PSNE July 2014 digital edition

PSNEUROPE JULY 2014

www.psneurope.com

THE BUSINESS OF PROFESSIONAL AUDIO

Glasgow a-go-go!

Gearing up for the Commonwealth Games 2014 Aaton saved

Recording head Tape Studio’s Stephen Watkins

p28

InfoComm review

Andy Dockerty:

x

p54

p30

p16

Adlibbing for 30 years p40

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welcome Photo: Jake Young

EDITOR’S COMMENT

“I went to Liverpool with no expectations but came away with total respect for the Adlib operation”

ONLY ONE place to start with this issue, and that’s with this one cry of despair: “Oh, Braziiiiil! “ They were my team in the Bubble & Squeak sweepstake, and thought I was quids in. Then the fools played THAT game, and I watched in disbelief as Germany scored again and again (...and again).

There’s sport everywhere in this issue – dep ed Jon suggested we rename the mag Pro Sport News for the month, ho ho. As well as a World Cup update (p46), the Tour de France (p29) and Wimbledon (p26), we’ve Philip Stevens’ thorough dissection of the technical ins and outs of the forthcoming Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. His meticulously prepared feature starts on p30.

It’s festival season too, and this year we’re revisiting our diary-style ‘On the Road’ report, with Simon Honywill (p38) charting the ups and downs of his summer. Including Soccer Aid – more sport!

I wanted to give a special mention to my meeting with Andy Dockerty of Adlib (p40). I went up to Liverpool to see Andy, Dave Kay, Phil Kielty, Dave Jones and the team with no expectations whatsoever, but came away with total respect for the operation. There’s a real sense of , dare I say it, ‘family’ at Adlib, and despite Andy’s humble suggestion that “he doesn’t know what he’s doing”, the evidence points to the opposite: he cares passionately about everything and everyone.

Last thing: the Pro Sound Awards! The shortlists!

The finalists! Are you in the last four? Page 6! Now! Oh yes, there’s a bit of sport in there too...

Dave Robinson Twitter: @psneurope

IN THIS ISSUE...

BUSINESS 4 MVT launches campaign to save UK’s live venues 5 PreSonus pushes into large-scale PA market 6 Awards: PSA 2014 finalists; InstallAwards 8 Industry appointments 10 Events and expos 12 PSNTraining 14 New products 16 Show review: InfoComm 2014 STUDIO 18 Deluxe Digital Cinema on Dolby Atmos in post 19 PSNEurope visits Vicoustic in Portugal 22 In the studio with Roni Size at Metropolis BROADCAST 26 Yamaha, Genelec bring Live@Wimbledon 27 28 30

Radio to the air GatesAir talks broadcasting over IP Aaton reborn through sound Feature: A sound plan for Glasgow 2014

LIVE 34 37

PRG/EML upgrades with Adamson Wave Field Synthesis deployed at Ravenna Festival 38 ‘On the Road’ with Simon Honywill 40 Adlib’s Andy Dockerty 42 Feature: How to be a CEO INSTALLATION 46 The full Brazilian – World Cup review 47 Audico–Starlike merger creates Finland’s 48 50

largest AV company Berlin State Opera renovates with Stagetec Rory Alderson of RoryAld Live

BACK PAGES 53 Hither & dither 54 Industry talk: Stephen Watkins, Tape

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business UNITED KINGDOM

UK’s live music in danger, says Music Venue Trust THE MUSIC Venue Trust, formed earlier this year to “protect the UK[’s] live music network,” has launched its second national campaign in defence of Britain’s live venues – which it says are facing a “huge threat” from property developers.

Launching the crusade with an HM Government petition calling on the environment secretary to “carry out an urgent review of noise abatement legislation to ensure that the proper balance is being struck between the individual rights of owners/occupiers and the right of communities to be able to enjoy live music”, the organisation claims that “town centre venues [are] facing noise abatement notices from brand new flats and new owners/occupiers”, threatening traditional live music strongholds.

Among the venues believed to be under threat are the historic Night and Day Café in Manchester and The Fleece in Bristol, which have hosted

Photo: Tom O’Donoghue

The organisation has launched its second national campaign to combat the “huge threat” from property developers and the misuse of noise abatement legislation. Jon Chapple reports An Academy of Contemporary Music student performs at an ACM LiveLink event at the under-threat Boileroom, Guildford

artists like Johnny Marr and Alex Turner, and Oasis, Radiohead and The White Stripes, respectively. The Ministry of Sound in London – home of the Pro Sound Awards – only narrowly escaped closure in January after agreeing to a major install of new noise reduction equipment.

“The Music Venue Trust believes that venues should be good neighbours, engaging with their local communities and addressing concerns around noise and anti-social behaviour,” said a statement from the organisation, “but […] being a good neighbour is a reciprocal process, and […]

people who choose to live near to community spaces [accept] the responsibility to behave as a good neighbour to their adjoining music venue, church or community space…

“We believe this is a common sense approach – if you hate sport, why move next to a football pitch? If you hate music, why move next to a live music venue?”

The Boileroom in Guildford, Surrey, also recently revealed it is facing closure following an application to suspend its licence. According to Get Surrey, two new neighbours of the Boileroom reportedly submitted the application to Guildford Borough Council, complaining that the venue committed “regular and continued breaches” which had “a serious impact” on residents – including being responsible for alleged vandalism, traffic problems and public urination.

Dominique Frazer, the Boileroom’s owner and a previous winner of the Noise

Abatement Society’s Trude Adler Award – known as the ‘Noise Oscars’ – challenged the allegations, stating: “We have such an open dialogue with environmental health and local police. As far as we’re concerned we are compliant with everything.”

The Music Venue Trust statement concludes: “Being a good neighbour within a community is fundamentally important, and any neighbour who abuses his fellow neighbours in any way should suffer the appropriate legal consequences. However, we believe that the current provisions […] that relate to noise and the serving of noise abatement notices have unintentionally provided rights to new tenants or developers to limit and control noise that are outside the intent of the common sense approach, and that these rights are being misused to attempt to prevent local communities from being able to enjoy the normal, established and historic use of these spaces.

“We call upon the Secretary of State [for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs] to act in partnership with the Department for Culture Media and Sport and the Department for Communities and Local Government to urgently review all relevant legislation and amend it so that the rights of existing venues and other ‘noisy’ spaces are suitably recognised within the acts in a manner that reflects the needs and wishes of local communities.” Q www.musicvenues.org.uk

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business

WORLD

NETHERLANDS

takes controlling PreSonus pushes into AFG share of Purple Group large-scale PA market

By Dave Robinson

WorxAudio deal underlines PreSonus’ serious approach to higher end pro-audio applications, writes Dave Robinson PreSonus has announced the acquisition of loudspeaker manufacturer WorxAudio Technologies, Inc., of North Carolina.

The move will enable PreSonus to add considerable muscle to the loudspeaker development plans it set in motion at the 2013 NAMM Show with the launch of the AI series speakers. PreSonus seeks to capitalise in particular in areas of “drivers, system and mechanical design, system tuning, and riggingsystem design”. In addition, says the Louisiana-based company, WorxAudio’s knowledge of the commercial sound and portable/touring markets will help PreSonus develop the infrastructure required to support the specific requirements of those customers.

Founded in 1979 by CEO and director of engineering Hugh Sarvis, WorxAudio is a major provider of loudspeaker systems in the mid-to-large church market, professional touring

PreSonus chairman Kevin Kouhig (left) with WorxAudio founder Hugh Sarvis and corporate AV channels, but has little penetration outside of North America.

“This is a logical move for us,” observes PreSonus CEO Jim Mack. “Our StudioLive AI series loudspeakers are great for small to mediumsized venues, but the advanced DSP platform utilised in the AI speaker line, including the optional Dante networking capability, is extremely valuable for systems designed for much larger venues and environments.

The acquisition of WorxAudio

significantly extends our product line to provide advanced networked loudspeaker systems to a much larger audience.”

WorxAudio was one of the first loudspeaker companies to implement ‘FIRmaker’, a software tool developed by AFMG of Berlin (the company behind EASE) and released last year. FIRmaker enables a PA system to be quickly primed for optimal audience coverage in the particular venue.

A spokesperson confirmed that, at the time of the deal, PreSonus would be working on bringing WorxAudio products into Europe, but details of any kind of timescale were not agreed.

In the UK, PreSonus products are distributed

by HHB Communications/ Source. Source’s Howard Jones confirmed the company will carry the PA lines as they come online, under the responsibility of recently recruited live sound specialist Tim Gray. Q www.presonus.com www.worxaudio.com

Utrecht-based sales and rental giant Ampco Flashlight Group has taken a “strategic interest” in the Purple Group, a smaller Dutch operation based 66km to the south with much experience in dance music events. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, though Marcel Albers, director of communications and marketing for Ampco Flashlight Holding BV, told PSNEurope it was a “controlling share”.

Consolidation by strategic alliance or acquisition has become a common theme within the entertainment equipment supply industry, so it comes as no surprise that AFG is expanding by applying a similar tactic. As Albers puts it: “This participation is in line with market developments and fits perfectly within the current view of the AFG as a leading service company within the live entertainment industry: from one’s own strength it is working closely together with its fellow ‘full service’ businesses.

“As a result, the cooperation supports the great demand for tailor-made solutions from the broadcast, theatre, live and corporate event market.”

Purple Group – already part of Ampco’s ‘Synco Network’ since 2005 – has been in operation for around 25 years and holds a

Dick van Berkum of Ampco Flashlight large inventory of L-Acoustics systems, including K1.

Dick van Berkum, CEO of Ampco Flashlight Group, says: “The Purple Group has a strong presence in the field of electronic dance music (EDM) and festivals. Additionally, it is a major player in sound and light for Dutch artists. We are proud that our healthy financial basis makes this participation possible, and we look forward to the future with great confidence.”

Harry Zinken and Robert de Loey, directors at Purple Group, add: “Both companies are no strangers to each other. During the greater part of our existence, we have been working together regularly, and the culture of both companies complement each other very well.” Q www.ampco-flashlight.com www.purplegroup.nl

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PROSOUND DAWARDS

business

Thursday, 25th September 2014 Ministry Of Sound, London

EUROPE

Pro Sound Awards: Finalists revealed THE FINALISTS...

The 1975, finalist for Best Recording Production IT GIVES us great pleasure to present to you the category finalists for the second Pro Sound Awards!

The editors from across the Intent Media titles have whittled down all the entries to what they consider to be the four most worthy finalists for each award. Now we let our independent panel of experts pick the winners...

The Pro Sound Awards 2014 recognise outstanding achievement in professional audio, and take place on 25 September at the world-famous Ministry of Sound nightclub in London. We’ll be profiling the finalists individually in more detail in forthcoming issues of PSNEurope. In the meantime, here are their names – and stay tuned for the winners of the prestigious Grand Prix, Lifetime Achievement and Rising Star, to be revealed at a later date!

Have got your ticket yet? Q www.prosoundawards.com

O

LIVE/TOURING SOUND O Engineer of the Year O Reay Grant O Dave Kay O Sam Proctor O Jonny Lucas O

O

O

Best Tour Sound Production O London Speaker Hire for the Connections by Le Book event O SSE for Avicii’s European tour O Capital Sound for British Summer Time, Hyde Park O Adlib for Jack Whitehall Gets Around arena tour Best Theatre Sound O Chris Mace for I Can’t Sing O SSE for Jesus Christ Superstar O Clive Goodwin for Once O National Theatre sound department for The Light Princess

Best Recording Production O Arcade Fire – Reflektor O The 1975 – The 1975 O John Newman – Love Me Again O Paloma Faith – A Perfect Contradiction

Best Sound in Post-Production O Gravity O X-Men: Days of Future Past O Under the Skin O Noah

INSTALLED SOUND O Best Permanent Installation Project O Funktion One for Electric Paris O EM Acoustics/Sound by Design for the Royal Albert Hall O Powersoft for Wall of Bass, Austria O Stouenborg/Meyer Sound for Jyske Bank, Copenhagen O

STUDIO O Engineer of the Year O James Ford O Andrew Dudman O Dan Cox O Mike Crossey O

Best Studio O Assault and Battery (Miloco) O Snap Studios O Metropolis O Astar Studios

O

Best Temporary Installation Project O PreSonus at the Phoenix Open Hole O Paul Arditti/Autograph for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory O Source Distribution/Genelec for the Cock ’n’ Bull Gallery O Powersoft/Soundart GmbH for Dortmund Supercross

BROADCAST AUDIO Best Facility O dock 10, MediaCityUK O Savalas, Glasgow O Pinewood Studios O The Farm

O

O

Broadcast Event of the Year O 2014 Winter Olympics (Channel 4) O Red Bull Revolutions in Sound (Delta Sound/SIS Live) O Unity – A Concert for Stephen Lawrence (Red TX) O War Horse live (Mixbus)

O

Team of the Year O United Audio Project (Rowan Jennings and Karl Mainzer) O The X Factor (led by sound director Robert Edwards) O BBC Proms O MasterChef series 10

MARKETING INITIATIVE/ CAMPAIGN OF THE YEAR O Idea: brand launch O Prism: Mic to Monitor O Shure: Call for Legends O Powersoft: X Series launch

Powersoft’s Wall of Bass in Austria

Team of the Year O SSE Audio Group O Sound by Design (for the Royal Albert Hall) O DJW Install (for HMS Alliance) O TG Baker (for Waterloo station)

WORLD

InstallAwards: they shoot, they score!

The inaugural InstallAwards, celebrating excellence in installed audio, video and lighting, took place on 12 June. Paddy Baker ran the show THE FIRST InstallAwards took place on the evening of 12 June in the shadow of Wembley Stadium. While across the world Brazil were battling it out with Croatia in the opening match of the FIFA World Cup, the assembled crowd at the Hilton London Wembley were concerned with matters closer to home – who would win the InstallAwards for teamwork,

star product and best project across five market categories.

The awards were presented by comedian Adam Bloom to winners in the education; public display and retail; residential; sports and performing arts; and corporate and industrial categories. (For a full lost of winners, see the InstallAwards website.)

PSNEurope sponsored the sports and performing arts category.

John Pellowe of Meyer Sound collects the best project award for its steerable CAL column array loudspeaker installation in the Golden Hall, Musikverein, Vienna

In addition, Paddy Baker, Installation’s editor, presented two special awards to mark the publication’s 15th anniversary.

The 15 Years of Excellence award was given to Barco in recognition of its technology leadership over this period; and the 15 Years of Achievement award (sponsored by RenkusHeinz) went to Robert Simpson, founder director of Electrosonic, for his work in educating the industry, as well as his status as an industry founding father.

“I think everyone had a great evening at the first InstallAwards,” Paddy Baker says. “There was a brilliant atmosphere in the room and we partied away till the small hours. Do I understand that some people were playing football somewhere?” Q www.installawards.com

powersoft-audio.com

K6 AND K10 DSP+AESOP. WHAT YOUR LOUDSPEAKERS REALLY WANT. The remarkably LMKL IJ½GMIRG], the huge power in a single Rack Unit, the %)734 MRXIVJEGI combined with a LMKLIWX KVEHI (74 - fully manageable via %VQSRME 4VS %YHMS 7YMXITM - allow you to maximize your sonic performance in every condition. )RLERGI ]SYV WTIEOIV W]WXIQ [MXL 4S[IVWSJX / 7IVMIW %QTPM½IVW

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08 l July 2014

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industrymovers

Jiou-Pahn Lee Riedel Comminications

Luke Jenks Meyer Sound

Tarkiainen’s time to shine Erik Tarkiainen appointed vice-president of global marketing for Harman Professional AS THE new VP of global marketing, Eric Tarkiainen will lead “global marketing strategy and execution” across the Harman Professional division (stewarding brands including JBL, AKG, Soundcraft/Studer, Martin Professional and BSS). His prior experience includes serving as vice-president of marketing communications for Line 6 and cofounding iZotope, the audio processing and music effects pioneer.

The president of Harman Professional, Blake

Augsburger, says: “Erik is an excellent addition to a strong team and I am confident he will lead a comprehensive program that couples Harman’s unique heritage and depth with progressive, entrepreneurial and engaging communications.”

Harman Professional – chief marketing officer Ralph Santana adds: “Erik’s background in audio, marketing and digital strategy positions him as a unique person for this role.” www.harmanpro.com

John Buchanan Meridian

Meyer Sound has promoted Luke Jenks to director of product management. Jenks had previously served as the company’s loudspeaker product manager. “Luke is intimately familiar with our products at all levels,” comments Meyer Sound executive vice-president Helen Meyer, “but, more importantly, he has served as the important bridge between customers and engineering to help translate the needs and challenges on the ground into practical and complete solutions.” www.meyersound.com Meridian has announced the appointment of John Buchanan to the role of chief executive. John has been part of Meridian’s management team since 2007 and has worked globally across all areas of the company’s business.

Meridian chairman Bob Stuart says: “John has proven himself to be a strong organisational leader in his role at the head of our consumer products business, and his appointment as chief executive continues the important work necessary to accelerate Meridian’s growth.” www.meridian-audio.com

Bash Akhtar Martin Audio

Dave Raymen Saville Audio Visual

David Morbey Martin Audio

Martin Audio has made two new strategic hires: Bash Akhtar has joined as operations director, and David Morbey as the company’s first dedicated product manager. The director of marketing for Martin Audio, James King, says: “We’re delighted to have Bash and David join us as we continue to build a world-class team. Their expertise will enable us to further grow the business and support our customer base.” www.martin-audio.com Steve Farmer has been named Wohler Technologies’ new director of engineering. Farmer will be responsible for consolidating and focussing the company’s engineering efforts to target key markets more effectively. Carl J. Dempsey, Wohler president and CEO, says: “His work will aid us not only in maintaining our role as an extension of customers’ own engineering resources, but also in continuing to marry our very successful monitoring technologies with our groundbreaking streambased and file-based solutions.” www.wohler.com Jiou-Pahn Lee has been appointed director of R&D for Riedel

Steve Farmer Wohler Technologies

Communications. “With experience leading product development at well-known technology companies, Jiou-Pahn comes to Riedel with extensive knowledge of designing world-class products for the [...] broadcasting and production industry,” says Thomas Riedel, Riedel Communications president. Lee will be responsible for exploring and developing new technologies and “evaluating their impact on achieving business goals”. www.riedel.net Saville Audio Visual has announced that Dave Raymen has rejoined the company’s AV systems division as regional business manager (south). Raymen will now be responsible for the sales, engineering and administration functions of Saville activities cross the south of England. He will also join the company’s AV systems senior management team.

