Africa Round Up

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REGIONAL ROUND UP

DOT2S AND DIGICO AT SU WOORDFEES FESTIVAL

IN A WORLD WHERE PEOPLE OFTEN GET CAUGHT UP IN THE HUMDRUM OF DAY TO DAY ACTIVITIES, ARTS FESTIVALS REMIND US TO BREATHE. AS STELLENBOSCH UNIVERSITY CELEBRATED ITS 100TH BIRTHDAY, THE 19TH SU WOORDFEES TOOK PLACE FROM THE 3RD TO THE 12 MARCH. FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME, DWR DISTRIBUTION WERE PART OF THE FESTIVAL, SPONSORING DOT2S AND A DIGICO SD12 CONSOLE.

When it comes to presenting excellence in all art disciplines, SU Woordfees has to be commended – from fine art, to outstanding drama and music productions, debates and the written word. Presented by the Stellenbosch University, SU Woordfees brings the entire town on board and before long, restaurants, schools, the city hall and theatres such as the HB Thom, become home to lovingly produced creations.

“In the current South African economic climate, festivals do not have the financial backing they deserve,” said Duncan Riley of DWR. “Technical companies are often willing to work alongside the organisers for very little income just to keep the arts alive. This year DWR approached event companies involved and asked if we could

also help carry the load by sponsoring consoles and providing a team on site for technical support.”  DWR supplied 4 x MA Lighting dot2 cores, 1 x XL-F and 1x dot 2 on PC with DMX King. In addition, a DiGiCo SD12 and D2 Rack were supplied and used by Johan Griesel, an audio engineer and living legend from Eastern Acoustics. “Woordfees is, and was a great Fees,” said Johan Griesel. “This is Eastern Acoustics third year and it gets better every year. We were involved in the Big Outdoor concerts at Coetzenburg where Woordfees ran two outdoor stages – as one stage finished, the second took over. It was a great three days from POPS to family entertainment.”

Eastern Acoustics also ran Rhenish and the Spier Amphitheatre. “I was given the DiGiCo SD12 by DWR for use at the Spier Amphitheater which ran from the 3rd to 11th March,” said Griesel. “What a joy to mix on this console. Solid, great sounding and easy to work on. Rhenish was a tough venue for us as they do two to three productions a day, and for every production, all the lights needs re-focusing and you have to use a ladder to do that. Long hours for our crew, and I think our two crew members are still asleep, two months later! Woordfees ran a variety of concerts at Spier from Big Band Brass to Stef Bos, and it ran like clockwork, thanks to Brechmari van Wyk (Technical Manager) and Saartjie Botha (Director) of WoordFees. I most certainly hope that Woordfees goes from strength to strength, and that more and more people attend this great festival in Stellenbosch.”

Gareth Chambers who represented DWR along with colleagues Bradley Bruchhausen, Jethro Jordaan and Michael Taylor-Broderick agreed. “The festival was well attended. While there were a couple of first time dot2 users, I knew most of the technicians operating the shows and they were very happy to work on the MA platform.”

For Michael Taylor-Broderick from DWR, who is also a respected lighting designer in South Africa, Woordfees was one of the best festivals he has ever attended. “It offers a platform for so many art forms and the standard is exceptionally high across all genres,” said Taylor-Broderick.

“Culturally, it was exciting and heartwarming to see so many Afrikaan practitioners producing incredible work. The work presented was challenging and far from commercial which sets it apart somewhat from the standard Festival model we are accustomed to.”

What also stood out for Taylor-Broderick was attending a talk co-presented by Ismail Mohamed, CEO of The Market Theatre. “Ismail Mohamed spoke about the role of festivals in our current economic and political climate. It was interesting to hear him outline the responsibilities that are meant to fall on the shoulders of Festivals; in this regard Woordefees seems to tick many of the relevant boxes.”

Bradley Bruchhausen concluded: “Woordfees was amazing and well run. It was spread over a vast area and ran smoothly. We were grateful to be part of it.” www.dwrdistribution.co.za

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REGIONAL ROUND UP 45

EPH SHINES AT SAFTAs

CELEBRATING QUALITY, EXCELLENCE AND TALENT, THE 12TH ANNUAL SOUTH AFRICAN FILM & TELEVISION AWARDS WAS HOSTED AT SUN CITY’S SUPERBOWL ON 24 MARCH 2018 WITH A FURTHER 2.3 MILLION VIEWERS TUNING IN TO WATCH THE LIVE SABC TELEVISED PRODUCTION.

EPH Productions were appointed by ATTV to supply the full technical set for the show, as well as for the smaller Technical Awards held a couple of days prior to the main event.

EPH Production’s Danie Janse van Rensburg wore 3 hats; namely as Project Manager, Technical Director and Set Designer. For the proposal, with a lot of support from Leon Pheiffer (CEO, EPH Group), they came up with an idea to use cleverly suspended LED screens as the main feature, knowing that when complimented with the graphic material supplied by ATTV (Andrew Thabo Television), diverse looks would take the audience on a journey from glamour to triggering emotions with bright and patriotic colours. A special screen, in remembrance of former South African president Nelson Mandela, marked the centenary of the legend’s birth.

