Pro-Systems Nov/Dec 2017

November / December 2017 R38.00

AV System Integration | Installations | LIVE EVENTS | Studio Pro Audio

Cover THE FUTURE OF Feature ARCHITECTURAL LIGHTING SUN INT ERN AT I ON AL LAUNCHES T HE SUN AREN A

C U TTI N G E DG E LI G HTI N G C O ME S TO J O B U R G

SUN INT ERN AT I ON AL CASCAD ES GARDEN S

TR I B U TE TO J O HN N Y C LE G G

I n T his I ssue

E D I TO R Welcome to the final edition of Pro-Systems Africa News for the 2017 year. It has been a tumultuous year for many of us, with great highlights and discouraging low points. We have seen the launch of some amazing projects, such as the world-class Time Square Casino and entertainment complex, in Pretoria – which provided the opportunity for multiple suppliers to collaborate in delivering a truly world-class venue for Sun International. We have welcomed some fantastic international artists to the country and continued to support our local artists at concerts and festivals throughout the year. On the corporate front, the continued merging of IT and AV technology has opened up new markets and opportunities for AV integrators.

Conversely, we have experienced a tough economic cycle, uncertain political times and an unstable currency, which has presented some interesting challenges for Africa’s business community. However, I encourage you to remain optimistic and reflect on all that the professional AV industry has achieved, despite current challenges.

Our special feature this issue focuses on architectural lighting, a topic that we are covering as a special focus for the first time. I would like to take the opportunity to thank the suppliers that have assisted us in putting together some fascinating case studies. We have spoken with some of South Africa’s most important lighting designers for architectural applications, including Paul Pamboukian and Smith Tait, who shared their unique perspective and insight into the significance of lighting design in the corporate, retail and leisure environments. I hope that you enjoy what we have to offer and join me in learning something new.

As we close off the year, I would like to extend a heartfelt thank you for your support during 2017, and look forward to working closely with all of the stakeholders in the continent’s professional AV industry in 2018. I hope that you enjoy a welldeserved rest during the end-of-year holidays, preparing you to come back fighting fit for an exciting and profitable 2018.

Finally, I would like to invite you to share your stories with us during the 2018 year. We will be providing readers with a comprehensive review of AV products, drawn from distributors, installers and end users in the January/February issue and I would appreciate your contributions in this regard. Kindly contact me at editor@pro-systems.co.za should you wish to share your experiences with us.

– Nicole Barnes

CONT E NT S BUSINESS NEWS MGG awarded in-house venue management contract.......................................3 DWR home to Quest............................................4 AJA and Avid team up on Avid Artist | DNxIV...............................................4

PRODUCT NEWS Christie introduces Crimson Series.....................6 Crestron adds modular amplifiers and performance loudspeakers to its enterprise audio solutions..........................7 SkyGroup announces enhancements to Lifesize app......................................................8 Peripheral Vision distributing the new Gefen 4K Ultra HD 600 MHz 8x8 Matrix in South Africa....................................8 Elation DARTZ 360™: New projection possibilities from a narrow-beam luminaire.................................10 Barco’s new 4K laser projector pushes the boundaries for museums and venues.......................................10 ClearOne VIEW Pro revolutionises IP video distribution............................................12 ETC adds features to Unison Echo systems..........................................12

ISE SHOW REPORT ISE 2018 set to take the Pro AV industry by storm................................................13

Show REPORT PROLIGHT + SOUND Prolight + Sound Middle East 2017 wraps up in Dubai..............................................14

TECHNICAL SPOTLIGHT Commercial Displays vs Consumer Televisions.........................................16

Prosound delivers a sound solution for Sun International............................20

ARCHITECTURAL LIGHTING The future of architectural lighting illuminated.............................................22 Electrosonic leads the way in human-centric lighting at OR Tambo.............26 Function meets Style at the Keyes Art Mile.........................................30 Down the rabbit hole at Cascades Gardens ......................................34 Cutting-edge lighting comes to Joburg.........38 Anolis brings light to Cleveland House’s iconic canal bridge...........................................42

ARCHITECTURAL LIGHTING PRODUCTS Anolis leads the way in architectural lighting solutions.................................................46 Helvar easy to use, reliable lighting solutions.................................................50 Soraa fixtures......................................................52 ETC has architectural lighting under control........................................54

LIVE EVENTS REPORT The Sun rises on Tshwane’s largest indoor Arena..........................................56 Lightning crashes at the Sun Arena.................60 Kunzima ukuvalelisa (It is hard to say goodbye) Johnny Clegg.....64

SOCIAL Stage Audio Works Johannesburg, 26 October 2017 ...............................................67 Robe Megapointe Launch DWR Johannesburg, 02 November 2017 ................68 Technical demonstration at the Sun Arena, 4 October 2017 .............................68

Integration & Installation REPORT Cover photo by Graeme Wylie Photography

C ontri b u tors

Abrie du Plooy | Abrie is a professional AV consultant for Electrosonic SA, and has worked in the professional AV industry for more than 11 years. Abrie’s field of expertise stretches across both the corporate and residential AV markets and includes video conferencing, auditoriums, outdoor display, digital signage, large format display, and large venue projection, among others. In addition to his extensive hands-on experience, Abrie is one of the few professionals to hold an Avixa CTS qualification in South Africa, and he serves as a director on the SACIA board. Abrie is a skilled and avid writer and industry commentator, kindly visit: www.abrieduplooy.blogspot.co.za to see more of his work.

Editorial Disclaimer The views, opinions, positions or strategies expressed by the authors and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, positions or strategies of Pro-Systems Africa News or any employee thereof. Sun Circle Publishers makes no representations as to accuracy, completeness, correctness, suitability, or validity of any information and will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in this information or any losses, injuries, or damages arising from its display or use.

Sun Circle Publishers reserves the right to delete, edit, or alter in any manner it sees fit comments that it, in its sole discretion, deems to be obscene, offensive, defamatory, threatening, in violation of trademark, copyright or other laws, or is otherwise unacceptable.

All contents of this publication are subject to worldwide copyright protection and reproduction in whole or part, in any form whatsoever, is expressly forbidden without the prior written consent of the Publisher.

Publisher| Simon Robinson | simon@sun-circle.co.za Editor | Nicole Barnes | editor@pro-systems.co.za Managing Editor & Advertising Sales | Claire Badenhorst | sales@pro-systems.co.za Design | Trevor Ou Tim | design@sun-circle.co.za Subscriptions | Albertina Tserere | data@sun-circle.co.za Accounts | Helen Loots | accounts@sun-circle.co.za Sun Circle Publishers (Pty) Ltd | Tel: +27 11 025-3180 | Epsom Downs Office Park, 13 Sloane Street, Bryanston, Johannesburg | PO Box 559 Fourways North 2086, South Africa

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MGG, a leading supplier of technical services and equipment to the South African live event, corporate production and television and films markets, recently announced that they will be providing in-house venue management services to Sun International’s brand new casino and entertainment complex, Time Square, situated in Menlyn, Pretoria.

Photo by KiefKreativ

MGG awarded in-house venue management contract

Johan Botha of MGG provides technical support at the Sun Arena

Sun International’s state-of-the-art development features an ultra-modern casino called Time Square, an array of restaurants, bars and entertainment facilities, a brand new hotel, as well as the largest indoor arena for live events in Tshwane, the Sun Arena.

MGG company founder and managing director, Mark Gaylard, told Pro-Systems in a recent interview that he and his team are very excited about the opportunities that this contract will open not only for MGG but for audiences in Gauteng. “The Sun Arena offers an exceptional venue for international artists visiting South Africa. We are confident that the Sun Arena will attract new talent to the country, offering audiences an opportunity to see some of their favourite international and local artists in a world-class venue.”

Gaylard states that the contract to provide in-house venue management at Time Square and Sun Arena was awarded to MGG, in part, because the stock that Sun International elected to install at the complex integrates well with stock that MGG

has on-hand within their equipment for hire inventory. “The fact that we hold a large inventory of the equipment that Sun International specified for installation throughout the casino and entertainment complex means that we have the experience, expertise and technical ability needed to maintain and run AV systems within the casino as well as the live events rig at the Sun Arena. Also, MGG is in an ideal position to augment in-house systems with compatible add-ons that may be specified or requested by clients for specific events,” Gaylard explains.

The service agreement between Sun International’s Time Square and MGG will see Gaylard’s team providing on-site support services to both the casino complex and the Sun Arena. “I have great confidence in the highly skilled team that we have put together to ensure that audiovisual support is provided to the Sun International team at Time Square and the Sun Arena,” Gaylard states.

In the 17 years since the company was

founded, MGG has cemented their place as a leading provider of expert technical support and a wide range of equipment for hire in the fields of lighting, sound, rigging and video production. As such, MGG has become a trusted, indispensable supplier of services and equipment to some of South Africa’s biggest brands and production houses. Adding in-house venue management to the company’s impressive portfolio of services broadens the field for the company to continue to achieve its aim of creating a South African technical services and events production company to rival any international supplier.

“In-house venue management is a new field for MGG and presents some very exciting opportunities for staff development and growth. I am confident that we have the skill, experience and focus needed to provide visitors to Time Square and the Sun Arena with an exceptional and world-class experience,” Gaylard concludes.

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DWR home to Quest

Simon Oates, Frank Andrewartha (Quest) and DWR’s Kyle Robson and Robert Izzett

DWR Distribution is expanding its industry footprint with the addition of the audio brand Quest Engineering.

Quest Engineering is based in Melbourne, Australia, and from humble beginnings in live audio production, plus twenty years of

product development, the company has become an internationally recognised audio brand.

During this time, industry maverick, Simon Oates, has held the agency in South Africa and made Quest a household name in the

AJA and Avid team up on Avid Artist | DNxIV

new feature simplifies direct 16-bit analog recording for audio punch in. The Thunderbolt 3-enabled DNxIV also offers a range of connectivity, including 12G-SDI and HDMI 2.0 I/O, and is compatible with the latest 4K/UltraHD devices. AJA’s proven conversion technology facilitates real time high-quality scaling of 4K and UltraHD to HD for monitoring and output. DNxIV also includes an additional Thunderbolt 3 port for daisy-chaining to other Thunderbolt devices.

“Partnering with AJA and leveraging their years of expertise in video hardware engineering has enabled us to deliver a portable, yet powerful video interface that offers a huge range of connectivity options for HD to 4K projects,” said Alan Hoff, V.P. of Market Solutions for Avid.

“Avid has been a trusted partner for many years, and we’re pleased to continue our

AJA Video Systems has announced a technology partnership with Avid to design and manufacture Avid Artist | DNxIV, a new hardware interface option for Avid Media Composer®. The Thunderbolt™ 3 capture and output device offers the latest 12G-SDI and HDMI 2.0 I/O connectivity, advanced audio features and 4K/UltraHD support up to 50p/60p frame rates.

DNxIV is similar to AJA’s newly announced Io 4K Plus, but built to Avid’s specifications adding a built-in audio input for an analog microphone on the front of the device. This

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industry. “Simon has now passed the torch to DWR, and we are thrilled to introduce Quest as our first loudspeakers to our family of products,” said Robert Izzett, head of sales at DWR. Oates will continue to support his new and existing clients in collaboration with DWR and Quest.

Quest’s Frank Andrewartha was in Johannesburg recently to meet up with the DWR team. “This is a good outcome and brings experience as well as a great support structure for production customers and a turnkey installation solution”.

With a background in concert sound production, Quest design and manufacturing has a history of developing innovative loudspeaker and electronics with high-end audio performance and robust design. The company’s research and development division is composed of consultants and system engineers who have had years of experience in meeting the specialised needs of venues, Live production audio, retail environments, churches, corporate installations and government projects.

ongoing collaboration with the development of DNxIV,” said Nick Rashby, President, AJA Video Systems. “This product marks the first of several next-generation Avid hardware options to come from our combined development efforts.”

Avid Artist | DNxIP is custom engineered to Avid’s specifications and includes an XLR audio input on the front of the device for microphone or line level sources. Avid Artist | DNxIP leverages the power of Thunderbolt 3 to facilitate simple, fast HD/SD video and audio ingest/output from/to IP networks.

This portable, aluminium encased device also supports SMPTE 2022-6 uncompressed video, audio and VANC data over IP, as well as SMPTE 2022-7 for redundancy protection.

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Christie introduces Crimson Series The new Christie Crimson Series of 3DLP laser phosphor projectors, introduced and showing at LDI 2017, delivers up to 25 000 ISO lumens, 60Hz processing, and Christie BoldColor Technology in a compact and rugged package with a low cost of ownership for rental, staging and fixed installation customers. For further cost savings, customers can upgrade from their existing Christie M Series and Christie J Series to experience the lamp-free technology of the Christie Crimson WU25 and HD25 without needing to purchase new lenses.

Users will appreciate the ultra-fast processing of Christie TruLife™ electronics and built-in warp and blend capabilities of Christie Twist™. Moreover, by adding Christie Mystique, users will reduce multiple projector calibration times from hours to minutes, saving both time and labour costs.

Designed with the technician in mind, the Crimson Series is built-tough and is easy to ship, handle and install thanks to its compact form factor, quiet operation and 360-degree orientation. Featuring an IP5X sealed, solid-state laser light source, Crimson projectors provide years of reliable, low-cost,

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and virtually maintenance-free operation while delivering vibrant, lifelike colours in theme parks, indoor and outdoor arenas and stadiums, entertainment venues, mega-events, public spaces, and more.

Using an almost identical chassis as the bestselling Christie Boxer and featuring 20 000 hours of long life light, Christie Crimson Series can withstand the rigours of the road and high-usage applications. For customers needing higher frame rates, and up to 120Hz for 3D visualisation or simulation applications, the new Christie Mirage HD25 and Mirage WU25 fit the bill.

“Audiences will see an appreciable difference in both colour richness and brightness with Christie Crimson,” said Curtis Lingard, senior product manager, Christie.

“And with its long-lasting brightness, rock-solid reliability, TruLife Electronics, and BoldColor Technology, the Christie Crimson Series combines the best in laser phosphor technology with the brightness and colour that both fixed and live events stagers demand in today’s ever-evolving marketplace.”

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Crestron adds modular amplifiers and performance loudspeakers to its enterprise audio solutions

Now shipping, quarter-rack modular amplifiers deliver convenient, professional performance; new Vector™ line of performance loudspeakers ideal for use in large commercial spaces Crestron recently announced that it has expanded its enterprise audio solutions in EMEA with two new modular amplifiers, the AMP-225 and AMP-150-100, and its new line of Vector™ performance loudspeakers, which are engineered to deliver premium sound quality in a small footprint in large commercial spaces.

New quarter-rack modular amplifiers The AMP-225 (two channels at 25W each 8 ohm) and AMP-150-100 (one channel at 50W 100V) provide convenient professional performance, EnergyStar certification, built-in fault protection, and modular construction. Thanks to their innovative slide-rail design and compact quarter-rack size, multiple units can be ganged together in a single rack space for maximum flexibility.

These new amps can also be combined with Crestron half-rack amps, the AMP-1200 and AMP-2100, for a 1 RU solution, or surfacemounted under a table.

New Vector performance loudspeakers The new line of Vector performance medium-throw loudspeakers are engineered for use in large commercial spaces, such as auditoriums, lecture halls, corporate town halls, and divisible rooms. Vector loudspeakers are designed to work with Avia™ DSPs, the groundbreaking Avia Audio Tool, and the new Crestron high-powered amplifiers to deliver greater performance than other loudspeakers in their class.

Vector loudspeakers leverage the precision signal processing within Avia DSPs to greatly reduce harsh-sounding resonances and sound colouration caused by horn reflections while retaining nuances of the original signal. The result is an extremely natural sounding room system with superior pattern control, higher gain before feedback, and improved intelligibility.

The Avia Audio Tool provides a powerful and intuitive workspace that streamlines audio design and programming. New

controls and functions can be added on-the-fly, so programmers no longer need to “re-wire and recompile” to make changes.

“Crestron has everything you need to deliver best-in-class audio performance in any space throughout an enterprise,” said Dennis Fink, Technology Manager, Professional Audio at Crestron.

“From DSPs and amplifiers to architectural speakers and high-performance loudspeakers, Crestron gives you robust, easy to scale solutions for a wide range of rooms.”

Regional manager at Crestron South Africa, Rupert Denoon states: “We are extremely excited to introduce our modular amplifiers and performance loudspeakers to the SA market, providing professional performance, energy-saving features, built-in fault protection, and modular construction. The new line provides great sound quality for boardrooms, meeting rooms, and auditoriums, and promises to be a welcome addition to our product offering in the country.

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SkyGroup announces enhancements to Lifesize app SkyGroup Communications’ customers looking to deliver effortless collaboration in the cloud can now leverage the enhanced Lifesize App to deliver even better highdefinition audio, web and video conferencing.

Since its launch into the South African market, Lifesize has enjoyed excellent growth and has been able to carve a niche for customers who need a cloud-based collaboration platform and a seamlessly integrated, connected conference room system. With the redesigned Lifesize App, the company is promising a truly uncomplicated collaboration experience, no matter where

the customer engages from geographically, or the device they use to connect.

“The new Lifesize App has been entirely rebuilt and designed, taking into account the direct needs and feedback from customers,” states Marius van Wyk, operations and technical director at SkyGroup Communications. “The new features ensure that the application is more intuitive, the user interface is easier to navigate and that features such as smart matching search and one-click calling, can deliver easier, faster, smarter and more flexible communication and collaboration – to the very fingertips of customers.”

Along with its host of new features, the app now provides users with a consistent user interface across their desktop and the web.

Its inclusion of moderator controls allows a host to directly mute select participants without the pain of having to ask users to mute themselves.

“Lifesize truly offers customers a ‘better together’ value proposition that we haven’t seen from many other vendors in the market.