Saville director Andy Dyson comments: “His enormous range of industry experience across sales, engineering and business management, along with his focus on quality and customer care, will be a great asset.” www.saville-av.com

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10 l July 2014

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For more events news visit www.psneurope.com/events

expos&events IBC2014

EDITORIAL PLANNER

11-15 September Amsterdam, Netherlands www.ibc.org

AUGUST

SPOTLIGHT

THE INTERNATIONAL Broadcasting Convention (IBC) last month announced the shortlist for the 2014 IBC Innovation Awards, confirming the 10 broadcasters, producers and service providers who will appear onstage at IBC2014.

“From a bigger list of submissions than ever, our judges have worked hard to whittle them down to just 10,” says Michael Lumley, chairman of the Innovation Awards judging panel. “What I love about this year’s shortlist is that in each category there is a surprise – perhaps because it is an often-unheralded part of the broadcast chain or from a fascinating part of the world.

“My congratulations go to all the finalists, and to their technology partners who have developed the solutions we honour.”

IBC Innovation Awards finalists are divided into three categories – content creation, content management and content delivery – and include US-based Cumulus Radio and the BBC’s iPlayer radio/TV catch-up service. A full list of finalists can be found at www.ibc.org/awards.

As PSNEurope went to press, IBC announced that physicist and broadcaster Professor Brian Cox would be participating in the keynote session (Sunday 14th).

f Line arrays Pretty speakers all in a row f Compact consoles Bigger isn’t always better f On the Road diary, part 2 More adventures with pro audio’s finest f IBC preview, part 1 Demos and debuts in Amsterdam

EVENTS Your complete calendar for the months ahead Photo: Jacek Karczmarczyk

Montreux Jazz Festival 4–19 July Montreux, Switzerland www.montreuxjazz.com Exit Festival 10–13 July Novi Sad, Serbia www.exitfest.org Umbria Jazz 11–20 July Perugia, Italy www.umbriajazz.com

Woodstock Poland: like the original, only muddier

Deadline: 25 July

V Festival 16–17 August Chelmsford, UK, and Weston-underLizard, UK www.vfestival.com

Pro Sound Awards 25 September London, UK www.prosoundawards.com

Creamfields 22–24 August Daresbury, UK www.creamfields.com

PEVE Entertainment Business Futures 30 September–1 October London, UK www.ihs.com

Leeds Festival 22–24 August Leeds, UK www.leedsfestival.com

PLASA London 5–8 October London, UK www.plasashow.com

Sea Dance Festival 15–17 July Budva, Montenegro www.exitfest.org

Woodstock Festival Poland 1-3 August Kostrzyn-on-the-Oder, Poland www.woodstockfesival.eu

Reading Festival 22–24 August Reading, UK www.readingfestival.com

137th AES Convention 9–12 October Los Angeles, US www.aes.org

Latitude 17–20 July Suffolk, UK www.latitudefestival.co.uk

Wacken Open Air 31 July–2 August Wacken, Germany www.wacken.com

Mysteryland 23 August Haarlemmermeer, Netherlands www.mysteryland.nl

InfoComm MEA 12–16 October Dubai, UAE www.infocomm-mea.com

Lovebox 18–19 July London, UK www.loveboxfestival.com

Arenal Sound 31 July–3 August Burriana, Spain www.arenalsound.com

Bestival 4–7 September Isle of Wight, UK www.bestival.net

PLASA Focus Brussels 3–4 November Brussels, Belgium www.plasafocus.com/brussels

Tomorrowland (weekend 1) 18–20 July Boom, Belgium www.tomorrowland.com

Suikerrock 1–3 August Thienen, Belgium www.winforlifesuikerrock.be

Berlin Festival 5–7 September Berlin, Germany www.berlinfestival.de

Iceland Airwaves 5–9 November Reykjavik, Iceland www.icelandairwaves.is

Tomorrowland (weekend 2) 25–27 July Boom, Belgium www.tomorrowland.com

Woodstock Festival Poland 1–3 August Kostrzyn-on-the-Oder, Poland www.woodstockfestival.eu

Laundry Day 6 September Antwerp, Belgium www.laundryday.be

28th Tonmeistertagung 20–23 November Cologne, Germany www.tonmeister.de

Tramlines Festival 25–27 July Sheffield, UK www.tramlines.org.uk

Sziget 11–18 August Budapest, Hungary www.szigetfestival.com

PRO 13–15 September Birmingham, UK www.visitpro.co.uk

PLASA Focus Glasgow 2–3 December Glasgow, UK www.plasafocus.com/glasgow

Distribution: 11 August

SEPTEMBER f Networking and AVB f Training, part 1: studio/broadcast f IBC preview, part 2 f PLASA London preview, part 1 Deadline: 15 August Distribution: 4 September

OCTOBER f The Modern Conference f Training, part 2: Live f IBC review f PLASA London preview, part 2 Deadline: 15 September Distribution: 3 October

12 l July 2014

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PSNTraining UNITED KINGDOM

DIARY

New courses from ACM and Metropolis Studios planned

2 August IPS Audio Training Where: National Film and Television School, Beaconsfield, UK

By Erica Basnicki ACM, THE Academy of Contemporary Music and Metropolis Studios are due to launch two new Music Industry Qualification (IQ) courses to run from the Chiswick-based studios ‘Artist Development’ in action at Metropolis from January 2015.

These latest educational end of the business. Together with offerings are a continuation of a music ACM we believe we have an incredibly industry and education partnership compelling formula to equip students between ACM and Metropolis Studios, for the music industry far above what announced in September 2013. any educational course has been able The two confirmed IQ courses in to deliver to date.”

Contemporary Songwriting & Artist ACM’s Music Production Course Development and Music Production will has been designed to provide run over an intensive 26-week period, students with intensive and practical allowing students to gain practical training, offering a progressive music industry skills from ACM’s study path and leading to a potential acclaimed music faculty, and learn vocation within the music industry. from the Metropolis’ Grammy Award Music Production students will winning music production team. have access to ACM@Metropolis’ “We are elated to throw open facilities, including the MIT suite, the doors of Metropolis to a new recording studios at Metropolis generation of budding music and further studios as well as professionals,” says Ian Brenchley, networking opportunities at ACM’s CEO, Metropolis Studios. “It gives us Guildford campus. Q great pride to be able to pass on over www.acm.ac.uk 25 years of cutting edge experience at www.thisismetropolis.com the forefront of the music production

Notes: The last of four half-day IPS modules, focusing on compression and EQ

JAMES executive director David Ward

PLASA CEO Matthew Griffiths

JAMES BOLSTERS REPUTATION AS PLASA BECOMES ASSOCIATE MEMBER

By Erica Basnicki JAMES (JOINT Audio Media Education Support) has confirmed that PLASA has become the latest Associate Member of its group, further strengthening the JAMES industry accreditation and education support process.

Matthew Griffiths, CEO, PLASA comments: “We have watched the quality work of JAMES grow over several years. We are now very happy to join with the other trade organisations in JAMES, playing our part in supporting education. Being part of the JAMES course accreditation programme will ensure that our sectors will have representation in course design and delivery.

“The new relationship will now allow JAMES to create and develop

course accreditation structures for the live sound, event, entertainment and installation industries with the support of PLASA.” JAMES executive director David Ward adds: “The years of industry experience represented by the PLASA membership is very well-respected and we look forward to working with them.

This new relationship between our other associate organisations and PLASA holds great potential for the future. JAMES provides the ideal vehicle for industry to interface with education and helps fulfill our mission to ensure that the years of industry experience are not lost to future generations.” Q www.jamesonline.org.uk www.plasa.org

www.ips.org.uk

12 August d&b Remote Network Workshop Where: SSE Audio Group, Redditch, UK

Notes: A guide to the d&b Remote network. Participants will learn what to consider to make up a useful remote network www.dbaudio.com

13 August d&B Line Array Workshop Where: SSE Audio Group, Redditch, UK

Notes: A day explaining the

SOUNDCRAFT LAUNCHES ONLINE SI SERIES VIDEO TRAINING

Stills from the Si series of videos

By Erica Basnicki SOUNDCRAFT is now offering an eight-part instructional online video series hosted on its website, focused on the Si Series of digital consoles. The videos offer practical instruction on how to get the most from a Soundcraft Si console in live sound, recording and fixed-installation applications.

“The video series offers real-world information and depth of subject matter for a broad spectrum of users, whether they’ve never had their hands on a Soundcraft console before and need to get up and running quickly or have

mixed hundreds of shows and want to dig deeply into a console’s feature set,” says Keith Watson, marketing director, Soundcraft Studer.

In addition to the Si Series, Soundcraft’s online video vault covers every console range including the Vi Series, Si Expression, Si Performer and analogue consoles. Topics include basic operation and configuration, gain structure, channel assignment and using EQ and effects to Soundcraft-specific features like the Vistonics II colour touchscreen interface and FaderGlow illuminated, colour-coded faders.

“At Soundcraft we’re dedicated to providing our users with the educational tools they need to get the most out of their consoles,” says Watson. “We’d like to think our video series is the next best thing to having a front of house engineer standing next to you behind the console.” Q www.soundcraft.com

VIEWPOINT: FINDING WORK IN THE LIVE SOUND INDUSTRY

principles of line arrays and designing loudspeaker set-ups www.dbaudio.com

By Darryn De La Soul, Founder, Soulsound

9 September IT IS my firm belief that many people are struggling to find sound engineering jobs because their CVs aren’t up to scratch and they simply don’t know how to ask nicely! As the owner of an agency that specialises in finding opportunities for engineers, I get sent dozens a week, and I Darryn De La Soul: “Your CV is a sales document” peruse them all. The few an advert for you. So make an effort well written ones, I either contact (if when writing it.

I have an opportunity for them) or If it looks lazy, then I have to file for future reference (and send assume that you are lazy and will be them an email saying so); the ones lazy on my job; I will, therefore, not which come across as lazy (bad even consider you. A CV is the only cut and pastes, poor formatting, incorrect spelling) get binned without way you have to introduce yourself to total strangers; so, make sure it response (if you can’t be bothered creates a good impression. to present yourself well, I can’t be bothered to respond).

Read the full article at Your CV is a sales document; it’s www.psneurope.com/training

Martin Audio MLA M-Tech Training Where: Millennium Studios, Bedford, UK

Notes: A three-day programme covering every aspect of the use and deployment of Martin Audio multi-cellular arrays www.martinaudio-mla.com

A range of commercial packages are available: Contact advertising manager, Ryan O’Donnell, +44 (0) 20 7354 6000, ryan.odonnell@intentmedia.co.uk

14 l July 2014

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technologynew products Jon Chapple compiles this month’s list of hot new products HK AUDIO

LUCAS NANO 600 What is it? “The world’s first crossover PA,” according to British distributor JHS. Details: HKL’s LUCAS Nano 600 delivers all the features and portability of its “little brother,” the Nano 300, but has an inbuilt 475-watt power amp for extra punch and headroom in larger venues.

And another thing: The Nano 600 may be deployed as either a space-saving mono column or full stereo system, and two 600s can be paired to create a more powerful PA. www.hkaudio.com

MACKIE

THUMP What is it? A range of three powered loudpeakers featuring 1,000+W of power and a built-in three-band EQ.

JOECO

REMOTE V2.0 What is it? A new version of JoeCo’s remote control app for the iPad. Details: JoeCoRemote 2.0 includes a dedicated monitor window offering real-time monitor mix control. The window features expandable channel strips with graphic faders, pan, PFL, solo and mute controls, allowing the easy

RTW

TM3PRIMUS What is it? A “compact, fully loaded, specialised [audio] meter at an attractive price point.”

Details: The TM3-PRIMUS, the latest addition to the award-winning TouchMonitor series, provides a full set of easy-to-read instruments for level and loudness metering in

creation of a separate headphone monitor mix.

And another thing: The new software also features “more robust signalling” between the JoeCoRemote hardware interface and the software app, “leading to more efficient communication in both wireless and wired set-ups”. www.joeco.co.uk

Details: Mackie says the Thump series – which comprises the Thump12, Thump15 and Thump18S models – delivers “the high output you need in a package that’s tough, lightweight and portable”.

Send info on new product releases to: jon.chapple@intentmedia.co.uk

production and broadcasting environments.

And another thing: RTW says the T3-PRIMUS, along with the related TM3S, TM3-3GS and TMR7S, is ideal for individuals working in smaller production environments like mixing and recording studios and OB vans. www.rtw.com

And another thing: Mackie is launching Thump the ‘Show Us Your Moves and be a Star’ video contest, in which entrants

can win the speakers by submitting a video of themselves dancing. thump.mackie.com

UNITY AUDIO

BOULDER MKII What is it?A larger update of the Boulder MkI three-way active monitor, now with two eight-inch SEAS woofers.

Details: According to Unity, Boulder MkII’s four 8-inch woofers provide an increase of 4dB compared to the 6.5-inch MkI. And another thing: “Tests with existing Boulder users [have] been amazing,” says Kevin Walker, MD of Unity Audio. [E]veryone loves the MkII, and many have ordered upgrades for their MkIs.” www.unityaudio.co.uk

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showreview

InfoComm

UNITED STATES

InfoComm14 delivers to the installation market once again Record attendance and a clutch of new releases at Vegas extravaganza THE HUGE installation-fest that is InfoComm came to Las Vegas this year, and the show saw a 5.5% rise on last year’s event – a record 37,048 visitors from over 114 countries, according to the organiser.

A reported 947 brands exhibited, occupying 490,000sqft of exhibition and special events space at what continues to be the world’s largest pro AV trade show.

At the start of the expo, Harman announced it had completed its acquisition of AMX. Blake Augsburger, president of Harman Professional, and Rashid Skaf, president and CEO of AMX, both spoke of their enthusiasm for the “marriage” of the two companies.

Skaf highlighted the good fit in terms of technology, markets and geographies. There is very little overlap in terms of products – in terms of vertical markets, Harman is strong in events, broadcasting, houses of worship and stadiums, while AMX is well established in education, business and governmental markets – and while both companies are strong in North America, Europe and Australia, Harman additionally

QSC AD-S6T surface-mount speakers is well established in the BRIC countries. “AMX has built up a great set of solutions over the years,” said Skaf. “[The two companies] can work separately but bringing us together makes us even stronger.”

Augsburger described AMX as “a perfect addition to our family”. As well as increasing Harman’s share of the installation market, the acquisition is a good fit with the company’s “total AV strategy”. “Bringing together audio, video and lighting could be radical,” he said, pointing out that he combined companies will have buying power “second to none”, “unmatched” R&D assets and a roster of more than 5,400 patents.

One of the questions submitted by journalists ahead of the

A&H AB168 portable audio I/O rack press conference asked whether Harman’s portfolio might be further rounded out in the future by the acquisition of a company in the video display market. “I hope so!” said Augsburger.

The third generation of Tannoy’s premium in-ceiling loudspeaker system features a new “evolutionary milestone development” of the company’s Dual Concentric transducer technology.

According to Tannoy – part of TC Group – CMS 3.0 represents a new pinnacle in sonic performance from a ceiling loudspeaker device, bringing “even higher degrees of intelligibility, more consistent broadband directivity, and a brighter, more accurate soundstage”. CMS 3.0

introduces several mechanical and aesthetic features to benefit both systems designer and contractor alike.

The new line of Dual Concentric-equipped CMS comprises five models – CMS 403DCe, CMS 503DC, CMS 603DC and CMS 803DC – each designed to replace previous equivalent iterations – plus an all-new CMS 803DCQ 8-inch high-Q model, designed for high-ceiling/longer throw applications. At the heart of each device is the nextgeneration Dual Concentric transducer, providing improved performance by virtue of a fundamentally new design.

Philippe Robineau, director of engineering for Tannoy, commented: “We listened closely

to the consultant community and our key contracting customers and identified the areas where we needed to focus, in order to make a great loudspeaker even better.

“We believe we have achieved just that, and we’re confident that CMS 3.0 represents the new benchmark in the premium in-ceiling audio space.

“We can only make that assertion, given that we had ourselves to beat.”

Another TC Group brand busy at InfoComm was Lab. gruppen, launching the D Series of amplifiers, as previewed in last month’s PSNEurope.

German loudspeaker manufacturer Coda Audio made its first appearance at InfoComm.

Products on show included the recently introduced TiRAY, and the compact ViRAY line array system featuring Coda’s patented DDP driver technology; along with associated SC2F sensorcontrolled bass extension, and its large-scale LA12 line array, as well as SCPF subs.

Also on show were the LINUS family includes the LINUS10 amplifier with integrated DSP and the system controller LINUS Con, which delivers highest performance on a future proof control platform for all Coda Audio products.

Audio-Technica’s new ATND971 cardioid condenser boundary network microphone bridges the gap between audio and IT as the first wired microphone that transmits audio and control data together over Audinate’s Dante network protocol.

Designed for boardrooms and other meeting spaces, the ATND971 boundary mic is said to offer outstanding sound quality, and features a red/ green LED status indicator.

The integrated user switch can control such things as video camera pan/tilt, room lighting presets and much more. And since Dante can support up to 512 bi-directional audio channels, the microphone offers an easily scalable solution.

Tom Harrold, AudioTechnica UK pro-audio marketing manager, said: “As the first Dante-compatible wired microphone, it’s clearly a very significant introduction. The ATND971 also represents excellent value to installers compared with the costs of specifying standard

July 2014 l 17

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InfoComm

Tannoy CMS 603DC ceiling monitor microphones with Dante adaptor boxes.”

