Pro-Systems 2nd Quarter 2012 by Pro-Systems Africa News

2nd Quarter 2012

R35.00

AV System Integration | Installations | Live Events | Studio & Broadcast Audio

REVIEW

AWARDS

STUDIO

INTERVIEWS

Tracking Technology ROBIN 600 Review Record-breaking Projection Producer Product Choice Trinity Club Installation

Imported by

www.audiosure.co.za

news

dB Technologies and Beyma awarded to Viva Afrika South African company Viva Afrika Sound and Light was recently awarded exclusive distribution rights for dB Technologies products in sub-Saharan Africa (excluding Angola and Zimbabwe). “We are looking forward to a long and fruitful relationship with dB Technologies. They fit in perfectly with our company vision of offering high quality European loudspeakers at competitive pricing to the South African market,” says Viva Afrika director Bernard Pienaar. The company was also recently appointed distributor of Beyma products in South Africa.

DWR secures Prolyte agency

Bernard Pienaar and Giovanni Barbieri

Viva Afrika is one of the fastest growing professional audio and lighting distributors in South Africa with a portfolio of brands that include Numark DJ products, Audiocenter loudspeakers and Real loudspeakers.

Tadco announces Coda

Extron pulls out of InfoComm USA and ISE

TADCO, an independent sound and communication distribution company, recently announced themselves as an authorised distributor of Coda Audio products in South Africa. A reputable pro-audio loudspeaker systems manufacture, Coda Audio is represented via a global network of international distributors. The Germanybased company is expected to launch more innovative products, having already released a range of acclaimed loudspeaker cabinets, including the CoRAY4 and the AIRLINE LA12.

Extron recently announced that they will no longer exhibit at InfoComm USA and Integrated Systems Europe (ISE). “Extron has exhibited at every InfoCommUSA show since 1986 and at ISE since 1999. We have enjoyed and appreciated what InfoComm-USA and ISE have become,” said Extron president Andrew Edwards in a statement. “However, we have concluded that the time and energy put into exhibiting at these short three-day events can better serve our customers by being repurposed toward activities that provide direct benefit and

Duncan Riley and Robert Issett

DWR Distribution was recently appointed an authorised distributor of Prolyte products for South Africa. “DWR Distribution is privileged to be given this opportunity,” commented DWR founder Duncan Riley. “Robert Izzett, responsible for Prolyte sales, will present the brand with enthusiasm and continued back-up support.” DWR Distribution has already ordered the first batch of Prolyte products. Apart from delivery from stock for standard items, DWR will also give expert service and sales support.

support to our customers. Specifically we are focused on the creation of additional Extron support and training facilities both domestically and internationally.” Edwards said Extron would remain a member of InfoComm International and exhibit at other events around the world.

Mediatech Africa 2013 dates announced Mediatech Africa will take place from 17 to 19 July 2013 at the Coca-Cola dome in Johannesburg, South Africa. A bi-ennial event, Mediatech Africa is the continent’s largest all-inclusive technology expo for the live entertainment, AV integration, music production, broadcast, film and post-production, animation, DJ and music industries. The event attracts exhibitors from across the world, as well as local manufacturers and suppliers, with visitor demographics encompassing a broad cross section of the

industry. Last year it attracted an impressive 6 395 visitors over three days; with 125 exhibiting companies that represented 880

brands collectively. Visit www.mediatech.co.za for more details.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE Publisher & Editor

CONTENTS

It’s been a long time coming and I am personally delighted to present you with the first issue of Pro Systems News. The key focus of the publication is on three target markets: AV System Integration, Concert & Live Events and Studio & Broadcast Audio. We are excited about providing you with news, reviews and insight into the latest technology, installations and productions from both our local and international markets. By travelling to the relevant industry trade shows and engaging with international markets we are confident that you will find Pro Systems an invaluable tool – especially for those not so fortunate to have the time or resources to attend these events. We have tied up great relationships with local and international journalists and industry experts who contribute balanced, unbiased content to our readers. As a media company we pride ourselves that our team is dedicated to providing independent stories that are newsworthy and informative with the aim to educate and offer real diversity of content to you, our readers. The magazine is complemented by an online news portal – www.pro-systems.co.za – where it is available as an e-read and (soon) as a downloadable magazine for tablets. Enjoy the read! Simon Robinson

Product Review

System Integration

ISE Report

ROBIN 600 review ..............................41 – 43

Integrating the AV industry.................8 – 13

Industry Expert

Interactive Communication

Joshua Cutts...............................................44

TouchTable sets new standard..............14 – 15

Concsert Report

Venue Installation

80’s Rewind.................................................45

Transnet conference centre upgrade.........15

Production Report

Industry Experts

Pulling the SAFTA’s out of the hat....46 – 47

Alex Sanfilippo & Gavin Olivier......................16

International Video Design

Conference Solution

Florence + The Machine...................48 – 49

Lightweight LED video tiles............................18

International Lighting Design

Communication Solutions

Snow Patrol world tour......................50 – 51

Ground-breaking tablet launched...............20

International Stage Design

Linking into video conferencing...................21

Brilliant Stages for Rammstein...........52 – 53 International Video Projection Record-breaking artwork

Installations

Product Review

projection............................................54 – 57

Taking sound to the next level.........22 – 23

Video Projection

Venue Solution

3600 Audio visual spectacular..........58 – 59

Trinity club installation........................24 – 26 Studio & Broadcast

Audio Solution Upgrading theatre sound.........................28

Audio Solutions

Sounding off in the BMX world.................29

Small studios, big sound............................60

Architectural Lighting

Nurturing young talent..............................61

Anolis in architectural lighting first...30 – 31

Product Update Moving ahead with sound.......................62 Industry Expert

Live Events

TPI Awards

Adam Howard............................................63

Gearing up on global

Expert Choice

production scene..............................32 – 33

Producer product choice.................64 – 65

Pro Light + Sound Report

Live Streaming

Global trade show lights the way....34 – 39

The sky is the limit.......................................66

Expert Opinion Sound advice.............................................40

Social ...............................................67 – 68

Contributors Claire Badenhorst | Industry expert with eight years experience in event management, PR, marketing and advertising within the professional audio, video, lighting and staging sector. Claire has played an integral role in the development of the concept and content creation of Pro Systems and works closely with our advertisers and readers.

Louise Stickland | Professional journalist and photographer with huge passion and enthusiasm for technology and the production industry. Louise initially worked and toured as a lighting designer after graduating from university. She has many years experience in the music and live event sector, and works closely with leading international designers, production companies and technology manufacturers.

Eddie Hatitye | Professional journalist and former editor of Music Industry Online, Eddie has been actively involved in the South African recording and music industry for the past 5 years. He has a strong passion for music production and has leveraged this knowledge and his contacts to further his career as a journalist.

Andy Stead | Trained as a television engineer in the UK after which he immigrated to South Africa, and joined Video Sound Studios. Stead founded ZSE TV which pioneered live transmission for the fledgling Mnet television services. After a period as marketing Director of Sasani Limited he resigned and took up freelance writing for several publications.

Greg Bester | Musician and audio engineer - proficient in both the analogue and digital domains and has extensive experience mixing live music, setting up and configuring loudspeaker systems, monitoring and general stage management. He has mixed events numbering into the thousands and is comfortable on large and small-format mixing consoles.

Michael Nicholson | Former editor of mondo*dr. mondo*dr has over 20 years experience in the international marketplace for lighting, sound and video equipment, showcasing some of the most impressive installations worldwide in theatres, nightclubs, stadia, museums and cruise ships. With its target audience of distributors, dealers, installers and system integrators, the magazine provides unrivalled in-depth editorial features allowing readers an overview of the installed international marketplace.

Editor | Simon Robinson | editor@pro-systems.co.za

Sub-Editor | Tina Heron

In-house Journalist | Eddie Hatitye | news@pro-systems.co.za

www. pro-systems.co.za 2

news

Biggest InfoComm on the cards

SEGMA signs with Avid

It has just been confirmed that InfoComm 2012 will be the largest audiovisual trade show the world has ever seen. InfoComm International, the trade association representing the commercial audiovisual industry, said more than 925 exhibitors would showcase their products

and solutions to thousands of visitors from over 90 countries across the world. Focusing on integrated display, projection, audio, conferencing, lighting and staging, digital signage and communications system solutions, this year’s Infocomm will run from 13 to 15 June in Las Vegas.

Avid recently appointed SEGMA as its South African distributor. “In alignment with the Avid market strategy we are delighted to appoint SEGMA as our distributor in South Africa for Avid’s pro audio product line comprising the award winning Avid Pro Tools HD series

Malherbe scoops fourth Naledi Prosound technical director Mark Lingenfelder,” said Malherbe. Malherbe won his fourth Naledi “I also acknowledge the Award in March this year. The prolific extremely high standard of both sound designer received the ‘best cast and musicians in the musical, theatre sound design/sound effects’ as well as the expertise of the accolade for his work on Jesus Christ crew that I worked with.” Superstar – an acclaimed musical The Naledi Theatre Awards that ran at the Teatro in recognise and reward excellence Mark Malherbe Johannesburg last year. in live theatre in Gauteng. Other “I always treat these awards as more of winners in the technical field this year team accolades. I have been extremely included Faheem Bardien and Michael fortunate to work fairly consistently with the Mitchell, who took accolades for best creative team of director Paul Warwick theatre lighting design and best set design Griffin and musical director Charl-Johan – both for Mandela Trilogy.

Industry Partners celebrate 20 years

New lights rock Soweto Theatre

This year marks the 20th anniversary of a very strong partnership between Electrosonic SA and Martin Professional. The relationship started in 1992 when Electrosonic SA was appointed distributor of Martin Professional’s smoke machines in South Africa. By 2000 Martin was firmly established in the industry, with a varied range of lighting products (notably the Martin Mac moving heads range) and Electrosonic SA was always the company’s first choice distributor in South Africa. At present Martin boasts a host of acclaimed products such as the Mac 101 and the Mac Aura fixtures, which are all locally distributed by Electrosonic SA.

Prosound recently installed a range of ETC’s Source Four lighting fixtures at the newly-built Soweto Theatre in the heart of the Jabulani CBD. This state-ofthe-art complex boasts a 420-seater main arena with two smaller halls of 180 and 90 seats respectively. A total of 216 Source Four lights were installed between the three arenas, including 72 of the Source Four Fresnel lights that were only introduced in South Africa in January this year. The Soweto Theatre will be used for a wide array of productions that will incorporate theatre, music, dance and

interfaces, Pro Tools|HD Native, Pro Tools|HDX and the digital console Icon,” says Nadiyam Ravisankar, audio sales manager for emerging markets at Avid. “We look forward to building on the existing client base and adding more users who will benefit from ready stock and pre/post-sales support of the highest order that Avid is known for. SEGMA South Africa has the right strategies and is well positioned to support the Avid brand. We are glad to strengthen our relationship and will continue to work closely together to offer complete solutions to the customers in the pro audio segment.”

SACIA calls for papers The Southern African Communications Industries Association (SACIA) will take place from 7 to 8 August 2012 at the Misty Hills Convention Centre in Muldersdrift, Johannesburg. Organisers of the bi-annual ProAV forum are inviting submissions from organisations, companies or individuals interested in presenting papers. A spokesperson from the forum recently said: “Presentations should focus on the successful application of AV technology and while manufacturers and dealers are welcome to submit papers, the organisers require that presentations should not be structured to sell or promote a particular brand or product. Presentations can vary in length from 30 to 60 minutes based on relevance and content. ” This year’s event will focus on the use of broadcast and audio visual technologies in business, government, education and houses of worship. If you’re interested in presenting a paper at SACIA 2012, send a detailed synopsis to forum@proav-africa.org. choral performances. Prosound also recently installed two Midas Pro9 digital audio mixers at Artscape in Cape Town. Both consoles include the Pro9 control surface, each supplied with the DL351 modular stage racks with DL441/442 I/O cards and the Klark Teknik DN9696 hi-res audio recorder.

news

PLASA 2012 promises fireworks Over 300 manufacturers and suppliers of professional audio, lighting, AV, stage engineering and systems integration will exhibit at London PLASA in Earls Court from 9 to 12 September 2012. PLASA 2012 will be the first show to be held after the London Olympic and Paralympic Games and organisers are promising a memorable event. “We will take a look back at some of the most spectacular achievements of the summer and present special educational events to highlight the best bits of London 2012,” says events manager Sophie Atkinson. “We invite everyone to come and enjoy the unique atmosphere in London this

Mark Yaman

September, the home of the Olympics and the heart of the creative industries.”

Interactive windows at Wits Arts Museum

Digital Fabric, one of the most successful bespoke AV consultancies to the local museum and visitor attraction sector, was recently commissioned to develop interactive windows for the newly opened

Educating the industry The South African Roadies Association (SARA) is running a 12-month training programme (Live Event Technical Production – NQF Level 4) in Newtown Johannesburg. Funded by the Culture, Art, Tourism, Hospitality and Sport Education and Training Authority (CATHSSETA), the programme covers live sound, lighting, staging, health and safety, backline and production. A total of 20 students enrolled this year. Over the years SARA has initiated a series of educational programmes covering the lighting, audio and production sectors. Registration for the 2013 to 2014 course will start in February. For more information visit www.saroadies.co.za.

Sasani upgrades studios

Wits Arts Museum in Bramfontein. “The screens face the streets and they use tracking cameras to detect movement by curious night visitors. It gives the museum an entire audience on the other side of the glass and we are helping to develop a viral campaign around the concept,” says Gavin Olivier of Digital Fabric. Located on the corner of Jan Smuts Avenue and Jorissen Street, the museum has an invitingly open glass-fronted ground floor which allows for views into the exhibition spaces from the streets. The museum is scheduled to open on 18 May.

CEDIA app for AV industry The Custom Electronic Design and Installation Association (CEDIA) recently introduced a new mobile app to its members. Available as a download on Android, Blackberry and Apple devices, the app offers 12 features and gives CEDIA members exclusive access to a range of useful tools, including a home theatre calculator suite, access to all

Sasani Studios recently upgraded its audio suite by installing an Avid Pro Tools HD 10 Native System with an ICON D-Command ES work surface. Mark Yaman, Sasani’s final mix engineer, notes that the new audio suite will streamline his workflow and keep Sasani abreast with international standards. “Pro Tools 10 is going to be a major game changer in workflow with all its new features such as clip based gain, 32bit floating processing and better delay compensation.” With D-Command ES, operators have powerful hands-on command over every aspect of a Pro Tools project, including recording, editing, mixing, and processing —with integrated video and delivery – from a relatively small, but expandable work surface. On the video post-production front Sasani already has a sophisticated set-up to handle big budget productions. It houses 32 edit suites running on Avid Media Composer 5 and Final Cut Pro 7, both of which support full SD and HD editing technology.

CEDIA white papers, a selection of professional marketing tools, quick reference in-the-field documents and the CEDIA member directory. The app also allows CEDIA members to receive industry news feeds, updates on training calendars, Twitter and Facebook feeds, as well as more information from the CEDIA blog. To download visit your app store and search ‘CEDIA’. Blackberry users visit direct. core-apps.com/cedia from your smartphone to download. For more information visit www.cedia.org/app.

news

South African Music Awards

Leading production company Dream Sets was awarded a contract to produce the 18th South African Music Awards (SAMAs) and pulled in a specialised team of technical suppliers (Audio Logic, AV Unlimited, MGG and Visual Frontier) to produce what has been described by many as one of the best SAMA awards ever. The event, held on 29 and 30 April at the Sun City Superbowl, featured a groundbreaking set design, which incorporated a total of 13 screens – seven mounted on the roof and five creatively spread across the

stage. The set was designed by Robert Hoey of Dream Sets, who worked closely with leading audio visual specialist Guillaume Ducray – the master mind in bringing Robert’s creation to life. Independent lighting designer Joshua Cutts of Visual Frontier complimented the event with a memorable Grand MAcontrolled lighting design that incorporated a varied range of Robe and Clay Paky lights. Dream Sets also supplied technical for the event under the direction of Sean Hoey with Mark Gaylard of MGG was involved as a rental partner and supplied part of the lighting, rigging and low resolution LED equipment. Audio design was done by Marius Marais of Audio Logic and Dave Thompson from AV Unlimited fulfilled the AV needs of the prestigious event. (See our next issue for the full story)..

Cape Town shopping mall upgraded The management team at Tygervalley Shopping Mall in Cape Town have raised the bar on live entertainment for South African Malls. Tygervalley have installed a JBL concert line array system in their Arena Entertainment Court. Together with a large HD screen and concert lighting, this allows the centre to present live concerts within a shopping centre environment. The arena is a complex acoustic

environment with huge reverberation challenges and multiple audience levels, which needed audio coverage. The sound system installed is the Vertec VT4887DPDA line array system which provides an exception audio pattern control. A high standard of audio coverage and clarity are achieved in all areas that enable the system to showcase artists at their absolute best.

IBC registration opens

Registration for this year’s International Broadcasting Convention (IBC) is now open online at www.ibc.org. Now in its 45th year, IBC is one of the biggest trade shows for the global media and entertainment industries. With over 50 000 attendees from more than 160 countries and 1 300 plus exhibitors, the show comprises an unparalleled exhibition and agendasetting conference encompassing the very latest developments in broadcasting, mobile TV, IPTV, digital cinema and R&D. Along with a six-day conference, the IBC experience includes 14 exhibition halls of new technology developments from more than 1 300 global exhibitors. This year’s event will take place from 6 to 11 September at the Amstedam RAI in the Netherlands.

Vivitek to host partner event in SA

Extron Electronics opens in South Africa

Visual presentation products manufacturer Vivitek Corporation is set to host its key distributors at an annual event in South Africa. The Vivitek Education strategy will be a key agenda item at the event as the company is about to launch a comprehensive new education portfolio with innovative interactive software and hardware solutions. Vivitek will also use the event to showcase its new products; the D8800 – a highperformance projector for the Pro AV staging business, the D5180 and D5185 – two models that combine installer-friendly features with a competitive price point and the D5280U,

The US-based professional AV products manufacturer recently appointed Antony Olivier and Gary Atkins (formerly employed by Dimension Data) to head up the office. Atkins and Olivier have vast experience in the AV industry and have collectively worked in AV installation, sales, design and education. They have both spent the past few months in training with Extron , getting to grips with the company’s product offering, policies and systems. Their office will be based in Johannesburg and will feature a dedicated training facility with the established support of the Dubai office.

which is said to be the ideal projection solution for all types of business, education and leisure applications. “Vivitek is proud to host the annual event in South Africa at The Sun City Hotel and Pilanesberg Kwa Maritane Bush Lodge. The venues provide us the right mix of business facilities and leisure options such as the game drives and cultural entertainment to enjoy a successful business event. Our distribution partner in South Africa – Audiosure – has been instrumental in putting this event together”, comments Holger Graeff, General Manager Vivitek EMEA.

Creating AV magic MultiChoice Auditorium

KPMG Digital Signage

Questek – the leading suppliers of corporate audio-visual solutions: •

Boardrooms

•

Auditoriums

•

Training Rooms

•

In-house Digital Signage

•

Parliamentary and Municipal Chambers

•

On-site Technical Support and Service Level Agreements

Supplying systems that integrate audio & video by embracing new technologies such as remote management, cloud video Johannesburg Council Chambers

conferencing and the total automation of the system.

Present, share and communicate information effectively.

KPMG Auditorium

Telephone: +27 11 706 0405 Email: George@questek.co.za Website: www.questekadvanced.co.za

System Integration ISE Report

Integrating the AV industry Sustainable growth in the AV industry would not be possible without events like Integrated Systems Europe (ISE). Since its inception in 2004, the international trade show has persistently introduced AV professionals to unending technologies and business opportunities.

This year’s ISE, held from 31 January to 2 February at the Amsterdam RAI in Holland, was the biggest in the show’s history, attracting the highest number of participants; 825 exhibitors (up by 15%) and 40 869 visitors (up by 17%).With a total of 825 major brands occupying 11 halls – or 30 000 net square metres – of the Amsterdam RAI, the event’s exhibition floors were logically the first choice for most visitors. Local guys who attended also told me that the pre-show conferences, DiSCO, Dynamic Events and the InfoComm Future Trends Summit, were equally valuable.

