Entertainment Technology Asia September-October 2013

September - October 2013

MICA [P] 021/09/2013 KDN: PPS 1663/08/2013 [022991]

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Transforming the Arts Scene with

Projection Mapping

‘Ariah’ basks in the Betawi Spirit

Up close with Avollusion’s Benson Looi and Justin Choy

The Fear of Wireless

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CONTENT VOL 14 ISSUE 5 September - October 2013

48 76

86 FIRST WORDS

TECH-TALK

06 A Writer’s release

50 Microphones

NEWS 08 Essential news from the industry

ENNOVATIONS 32 A round-up of hottest technology today

EXHIBITION PREVIEW 42 Prolight + Sound Shanghai 2013

SPECIAL FEATURE 44 Projecting Arts with Epson

MANAGEMENT PERSPECTIVE 48 Avollusion’s Benson Looi

52 Fear of Wireless

EXHIBITION REVIEW 56 BroadcastAsia2013 58 Palme Asia 2013 68 PALMM Philippines

INSTALL 70 Fernvale Primary School upgrades its audio system 72 Turbosound at Café Del Bar 74 coolux Pandoras Box brings Ninja Magic to Eiga Mura 75 Meyer Sound at ASB Theatre

LIVE 76 Fall Out Boy Live in Singapore 79 G-Dragon blazes through Mata Elang

80 Robe lights Watan Al Ahlam event 82 SOUND.COM and Optocore mastermind opening of IPL 84 ACME “2Gether 4Ever” with S.H.E 85 Fine Art shines at Jay’s Concert in Shanghai 86 Ariah basks in the Betawi Spirit 90 Singapore Food Festival 92 Shure at Harbour City 94 Sennheiser & UNICO present Bund No Shakin’ Vol 2 95 Robe has a Vivid vision 96 The Hidden Ones: Riedel MediorNet

Haaave U met..?

97 Anthony Chow

06

FIRST WORDS September - October 2013

Hello readers! This issue I’m bestowed with a little face time on Page 6 so I guess I’ll say hello. As you can see, we’ve rolled out a new design for our Content Page (Love it!) as well as our very own switched up version of “Game of Thrones”, where we take turns warming up the hot seat for First Words, albeit minus the bloodshed.

So where do I begin? It’s been a little more than a year since I’ve joined the Spinworkz team and wow, how time flies! I think I’ve come a long way since my first story for a Church installation – which is technically not an E-Tech piece but rather, for its sister magazine, Systems Integration Asia.. well anyway, it’s been a joy ride and now I’m more than capable of spouting technology poetry (intelligible at the very least).

Publisher / Editorial Director Thomas Richard Prakasam thomas@spinworkz.com

INDIA AND MIDDLE EAST EDITOR Ram Bhavanashi ram@spinworkz.com

Now that we’re almost nine months into the new year, I can most certainly say that projection mapping has come under one of my top favourite things in 2013 (right after sit-coms and my pet guinea pig).

For this past year, I think we’ve been dazzled enough with the many examples of this incredible, transformative art form. From plain architectural mappings, 3D animations to making people appear to be somewhere they’re not – projection mapping has opened up a whole new medium for us to “communicate” with the world as our canvas.

And you got to admit, that’s some pretty impressive stuff!

So in this issue, we’re going to explore just that – I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing Epson regarding their latest digital art initiatives (page 44) and also Edwin Tan from AIMS and the Etcetera team on their projection mapping blockbuster of the year ‘Ariah’ (Page 86). Do check them out!

And seeing how the world’s all about QR Codes now, let me direct you to an interactive music video showcasing the 10th year celebration for Roppongi Hills’ “LOVE TOKYO”, which utilized a 3D projection mapping on a miniature model of the city of Tokyo at a 1:1000 scale, done by creative director Tsubasa Oyagi: Finally, which projection mapping project impressed you the most this year? Do tell and share the link/video with us on Facebook. Till then, have fun reading this issue!

Rosalind Tan Writer rosalind@spinworkz.com

WRITER Elissa Nadine elissa@spinworkz.com

ADMIN & CIRCULATION Julie Tan admin@spinworkz.com

DESIGN AND PRODUCTION Jimmy Chin jimmy@spinworkz.com MEDIA REP IN NORTH AMERICA Broadcast Media International Michael Mitchell Tel: +1 631 673 0072 mjmitchell@broadcastmedia.tv

PRINTED BY Stamford Press Pte Ltd PUBLISHED BY Spinworkz Pte Ltd 51 Bukit Batok Crescent #06-10 Unity Centre Singapore 658077 Tel: (65) 6316 2716 Fax: (65) 63162715 www.spinworkz.com

Disclaimer Entertainment Technology Asia is published 6 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.

08

NEWS September - October 2013

ETC Sensor3 Power Control shines bright at The Star PAC

Complementing the potent colour output of the incandescent stage lights are 24 ETC Selador Vivid™ Classic LED striplights — with x7 Color System technology — and many other-brand fixtures, including moving lights.

The versatile Selador LED fixtures are employed for numerous effects. The Star PAC used the Seladors as wall washes for their Grand Opening last November and as stage washes for concerts.

“For our current concerts, the ETC fixtures are primarily used as face light from our catwalks or specials to light up fixture positions, such as drummers,” says Loh. An ETC Unison Paradigm system further controls the house lights, work lights and running lights in The Star Theatre.

Singapore: Singapore’s star is shining bright.

The country boasts recent major architectural achievements, including The Star Performing Arts Centre (The Star PAC), opened in November 2012.

Located above The Star Vista, the performing arts centre spans from level 3 to level 11 and consists of Singapore’s only 5,000-seat theatre, a multi-purpose hall, an outdoor amphitheatre, rooftop reception areas, and supporting spaces of varying sizes, outfitted with the latest ETC lighting control systems and fixtures.

ETC’s Sensor3 Power Control system provides The Star’s PAC’s hybrid lighting rig with over 1500 dimmer channels, of which one third are ThruPower.

Technical Director Daniel Loh shares, “We’ll have concerts on Saturday nights followed by church services on Sunday morning — an especially tight turnaround for our anchor hirer, New Creation Church. Using the same cabling infrastructure for LED or moving-light fixtures and conventional fixtures saves us time over having to use different cables.

“By a keystroke we can change the same circuit from a dimming to a relay nondim circuit. The key is that the ThruPower Modules allow us to have fewer issues with patching or infrastructure — such as power for movers being patched incorrectly to a dimming circuit, or vice versa, and having to retrace the cabling.”

Besides live worship and concert productions, The Star PAC places strong emphasis on broadcast capabilities.

“The lights and the dimmers must be very reliable to ensure that whatever is captured on video is good,” says Loh. The Star Theatre counts hundreds of Source Four (incandescent) spotlights in its lighting rig — some 40 in the front-of-house boxboom positions, 90 on the front-of-house catwalk, with almost 70 Source Four jrs, and some 50 Source Four PAR EA’s mixed in.

“Source Four fixtures are commonly used in the industry,” he adds, “Most of the crew members are familiar with them, and new technicians are able to pick up quickly.”

“After eight years of experience in the performing arts industry, ETC is still the first on the list when it comes to dependability,” Loh enthused.

“The dimmers and lights can be in constant use day in and day out. As our venue hosts leading artists, we need to ensure that the equipment we provide is not just superior in light quality but also reliable.”

The Star PAC also counted on ETC’s service for the success of their aspirations – Loh adds, “The support has been great from ETC Asia. From the tender process through the installation and now operations, they have been with us and they are a quick email or phone call away.” www.etcconnect.com

10

NEWS September - October 2013

Hibino Sound Division invests in Martin Audio MLA “In Japan, the weight of the rigging is strictly regulated, but MLA’s weight is similar to systems we have used in the past — even though it is powered. So, it is good for us to be able to plan as we did before.”

Hibino Sound’s new MLA will be pressed straight into festival duty.

“This is the most unique loudspeaker system we have ever had,” shared Hashimoto.

“It will become the new choice for customers since it has the ability to meet all their demands.”

Hibino MLA technical training — with Chris Pyne (centre)

Japan: Hibino Corporation, the largest enterprise for the entertainment industry in Japan, has made its first investment in Martin Audio’s Multicellular Loudspeaker Array (MLA) system.

Making up the Hibino Corporation are four divisions — Hibino Sound, Hibino Pro Audio Sales, Hibino Visual and Hibino Chromatek.

With its proven technology across challenging venues such as Tokyo Dome and large scale festivals like Rock in Japan, Martin Audio’s MLA was the clear system of choice, brought about by the need to provide consistent stadium coverage up to 200 metres depth (such as Tokyo Dome), without the need for delay towers — enabling them to deliver clear sound right to the back of the venue and at the same time solve any noise pollution and sound spill issues.

summer outdoor festivals are increasingly demanding the absence of delay towers from festival sites and a need to solve offsite noise issues.

“We also like the fact that its calculation ability is extremely accurate. The benefit of this is that we can get a result that corresponds with what we have planned in the simulation.”

MLA also benefits from its size and weight ratio, which given regulations in Japan mean that the system provides no obstacles for its deployment.

The MLA acquisition was authorised by the Sound Division, which has been a market leader in international touring for many years, supporting many of the world’s leading artists with premier loudspeaker systems.

Their investment includes four System 36 rigs, plus an additional four MLA and four MLX subwoofers. This gives them a combined inventory of 92 x MLA, 8 x MLD (Downfill), and 52 x MLX — providing a large capability.

Speaking of this latest development, Ryoichi Hashimoto, Managing Director, Hibino Sound, explains, “We decided on the MLA investment because the promoters of

NagaiStadium

Martin Audio has already completed training for most of Hibino Sound’s system technicians on site, which was carried out by Chris Pyne, Martin Audio’s Technical Support Specialist in APAC. Anthony Taylor, Managing Director for Martin Audio, concludes, “We are delighted that MLA continues to prove its technical advantage over the competition and more importantly solving sound issues that face the industry. For the number one rental company in Japan to recognise this is a great honour, and we look forward to supporting Hibino in their success moving forward.” www.martin-audio.com

12

NEWS September - October 2013

Concept Associates appointed exclusive dealer for Cornered Audio Denmark directly on the wall, without a bracket taking up space behind the speakers; mounting points of the speakers are hidden behind the front cover and no visual cable terminals (the cable runs in slides at the rear of the cabinet).

Along with its unique, discreet and elegant design, it also offers superb sound quality, capable of reproducing a large, natural three dimensional sound stage, filling the area with loud and clean sound. Thus, these speakers are perfect for home use, retail shops, restaurants, café, bars, theatres, conference room and etc.

Malaysia: Concept Associates (KL) Sdn Bhd has been appointed as the exclusive Malaysia master dealer for Cornered Audio’s speaker, a patented triangular speaker that comes with a contemporary design that originated from Denmark.

Concept Associates (KL) Sdn Bhd will be responsible for the reselling activities, installation and technical support in Malaysia.

Cornered speakers are designed with a unique 90-degree triangular shape for a perfect fit in the corner. They are installed

“At Cornered, we are passionate about music and we strive to surround you with top quality sound, whether you are at home or out at your favourite bars and cafés. Call us ageing hippies, but we strongly believe that good sound does not have to cost a fortune and we aim to impress you with the value of our designs,” a representative at Cornered Audio Denmark comments. www.cornered.dk www.conceptaudio.com.my

Sound House appointed TURBOSOUND distributor Japan: TURBOSOUND has selected Sound House Company, Ltd. to handle distribution, customer support and service for its loudspeaker systems in Japan.

serving as a major distributor of parent MUSIC Group’s BEHRINGER-branded MI products.