Clear-Com announced the arrival of FreeSpeak II wireless intercom system, an enhanced DECT-based offering that operates in multiple licencefree DECT bands (1.897– 1.933GHz). FreeSpeak II offers improved roaming capability for reliable wireless connections, digital “Clear-Com Sound” for clear intelligibility, and more features to boot. The system is designed for deployment across large-scale, multi-zone production areas.

QSC Audio Products announced the addition of three new fix installation loudspeakers. The new AD-S6T and AD-S112sw surface-mount loudspeakers are additions to the popular AcousticDesign Series, while the new AC-C4T (part of the upcoming AcousticCoverage loudspeaker line) offers integrators a cost-effective, in-ceiling loudspeaker solution that is ideal for voice paging and light background music applications.

Alongside the Qu-32 digital mixer, Allen & Heath launched the AB168 portable audio I/O rack at Infocomm 2014. Suitable for live or installation applications, AB168 is designed primarily as a stage box for live performance, providing a direct connection to the main mixing system.

Featuring 16 mic preamps with phantom power indicators and eight XLR line outs, AB168 runs on Allen & Heath’s proprietary dSNAKE protocol and is compatible with both the Qu and GLD mixer ranges, complementing Allen & Heath’s existing 19-inch rack I/O dSNAKE products, the AR2412 and AR84.

Adding an AB168 to a Qu or GLD system allows the user

to position some or all I/O up to 120m from the mixer. The unit connects over a single Cat-5 cable to the Qu/ GLD mixer or AR2412 AudioRack via a secure dSNAKE EtherCon port. A second EtherCon port is provided for daisy-chaining to another AB168 box or connection of a ME personal mixing system.

Roland Systems Group launched XS Series, a range of multi-format matrix switchers.

Designed for events or fixed installations and available in three models, the XS Series offers “an adaptable solution for applications that require high-quality, integrated video and audio conversion and switching”. With a multiformat design, the Roland XS Series features eight HDMI, RGB/Component/S-video/ Composite inputs and up to four HDMI or HDBaseT outputs with built in scalers to enable picture-in-picture, resizing, rotating, and flipping.

Audio can be embedded into outputs via 8 stereo audio inputs (2 mic) and/or HDMI audio as well as de-embedded on output.

Community’s new I Series is a family of high-power/ high-output modular loudspeakers that enable designers to implement “complex solutions” in houses of

worship, multi-purpose auditoriums, theatres and other professional and commercial venues.

I Series includes point-source, high-directivity, compact and floor-monitor models in multiple performance levels, providing modular scalability for any application requirement.

A suite of matching-height subwoofers complements the full-range I Series models with powerful low-frequency extension. Optional weatherresistant versions are available.

New from EAW was the Otto Adaptive Subwoofer, the first woofer in the company’s Adaptive Performance series headlined by the Anya threeway full-range loudspeaker system.

Loaded with two 18-inch woofers, with acoustic energy exiting from four spaced apertures in the corners of the enclosure, EAW said that “each Otto module provides more than enough LF energy for even the most demanding music genres”.

In other EAW news, the company has announced that Sound Image has purchased an Anya system and will soon be deploying it on Tom Petty’s Hypnotic Eye tour.

EarthWorks introduced the LumiComm Touch Ring, designed for permanent tabletop installation. Seamlessly integrated into the microphone, the Touch Ring consists of a dual-colour LED light ring and a touch sensor output, providing integrators complete freedom to assign function and LED color with a media control system.

The IML microphone is a back-electret condenser that

showreview

EAW Otto Adaptive Subwoofer

Audio-Technica ATND971 cardioid condenser boundary network mic features a near-perfect cardioid polar response and a flat 30Hz–30kHz frequency response, allowing orators to maintain the same intelligibility at the front and sides of the microphone without a reduction of high frequencies. It’s shipping now!

XTA debuted the APA (Adaptive Processing Amplification) Series, which follows years of investment in the company’s R&D resources.

The completely new power and DSP platforms have been designed to “interact intelligently and adapt to prevailing conditions, protecting drivers and significantly enhancing performance from all speaker systems”.

Waring Hayes, XTA’s technical brand manager, explained: “It’s not so difficult to add a DSP module to an

existing amplifier design in the form of a plug-in card, but to provide the level of monitoring and feedback within the amplifier that we wanted – that took a little longer!”

And finally, as predicted in PSNEurope’s InfoComm 2014 preview last month, Harman confirmed that its new Crown DCi (DriveCore Install) Network Display 8|600ND and 4|1250ND power amplifiers feature Audio Video Bridging (AVB) connectivity. The new eight- and four-channel amps, respectively, are the first professional audio amplifiers to be certified by the AVnu Alliance. Q www.allen-heath.com www.amx.com www.audiocore.co.uk eu.audio-technica.com www.clearcom.com www.codaaudio.com www.communitypro.com www.crownaudio.com www.earthworksaudio.com www.eaw.com www.harmanpro.com www.labgruppen.com www.qsc.com www.rolandsystemsgroup.eu www.tannoypro.com

DANTE GOES FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH

By David Davies

EarthWorks LumiComm Touch Ring

A MERE nine months after announcing that Studio Technologies had become the 100th OEM partner for its Dante media networking technology, Audinate has reached another milestone a 150th licensee in the form of audio, video and computer signal processing specialist Kramer Electronics.

Headquartered in Jerusalem but with offices worldwide, Kramer will first implement Dante in two amplifier models and an I/O box, details of which are, at the time of going to press, still unannounced.

Lee Ellison, CEO of Audinate, comments: “My understanding is that Kramer opted to implement Dante because it’s not dependent on a specific transport protocol and Dante is a reliable proven solution that will continue to deliver new enhancements in the future.”

Reflecting on a steadily increasing trajectory of adoption, Ellison says that the last couple of years “have been really spectacular. How much bigger can Dante get? Well, it’s a good question and one that the board is asking me all the time, but our new OEM growth continues to accelerate…”

Ellison’s mission to make Dante even more accessible won’t be

harmed by the launch at the AV Networking World conference, on the eve of InfoComm, of a new software application, Dante Via, which transforms Macs and PCs into networked I/O devices.

Effectively the first ever softwareonly implementation of Dante, the new product allows users to build a complete, standalone audio system of networked computers without the need for dedicated Dante-enabled hardware on the network.

Dante Via will be made available in Q4. www.audinate.com www.kramerelectronics.com

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Studio SOUNDBITES The Lisson Grove R-124 valve mono compressor will be made under licence in the UK by Unity Audio, it has been announced. The Essex-based distributor will take over production of the unit from US-based Lisson Grove, a company formed by Grammy Award-winning producer Hugo Nicolson. “I was approached by Hugo at the winter NAMM Show,” says Unity’s Kevin Walker, “as he was keen for Unity Audio to take over the manufacturing under a licensing arrangement. [He] ideally wanted to concentrate on design rather than manufacturing and […] we were keen to expand this side of the business further.” www.unityaudioproducts.co.uk Fineline Media Finance (star of May’s back page interview) has provided funding to MAMA Youth Project (MYP) to purchase two Avid Symphony edit suites as the charity upgrades its equipment to HD. MYP recruits and trains 48 disadvantaged young people aged between 16–25 each year in a range of production skills, including research, camerawork and sound operation. This was the first time MYP had used finance to purchase equipment. www.fineline.co.uk www.mamayouthproject.org.uk Örebro University in Sweden has commissioned an API 1608 recording console in its “quest to prepare students for moving on to a modern recording studio”. Örebro, which has 17,000 students, will install the console in its school of music, theatre and art, which offers a course in recording music technology. www.apiaudio.com Jensen Transformers has announced its acquisition by long time customer Peter Janis, owner and president of Radial Engineering. According to Bill Whitlock, former owner and president: “Radial has been tied at the hip with Jensen since 1992, and has been the biggest user of Jensen transformers for years. It only made sense that [Janis] take the reins.” The Radial group also includes Reamp and Hafler. www.radialeng.com

For the latest studio news www.psneurope.com/studio

UNITED KINGDOM

Dolby Atmos in post: Deluxe Soho tells all Jon Chapple visits Deluxe Digital Cinema in London for a look at Dolby Atmos in the post-production environment The fully Atmos-equipped theatre room at Deluxe

‘IMMERSIVE’ OR ‘3D sound’ in cinema – Dolby Atmos, Barco Auro 11.1, DTS MDA and their like – is becoming increasingly ubiquitous, with evermore theatres installing Atmos (or equivalent) rigs and no less than five Oscars won by films utilising the technology at the 2014 Academy Awards. So, with sound for cinema arguably moving into the ‘age of Atmos’, what does this mean for audio in post-production?

Fresh from providing a “full range of mastering and distribution services” for the summer super hero blockbuster X-Men: Days of Future Past – a mammoth task that involved creating no less than 137 (!) unique digital cinema packages (DCPs) for distribution to cinemas around the globe – the ladies and gentlemen of Sohobased Deluxe Digital Cinema gave PSNEurope a behind-thescenes look at Dolby Atmos in the post environment.

Deluxe’s speciality is the creation and distribution of said DCPs for both US (English) and worldwide foreign-language release. A DCP is a set of files of files that make up a cinema presentation, traditionally

for video and audio – containing the ‘beds’ and objects.

Beds contain the audio that is not location-specific, such as atmospherics, while objects are given specific locations within the 3D soundscape. Deluxe says

audio), Andy Scade, director of digital cinema at Deluxe, assures us it’s negligible – which must be welcome news when the facility is increasingly moving away from sending physical hard drives to theatres towards “new electronic delivery options” like network and satellite delivery.

We’re also told that each element of each DCP is encrypted, and recipient cinemas require a ‘key delivery message’ (KDM) to unencrypt each part of the media (image, audio and subtitle). For films with a Dolby Atmos track, an extra KDM is needed.

According to Scade, Deluxe currently packages some 200 feature films a week – and the number of DCPs that include an Atmos audio component will only continue to increase rise as immersive sound technologies continue their relentless march into cinemas around the world.

PSNEurope reported on the rise of Dolby Atmos and immersive audio, and its positive knock-on effect for cinema speaker manufacturers, in May’s issue. Commenting, Guy Hawley, senior director of cinema sales and services, EMEA, at Dolby Laboratories, tells us: “Since its début in April 2012, Dolby Atmos has been embraced by all the major Hollywood studios and award-winning sound mixers. The post-production community has responded really well – today, more than 40 digital

“The post-production community has responded really well – more than 40 mastering and duplication facilities and 55 sound mixing facilities are equipped to support Dolby Atmos” Guy Hawley, Dolby Laboratories comprising three distinct sources: video (high resolution image files, each a scan of a single frame of film), subtitles (both 2D and ‘dynamic’ 3D animated text) and audio (one 24-bit, 48kHz PCM standard channel-based audio).

However, with an Atmos movie, there is a fourth element: an immersive audio MXF – an open-source container format

the Atmos system “generates the optimal soundtrack for the theatre […] and reproduces the objects on one or more of the channels closest to the location specified in the MXF”.

On the subject of how much including a Dolby Atmos track in the DCP increases the file size (the Atmos sync track is on a separate channel to those used by the standard 5.1 or 7.1

cinema mastering and duplication facilities, and more than 55 sound mixing facilities, are equipped to support Dolby Atmos.

“With more than 120 films from 12 different countries released or scheduled to be released in Dolby Atmos, we can only expect this momentum to continue.” Q www.deluxedigital.co.uk www.dolby.com

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studio

Veni, vidi, vici

Responsible for the world’s first three-in-one acoustic panel; first passive, standalone bass-trap; and first portable acoustic modular wall, Portuguese acoustic solutions company Vicoustic is a research-driven global success story. PSNEurope’s Jon Chapple speaks to CEO and cofounder César Carapinha

“WE ARE a research company,” says Vicoustic CEO César Carapinha, “and because we want to make money, we have to sell the products that come from this research.”

A self-confessed music technology nerd and an unlikely businessman, Carapinha has a refreshing attitude towards turnover and profit margins: namely, that they enable the R&D side of the company – the aspect Carapinha and his team of enthusiastic young acousticians are clearly most passionate about – to continue to innovate, and not vice versa. And the Lisbon native is on a mission to get people talking about room treatments, bass-traps, diffusers and all the devices essential for optimising the sound of a studio.

“It’s a question of education,” he explains. “The most important factor for hearing good music is the place where you put your gear. The speakers are

which, true to its name, provides low-frequency absorption between 60-125Hz; and the spiky Multifuser DC2, a diffusion panel which looks rather a lot like a giant, 3D QR code.

Carapinha cofounded Vicoustic with Jorge Castro in 2007, and has since seen huge expansion and growth. The company now has 16 employees, four warehouses – the fourth was opened by Portuguese prime minister Pedro Passos Coelho in 2012 – and subsidiaries in the US, Middle East and Malaysia, and recently signed a UK distribution deal with Audio-Technica. “I think it’s an obvious choice,” he says of the Audio-Technica tie-up, which was finalised in April. “The British market [is] one of the most important for acoustics, one of the most respected, so we needed to partner with someone we could trust.

Audio-Technica is, I think, the best option we had.”

“Contemporary architecture is beautiful – in a picture. But if you try to speak inside, it’s awful!”

César Carapinha important, but most of the sound you hear is not direct sound, it’s influenced by the reflections, the materials and the geometry of the room.”

“It’s even worse now,” he continues, “because what’s happened with contemporary architecture is that rooms are bigger and have very hard surfaces, lots of windows and glass and parallel walls.

“Contemporary architecture is beautiful in a picture. But if you try to speak inside it, it’s awful!”

Vicoustic’s flagship product is Wavewood, a revolutionary panel which acts as both an absorber and a diffuser.

“It’s a really nice product because it’s everything in one,” Carapinha comments. “And it’s just a piece of art – we have customers who just put three or four in the wall, just for aesthetics… they don’t use it for acoustics!”

Other Vicoustic solutions for studio settings include the Flexi Screen Ultra, a portable solution for recording vocals in an untreated room; Super Bass Extreme,

Vicoustic is headquartered in Carvalhosa, Paços de Ferreira, an area of northern Portugal often referred to locally as Capital do Móvel – the Furniture Capital – owing to its heavy industrialisation and abundance of furniture-makers.

Although Vicoustic has a (very impressive) research lab in-house – a sophisticated system of hydraulics alters the room size to the nearest millimetre, and it doubles as both a reverberation and anechoic chamber – the company subcontracts all its manufacturing operations to local businesses.

Has Carapinha ever been tempted to move Vicoustic’s production to places where the cost of labour is cheaper, like China or the Far East? “Well – it’s very hard to control quality,” he says. “[Here in Portugal], if something happens to a product, someone gets in the car and 30 minutes they are later are at the factory plant, getting to know what happened and fixing things. And this is worth a l ot of money.”

Vicoustic’s CEO, César Carapinha, demonstrates the Vari Bass freestanding bass trap

He adds: “[Subcontracting] is better than having your own machines, because, in a matter of months, your machine already doesn’t do what you need and you need to buy a new product. [If you have your own machines], you don’t have the ability to change.”

But the lab, presumably, was a necessary expense? “It was. That’s the only way to be on top – to have your own research centre. If you look at all the big companies in the world, they are all very focussed on research.”

Vicoustic has both consumer and pro operations – the products are, interestingly, exactly the same, and Carapinha says the consumer division “just happened”; a reflection of his dedication to “inexpensive, good-looking acoustic solutions” – with the consumer side focussing on home cinema, listening rooms and home studios. He comments that the balance of its business is increasingly tipping away from the previously more important professional recording studio market: “This is what’s going to happen: the average recording studio, as it was before, it will disappear, and only the top ones will remain.

Ones that have a large volume, so they

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PORTUGAL

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studio Inside the anechoic chamber; and (inset) the exterior of the Paços de Ferreira facility, with its giant Wavewood-style panel

acoustic panel to put inside shelters…” Bomb shelters?

“That one I cannot reveal! It was an interesting product.”

He continues: “The product we developed for Microsoft is in our catalogue, but for some clients [like Nato], we don’t mind doing something exclusive.”

Carapinha ends our conversation with “a really nice

“The only way to be on top is to have your own research centre” W

César Carapinha can [record] a lot of people – something that you cannot record in your own house – they will stay.”

Custom products and installations for corporate clients are also an important

source of Vicoustic’s revenue: for example, the company partnered with Microsoft last year to develop an acoustic solution for its Seattle, US, R&D lab, where the technology giant was testing the Xbox

One’s Kinetic voice-recognition technology. “I don’t have any problem licensing a product […] if someone wants a specific thing, we’ll do it for them,” Carapinha says. “We already did [something] for Nato: an

story” about one of his favourite installations. “There was a guy with a restaurant, [and] he was very unhappy because people never went there a second time,” he explains. “The restaurant was so noisy – there’s a snowball

effect: when a bunch of people are in a room that’s very reverberant, they start to talk louder, then your neighbour starts to talk louder [and] it gets so noisy that people won’t go there again.

“And he was almost about to close the business. All the typical solutions would make him have to close the business for a few days while they build a second ceiling […] that’s what a normal builder would do.

He didn’t want to do that – to close a business that was already not good.

“So, we proposed a solution that [meant] he just needed to let us go in during the night.

We glued some panels onto the ceiling and the next day it was sorted. The guy was so happy, he told us: ‘Can I be your reseller? Because I think I’m going to close the restaurant and start selling your products – this is amazing!’ I will never forget that story.” Q www.vicoustic.com www.audio-technica.com

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NOW OPEN for more information visit www.tvb-awards.com

For more information please contact: sara.mather@intentmedia.co.uk

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22 l July 2014

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studio UNITED KINGDOM

In the studio with Roni Size at Metropolis

RONI SIZE is routinely cited as an electronic music pioneer in the music press, having successfully merged genres ranging from hip-hop to house and soul to create his distinctive style of drum’n’bass.

