TPMEA #010

OCTOBER 2017 • ISSUE 010

UNITE WITH TOMORROWLAND A SYNCHRONISED GLOBAL PRODUCTION

MEDIATECH AFRICA • DIGITAL PROJECTION’S EXPERIENCE CENTRE • FRANCO DRAGONE’S LA PERLE BASE DUBAI • INTERVIEW: GULF CREWING COMPANY’S NIGEL BEATON • COMPANY PROFILE: GEARHOUSE SA

With Claypaky Axcor Profile 900, users can finally choose the most powerful and digitally advanced LED Profile Spot on the market, without any sacrifices in terms of light output, features and effects.

DISTRIBUTOR FOR UK & IRELAND: AMBERSPHERE SOLUTIONS Ltd. Where quality products enjoy total support

Claypaky_Axcor_A4_Amb_EN.indd 1

Phone: +44 (0)20 8992 6369 info@ambersphere.co.uk - www.ambersphere.co.uk

09/05/17 11:35

TPMEA

WELCOME...

TO TPMEA

Africa was a lot of fun. It was great to meet so many of you at or around Mediatech, and some of the experiences we were lucky enough to have during that week were truly unforgettable.

We meet so many cool, generous and funny people in this industry - and South Africa was certainly no exception - but I have to single out DWR Distribution’s Duncan and Sherryn Riley for the kindness they showed not only to us, but scores of others during our visit. I’ve run out of superlatives to describe them, and their positivity has left a lasting impression on me ever since I reluctantly boarded the plane back home in July. Please do enjoy Duncan’s introduction to this issue, which can be found on Pg. 6.

Now, to the Middle East. Despite expectations of a ‘summer break’, we have a cornucopia of news from the region to share with you; including our cover story, which tackles the unprecedented level of synchronised production on display at UNITE With Tomorrowland, and our first time featuring one of Franco Dragone’s world-class show designs with La Perle.

There has been plenty of movement in the UAE since we last visited, with Gulf Crewing Company forming a new event safety management department and Fruition Events announcing partnerships with Prolyte Group, Network Stages and Gallowglass Heath & Safety.

In other words, it seems like the perfect time for us to return! Expect to see Hannah and Georgia at Prolight+Sound Middle East, while I will be making a trip out in November to discover what the new events season has in store.

See you all soon...

www.tpmeamagazine.com | www.tpimagazine.com | www.tpiawards.com

03

CONTENTS

CONTENTS 06

18 16 - TECH PROFILE

Digital Projection’s Experience Centre Regional Manager, Tim Wood, walked TPMEA through the new development.

18 - TECH PROFILE

30 06 - FIRST LOOK AFRICA

DWR Distribution’s Duncan Riley outlines the key to success: It’s all about the people.

MIDDLE EAST

La Perle Famed Director, Franco Dragone, makes waves with his first project in the Middle East.

26 - TECH PROFILE

26 38 - ILEA COLUMN

ILEA’s President, Dan Bolton, looks to the future of the region.

40 - INTERVIEW

GCC’S Nigel Beaton talks TPMEA through the company’s expansion and the importance of event safety in the region.

AFRICA

Base Dubai TPMEA goes behind the scenes at one of the city’s pioneering nightlife venues.

42 - REGIONAL ROUND-UP

30 - TECH PROFILE

46 - COMPANY FOCUS

UNITE with Tomorrowland - Dubai Ste Durham talks all things EDM with a live streaming event unlike any other.

The latest news stories from Africa.

Ste Durham travels to Johannesburg to spend some time with one of the continent’s largest rental suppliers; Gearhouse SA.

36 - COMPANY PROFILE

48 - EXPO

The latest news from the Middle East.

TPMEA meets a handful of the key players from Dubai-based Pulse.

EDITOR Kel Murray Tel: +44 (0)161 476 8360 Mobile: +44 (0)7738 154689 e-mail: k.murray@mondiale.co.uk

ASSISTANT EDITOR Ste Durham Tel: +44 (0)161 476 8385 Mobile: +44 (0)7891 679742 e-mail: s.durham@mondiale.co.uk

STAFF WRITER Stewart Hume Tel: +44 (0)161 476 8360 Mobile: +44 (0)7702 054344 e-mail: s.hume@mondiale.co.uk

GENERAL MANAGER - TPi MAGAZINE & AWARDS Hannah Eakins (on maternity leave until 17 July).

Tel: +44 (0)161 476 8360 Mobile: +44 (0)7760 485230 e-mail: h.eakins@mondiale.co.uk

ADVERTISING SALES Georgia Guthrie Tel: +44 (0)161 476 8399 Mobile: +44 (0)750 1597 837 e-mail: g.guthrie@mondiale.co.uk

ADVERTISING SALES Lauren Dyson Tel: +44 (0)161 476 8360 Mobile: +44 (0)741 5773 639 e-mail: l.dyson@mondiale.co.uk

GRAPHIC DESIGN & PRODUCTION Dan Seaton: d.seaton@mondiale.co.uk Zoe Willcox: z.willcox@mondiale.co.uk

MONDIALE GROUP CHAIRMAN Damian Walsh

EDITORIAL INTERN Jacob Waite

ACCOUNTS Lynette Levi / Sarah Miller: ar@mondiale.co.uk

COVER PHOTOGRAPHY UNITE With Tomorrowland, Dubai photo courtesy of Envie Events

08 - REGIONAL ROUND-UP

CHIEF EXECUTIVE Justin Gawne Tel: +44 (0)161 476 8360 Mobile: +44 (0)7768 850767 e-mail: j.gawne@mondiale.co.uk

PRINTED BY Buxton Press • www.buxpress.co.uk

TPMEA returns to Mediatech, South Africa’s largest Entertainment Technology Tradeshow.

www.tpmeamagazine.com www.tpimagazine.com www.tpiawards.com @tpimagazine facebook.com/TPiMagazine youtube.com/user/TPiMagazine

05

06

FIRST LOOK AFRICA

DWR DISTRIBUTION’S DUNCAN RILEY WITH A HEART FOR PEOPLE, DUNCAN RILEY HAS ALWAYS TRIED TO PUT RELATIONSHIPS AS A PRIORITY WHEN RUNNING DWR DISTRIBUTION. THE COMPANY HAS GROWN IN LEAPS AND BOUNDS SINCE ITS START IN MAY 2006, INITIALLY OPERATING FROM DUNCAN’S DOUBLE GARAGE AT HOME. DESPITE BECOMING ONE OF THE REGION’S BIGGEST DISTRIBUTORS, IT HAS RETAINED ITS ETHOS: ‘IT’S ALL ABOUT THE PEOPLE’.

With a busy week behind me I went for a run early one morning when visiting my parents who live on a resort at Bela-Bela (Tswana: The pot that boils), a town in the Limpopo Province of South Africa deriving its name from the geothermic hot springs around which the town was built. The route went through some sandy terrain and thorn trees, and before I knew it I was face-to-face with giraffes. I ran further and a group of zebras passed me by, and I have to admit that I treaded carefully when passing a couple of cheeky ostriches!

I smiled to myself, thinking, where else in the world could I experience this? South Africa is a conundrum; politics, crime and an inflating exchange rate in a country of sunshine, vibrant people and a passionate entertainment industry.

The funny thing about South Africans is their unique ability to stick together when the tough gets going, to make something out of nothing, to make the ordinary extraordinary.

Working on a fraction of the budgets seen elsewhere in the world, local rental companies are pulling off world-class shows. They are keeping up to date with technology, investing in equipment and are moving forward in providing clients with professional service. The frustration is that their clients often expect the same show and more, at the same cost or less. Added to that, rental companies are one of the last to be paid for their services, which often means that as a distributor, DWR are the last.

There are always highlights along the way though, and the most recent for DWR have included our successful participation at Mediatech in July, and then working on some exciting projects like the new PWC building, various church installs, and lighting up the gardens at Sun City.

Surround yourself with good people. I have a few close friends and it’s often on the drive home that one of us will pick up the phone and chat. Knowing you’re all in the same boat somehow makes the load light, and if anything, makes you want to row harder because the rewards are great.

One of the best rewards is being able to give back, to say to a team member, “You’ve done well, here is a token to say thank you.”

With the establishment of our SOS Charity Fund, giving has continued as we try help fill in the gap when people in the industry need assistance. DWR is also able to help those who have a desire to learn but not necessary the funds, to receive training at a minimal cost or free of charge.

I’m forever grateful to the DWR team and my partners who go the extra mile. Working with great people with big hearts in the industry I love so much always resonates - it’s all about the people. www.dwrdistribution.co.za

Af

FIRST LOOK AFRICA

07

Af

08

REGIONAL ROUND UP

THREE PARTNERSHIPS FOR FRUITION EVENTS NEWLY FORMED LIVE EVENTS COMPANY, FRUITION EVENTS, HAS MARKED ITS ARRIVAL IN THE REGION BY ESTABLISHING A NUMBER OF PARTNERSHIPS WITH KEY PRODUCTION INDUSTRY PLAYERS.

Prolyte Group Fruition Events and Prolyte Group have joined forces, allowing the former to take delivery of a large batch of over 500 pieces of LiteDeck staging platforms in preparation for a busy live events season.

Warren Barlow, Managing Director of Fruition Events, commented: “Investigating the opportunity of local production with the Prolyte Group fulfilled our commitment to not only invest into a sustainable product line, but also to enhance availability in the UAE market.

Prolyte Group manufactures leading products, which are widely recognised and used across the globe. LiteDeck offers a clean aesthetic look in comparison to existing steel products, whilst retaining simple functionality and creative design principles. Coupled with the extensive backup of the Prolyte network, we will have the added capability of developing special components locally, to meet the demands of the most creative deliveries. Fruition Events has further commited to invest into Prolyte Group products to strengthen both brands in the MENA region.

This set-up will further ensure availability of the products for use by other Prolyte users.”

Lars Toonen, Prolyte Group Sales Representative, added: ”This new cooperation offers an excellent networking opportunity for this region. By creating a large rental stock, backed by short lead times and direct availability, we now have a platform to service events as well as dry rental solutions and sales opportunities.”

To safeguard the fitting of the LiteDecks, special welding jigs were developed at the Prolyte Group Headquarters in the Netherlands and shipped to Abu Dhabi. Johann Stuut, R&D engineer for Prolyte Group, was responsible for the development of the welding jigs. He concluded: “Every phase of the production process is thought over and captured by the design of the jig, you just have to follow the process. This will guarantee the original Prolyte

ME

shape and quality fitting in the production of the unique LiteDeck frames.”

Network Stages Fruition Events has also embarked on a collaboration with Network Stages to launch Network Deck in the Middle East event market, with its first order of Network Deck designed and produced by Network Stages.

Network Deck, designed around aluminum extrusions with a scaffold understructure, promises to deliver high loading capability coupled with time-saving installation and superior flexibility, all of which have been key points leading to the selection of Network Deck as a primary product for Fruition.

“I first sat with Jo from Network Stages to assist him with a design review casting a fresh set of eyes onto a project he had been heavily involved in for a number of months,” Barlow said.

“What I saw wasn’t just another decking system with a few minor changes to form an identity; it was a system that had been thought out from the very beginning. It was very unique, and one that left my creative mind thinking about the endless possibilities.”

He added: “Needless to say, it was only a matter of weeks before I revisited Network Stages to complete our first order as the product made huge sense to run alongside our existing portfolio.

Its calculations had hit the mark, and it complied with our ambition to utilise locally manufactured products.”

Gallowglass Health & Safety According to Barlow, it was the growing demand for health and safety provision in the events sector within the MENA region that led Fruition and Gallowglass Health & Safety to establish an alliance.

“Our partnership with Gallowglass Health & Safety will have the ability to meet that demand,” he said. “It’s truly humbling to engage with a

team of people who share the same passion and focus for events. The team at Gallowglass Health & Safety commit not only to complementing our fresh approach to event delivery, but they also bring to the table, access to an extensive and highly experienced team, capable of delivering large format, world class mega events.

“There is a core of respected health & safety individuals operating in the UAE, however there is also a need for an operator who has the ability to deploy a larger health & safety team for large scale events to which the UAE is no stranger, and we are committing to ensure that the core people needed for this operation are on the ground here in the UAE,” Barlow added.

The Fruition and Gallowglass pact will aim to offer competent and sensible safety advice, liaising between clients, venues, authorities and enforcement bodies, ensuring that both suppliers and organisers are legislation-compliant. While providing a secure and safe environment for spectators, visitors and guests during live events.

“Bringing Gallowglass Health & Safety to the Middle East is a really positive step for us and can only enhance our standing as one of the world leaders in health & safety consultancy,” explained Steve Kearney, Managing Partner of Gallowglass Health & Safety. “I am delighted to be working with Warren and the team at Fruition Events as we grow collectively in the region. Because all our advisors have an events industry background, with most of them rising through the ranks of our sister company, Gallowglass Crewing, they all put 100% into supporting our clients’ needs due to their diverse experience, rather than conducting a box-ticking exercise for legislation compliance.