With almost 20 years in the commercial audio and lighting business, Sound House has developed an extensive dealer network that reaches to all corners of the Land of the Rising Sun.

Sound House Sales Manager Kotaro Suzuki comments, “We are proud to become an official distributor for TURBOSOUND in Japan. We will put all our effort into making TURBOSOUND a well known name in music circles throughout Japan.”

The two companies already have a wellestablished relationship, with Sound House

“We are delighted to be working with Japan’s foremost distributor of music products,” adds

Nigel Beaumont, head of MUSIC Groups's Professional Division.

“We are convinced that our live sound and installed sound products — including the new Milan series of portable powered loudspeakers — will fit perfectly within the Sound House portfolio, and with their extensive knowledge and exceptional market coverage we look forward to serving the Japanese market together.” www.turbosound.com

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14

NEWS September - October 2013

Samantha Bailey named VP of Global Sales at Green Hippo Samantha started her Green Hippo journey in 2008 working with now Head of Training Simon Harris to manage the sales of the Hippotizer range and has consistently moved upwards in the company since.

She shares, “Since starting at Green Hippo I have firmly believed that Hippotizer is the market leading media server and the growth of the company as well as the continued joy of working with such a great team means I’m thrilled to have taken on this role.”

Samantha’s role goes further than looking after specific territories.

Samantha Bailey

Hippo has now expanded its staff from 12 employees to 30.

Among which, the team behind it all is expanding even more with the addition of software developers Zep Mouris and Vlad Voina, and their new product design intern Rhian Wellington.

Zep, who started at Green Hippo as an intern has developed his programming skills whilst working towards finishing his degree and has been a great addition to the team from the get go.

Vlad joins the team as a graduate from Goldsmiths University with a BSc in Creative Computing and he has shown great enthusiasm working at Green Hippo and in our industry.

Rhian, a BA Industrial Design and Technology student at Brunel University joins us this July working closely with the Hippotizer range.

“I wanted to work for Green Hippo because it’s a very well-known company that has an excellent reputation for providing media servers to the live event industry. With this in mind, I thought it would be a great opportunity to get involved with their design internship programme,” shared Rhian.

International: As Green Hippo further expands its company and market share, Head of Sales Samantha Bailey has been promoted to the new position of Vice President of Global Sales, managing the growing sales team and all aspects of the global commercial strategy.

As Vice President of Global Sales, she will now be taking on business strategy and business development responsibilities, making sure that the company weathers this tough climate and continues to grow globally.

Having greatly increased the company’s turnover and presence globally, Green

www.green-hippo.com

hian Wellington

Vlad Voina

Zep Mouris

“We should be able to take a lamp out of the box, install it, and immediately get the same light quality as before.�

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16

NEWS September - October 2013

API names MI Corp a 1608 distributor to design recording studios, it was clear that one thing was missing: the API 1608 console.

“MI Corp is designing prominent recording studios and meeting the most difficult demands of sound engineers,” said Sunny Park, Manager of the Import Department.

“Many engineers [in Korea] would like to own and operate an API 1608 console.”

API 1608 console

South Korea: MI Corp has officially become Korea’s 1608 representative, making the coveted console available to an entire market that was previously untapped.

MI Corp experienced much initial success with API products such as the Lunchbox, 500 Series modules and the 3124+. As they began

And thus, the authorization to sell the 1608 console began.

As of 2009, they began to expand their services, aiming to become a leader in the multi-media industry. Expanding to professional audio and video, as well as the architecture and design of studios, they have been known as MI Corp ever since.

Sales director and former recording engineer, Ted Suh, was familiar with the API reputation and knew the impact it would have in Korea and API soon became a fundamental part of their inventory.

The 1608 that was shipped just a few weeks ago, features its own demo room at the MI Corp headquarters.

“In the current digital audio equipment market, customers missed analog music equipment. We think API is the leading company, not only for consoles, but analog modules,” said Park.

Situated in the Gangnam-Gu area of Seoul, MI Corp originated as a musical instrument distributor back in 1997.

www.apiaudio.com

SGM appoints Hanslee Lim as Senior Area Sales Manager for Asia Johansen, and supported by an experienced team of professionals, I am confident that SGM will become one of the leading lighting manufacturers in the world. The interest in SGM’s products has been increasing rapidly, and by receiving support directly from the factory it will enable me in return to support SGM’s customers in Asia more efficiently.”

Hanslee Lim with CEO Peter Johansen

Asia: With effect from August 1st, SGM has placed Hanslee Lim under contract as Senior Area Sales Manager for the Asian region.

CEO of SGM, Peter Johansen adds, “We welcome Hanslee as part of our dedicated sales force. Together we are ready to take on new challenges in the Asian region, and we have many opportunities to assess.”

Hanslee is no new face at SGM. He initially arrived in June 2012 to distribute SGM products through former local subsidiary, SGM Asia. However, the SGM management has now taken the strategic decision to manage the region from HQ in Denmark.

The level of activities in SGM has been overwhelming with the roll-out of the new LED product portfolio since SGM became a Danish company in early 2012; with the latest additions being the revolutionary IP65 moving head, the G-Spot and the series of ultra- hi-res LED screens – all manufactured in Denmark.

When asked about the changes, Hanslee says, “I am very pleased to be working closer with the team at SGM. Led by Peter

The reference list of tours is comprehensive, including some of the greatest artists and bands of today. For The Mrs. Carter Show

World Tour, Beyoncé is touring with more than 500 X-5 strobes, while Nine Inch Nails soon followed also with the X-5 strobe starting out in Japan — and the latest is Kings of Leon.

Additionally, Pink, Rammstein, Depeche Mode, One Direction, Taylor Swift and Lady Antebellum all tour with SGM products – to name a few.

The SixPack blinder shone brightly at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, The P-5 permanently illuminates the famous Christ Light monument in Brazil, and music festivals have been booming this summer with grand lighting designs developed around the LED fixtures.

With a new factory in Denmark, the vision of manufacturing high quality LED products without compromise at any level is being fulfilled. Meanwhile the focus remains on paramount requirements, such as flexibility, quality and service. www.sgmlight.com

CYC

Colour you want with coverage you won’t believe.

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Americas

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Europe

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Asia

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www.etcconnect.com

NEWS September - October 2013

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Art Institute of Inner Mongolia University chooses ACME Inner Mongolia College of Art goes back a long way, whose predecessor was founded in 1957 in Inner Mongolia art school – the autonomous region that is an important training base for national artistic talents, also known as Inner Mongolia, one of the cradles of art.

To keep up with the trend of modern dance in the institute, as well as to nurture students’ artistic talents, ths school had been gradually working on its 3,000 square meters auditorium in the recent years, and ultimately went ahead with an extensive lighting upgrade which includes 15R beam lights, LED moving head, zoom lights, 1500W moving spot lights, and other new moving head light fixtures.

www.acme.com.cn

PHOTO © RALPH@LARMANN.COM

China: ACME, a manufacturer of professional entertainment and stage LED lighting equipment, has provided a comprehensive lighting rig, consisting of 120 units of BW-54 3RGBW, 40 units of XP-15R BEAM, units pieces of XP-1500 Series and 16 units of BW27-10FC to Art Institute of Inner Mongolia University in China.

With ACME optoelectronic engineers on the field to help debug and aid in the installation, the auditorium is now ready for daily performances; complete with bright lights and dazzling stage effects that go beyond the expected design requirements.

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20

NEWS September - October 2013

PR 5000 Spots and Beams glow bright in Bangladesh

Bangladesh: Bangladesh-based Glow Lights & Effects only set up in business in 2011, but by the following year they were already starting to service many events out of Dhaka — frequently using the PR5000 Spot and Beam lights from Chinese manufacturers PR Lighting.

perform, closely followed by Pakistani Sufi specialist, Shafkat Amanat Ali Khan and Indian superstar singer, Sonu Nigam.

Founder, Mukimul Anwar Mukim, and Managing Partner M H Khokon, along with experienced team members Shamim Ahmed (Technical Adviser) and Chief Communication Officer, Khundker Hafizur Rahim, first saw the fixtures at the 2011 PALM Expo in Beijing and the team was immediately impressed by the state-of-the-art technology and highly developed optical path.

The stage was designed and manufactured by sister company, Mukim’s Creation.

This time, Glow Lights & Effects deployed 16 units of the PR 5000 Spot and Beam, along with other lights, while Mukim’s Creation was again responsible for building the stage.

Another major event in which the company participated was the 15th Meril Prothom Alo Award.

www.pr-lighting.com

By 2012, he was ready to purchase 18 units of each fixture for use in the company’s inventory.

These soon appeared on a number of high profile events including the ‘Grameen Phone Tri-nation Mega Festival’ in the Bangladesh Army Stadium.

Grameen Phone is one of the largest mobile phone operators in Bangladesh, with over 40 million subscribers and this show was organised especially for its ‘star subscribers’ in the stadium, back in December last year.

Over 20,000 people turned up to see Bangladeshi psychedelic rock star James

Glow Lights & Effects used all 18 pieces of the PR5000 Spot and Beam, along with other intelligent lights.

The event was held indoors at the Bangabandhu International Conference Center’s Hall of Fame, in which close to 1,500 VIPs were in attendance including top Bangladeshi celebrities and media personalities.

Prolyte Group network extends to "Down Under" Australia: Prolyte Asia Pacific has worked hard to re-establish the distribution network in Australia and has announced that parties have been found to represent all the brands to create a nationwide coverage for Prolyte.

Sydney-based Design Quintessence is appointed as Prolyft Service Point and will further distribute StageDex staging products.

With their subsidiary offices in Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth, Design Quintessence can perform the Service Point support, maintenance and certification services from several bases.

All branches will also stock the range of ProLyft hoists and StageDex to guarantee optimum availability.

As Ian wood, Managing Director, comments, “Being able to offer ProLyft and StageDex enables us to offer our customers a range of

top quality products. It’s the perfect addition to the brands we already represent."

Wood adds, “ We’re really pleased with the support and service Prolyte gives us, this will certainly help our customers to find the right solutions.”

Harris Movement Engineering (HME), will take on the trussing products from Prolyte.

brand and our customers now can rely on the certainty of these excellent products.”

HME has offices in Sydney and Brisbane.This fast emerging company has its roots in the installation and projects business.

Menze van der Sluis states, “We have really tried hard to find the best solution for our customers in Australia. With these companies representing our products we’re convinced the market will be served on a high level.

Both companies will be able to cross sell their product ranges – offering their customers an unique service.”

With the addition of ProlyteStructures trussing they are making an important move to expanding their product portfolio.

Owner and CEO of HME, Glenn Harris comments, ”We are thrilled by the opportunities this will bring to our company.

Prolyte is regarded as a most respected truss

www.harrismovement.com.au www.dq.com.au www.prolyte.com

“Twelfth Night”, directed by Igor Konyayev at Mikhail Chekhov Riga Russian Theatre, Latvia.

Image supplied courtesy of SGS Sistemas Ltd.