His seminal debut album New Forms – recorded with drum’n’bass collective

Roni Size Reprazent perform the global premiere of the new album in Metropolis’s Studio A

W

The Bristolian drum‘n’bass innovator premiered his new album at Metropolis on 13 June, hosting two production masterclass sessions the following day. Murray Stassen reports

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studio Reprazent, won the 1997 Mercury Prize. The attention received off the back of the award-winning production catapulted Size and Reprazent into the mainstream, confirming his title as one of best drum’n’bass producers in the world and one of the true pioneers of the genre.

On 13–14 June he took up residency at Metropolis Studios

“The Roni Size weekender was a great success. The masterclass was also a first of its kind for a drum ‘n’ bass artist and a very memorable insight into the career of a real pioneer who took a new form of music to the masses” Matt Hamilton, event manager, Metropolis in west London, performing the global premiere of his new album with Reprazent on the Friday, returning on the

Saturday for an interview and Q&A, as well as to host two production masterclass sessions.

The Bristol-born producer

and record label owner gave an in-depth interview about his life and career with DJ and MOBO award-winner Steve Sutherland.

He explained that growing up in Bristol and attending St Paul’s Carnival in Bristol, with its sound systems blasting the likes of reggae, jungle and hip-hop, inspired his musical pursuits.

PSNEurope understands that in his formative days, Roni Size would produce tracks using equipment such as Roland S550 and S760 samplers, an Atari computer and an early version of Cubase. He explained to Sutherland how much things have changed for producers since then, as he is now able to use a laptop while on the road. He says that in the past they couldn’t wait to get back to Bristol from being on tour – just to get back into the studio to write songs.

After the interview, Size deconstructed some of his project files track by track, playing them through an impressive pair of PMC loudspeakers, which he joked he would be taking home with him.

An audience Q&A followed the production demonstration, where he was asked about plugins, filters and various other production tips.

Metropolis event manager Matt Hamilton tells PSNEurope: “The Roni Size weekender was a great success, with the premiere of the brandnew Reprazent album live in studio A. The masterclass was also a first of its kind for a drum’n’bass artist and was a very memorable insight into the career of a real pioneer who took a new form of music to the masses.”

Hamilton adds: “The first half of 2014 has been a great year for Metropolis Events and we have some huge ‘legacy’ artists coming up over the next six months to further cement the ‘Live from Metropolis’ and ‘In the studio with’ formats as the ultimate super-fan experience, unparalleled by any other promoter. Watch this space!”

The much-anticipated new album will be available later this year – the first new record from Roni Size and Reprazent to be released in four years. Q www.thisismetropolis.com www.ronisize.net

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AUDIO AND LIGHTING TECHNOLOGY SHOW Launching in 2014, alongside the established BPM DJ show, PRO is a new exhibition focused on professional audio, lighting and video technology. The event will provide a showcase of the latest equipment, a programme of interesting and informative educational content, as well as a productive meeting place for industry professionals.

REGISTER FOR YOUR FREE TRADE TICKETS ONLINE AT www.visitpro.co.uk/PSNEurope Trade visitors are invited to attend the VIP Preview hour from 10am on Saturday & Sunday This offer is only open to genuine trade professionals (audio, lighting or video technicians / installers / distributors / manufacturers). Proof of status may be required before tickets are dispatched.

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WHAT WILL BE EXHIBITED AT PRO? q Audio systems q Lighting fixtures q Laser systems q Trussing and staging q Pyros and effects

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26 l July 2014

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For the latest broadcast news www.psneurope.com/broadcast

broadcast SOUNDBITES Sonifex has acquired Australian broadcast equipment manufacturer/ distributor Innes Corporation.

Marcus Brooke, managing director of the UK-based Sonifex, comments: “When we discussed further collaboration, we realised that there was a great opportunity for us to leverage our international marketing skills to sell tInnes PCIe cards to a larger market. In addition, we can combine our R&D departments to work in partnership on some interesting new products.” www.sonifex.com The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) is to merge with the Hollywood Post Alliance (HPA). The partnership will begin immediately with SMPTE providing administrative support to HPA, and is expected to culminate in a full merger by May 2015. A statement from SMPTE says the partnership “unites two leading technical organisations serving the media and entertainment business,” giving both SMPTE and HPA “the opportunity to extend their reach and expand their membership while better serving the whole industry”. www.hpaonline.com www.smpte.org Red TX has joined the Remote Recording Network (RRN). The RRN, which “offers bespoke solutions that cater for all kinds of transmission, recording, mixing, mastering, duplication and publishing,” was formed last year by Peter Brandt Remote Recording and Eurosound bv. Red TX’s new RED 2 unit made its RRN début at the Tuckerville festival in Enschede, Netherlands, on 21 June. www.red-tx.com www.remoterecording.net London post-production company HALO has installed 17 Avid Pro Tools HDX systems across its two sites in Soho and in the premises of Hackenbacker, which it acquired in March this year. The upgrades were made during May and into the first half of June, and also included the addition of HD Native Pro Tools to the group’s edit suites. The systems were supplied by MediaPros. www.halopost.tv www.hackenbacker.com

UNITED KINGDOM

Yamaha, Genelec help bring Wimbledon radio to the air The IMG Media-produced restricted service licence station Live@Wimbledon Radio is exclusively using audio equipment supplied by Gearhouse Broadcast, writes David Davies FOR THE first time in half a decade, sustained heavy downpours played havoc with match schedulers’ plans at this year’s Wimbledon Championships. But although this might have heralded some content challenges, the rain did not stop play for RSL (restricted service licence) radio station Live@Wimbledon Radio, which continued to broadcast from nine am to 30 minutes after the final match each day.

In charge of delivering the broadcast is long-term AllEngland Club media and production partner IMG Media, under a team led by Steve Tebb. In addition to local transmission with an approximate 10-mile radius (tournament visitors can even buy portable radios manufactured especially by Sound Decisions), Live@ Wimbledon Radio can be heard extensively in the US via ESPN and Sirius/ XM – the latter part of the satellite radio sector that “remains absolutely huge in the States,” notes Tebb.

Delivering this service is a small but dedicated team that includes, two editors, three live producers, a planning producer, four engineers (two on air at any time) and three audio editors – sourced from broadcast courses at Goldsmiths College – who “roll across multiple incoming feeds, including commentary, interviews and reports around the ground”.

In terms of commentary/reporter positions, the team currently has 13 at its disposal.

Onsite set-up and integration are undertaken by RG Jones

On the air...

... and behind-the-scenes at Live@Wimbledon Radio in the week preceding the tournament, with Gearhouse Broadcast supplying all equipment. The core kit list includes a Yamaha M7CL mixer, Genelec and Fostex loudspeakers, a 360 Systems Short/Cut digital recorder/editor, a Leitch audio router, a Telex Cronus talkback system, a CTP audio monitor and Wireless Works radio mics. Also in use are Sonifex commentary

units, deployed in conjunction with Sennheiser HMD 25 headsets, Coles lip microphones, and USB audio interfaces from Roland and Focusrite.

In previous years, the radio team has also utilised Technica Del Arte’s groundbreaking LUCI broadcast software applications, which allow journalists to go live, record, edit and deliver audio to radio

and TV stations using a mobile phone or laptop. “Due to 3G signals it was intermittent,” says Tebb. “However, we will investigate this again as bandwidth/technology are constantly improving.”

No dramatic changes are envisaged to the set-up or operational approach of Live@ Wimbledon Radio in the nearfuture, but Tebb confirms that IMG “will continue to work closely with the [All-England] Club,” adding that “as and when additional commentary/reporter positions are built/available, we would look to add them to our areas of broadcast”. Q www.wimbledon.com www.360systems.com www.ctpsystems.co.uk www.fostexinternational.com www.gearhousebroadcast.com www.genelec.com www.img.com www.technicadelarte.com www.thewirelessworks.biz www.yamahacommercialaudio.com

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broadcast WORLD

The way ahead for IP broadcasting?

GatesAir’s Rich Redmond speaks to Kevin Hilton about the company’s new Intraplex IP Link range – and why it has signed up with RAVENNA IP HAS been regarded as the future for broadcasting in both studio distribution and broadcast centre-to-transmitter links for the last ten years.

As the technology starts to become the norm rather than the exception, one of its leading proponents, GatesAir, has shown its continuing commitment to the format in recent months. At NAB, the company introduced a new IP audio transport codec for STLs and contribution and delivery networks, while last week it announced its membership of the RAVENNA partnership.

GatesAir is the former Harris Broadcast division of the Gores Group for network management, digital audio console, studio to transmitter links (STLs) and transmitters for radio and large-scale, single frequency transmission in TV. In March this year, the parent company announced its decision to split Harris into two operations, with GatesAir and Imagine – covering conventional TV and radio, broadband, new media devices, online distribution and ‘non-traditional’ programming – running as “two focused companies innovating across different ends of the technology spectrum,” in the words of Charlie Vogt, chief executive of both.

At the time of the announcement, Rich Redmond, chief product officer for GatesAir, said the company was in a better position “to build best-of-breed, over-the-air solutions that take advantage of the latest breakthroughs and changes that will occur over the next decade in content delivery and distribution across the globe”. While established technologies such as T1 are

The GatesAir Intraplex IP Link 100/200

The aim of Intraplex IP Link is to offer broadcasters a reliable, low-cost means to moving programme audio – with its associated data – in the form of a digital composite stereo signal

Rich Redmond, chief product officer at Gores Group brand GatesAir still important in transmission and LTE broadcast is being positioned as a possible alternative or complementary format in both distribution and contributions, IP appears to be the big priority at the moment as far as studio networking and STLs are concerned.

To reflect this, GatesAir launched the Intraplex IP Link range of audio codecs during this year’s NAB. These are promoted as “the industry’s first end-to-end, interoperable solution for transporting AES (Advanced Encryption Standard)-192 signals over IP”.

The aim is to offer broadcasters a reliable, low-cost means to moving programme audio –

with its associated data – in the form of a digital composite stereo signal and allow “a seamless migration from legacy analogue connections”.

Redmond explained at the launch: “Broadcasters are interested in the higher quality audio signals that AES-192 transport can achieve, as it eliminates analogue conversion processes that can degrade signals as they pass through the air chain.” He added that this approach would require less equipment, which would save operators money, and was able to “carry a complete bitstream coming out of the on-air processor and packetise it via IP, all while applying

forward error-correction and redundant streams”.

On the studio connectivity side of audio broadcasting, the debate over the last few years has been whether to go with Dante or RAVENNA. Both are audio over IP (AoIP) systems but each is seen as having strengths for specific applications. While Dante, developed by Audinate, has been adopted by a number of broadcast equipment manufacturers, it is also a live and installed sound system.

RAVENNA, conceived by Philipp Lawo and produced by Lawo associate company ALC NetworX, is promoted as a more dedicated broadcast system.

GatesAir has gone the broadcasting route, announcing on 16 June that it had joined the RAVENNA community of partners. Redmond explains that the decision was influenced

by RAVENNA’s compliance with the Audio Engineering Society AES67 standard for IP interoperability (although Dante also offers this). “We believe AES67 is an IP standard to be used within facilities, because it offers more error mitigation and other safety/control features for the transport of audio,” he says.

Redmond adds that RAVENNA and AES67 will be used to connect its studio

products, including the Flexiva range of IT-based networked digital audio consoles, to STLs using the new IPLink range. “This means everything will remain in the IP domain,” he says. “The RAVENNA technology will be implemented in a gateway product for IP connectivity within a facility, which will interface with a host of studio products, including phone systems and mic processors.”

While assured latency, correction of interrupted packets and error correction are necessary in transport streams for STLs, Redmond comments that they are critical in the studio. “Too much delay is disruptive to the talent,” he says. “So you especially need a low latency interface in the studio.”

In the long-term, Redmond sees the greater implementation of IP as helping to simplify studio installation, much in the same way that the AES/ EBU format did 20 years ago by allowing digital audio to be easily connected over standard connectors like XLRs. “RAVENNA – and AES67 – takes it to the next generation by creating an IP backbone within facilities,” he concludes. Q www.gatesair.com

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The dazzling design of the Cantar X3

broadcast EUROPE

Rebuilding Aaton through sound

While there might no new Aaton cameras coming out of France, the prestigious name looks set to live on through audio, says Kevin Hilton

IT HAS been a prominent part of European TV and film production, on both the sound and video sides, for 40 years – but last year, Aaton nearly disappeared for good. Film camera sales were suffering from the growing move to digital, and the Cantar location recorder was

falling behind its rivals. But the company’s future was secured by fellow French manufacturer Transvideo, which concentrated on the development of a new audio recorder to re-establish the brand.

The Cantar X3 retains the distinctive, cyberpunk look

of the original product but with a new swivelling front display replacing the original preset positions, and an expandable SSD supported

by SD card and USB external drive recording capability to supersede the X2’s limited 128GB internal storage.

As the 21st century went on, the original Cantar began to fall behind the likes of Nagra, Sound Devices, Zaxcom and Zoom on the audio front, and digital cameras such as the Arri Alexa, RED Epic and Sony F65 and 55 were seriously challenging film.

Delacoux: “Started from scratch” Aaton was preparing to meet the latter threat head-on, but the proposed Delta camera never made the provisional launch date of early 2012.

“They had the same wonderful products, but the Cantar was obsolete and the Delta, although extremely ambitious, was not ready on time,” Jacques Delacoux, chief executive of Transvideo, explains.

By contrast, Delacoux’s company, which he founded in 1985 to produce flat-panel video monitors, video-assist devices, wireless video transmission systems and camera accessories, was coping more readily with the changing film and TV production landscape.

Transvideo and Aaton have been working together since 1999, but Delacoux had been aware of the camera and recorder company while still in his teens.

“When I was 15 or 16 I had a picture of an Aaton camera on my bedroom wall,” he says.

“It was an unreachable dream that I would use or own one, but, much later, Transvideo developed some products for

them and we shared stands at international trade shows. So, we’ve always been quite close, and it would have been a pity to see the name disappear.”

Aaton’s problems started to come to a head in early 2013.

To allow Delacoux to buy the company, Aaton went into bankruptcy, with its founder and chief executive, Jean-Pierre Beauviala, announcing the move on the website of AFC, the French Association of Cinematographers, on 3 May 2013.

“There had been a twoyear project to develop a new camera,” says Delacoux, “but we decided it was easier to go for sound.” This, he explains, was partly because of available storage media, but also owing to sound recordists asking for a new Cantar that was up-to-date and future-proof.

The X3 was designed by Aaton’s established engineering department, with input from Delacoux and Transvideo’s technical staff. Delacoux explains that as part of the rebuilding of Aaton, the 23 members of the design team – which he describes as “the heart of the company” – were kept on, but others were not: “All employees agreed but, with those that had to leave, it was very emotional.”

Delacoux comments that while it was decided to keep what people had liked about the previous Cantar – specifically its light weight and functionality – the design team “started from scratch”. This involved “changing the technology inside” and adding more audio tracks and inputs.

Among the features of the X3 are 12 analogue XLR inputs, eight low-noise mic preamps, ten linear control faders and a keyboard USB. The machine has digital ins and outs, plus Audinate Dante connectivity.

Delacoux adds that after surveying sound recordists on what they wanted, Dante was chosen – although RAVENNA “would not be a major problem” to add if people wanted it.

A full industry launch of the Cantar X3 is scheduled for IBC. While there might not be new cameras coming out of France, the Aaton name looks set to live on through audio. Q www.aaton.comzz

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EUROPE

Schoeps digital mics enhance Tour de France coverage

Photo: John Pannell

broadcast Spectators line London’s streets to watch the UK leg of the TdF

The rapturously received UK stages concluded in grand style on the Mall in central London. David Davies watched from the sidelines FOR THE first time this year, RF transmission specialist Euro Media Group (EMG) is deploying Schoeps digital microphones to capture an additional (third) audio channel from the motorbikes it is using to track the riders on the Tour de France cycling race.

In a continuation of its long-running association with the TdF, EMG is delivering picture and (embedded) audio to France Télévisions, which is responsible for domestic and

international feeds, as well as a ‘super-international’ version featuring extra elements such as rider interviews.

“We decided to transmit three channels per motorbike this year in order to have more precise detail in terms of sound,” explains Bruno Gallais, international business development – wireless production facilities, EMG. “The Schoeps digital shotgun [SuperCMIT] was the one selected after a number of tests

conducted at the beginning of the year.”

One Schoeps mic is deployed on each bike. Commenting at the end of the four UK stages, mere minutes before the riders arrived into central London to a rapturous reception from fans lining the Mall, Gallais confirmed that the mics have proven to be “a great addition… we’re very pleased”.

The France Télévisions team handles audio in its own OB facility, with a technical arsenal

that includes a Studer Vista console (with FX option) and Dynaudio monitors.

Summing up, Gallais says that it’s a process of small improvements “here and there”

when it comes to the audio, rather than radical changes. He also confirms that there are no current plans for a 5.1 mix to be made available. Q www.schoeps.de

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broadcast

A

sound plan for Glasgow

Philip Stevens reports on the operation needed to bring specialist audio coverage to the upcoming Commonwealth Games SPORTING EVENTS such as the Commonwealth Games are very much a visual spectacular – and, for that reason, the audio side of the various activities that will take place in Glasgow in July have often not received the close scrutiny they deserve.

But that doesn’t make the work of those involved in bringing the all-important sound of the games to TV and radio audiences any less necessary.

The 20th (XX) Commonwealth Games, starting on 23 July and running until 3 August, will encompass 26 sporting disciplines in 19 venues in and around the Glasgow area.

In addition, 22 parasport medal events will take place – more than at any previous Commonwealth Games.

The audio and video presentations at each venue

are the responsibility of Venue Technology Services (VTS), with one of the contracts overseen

by VTS also involving audio production company Sports Technology. The broadcast side of the coverage will be handled by a joint company formed by London-based Sunset+Vine and Australian production company Global Television.

“VTS is one of the six core areas that make up the technology and broadcast division, answering directly to the chief information officer,” explains Rob Hunt, general manager of Venue Technology Services. “We look after the planning, implementation and operation of venue-based technology, equipment and services for both competition and noncompetition venues.