“I’m confident that we can not only bring further skills to the ever-buoyant Middle East market, but play a part in upskilling the local population as we expand our client base in the region,” Kearney concluded. www.fruitionevents.ae www.prolyte.com

10

REGIONAL ROUND UP

INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY FOR PERFECT PRESENTATIONS NEUMANN&MÜLLER EVENT TECHNOLOGY WELCOMES THE NEW SEASON WITH INNOVATIVE AV SOLUTIONS IN RESPONSE TO THE DEMAND FOR CUTTING-EDGE TECHNOLOGY.

N&M Dubai General Manager, Rick Wade, commented: “Our philosophy is to provide the best service possible to our clients, therefore, we have been busy experimenting over the summer months in order to support this technical requirement requested from us using our creativity with the help of a software programme that allows us to see the end result while the design is being drafted. We have started bridging the gap between conceptual design and realism by offering pre-visualisation of work not only in 2D or 3D renders, but now in virtual reality (VR) platform as part of our consultancy service.”

VR is gaining ground in pro AV world and revolutionising it quite quickly. It opens up a

ME

360° viewing in B2B and B2C communication, particularly for up-front visualisations of trade fair stands, architectural concepts, corporate events or 3D product presentations. Wade continued: “VR application in events is one of the hottest topics in the industry right now.

Although, it hasn’t gone mainstream just yet here in the Middle East, it’s certainly making waves.

Immersive experience and improved audience engagement are now achievable through VR. This is now sought after even at an early stage to secure that winning edge.”

Wade added that the company now has the capacity to provide complex wireframe to fully rendered images and videos, realistic lighting simulation, materials and reflections, incorporate

live video projection and show content to multiple screens. Its specialists are able to draw up detailed plans and create a realistic impression of a project at an early stage in the proceedings, which is the actual basis of the execution.

“During the planning period, we advise our clients before they give their presentations and support them with their pitch. Ultimately, through this innovation, we are taking our clients on a tour of their entire event where only certain people dare to go. The goal is to immerse them into their own event and give them a chance to experience it before everyone does, which can be a time and eventually cost effective method in the end,” he concluded. www.neumannmueller.com

REGIONAL ROUND UP

11

ECLIPSE GROUP PUBLISHES THIRD ANNUAL HSE REPORT AS AN ATTEMPT TO RAISE INDUSTRY AWARENESS ON HEALTH AND SAFETY, ECLIPSE GROUP REVEALS ITS OWN PERFORMANCE FROM THE PREVIOUS YEAR. With an unparalleled commitment to health, safety and environment, the eclipse Group is raising industry awareness through promoting HSE best practices and standards. The NEBOSH diploma certified in-house HSE Manager focuses on embedding safety culture for the team and is also available as a resource for its clients, ensuring compliance with local and international standards.

To understand the significance of measuring the health and safety performances carried out by the eclipse Group during the previous years, the 2016 / 2017 annual HSE report is available to download to find out more about the Group’s statistics.

Given the enormous impact safety has on the lives of people, risk assessment and method statements are completed to mitigate safety risks, and thorough HSE training and accreditation will be provided for all onsite staff. “eclipse has maintained a significant safety performance over the years along with an achievement to gain certification on international standards on ISO 14001:2015 and OHSAS 18001:2007 last year,” commented the eclipse Group HSE Manager, Manu Abraham.

He continued: “In line with our commitment to health, safety and environment, the usual HSE procedures are invariably taken including the use

of our proven high-quality equipment, regular inspections and training.” www.eclipse.ae

SES THE POWER SPECIALISTS +44 (0)1753 585050

+971 (0)508 870685 +971 (0)508 869105 www.site-electrics.co.uk www.mainsdistro.com Hall 4 Stand C32 sales@site-electrics.co.uk ME

12

REGIONAL ROUND UP

WICKED EVOLUTION DUBAI-BASED EVENT OVERLAY SUPPLIER WICKED HAS INVESTED IN 4,000 SQM OF THE NEPTUNUS EVOLUTION TEMPORARY STRUCTURE SYSTEM, THE FIRST PRODUCT OF ITS KIND IN THE MIDDLE EAST.

The Neptunus Evolution is a modular semipermanent structure with an extremely fast construction time, thanks to the space frame roof structure being built using a hydraulic lifting system. The Evolution is suitable for both short and long-term use, from a few months to several years.

With a free span, the building has a maximum width of 40m and and be customised to 60m. Its length can be extended without limit, in modules of 5m. The height is also variable from 5m up to 13m, completely tailored to a client’s requirements. With an option of intermediate floors, space partitions and the integration of any fittings, such as automatic doors, rolling doors and climate control.

This investment, which came about thanks to a contract with the Sharjah International Book Fair, will allow Wicked to service a wider range of events than ever before, as Adam Patchett, Head of Commercial at the company, explained: “The Evolution is a really exciting thing for us because it ticks a lot of boxes. As we’ve developed as a company, we’ve tried to position ourselves in the market as someone that offers a very wide range of, not just your standard A-frame and Arcum type tents, but unique and creative structures.

Our reputation in the market has always been based on the way that we try to think outside the box and do things a little bit differently. This product range definitely reflects that.”

He continued: “The one area in which we couldn’t fulfil our potential clients’ requirements was large structures. We did very well to gain market share elsewhere while our competitors

ME

covered these kinds of jobs, but now we are able to take those jobs on as well. We took our time and made sure that we invested in the right type of structure when the opportunity came along.”

Wicked has established a partnership with Netherlands-based manufacturer Neptunus for the Middle East region, with a view to further expand the product footprint in this growing market.

Patchett said: “There are a lot of big structure ranges in the Middle East but we are now the only ones that can offer them at this level of quality and ingenuity. They’re very versatile and can incorporate everything from mezzanine levels to glass panels. People are already looking at using it as large pavilions at cultural and corporate events.”

The Evolution’s first job in the region is situated at the Sharjah International Book Fair during November, an event that both Wicked are incredibly proud of.

“It’s one of the largest book fairs in the world and we are so excited to debut the Evolution there, commented Patchett. “We are providing a 40m by 100m structure for the event, which will be our first chance to show people in the region how high the standard of this new product actually is. Obviously with Expo 2020 around the corner we are excited about the opportunity to introduce the structure for a wide range of applications on such an important event for the region.

“We are also confident that the Evolution will open up new events for Wicked - I think the big exhibitions are the ones that we can look

at now, not just in Dubai and Abu Dhabi but perhaps further afield as well. Several shows have outgrown their halls and need to spill over into additional space.

“There are plenty of different types of structures on the market to accommodate these crowds, but none of the Evolution’s quality and versatility. This is less of a tent or marquee, and more a temporary venue.

“There’s a rule in Europe for temporary structures that stipulates the building cannot be installed in one place for longer than 6 months without being moved unless it meets certain requirements for weight bearing, wind resistance, and so on.

“The Evolution meets all of the European permanent building standards when it comes to issues such as this, and could be installed for 10 years if the client wished to do so.”

Patchett concluded: “People tend to get bored out here so you need to be able to offer them something new and exciting and maybe even raise some eyebrows in the process. It affords our clients new possibilities and it’s a nice incentive for us to try and sell something different, both inside and outside of the UAE.

“It was a big step to make this investment, but it means we are now aligned with a respected international manufacturer that shares our values of innovation, creativity and fun. It also allows us to offer something that has never been seen before in the Middle East. It’s something were very proud of.” www.wicked.ae

REGIONAL ROUND UP

ROLL UP, ROLL UP TO MOTIONGATE DUBAI TO SEE J&C JOEL’S AMAZING CIRCUS TENT J&C Joel proved it was the ringmaster of fabrics when creating a bespoke circus tent for the Hollywood-inspired Theme Park MOTIONGATE Dubai.

The theme park, which opened in December 2016, is part of Dubai Parks and Resorts a $2.86 billion multi-theme park complex featuring 3 theme sections and one water park.

On the back of its successful installation of the SkyDeck tension wire grid system at MOTIONGATE Dubai, J&C Joel, were commissioned to design, manufacture and install a circus tent at the Hollywood-inspired theme park.

The firm’s Creative Manufacturing team, led by Andrew Hastwell, took on the unique and complicated project after being the only company in the world with the ability to recreate the clients brief. The tent, which is the entrance to a ride, was inspired by the film Madagascar and is based in Madagascar Land in Dreamworks zone one of the 5 zones in MOTIONGATE Dubai.

Andrew Hastwell said: “After our Project Engineers had completed the fit out of the SkyDeck system we were asked to design and

13

THE FABRICS SPECIALIST CREATES A CUSTOM CIRCUS TENT FOR DUBAI’S LATEST ATTRACTION.

quote for the circus tent. It was an extremely unique project and we realised it was a huge undertaking for the whole team but we knew it was something we could pull off.”

J&C Joel’s Senior Creative Co-ordinator, Matthew Bland, came up with a design concept for the tent, which had 6 uniquely shaped tops and included designing the steel structure for the fabric to fit around to create the desired shaping.

To achieve the shapes required, each individual piece of the tent was cut by hand and then sewn back together by the Manufacturing team’s talented seamstresses. Each section of the tent was created individually and then installed on site separately. Once in place they were then joined together on site to give the overall tent shape that was desired by the client.

The creation of the tent took more than 400 hours of work by J&C Joel’s cutters, seamstresses and the creative manufacturing team and around 1,200m of fabric was used. The installation took 3 weeks with a dedicated team on site throughout to ensure it went smoothly and was completed to the clients’ specification.

Hastwell added: “The end result is absolutely fantastic. We were delighted to be involved in creating something so unconventional and distinctive. It was a brilliant opportunity to demonstrate our creativity and our products in the largest Hollywood-inspired theme park in the Middle East.” www.jcjoel.com

ME

14

REGIONAL ROUND UP

DATATON WATCHOUT DRIVES WORLD’S HIGHEST RESOLUTION VIDEO WALL AT THE DUBAI MALL THE NEW CURVED 700 SQM VIDEO WALL, UNVEILED BY EMAAR ENTERTAINMENT, BOOSTS DATATON’S AWARDWINNING WATCHOUT MULTI-DISPLAY PRODUCTION AND PLAYBACK SYSTEM.

The Dubai Mall’s new curved video wall above the Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo measures a stunning 700sqm, with 1.7 billion pixels on 820 OLED displays. Behind the scenes, Dataton’s award-winning WATCHOUT multidisplay production and playback system can be found. WATCHNET manager software and WATCHPAX 4 servers deliver breath-taking, high-resolution content for the mall’s estimated 80 million visitors.

The new video wall at The Dubai Mall, unveiled by Emaar Entertainment in August, takes digital signage into a whole new realm and has already earned a hattrick of recordingbreaking titles, in partnership with LG: the largest OLED screen; the highest resolution video wall; and the largest high-definition video wall. The wall is a magnificent, 50-metre wide, wave-like configuration spanning 2 storeys and fully visible from the ground floor at The Dubai Mall, the world’s most visited retail destination. Dataton’s WATCHOUT multi-display system and compact WATCHPAX 4 media servers handle content production and delivery, while LG’s flexible OLED screens provide the vibrant colour range and wider viewing angle necessary at the location.

Show control onsite, including show selection

ME

and power cycling, is via Dataton WATCHNET manager software. All functions and the user interface were tailored to meet the venue’s specific requirements.

“The wall is designed to promote the aquarium, but will also provide a visually-exciting canvas for other content and companies, and with such a high-profile installation there are, of course, great demands on content quality and reliability,” said Trond Solvold, Sales Director at Dataton. “WATCHOUT with WATCHPAX 4 was likely the only system in the world that could pull off such a complex installation. The system needed to be flexible and scalable, and requests for future functionality left other systems far behind, making our solution the best choice for the installation.”

At Dubai’s latest attraction, WATCHOUT is teamed with 52 of Dataton’s WATCHPAX 4 media servers, each pushing content to 16 55-inch LG OLED panels. Trond continued: “Besides high performance, the media servers needed to be robust to handle almost 24/7 use and have a compact form factor. Space is incredibly tight behind the video wall - virtually non-existent and extensive cabling to a server room was never an option. That meant each server had to sit close

to the screens. With quad 4K video outputs and a trim A4-size footprint, the WATCHPAX units were eminently suited to the task.”

The Dubai Mall video wall is part of owner Emaar Entertainment’s ongoing strategy to provide world-class edutainment using innovative platforms. Dubai-based systems integrator, DigiComm, supplied the technical specification, solution and installation expertise for the project, coordinating with key suppliers Dataton, LG, and the client, Emaar Entertainment.

Maitha Al Dossari, CEO of Emaar Entertainment, said: “Emaar Entertainment continues to push the boundaries and achieve greater heights through innovative installations and attractions. We’re committed to delivering the best in the industry and are honoured that the new OLED screen at Dubai Aquarium & Underwater Zoo has received three recordbreaking titles, underpinning our commitment to pioneering innovative attractions, continued advancements in technology and digital attractions, and inspiring joy.” www.thedubaimall.com www.digicomm.ae www.emaar.com www.dataton.com

Platforms & Stages

Towers & Archways

Health & Safety

Fruition Events is a creative and innovative event delivery partner, specialising in the design, delivery, and management of site and infrastructure solutions to the event industry.