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NEWS September - October 2013

23

SLS adds Absen A-6 Die cast LED screen A6 LED Screen is light weight, flicker free to cameras.

Martin Luiz, Managing Director of SLS, is excited about the new purchase and expects to meet the growing needs for LED screens of their clients.

UAE: SLS Production has expanded its inventory with the purchase of the latest model Absen A-6 Die cast LED Screen.

Currently, they have a 100sqm of 50cm x 50cm size screen and can make a maximum of 24m x 4m single size screen. The new inventory also includes Dataton Watchout System 5.2 version.

A three-day training was conducted at SLS Warehouse by the representatives from Absen to equip AV Engineers with technical knowledge on operating the A-6 LED screen efficiently.

To date, several successful events like IDEX Gala Dinner, KIA Cerato Launch, Mylanji Grand Finale, have been executed with A-6 LED screen since its purchase. www.slspro.net

“In the next issue, we take a sneak peek at some of Shure’s patented technologies and learn why the SM58® is one of the world’s most beloved mics.”

24

NEWS September - October 2013

Consolidated Audio Network named Denon DJ distributor

Chad Batchelor making his opening speech

The team who made the evening possible

Singapore: To celebrate being the new distributor for Denon DJ in Singapore, Consolidated Audio Network (CAN) held a party to commemorate the milestone. Having started his career in the DJ business, CAN’s Owner Chad Batchelor called the event, “Nostagic “and “Sentimental”.

Coined as the re-launch of the Denon DJ brand, the event housed more than 250 guests consisting of DJs and friends at the barraka Bar & Restaurant in Singapore’s posh Robertson Quay district.

With the re-launch also came the announcement of the 4 DJs who have been chosen to represent the Denon DJ brand in its upcoming tour. Two of the four DJs hail from Singapore while the remaining two come from Malaysia and Indonesia respectively.

Within the next three to six months the team will be in Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta looking to find the last two DJs to complete their

team. Following that, they will be finally ready to hit the road with stops planned in the UK and the USA. Chad explained, “We are promoting our DJs to clubs, events and launches. It’s the ultimate for our DJs because they are getting exposure and they are getting paid and Denon DJ is there to back them up.”

During the tour, the DJs will also be seen teaching the younger generation of DJs in selected music schools around Asia.

“The road map for a year and a half has already been planned out and Josh M, our Production Specialist will be heading the team and guiding them along the way.” Josh M is the resident DJ at the Ministry of Sound in Singapore and whose resume includes shows done in Ibiza.

Denon is also being brought by The School of Media Art in Singapore to all the local schools.

Chad comments, “It’s not about just being a DJ, it’s about music producing because that’s what being a DJ is about. So we're taking our expertise and knowledge to the schools and starting programs in Singapore and Malaysia all the way to Indonesia.”

Deals have already been made between CAN and rental company, 3Angus Production who do the live production shows for MediaCorp, Singapore’s only free-to-air channel operator.

The company has brought CAN on board to supply all the DJ sets for their upcoming live shows.

Attendee, Nesh Meridius who is the resident DJ at the Hard Rock Cafe in Singapore was personally invited by Chad for the launch.

“I think it’s quite cool that even though Denon hasn’t been producing much equipment for the past couple of years they are now back with a bang! I started off with Denon and you cannot forget where you came from. I like the brand but I haven’t been using them lately because I never believed they would come up with such sophisticated equipment. It’s good to see that they are up and running again,” shares Nesh.

With CAN taking the reins of distribution in Singapore, Denon users now have the technical and service support worthy of the world’s leading DJ brand of equipment. www.can.sg www.denondj.com

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26

NEWS September - October 2013

D.T.S. making strong headway with its BEAMs and WASHes. OnGameNet champions RAPTOR in Korea South Korea: D.T.S. is currently in the midst of rolling out their RAPTOR beams around the world, with South Korean TV network OnGameNet, being the latest installation.

Located at the Yongsan iPark Mall in Seoul, OnGameNet is a renowned South Korean cable-TV network that specializes in television programs about video games tournaments.

Yongsan e-Sports Stadium is the television studio where OnGameNet broadcasts its championships, such as StarCraft, StarCraft 2, e League of Legends.

The network is part of On-Media company, the owner of a range of cable-TV networks.

NES Korea Co. Ltd, was the lead installer for the project. Prior to this, the company had just recently completed a major installation in a temple of high technology whereby 18 units of the brand new RAPTOR and 12 units of the renowned JACK high power compact moving head were inaugurated.

Steve Vai on stage with D.T.S. Indonesia: Steve Vai recently performed live in Jakarta, on the 22nd of July, to the delight of his fans.

The concert, promoted by Java Musikindo, was held at the Tennis Indoor Senayan, Jakarta, in the wake of Vai’s Story of Light World Tour.

After a few juvenile years as lead guitarist in the court of the genius of contemporary music – Frank Zappa – and 15 million albums sold in an outstanding solo career that also won him three Grammy Awards, Steve Vai is alive and well, touring the world over with his 4-piece band, and willing to showcase his signature tortured-string playing technique.

climaxing through ‘Gravity Storm’ and ‘The Ultra Zone’, to the final ‘For the Love of God’.

The gig at the Tennis Indoor Senayan, Jakarta, offered the best song list that his fans (and fellow guitarists) could imagine, starting with ‘Racing the World’ and progressively

Stave Vai was lit by a light rig made of D.T.S. moving heads, either discharge or LED, supplied and installed by Melodia Sound & Lighting System.

The light rig included an array of XR3000 BEAMs, hung to a truss crossing the stage over the musicians, and various NICK 600 WASH as side lights. www.dts-lighting.com

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28

NEWS September - October 2013

PR Lighting lights up Miss Sri Lanka pageant Sri Lanka: PR Lighting fixtures were out in full force at the recent Derana Veet Miss Sri Lanka 2013 pageant in Wadduwa.

Held at the 5-star Blue Water Hotel luxury hotel overlooking the Indian Ocean, the ballroom stage was imaginatively lit by technology company, The Lighthouse (Pvt), who handle the lighting each year for this event.

The company’s Dinusha Perera based his lighting plot entirely on LED and discharge fixtures from PR Lighting, which form the core of Lighthouse’s rental stock, to complement the opulent stage set conceived by Madawa Madawala from Derana TV.

Chosen for their bright output, advanced featureset and good colour referencing, Perera selected 16 units of XS1200 Spots, with their fast and intense beams, and 13 units of XR200 Beams, a high output moving beam light — along with some LED washes and par cans.

These were used stridently and dynamically, under the control of an Avolites Pearl Expert.

The Lighthouse’s Dinusha Perera Chanaka shares, “Everyone was delighted by the impact created by this dynamic presentation.” www.pr-lighting.com

30

NEWS September - October 2013

SLS Production celebrates with DoT

UAE: SLS Production recently awarded by Viola Communications to provide a complete technical support of Sound, Light, Stage, LED and Projection system for the Department of Transport (DoT) Awards Night at St. Regis Hotel, Abu Dhabi.

DoT Awards Night was organized to give tribute to employees for their long service with the institution. A series of presentations and film documentary about DoT were shown before the

awarding ceremony. Entertainment and live music accompanied the guests during their dinner.

A highlight of the show was when the performers did their number at the backstage in which the 19m x 5m LED screen was divided into two using the 27m track system for movable screen to reveal another screen on the center.

The performance was projected from the rear by a Christie 12K HD Projector.

The main P.A consisted of two flown JBL Vertec VT4888 arrays at the far peripherals of the LED wall and stage. These elements were rigged with 15º inner facing offsets at an 8 metre trim in order to supply an even horizontal and vertical sound coverage to the main VIP tables that housed the first 25 metres of the venue.

The main P.A had further Low Frequency reinforcement (LFE) by the way of two ground-stacked clusters of the VT4880 Sub element, explains Ben Spencer, SLS Sound Engineer for the event.

TY I T AN U DQ E UC D RE

Two lines of delay were used to achieve an even coverage to the rear of the venue.

Nexo PS15's were truss flown to compliment the main P.A whilst the first truss comprised of four boxes and a further two boxes were rigged on the back truss to slightly augment the narrow entrance to the room.

Delay compensation was added to the Nexo delay lines to create continuum in effect.

M. Hamza, Production Director, was there to supervise the 3-day production set-up and managing the show during the event. www.slspro.net

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32

ENNOVATIONS September - October 2013

PR Lighting: LED Studio series PR Lighting has formally announced the launch of its new LED Studio series. The first items set for release are the LED Studio 3700 — available in two models (White and RGBW) and with two colour temperatures. These units have been specifically designed to meet the requirements of the global market in TV studio, photography, and conference hall and stage sectors — with the principal application being in digital HD TV studios.

features as well as linear colour temperature correction from 3200K to 10000K. Both products adopt a high quality, long-life LED light source, offering huge energy saving benefits. The LED Studio 3700 White uses 12 x 10W white LEDs, while the LED Studio 3700 RGBW uses three each of the 10W R/G/B LEDs and 15W (white).

Both products offer a field angle of 0°-80°, 0-100% linearly adjustable dimmer and electronic strobe of 0.3-25 fps. Total power consumption of the White fixture is 135W @ 220V AC and the RGBW, which includes linear colour mixing with macro, is 150W @ 220V. www.pr-lighting.com

The LED Studio 3700 White features stable colour temperature (available in 3200K and 5600K), high CRI, soft and even light output and high efficient cooling (without a fan) while the LED 3700 (RGBW) boasts the same

American DJ: Inno Spot LED unleash any of its features, which include: 6 rotating, replaceable gobos; 8 colors + white; Gobo Scroll mode; Gobo Shake effect; 3-facet prism; pulse and variable speed strobe effect; and 0-100% dimming.

Powered by a 50-watt LED source, the compact intelligent moving is equipped with high-energy built-in lightshow programs, which kick in automatically when the unit is used in Sound-Active or Master-Slave modes.

The Inno Spot LED can be operated with a DMX-512 controller (10 DMX channels) to

Extremely user friendly, the Inno Spot LED features a convenient 4-button menu system on the rear panel that allows for simple navigation through its settings. In addition to manual and DMX operation, the unit is compatible with the optional ADJ UC3 Series controllers (sold separately) for easy remote control of its basic functions.

system. 17° beam angle and 540° pan/270° tilt, a manual focus and separate colour and gobo wheels.

It’s hard edge beam is similar to a traditional halogen or discharge lighting effects with a fraction of the power draw (93W) or the hassle of changing out light bulbs (LED source rated at 50,000 hours). Aimed for the mobile market, it weighs just 15 lbs./ 6.5 kg ad measures in at 9.75”L x 8.25”Wx 11.25”H/ 242 x 205.8 x 284.6mm. www.americandj.com

Other quality features on the Inno Spot LED include: Auto X-Y repositioning, stepper motors with microstepping for smooth, accurate movements; and a fan cooling

Allen & Heath: Firmware update for GS-R24 A firmware and driver update has been released for the recording console, GS-R24, bringing the mixer’s HUI emulation for Pro Tools to a new level. New controls available on the desk include bank swap, single/ multiple track selection, marker insertion and navigation, toggling between Mix and Edit view, and three jog-wheel functions (fast forward/rewind, scrub and shuttle).

waveform zoom, and selection mode to adjust ‘in’ and ‘out’ points or move the selection to a different track. Soft MIDI buttons 1 and 2 control and display the Mute and Track Arm status of the selected tracks.