Conferences The forward-looking InfoComm Future Trends Summit once again covered a wide variety of technology trends, from latest technologies in display inventions to network bandwidth challenges and cloud computing. Speaking at the Cloud Computing and AV seminar, David Snipp, said cloud computing posed serious threats to traditional AV manufacturers, distributor and installers, whom he urged to “adapt quickly and radically”. DiSCO, the Digital Signage Conference, focused on retail

ISE Report System Integration

opportunities and featured a suitable line-up of speakers who covered a range of topics that included how digital signage can help small retailers thrive, innovative retail concepts and digital signage in the sports sector. Speaking after the conference, DiSCO chair Florian Rotberg said digital signage had huge potential to help “bricks and mortar retailers” compete with e-tailers like Amazon and Asos by allowing them to reflect the new ways in which consumers are shopping. Another noteworthy gathering was the Wainhouse Summit where communication professionals heralded mobile smart phones and tablets (particularly the iPad) as the way forward in visual communications.

Display The display area was busy as anticipated, although most products showcased this year had previously been seen at InfoComm. That said there was a good amount of novel products from the likes of LG Display, Christie, Barco, Sony and Panasonic.

LG showcased its new 165-inch 3D video wall. The gigantic screen consists of nine 55-inch displays in a 3x3 configuration and uses LG’s Film-type Patterned Retarder (FPR) 3D technology. Each display features a super narrow bezel that leavesa narrow 5.3 mm gap between the individual panels that make up the video wall. The pixel count and brightness of each panel is 1,920 x 1,080 and 800cd/m2, respectively. LG says the FPR 3D technology used on this screen is an improvement over active shutter 3D because there is no flicker, minimal cross talk. The FPR glasses are made with curved lenses and are much lighter and cheaper than active shutter glasses.

A highlight from Christie was the JumpStart content management solution which allows easy content management for large tiled displays. JumpStart can be used with any digital display with up to

Communications professionals heralded mobile smart phones and tablets as the way forward in visual communications. four inputs.When used with Christie MicroTiles, JumpStart communicates directly with the master External Control Unit, automatically picking the best resolution for the canvas and showing the location of every tile so that content can be easily snapped into position. “With the addition of the Christie JumpStart content management solution and Christie Interactivity Kit for multi-touch interactivity, we’re broadening our MicroTiles solutions system to help meet the needs of customers across many markets,” says Christie. Also on the Christie stand were the new Christie LHD700 and Christie LX1200 projectors, as well as the Roadie HD+35K and Roadster HD20K-J projectors from the company’s new J Series.

Barco demonstrated its new generation of liquid-cooled LED video walls which offer 33% brightness levels, or 33% less power at conventional brightness levels. The company also showcased its HDX-W18 3-chip WUXGA DLP projector, which features 17 500 lumens brightness, compact design, on-board image processing and control via smartphone and tablets. Distributed by www.questekadvanced.co.za

Panasonic showed its new PT-DZ21K 20,000-lumen WUXGA projector which was used to beam video content onto a colossal 3.9m x 4.5m wall. The projector series are the company’s smallest and lightest 3-chip DLP models to date and have a lamp replacement cycle of up to 2 000 hours, making them suitable for large venue applications such as auditoriums and museums.

System Integration ISE Report Martin Professional attracted visitors with the EC-10 – a new 10mm pixel pitch LED display panel. Featuring the same lightweight and cable-free design for rapid deployment, the EC-10 is compatible with the EC-20 in terms of colour, setup, curvature, control, processing and even accessories – allowing for seamless, mixed resolution visuals in one system. Also on the Martin stand were the P3-200 and the P3-PC – two new additions to the P3 system controller family for LED screens.

Sony exhibited a mix of home cinema, digital signage and business projector solutions. A highlight was a demonstration of the 2 000-lumen VPL-VW1000ES, believed to be the world’s first 4K home cinema projector, in combination with the ‘Reality Creation’ upscaler that converts Blu-ray disc images to 4K. The projector uses active 3D glasses. Visitors were also able to see Sony’s digital signage software Ziris in action as it managed content for the entire Sony stand.

Audio

Distributed by www.electrosonic.co.za

Canon presented the XEED WUX4000, its flagship installation projector for home theatre. The projector uses Canon’s LCOS panel technology to deliver “accurate” colours and a resolution of 1920 x 1200. The projector packs in 4 000 lumens of brightness and a contrast ratio of 1000:1. The aspect ratio of the projector is 16:10. Canon offers three lens options for the projector with a standard zoom, long zoom and a fixed focus wide-angle lens. The vertical and horizontal lens shift, zoom and focus are all motorised and the connectivity options include HDMI and DVI.

Shure showcased its ULX-D digital wireless system for installed applications. This has a dynamic range of 120dB, a latency of less than 3ms and a 20Hz to 20kHz frequency range. ULX-D uses AES-256 standard encryption and can be integrated in media control systems from the likes of AMX or Crestron. Up to 17 active transmitters can be used on an 8MHz TV channel and over 60 compatible channels in one frequency band, with permanent signal stability claimed over the entire 100m line-of-sight range. Also on the Shure stand were the new MX150 lavalier and MX153 earset microphones, which are said to be ideal for discreet placement and speech applications. Distributed by www.wildandmarr.co.za

Industry professionals’ perspectives on ISE 2012

Mike Blackman of ISE:

Ivan Potter of iLed:

We are most pleased that we were able to pass the 40,000 attendance figure for the first time, and to retain our ability to grow our attendance faster than our growth in exhibit space – a trend that we have maintained for the past four shows. ISE 2012 drew attendance from 130 countries – more than any other audiovisual tradeshow in the world. So although the event will always have a European flavour as you would expect, considering its Amsterdam location, it is now firmly established as a forum for global business in the AV and electronic systems industry. All this was achieved against a backdrop of economic uncertainty in Europe, so overall we are delighted with the show’s performance.

Peter Aylett’s presentation on where the industry is going – he used a key word called disintermediation – simply the loss of business as technology becomes more cost effective and readily available through retail or online stores. This progression will always occur in sectors as they mature – how we position our companies to mitigate this threat and how we look at new business opportunities to take advantage are important. New technologies are being developed to allow the use of tablets (iPad and Android) and smart phones as user interfaces to control every aspect of a home or office. By embracing this new technology and applying it into an existing market, opportunities open.

Bosch Security Systems introduced OMNEO – a new media networking solution designed to provide open public standardsbased media networking architecture. This architecture has two components: an audio program transport protocol suite that offers low latency, multichannel audio stream exchange and a robust control protocol suite that provides “reliable and secure” system control for pro networks of all sizes. OMNEO’s program transport is based on RTP, a widely adopted IP streaming protocol.

Allen & Heath demonstrated their GLD live digital mixing system, which is based on the digital iLive series. The GLD- 80 mixer provides 48 input channels, eight stereo FX returns, 30 configurable busses, 20 mix processing channels and DSP power. GLD-80 has analogue-style channel processing controls plus a graphical 8.4in touchscreen. Inputs and mixes can be assigned to fader strips through a simple drag-and-drop process. There are 20 fader strips in four layers, each with motorised fader, a channel LCD display which can be named and colour-coded, plus a rotary control for direct access to gain, pan and aux/FX sends. The mixer‘s local I/O comprises four XLR mic/line inputs, four XLR line outs, four RCA inputs, two RCA outputs, and digital outputs in SPDIF and AES3 formats. Distributed by www.audiosure.co.za ISE 2013 will be held from 29 to 31 January at the Amsterdam RAI and over 31,000 net square metres have already been booked.

Gavin Olivier of Digital Fabric: Flat panel displays were very impressive. The sheer size of manufacturer-sponsored booths was an indication of the size of this market. Between Samsung, LG and NEC the range of products was astounding with noticeable growth in the range of commercial grade units. Transparent LCD products were also being shown in products that you can actually buy. Somewhat humorous was the fuss being made over Samsung’s square LCD when not that long ago the market was celebrating widescreen formats. Projection technology, while not showing anything really new, has in some respects closed the gap between high and low end units with even the simplest units being shown in warped and blended setups.

System Integration ISE Report Connectivity and control

AMX showcased new members in its Enova family; the Enova DGX 16 and 32 Digital Media Switchers. According to AMX these offer a future-ready HDMI and HDCP solution that can perfectly scale to any resolution. “With a built-in central controller, the Enova DGX 16 and 32 resolve copy protection issues, centrally manage connected devices and overcome many of the challenges facing integrators today. They manage and distribute analogue plus digital audio and video including HDMI with HDCP (HDMI/HDCP), control and Ethernet without any of the typical problems associated with HDCP authenticated content distribution and switching.”

Crestron showcased latest additions to its DigitalMedia range, including the DigitalMedia 8G+ technologies and the DMPS-3000 AV presentation system. DigitalMedia delivers high-definition audio and video, plus Ethernet, control signals and more, over long distances to multiple rooms, all over a single cable. DigitalMedia 8G+ can be used with standard Cat5e, DigitalMedia 8G or CresFiber 8G cable. The DMPS-3000 is a digital AV presentation system in a box – comprising

control system, matrix switcher, audio DSP, mic mixer and amplifier. In addition, HDCP, EDID and CEC are managed, eliminating the need for IR emitters and receivers and many serial cables. The company also announced the expansion of its trade-in scheme for analogue distribution systems to incorporate any brand of device. Distributed by www.electrosonic.co.za

Products on display at the Blackmagic Design stand included the ATEM family of live production switchers and converters. The ATEM 2 M/E Production Switcher and ATEM 2 M/E Broadcast Panel, the Teranex VC100 video processing line, the Videohub family of routers and a wide range of Blackmagic Design capture and playback devices were showcased. The Teranex VC-100 was demonstrated converting SD video (a DVD movie) to 3D HD. This model can handle up to 280 different kinds of format conversion, can upscale or downscale video and carry out frame rate conversion.

Barco showcased a sneak preview of the new ClickShare solution to a select audience. ClickShare is Barco’s answer to many technical difficulties with presentation equipment. This solution not only helps the presenter to get the presentation on-screen in a second, but also allows other people in the meeting to participate more actively. This results in enhanced meeting efficiency, and leads to better decisionmaking. Distributed by www.questekadvanced.co.za

Industry professionals’ perspectives on ISE 2012

Bruce Genricks of Electrosonic:

George van Gils of Questek:

Unlike the past few years, in which 3D was the dominating theme of the show, this year the attention was on multi-media interactive displays. What really caught my eye were Christie’s extremely bright 15k lumen LCD projector and Sharp’s new 80” interactive whiteboards. I was also impressed with Kramer Electronics training titled ‘Putting some sense into the digital formats chaos’. I found it really informative, most interesting was the section on Thunderbolt. This is the new connection for Apple and transmits video, audio and data simultaneously. It is also chainable, with one cable from the PC connected to the monitor and from there it is linked to a printer and then to a hard drive.

We at Questek regard ISE as one of the premier exhibitions to attend as it covers the complete spectrum of visualisation products. There were twelve halls jam packed with the latest technologies but we found that most of them were much the same. However, we were impressed with new products from some suppliers especially in software applications. The two items that really stood out for us were the new Infocus Mondopad and the new Barco ClickShare.

ISE Report System Integration

An impressive display at Integrated Systems Europe (ISE 2012)

System Integration Interactive Communication

TouchTable sets new standard TouchTable 4, a ground-breaking South African multi-touch surface, has taken the global AV industry by storm.

Tech Box •

Resolution 3072 x 1366 (4 Ultra Narrow Bezel LCD)

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Speed controlled surface cooling system

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32-point optical multitouch on

Developed for SA Tourism by local AV design consultants Digital Fabric in partnership with Cape Town digital agency Pixel Project, the 2.5m-long table has wowed some of Europe’s leading trade shows, including ITB (Berlin), WTM (London) and Top Resa (Paris). It has also won two Loerie Awards; a silver Loerie in the category of applications and interactive tools and a Loerie Craft Certificate in the category of Internet, mobile and interactive communication: digital crafts. Launched at Travel Indaba in Durban last year, the horizontal surface features a single, glass based multi-touch overlay capable of sensing 32 simultaneous touch points. Its user-friendly software, developed by Pixel Project, allows users to search and browse all the leisure experiences offered in South Africa, also allowing video and image playback, as well as email functionality.

10mm glass substrate •

Network on-board, WiFi, 3G

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Computing Quadcore i7 3.2

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Size 2 520mm x 1 215mm

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Height: 900mm +/- 50mm adj

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Weight: 400kg

– Gavin Olivier

GHz, SSD drive •

Quad output graphics

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Superstructure 6000 Series machined aluminium

Venue Installation System Integration

Transnet conference centre upgrade Durban based AV company Natal Video was recently awarded a tender to revamp Transnet’s Elwazini conference centre in Richards Bay.

As a reputable enterprise, Transnet wanted to create a state-of-the-art centre with the latest AV equipment to host both large and small conferences. Natal Video’s first move was to construct a new drywall with down lighters and wall-washers to lower the level of the suspended ceiling. This assisted with the enhancement of the venue’s ambience which was ultimately complimented by the advanced technological control systems and lighting systems that followed together with motorised Venetian blinds. For lighting, technicians installed the Crestron DALI control system, which allows complete control of the lighting levels. “An advantage of installing a control system is that energy management becomes very easy and cost effective to implement. In this case, presence detectors were installed in the venue,” says Natal Video’s spokesperson.

“TouchTable 4 sets new standards in interactive design. The attention to detail extends below the sleek surface cladding and into each and every component to create the mechanical stability required for continual user flow,” says Gavin Olivier of Digital Fabric. The table can be broken down into flight cases and reassembled in a few hours. Olivier says it is unique in its ability to be easily transported between venues. “Most touch tables of this size are engineered for fixed installation, but TouchTable 4 is suited to both temporary and fixed environments. It [TouchTable 4] has travelled some serious road mileage but it still looks like the day it came out of the box.” All of the required technology is housed within the table structure, ensuring easy setup with a single power connection to the table. The table’s sound system comprises twelve speakers. Eight high powered full range speakers deliver crisp, detailed audio to the top edges via custom acoustic waveguides and four sub-bass units are concealed in the legs to add punchy low end audio. TouchTable 1 variants are currently being built for SA Tourism based on the success of TouchTable 4.

“When the facility is vacant for a pre-set period, the lighting, audio visual and sound equipment automatically switch off, and the blinds return to an open position. This not only saves on electricity bills, cost of projector lamps and wear and tear of equipment, but also helps save our planet.” A sliding partition was fitted which allows the venue to be turned into two smaller self-contained conference rooms. Panasonic networkable LCD projectors were then installed in each of the subdivisions, and for security reasons all projectors were mounted on projector lifts, that automatically fold into the ceiling when not in use. Projection screens from Elite Screens were mounted which also fold into the ceiling when not in use. After the projectors a Crestron Digital Media System was installed to cater for all the latest digital signals as well as legacy analogue signals. At the heart of this system is a DM-MD8X8 digital matrix switcher for DSTV, Blu-ray and computer inputs. Digital Media transmitters located at the lectern and presentation positions provide inputs for both analogue and digital inputs. A digital media receiver was later mounted at each projector. All DM signals were carried on Cat6 cabling, which is readily available, easy to terminate and only requires 20mm conduit. A Crestron control system was also installed to control all the equipment. Later a six-inch Crestron touch panel was installed in the lectern and a wireless touch panel was installed in a wall mounted docking station. Using these two panels, either rooms can be controlled individually or the combined bigger room can be controlled. The audio system comprises both voice lift and show sound. Amplification is provided by Crestron 3 x 80watt amplifiers and speakers consist of Kramer closed-back ceiling speakers and Kramer wall mount speakers.

Long-time friends and business partners Gavin Olivier and Alex Sanfilippo are key players in the local AV industry. With over three decades of combined experience in AV design and consultancy, they have collaborated on all sorts of prestigious projects, from Freedom Park to Liliesleaf and SA Tourism. Late last year they signed a significant agreement to co-run Digital Fabric, one of the most recognisable bespoke AV consultancies to the local museum and visitor attraction sector. We recently sat down with the duo.

Alex Sanfilippo

Gavin Olivier

System Integration Industry Experts

How best do you describe what Digital Fabric does? Gavin: Hmmm, that’s hard to summarise in just a paragraph. We mostly offer consulting and design services to the Heritage and Visitor Attraction market; however because of the bespoke nature of certain items, we are increasingly required to provide turnkey development for projects. Most of our interactive projects are examples of this – there simply aren’t existing products out there for us to specify.

How did you get into the AV industry? Alex: I started out in the sound rental industry at Hattech/Satellite Sound as a technician in 1999, spent a further two years at Wild & Marr and in 2002 joined Shattered Glass AV & Staging. My time at Shattered glass forged my passion for the industry. In 2008 I joined Megaview Displays as new business development manager and technical advisor. After a short stint on my own, doing World Cup related work, I merged with Digital Fabric in 2011. Gavin: I grew up in the telecommunication and mainframe industry, but absolutely hated it. In search of something more exciting I put in a few years in the live event industry after which I joined Electrosonic South Africa in their first year or two of existence. Thirteen years later, the attraction of the museum and heritage market lured me away and the rest, as they say, is history.

What are some of your favourite recent projects? Gavin: The Freedom Park Museum project that we are midway with is certainly the most exciting. We are handling AV, exhibition lighting, interactive hardware and software and digital archiving systems, so it’s quite a handful. But outside of that there have been many deeply rewarding projects, mostly small, where we are involved in the concept and narrative design from the outset. We have also recently been commissioned to develop interactive windows for the newly opened Wits Arts Museum in Bramfontein. The screens face the streets and use tracking cameras to detect movement by curious night visitors. It gives the museum an entire audience on the other side of the glass and we are helping to develop a viral campaign around the concept. Alex: We recently developed an interactive touch surface called TouchTable4 for SA Tourism. It’s unique, even by international standards, and we have extensively showcased it in Europe with great response. The table is two and a half metres long and can be used by eight people at the same time. It allows users to search and browse all the leisure experiences offered in South Africa, also allowing them to access a large database of information, play high definition videos and send emails using a state-of-art multitouch interface.

What has been your proudest project? Alex: Working at Moses Mabhida Stadium for the 2010 World Cup; I worked with Wild & Marr to design and install the stadium’s flagship line array system.

What do you do in your free time? What inspired you to join forces? Alex: Gavin and I had been doing business together for many years, since my days at Shattered Glass and we had always toyed with the idea of doing more together. The truth is that I had always aspired to one day work for Gavin, but now have the privilege of working with him. A lot of what happened in 2010 around our work culminated into our joining forces a year later. Gavin: We often wonder why it took us so long to get to this point because we have been on the same page for a very long time. We complement each other so incredibly well; my ability to get projects off the drawing board complements Alex’s ability to turn them into real products that constantly push the boundaries of design excellence.

Gavin: The free time that I have is spent with my family; we love entertaining and visiting cool spots around Joburg. Alex: I spend time with friends and my much better half, I also love cooking – great to de-stress

What’s your holiday destination of choice? Alex: …Still looking, really. Gavin: Franschoek Valley or most parts of Italy.

Favourite song of all time? Alex: Queen – Bohemian Rhapsody Gavin: Sarah McLachlan – Angel. Great Chatting to you guys, thanks for your time and we wish you all the best!

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Already Got SC48? Add remote flexibility to your setup with Stage 48, and create bigger mixes with the VENUE 3 software upgrade.

www.avldistribution.co.za • (+2711) 463-5804 © 2012 Avid Technology, Inc. All rights reserved. Product features, specifications, system requirements, and availability are subject to change without notice. Avid the Avid logo and Pro Tools are trademarks or registered trademarks of Avid Technology, Inc. or its subsidiaries in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.

Stage 48 St

System Integration Conference Solution Photo by Mark Drysdale

The launch of Transnet’s much-talked-about R300 billion ‘Market Demand’ strategy employed one of the largest LED screens on the market – a DigiLED 6mm pitch indoor screen.