Our customers continually remark on the quality control they receive from the product as well as its ability to manage your complete cloud-based conferencing environment.

“All the while still offering differentiated features such as directory-based direct dialling, ad-hoc and scheduled meetings, in-session call escalation, all in a single ecosystem from which you can standardise your end-to-end collaboration solutions and support for different meeting spaces and types,” concludes van Wyk.

Peripheral Vision distributing the new Gefen 4K Ultra HD 600 MHz 8x8 Matrix in South Africa Building on its commitment to provide systems integrators with a comprehensive range of signal management solutions, Gefen from Core Brands recently announced that it is now shipping the new 4K Ultra HD 600 MHz 8x8 Matrix for HDMI. Peripheral Vision is the sole distributor of Gefen products in South Africa, and has confirmed that it will be distributing the product locally.

Gefen’s 4K Ultra HD 600 MHz 8x8 Matrix for HDMI supports 18.2 Gbps of bandwidth and 600 MHz TMDS Clock frequency – the highest specified under the HDMI 2.0 standard.

According to Gefen product manager Jason Fitzgerald, the new matrix rounds out Gefen’s line of 600 MHz routing products for commercial integrators.

“The Gefen 4K Ultra HD 600 MHz 8x8 Matrix adds to the 600 MHz signal management line of products, which now includes all of the major categories of switchers, splitters, and matrices that make up the backbone of any commercial AV installation,” Fitzgerald said. “The new 8x8 matrix provides integrators with a powerful solution for signal distribution in professional applications at a very competitive price point.”

Capable of handling the most

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demanding specifications of the HDMI 2.0 standard, the 4K Ultra HD 600 MHz 8x8 Matrix routes eight 4K sources to eight 4K displays, and supports resolutions up to 4K CinemaDCI (4096 x 2160 up to 60 Hz, 4:4:4), 4K Ultra HD (3860 x 2160 up to 60 Hz, 4:4:4) with HDR, 1080p Full HD, and WUXGA (1920x1200). It also supports HDCP 2.2 and 1.4, 3DTV pass-through and Lip Sync pass-through.

“The 4K Ultra HD 600 MHz 8x8 Matrix is the largest format matrix that we offer with HDMI 2.0 capability,” Fitzgerald continued. “With eight inputs and eight outputs, it strikes a great balance between price and input/ output capability.”

In addition to full HDMI 2.0 and HDR compliance, the 8x8 Matrix incorporates new audio features that help enhance the user experience. Recognising that audio is just as important as video, the Matrix features analogue and digital audio outputs that break out the audio stream (two-channel analogue, two-channel PCM, and up to 5.1 channel Bitstream) from each HDMI source.

This allows the de-embedded audio content to be sent to external amplifiers and music distribution systems for added impact in bars, restaurants, clubs, venues, and corporate offices.

The Gefen 4K Ultra HD 600 MHz 8x8 Matrix

“All outputs are coupled with both analogue and digital audio break-outs, making the connection to a centralised audio distribution system easy,” Fitzgerald added.

The new matrix includes a Professional API feature that provides previously unattainable data, allowing for exciting interaction with third-party control/ monitoring systems. This product has also been designed to work with the Gefen Syner-G™ software to simplify initial IP configuration and EDID Management. Each source can be routed to any or all displays, using the front-panel push buttons or the included handheld IR Remote Control. An easy-to-read, super-bright OLED front panel display indicates routing status and IP settings. Control can be administered by using the IR, RS-232, IP, or web interfaces. It’s easy to install, configure, and manage.

Gefen EXT-UHD-600A-88 matrix is housed in a 2U tall, rack-mountable enclosure that can also be placed on a shelf. It accommodates Gefen locking HDMI cables to ensure secure connections.

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Elation DARTZ 360™: New projection possibilities from a narrow-beam luminaire Elation Professional has recently announced the launch of the DARTZ 360™, a unique LED beam/spot fixture that offers new projection possibilities from a Elation DARTZ 360. compact, narrow-beam luminaire. The DARTZ 360 is the first RGB source beam/spot to combine such a high level of output with smooth colour-mixing, gobos, effects and sharp optics in such a small package.

A single-source 50W RGB LED engine produces a powerful and tight 3-degree beam for smooth, colour-mixed beam effects similar to a discharge lamp. The output is an amazing 29,000 Lux at 5 meters, which Elation states is significantly more lumens per watt than similar products on the market.

Extremely bright for its wattage and size, the combined LED engine source/optics package not only provides brighter output than the previous multi-chip LED “beam” solutions, but the field of light is also

noticeably more homogenous. Safe to use at any distance, the DARTZ 360 is ideal for use in smaller clubs and at smaller events.

The smooth, full spectrum colour output combines with fourteen fixed gobos and effects to produce a perfectly colour-mixed beam or image projections. With remote focus for a perfectly smooth colour-mixed beam, the light quality is exceptional. This focusable beam effect is similar to a discharge lamp source, but in a fixture that offers full LED colour mixing with an extremely flat field of light and gobo and projection effects.

The DARTZ 360’s effects package also includes six and eight-facet independent rotating prisms, which can be overlaid to create new morphing effects. A linear frost filter is also included that softens the beam when a wash effect is needed. The DARTZ 360 is compact and phenomenally fast with lightning-quick motors and continuous 360° pan and tilt movement that adds an intense level of energy to any size show. A high speed electronic shutter and strobe are also included.

Dimming of the LED engine is smooth and stepless from 100 to 0%, and the unit includes five dimmer curve modes to suit any specific

application. When used with cameras, the fixture works flicker-free, thanks to its user-adjustable LED refresh rate and Gamma brightness settings. Standard DMX controllable and RDM ready, the DARTZ 360 can also operate via Art-Net, Kling-Net and sCAN protocol. Users can pixel map multiple units via Art-Net, easily adding into matrix displays the added features of beams and effects.

The DARTZ 360 features a full-colour LCD menu display with a multi-button touch control panel that is 180-degree reversible.

Professional grade 5pin XLR, RJ45 etherCON, PowerCON TRUE1 in/out connections are included as is a multi-voltage universal auto-switching power supply. The DARTZ 360 can also receive wireless DMX via the integrated Elation E-FLY™ system.

Speaking to Pro-Systems in a recent telephone interview, Marnus Nieuwoudt of The Production Warehouse confirms that the company will be distributing the Elation DARTZ 360, once stock becomes available.

“We will be hosting a local launch for the DARTZ 360 early next year,” Nieuwoudt stated. The Production Warehouse is the sole distributor of Elation Lighting products for the South African market.

Barco’s new 4K laser projector pushes the boundaries for museums and venues To complete its offer for the fixed installation market, Barco is extending its F-series platform with a flexible new projector, the F80. Billed as “the silent F”, it brings three powerful assets to museums and venues that require under 10k lumen 24/7: superb 4K resolution; the efficiency and economy of the laser; and silence, or the ability to host the projector in the same room as the audience.

“For the F80, we focused on users who require quality together with long-term reliability,” says vice president of events Carl Rijsbrack. “Typically, this could be in closer settings such as museum displays or corporate meetings. Therefore, the question of noise levels is important. These users can now have the image quality they require based on the latest projection technologies inside a compact unit.”

The F80 builds on the fundamentals of the

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other Barco F-series phosphor laser projectors, namely freedom, flexibility and 4K resolution. For users, this translates as uniformity, increased uptime, very low maintenance as no lamps need to be replaced and energy efficiency.

Constant brightness and long-life colour performance are further bolstered by Barco Pulse’s unique Single Step Processing (SSPTM) technology that delivers 4K Ultra High Definition (UHD) resolution in only one step.

Users can, therefore, offer their audiences a sharper image and much higher overall image quality with less latency compared to other products on the market.

In addition, the F80 offers users the flexibility of using an ultra-silent projector.

Koen Van Belle, Barco’s product manager for entertainment, states that “For the F80, our teams in Belgium, China and Norway combined all of our research and

Barco F80 4K laser projector

development expertise to develop a bright projector with superb colours using a brand new chip and then further optimised the noise level to make it silent. This is the first Barco projector that uses this new Texas Instruments® technology and the first in the world to push it to these light output levels.”

“We wanted to produce the best-in-class projector for museums, theme parks, virtual and augmented reality applications as well as executive boardrooms,” says Barco’s director of strategic marketing, Peter Pauwels. “Users want a projector that is reliable, flexible, easy to set up and use, cost-efficient and that projects superb colours at 4K resolution. The fact that it is also ultra-silent really opens up their options in terms of installation and use.”

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ClearOne VIEW Pro revolutionises IP video distribution ClearOne has engineered a line of digital video processing and management products that achieves the trifecta of low bandwidth, low latency and unsurpassed image quality using existing IP networks.

According to Lewis Eig, sales director at ClearOne, network video and audio distribution, the company’s recently expanded VIEW Pro line of media encoders and decoders, along with the powerful new PANORAMA™ videowall software license, gives integrators and end users today’s simplest, most install-ready system that delivers top-quality video to any number of displays at any resolution, including uniquely sized LED screens.

“The VIEW Pro line of multimedia streaming hardware offers any business of any size the opportunity to add HD video and multimedia distribution to their existing data infrastructure,” Eig said. “Our advanced decoding and encoding algorithms and hardware eliminate the need for additional data lines and expensive construction, lowering the cost and install time for organizations looking to upgrade the digital media capabilities and quality of their office,

retail location or public space.”

With various rack-mount components, as well as the industry’s most compact decoding options, offering H.264 compression, 24-bit color, up-to 1080p resolution at 60 FPS, ultra-low latency, video windowing and advanced content control, the VIEW Pro line is unmatched in scalability and maximizes the potential of any digital display network, whether in a new construction or renovation environment.

The mass proliferation of H.264 endpoints (IP cameras, mobile devices, PC streaming, digital signage players, video recorders) means that many businesses and organisations already have compatible components. By sending the video signal over IP, the VIEW Pro system eliminates the need for additional encoders, decoders and other hardware.

“VIEW Pro is simply the most adaptable, capable video processing and management solution for needs ranging from a single videowall to a large video distribution network,” Eig added. “Our node-based approach means that any

ETC adds features to Unison Echo systems ETC has upgraded the software for its Unison Echo® products, adding powerful new capabilities to the architectural control system. New features include the ability to manage tunable white fixtures, adding sequence control to Echo’s DMX controller, and more.

“The latest Echo software expands the functionality of Echo in exciting directions and includes new features that our customers have directly asked for,” said Lowell Olcott, ETC networking and architectural controls product manager.

This software upgrade now lets users control white-tuning DMX fixtures, choosing the temperature that best suits the space.

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ETC Echo power interface

Echo’s ability to control colour-tuning fixtures has also been expanded, allowing users to mix a chosen temperature of white as well as colours. The EchoAccess mobile application has undergone a graphics upgrade to ensure users can easily customise the look and feel of their system.

DMX functionality has also been expanded. Sequence control gives users the ability to introduce automated, dynamic colour control to their environments by stringing simple presets together. And a new trigger function allows the Echo DMX Scene

display or source can be mapped down to the pixel, allowing users to achieve the full potential of their displays and offer full controls such as cropping, scaling and overlaying in real time, windowing, and even window rotating to display landscape or portrait images and videos. Additionally, our ultra-low latency allows us to work in the most critical environments, including live streaming and keyboard transport for KVM extension applications.”

The VIEW Pro line’s vast usability is thanks in part to its powerful PANORAMA™ and CONSOLE® software that allow operators to manage any display of any shape, size or resolution, which is becoming more important as companies opt for LED displays with dimensions and pixel counts outside the 1080p or 4K standards. These easy-to-use software controls allow companies to easily manage multi-panel videowalls, multidisplay distributed video networks, and even turn a single display into a videowall by displaying multiple sources in windows. The power of VIEW Pro in these situations lives in the nodes or endpoints, so as the system grows, its windowing and video wall processing power grows too, making for an extremely cost-effective and scalable system for large and small videowall projects alike.

Controller to interface seamlessly with external DMX sources. With it, users can dictate how the system should behave if a more sophisticated DMX source is plugged in, or what to do if a primary DMX source is lost.

Echo stations and sensors can now control presets in multiple spaces. This allows a single button push to control a number of rooms including the ability to turn off lights in multiple spaces. Echo photo sensors have a new option to prevent the sensor from raising levels in a preset purposefully set to a lower level. This is useful in classrooms with projectors and many other installations.

Echo’s expanded capabilities will be included in every new Echo product. Many existing products can also make use of these new features with a software upgrade.

For more information on ETC’s control systems, refer to the architectural lighting feature on pages 54 and 55.

ISE SHOW REPORT

ISE 2018 set to take the Pro AV industry by storm

The World Masters of Projection Mapping competition at ISE 2017

Taking place in Amsterdam between 6 and 9 February, Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) is the world’s largest professional AV and systems integration show. The annual event, which is held at the RAI Amsterdam every February, provides a unique showcase of technologies and solutions for commercial and residential applications. ISE is the international, professional destination of choice for the systems integration, digital signage, live events production, smart home and smart building communities.

According to event organisers, over a third of all attendees will be visiting ISE for the first time, something warmly welcomed by seasoned ISE exhibitors. Attendance has grown significantly over the years, and in response, so has the number of on-site events, adding additional value to the ISE experience. These include keynotes; conferences; show floor theatres; tech tours; hosted buyer events; and numerous opportunities for personal development via training programmes curated by ISE co-owners AVIXA and CEDIA. These comprehensive learning and networking events are open to all exhibitors.

ISE will once again play host to the internationally renowned InAVation Awards, which will take place on the first evening of the show. As this globally recognised and respected industry awards enters its second decade, it remains as relevant as ever – thanks to a regularly updated format, respected judging panel and of course,

the quality and continuing achievements of the technologies, projects and people that make up the list of previous winners. The award evening, taking place on 6 February will once again deliver the recognition that the very best of the global AV industry deserves.

ISE 2018 will also play host to a new competition dedicated to showcasing the finest in projection mapping, launched as a cooperative venture between Amsterdam Light Festival, Integrated Systems Events and the RAI Amsterdam. The challenge for the artists will be to create a work of video art to be mapped onto the extraordinary three-dimensional architecture of the EYE Filmmuseum, to be experienced from multiple viewpoints. The projection mapping will be fully visible to the public from boats sailing on the IJ, the quay near Central Station and the Amsterdam Tower. The competition will also be streamed in HD, live on the internet.

Work from five competing finalists will be showcased on Thursday 8 February, when a panel of judges will decide upon the overall winner of the competition. The winner of the Masters of Illumination competition will be announced on the final day of ISE 2018 at the RAI Amsterdam, as part of an exclusive event featuring all finalists. The winning entry and those of the finalists will also be projected onto the EYE Filmmuseum during the Friday evening after ISE 2018 has finished.

ISE 2018 will take place between 6 and 9 February 2018 at the RAI Amsterdam, Europaplein. Registration is currently open online at the cost of €100+VAT. Whatever you require for your business, whether it’s specific information on new products and technologies, specialist workshops and conferences, or you simply want to develop new and existing business relationships, Integrated Systems Europe is the ultimate destination for anyone working in the professional AV and systems integration business.

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S ho w R E P O R T P R O L I G H T + S O U N D

Prolight + Sound Middle East 2017 wraps up in Dubai

The second edition of Prolight + Sound Middle East concluded in Dubai, with double-digit growth in visitor numbers ensuring there was a constant buzz at the region’s dedicated trade fair for the entertainment, event, media and creation industries. Prolight + Sound Middle East 2017 attracted 2200 visitors from 50 countries, a 40% year-on-year increase over the show’s inaugural edition in 2016.

The strong visitor turnout was underlined by impressive live demonstrations of the latest professional audio-visual technologies from the likes of Robe, Monacor International, Bose, and Martin Professional, while local providers such as Procom, Venuetech, Prolab and Prosonic pulled out all the stops at their stands to attract customers.

High-level discussions were plentiful among the 28 exhibitors from nine countries, including at SES Global’s stand, which signed a major deal with Production Technology (Protec) during the show.

Mark Cooper, SES Global’s managing director, said that Protec placed an initial order with SES to provide new power distribution, dimmers and motor controllers for their new set-up in Saudi Arabia.

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The order, valued at just over AED750 000, is the first order for the new SES FLX dimmer system in the region.

“After trialling the unit at the recent Tomorrowland production, Protec’s head of lighting, Aaron Russ was impressed with how easy the system was to use,” said Cooper.

“The ability to switch each channel between a dimmer and DMX operated relay gives maximum flexibility in one unit. The order is made up of a number of these multi-channel racks, traditional hard power SOCAPEX units and also the new SES motor controllers. The order is the first of a two-part process, firstly to kit out the Saudi operation and then to upgrade the existing Dubai based stock.”

Other exhibitors expressed their satisfaction with the outcome of

P R O L I G H T + S O U N D S ho w R E P O R T

Prolight + Sound Middle East 2017, including PROCOM Middle East.

Rami Harfouch, the business development manager, said: “We’ve had a really busy event, having serious discussions with potential walk-in customers.

“The show has allowed us the opportunity to reach out to the untapped markets. We’ve had qualitative visitors from all over the GCC, and we expect a positive ROI from the exhibition. We look forward to the next edition, which we believe will be bigger and better than before.”

Sanjeev Singh, managing director at AVISS, added: “It’s been a great experience at with really great footfall and qualitative visitors.

We’ve been interacting with the other exhibitors as well, which gives us an insight on what the latest trends in the industry are.”

A major focal point of Prolight + Sound Middle East 2017 was the inaugural Events Technology and Entertainment Development Forum, while the Dante Certification workshops on the final day were also hugely popular.

A busy educational and informative programme that featured government representatives and leading entertainment professionals ensured the conference room was always full, with delegates mingling with exhibitors during breaks.