Similarly, MIDI buttons 3 to 7 control and display the automation mode of the selected tracks, making it possible to switch quickly between Read, Write, Touch, Latch or Off.

The cursor buttons can now operate in three different modes: navigation mode to move the cursor across region boundaries, zoom mode to control horizontal and vertical

Users also benefit from a range of enhancements to the FireWire interface driver, including support of Mountain Lion and Windows 8. All existing GS-R24 users

can update their hardware with this new firmware.

To download the firmware, visit www.allenheath.com

34

ENNOVATIONS September - October 2013

Elation Professional: Platinum Spot 35 PRO Taking Philips MSR Platinum lamp technology to the next level of brawn and brightness, the 800-watt, featurepacked moving head spot is ideal for large stages, amphitheatres, sports arenas, and major concert tours. Featuring the 55,000-lumen, 7,800°K MSR Platinum 35, the fixture delivers up to 76,880 lux at 5 meters (minimum 8° zoom).

The Platinum Spot 35 PRO offers 0-100% mechanical dimming, a high-speed mechanical shutter/strobe, and sweepingmotion 540°/630°pan and 245°tilt. Plus, with premium features such as an 8°-50° motorized focus/zoom system; motorized iris (5%-100%); and 16-bit resolution on all motor functions.

most coveted features and conveniences.

For starters, it includes a built-in EWDMX wireless DMX receiver that allows it to receive DMX signals wirelessly from up to 3,000’ when used with an Elation EWDMX transmitter (sold separately).

The unit also comes equipped with 3-pin and 5-pin DMX connections. Three DMX channel operational modes (27/29/41) are available for versatile programming options.

Fixture can also be run manually in Sound-Active and Master-Slave modes.

Features built-in auto program macros, plus a microphone for triggering these programs via sound activation. A 6-button touch control panel with a full-colour 180° reversible menu display makes it easy to navigate through DMX and manual settings. As an added convenience, the display has its own rechargeable battery backup. www.elationlighting.com

From a user’s standpoint, too, the Platinum Spot 35 PRO incorporates today’s

Visio: BP-40 QW and BP-183 RGBW/CW/WW

3 projectors with compact designs that allow heat ventilation in rugged diecast aluminium housing with an IP66 protective rating. With the combination of the latest optic technology and electrical developing achievements, a new light sensor– photocell – is used so that these lights can light up automatically when the surrounding environment is getting dark.

All three fixtures require an input voltage of 100-240V AC, 50/60Hz and have a net weight of 4.2kgs.

BP-40 QW building projector LED spotlight uses 45W of energy and is equipped with 4 pieces of CREE MCE 10W Quad Colour LEDs and a specially designed lens. BP-40 QW is capable of showing (fade) via the LED touch-panel to set up operation modes without DMX control. Additionally the fixture is designed with a diffusion filter to change beam angles easily.

BP-183 RGBW features 18 pieces of 3W CREE LEDs (R4, G5, B5, W4) for colour

mixing effects. The seven lens options of the BP-183 RGBW (6°/15°/25°/25°×45° /40°/60°/80°) make it ideal for different applications including building façades, hotels, landscapes, theme parks and more.

For the BP-183 CW/WW, both AC and DMX dimming are available along with six lens options and various beam angles.

The BP-183CW/WW features 18 pieces of CREE White LEDs to deliver powerful outputs that are designed for accent and decorative lighting applications. www.visio-led.com

ACME : XP-15R Beam This high power moving head light provides a light output of up to 80000lux at 20m and a powerful beam via the Philips MSD Platinum 15R lamp. Featuring a 1° beam angle and specially designed triple 8 facet prisms, the fixture is able to offer a variety of projection effects.

Equipped with 12 rotating gobos and a smooth dimming range from 0 to 100% among 12 dichroic colours.

Different operator modes are available when connecting with the DMX Control channels that include 14/17/18 CH. Blue/ White LCD display with battery back-up for easy navigation. Highly flexible, the XP15R Beam has automatic pan/tilt position correction and electronic focus functions.

Uses RDA (Remote DMX addressing) so that the DMX address can be set up by universal controllers.

Compact in design with dimensions of 435 x 344 x 554mm and a net weight of 23.5kgs. Also exhibits easy calibration and maintenance by magnetic home positioning.

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FUTURE TIGER TOUCH

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ProAudio Technology: Optimised loudspeaker library for Konfigurator2 POWER CUBE

The frequency and phase response of the HT16 top in cut mode

To get the ideal sound as neutral as possible, an optimised ProAudio Technology loudspeaker library is now available for the Konfigurator2 software package. All passive loudspeakers separate MT10, MT12, M20 and HT16 produce loud ProAudio Technology by a linear phase technology (eg FIR) averaged over 6 octaves to 20 kHz zero degrees phase.

Due to the complex and low-loss passive crossovers, the passively crossed speakers in the system deliver a performance that one would expect from actively separate midrange speakers.

Also the usability has been improved.

Each speaker of ProAudio Technology can be assigned to each channel of the two 4-channel amplifier system arbitrarily.

And besides the internal FIR filter technology there are other free filters available for every channel. Apart from other parameters, the signal routing of the four amplifier inputs is also freely programmable. http://proaudio-technology.de/2_EN/ index.html

PEARL EXPERT TOUCH Avolites: +44 (0) 2089 658 522 avosales@avolites.com www.avolites.com

Total Solution: (+65) 6287 9878 sales@tsm-int.com www.tsm-int.com

36

ENNOVATIONS September - October 2013

GTD Lighting: GTD-230II Beam Based on OSRAM SIRIUS HRI 230W integrative new lamp source and the tailored imported 6 layers optics lens, the 230 II BEAM is outshining the market in the industry. The fixture has one fixed gobo wheel with 17 rotatable and indexable positions, a fixed color wheel with 14 dichroic filters and an independent 8 facet prism. It features super brightness, intensive sharp air effects, nature color, linearly adjusted beam edge and gobos, an independent smooth frost effect in great uniformity, clear-cut effects of 8 faced beam, 3-phase stepper motor to ensure low noise level and PAN/TILT fast moving, and stable switching power supply.

Furthermore, its rubber paint design makes the fixture more exquisite. www.gtd-china.com www.gtd-truss.com

YOU´ VE GOT THE SKILLS. SKILLS WE´ VE GOT THE TOOLS.

www.tsm-int.com Phone: +65-62879878 sales@tsm-int.com

www.coolux.com

Studiomaster Professional: Fire 84 sub-woofer

A dual 18” 2000W (RMS) high power subwoofer has been added to Studiomaster Professional's Fire Series. The sub-woofer incorporates two high performance 18” low frequency transducers with a 4” inside/outside wound voice coil for optimal power and maximum efficiency.

An efficient cabinet design coupled with a durable build quality and high quality carry handles make the Fire 84 easy to load, transport, and set up.

A unique characteristic of this sub-woofer is its ultra-compact enclosure design that ensures excellent low frequency re-

production. The sub-woofer has a broad frequency response of 30Hz-2000Hz with a max SPL of 134db. The Fire series already boasts of the popular Fire 55, a dual 15” 950W (RMS) loudspeaker and with their extended frequency range and high sensitivity, all Fire series loudspeakers are clean and flat. Like all members in the Fire family the, the Fire 84 also comes in rich brown paint finish.The unique brown colour makes the whole series very versatile. www.studiomasterprofessional.com

GLP: Impression X4 iPAD App The impression X4 from GLP is part of the award winning series of fixtures and features 19 high powered RGBW LED’s giving a homogenized output across a full zoom range of 7 to 50 degrees. One of the versatile features of the impression X4 is that users can create their own pixel designs on the fly and store them directly into their control console.

The new iPad app makes the process fast and easy by bringing up a mimic of the fixtures front lens layout. Users can tap individual lenses on and off to design the output that they would like.

Simultaneously the app displays the corresponding DMX channels and values to be input to the controller for the physical fixture. An additional feature of the app is the colour picker allowing you to see

colour selection on top of any pattern for a real feel of how a final pattern will appear.

The app is free to download from the Apple Store, and will soon be released for the iPhone and Android platforms. www.glp.de

HARMAN Martin: MAC Viper Quadray unique aspect to any show. An efficient effects engine provides designers and programmers the ability to create a whole new variety of looks that would otherwise be difficult or even impossible to program via a lighting console.

The MAC Viper Quadray houses a narrowrange zoom and includes the same highquality feature set as the MAC Viper AirFX, including a vibrant colour mixing system and stunning aerial designs. Additionally, it features the same compact form, impressive speed and superior light quality from the MAC Viper Family’s 1000-watt lamp.

The new MAC Viper Quadray adds to Martin’s award-winning MAC Viper Family of moving heads. This unique, multibeam luminaire has been deployed on international tours, including the Sarah Brightman tour with lighting design by Andi Watson, and Pitbull with lighting design by Justin Geiger.

The MAC Viper Quadray allows for the projection of four individually controllable rays of light – a new effect providing a

The MAC Viper Quadray is available as an easy-to-install front lens replacement kit for any standard MAC Viper AirFX. The lens kit installs (and uninstalls) quickly, providing flexibility of use and greater value from a single luminaire.

To know more about The MAC Viper Quarday, please scan the QR code for the youtube video: www.martin.com

38

ENNOVATIONS September - October 2013

Showline: SL NITRO 510 The SL NITRO 510 is a LED-based strobe that provides intense bursts of light and dynamic effects with over 1300 high-powered LEDs. The luminaire uses less power than traditional strobes, yet reaches up to 68,000 lumens.

It also has six programmable zones to create a multitude of looks and it can be used as a featured light source through the continuous duty cycle where the LEDs can be on at full for nearly unlimited amounts of time without any loss in output.

Currently shipping, SL NITRO 510 LED luminaires include a built-in quick-connect system that allows them to easily connect together in both horizontal and vertical orientations. The connection pins lock fixtures together while maintaining a perfect pixel pitch alignment of each fixture’s six programmable zones.

Additionally, to ensure they fit perfectly into the Showline family, SL NITRO 510 luminaires can quickly connect with SL BAR 520 luminaires. When the units are combined, both the pixels of the SL BAR 520 and the zones of the SL NITRO 510 align allowing symmetry and unlimited design possibilities. www.philips.com/showline

Allen & Heath: GLD OneMix app An iPad app that gives musicians wireless control of their personal monitor mix. GLD OneMix locks control to a single Aux mix, providing instant access to a customised easy-to-use monitor mix environment.

Multiple iPads can be set up by an administrative user to give numerous musicians personalised monitor control without affecting each other or the FOH main mix. A musician’s own aux monitor mix is assigned and locked into the ‘My Mix’ layer, and a selection of input splits dedicated to the individual musician can be added. Similarly, all other instrument send levels can be assigned to any of the three extra layers, allowing unique personal monitoring configuration.

The range of accessible settings is defined by custom permissions for each layer.

When in User mode, the musician is presented with simple-to-use access and control of their aux master level and processing, instrument send levels and

processing, if enabled. Depending on the application and the performer’s technical knowledge, the layout and level of access can be kept minimal or extended to a more complex musician’s monitor mix involving a high channel count across multiple layers. Notably, the mix can be tweaked and listened to by both the user on stage and the sound engineer at the desk, enabling easy interaction between the two. Up to 16 iPads running OneMix can be connected to a GLD system. www.allen-heath.com

Wireless done right!