Lightweight LED video tiles The launch of Transnet’s much-talked-about R300 billion ‘Market Demand’ strategy incorporated one of the largest LED screens on the market – a DigiLED 6mm pitch indoor screen. Supplied by AV Systems, the screen measured 12.8m wide x 2.7m high and cloaked the full width of the stage to make for a truly captivating backdrop. The screen was made from 48 ‘fast-rig’ digiLED frames each measuring 800mm wide x 900mm high and weighing in at 40kg. Key to AV Systems’ choice of a video screen was resolution and the digiLED proved to be the best option with a high resolution of 2048 x 432. “The resolution of the screen is very impressive and it was exactly what the client wanted. Another beauty is that with LED you do not have to worry about lighting as you would with other screens,” explains Denzil Smith of AV Systems. The screen is part of the digiLED Tile series which is manufactured by UK-based company DisplayLED. With its ‘fast-rig’ frames weighing in at 23kg per square metre, the screen is hailed as one of the lightest rental options in the industry. It has also been praised for its ability to serve power. For this particular event; a 32 amp, three-phase power supply was used. AV Systems also used two Barco 14K HD projectors (supplied by MJ Event Gear) to beam PowerPoint graphics to two side screens. Hailed as ‘the quietest 14 000 lumens native HD projector on the market today’, the 14K HD projectors are optimised for wide screen applications which demand – not only high brightness – but also extremely low noise and an ultra-long lamp lifetime. There were two more portrait screens on the sides, which used two Christie Roadster 8k HD projectors. All the content was loaded into Dataton’s flagship multi-display production and playback system Watchout 5 and fed into a Folsom Encore unit which controlled all the screens allowing Smith to send camera content and PowerPoint presentations to desired screens. MJ Event Gear designed the set and supplied audio and lighting as well as the stage. The set was built by Dream Sets.

Lighting and sound Johnny Scholtz’s lighting design included 14 Robe ROBIN 600 LEDWash lights, two Robe MMXs, four Clay Paky Sharpy’s, 24 Thomas Pixelpar90 LED par cans and two Robe DT 5000s. Control was done on a Grand MA 1 full-size console. A d&b audiotechnik system was used for sound with four Q10s, four Q-subs and two T10s as fills. FOH control was done on a Yamaha LS9 console.

With its ‘fast-rig’ frames weighing in at 23kg per square metre, the screen is hailed as one of the lightest rental options in the industry.

Tech box Video • • •

DigiLed 6mm (2.8 m wide and 2.7m high) LED screen Two Christie Roadster 8k HD projectors Two Barco 14K HD projectors

Lighting • • • • • •

14 x Robe ROBIN 600 LEDWash lights Two Robe MMXs Four Clay Paky Sharpy’s 24 x Thomas Pixelpar90 LED par cans Two Robe DT 5000s Grand MA 1 full-size console

Audio • • • • •

D&B system Four Q10s Four Q-subs Two T10s One Yamaha LS9 console

System Integration COMMUNICATION Solutions

Ground-breaking tablet launched InFocus recently launched the Mondopad – their first all-in-one giant tablet for business-class video conferencing and collaboration. Measuring 55 inches, the HD wall tablet combines intuitive touch collaboration applications with Vidtel’s any-to-any, cloud-based video conferencing to offer a disruptively priced all-in-one collaboration display. “The Mondopad’s natural touch interface changes the way people interact with information; collaborate and connect. Meetings are more engaging, content is more immersive and audiences are more engaged,” says a spokesperson from InFocus.

High-quality cloud video conferencing InFocus partnered with Vidtel, a cloud video conferencing service provider, to make business-grade video conferencing as easy as making a phone call. Unlike traditional video conferencing, the Mondopad requires no upfront infrastructure investment or IT resources and connects to all SIP and H.323 standards-based end-points and many proprietary video conferencing platforms – from popular free consumer video conferencing applications like Google Chat, to enterprise telepresence systems from Polycom and Cisco. With the Mondopad, Vidtel has solved significant video conferencing interoperability issues so organisations don’t have to hassle when adopting the same equipment and service to connect with external partners. The Mondopad’s 720p HD video camera and sound bar are designed specifically for video conferencing to eliminate conference room clutter and enhance the audio quality of dialogue. “The combination of the Mondopad wall tablet and the Vidtel managed service yields an affordable, high quality, standards-based visual collaboration solution that is easy to install, manage and use. It is this type of solution that will help video conferencing break into the SMB space,” says Ira M. Weinstein, senior analyst and partner, Wainhouse Research.

Key features •

Multi-touch high definition 55 inch display

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Flexible and expandable with built-in Windows PC

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Digital interactive whiteboard and document annotation

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Business-class video conferencing

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Share, view and control from your tablet or smartphone

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Full copy of Microsoft Office ensures file compatibility Distributed by www.questekadvanced.co.za

Transform conference rooms into collaboration rooms Offering a 55-inch full-HD 1080p (1920x1080) LCD display and designed for multi-touch from the ground up, the Mondopad changes the way people interact with information and each other. Sharing documents and visuals in a meeting is exceptionally easy, whether users are local or remote. The Mondopad’s multi-touch display works with Word, PowerPoint, Excel, PDF, JPEGs and more. Presentation, whiteboard and annotation applications – including a complete set of writing and drawing tools – open the dialogue, increase engagement and make it easy to brainstorm and quickly save and distribute ideas. Multiple Mondopads on the same network support multi-party whiteboard sessions.

Share, view and control on any device Local or remote users can easily share, view and control presentations from their PC, tablet or smartphone. The Mondopad’s WiFi ensures meeting participants have the right level of access: from authorised users connecting directly to a corporate network through the display, to meeting guests being able to easily deliver documents to the display or access the Internet without connecting to an organisation’s private network. There is also an option that allows remote participants to see what’s on the Mondopad via a web page served by the Mondopad.

Monitor and manage the Mondopad from anywhere IT administrators and managed service providers can securely monitor and manage the Mondopad from anywhere. Embedded Intel vPro technologies and compatibility with remote monitoring and management software provide immediate access for controlling, analysing and administering the Mondopad as a hooked IT asset. Administrators can also add their own Windows applications to the Mondopad.

COMMUNICATION Solutions System Integration

Linking into video conferencing Video conferencing was hailed as a key business tool at the Microsoft-Kathea customer summit held in Johannesburg in February.

Kathea customer summit

Focused on new unified visual communication technologies, the conference was attended by more than 50 representatives from local enterprises. Speakers at the three-day event included Fred Baumhandt from Microsoft, Greg Drake from Kathea and Ismayeel Syed from Aviva in the UK.

“Video conferencing is very important to business, not just for true remote employee engagement and global collaboration, but also for accessing human resources regardless of whether based at HQ, branch office, working from home or travelling in between,” explained Syed. A renowned consultant in digital media and unified communications, Syed also urged companies to embrace free videoconferencing platforms such as Skype. “Small businesses that have very limited budgets can rapidly deploy Skype for free and start visually collaborating. Once the mind-set has been switched to VC via Skype, more integration and third party add ons can be adopted to extend the experience,” he said.

Enterprise broadcasting Syed also talked about his own telepresence solution, EnterpriseTV, which allows companies to broadcast live to their clients at minimal cost. “The beauty of EnterpriseTV is that it requires very minimum resources; you need only one camera and a green background, and the solution offers a plethora of collaboration features. EnterpriseTV has resonated a lot with over 500 South African customers we presented to during the summit and we look forward to the first few SA implementations of it,” said Syed after the summit.

By Eddie Hatitye

New products Two major collaborative releases from Polycom (the EagleEye Director camera and the CX 7000 console) were showcased on the last day of the summit.

Built by Polycom and Microsoft, the EagleEye Director is a room camera tracking system designed to enhance video conferencing experiences through close-up views of every speaker in a video conference, regardless of their location or the number of people in the room. With fully automated camera pan, tilt and zoom motions, the EagleEye Director resolves the common problem in video conferencing of seeing all participants during a meeting, but not being able to see facial expressions of the person talking. By highlighting, zooming in and framing active speakers, everyone can clearly see critical facial expressions and read the subtle body language which enables deeper engagement and more effective meetings. An array of seven microphones in the base of the unit allows amazing results in rooms of all shapes and sizes, making it the ideal solution for large conference rooms, class rooms and board rooms.

The CX7000 was designed to be used in a similar manner to a traditional video conferencing system, but the cherry on top is that it is specifically optimised for Microsoft Lync. So in addition to regular video calling to other Lync users, CX7000 owners get a full Lync collaboration experience in the meeting room. This console combines all the powerful features of Lync with high definition (HD) telepresence, voice and an array of collaboration features. This allows users to join online meetings, receive and make Lync calls, share uploaded content and view or actively collaborate on any content shared by other participants. The system comes with a wireless keyboard, wireless mouse, omni-directional, an EagleEye View camera with built-in microphones, as well as a small footprint PC.

Installations PRODUCT REVIEW

Taking sound to the next level Pro Systems contributor Greg Bester recently attended the South African demo of new Bose RoomMatch and PowerMatch line array System.

PowerMatch

‘Better sound through research’ is the motto of audio giant Bose, the now legendary Framingham, Massachusetts-based company that has been manufacturing high quality home audio for the past 50 years. Granted, this has been their forte and they now have many thousands of happy home-bound customers worldwide but, starting with the L1 series of personal monitoring and PA systems, they have now forged into the world of professional audio. This has culminated with their latest unveiling – the Bose RoomMatch and PowerMatch line array system to the professional audio community of South Africa in the Theatre of Marcellus at Emperors Palace.

Bose RoomMatch In a nutshell the RoomMatch system is designed to overcome the three main problems faced in point source array sound reinforcement, which include: • Phase interference seams – which cause an inconsistent frequency response at different points in the room. • Coverage seam gaps – which cause inconsistent level at different points in the room. • Unwanted sidewall reflections – which cause inconsistent tonal balance throughout the listening area.

RoomMatch comes with the PowerMatch PM8500 and PM8500N power amplifier systems, the only difference being that the PM8500N offers Ethernet support. Both of the amplifiers include a high efficiency Class-D amplifier that supplies 4000 watts to a maximum of eight outputs per amp. This means that you get 4000 watts to slice any way you want between the eight outputs. The amps are all digitally configurable, either from the front panel or via USB and Bose’s patented ControlSpace Designer Software. Aimed at installations only, the system incorporates fixed dispersion array modules that fire at specific horizontal and vertical angles to more accurately match the coverage requirements of any given installation. There are a total of 15 different modules, each with their own coverage pattern, one subwoofer module and rigging accessories. The subwoofer can either be flown with the array or floor mounted and has a relatively narrow response of 80 to 40Hz. Either way, without the subwoofer the array can still extend down to 60Hz, which is more than ample for many applications.

Lumen Freaks everywhere rejoice! Philips Vari-Lite introduces the VL3015, VL3015LT & VL3515 Spot luminaires. All using the double-ended 1500W lamp that has been so effective and reliable in our large format wash luminaires, the VL3015 and VL3515 Spot luminaires feature 6:1 zoom optics and over 24,000 lumens of output, while the VL3015LT boasts 10:1 zoom optics and can produce 40,000 lumens. All of the fixtures possess features that are identical to those found in the famous luminaires they are based upon, with the LT model also boasting a second fixed color wheel, frost, and a prism option.

The best just got brighter. www.dwrdistribution.co.za

www.vari-lite.com

During playback we roamed around the room and listened; the coverage was accurate and was not lacking at any point. Tonal balance was also consistent from point to point and I would say that Bose has really done something right in their RoomMatch system. Bose claims to have virtually eliminated phase seam interference with the design of their patented Continuous Arc Diffraction Slot Manifold, which is a specialised waveguide for the six high end drivers per box. This is one of the key features of the RoomMatch system.

Scorecard We were given listening material to test the system, the first one, a classical piece, showcased the arrays flown on their own without the addition of the subwoofers and it was completely evident that the arrays could extend down to 60Hz as we felt the bows of the contrabass and cellos in our chest. The system was clear, present and detailed without being overwhelming at any point. The sound seemed to emanate or glow out of the boxes. The next piece – acoustic music – comprised acoustic guitar and a female vocal, but this time with the subwoofers enabled. Once again the sound was clear and detailed and revealed the wonderful organic tones inherent in the music with deep, full bass. The final pre-recorded material played to us – male acapella and rock, was all presented in high fidelity and the initial impression was impressive. During playback we roamed around the room and listened; the coverage was accurate and was not lacking at any point. Tonal balance was also consistent from point to point and I would say that Bose has really done something right in their RoomMatch system when it comes to addressing the aforementioned problems.

Finally, we were treated to a surprise performance by the Graeme Watkins Project to demonstrate how the system handles a live band. However, in all honesty, I did not feel that the system supplied the impact that a live band needs to make an impression. I felt it lacked the definition and clarity of the pre-recorded music we had just been played. Simply put, I did not feel the kick in my chest that I am familiar with and I felt the midrange was a bit fuzzy. This could be the result of the mix engineer’s fault and he may have not been given the time to setup and optimise the system to the band. That being said, I still think that Bose has created a high quality, interesting, and competitive system that offers much for many venues where fidelity is critical. Indeed, it has already won an inAVation award for ‘Most InAVative Commercial Audio Product’ and ‘Most InAVative Commercial Loudspeaker’. I wish them many more. Bester is an audio engineer and musician and is as chief audio engineer at Shifted Audio.

Photos by Anton Crone

Installations Venue Solution

Multi-function club in mother city By Michael Nicholson

A multi-level venue has redefined nightclubs in Cape Town. When Trinity’s owners looked at launching a new nightclub in Cape Town, they looked to the US and Europe for inspiration. Their objective – to give Cape Town a venue that surpassed any other in the city, but not only that, they wanted to give Africa something it had never had before.

“The aim was all encompassing,” revealed Jonathan Inggs, Trinity’s marketing manager. “To provide a premiere clubbing experience and, moreover, a custom venue where corporate companies can have conferences, product launches and goodwill functions, alike.” 24

Such aims require a flexible technical installation, which comes from capable equipment. It also comes from expert advice. In every case, Trinity is covered. The installation was split between three companies, with each handling a different kind of entertainment technology. The venue’s multi-level configuration offers distinct changes in mood and tempo, with the décor and finishes emphasising these changes. Trinity Café, Trinity Grill and Trinity East offer different dining experiences. Salon Prive is an exclusive, members club and Trinity Garden brings elegant outdoor surroundings to the rooftop. Funktion One speakers feature throughout, but like the rest of the technological elements, the highest concentration of equipment is found in the Funktion Room – no prizes for where the name came from. A central water feature, motorised projection screen, stage and authentic Indian temple doors create a unique offering that is both aesthetically pleasing and absorbing at the same time. A mezzanine level overlooking the main dancefloor allows for a respite from the action on the dancefloor and main stage, with plush seating and tables making for a relaxed environment complete with a full view of the dancefloor below. Eight Funktion One Resolution 4E-C speakers have been flown on the left and right hand sides of the room. Each one offers wide dispersion and a 3-way, mid-high frequency range. It has been designed as part of a 4-way system, requiring the addition of a bass enclosure. In this instance, four Funktion One F221’s (with their infamous dual 21-inch bass potency) have been integrated into the set-up. Two Funktion One F88 speakers have been added for

Venue Solution Installations centre-fill. Trinity’s AV technician, Bradley Bruchhausen, described the Funktion One-effect: “Trinity is kitted through-out with Funktion One sound, with the layout designed by Tony Andrews himself.”

“Every foot of the venue is coated with a warm, transparent sound.” “It switches seamlessly between DJ and bands, lunches to club night, leaving diners and clubbers alike foot tapping to every beat.” A DiGiCo SD9 fulfils FOH mixing duties in Funktion Room. The SD9 is a complete, integrated system powered by Stealth Digital Processing, which includes the mixing surface, a D-Rack digital stage interface and CAT5E digital multicore, with the additional ability to simultaneously record 56 channels direct to your favourite multi-track software or DAW. Two Pioneer CDJ-2000 decks and a Pioneer DJM-800 DJ mixer facilitate a varied entertainment programme. Jonathan revealed: “We host at least two international DJ’s a month, and we surely can boast that we are one of the top venues in southern Africa, if not Africa. We have had Armin van Buuren, Tommy de Clerc, Sebastien Leger, Judge Jules, Edu Embernon, Heist, James Zabiela… the list goes on. Naturally, with our Funktion One system, this is the venue that DJs prefer to play at.” Lighting fixtures – supplied by DWR like the rest of the lighting infrastructure – are controlled using an Avolites Tiger Touch. Described as ‘a hybrid of powerful Diamond 4 functionality coupled with the friendly Pearl interface’, the console provides user-friendly functionality and high profile venue performance. Dimming is handled by a Philips Strand Lighting wall rack. The fixtures supplied by DWR include 12 Robe 575XT Scanners, six Robe ROBIN 300e Spots and a Robe Dominator XT1200. With the XT1200, the rotation-speed of the barrel mirrors is fully controllable. It has a three-facet prism effect, six different gobos and three different dichroic colour filters. It offers a multitude of lighting effects. Twelve Robe LEDforce 18 RGBW fixtures and 54 Robe LEDforce 7 RGBW fixtures supply colour washes to the surrounding environment. Four 400W UV cannons complete the room’s lighting line-up. Discussing the lighting equipment, Bradley explained: “DWR’s Nick Britz did the original layout however; Gideon Naude and I have moved the entire rig during the course of last year and are constantly repositioning fixtures to keep the venue fresh or for whatever the client’s needs may be.” “Everyone has their personal favourite, but yes we were very happy when we found out that Robe and Avolites would be in our arsenal of LX. We love the colour of the Robe fixtures, the combination of Robe 575 scanners and Robe ROBIN 300e moving heads peppered with LEDforce 18 and 7 cans works well for us making the palette that is Trinity a pleasure to paint every night. These fixtures have been pushed through some high heat and moist, smoky conditions and hardly give us any issues.” “The Avolites Tiger Touch is the backbone of our shows. With the big touch screen it makes selecting colours and gobos quicker than ever. Setting up workspace palettes makes multi use a joy. Wireless control via an iPad or browser enabled phone makes testing a dream.” A framework of Prolyte trussing provides hanging points for the fixtures. There are three trusses (Prolyte H30V) running across vertically and three trusses (Prolyte H30V) running across horizontally overhead, in a grid format, installed above the dancefloor and stage, which can

be utilised for additional lighting and/or other equipment. There are three beams at ceiling height (about 3.8 metres) running along the width of the venue that can be utilised for any additional rigging required with a maximum weight load of two tonnes per beam and 500kg per point.

Trinity is a multi-purpose venue, which means a high-energy club at night can be followed by a corporate gathering the next day. The entertainment technology has been prescribed with that in mind, including the video elements. 25

Installations Venue Solution Photos by Anton Crone

Motorised projection screens have been installed by Avicom, along with Hitachi CP-X 1000 and Cp-X 5021 projectors. Four Samsung LCD screens are found in the Funktion Room. Discussing this technology, Bradley said:

“The projection elements are used for entertainment and presentations. We have Arkaos Media Master Pro, which we use for VJ purposes when we don’t have an external VJ on the screens at night. During the day PowerPoint presentations on the 5-metre by 4-metre projection screen will not be missed.”