Ahmed Pauwels, CEO of the show’s organiser Messe Frankfurt Middle East, said: “This is an exciting time for the Middle East entertainment industry, and the progress it has made in a relatively short space of time is a testament to what is possible when extraordinary vision is combined with technical know-how and innovative minds.

“The rousing response for the second edition of Prolight + Sound Middle East confirms the tremendous business potential that exists in the booming events and entertainment industry in the region that is waiting to be unlocked. The Middle East, which is now firmly on the map as a major destination for international events and a great venue for events with global scale and reach, will continue to be an increasingly significant consumer of the latest AV technology and services,” added Pauwels.

Prolight + Sound Middle East is the fifth instalment of the international network of Prolight + Sound events worldwide and is co-located with Light Middle East, the region’s dedicated exhibition, conference, and awards for lighting design and technology.

The 3rd edition of Prolight + Sound Middle East will take place in October 2018.

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TECHNICAL SPOTLIGHT

Commercial Displays vs Consumer Televisions

Many people are unaware of the differences that set a professional display apart from its residential counterpart. The frequent questions that arise without fail: What are professional displays? Why do we need them? Why are they more expensive?

Consumers of audiovisual systems in the corporate world often question the feasibility of installing professional flat panel displays (commercial displays) as opposed to consumer displays (aimed at the residential market) in a commercial environment. The decision makers in these audiovisual projects are often exposed to pricing from consumer television promotions. These consumer screens are manufactured to be aesthetically pleasing and cost-effective in order to catch one’s eye and not hurt one’s pocket. When a professional solution is then presented to the same individual, the price difference is often frowned upon.

Video screens in commercial spaces are hardly ever used for entertainment purposes. In 99% of cases, these screens and their surrounding components are business tools that required a significant level of investment. These units could be used in training rooms to display presentations, in meeting and video conferencing venues to

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By Abrie du Plooy

show a remote audience, or could run for long hours in public spaces while flashing colourful promotional messages. Even in environments with an entertainment component, the purpose would be to entertain profitable clients or provide personnel with a well-deserved revitalising distraction.

Making the right choice Professional displays are designed by manufacturers to be used in a commercial environment and usually include extra features. Firstly, they are designed and built to a higher quality, with commercial applications in mind. Possible product failure needs to be minimised or eliminated. The displays need to be more robust, and therefore more durable materials are used. Electronic components and levels of engineering are of a higher quality than in consumer panels – which invariably pushes up the cost.

Professional display panels are also capable of being operated remotely by external command protocols, usually via RS232 or Ethernet, from a central control hub. Most high-end audiovisual components operate as part of a bigger system. The central control element then communicates with these units over a network and manipulates them individually by using different control signals and protocols. Users would only interact with a single interface, such as a touch panel or keypad. With the simple press of a button, an entire system can be shut down or powered up, while other results can also be easily achieved based on predetermined logic. Said logic is programmed into a central processor that sends command macros to pertaining devices, which professional screens are capable of receiving.

Another feature that puts commercial displays in pole position is their installed firmware. The on-screen display menu offers features that are suited for commercial use. These features are mostly intended to be used by AV installers or integrators during system configuration and support. Examples would be the ability to customise automatic on/off-schedules or disabling infrared remote controls in order to prevent tampering.

Commercial displays are often used for extended periods of time and are therefore designed for round the clock-operation, or a large part thereof. Displays that are rated for 16- or 24-hour cycles often need additional cooling management of the various components.

Fluctuating or increased thermal levels could easily affect the perceived colour on a screen, which could, in turn, affect colourspecific branding or monitoring.

Depending on the brand or model, the architecture of professional displays may incorporate the option for an OPS slot (Open Pluggable Specification). This slot allows for a variety of optional cards to be

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TECHNICAL SPOTLIGHT inserted. These could be computers (Android or Windows), HDBaseT-receivers or media players. Thus, the OPS slot offers additional functionality such as on-board processing or the ability to receive alternative signal formats over and above the manufactured specifications.

Professional screens usually have extended warranty periods, as well as options to extend these even further – in many cases up to five years. In conjunction with these warranties, better after-sales service is offered compared to consumer displays. The latter generally only offer a one-year warranty which could be rendered void if they are used in a commercial environment.

Designed for a purpose Modern-day consumers are exposed to touch screens in almost everything that they do. Interactive surfaces have been around for many years and are becoming more topical by the day. Many commercial displays offer a standard interactive touch surface, or an optional touch overlay can be added at a later stage to make the display interactive.

The threat of tampering is a serious consideration in professional audiovisual systems. Whether the motive is criminal or pure mischief, unsolicited operation could easily result in an expensive system failing to perform or operate as intended. Professional panels usually incorporate tamper-proof controls or enclosures such as hidden controls, concealed USB ports or lockable remote commands.

Most professional displays also have various orientation options. This feature allows the display to be used in either landscape- or portrait orientation. Although not intended for normal use, portrait orientation is popular for marketing campaigns or information kiosks. It is not possible to change the orientation of consumer displays, as the cooling vents don’t allow for it and natural airflow would be insufficient – thus placing the screen at risk of overheating.

Screen protection is a key feature offered by commercial displays. When a static image is left on a display for an extended period, it can ‘burn in’ as a fixed shadow-like effect on the screen, even when powered off. This is known as image retention. Most professional screens offer image orbiting, which is the ability to slowly and imperceptibly rotate the image so as to reduce this effect.

Consumer displays are simply not designed for the demanding environments often encountered in a commercial space, and aren’t adequately durable. An example of this would be public areas where the display is used for digital signage while running for long hours or receiving constant interaction from public users. The Flat Display Mounting Interface (FDMI) or VESA Mounting Interface Standard (MIS) is the international standard for wall brackets and stands to be attached to digital displays, as established by VESA (Video Electronics Standards Association). VESAcompliant mounts ensure compatibility with any display, regardless of its manufacturer. All professional display casings are designed with this standard in mind. Consumer panels don›t always meet these standards and, in some cases, offer their own aesthetically sleek design stands instead.

These are easy on the eye but not very functional when one has to achieve an alternative installation design.

Why does one need a professional display?

The answer to this question depends largely on the application or intended use for a display product. In a digital signage application such as displaying a promotion or a new product range, the user may be tempted to use a consumer television. It is important to remember that these carry risks such as malfunction, poor picture quality or reduced functionality that may affect the image the brand intended to portray. In a guest post on the digital signage website Sixteen-Nine, Irfan Khan (CEO of digital signage platform Skykit) writes that 55% of people looking at digital signage

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remember what they see. Digital signage is one of the most successful ways to raise brand awareness and drive sales. It is, therefore, important to ensure that the investment includes a professional display product as an important business tool. A vibrant image, combined with well-designed digital signage content, already provides a leading edge.

In contrast, there are many risks associated with using a faulty consumer display in a commercial environment. If the application is a control centre, a failure could have serious consequences – especially in a mission-critical environment that requires 24/7 operation. The design consultant would need to consider in-depth control room architecture and use high-quality video wall displays.

During events such as video conferencing, presentations and training, or in a collaboration environment, the failure of a screen will waste time and could damage the reputation of a brand or compromise a company’s credibility. If the video conference is held with a remote branch within a company, the cost could be measured in a few hours lost, but when the receiving audience forms part of the paying clientele, the damage could be immeasurable.

Furthermore, if a vendor sells advertising space and time slots on a digital signage platform and a screen fails, it could result in lost revenue or even penalties owed to the advertiser who paid for exposure. Damage control and time to rebuild relationships also form part of the losses. A failing consumer display could limit sales when used to market one’s own products and services. In the same article, Khan says that “19 percent of consumers claim to have made unplanned, impulse purchases of products they’ve seen advertised digitally”. If the signage display fails, the lost opportunity could directly result in lost revenue.

Why do professional displays cost more?

There are a number of reasons why the price of a professional display is higher than for consumer models. For the professional environment, the LCD panels are the prime selection from the manufactured stockpile. If even the slightest slight defects are detected, they are used to manufacture consumer displays at a lower price. Only the best panels are graded for professional use. Commercial displays have better specifications (including calibration options) and are made from higher-grade materials and components. These high-quality products are produced in much smaller quantities, adding to the cost of manufacturing. The pre-production process also includes extensive research and development in order to stay ahead of technological developments. Professional-grade displays come with a much better warranty and after-sales service, whereas consumer displays usually have a shorter warranty period and often need to be shipped back to the original service centre for repairs. This could leave the end user without displays for extended periods of time and turn it could turn into a costly exercise for the institution.

The challenge is to avoid being pennywise and pound foolish when selecting displays for your professional audiovisual installation. In the immediate term, commercial screens are definitely more expensive than consumer displays, but the total cost of ownership could prove to be a lot less when calculated over a number of years. Ultimately, professional displays play a critical role in the screen market, especially when used for specialised applications.

THE EUROPEAN DESTINATION FOR THE GLOBAL AV INDUSTRY Facilitating High-Tech Conferencing and Collaboration Experience Unified Communications technology and solutions at ISE 2018

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I ntegration & I nstallation R E P O R T

Prosound delivers a sound solution Sun International

By Nicole Barnes

Situated in the heart of the city of Tshwane, Sun International’s brand new Time Square casino and entertainment complex is the second largest gaming complex in South Africa and represents the cutting edge of innovative architecture, ecologically sustainable development and technological innovation.

The complex, which opened its doors to punters earlier this year, offers visitors an impressive array of facilities, including a state-of-the-art digital casino, numerous restaurants and bars, an impressive ultra-modern hotel and a live events arena, called the Sun Arena.

Sun International, communications and public relations manager for the venue, Henri-Basil Hearne, shared with Pro-Systems the company’s vision for the Time Square complex, stating that: “In the past, Sun International has developed their casinos around a particular theme – an approach which is vulnerable to becoming outdated fairly quickly. During the conceptualisation phase of the project, Sun International decided that the theme for Tshwane’s largest casino development would be ‘time’ itself. In line with this motif, it was decided that Time Square would be built around the latest available technology, with an emphasis on going digital in every possible application throughout the development.”

Sun International appointed Prosound, a company that is renowned for their ability to create, integrate, project manage and distribute professional audio, AV, lighting and staging solutions, to deliver a turnkey audio solution to operate throughout the casino and entertainment complex. Pro-Systems spoke with Prosound’s on-site team in a recent interview to gain an insight into the company’s involvement with this state-of-the-art installation.

Finding the right audio solution With the driving vision behind Sun international’s Time Square Casino being future-focused, the bar was set particularly high for all contractors on the

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project to push the envelope and deliver something that South Africa has not seen before.

In line with this philosophy, the brief for entertainment infrastructure at Time Square demanded the highest level of integration and digitisation possible across all of the different aspects of the project.

Following an extensive tendering process, Sun International awarded Prosound the contract to deliver a seamless, integrated, turnkey solution that would answer all of the complex’s unique audiovisual needs.

Technical director at Prosound, Mark Malherbe points out that Prosound were ideally positioned to answer this challenge for a number of reasons.

The first, he states, is the company’s extensive experience and proven track record in delivering AV solutions for the casino market. “The first complete installation that we did for Sun International dates back to 1984, with the Thaba Nchu’ Sun. Since those early days, Prosound has delivered AV solutions for in excess of 26 casinos,” he states.

Prosound technical sales manager Lee Thomson concurs, stating that “Prosound is uniquely qualified to deliver projects of this magnitude due to the company’s depth of experience and highly proficient team, which includes not only technical expertise but also efficiency in project management and solid administrative processes.”

Prosound is a veteran in delivering on a large scale. The company delivered sound systems for nine out of the ten football stadiums that were built for the FIFA World Cup, hosted by South Africa in 2010, as well as for a vast array of venues of various sizes that span the corporate, live entertainment and leisure markets. “Over the past few years, Prosound has

R E P O R T I ntegration & I nstallation

for

providing the much-needed bridge between stakeholders to ensure that every aspect of the entertainment infrastructure throughout the Time Square complex receives the attention that it deserves. “Mark is remarkable in that he is a meticulous project manager and has a handle on every aspect of the project, from the casino to the hotel and Arena, all of the time” Malherbe points out.

It is rare that a single project will provide enough work to include more than a handful of players in the Professional AV industry at one time. While Prosound led the audio installation at Time Square, the project provided just such a rare opportunity and has seen suppliers from across the board contributing their unique skills and expertise to deliver a world-class gaming, leisure and live entertainment venue, proving that – despite challenges – collaboration produces exceptional results.

Prosound delivers for Time Square

decided to strategically redirect our attention back to the core business of delivering bespoke, high-end AV solutions on time and within budget, for the largest scale projects in South Africa and beyond,” Malherbe explains. “It is with this in mind that the company launched its sister enterprise, Apex Pro, to handle the distribution side of the business. We intend to solidify Prosound’s expertise as a leading solutions provider in the AV sector, which is where we developed our roots and how we intend to retain our leading place in the market,” he concludes.

Delivering remarkable results, on time and within budget, is exactly what the company achieved at Time Square for Sun International, affirming Prosound’s reputation as one of the leading suppliers of cutting-edge AV solutions in the region.

Collaboration drives success In September 2015, Prosound assembled a team of integrators – who have been permanently positioned onsite at Time Square for the past two years – to design, build, and install a bespoke, turnkey sound system that would span the casino, hotel and live events arena. “Being a part of a brand new build comes with many challenges, the greatest being the sheer number of stakeholders in the project,” states David Butcher, Prosound’s head of technical support at Time Square. “At any given time, the AV installation team need to work in consultation with a myriad of project managers and designers, all of whom are responsible for different aspects of the build,” he explains.

Stuart Duncan, who has provided on-site technical support on the project, concurs, stating that throughout implementation, due to the fluid nature of construction projects, the team would have to deal with a barrage of changes to the project plan. “It would be impossible to keep track of the daily adjustments without solid support from our highly experienced administration team, who oversee that changes to the project are meticulously captured and documented,” Duncan states.

Malherbe points out the critical role that entertainment infrastructure consultant Mark Ransom, of Quality Assessment, continues to play in

When taking a tour of the fully operational Time Square Casino, it becomes clear that Prosound has more than exceeded on their mandate to deliver the best sound system on the market (within the available budget) in terms of future-focused technology.

The multi-level casino is fitted with carefully hidden loudspeakers that provide an immersive experience for gamers on the floor. The casino – unique in that the gaming floor is split over two levels – is divided into multiple gaming spaces, each with its own unique look and feel, and accompanying acoustic properties. However, the quality of sound produced by the Electro-Voice loudspeaker system by Bosch creates a seamless experience between spaces. In addition, the system is digitally controlled, and actively monitors ambient sound on the gaming floor and adjusting volume levels accordingly. “In addition to the active monitoring capabilities of the system, it is designed with inbuilt reset times to ensure that volume is perfectly balanced throughout the day and night,” Malherbe explains.

In addition to the usual slot machines and various gaming stations on the casino floor, there are a number of activation stations positioned throughout the establishment. Each of these stages, designed for activations, special competitions or product launches, is equipped with moving head LED lights by ETC, a specialised sound system for announcements and a DJ station. “Floor managers have access to the sound system on the activation stations through a tablet-based application, which provides scaled access to staff positioned at strategic points throughout the casino. This enables staff with limited experience operating high-end AV technology to use the system with ease,” Malherbe points out.

The casino floor is surrounded by various bars and restaurants, most of which sport sound systems that are centrally controlled and some include stages for live music performances that include professional trussed rigs with moving LED light fixtures and pro-level live music sound systems.

Lighting control for the whole complex has been provided for by ETC’s Mosaic control system, which manages lighting levels throughout the complex, as well as on the façade of the building.

There is an abundance of varying environments within the Time Square Casino complex, however, with the inclusion of state-of-theart networking and control, MGG’s on-site AV support team can control every facet of the sound system on through a centralised platform.

“It is never an easy task to deliver on a project of this size. However, through perseverance, streamlined professionalism and our ‘nothing is impossible’ approach, Prosound has achieved what we set out to do, and have delivered an sound system for Time Square Casino that sets the bar for others to follow,” Malherbe concludes.

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ARCHITECTURAL LIGHTING

The future of architectural lighting illuminated

By Nicole Barnes

Since the dawn of human civilisation, people have been finding ways to The key to humanity’s evolutionary success introduce light sources to our workplaces, homes, places of worship and lies in our ability to adapt our environment to monuments. Primarily, the introduction of suit our needs. It has been argued that one of artificial light means that we are no the most important leaps in the development longer constrained to the hours of daylight to perform tasks, travel or protect of modern man was when our early ourselves from unseen dangers. However, ancestors discovered how to control fire the power of lighting goes far beyond – and by extension light. these simple, utilitarian applications.

Throughout recorded history, light has been intricately linked with concepts of power, learning, transcendence and – as the very word suggests – enlightenment in the human imagination. This remains true today, as the power of light inspires architects and engineers to construct our modern landscapes for optimal lighting possibilities. It is no coincidence that some of the world’s most iconic skylines are captured in our mind’s eye through this medium.

Rarely does one picture New York’s Empire State Building, Dubai’s Burji Khalifa, the spectacular Sidney Opera House or London’s Big Eye without conjuring images of the illuminated facades of these iconic structures under cover of night.

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ARCHITECTURAL LIGHTING

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ARCHITECTURAL LIGHTING

Reflecting on the past The earliest archaeological evidence of the deliberate manipulation of lighting in human dwellings dates back to 70,000BC. According to scholars, prehistoric people would ignite dried moss, soaked in fats or oils inside hollowed-out shells and rocks, to illuminate their primitive homes.

As civilisation developed, so did our ability to manipulate lighting.

The earliest sustained light sources emerged as early as 4500BC, with the invention of oil lamps, followed by the introduction of wax and tallow candles in about 3000BC. Architecture designed to optimise daylight and firelight dominated in ancient Greece and Rome, a trend followed by the designers of cathedrals throughout the Middle Ages into the Renaissance.