Illumination Physics: LPSL – ‘Low Power Special Lens’ lens, they have now produced a ‘low power’ fixture that performs like past High Power technology –‘LPSL’ produces an intense asymmetric and parallel light footprint which is ideal for grazing applications..

The power of so called ‘Low Power’ LEDs has improved steadily over the years but because of their physical dimensions, the use of conventional lenses was precluded and attempts to shape the broad beam of lights had limited success. Illumination Physics has had a breakthrough.

Harnessing the enhanced power of the latest LEDs through a special asymmetric

Available in a range of colour temperatures from Very Warm White to Cool White, Mono Colour or RGB, the LPSL Linear Led Strip has a source life of 50,000 hours under normal operating conditions and is powered via remote 24V PSU / DMX Driver. Housed in an extruded anodized aluminium housing with a acrylic clear cover, the fixture operates at -200C ~ +600 C. LPSL is available in lengths of 510mm(standard), 758mm and 1006mm, or custom length upon request, weighing 1.6Kg per metre. Consumes 14W of power per metre and is connected via 2 pin IP rated connector or 4 pin for RGB versions.

Physical dimensions: 1006(L) x 47(W) x 36(H)mm. www.illuminationphysics.com.au

coolux: Configurator for Pandoras Box products coolux, the creators of the award winning Pandoras Box product family, have added a product configurator to their website.

The configurator leads customers through a series of questions in order to help them determine the perfect product for any given scenario. After answering the product and feature related questions, the configurator automatically generates a PDF with all the necessary information that can be instantly downloaded. coolux CEO, Jan Huewel, explained the benefits of using the configurator, “Since we offer a great variety of Pandoras Box products that share the same interface, we wanted to create a tool that makes it even easier for customers to find the perfect solution for their project ideas.

Obviously no product configurator can reflect a customer’s unique requirements with 100% accuracy, but still we think that the configurator puts the power into our customers’ own hands to do more in depth research in a quick and easy way.

• Industrys most reliable wireless DMX/RDM system • Automated Cognitive Coexistence • Is not disturbed by and will not disturb other systems • Lowest latency in the industry at 5 ms • Link range: 500-1000 meters line-of-sight • Advanced 128 bit encryption • One button takes care of all setup

The new configurator will also help with the knowledge transfer related to our powerful Pandoras Box toolkit. Using the configurator, one intuitively comes to understand the many different uses of our Pandoras Box product family.”

The coolux product configurator is available in English and Chinese and will soon be available in German.

For more information about LumenRadio’s wireless control products, please visit www.tsm-int.com

www.coolux.com

www.tsm-int.com • Phone: +65-62879878 • sales@tsm-int.com

40

ENNOVATIONS September - October 2013

JB-Lighting: LED washlight Sparx 7

multi-chip RGBW LEDs in the 15W class and comes with the technology, that is characteristic of the A8 and the A12 washlights. This includes, among others, a unique cooling system allowing maximum power consumption at minimum noise level, integrated radio DMX and 3phase stepper motors for real rapid and precise movements.

Lumen Freaks everywhere rejoice!

Philips Vari-Lite introduces the VL3015, VL3015LT & VL3515 Spot luminaires. All using the double-ended 1500W lamp that has been so effective and reliable in our large format wash luminaires, the VL3015 and VL3515 Spot luminaires feature 6:1 zoom optics and 27,000 lumens of output, while the VL3015LT boasts 10:1 zoom optics and can produce over 41,000 lumens.

All of the fixtures possess features that are identical to those found in the famous luminaires they are based upon, with the LT model also boasting a second fixed color wheel, frost, and a prism option.

The best just got brighter.

www.tsm-int.com Phone: +65-62879878 sales@tsm-int.com

www.vari-lite.com

The design and the arrangement of the lenses produce a circular light beam requiring only small bars between the lenses. The Sparx 7 is equipped with 19

Another highlight that has been added to the wide range of control options are the various layers of patterns available which can be combined freely for unlimited colour and pattern variations. This comes close to single chip control but requires only a fraction of DMX-channels. The Sparx 7 is a compact with dimensions of 320 x 385 x 200 mm and has a maximum power consumption of 350W. www.jblighting.com

Philips Strand Lighting: S21 LED raceway

The S21 LED raceway is a configurable power and date distribution system for use with all types of luminaires. An extension of the R21, C21, and A21 range of installed dimmer cabinets, these modular raceways are assembled to order with your choice of any combination of 3 power modules; a dual IGBT dimmer for conventionals and phase dimmable LED loads (IGBT dimmers can run forward/ reverse phase dimming) which features an Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor power device that works in tandem with a dedicated microprocessor to control almost any type of lighting load required; A dual relay module which features two switched

circuits each with a DMX output designed to power the PL1 and PL3 LED luminaires or the new VARI*LITE VLX wash family of LED automated sources. Each relay can be individually controlled to “Power down” your rig when it is not in use and the new quad LED driver module that can be used to control and power the PL Wash or Colour Kinetics Colour Blast luminaires.

Each S21 LED Raceway may be ordered to specification with a range of hangers for a variety of installation configurations. www.strandlighting.com

ETC: Source Four LED CYC refined pastels and vibrant, saturated hues.

The Source Four LED CYC is an adapter that aďŹƒxes to any Source Four LED luminaire, transforming it into a powerful tool to illuminate cycloramas. Using the x7 Color System, which combines up to seven LED colours in one unit, Source Four LED luminaires can provide a nearly limitless range of colours, from pure whites to

With the introduction of the Source Four LED CYC accessory, that colour flexibility can now be applied to cycloramas. “Painted cloths get the biggest benefits,�says ETC Entertainment Marketing Manager Matt ArmendarizKerr. “Designers can tweak the Source Four LED CYC’s colour to bring out or tone down certain hues, completely changing the mood of a scene.� With the strong beam that the Source Four family is known for, the Source Four LED CYC can evenly distribute light across the cyclorama, so

no gaps or seams are visible between the luminaires.

The Source Four LED CYC is a convenient and budget-friendly addition to stocks of luminaires, because of the Source Four LED’s multipurpose functionality. “Most venues keep a stock of lights that can only be used to light cycloramas,â€? explains ETC Fixtures Product Manager Jim Upho. “If a show doesn’t have a backdrop, those expensive fixtures are put back in storage.

The Source Four LED is much more versatile, because the CYC adapter can be removed when a backdrop is not needed, and the luminaire can be used with traditional lens barrels to light another part of the stage.�

Designers need just apply the cyc-lighting knowledge they already have and as soon as the CYC adapter is added to a Source Four LED, it’s ready to use. www.etcconnect.com

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42

EXHIBITION PREVIEW September - October 2013

Prolight + Sound Shanghai 2013 The next Prolight + Sound Shanghai, jointly organised by Messe Frankfurt and INTEX Shanghai Co Ltd, will be held 10 – 13 October 2013 at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre, Shanghai, China.

Prolight + Sound Shanghai crowned the “Shanghai International Brand Exhibition” Prolight + Sound Shanghai, a dynamic trade platform for professional audio, lighting, entertainment and event technology, was recently awarded the prestigious title of “Shanghai International Brand Exhibition” by the Shanghai Convention & Exhibition Industries Association.

The title was presented recently and only exhibitions that met specific requirements were eligible for an award. Requirements included compliance to the Procedures of Shanghai Municipality on the Administration of the Exhibition Industry; a high level of satisfaction from both exhibitors and visitors; and a high return rate of participating exhibitors.

Fiona Chiew, Deputy General Manager of Messe Frankfurt (Shanghai) Co Ltd shared, “It’s an honour to receive this award. It proves that Prolight + Sound Shanghai has established itself as a leading international trade fair providing exhibitors and visitors with a professional trading platform.”

Strong presence of leading pro audio and lighting suppliers Looking for business opportunities in the fast growing Asian market, exhibitors from Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Korea, Portugal, Russia, Taiwan, UK and the

US have signed up to showcase a variety of audio, visual, lighting and stage equipment, and AV integrated products.

TW Audio from Germany, an exhibitor for five consecutive years, sees the show as a powerful business platform.

“The show is one of the most important fairs on the Asian continent. We started our business in Asia at the show in 2009. Since then we have seen a constant growth and recognition of the TW Audio brand in China and Asia,” commented Managing Director Bernhard Wüstner.

This year, TW Audio will present their new flagship sound system VERA36 made for

large-scale events, at the show’s signature Concert Sound Arena, together with a powerful but compact T24 for mid-scale events.

Jeff Cai, Special Assistant to Chairman and Account Director from Sunrise Exact Industrial Co, a connector parts processor from Taiwan adds, “Continuous exposure at Prolight + Sound Shanghai is essential for us, as we rely heavily on this show to meet with customers from southeast China and other parts of the world.”

Sunrise is set to demonstrate its Heavy Duty Category 6 Network Cable this year.

Another leading professional audio supplier Samson Technologies will be showcasing its top brands such as Samson, Hartke and Zoom, whilst Electronics supplier AVSL Group will also make its first appearance at the show with its brands Chord, Citronic and QTX featuring DJ equipment and stage light effects.

Apart from individual exhibitors, some suppliers from Taiwan will be grouped into a pavilion, hoping to take advantage of strong demand in the Asian market.

LamaVita, a LED stage lighting equipment supplier has joined the Taiwan pavilion and Sylvia Lee, Marketing Director of the company shared, “Prolight + Sound Shanghai

is an effective platform to acquire customers and look for strategic partners.

“This is why we are bringing a full range of our products to the show, including the Digital LED tube, BOBhaze, RDM LEDpar& Controller, and Moving Head & Bar.” Jim Liao, Sales Manager of quick release pin manufacturer Jin Kou Enterprise Co Ltd shared the same sentiment, adding, “Our main customers are those famous companies in the stereo industry worldwide. This Shanghai show gives us multiple business opportunities in this sector, so it’s important for us.” www.prolight-sound.com www.messefrankfurt.com

44

SPECIAL FEATURE September - October 2013

Transforming Theatre and the Art Scene with Epson

By Rosalind Tan

I

n recent years, Epson, the world’s No. 1 Global Projector brand for 12 years, has been making its mark in Singapore as the projector brand of choice with its series of lifestyle collaborations and creative initiatives aimed at supporting the local arts and design scenes.

Epson Singapore collaborated closely with Aliwal Arts Centre for interactive performances during its Arts Night Crawl, and loaned its projectors for a recent local play, “Illogic” by Cake Theatre Productions. In addition to equipment loan, Epson worked closely with the partners behind-the-scenes to calibrate the projections for 3D surfaces, to create an exceptional visual extravaganza.

Performing art venues have stepped into the brave new world of digital, where the commitment to detail extends beyond the theatrical stage. Rather than merely projecting onto a flat surface, the advances in 2D video projection technology now allows projected images to be mapped onto elaborate stages and oddsize venues; much like watching a high-def 3D movie come to live, only without the audience having to wear the glasses.

To further explore this, Entertainment Technology Asia sat down with Tan May Lin, General Manager for Epson Singapore (Sales Division), to know more about these art initiatives and how AV technology can be creatively applied to enhance visual experiences beyond the classroom.