Technical Spec AUDIO • Funktion One speakers • DiGiCo SD9 FOH console • Soundcraft EFX12 console • Pioneer CDJ-2000 & CDJ-900 CD decks • DJM-800 DJ mixer • Audix microphones • Full Fat Audio amplifiers LIGHTING • Avolites Tiger Touch & Pearl Tiger consoles • Philips Strand wall rack • Robe: ROBIN 300e Spot, LEDforce, Dominator XT1200 & 575XT Scanner • 400W UV cannon TRUSSING • Prolyte H30V trussing video • Hitachi CP-X 10000 & CP-X 5021 data video projectors •

Motorised projection screens

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Samsung LCD screens

Elsewhere in the venue, the same combination of manufacturers can be found. A breakdown of the exact models and quantities are featured in the technical information box at the end of this article. A complete Audix microphone kit has been supplied by Metropolis Sound & Lighting, along with K&M microphone stands and Radial DI boxes. All amplification is via Full Fat Audio Amplifiers. Three FFA 4004s, six FFA 6004s, three FFA 8000s and a FFA10000 are used to drive the complete system. All processing is through BSS Audio Soundweb London BLU processors, which are networked and controlled using a tablet PC allowing for wireless control of the system from anywhere within the club. An amp room overlooking the Funktion Room houses the three 42U amp racks. Each rack is powered by a 32A three-phase Metrobox Rack distribution module, which also accepts a feed from the rack mount UPS and protects and distributes it to all processing and control gear in the racks. Metrobox patch points around the venue allow signals to be input and extracted throughout the venue. Connection points for monitor input and output are also included on the patch points. Reflecting on the installation, Bradley picked out a personal highlight: “It was a great honour to meet Tony Andrews himself at the beginning of this year. He imparted knowledge to us that is invaluable in our industry and has such a zest for life that is unparalleled.”

AQ series

Stadium series

Tel: +44 (0)1494 535312 Fax: +44 (0)1494 438669 E-mail: info@martin-audio.com

Wavefront series www.audiosure.co.za

The Martin Experience

www.martin-audio.com

Blackline series

sales@audiosure.co.za

Photo by Kerry Buckle

Installations Audio Solution

Upgrading theatre sound

by Greg Bester

Theatre sound, although sharing many similarities with other kinds of audio installations, is a distinct beast with many challenges, the most pertinent challenge is coverage of the listening area. In a theatre’s case, there may be any number of alcoves, balconies and floor spaces to cover, thus often making a simple stack-per-side system out of the question and calling for something a little more complicated. After all, everybody who buys a ticket deserves to hear the programme no matter where they may sit. Being a mix engineer myself, I am used to walking into a theatre gig and having to deal with multiple delay enclosures, matrix sends, and individual manipulation of the coverage areas but I must admit my knowledge of the minutia of installations of permanent systems was never significant. I’d simply never done one, nor had I ever witnessed one done properly. You can imagine my interest when I was given instruction by the powers that be to review the new L-Acoustics system that was recently installed into the Barnyard Theatre by Richard Smith and Joseph Mandy of Sound Harmonics. These gentlemen were kind enough to meet me early in the morning to check out their latest installation and Richard was gracious enough to share his thoughts behind the design.

“The Barnyard Theatre is a discerning business just like any other so obviously the budget wasn’t on the order of a blank cheque. The theatre already had an older MTD system so instead of buying an entirely new system, we merely added on some newer components from the latest L-Acoustics line to fill out the room.”

The new components Richard refers to includes four new coaxial 8XTi’s, the LA4 amplified DSP unit, and a couple of SB18 subwoofers. These, added to four MTD115A’s (mains), four MTD108A (front & side fills) and two SB118 Subs, really helped Richard to attain an even coverage

to all areas of the theatre. His main goal was to steer clear of adding fills on the front of the stage and under the balcony areas for the simple reason that it presents a delay nightmare, and an additional cost (of enclosures and processing). In the case of front fills, it was extremely difficult to get the delays right, because the front tables are so close to the stage. For this reason he chose to fly all the boxes and implement clever use of enclosure orientation and firing angles to achieve the even coverage he was aiming for. Using L-Acoustics’ proprietary system installation software called Soundvision; Richard carefully plugged the venue dimensions into their respective fields and designed a virtual space that reflected the theatre. Soundvision naturally has all L-Acoustics speaker models – including legacy – built into its interface so it’s merely a matter of choosing one and specifying its position. Each speaker model naturally has its own dispersion characteristics and this is built into the software to ensure proper coverage of the virtual space. A coverage map can then be generated to display the dispersion of the system and all parameters such as type of speaker, angle and position can then be manipulated to supply an optimum configuration. It’s a wonderful tool that Richard uses on all his installations and it really shows once you take a listen. Taking a walk around the room, I was surprised to hear how even the playback material sounded at all points in the room. The biggest problem areas in this type of venue are often underneath the balcony and the area directly under the stage, because the Barnyard has a balcony that runs around the entire perimeter of the venue and because the floor is actually quite large, it’s clear that these issues were immediately a concern for Richard. But he handled the situation beautifully as I was able to hear the music clearly no matter where I was in the room, without any phase seams or tonal change. Sound Harmonics really did a great job with this venue and their approach is a testament to taking what you have, carefully using the tools at your disposal and getting the job done with the least amount of expenditure and intrusion.

International Audio Solution Installations

Sounding off in the BMX world

Some overseas trends news courtesy our international correspondent Louise Stickland.

A new CODA Audio sound system is servicing the UK’s first ever permanent indoor BMX track, which is part of the National Cycling Centre in Manchester. The audio system was designed and installed by Liverpool, UK-based ADLIB Solutions, co-ordinated through their specialist installation division. It follows another CODA system supplied by ADLIB last year to the adjacent Velodrome track, after which Manchester City Council asked them back to deliver a permanent multi-purpose audio solution at The BMX Centre. The ADLIB team was led by Roger Kirby and John Hughes, and overseen on site by Alex Burke. CODA was specified for many reasons including continuity with the Velodrome system as it offers the sonic range and dynamics demanded by the BMX Centre, which stages a whole range of events including those organised with local community groups. These include Urban Expression, a weekly youth night focusing on urban sports and music plus numerous other national and international BMX track events.

“The main objective was to provide a very flexible system to handle loud music and hyperenthusiastic commentators without excessive breakout, while minimising environmental disturbances to nearby residential properties,” explains Roger Kirby. The design’s starting point was to optimise the audio coverage and reduce potential environmental noise pollution. On the latter task, ADLIB worked closely with the venue’s preferred acoustic consultants, Sound Space Design, which endorsed their system design. Another requirement was to have a system straightforward enough to be operated by the venue’s general events staff on a

day-to-day basis. The speakers are configured to minimise reflections within the space’s challenging acoustic environment. Covering the centre of the main seating stands are four hangs of four CODA Airline LA8 speakers, each with an Airline LA8 sub on top of each hang, complete with all the necessary flying accessories. The main stands’ front left and right positions are covered with four CODA G712 / 96 speakers, and for the extreme rear left and right corners of the stand, two CODA G308 delay speakers are deployed. At the starting gate positions on both ramps are four ADLIB AA81i speakers. To minimise the sound spillage, the whole system is configured as 10 independent sound zones across the stands. This allows fine tuning of the levels and speaker operations in these spectator-only areas. The LA8 loudspeakers enhance the overall spectator listening experience with their uniform cross-axis frequency response that feature planar technology; their coherent spectral response and their high output gain. The light weight – in relation to physical size – offered many hanging options, effectively to simplify the installation into a point-source speaker solution. For control, ADLIB specified a BSS Soundweb ‘London Architect’ system network incorporating a BLU-100 device with BLU-LINK connectivity for the simultaneous broadcast of audio signals and microphone sources via Ethernet. The Blu-100 will be used as the source feed for event commentary, DJ systems and visiting sound mixers to tie into the installed system. An intelligent system processor with on-board calendar configuration allows complete control and sound level limiting, and can be programmed with different pre-sets for times of day and days of the week. The 19-metre trim height of the structural ribs in the building’s ceiling – from which the sound system is flown – provided additional challenges as the installation had to include the help of a selfpropelled aerial working platform.

Anolis in architectural lighting first at new Sandton City extension

Photos by Louise Stickland

Installations ARCHITECTURAL lighting

Protea Court is the newly opened extension to South Africa’s most desirable and glamorous retail destination – Sandton City in Johannesburg. It features the first ground-breaking architectural lighting installation of its kind in South Africa, designed by Paul Pamboukian and senior lighting designer Joao Viegas of Paul Pamboukian Lighting Design (PPLD), with 115 Anolis ArcPad 48 and 12 ArcSource 96 fixtures used to highlight the spectacular 34 metre high, 42 metre diameter, 11 degree sloping roof structure and its ETFE inflatable skin. These were supplied by Anolis’ South African distributor DWR, who also undertook the installation and commissioning of the lighting system. DWR’s team of three installation technicians all completed full Rope Access and Working at Height safety courses before starting on site, with approximately 70% of the Anolis fixtures needing to be rigged externally on the roof structure. Protea Court – which houses 70 new international and luxury retail outlets – was inspired by the shape of South Africa’s national flower, the Protea and designed by Tia Kanakakis from MDS Architects. PPLD has worked with MDS Architects on previous projects, and was asked to create a fabulous and innovative lighting scheme to accentuate the striking shape and aura of Protea Court, in the process capturing the mood and spirit of the whole cutting edge development and retail ‘experience’ with lighting. PPLD specified ‘green’ lighting technology for several reasons: Firstly, to match the energy efficient ethos behind the ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE) roof, a fluorine-based product with high corrosion resistance and strength over a wide temperature range. Just two microns thick, it lets through all natural light, whilst providing very robust insulation. Comprising 146 air-filled cushions, restrained within a network of profiled aluminium extrusions curved to the shape of the steel structure, it is also a first in South Africa. Secondly, they wanted to ensure that the long-term operational and running costs of the lighting scheme were efficient and budget friendly – so LED was an obvious route. Thirdly, after exhaustive testing, they knew that using colour

changing LEDs would work in the space and also offer additional dynamic, flexible options, e.g. shading the roof differently for special events and occasions. In addition to this, they were convinced that the texture, look and feel of high quality modern LED fixtures was ideal for the application. Aesthetically, overall, they wanted the lighting to accentuate the intense verticality of the space and make the strong structural definition of the roof with its beams and girders come alive and ‘breath’. The central lift shaft is based on the idea of the Protea-stem, bursting out at the top into this beautiful petal-like curvature and canopy. PPLD had not specified the Anolis brand before, but once their research into which fixtures would be best to use commenced, DWR – and Dan Riley – was one of the first calls, having heard that Anolis is an excellent quality architectural product. Fixtures that produced a smooth, rich even coverage with no shadows, pixilation or blockiness across the roof expanse were of paramount importance, and this is one of many areas where Anolis really performs.

ARCHITECTURAL lighting Installations

They looked at Anolis’s ArcPad 48 RGBWW Integral and ArcSource 96 RGBWW Integral fixtures which were initially demonstrated at DWR’s warehouse. Impressed with the results, further more comprehensive tests were set up on site at Sandton. Their client loved the results as well, and so a lighting scheme utilising Anolis received the green light. The 115 ArcPad 48 and 12 ArcSource 96s are arranged over three rings around the roof dome, of which a centre cluster of 60 ArcPad 48 Integrals above the top of the lift shaft are the only Anolis fixtures inside the building. Above these – outside – are 12 ArcPad 96s in the centre, plus the other 55 ArcPad 48s on two rings lower down. They are all optimised to wash the entire roof area complete with its elegant air filled undulations and features. Three very subtle mixed-colour looks are currently programmed as default states, adding finesse and complimenting the huge architectural statement made by the roof itself. “Using Anolis fixtures and DWR for the installation were definitely the right moves,” confirms Pamboukian, “It all works exactly as I envisioned.” Dan Riley follows up with, “We are extremely proud to be involved with a project of this stature with such amazing results, and glad to see the equipment specified for all the right reasons.” Data is distributed via four LSC DMX splitters, the Anolis units are powered locally and some special ESA Pro Stand Alone PC-based control software was dispatched from the UK, which is programmed to run various programmes from dusk to dawn; slowly changing the

accent illumination on the structure, with sporadic colour bursts on the hour and for special events. The biggest physical challenge for the DWR site team of Bruce Riley, Eazy Moketsi and JC du Plessis was the tough working conditions. With very few areas of the roof that could be walked on, most of the rigging was done from the air, an arduous task taking four weeks to complete, and contending with assorted weather conditions – from rain to high winds – all of which interfered with the workflow. On site, they worked closely with Duane Jolley from contractors WBHO, and DWR was sub-contracted through Vector Foiltech. Protea Court has already been a massive success, and is one of the most talked about South African business developments of the year. Everyone is delighted with the lighting scheme. It is hailed as a trend setting phenomena setting new standards and inspiration for others to follow. While it will undoubtedly be emulated, in the meantime PPLD, DWR and Anolis can take the credit for being original and creating a true ‘first’ of its kind in the country. The project’s joint venture contractors Aveng Grinaker-LTA and WBHO recently took top honours in the annual Southern African Institute of Steel Construction’s 2011 Steel Awards for their role in the project.

“We are extremely proud to be involved with a project of this stature with such amazing results, and glad to see the equipment specified for all the right reasons.” Dan Riley

Duncan Riley (DWR), Paul Pamboukian (PPLD), Bruce Riley (DWR), Joao Viegas (PPLD), Dan Riley (DWR), Nic Britz (DWR)

Photos by Louise Stickland

LIVE EVENTs tPI Awards

Gearing up on global production scene Gearhouse SA triumphed at the eleventh annual Total Production International (TPi) Awards held in February at the Novotel London West Hotel in Hammersmith, UK. The company cemented its status as one of the world’s most reputable live production companies by winning the coveted Favorite International Production Company Award for the second time. It fought off competition from Ampco Flashlight, Clair, Firehouse, Melpomen and Roadrunner Belgium – five prominent players on the global live production scene.

Geared for success: John McDermott, George Majola, Ofer Lapid, Thembani Wiseman Lokoza and Andrew Potter

Organised every year by leading UK industry publication, Total Production International, The TPi Awards – are widely regarded as the

most prestigious honour for the live production industry. Speaking after the ceremony, Gearhouse SA’s marketing manager Robyn D’Alessandro attributed the accolade to the company’s strong experience and world-class services. “This award recognises the top services we provide locally and internationally, as well as our attempts to keep up to date with the latest equipment. More importantly, it acknowledges the dedication of our crew, who each individually deserve this award for delivering professional service all the time.” D’Alessandro added that the award would also put the local events industry on the global map. “This appreciation extends not only to Gearhouse SA but to the South African industry as a whole. It showcases Africa as a world-class event destination and it’s good to know that people outside South Africa realise that they can arrive in this country and receive exactly the same quality, service and equipment as in other countries.” Gearhouse SA first won the Favorite International Production Company Award in 2010. To accept the award this year was the company’s top brass; John McDermott (Johannesburg branch manager ), Thembani ‘Wiseman’ Lokoza (senior structures technician), Andrew Potter (structures operations manager), George Majola (lighting crew boss) and the company’s founder and managing director Ofer Lapid. D’Alessandro said the company was gearing up for another successful year, having recently set up a new base in Ghana and signed a contract to supply a big conference for Shell. “We are very excited about the Shell conference because we have invested a lot of money and time to recruit the right people and purchase equipment specifically for the conference sector,” she said.

tPI Awards LIVE EVENTs

High profile awards Over 1 100 people from all disciplines of the international live event production industry attended the TPi Awards this year. The sold-out event was hosted by BBC 6Music’s Stuart Maconie and BBC 5Live’s Danny Baker. Duncan Riley from local company DWR Distribution attended the awards. He says “It was amazing, seeing old friends that we haven’t seen for a while and networking with people who are influential in the industry. The highlight for me was being at the event and witnessing

TPi production Sound and communications company Orbital handled all aspects of the evening’s sound. Engineers used the compact and versatile d&b Audiotechnik T10 line array loudspeaker system, powered by D12 amplifiers to handle the two stages in the challenging Novotel environment. Mixing was done on a Yamaha LS9 32 console with full iPad remote control and radio microphones from Shure. For communication technicians used a Clear-Com Tempest 4-channel wireless system. The venue was lit entirely with ROBIN LED fixtures; a collaboration between Czech Republic based Robe and leading UK lighting and visuals rental company HSL, which handled the rigging and installation of the lighting equipment.

“This appreciation extends to the South African industry as a whole.” – Robyn D’Alessandro Gearhouse SA winning the award. This was a win for South Africa.” The awards are voted for by the trade and production industry. Other hotly-contested accolades handed out during the 30-category ceremony included Live Production of the Year, Tour Manager of the Year, Favorite Venue and Set Designer of the Year, Favourite Sound Rental Company and Lifetime Contribution Award. Mike Jones, who heads local event production company MJ Event Gear, was very impressed and believes that local awards can learn from the TPi’s. “I have always wanted to attend this function and it was great. I think the TPSA Awards in South Africa could also learn from them and perhaps add some categories. Remembering those great guys who died in the industry and naming awards after them was also a nice touch.” Since their inception in 2002, the yearly awards have consistently grown in size and, in addition to honoring outstanding industry players, act as a solid networking platform for the global live production industry. – Eddie Hatiye

LIVE EVENTs Prolight + Sound Report

Global trade show lights the way Prolight + Sound has for many years preserved its status as the largest meeting place for the global events, installation and production sectors. This year’s edition, held from 21 to 24 March, was another milestone for the Frankfurt trade show.

During four days of the Prolight + Sound trade fair a total of 876 exhibitors from 41 countries exhibited to a record 40 894 visitors – up by 21% from 33 781 in 2011. It was held concurrently with Musikmesse, which was also a success from an attendance point of view, registering a total of 109 841 visitors over four days. So what was it that made Prolight + Sound 2012 a worthwhile outing? From a visitor’s point of view, it has to be the show’s emphasis on a comprehensive range of new products and technical solutions, topical education programmes, as well as the networking side. Feedback from Media Systems Congress, the biggest information event at the show, was remarkably positive this year. Florian von Hofen of the Professional Lighting and Sound Association of Germany says: “Information about the sector, innovations and business are factors for success at Prolight + Sound – and this was even more apparent in

2012 than the year before.” Another noteworthy platform was the Prolight + Sound Forum organised by the VPLT with lectures and panel discussions revolving around legal questions, occupational safety and training. One of the interesting things about Prolight + Sound is that the organisers are always keen to try out new initiatives. This year they introduced a new conference called The Eventplaza Conference Forum for Event Management, which was aimed at event managers and event agencies and also featured a small exhibition of products. Other popular spots among visitors included the two outdoor areas, the Concert Sound Arena and the Portable Sound Arena, where visitors had the chance to see and hear extensive demonstrations of different sound systems. A number of suppliers also presented mobile stages and tent systems outside the halls where crowds gathered to witness various technologies.

Prolight + Sound Report LIVE EVENTs Audio In the audio sector, there were two new products awaited with particular interest; the CL series of digital audio consoles from Yamaha and the new VTX series from JBL.

The Yamaha CL Series is a Dante network–based console featuring remote I/O. All three CL models in the Centralogic series, only

differentiated by frame size and input capability, feature 24 mix buses, eight matrix buses, plus stereo and mono outputs and 16 DCAs. “The footprint of all three CL consoles is small, yet powerful and has been developed specifically for sound reinforcement applications such as performing arts venues, theatres, houses of worship, touring and remote broadcast,” says a Yamaha spokesperson.

JBL Professional introduced the VTX Line Array Series with the launch of the S28 and G28 subwoofers. “The VTX Series features JBL’s legendary sound quality coupled with the most advanced sound reinforcement technology and support available,” says a spokesperson from the company. The first product from the VTX Line Array Series is the VTX V25 – a full-size, 3-way, high-directivity line array element. The VTX V25 features two 2000W, 15-inch Differential Drive woofers mounted in die-cast aluminium baffles, with four 8-inch differential drive mid-range transducers and three of the ‘revolutionary’ new D2 Dual- Diaphragm Dual-Voice-Coil Compression Drivers mounted on a 3rd generation waveguide and patented RBI Radiation Boundary Integrator assembly. Distributed by www.wildandmarr.co.za

E100. More power 2U. 4 x 2.5 kW, 12 kg, Class D Power Amplifier

Sometimes less is more: less space...more power. Delivering high powered, superior sounding amplification in a compact format, E100 guarantees exceptional sound quality and utmost reliability in the most demanding conditions. Our advanced 92% efficient Class D output stage runs cool and draws less power from the mains.Backed by a 5 year warranty, get more, for less.