Despite civilisation’s constant need for illumination, lighting technology did not undergo dramatic change until the arrival of the industrial revolution in the 18th century. The transformation of Western Europe from an agricultural to an industrial economy brought with it new technologies and a novel set of requirements for lighting.

Inventors quickly turned their attention to designing lighting solutions that would answer the needs of factories, mining enterprises and ever-expanding cities.

The result was the invention of the central draught fixed oil lamp and the first public lighting systems using

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gas, to name a few. These first steps towards modern lighting solutions gained immense impetus during the 19th century, resulting in rapid developments in electric lighting technology. The collective efforts of a number of notable inventors eventually culminated in Thomas Edison and Joseph Wilson Swan patenting the first commercially viable carbon-thread incandescent lamp in 1879.

Over a relatively short span of time, the introduction of electrical light sources has revolutionised modern living, from how we construct our built environment to the manner in which we communicate, travel and work. Man’s seemingly unquenchable thirst for light has been satiated through the rapid evolution of electric lighting technologies, from the first incandescent lamps to neon lighting, fluorescent lighting and now – the newest kid on the block – Light Emitting Diodes (LED).

Illuminating the future Currently, the rapid explosion of LED technology and digital control is expanding the possibilities for designing with light beyond what we thought possible as little as a decade ago. Our ever-evolving ability to manipulate light has, however, brought with it a new set of challenges scarcely considered by previous generations.

In many urban environments, humankind’s relentless drive to illuminate the darkness has resulted in a 24 hour day, where there is no

ARCHITECTURAL LIGHTING

respite from a constant barrage of stimulation. Public lighting has banished nightfall from our streets; high-rise buildings project thousands of light beams into the night sky – forever hiding the stars over our cities. Our homes are illuminated with electric light, LED screens, and the ever-present twinkle of our smartphones and tablets.

Scientists are increasingly linking this constant exposure to light with a multitude of health disorders, including sleep disturbances, chronic fatigue and heart conditions – to name a few.

Another consideration is the cost of our insatiable appetite for lighting on our environment. According to estimates provided by the Centre for Global Development, almost half of our global carbon footprint is due to electricity consumption, with about 17% of that due to lighting alone. The introduction of more energy efficient lighting technologies and carefully considered lighting design has the potential to make a significant contribution towards achieving the Global Sustainability Goals set out in the 2016 UN Paris Agreement on Climate Change.

These are just some of the dilemmas that modern architectural lighting designers grapple with when designing the solutions needed to light our modern world. With the advent of the digital revolution, original equipment manufacturers continue to push the boundaries of lighting technology -producing smarter, more efficient and more varied lighting solutions than ever before. Not even the sky is the limit as astronauts record their rapidly changing view of the earth as a result of the proliferation of LED beams in our cities.

With the level of lighting technology currently available on the market, it can be argued that we now have the ability to eradicate darkness from the face of the earth. However, just because we can, does not mean that we should. One hundred years ago, few considered the enormous impact that the introduction of electric light would have on modern society. As such, it remains the responsibility of lighting equipment manufacturers, designers and architects to ensure that the transformative power of light continues to serve man’s evolutionary needs for the future.

In this issue of Pro-Systems News, we invite you to read about a few key projects and products that are, in our view, answering the above-mentioned challenges, and we would like to thank all of the contributors that took the time to share their stories with us.

Please keep in mind that this is by no means intended to represent an exhaustive – or even a comprehensive – roundup of all that is being achieved in the field of architectural lighting in South Africa and beyond. Rather, think of this as an aperitif – served to whet your appetite for a more comprehensive and interactive dialogue that we hope will evolve in partnership with our readers over the months and years to come.

If you have any insights, case studied, or products that you feel would add to our readers’ understanding of this diverse and dynamic topic, please contact us at editor@pro-systems.co.za to share your contribution.

– Nicole Barnes

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ARCHITECTURAL LIGHTING

Electrosonic leads the way in human-centric lighting at O Airport lounges are designed to provide a haven for travellers – an escape from the hustle and bustle of frenetic and notoriously uncomfortable airports. Many who travel the globe for business or pleasure are willing to pay for the privilege of frequenting airport lounges on a regular basis. The idea is to afford travellers the opportunity to access essential facilities – such as internet connectivity, meeting spaces, leisure spaces, dining facilities – and take some muchneeded downtime while waiting for flights.

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ARCHITECTURAL LIGHTING

OR Tambo

The newly launched SLOW lounge International at Johannesburg’s OR Tambo Airport has been specifically designed to meet the unique needs of people in transit between Johannesburg and the rest of the world. On completion, the SLOW lounge International will be the largest lounge in the SLOW group and sets new standards in both luxury and functionality for travellers in one of Africa’s most important business destinations.

Creating the space The installation at OR Tambo’s international terminal was implemented using a phased approach. The first phase of the project ensured a comprehensive fit-out of the new 900m2 area that had been earmarked for the SLOW lounge facility. This was followed by an extensive renovation of the existing lounge space. Central to the execution of the facility upgrade was the need to respect the existing SLOW brand cues, while simultaneously updating the scheme to incorporate a modern, moody, glamorous and sophisticated new look and feel.

To achieve this transformation, a team of expert suppliers, contractors and consultants from various fields collaborated closely to ensure optimal results. In line with international trends, project developers gave due consideration to the many facets of design that contribute to creating the balance needed between aesthetics and functionality in a project of this nature. Critical to achieving their vision for this state-of-the-art SLOW lounge, was the need to incorporate a dynamic, sophisticated lighting design.

Illuminating the path to success Eminent South African lighting consultants, Rupert Tait and Fergus Smith of Smith Tait Lighting Consultancy, have firmly established their place among the country’s leading authorities in the field of architectural lighting design. The duo has brought their unique talents, exemplary technical know-how and creative genius to some of the country’s most memorable spaces, including the recently revamped Johannesburg Council Chambers, the trend-setting Keyes Art Mile in Rosebank and the DLA Piper Global Law Firm offices in Sandton Johannesburg, to name a few.

Smith Tait was included at conceptualisation of the SLOW lounge project, which enabled them to incorporate their lighting design throughout project implementation rather than after the fact, which is so often the case. The result has been the introduction of a visionary lighting design, centred on the principals of human-centric lighting, the likes of which are virtually unseen in South Africa until now.

Human-centric lighting Increasingly, research shows1 that exposure to varying levels of artificial and natural light has a direct effect on our biological, psychological and mental functioning. Cases of seasonal depression in geographical regions with limited daylight have been documented by doctors and psychologists for decades, and treatment of these disorders often involve exposure to specific frequencies of light at regular intervals. The link between light and health has, without doubt, become a significant factor in modern living.

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The relationship between health and exposure to light lies in the body’s circadian rhythm – the built-in clock that determines the body’s natural cycles of wakeful attentiveness and healing rest. Being exposed to high levels of stark, high-intensity artificial light for prolonged periods of time has been linked to disruptions in the body’s ability to produce a hormone called melatonin, which is the chemical that controls our sleep and wake cycles. One effect of dysregulated circadian rhythms is sleep disorders – and one only has to go a few nights without good quality sleep to feel the crippling effects of sleep deprivation on every aspect of your wellbeing.

While it has been proven beyond dispute that too much or too little light may have a detrimental effect on one’s health, the converse is also true. The right amount, colour and intensity of light can have a restorative and protective effect on our wellbeing. Our physiological response to light depends on the light’s characteristics, such as colour

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spectrum, intensity and timing. Modern lighting designers are increasingly taking into consideration the positive effects that the right light can have on the people within a space.

This trend has resulted in the emergence of a new school of thought for interior lighting – human-centric lighting – which offers solutions that are specifically designed to support the human circadian rhythm, enhance concentration, prevent sleeping disorders and improve our overall well-being.

This dynamic approach was the driving force behind Smith Tait’s design for the OR Tambo International SLOW Lounge – and set an exciting challenge for Electrosonic SA Pty’s Lighting Division to utilise the brands, products and extensive experience in providing architectural lighting control solutions in South Africa.

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Bringing the human approach to OR Tambo The brief to Bruce Schwartz from Electrosonic’s Lighting Division was to design and supply a lighting control system that could control numerous colour temperature variable LED downlight fixtures. The system would need to track the human circadian rhythm from a colour temperature and intensity aspect, 24 hours of the day.

After considering the fixtures to be supplied, a centrally located system based around 3 x Helvar 910 routers with 5 x Helvar 454 trailing edge dimmers was selected. Approximately 100 CT tuneable Dali COB LED downlighters were connected to the router system.

The new Designer 5 software that was designed to accommodate the colour temperature and circadian function was in a very early beta testing stage, and after extensive consultation with

Helvar in the UK, a stable version was implemented and programmed

by Schwarts.

“The entire space is seamlessly colour temperature controlled, from cool and stark in the early morning to a lovely warm and dim late afternoon and then evening mode,” Schwarts explains. “The effect of the variable colour temperature on fabrics, the art on the wall and the overall feel of the space is amazing. One is never in the SLOW lounge for long enough to truly appreciate the changes. However, the effect on the human brain remains significant, even if it lies below the level of active consciousness.”

There are few among us who have not experienced the disorientation of emerging from a starkly lit airport, mall or train station to the blinding light of day, or the unexpected cover of night, without a sense of discomfort and confusion. By manipulating the interior lighting in the SLOW lounge to coincide with the time of day in the environment, visitors remain in synch with the diurnal and nocturnal rhythms, supporting physical, mental and psychological wellbeing.

“We believe the use of this technology going forward is going to be on a much larger scale. Forward-thinking lighting designers such as Smith Tait are very far ahead of the curve, and Electrosonic SA Pty LTD, with Helvar Control, is right up there with the rest of the design world,” concludes Schwartz.

1. L. Edwards and P. Torcellini (2002) A Literature Review of the Effects of Natural Light on Building Occupants, National Renewable Energy Laboratory. https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy02osti/30769.pdf

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Fun ctio nm ee ts S t ARCHITECTURAL LIGHTING

Renowned for its eclectic identity as a melting pot of commercial between the gritty Johannesburg CBD and trendy, fast-paced

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As the home of some of the country’s most celebrated galleries, including the Goodman Gallery, Everard Read Gallery and Circa on Jellicoe, Rosebank’s design district is well recognised as a centre for fine art and design in the country. However, the suburb remains a commercial district and is home to some of South Africa’s largest law firms, media houses and banking institutions. Being a truly cosmopolitan precinct, the suburb also features a thriving night-life, offering young professionals a range of

yle at the Key es

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activity and artistic expression, Rosebank is one of Northern Johannesburg’s most celebrated suburbs. Situated Sandton, Rosebank embodies the best of both of these worlds, being simultaneously edgy and sophisticated.

high-end dining venues and entertainment experiences.

Property development company, Tomorrow Co., has recently launched a unique mixed-use space that perfectly encapsulates the blended identity of Rosebank. The Keyes Art Mile is an 80 000m2 precinct in the heart of Rosebank which is designed to look and feel like a curated fine art and design exhibition space but also features galleries, retail outlets, cafes, bars and high-end dining establishments. On the upper floors of the Trumpet building, which lies at the centre of the Keyes Art Mile, is the newly launched Mesh Club – the country’s first curated member’s club.

The exclusive venue offers members a range of venues and services, including an ultra-modern collaborative work environment specifically designed to answer the needs of next-generation corporate professionals.

Where art meets industry Central to the philosophy of the Keyes Art Mile is providing a world-class, integrated urban experience that offers the very best in design and functionality. Tomorrow Co. consulted with a range of design professionals to realise their vision of developing a space where people can meet, eat, shop and work while surrounded by beautiful art and trend-setting design.

Among the team that collaborated to make the Keyes Art Mile a reality was Rupert Tait, of SmithTait Architectural Lighting Design. Tait co-founded the Architectural lighting consultancy some five years ago with his father, Fergus, and the company since has been involved in delivering some of the most innovative and cutting-edge lighting

Art Mil e

installations in the country. Smith Tait share a long history with Mesh Club founder, Jonathon Meyer, and took a leading role in the design of lighting for the façade of the Trumpet building, the street side walkway, the Marble Restaurant and the Mesh Club.

In a recent interview with Pro-Systems, Rupert Tait shared his vision, planning and execution of the lighting design for the Keyes Art Mile.

Tait emphasises the role that a professional lighting designer has to play in delivering on a project of such diverse scope, where elements of utility and aesthetic are so intractably linked. “Lighting design in South Africa is often thought of in terms of the available product first – and then the selected products are inserted into a drawing. As professional lighting designers, we take a very different approach,” he explains. “First, we look at what experience we want people to have in a space. We then apply our knowledge of the codes and standards set by the Illumination Engineering Society (IES) to ensure both safety and functionality requirements are met. Only then do we turn to our suppliers to establish which fixtures will enable us to realise our design.”

For the Keyes Art Mile, Tait turned to Electrosonic SA, one of the leading architectural lighting suppliers in the country, for support.

“Electrosonic SA plays an important role in helping us to materialise what we have created,” Tait states. Working in close collaboration with Bruce Schwartz, a co-director of Electrosonic SA Pty LTD, Smith Tait has delivered a truly innovative lighting design to create a unique experience for visitors to the Keyes Art Mile.

Bringing art to light Central to the brief that Smith Tait received from the client was the idea that the whole Keyes Art Mile development should be centred on creating an optimal space for artwork to be exhibited. To facilitate this, the atrium, which Tait describes as dark and cavernous, is painted black with cleverly mounted spotlights on the walls, angled to illuminate the artwork and sculpture on exhibition.

The lower levels of the Trumpet building features a world-class gallery and high-end retail stores which are integrated into the design of the atrium. “In lighting this dynamic space, the idea was to create a seamless flow between the gallery, art installation in the atrium and the retail space,” explains Tait.

In line with the professional lighting design process, he started with unpacking the experience that the client was trying to deliver for people and developed a lighting concept that would bring this vision to life. Tait then applied the international codes and standards that dictate lighting requirements and ensured that

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minimal lighting was provided to illuminate walkways and possible hazards. He then used a number of innovative LED fixtures with control thereof supplied by Electrosonic, to create the desired effect.

“To illuminate the art installation, we used small Soraa spots with narrow beams and magnetic filters for both the retail space and for the artwork, which create beautiful shadows and narrow beams that draw visitor’s attention to the art,” he states. “Taking advantage of the vaulted ceilings, we positioned these spotlights really high up, and therefore visitors can go up close to the illuminated canvases without casting shadows. Even when standing right up against the artwork, one cannot pinpoint exactly where the light source is coming from,” Tait explains.

The lighting installation is controlled by the Helvar central management system, comprising of a Helvar 920 Dali Router with Helvar 454 Dimmers and this is then coupled to a Helvar USEE wireless monitoring /control system. The system was installed and commissioned by Electrosonic, which can be managed by the end user using an application on either a tablet or smartphone. “One of the major investors in the project is an avid art collector, and he frequently rotates the pieces on display throughout the space. As such, the lighting design needs to be highly adaptable and user-friendly,” says Tait.

The lighting installation for this section of the project is an ingenious combination of what Tait describes as ‘workhorse lighting’ – or those aspects that support the utilisation of the space within designated codes – as well as a gallery and retail lighting design. The effect is truly inspiring and speaks to the in-depth thought and planning that goes into creating exceptional experiences with light.

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Where work and play are Meshed One of the key features of the Keyes Art Mile is the Mesh Club, an exclusive work and leisure space designed for the young and trend-setting professional. Taking up one floor the of the Trumpet building, the multi-purpose space is designed for networking, collaboration and optimal productivity in a mix of public and private spaces. With office space, meeting rooms and hot-desking facilities, a screening room, lounge, dining area, coffee station and bar, the Mesh is designed to meet all of its member’s needs – in both work and play.

In line with international trends, Smith Tait proposed a lighting design that would best support the productivity and work experience of the people that use the space.

Therefore, they implemented a human-centred approach, which focuses on the principle that a person’s circadian rhythm – or the natural sleep and wake cycles – are influenced by the intensity, duration and colour of light that they are exposed to during a 24-hour cycle.

“In our modern world, we are constantly bombarded with blue light from our TV and computer screens, smart devises and from ambient lighting in our homes and workplaces. This results in higher levels of the hormones that keep us awake and stimulated, interfering with sleep cycles. By adapting the artificial light in a space to mirror the natural progression of bright light in the morning to muted warm tones in the evening, one is able to balance the production of serotonin, the neurotransmitter that allows us to be awake and responsive in the mornings, and melatonin, which triggers the neurological wind-down phase that allows us to sleep at night.” Tait explains.

To achieve this cyclic lighting effect, Smith Tait – together with Electrosonic SA

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– fitted the Mesh Club with fixtures that provide tuneable white light, which is centrally controlled to deliver the crisp white light of the morning at opening and slowly dims and warms to provide a soft glow after 7 o’clock in the evening.

Approximately 200m of Samsung colour tuneable white tape, along with DALi drivers from Electron Greece was supplied by Electrosonic SA for the Mesh Club installation. The fixtures are coupled to two Helvar 910 DALi Routers, and programmed with Helvar Designer 5 software, to create the various states needed to achieve the circadian rhythm-based lighting effect. “This all happens seamlessly, and creates a dynamic look and feel for the space at different times of the day, leading to enhanced moods and productivity,” explains Schwartz For the boardrooms, Smith Tait used their in-depth understanding of the lighting levels needed to support functionality in a work environment. To ensure that the ambient lighting of each meeting space would respect the human-centric approach while allowing for optimal functionality, the design team calculated their lighting design using gradients. “You only need a maximum of 400lux focused on the boardroom table to allow people to work. Outside of this focal area, one should gradually reduce light levels to create ambient lighting that is about a quarter of the intensity of the central working space.” Tait explains.

