For The Technical And Production Professionals in Asia
JANUARY 2019
Patrick Woodroffe The Consummate Lighting Designer
“In my 45 years, this is the most important thing that I did - turning off the lights”
2018 MEMORABLE MOMENTS ALEX SCHLOESSER: Are we Really Progressing? LIVE: TDC Shines at the Invictus Games Sydney 2018
www.e-techasia.com
3
CONTENTS JAN. 2019
26
IN THIS ISSUE
VOL 20 ISSUE 1 JANUARY 2019
04 FIRST WORDS 06 NEWS
ALEX COLUMN 43 Are we Really Progressing?
54
16 VIDEO FILES 18 ENNOVATIONS
LIVE 44 AUSTRALIA: TDC Shines at the Invictus Games Sydney 2018
INTERVIEW 24 Patrick Woodroffe, OBE RDI: The Consummate Lighting Designer
46 INDONESIA: Clair Brothers at the Indonesian Choice Awards Extravaganza 48 AUSTRALIA: Robe Shines with Hobart-based Alive Technologies Group
FEATURE
50 AUSTRALIA: The P.A. People Prescribe BOSE for Sydney Kings!
26 Most Memorable Projects in 2018
52 ABU DHABI: CT Shines Bright on the Oldest Building in Abu Dhabi
KNOWLEDGE HUB
53 EVENTS CALENDAR
34 The Volume Knob Also Goes to the Left
PERSONALITY
38 Tech Check: BlackTrax Real-Time Motion Tracking
54 Peter Loh, Production/Technical director
40 All About Wireless: System Planning, Coordination and Monitoring
56 MARKET PLACE
ENTERTAINMENT TECHNOLOGY ASIA | www.e-techasia.com
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FIRST WORDS JAN. 2019
The Business World The past few years has seen a number of companies being acquired. That trend continued at the end of 2018 with RCF Group’s acquisition of DPA Microphones and KLANG:technologies joining the Audiotonix family that comprises of leading audio brands Allen & Heath, Calrec, DiGiGrid, Solid State Logic and DiGiCo. Another announcement that might have missed the attention of readers is GLP’s taking over of Ehrgeiz from this month. Ehrgeiz is a German company, founded by specialists of the event industry developing high quality products with a unique design and innovative technology for the professional lighting market. According to the press release, of particular interest to GLP is Ehrgeiz outdoor solutions. The Ehrgeiz brand will remain as it is.
Ram Bhavanashi
Editor, India And Middle East ram@spinworkz.com
Julie Tan
Admin Admin & & Circulation Circulation admin@spinworkz.com
Natalie Chew
There should be no surprise if more mergers or acquisitions are on the cards. Powersoft has taken a slightly different route. Powersoft S.p.A., has commenced public trading of its shares on the AIM Italia (Alternative Investment Market), organised and managed by Borsa Italiana.
Writer natalie@spinworkz.com
This bold decision has been made to facilitate further progress on Powersoft’s already exponential growth, which has occurred consistently since its inception in 1995. The move will also allow Powersoft to not only continue but intensify its already impressive R&D activities. To all our readers we wish you a fulfilling 2019. We will always be faced with challenges - the key is to take them in your stride and find the best possible solution to resolve them or mitigate it to a more viable outcome. As a parting word where possible collaborate. I sincerely believe collaboration is the way forward to more fruitful outcomes:)
Daniel Daniel Ngiam Ngiam
MEDIA MEDIA Rep Rep for for Spinworkz SpinworkzPte Pte Ltd. Ltd Tel: Tel: +65 +65 84410258 84410258 first_dm@hotmail.com first_dm@hotmail.com
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Disclaimer : Entertainment Technology Asia is published 12 times a year. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine is to be reproduced, whether mechanical or electronic without the prior written consent of the publisher. Views expressed in this magazine do not necessarily reflect those of the editor or the publisher. Unsolicited contributions are welcome but the editor reserves the discretion to use them. Whilst every care is taken to ensure the accuracy and honesty in both editorial and advertising content at press time, the publisher will not be liable for any inaccuracies. Please be informed that products and company names mentioned in this publication may be protected with tradenames, trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. Our non inclusion of such symbols is not an indication of us not recognising the copyright but rather to have a common look across our articles. Misuse of tradenames, trademarks or registered trademarks is strictly prohibited. It is the obligation of our readers to check if company names and products are protected with tradenames, trademarks or registered trademarks.
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NEWS JAN. 2019
GLOBAL
GLP Extends its Portfolio with Ehrgeiz Takeover competitive market in recent years. This fact has not escaped GLP and there have been discussions as to how we can combine the strengths of both companies. I am delighted to be joining the GLP family, along with the Ehrgeiz team, and continue to develop great and innovative products.”
By taking over Ehrgeiz on 1 January 2019, GLP is resolutely continuing on its strong growth path and portfolio expansion, particularly in the outdoor sector, with innovative and high-quality solutions. Steven Braun, managing director of Ehrgeiz, stated: “Since both companies are located in the same place and are active in the same market, there have always been points of contact. Ehrgeiz has been successfully developing and marketing products in an increasingly
Udo Künzler, CEO of GLP, responded: “I am proud to welcome Steven and his Ehrgeiz team, and we look forward to working together. Ehrgeiz has developed a broad expertise in recent years and knows how to develop innovative products, and this is particularly evident in their outdoor products. The merger will expand GLP’s portfolio in areas where we see great potential and will make us even stronger in the coming years. Taking on Ehrgeiz is a win-win and will drive us further in our global growth strategy.” At the beginning of 2019, Ehrgeiz, including its employees, will be integrated into GLP and Ehrgeiz will remain as a brand within the GLP operation. The service and support for existing orders and customers will still be guaranteed after the takeover. www.glp.de
VIETNAM
Claypaky Scenius Spot On for Miss Vietnam 2018 The biennial Miss Vietnam beauty pageant descended on the Phu Tho Gymnasium in Ho Chi Minh City in September with 43 women battling to win the crown. The multi-part competition was a glamorous affair, with 16 Claypaky Scenius Spot fixtures on lighting duty. Dominating the stage as the girls strutted their stuff was an expansive wall of LED screens, which displayed the credentials of each contestant and an array of video content.
Vietnam 2018. In her acceptance speech, she urged young people to believe in their dreams and be knowledgeable in way that will improve society.
Showtech Vietnam invested in the 16 Scenius Spot fixtures, which offer a 1400W OSRAM discharge lamp for incredible beam strength, especially for the pageant. “Our brief was to create a ‘beautiful skylight’ for the entire show, alongside strong keylight for each contestant,” says show director, Mr. Hoang Nhat Nam. “We rigged them on the upstage centre truss, using them to light a diverse number of scenes, including a gobo pattern wash, and a keylight on the finalists as they were announced, as well as the winner.”
“The Scenius Spot did a great job of standing out against the LED screens, they have a great beam quality, stability and the new effects are spectacular – they look really good in the air,” Mr. Hoang Nhat Nam continues. “We are happy to invest in top, high-end equipment from Claypaky. We find that Claypaky products meet our clients’ needs in the Vietnamese market.”
Eighteen-year-old university student Tran Tieu Vy, who studies at Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology and Education, was crowned Miss ENTERTAINMENT TECHNOLOGY ASIA | www.e-techasia.com
Winning Miss Vietnam 2018, Tran Tieu Vy was awarded a cash prize of 500 million dong (£16,400) and the chance to represent her country in this year’s Miss World contest in December in Sanya, China. www.claypaky.it
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JAN. 2019
CHINA
VUE China Powers “My Girl” Celebration with Chen Linong Demand for the VUE al-Class line array system in Mainland China continues to keep pace with the brand’s increasingly strong foothold in the worldwide touring and live sound market. And on October 3rd, tens of thousands of Chinese teens experienced the system first hand at a live performance by online reality show “Idol Trainee” second-place winner Chen Linong, and his boy band, NINE PERCENT. Linong gained overnight fame after attracting more than 9.5 million followers during his Idol Trainee competition hosted iQiyi [NASDAQ: IQ], one of the world’s largest online video sites, with more than 500 million monthly active users and content licensing agreements with Netflix. Shanghai-based VUE China provided audio services for the “MY GIRL” concert, which doubled as Linong’s 18th-birthday celebration, at the Beijing National Olympic Sports Center. The VUE team deployed an al-Class line array system including 24x al-12s hung 12x per side on the main stage, 12x hs-221 subwoofers ground-stacked in a line along the front of the stage with four stacks of two al-8SB subwoofers, two stacks per side; 8x al-8s as front fills stacked two high and spread in four stacks across the front of the stage; and 4x al-8 on each side of the stage provide side fill. Rack-mount VUEDrive V3, V4 and V6 Series Systems Engines provided all power and processing for the arrays. According to Mr. Gu, President of VUE China, the concert gave an entirely new segment of the burgeoning Chinese live music market, and budding performers, a taste of VUE’s world-class sonic performance. “Idol Trainee, and the talent and fans it spawns, are the key to the future of Chinese pop culture and the markets it creates,” explained Gu. “We were honored to provide audio services to the event and
were thrilled to receive much positive feedback on the VUE rig’s clarity, coverage, and ease-of-setup.” And according to Ken Berger, VUE CEO, progress in China is outpacing the rest of the world. “When we expanded the Shanghai-based operation and our national footprint throughout the Mainland in the Spring of 2018, we made a commitment to establish the brand as the Chinese market leader. I’m really excited to see Mr. Gu and the entire team making that vision a reality.” www.vueaudio.com
GLOBAL
Elation Offers Free Access to E3 Training Videos Lighting: The Art and Science of Moving Light, and Lighting for Modern Houses of Worship.
AIn the spirit of Christmas, Elation Professional recently offered free access to an Elation Educational Experience (E3) course held by one of the industry’s top technical educationists, ETCP Recognized Trainer and author Richard Cadena. Richard Cadena is an ETCP Recognized Trainer, ETCP Certified Entertainment Electrician, and author of Electricity for Entertainment Electricians & Technicians, Focus on Lighting Technology, Automated
ENTERTAINMENT TECHNOLOGY ASIA | www.e-techasia.com
The course was held over a two-day period earlier in the year at the Elation headquarters in Los Angeles. The multi-part course covered DMX Testing and Troubleshooting, and Lighting Networks and Ethernetbased Protocols. Elation has also made the complete course available to all – just click here and here www.elationlighting.com
Photo: Paul Gärtner
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NEWS
impression S350
SLEEK DESIGN WITH GREAT FEATURE SET 350 Watt white light LED engine Outstanding color endering 4-way framing module, animation wheel CMY color mixing, CTC and color wheel 2 gobo wheels, 2-way frost
impression FR1
ULTRA COMPACT WITH ENDLESS PAN 60W RGBW LED with homogeneous light image Fast movements with endless pan rotation Very fast 3.7 - 35 ° zoom Information according to the Ecodesign Directive (2009/125 / EC): GLP impression S350, EEC: D (Spektrum A++ o E), EEI: 0,93, Ec (in kwh/1.000h): 459; GLP impression FR1 EEC: E, EEI: 1,19, Ec: 68 kWh/1.000h
GLP German Light Products | Germany | USA | United Kingdom | Hong Kong info@glp.de
/GLP.German.Light.Products
/GLPimpression
www.glp.de
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NEWS JAN. 2019
GLOBAL
KLANG: technologies Joins Audiotonix Family
DiGiCo has announced the acquisition of KLANG:technologies as a key new addition to the Audiotonix family that already includes leading audio brands Allen & Heath, Calrec, DiGiGrid, Solid State Logic and DiGiCo. James Gordon CEO of Audiotonix comments: “We have had the pleasure of working with KLANG and their pioneering immersive technology for a couple of years and when the opportunity arose for them to join Audiotonix, we were keen to make it happen. We have always stressed that with our M&A we would look at each brand’s requirement and help support them with their aspirations. On that basis KLANG will become a key part of DiGiCo’s future, as they combine forces to improve the listening world of artists and monitor engineers alike. It is about to sound a lot more natural, with the arrival of I-IEM (Immersive In Ear Monitoring).” Austin Freshwater, GM of DiGiCo, added: “We have been working in the background with KLANG for some months on increasing our level of integration. Over that time, it was clear the ethos of the development
teams was similar, with a lot of shared common goals. Combining the control of the KLANG system into the DiGiCo worksurface will allow I-IEM and 3D personal monitoring to be a part of an engineer’s natural work flow, and that’s just the beginning for us and the KLANG team. We are keen to meet all their existing supporters and help more potential users understand the difference a KLANG system can make.” Roman Scharrer, CEO of KLANG summarises with: “This is a fantastic opportunity for the team at KLANG. Having the wealth of industry knowledge and relationships that only the DiGiCo team have at our disposal is really going to allow us to demonstrate the benefits of our technology to those we feel will benefit the most from our groundbreaking development work. Being part of the Audiotonix family will allow our R&D team to bring more of our ideas to life. We can already anticipate that 2019 is going to be a busy year for us and we will continue to excite our users with innovative and sustainable solutions.” www.digico.biz
AUSTRALIA
ULA Group Announces a New Partnership with DJ Power of professional stage technology brands,” says Cuono Biviano, Managing Director of the ULA Group. “DJ Power are a forward thinking company producing well balanced products with a proven ROI. The brand is very well established globally as it is here in Australia and New Zealand. We are looking forward to working together with the DJ power network and further expanding their market presence”. DJ Power has been manufacturing professional stage effect products for over 16 years, supplying to many renowned companies in Europe and America. Concentrating on the innovation and reliability of their products, DJ Power holds over 60 worldwide patents and keeps investing heavily in research and development, always offering their clients innovative stage effect with great value. The ULA Group is very excited to announce a new distribution partnership with DJ Power, a leading Asian manufacturer of professional stage technology. “We are very excited to form a new partnership with DJ Power and bring their diverse and proven product range to our extensive portfolio ENTERTAINMENT TECHNOLOGY ASIA | www.e-techasia.com
www.ulagroup.com
11 JAN. 2019
Tel: +603 7781 3357/3552 infopap@prolyte.com www.prolyte-asia.com ENTERTAINMENT TECHNOLOGY ASIA | www.e-techasia.com
Tel: 81(0)3 6912 9720 IPDJ@prolyte.com www.prolyte-doughty.jp
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NEWS JAN. 2019
INDIA
PR XR 480 BWS Helps Launch India’s First Luxury Liner Angriya, India’s first luxury cruise ship, which will sail between Mumbai and Goa, was commissioned at a formal inauguration ceremony in October 2018. Launched as a joint venture by Mumbai Port Trust and Angriya Sea Eagle Pvt Ltd., the flagging off took place in Mumbai, when PR Lighting customer, Goa-based Reynold Event & Promotions were sub-contracted to provide all the lighting by event management firm Wizcraft. The company recently purchased 12 of PR Lighting’s XR 480 BWS hybrid moving heads, pressing them straight into action for the occasion. They were used principally to colour wash the ship and provide gobo projections, and were mounted on platforms at dock-side, that lined the front of the ship. The XR 480 BWS is designed to provide three features in one (Beam, Wash and Spot) from an advanced 480W lamp matched with a superb optical system. And according to Reynold Event & Promotions’ director John Remedios, “We were extremely impressed with the beam quality, effects and gobos.” The attendees of between 600-800 people were transfixed by the gentle looping of the colour movement throughout the official launch
ENTERTAINMENT TECHNOLOGY ASIA | www.e-techasia.com
ceremony. “The XR 480 BWS was a big success,” admits John Remedios. “Since this was a dock location surrounded by sea, the light beams could be seen from quite a long distance away. That part of Goa is generally pretty quiet, so everyone knew that something big was happening.” The order of 12 XR 480 BWS was Reynold’s first from the Chinese manufacturer—but it’s unlikely to be their last. “This event showed us that PR Lighting’s products can stand side by side with the best in the world,” Remedios confirmed. “Hopefully next time we will be talking about a show with 80-100 PR fixtures!”