Focussed on offering a professional and full service, through continuous investment into a world class team and equipment.

• Custom Structures for any Event Space • Venue & Event Management / Consultancy • Scaffolding, Archways, and Towers • Strategic International Event Partnerships

Did you know?

Fruition Events offer turnkey Health and Safety consultancy to events and venue owners

+971 (0) 4 243 8711 |

info@fruitionevents.ae |

www.fruitionevents.ae |

16

TECH PROFILE

DIGITAL PROJECTION - EXPERIENCE CENTRE UK MANUFACTURER OF DIGITAL IMAGING SOLUTIONS, DIGITAL PROJECTION, RECENTLY OPENED A BRAND NEW EXPERIENCE CENTRE IN DUBAI. TPMEA MET UP WITH REGIONAL MANAGER MIDDLE EAST AND TURKEY, TIM WOOD, TO TALK ABOUT THE NEW DEVELOPMENT.

Based in Dubai Silicon Oasis - a Governmentowned incentivisation zone - is Digital Projection FZE. Regional Manager Middle East and Turkey, Tim Wood, is originally from the UK but has been in the UAE for over 20 years.

He explained how the idea for the Experience Centre came about: “The decision was taken to open an Experience Centre when we reviewed the European marketplace, which the Middle East is part of under the banner of EMEA. Looking at the achievements we’ve made in the first three and a half years in this market and looking at the

ME

data of future growth in the production industry, as well as theme parks, museums and visitor attractions, we believe the Middle East offers considerable growth.

“We have also gathered some reference installations in the first 2 or 3 years, so combining the installations, the growth we’d had already and the potential growth, we all thought this would be a good place to build a base. But the aim was always to build an experience centre base rather than a projector display base.”

Wood and the team wanted more than just

a facility where customers saw images projected onto a wall and were asked to imagine how it will look in the correct context. A number of other technologies are needed to create the entire package - screens, content management systems, software and housing.

Therefore, it was vital the Experience Centre was built with eco-partners, as Digital Projection likes to refer to them. “The collaborations were set up with a great deal of ease, to be honest.

We had the project in mind prior to ISE and we talked to a couple of people ahead of the

TECH PROFILE

show,” continued Wood. “We were enthused by the interest we received from people who work with products from projector displays. It came together more at ISE as we were able to talk to those people in a bit more detail and we’d signed the lease on the office space so we knew we were definitely going ahead.”

One of the first to come on board was Stewart Filmscreen. The company had a lot of commercial operations in terms of big screens, but it didn’t have anywhere to showcase these big screens in Dubai. The Experience Centre is equipped with an AT2 fixed frame screen with Graymatte 70 material; with a seamless image size of 9m x 4.5m.

As Wood and the team predict building mapping to be a huge growth area, a content management system was essential - this is where Dataton came in. Wood and International Sales & Marketing Director, Chris Axford, have known Dataton for a number of years, and although it has a distributor in Dubai, it doesn’t have the ability to demonstrate the products, so the company was very happy to get involved.

The Swedish manufacturer has furnished the

Experience Centre with WATCHOUT, WATCHPAX 4, WATCHPAX 2 and WATCHMAX systems for 3D video mapping and content delivery. The distributor in the region, Prolab, also provides support with content for the 3D mapping and technical support for the Dataton products.

Other partners include: Interesting AV, which provided the holographic display; VIOSO, a company offering software equipment to help 3D mapping; Manning Enterprises, Digital Projection’s preferred partner for the provision of technical solutions throughout the region; and iBS TEMPEST Lighting with its environmental projector enclosures. Along with the eco-system partners, Digital Projection also has a new service partner for the region, e-flex LLC, which joins the current European network of service centres.

The Experience Centre will be used for a number of purposes, as Wood explained: “We will be doing individual demonstrates for those who need that for a particular project. Our partners will do the same with their customers too. We’ll also be doing focus groups along the lines of ‘look and learn’ and ‘agnostic training sessions’, which won’t necessarily be ‘come and see our

17

projector’ but more in the realms of ‘would you like to learn how 3D mapping is done?’ We’ve got plans for the rest of the year, which I’m hoping will keep this place busy.”

Wood is hoping to reach people and companies across the Middle East and will be inviting them to the Experience Centre, as and when projects come up.

So far, Digital Projection has had a very enthusiastic response to the new facility, and as the nature of the space is for it be flexible, equipment can be swapped out, updated or added to, if and when it is required.

This was actually purposeful with the design, as Wood concluded: “Even in the time I’ve been working in the industry the technology has changed, but it’s never changed more dramatically than in the last 18 months. That was when we launched laser, prior to that, we were all selling lamp based projectors but now laser technology has taken over rapidly, 4K is there rapidly too and there’s lots more on the drawing board.” www.digitalprojection.com

ME

18

TECH PROFILE

FRANCO DRAGONE’S LA PERLE YET AGAIN, FRANCO DRAGONE TAKES THE WORLD BY STORM WITH HIS LATEST IMMERSIVE CREATION, LA PERLE IN DUBAI, MARKING HIS FIRST VENTURE INTO THE MIDDLE EAST MARKET. THE DIRECTOR USED THE EXPERTISE OF L-ACOUSTICS, DIGICO, MEYER SOUND, BSS, CLAYPAKY, MA LIGHTING, VYV, BARCO AND SHOWTEX TO BRING HIS LATEST CREATION TO LIFE.

In the world of storytelling through immersive and creative theatre, the name Franco Dragone speaks a thousand words. Born in southern Italy in the early 1950s, Dragone relocated to Belgium as a child, settling in La Louvière.

After spending his 30s in Canada working as a teacher at the Circus of Immaculate Conception and later a pivotal role at Cirque du Soleil, it was La Louvière where he returned, to set up the company in his family name back in 2000.

Today, Dragone is one of the world’s most sought-after artistic directors.

ME

The internationally renowned company has grown immensely since its inception, with teams including performers and artists, production and operations, corporate and creative designers, working around the globe on Dragone’s resident shows; The Dai Show, Lido, The Han Show, Le Rêve and The House of Dancing Water.

His newest work, La Perle, is the Dubai’s first resident show and is billed to be an unprecedented immersive production that will mark an iconic milestone for live entertainment in the region. The show is a partnership between

Dragone and Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor along with his son, Mohammed Khalaf Al Habtoor, the duo behind the Al Habtoor City development.

The idea was born after Mohammed’s trip to see Le Rêve in Las Vegas many years ago. They broke ground for La Perle in 2013.

The 1,300-seat theatre is fairly average in terms of size but unique in comparison to other theatre spaces in that it only consists of 14 rows, offering an intimate 270º experience for each and every member of the audience. Another standout feature of this theatre is its centrally located on-

TECH PROFILE

stage pool. In a matter of seconds the pool can fill, deep enough for objects to float on the water or to submerge one of the cast members - when they dive into the pool from 25m above. The pool uses a staggering 2.7 million litres of water.

La Perle is also the first theatre to have a fully functioning drawbridge, which is utilised by the cast to enhance their performance.

The show features 65 artists from 23 different countries, each bringing their own unique set of skills to the performance, ranging from acting, acrobats, aquatic and aerial stunts. The story of La Perle draws inspiration from Dubai, and the cast are emblematic of the region’s multicultural population. With 2 shows a day, 5 days a week, the show will welcome more than 450,000 guests a year.

Of course, performances would not be possible without the support and back up of technology, and Dragone would not settle for anything but the best, meaning La Perle has been equipped with the very latest technology, the first of which being Syva, L-Acoustics’ new

colinear system. “Syva is a new breed of sound system combining the benefits of line source technology with a plug-and-play approach, in a sleek design, tailor-made for places where elegance and discretion are paramount,” said Stéphane Ecalle, Marketing Director at L-Acoustics. Although a late addition to the inventory, due to the timing of the product release, it demonstrates how committed the theatre is to producing the optimum experience for the audience.

Sound Designer at La Perle, Sebastian Hammond, commented: “I’m so excited to be one of the first clients to have Syva. We wanted the clarity and the quality of an L-Acoustics product but finding something to fit within the architectural limitations we had was tricky, until Syva came along. Its size is perfect for the space, and it is still capable of the throw I need - about 35m at the furthest point.” The 2 Syva columns accompany the main L-Acoustics KARAi rig, which is configured with a house left and house right system and each side has L-C-R hangs,

19

each comprising 6 KARAi cabinets and an SB18 subwoofer on top. There are a further 2 hangs on either side of the proscenium. “The set-up creates a wide stereo image, and we have the ability to brings elements out of the mix using the centre array, whether that be vocals, an instrument or an effect,” added Sebastian.

Having been part of the Dragone family since 2014, Hammond moved from The Han Show Theatre in China in November 2016 to take over the audio responsibilities at La Perle. Although not directly involved in the audio design and planning, he stepped in just prior to installation, which he believes was a crucial moment. “It was actually a very convenient point to step in because I was able to look at the space before the loudspeakers were hung. There are always conflicts found when it comes time to move into the theatre,” he said. “Designs were made on paper, obviously, but when you get into the space you inevitably find that you can’t put a loudspeaker where it was originally intended.

Although the end result was very close to the

ME

20

TECH PROFILE

initial design, it was great to be a part of the key decisions once the loudspeakers needed to be placed. And not just for the loudspeakers, but for the whole system in general and getting the system up and running.”

La Perle features rain effects and water fountains, so the audio team had to work handin-hand with the special effects designers to ensure loudspeakers wouldn’t risk getting wet.

With the automation aspect, Hammond and the design team had to ensure the safety of the aerial performers. “There is a specific clearance zone needed around a winch for example a winch line used for flying performers across the stage has a certain radius that we need to clear, a zone allowing for a swing or a sway on that line,” he explained.

Due to the the size of the theatre design, a delay ring was required, featuring 32 Meyer Sound UP4-XP speakers along with the newly released Meyer Sound Galaxy 816 processors.

Surrounds behind the audience made up of 34 Meyer Sound UPM-1XP have also been installed.

They provide high sound pressure levels, extremely low distortion, and uniform directional control, yet are discreet enough to blend into the aesthetics - hidden in the rear wall of the theatre. The speakers work with the surround ring to produce even coverage. A second row of surrounds comprises of 10 L-Acoustics 12XT loudspeakers, providing ample coverage for different imaging of effects and reverbs.

Frontfill duties are taken care of by 24 Meyer Sound MM4-XPs, which were not only ideal in size but waterproof and low voltage, meaning there is no need to worry about them being too close to the pool. Completing the

ME

loudspeaker line-up are 8 K-array KP102’s and 8 K-array Anakonda KAN200+ flexible arrays, both of which are used as hidden fill loudspeakers.

“The K-array products are ideal cosmetically because they blend in with the environment, the theatre designers were happy that the loudspeakers weren’t so intrusive of their design,” said Hammond. 2 K-array all-in-one KA84 audio power amplifiers look after power and processing needs for the K-array boxes.

Amplification and control for L-Acoustics systems, is provided through the company’s amplified controllers - the LA8 and the LA4X. A total of 15 LA8’s and 4 LA4Xs are in place at La Perle and both amplifiers are more than adequate for the theatre in terms of EQ’ing and delay. With the Meyer Sound cabinets being self-powered, all they require is loudspeaker management, provided courtesy of a BSS London Soundweb BLU-806 and 6 BLU-160’s. Hammond added: “BSS is basically looking after all our signal flow in terms of outputs to the PA, looking after routing, matrixing and also processing for certain elements.” The amplifier and processor racks are kept in well away from the stage, eliminating the possibility of them getting wet, extending the longevity of the show.

For contol the production deployed DiGiCo. It was an interesting opportunity for Hammond, having not worked with the brand previously in resident shows. “I was excited ahead of using the DiGiCo consoles because I deem them a real sound console,” he said. “In terms of the mixing and the live functionality of the console, I’m looking forward to having that back, as more recently we have used an audio show control system. And although I may lose the features

of the latter system that I’m used to, I will have to be more creative with how I use the DiGiCo console.”

An SD7 is in place at FOH taking responsibility for the audience mix, while an SD10 caters for the musicans and artists. Packed full of features the SD Series, thanks to the company’s Super FPGA technology, is able to deliver highdensity digital processing. They also offer an abundance of I/O options, which in the case of La Perle is fulfilled by a DiGiCo Waves SoundGrid, D-Rack and SD-Mini Rack, as well as DD2’s and a DD4 from Optocore.

Local support for the DiGiCo consoles, as well as the L-Acoustics PA, came from Delta Sound and so Hammond has been and will continue to be in close contact with them.

Technical Support Engineer of Delta Sound, Mahesh Ramdin, said: “It was a great experience working with the dedicated team from Dragone over the summer at the La Perle theatre in Dubai.

I had the privilege of work with the in-house sound team, setting up the flagship console from DiGiCo the SD7. The SD7 is the main show console at front of house and is accompanied with a DiGiCo SD10 and SD10 remote engine as the monitor console for the band. All consoles are in a fibre optic loop with DiGiCo racks and devices from Optocore to provide a network of audio patch.”