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LIVE EVENTs Prolight + Sound Report

British audio solutions manufacturer DiGiCo unveiled a new mixing console called SD5.The SD5 has 124 input channels; 56 configurable busses, plus up to 5.1 master; a 24 x 24 fixed matrix; DiGiTubes on every channel, buss and output; 24 assignable Dynamic EQ; 24 multiband compressors; 24 stereo effects; 32 Graphic EQ; 10 x 4 (40); and RGB backlit macro buttons. Distributed by www.tadco.co.za

d&b audiotechnik presented its V-series, which consists of the V8 and V12 loudspeakers and the V subwoofer. All are matched and constructed to be mechanically compatible – in flown or groundstacked arrays.

Martin Audio presented the MLA Compact Multi-Cellular Loudspeaker Array – a fully integrated system with speakers, amplification, DSP and optimisation software. Director of sales, Simon Bull says: “MLA Compact is our response to the market demand for a mid-size touring system that can double as an installation system, while retaining all the breakthrough benefits of the original MLA system. MLA Compact enables a much wider segment to buy into our game-changing multicellular technology.” Distributed by www.audiosure.co.za Mackie demonstrated its new portable S500 Series passive loudspeakers, which form part of a new system that also includes the FRS power amplifiers and SP260 2x6 speaker processor. There are three full-range boxes in the series: the two-way 12” S512, two-way 15” S515 and two-way dual 15” S525. There is also an 18” companion subwoofer called S518. All S500 models include NL4 and 1/4” inputs and through connections.

Allen & Heath showcased their new ZED mixer, as well as the new GLD digital mixing system and other recent additions to the ZED and Xone ranges. The ZED60-10FX is a compact, portable mixer ideal for solo artists and small bands. Two of the four mono channels have high impedance jack inputs that can take a normal line level or a low level input from a guitar pickup, so guitars can be plugged straight into the mixer without the need for DI boxes. Two stereo inputs are provided for MP3/CD players or keyboards, and the mixer is equipped with configurable USB audio in/out to capture a stereo recording, XLR main stereo outputs, a flexible monitoring section with headphone and speaker feed outputs, and 16 digital effects developed from the iLive digital mixing system. Distributed by www.audiosure.co.za

Industry professionals’ perspectives on Prolight + Sound 2012 Kevin Glover – Sound Stylists I primarily go to Pro-Light + Sound to see the suppliers and network with other industry players. In terms of new products, Coda had some new products that were mind-boggling. JBL also launched an impressive touring system. We were also impressed with Digico’s new products and we may look at upgrading our Digico D5’s to SD5’s. On the lighting side it was pretty much LED, LED and more LED. The most interesting product for me was the Robe ROBIN 100. There were also some interesting things happening with High End Systems lighting desks. They are definitely on the way up. It’s Interesting to see how the AV and lighting are starting to tie up.

Bruce Schwartz – Electrosonic SA Not much has changed really in terms of lighting; it is all about LED. Lighting products are getting smaller and brighter but there is still a big divide between cheap led and professional led products. Products that caught our eye include the Martin M2GO and M2PC control desks which we believe will become a major factor in the control desk market in South Africa. We will be showcasing the amazing Martin Viper Range in South Africa around June July. This product by all means will be the new touring standard in moving lights. Its 25% brighter than the old industry standard MAC 2000 and yet the Viper is the size of a comparable 700w fixture.

Lighting “The dominant subject in the lighting sector is the efficiency of modern lights. Interesting in this connection is that the tried and tested discharge lamps are also enjoying a small comeback.” – Florian von Hofen (Professional Lighting and Sound Association of Germany)

Martin Professional received positive feedback for its new MAC Viper Profile, which is anticipated to knock down many lights in the 1200-watt range. Martin Professional claims that the profile is about 50% more efficient than other lights in this range. Key features of the light include 25 000 lumens, glass gobos with optimal focal separation for superior morphing effects and an 8-slot colour wheel. Distributed by www.electrosonic.co.za

Czech Republic moving light manufacturer Robe introduced five new ROBIN LED lights: the ROBIN DLX Spot, the ROBIN DLF, the ROBIN 800 LEDWash, the ROBIN Actor 6 and the ROBIN 100 LEDBeam, which is selling fast in South Africa. The ROBIN 100 LEDBeam uses 12 high powered RGBW LEDs arranged in three zones (which can be controlled independently). The light has a virtual colour wheel with pre-programmed 237 colours including whites (2.700K, 3.200K, 4.200K, 5.600K and 8.000K) and its beam angle in 7°. Distributed by www.dwrdistribution.co.za Clay Paky presented the new A.Leda LED moving head range which consists of three models with wide fast pan and tilt movements (100 W, 300 W and 600 W). “This line is a valid alternative to discharge-lamp washlights of equal power, with all the benefits of LED lights: intense, highly vivid saturated-tone colours, lightweight, energy saving, longer light source life and lower operating and maintenance costs,” says a spokesperson from Clay Paky. Distributed by www.dwrdistribution.co.za

LIVE EVENTs Prolight + Sound Report Robert Juliat’s stand was almost entirely illuminated by LED fixtures, demonstrating how LED sources can simultaneously offer cost and environmental benefits. The stand presented Robert Juliat’s two new products, TIBO and ZEP LED profiles, which are due for release later this year. TIBO will be available in two colour temperatures: Warm White 3200K and Cool White 6000K and offers three zoom ranges compatible with the current zoom ranges of the popular 600SX Series tungsten profiles: 28°to 54°, 16° to 35° and 11° to 26°. Distributed by www.electrosonic.co.za PR Lighting got people talking with its XLED 336 moving head. It stood out among a large suite of innovative LED based products on the stand of the Chinese manufacturer, where visitors praised its brightness, speed and sleek design. The light has an 18.15° dispersion angle and generates its power and RGB colour mix from 36 x 3W Osram Oslon LED’s (12 red, 12 green and 12 blue). Philips Vari-Lite introduced the new VL3015, VL3015LT, and VL3515 Spot luminaires. All three luminaires include CYM colour mixing, variable CTO colour temperature correction, gobo/ effects wheels, and ultra-fast strobe mechanisms. While the VL3015 and VL3515 have a six-position colour wheel, the VL3015LT utilises two five-position colour wheels, and the VL3515 luminaire has an added feature of a four-blade shutter mechanism that allows the blades to be operated independently or in unison for a clear and crisp image. The VL3015LT luminaire houses a precision glass reflector system with dichroic cold mirror coating. This system allows the fixture to achieve over 40,000 lumens of output. Plus, the VL3015LT also contains an independent, drop-in armature which rotates, is indexible, and is capable of holding 5-facet prism or included frost glass. The VL3015, VL3015LT and VL3515 Spot luminaires are all complete with a palette of VARI*LITE gobos, effects and colours, while custom gobos, effects and colours are also available. Distributed by www.dwrdistribution.co.za

Martin Professional demonstrated a range of exciting products, including the new M2GO and M2PC lighting consoles. Equipped with a fast, dual-core processor, the M2GO is a full console with no external computer required. It offers a professional level of features in a portable package and has been developed with cost, ergonomics, feature set, size, and weight in mind. The latest generation processor ensures a fast and responsive user interface, even if hundreds of playbacks and effects are activated simultaneously. The M2PC is the complementary control surface to Martin’s M-PC controller software. With the same layout and size as the M2GO, the M2PC delivers a professional level of features in a portable package directly from any PC. Distributed by www.electrosonic.co.za

Networks AVB and Dante dominated the network technology section; a majority of audio products were either AVB or Dante-ready. Riedel Communications presented a suite of AVB products, which provides a real-time communication solution based on official IEEE next generation Ethernet standards like 802.1Qav, P802.1Qat and P802.1AS. The Riedel suite of AVB products includes the AVB-108 G2 Client Card and Connect AVBx8 panel interfaces. The AVB-108 G2 card is a regular Artist client card to be used inside the Artist mainframe. It converts eight Artist matrix ports into AVB and vice versa. The AVB-108 G2 client card communicates either with other AVB-108 G2 client cards in another Artist systems, for example for trunking or for use with Riedel’s Connect AVBx8 panel interface. NEXO introduced the new NXDT104 Dante audio plug-in card for the NXAMP, which enables NEXO loudspeaker systems to explore the many benefits of a high-performance AVB-ready digital networking solution. Distributed by www.tadco.co.za

Industry professionals’ perspectives on Prolight + Sound 2012 John Silver – Audiosure I went to Pro Light + Sound to chat to my suppliers and re-establish connections. The social side plays a very important part in growing relationships and the business. The most exciting products I saw were Allen & Heath’s new GLD mixing systems. We’ve already brought in our first one and have another four coming in this month. This is an offshoot from their iLive series. It’s simpler and has a much better price point. I have really high hopes for it and the market’s reaction has been great. Another exciting product was Martin Audio’s MLA Compact System. One of the things that set it apart from other systems is the fact that it is scalable and versatile and you can focus it so carefully.

Nick Matzukis – AVL Distribution Pro Light + Sound was dramatically different from last year which was truly a case of same-old same-old with only a couple of new lines here and there. The most innovative products I saw this year were Nivtek’s Clear Glass Stage, which is the first truly clear glass stage I’ve seen and the Gerriets G-quick clamp, which replaces conventional cable ties/ribbons for cloths and curtains. Eurotruss, launched the Catwalk Truss, a high-load, massive strength truss which becomes a certified catwalk for touring purposes and has wheels underneath for enormous spans. They also launched a new touring range of folding truss.

Rigging & Screens Eurotruss showcased their new pre-rig trusses the MT Truss, the RTS Truss and the CWT Truss. The MT Truss, with its rigid dimension (1 180mm height and 780mm width), enables free spans of 28m and can take up to 7 000 kg of uniform distributed load. The CTW Truss can be used as a catwalk truss with aluminium inlays and as two heavy duty pre-rig trussing as the truss can be used in flat and or upright position. By using a combo connection you can build it with a conical connector and or gable connector. The RTS Truss is a heavy duty pre-rig truss for automated lighting. It saves not only trucking space but also guarantees less set-up time and labour. Distributed by www.avldistribution.co.za Gerriets showcased their new Optiblack screen. ‘’Optiblack is a nearly black projection screen with identical luminance when used in front or rear projection applications. When used in rear projection situations, the even luminance distribution, combined with excellent diffusion qualities, make it a perfect choice for soft-edge blending applications,’ says a spokesperson from Gerriets. Due to its dark colour, ambient reflected light is greatly minimised on the front surface thus making it almost magically disappear when not in use. Optiblack can also be used to diffuse LED screens and backdrops to create unique and interesting effects. Gerriets also launched G-Quick- an alternative to traditional methods of hanging drapery. The patented device replaces tie lines as a means of attaching grommeted soft goods to pipe battens, making it possible to install and strike stage curtains, backdrops, and other drapery 3 to 4 times faster than by conventional methods. Distributed by www.avldistribution.co.za J&C Joel launched their new Reefer String Curtain. Manufactured from flame retardant treated polyester, Reefer String Curtains can be made to any size and looks fantastic when lit. The curtain is available in a wide range of colours, each with the option of interwoven lurex thread in gold, silver, or bronze. “The release of the Reefer String Curtain shows J&C Joel’s commitment to sourcing new products and providing our customers around the world with the very best in high quality flame retardant fabrics and draping’ said J&C Joel managing director, Andrew Walsh.

A team of specialised technical supply professionals for corporate, television, theatre and music events.

Sales & Rental of Pro Audio Equipment

Lighting Supplier and 3D Lighting Design

Advanced Video Presentation Technology

The next Prolight + Sound will be held from 10 to 13 April 2013 at the same Frankfurt venue.

LIVE EVENTs Expert Opinion

Sound advice When last did you have your hearing tested? Pro Systems consulted with audiologist Nolwazi Sambo from HearingCoach Africa to give some insight into hearing damage and its associated risks to professionals that work in the live event industry.

ound engineers and musicians will agree that hearing is the most valuable asset they have in order to do their work effectively. However, a significant number of them will at some point suffer from Music-Induced Hearing Loss (MIHL), a dreaded disorder that results from prolonged exposure to high-intensity sound. Just a few minutes of exposure to high-decibel sound can cause permanent hearing loss. Within the live event environment, the risk extends not only to sound engineers and musos, but to everyone involved, from the fans to lighting operators and even security guards.

“Research indicates that classical musicians are the highest at risk compared to rock musicians and other music genres.”

“Sound engineers often have damage in the most sensitive region of human hearing, the frequency range between 1.5kHz and 5kHz.”

“Listening to music with earphones at a medium volume can generate harmful sound pressure of a level of up to 100dB, after just 15 minutes per day.”

What happens when sound enters your ears?

Hearing loss can be prevented

When sound enters into the external auditory canal, it is funnelled through to the eardrum (tympanic membrane). The membrane acts as an elastic diaphragm and drives the ossicular chain of the middle ear system into motion. Then the middle ear ossicles transfer mechanical energy to the cochlea by way of the stapes footplate hammering against the oval window of the cochlea. This hammering causes the fluid within the cochlea to push against the stereocilia of the hair cells, which then transmit a signal to the central auditory system within the brain. There are between 15 000 and 20 000 microscopic hair cells, when they are damaged they can no longer transmit sound to the brain.

Having hearing loss is like listening to a piano recital when only half the piano keys are played. Therefore it is very important to protect your hearing as early as possible by using the correct hearing protection. Professionals in the music industry should consult an audiologist, who will provide advice and information on how to look after their hearing and also monitor hearing damage on a yearly basis, because once hearing damage has occurred, there is no turning back the clock.

Symptoms of Music Induced Hearing Loss Symptoms of MIHL include: ringing in the ears after exposure to loud sounds, feeling of fullness of the ear, difficulty hearing on the telephone and difficulty in understanding speech in background noise. Professionals may ignore these warning signs and may not understand the impact that hearing loss has on their quality of work and social life – until it’s too late.

“Safe listening levels must be below 74dB because damage starts to occur at 74dB exposure level at 4Khz (biologic damage threshold).”

References: Occupational Hearing Loss in Audio Engineers – Jeffrey Wit; Why are audio engineers the enemies of our ears? – Ron Pellegrino ; http://www.sabre-international.com/sound-engineer-procedures.html

Imported by

www.audiosure.co.za

Product Review LIVE EVENTs

ROBE’s fastest selling product But the big question is…how does it perform?

ROBIN 600 LEDWash As a major player in automated lighting, Robe has continually exploited new technologies to develop some of the most sought after products on the market. The ROBIN 600 LEDWash light, distributed in South Africa by DWR Distribution, is one of the Czech Republic company’s most acclaimed fixtures. Confirmed as Robe’s fastest selling product of all time, the ROBIN 600 LEDWash is ahead of most moving heads in its league. As a member of Robe’s green-inspired ROBIN moving heads family, the ROBIN 600 LEDWash is designed to save energy, generate less heat, cut maintenance costs and generally give users an affordable professional wash-lighting solution with enhanced creative capabilities. But the big question is: does the fixture do what it was designed for?

Well, before we get into that let’s first understand how it works: Lights source and optics

Individual control of LED rings

Unique design and control of the LED PCB's allows individual control of each LED ring for creation of eye-candy effect, such are colour waves or strobing per rings. (Patent pending).

Multichips

New LED technologies use several LED chips on a single module that creates just perfect point source of extremely smooth new dimensional colour mixing of RGBW.

The ROBIN 600 LEDWash uses 37 Cree XLamp MC-E RGBW LEDs, each with red, green, blue and white emitters. These LEDs are dotted in three concentric rings (zones) that can be controlled independently with five modes of operation – each requiring a different number of DMX channels. The inner ring or zone has seven LEDs, the middle zone has 12 LEDs and the outer zone has 18 LEDs. These rings are mounted on three concentric circuit boards, which are, in turn, attached to a large aluminium heat sink. A sensitive fan is mounted at the rear of the LED driver board to further protect the system from higher heat levels. According to Robe, the LEDs’ life span is 60 000 hours and typical lumen maintenance is 70% at 60 000 hours. The light’s homogenisation and spill-limitation systems comprise a complex layer of plates and optical devices mounted above the LED packages. One of the plates has 37 cone-shaped plastic TIR (total internal reflection) lenses, which fit over the LED packages. Another plate features 37 micro lens arrays which are also fitted over the LED packages to form a myriad of small zoom lens systems with nearly 100 micro lenses per emitter. The last noteworthy feature in this section is a larger micro “egg-crate” with 37 cavities to accommodate each emitter.

LIVE EVENTs Product Review Colour systems, dimming and zooming In the words of Robe, “The 600 is the world’s first LED wash light with true white colours.” In addition to the three LEDs zones, the fixture features a virtual colour wheel channel which is responsible for creating a range of proper colours and effects. Through the desk, users can fully manipulate this channel, changing colour temperatures to any of the 237 variations of white pre-programmed in the CTO filter (from 2 700K to 8 000K). The CTO whites even have the thermal fade and red delay emulation of tungsten sources.

LED colours

Robin LEDWash 600 is able to produce 4300 from pastel to saturated colours.

For dimming, the light offers 0 to 100 % high resolution dimming in either 8-bit or 16-bit mode and has a motorised zoom system which ranges from 15° to 60°. To increase performance in ROBIN lights, Robe replaced the old PIC chip architecture with faster 32-bit ARM processors, which have increased memory and this generally makes the ROBIN 600 LEDWash faster in all areas.

Pro Systems spoke to a number of companies using the Robe ROBIN 600 extensively and this is what they had to say.

Mark Gaylard – MGG (36units, 12 months in use)

Pan, tilt and noise The ROBIN 600 LEDWash uses a combination of three-phase stepper motors and belt drives to achieve a pan and tilt range of 450° and 300° respectively. According to Robe, a full pan movement takes 2.1 seconds at maximum speed and 3.4 seconds in ‘theatre mode’ – the slowest and quietest of the available five modes of operation. A full tilt movement takes 1.1 seconds at maximum speed and 2.5 seconds in theatre mode. Noise produced by the fixture is determined by the amount of work it is doing. So the more work you assign it, the more noise you’ll get from the temperature-controlled fan. However, the ROBIN 600 LEDWash light offers a theatre mode, which slows down the pan, tilt and zoom motors to reduce noise levels.

Control The light is equipped with Robe’s standard colour LCD touch screen, which allows users to set the fixture´s behaviour, obtain information on its operation, test various parts & programme it in stand-alone mode. The menu can also be controlled by four buttons (ESCAPE, NEXT, PREV and ENTER/DISPLAY ON) which are found in the front of the base. The unit’s automatic self-switching power supply is mounted on the base, which also houses a host of delicate electronics. Motor drivers are stored in one yoke arm and the other electronics are carefully distributed throughout the unit.

“When I saw the 600 on the Internet I knew right away that it was what I was looking for. I bought it before I had even physically seen it and it has exceeded all my expectations. The light’s primary colours (Red, blue and green) are incredibly bright and it uses less energy and weighs very little. Another big thing is that there are no globes, which makes the light significantly economical. The discharge lamps we have require new globes after 700 hours of use so on a busy year we relamp them twice and that amounts to about a quarter-million rand. Discharge lamps use about 700 watts and the 600 only uses about 200 Watts, which is very crucial especially when you have electricity going up by 25% every year. The light is also very quiet; there is a fan but it does not make a lot of noise because there is big heat sink attached to the system. It’s also been great from a reliability point of view; we haven’t had any problems at all and technical support from DWR has also been amazing.”

“The light’s primary colours (Red, blue and green) are incredibly bright and it uses less energy and weighs very little.” – Mark Gaylard

Product Review LIVE EVENTs Mike Jones – MJ Lighting & Event Gear

Abesh Dhevalall – Solid Rock

(24 units, four months in use)

(four units, 12 months in use)

“As a company owner, the biggest thing for me is that I don’t have to relamp it. With other lights you spend thousands of rands on relamping every 750 to 1000 hours but the 600 gives you 70000 hours, which significantly reduces costs. The 600 is also very versatile, its dimming capabilities allow you to use it everywhere, from big rock concerts to corporate events, TV shows and outdoor events. The thing that surprises us the most, however, is the amount of zoom it has, it’s just phenomenal. We are also very impressed with the unit’s smoothness, speed, weight, size and quietness. In terms of colours, Robe has done an amazing job because it has a proper CTO with a correct range of whites. We have not had any faults at all and support from DWR has been brilliant. Overall, I am very happy and will certainly buy more.”