www.pr-lighting.com
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NEWS JAN. 2019
OMAN
Visual Solutions Uses disguise Media Servers for Projection Mapping at Inaugural Ceremony for Expanded Muscat International Airport The major extension of the Muscat International Airport in the Sultanate of Oman was celebrated on November 11 with an architectural projection mapping by Belgium-based Visual Solutions. The video mapping was driven by three disguise gx 2 media servers and a disguise 4x4pro media server with VFC cards. The Muscat International Airport expanded its services and capabilities with the new extension, which included a second passenger terminal. The inaugural ceremony used the striking new terminal as a projection surface. The addition of custom-made screens produced a giant visual canvas composed of three 40 x 23-meter displays spanning the façade. A large stage with a military band was below the screens. Visual Solutions used the disguise systems to pre-visualize and drive 13 Barco 4K UDX laser projectors. The media servers also fed live transmissions from the outside broadcast van into the projection feed with low latency. “We chose disguise systems because we rely on their stable play out and timelining capabilities,” says Jo Pauly of Visual Solutions. “The 4K play out to all projectors also necessitated using disguise.” ENTERTAINMENT TECHNOLOGY ASIA | www.e-techasia.com
In addition to the systems’ stability, Jo highlights the “flexibility, frame replacement, versioning and multi transport” features of the gx 2 and 4x4pro. “We especially liked the frame replacement and content versioning, which helped with all the last-minute content changes and additions. Also, the mobile editor function for alignment was very, very necessary and proved very stable. The systems performed perfectly, as always!” The servers were supplied by Faber Audiovisuals who delivered them together with By-Lex Filmmaster MEA was the client with Aurelia Gohin as creative mastermind and Julien Poncelet as technical director. Micha Stroobants was the Project Manager, Kristaps Liseks the disguise System Engineer along with Matt Villis and Callum Gossling as projector engineers. Chema (Jose-Maria Menendez Herrera) was the disguise Operator.
www.disguise.one
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VIDEO FILES JAN. 2019
Ovation Fresnels: F-915FC, F-265WW, F-915VW by CHAUVET Professional
Claypaky Axcor Profile 600
Check out CHAUVET Professional’s new high-performance 8-inch LED Fresnel equivalents engineered with energy-efficient optical systems in Full Color, Warm White, and Variable White versions to satisfy the diverse needs of lighting designers. Each unit is capable of creating perfectly balanced stage washing for truly immersive environments by projecting beautifully soft fields of light with seamless transitions from one pool of light to the next; while maintaining exceptionally high CRI and CQS.
The Claypaky AXCOR PROFILE 600 stands out for its excellent combination of high performance, exceptional light quality, and versatility of use. It fits a 500W white LED engine and is available in two main versions: a standard version featuring high output 6500K color temperature, or - alternatively – an HC-ST version featuring 5600K color temperature and a CRI of around 90. The luminous efficiency is among the highest in this power category, and it can be further increased by about 25% thanks to “boost mode”.
Yamaha RIVAGE PM Version 2.5 What is Theatre Mode?
Pope Francis in Lithuania
Theatre Mode is a new option in the Yamaha RIVAGE PM Version 2.5 which enhances the memory structure of the system, suitable for handling multiple actors and substitute musicians. This new function will be useful not only in theaters, but also in worship houses and pop music shows. Watch this short video to learn how to use it.
The high point of Pope Francis’ three-day, early autumn visit to Lithuania was an open-air Holy Mass celebrated for more than 100,000 of the faithful at Sàntakos Park in the city of Kaunas. Watch how Lithuanian rental company NGR Service prepared for the momentous event and ensured flawless audio reinforcement, by deploying a massive 228-loudspeaker Meyer Sound system anchored by LEO Family line arrays.
ENTERTAINMENT TECHNOLOGY ASIA | www.e-techasia.com
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ENNOVATIONS JAN. 2019
ADJ’s HEX LED Par Fixtures Made Even Better!
ADJ is pleased to announce the immediate availability of its new and improved “PX HEX” Series of LED-powered pars. Building on the success of the original HEX Series of wash fixtures that offer the unrivaled color mixing potential of 6-in-1 HEX LEDs, the new units feature improvements that are the direct result of customer feedback. With their powerful HEX LEDs and thoughtfully-designed enclosures, the HEX Series pars have proved to be extremely popular for a wide variety of applications from up-lighting to truss-warming, stage washing to dancefloor illumination. However, the team at ADJ are committed to constantly listening to customers and making changes to products that reflect the needs of the hard working lighting professionals who use them day in, day out. The “PX HEX” Series retains the practical design and color mixing potential of the original fixtures, but with the added advantage of two professional-caliber enhancements requested by existing users. The “PX HEX” Series fixtures are fitted with powerCON input and output sockets in place of the IEC sockets found on the original HEX Series units. This allows for a reliable power connection that locks securely into place and won’t pull out accidentally. It also allows for easy integration into professional stage rigs that are setup with powerCON power distribution.
For situations where a more powerful wash is required, the 12PX HEX packs twelve 12W HEX LEDs into what is still a relatively compact unit. It generates a potent beam of colored light that is ideal for stage lighting applications as well as for up-lighting large venues. An all-white model – the 12PX HEX PEARL – is also available, which is perfect for installation in white-themed venues as well as for temporary use at events such as weddings. Thanks to their use of the latest HEX LED technology, all of the “PX HEX” Series fixtures offer a huge gamut of color possibilities. Each LED combines red, green, blue, amber, white and UV elements, which can be mixed together in any combination of intensities to generate a vast spectrum of colors and hues. These include both cool and warm white, as well as UV-infused colors such as hot pink, lime green and electric blue. The inclusion of the UV element also means that the fixture can create the classic ‘black light’ effect that causes white and neon-colored surfaces to glow brightly. With a 30-degree beam angle, all of the “PX HEX” pars are ideally suited for both up-lighting and stage illumination, generating a soft-edged pool of intense light. Adding further flexibility, the 12PX HEX and 12PX HEX PEARL are both supplied with a removable gel frame that can be used to hold diffusion filters (sold separately) if a wider beam angle is required.
All of the new units are also fitted with both 3-pin AND 5-pin XLR input and output sockets for DMX control and master/slave linking. This adds to the fixtures’ flexibility, meaning that they can be easily incorporated into either a 3-pin or 5-pin setup and are therefore ideal for use by production and rental companies. There are four models in the “PX HEX” Series, each offering a different combination of LED power and casing finish. The 5PX HEX features five 12W HEX LEDs housed in a compact case that is ideal for truss warming as well as up-lighting duties where a powerful wash is required from an unobtrusive fixture. The 5PX HEX PEARL offers the same arrangement of LEDs and casing design, but with an eye-catching all-white exterior finish. ENTERTAINMENT TECHNOLOGY ASIA | www.e-techasia.com
All four of the fixtures feature robust metal construction and a casing design that perfectly balances aesthetics with practicalities. They are supplied with flexible scissor yokes, which can be used either as variable-angle floor stands or hanging brackets, and also benefit from ADJ’s intelligently-designed and patent-pending ‘sit-flat’ design. This allows them to be placed directly on the floor for up-lighting duties, with power and data connections located conveniently on the side of the casing.
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ENNOVATIONS JAN. 2019
A 4-segment LED menu display and four corresponding push buttons, present on each of the four models, allows easy access to five different operating modes: Static Color (63 built-in color macros), RGBAW+UV Dimmer, Program (7 built-in programs), Sound Active and DMXcontrolled (6, 7, 8 or 12 channel). The fixtures can also be controlled remotely using ADJ’s DOTZ PAR RF wireless control (sold separately).
You can view the 12PX HEX DEMO VIDEO here. The compact 5PX HEX and 5PX HEX PEARL units measure 4.5” x 8.25” x 8.75”/ 114 x 208 x 222mm (LxWxH) and weigh just 5.8 lbs. / 2.6 kgs. Meanwhile the slightly larger 12PX HEX and 12PX HEX PEARL models have dimensions of 5.34” x 9.8” x 11.7” / 136 x 249 x 297.5mm (LxWxH) and weigh in at 8.7 lbs. / 4 kgs. This means that all four fixtures are easy to rig, transport and store, making them perfect for touring and one-off event production as well as for permanent venue installation.
“The original HEX Series of RGBAW+UV LED pars proved extremely popular for ADJ, and we’ve received lots of positive feedback from customers who really value the wide color palette they offer,” enthuses ADJ USA’s National Sales Manager, Alfred Gonzales. “However, we’re also committed to acting on the feedback we receive from customers. They told us they wanted powerCON connections and the option to use either 3-pin or 5-pin XLR for DMX control. So we delivered, in the form of the new “PX HEX” Series.” All four “PX HEX” Series pars are available now from ADJ USA & ADJ Europe. www.adj.com
DESIGN MEETS QUALITY.
VISIT OUR SHOWROOM IN SINGAPORE Adam Hall Asia Pte Ltd · Singapore 737853
11 Woodlands Close 01-12 · Phone +65 3152 9345 · asia@adamhall.com a subsidiary of the Adam Hall Group Germany
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20 JAN. 2019
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21
ENNOVATIONS JAN. 2019
New Doughty Fifty Clamp Launched at InterBEE At the recent InterBEE exhibition, held at the Makuhari Exhibition Centre outside Tokyo, PDJ (Prolyte Doughty Japan) proudly displayed and demonstrated the first batch of the brand new “Fifty” clamp. This newly developed clamp made it’s way to Japan accompanied by Julian Chiverton, sales director of Doughty and is the larger brother of the highly successful “Twenty” clamp. The main difference between the two is that the Fifty clamp, as the name implies, has a SWL of 50Kg. Based on Doughty’s unique trigger system, the Fifty clamp offers similar features as the well known quick trigger clamp, but is smaller in size, has lower self weight and is more economically priced. www.doughty-engineering.co.uk www.prolytepap.com
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VISIT OUR SHOWROOM IN SINGAPORE Adam Hall Asia Pte Ltd · Singapore 737853 11 Woodlands Close 01-12 · Phone +65 3152 9345 · asia@adamhall.com a subsidiary of the Adam Hall Group Germany
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22
ENNOVATIONS JAN. 2019
ADB Presents the OCEAN The obvious ergonomic and practical advantages of the Ocean, however, should not be allowed to overshadow the advanced software and hardware technology it is equipped with. For example, to respond to the ever-increasing need for multiple connections, it is the only console on the market with four Ethernet outputs, which means you no longer have to provide additional Ethernet access. Please read the information leaflet published on the ADB website to find out all the other remarkable technical features of the Ocean!
ADB Stagelight recently presented the OCEAN for the first time ever in the world at JTSE in Paris. This innovative lighting console, designed for theatres, opera houses and multi-purpose venues, immediately attracted a great deal of interest among sector workers. The Ocean’s most striking feature, as well as one of its main strong points, is its highresolution touch screen, with a 70-cm-wide (27½-inch-wide) viewing area. It provides operators with full access to all functions and control of all parameters through a single screen, which greatly simplifies control desk ergonomics. Due to its ultra-stretched display format, the console and screen itself are still very compact, both in depth and height. This means the operators have a perfect view of the stage from every angle, regardless of where they are sitting, and can place the console on small surfaces. Moreover, its shallow depth allows them to access the touch screen very easily.