In line with the aesthetic feel of the Keyes Art Mile, the Mesh Club remains a space for art – and each meeting room features a carefully selected piece. As such, Tait used the same spotlights above the artwork in the boardrooms, with narrow beams angled to illuminate the canvases on display.

As the sun sets inside the Mesh Club, the coffee bar – which is bathed in crisp white light in

the morning – transforms into a super-trendy cocktail bar that is open to the public as well as to club members. This transition is perfectly captured in the lighting design – as the warm amber glow achieved by LED tape mounted in extrusion above the bar accentuates the mahogany tones of the long bar, setting the mood for a relaxing evening of socialising and networking. Schwartz shares his experience of working at the Mesh, stating that: “Watching the magnificent sunset from the western side of Mesh Club, while the internal lighting changes to match the golden glow outside, is an amazing way to end off a day of hard work and to begin to unwind.”

Delivering the magic Reflecting on the installation at the Keyes Art Mile, Tait states that he and his company have learned an enormous deal from this project. “One of the greatest learning curves was dealing with such a diverse team. The client was very forwardthinking in their concept for the space – and consulted a number of designers from various disciplines during project implementation. While the overall aesthetic look-and-feel was understood and respected by all stakeholders – it was difficult to fight for our perspective among so many voices. Unlike an interior designer – whose focus is first and foremost on the aesthetic, we focus on finding the perfect balance between the experience that we want to provide and the functionality of the lighting in line with industry standards.”

What is clear, despite challenges, is that Smith Tait and Electrosonic SA have achieved one of the most human-centric and intelligent lighting designs possible for a space of this nature, while providing a truly exceptional experience for Joburgers who visit the Keyes Art Mile.

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Down the rabbit hole at Cascades Gardens Sun International’s Sun City remains one of the most celebrated resorts in South Africa, welcoming generations of holidaymakers and tourists to the famous Lost City since opening in 1979.

The resort has retained its position as one of the top leisure destinations in the country, in part because of the resort’s ability to innovate, consistently offering visitors new adventures and experiences over the years.

One of the attractions that continue to pull visitors from across the country – and the world – is the five-star Cascades Hotel, named for the waterfalls and calming pools that trickle through the luscious gardens surrounding the hotel. Originally established in the 1980s, the Cascade Gardens have had the opportunity to grow and mature, and are now a sprawling tropical jungle, complete with the chatter of vervet monkeys and indigenous birdlife.

Cinevation, an award-winning agency specialising in marketing, advertising, design, activations and related projects, recognised the Cascade Gardens’ enormous potential to become a major attraction for the resort. Earlier this year, the agency developed an intriguing proposal to enhance the garden’s natural beauty using a highly interactive light show, aimed at transforming the dark and ominous night-time forest into a magical wonderland.

To bring this

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vision to life, Cinevation enlisted the services of DWR Distribution – one of the leading stage and event lighting suppliers in the country.

Into the deep dark woods The objective of the Cascades Gardens lighting project was to generate a light show using a series of triggers set up along the pathways leading through the forest undergrowth. The installation includes six garden beams that each trigger a three-minute-long lighting and effects show. As each beam is broken by pedestrians walking on the path, a carefully programmed relay of lighting effects plays out, creating an enchanting and otherworldly experience for night-time visitors to the gardens.

Architectural lighting specialist, Johnny Scholtz of DWR Distribution took the lead role in bringing the brief provided by Cinevation to life.

Having come from a theatrical background before specialising in architectural lighting, Scholtz is uniquely qualified to deliver on the blend of landscape lighting and

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theatrical effects demanded by this project. In a recent interview with Pro-Systems, Scholtz shared the unique adventure, learning curves and challenges that he and his team encountered while developing this project.

“When we received the brief from Cinevation, we knew that we were going to have to be innovative and use our problem-solving skills to make this project possible,” Scholtz states. “The first complication that needed to be addressed was the fact that the client proposed a highly interactive theatrical programme for the installation, which demanded fixtures and equipment traditionally used in the theatre. These effects, however, would need to be achieved using a permanent, outdoor installation.” To address this challenge, all of the equipment used that is not outdoor rated has been enclosed in ingress protected boxes.

Additionally, the client requested that there be no visible cables in the gardens, and therefore the site needed to be carefully trenched to allow for underground cabling.

“One has to remember that the site is home to

a beautiful and fragile ecosystem. We wanted to highlight the beauty of the forest without damaging any of the plants and trees in the process,” Scholtz points out. He credits Andi Rogers and DWR Distribution’s team of expert installers for their ingenuity in ensuring that all of the requirements for this unusual installation were met.

The magic ingredients To create the beautiful colour washes and dynamic lighting effects that play out in the forest, Scholtz selected a number of fixtures from world-leading lighting manufacturer Robe. The installation includes 100 Anolis ArcPix, a highly versatile unit that features plug-and-play electronics that allow for complex pixel mapping and media effects to be achieved. To bring both light and colour to the cascading waterways that are the highlight of the gardens, Scholtz installed 12 Anolis ArcSource 24MC submersibles, specifically designed for underwater applications. To this he added eighteen Anolis ArcPad 48 RGBWs; six Anolis ArcSource Outdoor 4MCs and two powerful Anolis ArcPower 24 Outdoor fixtures. Finally, he included 16 Philips Showline Punchlite 220s, a high-performance luminaire, recognised for its ability to deliver

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ARCHITECTURAL LIGHTING a powerful blended beam.

While all of the above fixtures are rated for outdoor use, a number of products were included that one rarely finds in the architectural space. To accentuate the light beams and create mood, Scholtz installed a LeMaitre MVS Hazer, which needed to be enclosed in an IP rated box to ensure that it would continue to perform despite being exposed to the elements. The client also specified that fairy lights and lasers be included, products that Scholtz has not worked with for permanent installations before. “Fairy lights and lasers are considered consumables, and therefore have a negative effect on the level of maintenance that the installation will need over time. While I was initially reluctant to include these elements due to their lack of practicality, once installed, they undeniably added something special – and a little magical – to the show,” Scholtz muses.

A magician’s hand is needed To achieve the phantasmagorical journey through a fairlyland forest envisioned by Cinevation, it was essential that the light show in the Cascades Gardens be programmed to unfold seamlessly before the eye. Unlike the majority of architectural installations by DWR, the installation needed to incorporate unusual elements, such as fairy lights, lasers and hazers, all synchronised to trigger at just the right moment. Scholtz turned to expert programmer Jannie de Jager to make this possible.

“It was clear from the start that we needed a unique control interface to make the integration of all of the different elements in this project possible,” de Jager explains. DWR company director, Bruce Riley started looking at a brand called Visual Productions for a solution, as the Netherlands-based company specialises in developing high-tech, in-house control solutions for intelligent, LED and conventional lighting equipment. After careful consideration, DWR purchased a number of units from Visual Productions, which would make programming the light and effects show possible using a single interface.

“This project demanded some of the most challenging coding that I have ever done,” states de Jager. “One of the more interesting challenges was the wide range of elements that needed to be synchronised and triggered in perfect timing, which is not easy to achieve while standing in the middle of a rainforest at three o’clock in the morning,” he muses.

De Jager used Visual Production’s QuadCore lighting controller, which features 2 048 DMX channels across 4 DMX outputs. The unit’s onboard flash memory allows for the storing of DMX shows, and playback can be fully automated and triggered by various IP-based protocols. De Jager was able to programme the lighting show and effects on dot2 on PC, and simply record the code onto the QuadCore. The incoming triggers and the contact closures were programmed on the IOcore and Quadcore to be completely in sync with the lighting show. The unit’s versatility, together with its compact size and robust, solid-state design, made the control interface perfect for this project – especially as the unit could be placed inside an IP rated box in the gardens where it

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functions as ‘the brains’ of the whole installation.

In addition to the QuadCore, de Jager used four IoCore GPIO interface modules, strategically positioned throughout the gardens. The IoCore is a network-based solid-state interface for GPIO signals that features eight GPI ports and can be configured as digital contact-closures or analogue 0-10V level inputs. Also, the IoCore has eight GPO ports that are fitted with potential free relay switches. Furthermore, it has a RS-232 port, a bi-directional DMX-512 port and it supports most Ethernet-based protocols.

The IoCore units enabled de Jager to programme triggers, relays and delays throughout the installation, which made it possible for the lighting effects to build and grow through carefully timed sequences. In addition, de Jager has programmed delays into the garden beams to ensure that a beam can’t be triggered before the three-minute lighting show has ended – a seemingly simple problem, but one that pushed his coding skills to new heights, De Jager states.

“As with any new technology, it was an interesting challenge to work with a brand new control interface, however, DWR is known for embracing new challenges and I enjoyed the learning curve that this project provided,” de Jager concludes.

Fairyland expands The launch of the Cascade Gardens was timed to coincide with the start of the 2017 Nedbank Golf Challenge – hosted by Gary Player – at the beginning of November and promises to thrill and delight hotel guests who are attending the tournament. As exciting as the project is, Scholtz explains that the current installation is only the first phase of a much larger project proposed for the Cascades Gardens, which will likely be rolled out in future.

Commenting on the Cascades Gardens installation, Cinevation artistic director Marisa Torrani states: “Cinevation’s inspiration for this project was drawn from magical lighting displays from across the globe; such as those of the Descanso Gardens in LA and the Enchanted Forest in Faskelly Wood, Scotland. We looked long and hard for a local supplier that we felt could create this magic, not as a temporary display, but as a permanent installation.” The greatest challenge for both Cinevation and DWR Distribution lay in the fact that an installation of this nature has never been attempted in the country before, and therefore project development and rollout required constant improvisation and creative problem-solving from all stakeholders – a process that it set to continue for future phases of the lighting project.

Torrani and the Cinevation team are pleased with the results achieved

by DWR, stating that: “DWR Distribution have had to deal with a lot of challenges along the way and have met each one head-on, resolving each issue with a professional and unique approach. We are very happy with the outcome of the project and we are receiving positive feedback from guests who have already experienced the magic” Pro-Systems will keep readers abreast of developments at the Cascades Gardens, as Cinevation and DWR cement plans for phase two of the project, set for rollout in 2018.

Photo by Graeme Wylie Photography

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Cutting-edge lighting

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comes to Joburg Over the past few years, the City of Johannesburg has been investing in an ambitious urban redevelopment programme, aimed at retaining the city’s reputation as the economic powerhouse of the continent.

In May of this year, the city achieved its first true milestone in the programme, with the opening of the new Council Chambers building in Braamfontein. According to city officials, the breath-taking 38-metre tall structure is set to be the catalyst for the rejuvenation of the whole precinct – which is surrounded by notable landmarks such as the iconic Constitutional Hill and the Joburg Theatre complex, among others. In addition, the district will offer office accommodation for Joburg Council members, and metropolitan entity employees in a single, centrally managed area once the project is complete.

Following years of extensive conceptualisation, planning, design, engineering and construction, the Johannesburg Property Company (JPC) handed over the new Council Chambers building to the Speaker of Council, Vasco de Gama, earlier this year.

Designed for purpose The original City of Johannesburg Council Chambers was built in 1973.

Over the years, the building has fallen into disrepair, with infrastructure failing to keep pace with technology and inadequate public and media galleries preventing open access to council gatherings. In response to these challenges, the city decided to construct a brand new building for the City Council in 2015.

The new Council Chambers complex is able to accommodate 361 councillors and city officials in a single, seamless meeting space – complete with fully integrated state-of-the-art communication and public address technology supplied by Dimension Data. The Chamber offers a second-floor gallery which circumvents the ground-floor meeting space and accommodates up to 160 spectators, including members of the media and visitors to the Council Chambers. The building also offers a generous informal caucus space behind the gallery and Chamber, and a large entrance foyer with amenities.

The functional aspects of the project are captured within a highly concept-driven design. According to the JPC, the decision to construct the chambers as a circular building was inspired by the African calabash. “The African drum inspired the circular structure of the Chambers, which hints at a drumbeat to summon council meetings, and is intended to create an environment where meetings can take place in a circular formation, much like the traditional Lekgotla.”

The structure is engineered to be completely transparent, with vertical columns holding enormous glass panels in place around the periphery of the building. The effect is that passers-by can see directly into the Chambers while meetings are in session – representing the “openness and accountability that the city of Joburg aspires to deliver.”

Gold and platinum tones have been chosen throughout the structure, to represent the history of Johannesburg as the ‘City of Gold’ and the driving force behind the country’s economic prosperity. The interior of the building has been adorned with artistic elements sourced from artisans and craft people from across Gauteng, to speak to unity across the province. The net result is an iconic structure that not only provides the City Council with the optimal environment for governing the city but also inspires confidence in the country’s largest metropolis.

Throwing down the gauntlet At a very early stage in the project, the JPC approached architectural lighting consultants Smith Tait to come up with a lighting design for the Johannesburg Council Chambers. Smith Tait are one of the few consultancies in South Africa that specialise in functional and aesthetic lighting design for large-scale projects to achieve optimal, value engineered results.

Speaking to Pro-Systems in a recent interview, co-founder and director of Smith Tait, Fergus described the unique challenges that the Council Chambers building posed.

“The exterior of the structure has been constructed using gold coloured glass, and as such, the Johannesburg Council Chambers is

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Photos by Graeme Wylie Photography

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Rupert and Fergus of Smith Tait Architectural Lighting Design

unique in that the building does not have a façade to light,” he explains. “The highly reflective surface of the building means that any exterior lighting will reflect off the glass and disperse in unpredictable ways. Added to this, the vertical steel columns that hold the glass panels in place make it difficult to fit lighting fixtures to the exterior of the building,” says Fergus, highlighting the need to come up with a completely novel lighting solution for the exterior of the building.

The building is designed in such a way that no added artificial lighting is necessary during the day inside the Chambers, as natural light filters through the transparent glass surrounding the building.

However, when used at night, the Chamber needs to be illuminated to ensure even distribution of optimal light throughout the expanse of the Chambers. “To light the interior of the Chambers at night, you have to filter light down from the periphery to the speakers at the centre of the Lekgotla, from about 15 metres height. This is difficult to achieve without floodlighting the space like a stadium,” Fergus states.

Added to these and other design challenges, Smith Tait were tasked with developing a lighting design that would contribute into the developer’s requirements for Green Building certification and fit within the budget proposed by the City, which needed to be divided between multiple contractors on the project.

To overcome these seemingly insurmountable challenges, Smith Tait turned to Electrosonic SA, one of the leading professional lighting suppliers in the industry and cutting-edge lighting manufacturers Soraa – for a highly innovative and cost-effective solution to light the Council Chambers.

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Taking up the challenge According to Rupert, Fergus’ son and partner in Smith Tait lighting consultancy, “Any lighting designer is only as good as the tools at his disposal.”

It is with this in mind that the lighting consultants turned to Soraa lighting, an international original lighting equipment manufacturer that is renowned for being at the cutting-edge of LED technology development.

Soraa has made its mark in the professional lighting industry with their multiple award-winning GaN-on-GaN (Gallium Nitride on Gallium Nitride) technology. In 2014, company co-founder, Dr Shuji Nakamura, was recognised with a Nobel Prize in Physics for his work in inventing the blue light emitting diode, an achievement that the company continues to build on through their ground-breaking research and development.

“Soraa was particularly helpful when it came to value engineering the design,” Fergus explains. “It was essential that we implement a lighting solution within the provided budget, that would not cost a fortune to run due to power consumption, and would require minimal maintenance over the whole lifecycle of the system – but would still achieve the light levels that we needed. In our experience, only Soraa lamps can deliver on all of these fronts.”

Soraa fixtures are unique in that the patented GaN-on-GaN technology used to design their LED fixtures emits five-times more light per unit area in comparison with other LED fixtures. In addition, the lamps are highly robust, with data indicating up to a thousand fewer faults in Soraa lamps than in comparitive products. Despite their low power consumption, Soraa lamps are able to achieve remarkable colour and beam performance.

In addition, the lamps can be fitted with custom designed

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magnetic snap-on filters and beam shapers, which make it possible to direct and shape beams with extremely high levels of accuracy.

“When you look at the glorious columns on the inside of the Chambers, we managed to use one standard Soraa lamp with a 100 beam to highlight the column. We then installed a second lamp, right next to the first with a 250 snap-on filter and a honey-comb louvre to prevent glare which provides task lighting for speaker’s desks,” Rupert explains.

Lighting the drum For the exterior of the building, Smith Tait, together with Electrosonic SA director, Bruce Schwartz, came up with an ingenious cove lighting system internally that also illuminates through to the outside, which circumnavigates the entire building. While using coloured lighting for the exterior of the building was initially met with some resistance, Smith Tait were able to create renders to show both the architectural team and JPC what could be achieved with the right colours and state-of-the-art control.

A complete Helvar Control System was implemented by Electrosonic SA, using 3 Helvar 910 DALI routers, Helvar 454 Dimmers, Helvar 498 Relays and Helvar 312 Sensors to control around 340 DALI channels. Both presence and daylight harvesting were critical to meeting the Green Council requirements, reducing overall power output significantly while controlling the mood and environmental lighting of the building.

The decision was therefore taken to take advantage of the beautiful colour renderings that are possible with LED fittings, and the building now features stunning colour-changing exterior and internal walkways, which are attracting a lot of positive attention.

Delivering for the people A nighttime drive through the business district of Braamfontein is no longer the grim affair that it has been in the past. The Johannesburg Council Chambers building features a truly breath-taking lighting design that accentuates the building’s unique structural line and state-of-the-art engineering while providing an uplifting and inspiring experience for the people of Johannesburg.

This is best captured in Fergus’ musing over an encounter that he had with locals during project implementation earlier this year: “The greatest compliment we received on the project was when we were working on the external lights one evening, and a group of locals approached us for a chat. We were told by the assembled group that the local community in Braamfontein was really enjoying the lights and it was becoming quite common for families to visit the grounds surrounding the Chamber building in the evenings to enjoy the lightshow.”