“VTS is also responsible for partner and supplier management of […] audio systems, AV equipment, data cabling and other miscellaneous technology required at each venue. In addition, at games time, VTS manages the local venue service desks and radio distribution rooms [which are] staffed by a technology volunteer workforce.”

To meet this extensive brief, the team at VTS comprises a diverse range of expertise, such as event management, project management, telecommunications, network,

An artist’s impression of football stadium Hampden Park as it will appear during an athletics event at Glasgow 2014

broadcast and audiovisual skills.

In addition, VTS takes technical advice from experts within other areas of the technology and broadcast department, partners and contractors.

FOUR YEARS OF PLANNING Hunt states that the overarching VTS strategy, scope of works and preliminary budgets were developed in 2010. At the end of 2011, a process began that included Gold medal-winning boxer Nicola Adams, MBE, and venue audits and the development of the mascot Clyde (he’s a “cheeky wee thistle,” apparently) tools to capture and support at the planning and validate these requirements operational stages to ensure for all competition and audio services are delivered to non-competition venues. The meet standards consistent with result of this work was used an international event such as as the foundation for all VTS the Commonwealth Games.” tender scopes.

VTS went to market with Hunt goes on: “When it came a ‘lot’-based approach, giving down to the audio overlay potential suppliers the option to tender, potential suppliers were bid for the audio overlay or video asked to provide full end-tooverlay contracts – or both. end delivery and operational In order to conduct a fair support of a variety of services and transparent procurement including public address, process, and to avoid excluding audio presentation, sportany potential suppliers, VTS did specific audio systems and not specify particular types of media systems. They were also equipment. However, high-level required to provide appropriate

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broadcast “For major events such as the Commonwealth Games, the biggest challenge is satisfying the rights-holding broadcasters (RHBs) and [accommodating] the many varied ways they wish for their signals to be delivered” Mark Dennis, senior coordinating venue technical manager, Sunset+Vine Sports Technology brings significant experience to the games, having been heavily involved in providing audio overlay for London 2012

standard technical specification guidelines and sport specific requirements were issued.

These included speech and music reinforcement in a nonreverberant manner, with an even coverage of the intended audience area; frequency response characteristics of 120Hz to 4kHz +/-5dBu; a maximum sound pressure level (SPL) of 95dBu +/-5dBu; and Speech Transmission Index (STI) intelligibility of greater than 0.65. It was also stated that all speakers directly covering media tribunes or other sensitive media areas must have individual volume/ zoning controls.

“This specification allowed the contractor to propose what they considered the best technical and operational solution that meets the basic technical and operational guidelines,” Hunt explains.

The tender for audio and video overlay was awarded to Sports Technology in early 2013.

W

Olympic medallist Jessica Ennis is supporting the Games

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W

broadcast THE OVERLAY CONTRACT Crawley, West Sussex-based Sports Technology is well placed to provide audio requirements, having recently returned from supplying similar facilities for the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. It also provided audio and non-broadcast services at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

“The Olympics was a massive undertaking involving something like 1,275 amplifiers, 3,200 speakers, 230 production mixing consoles and hundreds of microphones,” comments Damian Rowe, director of Sports Technology. “The Commonwealth Games may be slightly smaller in scale, but the demands are enormous nonetheless. Our job is to provide the entire audio and video overlay – that is, all the non-broadcast facilities for stadia, other venues and facilities such as press conferences.”

Sports Technology is jointly owned by Rowe, Creative Technology and Delta Sound. As part of the Avesco group, which includes Creative Technology and Dimension Audio, Rowe and Sports Technology can readily call upon additional resources – and another Avesco company, Presteigne Broadcast Hire, is on hand to provide its RF expertise.

“There are more than 20 venues in all, and we carried out an assessment of each,” explains Sports Technology’s project director, Mike Chesterton. “In order to do that, we needed to be told the location of spectator seating, the number of people expected and other relevant factors.

In a very few cases, the existing legacy systems can be used, but generally we plan on installing specialist systems to meet the specifications laid down by the games’ organising committee.

Sports Technology utilised the EASE (Enhanced Acoustic Simulator for Engineers) software suite to provide the calculations that determine the type and location of speakers and amplifiers. “This program provides a set of tools that enabled us to produce detailed, realistic 3D modelling for each of the venues,” explains Chesterton.

“That means we can create an audio system that meets all the requirements for each location.

It shows what levels and performance are achievable with

LOOKING AT THE FIGURES

Alex Salmond, Scotland’s first minister, says the Commonwealth Games will showcase the “best of Scotland”

At Glasgow 2014, SVGTV will be using…

O 41 Glensound GDC 6432 digital commentary units O 157 Audio-Technica BPHS1 headsets O 28 Riedel Artist 64 frames O 119 Riedel Artist AES-108 cards O 23 Riedel Artist CAT-108 cards O Eight Riedel Artist coax cards O 51 Riedel C3 beltpacks O 144 Riedel FBI units O Over 100 Riedel Artist intercom and expansion panels O 50 Riedel Artist headsets O Three NTP Penta 725 digital routers O Four NTP Penta 720 HD-SDI embedder/de-embedder frames O One NTP 625 1024 x 1024 digital router but for the most part they are happy to accept our guidance about the systems.”

The Host Broadcaster Training initiative will provide TV training for Scotland’s students in the run up to and during the Games what kind of speaker – the angle at which the speaker must be fitted and the general dispersion of each one. We can play with this model until we have arrived at the specification required by VTS for each location. In short, it provides for an evaluation before the work of installing begins. And, of course, it reduces the installation time.”

Chesterton points out that venue requirements often

change, but that having the 3D model in place means an upgrade is easily carried out.

Some venues will host different sports, so alterations to seating arrangements or the area of field of play have to be taken into account. The drawings also provide the STI for each venue.

Once the 3D model is complete, a line drawing showing cable runs and the location of mixing desks,

speakers and amplifiers is produced. These detailed schematics are also produced for smaller events such as press conferences. Overlay drawings can be utilised to determine any changes that may be envisaged.

“We then provide the organising committee with a detailed summary of the equipment we envisage at each site,” Chesterton adds. “The committee may suggest changes,

EQUIPMENT CHOICE Based on its past experience, Sports Technology is utilising equipment from d&b audiotechnik, supplied by Dimension Audio.

Amplifiers will be a mix of D6, D12 and D80, with Yamaha LS9-16 and LS9-32s serving as mixers. In all, a total of 280 amplifiers and 920 speakers are to be deployed.

“We will be bringing along backup spares,” emphasises Chesterton. “If there are any difficulties, we will be able to resolve matters very quickly.”

Installation began during the first week of July with systems for the athletes’ village and press conferences. Everything will be in place in time for rehearsals, which begin three days ahead of the opening ceremony.

Sports Technology will be providing around 80 technicians for the games, while Dimension Audio will bring another 15.

BROADCASTING TO THE COMMONWEALTH In December 2011, the host broadcaster (HB) contract for Glasgow 2014 was awarded to a joint bid from independent British sports production company Sunset+Vine (S+V) and Australian outsourced TV production services specialist Global Television.

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broadcast “For major broadcasting events such as the Commonwealth Games there are many challenges when it comes to audio,” says Sunset+Vine’s Mark Dennis, host broadcast senior coordinating venue technical manager. “The biggest is satisfying the rights-holding broadcasters (RHBs) and [accommodating] the many varied ways they wish for their signals to be delivered. In this digital age, it is interesting that the vision has migrated easily and without any rebuke – however, some are still caught up in their analogue ways and reluctant to make a complete switchover to digital.”

He explains that this is partly because of the equipment already owned by broadcasters, but also due to the fact that analogue can be easily tested and distributed. “The 2014 Commonwealth Games are the digital games, and all services from the host broadcaster will be delivered as digital,” Dennis adds.

Alongside broadcast audio for the television coverage, SVGTV will offer radio sound as standard, although specific radio services are requested on a case-by-case basis. “There is limited equipment provided by the host broadcaster to radio rights-holders,” states Dennis. “This is not because the HB doesn’t provide this service, but rather that radio RHBs have their own kit with which they and their presenters are familiar.

Although the radio RHBs for the Commonwealth Games receive the best seats in the house and a similar position to the television rights-holders, I believe they are familiar with being self-sufficient.”

SIMILAR FEEDS For SVGTV, all radio and television rights-holders are essentially the same. The radio RHBs can book a stereo split from the HB production truck in the broadcast compound, then monitor and mix this in to their broadcast if required.

This not only assists the radio RHB in making the live broadcast more immediate, but also creates a stereo space for their broadcast without the radio RHB having to set up and position a stereo microphone (or a pair). Back at the International Broadcast

“Our technical guidelines [including speech/music reinforcement in a non-reverberant manner] allowed contractors to propose what they considered the best technical and operational solution” Rob Hunt, general manager, Venue Technology Services (holding the Queen’s Baton!)

Centre (IBC), the HB will be supplying the radio RHBs with a feed of the host’s clean English commentary, as well as the stereo international radio sound, for each venue.

From the IBC, SVGTV is offering a Commonwealth Games channel feed, which will cover events and highlight packages for the day. There will be a multi-channel service consisting of six broadcast channels for the RHBs to feed to their networks.

Christopher Farmer, SVGTV’s host broadcast audio, commentary and CSC manager, explains: “We have appointed sound supervisors at each venue – audio technicians are the responsibility of the OB providers. This ensures we have a good mix of people knowing the sport they are covering [and who are] familiar with the facilities.”

Each feed will have an international commentary track.

All commentary will come live from site, and will either be one, two or three voices.

SVGTV is using Glensound GDC 6432 commentary units with Audio-Technica BPHS1 Headsets. These will feed in to a Riedel Artist matrix, where the signals will be routed and sent off to the telco over WorldCast Systems IP codecs. At the IBC, the codecs will feed into NTP Technology’s Penta 725 routers and then the main digital NTP 625 router, where SVGTV will have total control and can route these signals via the purposebuilt NTP graphical user interface for monitoring and testing – and also to their final destination, the RHB. DirectOut Andiamo and M1K2 digital MADI routers will be used for sending signals to and from the broadcast compound which, in most instances, will be hundreds of metres away from the commentary control room.

“We will have bookable EVS Clean Edit suites available at the IBC, should any RHB

require editing,” Farmer adds.

“The majority of RHBs like to supply their own facilities, which will be what they are familiar with, and – equally as importantly – what works within their media workflow.”

According to Dennis, the biggest challenge is delivering a state-of the art, reliable system that will meet the host broadcaster’s obligations and RHBs’ expectations – all on a fraction of the budget used for,

say, the Olympics or World Cup. He concludes: “SVGTV aims to provide something new and innovative that will make these Commonwealth Games the best to date and push some boundaries so as to drive the broadcast forward.” Q www.glasgow2014.com www.avesco.com www.dbaudio.com www.eu.audio-technica.com www.glensound.co.uk www.globaltv.com.au www.ntp.dk www.riedel.net www.sunsetvine.co.uk www.svgtvhostbroadcaster.tv www.yamahacommercialaudio. com

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For the latest live news www.psneurope.com/live

live SOUNDBITES After operating Martin Audio line array systems in its hire fleet for nearly a decade, Dubai-based Almoe AV Production/Rentals has purchased the first MLA system in the UAE. Almoe placed an initial order for 36 MLA and 12 MLX enclosures with Richard Maunder’s company, VTi, Martin Audio’s territorial distributor.

“It was an easy decision to opt for the MLA after we had heard the system, its capabilities and the technology that adapts to the ever changing environment,” stated Almoe general manager, Glen Dougherty. www.almoe.com

BELGIUM

PRG backs EML with major Adamson upgrade With a substantial investment in new Energia gear, the PRG Group underlines its Belgian division’s expertise in sound reinforcement, notes Marc Maes

CADAC has appointed LMC Audio Systems as an official UK dealer.

The live audio sales company exhibited at the ABTT Theatre Show in June, showing CADAC’s new CDC digital production console. “This is a chance to work in meaningful partnership with a genuinely premium UK brand, meaning, not only top quality products from first class people but also a common purpose,” comments LMC managing director Paul Hinkly. www.cadac-sound.com www.lmcaudio.co.uk US-based live events company Special Event Services (SES) has specified L-Acoustics’ new K2 loudspeaker system for its first official tour as a main PA – with American blues rock guitarist Joe Bonamassa. The rig on the initial North American spring leg of the world tour – which takes in Europe, the US and Australia, and ends next March in Amsterdam – consisted of 24 K2 boxes flown 12 per side, eight K1-SB flown four per side and eight SB28 subs deployed four per side in a cardioid configuration. The K1-SBs are running in L-Acoustics’ contour mode, which has them flown behind the main array.

The existence of the K2 was first rumoured at PL+S 2013, and confirmed to PSNEurope by L-Acoustics’ Florent Bernard and Stéphane Ecalle in November. It launched in March. www.l-acoustics.com

One of Werchter’s main stages ahead of the festival, with Energia E15 hangs – part of PRG’s commitment to EML and Adamson “THIS REALLY is a milestone, and a true ‘mindshift’ within the PRG group,” reflects Jan Van Malder, managing director of PRG EML Productions.

“The senior management have issued a formal viewpoint and decided to go ahead with the investment.”

In the last week of May, PRG EML took delivery of 38 Adamson Energia E15 cabinets with Lab.gruppen PLM amps in custom built EML amp-racks, 24 E219 subs on back order, and additional light and trussing gear. The purchase brings the total investment for PRG to 20 million euros this year so far, with one million spent on Adamson kit.

The E15 speakers were first used during Guus Meeuwis’ Philips Stadium concerts in

Maarten Mees, crew chief at Tildonk’s PRG EML Productions Eindhoven (14–18 June), and following a baptism by fire with The Rolling Stones (28 June)

and the Werchter festival (1–4 July) the kit is off for a Spanish tour with Negramaro.

Van Malder explains that, step-by-step, the Belgian team is offered means and opportunity to take on major assignments abroad.

“Patrick ‘Duim’ Demoustier has been an Adamson fan for years, and close to the source with the brand’s product designers,” explains Van Malder. “As a sound designer and engineer Patrick has been crucial in determining the audio rental and operations strategy in Belgium, and now he’s taken that know-how abroad.”

In addition to the new investment, the Tildonk team also developed features like the ‘rig rack’, allowing them to fly the amp-racks above the stage and avoid visual hindrance of cables. Each amp-rack with Lab.gruppen PLM has a fly-rail and serves nine E15 cabinets.

For the Rolling Stones/Rock Werchter productions, PRG put in place 24 E15 array speaker enclosures, 12 flown and 16 stacked EML subs on either side of the main stage. Two outfills each contain 12 E15 cabinets.

For the delay towers, Duim opted for five clusters of each 12 EML array cabinets.

“The E15 speakers, with new technology on board, are very compact and more lightweight than their competitors on the market,” adds Maarten Mees, PRG EML crew chief.

“It looks like Patrick’s mission is close to being accomplished,” concludes Van Malder, “The group’s management has been convinced of our craftsmanship and the fact that we’re here with a new PA kit is a clear statement.” Q www.prg.com www.adamsonsystems.com

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www.eaw.com

July 2014 l 37

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The St Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Yuri Temirkanov

ITALY

A new front in Ravenna Mike Clark reports on a new Wave Field Synthesis system, deployed at the famous classical festival under wraps) and an unusual d&b sound rig. For other events, such as ballets, with recorded music, spectators seated everywhere (not only those in the centre of the room) hear a stereo sound front.

The company using the new system is BH Audio, founded in 1979 and headquartered in the Italian province of Ferrara. BH specialises mainly in classical and contemporary music, opera and jazz, providing both sound reinforcement and recording facilities, as well as working on a regular basis with several festivals. Its other activities include assessment of acoustic

impact on the environment and solutions for acoustic pollution.

Company owner Massimo Carli explains: “There were already other similar set-ups on the market, but although their latency has been reduced through time, we considered them unsuitable for this type of application, with full classical orchestras, not just actors, on stage.”

The d&b PA fielded by BH is also unusual: the main front system comprises ten T10 PS enclosures, installed two metres apart on custom stands along the stage front, and five hangs with seven T10 each flown at a Photo: Zani – Casadio

SINCE ITS inauguration in 1990, the Ravenna Festival on the Adriatic coast has gained a reputation as one of Europe’s most prestigious events, hosting a wide range of performing arts in equally varied venues. Eight of the city’s historic buildings are on the UNESCO World Heritage list and several of them – including Byzantine basilicas – participate in the occasion.

Other venues range from the Dante Alighieri Theatre, a gem of traditional architecture, to a 15th-century fortress and a modern indoor sports arena.

This year, the last of these is also offering classical music and ballet fans a new listening experience. No matter where they are sitting – even in stageside seats only covered by side hangs – spectators at the classical concerts are able to hear the sound of the orchestra’s instruments, as if they were coming from their position on stage. This is down to the application of psychoacoustic principles, the use of a new wave field synthesis (WFS) system (the brand name is still currently

BH Audio’s Massimo Carli likes to be front of house

height of 11m over the second row of seats. According to the event, floor-installed subwoofers vary from two V-SUBs to eight in sub array configuration. Carli adds: “To ensure the same results for spectators at the side of the stage, we’ve flown two d&b 12SD from the lighting truss ring and installed four E6 frontfills along both sides of the stage.”

Carli personally helms the FOH/control system, a CADAC S Series analogue desk, with a DirectOut Andiamo.

XT AES/MADI A-D/D-A converter, Drawmer DA-6 signal distributor for TV coverage and backstage requirements and a d&b R70 Ethernet-toCAN interface. A number of MacBook Pros run Figure 53’s QLab3 show control software for ballet music playback; d&b’s R1 software; controlled remotely via VNC with an iPad; and dedicated software for the 64-in/64-out WFS processor.

“For the ballet’s recorded soundtracks, we create a stereo signal, positioning two virtual left and right sound sources on

stage, about 10m apart. This enables everybody to hear a stereo soundfront, thanks to the WFS processor, even those in the side seats. According to the show being staged, we add outboard, monitors, microphones, and so on.”