Simone Capeleto, CEO of ADB, said: “We are thrilled with the interest this innovative console received. We got a lot of positive feedback, not just from operators using Hathor software. Many programmers saw the OCEAN as a practical, modern tool for the present and future of their profession. He then reflected on the name of the desk: “The word Ocean conjures up the idea of a horizontal landscape, which spreads out in all directions, but still allows us to see the horizon. It is a metaphorical representation of what we intend to offer operators in practice: a way to let them see as many things as possible on a single screen and, at the same time, keep what is happening on the stage under perfect control. The Ocean therefore promises to open up new horizons for operators, where all features have been taken into account: innovation, ergonomics, practicality, high technology, reliability and interconnection. www.adbstagelight.com
RCF F Series now Shipping
RCF’s next-generation F Series analogue mixers build on the rich legacy found with E Series Mixers, providing high-quality sound in four models ranging from 6- to 16-channels, is now shipping. With an aesthetically pleasing interface and rugged connectors, F Series makes it easy to mix your music with minimal technical expertise. Housed in a rugged metal chassis, each mixer is fully balanced with low noise from input to output, independently controlled compressors to limit signal peaks and a modern sounding EQ.
mixes, while the buses and the control room panel can simplify complex routings. Recording gigs and rehearsals is even easier with an onboard USB audio interface, ready for 2-track playback or recording with a computer. The compact and robust mixing console offers powerful routing capabilities, premium digital effects, and a stereo USB I/O. www.rcf.it
16 studio-quality effects and multiple AUXs increase the musical power of the F Series. FX returns can route to AUXs for personal monitor ENTERTAINMENT TECHNOLOGY ASIA | www.e-techasia.com
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ENNOVATIONS JAN. 2019
Outline’s New V10 and V15 Systems - At Last, No Compromise For Ultra-Portable Professional Sound Outline is delighted to announce the launch and immediate availability of their latest breakthrough concept, the V10 and V15 systems. Engineered specifically for users and performers who transport and operate their own sound reinforcement systems, V10 and V15 offer something genuinely new in this area of the market - professional-grade products delivering exceptional acoustic performance and power in a portable, self-contained package, at a price point not previously achieved by any product of this quality. In fact the price to power-ratio is nothing short of extraordinary, with the mono-sub V10 producing 4.5kW and the dual-sub V15 system
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delivering a massive 12kW of pure, uncoloured audio power. Like all Outline products, both V10 and V15 systems are entirely Made in Italy, in the same factory as Outline’s top-line touring systems and to the same exemplary standards. All enclosures are fabricated from top-quality birch ply, again the same material used in Outline’s premium products, rather than the moulded plastic favoured by many manufacturers competing at this level - this makes them not only much more durable but also better sounding. The V10 and V15 kits are fully supported by a no-quibble, 36-month factory guarantee. Learn more about the V10 and V15 systems here www.outline.it
24
INTERVIEW JAN. 2019
Patrick Woodroffe, OBE RDI: The Consummate Lighting Designer ETA had the great pleasure of interviewing Patrick Woodroffe when he dropped by Singapore in November 2018 to give a talk. The talk was titled “The Politics of Failure” – it was about how one learns from failure more than success. The event saw a good turnout and would not have been possible without the support of MA Lighting and Total Solution Marketing. If you are wondering what the initials OBE and RDI stand for, OBE stands for Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. It is a Queen’s honour given to an individual for a major local role in any activity such as business, charity or the public sector. Patrick received the recognition in 2014. RDI which stands for Royal Designer for Industry is a distinction established by the British Royal Society of Arts (or RSA). It is awarded to people who have achieved sustained excellence in aesthetic and efficient design for industry. Patrick was awarded the RDI honour in 2013. Patrick has indeed come a long way from the heady days of a teenager getting his feet wet in the lighting industry. His brother who was a
roadie for small bands, got him involved when he was 17. Five decades on and Patrick is a renowned lighting designer who has travelled the world over, has been involved with designing for some of the most iconic music superstars and events and who has stretched his vision beyond concerts to theatres and architectural lighting. A consummate lighting designer whose daring imagination has made him a name to be reckoned with in the lighting world. Patrick, can you share with us what inspires your designs when it comes to concerts? For me, it starts with the artiste. I need to understand the artist – who is it, the type of music, what does the artist want to achieve and what does he or she want to convey to the audience through his or her music and performance. I need to understand these even before I think about the lighting rig. Then I also need to know about the stage set as it very much dictates the design as well. What technologies or solutions do you feel have helped transform or disrupt the industry? Two technologies have disrupted the industry. One is the advent of moving lights. The Varilite VL-1 transformed the way we lit the shows. It stopped the design from just flashing lights in time to the music to something much more considered, more focused. The other is the advent of control systems with memory. It means I do not necessarily need to be at the show every night. For example, Rod Stewart’s tours typically last 18 months, but with the memory capability, I can create the shows and give it to someone who can take it from there. Memory features in the console are also advantageous in a theatre environment. I want the lighting to be exact, and memory helps. Which jobs were you most pleased with to date and why? Every show had its moments – be it one leg of the show or one song. Sometimes it is also a location. However, the most public show I am pleased with would be the 2012 Olympics. It was the most rewarding, most challenging but also the most difficult. Why? First, there was not enough money. As you know London held the Olympics after Beijing which produced one of the greatest show on earth. We did not have the budgets to compete at that scale. Then, of course, the weather was terrible, there was also negativity amongst the public concerning money spent, and finally, we had insufficient time for rehearsals. I was nervous about getting it wrong in front of millions, but it was a great success. I was relieved. It was quite nerve-wracking. Others would be Rolling Stones – all the shows I have done with them. (Patrick started with the Rolling Stones in 1982 and is still involved with the band.) Elton John gave me blanket freedom to do what I want which was fantastic. Another highlight would be lighting up for Stevie Wonder who was terrific. Though he was blind, we still had discussions
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INTERVIEW JAN. 2019
about colour, light and vision. As we discussed, I thought about taking away the vision from the audience. For the song “Visions in My Mind,” I switched off the lights. In my 45 years, this is the most important thing that I did – turning off the lights! If there is one objective a lighting design has to achieve what would that be? Let me put it this way - if there is one objective an artist needs to achieve it would be to make a connection with the audience and the LD’s job is to help that process. Of course, you want to make it look spectacular, intimate, dramatic and beautiful but really what you want to do is to interpret the action on the stage with lighting. It would be best if you did it in a way that the audience does not notice it. Is it fair to ask which segment of design has given you the most satisfaction? It changes with the times. At the moment it is Musical theatre. I love the discipline of the theatre – there is a lot more considered time to do the work properly. Lighting for concerts is more about atmosphere, more emotional and the theatre is more narrative driven. Does the lighting design usually turn out the way it was intended? In theatre you know the space you are working with, so yes it usually turns up the way it is supposed to. When you talk about concerts, the tours are either in arenas, stadiums or theatres – so you have to design accordingly. Once you have created it for example for arenas, then it would be just a matter of minor tweaking at the space and not something significant. What are your thoughts on LED panels being part of the stage? Does it affect how you plan your lighting design? I include LED Panels as part of my design. It used to be we had a
Did You Know? * The Varilite VL1 was created by Showco, a sound company from Texas, USA. In 1980, Showco engineer Jim Bornhorst discovered that twisting dichroic filters alters the frequencies of light filtered, resulting in an apparent colour change. The company exploited this discovery by constructing a fixture equipped with two motors to move the light. Showco representatives demonstrated the prototype—known today as the VL-Zero—to members of the British band Genesis, having programmed it to enact two simple cues. Genesis, already a regular Showco client, immediately invested $1 million in the new technology, although a working model, later known as the VL1, would not be available until the band embarked on its Abacab tour. There are only seven VL-1s left in the world, and Patrick has one of them. *Info about Showco and VL-1 taken from Wikipedi
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Fun Fact * Patrick spent some of his early years in Singapore. His father who was in the military was posted to Singapore from 1956 to 1959. Patrick lived in Singapore from age two to five. Patrick lets on that he has gone back to the house at Sherwood road in central Singapore to reminisce. * Patrick writes about his experiences with the different artists and events. During the talk in Singapore he read out about his working moments with Michael Jackson. Patrick is not just a lighting designer! Hearing the words coming out of his mouth was like hearing an established author reading his book. There was so much of characterisation and depth to it. Patrick should seriously consider releasing a memoir. It would certainly make for great reading:) projection to project (IMAG). Then we started to think we can put films to make it more interesting, then we put LED panels at the side. I believe the famous set designer Mark Fischer and I were probably the first people who felt that the panels should be in the centre – we should be able to see it. Then we started to make lights out of LEDs, so now, of course, LED lights, screens, panels – are all integrated. I include it as part of my design. What is the one particular tool you cannot do without in your work? I would say there are two – communication with your team – the programmers, my assistant as well as the artist. If you do not have this sorted out correctly, you will be in real trouble. The other is Imagination. What is usually in your bag when you travel for work? My mobile phone (which I often lose) – it is relevant and has all my schedules (my schedules are complicated), but more importantly, it allows me to connect with my wife and family. Do you have any advice for aspiring lighting designers? Do everything; light everything be it parties, discos, the tree in your mother’s house. Anything you can light, light it and keep your eyes open. Look how nature lights stuff, see the street lighting and architecture lighting. You can do anything as long as you believe it. It does not matter if other people have not done it before. Moreover, that is really what an artist is. Do you think understanding the technologies is essential as well? I think now it is. For me I don’t understand the technologies, I know what it does but I will not be able to run one of the control boards. Don’t get hung up by the technology. Understand it, know what it does but remember IMAGINATION is the most powerful tool.
26
FEATURE JAN. 2019
Most Memorable Projects in 2018 ETA reached out to some of the leading production houses in the region requesting them to send us information on their most memorable project in 2018. Most of the companies have had a busy year and this is expected to continue in 2019. Enjoy the read!
SINGAPORE
SINGAPORE
ETG worked on the DBS Asian Insights Conference 2018, held on July 13 at the Marina Bay Sands Level 5 Grand Ballroom. What stood out for the company was the usage of a holographic screen from a partner that was used during the event to bring out an Augmented Reality experience, and ETG incorporated their projectors to project the visuals onto the massive screen, thus creating a breathtaking viewing experience for the guests.
Held at Suntec Convention Hall 405-406, the International Transport Federation Congress 2018 was a one-week conference boasting 14-hour days. ExpoAV-Insync Pte Ltd used 65m Panoramic Screen and Projection, 30+ video presets, 50+, 65m x 5m custom motion graphics, more than 50 video playbacks and 40 presentations over the course of the week for the event. All graphic content was created by Digital Kitchen Studios.