“We were looking for a fixture that is light in weight, smaller, power-saving and with as wide a zoom as possible at a short distance and the ROBIN 600 LEDWash was the perfect solution. The fixture has meets all expectations on every level and we’re actually thinking of purchasing six ROBIN 300 LEDWashes after the experience we’ve had with our 600 LEDWash lights. DWR has been excellent in terms of service and willingness to help where ever possible. My previous fixtures were lamp fixtures and we will not buy them again because they are an expense to maintain, unlike LED fixtures.”

Allan Dickinson – DNG Sound & Audio Visual (12 units, eight months in use?)

“The 600 is very versatile, its dimming capabilities allow you to use it everywhere, from big rock concerts to corporate events, TV shows and outdoor events.” – Mike Jones Stuart Andrews – Gearhouse SA (72 units, 7 months in use) “I am impressed with their efficiency, brightness and wide beam spread but I think some of the colours could be better. The colour mixing on LED fixtures is not quite as full and rich as traditional colour wheels with the full range of a colour palette. While we have used the fixtures extensively, we also have had a few faults which I wouldn’t expect from a fixture that is essentially brand new. However, I have the same problem with other manufacturers and this seems to be a problem with technology in general. We use them mainly for theatre, concerts and corporate events and the response from clients has been very positive, they are requested quite often. Overall, the lights are fantastic, very versitile and we are very happy with them. In fact, we’ll probably be buying more in due course.”

“I am impressed with their efficiency, brightness and wide beam spread but I think some of the colours could be better.” – Stuart Andrews

“The ROBIN 600 LEDWash is the best product we could find in the range and I am particularly impressed with the brightness of the lights when using primary colours. We are involved in live productions, mainly in the corporate sector, and they meet all our expectations. They are LED fixtures so the lifetime of the light is vastly better than any other light we have ever had. In terms of maintenance costs, the lights are still very new so it is hard to judge, but we estimate them to be a lot cheaper to maintain because we don’t have to change bulbs. Product support from DWR has been very good; they are the best in the market.”

“The ROBIN 600 is the best product we could find in the range and I am particularly impressed with the brightness of the lights when using primary colours.” – Allan Dickson

Kagiso Moima – Black Motion (12 units, eight months in use) “I am particularly impressed with the light’s output which is perfect for my market (television). The ROBIN 600 LEDWash gives you a benchmark in terms of natural colours and it allows you to produce lights with the right intensity. I also like the fact that they consume minimum power, which is very important to us because we shoot for very long hours and you wouldn’t want a light that gives you huge studio costs. Our clients enjoy the technology and we’re actually looking forward to buying more Robe LED fixtures.”

Joshua Cutts

LIVE EVENTs Industry Expert Joshua Cutts is one of the most prolific independent lighting designers in South Africa. With nearly two decades in the industry, he has

designed some of the biggest events in the country, including Idols South Africa, the Vodacom Unlimited Festival and the South African Music Awards (SAMAs). The Pro Systems team recently caught up with the 37-year-old Joburg designer. How and why did you get into the lighting business? Cutts: I started working at the Market Theatre when I was very young. My dad is an Actor and my step mom was operations manager at the theatre so it was natural for me to get into the lighting business. I started out as an assistant stage manager but quickly over to the lighting department wherel I met Richard Barnes who taught me the fundamentals of lighting and lighting design.

At what point did you start designing independently? Cutts: After eight years I left the theatre to freelance and gain technical experience in the industry. No one knew me at that point so I wasn’t really doing much lighting work. My friend says I was a hippie those days because I was always lying on the couch (laughs).

What do you find most frustrating about the lighting sector in South Africa. Cutts: The lack of lighting training. There is a huge gap, we need training but people are not willing to pass on knowledge. At some point I’d love to get involved with schools because if we do not act our industry is eventually going to suffer.

What do you love about your job? Cutts: The flexibility, nothing is ever the same. No production requires the same needs and everyone has new challenges and I am a guy who loves solving challenges.

What projects have you been most proud of? Cutts: Idols. It’s just the perfect format and I really enjoy working with Gavin Wratten; he is a very hands-on TV director who kind of forces me to a level of lighting that I don’t normally achieve.

Besides your parents, who else has Influenced you? Cutts: Denis Hutchinson because he is a designer who does it right. He has the most scientific knowledge of lighting in this country and his designs are expertly crafted and thought through.

What type of invention would make your job easier? So how did you end up at Electrosonic and AV Unlimited? Cutts: After a few years Dan Riley who was at Electrosonic at the time asked me to work in their lighting department. I handled their lighting control desks and I think that was the best opportunity I could ever have had. It was like university for the technical side of lighting and I really learnt a lot about the new technology. After two years I left Electrosonic to join AV Unlimited and got back into designing again and working shows.

And Visual Frontier? Cutts: I left AV Unlimited last year to form my own small business (Visual Frontier) specialising in lighting and stage design. I really enjoyed my time with AV Unlimited and worked on some awesome shows but I wanted to focus on my passion for lighting design and I believe the industry needs more independent designers.

Cutts: I think a second me (laughs). My dream is to have a rig with no generic fixtures but purely moving lights.

When you’re not lighting, what are you doing? Cutts: it’s not often that I am not lighting (Laughs). But to answer your question; I spend a lot of time with my wife; We have a baby on the way. J

What’s your lighting console of choice? Cutts: GrandMA. I recently got the GrandMA on PC Wing and I am really enjoying it. I am excited about the onPC Wing as it allows me to sit in the comfort of my home and a pre-program the complicated shows using my laptop and the wing. It will hopefully cut down some of the all night programming sessions I often have to do on shows.

Holiday Destination of choice? Cutts: Thailand, I enjoy traveling and seeing different places.

What do you think is the most important lesson a person entering the business should know? Cutts: Stop trying to learn the control desks and start learning about what you want to achieve on the stage first. It’s not about the desk; it’s all about the light and the stage so learn what each light can achieve creatively before you can even call yourself a lighting guy.

Favourite movie? Cutts: Any science fiction or comic book films. Great Chatting to you Joshua, thanks for your time and we wish you all the best!

Concert Report LIVE EVENTs

80’s Rewind Prosound Rental supplied the 80s Rewind Concert staged at Durban’s Mr Price Kings Park Stadium in February. Featuring pop legends such as Tony Hadley, Howard Jones, Rick Astley and Midge Ure, plus an amped 20 000-strong audience – the event was a huge success. Prosound’s crew comprised 56 technicians. Riaan Jacobs was the project manager and the backline supply was looked after by SA Backline. “The whole PA system was a Meyer Sound M3D system,” says Prosound Rental’s general manager, Donovan Calvert. “The primary flown hangs were made up of 10 Milo 90 degs and two Milo 120s per side. We had side stacks of four 90 degs respectively kicking up to the immediate grand stands and we stacked 16 subs (700hp) in blocks of two along the downstage edge. We also had eight Meyer UPQs and eight Meyer Micas per side for delays.” System control was handled by two Meyer Galileo 616s. “For FOH control we used the MIDAS PRO9. Our engineer had used the PRO6 previously so the move up wasn’t an issue. We complimented FOH racks with a selection of TC effects units from the M-ONE to the D2 and more comprehensive M3OOO reverb. For additional tie lines and I/O capabilities we utilised a MIDAS DL251. All in all we had a very straight forward run-up for FOH and on stage we used the MIDAS PR02 with the Midas DL351 and DL251 modular I/O units connected via CAT5,” adds Calvert. For stage monitoring a selection of Sennheiser and Shure in earsystems was used alongside PX1122M and PX1152M Electro-Voice

wedges. Stage microphones included Sennheiser, Electro-Voice, Shure and DPA. Lighting control was done on two ETC Congos with their associated ETC Net3 DMX gateways. Calvert says “The rig was primarily made up of Robe ROBIN LEDWashes and Martin profiles for effects. We also had additional f/spots to pick-up the more energetic artists who liked to wonder. For ambient crowd lighting we used par bars and Molefays, all using ETC dimming.”

Concert Tech Spec •

PA: Meyer Sound M3D system

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FOH control: MIDAS PRO9

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Stage monitoring: Electro-Voice PX1122M & PX1152M

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Microphones: Sennheiser, Electro-Voice, Shure and DPA

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DI boxes: Klark Teknik, Radial and Summit

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Lighting: ETC Congo’s, Robe LEDWashes & Martin profiles

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Trussing: Prolyte H40 and Prolyte H30

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Screens: BARCO T-20 LED tiles

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Power: 300kVA and 100kVA generators.

LIVE EVENTs Production Report

Photo by Kobus Loubser

Pulling SAFTA’s out of the hat…

The 6th South African Film and Television Awards (SAFTA’s) were staged at Gallagher Estate in Midrand on 9 and 10 March. Organised by the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), they were supplied by Gearhouse South Africa and produced for SABC 3 by Clive Morris Productions (CMP) in association with Grooves Productions. With the venue confirmed only three weeks prior to the event, the awards were planned and executed in just under 30 days. Due to unforeseen change of dates, they were also not broadcast live as anticipated and had to be edited for broadcast on Sunday in a very short space of time. All said and done, it was fantastic that all the teams involved pulled off an event of this nature in such a short space of time. CMP was tasked with recording, editing, packaging and delivering the SAFTAs for broadcast on SABC 3 on 11 March. This also involved conceptualising, creating and overseeing the awards show from a scripting and staging point of view, sourcing the hosts, presenters and entertainment and creating all the audio-visual packages for the show. The core CMP team comprised 13 technicians, including stage director Genna Lewis, technical director and editor of broadcast package Daniel Black, line producer Ross Jameson, red carpet producer Sipho Gogotya, script writer Ntokozo Mbuli, as well as Clive Morris himself (executive producer and television director). Lehlohonolo Lehana of Grooves Productions was involved as

associate producer. The Gearhouse team, project managed by Lefa Tsiane, comprised 40 crew members and 18 casuals from a number of companies within the Gearhouse SA group. Their task spanned six technical production disciplines; lighting, audio, video, rigging, power and set building. All these teams worked round-the-clock shifts to meet the deadline.

Set The set was designed by Michael Gill Designs (MGD) and built under the direction of Peter Joubert of SDS. It comprised a stunning, spade-shaped 900mm-high stage which sprouted beautifully into the audience as briefed by the NFVF. Three big AV walls were neatly rigged on the set’s curvy walls, bringing the event to life and making scenery interchangeable at the flick of a switch. Complementing the set were sleek roof fins suspended over the stage to make for a truly epic design. The stage covered about 175 square metres and was constructed predominantly from steel and wood. It took SDS three weeks to build the set offsite and three days to assemble in the venue. Three pantech trucks and one 12-metre truck transported it to site. “It was great working with MGD, the design was very clear and the team being on site most of the time meant that problems were easy and quick to solve. MGD also made a scaled model of the stage which helped us a lot” says Joubert.

Lighting Hugh Turner’s lighting design set ‘the mood’ for the heritage-themed event. It incorporated mostly moving lights; 29 Robe ColorSpot 700E Spots, 33 Robe ColorWash 700E Washes, 26 Robe RED washes, 16 Robe ROBIN 300E Spots and 9 Robe ROBIN 300E Washes, which were predominantly hung on stage and on audience trusses. A few moving

Production Report LIVE EVENTs

With the venue confirmed only three weeksprior to the event, the awards were planned and executed in just under 30 days. Due to unforeseen change of dates, they were also not broadcast live as anticipated and had to be edited for broadcast on Sunday in a very short space of time. lights were placed on the floor surrounding the thrust and main stage, lighting the underside of the central architectural hanging feature, to create aerial views and to complement the existing lighting. Turner also employed a varied range of conventional fixtures, which included 12 Strand 2Kw Fresnels, 28 Selecon Pacific 14-35 Deg profiles, 16 Selecon Pacific 12-28 Deg profiles and 18 Bars of six PAR64s. The 2Kw Fresnels were mounted on wind-up/combo stands in the red carpet area and the PAR64s were hung from the audience trusses. He also embellished his design with a selection of LED fixtures, which included 24 Tri-Tour LED PARS, 20 I-Pix BB4 LEDWash-lights and 53 Longman Colorme 011A Strip-lights. Control of the entire lighting system was done on MA Lighting’s GrandMA System, which comprised two GMA1 full-size consoles, two video processing servers, two network signal processors and two network switches. The conceptualisation of the design process, including refinement to the final design, took about two weeks. Two pantech trucks transported lighting and a trussing rig to the site. The absense of a big loading bay at the site proved a big challenge, according to Tsiane.

Sound FOH engineer Remember Chaitezvi, system engineer Moffat Matolong, audio technician Sandile Pooe and radio technician Kelvin Egbegi were in charge of sound. The sound system comprised six L-Acoustic dv-DOSC and two L’acoustics dv subs per side, amplified by L’acoustics LA8 and LA48. Crossovers were XTA 4- series and the low end was enhanced by eight JBL VRX 900 subs on the ground, powered by Crown Itech4000. To minimise audio-bleed onto the stage, the main system was flown left and right of the centre stage. The space between the main stage and centre stage was covered by four flown L’acoustics HIQ115 and planning of the system was done using

L’acoustics simulation software. Microphones were all wireless; Shure UR series equipped with Beta58 heads. Additional ground–stacked subs were hidden behind the structure for the delay screens and used mainly as effects speakers to enhance low frequencies. Monitoring for the centre stage consisted of four Clair Brothers 12AM monitors placed on plinths about three to four metres away from the stage to keep them out of the camera picture. At the main stage five JBL EONS 510 were flown as monitoring for dancers. Chaitezvi used a Yamaha M7/48 FOH desk, which also supplied the sends for the monitors, as the set design did not allow for a separate monitor console. With touch screen and logical layout, the M7 was well equipped for this show, as the Chaitezvi could work fast and efficiently as well as store all his settings per sequence of the show in scenes. Its ability to be controlled wirelessly via Mac Book PRO and iPAD was also used while walking around the venue, applying EQ to the system as well as changing settings to the monitors while talking to artists on stage.

Video

Tech Box LIGHTING •

Two GMA1 full-size consoles

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29 Robe ColorSpot 700E Spots

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33 Robe ColorWash 700E Washes

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26 Robe RED washes

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16, Robe ROBIN 300E Spots

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9 Robe ROBIN 300E Washes

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24 Tri-Tour LED PARS

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20 I-Pix BB4 LEDWash-lights

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53 Longman Colorme 011A strip-lights

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12 Strand 2Kw Fresnels

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28 Selecon Pacific 14-35 Deg Profiles

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16 Selecon Pacific 12-28 Deg. Profiles

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18 Bars of 6 x PAR64s

AUDIO •

L-Acoustic dv-DOSC

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L’acoustics dv subs, amplified by L’acoustics LA8 and LA48.

Graham Sharpie, who was in charge of all the AV screens, says: “The centre screen was a 12 by 8 Lighthouse DuoLED 18 that had a 10 by 5 Lighthouse DuoLED 12 insert.” This screen delivered a series of eye candy visuals (from the MA servers), while the side Lighthouse R16s carried camera and nominee packages supplied by Daniel Black. There were also two rear 16x9 Stumpfl projection screens showing onstage visuals. Two Christie 18k HD projectors were used to beam content to these screens. The main control system for the screens was a Christie Spyder X20, which received 1 SDI input from the SABC OB truck and two inputs from the MA Servers. The SDI input had cameras and video from the EVS machines in the OB truck. – Eddie Hatitye

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Eight JBL VRX 900 subs

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Crown Itech 4000

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L’acoustics HIQ115

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L’acoustics simulation software

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Clair Brothers 12AM monitors

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Five JBL EONS 510

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Yamaha M7/48

LIVE EVENTs International Video Design

Photos by Louise Stickland

Florence + The Machine

UK visual designer and video director Richard Stembridge was asked to present ideas for the influential and critically acclaimed Florence + The Machine’s live show video earlier this year, after they were impressed with his work on Arcade Fire. He collaborated closely with Florence’s set and lighting designer Chris Bushell and together they evolved fresh, interesting live visuals for the show combining both mediums to great effect. XL Video’s UK operation supplied a projection system, Catalyst media servers and control, cameras and crew for the band’s recent UK tour. Stembridge had only a week to create the show’s video elements, which meant a lot of additions and extra support from XL whose tour project managers were Jo Beirne and Phil Mercer. The flown set was 40ft wide and 16ft high. It comprised seven conjoined trapezoidal panels and was constructed by Hangman / Metalman from a frosted polycarbonate material. It resembled a series of large Art Deco style glass mirrors with a milky-white finish. These were carefully edged in chrome to allow them to be joined together to form the overall backdrop and split into tour-able sections. The idea was to light the panels from behind, project onto them from the front or merge the two different types of illumination seamlessly.

Central to Stembridge’s aesthetic goal was for the projections to have their own mystique and sense of magic To fit the video – playback and IMAG – content precisely to the panels, Stembridge created highly accurate masking in the Catalyst. The projectors were five Barco FLM R22s. Three fed the set / screens area and the other two projected on to the two left and right IMAG side screens. These side screens were also specially shaped and angled to mimic the style and shape of the main set. Stembridge and Hangman / Metalman designed a lightweight frame to support these covered in a ‘Translight Midnight’ rear projection surface from Harkness, so they virtually disappeared when not in use. The control system comprised three Catalyst v4 media servers operated via a Hog PC console. Eight Sony robo-cams positioned all over the stage were fed into this, picking up the action, together with an operated broadcast quality camera at FOH with a 50mm lens focused on Florence Welch. All nine cameras were routed into the Catalyst system through an SDI matrix switcher and directed by Stembridge for the show.

International Video Design LIVE EVENTs

Stembridge also created all the playback media. It was an open brief and he used imagery from previous and current albums (Lungs and Ceremonials) as his starting points for some clips, plus numerous other inspirations. The set’s screen panels received camera and playback footage in various combinations, with projection for each of the seven set panels controlled individually using 11 Mix Windows and 32 Catalyst layers. With the steep angle of the three front truss projectors, he applied a transparent background and a heavily keystoned Mix Window technique in the Catalyst to correct all the projected material. This avoided overspill between the surface areas across a single 1920 x 1080 output. The video feed was distributed to three Folsom ImagePRO HD machines which were used to scale and position the output, ensuring that only the relevant portions of the output was sent to each of the three set projectors. The keystoning of the Mix Windows was so extreme that the Catalyst layer keystone function could not un-stretch the content! Instead Stembridge created a custom After-Effects Project to reverse the keystoning on any of the content he made —before adding it to the Catalyst’s library. This wasn’t possible for the camera shots. Instead he used a fusion of the Keystone function, scaling and X-Y-Z rotation on the camera layers to achieve the smallest possible amount of stretch, which fortuitously also fitted the overall look and design of the projection extremely well. All of this careful planning and meticulous imaging combined to produce a distinctive, innovative and more provocative stage appearance that Stembridge and Bushell had originally aimed for.

The idea was to light the panels from behind, project onto them from the front or merge the two different types of illumination seamlessly. Central to Stembridge’s aesthetic goal was for the projections to have their own mystique and sense of magic

LIVE EVENTs International Lighting Design

Photos by Louise Stickland

‘Fallen Empires’ world tour

Snow Patrol kicked off the first UK leg of their ‘Fallen Empires’ world tour with a truly stunning looking show created by lighting designer Davy Sherwin, Catalyst and live visuals programmer / visuals operator Robin Haddow and video director Blue Leach – collectively known on the tour as ‘The Art Department’. Leading UK lighting and visuals rental company HSL, based in Blackburn, supplied lighting equipment, a 26-axes Kinesys automation system, all associated trussing and rigging plus crew. HSL’s project manager Mike Oates commented, “We love working with Davy and Robin and have seen the band’s show and their designs take a real journey and evolution over the last few years. Each tour is always fresh in ideas and this is among the best yet”. Just as the band have explored new and alternative musical directions with Fallen Empires, their sixth hugely successful studio album, Sherwin’s lighting has moved into a different stratosphere. Retaining all the theatricality and drama of the big rock show he introduced an architectural dynamic with six large flying pods. These come together to form a giant snowflake – the band’s logo – a move only actually seen once at the culmination of the set. The undersides of the pods are clad with Barco’s FLX LED mesh, which is used for some really diverse, interesting and off-beat video looks and effects. The Pods all move into numerous different positions together and independently throughout the show, giving every song a totally unique look. Upstage in the stage left and stage right corners were four diagonal flying trusses on the same Kinesys automation system as the Pods, and the front truss was a V shape. Between the diagonals and the front truss each side were two straight side ‘torm’ trusses.