The show was designed for camera. With years of experience in the industry, Janse van Rensburg is a bit of a dreamer and has done it all from bass guitarist to theatre technical to acting. He loves his work and creating magical experiences: “You start with an empty page in a way,” said van Rensburg. “I usually look around to see if there are any ideas that would work. I’m also a relatively practical designer. When I design I look at the audience, the camera and what equipment is available. You have to work within budget and parameters.” With the television audience in mind, he had to consider which screens would fit the camera better. “The technical team did an awesome job and worked endlessly to get it right. The way everything came together was brilliant.”

9 LED screens were hung on motors while 2 automated screens at the back of the stage closed to create a 7m x 3m screen. When the screens opened, serving as an entrance for artists to walk onto the stage, an additional 5m x 3m screen was revealed in the background. “Spacing was the biggest challenge and next was to produce a uniformed yet not symmetrical look,” said van Rensburg. To do this, he positioned the screens at different angles. “It gave a more natural appearance without being too rigid. It offered extra depth and created a 3D feel.” The set included a 300m and 600m level used for the choir and dancers, and steps which were lit up with LED strips. An artist hand-painted a SAFTA watermark logo on the stage floor, which was highlighted during the production.

To light the show, van Rensburg called on the services of Kurt du Preez of Pan Tilt. The pair had worked together before at the SA Sports Awards: “I knew Kurt was a good television lighting designer and he fitted the profile for this event.” An added benefit was that du Preez had worked at the Super Bowl earlier in his career and knew the venue well.

“The concept of all the screens at different angels was difficult, because where do you put the lights?” teased Kurt du Preez. Up for the task, he allocated positions for the lighting beams to punch through. “I tried to keep the lighting fixtures off the stage floor because of all the moving screens and the band trucks. It was great to work with director Eugene Naidoo again. Andrew Tim from ATTV was also inspiring. Andrew really tries to push the effects and theatre side in television productions, so we spent a lot of time rehearsing, trying to get it right,” said du Preez.

The lighting rig consisted of 140 fixtures in total. “The Robe BMFLs were awesome. I used 2 as followspots and I will definitely do that again! I had another 10 to lift up the audience for the awards and for reverse shots – they worked like a bomb.”

8 Robe Robin LEDWash 600 fixtures were responsible for front lighting. There were 12 Robe

LEDBeam 1000s, 56 Robe LEDBeam 100, 24 Robe Pointes, 24 Robe LEDWash 300, 15 Claypaky Sharpy fixtures, sneaking through beneath the screens, and numerous parcans.

A full MA Lighting rig, running of a MA Lighting grandMA2 lite, was in control. “For the first time I used Elation Nodes and it was the first time that I got ArtNet to work on MA,” said du Preez. “It was interesting, it worked and there were no issues. I had about 10 universes, so it was very stable.”

As a freelancer, lighting consoles are always supplied to du Preez by the client. “MA is simple. I start my show from scratch every time, and even though I’m not sure if I’ll be getting a full size or ultralight, it’s putting the memory stick in and you’re ready to go. It’s the confidence that everything is going to work,” he said.

Congratulations to the SAFTA winners. Highlights included Isibaya awarded as the Best TV Soap, Jo-Anne Reyneke acknowledged as the Best Actress – TV Soap/Telenovela, and Hamilton Dhlamini as the Best Actor TV Soap/Telenovela. Johan Stemmet and Thoko Ntshinga received Lifetime Achievement Awards and Ayanda Sithebe was the recipient of the Youth Achiever Award. www.ephproductions.co.za

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46

REGIONAL ROUND UP

L-ACOUSTICS APPOINTS DWR DISTRIBUTION

L-ACOUSTICS HAS ANNOUNCED JOHANNESBURG-BASED DWR DISTRIBUTION HAS BEEN OFFICIALLY APPOINTED AS L‐ACOUSTICS CERTIFIED DISTRIBUTOR FOR SOUTH AFRICA.

Native audio specialist and L-Acoustics expert, Richard Smith, has also joined the DWR Distribution team.

DWR Distribution has a long history in South Africa, starting by offering lighting products and more recently branching into sound reinforcement. DWR Distributions’ local market expertise, coupled with Richard Smith’s knowledge and experience with L-Acoustics products will provide quality representation and support for the brand in a dynamic and growing market.’

“L-Acoustics is happy to finally be able to welcome DWR to the ‘Brown Box Family’,” said Tim McCall, L‐Acoustics Sales Manager for the region. “There has been a long gestation period to this plan but now, with the introduction DWR’s customer-oriented dynamism combined with the experience and knowledge of Richard Smith, the Southern African market gets the best of both worlds. The new and the old, the fresh approach and the real-world experience. Looking forward, I expect great things for L-Acoustics in the region with this team.”