According to them, the usage of the projectors highlights the arrival and growing demand for Augmented Reality in future events. Key Brands and Solutions Used: Christies Pandoras Box - Coolux Barco E2 L’Acoustics KARA Shure
Key Brands and Solutions Used: d&b audiotechnik Robe Lighting Panasonic PT-RZ12K 12,000 Ansi Lumen Laser Projectors 65m x 5m Showtex Projection Screen Dataton Watchout servers & playback Analog Way Ascender Vertige video controls
PHILIPPINES Soundcheck Inc. had the pleasure and honour to stage a lot of local and foreign concerts in 2018, but for the team the most exciting and memorable event that we staged in 2018 was the Guns N’ Roses’ Manila Concert (Not In This Lifetime Tour) held at the Philippine Arena in Sta. Maria, Bulacan last November 11. According to Wikipedia, their “Not In This Lifetime Tour” is the 4th top grossing tour of all time (after U2, The Rolling Stones and Coldplay)! Key Brands and Solutions Used: JBL VTX V-25 (v.2) Vertical Array Speakers JBL VTX S28 Dual Flown Subs JBL S28 Dual 18” Subs JBL VTX V-20 Line Array Speakers
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27 JAN. 2019
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FEATURE JAN. 2019
MALAYSIA 21-22 July 2018 saw throngs of people attending the annual Good Vibes Festival, held in the town of Gohtong Jaya, located in the hills to the north of KL, close to the Genting Highlands hill resort. It was located in the region’s scenic green hills and with artistic installations, local cuisine and fun activities to enjoy between performances. Helming the production for the Festival was Digital Aid Sdn Bhd Key Brands & Solutions Used: L’Acoustic K2 system with K1SB flown Subs and SB28 floor subs Dolby Lake Processing Avid Profile 4 units over 2 main Stages EK Light Collider FC Full color LED strobe ClayPaky Sharpy and Clay Paky Alpha Spot 1500 HPE Control by Grand MA 2 Sennheiser 6000 System
SINGAPORE THAILAND Hosted in Thailand, the Miss Universe 2018 beauty pageant was a huge source of pride for the country – and Lightsource was equally proud to have been selected by the event’s production team, to be in charge of supporting their Lighting team and renting out the necessary equipment. The last time Thailand hosted the pageant was in 2005, and Lightsource expressed their excitement at working with fellow professionals on such a monumental project that was livestreamed wordwide. Key Brands and Solutions Used: Martin Mac Viper - Wash DX ,Profile and, performance Robe Mega Pointed VL 250 Tungsten PRG Best Boy Instella LED Srobe Terbly 189 Beam
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For Ebenex Music, the Music Matters Live 2018 showcase was certainly the highlight of their year! Held from 7-12 September in the Lion City, the independent music festival brought together 32 acts from over 18 countries, to share a love for music. Uniquely for Singapore, every year Music Matters Live plays alongside the All That Matters conference covering the latest global topics and trends in the Music, Sports, Online Entertainment, Gaming and Marketing industries. This gave the festival acts the opportunity to perform live in front of key global entertainment industry influencers and executives, delegates & fans across five nights of music entertainment. Key Brands and Solutions Used: Coda Audio ViRay line array Soundcraft VI3000 and VI7000 consoles Claypaky CP700 Alpha Spots Robe Robin 300 Washes MA2 Console LED wall visuals
29 JAN. 2019
THE NEW REFERENCE POINT
w w w . r o b e . c z ENTERTAINMENT TECHNOLOGY ASIA | www.e-techasia.com
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FEATURE JAN. 2019
SOUTH KOREA The 2018 League of Legends World Championship was hosted by Riot Games in South Korea this year, and Creative Technology Asia Pacific (CT) was summoned once again to help provide technical support and services to the tournament. CT gathered over 40 expert professionals from their Asia Pacific regional offices, and armed them with fifteen containers of equipment. CT managed all the Video Screens, Lights and Trussing from the quarter finals, to the semi finals and finally to the finals on the 3rd of November 2018. Key Brands and Solutions Used: Gloshine 6.94mm LED ROE BP3 Barco HDX Flex Projectors
THAILAND The Fields at Siam Country Club Pattaya played host to the Wonderfruit festival 2018, an annual arts, music and lifestyle festival. Mr Team Productions had to supply the necessary equipment for all live bands, deejays, talks and workshops – including many, many more, bringing the total to at least 14 stages plus smaller playbacks for activities like yoga classes. Key Brands and Solutions Used: DiGiCo NEXO Quest Engineering Camco Yamaha
MALAYSIA For TEAMGREY, the most memorable event that they were involved in was not in Malaysia but in Singapore - the SEA Nu Skin LIVE! 2018 event held at the Singapore EXPO on 13-14 July. SEA Nu Skin LIVE! 2018 was the first convention + exhibition event that TEAMGREY had undertaken at a global scale. We’ve had to deal with parties from different countries; from the client’s US headquarters to Southeast Asia regional office. It also gave us the opportunity to explore and dabble in new technologies like Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality. Key Brands and Solutions Used: CODA Audio Systems
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31 JAN. 2019
INSIDE THE WORLD’S MOST ADVANCED
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Thinking. Inside the box.
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FEATURE JAN. 2019
DUBAI
For Protec, the Bao Festival was a truly spectacular event – held at the Meydan Racecourse over two nights from November 29th to 30th, it attracted some of the most famous DJs in the world to perform to thousands at the biggest EDM festival of the year. Artistes included Martin Garrix, and Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike as well as heavyweights Afrojack, Don Diablo, Nervo, R3hab and more. Protec provided audio, video and lighting solutions for this highlight of the festival year, and despite challenges due to the stormy weather in the days leading up to the event, the festival went off without a hitch.
Aside from the Bao Festival, another highlight for the company was the media attention generated by their dart-playing robots at GITEX, the futuristic technology exhibition. The robots’ accuracy against willing show attendees made it into the Top Five attractions to visit, according to The National, and even attracted some royal visitors!
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Key Brands and Solutions Used: L’Acoustics K1 line array L’Acoustics V-DOSC L’Acoustics K2 L’Acoustics Kara L’Acoustics SB28 Digico SD5 Barco E2 linked with Barco S3 and Barco EX Barco HDF W30K projectors Claypaky Scenius Unico Claypaky Scenius Profile Claypaky K20 Washes Claypaky Mythos Robe Pointe SGM Q7, P2 and P5 Parcan 64
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15 - 17 May 2019
Bangkok International Trade and Exhibition Centre (BITEC), Thailand
JAN. 2019
www.infocomm-sea.com
You know very well that when it comes to live events and entertainment venues, people expect to be wowed.
But what you may not know is that there is a whole new
regional platform coming up in 2019, which offers you the
chance to learn about how you can keep those wows coming. The inaugural edition of InfoComm Southeast Asia offers the
latest and most transformative Pro-AudioVisual and Integrated Experience Solutions under one roof. Held in Bangkok and featuring more than 120 globally-renowned exhibiting
companies, the 3-day exhibition and conference will attract AV and IT professionals as well as a wide spectrum of vertical market end-users from across all of Southeast Asia.
Those who are amongst the first to embrace the latest will lead the pack in the future. See you there.
15 May 2019 - 10am – 6pm
ADMISSION TO INFOCOMM SOUTHEAST ASIA IS FREE REGISTER YOUR VISIT AT WWW.INFOCOMM-SEA.COM
16 May 2019 - 10am – 6pm
Admission
17 May 2019 - 10am – 4pm
• Admission is free for both Trade Exhibition and Summit.
Follow Us
• Register online before 10 May 2019 at www.infocomm-sea.com, or onsite during show days from 9:30am to half hour before closing time.
Opening Hours
InfoCommSEA
• Strictly open to professional trade and business visitors above the age of 18.
Organizer
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Event Manager
A Project of
34
KNOWLEDGE HUB JAN. 2019
FROM THE VAULTS OF SYNAUDCON
The Volume Knob Also Goes to the Left A tale of loudness by Hadi Sumoro from www.HXAudioLab.com
This article is written by a keyboardist who is also an AV Professional who works in audio and acoustics. In common band language, he gives some great tips. Often-times, it’s the volume knob that is misused. This article first appeared in the prosound training website in July 2018. As a keyboard player, over the last 10 years, I have completed over 600 public music performances as a part of a band and as a solo keyboardist. I have performed at over 50 different venues, both outdoors and indoors. For certain genres, it is typical for musicians to crank up the instrument and/or the sound system to output a certain loudness or sound pressure level (this will be abbreviated as SPL from hereon) for an optimum performance. This is, of course, subjective to each individual or group. On the other side, as a person who works in the audio and acoustics world, I have noticed a lot of audio and acoustics phenomenon that are associated with the loudness and which are interesting to share. This article is created to share my observations on the following topics to other fellow musicians: n Several factors that commonly contribute to the loudness of a band n Awareness of the loudness and sound quality especially in a small
venue
n Compromises or solutions to keep the loudness under control n Working with the soundman to run the event effectively
Since I mostly played in a band with a drummer who sings, an electric guitarist who also sings, an electric bassist and a conga player, the stories below will be about working and playing in this small world of the rhythm section performers. Sometimes, we also perform with a three-piece horn section as an addition to the band. Small to medium rooms are venues that we mostly encountered as a typical weekend bar/restaurant band. As a small band, we mostly perform with a small sound system without the help of a soundman. Please note that the article does not aim to fully explain each topic in depth. The topics are discussed as an easy reading for fellow musicians who want to know more about audio and acoustics in a layman’s language and as practical as possible. (ETA: For soundman who deal with musicians on a regular basis it might be great to share this with them)
Recognizing the Loudest Instrument in the Band From the user’s stand point, an electric instrument is the most flexible instrument in terms of the output. Electric/amplified instruments such as electric guitar, electric bass or electronic keyboards require an amplifier and a loudspeaker and each player is able to control the output by turning the volume knob left (counter-clockwise/softer) or right (clockwise/louder).
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For acoustic instruments, it’s a different case. Drum, violin, piano, trumpet and voice are different acoustic instruments that do not share the same maximum loudness. For example, a drum set is typically louder than a violin. They certainly can’t compete with the amplified instruments without the help of a sound system, except for a drum set in a small room which may already have ample output for the whole venue. So, let’s discuss the importance of recognizing the loudest instrument in the band.
Feedback Feedback occurs when the amplified sound from any loudspeaker is recaptured by the sound system through any open microphone(s) and at some frequency the feedback signal exceeds the level at the microphone produced by the original source. At this point the sound system becomes its own dominant source of input. The amplified sound is then amplified repeatedly. Figure 1 shows the diagram how a feedback occurs. Figure 1 shows the diagram how a Figure 1 feedback occurs. In a typical small stage, the acoustic drum kit is most likely the loudest acoustic instrument in the band. Combined with the amplified sound from the guitar and keyboard, the total SPL generated on the stage can be very high. Remember, one microphone captures everything! Feedback problems can happen easily when the singer doesn’t place the microphone close to the mouth. Close means less than 10cm (4in). This is usually why an otherwise good sound system develops a feedback problem. When the singer places the microphone too far (more than 10cm), most likely the singer’s SPL is equal or lower than the background noise level at that microphone’s capsule location. The microphone then amplifies everything and can create feedback. So singers, please put the microphone close to the mouth at all times! As mentioned in the previous paragraph, the total SPL on the stage can be the cause of feedback. By controlling the amplified instrument output and not banging on the drum too aggressively, the sound system will perform more effectively to distribute and amplify the sound. Keeping the SPL at a reasonable loudness will help with the feedback. We will discuss this more below. Another common problem is cupping the microphone capsule with hand. This is typically done for two reasons: one is a reflex because of a feedback and two is to create a voice effect or just simply to look cool.
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KNOWLEDGE HUB JAN. 2019
This not only makes the mic sound terrible, it can also create feedback. Do hold a microphone by the handle, not by cupping or covering the capsule. Another useful tip for singers is to be aware of where you are performing. A microphone aimed to the mouth can also be indirectly aimed at the loudspeaker. In a small band setup, typically loudspeakers are put on stands, at or slightly higher than the head. However, there are many cases where the loudspeakers are placed at the back of the performers due to the limited stage area. Figure 2 is a good example of this. Figure 2 Placing loudspeakers behind the performers has a higher potential to have feedback, however as long as the singer keeps the mouth distance to the microphone’s capsule very close, this setup can be okay. This is because microphones have ears, not eyes. They really only care about level, not physical location.
acoustics. How many times have you been in a venue where the band plays great music without the audience being able to understand the words sung by the singer? Yes, the singer should be the reference. For instrumental bands or songs, the soloist or the main melody instrument should be the reference. For a good self-mix in the monitor or the main system, one needs to establish an adequate SPL for the main singer without feedback. Typically the main singer’s loudness is at the same level of the overall acoustic drum’s loudness. Once this reference is set up, no other instruments shall exceed a level that balances with the main singer. Even at a solo section, the soloist shall only turn the volume up to the same level of that main singer. This can be easily achieved at almost any circumstances. For keyboardists, it is important to setup the keyboard(s) in a way that you can directly see the stage monitors. When the stage monitor is below the keyboards and there is no direct line of sight to the monitor’s face, then the keyboards will act as a barrier to the sound from the monitor. This also means that you shall not put your jacket on the face of the stage monitor!
A Guide for a Proper Self-Mix? As a small band, we typically do a mix before we start playing and hope that the balance for each instrument translates well at the audience area throughout the show. We are pretty good at it and often receive compliments regarding the balance of our mix, even though we don’t have a soundman. This topic is also applicable for a good mix on the stage monitors, typically for a bigger stage. The main problem mostly is … ego, although hearing loss can be a part of this. As a musician, I understand that to perform well as an accompanist or a soloist, each performer needs to be able to hear themselves well. The question is: how well? In a typical stage monitor setup, during the sound check, the stage is most likely dominated by the acoustic drum and the bass amp sound. Depending upon where each musician stands, guitarists and keyboardists will ask for more of themselves in the monitor so they can hear well. Technically, to be able to hear well, each musician needs to hear their instrument slightly louder than all other sounds in the mix. This is the basic culprit! Let’s say the guitarist cranks up the volume until he hears well, the keyboardist may then crank up the volume to a level that is the same or higher than the guitarist. And the other musicians will ask for more of themselves in the monitor to compensate for the excess volume of the guitar/keyboard amps. Ultimately, this madness keeps going until the drummer needs to strike the drum harder, the singer needs to scream, and the sound system may not even be needed because the stage sound is already too loud in a small room. Well …? Establishing a reference is the key point. First, all amplified instruments must back off and the drummer must understand how the drum sounds in the venue. This will be further discussed in the next section about ENTERTAINMENT TECHNOLOGY ASIA | www.e-techasia.com
In figure 3, please note how I position myself relative to the stage monitor. The red arrow illustrates that the loudspeaker’s direct sound can reach my ears without any obstacles, or in other words I can directly see the loudspeaker’s face if I tilt my head to the right. This also applies for a drummer not to position the monitor behind the kick drum but on his/her left or right side. And lastly, orienting the stage monitor’s face so it is aimed Figure 3 to your head will further help.
Room Gain for an Acoustic Drum Set One last subtopic about recognizing the loudest instrument is setting up the overall level of the main system or monitor output. As a keyboardist, I used my own loudspeaker on a stand as the main system and also monitor. When performing outdoors, I typically set my mixer master fader at -10dB. Once, we got rained out and moved to a small indoor bar. With the same setup, the keyboard output is too low! I had to push my mixer master fader to -3dB which is an additional 7dB output boost for the keys! This happens because the room provides additional gain to the acoustic drum set, which most likely causes other performers to raise the volume of their instrument. If you are using a mixer that can save presets digitally, the outdoor and indoor presets will most likely look very different. It is important to notice how the drum loudness changes when moving from outdoors to indoors since the mix balance in a small venue will be somewhat controlled by the acoustic drum loudness.