The installation was carried out by Solotech.

Responsible for the audio, visual and comms installation, the Canadian company is no stranger to Dragone, having partnered successfully on previous projects. Projector Director for Solotech, Bob Barbagallo, said: “Solotech has had a long working relationship with the Dragone team

22

TECH PROFILE

having performed on other Dragone creations.

Working with their Dubai creative team has been exciting. As the show evolves, Solotech adapts to the required artistic changes to have the audio and video projection tools available when required. Solotech’s system designers, project managers, and logistic coordinators worked closely with Dragone and their partner Al Habtoor to produce something very special, La Perle.”

To accompany the top of the range audio inventory is an equally spectacular visual packagein the shape of the water effects. “We’re pretty good at working with an aqua based theatre after Le Rêve and The House of Dancing Water,” said Jean Marcouiller, Head of the Studio and Creative Departments at Dragone and Executive Production Director of La Perle. “Water for us is like second nature. We find that utilising water within our shows brings a special element to the production, even though it is difficult to work with. Design wise though it is very rewarding as introducing water into a space turns it into a completely different one. So, over the years we have learned that there are thousands of different ways to incorporate water into a production.”

Having worked for Dragone since 2003, Marcouiller joined the company as a Technical Director but quickly progressed through the ranks. Today, he is Head of the Studio and Creative Departments at Dragone in charge of general management of all shows, overseeing design, hiring, conception and construction second in command to Dragone himself.

ME

“With La Perle, we’re introducing various state-of-the-art special effects that have never been achieved within a production before.

Water effects using high level robotics, which are controlled by the automation desk and so the aerial acrobatics and the water fountain effects will be interlinked, which has never been done before. We also use high-level displacement of water like torrents as the concept of the show leant more towards rivers rather than lakes. Then we have the regular effects, but on a larger scale, such as smoke, and rain.”

Aside from the mind-blowing water effects, the audience is also taken in by the breath-taking 3D projection mapping. The projection screens stretch across the walls, the seats, the floors and even the building’s dome. Using 24 Barco projectors - a combination of 4 HDF W-26’s as backdrop projectors and 20 HDF W-26 projectors, 12 for the dome, 6 for the floor and 2 for the bridge. Content design and creation by Montrealbased VYV, La Perle’s is home to a fully immersive visual setup.

VYV use 9 PHOTON media servers and 2 PHOTON controllers for La Perle that provide 270° coverage, stretching across the entire theatre.

The real-time and automatic calibration that PHOTON offers allows scene changes within the show to flow seamlessly. The media servers are also capable of compositing with the lighting, audio, and automation for perfectly streamlined performances.

The 270º theatre design was something that scenic designer for La Perle, Jean Rabasse considered in great detail when he joined the

project, right at the very beginning. A famous French cinema set decorator and scenographer, he started to collaborate with Dragone on La Perle and while doing so the pair also worked to open the new show in Paris during 2015.

“I like to be involved with the creation of the theatre, the seating and the audience perspective,” said Marcouiller. “The theatre design is very much linked to what Franco wants to show he audience, so we work together closely to achieve this. We consider the spirit of the show, how we want to seat the audience, how we see the artists, the video and the lighting, which is why it’s important to be involved from the beginning to get the relation between the audience and the stage just right.”

For La Perle, Marcouiller was to create the illusion of a cavern in the dessert, which unfolds so the audience discover the beauty of the surroundings. He also wanted the design to be a continuation of Dubai itself, quality and luxury.

Adding yet another dimension to the visual display are the lighting fixtures. A combination of intelligent moving lights and traditional theatre followspots. In charge of making those decisions is Enrico Bagnoli. “I had a lot of freedom with the lighting design due to the theatre being built from scratch,” he said. “When discussions about the project began back in 2013, I quickly had to decide what equipment would be needed and the exact fixtures.”

The lighting design for La Perle wasn’t a straightforward task, as the theatre is full of curves, which presents many problems. Add the need for the fixtures to be silent or very quiet - a

The Complete Event Package in the GCC

Equipment rental experts offering turnkey solutions to help execute your event from start to finish.

From back stage, ticketing and catering cabins to power distribution and venue lighting - our expertise will ensure your event is a success.

UAE | KSA | Kuwait | Qatar | Oman | Bahrain

byrnerental.com

Enabling operational efficiency through equipment rental and lease solutions

24

TECH PROFILE

normal requirement in any theatrical space - and it’s easy to see why a veteran LD like Bagnoli was brought in. “In theatres, operation noise is 90% of the problem you face, fixtures simply have to be quiet. You need moving heads, but you need silence so when a company manufacturers a spot with good optics and silent operation - it becomes one of my go-to fixtures,” he said.

A large Claypaky inventory has been specified for La Perle including Sharpys, Super Sharpys, Alpha Profile 1500’s, Alpha Profile 800’s, Alpha Wash 1500’s, Alpha Beam 1500’s. “Back in 2013 when the fixtures were selected, these were the best in class, however, as with anything, technology moves on and newer models were available when we were installing. To be honest though, I prefer the older fixtures that have maturity for this project. I would not have chosen a brand new product with no references.

It takes a while to fine tune the fixtures to the environment- the heat and humidity being the obstacles in this case,” Bagnoli added.

Claypaky A.leda B-EYEs are also at home in La Perle. “The B-EYEs work well in a small space and particularly well for atmospherics, with the use of a little smoke. It’s a wash fixture but also has a sharp focus so it’s quite a spectacular fixture,” he continued. Bagnoli chose another Italian manufacturer for the cyclorama fixtures, Studio Due’s City Color was selected due to the product’s reputation. Theatrical fixtures came in the form of the industry standard ETC Source 4’s, while the pool was lit using IP68-rated Anolis LED lights. “For all the brands I selected, I took

ME

into account the after sales packages, as this is important to me. I wanted companies with an office and service here in Dubai,” Bagnoli added.

Controlling the intelligent lighting is an MA Lighting grandMA. “For this kind of level of project you need a high-end, rider friendly product and it can handle 4 DMX universes,” Bagnoli said. Completely integrating the lighting with the video is the biggest problem to overcome, with conflict between the two.

However the grandMA equipped Bagnoli with the best tools to overcome the challenge.

The attention turned to ShowTex Middle East, which manufactured and installed a giant 11m x 27m ShowLED Chameleon Starcloth, hung in a curved configuration to enhance the infinity effect. The LED RGB Starcloth is fully DMX controllable via the grandMA.

Managing Partner of Showtex Middle East, Sven Peeters and his team also supplied a large amount of black masking fabrics, mainly the brand new velours, Delta and Bravo. Peeters expanded: “The beautiful thing about this new velvet is that it has a unique width of 210cm, it is inherently flame retardant, beautifully black and ideal for use in humid enclosed environments like theatres with water effects and theme parks due to its absolute minimal shrinkage factor.

Audience members will not be able to see the curtains at La Perle, meaning we succeeded in our mission to hide the technical systems in the theatre.”

One of the masterpieces ShowTex supplied is a complex DMX chaintrack with

a huge black curtain that is tabbed in and out to give the massive decorative gate transparency or blackout. It is running behind the aforementioned gate and follows when it closes and opens behind allowing the audience to see the LED wall behind it. “It is possibly the heaviest and tallest curtain ever moved on a chaintrack,” continued Peeters. “It’s a whopping 23m high x 24m wide, which folds up in an incredibly tight space, thanks to the ingenious chaintrack continuous loop system. The system is tied into the overall show control.”

The central sphere that hangs from the ceiling is a focal point of the show and to help create it Dragone turned to ShowTex’s anodised aluminum spirelli curtain. Measuring 13m in height with a 9m radius. Behind the spirelli is a laservoile, this creates a beautiful halo effect to further enhance the desired look and feel of the show. Additionally, the Dragone team used ShowTex’s transonic velvet, which masks out loudspeakers without audible loss of sound quality. And La Perle also makes use of several kabuki releases for dropping cables and scenic rope elements.

With the doors to La Perle officially opened on 31 August, the response has been extremely positive, with many reviews siting the show as ‘a visual masterpiece’. http://laperle.com http://dragone.com www.deltalive.com www.solotech.com www.showtex.com

Image: ©Gareth Kays

Spellbinding lighting for Wicked the musical

The Philips Showline SL LEDSPOT 300 bewitched audiences on an award-winning production of hit Broadway musical Wicked, staged by The Show Company in Australia.

Alongside an advanced effects engine with both fixed and rotating gobos and exceptional CMY color mixing, the compact and discrete SL LEDSPOT 300’s precision shutter framing system creates magic on any stage.

And the story doesn’t end there... its energy efficient LED source makes the SL LEDSPOT 300 as green as Elphaba herself!

Discover more at philips.com/showline

LEDSPOT300_A4.indd 2

30/3/17 12:33:34

26

TECH PROFILE

BASE DUBAI REOPENS IN THE DESIGN DISTRICT FOR 2017 SEASON THE PIONEERING DUBAI NIGHTLIFE CONCEPT, SET IN THE HEART OF DYNAMIC UP-AND-COMING DUBAI HOTSPOT D3 DESIGN DISTRICT, HAS REOPENED ITS DOORS AFTER THE SUMMER. INSTALLED BY ONE OF THE LARGEST AV AND SYSTEM INTEGRATION COMPANIES IN THE REGION, PULSE MIDDLE EAST, THE VENUE CONCEPT IS AN OPEN-AIR NIGHTCLUB THAT DELIVERS AN OUTDOOR CONCERT EXPERIENCE.

A number of world-class acts and superstar DJs have already experienced the full power of the 115dB PA system at Base Dubai including 50 Cent, Axwell, Afrojack, Rick Ross, Alesso and Fetty Wap. Superimposed on 180 sq metres of LED screens around the club, performers thrill the 2,000-strong crowd. Key highlights of forthcoming acts at Base Dubai include

ME

French Montana on Friday 24 November, the Moroccan-American Grammy Nominated hip hop superstar who has worked on tracks with Diddy, Rick Ross, Pharrell and the Weeknd to name a few.

Designer will play on 22 December, the chart-topping American rapper, singer, songwriter who rose to prominence in 2016 after the release

of his debut single Panda, which reached number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. Marco Corola will play on 28 December, famed for his energetic and impressive three-deck style of mixing and long journey set and one of the most in-demand DJs on the planet.

Base Dubai’s sound system is powered by a TW AUDiO point source, controlled by Powersoft

TECH PROFILE

X series DSP systems, which ensures an elite level of power amplification. These audio effects combine with 1,380 lighting fixtures from Vision Pro-lighting, and are all controlled by a ChamSys MQ500 stadium lighting console.

Managing Partner for Pulse Middle East, Joe Chidiac, explained: “The PA system packs a punch, utilising the powerful TW AUDiO system, an elite sound system that is powerful enough to meet the club’s requirements and keep it far in advance of the competition. All of this is supported by 8 T24N - high volume point-source dual 12-inch horn-loaded loudspeakers, split equally between the 2 hangs.”

Right at the venue’s heart is a subwoofer arrangement featuring 2 horn-loaded dual 21-inch BSX subwoofers, supported by 8 directional S33 subwoofers in end-fire mode.

This already powerful arrangement is further reinforced by 4 T30i loudspeakers and 6 T20, 2 T20 point source units as front fills, 4 T20is as well as 2 T24Ns in the VIP area, behind the DJ. It doesn’t stop there, with the DJ booth featuring 4 B30 subwoofers and 2 T24N loudspeakers providing up to 143dB at 1. Nine Powersoft X4 amplifiers underpin the entire sound system is powered by 10 Powersoft X4 amplifiers.

The extensive lighting and visual setup is extensive and complements the sound,

27

featuring a total of 1,380 lighting fixtures from Vision Pro and 180 sq metres of LED screens around the venue. Adding to Base Dubai’s unique character is the distinct chandelier, high over the venue and a focal point. This has 5 layers of tiered P10 LED screens in an inverted pyramid layout, controlled using Resolume VJ software. The ceiling and walls come to life with LED lighting effects generated from MARDIX software.

The lighting features 196 moving heads, 20 strobes, 34 dual molefay blinders, 82 LED PAR cans and 70 PAR bars illuminate the whole venue. Operations Manager for Pulse Middle East Greg Brown, said of the lighting:

ME

28

TECH PROFILE

“We needed high performance lights that could throw at least 15m from the mounting point to the dancefloor. This also had to be achieved outdoors under the moonlight and be capable of magnificent visual effects. Vision’s XS4 16R lamp with spot, wash and beam capabilities were perfect for this with a stunning set of gobos and prisms. With the lights placed outside in

ME

extreme conditions of heat, humidity and dust, we needed a versatile brand with excellent UAE support, capable of providing parts and replacements on demand - Vision offered us just that.”

The lights are all managed by a ChamSys MQ500 stadium lighting console, which has the capability to control a vast number of lights.