“The process took time,” said Robert Izzett, Sales Director at DWR Distribution. “We had to ensure that we had the right infrastructure to best represent this leading brand. With Richard on board, we look forward to a great relationship with both the team at L‐Acoustics and the endusers. We hope that he will be very happy with us.”

Smith, whose background includes music studies and musical theatre performance, is a respected professional in the South African audio industry. Regularly working on theatre design, television and selective rock concerts, Smith has enjoyed a good collaborative work ethic, doing what he describes as ‘lovely things with diverse companies’ both as a designer, operator, consultant and project manager for shows and many prestigious installations.

“Theatre is my first love, that’s where I started out, performing and being the musical director,” he continued. “Sound was a natural follow-on. It’s almost like being the conductor of the show. I’m controlling what the people are hearing. I’ve built up good relationships with a lot of the directors and producers over the years.

“I’ve done many sound designs including Boys in the Photograph which is a particular highlight as it was very challenging, and I’ve just finished The Color Purple which was my most rewarding show to date. There is a massive sense of fulfilment. Very subtly, you are the ultimate

translator between artistic and technical.”

Smith is excited to continue in this slightly different role and will use his design and show expertise to help others realise their dreams, whether they are a rental company, a church or a theatre.

“I have a vast amount of experience to be able to guide people and that’s what I enjoy doing. I love working with young rental companies who come to me for advice. I’m passionate about teaching and part of my work ethos is to impart knowledge through both writing and hands-on experience. Duncan Riley and the team at DWR have the same ethic as I do, putting customers first. DWR is passionate about its brands, whole company gets behind something and give it their all. I believe that L‐Acoustics deserves that.”

DWR Distribution started off in 2006 as a professional lighting distributor, and more

recently have introduced audio to their inventory.

“More and more customers tell us they’d like to deal with one supplier and get the same service and support they get on lighting for audio,” said Riley. “We were appointed as distributor for DiGiCo two years ago and the brand is growing and doing really well in the market. This opened many doors for us with different PA manufacturers and it was our choice to wait for the jewel in the crown: L‐Acoustics. “We have collaborated with Richard on numerous projects in the past where DWR did the lighting and he did the audio,” continues Riley. “We believe the combination of DWR’s local market knowledge, the quality of the L‐Acoustics brand, Richard’s vast knowledge and reputation in the industry will make a powerful combination.” www.dwrdistribution.co.za www.l-acoustics.com

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REGIONAL ROUND UP 47

SENNHEISER TRAINING IN UAE & KENYA

MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA GET ITS FIRST LOOK AT NEW GENERATION EVOLUTION WIRELESS SOLUTIONS AT SENNHEISER TRAINING EVENTS IN UAE AND KENYA.

The region got its first look at the muchanticipated evolution wireless G4 series of wireless mic and in-ear monitoring systems at events recently conducted by Sennheiser in the United Arab Emirates and Kenya. The seminar in Dubai centred around the company’s audio for business solutions range, whilst in Kenya, the event took a more technical approach, with detailed workshops covering all aspects of wireless audio capture.

Hosted by Sennheiser’s UAE distributor Venuetech, the event in Dubai was attended by over 60 industry professionals from systems integrators to consultants. The key presentation, entitled ‘Wireless Microphones for System Integration’ was delivered by Kai Tossing, Portfolio Manager for Sennheiser Business Solutions and outlined the digital workflows for deployment of multi-channel wireless systems in education and corporate applications. In addition to a first look at the newly launched Sennheiser G4 solutions, participants got a live demonstration of Sennheiser’s SpeechLine Digital Wireless and Digital 6000 solutions, with all systems monitored and controlled in a live environment by Sennheiser’s new core control software, Control Cockpit.

“I found the presenters and presentation material very helpful in quelling my endeavours to continually strive to be ahead of my competitors in the current market and would recommend this event to all like-minded consultants in the region” said Gerald Stewart, Principal – Acoustics at Inhabit Group.

Ryan Burr, Head of Technical Sales &

Application Engineering, System Solutions at Sennheiser Middle East who led the 4 training sessions in Kenya said, “The training session was organised by our partner, Audio Visual Engineering, who did an excellent job of promoting the event and attracting over 50 of their customers from verticals as diverse as media and broadcast, education, houses of worship and events companies, all of whom were eager to learn more about our wireless microphones, application-based theory and general best practices.”

The presentations he delivered were aimed at both new and existing users of wireless microphones and in-ear monitor systems, including sound engineers, live event

professionals, students, apprentices, sales people and AV technicians. Over the course of 4 sessions, attendees gained the knowledge and insight needed to operate multichannel wireless systems, covering acoustics and electrotechnology, wireless mics and monitoring, antenna technology, microphone technology, frequency management and wireless monitoring.

“I like Sennheiser products because of their reliability and durability. The training offered a chance to better understand their products and how best it serves my application” said Isaac Kamau Gachwe, Media Officer at Ridgeways Baptist Church. The Sennheiser evolution wireless G4 is now available in the Middle East and Africa. www.en-ae.sennheiser.com

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