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KNOWLEDGE HUB JAN. 2019
This will be explained further in the next section.
area) and then apply the appropriate equalizer setting to create a more pleasant sound in that venue. One preset for all won’t work.
Bar/Restaurant’s Common Acoustics We have all been to venues where the sound is mostly loud or even too loud to listen to. Of course the band can be the cause behind the excessive loudness of the music. However, as previously mentioned, the room can give additional gain, especially to the acoustic drum and bass sound. Sound reflects off hard surfaces. The reflections will add to the total SPL and the perceived loudness. The reflected sound field happens when the surface materials are hard such as concrete, brick, gypsum, plywood, wood floor or other typical hard building materials. Absorptive materials, on the other hand, are typically puffy, soft and have porous. Newer engineered material allows sound absorption by a hard material, but this is rare to find in a typical bar/restaurant. This room gain will be somewhat controlled when there is a large surface area of absorptive materials. Two common absorptive material examples are ceiling tiles or carpets. The former is commonly found in a bar/restaurant. The drummer will typically feel the difference inside a room with and without ceiling tile or carpet. It is helpful for the drummer to play the drum slightly softer than usual in a room without a large absorptive surface area. This will give good control of the feedback problem and make it easier to achieve a well-balanced mix for the main system or stage monitors. One indoor place that is typically hard to play is a room with a high ceiling, and by high, I mean more than 4m (13ft) high. High ceiling rooms create a long decay time (long reverberation time) problem for each instrument, it also creates a clear repetition (echo) of the snare drum that can be heard. The acoustics can be destructive for specific music genres. Sadly, there is not much that can be done from the drummer’s perspective. Even playing the drum softer may not help much with the echo or reverberation problem. For a larger room, sometimes they provide a soundman who may put microphones on the drum. This can be a good thing because typical loudspeakers are directional (focuses sound to a certain direction, typically to the front) and a drum is omnidirectional (spraying sound everywhere). By playing the drum softer, the drummer may be able to minimize the destructive effect of the room and let the loudspeakers project the sound to the audience. How about the bass? In a high ceiling large room without ceiling tiles, bass can be perceived as very bassy or muddy. It is generally useful to use an equalizer to cut some of the low (<100Hz) and/or low mid (100Hz – 500Hz) frequencies. The common misconception is to keep the bass fat and full out from the amp. Yes, this is correct if the bass goes directly to the main system via a direct injection (DI) box. However, for a smaller band where the bass amp is not routed to the main system, it is wise to always listen how the bass sounds in the room first (at least walk around the stage area and the front audience ENTERTAINMENT TECHNOLOGY ASIA | www.e-techasia.com
Aside from using equalizer, a bass guitar’s tone can be controlled by the playing techniques. Like acoustic drums, bass guitar is very sensitive to picking hand dynamics. Reducing how hard you hit the strings can have a disproportionate effect on the overall sound, as will playing with a pick or fingers. In a large and reflective room, using a pick and watching how hard you hit the string can help produce a bass note that comes through the mix without adding too much loudness or muddiness. This article does not discourage the use of such rooms for a musical performance, but extra care needs to be taken to achieve a pleasant sound from both the musician and the soundman sides.
What Makes a Guitarist/ Keyboardist Too Loud? Figure 4 is a very typical placement of a guitar cabinet/ amp (also applies for a keyboard amp) on the floor, where the guitarist stands 1m [3.3ft] in the front of it. What could be wrong?
Figure 4
In a small band situation, it can often happen that the guitar/keyboard amp sounds not only loud, but also ear piercing or too bright in the audience area. The placement of the amplifier is one of the main culprits. Please see figure 5. An illustration of a guitar cabinet/amp approximately 1m behind the performer’s position. Please note the sphere surrounding the amp and the ellipse Figure 5 near the player’s knee. Think of sound dispersing as a sphere from one point in a space and growing larger. The sphere illustrates a typical low frequency’s sound dispersion of a loudspeaker and the ellipse illustrates an area where mid/high frequencies are typically concentrated. The middle of the ellipse is usually called the on-axis point of a loudspeaker. The ellipse line denotes an area outside of which the mid/high frequencies drop by 6dB or almost half of the perceived loudness. The farther your ears are from the ellipse, the less mid/high frequencies you will receive from the loudspeaker’s direct sound. By standing close to the amp on the floor, the mid/high frequencies do not travel to the ear of the guitarist. Majority of the mid/high frequencies hit the knee/thigh of the guitarist. To achieve the appropriate guitar sound at that position, a guitarist typically will boost the mid/high frequencies via the equalizer. The audience then receives a bright guitar tone and only the guitarist receives the correct guitar tone. It is very important for each musician to be able to monitor the sound as how the audience will hear it.
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A simple solution to this problem is to elevate and tilt the guitar amp by using a guitar amp stand. Notice how the ellipse is projected closer to the ear in figure 6. This setup will ensure that the guitar tone heard by the guitarist is the same or similar to the one heard by the audience or reproduced by the sound system (if the amp is mic’d).
Figure 6
I also further explained this phenomena in an article I previously wrote entitled ‘Small Room and Loudspeaker Interaction’. It is available to download from www.HXAudioLab.com. Note: mic’d means there is one or more microphone(s) used to amplify a certain sound source.
Is This Thing On? As a band, we are often backed by a three piece horn section. The horns are usually mic’d individually. Since we are not helped by a soundman, it is necessary to get the balance right so the horns are not louder than the main singer. Prior to a show, the process of setting up the sound system includes testing individual microphones to make sure they are connected properly, all cables/connectors are working properly and there is sound coming out of the loudspeaker from each microphone. There is one caveat. How do you usually test the microphone? Typically by speaking into it: “test .. one two .. one two ..”. Let’s say the volume knob will end up to about 12 to 1 o’clock to get adequate loudness at the audience area. Then, the horn players come to the stage and they will be way too loud with this setup. It is important to set up the volume knob when the appropriate instruments are playing. The human voice is not as loud as a horn even at 10cm (4in) away. Moreover, it is less likely that a vocalist will raise their voice to performance level volume when testing the microphones. With the voice, the channel’s volume knob was around 12 to 1 o’clock position, however after the final tweaking with the horn players, the volume knob will end up around 8 o’clock. That’s a huge difference!
as HPF on a mixer’s channel can be usually found near the preamp gain or on the top of the mixer’s channel strip. This button has a different corner frequencies in different type/brand of mixers, typically ranging from 60 – 100Hz. When the button is activated, then the mixer will filter out frequencies below the corner frequency. This helps to reduce the muddy sound, low frequency rumbles and also the popping sound in a sound system. Figure 7 shows a picture of Yamaha MG10XU mixer with the HPF button on the first Figure 7 channel circled in red. When a band is using a compact mixer without HPF buttons on the channel strip, there is another possibility to lower the plosive sound, which is by turning down the low frequency equalizer knob. Foam wind screen can also be used to minimize plosive sound. However, these wind screens can also absorb a little bit of high frequency, making the voice a little dull. Turning up the high frequency equalizer knob can help with this problem.
Conclusion Regardless of how expensive or top-notch the audio equipment is, a small band can still suffer audio and acoustics related problems. Understanding how to effectively use the sound system does not come only from one person, but from all performers. A sound system’s job is to distribute sound to the audience. This includes amplification of the sound source. When the sound on the stage is way too loud, the use of a sound system can be restrictive and can fail to distribute the sound properly to the audience. Let the sound system amplify and distribute your sound by giving it adequate loudness and always remember, the volume knob also goes to the left.
Popping Sound In a live sound situation, it is typical to use a directional microphone. Directional means capturing the sound from a certain direction. All directional microphones have something called the proximity effect. It’s the rise of low frequency when the sound source is closer to the microphone’s capsule. Most likely you get a thicker, muddier or warmer voice when a directional microphone is used for a singer. The problem is wind, especially from a plosive speech sound. The basic plosives in English such as d, g, b, t, k or p can result in a substantial ‘wind blow’ to the microphone’s capsule. This will create a popping sound in the sound system and can be very annoying. The human voice does not go much below 100Hz, so it is wise to always activate the high pass button on the mixer for the singer’s microphone channels. High pass or low cut or sometimes abbreviated ENTERTAINMENT TECHNOLOGY ASIA | www.e-techasia.com
This article is inspired by Thomas Max Guerin, the co-founder and bassist of New Pony. I would like to thank Pat Brown (www. ProSoundTraining.com), Riccardo Balistreri, Max Guerin and Chris Devenney for their insights and for reviewing this article prior to publication.
www.HXAudioLab.com
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Tech Check: BlackTrax Real-Time Motion Tracking by Igor Silva
This article has been republished with the permission of dataton. It appeared in September as part of dataton’s blog. The article looks at real-time motion tracking and, more specifically, BlackTrax. Igor Silva from manufacturer CAST gives a quick run-down of the system and the overall benefits of the technology. n Challenges for tracking systems
BlackTrax in a nutshell BlackTrax tracks the exact location of the designated moving objects. As the object being tracked has to work together with the rest of the systems in the stage environment, the system sends instant data to feed up to four different kinds of external systems: lighting, audio, robotic cameras and media servers. To do this, we use a tracking device called BTBeacon.
n BlackTrax in a nutshell n Why track anyway? n Towards a non-linear future
We live in an ever-changing, fast-paced world where everything is designed to grab our attention with flash and flair. Humans, however, are easily distracted. What kept people entranced and entertained a few years ago is now considered tired and passé. In other words, it takes a lot to impress people nowadays… Fortunately, our digital world is 3D, giving us a full 360 degrees to play with, matched with true-to-life simulated environments to try out new things and push limits. What we imagine, we can now create. And one of the top items on the entertainment and production industry wish-list has been a reliable solution to track performers and objects in real-time to communicate with a wide range of robotic equipment. It’s a way to inject some fantasy, wonder and capture the imagination of audiences.
Tracking system challenges Tracking has always been a challenge. Many companies have tried and failed. We’ve worked on tracking systems for several years, learning by trial and error in the process of creating our BlackTrax system. When it comes to tracking, one of the most difficult issues to solve was tech pollution – technological interference within the systems used in the live stage environment. A performance environment may have several systems working side-by-side and they are all potential sources for interference. Communications equipment can mean RFI (radio frequency interference) while heavy electrical gear and lighting systems can cause electrical interference. A third kind of interference, intermodulation, originates from radio signals in wireless receivers. We solved this particular conundrum by developing a suite of communication protocols and patented technology to track objects or people accurately in real-time in a defined space. Regardless of whether you’re tracking in no light, low light, or full light and atmospheric conditions, BlackTrax delivers real-time unidirectional streaming positional data for everything you deem to be significant in your Space.
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Dataton’s award-winning feature demo at ISE 2018 showed BlackTrax integration in their WATCHOUT mapping software Each beacon can manage up to three LED tracking points (you can see one on the right corner on the moving object in the image above) and emits a virtually invisible infrared light to declare its location. That information is captured by BlackTrax’s proprietary, custom-designed camera system, BTCam, which can hang from any fixed position with clear vision into the Space. Up to 85 beacons (255 tracking points) can be tracked simultaneously. Different protocols are used to transmit motion information, depending on the systems that are addressed: RTTrPM (Real-Time Tracking Protocol – Motion) for media servers, and RTTrPL (Real-Time Tracking Protocol – Lighting) for lighting. Our system is capable of tracking in real-time and with 6 degrees of freedom. This means using the positional data in 3D (XYZ) and rotation (3D + Yaw, Pitch and Roll) and sending this information to controllers of robotic equipment, such as moving lights, moving scenery, sound re-enforcement systems, media projection and robotic cameras, to automate and create a natural relationship of action and reactions between humans, objects and technologies on stage. Put simply, a good tracking system allows for consistency between creativity, artistry, technology and freedom; the true magic that fills theaters and gives memorable experiences, night after night.
Why track anyway? One of the first applications for tracking systems was interaction with lighting consoles. For lighting designers, tracking opens a whole new landscape where, for example, moving lights can become follow
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spots, without extra operators. Ideally, a tracking system helps reduce stress levels for lighting operators during live performances through its degree of automation. Most importantly, tracking offers greater creative license to improvise for both performers and directors. With lighting reacting to the performer’s actual movements – not planned movements – a missed position on stage or a missed cue does not have to be a big deal.
Towards a non-linear future Back in 1995, computer scientist and dancer Robb Lovell and composer John Mitchell recognized the potential of human movement controlling stage media: “… create performer centered stage works that can branch in the middle of a performance, with different endings on different nights. This may require designers to think of their work in non-linear terms. Lighting, scenic elements and costumes might be created to work in various configurations and orders of events.” Twenty years on, that new era of possibility in performance design is here. Are you ready to be awed, making magic of your own? To read more interesting blogs from Dataton do visit https://newsandviews.dataton.com
Lighting and images followed the contestants in “Dancing with the Stars” Poland. The LED tracking point is on the dancer’s shoulders Using a tracking system has important health and safety advantages, in addition to its on-stage impact. The technical setup means workers can be kept from precarious positions and at their creative best. Precision tracking also enables a level of prediction in detecting collisions. The BlackTrax system, for example, can send out an alarm to a stage manager or a STOP command to the moving set in order to avoid collisions between multiple performers and moving scenery. An effective tracking system helps reduce rehearsal times and unnecessary reworking by having things ready to go from the studio to the event floor, with a seamless transition. That also means less energy (electricity, heating/cooling, etc.) and manpower will be used, as less time is required for setup, pre-cueing and rehearsals.