For Base Dubai, this system operates 20 DMX universes for its full lighting range. The lasers operate under a different system - Pangolin Beyond software - which creates fantastic laser shows. Chidiac said: “The control surfaces are connected together over ArtNet. If the lighting operator wishes to alter the whole feel of the venue including LED, lighting, lasers and video,

TECH PROFILE

it can be done with one touch of an execute button. The ArtNet is available all over the venue in case the operator needs to move around for a special performance, or if additional effects are required for one-off shows.�

Base Dubai is starting to put Dubai on the map as a draw for high-calibre artists, in the same way that venues in Las Vegas or Ibiza have before it. The venue is owned by Bulldozer Group, which has other F&B projects in the pipeline

29

including Scalini, Gaia and China Tang, with many more to follow. www.basedubai.com http://pulse-me.co

ME

30

TECH PROFILE

UNITE WITH TOMORROWLAND - DUBAI EXTENDING THE FAMED EDM FESTIVAL’S BORDERS, UNITE WITH TOMORROWLAND OFFERED DANCE FANS A CHANCE TO JOIN IN WITH THE BELGIUM PARTY VIA A LIVE STREAMING EVENT UNLIKE ANY OTHER. TPMEA’S STE DURHAM SPOKE TO THE CREW TO FIND OUT MORE…

UNITE With Tomorrowland was initially dreamt up as a way to build bridges between the original festival and its sister events around the world via a live connection to the main stage in Belgium. On the event’s second weekend, live local and international DJs took to UNITE stages everywhere from Germany, Malta, and Lebanon, to South Korea and, of course, the UAE, in a synchronised, worldwide celebration. This unprecedented connection gave the ‘People of Tomorrow’ across the globe the chance to party with the visitors on the hallowed ground in Boom.

The show, held at Dubai’s Festival City Arena, ran from 2pm-3am, including live stream from the main event in Belgium and broadcast on to the screens between 11pm-2am, Dubai

ME

time. French producer and DJ Martin Solveig, Poland’s Tom Swoon and Belgium’s Robert Falcon headlined a line-up of world famous DJs in Dubai, while the live satellite connection brought in EDM giants KSHMR, Armin van Buuren and Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike to the main festival site.

Dubai-based producer, organiser and promoter, Envie Events, was tasked with ensuring that the festival’s lofty ambitions became a reality. Having hosted the first world exclusive open-air edition of dance spectacular, Sensation, in Dubai, as well as a number of similar events across the city, Envie was well-placed to handpick a selection of technical suppliers.

The roster included Protec, which provided a full inventory of cutting-edge audio, video, lighting, set and rigging (as well as radios,

satellite comms link up and cameras); Al Laith was brought in for staging and structural elements; and Aggreko for on-site cooling, power, distribution, and cabling.

SET & LIGHTING The set was designed by UNITE With Tomorrowland and constructed in-house at Protec to the drawings and dimensions provided.

This was mounted onto an Al Laith structure, which enabled the crew to fly the LED screen, while at the same time using the structure behind to mount the lighting.

Matt Lakin, Staging and Set Head of Department, explained that Protec was required to match the design element-for-element, and did so by using a combination of 2D prints and

TECH PROFILE

3D scenic sections that were hand-painted to achieve the desired effects. This took 2 months to build and 5 days on site to assemble, once the scaffolding structure was in place.

“The most difficult aspect was creating the 2 side towers, due to the size and details required, as well as being able to fit onto trucks,” he said. “Added to this was managing to fit the set into the venue, both from a width and height perspective, and not having any of the set blocked off by anything already existing in the roof.”

Both the main and audience rigging for lighting largely comprised of Total Fabrications OV truss with a Superbeam catwalk system for the PA Sprays and everything lifted by CM Lodestar chain motors.

While adhering to such specific blueprints for the set was a challenge in and of itself, designing and rigging a lighting plot that was to be

controlled from another continent was a different animal altogether.

Protec’s Crew Chief Abi Bates was part of a team comprising the company’s Lighting Head of Department Aaron Russ, Paul Coopes and Nestor Piquero. She began: “The lighting spec was different than anything Protec, and probably any other company in the region, has faced before.

This was because, during the section of the show that received satellite feeds from Belgium playing on the screen, the lighting operator in Belgium wanted to have remote control of the lighting desks for the UNITE shows around the world.”

The way this worked was that the lighting operator in Dubai created a show file that included a page of commands that had been requested by the LD in Belgium. This file was then sent to Belgium, where MIDI markers were imported into the show file, before being sent back to Dubai. During the show, via a wired

31

internet connection and MIDI interface, the lighting operator in Belgium was able to remotely operate these commands in Dubai, calling colours and some strobe effects, so that all UNITE shows had the same colour theme at the same time. The Dubai-based operator meanwhile called movements and intensity, as these were more venue-specific.

The lighting plot for the rest of the arena (essentially the audience lighting) was designed

by Protec to give the best coverage of the space, and to ensure that both lighting designs worked in harmony to create an aesthetically cohesive overall look for the show.

Protec provided all internal lighting and operating for the show, which included 12 Claypaky Stormys, 52 Sharpys, 8 Scenius Profiles, 16 A.leda B-EYE K10’s, 24 SGM Q7’s, 3 SGM P2’s, 14 Martin by Harman MAC Auras, 10 Pixel Smart LEDs, 8 Vari-Lite VL3500 washes, 8 4-Lite

ME

32

TECH PROFILE

Molefays, 20 2-Lite Molefays, and 25 PAR 36’s fitted with blinder lamps. This was all controlled from MA Lighting grandMA2 Full Size desks.

The separate audience rig included 24 VariLite VL3000 Spots, 46 SGM P5’s to wash the VIP platforms on both sides. To illuminate the bar areas, Protec specified 24 TMB Nuri*Lites LED Hurricanes, 52 Claypaky Sharpy Profiles, and 28 Sharpy Washes.

VIDEO The video kit on site in Dubai consisted of 3 screens - 1 main upstage screen made up of 176 panels of 9mm Mambo LED (measuring 12.3m x 8.5m) with back-up, and 2 IMAG screens, consisting of 40 panels of 6mm Mambo LED (measuring 6.1m x 3.8m). The main screen was configured and controlled by Novastar Vx4S LED processors.

The IMAG screens were used to show live feeds from all around the world during the

ME

broadcast. At the back end, Protec fielded an Apple Mac Mini running Playback Pro, with two Analog Way Saphyr switchers. The VJ used MacPro and a MacBook Pro, both running Resolume Arena software, to provide graphical effects to the screens.

The satellite link-up from the main event in Belgium, and every country transmitting to and receiving from that location, was handled

by SNG, which provided 4 HDSDI feeds with embedded audio from Belgium. The audio was then extracted from the video signal using deembedders and sent on XLR cable to the main screen, while the video signal was sent through Protec’s Connex HDSDI to fibre converters and relayed to FOH via Neutrik opticalCON quad core fibre.

The secondary signal, featuring content from around the world, was sent to the IMAG screens while Protec was responsible for switching between all of the incoming feeds.

Video Engineer Ben Connor explained the fibre set-up: “We had Lightware 220 pro fibre to DVI units at either end of the fibre to send and receive our video signals. We also used a Neutrik OpticalCON Duo dual core fibre along with Startech Ethernet over fibre units so that we could have Ethernet control of our LED processors over long distance from FOH. We used Lightware and Extron matrices to distribute HDSDI and DVI signals.”

Further feeds were supplied by 6 cameras, courtesy of Prime Vision, 5 for centre screen and the other to record footage for the client.

He explained that changes during the initial planning were forced as the set size had to be adapted to the limited dimension of the indoor venue; therefore, the screen sizes had to be adapted accordingly.

He concluded: “We were very happy with the show. The screens looked great, especially when displaying the VJ content. We went to a

TECH PROFILE

lot of trouble to colour-match and set a uniform brightness across all screens, as well as work with lighting to agree on a brightness that worked with the lights, and also Prime Vision to achieve a good colour balance for the camera feeds that would show the Dubai show to be displayed across all of the other UNITE countries.”

AUDIO Protec turned to its tried and tested L-Acoustics K2 system for the show audio, with 14 elements per side on the main stage and 10 per side for delays. The company deployed 24 SB28 subwoofers to reinforce the low end, with KARA added for infill and 4 SB18 subs stacked with more KARA for DJ monitors. The system was driven by 13 racks of LA8 amplifiers, with 2 DiGiCo SD11’s for FOH control. This setup was approved by Backbone, the technical team for the main Tomorrowland event in Belgium.

Head of Department, Edward Ross, explained

one of the major venue-specific challenges: “With a maximum weight load available we had to reduce how much PA we hung, and ended up with the bare minimum required to cover the venue; however, we were able to produce the show correctly with what we had.”

For the show itself Protec also provided 5-way wireless and 8-way comms, with site-wide communication handled from Motorola radios.

Summing up, Bates said Protec’s lighting department had overcome all challenges; notably that the venue was only a semi-permanent structure, meaning that great care needed to be taken with regard to weight loading and distribution in the roof of the venue.

“Secondly, the most time consuming part of the rig for lighting in particular was finding a way to attach the lights to the set in a way that was safe,” she said. “The lights had to be far away enough from the set fascia to avoid any potential dangers from the heat. It also had to be tidy so

33

the fixtures looked like a cohesive part of the set and symmetrical so the set looked as photogenic as possible.”

Bates concluded: “Despite these challenges, the show went incredibly well from both a lighting, and an overall Protec perspective. I believe that both the production managers from Backbone as well as the promoters at Envie Events were incredibly happy with both the collaboration between production and the Protec lighting team, as well as the end result, and we were well supported, particularly by Markus from MA Lighting when it came to the complexities of desk synchronisation.”

POWER Aggreko Middle East Events Services has worked and consulted with the owners of Festival CIty Arena - Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG) - to provide temperature control and power solutions for all of its events since the construction of

bring big ideas to life. d3 Designer is the ultimate software to visualise, design, and sequence projects wherever you are.

Try it now for free – download d3 Trial from our website. d3technologies.com/en/get-d3 The Weeknd Starboy tour 2017, Es Devlin, Sooner Rothier

ME

34

TECH PROFILE

the temporary structure. The company was approached by IHG and Envie to look into providing a solution for what was the largest indoor dance event that the UAE had seen.

Events Manager UAE for Aggreko, Martin Nichol, explained: “For your normal rock ‘n’ roll gig in Dubai, Aggreko is called for show power and concessions, on this particular event the most important factor was the temperature control to ensure a safe working environment not only for the build and de-rig but also for the actual live event.

“The ambient temperature was in the late 40°C and there were numerous variables that needed to be taken into consideration prior to the design stage, which included the number of people that would be attending the event; the technical equipment that was going to be used for the event and heat that would be distributed from this; the layout of F&B stations, bars, and scaffold VIP structures; and the duration of the event.”

He continued: “Once the main information was ascertained, we were then in a position to design the temperature control system that was needed to keep the structure cooled at 23°C throughout the duration of the event.”

All told, over 7 MW of power, 15 MW of cooling capacity, a range of distribution boards and approximately 5km of cable were installed and commissioned on site.

“Having worked at Festival Arena with the

ME

venue team on many occasions it was a very straightforward process from our side,” Nichol added. “With the large, diverse inventory that we carry in the region, our design and technical team were able to provide a solution that fitted within the footprint of the venue, leaving more than enough access for all emergency and civil defence services and other service providers for the event.

“All of the power that was supplied for technical purposes and temperature control was N+1 - meaning that everything was backed up in case of a failure. Any event has to go on flawlessly and, with the size and scale of this event and the live broadcast involved, we as a company would not provide our solution in any other format.

“It was important to have our temperature control kit running at least 48 hours before the event went live.

“This would give enough time for the concrete slab on which the structure sits on and all of the equipment added to the inside of the structure to cool down.

“Knowing the rigorous pre-delivery checks that Aggreko carry out prior to moving equipment on site and during the installation, we were more than confident that everything would run smoothly.”

The Events Manager concluded: “We have worked very closely with the other suppliers on different events in the region throughout the years so this was a great event to be a part

of, especially in the middle of summer which is considered a down time for the events industry.”

THE PEOPLE OF TOMORROW Emran Khan, one of the production managers at Backbone International, was indeed happy: “This unique concept is a super idea, which was well executed and fits beautifully with UNITE’s vision. I would especially like to thank Abi and Paul from our Dubai lighting crew for executing it so efficiently and Markus from MA Lighting for lending a helping hand. It was a pleasure working with them.”

Protec’s Lighting Head of Department, Aaron Russ, agreed: “I think it was a great success.

Personally for myself and Paul it was one of the best gigs we have ever been involved with. From a geek perspective, the idea of uniting all stages with a similar design and remote operation so it all looked the same was genius!”

And with the final word on the event, Protec Project Manager, Simon Travis, paid tribute to the excellence of his crew for the way in which they turned an ambitious and groundbreaking concept into a reality. “The show itself was thumping, looked great and sounded great,” he said. “There were no issues and I could not be happier.”

Photos: Envie Events and Protec www.tomorrowland.com/en/unite www.envie-events.com www.productiontec.com me.aggreko.com

Dream big:

BGR70 Truss

The BGR70 can handle zero deflection, due to its pre-cambering system.