This year’s classical concerts include performances by from a number of orchestras (St Petersburg Philharmonic and the Luigi Cherubini Juvenile Orchestra, to name but two).

“For them, we normally use a combination of about thirty DPA, Schoeps and Neumann mics,” says Carli.

BH Audio will also field the set-up for a modern, “almost jazz” concert by Ute Lemper. Carli has worked as FOH sound engineer with the singer for 15 years.

“As well as positive feedback from spectators, the Festival’s technical and production teams are extremely pleased with the results obtained with the WFS system, which should be officially presented by the manufacturer in a few months’ time.” Q www.bhaudio.it

Photo: Zani – Casadio

live

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live The Blue Mosque – RT around eight seconds, audio installation suitably appalling

‘GREAT Britain’ (‘Britain’ tiny in comparison on the marketing materials), the influential of Istanbul were treated to a display of cutting edge British technology and design – and that was just the canapés.

To kick the evening off, Katherine performed three songs to track on a postage stamp of a stage that featured the Bosphorus for a backdrop – a more stunning location would be hard to find, but this one was quite hard to see, blocked as it was by two inappropriately huge stacks of Adamson that had been sourced locally.

My heart sank when I saw it, as I’m a fan of a tidy system that fits a space visually as well as sonically. But, alas, I have only myself to blame. Due to a slight misinterpretation of an email on my part, I ended up with the Adamson system when I could have had a much more suitably proportioned d&b Q system, and the punters would have got to see the Bosphurus, but that’s not the point.

About a quarter of a century ago, I used to do a great deal of work in the corporate sector, and among the good friends I made was a certain Geoff Eaton, an extremely competent audio engineer. As is the way of these things, our careers careered off in different directions…

Then I go on this job, and who is there to look after me but Geoff, 25 years on and EXACTLY the same, whereas I am wider and greyer. Best thing to do? Get the gig out of the way and find a restaurant sharpish to catch up on old times. Three songs to track – easy – until the playback machine won’t play WAVs and my instant access software, recently installed on my shiny new Mac, decided it wasn’t interested either.

On the road 2014 part one

Renowned FOH engineer Simon Honywill keeps track of his summer exploits, exclusively for PSNEurope. Glastonbury lies ahead, but there’s plenty to think about before that…

As I write this initial instalment of ‘Simon’s Sonic Summer’, it’s set fair for a corking Glasto and hopefully everything that follows. My role at Somerset’s global village fête has become one of ‘overseer’ rather than full-blooded festivaleering, having recommended a change of PA system for the Pyramid Stage this year – I’m fortunate enough to be able to ask my friends to rig and operate it so I can swan in and say ‘a bit more on delay four’, and grease a few egos at FOH. More of this later…

A regular customer for me is Wales’ principal export, Katherine Jenkins. Working for her is akin to being a heli-vet – gigs come in all shapes and sizes in all kinds of places, anything from a vocal to track for a corporate in front of a privileged few to a full symphony orchestra in a stadium.

The traffic outside the hotel in Istanbul was terrible

My summer started with a trip to Istanbul at the end of May for such a ‘corporate’, hosted by our government, there to schmooze the Turks with all things bright and British with a view to increasing our exports. In a series of events staged by Jack Morton Worldwide under the moniker

It was one of those situations you could never have envisaged. (I downloaded a highly recommended instant playback utility on my Windows laptop, and it worked beautifully. But I hate that laptop, so I bought a Mac. Downloaded the Mac version, used it once and it crashed, forever. KJ’s spec asks for a Tascam HD playback machine, which won’t play TIFF files or something, and what did the record company send me…?) Needless to say, the show happened – thanks to my old mate Geoff, who rode to the rescue like a shite in shining armour. KJ was, of course, charming, and afterwards, Geoff and I scarpered as quick as you like for beer. We both decided that it was better in the old days… no surprises there.

Now I know a thing or two about mosques, having done my time at the Baitul Futuh mosque in Morden designing and installing their not insignificant systems (most recently a Martin Audio Omniline system) around the complex and also for the Ahmadiyya community’s annual gathering in Sussex. Istanbul’s Blue Mosque, and its neighbour Hagia Sophia, are incredible examples of the genre and mankind’s resource, creativity and artisanal skill. In this industry, it is so often the case where we get to visit extraordinary places and never see them. I have left some of the most beautiful cities in the world with a feeling of real disappointment, hoping that some day I will get the opportunity to come back and discover what all the fuss is about. Not so in Istanbul – an incredible mélange of East and West, Christianity and Islam, Asia and Europe. I am fortunate indeed.

Back in the UK on 8 June, and I was next due to look after KJ again for her appearance for Soccer Aid at Old Trafford, singing Abide With Me before the kick-off. We do a few of these kind of events every year – last year it was the American football at Wembley, a surreal experience if ever there was one – but this was more familiar.

These days, football for me is pretty cursory, but Old Trafford has always been a special place, and here I was, not only being paid to Ms Jenkins kicks off go there for the first time, but also at Old Trafford positioned pitchside. The show was live vocal to track, very simple, and all over in moments, but that was not what made it for me. The pre-match kickabout was a chance for players and player/ celebs to loosen up and get a feel for the pretty electric atmosphere of a 65,000 crowd.

So, there I was checking out the talent when out of the sky came a stray football, like an inconvenient meteorite. What was a man to do under the circumstances? I

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www.dbaudio.com www.dpamicrophones.com www.martin-audio.com

trapped deftly, took aim at the nearest celeb and caught it on the half-volley to send the ball at chest height screaming across the pitch into Gordon Ramsey’s midriff. The crowd cheered; I bowed and tried to not to look smug. This was no dream. This was real. 48 years later than expected, this was my Old Trafford debut. If only Sir Matt had been there.

Beach Party, Lebanon War style (from Waltz With Bashir)

A trip to Copenhagen in early June to be drip-fed Carlsberg at the expense of DPA Microphones (cue Orson Welles voice-over: “Probably the best microphones… in the world…”) was a welcome distraction before a visit to the Southbank Centre and James Lavelle’s Meltdown festival. The 15 June show featured the Philharmonia Orchestra playing live to Max Richter’s eclectic score for Ari Folman’s unique animated documentary film Waltz With Bashir. I have never seen anything quite like this film before – it is, I think, unique, and for an animated work is decidedly harrowing, focussing on the director’s own experiences of rediscovering his lost memories of his part in the war in Lebanon in the early 1980’s. Musically it swings from banging electronica to beautiful, melodic orchestral passages interspersed with solo piano, with some OMD and PiL thrown in to make sure everybody understood the where and when of the piece. I loved it, and enjoyed deploying SFX speakers in the Royal Festival Hall boxes and playing with the LCR configuration to give maximum imaging to the dialogue against the soundtrack and orchestra.

As I write on 20 June, I am in the middle of a demo of Martin Audio’s remarkable MLA Mini system for an ex-student of mine. (I’m an advocate for MLA, you should know.) His regional PA company is providing sound services for Teignmouth Folk Festival in the seaside town’s seaside theatre. It is fortunately the The Carlton: last event they will be it’s nicer inside staging in the Carlton Theatre, a shrine to corrugated iron sheeting and asbestos that would appear to be held together with rust and guano. The home of Muse, Teignmouth is a beautiful place to be on a hot British summer day, and they are soon to be getting a shiny new Carlton Theatre on the same site (not a moment too soon).

And as we are in the midst of a series of hot British summer days, I have absolutely no problem with driving across my home county to step out into blazing sunshine, stroll along the promenade and dive into a small, hot, black hovel to play with the best small-format PA known to man. I just think they should move it outside.

Then, next week, it’s Glastonbury – the Pyramid Stage and significantly more MLA than Teignmouth, where I shall be wearing two hats as MLA advocate for Martin Audio and the face of RG Jones, now in their seventh year as providers for the iconic venue. This is a two-part diary, so once it’s done, there’ll be much to say on the subject from the viewpoint of somebody who is brave enough to tell the festival that they need this system. Whether I’m right or not remains to be seen – check back next month to see if I survive… Q

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live On investing in gear...

“We’re never afraid to invest – we have committed to another £1 million of investment since 1 April this year. Everything’s monitored: we will always spend in relation to which each department is doing, but there is consistent investment in the audio and the lighting departments. As long as that demand is there, we will continue to do it. Audio-wise, there are two SD10s downstairs, with more arriving next week, and another three Avid Profiles on their way… For example, we are buying in seven consoles in the next month and we are moving on three.

I just see this company as a huge bucket of potential; it’s not finished anywhere, really.

UNITED KINGDOM

Doing it my way Andy Dockerty started the Adlib hire business 30 years ago. Solid principles means the company is thriving today, discovers Dave Robinson THIS YEAR marks 30 years of Andy Dockerty’s Adlib.

Based in Speke on the outskirts of Liverpool, the operation has grown from the archetypal ‘one-man-and-a-van’ PA hire company to a major force in sound, lighting, touring and installation. Adlib is an authorised distributor for L-Acoustics and Coda ViRAY, and earlier this year officially launched its Adlib Speakers business (20 years after the company started building them…). Recent work for Adlib has included tours with Ellie Goulding, Del Amitri, Lana Del Rey, Placebo, and Nine Inch Nails. Adlib has toured with CBeebies at one end of the spectrum, and Nine Inch Nails at the other. Comedy features too, in the shape of live shows for Mrs Brown’s Boys and Jack Whitehall’s Gets Around Arena tour.

The man behind Adlib is Andy Dockerty, but with typical humility he says the company is “not just about owning the kit, but really it’s the infrastructure and the people and the personalities that surround you.

They make Adlib. I just happen to be the person who popped them together.”

PSNEurope asked him to reflect on various aspects of his 30 years at the helm…

On getting started…

When I was at school, my mates played in a band and I liked everything about it, but I was musically talentless. So I just helped out, shifting bits and pieces around for them. I finished my lower sixth – and failed miserably because I’d been working with the band in the evenings.

I applied for two jobs; one was as an administrative assistant at

the council, the other was as an electrician. I was lucky enough to get both of them, but I chose electrician because I knew I was working with the bands, and going into bizarre places with dodgy mains... I just thought it would help me out. I now had a full-time job, and was working in the evenings and weekends.

Once I started earning the ‘royal’ 28 quid a week or so, I started buying little bits of gear here and there…

It started from that. I had a little PA system, and I just formalised it into a business from ’84. I don’t mix so much anymore, but when I do [for Scottish pop/blues outfit Texas], I get really excited about it. It’s still the reason why we wind up going into this industry.

On the name ‘Adlib’...

When I started the business, I noticed that most companies were usually the owner’s initials, or some form of initials at least.

I wanted something different, but I didn’t have a clue what.

My accountant at the time said, “We’re going to have to register with something just to get you started.” I said, “I don’t know, I’ll be at a gig and someone will ad lib and we’ll use that, whatever.” He said, “Adlib – there you go!”

On growing Adlib as a ‘full service company’, and working at a local level...

I think there’s a journey to go still before you will be able to put your hand on your heart and say that we’re ready for that complete thing. PA and lighting, we can do what you want, when you want. Video, I want to grow it with a little more infrastructure so that there is confidence across the whole company; not just within a department.

On the location...

It’s got to be close to 50,000 square feet we have here, and I already have my plans drawn up for [refurbishing] half of the place. (Extensive building work was going on when PSNEurope visited, as Adlib had just taken over the building next door.)

The actual location is fantastic because we’re two sets of traffic lights away from being on the motorway over to Manchester. Thirty minutes maximum from Liverpool city centre. Plus the airport is within Staggering distance as well.

Andy Dockerty and the famous Liver Building, Liverpool

Adlib Speakers have been building cabinets for over 20 years

Video is bringing the local corporate market back, because we haven’t been doing anything local really for a long, long time; that’s something I’m not very pleased about because that’s grass roots stuff, and that’s what we were originally all about.

We’ve still got a few bits and pieces going on locally.

For three or four years I moaned about not doing it, not getting close enough to the locality, that we needed to keep our hands in. But everytime we tried to do it, for what people are doing it for these days – man-and-a-van gigs – we can’t get close on price.

But six months ago I tied up with a small local company.

We kind of nurture them now.

It keeps us with a finger on the pulse of what’s actually going on. And they grow by working

with us. We’ll throw work at them, they’ll throw work at us. We’ve backed them on a couple of installations, that they couldn’t have done, but we couldn’t have afforded to quote for, and that has made it work for both of us. I’d rather have that than losing what’s going on at a local level.

On the Adlib Speakers division…

We can’t build a cheap box but where we can be cost-effective is this: all you need with ours is a decent amplifier; you don’t need processing. The passive crossovers are well put together, and the boxes themselves are designed by Dave Fletcher to be flat and acoustically correct, without processing. We feel we can provide really good value for money solution by using them in the right places.

On seizing the advantage…

If the opportunity comes along, you think, can we take it, or can we afford not to take it?

And that’s where you make your decisions.

As an example of that, going back, we’d not long bought the L-Acoustics V-DOSC system, and we’d looked after Bob Dylan for a couple of years. At the time, that was one of our biggest contracts, and we knew the year they were coming back after that they were going to want K1. We were thinking.

‘If we don’t buy that K1 now, we’re going to lose [Dylan].’ The decision to buy the K1 wasn’t based upon getting any more business; it was based upon not losing what we had, with the idea that we probably would get more business.

As it transpires, owning K1 was one of the shrewdest purchases we have made.

On the in-house engineers…

We have quality specialists like Tony Szabo, Marc Peers and Ian Nelson but the majority are

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live encouraged to multitask. We do try to make sure that people are multi-skilled to be able to deliver the different types of jobs that are required.

On working with Coda Audio...

We got involved with them from very early on. Coda’s Svetly Alexandrov came over here, we were talking about the shortfalls with the system, which wasn’t the audio, but was how the technicians wanted to handle the DSP and the rigging.

There was a definite willingness on Svetly’s part to listen.... and here we are, a few years later, with a whole new amplifier platform being released. The DSP is coming up to speed – what they are planning will take it years ahead. The fact that Svetly also owns BMS, probably one of the best component manufacturers, has always meant that his cabinets sounded great. Now I think Coda are ready for [the next stage].

The ViRAY – it’s outrageous!

It’s the modern version of the LA8 and it’s night and day between them. It really flies quickly and is deceptively powerful for its size.

On the next generation of engineers…

As part of understanding our staff and our clients’ requirements, we have always invested heavily in training.

This has taken many guises over the years from day release courses in theatre studies or basic electrical installation, whilst still learning on the job.

Myself and Dave Kay have even been involved in creative apprentice steering groups and could be found at the front of any new production educational initiative. Many of these have come and gone and unfortunately we believe the only way to progress is with our own in-house training. Further education appears to present too many empty hopes.

Adlib now actively works with many schools providing complete production days all free of charge and also work experience opportunities. This has proved very successful in the past with over 20 current employees coming from the direct schools route. The fulfillment in watching young talent develop into industry recognised professionals is incredibly rewarding. Q www.adlib.co.uk

ITALY

Radio Italia scores with Outline Outline Mantas stacks at (a very quiet) Stadio Olimpico, Rome

Mods Art’s technicians used Outline Open Array and SmaartLive software to calibrate the system

The FM station fields 72 Mantas enclosures for pre-match shows at AS Roma’s home ground.

Mike Clark reports RADIO ITALIA, one of Italy’s top private FM radio stations, recently took delivery of 72 Outline Mantas systems, which the station will use for pre-match entertainment at AS Roma’s Olimpico stadium. This is part of a deal inked with the Roman football club which sees Radio Italia became an official partner of the team – similar to agreements signed with the station by rival clubs Inter Milan and AC Milan and Italy’s national football team.

The rig, installed around the pitch before each match and manned by distributor and technical service company Mods Art of Chieti, comprises 13 stacks – 11 of which have six Mantas vertical line array elements, an Outline DBS18-2 sub and a rack with two Outline T5 power amps; the remaining two have three Mantas and a sub. Four of the larger stacks are positioned in front of each of the two main stands, Monte Mario and Tevere, and two cover each of the curves, with one of the small stacks midway between them, in correspondence to the pitch’s two big screens.

The layout is almost always the same, but the curve speakers

are sometimes moved depending on the event being held – for example, for rugby matches, to accomodate the slightly larger pitch.

Matteo Celentano, lowfrequency audio manager with Radio Italia, explains: “As well as supplying the sound reinforcement used for the pre-match entertainment, [which features] all-Italian playlist and the teams’ anthems, we are responsible for all the pre-game activity at an artistic level.”

Along with Outline’s technical support specialist Francesco Ferretti, Celentano studied the system’s design and installation in relation to the type of activity for which it was to be used, and, regarding the choice of brand, adds: “We’ve worked very satisfactorily with Outline for several years and already have several Mantas systems in-house, so it was quite an obvious choice. We have also used other Outline systems for some time, such as their low-profile H.A.R.D. monitors, [which are] installed on-stage in the auditorium at our Cologno Monzese studios and HQ.” To design a system that ensured optimum sonic results in the venue – with a seating capacity of 70,634,

it’s Italy’s second-largest soccer stadium – the Mods Art team imported a 3D design of the arena into its Outline Open Array software and ran a series of tests to find the ideal configuration (stack position, splay angles, etc), while ensuring compliance with the restrictions laid down by the club’s management regarding stack placement and spectator sightlines.

Mods Art’s Luigi Lombardi comments: “We’ve used the software on numerous occasions in the past and it is extremely accurate, so after finding the best configuration we just had to put it into practice.” Once the stacks and racks were deployed, the technicians used SmaartLive to calibrate and fine-tune the set-up. This enabled some imperfections to be ironed out, particularly in front of the Monte Mario stand, where there are many glass balustrades and booths for journalists and guests.