Far upstage was a large Stealth screen with a gauze in front and a grey cyc behind. Combining these two scenic elements (gauze and cyc) with some classic ‘magic’ lighting, the screen disappeared completely when not in use. Rigged on the Pods were four Clay Paky Alpha Beam 700 moving lights and 30 Chroma-Q Color Block DB4 Mk II LED battens outlining the shape of each pod. On the V-truss at the front were 16 VARI*LITE V*L3500 Washes and 16 i-Pix BB4 LED blinders. Fourteen linear 4-cell Moles were rigged vertically and blasted into the audience for the band’s highly interactive show. Upstage on the diagonal trusses were three Martin Professional MAC 3s on one truss and four on the other – both sides – giving a total of 14 MAC 3s, alternated with three and four Atomic Colours respectively. On the back truss, eight MAC 2K Wash XBs and six Atomic colours were all primarily used for highlighting the cyc. Spread out along the four torms either side were a total of 16 Robe ROBIN 600 LEDWashes, utilised for general higher up cross stage coverage. The floor lighting started upstage with another eight MAC 2K XB Washes to up-light the cyc, followed by a row of eight MAC 3Ks pointing forwards alternated with seven Atomic Colours – all for more

International Lighting Design LIVE EVENTs

Retaining all the theatricality and drama of the big rock show he introduced an architectural dynamic with six large flying pods. These come together to form a giant snowflake – the band’s logo – a move only actually seen once at the culmination of the set.

intense back lighting and beam-ology. For super-punchy punctuations and accents, six CP Sharpies on the mid stage risers provided tight columns of light, with another six running along the downstage edge of the stage, all giving cool double-level floor based ‘power looks’. For cross stage lighting at deck level in the ‘kicker’ position were another four Robe ROBIN 600 LEDWashes a side. Stage atmospherics were boosted with two Le Maitre Stadium hazers, four Cirro Lite Strata mist systems and two Jem ZR 33s, and HSL’s lighting package was completed with the supply of four Robert Juliat 3.5K Zodiac follow spots. Sherwin’s console of choice is currently the Road Hog Full Boar, which is run with a mini wing and complete hot backup. Haddow ran the Catalyst and all the playback video footage via a Hog PC and Blue Leach cut the video IMAG mix also sitting at FOH, using two Ableton Launchpad USB MIDI touch controllers, which fed into the Catalyst and were then output to screen. The Kinesys K2 system was operated by Dave Jolley. Video equipment was supplied by XL Video. The tour is expected to continue for most of the year, which will allow many more to experience the beautifully fluid, intelligently harmonised visual chemistry.

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Photos by Olaf Heine

LIVE EVENTs International Stage Design

Brilliant Stages for Rammstein Made in Germany 1995 – 2011 Tour UK based set fabrication company, Brilliant Stages designed and built four main staging elements for Rammstein’s Made In Germany 1995 – 2011 tour, the re-vamped second leg of which finished in Europe last month.

Production and lighting designer Roy Bennett worked closely with long-term collaborator Peter Aquinde to create the urban style set featuring several focal points, including a 3.9m diameter industrial themed ‘Mega Fan’ comprising seven blades on a central cradle. This was driven by a geared slew drive with a top rotation speed of 15 rpm. The blades were lit by forty-eight integral Colorblast TRX LED fittings positioned around the inner cladding of the main fan. Four smaller 0.75m fans with individual speed control provided by freelance electrician Lee Threlfell, were mounted at the corners of the Mega Fan’s frame assembly to blow smoke through from upstage. Brilliant Stages manufactured the enormous aluminium construction, which measures 5.5 square metres and weighs over 1 750kg. This was suspended from four Cyberhoist motors, with two additional hoists employed to hinge the structure back into a horizontal position within the grid when not in use. For the dynamic element, Brilliant Stages worked in association with

International Stage Design LIVE EVENTs

The catwalk was flown in to a height of 3.3m above the audience’s head from a series of chain hoists and is designed to attach to the standard Rental Truss

Belgium based WiCreations who provided the hub motor, gearbox and control around which the fan is engineered. They also fabricated the band’s signature logo cross into the drum riser door, which operated as a staggered-edged, cross-shape frame filled with cut tubes welded into position. These pulled apart to make an entrance for band members. Either side of the drum riser were two further 1m diameter, speed-controlled fans that were remounted into the new drum riser. The B-stage was manufactured as a 5m by 3m platform, mounted on top of two manually operated hydraulic scissor lifts, raising it from a height of 1.2m to 3m above floor level. The platform was clad with aluminium slatted panels that mimic louvres, inset with an opal polycarbonate to allow back-lighting. Each panel was fitted with a framework to support the lighting and was up-lit through Neaco Nibar top decks set into the floors. The B-stage was linked to the main stage via a 24m long, 1.2m wide catwalk composed of decking, handrail and ornamental balustrade. The assembly included provision for mounting LED fluorescent tube lighting beneath the decking, accessible through removable top grills that remain clamped to the truss during transportation. The catwalk breaks down into three metre long bays, each composed of 3 grate panels for ease of handling. The catwalk was flown in to a height of 3.3m above the audience’s head from a series of chain hoists and is designed to attach to the standard Rental Truss supplied by Black Box Music. Lifting bars were supplied to raise and lower the catwalk from rigging provided by

head production rigger, Martin Gehring of DART GmbH, Germany. Using a combination of coffin locks and Brilliant Stages’ own hook and channel system, all the set pieces were designed for quick and easily assembly, locking together safely with minimum fuss and maximum efficiency. Everything was transportation between venues in wheeled dollies to minimise the amount of manual handling needed. The final scenic elements were clad in aluminium before being artworked and given a distressed finish by Perry Scenic another regular Brilliant Stages collaborator. Rammstein is currently touring the US until the end of May.

They fabricated the band’s signature logo cross into the drum riser door, which operated as a staggered-edged, cross-shape frame filled with cut tubes welded into position. 53

LIVE EVENTs International Video Projection

Photo by Louise Stickland

Record-breaking artwork projected onto London landmark

London-based visual artist Ross Ashton from The Projection Studio designed and created a record-breaking video artwork featuring 32 animated mosaic portraits of HM The Queen that was projected onto Buckingham Palace. 54

International Video Projection LIVE EVENTs

The ‘Face Britain’ project was instigated by The Prince’s Foundation for Children and the Arts and brought to life by PhotoBox. It enabled over 200 000 children to make their faces famous on the front of one of London’s most iconic landmarks. It also marks the first time that video has ever been used to project on the front of the Palace. Ashton has previously projected onto Buckingham Palace three times – notably for the first time during the Queen’s Golden Jubilee celebrations in 2002 – for which he used PIGI projectors. This time leading UK video rental specialists Creative Technology (CT) supplied the mix of 24 Barco and Panasonic 18K and 20K video projectors. The video montage of the 32 portraits broke the Guinness World Records title for the Largest Collaborative Artwork – the most artists working on the same art installation. The previous record stood at 28 267 artists.

Ashton said he was “Hugely proud” of the achievement and “Delighted” to be involved in the collaboration, and to work directly for one of HRH Prince Charles’ charities. “With many creative and technical challenges involved it’s very satisfying to get the opportunity of pushing the boundaries and breaking new ground,” he concluded. Children aged 4 to 16 were invited to produce their own self-portraits by Face Britain encompassing all levels of skill and in any medium, including drawing, photography, textiles, painting and graphics. These were uploaded to PhotoBox. The animated mosaics were Ashton’s concept. He worked with Moscow-based Boris Glazer to create a bespoke version of Glazer’s Mazaika software to encode all the photos and then compose the 32 images of The Queen from the 200 000 or so self-portraits that were submitted.

LIVE EVENTs International Video Projection The overall image covering the Palace measured 110 metres wide and 25 metres tall. Filling the spaces around the actual Queen’s head portraits were a series of animated backgrounds and other picture ‘frames’. Ashton specifically wanted to see the individual photos make up each portrait montage flying together as they formed onto the fascia of the building. The 32 portraits were composited into a 32-minute long video file which ran as a loop, Ashton treated each individual portrait of the Queen as a separate colour way, containing 6 400 children’s portraits. This enabled him to get the desired movement effect. The template portrait of The Queen was supplied by the Sun newspaper’s legendary royal photographer, Arthur Edwards, and The Queen herself had to approve all stages of the creative process. Ashton and CT’s Scott Burgess designed the projection system. CT supplied all the hardware including weatherised hides and crew for the installation, and the projectors were ensconced as unobtrusively as possible behind the pillars of the Palace’s front wall. The video was run via a Watchout control system programmed by Dave Boeck. The overall image covering the Palace measured 110 metres wide and 25 metres tall. Filling the spaces around the actual Queen’s head portraits were a series of animated backgrounds and other picture ‘frames’. In addition to the Buckingham Palace projections, the 32 portraits were simultaneously shown for 24 hours on BBC big screens in 18 public locations around the UK. Face Britain celebrates the UK’s children and young people in the run up The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in June and the 2012 London Olympic and Paralympic Games in August.

Photos by Louise Stickland

International Video Projection LIVE EVENTs

Record-breaking artwork projected onto Buckingham Palace

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LIVE EVENTs Video Projection

Grazia launch – a 3600 audio visual spectacular By Andy Stead

The launch of Media 24’s Grazia magazine in South Africa was a glittering high tech event, which featured an impressive 360 degree panoramic projection. The event was held at the Phoebus Apollo hanger at Rand Airport in March and was attended by some 300 local and overseas invitees. The Sound Syndicate, creative brains behind the event, were asked to take the Australian launch model and apply it to the launch of the South African publication. Penny Wilson of The Sound Syndicate explains: “Our brief from Grazia was to use the same concept used for the Australian launch. We were shown the video of what they had done which featured a 360 degree screen and we were asked to adapt this to the local market.” They called in Tony E’ Silva of Midrand-based Leisure Tech Lighting who supplied the technical that helped make their ideas come to life. The Phoebus Apollo hanger was an ideal venue to cater for the space and height requirements of the event. After looking at the DVD of the Australian launch, E’Silva found that the physical structure of the screen and centre piece was complex. The hanger, although fine size-wise, did not have a roof structure strong enough to support all of the equipment required, so a scaffolding tower was built in the centre. The staging was also quite different to the Australian model – with the bar and fashion ramp in the centre. The Ministry of Illusion (MOI), a top end post and effects company, was brought on board to provide all the visual material. Co-owner Gerd Muller explains: “We created a seven-minute visual spectacle promoting Grazia’s launch into South Africa. Grazia supplied us with the raw elements which we animated and brought to life over the seven minute run of the visual material.” A Coliseum effect was projected in 360 degrees and various elements moved around this — including taxis, the South African flag, a train and other elements. The Grazia chief editor was filmed in studio against a green screen which enabled MOI to magically have her appear from within the 3D projected coliseum structure and step out onto a podium welcoming all the guests to the launch event, a definite highlight. “The main challenge was how to integrate content across 10 separate HD projectors to ensure the storyline remains in sync for the duration of seven minutes,” adds Gerd. This was well received as MOI had done something similar for a launch of a similar nature in the past.

MOI handed 10 x HD video streams of content in Mpeg 2 format to Sound Stylists Clint Fowler, a projection specialist who spent hours behind the scenes to ensure every pixel was looked after while Mickey Perreira from Mix Audio handled the surround sound. A small demo version of all the screens was set up which enabled the team to view the visual content prior to the event and make adjustments to any photo sizes, content and colours used. The content for these projections were in full HD - the best quality for a really breathtaking visual experience. The Sound Syndicate brought Sound Stylists onboard to provide the projection and control equipment. 10 x 20000 lumens and 1080p HD three-chip DLP Barco HD Projectors were supplied with a Vista Spyder as an interface between playback and projectors. A Wings Media Server was used with a total of 16 outputs. An Apple Macbook Pro served for all static logos and control. All projector cabling runs were done by fibre optics so the visual content was uncompromised. Visual footage was loaded days in advance on the Wings Media playback system. From there HD content was fed on different outputs of Wings into the Vista Spyder. This unit is used to adjust images to size and routes inputs to output. This is also a fail-safe in case technical problems arose so they could switch the multi screen to the Grazia logos and graphics. In Wings the different videos were dragged into timelines, each video for each section of the 110m prepared screen surface. Audio was also fed from there. The surround sound set up had numerous sound effects at different times. The visuals had taxis, flags and trains, and if the train went past on the left, audio was added in the time lines to only pass on the left side of the sound system. All the projectors were networked to align all of the screens. This gave the technician the capability to sit in the venue with a Macbook and adjust all the colours and sizes of each projector individually. This is also used to monitor each projectors’ lamps and temperatures and all power related issues, crucial on high end events. Once the projection team had completed the set up of the projection and control gear, they spent hours checking to ensure that

Video Projection LIVE EVENTs

every frame and every screen colour was the same. “I would say that this launch was surely one of the largest HD 360 degree projections undertaken,” says Fowler. The Leisuretech crew then set about creating the 360 degree screen. For this they used 10 panels each measuring 11 metres wide and eight metres high – creating a total circumference of 110 metres. Once the frames were built, the locally made material was stretched over the frames. Everything was built off site and then taken to the hanger and assembled there. “The assembly was not problematic,” says E’Silva. The 360 degree seamless screen also differed from the Australian

version which had gaps in between. The tunnel created for walking into the centre area was closed up for the actual projection. The screen was not actually a perfect circle. Each panel was around 36 degrees to each other, however it was quite difficult to detect this. The actual event featured a fashion show as well as a live performance by the band Good Luck but the main focus of the entire event was the 360 degree projection. “When you consider the short lead time, the fact that we had client approval only four days before the launch, was quite a feat,” says E’Silva. Quite a feat indeed!

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Studio & Broadcast Audio Solutions

Small studios, big sound By Andy Stead

The WorkRoom studio

Rob Schroeder in his control room

Howard Music studio

Charlotte Buys in Area 5.1

The importance of sound is arguably second only to sight when considering the senses, and as you sit back, eyes closed, and listen to that astonishing orchestra or your favourite group, can you imagine a world without sound? Do you visualise a large studio recording with a composer, musicians and vocalists? It would seem, thanks to modern technology, that most of South Africa’s top sound facilities have embraced the benefits of operating out of small self-contained facilities with studios no larger than an average bedroom, that use the latest sampling and plug-in devices to create their masterpieces. Probably the last custom built studio capable of recording an orchestra was the well known Audio Lab in Blairgowrie, Johannesburg, which closed its doors this year. Top composer Rob Schroeder of Robroy Music, who operated from the Audio Lab for many years, has built a bespoke studio in Stonewedge Park, Bryanston. “A large studio is now totally impractical,” he says, “even if you want to record a grand piano you use a keyboard, with the ability to change the notes and dynamics. It does mean that control rooms need to be much larger, but the equipment itself is smaller. In the past we used an old desk with 60 channels, now we have a small digital unit which offers over 190 channels. We also operate out of only three rooms – a control room and two small studios.” Adam Howard of Howard Music agrees. Howard does the lot – from composition through to final delivery. “You have to have some musical abilities these days,” he says, as someone who plays a mean trumpet. “Whereas in the past the various areas and operators were specialised, now with the new technology – plug-ins, etc – you need to have a broad range of expertise and be a jack of all audio trades. “Large studios are being phased out. In the old days if you needed strings you had to have a large studio with 20 string players. Now even a drummer can get away with a programmed drum sound, especially in the world of commercials. You can use sampled stuff – as we have huge libraries of samples – and you can apply these to virtually any requirement.”

Complete experience Motion picture sound is also a specialised field and Refinery’s Area 5.1 is one of the few remaining facilities to offer a complete motion picture sound experience. From ADR to Foleys to final mix, Area 5.1 boasts the only licensed Dolby 5.1 motion picture facility in the country. “We have completed quite a few upgrades,” says Refinery’s Tracey Williams, “including upgrading Studio 2 so that it can mix in Dolby 5.1. Charlotte Buys, Michael Botha and Barry Douglas operate out of the facility and we also offer a dry hire service when required.

We have an impressive list of recent motion picture sound credits including Platteland, Lucky, 31 Million Reasons, Otelo Burning and Man on Ground.”

Cape scene While the bulk of South Africa’s sound facilities are still concentrated in and around Johannesburg, Kloof Street in Cape Town is the home to Mama Dance! Music for Africa / Composers for Africa, which has become increasingly focused on creating and supplying music to the advertising, film and TV sectors. They became the go-to-guys for agencies and production companies that needed South African flavoured music – composed, licensed or production music. “We are very excited about the re-branding of our original composition agency to Composers For Africa and are confident that our one stop shop service attitude will be a big hit with agencies and production companies who prefer to deal with one reputable company rather than various composers for each job,” says Craig McGahey. TheWorkRoom, also Cape Town based, is an award winning audio post facility which encompasses all aspects of audio production and post-production from recording to mixing, ADR, Foleys and 5.1 surround sound. “There have been many developments in sampling and plug-in technology,” says owner / engineer Stephen Webster. “This gives video editors access to audio plug-ins for mixing and has led to the impression that there is a lesser need for dedicated audio post facilities. Thankfully, we have a client base that understands the value of having their work mixed by a professional sound engineer.”

Technology rules Jim Petrak of Sound Surfers confirms the need to remain abreast of technology. “We are always on the prowl for new technology and this year we have invested in a new secret weapon – but if I tell you what it is I would have to kill you – and then I guess it wouldn’t be much of a secret then!” The importance of sound cannot be over emphasised. Its appeal to the aural sense is as important as the visual, and with the ability of modern technology to create such marvels as a bass guitar played in Abbey Road Studios, the abilities of our local composers and engineers is further enhanced.

Photo by Syd Willow Smith

Audio Solutions Studio & Broadcast

Nurturing young talent

Situated in the heart of the mother city is the Red Bull Music Studio – a fully-fledged music recording and production studio, which has been growing in leaps and bounds over the past few years. Launched in 2007, the Red Bull Music Studio is firmly established in the industry as the perfect space to explore South Africa’s diverse musical talent. A non-commercial initiative, the studio predominantly targets undiscovered musicians with the aim to provide them with free recording and promotional solutions. Over the past few years it has helped nurture thousands of musicians across an array of genres, including electronica (Das Kapital), hip hop (Tumi And The Volume), house (Black Coffee) and rock (Machineri). The studio is also very much about working with big names. But instead of simply providing big-name acts with a professional working space, it encourages them to collaborate. Some of the big names that have collaborated at the studio include Freshlyground and

Red Bull Music Studio features •

2 x Mac Pro Quad Core with 8 gigs of Ram

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2 x Digidesign 003 Sound Card

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Roland TD-10 V-Drum Kit • Roland HD-1 V-Drum Kit

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Elektron Machinedrum

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4 x JBL LSR2326P monitors

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M-Audio Axiom 49 Key MIDI Controller

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M-Audio Axiom 25 MIDI Controller

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Line 6 Low 150 Bass Amp • Line 6 Spider Guitar Amp

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Akai MPD 24 • Akai MPC 2500 sampler

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Fender Squire Jazz Bass

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Lexicon MX 200 Effects Unit • Access Virus TI

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Mooger Fooger CP-251 • Nord Electro

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Digidesign C24 Controller Desk • DJM 800 Mixer

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ART Head Amp 6 Pro Headphone Amp • ART Tube Opto 8 Tube Pre Amp • Focusrite Red 8 Analog Pre Amp

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Moog Lil Phatty

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2 x Technics 1210MK2 • 2xPioneer CDJ 800MK2

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Roland Juno 60 • Roland Jupiter 4 Compuphonic

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Numa Studio Logic Electric Piano

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1 x Shure KSM 44 • 3 x Shure SM-58 LE • 1 x Neuman TLM 103

international house music act Nickodemus, local rockers Ashtray Electric and Afro-electronica giants Gazelle, as well as incredible songstress Zaki Ibrahim and London-based Dubstep group LV. That aside, the studio regularly hosts ground-breaking musical endeavours such as the ‘Skills that Paid the Billz’, where Cape Town’s hip-hop community produced and released an entire album in one day. ‘A Third World Perspective’ saw 20 musical minds from around the country chosen to participate in a mini Red Bull Music Academy at the studio. As a way of taking the creativity out of the studio and bringing it to

The studio predominantly targets undiscovered musicians with the aim to provide them with free recording and promotional solutions. the public, the Red Bull Music Studio also releases free compilation albums each year and curates stages at two of South Africa’s biggest festivals, Oppikoppi and Rocking the Daisies.