The City of Johannesburg has long placed the principle of Batho Pele (the people first) at the centre of their development goals for the province – a principle that Smith Tait uphold in every lighting design that they have delivered in the five years since they started their consultancy. While the implementation of this principle may have faltered in some areas of governance over the past few years, it is clear that the City Council has gotten it right when delivering this world-class, iconic building, which succeeds in representing the spirit of South Africa’s most important city.

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ARCHITECTURAL LIGHTING

Anolis brings light to Cleveland House’s iconic canal bridge Cleveland House, situated in England’s picturesque city of Bath, is recognised as one of Europe’s first purpose-built office blocks. Originally known as Canal House, the three-story limestone ashlar was erected in 1820 to the design of one of the region’s most notable Georgian architects, John Pinch the Elder (1769 – 1827).

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ARCHITECTURAL LIGHTING

Initially built to serve as headquarters to the once opulent Kennet and Avon Canal Company, the building has been utilised in a number of ways over the 197 years since its construction. In the early 1900s, the building was transformed into a residential home, followed by a brief period of use by the government during the Second World War. During the post-war period, Cleveland House was restored to its original purpose as commercial offices, however it suffered from much neglect and decay over the years.

Over the past two years, following significant investment, the stately manor has been transformed into one of the most coveted residential properties in the city of Bath. In addition to a complete restoration, the elegant home has benefited from a creative and highly functional lighting installation provided

by UK-based company Enlightened Lighting, who used Anolis lighting fixtures and control to transform the once gloomy canal tunnel under the property into a highly functional and truly imaginative masterpiece.

History reawakened One of the most iconic structures along England’s historic waterways, Cleveland House straddles the Kennet and Avon Canal, once the main artery for trade across Southern England. Following the opening of the Great Western Railway in 1835, the Kennet and Avon Canal gradually fell into disuse, as much of the freight and passenger traffic that once proliferated the waterways migrated to the faster and more economical railways. When the once illustrious Kennet and Avon Canal Company closed its doors in the mid-1800, Bath’s waterways, together with the surrounding architecture, fell further and further into decay.

Fortunately, recent times have seen a surge of interest in preserving these historic sites by both civil society and the UK government. Following a time consuming and comprehensive restoration programme, the Kennet and Avon Canal was fully reopened in 1990, much to the delight of residents and tourists alike. The canals and surrounding city have since been recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage site, and Bath has once again emerged as one of England’s most attractive tourist and leisure destinations.

In line with the resurgence of investment in the region a well established property developer, Trevor Osborne of The Trevor Osborne Property Group, purchased Cleveland House in 2015 with the view to transform the building into a “truly exceptional Bath residence.” Earlier this year, Enlightened Lighting was commissioned by Trevor Osborne to light the tunnel under the property, to enhance both the aesthetics of the passageway and increase safety on the canal.

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ARCHITECTURAL LIGHTING

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ARCHITECTURAL LIGHTING

Cleveland House’s Canal Tunnel comes to life The original brief for the Cleveland House Canal Tunnel project was relatively broad, though Osborne specified two factors that needed to be addressed. Firstly, the lighting installation needed to provide practical utility lighting along the tunnel’s length that would allow for safer passage. Secondly, developers envisioned that the lighting design would enhance the overall aesthetic of the site, showcasing the beauty and construction quality of the canal tunnel’s historic industrial engineering. Also, it was crucial that the installation be as low-impact and non-invasive as possible, with a clean and unobtrusive visibility profile when not in use.

“We saw this as a perfect opportunity to showcase the versatility of fully controllable RGBW LED lighting. This technology would provide simple, clean, utility lighting but also afford the client the ability to create an architectural light feature of striking impact and beauty,” managing director of Enlightened Lighting, Simon Marcus, states.

The company chose to install Anolis ArcLine Outdoor 20MC fixtures for their excellent coverage and the full remote programmable control over the lighting colour and temperature, thanks to the unit’s full RGBW, LED components. ArcPower 384 remote drivers were installed to provide control of the 17 Anolis ArcLine lights installed inside the canal tunnel.

Marcus explains: “We have used Anolis ArcLine units on some of our favourite installations and knew that they would be transformative.

The Anolis ArcLine have an elegant slim profile, which allows for a non-intrusive footprint, sympathetic to the tunnel’s heritage. Their low energy and long-lived LED fixtures allow full control of the installation and also the ability to recall favoured lighting states as well as artistic effects such as a cascading palette of rich colour along the length of the tunnel.”

As the canal tunnels are in constant use by the general public, the installation needed to be in a secure and safe position along the length of the tunnel. By mounting fixtures in an out-of-reach, elevated position on the roof of the tunnel and as close to one side as possible, the installation team were able to wash two-thirds of the tunnels arch in a curtain of controlled programmable light.

“Due to the robust design and low power consumption of the Anolis fixtures, the system can be used continuously, with minimum maintenance, for daily utility lighting. However, the system can also function as a decorative lighting installation, with the ability to transform what was once a dark and forbidding space into an eye-catching display of vivid colour washes and chases,” explains Marcus.

The team elected to install the Sunlite S.T.I.C.K KUI in the main house – a touch-sensitive, intelligent control keypad with preset lighting states that were expertly pre-configured by technicians to best showcase the tunnels’ architectural beauty.

“We have enthusiastically collaborated with many curators of historic buildings of national importance throughout our history and have lit many of Bath’s most iconic sites, including Bath Abbey, for both temporary and permanent installations. We are passionate about what we do and take very seriously the responsibility and privilege of working on architecturally important structures. We believe that sensitive and respectful lighting can revitalise and enhance appreciation for a buildings beauty and delight its admirers old and new,” concludes Marcus.

The Cleveland House Canal Bridge installation was awarded first place in the Best Landscape Lighting Scheme (Low Budget) category at the internationally renowned darc awards 2017, held in September of this year.

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ARCHITECTURAL LIGHTING PRODUCTS

Anolis leads the way in architectural lighting solutions Anolis products are known for the quality of their light output and sleek, smooth homogenised colours, as well as for their stylishly robust engineering.

Fundamental to the brand’s research and development process is the idea that lightsources should emit vivid hues and consistent saturation, offering the best synesthetic experiences within designed spaces and built environments.

In support of the emphasis placed on robustness and reliability, Anolis offers a five-year warranty on all Anolis fixtures from date of purchase. The company is also renowned for their excellent after-sales support and the close relationships that they share with their worldwide distributors.

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ArcLine Outdoor 20MC Utilising the latest research for the design and manufacturing process, the ArcLine Outdoor MC brings the supreme reliability and quality of the ArcLine range to the outdoor world. Smooth colour mixing is ensured by using a new generation of high power LED multichips, combined with the best homogeneous colour distribution system and precise single-point-of colour emission. Combined with the high light output and longevity of the LEDs

and userdefinable colour variants, the Anolis ArcLine Outdoor brings new qualities and sets standards for all types of contemporary exterior lighting schemes.

The ArcLine Outdoor 20MC is a high powered RGBW linear strip product, with a range with useful features including low voltage, an outdoor IP rating of 65, an advanced optical system and multichip LEDs, which produce the smoothest and most even colour mixing. The robust (IK08 rated) and properly homogenised lightsource offers two high-quality whites – at 4200K and 6500K – and beautiful, elegant colour transitions, with no visible differentiation between the individual colours – red, green, blue and white. The unit is easily physically adjustable in situ, and DMX control means sources can be programmed with numerous user-definable colour options to create unique and customised designs.

Applications include the washing of building façades, walls and general exterior surfaces, the illumination of vaulted or high ceilinged spaces and any other objects where a powerful uniform lightsource is needed to energise and bring an environment to life.

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ARCHITECTURAL LIGHTING PRODUCTS

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ArcPad Xtreme RGBW

ArcLine Outdoor Optic 36

ArcPad Xtreme is a special fixture with two independent LED modules.

LEDs are densely populated, providing extremely bright light output.

The unit is a high powered DMX-controllable LED flood luminaire which is IP67 outdoor rated and capable of delivering an impressive lumen output of over 16000 via its 188 single chip LED sources.

ArcPad Xtreme RGBW has the huge flexibility of two independent LED modules, so the single unit lightsource can effectively be used to highlight two different areas if required. The high power LEDs are densely populated to produce the high lumen output and significant light levels required for illuminating large areas while maintaining and delivering a stunning quality of light including a variety of different CT whites.

The convection cooling system addresses the need for heat dissipation through design, offering virtually silent operation without the distraction of added fan noise, making it perfect for installations where quietness is essential.

ArcPad Xtreme is an ideal fixture for illuminating large buildings and landscapes, thanks to the high light output of the LED modules. The unique combination of RGBW LED colours delivers a stunning light quality, not seen in other competitive products on the market.

The ArcLine Outdoor Optic brings the flexibility of the ArcLine range to the Outdoor world, with a balanced design profile and by using the highest quality materials. Available in either single or double configuration and using the latest Luxeon high powered LEDs, the ArcLine Outdoor is the perfect solution for both landscape and building illumination. With an IP rating of 65, the ArcLine Outdoor range is suitable for the most demanding of exterior installations.

ArcLine Outdoor Optic 36 is high powered linear, low voltage LED lightsource, which is outdoor rated with full optical system, and quality single-chip LED lightsources. The Outdoor Optic 36 is one of several sizing options available from Anolis for this linear product family, which is also available in single or double strip options. This flexibility can help to facilitate more imaginative and non-standard design configurations.

A number of customisable colour array options are available in multi-colour and single colour. Examples of multicolour might be (R, G, B, W) or (R, G, B, A) or half red/half green. Single colour versions – as in all red, all blue, or all green – offer greater diversity for designers wanting to create a specific look or atmosphere in a given space.

Applications include façades, exteriors, landscapes, foliage, wall grazing and washing.

Official Distributor for South Africa: DWR DISTRIBUTION Block C, Unit 1, Kimbult Industrial Park, 9 Zeiss Road, Laserpark, Honeydew, 2170, Johannesburg It’s all about the people Tel: +27 11 794 5023 | Fax: + 27 11 794 5702 | sales@dwrdistribution.co.za | www.dwrdistribution.co.za

ARCHITECTURAL LIGHTING PRODUCTS

Helvar easy to use, reliable lighting solutions

Helvar specialises in intelligent and energy efficient lighting solutions. Its extensive range of products, including lighting controls and luminaire components, can be used as single components or combined into lighting systems to achieve smart solutions. These solutions allow its customers to deliver not only vastly improved energy efficiency but enhanced human comfort, mood and productivity with lighting.

Helvar lighting systems offer lighting control and energy management solutions for commercial and architectural applications based on open systems technology. This facilitates integration with other building services. Helvar lighting solutions are scalable to almost any size of installation or application. The company offers energy efficiency from single luminaire solutions up to lighting systems of complete buildings and takes seriously its responsibility to support overall sustainability targets and offers solutions to support green values in lighting. Electrosonic SA Pty Ltd. is the sole distributor of Helvar products to the South African market.

Programmable solutions As a programmable Digital Addressable Lighting Surface (DALI) lighting system, Helvar’s DIGIDIM offers flexibility and adaptability in the design of modern lighting solutions. The system boasts a wide range of user interfaces, and smart programmable area control: whether you’re dealing with rooms or large spaces. Energy efficient, versatile, and user-friendly, DIGIDIM can integrate with your AV system with ease.

Imagine Router Helvar’s 920 Imagine Router is simple to use and has out-of-box basic functionality without any programming. Through Helvar’s Designer software, advanced configuration and functional programming of the router is possible. This router uses an Ethernet connection as a base through which to combine DIGIDIM/DALI, SDIM and DMX networks. Presence detection and daylight harvesting features mean you can save energy, and further automation can be achieved through scheduled events. PC connectivity for diagnostics and logging purposes is an option, but PC control isn’t a necessity for daily operation, as all the data is stored in the system itself. The absence of a central control means that no single point of failure can compromise the system and cause total shutdown.

Other features include universal supply output, support for 128 DALI devices, local and central control, and a built-in real-time clock.

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The Transistor Dimmer The Helvar DIN-rail 454 is a four-channel transistor dimmer that can operate in two modes: leading edge or trailing edge. Each channel is capable of controlling 2.2A and all four of them operate in the same selected mode. The 454 is not for use with inductive loads, but can support capacitive and restrictive loads, and can be connected directly to mains-voltage lamps and to low-voltage lamps with electronic transformers. Each dimmer channel has current and thermal protection. The dimmer has an LED segment display and a push button user interface for monitoring, manual configuration and control purposes.

Helvar 8-Channel Relay Unit The 498 Relay Unit can be networked via DALI or SDIM communication and be incorporated into a DIGIDIM or Imagine lighting control system. This unit has a simple and intuitive LED segment display and push buttons for monitoring, manual configuration and control purposes. The 498 is fitted with high-inrush specification relays rated at 16 A per channel, which handle short-lived high peak inrush currents during switch-on of loads.

Helvar Multi-sensor with linked PIR The Multisensor is compact and contains sensors to provide energysaving functions when used in a DALI system. It contains a light sensor, a passive infared (PIR) movement detector, and an infared receiver for remote control. The unit is push-fitted into a ceiling or luminaire housing. The light sensor measures the ambient-light level in the room.

The PIR detector allows the system to detect when the room is occupied. Helvar infared remote control can be used to set the required light levels and to carry out basic system programming.

For more information on Helvar products, kindly visit www.helvar.com.

Source: Helva – https://www.helvar.com/en/

ETC Architectural Solutions Sophisticated yet uncomplicated lighting and control products for venues of any size ETC Architectural Solutions Sophisticated yet uncomplicated lighting and control products for venues of any size As used at Time Square Casino

Unison gives you the best of both architectural and entertainment lighting-control technology As usedParadigm at Time Square Casino ®

with its award-winning, sophisticated, yet flexible, system integration.

Unison Paradigm® gives you the best of both architectural and entertainment lighting-control technology Unison Mosaic® provides a canvasyet for flexible, creatingsystem kinetic-art displays, automation and interactive audio, video with its award-winning, sophisticated, integration.

and lighting installations, and more, effectively narrowing the gap between technology and everyday life.

Unison Mosaic® provides a canvas for creating kinetic-art displays, automation and interactive audio, video ® Unison Echo offers easy-to-use, topology-free, and flexible lighting control that is budget friendlylife. and and lighting installations, and more, effectively narrowing the gap between technology and everyday designed to meet today’s energy codes, saving installation time, energy, and operational costs.

Unison Echo® offers easy-to-use, topology-free, and flexible lighting control that is budget friendly and designed ®tocreates meet today’s energy saving installation time, energy, that and won’t operational costs.your space.

Irideon beautiful light codes, from unassuming, versatile luminaires dominate ® Irideon creates beautiful light from unassuming, versatile luminaires that won’t dominate your space. visual environment technologies | etcconnect.com

visual environment technologies | etcconnect.com

visual environment technologies | etcconnect.com www.apexpro.co.za

www.prosound.co.za

visual environment technologies | etcconnect.com

www.electrosonic.co.za

Six Dots Botswana: sixdots.av@gmail.com | Sharps Electrical Botswana: www.sharpselectrical.co www.apexpro.co.za www.prosound.co.za www.electrosonic.co.za Six Dots Botswana: sixdots.av@gmail.com | Sharps Electrical Botswana: www.sharpselectrical.co

ARCHITECTURAL LIGHTING PRODUCTS

Soraa fixtures

Lighting company SORAA™ has been leading the way in innovative LED lighting technology since its founding by Nobel Prize-winning scientist, Shuji Nakamura, in 2008. Soraa’s unique approach to LED design and meticulous construction are focused on one primary goal: perfect rendering of white and all colours of the visible spectrum, as they were intended to be seen.

This novel approach has made it possible for lighting designers to have unprecedented control and flexibility, giving them the ability to perfectly execute their creative vision.

With global installations in some of the world’s most famous historical buildings, museums, galleries, luxury retailers and restaurants, Soraa projects have lent to a dramatic shift in the light quality that top chefs, artists, interior designers and premium retailers have come to not only appreciate but expect.

To achieve the highest quality of light that most closely matches natural light, we started from scratch by developing a radically different type of LED – a violet LED made from pure gallium nitride substrates we call GaN on GaNTM. This fundamental breakthrough in LED science enabled us to design a superior lighting platform for our portfolio of unique lamps, luminaires and light engines, creating an unmatched balance of uniform colour and natural white rendering; superior light distribution; and clean beams that deliver beautiful light across a multitude of environments.

Soraa VIVID COLOR™ Our behaviours, emotional well-being and human interactions depend on seeing colours as we are meant to see them. Since natural light starts at violet and ends at red, the accurate rendering of colour requires light to have the right amount of spectral content in every wavelength from 400nm to 700nm.

Soraa harnesses cutting-edge colour science, paying special attention to the well-known red-rendering index R9 and to the state-of-the-art TM-30 colour rendition method, revealing a natural saturation and precise rendering of specific colours.

Soraa NATURAL WHITE™ Color scientists have long known that violet light plays an important role in our perception of another colour—white. White in all its shades is ubiquitous in our environment. Whites convey the emotional meaning of clarity, brightness and space. Manufacturers and marketers strive to create ever whiter whites with fluorescing brightening agents. And the colour of light that allows us to see true whites is violet.

Soraa is leading innovation in this field and has developed its own calculation method to render white tones faithfully, which underpins Soraa’s Natural White™ technology. The careful optimisation of these techniques results in infinite shades of white—in the same way, natural light provides.

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Point Source Optics The laws of optics that hinder beam design with large multiple light sources become an asset with our high output, small single source LEDs. To that, we add innovative folded optics with precision-cut prismatic lenses, allowing us to focus beams within a very compact optical envelope. By doing so, we can create very narrow beams even in the most challenging form factors.

