This year, in place of its celebrated flame-throwing, laser-packed Spider, engineered from recycled heavy machinery, Arcadia unveiled The Dragonfly. The sculpture, which was built from a retired military helicopter and scrapped excavators, saw artists including Fat Boy Slim and Eric Prydz perform from its dazzling head. This, in turn, featured a pair of glittering compound eyes moulded from a tangram of video screens. Video Illusions, as one of the…