In addition to the speaker enclosures, the rig includes

a Yamaha 01V96i console, two Shure ULX wireless microphone systems, an Altair wireless intercom system and a PC running the music. MCing at the matches is official Roma speaker Matteo Vespasiani, a very popular personality with the supporters and host of the club’s FM radio channel. The Outline system also, in addition to speech and music, reinforces the audio tracks of the video content shown on the stadium’s maxi screens.

Admitting that he knew he wouldn’t be disappointed by Outline, Celentano concludes: “I’m very satisfied with the results achieved. Timbre and intelligibility are better than other systems I’ve heard at the Olimpico, and this is very important for us … although it isn’t a live concert, we want the music played by Radio Italia to be heard well – always!” Q www.modsart.it www.outlinearray.com www.radioitalia.it

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live

Power supply Phil Ward assesses what it takes to be a CEO in today’s global pro-audio business WRITING IN the Harvard Business Review around 1971, business correspondent Alonso McDonald reminds us that: “Many CEOs who sincerely see themselves in the role of moral leaders are perceived by others as confirmed and passionate addicts of power.” This is, in fact, one the earliest uses of the term ‘CEO’ in print and, while the sentiment behind the quotation may be as old as the hills, the sibilant new abbreviation took root after this date and became a fresh, post-baby boom label for ‘boss’.

Its initial popularity in the US spread around the world alongside the English language and branches of Starbucks. It has an American swagger, with seemingly limitless alternatives for different types of chief officer: among the CTOs, COOs and CFOs are the departmental directors and managers of yore keen to place themselves in the new ethos. There are regional variations, not least legal ones, but the senate-style population

of ‘boards’ to run any business is common. Like democracy itself, it has evolved to prevent too much power residing with one person – or even one board.

HEAD HONCHO Nevertheless, to be chief ‘executive’ officer is to make those executive decisions that no one else can, either because there isn’t time or because the committee approach has resulted in stalemate. It seems also an eternal verity that someone, at some point, has to carry the can. According to Holger de Buhr, CEO of the new European operation Vue Audiotechnik Europa, based in Berlin: “If the company makes losses, if the products don’t sell, if customers complain, if the coffee machine doesn’t work, if it’s raining outside… it’s your fault.”

To reach this level of control in modern management demands more trust than fear among colleagues, thankfully, and that’s exactly why all the checks and balances are in place. While the US has a board of directors and an executive committee, the equivalents in the EU are usually called the supervisory board and the executive board

Anders Fauerskov, head of TC Group: “Rooting out [defeatism] is essential”

“If the company makes losses, if the products don’t sell, if customers complain, if the coffee machine doesn’t work, if it’s raining outside… it’s your fault” Holger de Buhr, Vue Audiotechnik Europa respectively. Their roles are very similar: the ‘executive’ carries out the daily running of the business on a highly practical level, demanding a close understanding of the technicalities of the individual business and headed by the person very likely called the CEO; and the board of directors or supervisory board takes a more hands-off perspective, headed by the chairman, attempting to safeguard the long-term health of the business in the best interests of the shareholders.

So CEOs, and all the other COs, are the agreed highestranking and highest-paid executive officers who do not sit on any shareholder board, making them – especially in a hi-tech market – the real engines of the business. Differences occur according the size and shape of the company: a sole proprietor can be a CEO, not least in the simple absence of anybody else; any senior partner in a partnership can be CEO; or anyone at management level in a limited liability company.

Just to confuse the issue, the title ‘managing director’ is synonymous with CEO, especially in the UK, but is a CEO-style executive position and does confer any special status on the supervisory board of directors.

There was a steady shift towards CEO (or MD) positions being taken up by business graduates, as opposed to those with vocational qualifications in technology or law, throughout the 20th century, according to a study by MIT. In other words, running a business for its own sake has become a profession, rather than a by-product of any technical expertise or success.

In our industry, as we’ll see, the balance between these two types of CEO is at the very core of the debate about management styles today.

STATUS QUOTE One thing that singles out pro audio is its indifference to protocol. It seems the more altruistic an industry, the less concerned it is about the exact definition of terms – as though, in a very rewarding sense, there are far better things to be getting on with. Take the view of Mathias von Heydekampf, now the proprietor of myMix manufacturer Movek in Minnesota, US. “I have been CEO, PDG, president and general manager, and you could torture me and I wouldn’t know the difference,” he says. “I know legally it makes a difference, especially in France where as a PDG you are personally liable as well. I always work with people, and if I need a title to get things going I feel I have failed.”

Others have adopted the title CEO more as a convenient badge than as a serious definition of official capacity.

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live

Yoshi Tsugawa: “Collecting the right people”

Trond Lutdal: “Combine worlds”

know what to look for in people and seek for the way to develop the team. Development of the team is much more important than short-term revenue growth.

If there are some unique demands, that would be mental toughness – as you are alone.”

So leadership can be extrovert or introvert, but putting people before profit is a regular mantra.

Just last month, the general manager of Bose’s professional division, Dr Akira Mochimaru, told this magazine: “I’ve seen too many good brands compromised by its owners being motivated only by bottom-line profit, by margins and growth for growth’s

“I have been CEO, PDG, president and general manager, and you could torture me and I wouldn’t know the difference”

strong relationships around the whole of the industry,” adds Lutdal. “These relationships are irreplaceable. But the successful expansion of the industry over the next few decades will be achieved more smoothly and more effectively with the addition of more modern business practices and, in some cases, new business talent.

The key thing is to balance these human resources side by side, taking the best of every generation and making them work together.”

An even cleaner sweep is proposed by Ian Brenchley, CEO at west London recording complex Metropolis, who in 2012 told PSNEurope: “Complaining that compressed audio is not as good as vinyl, for example, is not going to make us any money”. He now adds that CEOs should “not be afraid to get their hands dirty” as the industry changes. “In this rapidly evolving marketplace – and at our end of the industry, which is still contracting – it has never been more important to be able to think on your feet, not just adapt with the market but innovate and, where possible, try to pre-empt where

the market is going,” Brenchley continues. “With Metropolis having now weathered the economic and music market storm, we’ve had to control our place in the industry to ensure that we’re meeting the market demand as one of the last key suppliers standing. Listening is imperative in our business. It’s vital for us to take on board our clients’ needs and be dynamic enough to tailor the business as it evolves.”

LEAD VOCALS TC Group CEO Anders Fauerskov studied business administration at Copenhagen Business School before further education at Harvard Business School in the US. When he joined TC Electronic in 1993, the company had 20 employees, had gone bankrupt in ’89 and was still losing money.

His strategy was to focus manufacturing on one sector – recording – and the M2000 Studio Effects Processor duly became the product that turned things around and laid the foundations of today’s global competitor.

For Fauerskov, one of the CEO’s biggest contributions is,

Mathias von Heydekampf, myMix/Movek distinction is not carved in stone. “I think it depends on a certain style that the individual CEO wants to develop,” says Yoshi Tsugawa, CEO of Nexo.

“In my case, I tend to hide myself rather than reveal myself.

The best situation, when I know it’s working best, is when people don’t even care or notice what I’m doing!

“The CEO’s job is to collect together the right people and build a stage for them to act upon. Company size does not matter. A CEO must always

sake. In that environment, the original identity can be lost and the customers disappointed – especially in pro audio, where long-lasting relationships are so important.”

He was referring to the late Dr Amar Bose and his bequest to the MIT that, fundamentally, keeps Bose in private hands for perpetuity, and it’s a view echoed right across pro audio.

WHEN YOU’RE FILING… But even if venture capitalism in its most ruthless form may not suit everyone in a vocational

and work processes,” he says, referring to, among other things, asset management and equipment strategy; plans and budgets; operational and financial reporting; and formal decision processes. “The trick is to combine the best of both worlds; installing modern business practices yet, at the same time, keeping the passion, competence and drive needed to deliver the very best gigs to our clients.”

“The managers we have are competent, committed, spirited and have forged very

Martin Reich: “I consider myself a patron, not a CEO”

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“My company is not really that big, so I’m not really a CEO,” says Martin Reich of Swissbased rental and production outfit Audioconsulting.

“A CEO for me is acting in a way the shareholders expect him to do, while a patron that owns his company is acting for the good of the company and the employees. I rather consider myself as a patron.”

Reich’s assumption that CEOs really belong in large companies is a fair one, given the role of the executive in relation to wider governance in large, investor-owned corporations. But that

industry like pro audio, there can still be a meaningful – not to say essential – role for the business-headed CEO as the world changes. In Scandinavia, the business-trained CEO of the Bright Group, Trond Lutdal, is indicative of the new breed heading up entertainment technology organisations, especially as they consolidate into wider groups.

Frontlite – now trading under the name Bright – in Norway; Eastway, Moving Light and RGB in Finland; and Starlight, Lagom & Gott and Stageroom in Sweden span the Nordics following the acquisition of several rivals in a ‘buy and build’ strategy initiated by Finnish investment fund CapMan to “build a platform for further growth and value creation”.

Heading the group, Lutdal’s mission is to apply stronger executive principles while preserving what might be called the ‘soul’ of the industry. “Even in a business driven by passion and passionate people, there is a need for formal structures

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live simply enough, positive thinking.

“There was a good measure of defeatist outlook,” he reflects, “and where that exists people don’t believe in themselves or in the organisation. Rooting that out is essential, and of course once people see some success you can build upon that and use it as a force for good. It gets easier, and a little success can be made to breed more success and self-belief.

“It’s partly a staff issue but it’s also making sure that people hear about all the great things that others around the world are saying about your products.

If people only get feedback when something’s gone wrong, they end up believing that everything they do is wrong.

Communication is a big part of building a strong business.”

Not only in manufacturing, more and more CEOs in European rental preside over consolidated multinationals.

SSE Group’s French PA wing Melpomen acquired MES, a

Thierry Tranchant: Melpomen man French lighting company, in 2013. Melpomen president and SSE director Thierry Tranchant became joint CEO of the two companies from February that year. “Our biggest role as CEOs in this group is to represent each country,” Tranchant says. “It’s hard for me to understand the [British] market, as it’s hard for the guys in the UK to really understand France day-to-day.

We help each other with that.”

“In Germany, the Geschäftsführer [literally ‘business leader’, but more commonly translated as managing director] is responsible for all legal, financial and taxation affairs,” explains Holger de Buhr, “but Vue may be a little untypical as, although it’s a standalone company, I am also one of the owners of Vue Audio based in California. Normally, the big shots in the industry are less flexible: Yamaha Europa in Rellingen, for example, is 100 per cent owned by Yamaha Japan. We have an internal agreement about the direction of the company, of course, but to get things started I have a free hand as CEO.” Ultimately, though, being a CEO is not about being free but being responsible. “In Germany, France and the UK the owners of a limited company usually have a contract with the CEO that stipulates aims, practices,

AMERICAN PIE CHART From the spiritual home of the CEO, Jim Mack of PreSonus reports that the right blend of Wall Street and wah-wah pedal is essential. “It’s a common story,” he says. “Founder Jim Odom wanted to bring in somebody else so that he could focus on his strengths, and some on the board wanted a businesseducated candidate. Thankfully, Jim decided to pool from the industry and found that my background at SaneWave, Tascam and Alesis was the right fit. It is such a unique business model: the things that reporting and so on, and the CEO must report to them at the AGM,” de Buhr adds. “That’s more freedom than the CEO of a publicly owned company: they have to report to the shareholders every few months, which is why Avid was de-listed from NASDAQ. They did not report frequently enough.”

Many would cite Avid as the ultimate creative powerhouse

Jim Mack, PreSonus make the customer tick are very special, and you have to connect with that.” punching under its weight thanks to a succession of CEO policies that, ultimately, we know very little about. It has no shortage of critics in financial circles, but its losses may be due to several other factors. That’s the thing about power: it comes with duties that demand transparency.

‘Moral leader’ or ‘addict of power’? Your silence will only make other tongues wag. Q

The M-480 is a 60-channel digital console built around a world-class mixing engine. It combines power and flexibility with a simple, intuitive user interface. And for anyone in the hire or rentals business, you’ll get a better return as it’s a lot more affordable than you’d imagine.

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For the latest installation news www.psneurope.com/installation

SOUNDBITES Winchester, UK-based AV integrator Whitwam has installed two Shure SCM820 automatic audio mixers and three Sound Devices PIX260 AV recorders at the headquarters of the Royal Society in London. The mixers and recorders were supplied as part of a comprehensive refit of the audiovisual facilities in two of the Grade I-listed rooms at the Royal Society’s headquarters at Carlton House Terrace in central London. www.shure.eu www.sounddevices.com One of London’s biggest nightclubs has chosen Void Acoustics to provide sound equipment as part of a major refurbishment. Void was tasked with installing a new system in Studio 338, in Greenwich without creating noise issues for the club’s neighbours or requiring any additional acoustic damping. www.voidaudio.com IOSONO sound systems were used for two events in Germany in May. A 3D sound system was used on the 28th for the première of the opera Das Narrenschiff at the University of Music, Detmold – at 380 channels, the largest IOSONO installation in Europe – while on 15 May, the company provided a temporary 3D sound installation for the German Games Award ceremony at the Postpalast in Munich. www.iosono-sound.com A new audio-visual system featuring Renkus-Heinz Iconyx IC Live digitally steered arrays has been installed in the University of Oslo’s Faculty of Dentistry.

The system was designed by Cowi Consultaing Group, led by Geir Kristoffersen and working with Norwegian distributor Benum, and installed by Caverion Norway. “The IC Live fits perfectly in this space,” says Benum’s Sverre Jøssund “You can play heavy rock music, or the softest professor’s voice, and it all sounds clear, clean, and powerful. They’re really happy with the system.” www.renkus-heinz.com

WORLD

The full Brazilian: World Cup 2014 review With the 2014 FIFA World Cup done and dusted and the decidedly un-sporty staff of PSNEurope finally allowed to admit we didn’t really care, here’s our report on the installed and broadcast audio specialists who were making sure we could hear every goal, whistle and bite. By Jon Chapple ALLEN & HEATH’S GLD digital mixer was responsible for managing the audio of the Maracanã stadium in Rio de Janiero, which hosted seven World Cup matches, including the final on 13 July. The mixer sits at the heart of the E-V sound system and is fitted with a Dante network card, controlling audio distribution around the entire stadium through fibre optic cables.

Augusto Bergamim, sound manager and system programmer at the Maracanã, comments: “The main reason we chose GLD was because of Allen & Heath’s fantastic sound quality, reliability and ease of use.”

Allen & Heath consoles were also supplied by Teleporto, A&H’s distribution partner, to number of World Cup broadcasters, including Fox Sports Brazil, Fox Sports Argentina and Sigma. Fox Sports Brazil, one of the games’ key broadcasters, made use of a GLD-80 digital mixer connected via Dante to three Lawo consoles and three RTS matrixes, while Sigma used Qu-16 and Qu-24 compact digital mixers and iDR16 and iDR-48 iLive MixRacks.

“When working on a project that has a worldwide impact, quality and reliability are key,” says Teleponto’s president, Antonio Neto. “There are no second chances. That is why we chose Allen & Heath consoles to handle our audio needs. When our reputation is on the line, having a partner like [A&H] is very important.”

Photo: Federal government of Brazil

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installation

Brazil’s Marcelo Vieira in action against Croatia at the Arena Corinthians German manufacturer/ distributor Salzbrenner Stagetec Mediagroup supplied equipment to both European and domestic Brazilian broadcasters, including the São Paulo-based SBT – as reported on in more detail in last month’s broadcast audio feature by David Davies – and EPTV, and tpc (Technology and Production Centre) in Zurich.

EPTV used an OB van with Stagetec’s Crescendo mixing console, Nexus audio network and a DELEC oratis intercom system, connected to Nexus via Dante, while tpc had two Crescendos, each with a Nexus base device.

Host Broadcast Services (HBS), which also provided host broadcast services at the 2009 and 2013 Confederations Cups

and 2010 World Cup, utilised wireless and wired microphones from Sennheiser – including the company’s new Esfera surround microphone system, which it says would “capture the stadium atmosphere as realistically as possible and [...] provide the matches with thrilling commentaries and pitchside reports”.

Clear-Com communications equipment was used in every World Cup stadium in Brazil, including at the Arena Corinthians for the opening ceremony on 12 June. TV Globo Rio’s complement of Clear-Com included four Eclipse Omega systems interconnected by E-FIB, together with an Eclipse Median at the International Broadcasting Centre (IBC),

interconnected to TV Globo through an E-QUE E1 trunk line.

On the loudspeaker front, Community systems were installed in three World Cup stadia – Mineirão, Arena de São Paulo and Arena Amazonia, in Belo Horizonte, São Paulo and Manaus, respectively – by São Paulo-based Soundvision.

The main system configuration in the Mineirão comprised 24 clusters, each with four or five Community R2 loudspeakers.

In total, the system used 24 Community R2-52s, 24 R2-694s, six R2-94s, four R2-77s and 48 R2-474 loudspeakers. The speakers were fed from processors and amplifiers located in five technical rooms, communicating through CobraNet with D-Link redundancy and BSS-BLU processors.

Meanwhile, at the Independência stadium, also in Belo Horizonte, the WaltersStoryk Design Group (WSDG)specified system included 13 clusters of 10 DAS Audio Aero 12 line arrays, with 160 DAS Artec 26 speakers to cover areas in acoustic shadow. Distributed around the venue in the public and administration areas were an additional 41 DAS Artec 4T wall- and ceiling-mount speakers and 166 DAS Artec CL6-T 0 in-ceiling drivers.

WSDG also specified 24 main clusters each of three Electro-Voice speakers at the Estádio do Maracanã – an historic stadium which in 1983 accommodated a reported 250,000 fans for a Kiss concert.

Broadcasting from the Maracanã was Brazilian satellite/cable TV broadcaster GloboSat, whose new 4k OB truck – Brazil’s first – is fitted with a 48-fader Lawo mc256. On his work with Lawo, Gabriel Thomazini, a sound engineer on the OB truck, comments: “We have had good results with audio-over-IP for some time, but we now face the requirement for a higher channel count and infrastructure growth. We are ready for this next level of challenge with RAVENNA/ AES67 and the Lawo mc2 series.