ETA: Could you elaborate and tell us more about the creative process leading to the art projection at Aliwal? What was the concept that Aliwal/Epson wanted to achieve?

May Lin: “In Epson, we believe in challenging traditional boundaries with the innovative use of the latest technology available – in this case, in the use of projectors. The projectors we have deployed are business models that are usually found in corporate and indoor settings.

We wanted to push the boundaries and use the technology to help artists express themselves on a bigger and different platform outdoors, and showcase their creativity to a mass audience.

Through projections as well as live demonstrations of portraiture and “virtual graffiti”, artists can break the boundaries of conventional art materials, and be free to experiment and create works of art on-the-go to envelope the building’s façade.”

ETA: It would seem that the trend of late, is moving steadily towards large scale projection and interactive sets. What would you consider most challenging in this project?

May Lin: “Projecting the 3D mapping of the multimedia work onto the building’s façade

requires very precise measurement of the building in order for the artist to develop the content. Epson and the artist involved worked together to ensure that the angle and positioning of the projectors, in relation to the façade’s surfaces, were just right.

Extensive rounds of testing & calibration work were repeatedly carried out so that the work projected onto the façade is sharp, vibrant and accurate.

During the segments where the artist showcased live drawings, the artist’s

drawings were transmitted via a third party device to the interactive projector through a server. Seamless integration of the various hardware components was essential to coordinate the process and feature a “real time” visual experience of the live projection.”

ETA: Epson was also recently involved in a stage play, Illogic. I should think having to transfer the visions on stage and to bring these different ideas/designs to life to be quite the challenge. How long did the whole planning process take?

May Lin: “According to CAKE Theatrical Productions, it took about 20 months, from the first creative meeting to the performance on stage.”

ETA: At which stage of the whole set-up was EPSON called in? Were you involved in the designing process, or only at the technical/ engineering stage?

May Lin: “Epson was approached by CAKE Theatrical Productions to collaborate by providing the projectors and the technical set-up.”

“Technology has often been seen as a double-edged sword.

When used appropriately as part of the creative process, we believe it can be an enabler to help transcend traditional boundaries such as space and resources.”

ETA: It’s really impressive to include 3D mapping and projections on set. Could you provide us with a brief rundown on how this was achieved? What were the projectors used in the play?

May Lin: “The technology for 3D mapping and projections for Illogic is similar to what was deployed during the Arts Night Crawl (which was on a larger and more extensive scale).

The three projectors include the Z8450WU business projector.”

ETA: I believe many in the theatre community, especially so for the traditionalists, would argue that such advanced, dynamic projection will distract the audience, thus breaking the spell of an artist’s performance. What are your thoughts on this? Is technology replacing the power of imagination? Is there a line

that technology shouldn’t cross when it comes to theatre and the performing arts?

May Lin: “Technology has often been seen as a double-edged sword. When used appropriately as part of the creative process, we believe it can be an enabler to help transcend traditional boundaries such as space and resources.”

ETA: And finally, what is the main difference between the projection technology used in theatre and that of outdoor projects (like Aliwal)?

May Lin: “The projection technology required is similar for large theatres, as well as outdoors projections. Both instances require projectors that can support large venue usage.

The projector lumens specifications are important to ensure that the projected work

46

SPECIAL FEATURE September - October 2013

About threatrical production “Illogic”

Held between 13 to 15 June, Illogic saw the integration of the cast’s performance with 3D mapping and dynamic projections on the set. The set’s backdrop was lit and changed by the projectors and video projections accompanied the cast’s dramatic sequences. Three projectors were used, including the Z8450WU business projector.

would be vibrant & bright enough, especially for outdoor usage. The lumens for both the white, as well as the colour light output, need to be high, as a high colour brightness allows projections to showcase vibrant and realistic colours.

All Epson projectors, including the ones used for large venues, feature its leading projection technology that provides 3x colour brightness to ensure that the image projections delivered are bright, vibrant and natural, even for outdoor usage.

Unlike projectors that may have high white light outputs but low colour light outputs, Epson 3LCD projectors are able to produce an equal number of white and color light output. For example, a 7000 white light lumens projector also displays 7000 colour light lumens. This ensures maximum colour brightness output for all projections.” www.epson.com.sg

About Aliwal Arts Centre’s Arts Night Crawl

Members of the public were treated to large-scale interactive projections on Aliwal Arts Centre’s façade during the Arts Night Crawl on 14 June. Local artists drew caricatures as well as graffiti designs in real-time on a white board with an interactive pen, using Epson’s interactive ultra-short-throw interactive projector EB-1410Wi. The creative process and results were instantly projected on the building’s façade. Including the EB-1410Wi, four projectors (2 of G5950 & 2 of G6150) were used during the collaboration to display the multimedia and art projections on two building facades.

Epson was the official Projection Partner for the Arts Night Crawl.

“For the performance of “Illogic”, I needed numerous projectors that had high lumens and were easy to configure to our system.

As the performance had multiple changing backdrops, I wanted to video map on the backdrop to change the terrain of the production. Epson has the perfect projectors and the colour accuracy was astounding!

We were looking at other projectors in the market and most were too big and bulky and some were not as bright even though the advertised lumens were similar to Epson.

Epson was a perfect match and I couldn’t have achieved what I wanted without the Epson projectors.”

– Brian Gothong Tan, Multimedia Designer, CAKE Theatrical Productions

48

MANAGEMENT PERSPECTIVE September - October 2013

Distinction-

The key to Avollusion's success Three years after being transferred from his residence in Sydney, Benson Looi saw that there was a service gap in the rental&staging scene in Hong Kong and with Managing partner Justin Choy decided to start a technical company with a difference. In a nutshell, Avollusion is a technical events production company whose capabilities cover everything that you would need to make an event run. In fact, they had made such a reputation for themselves that, just a year into their business that a buyout was offered. Realising the company had not fulfilled its evolution and vision, Benson and Justin quickly declined.

Now he is the Managing Director/Technical Director of one of the premier technical teams in Hong Kong whose vision is to be not just a supplier, but an event partner. Using cutting edge equipment and technology, Benson, Justin and the rest of the team from Avollusion bring unique solutions, global standards and professionalism to the local market and all over Asia. We proudly present to you an ETA exclusive with Benson Looi.

ETA: Thank you for speaking with us Benson. Before we jump in, can you give us a general view of the R&S market in HK?

Benson: I think the HK market is still quite young when it comes to international standards, but some aspects such as event design and a mostly ‘can do’ attitude, are quite far ahead which surprises a lot of international clients. It’s a very small market so collaborative relationships and fresh ideas are really the key to making things work.

ETA: Throughout the world, the R&S markets are quite competitive. How does Avollusion maintain its competitive edge?

Benson: We bring international standards to the Asian Market, a trait which international clients appreciate, and a lot of our return business is because of this. We make it a priority to keep up to date on the latest technological trends that help make us better equipped to fulfil clients’ needs. We have even been invited to be part of the R&D for certain products, which enables us to plan ahead in the future direction of the company as well as the events that we do.

Benson Looi

Truth be told, rental companies in the region can easily have the same equipment because money can buy you the best of anything.

What makes us, as a company, stand out are the people behind the equipment. Not just pressing buttons or focusing projectors, but the many hours of thought put into how to use these pieces of equipment in a smarter way to enhance the experience. Professional and incomparable service is a must but we’ve taken one step further in terms of equipment by asking ourselves what can we acquire that not many companies have in Asia, and how can we be the best at using it?

ETA: Has being the Managing Director at Avollusion changed your management styles to adapt to the R&S market?

Benson: Now I’m standing from a different viewpoint within the industry. I’m representing something that Justin and I have built and truly believe in and live by the notion that it’s not just YOUR (client) reputation on the line, but ours too.

Orchestra) and Alicia Keys was an amazing and rewarding experience.

Benson and Justin have never shied away from a challenge and as a company nothing is too small or too large for Avollusion. From private 10 pax dinners, to public events such as casino/resort openings, the man and the company have no plans of letting the waves settle. In his own words Benson describes them best, “Think of the wildest idea you can and we will definitely give it a shot!”

Want to take Benson up on his challenge?

Drop him an email at: benson.looi@ avollusion.com Another successful event in Hong Kong

ETA: What are some of the key products in your inventory?

Benson: Avollusion has high-end equipment such as Christie Projectors, Green Hippo’s Range of Hippotizer Media Servers and d&b speakers. But again whilst what you have is important, how you use it is the real challenge.

ETA: Can you expand on that?

Benson: Our team is always our top priority.

They are the ones using and mastering the equipment afterall, and in mission critical events this is always the make or break factor.

ETA: What are your criteria for choosing inventory and what are your ROI expectations?

Benson: We chose to specialise in 2 very strong brands that aren’t used by the majority of the R&S companies in the Hong Kong market: Christie Projectors and Green Hippo. We are working towards becoming the go-to company for these high end products and services in the region.

ROI expectations?? With these two brands, the sky’s the limit!

Benson: Even though we have been very fortunate to have carried out 7 casino/resort openings including the Venetian, Galaxy, City of Dreams in Macau and Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, I must say the All Things Digital (AsiaD) conference held in Hong Kong in 2012 is the one that stands out for me.

AsiaD was the inaugural expansion of the D: All Things Digital conference onto the global stage. Although countless companies pitched for this event, we were chosen based on our professionalism and technical know-how. It cemented our vision of bringing international standards to the local stage and that conference ended up winning the Best Geographical Conference Launch award at the Asian Conference Awards in 2012.

Another standout event was the Coco Lee and Bruce Rockowitz wedding. Working with international high profile acts Bruno Mars (singing with the HK Philharmonic

ETA: How do you keep staff motivated in such a hectic industry?

Benson: I truly believe in work/life balance.

Our industry is not a 9-5 but the flexible and demanding hours call for flexible (and demanding) time off. Our range of work is also quite invigorating. One day it could be a standard conference, the next day a fashion show, and the next a gala dinner. Making sure we all have time to ourselves and a wide range of event genres helps us stay on top of our game.

ETA: Is there any show that comes to mind which you are particularly fond of and how did Avollusion attribute to its success?

www.avollusion.com

Full set-up done in Japan

Avollusion in Macau

50

TECH TALK September - October 2013

How to read microphone specifications An extract from DPA Microphone University: Choosing the right mics for the job When you read microphone specifications in order to compare different microphones, it is extremely important that you understand how to interpret them. In most cases the specifications can be measured or calculated in many different ways.

In particular, directional microphones can, in their attempt to suppress sound from the sides, get an uneven off-axis response:

There are two typical standards:

This article is designed to help evaluate specifications in a meaningful way.

While microphone specifications provide an indication of a microphone's electro-acoustic performance, they will not give you the total appreciation of how it will sound – just as it is with cars.

Knowing that it is a 3.0 turbo-engine with 4WD gives you an idea of a pretty good driving experience, but for the exact feeling, you need to drive the car yourself.

Frequency range/frequency response Frequency range tells you the range of the frequencies (for example 20 Hz to 20 kHz) that the microphone can pick up and reproduce, but not how well the different frequencies are reproduced. To see that you need the frequency response:

On-and off-axis responses of 4011A/4012/4011C cardioid microphones measured at 30 cm

Finally a polar plot can show the 360° response of selected frequencies.

The response curves should be smooth and symmetric to show an uncolored sound.