The BGR70 can handle big spans up to 45 meters.

The BGR70 can handle heavy loads up to 3300kg on a 20m span.

Visit the Prolight + Sound Middle East for a demo: Provision AVL Stand F31 Prolyte Group Stand E32

ÂŽ GAFF

PRO GAFF

On Tour for 40 Years!

Contact: Dennis Mirabella Market Manager, A&E Div. 1-800-345-0234 ext. 115 Direct Line: 732-743-4165 Email: dennism@protapes.com

www.protapes.com

36

COMPANY PROFILE

MEET PULSE MIDDLE EAST DUBAI-BASED PULSE MIDDLE EAST SPECIALISES IN DELIVERING PREMIUM SOUND, LIGHT AND INTEGRATED SOLUTIONS FOR CLIENTS ACROSS THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA. THE COMPANY HAS 75 EMPLOYEES INCLUDING AN EXPERT TEAM OF ENGINEERS, DESIGNERS, INTEGRATION SPECIALISTS AND PROJECT MANAGERS, WHO COMBINE TECHNICAL KNOWLEDGE WITH PASSION AND CREATIVE PROBLEM-SOLVING SKILLS. HAVING ESTABLISHED ITSELF AS A MARKET-LEADER, PULSE MIDDLE EAST HAS AN EXTENSIVE PORTFOLIO INCLUDING RENOWNED HOTSPOTS SUCH AS STEREO ARCADE, CAVALLI CLUB, BILLIONAIRE MANSION AND LOCK, STOCK & BARREL, TO NAME BUT A FEW. TPMEA GETS TO KNOW SOME OF ITS KEY PLAYERS...

Alain Akiki Senior Project Manager I have worked at Pulse Middle East for 7 months, enjoying responsibilities such as handling projects from the drawing board to completion, handover and subsequent support. Much of what I do involves leading the team, pulling the respective strands together to help achieve the daily scope of work. In order to achieve this, I work closely with project managers and directors to update projects, share ideas and find solutions.

Every project we work on has its own set of challenges and I treat all of them with the same amount of care. However, if I had to choose just one, it would be Base, a pioneering entertainment fusion concept of nightclub and outdoor concert-style venue [see Pg. 26].

I motivated by seeing the hard work we collectively create come to life and I enjoy the positive feedback including the ‘wow’ effect on people’s faces when they see the end result.

I’m incredibly fortunate to enjoy all aspects of my work. I’m passionate about my job; I love music, lighting and technology and I find deadlines thrilling. It’s an exciting time to be working in the AV field, which is changing daily at an extremely rapid pace.

Virtual Reality for instance is an important emerging trend that is still in development but will play a significant role in shaping the industry in the coming years. Pulse Middle East is embracing such technology as a pioneer in the region, combining this with a highly dedicated service during project installation and more importantly, after handover support.

Jayser Yulip Autocad Draftsman I have worked for Pulse for almost 2 years and my work primarily consists of drafting concepts based on client needs, as well as more detailed drawings such as individual fixtures or installations.

I also draft for site use and coordinate concepts with engineers and system designers. This adds a fascinating layer of complexity to my work, as I must carefully consider form and function throughout while balancing with an overall vision.

My career progression has stemmed from passions and dreams I have had from a young age. I was always at my happiest while drawing and creating, and I feel blessed to have progressed into a career where I can apply my talents. Day-to-day I draw inspiration and motivation from my family and the positive feedback I gain from our clients with

ME

our work.

The work I carry out here at Pulse Middle East combines with my personal passion of art and design, and I gain great fulfilment by witnessing creation with my pencil or design programme, as it comes to life as a physical entity. I love satisfying our clients and creating an experience that also brings joy to customers.

As the Middle East entertainment industry matures in this city that supports fusion creations and innovative ideas, a number of developments are shaping the future of the AV and lighting industry.

Market research is shaping a more sophisticated approach resulting in the adoption of advanced technologies and modern techniques, which have delivered vast improvements to the user experience.

Pulse Middle East has achieved success throughout the region by embracing forward-thinking methods and its creation of quality design.

I am proud to have played my own role in this, supplying ideas through my drafting and design.

COMPANY PROFILE

37

Greg Brown Operations Manager I have worked at Pulse Middle East for 2 years and my core responsibilities include the operation of all installations and projects. I also manage a team of project managers, designers, installation technicians, AV technicians and AV operators.

My personal passions include music, entertainment, extreme sports and travel, which draws parallels with my work; fast-paced and inspiring. l also hope that through our company’s contribution in entertainment concepts, we can influence and inspire people in a similar way.

I am inspired by technology innovation and how respective developments integrate. Exciting developments include enhancements of work stations which control more complex elements of venues and can integrate movement, light, sound, vision to impact the senses, with some very interesting and powerful tools.

The technology developments in this field certainly tap into my passion for technology. I was thoroughly engaged with computers, in particular the components, electronics and how software can influence and control things as a child. An introduction to the theatre as a youngster saw me discover control rooms influencing flying and lighting systems and video control, a breath taking world of ever-

adapting technology.

As I have grown into this fascinating career, I have discovered that there is something new to learn every day such as new products and control systems. This field can never bore me, and every project offers new challenges and methods, brands and equipment.

I am highly motivated working with our projects from beginning to end including planning, designing and seeing the venue complete and open, with everything working 100%. Following the many challenges faced throughout the process. It’s an ongoing and rewarding learning experience.

My favourite project with Pulse Middle East would have to be the Meydan project, which recently opened. This features a lot of integration and control, linking everything up to one surface, for cleaver programming and operation was a real challenge but it paid off.

One lighting desk connects to 4 other pieces of software, each over a different protocol, to control LED lighting fixtures, lasers, special FX and kinetic fixtures.

The industry is fast-paced and ever-evolving. Virtual Reality is just one of the new exciting developments being enhanced to incorporate smell, touch and taste, adding 3 more senses to the full gamut of 5, a great advancement from conventional AV.

Pulse Middle East has achieved a fantastic degree of success in the Middle East, delivering a highly customer-centric approach with elevated levels of support. Our successes are largely dependent on word of mouth, which gets passed on due to our extensive product knowledge and unsurpassed levels of support.

Saldy Base Senior Technician I am an on-site team leader, managing a highly talented team of technicians throughout the installation, commissioning and testing phases, over the past 6 years.

I’m passionate about sound and making things resonate in the best way. Much of the motivation I have for my work is drawn from fast-paced projects and the diverse types of installation we work across with a variety of industries.

In my job, there are many sound installations with varied brands, DSPs and routing and each one of these requires a distinct set of tools or tricks to get the best end results. My longstanding passion for sound has led me to a continuous thirst for knowledge, with a career in this field leading me to many discoveries as I constantly learn new things.

There are a lot of exciting developments in the pipeline for the AV and lighting industry, as it develops with digital audio, audio over network and new control systems. Dante is one such example providing an exciting protocol in digital audio and running audio across

malls, hotels, theme parks, providing a much more controllable and innovative experience.

My favourite project with Pulse Middle East is Lock, Stock & Barrel. We worked closely with the client, who knew the quality they were looking for and were technical enough to understand how sound works. The client had a significant role in the design and we were in constant communication with them throughout the process, with many technical explanations and drawings to back up our designing and planning.

Much of Pulse Middle East’s success in the region is rooted in its knowledge and product range. Our organisation is fortunate enough to have many highly skilled staff with knowledge across all fields of audio visual.

ME

38

ILEA COLUMN

DAN BOLTON: BUILDING SOLID FOUNDATIONS THE ASSOCIATION’S PRESIDENT DISCUSSES FORGOING THE USUAL SUMMER HIATUS, AND PLANS FOR THE FUTURE IN THE REGION.

Summertime in the Middle East is historically a period where the events industry goes into a three month hibernation as the weather proves unbearable for events outdoors and we use the quieter times to try and regroup after what can be an often bruising season of events.

This year was markedly different and, with the International Live Events Association’s new board in place, we decided to use these three months as the basis to re-evaluate the operations of the association, what we stand for and ultimately what benefits we bring to all those who have joined us.

From the onset of my term, I was adamant that we would refocus the energies and efforts of the association to address the challenges and opportunities

ME

that the industry is facing as well as liaise with our membership to highlight and address the issues that they want us to tackle.

With our strong board of diverse industry leaders, we feel we have used the time wisely and are excited to share with our members the positive steps we have taken over this time.

We highlighted that our core objectives for the season ahead were to address the communication challenges our members believe the association faced, push health and safety initiatives across the industry, liaise with various governmental departments to raise discussions on challenges members face as well implement a series of educational opportunities to our members for the benefit of their business and the industry as a whole.

At the end of September we will launch our new website. Amongst its features it includes a members only hub where we have the opportunity to download industry guidelines, best practices, white papers and information direct from government entities on subjects such as licensing and VAT. This member’s hub also allows us to share business and recruitment opportunities through RFPs and job postings, and is a valuable resource to further develop the community within our industry.

We are expanding our health and safety initiatives through the creation of working groups that will be tasked with addressing specific areas within such a wide ranging topic, looking for practical solutions that

ILEA COLUMN

we can refer back to government representatives and other key stake holders. These working groups will be driven by the members with support from key industry professionals to ensure that we have as much open dialogue and involvement from those who want to see standards raised within our industry.

Our conversations with government continue with regular dialogue between the DED, Municipality, DTCM and now expo representatives along key venues such as DWTC, ADNEC and more.

As new legislation comes into place, the association is in regular dialogue with governmental departments so that when we do get updates on VAT and other relevant issues, we can immediately share these with members through work shop and educational sessions.

Our educational team have also been hard at work putting together a comprehensive calendar of knowledge sharing events such as these discussions around VAT, fire safety and first aid training, licensing workshops and even Arabic lessons for those that may

39

want them.

Our calendar of events is further bolstered with partnerships with events such as Prolight + Sound, InfoComm, The DAC Summit and a possible global conference in 2018 that will bring together ILEA members from around the world.

So, as we set off onto the 2017/18 event season, the team have already laid a pretty solid foundation that will shape the association for the years to come and we are looking forward to engaging fully with members in the time ahead to implement the progressive agenda and objectives that we have set ourselves.

Dan Bolton President of ILEA Middle East

For details on ILEA membership please email: admin@ilea-me.com www.ilea-me.com

ME

40

ME

INTERVIEW

INTERVIEW

41

Opposite: Nigel Beaton - Managing Director, Alelie de Castro - Operations Manager and Ebaad Ali Pasha - Site/Stage Manager at GCC Events LLC. Below: Ian Hardcastle - General Manager at Event Safety Management Middle East.

GULF CREWING COMPANY HOT ON THE HEELS OF FORMING ESMME (EVENT SAFETY MANAGEMENT MIDDLE EAST), GULF CREWING COMPANY (GCC) HAS ALSO ANNOUNCED THE APPOINTMENT OF IAN HARDCASTLE AS GENERAL MANAGER. ONCE FULLY UP AND RUNNING, THE DEPARTMENT WILL SUPPLY CLIENTS WITH CROWD SAFETY MANAGEMENT, SITE DESIGN, EVENT CONTROL, AND EMERGENCY CONTINGENCY PLANNING TO EVENTS ALL OVER THE REGION. TPMEA’S STE DURHAM CAUGHT UP WITH MANAGING DIRECTOR OF GCC, NIGEL BEATON, TO DISCUSS THE BURGEONING DEPARTMENT’S ORIGINS AND THE PROGRESS THAT HAS BEEN MADE SINCE ITS FORMATION. What initially motivated you to approach Ian Hardcastle about forming ESMME? I met Ian in Saudi Arabia while I was working on a show called Illuminate as the Production Manager. He was the H&S Manager at the King Abdullah Sports City Arena Venue where we were putting on the show and was invaluable to us as the ‘go-to’ man in a new and emerging region.

His ability to think on his feet and problem solve impressed not only me but the whole tour as well. It wasn’t a hard decision to approach him about coming to set up ESSME.

Ian’s work will involve him training all of the GCC crew and our suppliers, while also advising clients to work to the international standards expected in the events industry globally.

distant future. Ian is, at present, looking at various candidates that will join us to expand the ESSME family.

Have you modelled ESMME on a similar entity from elsewhere or was it more organic in its development?

Obviously there will be comparisons made with other H&S companies outside of the UAE but we believe that, with the partnerships we intend to forge with various bodies here in the UAE, ESSME will stand out as the first choice company for clients in the region.

We are ticking along quite nicely at the moment and are looking forward to making some exciting announcements in the not too

How close is the company to being fully operational?

Prior to Ian arriving in Dubai on a permanent basis with his family, we set up and held numerous meetings with many event company decision makers in the region. These meetings and relationships are now starting to bare fruit as the event season gets underway. The response really has been excellent - it certainly promises to be an exciting time for both ESMME and GCC.

How do you think the UAE is currently placed in the region, and in the wider world, with regards to H&S practices?