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The News&Views blog is created by Dataton, and is about multidisplay software and surrounding technologies, media servers, content creation - basically anything within the AV industry that serves to enrich the audience experience! Dataton has provided outstanding products to the audiovisual industry for over 40 years and is the maker of the WATCHOUT production and playback system. WATCHOUT systems are used globally in performing arts venues for scenic projection– in theatre, dance, and musical performances. To know more about Blacktrax visit: https://blacktrax.cast-soft.com
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ALL ABOUT WIRELESS BROUGHT TO YOU BY
THIRTEENTH INSTALMENT
System Planning, Coordination and Monitoring Welcome to the thirteenth and final instalment of All About Wireless, brought to you by SHURE. In this issue, we will discuss best practices regarding site evaluation and frequency coordination planning. We will look closely at Shure Wireless Workbench (WWB) to highlight ways in which the software application can assist with inventory management, frequency coordination, and the real-time monitoring of wireless microphone and IEM systems. When planning an RF system for an event or facility, the first aspect to consider is the physical location of the installation. The post code or geo coordinates of the installation location provide a critical starting point for assessing the RF environment. This information can be used to determine the distance from TV and public safety transmitters. To predict the on-site broadcast signal strength, the Effective Radiated Power (ERP) of each station needs to be considered in conjunction with the physical properties of the propagation path. A typical ERP value for a low-power station is 15kW. ERP for a major station may be as high as 1000kW, an increase of 18dB. Propagation considerations are largely influenced by topographical features such as transmitting tower elevation relative to the site and obstructions from mountains or buildings. In some locations, it is also prudent to consider distant cross-border transmissions as these may also contribute to an increased RF noise floor. The impact of these transmissions on a wireless microphone or IEM system will depend on if the system is to be installed outdoors or indoors. The additional shielding that a building provides against external interference may enable the successful operation of an RF system indoors that would otherwise fail if installed outside.
The WWB TV Channels database enables RF Engineers to coordinate RF systems around local TV broadcast frequencies The Shure WWB application references a comprehensive database of active TV transmitters for many regions across the globe. Accessible via the Frequency Coordination tab, the TV Channels database allows RF Engineers to search for a location and automatically exclude frequency ranges with active TV transmissions from coordination. ENTERTAINMENT TECHNOLOGY ASIA | www.e-techasia.com
Once the RF Engineer has identified the spectrum within which the wireless microphone or IEM system can operate, a deeper understanding of the physical environment is required. In order to effectively design an antenna, transmission line and signal distribution system, the RF Engineer requires detailed site information. This includes a clear specification of the intended coverage area(s) and details of any interior structures that may obstruct the propagation of RF signals. Site floor plans are essential for determining potential antenna locations and the associated cabling requirements. If the RF Engineer will not have the opportunity to visit the site prior to the system installation, photos of the venue can be invaluable. This is particularly useful for identifying potential sources of EMI on site. The next key consideration is the system inventory. This is not limited to the inventory of hardware to be installed. It is important to also obtain a detailed inventory of any existing wireless systems installed onsite and any additional equipment that is expected to be brought onto site (ENG systems, for example). At the very least, it is essential to know the brand, model and frequency band of all wireless hardware on-site. For existing installed systems, it is also important to know the operating frequency, RF power level, and area(s) the transmitters are used in. Once these details have been collated, the full system inventory can be built within WWB. The Inventory tab in WWB can be used to add, label and organize all wireless devices in the system. Parameters for networkable Shure devices can be pre-configured both individually and as batch edits to multiple devices of the same type. Device pre-sets enable RF Engineers to save sets of key hardware parameters to file so that they can be quickly applied to one or more selected devices in the Inventory. Once the equipment is installed on-site, these pre-configured settings can be automatically uploaded to network connected Shure hardware.
The Inventory tab in WWB can be used to add, label and organize all wireless devices in the system WWB does not limit the RF Engineer to working exclusively with Shure products. Equipment profiles exist for wireless microphone, IEM and intercom systems from several other manufacturers. The software also allows for the creation of custom profiles, so RF Engineers can
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add their own profiles for any equipment in their inventory for which a pre-defined profile does not exist. The equipment profiles are designed to ensure that the frequency coordination allows each device type adequate bandwidth for stable operation. In addition to these robust inventory management features, WWB provides a sophisticated toolset for frequency coordination and live system monitoring.
of the building can be assessed. Scans are useful for confirming the power levels of TV broadcast, out-of-band commercial transmissions (public safety, paging, mobile network, two-way radio etc.) and local EMI sources on site. Scans can also help to identify non-documented sources of RFI on site. There are a plethora of RF scanning tools available in various form factors from a multitude of manufacturers. While some scanners (typically portable handheld units) are aggressively priced, it is important to remember that these affordable units are typically less accurate and feature rich than more expensive scanners. Cheaper scanners may measure the RF noise floor incorrectly, miss transient spikes of EMI, or introduce spurs of EMI themselves that wouldn’t exist otherwise. Considering the data obtained from these units is critical to the frequency coordination process, it’s worth ensuring the scanner in use is capable of accurately representing the RF environment. Shure recommend using the AXT600 wideband Spectrum Manager, but if this is not available, any network connected Shure receiver can be used to perform scan of its particular operating band. Ideally, site scans should be conducted via the same antenna, cabling and signal distribution infrastructure the RF system will use. If this is not possible, a Shure UA860SWB passive omnidirectional antenna positioned at the approximate system antenna location is the next best option.
WWB includes a database of Equipment Profiles to facilitate the coordination of devices from several manufacturers WWB features visualization tools facilitate monitoring of the RF spectrum via plots and scans. Analysis tools examine scan data and existing frequency assignments to calculate compatible frequency lists for deployment to system hardware. The Frequency Coordination plot displays selected scan data, exclusion ranges, inclusion ranges, and defined frequency markers. Spectrum scans may be conducted by network connected Shure devices, or the scan files generated by third party products (Winradio or TTi scanners, for example) may be imported for consideration when performing a frequency coordination.
The Frequency Coordination tab in WWB contains several sophisticated spectrum management tools Spectrum scans are therefore critical to ensuring that the RF landscape on-site is accurately captured and considered when performing a frequency coordination. If assessing the site prior to installing the system, it’s important to make multiple scans across all areas of the venue. If the system is to be installed indoors, it is still important to conduct scans outside of the venue so that the shielding properties ENTERTAINMENT TECHNOLOGY ASIA | www.e-techasia.com
Exclusions identified via the spectrum scanning process and TV Channel database search will automatically populate the WWB Additional Exclusions list. It is also possible to manually add single frequencies and frequency ranges to this list if the RF Engineer feels there may be additional sources on interference that were not identified in the scans. This process is vital to ensuring the system is coordinated to use the cleanest The WWB Additional Exclusions list displays and most available all single frequencies and frequency ranges ranges of spectrum. identified as being unavailable for use WWB provides several tools to facilitate enhanced user control over the frequency coordination process. The Scan Plot window features overlayed red and orange horizontal lines that represent the user defined Exclusion Threshold and Scan Peak Threshold respectively. The red Exclusion Threshold represents the maximum allowable noise floor over which operating frequencies may be coordinated. Active transmitters identified during a scan that exceed the Scan Peak Threshold are automatically assigned a profile to ensure a frequency buffer is maintained around the peak frequency. The assigned profile may be changed by the RF Engineer to vary the bandwidth of the safety buffer if the source of the Scan Peak is a known quantity. This process
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ensures that available bandwidth is not excluded from coordination unnecessarily while minimising the risk of interference to coordinated channels.
background for each channel, continuously recording a rolling five minutes of key channel parameters.
WWB provides three default compatibility level profiles that determine the allowable coordination density - Standard, Robust and More Frequencies. The Standard setting uses a default channel spacing, ideal for use when a balance between robust operation and maximum frequency count is desired. The Robust setting employs a more conservative spacing designed to provide priority channels with greater isolation from potential interference. The More Frequencies setting applies an aggressive spacing profile in order to coordinate a greater number of frequencies within the specified bandwidth. When performing a frequency coordination, dragging and dropping device types or inclusion groups in the coordination list allows the RF Engineer to customise the order in which frequencies are coordinated. WWB will analyse the properties of the hardware imported from the Inventory, consider the excluded frequencies and coordinate a set of compatible frequencies for as many inventory items as possible. Backup frequencies are also a common requirement, especially in live touring applications. Backups can be assigned in WWB per device type via the Request Additional Frequencies menu and coordinated along with the active inventory devices. Once a fully compatible frequency coordination is achieved, frequencies can be manually assigned to specific devices, or they can be automatically assigned to network connected Shure devices. WWB provides an indication of the quality of a given frequency based on the level of the RF noise floor captured in the scan data. If the system includes an AXT600 Spectrum Manager, backup frequencies can be monitored continuously to ensure they remain ranked for deployment in order of channel quality. The WWB Monitoring tab exposes tools for the real time monitoring and remote control of network connected Shure devices. The monitoring window can be configured to display a channel strip and properties settings for each connected channel. The properties of network connected Shure accessories such as chargers, ShowLink access points, ADUs and Spectrum Managers may also be configured remotely via the software. To meet the diverse and complex monitoring requirements of many live productions, it is possible to configure multiple monitoring tab views with a different channel arrangement on each tab. WWB extends on this live monitoring functionality in the Timeline tool. The Timeline is a real-time logging utility with a rich graphical user interface designed to capture key status information over time for all selected channels. Information recorded includes RF level, antenna status, audio level, interference, ShowLink® Remote Control status, and battery level. Timeline can simultaneously record data from up to 120 networked channels for an indefinite period of time given sufficient system resources. In addition to this, a Mini-Timelines can run in the ENTERTAINMENT TECHNOLOGY ASIA | www.e-techasia.com
The WWB Timeline can record real-time RF level, antenna status, audio level, interference, ShowLink Remote Control status, and battery level data Baselines for system performance can be established by using the Timeline functionality to map RF performance over time. Playback and analysis of captured data yields valuable insights into audio performance and the associated RF conditions. When employed as a documentation and archiving tool, Timeline can be used to quickly pinpoint anomalies or display transient events, even over a period of days or weeks. Capturing and viewing the recorded Timeline data therefore enables RF Engineers to more effectively commission new systems, troubleshoot problematic systems, and validate the on-going operational integrity of installed systems. This brings us to the end of the ‘All About Wireless’ series. The Shure Audio Institute (SAI) is an educational and networking platform that provides systems integrators and consultants, MI retailers, the Pro Audio industry and musicians access to a diverse selection of online courses, instructor-led workshops and seminars. Additional information regarding wireless microphone and IEM system design, operation and troubleshooting is available via the SAI platform. shureasia-shure.talentlms.com Hayden Leiper is an Electroacoustic Engineer with 15 years’ experience in the professional audio industry. Currently employed as a Technical Consultant with Shure Asia Limited, Hayden’s current responsibilities include wireless and audio systems Applications engineering support; authoring, editing, publishing, and presentation of educational materials for the Shure Audio Institute; and support of training seminars, webinars and educational programs conducted by Shure Asia’s channel partners. www.shureasia.com
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ALEX COLUMN JAN. 2019
Are we Really Progressing? Welcome to 2019 from me as well and let’s get right into it. Most of you in Asia Pacific will know me from my time with Mixing Consoles, as this is what made me travel the region extensively. However, I have been a loudspeaker guy all my life right from during and after university and I always had a strong passion and curiosity about anything loudspeakers. One of the things I was always interested about was loudspeaker technology and how to make them better. When I started in this industry we saw the first systems with active Loudspeaker processing instead of passive crossovers and even active crossovers and system processors have added a lot of value to what can be done and achieved with loudspeakers. Some of the pioneers of this time were Meyersound, d&b Audiotechnik, Apogee Sound and others. Later new stars were born when technology such as Line Arrays have been made big, thanks to the work of people like Christian Heil at L’Acoustics. What I always felt is that we have all this new and exciting technology, but we are still using stone age driver technology and despite all the research, there is rather little advancement there. All this is quite exciting and very interesting and small steps have been made and the advent of Neodymium has helped advance and improve the performance of ferrite and nowadays good ferrite magnets have as strong a magnetic flux as neodymium has. In the HF realm, we have seen the use of many different materials and technologies, which should be explored more. Why do we like things like AMT (Air motion transducers) for studio monitors, but we don’t see them in P.A. systems often? There should be ways to make this happen and to bring the efficiency up to a level where all this makes sense for live sound too. In this regard, I am always happy and excited to see when manufacturers have done something about driver technology and I am glad to see that some have made some good progress in the past few years alone and this will lead to better tools for us and to make life a little easier, while fighting the gazillion other problems you are facing every day at work.