Extreme peaks and valleys are unwanted and the response curves should not cross each other.

From the polar diagram you can also see how omnidirectional microphones usually become more directional at higher frequencies.

1. The dB(A) scale will weight the SPL according to the ear's sensitivity, especially filtering out low frequency noise. Good results (very low noise) in this scale are usually below 15 dB(A).

2. The ITU-R BS.468-4 scale uses a different weighting, so in this scale, good results are below 25 dB. Sensitivity, sound pressure level (SPL) handling & total harmonic distortion (THD) Sensitivity tells you how well the microphone can convert the acoustic sound into electricity and according to the IEC 60268-4 norm, the sensitivity is measured in mV per Pascal (air pressure) at 1 kHz. The higher the sensitivity the better, because it reduces the need for amplification and therefore reduces the amplification noise.

SPL handling tells you how much sound pressure in dB the microphone can handle before it either clips (the diaphragm hits the backplate or the amplifier overloads) or reaches a certain level of distortion (THD or total harmonic distortion).

DPA 4006A Frequency Response

Here you see how linear the response is or if the microphone has any ‘spikes’. But pay attention to the scale on the left. The number of dB each step represents can vary a lot.

A low noise level is especially desirable when working with low sound pressure levels so the sound will not drown in noise from the microphone itself. The self-noise also dictates the lower limitation in the microphone's dynamic range.

20 kHz 15 kHz 10 kHz

Typically either 0,5% or 1%. The higher level of sound pressure before clip or distortion the better.

Example:

DPA 4004 Hi-SPL Omnidirectional Microphone, 130 V: Maximum sound pressure level:168 dB SPL peak Total harmonic distortion: 142 dB SPL peak (<0.5 % THD), 148 dB SPL peak (<1 % THD)

The frequency response normally refers to the on-axis response, which means from a sound source right in front of the microphone. The diffuse field response curve will illustrate how the microphone will respond in a highly reverberant sound field.

Equivalent noise level /self noise

www.dpamicrophones.com

The off-axis response is also important to examine. A microphone always takes in sound from the sides too, the question is just how much and how good it sounds.

The equivalent noise level indicates the sound pressure level that will create the same voltage that the self-noise from the microphone will produce.

Scan here for the full report “The Essentials of Microphone Technology”

5 kHz 1 kHz

4006A Omnidirectional Microphone

D.A.S. Audio, S.A. C/ Islas Baleares, 24 46988 Fuente del Jarro Valencia - Spain Tel. +34 961 340 860

D.A.S. Audio of America, Inc. Sunset Palmetto Park 6816 NW 77TH Court Miami, FL. 3166 - U.S.A. Toll Free - 1-888-DAS 4 USA

D.A.S. Audio Asia PTE. LTD. 25 Kaki Bukit Crescent #01-00/02-00 Kaki Bukit Techpark, 1 Singapore 416256 Tel. +65 6742 0151

52

TECH TALK September - October 2013

Who's afraid of the little black box?

The fear of wireless stops us from moving forward and embracing a new age where the intangible is more reliable than what you can see or touch. Leading the charge in the name of wireless for the past 12 years has been Wireless Solution Sweden AB (Wireless Solution). Founded by Niclas Arvidsson, Wireless Solutions was the pioneer company into the foray of simplified wireless products. Now the company is responsible for the design and production of W-DMX, the award winning Wireless DMX system that is the un-official standard for those that require the most dependable product available for transmitting lighting control data wirelessly, no matter the distance or location.

Wireless begins...

Having started his career in the lighting industry in 1993, Niclas had the dream to become a DJ. After that didn't work out quite as he planned, he decided that instead of being a DJ, he would provide for DJs, thus, Disco and Company was born.

A company that would eventually come to be known as Interlite AB and who are now the official distributors for brands such as Clay Paky, MILOS, Avolite and D.T.S in Sweden. He explains, “I wanted to sell things to the nightclubs and DJs in the beginning so we sold and rented mainly DJ/disco equipment (effects, turntables, cd players). Step by step the company started growing and before we knew it, 3 years had passed and we were doing well enough to start buying directly from a few manufacturers in Italy. After Interlite took off, in 1997, we stopped all the rental and only did selling and I started to focus more on lights.”

ETA: At the time when Wireless Solutions started, there were already a few companies producing wireless products. What made/ makes Wireless Solution any different?

Niclas: While there were people before us who had done wireless products, those products were very complicated and expensive so people could really only buy them when there was absolutely no way

It was from Interlite AB that Wireless Solutions was born. The idea first struck Niclas in 2001 when his part-time engineer at Interlite took longer than required to design a PCB board which pushed Niclas to take it upon himself to get wireless off the ground.

The first official launch of products happened at the now defunct SIB exhibition which, at that time, was the largest light show in Italy.

At that time Interlite was distributing SGM and borrowed the companys' booth space to display the wireless prototypes which were, as Niclas says, “One really ugly metal box and two small plastic boxes which were controlling some of the SGM lights wirelessly.

It was only about 20-30m but the main point was that the products were there and working.” As unsightly as it may have been, it was the Generation 1 (G1) prototype that won the Innovative product award at PLASA in 2004.

After a few more tweaks, Wireless Solution finally brought Generation 2(G2) box to the to run a cable. So when we started the company, we said we needed to have a few parameters to follow in order to be successful, otherwise we would not be bringing anything new to the market. It had to be easy to use, so we started with only one button on the product and is still the same with our products today. It had to be a decent price so people could afford to buy because it wouldn't matter how cool the product was if we only sold 5-10 pieces every month, it

open market in 2005. G2 was immediately set apart due to its ability to jump all over the broadband spectrum whereas normal wireless links such as WIFI would be standing still. This in-built stability is what pushes the brand Wireless Solution till today. “Our products always jump all over the spectrum to make sure it can continue to go at the same speed as cables. Just like in a high traffic road, instead of having one lane, you have multiple lanes which you can switch between to reach your destination. We were the first to have the frequency hopping system to make sure there was a stable signal,” says Niclas.

Even though wireless lighting controls are making splashes in other parts of the world, there is something about Asia that just can't seem to get them on board.

In this ETA exclusive, we try to dispel some common misconceptions about the wireless concept and Niclas explains what it is to 'Think Wireless'. would not put any food on the table. And lastly, it had to be stable and reliable so people could depend on the product.

ETA: There is no official standard for wireless lighting control. Where does that leave Wireless Solutions in terms of comparability?

Niclas: There is really no comparability between the different systems on the market. If you are talking cable there's a

standard DMX but we are sending Wireless DMX so the question becomes how is it possible to send the DMX wirelessly without a standard? Since we started early, we now compare ourselves by being the brand with the most OEM companies using our products and also there are around 45 companies using W-DMX technology; Clay Paky, SGM, DTS, Chroma Q and Elation, just to mention a few.

ETA: So would it be correct to say that you are one of the main leaders of wireless technology?

Niclas: Yes because turnover wise we are bigger than all of the rest combined. We are the pioneer of wireless lighting controls but there are 2 to 3 other manufacturers but they are more of a second choice for wireless.

The market has been growing a lot in the past years and so have we and the competition.

This shows that there is more space for people on the market and there is a growing interest in wireless controls. I think its good to have competition because that's what drives me to be better. If I didn't have any competition I would be lazy and sit on my a** and do nothing. Why would I want to spend money on marketing and R&D if everyone was happy? But with competition, I need to spend money to keep on improving the products and coming up with new ideas while promoting them either in magazines or trade-shows because otherwise people will forget you.

ETA: Who are some of your current clients?

Niclas: SGM was our first OEM client meaning that they would buy the PCB modules from us and put it into their fixtures so my relationship with the main people of SGM is very good. Before they believed in wireless, they believed in us and it was because of that relationship that they started to install PCB into their fixtures. They were the first to use wireless inside their products and are still with us plus many other diďŹ&#x20AC;erent manufacturers including D.T.S and Elation who buy our PCB and install it in their products. Some manufacturers choose to just buy the card from us and install it in their products per requests.

ETA: Tell us about the fear of wireless in Asia.

Niclas: The fear comes because, essentially, what we are asking people to do is take away the cable that they have been using for 20-25 years and that's mentally diďŹ&#x192;cult.

You're asking someone to disconnect and trust something that they cannot see or

touch and especially when you are talking entertainment lighting, it can be scary. When you push the button something should happen immediately, not one second later.

It's 'Push' - 'Light'.

Our biggest obstacles come from developing countries like, India, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand. In these countries, labour costs are cheap compared to places like Europe.

For example in Thailand, if you employ a person for 10,000 BAHT (320 USD) and lets say our price for a single wireless unit is about the same, it means that to purchase a wireless system of 4 units is equal to 4 people a month. Management just sees it as having another labour cost but they don't count how much more hassle comes from a using a cable or how long an installation takes. A lot of time they don't see the whole picture and because of this we need to try to adapt the product to get it into the market. As a manufacturer you want people to want to have your product and there are many people who want it but think it is too expensive and its easier for them to use cable. This leads people to be more focused on the cost of buying wireless systems rather than the solution itself.

ETA: Price aside, isn't there a problem with trust as well?

Niclas: Yes there is a trust issue as well since people cannot see it, people cannot touch it, they need to rely on 'Is this really going to work'. And that needs a lot of training and convincing for many people and that is one of the important parts of our campaign in Asia.

During trade-shows is when we try to do seminars which don't cost anything to attend and we try to educate people on how to use our products and what to do if there are problems. Because, as with everything else, our products are not perfect and we don't try to make it sound like they are but from time to time when there is a problem it is usually a user problem. Of course there are times when the system fails, s*** happens and it can happen to anything from moving heads to consoles to anything.

ETA: What is the main pull to wireless then?

Niclas: Many requests in general relate to custom made designs or when they need to go over water or reach long distances.

There are two types of situations which make people contact us. The first and most typical is when it is very crystal clear that you need to go wireless and then the second one is what we have in countries like Sweden, Germany, England, France and the USA where our distributors have been able

to educate their clients to use wireless on a daily basis. In those countries, it has become a second nature to them. When they get a job they think, 'OK I grab my 10 moving heads to go do a show and yes, I bring my 4 wireless products at the same time. Maybe I use them, maybe I don't but I have them all the same.' These people realise what may be required in time crunches or when things don't go according to plan and you don't have time to do installations. So? *SNAP* Box there, box there, up in 2 minutes and you're done. When people start to realise that wireless helps a show, that's when our distributors start selling.

ETA: How do you get them to realise that?

Niclas: Training and demonstrations and more trainings and more demonstrations.

For Germany, Sweden and America, they are all proactive to wireless because they have already seen it working. But Asia is still a little bit behind. and its not because they don't want to but because they feel it may be too expensive sometimes. So we are coming out with a few new products for the developing Asian countries in the 4th quarter of 2013.

We are not going to change the technology, but we are removing components that are not the number one choice in the Asian continent and by that we can save costs on production and the product becomes more interesting in terms of pricing.

ETA: So what will we be losing?

Niclas: In small ways only. For example, in some boxes we have Ethernet modules as well as DMX but with the new ones its only one band instead of two. Instead of a 2.4 or 5.8 solution now it becomes only a 2.4 solution.