It is so much further forward than it was when I first came out here in 2005. Despite this drastic improvement, as is the case in many other areas of the world, there is always room for improvement. We are currently in talks with quite a few local bodies and agencies with a view to doing whatever we can to help shape the H&S culture out here and change the region for the better moving forward.

www.gulfcrewing.com

ME

42

REGIONAL ROUND UP

GREEN HIPPO GOES TO THE BALLET SET, LIGHTING AND AV DESIGNER, WILHELM DISBERGEN, RELIED ON A GREEN HIPPO HIPPOTIZER BOREAL MEDIA SERVER AND A GIANT MIRROR TO CREATE SOMETHING UTTERLY EXTRAORDINARY FOR THE BALLET PRODUCTION BIG CITY, BIG DREAMS, STAGED AT THE JOBURG THEATRE, IN JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA. The original showcase, directed by Fiona Ramsay, was a collaboration between 3 dance companies - the Joburg Ballet, Vuyani Dance Company, and Moving Into Dance Mophatong.

Over 40 professional dancers adorned the stage as classical ballet infused with contemporary and street dance. The love story, with the city of Johannesburg as the backdrop, portrays a young man in the corporate world who falls in love with a dancer.

An artistic and key focus of the set was a giant mirror (15m x 9m) suspended at a 45-degree angle over the white ballet mats below, enabling the audience to see the dancers from above. “I also projected visuals on the floor that reflected onto the mirror behind the dancers,” Disbergen explained. “Because I used strong side lights, I could wrap the dancer in a clam shell of visuals. During the finale, the wall lifted and was almost perpendicular to the floor, giving the full company a gigantic silver wall to dance in front of and giving the audience a view of themselves watching the show.”

Thanks to the Hippotizer Boreal, the enormous image (16m x 16m) was easy to set

Af

up and wonderful to paint with. Two stacked Christie projectors, supplied by Staal van den Bergh, overlapped slightly to achieve the square format. “It was wonderful to see the dancers enveloped by the numerous layers which gave the production a rich and authentic Joburg look and feel,” said Disbergen.

South African Programmer Glenn Duncan assisted on the production.

Hippotizer Boreal controlled 16 layers of content over 2 viewports. “This gave us immense freedom in composing the final tableau,” said Disbergen. “Images were sometimes made up of many different images blended together and moved to achieve the best look. The strange thing was that because we were seeing the floor reflected in the mirror, all images and videos had to be not only turned upside down, but flipped left to right as well, so that it read right.

Sometimes I deliberately left the images like that so that it looked as if you were on the inside of a bar window looking out.”

Two fibre DVI-D outputs for the 2 projectors were triggered by an MA Lighting grandMA2 Full Size console over ethernet. All visuals and low-

resolution video was streamed to the lighting console via CITP protocol, enabling the users to see the video running live on one of the console screens when selected.

“What I enjoyed was seeing how the follow spots made long shadows behind the dancers and this followed them upside down as a reflection above, melting with the projected image underneath and above,” said Disbergen.

For this prolific lighting, set and AV designer, Hippotizer has been one of his greatest groundbreaking purchases. “I won a Naledi Theatre Award for my rather simplistic set for the musical Marikana,” added Disbergen. “The set consists of only a bare black stage with an enormous steel mountain and a single steel mine shaft, but I was able to transform the visual picture for countless scenes effortlessly using Hippotizer Media Servers, keeping the audience engrossed and visually stimulated. I have used the Green Hippo products in many other productions too, and the audience’s response to it has always been terrific.” www.green-hippo.com

REGIONAL ROUND UP

43

AYRTON APPOINTS ZANE CRETTEN AS REGIONAL SALES MANAGER FOR AFRICA AND THE MIDDLE EAST Ayrton is excited to announce the appointment of Zane Cretten as the newst member of its expanding sales team. Based in South Africa, Cretten will take on the position of Regional Sales Manager, with responsibility for sales across Africa and the Middle East, from 15 September 2017.

Cretten brings with him 11 years’ experience in the live events industry, specialising in video and lighting. During this time he has worked with major global brands including High End, Barco, Pandora’s Box, d3, CreateLED, Wings and Caliber.

“When the opportunity arose to join Ayrton I jumped at the chance,” Cretten

enthused. “I am very excited to be joining such a highly-specialised, innovative lighting company. I’m really looking forward to working with such a creative manufacturer and growing the market share in Africa and the Middle East.”

“Zane will be a valuable addition to Ayrton’s international sales team with a key role representing the company in this fastdeveloping region,” said Ayrton’s global sales director, Michael Althaus. “We are delighted to welcome him to the team and ensure customers across Africa and the Middle East benefit from the full Ayrton service.” www.ayrton.eu

DOWNLOAD THE TPi APP Search “TPi Magazine” on the App Store and Google Play.

WWW.TPiMAGAZINE.COM

Af

44

REGIONAL ROUND UP

MGG AT THE DISCOVERY SPORT AWARDS

Johannesburg-based MGG Productions created a breathtaking futuristic look and feel for the 2017 Discovery Sport Industry Awards held at Sandton Convention Centre’s Pavilion venue. A

huge claw-like Prolyte H40 structure, designed

by Francois van der Merwe, formed a dome over the stage area and a great Robe retinue with control from an MA Lighting grandMA2 Light, completed the look while sound was mixed on a DiGiCo S21. The show attracted and acknowledge sport professionals in South Africa.

“The client wanted something different,” said DJ Carstens, Project Manager at the event.

“Instead of a usual set, we created an industrial expression. Francois van der Merwe came up with the design.”

With all hands-on deck, each crew member knew what to do resulting in the smooth and efficiently run show.

Lighting incorporated 12 Robe Squares.

“The Squares were bright, and they were really great,” commented van der Merwe. “The rig

also included Robe Spiiders which I enjoyed.

In addition, we used 6 Robe BMFL Blades and six WashBeams, 12 Robe LEDBeam 100’s for truss warmers, 24 Martin by Harman MAC 101’s, 18 Claypaky Sharpys and 18 Philips Nitro 510C Strobes. A 3.9mm VuePix stacked screen served as a backdrop.

“The client wanted something beautiful,” added van der Merwe. “We had three different looks, warm, cold and neutral, and a ballyhoo for the announcement of the winners.”

On the audio side, Sound Engineer Constant De Vos from MGG mixed on a DiGiCo S21. “It’s a lovely console, and the one I use the most for events,” said De Vos. “The S21 is user friendly and is easy enough to navigate even if are new to the desk.”

Photos: Janco Haywood http://mgg.co.za

SPLITBEAM INVESTS IN PROLYFT To cater for top-notch theatre productions Priscilla Queen of the Desert (South Africa & Hong Kong Season), The Sound of Music (Asian tour 2017/18) and Evita (South African & Asian Tour 2017/18), South African-based Gearhouse Splitbeam, a theatre equipment rental company, has invested in 90 additional Prolyft motors and 6 controllers supplied by DWR Distribution.

Alistair Kilbee, Managing Director of Splitbeam, commented: “I have always liked the Prolyft brand and this purchase made sense as we already had a stock holding of 57 Prolyft motors (1 Ton & ¼ Ton). The new acquisition, consisting of 85 Prolyte Prolyft Aetos 1 Ton and 5 Prolyte Prolyft Aetos 2 Ton, all in cases, along with 6 Aetos Pro range low voltage 8 way control, fits in nicely with our current stock holding to give us a total of 147 motors within Splitbeam.

“While the rest of the Gearhouse Group use CM, I felt that it was best to stay with a brand that I know and trust. We now stock 2 Ton, 1 Ton and ¼ Ton motors. There was also the consideration that the Prolyft are easy to upgrade to double break for the future-proofing of the purchase. There is the noise factor that

Af

very few ‘non-theatre’ people worry about, but in our market, this is a critical consideration. The new Prolyft motors are so quiet it is hard to even know that something is moving unless you see it happening.”

He continued: “Theatre shows over the last few years have been getting bigger and heavier and the motor counts have been increasing every year. Our largest show to date was War Horse with 70 motors, which for a ‘play’ is extraordinary.

There are now theatre tours that have well over 120 motors each; so to stay competitive in the theatre rigging market we had to increase our stock.

“Supplying rigging for tours to other countries is not easy but as Splitbeam has a lot of experience with working on Asian tours, we are perfectly placed to deal with the changes in law and have an in-depth knowledge of what is required to rig in these markets. We have even supplied motors to Australia (which is very hard to do) where the safety laws were much more stringent than in other parts of Asia and the style of rigging was also different, but in the end, you all find a common ground and things get done.”

Kilbee concluded: “Splitbeam is committed

to helping grow the South African Theatre and if we can supply equipment at a price that makes sense for our producers, all the better for us and the industry as a whole. The more the South African shows make financial sense, the more the producers will do them and therefore there will be more work for our local cast, crew and more work for the equipment.” www.splitbeam.co.za www.prolyte.com

REGIONAL ROUND UP

45

ROBE FOR INNIBOS FESTIVAL 2017

Robe moving lights were the primary light sources on the Main Stage at Innibos 2017, a high profile arts and music festival staged in and around Mbombela (Nelspruit) in South Africa presenting Afrikaans music, theatre, literature and visual arts.

The fixtures were part of a striking visual design by Johan Ferreira of BF Production Services. Ferreira has lit the event’s main stage for 12 years now - changing his approach dramatically in terms of technology over that time.

The organisers have upped the production values in the last couple of years, and as last year’s set design was particularly successful, Ferreira decided to replicate its most popular elements for 2017, adding some new and fresh touches. Having taken some time and an amount of experimentation to evolve a design that had worked so well for all the main stage action throughout the 5-day event, the next step was to develop from that point he explained.

Flexibility was the key with the design. The festival might have a 70-piece choir or orchestra onstage one minute and a solo artist the next; the genres range from rock to pop to classical and many in-between, so his start-point is always to have an environment that can accomodate all possibilities.

This year there were 151 Robe fixturess on the rig, all supplied by Johannesburg-based MGG Productions, delivering full technical production and crew for the Main Stage for the third year.

These fixtures were hung on a series of trusses in the roof including three 4m diameter circles hung mid-stage, all staggered in heights from upstage to downstage.

A total of 12 Robe Spiider WashBeams were on the upstage truss; 24 Spikies were on 6 side totems together with 30 LEDBeam 100’s; 24 LEDWash 1200’s and 27 LEDWash 600’s were rigged on the circles and the FOH truss and used for general washing. 12 Squares were positioned on two back truss totems and 22 CycFX 8’s were in the footlights position around the front of the stage thrust.

Lighting was designed to work harmoniously with the video design which comprised 2 12mm portrait format side screens, each 8m high x 4m wide, utilised mainly for IMAG camera feeds.

Added to that, onstage were two stacks of 5mm screen upstage at the sides - concealing the drum kits - which were alternated with LED panels for contrast. Upstage, 66 panels of 5mm screen were divided into three pillars with both horizontal and vertical runs of LED panels in between, breaking up the geometry.

Playback content for the side and back video

surfaces was produced by Prifactor from Pretoria and MGG Productions.

The challenges of lighting 5 days and evenings of Main Stage entertainment at Innibos included dealing with the range and versatility of music in a festival-style atmosphere. The only rehearsals are for the Saturday evening performance. “There’s a great creative team onboard at Innibos and that’s what makes it rock,” said Ferreira.

The LD confirmed that Robe is the number one moving light choice for all his designs. At Innibos, they also deal with extreme weather conditions from exceptionally hot days to very cool nights, lots of moisture and dust, so it’s an environment where the sturdy build quality of Robe “really proves itself,” he said.

In addition to that, he was excited with Robe’s work in the LED field and thinks it’s a brand “fully focused on designer’s needs,” that produces “versatile, bright and well-constructed products”.

Ferreira used an MA Lighting grandMA2 Full Size for control at Innibos 2017, undertaking all the programming and running of shows himself.

Photos: Janco Haywood www.robe.cz

Af

46

COMPANY FOCUS

GEARHOUSE SA TPMEA’S STE DURHAM TRAVELLED TO BEZUIDENHOUT VALLEY, JOHANNESBURG, TO SPEND SOME TIME WITH ONE OF THE REGION’S - AND THE CONTINENT’S - BIGGEST RENTAL SUPPLIERS.

Gearhouse SA can trace its origins back to the late 1980’s with Lighting Unlimited, which was founded by current Gearhouse SA Joint Managing Director, Ofer Lapid. Branch Operations Manager, Stuart Andrews, began: “This, along with audio company PA Sound, Stage Design and Woza Power, was bought in 1996 by Steve Lakin as part of Gearhouse plc and renamed Gearhouse SA. Gearhouse plc went into receivership in 1999 and Ofer decided on a management buyout, also electing to keep the name. Gearhouse South Africa became the country’s leading technical supplier, specialising in lighting, audio, video, structures, power and rigging.”

Af

The group then expanded to meet what Lapid deemed as the needs of the market in South Africa at the time. This led to the creation of set company Sets Drapes Screens; grandstand seating company Haveaseat; Gearhouse In2Structures, which manufactures structures and domes; LEDVision, for video screens and Splitbeam, which specialises in the long-term theatre rental market. As if that wasn’t enough, the group now also accommodates INHOUSE Venue Technical Management, which operates from within 25 key venues countrywide, and System Solutions, an AV systems integrator.