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I always felt is that we have all this new and exciting technology, but we are still using stone age driver technology and despite all the research, there is rather little advancement there. The reason why I find this so very important is rather simple and straight forward. If you can fix and solve a problem in the acoustical domain, then you don’t have to try to fix it in the electronic domain and no matter how good your DSP is, a poor performance driver and poorly designed systems will always only go so far. Properly designed acoustical systems always outperform electronically tweaked systems and the electronics should be a tool to further improve on the good and solid acoustical design and not replace the lack of knowledge and talent on acoustical engineering. What I have seen through the discussions with people and pioneers from our industry is that even those who shaped some of the tools we are using every day now, are quite embarrassed about their own work of thirty years ago. This means that we are progressing and as they say, the good old times were actually never that good apart from any romantic thoughts that we have. I still feel we can do much better and we could also go quite a bit faster, but this would require all of us and our industry to help and support those who are driving the progress. My only wish for 2019 for our industry is that we are all doing a tiny little bit of this and then to enjoy the progress together. In this regard I wish you lots of progress for this year. Cheers. Alex can be reached at alex@asaudio.de
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AUSTRALIA
TDC Shines at the Invictus Games Sydney 2018 TDC takes responsibility for opening and closing ceremonies
The Invictus Games were founded by HRH The Duke of Sussex and provide an opportunity for wounded, injured and ill defence personnelto compete in a range of sporting events. First held in 2014, this year’s event – the fourth - in Australia again captured the public’s imagination and was hailed an outstanding success. Given the company’s extensive track record of success at similar high profile events, TDC – Technical Direction Company were engaged to undertake the visual spectacular that would provide the backdrop to the opening and closing of the Invictus Games in Sydney. The company worked with the creative teams at George P Johnson Australia, ceremony producers of the Invictus Games Sydney 2018 presented by Jaguar Land Rover. There were three elements in TDC’s involvement: the opening ceremony, which took place on the forecourt of the Sydney Opera House, projection mapping onto the sails of Sydney Opera House and the closing ceremony at Qudos Bank Arena, located at Sydney Olympic Park. ENTERTAINMENT TECHNOLOGY ASIA | www.e-techasia.com
Flawless equipment The opening ceremony brought together LED Screens at the Sydney Opera House forecourt with projection mapping via Barco UDX 4K high brightness laser projectors onto the sails of the Sydney Opera House. The ceremony and live broadcast was postponed for an hour due to a major electrical storm. Laser-projected images were delivered onto the 9,000 square metre sails. The projectors feature 4K/UltraHD resolution; that’s four times the number of pixels of HD, and means that they deliver 138,240,000 pixels to the sails – equivalent to four IMAX screens – with startling clarity and colour fidelity regardless of the weather. Additionally the Invictus Games Sydney 2018 content was managed using 3D modelling and UV mapping features of the disguise 4x4pro media servers, a key element of this part of the project. “It was the 13th time we’ve lined up the Sydney Opera House, and the third time this year,” recalls Steve Cain, head engineer and media server specialist at TDC. “For the first time, I tried something new - changing
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which projectors hit which part of the Opera House, redefining which parts hit which sails. Basically, we used the same gear as we’ve used before for similar high profile events – but this time, we used it smarter, giving us a brighter, crisper image. What we got was a much better result – one that we were very happy with.” “Not everyone has the opportunity to use the Sydney Opera House as a canvas,” he laughs. “We’re very lucky to work with this building so often, and make what we do better each time.” The tight schedule for the event gave TDC just one night to complete the set-up, with the following night being used to provide a viewing for the content creators and key officials. The opening event involved around six hours of sails projection.
Party atmosphere Where the more formal opening ceremony took place outdoors, the celebratory closing ceremony was an indoor event. It provided TDC with the opportunity to leverage its expertise with the disguise gx 2 media server, GrandMA2 lighting desk and Notch VFX. “The grand finale, with the performers and officials, was the highlight,” says Cain. “It was certainly nice to be indoors, with a roof over our heads and out of the weather. We used Notch with Aloe Blacc [a Grammy-nominated R&B musician] and also created smoke trails,
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particle generators and stylization effects for the cameras: when someone moved fast, there were trails on them – all in real time and with no delay. There were 12 VFX feeds for the bands. It all helped create a brilliant party atmosphere.” The work of TDC ensured that the 500 competitors, their accompanying family and friends and all those in attendance at the opening and closing ceremonies enjoyed a world’s best visual spectacle. Images © TDC – Technical Direction Company www.tdc.com.au
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INDONESIA
Clair Brothers at the Indonesian Choice Awards Extravaganza Total Audio swears by Clair Brothers speakers capabilities
The Indonesian Choice Awards 5.0 NET, presented by the NET TV Network, aimed at families and youth audiences, is by far the most prestigious entertainment event in the country. Imagine if the American Oscars and the American Grammy Award shows were a single event. That’s what this event represents for Indonesia – the awarding of the best in movies and music, all wrapped up in one grand and memorable night. “For an entertainment and music event of this magnitude and size,” explains Sadat Effendy, technical director at Total Audio, the company that produced the show, “there is only one sound system we had to consider. That’s Clair Brothers. The Indonesian market loves Clair Brothers speakers because they always deliver.”
awards and tributes for the best in movies and music. Says Effendy, “An event of this proportion is always challenging, especially with regard to the P.A., when trying to create a coherent sound acoustically.” Wayne Grosser, managing director, Clair Brothers Australia and sound design consultant for the award show, elaborates. “I advised the production team that if too much delay was put on the main PA, the sound will not be coherent with the stage noise. The result can be unwanted slap delay, and that’s no good. So, in order to prevent that, I suggested a change to the layout of the side PA to assure timing with the main PA. The solution was the alignment of four Clair Brothers i212 8-cabinet line arrays.”
This event always coincides with, and marks the anniversary of, the NET TV Network. This year is its fifth anniversary and the Indonesian Choice Awards show did not disappoint. Performing for an audience of ninethousand, local and international musical acts filled out the evening of
The full range main PA of i212 arrays are positioned above the seventh audience row. To achieve sound cohesion, two layers of front fill were implemented. The first layer, consisting of Clair Brothers kiT12 speakers covered seats from the first row to the seventh row. The second layer
ENTERTAINMENT TECHNOLOGY ASIA | www.e-techasia.com
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L-R - Sadat Effendy, Rizk Wahyudi, Andhika Prabowo (behind the console), Ignatius Leo and Wayne Grosser. built with Clair Brothers FF2 & R2D speakers, covered the festival audience. Effendy points out, “The dimension of the front stage was not a straight line, but more like a zigzag. So, in some areas the two layers of fill can be close to each other. The challenge there was to find a balance that aligned all the fills. It turned out to be simple and the end result was spectacular coverage.” The event’s main speaker system was a combination of a Clair Brothers i212 full range PA, iS218 subs, plus additional i218 ground stacks that filled in the sides. Clair Brothers R4 and CS218 speakers were also employed for stage side fills, with 12AM speakers for wedges. With regard to FOH, and because a show this big is so demanding, Total Audio decided to have multiple back up plans in place just in case something went haywire. “For the FOH console we used the DiGiCo SD7,” explains Effendy, “which already possesses full mirror engine backup. But just in case the mighty SD7 failed, we set up a plan where we had another FOH console running the same input list, and yet another mixing engineer on headphones doing the same. This show is ENTERTAINMENT TECHNOLOGY ASIA | www.e-techasia.com
also a live event, so there is absolutely no room for system mishaps. Yet another reason why we put so much trust in Wayne Grosser’s expertise and Clair Brothers reputation for quality.” When all was said and done, the director of NET TV Network was beyond satisfied with the outcome, noting that the Clair Brothers loudspeaker system this year definitely raised the benchmark for quality. Concludes Effendy, “Working with Clair Brothers and their speaker system is always a saviour. It’s a big sound that requires minimal effort to achieve. We never have to worry about headroom, coverage or clarity. Clair Brothers always delivers. It’s why we never consider using any other brand. Why would we?” www.clairbrothers.com
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AUSTRALIA
Robe Shines with Hobart-based Alive Technologies Group Alive also deployed the company’s new Robe MegaPointes for the event
For a company specialising in events, a festival that takes over an entire city can be both the best of times and the worst of times.
are key to the choice of products, and the Alive Technologies Group chose Robe lighting fixtures for those very reasons.
Tasmania’s Dark Mofo winter festival is all of that for the Hobart-based Alive Technologies Group, but it’s a challenge the team delights in rising to!
For the performances at MAC2 (Macquarie Wharf Shed No. 2), the main venue, the fixtures included Robe BMFL Spots, Robin 600 LEDWash, and pointes. Also among the selection was what Nathaniel calls ‘a lot of’ strobes and blinders.
Dark Mofo, created and run by MONA – Tasmania’s Museum of Old and New Art – is a fortnight of festivities which celebrates the dark through large-scale public art, food, film, music, light and noise, all held at venues which may be created or re-designed just for the occasion. A huge amount of that venue staging, lighting and audio is taken care of by ATG and the company’s lighting project manager Nathaniel Collins was at the heart of much of the work. “We do a lot with MONA so as a result of that connection, they brought us on, as the largest local supplier. We can always accommodate some of their more demanding projects,” Nathaniel says. The brief for this year was responsibility for around 15 of the 18 stages scattered around the whole city, hosting a range of different performances. For such an important project, reliability and versatility ENTERTAINMENT TECHNOLOGY ASIA | www.e-techasia.com
“The fixtures needed to be high output as one of the acts used a large amount of atmospherics and they needed to be able to punch through.” The company also used brand new Robe MegaPointes at other venues, including highlighting one of the giant 17-m high inverted crosses for Night Mass. There were four installed around the city, and this one was in a car park that was the central location of Night Mass, home base for the festival’s nightly after-parties. “The organisers wanted search lights on the cross from up high, so we built a platform and got some MegaPointes and installed them in domes and used them as searchlights. We bought 10 MegaPointes from Jands and used six for the cross and two more in an alleyway for another design.
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required at MAC2 because it hosted numerous acts over the course of the festival’s two-week run. “There were some massive changes between the rigs for those different acts so we had to do some really big turnarounds. We had to pull the entire rig out pretty much, and put in a new one, and sometimes that meant working all night.” Some of those changes were straightforward, but one particular set-up – a German nightclub look for a performance called Berlin Atonal – required serious planning. “We basically covered the entire room with a full weird and wacky truss grid and that was complicated because nearly no truss was hung on two points. One truss was connected to another truss connected to another truss and so on. Then we had lights and cabling all through that; the artist wanted to get the look of a ‘metal sky’, or that’s the words that were used, above the crowd.” One of the complicating factors for this design was that the designer wanted the entire room black, when the venue is full glass and very light. Nathaniel and his team set up the room with black drapes and carpet – and then had to install some more room lighting so the staging team could see what they were doing. “It is one of the biggest and most complex projects we have done. We had CAD layouts for the venues so we did a lot of pre-design in 3D, which really helped us know how it would all come together. I’m not quite sure how we would have managed otherwise.” www.jands.com.au “We chose the MegaPointe because we needed a high output beam fixture to achieve an intense search light effect. The fixtures also needed to be small, lightweight and have low power consumption and MegaPointe ticks all these boxes. “With it being such a versatile fixture, its potential for future events was greatly thought of and its hybrid nature means it can be used in many different configurations. It is an amazing fixture and we are extremely happy with our purchase.” One of the complicating factors about the Night Mass installation was its sheer size – two city blocks – and the fact organisers wanted one entire lighting network for it. “It was complex to set up all the nodes everywhere, interlinking the whole thing through one console. There were around 200 lights involved, and we used an ArtNET link. I’ve certainly never done any network on that sort of scale before.” In fact, Nathaniel says the scale of the whole project that ATG did for Dark Mofo was challenging, particularly in relation to the set-ups
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www.robe.cz
It was complex to set up all the nodes everywhere, interlinking the whole thing through on console. There were around 200 lights involved and we used an ArtNET link. I’ve certainly never done any network on that sort of scale before - Nathaniel Collins
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AUSTRALIA
The P.A. People Prescribe BOSE for Sydney Kings! The P.A. People have opted for an entirely Dante based signal distribution system for the Kings
After almost 25 years Sydney’s The P.A. People have returned to their rental roots, purchasing a Bose ShowMatch Delta-Q array loudspeaker system for their Event Communications department. “We have been looking for the right opportunity and the right product for quite some time - I first heard the ShowMatch system two and a half years ago before its release and I was impressed. Since then there has been critical acclaim at the product launch in Australia and some great reviews of the product in use. We felt that the form factor was appropriate - and the tonality of the system suited most client’s needs, and for a small system it does get loud without losing control. “We had used a demo rig on a show earlier in the year, and we recently installed a small system at Riverside Stables. We were again impressed at what we heard” said Chris Dodds managing director of The P.A. People. “A few weeks ago, we were asked if we would like to bid for the provision of Audio and Comms supporting the Sydney Kings home games at Qudos Bank Arena, and it seemed like a great opportunity
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to invest in a speaker system to support our communications system offer.” Dodds continued. The ShowMatch system is unique in array technology, in that it combines the best of both traditional line array design with the benefits of a constant curvature system in the near field. “We rigged the system for the first time on the Monday and then spent a couple of days rehearsing with the system. The rig for the Kings in Qudos Bank Arena consists of six arrays, each comprising eight ShowMatch cabinets and a cardioid bass array of thee 18” SMS118 subcabinets. Each pair of main arrays uses a different combination of SM5 (5 degree), SM10 (10 degree) and SM20 (20 degree) cabinets to achieve the appropriate vertical dispersion.” Waveguides are available to tailor the horizontal dispersion from 55 to 120 degrees. “We have then selected 100-degree waveguides for the SM5 and SM10 cabs, and 120-degree guides for the SM20’s. That way we are able to match the dispersion of each cluster to the requirements of the venue in
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both vertical and horizontal planes” commented Anatole Day, system engineer for the initial arena install. “We also added four SM20 cabs on the lower ring of the gondola to help bring the image down closer to the action for the court side ticket holders” he added. The P.A. People have opted for an entirely Dante based signal distribution system for the Kings. The system is in and out of the Arena on a regular basis so being able to connect a single cable for signal distribution is great. The system is based on a Yamaha QL console and a pair of RIO1608 boxes to collect and distribute the audio from the system engineering location, the video replay systems, the OB trucks, and the PA itself. The system for the Sydney Kings is rounded out with a comprehensive Clear-Com Communications system centred around a Delta matrix frame, V-Station matrix panels, Helixnet digital partyline beltpacs and an integrated FreeSpeak II wireless solution. “The Comms system is fantastic” said Matt Byles, Technical Director for Great Big Events. “Having the Freespeak system fully integrated with the Matrix panels and the partyline provides us with a level of functionality we haven’t achieved before at the Kings, and the wireless coverage is fantastic in a venue where many other suppliers have failed.”