Flexibility Soraa’s proprietary Soraa SNAP SYSTEMTM is universally compatible with all Soraa directional lamps and fixtures, giving you total control to colour and sculpt the perfect light. The SNAP SYSTEM’s self-centring magnetic interconnect system makes using accessories completely user-friendly. Soraa SNAPS can be used in combination, creating infinite design possibilities with ease.

Expanding Portfolio Our ambition to create simply perfect light doesn’t end here. Our brand is built on innovation, and we are constantly creating new products that move the technology of lighting forward to improve lives, productivity, and to make the light look and feel beautiful.

Soraa is a registered trademark of Soraa, Inc., Soraa VIVID Color, Soraa Natural White, Soraa Snap System, Gan on Gan are trademarks of Soraa, Inc.

ARCHITECTURAL LIGHTING PRODUCTS

ETC has architectural lighting under control

For decades, ETC has been developing the right tools to meet the challenges of modern-day architectural lighting. It offers a variety of reliable, well-supported and easy-to-maintain systems to suit installations of all sizes and budgets – from a single room to office complexes, large museums, convention centres and theme parks.

ETC’s architectural solutions are versatile and scalable, offering advanced functionality with seamless integration. The various systems can be used independently as a focused control solution for a specific room or small venue or integrated together to form a single powerful system.

Backed by ETC’s renowned 24/7 customer service, ETC architectural systems are trusted the world over.

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PRODUCTS ARCHITECTURAL LIGHTING

Unison Paradigm control system Designed as a new way of thinking about building control, ETC’s visionary Unison Paradigm system fuses architectural lighting control advances with entertainment lighting control technology. ETC’s award-winning expertise in both areas together gives you the best of both worlds.

Paradigm delivers a new level of comprehensive control – sophisticated facility-lighting and building systems integration. The system does so with unprecedented flexibility and simplicity: a green-minded energy management system that capitalises on daylight harvesting, occupancy sensing and time schedules for maximum electricity and budget savings, plus the power to speak with different devices from different manufacturers over the same control system.

The Unison Paradigm family of products includes elegant touchscreens, wall stations, modular control electronics, power and control enclosures, and accessories to offer the most customisable and people-friendly control systems available. Restaurants, hotels, casinos, schools and universities, museums, houses of worship, cruise ships, office buildings, conference centres, and theme parks – Paradigm scales to all.

Unison Echo control system The Unison Echo control system offers flexible, intelligent, and scalable control – simply. Whether you want to turn lights on and off, need multiple presets, daylighting and occupancy controls for energy savings or the ability to control hue, saturation and intensity of colour-changing LED luminaires, Echo has a solution for you. Echo’s intelligent sensors can easily control lighting output by harvesting daylight to deliver just the right amount of illumination in a room.

Utilising occupancy and vacancy sensor technology Echo can save energy and help buildings adhere to stringent energy codes. A topology free, two-wire infrastructure means it’s easy to install anywhere and adhere to your budget.

Echo is a distributed control system, with each room capable of being independently controlled. Thanks to the system’s advanced design, it can also combine or divide spaces for presets control and integrate with third-party systems. Its interfaces ensure your system can accept and send commands using contact closures for integration with campus-wide AV or building management systems.

Simple and powerful, Unison Echo ensures you get the most from a system with the least amount of hassle.

Mosaic control system

automation, audio and visual spectacle, kinetic-art displays, water effects, and more are captivating people’s attention – differentiating a venue, creating a landmark, making a truly memorable event.

ETC’s Unison Mosaic is a control solution that allows you to merge show control, LEDs, moving lights, media effects, and more into a single work of art is essential in seamlessly closing the distance between technology and life. This system can be used alone or triggered with ETC’s Unison Paradigm control system.

The Mosaic Show Control system frees you to focus on creativity.

Mosaic Software provides the canvas for your artistic design, from conception through programming and ongoing management.

Mosaic Show Controllers are available with a capacity of hundreds of universes of DMX control and provide a compact solution for running shows reliably with peace-of-mind precision.

With Mosaic, you directly create a show in real time using a Mac or PC. Even after uploading the show, Mosaic has all the features necessary to influence and modify a design to be interactive with an installation. Mosaic Software provides a framework for creating a unique installation – freeing you to focus on creativity, not technology.

For unique environments or installations – retail displays, museum exhibits, casino décor, public art, themed design, artful exteriors, seasonal and special events – Mosaic is the solution.

EchoDIN power control EchoDIN is a standard work- and houselight solution that provides area lighting – for backstage, corridors, offices, shop displays, lobbies and more – with the same ease and quality of control as entertainment lighting systems. A companion to Sensor 3 and Unison DRd with Echo systems, the EchoDIN CE system’s components support 230V dimming and switching and are easily mountable in new or existing electrical enclosures, providing a flexible power control solution that is ideal for theatres, offices, conference centres, multi-purpose spaces, and cruise ships. EchoDIN CE also supports switching for stage lighting.

Source Four Mini and Irideon FPZ fixtures The Source Four Mini is everything you would expect from the world-renowned Source Four lighting brand – ease of use, superior optics, crystal-clear image projection and a bright, even field – but packaged in a tiny fixture that’s just one-third the size of a traditional Source Four. A mere 23cm long, and available in both tungsten and LED, the Source Four Mini can go anywhere: museums, retail stores, restaurants, and other small-scale installations where size matters. It is available in portable, canopy and trackmount versions.

Irideon FPZ pairs the best of the Source Four Mini LED platform with exceptional output and a sleek industrial design to light your space with elegance and subtlety. Available for use with Eutrac three-circuit track with data, the feature-rich design is perfect for museums, lobbies, and retail environments.Irideon FPZ is also available in portable, canopy and trackmount versions.

Truly a Source Four fixture at heart, Irideon FPZ boasts its own set of enhancements such as lockable 3-plane shutters, zoom optics, and the ability to dim using either DMX or a local dimming knob located on the track adapter. DALI or 0-10V control options are also available.

FPZ gives you the versatility you need to create the beautiful light you want from an integrated, unassuming design that won’t dominate your space.

Everyday life has become the staging ground for entertainment technology experiences. The art and wonder of interactive lighting,

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LIVE EVENTS REPORT

The Sun rises on Tshwane’s largest indoor Arena Photos by KiefKreativ

By Nicole Barnes

grandMA at FOH, Sun Arena

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REPORT LIVE EVENTS

Following much anticipation and years of planning, Sun International’s Sun Arena at the Time Square Casino and entertainment complex in Menlyn Maine, opened its doors to fans for the first time this November.

The 6300m2 venue is billed by Sun International to be the most technologically advanced indoor arena in South Africa and promises to bring a range of both local and international artists to the city of Tshwane on a never before seen scale.

The Sun Arena installation, project managed by Mark Ransom of QA, represents the culmination of efforts from some of the country’s most prominent suppliers and installers in both the live events and corporate AV integration markets. The venue boasts an international award-winning digital audio system, provided by Wild & Marr; a state of the art stage by Stage Audio Works; a world-class audiovisual system complete with large format LED screens, provided by AV Systems; digital display screens for digital signage by 3DR Holdings; together with rigging, trussing and lighting by DWR Distribution.

The permanent infrastructure in the venue was handled by Prosound, who is overseeing the installation of audio systems across the entire casino and entertainment complex. In-house venue management is being provided by a leading South African supplier, MGG, who have established a highly skilled on-site team to oversee technical service delivery at the Sun Arena.

Designed to meet every demand Speaking to Pro-systems in a recent interview, Henri-Basil Hearne, communications and public relations manager for Sun International’s Time Square states: “The Sun Arena is designed to be the very best that the hospitality and leisure industry can offer in this type of venue, featuring a moving stage, seven retractable blocks, state of the art

lighting, sound and control, as well as the most flexible design imaginable. The venue can host a standing rock concert with a 10 000 capacity crowd one night, and a boxing match the next, as well as banquets, conferences and exhibitions as required.”

Johnny Scholtz of DWR Distribution states that what truly sets the Sun Arena apart as a large-scale indoor entertainment venue is the highly flexible nature of the space. “What is important to note, is that the lighting system is a touring rig rather than an installation,” Scholtz explains. “Should venue management wish to take the lighting rig on tour, everything can be flight-cased.” A similar approach has been taken with fixtures in the venue, with Stage Audio Works providing a stage that can be assembled and disassembled at will and chairs by Khanda Seating which can be folded away or extended as needed.

Designed to delight Sun International understands the importance of providing a platform for excellence and spared little expense in ensuring that the Sun Arena offers visiting artists everything that they could possibly desire in a concert venue. Mark Malherbe of Prosound states that any artist would be able to simply arrive, plug-in and play – as everything needed to deliver a world-class performance is available in-house.

DWR Distribution played an important role in ensuring that the Sun Arena was equipped to put on a light show that

State-of-the-art moving head LED fixtures by ROBE

Wild&Marr supplied JBL by HARMAN line arrays

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LIVE EVENTS REPORT could rival any in the world – as venue management anticipates that the Arena will be used by a broad range of world-class artists in the years to come. In response, DWR put together an impressive kit list that comprises an array of cutting-edge LED fixtures, including an impressive 24 Robe Spiider LED WashBeam luminaires and Robert Juliet Merlin followspots, as well as Robe BMFLs, which have become the touring standard in South Africa.

Most impressive, Scholtz explains, is the full lighting control system from grandMA that has been installed. “It is rare to see grandMA control installed as a complete system in this country. Often, clients elect to purchase a grandMA2 lighting desk, but substitute system components such as network switches for other, cheaper brands on the market. Technical crews can be sure that the system will be as reliable as possible due to the exceptional quality of control at front of house,” Scholtz points out.

In addition to the impressive lighting rig that has been installed at the venue, the stage is flanked by two large format 8m wide by 4.5m high digiLED screens, provided by AV Systems. According to Alvaro Rodrigues of AV Systems, the resolution of each screen is: 2048 pixels wide by 1152 pixels high, which is even higher than FULL HD. In line with the highly flexible nature of the Sun Arena, Rodrigues states that the screen modules were supplied with flight cases which means they can be dismantled, packed into their cases, moved to another indoor venue and re-assembled. In addition, the two screens comprise a total of 288 modules (144 per screen), which means the kit can be set up in the arena in various aspect ratios, including landscape, portrait style or even as vertical columns.

Designed for sound Wild&Marr were tasked with supplying the Sun Arena with a sound system that would provide the infrastructure and technology needed to deliver the very best live music experience possible in a venue of this nature.

In response, Wild&Marr elected a HARMAN Soundcraft Vi7000 mixer with amplification by Crown by HARMAN together with JBL by HARMAN’s award-winning VTX series of loudspeakers. “It is of paramount importance to achieve even sound coverage across the venue, which this system delivers,” states Wild&Marr’s Dean Coull.

“When testing the system, we recorded Sound Pressure Levels (SPL) of 110 dB A-Weighted at FOH, which is extremely good for concert-level loud. However, the quality of sound remains solid, with optimal frequencies recorded in the low, medium and high ranges. The net result is a powerful PA system that delivers even, crystal clear sound throughout the venue,” Coull concludes.

According to Wild&Marr, the Sun Arena is now home to the largest installed sound system in Africa and promises to deliver one of the best live music experiences achievable in an indoor arena.

Designed for the future The Sun Arena not only delivers a venue inspired by some of the greatest indoor live music venues in the world but also offers some very impressive hi-tech highlights for visitors. In keeping with the theme of Time Square, which places digital technology and forward-thinking design at the heart of the complex, the venue features a completely paperless ticketing system, digital signage throughout the complex and state-of-the-art hospitality suits. In addition, the Sun Arena is home to some of the largest outdoor LED screens to be seen in South Africa to date.

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The two Samsung outdoor LED screens which have been mounted outside the Sun Arena are unique in design and represent the first installation of its kind in Africa. “Samsung has been involved in the design and sizing of the outdoor LED screens, as well as running the project planning team that was responsible for the local design, fabrication and installation of the massive steel mounting structure,” Samsung states.

“The Time Square project has been three years in the making, and when planning this venue, Sun International decided to embrace a digital approach. It is particularly significant that this installation is happening at the newest casino and entertainment centre in the country, which we anticipate will attract big names in entertainment,” states Rob Collins, group strategy and chief operating officer of Sun International.

Designed to deliver “With a venue of this quality, we could have invited any international artist of our choosing to open the Sun Arena,” states Hearne.

“However, we decided that it would be fitting to open the venue by honouring our local talent and celebrating South Africa’s unique heritage.”

On 4 November, the Sun Arena opened its doors for the first time with a one-night-only celebration of South Africa’s diverse entertainment talents, aptly named the Unison Celebration Concert.

Sun International describes Unison as a chance to cross musical genres, transcend cultural boundaries and unite in the spirit of Ubuntu.

The show offered the Sun Arena’s first audience a spectacular line up of artists, including Lira, Zonke, Lady Zamar, PJ Powers, Yvonne Chaka Chaka, Sipho Hotstix Mabuse, Jimmy Nevis, Vusi Nova, Claire Johnston, Sasha Lee Davids, Nur Abrahams, Jeremy Oliver, Timothy Moli and Karen Zoid. In addition to the star-studded line up of solo artists, the show featured a stunning choral choir, mimes, and flash mobs; all brought together with a world-class lighting show. The highlight of the event saw incomparable South African male choral group Ladysmith Black Mambazo, inducted into the South African Hall of Fame.

Roller-coaster line up for the Sun Arena Denzil Smith of MGG paints an exciting picture for Gauteng audiences by listing the line-up of both local and international events that will be hosted at the Sun Arena in the weeks and months to come.

Following shortly on the heels of the LIVE concert, which played to sell-out audiences on 12 November, will be the local musical extravaganza “Afrikaans is Groot”, which will see a five-day programme hosted at Sun Arena featuring the very best in Afrikaans music between 25 November and 2 December. Next up, will be Brandy and veteran soul man Brian McKnight on 9 December, who will be performing as part of the Legends of R&B concert. With little time to recover, the MGG in-house venue management team will be supporting Canadian rock star Bryan Adams, who is promoting his latest album, Get Up with a concert featuring firm favourites like Summer of 69 and Please Forgive Me on 10 December.

“We are extremely excited about the lineup of both local and international acts that will be hosted at the Sun Arena over the next few months. It bodes well for Gauteng audiences in the future, and we are very proud to be a part of this ground-breaking project.”

Smith concludes.

E x pert O P I N I O N L I V E E V E N T S

Rigging and such: International Code of Practice for Entertainment Rigging now available

By Rinus “Rhino” Bakker

ESTA and PLASA recently announced the release of an International Code of Practice for Entertainment Rigging (ICOPER) which is available as a free download at www.esta.org/icoper or www.plasa.org/icoper.

In response to calls from the international entertainment rigging community, rigging professionals from around the globe came together to create ICOPER to promote awareness and safety worldwide by providing a model code of practice with a focus on arena rigging. However, this Code of Practice applies to all event production rigging disciplines.

The practices described in the Code are intended to provide a universal foundation for those engaged in planning, managing and executing entertainment rigging. ICOPER also provides guidelines for those who wish to develop policy, design training content or help establish certification criteria.

Key areas covered in ICOPER include pre-installation, planning and engineering; drawing conventions; equipment selection; onsite rigging work, lifting operations, show rigging operations, de-rigging work; and post-production. Also included are a glossary, an appendix covering determinate and indeterminate rigging systems, and a regional comparison of terms regarding Standards.

The principal authors of the Code, who met regularly via WebEx over a period of twenty months, are Nick Barnfield (New Zealand),

Tiny Good (Australia), Chris Higgs (United Kingdom), Ed Kish (United States), Bill Sapsis (United States), and Roy Schilderman (The Netherlands). ESTA’s Lori Rubinstein provided administrative support for the project.

The authors believe that recognition and acceptance of this universal code will help promote regulatory harmony and reduce potential conflicts between regions around the world. They hope the resulting improvements in communications and relations with regional and local regulators will be particularly beneficial to those professionals involved in international productions.

Acknowledging that regulations and standards differ around the world, ICOPER is not prescriptive; rather it provides a series of guidelines that, if followed, will produce uniformly predictable results and enhance safe practice. Adopting and supporting ICOPER therefore benefits everyone involved in event production.

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LIVE EVENTS REPORT

Lightning crashes at the Sun Arena By ???

American rock band +LIVE+ thrilled Gauteng audiences with their flawless showmanship and a long list of hits during their Reunion World Tour, which AMP Events brought to Sun International’s Sun Arena on 11 and 12 November.

As the first international act to grace the stage at Sun International’s Sun Arena, +LIVE+ introduced Gauteng audiences to Sun International’s newest indoor live events venue with a stellar performance. The concert not only welcomed 20 000 local fans to the Sun Arena over two shows, but, as the show was streamed live to audiences around the world, +LIVE+ also opened the venue to a much wider audience – proving to both the local and international markets that the Sun Arena can compete with similar venues for production quality on a global scale.

SA feels it comin’ back again The band +LIVE+, comprising Ed Kowalczyk on vocals with Chad Taylor on lead guitar, Patrick Dahlheimer on bass, and Chad Gracey on drums, enjoyed a string of hit singles during the height of their fame, including the indomitable Lightning Crashes, which stayed atop the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart for ten consecutive weeks in 1995. The multi-platinum band have since sold over 22 million albums worldwide, with Throwing Copper reaching the number-one spot on the charts in the USA, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia. The original line-up of +LIVE+ performed their last show in July 2009, before disbanding. +LIVE+ achieved worldwide success during a time when South African audiences were starting to experience the unique thrill of seeing international acts coming to the country, following the lifting of cultural sanctions in the mid-1990s. When +LIVE+ toured the country, they established a firm and loyal fan-base among South Africa’s ‘Generation-X’, many of whom remain devoted fans to this day.