In the studio Run by lead engineer Steve ‘Audiophile 021’ Elsworth and Richard ‘Tha Third’ Rumney, the facility is divided into two working spaces – one suited for music production and live recordings and the other customised for DJ set recordings. The main studio runs on a Mac Pro Quad Core with 8 gigs of RAM and a DJM 800 Mixer. A combination of the Digidesign 003 sound card and JBL LSR2326P studio monitors delivers sound, and a Roland TD-10 V electronic drum kit is set up to meet all the studio’s drumming needs. Other top notch gadgets in the studio include an Elektron Machinedrum, an M-Audio Axiom 49 Key MIDI controller, two Line 6 guitar amps, a Focusrite Red 8 Analog pre amp and a Numa Studio Logic electric piano. The other studio also boasts an impressive rig, including the Akai MPC 2500 sampler, an M-Audio Axiom 25 MIDI controller, a Roland Juno 60, two Technics turntables, two Pioneer CDJs and an M-Audio Axiom 25 MIDI controller. Producers also use an array of virtual instruments and plug-ins and a varied selection of microphones, including the Shure KSM 44 and Neuman TLM 103. – Eddie Hatitye

Studio & Broadcast ProdUCT Update

Tech box •

Two new synths: The brand-new Padshop granular synth and the Retrologue virtual analogue synth provide more than 700 presets.

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Supersonic sidekicks: The DJ-EQ and MorphFilter effects and VST Amp Rack 1.5 with new stomp boxes and signature presets made by top guitarists.

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One step closer to perfection: New comping and audio quantizing tools.

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Moving ahead with sound Steinberg recently upgraded their flagship workstation Cubase to version 6.5.

Intercommunication 2.0: Export your mixes directly to SoundClou,.

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Save spac;: Save up to 60% disk space while recording with the new FLAC support.

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64-bit ReWire: unify Cubase with other top DAWs in a complete 64-bit environment.

Since the release of the first version in 1989, Cubase has been an iconic digital music production workstation (DAW). With a strong emphasis on production, recording, editing and mixing, the software boasts an array of powerful tools for any studio setting. Now to make it even better Steinberg has introduced Cubase 6.5 – a significant upgrade that incorporates latest technologies to assist musicians, producers and engineers achieve their creative visions seamlessly.

VST

Performance and effects

The upgrade introduces new synths, effects and formats, and a highlight for synth addicts is Retrologue – a powerful virtual studio technology (VST) that catapults Cubase’s already impressive library of instruments. At the heart of this analogue synth are two oscillators, each with up to eight flexible voices alongside a remarkable sub and noise oscillator. Packed into a user-friendly interface with note expression support, Retrologue brings back the sound of analogue circuitries and vintage warmth. More interestingly, the synth nestles an extensive library with over 300 presets of classic and modern synthesizer sounds, from heavy weight monophonic basses to polyphonic stabs and razor-sharp leads. Another priceless addition to Cubase’s VST section is Padshop – a quality synth that is tailored specifically for sound designers. The VST features two independent layers that are based on an individual oscillator source and generate up to eight different grain streams. Its ‘edit section’ also gives users access to a plethora of cool parameters, including an integrated distortion unit and filter bank.

Cubase’s performance has always been remarkable. Unique to DAWs like Ableton and FL Studio, the software rarely succumbs to CPUintensive jobs and it is impressive that the Cubase team also took some time to advance the engine’s performance, giving it 64-bit ReWire support. Another noteworthy feature is a FLAC audio compression codec, which enables users to import and export FLAC files effortlessly and save up to 60% disk space when recording audio tracks in real time. This package has intercommunication features to allow producers to export their Cubase projects directly into Soundcloud. But knowing how pedantic producers are, this feature may not enjoy widespread use. The idea sounds great but it does not dramatically speed up workflow and there are few producers who would choose to bounce a track straight onto the web without carefully listening to it first. But guitarists will be happy to know that Cubase’s VST Amp Rack has been expanded with new classic and signature presets crafted by top guitarists from bands like Meshuggah, Emperor and Accept. VST Amp Rack now houses two new stomp box effects, the Maximiser and Limiter which give engineers more creative room when compressing guitar recordings. Cubase 6.5 also introduces the DJ-EQ and MorphFilter effects for live EQing and filtering.

Cubase 6.5 is a significant upgrade that incorporates latest technologies to assist musicians, producers and engineers achieve their creative visions seamlessly. 62

Overall Cubase 6.5’s strength lies mostly in the Retrologue, which (I’m sure) has already struck a chord with many producers around the globe. I would have loved to see more effects but I am quite impressed with the initiative.

Industry Expert Studio & Broadcast

Adam Howard

UK-born Adam Howard is one of the most recognisable music composers in the industry. Based at Howard Music in Bryanston, Johannesburg – the 38-year-old has

composed numerous award-winning TV and radio commercials, and worked with almost all the big names in the industry. Pro Systems recently had an opportunity to learn more about his illustrious career. How did it all begin? Adam: In 1996 I graduated from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London where I attained a Bmus degree in classical music. There I studied trumpet, composing, electronic music and arranging – my dream then was to play 1st trumpet in an orchestra. The week after I graduated, I was invited to play 1st trumpet in an orchestra in Germany and left England. A year later my friend who was playing for the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra convinced me to audition for the State Theatre Philharmonic Orchestra in Pretoria and that’s how I came to South Africa. They initially gave me a six-month contract but I ended up staying there until 2000 when the whole orchestra, ballet and opera departments were retrenched.

What has been your proudest project? Adam: From a composing for TV commercials point of view, it has to be winning a Silver Lourie Award for the IEC register to vote campaign – and from a performance point of view it has to be playing in the house band at the official FIFA Kick-off concert where I performed with the likes of Shakira, John Legend, Hugh Masekaela and Angelique Kidjo.

You are also a reputable musical director. What kind of events are you currently involved in?

Did you consider returning oversees at that point? Adam: Nearly, but I was starting to compose music for a few TV commercials and the money was actually better than what overseas orchestras were offering. In 2002 I joined a company called Stone music where I worked as a music producer/composer and in 2004 I formed my own company, Howard Music. In 2007, I did play again in an orchestra – I was offered the 1st trumpet chair of the Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra and spent a year with them. But with Howard Music moving to the Ministry Of Illusion in 2007, I decided to concentrate all my energies on my studio.

Adam: I am very excited to have been asked to musical-direct South African artist William Kentridge on his worldwide tour called ‘Refuse the hour’. We will spend about two years playing all over the world! I am also MD’ing the Audi Silver Arrow awards at the Sandton Convention Centre in May, featuring Lira, Chris Chameleon and the Johannesburg Festival Orchestra. And also in May, the Toyota Staus Club event at the Wild Coast Sun featuring Loyiso, L’loyd Cele, Louise Carver and Elvis Blue.

Anything you find frustrating about your job? Adam: Nothing, I really love my job; I actually can’t believe I get paid for it!

What type of invention would make your job easier?

How best do you describe what Howard Music does?

Adam: A brain to MIDI converter – something that would translate all the musical ideas I have in my head into audio!

Adam: We predominantly focus on composing original music for TV and radio commercials, musical direction for live events and final mix.

When you’re not composing music what are you doing? Adam: Playing golf and spending time with my family.

What type of music did you listen to growing up? Adam: As a young boy I listened to a lot of British pop music, then I developed a passion for classical music and jazz, but to be honest, I listen to all genres. As a composer for TV commercials, you have to have your finger on the pulse of many genres.

What is your holiday destination of choice? Adam: I’d love to go to South America – Peru, Cuba for the music.

DAW of choice? Adam: Logic Pro

Do you still remember your first TV commercial? Adam: Yes! It was a Daiwoo Matiz TVC, with Oscar Strauss directing – I was so excited.

Great chatting to you Adam, thanks for your time and we wish you all the best!

Studio & Broadcast Expert CHOICE

Top producers share favourite gear & tips By Eddie Hatitye

We recently asked three prominent producers Robin Kohl of Jazzworx, Lloyd Niemandt of Wired Sound Studios and Darryl Torr of Openroom Productions to share some of their favourite studio equipment and tips. Here is what they had to say.

Darryl Torr: Openroom Productions Grammy-Award-winning record producer Darryl Torr is one of the most recognisable players in the industry. As owner of Openroom Productions – he has worked with almost every big name in the industry, from Soweto Gospel Choir, to Zebra and Giraffe and Louise Carver.

the most exacting needs of the music, video and teleproduction industries.” Our DAW of choice is: Pro Tools. “This is because the program has been written with old school recording style in mind, making it extremely versatile for the recoding process. My tip: A great sounding mix starts with the recording and not during the actual mixing process. We find this is a concept not many musicians today take into consideration and always think it can be fixed during the mix. The actual recording process of each individual instrument and musician dictates the sound of the mix.”

My favourite tools in the studio right now are: Robin Kohl: Jazzworx The iPad and vintage Wurlitzer.

Kohl is one of South Africa’s leading mix and mastering engineers. At present he heads up Jazzworx – a top production company known for releasing successful acts such as Lira, Malaika and 340ml.

• iPad: “One of the things that define recording through the ages is technology. The iPad is a new device and it’s constantly being developed as a recording studio tool. When it comes to production, it’s become indispensable for creating and developing exciting new sounds within production.”

My favourite tools in the studio right now are: • Wurlitzer: “We

have a vintage Wurlitzer which is really nice as we have to mic it up and create new and unique sounds. Because its analogue, it keeps the essence of what we always try to do – recording good musicianship first and then expand it into the digital realm of the recording and mixing.”

If we could buy new studio gear right now it would be: The SL 6000E mixing console. “We use the plug-in all the time but having the real thing would make a world of difference. The 6000E is an advanced system for production and post-production and it is designed to serve

Focal Twin6 Be studio monitors and Mac Pro Quad Core workstations. • Focal Twin 6 monitors: “I love the sound of these monitors; they are natural and transparent – we have them setup with Dangerous ST controllers in each room and they are really impressive. The Twin6 Be is the best seller of the Focal Professional range and the most versatile work tool of the SM6 line. It represents the only necessary solution for recording, mixing and mastering. The image precision, treble definition as well as midrange neutrality are at the heart of its reputation. The excellent articulation of the bass and midbass registers, even at very high sound levels, makes it an unavoidable reference for engineers who require absolute transparency. Also the design of the Twin6 Be permits a high SPL while at the same time offering a stable tonal balance. One of the two 6.5” woofers works in large band (midrange – bass) whereas the other reproduces from 40 to 150Hz. This creates a bass that preserves all the signal dynamics, without any masking effect in the midrange, therefore keeps all its neutrality and transparency.” • Mac Pro Quad Core: “The Mac Pro Desktop

Expert CHOICE Studio & Broadcast Computer Workstation from Apple is the company’s premiere desktop workstation. The system is built with performance in mind, and is an ideal computer for use with demanding applications in the music industry. The computer is housed in a striking tower form factor, highlighted by a silver front grille which provides easy access to USB 2.0 and FireWire-800 ports, as well as a headphone jack. Sturdy handles aid in transporting the system when necessary.”

If we could buy new studio gear today it would be: The SSL AWS 924. “I love the SSL AWS 924 mainly because it works with almost any DAW as a controller – you get a SSL bus compressor and 24 pres with stereo and 5.1 monitor control. It’s an all-in-one machine with huge appeal. Our environment caters for numerous operators and as such, depending on your choice of DAW or project needs, this would be a dream come true!” My DAW of choice is: Cubase 6. “It has some amazing new features and speed. However, at Jazzworx we have numerous DAW solutions catered for every individual’s needs – be it music composition, post-production or mastering. We also have suites of applications and hardware for all kinds of jobs, from vintage pres, mics, compressors, plug-ins, Logic, Pro Tools, Wavelab, Cubase, native instruments and so on. My Tip: Listen to a lot of music, remember why you got into the game and keep the flame alive that one day you’ll retire without debt.”

Lloyd Niemandt: Wired Sound Studios Hailing from a solid recording industry background, Niemandt works at Wired Sound Studios – one of Johannesburg’s best recording facilities. Boasting state-of-the-art equipment, the studio has become the first choice of some pretty serious names in the local music and media communities.

My favourite tools in the studio right now are: The Presonus ACP 88 Compressor and Roland MC808.

• Presonus ACP 88 Compressor: “This baby is used to control levels whilst recording and has a very smooth and transparent sound – hardware side chains and gates are great for experimenting with new sounds and synth-based effects. With eight

dynamics processors in one unit, you can employ tricks that aren’t possible with other processors. The Channel Link feature lets you lock together as many channels as you wish, so that all processors follow the setting of the master processor. Since you can create multiple simultaneous link groups, you could link a stereo pair of channels plus a group of four processors and still have two unlinked channels for other applications.” • Roland MC808. “This is a classic analogue pattern-based drum sampler and synthesiser. With Roland’s most sophisticated processor at its core, the MC-808 possesses top-of-the-line sampling, sequencing, and synthesizer features. The MC-808 allows any sounds to be sampled, edited, and added to the song WAV and AIF files can also be imported from computer via USB. A few ‘must have’ sounds from the MC-909 are also included.”

If we could buy new studio gear today it would be: The Presonus StudioLive 16.0.2. “This is an excellentsounding compact digital mixer with a flair for connectivity and extensibility. You get unprecedented freedom to work the way that works best for you. StudioLive technology certainly lives up to its name: a powerhouse in the studio – with stunning live capabilities that give us more than a glimpse into the future of live mixing. The PreSonus StudioLive 16.0.2 even offers QMix wireless aux mix control software for your iPhone and iPod Touch.” My DAW of choice is: Cubase. “It has a great warm sound that suits many types of projects. It has loads of headroom to work with and its editing features are fast and user friendly. My Tip: Many producers and engineers over-compress and use too much EQ than is necessary, leading to a very synthetic, unnatural sound. Less is more, subtlety is the key. Also, quality productions start with the signals / sources so always use the highest quality samples and recordings you can – no amount of mixing talent and gear will make poor recordings sound great.”

“A great sounding mix starts with the recording and not during the actual mixing process. We find this is a concept not many musicians today take into consideration and always think it can be fixed during the mix.” – Darryl Torr

Photo by Alistair McLaughlin

Adam Howard

Studio & Broadcast Live Streaming

There’s a new way to watch live music in Johannesburg and this time you don’t even need to be there. In fact, you don’t even need to be in the country, writes Greg Bester. Skyroomlive.com is a website where you can view live webcast performances of popular South African bands and artists that go out in real time across the world. This is actually quite a leap forward in web-based content streaming for this not-so-little country of ours; its creators claiming it’s a well-timed foray into the future and I’d have to agree. Accessibility is not the issue on the table at the moment either, but rather to show South Africa and the world that it can be done and that we can do it.

And they have done it! Skyroomlive takes place at an intimate venue on the rooftop of a skyscraper in the middle of the Joburg CBD with the city-scape as a perfect backdrop to the performances. As I patiently waited for the evening’s artist, HHP, to perform, I was given a tour of the venue, the technology behind the project and introduced to all the parties involved. Skyroomlive has been put together by the concept’s creators, Mark Daubeney and Eban Olivier of Mushroom Productions, supported by Gearhouse SA, Mastermax Productions, SA Backline Co and other non-technical sponsors. My tour guide for the evening was audio engineer Johan van der Colff from Mastermax who graciously gave me the technical run-down of the show. All FOH mixing and stage monitoring is handled by Gearhouse and their house engineer; simply introduced as Frikkie. Overall the Soundcraft GB8 / JBL PRX system is more than sufficient to handle whatever the music throws at them, and later on, the quality of the mix proved to be excellent. They have a good selection of microphones up there too and it really comes through because the quality of the live music was of a high standard. But the FOH mix is not what you’re hearing when you log on to Skyroomlive.com and that is where Mastermax Productions comes in.

Mastermax Productions handles not one, but TWO multitrack recordings of the performance and the actual webcast mix, which is handled by Johan from a small room, tucked away one storey down. However, upstairs next to the FOH console is a Pro Tools HD system, which is where the backup recording takes place, fed from the direct outs of the FOH console. An active mic splitter is used for the system to accommodate the sending of each discrete channel into a Soundcraft stagebox with the MADI protocol, which is then sent down to the Vi1 console in Johan’s room. Here, a single MADI optical cable is connected to a SADiE LRX2 system for the main multi-track recording. The mix is then sent via a stereo analogue signal to another room next door, which is Mushroom Broadcast and Eban’s domain. Here all video cutting and direction of the show’s four HD cameras take place in real time on a state-of-the-art Blackmagic system, encoded on a high-spec Mac Pro with Flash 5 for streaming on the spot, and fed directly to the web. I was not given too much background information on the nature of the connection and the where’s and how’s for security reasons but suffice it to say that the signal was fed via a high speed router to a couple of local stops in between and finally on to Montecasino, where it is plugged into the high bandwidth internet pipeline and sent off to the world. Skyroomlive.com is a new leap forward in digital content streaming and live music in general for South Africa. Granted, not everyone has high speed Internet yet, but I was able to get the concert to stream steadily on my phone via regular 3G, which makes the situation hopeful for the future. The more and more Internet access grows in this country, the more we will see concepts like this present themselves and quite frankly I find it exciting. Just remember who did it first. Skyroomlive.com!

Social

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Jose Maturana, Bernard Pienaar and Jose Masip

Kevin Glover

John Silver and Greg Payne

Duncan Riley, Simon Robinson, Mark Gaylard, Ezeria Moeketsi, Bruce Riley and David Livesey

DWR Avolites Titan Training

Norman and Edwin Bohmer

Nobulali Kama and Siyabonga Tshabalala

Calvin Blignaut

Emah Thompson

Nicholas Michaletos

Siyabonga Tshabalala

Nick Britz

Andre Westraad

Naledi Theatre Awards

Bjorn Blignaut and Lindiwe Bungane

David Dennis and Greg Homann

Des & Dawn Lindbergh

Judy Page and Daphne Kuhn

Tamara Dey and Craig Massive

Khabonina Qubeka

Sello Sebotshane & his wife

Terrence Bridgett & Nadine

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Jack Parrow

Danny K and fiancee Lisa Gundelfinger

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Kurt Darren and wife Dunay NortjĂŠ

Auther Mafokate and kids

Gath Ginsburg and Jaco Norval

Audiosure Dealer Evening

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Willie Cock and John Silver

Natasha Alexis and Gavin Deysel

Ruben and Manus

Terry Cronje

Networking and talking technology

Dealers enthralled by a demonstration

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Frequency Response (+/- 3dB):

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30 – 120Hz

Max SPL: 136dB

Max SPL: 128dB

Max SPL: 141dB

HF Drivers: 3 x 1” Neo Compression Driver

HF Drivers: 2 x 1” Neo Compression Driver

LF Drivers: 2 x 18” Neo

MF Drivers: 2 x 6.5” Neo

MF Driver: 1 x 6.5” Neo

Power Rating: 3000 W

LF Driver: 12” Neo

LF Driver: 8” Neo

Weight: 72Kg

Power Rating: 710 + 350 + 350 W

Power Rating: 220 + 100 + 100 W

Dimensions mm:

Weight: 29.9Kg

Weight: 13.8Kg

1100(W) x 580(H) x 720(D)

Dimensions mm: 580(W) x 386(H) x 430(D)

Dimensions mm: 580(W) x 240(H) x 327(D)

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