This means that the company has amassed an enviable stock of brands under its numerous

warehouse roofs. As well as covering many different aspects of technical production, the company’s reputation also sees its services being requested from elsewhere on the continent.

Andrews continued: “You have to adapt to the market as it changes. Obviously unique jobs present themselves elsewhere, but we generally position ourselves as being able to service most of sub-Saharan Africa. Currently we have guys in Harare doing the Miss Zimbabwe beauty pageant.

You can truck to neighbouring countries but any further than that and it becomes airfreight, which is very expensive. Even so, the level of service and quality of products we provide means we often have to travel further afield. We work in Ghana,

COMPANY FOCUS

Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, Mozambique, and have a lot of work in Zambia. It takes quite a lot of logistical support, which is quite often what I look after.

The operations manager was keen to point out how different cross-border shipping in Africa is compared to Europe. He laughed: “Our European clients quite often can’t understand the complexities and complications of it. Here you have to go through multiple layers of customs, in different languages, with a lot of negotiating on both sides of the border. Trucks can sit for days sometimes.”

He continued: “It’s not really viable to go as far as Morocco but we’ve worked in Egypt and even Mauritius and the Seychelles. The crew tend to fight over those jobs, as getting stuck at the border there isn’t quite as much of an imposition!”

As the conversation progressed, it soon became apparent that it takes an awful lot of nerve to move kit and crew around Africa as regularly as Gearhouse does. “For a start the roads leave a lot to be desired,” said Andrews.

“Then you have to accommodate the time windows to catch ferries over rivers, not to mention making sure that the gates don’t close while you’re driving trucks through a national park.”

When supervising the movement of gear around the continent, Andrews is quite often doing so for 5 or 6 different divisions of the company. “Quite often we might be moving an In2Structures roof, an SDS set and our generators in a single shipment. While this is obviously complicated to arrange, the current state of affairs in South Africa means you have to grab opportunities with both hands. Any substantial work we can get, particularly on big corporate style events, can be a big boost for us.”

(ALMOST) BUSINESS AS USUAL The state of affairs that Andrews referred to is undeniably affecting business in the country, regardless of the industry you happen to work in, and this means that Gearhouse has had to work even harder to persevere, despite its stellar reputation.

Andrews explained: “At the moment we

have what you could call an extremely volatile political situation in the country, and in the last five years or so it’s become a bit of a joke.

Corruption has been laid out on the table and we’ve been downgraded to junk status by the ratings agencies, which means there’s basically no foreign investment coming in. People would rather invest in Nigeria or Botswana, and that’s directly linked to political shenanigans.”

He continued: “As a company trying to rent equipment and technical production services, if your clients don’t have the money then you don’t have the money - it’s a very simple equation.

We’re also buying kit in Euros, Pounds and Dollars when the Rand is weak, so everyone is trying to second-guess exchange rates and projected return on investment. You can buy an item one week and the next it will be 20,000 (ZAR) more.

“We are very grateful for the loyal clients that keep us busy. Another thing we have going for us in South Africa is that we’ve adopted the spirit that we are not going to let the political carryings on get us down - it’s almost business as usual at this point.”

As well as the big, international touring artists that have continued to visit South Africa in spite of the recession, Gearhouse has benefitted from an abundance of corporate and conferencing work. “That’s the breadwinner,” Andrews said. “We also cater for big events like the presidential inauguration and, more unfortunately, some jobs like the funeral of Nelson Mandela, which we were privileged and honoured to do a couple of years ago. We have a good reputation at high profile jobs the government know to call us - and this is something that we strive to maintain. We focus on client service and high H&S standards, which both speak volumes on these kinds of jobs.”

While this means that business is still coming in consistently for Gearhouse, it makes investment in new technology all the more unpredictable. Andrews explained: “We have been thinking about expanding to offer automation, but you’ve got to pick your area of investment so carefully. You have to fulfil the needs of the market. Automation is becoming a commonly specified item of shows, whether it’s television game shows, tours or theatre

47

productions.

“We know it’s an opportunity, but it’s a case of getting the timing right. If there was some sort of economic stability and you could predict your income over the next five years it would be fantastic - then you could make your investments based on qualified decisions.

Unfortunately that is not the reality of South Africa in 2017!

“Our main priority when it comes to investment is keeping up with technology. LED screens, for example, are constantly improving.

You now have access to 1.7mm resolution screens that would have been unthinkable 5 years ago. Our partners’ support in this situation is invaluable - we’re sitting down here at the bottom of Africa but we know we have some good friends in Europe that will look after us.

“We deal directly with manufacturers like L-Acoustics, but also have great relationships with local companies like DWR Distribution and Electrosonic, who always see that we’re taken care of.“ THE NEXT GENERATION As well as maintaining its reputation as a leader in the provision of equipment for events in the region, Gearhouse has also moved into a position where it is able to provide the industry with home-grown crewmembers to operate the gear itself. Around 35 graduates from Gearhouse’ Kentse Mpahlwa Academy enter the industry each year.

The academy, a free-of-charge, fulltime in-house training programme aimed at underprivileged youngsters, has been in operation since 2005, but was more recently renamed in honour of late Gearhouse Director, Kentse Mpahlwa.

The burgeoning crewmembers are taught using a mixture of practical and theoretical lessons, with a view to them working on events as soon as they are qualified. Andrews said: “Training the new generation of technicians through the academy is a hugely important process for us, not only in growing the skills base of South African technicians but also as a means of giving back to the community.” www.gearhouse.co.za

Af

48

EXPO

MEDIATECH AFRICA 2017 HELD EVERY 2 YEARS AT THE TICKETPRO DOME IN THE CITY OF JOHANNESBURG, MEDIATECH AFRICA IS THE LARGEST ENTERTAINMENT TECHNOLOGY TRADESHOW IN SOUTH AFRICA. STE DURHAM ATTENDS THE 2017 SHOW.

Mediatech showcases new technologies and services from a whole range of manufacturers, with leaders in AV system integration and communications all highlighting their impressive work within the region. The show is the ideal opportunity to learn more about current and future projects in the African market, plus, as it was my first time in South Africa, I was looking forward to experiencing the city of Johannesburg, too.

One of the most ambitious stands was DWR Distribution’s effort - the extraordinary DWR Portal. The sci-fi-themed gateway was a real crowd pleaser at the show and earned DWR a platinum award for their stand.

The concept was to create a portal where show-goers entered - through a water curtain supplied by LazerX - then hopped onto a bus, which transported them to DWR’s office in minutes for a special show. The idea came to fruition with DWR’s Dylan Jones mapping the content, supplied by Provisual Media, onto the portal using a Green Hippo Media Server.

The experience continued at DWR’s new showroom facility, where guests were treated to

Af

a show-stopping choreographed show featuring Jeffrey - a 3.2m high automated robot, which was made using a variety of Robe fixtures. It was an ambitious idea, but it certainly paid off as it was the talk of the show.

After Jeffrey’s performance, they had a chance to look at other brands distributed by the company, imbibe the great vibes and network with numerous friendly people before being bussed back to the exhibition.

Green Hippo was also used in DWR’s demo room. “The demo room was more complicated,” said Jones. “We had two Green Hippo Boreal servers that ran 7 55-inch plasmas. Content was run over all seven plasmas seamlessly. Green Hippo in the demo room was controlled by Jannie de Jager from DWR over ArNet by the MA Lighting grandMA2, while Bruce Riley helped a lot with troubleshooting and kept everyone calm!”

Elsewhere, South African creative production and visual design practice, Collective Works, staged its new ‘Black Box’ live show concept.

The experimental show and visual design space hosted the Designing with Light - A Way of

Thinking educational seminar, as well as an hourly Black Box Main Lightshow performance, which took place around a bespoke ‘floating’ stage supplied by Stageworks.

The show put some of the best lighting and visual technology through its paces. For the first time in South Africa, 48 of Robe’s new LEDBeam 150’s were used in the show, together with 24 Spiider LED wash beams, 12 Spikies, a single BMFL Blade and 24 CycFX8 moving LED battens.

Also debuting in South Africa were three of the latest Claypaky fixtures - the Unico Scenius, the SharBar and the Stormy colour-changing LED strobe. Claypaky’s hybrid Mythos moving light also featured in the show. A total of 32 Ayrton Magic Panels were rigged around the box, together with 96 Martin by Harman Sceptrons, which were fed video signal via a P3 controller.

Other effects appearing in the show included two full colour lasers, two MDG low foggers and one hazer - all adding up to 14,900 parameters requiring 29 universes of DMX control. The consoles used were two MA Lighting grandMA2 lights, networked with four MA NPUs. An MA VPU light was used to store some of the

EXPO

49

Above: Jeffrey, the DWR Distribution robot; The outdoor audio demo area; DWR’s infamous portal; The winner of the Audiosure and Avolites lighting designer contest; Gearhouse SA’s Robyn D’Alessandro and Stuart Andrews; The Robe team; The impressive demo in Collective Works’ Black Box; Electrosonic competition winner Benjamin Mills; Dylan Jones at the Green Hippo demo area.

Af

50

EXPO

Above: Mediatech Africa was a truly international affair, with industry prefessionals from all over the world experiencing the region’s exceptional hospitality.

video playback content, together with a Green Hippo Borreal media server. The video sources were played out on a Barco FLM 20K projector onto an upstage screen.

Robe itself had a huge stand at Mediatech, with the Czech company using the show a whole range of moving and fixed lights. The RoboSpot, which can remotely control any Robin BMFL fixtures, and the BMFL LightMaster being two of the most popular products on display.

Also on the show floor was Audiosure, which showcased a whole range of products from some of the biggest names in the industry, including Allen & Heath, Avolites, Martin Audio, MC2, AKG, Chauvet Professional and Vivitek.

Audiosure also ran a lighting competition, which was sponsored by Avolites. There were five finalists who ‘busked live’ over a track, having had some time to programme beforehand.

Avolites’ Koy Neminathan said: “What we wanted to see was the timing, accuracy and creativity

Af

produced over the few minutes they had.

The winner was brilliant in every aspect and definitely deserved the victory!”

Stage Audio Works used Mediatech to highlight its range of complete AV solutions with products from QSC, d&b audiotechnik, Sennheiser, Audac and Christie on display.

System Solutions’ impressive stand featured a new range of iMira LED screens, as well as AV Stumpfl’s range of media servers.

Electrosonic’s interactive stand displayed the new range of ProSpectre screens, along with an impressive rig of Martin by Harman fixtures, which were used as part of the Lighting Designer Contest held on the 20 July at the show, which gave five more young lighting designers an opportunity to show their skills for a chance to win a trip to Martin by Harman’s HQ in Denmark.

The winner, Benjamin Mills, commented: “The competition was an amazing opportunity. It was quite nerve-racking but also really exciting

to have an opportunity to showcase my work in front of some of the biggest names in the industry, as well as international representatives from some of Electrosonic’s suppliers. The response has been quite surreal, right from the reactions during my show to the greetings and requests from people all through the evening and the following day.”

Overall, there were 706 brands on display at Mediatech, with 145 exhibiting companies and 1,230 exhibiting personnel. The visitor numbers were clocked at well over 7,000 - with a healthy amount of international visitors making the journey to South Africa.

Mediatech 2017 was a hugely successful event, with many at the show expressing how happy they were with the organisation and amount of visitors coming to their stands - a testament to the seemingly inexorable growth of the African entertainment industry. www.mediatech.co.za

Celebrating 10 Years of delivering quality service in the Middle East

Our Dubai office was established in 2007 as a result of our global clients requesting that we offer and execute the same trust-based relationship that we deliver in other international markets. We provide a professional support service from comprehensive planning to on-site execution with a know-how gained from over 35 years of experience and deploy tested and certified technical equipment to guarantee the smooth running of your event.

Together we can turn your ideas into reality.

Audio • Lighting • Video • Conferencing • Rigging • Event-IT • Content Production

Winner: • Supplier of the Year 2015 Shortlisted: • Employer of the Year 2015/2016 • Supplier of the Year 2016 • Best Use of Event Technology 2016

20170120_nm_az_10_years_in_the_middle_east_210x297_dubai.indd 1

Telephone: +971 4 88 53 55 8 neumannmuellereventtech www.neumannmueller.ae

24.01.17 10:12

productiontec.com

Technical & Staging Solutions EVENT EQUIPMENT RENTAL | TECHNICAL EXPERTISE | DESIGN SUPPORT

BE CREATIVE. BE IMAGINATIVE. BE BOLD.

We have all the skills & technology to augment your vision

The region’s most reliable & resourceful event Solutions company AUDIO � VIDEO � LIGHTING � AUTOMATION & SFX � DESIGN � CONFERENCING solutions SPECIAL PROJECTS � SCENIC & STAGING � RIGGING � BACKLINE Tel: +971 4 880 0092

Protec T&S TPI 210x297 Ad Oct 17 FAW.indd 1

eventrental@productiontec.com

Dubai & Abu Dhabi

9/28/17 2:48 PM