It is therefore of little surprise that when Ed Kowalczyk and the band announced at the end of 2016 that they were going to reunite to embark upon a Reunion World Tour to mark the 25th anniversary of their debut album, Mental Jewellery, local events company AMP Events leaped at the opportunity to have the band return to South Africa.

This moment we’ve been waiting for Speaking to Pro-Systems in a recent interview, founder and director of AMP Events, Andrew MacPherson states that: “AMP Events are renowned for bringing authentic, high-quality rock acts to South African audiences. When we brought Ed Kowalczyk to the country for his solo Throwing Copper Unplugged tour in 2015, South African audiences responded with enormous enthusiasm. So, when we

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heard that the guys were getting together again, we contacted the band and requested that they consider including South Africa in their tour dates – which they did.”

According to MacPherson, the team at AMP Events have worked with Sun international for a number of years, staging the majority of their indoor concerts at Sun International venues. “Sun International offers the best indoor arenas in South Africa, and was, therefore, the platform of choice for +LIVE+’s reunion tour.

“When it became apparent that the dates that +LIVE+ proposed for their South African tour coincided with the opening of Sun International’s brand new state-of-the-art indoor arena, Sun Arena, it seemed like the perfect convergence of opportunities,” MacPherson explains. “It all came together perfectly, and South African audiences responded with predictable excitement. Tickets to the show sold out within hours, resulting in AMP Events announcing an additional show at the Sun Arena in response to the high demand.

Lightning crashes Sun International’s Sun Arena has been billed as the largest indoor arena in the Tshwane area and has been designed to offer the best in live event entertainment infrastructure that the industry has to offer. As the first international tour designer to use the venue, Pro-Systems chatted with Graham Hicks, the lighting and video designer for +LIVE+’s Reunion World Tour, about his experience at the brand new venue.

The Gauteng rendition of the show played a special role on the tour, according to Hicks: “The shows at Time Square’s Sun Arena were a bit unusual, in that they started off as a pair of regular concerts, and then the DVD shoot and live-broadcast components were added on later – after we had done most of the design and production advance. As a result, we had to add in a set of audience-fill lighting trusses over the crowd on fairly short notice, and the MGG team were great about helping us find the right tools for the job.”

Photos by AMP Events

REPORT LIVE EVENTS

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Photos by AMP Events

LIVE EVENTS REPORT

In-house venue management at the Sun Arena is being handled by one of the leading production companies in the country, MGG, who have established a firm reputation for excellence over their 17 years in the industry. In addition to the 16 Claypaky Alpha Spot 1500s needed to capture the show on video, MGG supplied additional audio desks, stage monitoring and control. The +LIVE+ concert was the first international large-scale rock concert that MGG has supported, and both audiences and artists could not have asked for a more professional crew.

With a few modifications, the lighting design worked for both live event and camera. “Going into the shoot, I admit I was a bit nervous about the Robe Robin 100s, as I’d never used them on camera before. Songs like T.B.D and White Discussion need a gritty-looking tungsten wash that’s often hard to get out of an LED fixture, and the 100s worked out well,” Hicks explains. He adds that: “+LIVE+’s show needs a lot of range, from dark and moody to total mayhem in the space of a few bars, and the Robe BMFL family delivered on all counts.”

DWR Distribution supplied the lighting rig for the Sun Arena, featuring a full range of LED moving fixtures from Robe, including 12 BMFL spots; 12 BMFL Wash Beams; 6 BMFL Blades; 24 Robin Spiiders; 24

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Robin Pointes; and 24 Robin 100 LED beams; among others. Control for this impressive inventory of moving lights is achieved using a complete grandMA2 control system, while the four 3.9mm video panels supplied by MGG as a backdrop were fed by a bespoke Synapse Spark media server. “I was really happy with the rig that we got for the DVD shoot, and with the support we received from the team at the Sun Arena” Hicks concludes.

The +LIVE+ Reunion World Tour at the Sun Arena has enjoyed ecstatic reviews from fans, many of whom have shared their positive experience of the show on social media. It is by no means an easy feat to launch a brand new venue, a fact that MacPherson points out. However, he agrees with fans in stating that the event could not have gone better.

“Denzil Smith and his team from MGG were working under unusually high pressure during this event. Not only was this the first international act to be staged at the Sun Arena, but the technical team had the added pressure of knowing that thousands of fans were watching the show live over the internet and the show was being filmed for a later DVD production. There was simply no room for error, and MGG’s technical team rose to the occasion on every count,” MacPherson concludes.

THE NEW REFERENCE POINT

w w w . r o b e . c z Official Distributor for South Africa: DWR DISTRIBUTION Block C, Unit 1, Kimbult Industrial Park, 9 Zeiss Road, Laserpark, Honeydew, 2170, Johannesburg It’s all about the people Tel: +27 11 794 5023 | Fax: + 27 11 794 5702 | sales@dwrdistribution.co.za | www.dwrdistribution.co.za

Photo by Louise Stickland

LIVE EVENTS REPORT

Kunzima ukuvalelisa (It is hard to say goodbye) Johnny Clegg

By Nicole Barnes

For the better part of four decades, Johnny Clegg has provided the soundtrack to South Africa’s journey to freedom. There are many things that have contributed towards unifying a country that was historically defined by division – but nothing has been more powerful than South Africa’s love of song and dance.

It is this power that Johnny Clegg harnessed when he did the unthinkable in the 1970s. With open curiosity and naivety, he transcended the boundaries between language and culture imposed upon the South African people – and brought his unique fusion of traditional Zulu rhythms, folk and popular music together to create something that speaks to every South African – across generations, and across the world.

In recent months, following a two-year struggle with life-threatening cancer, Clegg decided to embark upon a final world tour, after which he plans to retire from public life. Pro-Systems News would like to take this opportunity to reflect on the life of an artist who has made an indelible mark on the South African entertainment industry and whom we will hold in our hearts for generations to come.

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A Scatterling of Africa Johnny Clegg’s life journey has been one of many chapters, starting with his birth in Bacup, England, in 1953, to an English father and Zimbabwean mother. Soon after his birth, his mother moved back to her native Zimbabwe where she met and married a South African journalist. The young family immigrated to South Africa when Clegg was seven years old and settled in the then trendy and highly metropolitan suburb of Yeoville. His mother worked as a jazz singer and cabaret artist, and father as a crime reporter, which exposed a young Clegg to a far wider cultural perspective than was typical for white South Africans at the time.

While growing up, Clegg’s status as an immigrant in Johannesburg placed him in a similar position to many of the migrant workers that

REPORT LIVE EVENTS

Spirit of the Great Heart

commuted to Egoli in the 1960s and 70s. This contributed significantly to his ability to identify with the people that were to become the most important cultural influences in his life. Clegg told the New York Times in 1990, “I felt like an immigrant. The only time I really felt at home was when I got involved in African music. The migrant workers were themselves, immigrants, so we had a similar feeling of marginality in the city, something I could relate to.”

In My African Dream Clegg was 14 years old when he first encountered “Zulu music”. In the 1960s, Clegg met a street musician by the name of Charlie Mzila, who played traditional Zulu melodies on guitar outside a corner café in Yeoville. “I was studying formal guitar at the time. When I came across Mzile on my way to buy milk and bread for my mom, I could immediately see that he treated the instrument very differently and I asked him if he could teach me,” Clegg reminisces. The relationship between Mzila and Clegg quickly grew, and through his exploration of the genre, the young teenager unlocked the beauty and richness of maskandi guitar, which he blended seamlessly with the contemporary folk and pop music that was gaining popularity at the time.

At the age of 17, Clegg met Sipho Mchunu, a young migrant worker and talented musician with whom he developed an instant rapport.

The unlikely duo started their career playing in small venues across the city and soon became known as Juluka. In the years that followed, Clegg continued developing his unique musical style with Mchunu, while pursuing a degree in Anthropology at the University of the Witwatersrand. The young academic was influenced by the work of seminal academic, David Webster, a social anthropologist who was assassinated in 1989. Clegg’s academic understanding of culture and tradition have had a profound and poignant effect on his work throughout his career and sets him apart as a true cultural innovator.

Juluka was a truly disruptive cultural force that unleashed itself on South African society during the harshest and most rigid period of the apartheid regime. The band, which grew to a six-member group with three black and three white musicians, unwittingly defied everything that apartheid stood for. A constant thorn in the side of the Nationalist government, it was the organic nature of the group that flew in the face of apartheid philosophy, which asserted that the racial groups in South Africa were incapable of assimilating as they were fundamentally different and best kept apart.

Juluka was, by its very nature, the essence of cultural assimilation – with Celtic, folk, rock and African styles coming together to create a unique sound. While many of their songs incorporated subversive and overt political themes, political activism was never the driving force behind the band, but rather the desire to bring together the best that African and Western musical traditions had to offer to create something new and truly exceptional.

Juluka and their fans were constantly harassed by the establishment throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, with Clegg and other band members being arrested periodically, and concerts being forcibly broken up by the police. Despite the trying circumstances, Juluka managed to take their music to new audiences, touring in Europe, Canada, and the United States. Juluka achieved two platinum and five gold albums during their time together and established a fan base overseas that remains devoted to Clegg today. Juluka finally disbanded in 1985, when Mchunu returned to his rural homeland to take care of his family. Clegg’s journey, however, was far from over.

The Crossing In 1986, Clegg joined forces with musician and dancer Dudu Zulu, forming the band Savuka. The group’s first album, Third World Child, broke international sales records in Europe, most notably in France – where Clegg was known endearingly as Le Zoulou Blanc (“The White Zulu”). This was followed by Shadow Man (1988), Cruel, Crazy Beautiful World (1989) and Heat, Dust and Dreams (1993) and then the best of Johnny Clegg and Savuka with the release of In My African Dream (1994). Savuka toured extensively in Europe and North America from 1988 to 1993, breaking all attendance records in France in 1988 and 1989.

Tragedy struck the group in 1992 when Dudu Zulu was shot and killed while attempting to mediate a taxi dispute in Greytown, situated in the rural midlands of KwaZulu Natal where he lived. Savuka was subsequently disbanded, and Clegg released one of his signature songs, The Crossing, which he dedicated to Zulu’s memory.

Cruel, Crazy, Beautiful World Through his various musical collaborations, Johnny Clegg has managed to capture the spirit of South Africa – in both our brightest and darkest moments – and broadcast this identity to the world. In the summer of 2004, Clegg performed a four-month tour of Europe and North America, playing to capacity houses and appearing at several world-famous shows. In the period between 2005 and 2008, he featured at several major European festivals, while concurrently completing his own annual European tours. In 2005, Clegg completed a 30-date coast-to-coast tour of the continental US and

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Photo by Louise Stickland

LIVE EVENTS REPORT

Canada and a sell-out tour of Australia and New Zealand. Despite his international fame, Clegg has remained intensely South African and has never wavered in his commitment to the country.

Clegg has performed on all four of Nelson Mandela’s 46664 Aids Awareness Concerts in South Africa and in Norway. Demonstrating his enormous symbolic importance as a unifying force in the country, he was joined by Madiba on stage in 1999 Jessie Clegg performs with his father, Johnny Clegg during a powerful rendition of the ballad Asimbonanga, which Clegg dedicated to the Nobel everybody came in jeans and t-shirts for Johnny. He has that effect on Prize Laureate during his incarceration. When watching the rapturous people; he defies the rules.” crowd embrace one another while singing the anthem in unison, it is Dunn developed a stunning lighting design for the three-hour long hard to believe that South Africans were once so deeply divided. It autobiographical journey through Clegg’s musical career that makes was these images that dominated both local and international up the Final Journey World Tour. “In keeping with the relaxed television when Nelson Mandela passed away on 3 December 2013. atmosphere that Johnny creates onstage, we covered the rig in soft gauze to hide the lights. I used LED fixtures at the back of the stage to All I Got is You keep time with the backbeat, together with the usual washes and beams to highlight and add energy to important moments in the Johnny Clegg has been performing locally and internationally for the show, without taking away from the artists on stage,” Dunn states. better part of forty years and has established strong and lasting The stage is flanked by two large format LED screens that show an relationships with his management team and technical crews award-winning video capturing important moments in Clegg’s life, throughout that time. which was written, directed and produced by Clegg’s son, Jaron Among the most notable influences behind the scenes is Roddy Clegg specifically for the Final Journey World Tour. During particularly Quinn, veteran concert promoter, talent manager and owner of Real poignant moments, a gauze screen descends, hiding the band and Concerts. Quinn not only supported Clegg throughout his various leaving the audience alone with Clegg on the stage. During Johnny’s collaborations over his expansive career, serving as manager, beautiful rendition of The Crossing, dedicated to Dudu Zulu, projection promoter, producer and without doubt friend – but has also assisted is used to create a breath-taking and iconically South African sunset Clegg’s son, Jessie, to achieve a stellar place among South Africa’s behind Clegg as he sings for his deceased friend. greatest up and coming talent. Quinn has been instrumental in “Johnny really engages with the audience throughout the show, bringing The Final World Tour to life, having directed and produced and there are great moments – like when he brings the dances on – the show. that crackle with energy. However, there are some deeply personal Ofer Lapid, founder of a leading South African events company, moments, such as when he sings with his son, Jessie. One almost feels Gearhouse Group SA, served as Clegg’s original lighting designer, as though you are watching through a window and in those instants, establishing a close working relationship between Johnny and the it is best to simply let it be and not intrude with too many effects,” Gearhouse team that has spanned some 25 years. Over the years, Dunn concludes.

Clegg has worked with Gearhouse and Real Concerts to stage some of the biggest live concerts in South Africa, setting the bar for other Journey’s End local acts to follow.

While watching the show at the TicketPro Dome in Northgate, Circle of Light Johannesburg, what struck me personally was that while Johnny performed joyously with his son Jessie on stage, Dunn attended his Pro-Systems had the privilege of meeting with Tim Dunn, one of lighting desk with his own teenage son watching over his shoulder. The Gearhouse’s most experienced lighting designers. Dunn worked venue was packed to capacity, with fans of every age, colour, closely with Quinn in designing the lighting for Clegg’s Final Journey culture, race and creed. Some remembering and some learning for World Tour. Reflecting on his journey with Clegg, Dunn speaks first and the first time about what a different place South Africa used to be – foremost about what a pleasure it is working with Clegg and his team. reflecting on their own journeys and their dreams for tomorrow.

“The music is very tight, but at the same time Johnny and his In the grander scheme of things, South Africa is a small and musicians are so comfortable and relaxed onstage that one does not somewhat insignificant country, hanging out at the furthest end of the have to over-engineer the show,” Dunn states. “When working with least developed continent on the planet. We have, however, Johnny, you instantly become aware that you are dealing with a very produced some of the world’s greatest leaders, artist and scientists, intelligent man and a remarkably skilled artist,” he continues. “Most of and have managed, despite all of the odds, to successfully transition all, however, Johnny is exceptionally humble, and despite the fact from tyranny to freedom without a civil war. Johnny Clegg has that he has achieved an impressive and lasting fame, both in South narrated this journey for us and remains one of the greatest sons that Africa and across the world, he remains down-to-earth and this country has ever produced. extremely professional in all that he does.”

Tim Dunn states what I believe the live events industry as Dunn accompanied Clegg on his recent tour to London and a whole would like to express at this seminal moment in Clegg’s Dubai, before returning home with the show to Johannesburg and journey, in the most honest and unpretentious way possible, simply “…

Cape Town in November. Dunn reflects: “We performed in the brand thank you, Johnny.” new Dubai Opera House, which is generally very ‘posh’. While it is the norm for audiences to dress to the nines for the Opera House –

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S ocial

Stage Audio Works Johannesburg, 26 October 2017

Bryan Michael (Yamaha), Gustav Barnard (Stage Audio Works), Clint Waring (Global Music) and Will Deysel (Stage Audio Works)

Deon Lottering (Starkfilms), Mike Summerfeild (Stage Audio Works), Karsten Hinrichsen (KZ Innovate), and Clwyd Jones (Stage Audio Works)

Llewellyn Reinecke (Gearhouse), Henry Jenkins (Event Tech), Redge Grobler (Event Power), and Jako De Wit (Gearhouse)

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S ocial

Robe Megapointe Launch DWR Johannesburg, 02 November 2017

AJR Audio’s Altus Janse Van Rensburg, Jaene Schoeman, Dewet Carelsen, Kyle Robson (DWR), Anre Jacobs and Schalk Botha (DWR)

Dylan Jones (DWR), Andre Siebrits and Joshua Cutts (Visual Frontier), Duncan Riley (DWR) and Theo Rood (MJ Event Gear)

Harry von den Stemmen (Robe) with Simon Robinson (Sun-Circle)

Jade Manicom from Keystone Productions

DWR’s Marlene Riley, Amanda Miranda, Lee Baird and Kevin Stannett with Ondrej Hegar and Harry von den Stemmen from Robe

Bruce Riley, Charl Smit (Gearhouse) and Duncan Riley

Ndumiso Blessing Vilakazi and Rokunda Netshiluvhi (DWR)

Technical demonstration at the Sun Arena 4 October 2017

Amatjie Prinsloo and Ashley Hinds of 3DR Holdings

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Kagne Harvey (LaserX) and Aaron Harvey (Gearhouse)

Henri-Basil Herne (Communications PR Manager at Sun International)

Mark Ransom (QA), Sun International

Official Distributor for South Africa: DWR DISTRIBUTION Block C, Unit 1, Kimbult Industrial Park, 9 Zeiss Road, Laserpark, Honeydew, 2170, Johannesburg It’s all about the people Tel: +27 11 794 5023 | Fax: + 27 11 794 5702 | sales@dwrdistribution.co.za | www.dwrdistribution.co.za