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“It is almost twenty-five years since we left the large-scale Audio market with the sale of our iconic Turbosound TMS-3 rig in 1995, but it is great to be back in the space with a new market leading sound system. We look forward to letting our customers hear what it can deliver for them” Chris Dodds concluded. www.papeople.com.au
The P.A. People have opted for an entirely Dante based signal distribution system for the Kings. The system is in and out of the Arena on a regular basis so being able to connect a single cable for signal distribution is great
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ABU DHABI
CT Shines Bright on the Oldest Building in Abu Dhabi 9750sqm of projection delivered with Panasonic projectors
Prior to the event, all three projection areas were laser scanned, and an accurate 3D model was prepared for both content pre-visualisation and creation. The 3D model of 1,200 000 vertices and UV maps was shared between the creative department and CTME for content creation and mapping. Senior Project Engineer Alem Dzinic added: “Having an accurate 3D model and disguise servers, meant we were able to deal with any changes quickly and continue with the projector line up to meet the clients schedule and timelines.”
Qasr Al Hosn is the oldest and most significant heritage site in Abu Dhabi. It is the first structure to have been built in the capital and after more than 11 years of restoration, the site has now reopened its doors as a museum to the public, showcasing the development from a community reliant on fishing and pearling to the modern Abu Dhabi we see today. Creative Technology Middle East (CTME) were on hand to deliver 9750sqm of projection for the historical event on behalf of their client People.
CTME used its internal Octopus application to control switching of backup feeds on the matrix. Hughes explains “Octopus is an application created internally by our team within the CT group for the purpose of controlling other pieces of hardware by network commands. It was a great tool to have on hand to manage the failover switch.” To ensure system operation was in sync, CTME used Riedel Compact Pro equipment for distribution of sync and timecode to all media servers. Compact Pro units were also used for signal distribution of six robo cameras in place for a rough projector line up. In addition to Riedel units, CTME provided a large number of fibre network switches across site for the purpose of content sharing, control of the robo cameras and projector control.
The Qasr Al Hosn Inauguration was opened by Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces on 5th December 2018. The large projection show featured content supplied by Fly Studio, showcasing the UAE’s heritage and the history of Qasr Al Hosn Fort. The content was delivered across three buildings, the Musalla, the Cultural Foundation and the Qasr Al Hosn Fort. The projection covered such a large area of the event that the only way for the audience to follow the full story was from the central revolving grandstand which slowly rotated as the show progressed across the large site. CTME used 34 Panasonic 31K laser projectors and 46 Panasonic 21K Projectors installed into 20 bespoke towers strategically placed to cover all three main aspects of the projection areas. CTME’s Senior Project Manager Dan Hughes states “We use Panasonic projectors due to their reliability, brightness, optics and are a perfect product for the job in hand.”
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To achieve the high brightness stipulation CTME provided multiple projector channels in double and triple stack configuration. Each projector in the configuration received main and redundant signal feed resulting in a total of 180 unique video signal feeds. The event was broadcast live across local television stations and the Qasr Al Hosn YouTube page where thousands of people tuned it to watch the historical event take place. Hughes goes on to say, “Everyone came together to pull off this fantastic event, it was a great success and real pleasure to have been part of it.” www.ct-group.com
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EVENTS JAN. 2019
EVENTS CALENDAR 2019 Jan 24 - 27 NAMM Show 2019 Venue: Anaheim Convention Centre, Anaheim, USA Feb 05 – 08 Integrated Systems Europe 2019 Venue: Amsterdam Rai, Amsterdam, Netherlands Feb 21 – 23 LED China 2019 - Shenzhen Venue: Shenzhen Convention & Exhibition Center, Shenzhen, China Feb 24 - 27 Prolight + Sound Guangzhou 2019 Venue: Area A, China Import & Export Fair Complex, Guangzhou, China Feb 27 – Mar 01 Live Entertainment Expo Tokyo Venue: Makuhari Messe, Tokyo, Japan Mar 27 – 28 IoT Asia Venue: Singapore Expo, Singapore Apr 02 – 05 Prolight + Sound Frankfurt 2019 Venue: Frankfurt am Main Apr 06 – 11 NAB Show 2019 Show starts on April 09 Venue: Las Vegas Convention Center, NV, USA Apr 10 – 12 InfoComm China Beijing 2019 Venue: China National Convention Center (CNCC) May 08 – 10 SecutechAsia Venue: Taipei Nangang Exhibition Centre, Taipei, Taiwan
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May 08 – 11 Guangzhou Entertainment Technology (GET) Show Venue: Poly World Trade Centre Expo, Guangzhou, China New event details: May 15 - 17 InfoComm Southeast Asia 2019 Venue: Bangkok International Trade and Exhiition Centre (BITEC), Thailand May 30 – 1 June PALM Expo India 2019 Venue: Bombay Exhibition Center, Goregaon East, Mumbai, India
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Jun 09 – 12 Guangzhou International Lighting Exhibition Venue: China Import and Export Fair Complex, Guangzhou, China VISIT SITE
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Jun 12 – 14 Conference Programme starts on Jun 08 InfoComm International 2019 Venue: Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, USA Jun 12 – 14 Conference Programme starts on Jun 11 IAAPA Asian Attractions Expo 2019 Venue: Shanghai New International Expo Centre in Shanghai, China
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June 18 – 20 ConnectechAsia (CommunicAsia and NXTAsia 2019) Venue: Marina Bay Sands, Singapore
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Jul 18 – 20 Pro AVL Indonesia in conjunction with Toursim Technology Asia and Broadcast & Media Technology Venue: Jakarta International Expo, Jakarta, Indonesia Jul 18 - 20 Summer NAMM 2019 Venue: Music City Centre, Nashville, TN Aug 27 – 29 Integrate Venue: Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, Melbourne, Australia
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Sep 04 -06 VISIT SITE InfoComm China Chengdu Venue: Chengdu Century City-New International Exhibition & Convention Center, China Sep 18 – 20 InfoComm India 2019 Venue: Bombay Exhibition Centre, India Sep 18 – 20 LED China 2019 - Shanghai Venue: Shanghai New International Expo Center
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June 18 - 20 ConnectechAsia (BroadcastAsia 2019) Venue: Suntec, Singapore
Jun 27 - 29 LED Expo Thailand Venue: IMPACT Exhibition and Convention Center, Bangkok, Thailand
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Nov 18 - 24 Exhibition starts on Nov 22 Live Design International (LDI) Venue: Las Vegas Convention Centre, USA
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PERSONALITY JAN. 2019
In our new column for 2019, we interview personalities who are involved in the production industry actively. To kick off our column, we talk to Peter Loh, Production/Technical director, who is based in Singapore.
Phase 4: Ideas and concepts to be nailed down and the sourcing/tender process begins.
Peter when did you get started in this industry? I have been involved with the industry close to 30 years.
Phase 7: On site build execution and rehearsals.
Phase 5: Contractors and vendors are firmed up. Phase 6: Planning and meeting with relevant stakeholders, the team, etcetera.
Phase 8: Showtime. Phase 9: Post-event evaluation and clearing all variation and extras.
What led to you getting involved in the industry? I was doing a part-time job as a roadie when a childhood friend called for help. I can still recall that the event was “Holiday on Ice”. After discussions, I was requested to be a spot operator, and that ignited the beginning of my career in this industry. What are all the appointments you have held in this industry before your current title as Production/Technical director? Well, it is a long list. I have held the appointment of lighting technician, lighting operator, stage manager, production coordinator, production manager, technical manager, Tour project manager, Tour manager and now Production/Technical director. What does your job as a Production/Technical director entail? As a Production/Technical director there are a few phases that I am involved with: Phase 1: The client/band hires you, and I am briefed on the concept, budget, etc. Phase 2: I will have to form the production/technical team from lighting, multimedia, sound, etcetera. Phase 3: Brainstorming of concepts and ideas and giving technical direction to designers. This is the phase where the design will be in the process together with budgeting.
What are some of the challenges you face as a Production/Technical director? The biggest challenge is having the right team and dealing with the budget, stakeholders and different authorities’ restrictions in different cities. Technical production of a show or event and man-management of the team is one of the toughest challenges. What are the countries you have gone to for your work? I have been to Australia, India, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Macau, Cambodia, Japan, South Korea, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, China, Russia, USA, UAE, Switzerland, Taiwan, Sri Lanka, Bahrain, Qatar and some parts of eastern Europe and of course Singapore. What are the types of events you have been involved with? I have been mainly involved with concerts and events including turn-key events. In Singapore, I have been the production/technical director for the Singapore F1 since 2008 and the National Day Parades (2010,2012,2013,2014, 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2019). I am still involved in most major concerts around the region like Bruno Mars, Cold Play (especially stadium shows) as all the medium and small-scale concerts are now handled by my team. What gives you the most satisfaction in your job? Every time when I am involved in any significant shows/events, year after year I sought for a technical breakthrough in terms of production/ technical aspects, with the team I work with to achieve the objectives.
NDP Singapore 2017
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PERSONALITY JAN. 2019
Singapore F1 That gives me the satisfaction of achievement and especially when the audience talks about it and leave the show happily. What is the one thing you cannot do without in your work? It would be the team you have to execute the directions set. They need to be alert and follow through on what was planned, and without a good team, it would be difficult. Do you have any disappointments concerning your work? There are ups and downs in any work environment. The most disappointing would be having to break up a good set-up after spendings days and months to make it happen. This might happen if the show is cancelled or authorities in the country pull the plug and so on. What have been some of the most memorable projects for you and why? There are too many to name but there a few that stick to my mind always. One being the first Michael Jackson concert held in the old National Stadium. We went through lots of technical roadblocks with the venue but still managed to counter all the challenges to put together one of the biggest show in Singapore. Another is a concert tour in Asia in the beginning of 90’s when I faced technical challenge city after city with the team and also having had to face non-technical issues like an unreasonable promoter (facing gunpoint at the hotel room!) but with determination, resources and being able to count
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on contacts we pulled through the tour. The third is the National Day Parades in Singapore. The parade is always a challenge as I face new concepts, people and committee and having to go through the coaching phase each time. Dealing with procurement restrictions that we need to achieve creative ideas is another challenge. Of course, as it entails a long extended period of rehearsals, we face stakeholders issues to counter with, but it always feels good to celebrate the nation’s birthday with all Singaporeans. The Singapore F1 is another. Every year we have to be creative on the bands we bring for entertainment, and that falls onto me to have a production team which can deal with stress and etc… from planning to execution with changeovers having to be executed within two hours during event days from one international band to another. If you were not doing this work, what career do you think you would have embarked on? Frankly, it never crossed my mind. What do you do to relax? Nowadays it is being with my two young kids and my family. These are precious moments and the best way to relax.
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MARKET PLACE JAN. 2019
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FOR ENQUIRIES OR TO LIST YOUR USED EQUIPMENT CONTACT 10K USED GEAR ASIA CONTACT BASED IN SINGAPORE:
MANOJ CHAMANLAL
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L’Acoustics KUDO Package (18)
Clay Paky B-EYE K20
€33,000.00
€2,500.00
We have for sale a used L-Acoustics KUDO Line Array System Package that is in excellent condition and the price shown is for the complete package.
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For sale used Used Clay Paky B-EYE K20 Lighting Fixtures, all in good condition and the price is per fixture. Amptown dual flightcase included when sold in sets of 2.
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Yamaha CL Series Package
DiGiCo D1 Live
€34,900.00
€9,400.00
We are selling our used Yamaha - CL series package that includes YAMAHA CL5 , CL3, RIO3224-D and SWP1 switch, all in roadcase. The price is per package.
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Martin Quantum Wash with 2 way Flight Case
We are selling our used Yamaha - CL series package that includes YAMAHA CL5 , CL3, RIO3224-D and SWP1 switch, all in roadcase. The price is per package.
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€3,195.00
For sale brand new Martin Quantum Wash Lighting Fixtures. Price is per unit but will only sell in pairs. Also includes flightcase.
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DigiDesign Venue Profile Package
Robe MMX Wash Beam
Meyer Sound 600HP
€16,000.00
€1,185.00
€1,375.00
We have for sale a used Digidesign Venue Profile Package, this is all in good condition and the price shown is for the complete package.
We have for sale used Robe MMX Wash Beams Lighting Fixtures, these are all in good condition and the price shown is per single fixture. Dual flightcase included.
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Varilite VL 1100AS ERS
L’Acoustics 115 FM
€2,950.00
€565.00
For sale brand new Varilite VL1100AS ERS Lighting Fixtures, price shown is per fixture and also includes lamp.
For sale used Meyer Sound 600HP Subwoofers that are in good condition and the price is per piece. Dolly and cover included when sold in pairs.
We have for sale used L-Acoustics 115FM Stage Monitors, cased in pairs. These are all in good condition and price shown is per monitor.
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