For us, Lawo represents an ideal balance between technology and

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installation FINLAND

Mineirão stadium in Belo Horizonte, with 24 clusters of Community R2s

functionality for a complex event like the World Cup.” Describing the challenges associated with speech intelligibility an open-air stadium like Mineirão, Renato Cipriano, partner and general manager at WSDG’s Brazil office in Belo Horizonte, tells Pro Sound News (US): “Our primary facility management concerns focused on the level of sound comfort and intelligibility in relation to the RT60 reverberation time required to meet stipulated FIFA STI [speech transmission index] mandates. We identified extensive sound reflections throughout the arena and concluded that acoustical absorption be installed at the inner ring of the audience sector to achieve the required STI values.”

Cipriano adds that signal distribution was an important factor in the World Cup stadium revamps with which WSDG was involved. “One of the critical aspects is about choosing the appropriate distribution system,” he says.

“All stadia require long cable runs to distribute the audio signals. For the Independência, we chose a Stagetec Nexus system that has a great functionality and reliability. At Maracanã, the chosen system was an Electro-Voice Netmax N8000 that run all 24 clusters and has a friendly interface.”

The FIFA World Cup final took place on 13 July – although, at the time of going to press, we don’t actually know who was in it. COME ON, ENGLAND! Oh, wait…Q www.fifa.com www.allen-heath.com www.communitypro.com www.clearcom.com www.dasaudio.com www.delec.de www.electrovoice.com www.lawo.com www.sennheiser.com www.stagetec.com

Merger creates Finland’s largest AV company Audico Systems and Starlike will retain their names under the umbrella of Audico Holding Oy, writes Dave Robinson TWO FINNISH entertainment technology suppliers are merging to form the country’s “largest AV company” in terms of net sales, it is claimed.

Audico Systems and Starlike will retain their names under the umbrella of Audico Holding.

Starlike owner, Juki Orpana, and managing director, Mika Pynnönen, will both remain with the company, the latter becoming deputy managing director in the new set-up.

Other staff will transfer to the service of the new company as existing employees.

Audico specialises in sound systems and turnkey AV system deliveries for schools, shopping centres, cruise ships and more, as well as in the manufacture and import of equipment. The company was founded in 1988 and has a reported turnover

The L-Acoustics KIVA/KILO system in the Martinus Concert Hall in Vantaa – a Starlike installation

of €10 million. It employs 35 people in Turku and Helsinki.

Starlike is a provider of sound and lighting systems for theatres, concert halls and other performance venues. Founded in 1986, it represents more than 50 brands (including Sennheiser, Renkus-Heinz, Genelec, ARX and Altair) and claims net sales of around €5m, employing 15.

“Our product ranges complement one another brilliantly,” says managing director, Harri Leiva. “The merger will bring a great deal

of expertise under one roof, and together we will be able to offer customers even more comprehensive service.”

The companies say the deal better prepares their business for the ongoing migration of the AV sector into the realm of IT, where “deeper knowledge is required in addition to traditional competence”.

“The company formed… will have strong expertise and experience in delivering demanding AV and event technology web solutions,” says

Mika Pynnönen. “The broader our expertise, the better we will cope with future changes,” he stresses.

The last large-scale company consolidation in the Nordic region occurred in April 2012, when rental equipment and event organiser Eastavab Group (operating in Norway and Finland) agreed to merge with Swedish United Audio Starlight (‘Starlight’) to create a Nordic “super production group”. Q www.audico.fi www.starlike.fi

UNITED KINGDOM

Meyer Sound enlisted for WWI soundscape

By Murray Stassen RENOWNED SOUND artist Bill Fontana’s latest sonic sculpture, Vertical Echoes, brings the horror of the WWI battlefield to the Imperial War Museum (IWM) North in Manchester, UK – and Fontana has selected a remotely powered IntelligentDC system from Meyer Sound to reproduce the chilling soundscape.

Vertical Echoes, housed inside a 180-foot (55m)-high tower known as the AirShard, is the first in a series of artistic responses to World War I commissioned

by IWM North in honour of the war’s centennial. The installation runs up to 21 September.

The Meyer Sound loudspeakers were provided and installed by Pro Audio Systems of Bradford, with project management headed by Lee Unsworth.

Recognized as one of the world’s foremost sound artists, Bill Fontana has created sound sculptures around the world since 1976. In 1999, Fontana’s requirement for very small, high-quality loudspeakers for his installation along the Lyons, France, tramway provided the impetus for Meyer Sound to develop the MM-4, the first in the company’s popular line of miniature loudspeakers. Q www.meyersound.com www.resoundings.org

Vertical Echoes sound artist Bill Fontana at the IWM North, Manchester

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Stagetec joins the Opera

By Jon Chapple THE OPERA house on the Unter den Linden boulevard, Berlin, Germany – home to the Berlin State Opera – is to undergo extensive renovation, during which time it will be equipped with audio and stage management technology by Salzbrenner Stagetec Mediagroup.

Stagetec will supply its Aurus mixing console and Nexus audio network for sound editing and routing, and the PerformanceCeTRL system for stage management. The new opera house will feature three stage management desks, two of which are from the INSPIration series launched earlier this year.

Audio technology for the building will be provided by

UNITED KINGDOM

Salzbrenner Stagetec Mediagroup’s NEXUS audio network has been installed in the State Opera House

the Berlin branch of Stagetec in a joint venture with another German firm, Amptown System Company. Amptown will be responsible for “video and sound reinforcement [and]

project management”.

The opera house is expected to remain closed throughout 2015. Q www.stagetec.com www.amptown-system.com

THE LONDON College of Music, part of the University of West London since 1991, is now home to the world’s largest Focusrite RedNet network to date, featuring 42 individual RedNet units. The project was undertaken as part of an ongoing plan of building and refurbishment which has seen LCM moving away from all-Avid systems (principally Pro Tools) and examining other audio

transport options. LCM senior lecturer Andrew Bourbon says he is “very, very impressed with how it sound[s],” adding: “Having heard a bunch of competitors, for me it offered a more detailed presentation that still retained musicality. I think RedNet strikes an excellent balance.” Q www.focusrite.com www.uwl.ac.uk/academicschools/music

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Ten years of pro audio (and only 23) RoryAld Live founder Rory Alderson speaks to Murray Stassen about starting his own company and how he first became involved with audio engineering AT ONLY 23 years old, Rory Alderson has already been working as a sound engineer for over a decade. The lad developed an interest in audio engineering whilst attending gigs with his parents’ band, the Blues Mothers. When he was 12, he was given the opportunity to do the sound for a Blues Mothers show when the sound engineer didn’t turn up, and since then has been forging a name for himself in the pro-audio industry.

“It was a simple three mics, DI box and a couple of FOH boxes set-up,” says Alderson, discussing that first gig. “Over the years, I started making friends with a lot of band members.

When I was 14, I was asked to engineer my first big event. It was a 19-piece Elvis tribute band using a Soundcraft board with an RCF FOH system.”

Whilst still a teenager, Alderson gained work experience at Ranscombe Studios, an analogue facility based in Rochester, Kent, and ended up being offered a full-time position there, where he stayed for two years. “It started off just weekends and school holidays but I was offered a full-time job once I completed my college course in sound engineering,” he says.

After the two-year stint at Ranscombe Studios, Alderson worked as a freelance engineer and subsequently founded his own company, RoryAld Live.

“I left Ranscombe Studios and went on to work freelance at John Oram’s Analogue Barn Recording Studios as a studio engineer. I worked at the Analogue Barn for a year, gaining more experience in studio work, as well as learning basic electronic skills by assisting with the build of consoles and outboard equipment, which was designed in-house.”

RoryAld Live owner and founder Rory Alderson

“It wasn’t viable for me to keep spending out on hire costs, so I decided I needed to invest in my own equipment” Alderson on moving from freelance work to starting his own company Alderson explains that he decided to start his own company because he was being offered freelance work but had to hire all the equipment each time. “It wasn’t viable for me to keep spending out on hire costs so I decided that I needed to invest in my own equipment,” he says. “When I passed my driving test, I decided to get my own PA system and start RoryAld Live. I bought a JBL PRX500 series, subs and tops, Shure microphones, a Mackie mixing console and some JBL wedges. As I’ve [started to get] more business over the

years, our stock has grown and developed.”

Founded in late 2007, RoryAld Live offers a range of services, from sound and lighting hire to production management and installations. “We are also able to provide staging and power distribution,” explains Alderson. “[The team consists of] myself and my partner, Hannah, who looks after all the administration side of the business [and] attend[s] a lot of the gigs as a crew member.”

In addition to RoryAld Live, Alderson owns Patten Studios, a recording studio also located in Kent. The studio features a Mackie mixer and an assortment of AKG and Shure microphones.

“We tend to have more live recording bookings, which has become even easier now we have installed a FireWire card in our Soundcraft SI console.” When asked if he prefers working live or in the studio, he states: “I enjoy both types of recording but enjoy the pressure aspect of live recordings.”

Alderson continues: “My favourite [pieces of kit] have got to be the Neumann U87 and Urei 1176.” The Urei 1176 Peak Limiter was a classic compressor introduced by Urei in 1968,

Guru Nanak Darbar Gurdwara near Gravesend in Kent, UK. Elaborating on the details of this project, Alderson explains that the company’s relationship with the temple began after he had been commissioned to do a few engineering jobs for weddings and New Year celebrations. “After the first event we were asked about replacing their existing sound system and installing a new permanent system that was more suitable for their needs.

The new system required enough power to fill a room with capacity of up to 2,000 people and they also needed an output for recording feeds.”

“I met with Gary Jackson from Sound Technology when I was creating [the temple’s] quote.

I knew that the Soundcraft Si Expression and digital stage box were the most appropriate choices for their needs,” he says. “Gary

The Shri Guru Nanak Darbar Gurdwara in Gravesend, Kent – one of the largest Sikh temples in the UK –where RoryAld Live installed a new sound system

Alderson at 17 years old in the control room at Ramscombe Studios reissued by Universal Audio in 2000. “I used to use them at Ranscombe Studios and I haven’t found anything yet that gives as clear a sound on an acoustic guitar or vocals,” asserts Alderson.

PSNEurope recently reported on an installation carried out by RoryAld Live in one of the largest Sikh temples in Europe, the Shri

set up a demonstration on the new JBL PrX400 series, powered

by Crown amplifiers, and I was thoroughly impressed by the quality of sound they produced.

They were exactly what the Sikh temple needed and I was able to fit them in to the budget.” Q www.roryaldlive.com www.soundtech.co.uk

All Images courtesy of the Business Design Centre

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CONTACTS

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Editor Dave Robinson david.robinson@intentmedia.co.uk

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Deputy Editor Jon Chapple jon.chapple@intentmedia.co.uk Managing Editor Joanne Ruddock jo.ruddock@intentmedia.co.uk Advertising Manager Ryan O’Donnell ryan.odonnell@intentmedia.co.uk Sales Executive Rian Zoll-Khan rian.zoll-khan@intentmedia.co.uk Head of Design and Production Adam Butler adam.butler@intentmedia.co.uk

Hither and spinner Starring superstar DJ Mike Clark! (Sorry ladies, he’s taken...)

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The highlight of Jon Chapple’s trip to Vicoustic? “When it appeared that three coach-loads of French OAPs were commemorating D-Day by invading our riverboat,” he says

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Italian correspondent Mike Clark tells us: “I was invited to do the opening DJ set on the Paradiso boat, one of the 12 fishing boats moored at Rimini harbour for the ‘Molo Street Parade’. Craig David was the big name on the main boat. The fishermen served up grilled sardines and 80 DJs did their thing from 6pm until 1am. I played 20 tracks from ‘72 to ‘78, mostly R&B based with the exception of a track by German jazz-fusion band Passport (Locomotive) and one (The Mexican) by ‘70s Hatfield band Babe Ruth. It was my first stint behind a console since 1980 (see pic, right)!”

A ‘4D’ cinema motion chair, the latest delivery at Deluxe Digital Cinema in Soho. For professional purposes only, you understand It’s been a long and winding road for New York cellist Dane Johansen, as he travelled 600 miles along the Way of St James (a popular pilgrimage route through France and Spain) supported for audio equipment by DPA Microphones, Genelec and Merging Technologies. For the six-week ‘The Walk to Fisterra’ project, which began on in May, Johansen stopped at several of the 36 historic churches along the ancient Roman footpath, where he performed Bach’s famous cello suites

Please send all contributions for possible publication to david.robinson@intentmedia.co.uk

54 l July 2014

www.psneurope.com

The Studer A80 is Watkins’ all time-favourite tape recorder: “Everything is about character when you have pristine digital recording at your fingertips”

industrytalk

in room one, we have a big pair of Dynaudio C3As, the usual NS10s and, of course, two Avantone MixCubes.

Everything is about character when you have pristine digital recording at your fingertips, and people are mostly choosing 2” tape as a capture medium simply for flavour and saturation these days, so we went for my all-time favourite: the classic Studer A80. Hit it hard and print it in.

Wonderful on rhythm sections –

Software I don’t care for much, and outboard – well, we had about a million pieces already. I finally managed to source an old Sony DRE 2000 after years of hunting, so that was nice. As I said, we already had everything years before the studio was even built! So it was more about augmenting the already ridiculous pile of music junk at a time when we were receiving 30 deliveries a day – casually sneaking in a few Thomann orders and that… [Laughs]

“Edinburgh is, in most ways, the perfect location. We even have free parking – and you’re never more than eight steps away from a whisky on the rocks. Beat that!”

Stephen Watkins

Edinburgh calling Dave Robinson talks Avid, analogue and ambassadors’ parties with Tape Studio’s irrepressible producer/mixing engineer Stephen Watkins HOUSED WITHIN a former whisky warehouse or ‘bond’ (“Very Scottish,” says studio manager Gareth Anderson) and designed by Munro Acoustics, Edinburgh’s Tape Studio – the brainchild of Stephen A. Watkins and Fiona McNab – bills itself as a first for Scotland. “[Tape is] something both new and inspiring – completely armed to the teeth with the most desirable of equipment and acoustics, yet affordable and accessible to emerging talent and established acts alike,” explains Anderson. “[It’s] somewhere to focus on artistic development and the massive, over-the-top production style Stephen had been cultivating in the dark, [and] somewhere to feel at home and be inspired within for long projects.

“Edinburgh – and Scotland in general – has always lacked such

a place, so why move when we can build and invest right here?”

Stephen, how did you choose your desks, monitors, DAW, tape machine, etc?

As far as DAWs are concerned, Cubase is and always has been at the top of the pile for me. I used to find it laughable that Avid were touting Automatic Delay Compensation as a feature just a couple of years ago, when we had already been using Steinberg products to do just that for nearly a decade! The only tool that made me slightly envious was the old ‘tab to transient’ feature. Not any more, though! I am just not a fan of Avid stuff, to be honest. It is all a bit of an ‘Apple life’/ ‘keeping up with the Joneses’ mentality.

Make records your own way.

At this point all DAWs are incredible. End of.

What about monitoring?

The monitors in room two – my mix room – are [Yamaha] NS10s with an Infinity sub, KRK 9000Bs, Avantone MixCubes and custom-made Dynaudio MA 15Ps (which are very, very nice indeed). Oh, and a wee, shan Gear4 Bluetooth boombox bought in the HMV closingdown sale at [shopping centre] Ocean Terminal for the small sound. This simulates reality in 2014 – very good at forcing one to focus in on the 7/8kHz range that seems oh so important during these times of laptop fidelity and iPod docks…

The Dynaudios were chosen to complement the NS10s for more top-end extension, and the rest I have used forever. Mix translation! I even like the wee mono speaker built into my Studer A810. Punchy! Downstairs

an amazing way to ruin a drum sound, actually! I don’t even use my Dolby SR XP any more… scary, eh? Over-bias time!

What’s the ‘five-year plan’?

To boldly go where no studio has gone before. (Couldn’t resist...) To make it to No1!

What about the console?

The SSL Duality is simply the best of the best available right now. I was an E-Series kind of mixer before – obsessed with Bob Clearmountain’s ‘80s stuff – and this is just the next step. I love it. Absolutely the best pairing of human and technology ever. Apart from the T-1000. Hasta la vista…

All the outboard I already had: 19 1176s, eight Vac Racs, eight Dynamites and about 500 other beautiful and rare pieces – EMT 140 plates, EMT 251, etc.

The building was the final piece of the puzzle.

What are the challenges and advantages of being central to Edinburgh?

No challenges. Apart from the listed building status during the construction phase – and the original hunt for the studio itself being near impossible in a city that wants to turn every single unoccupied space into a block of new-build flats for the yuppie types – it is in most ways the perfect location.

We even have free parking AND you are never more than eight steps away from a Lagavulin [whisky] on the rocks. Beat that!

What were the three bits of ‘other’ kit (mics, outboard, software) you felt you HAD to have?

Well, my favourite vintage pieces include the Coles balland-biscuit mic for mono ambience duties (dynamic omni, bandwidth-limited, great attitude... loved it on the drums in the hallway) and the [Coles] 4038s, which no human being with a preamp should be without – just my all-time favourite go-to microphone.

[I like the] Brauner VM1 for a modern brighter tone, and the Violet Flamingo Stereo mic – which is absolutely incredible, if you ask me: it looks like something from Ann Summers – is incredible on harp. We also bought all of the JZ range for some hissless, classic voicings without the hassle, and they all integrated well.

What was the first recording made in Tape?

I have produced, arranged and recorded two records here since we opened in February 2014. The first is the debut LP by hotly tipped Scottish band BooHooHoo, which is an absolutely piping smash! If you have ever wondered what an SSL Duality sounds like when it is going absolutely off its nut, then stay tuned…

We also just finished tracking the incredible Dead Boy Robotics album in room one, which in a few days is about to be mixed upstairs in – dun dun DUN – room two! See how it works? Tape is basically the ambassador’s party of recording!

With this Ferrero Rocher, you are really spoiling us… Q www.tapestudio.com