In very crowded situations, it can be good to go up on the second band of radio frequency but what we see in developing countries is that they are not developed on normal wireless either. There is less interference in the developing countries so it doesn't aďŹ&#x20AC;ect them much at all. So yes, we do remove some small features but at the same time it gives them an excellent introduction to an entry level of products and when they see that working, they most likely will want to invest to the second level of the more professional features. But the core is the same, how the radio is working is exactly the same and we don't compromise on the quality. We just remove some added value features and this drops the cost of production which therefore makes the product cheaper which we feel, is what Asia, Africa and even some parts of South America needs.

54

TECH TALK September - October 2013

ETA: Will your entry level products be sold in developed countries as well?

Niclas: No, we only want it to be available in the developing countries. It will be official but its not in the data catalogue and for the moment its only 2 products. One indoor and one outdoor, making it really simple.

That's also another thing that we want, simplicity and affordability. 3 models will be sold to the developing countries: Indoor, Professional Indoor and Professional Outdoor.

Very clear steps make it easier for our distributors to stop the product, to promote the product and to train their own staff. So it is easier to cater to our clients' different needs. 1 universe or 2? Depending on what you want. The lower cost units are our idea of an entry level which will allow people to step up and buy products with extra features when they are ready. In developed countries, the pro series will be sold side by side but the entry level products will be “a way in to the market – a door opening” to then continue to the top of the line.

ETA: The main problem in developing countries seems to be that they just don't trust something new. You can train and you can demonstrate but how does Wireless Solutions get people to take that leap?

Niclas: Baseball Bat? Laughs.. This is the thing that takes such a long time because, if you see how when wireless mics started in the beginning there were only the big players like Shure and the systems were really expensive.

That's the same way that wireless lighting control started in the 90s, a few players, extremely expensive and only used when cable was not possible. And step by step the development goes further and further so the trust is gained every year but it is, of course, up to us to show the clients that they can trust it but if the client doesn't dare to try then it will go much slower but the good thing with the entertainment industry is that it is technology driven so people are curious to test. Especially if they don't need to pay for it. For us, all our distributors MUST have demo kits and they MUST lend them out free of charge. This gives people the chance to test it and see that it is working and feel comfortable with it. We even show them how to get the systems to fail so they know what you should not do because people do come up with stupid ideas sometimes.

ETA: Can you elaborate?

Niclas: The stupidest idea I've seen was when we did an installation in China many years ago and it was in Autumn so there were no leaves on the trees and we had to go up a 2000m hill, place a receiver at the top and re-transmit down the valley again back to us.

After the set-up everything was working fine but 6 months later they called us and said nothing was working. I said, 'What do you mean nothing is working?' But they insisted it didn't work and we had to come down. So we sent a technician from Sweden to China and once he saw the transmitter behind, what had now become a big big tree full of leaves after the season changed, he immediately knew the signal had become too weak to work properly. The signal had to pass through all the leaves so all he did was move it 2m and it worked. It is things like that, where people do not want to try but immediately call us for help. With any new technology, you need to play around with it in order for you to know how to get it to work.

ETA: Tell us about 'Thinking Wireless'.

Niclas: When we do training, we always say, 'Think Wireless', because in many applications you can think cable and do it in the same way but you need to be more open-minded and if you think about it in that way you can avoid many problems. It may be good if the signal goes over people's head rather than trying to shoot through 500 people. Or if you need to go through a building you have to plan out your position, so a little thinking goes a long way. Many people apply the same way of doing cables to doing wireless and they must realise that it is not the same thing. That's one of the training processes that we always talk about, standard procedure. It is a challenge but the fun part is when you see the result and you see the trust increase every year. From 20102012 we increased our turnover rate by 50%.

ETA: What are some of your strategies to keep Wireless in the mind of the consumer?

Niclas: Wireless lighting control it is one of the few markets where the client's are not the drivers, instead, it is the manufacturers.

The client who uses wireless doesn't really care what fancy word we put on our technology, as long as its working.

Wireless lighting control is still relatively new, so people don't think too much about all the functions or details. They just want it to work. That's why when we launch a product, we always try to put simple words

on the functions so people can relate to it. For example, saying something like 'Invisiwire' which is basically an invisible cable can isolate people because they do not understand it. But if you say, W-DMX then people automatically associate it with Wireless DMX. This use of simple words also applies to our products because people don't need to know every detail in the manual to make it work. If everything is good you should not even need to read the manual. For all the basic standard uses, just push the button and go. If you are going to do a big job, then maybe study the manual like everything else but if its a simple job, just push the button.

ETA: In your opinion, will wireless ever replace cable?

Niclas: Wireless for lighting control will never replace cable, that will just be a foolish dream because in some applications, even I as a wireless manufacturer know, cable is a better solution. More and more fixtures take more and more channels and the limitation today even if wireless were to get more advanced over the years and the use became more versatile, it would still be required in some combinations to use an Ethernet cable or existing computer products to distribute a signal. So I will say that Wireless DMX, honestly, if it can do 10% of all the jobs in the world, that market will still be huge. Silly BIG to be honest.

ETA: What are your predictions for the future of wireless in Asia?

Niclas: I think Asia is definitely becoming more accepting. The biggest challenge we will have is that as more and more products become wireless, the spectrum will become more and more full. One way to deal with this is to make the technology even better than today or to co-operate with the radio authorities to find new spectrum's that are available to use and free of charge. Unfortunately, that may take a very long time. For the moment, it is really about talking to different manufacturers of components because they know a lot about what's going on as well. Just for us, we will continue to make it simple and we will not make more than 8 to 9 products in general.

The products will remain simple to use and simple to teach. Easy, easy, easy, easy.

To learn more about Wireless Solutions, check out: www.wirelessdmx.com Or e-mail Niclas at: na@wirelessdmx.com

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Broadcast Asia 2013 Takeaways

BroadcastAsia2013, held for the first time at Marina Bay Sands, alongside CommunicAsia2013 and EnterpriseIT2013 from 18 to 21 June, Singapore, was a hit with the crowd as approximately 15,000 visitors swam in to get their hands on the gear and the latest technology. (*The total number of visitors for all three exhibitions was 51,000).

An Intrinsic Crowd The hustle and bustle of the show floor was kept to a minimum at this year’s show as the once-familiar sight of open floor spaces were replaced with a series of segregated booths spread across a maze of large meeting rooms.

Panasonic’s booth was also especially inviting with its mysterious “dark room” setup, complete with heavy draperies and neon lights.

The exhibition, which featured more than 710 exhibiting companies from 45 countries and regions, certainly brought forth new trends and technology breakthroughs including the much talked-about 4k technology, over-thetop (OTT) and cloud technology.

And as the industry witnesses a great shift in consumer demands from high- quality and on-the-go content to multiple platforms and more, the need to enhance user experience was placed at the forefront at this year’s BroadcastAsia2013 conference; where the seminars closely hewed to the theme “Enhancing User Experience, Monetizing Content”.

“This is a great show and a perfect platform for Nuage. I think we’re located at one of the best spots, where it can best capture the impression of the Nuage. With our equipment all laid out in the open, it definitely draws the curiosity of the crowd,“ shared Lawrence, Assistant General Manager of PA/CA Marketing for Yamaha Music Asia.

Visitors filling up the hallways

Strenuous navigation aside, the exhibition scored some great wins with several exhibitors.

Yamaha once again rolled out its flagship Nuage audio post-production system, with recording engineer Ashly Shepherd taking the reins for the demo sessions.

Summer Neo, Marketing Support Executive for the Professional Display Division at Panasonic Systems Asia Pacific explains, “This year, with a much bigger booth, we were able to be more creative. We went ahead with a futuristic theme that consisted of odd-shaped screens and bolder displays.”

To cater to the stream of visitors, Panasonic arranged a special fashion show that showcased the theme of “past, present and future” in the form of 3D projection mapping against an unorthodox ceiling structure

microphones, even in the presence of direct interference.

and wall, as well as a portrait projection slideshow using the PT-DZ21KE and PTDZ13KE projectors. Panasonic also put on a “Cube Dance” programme that featured dancers holding onto projection mapped cubes.

New Faces and Product Launches Taking on the BroadcastAsia crowd for the first time was Total Solution Holdings Pte Ltd, who was on site to showcase its coolux Pandoras Box system’s impressive 4K realtime playout and compositing capabilities.

Shure Axient

E&E’s Sales & Product Manager Gerald Chew shares, “The system is very popular in the industry as it constantly scans for interferences, all while maintaining a list of back-up frequencies to provide a clean and compatible frequency whenever required.”

Built in line with its new global booth standards, Sennheiser had the crowd basking in the buzz at their booth, with the series of new product launches including the Digital 9000 series and the LSP 500 PRO which were unveiled for the first time in Southeast Asia.

As 4K technology took precedence at this year’s show, Sony went in line with its theme of ‘Beyond Definition’, to unveil the newest member of its XDCAM-series camcorders – the PMW-300.

Hailed as the market's first semi-shoulder camcorder, the PMW-300 was certainly the crowd magnet, as it can easily adapt to different types of shooting scenarios; making it a great workhouse for broadcast, productions and corporate events.

Total Solutions engaging customers at their booth

“coolux can do so much more – and that’s what we’re here to demonstrate, and also to tap into a different target market. It is our first year at BroadcastAsia and we’ve quite pleased with the turnout so far,” T. Vijay, Deputy Business Development Manager of Total Solution enthused.

Looking Ahead As BroadcastAsia bid goodbye to a successful 2013 show, organizer Singapore Exhibition Services (SES) is already looking ahead to BroadcastAsia2014.

Sitting proud and pretty at the Mahajak SKM booth was the Studer Vista 1, the latest addition to the long-established Studer range of digital mixing consoles.

The Vista 1 incorporates all the features that TV broadcasters require: the control surface, I/O system, DSP and power supplies, etc.

Also on display were the OnAir 1500 and OnAir 2500, a flexible hybrid solution befitting the adverse broadcasting environment.

Electronics & Engineering Pte Ltd (E&E) also showcased its much sought-after Shure Axient, a wireless system designed to deliver clean, uninterrupted audio for mission-critical

With BroadcastAsia2014 coinciding with the FIFA 2014 World Cup in Brazil, visitors to BroadcastAsia2014 are in for a special treat!

The Anakonda

Sennheiser also hit the mark in eye-catching fashion with their fascinating Anakonda K-array, a bendable speaker that can adapt to almost any integration environment.

“K-arrays are usually not shown but it seemed to apply this year. Although the (crowd) traffic is a bit slow, the response was pretty promising. It’s definitely a good place to meet with the right crowd,” Ada Yen, Marketing Executive for Sennheiser Electronic Asia mused.

“Sports is still the main driver for live content delivery and we will have a special feature area for sports-casting at BroadcastAsia2014.

We are working with several vendors to demonstrate the viewing of sports content — likely to include footage from the FIFA 2014 World Cup — from multiple angles and on multiple platforms,” commented Calvin Koh, assistant project director of BroadcastAsia, SES. www.broadcast-asia.com

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PALME Asia 2013 focuses Back for its 27th edition, PALME Asia 2013 offered both visitors and exhibitors a much needed platform to come together in a place where ideas flowed and sales or competition wasn’t the first priority. Held at the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, the convention brought together customers, distributors, manufacturers, consultants and integrators in a setting where work and play could co-exist.

The exhibition floor featured a myriad of over 160 established brands and companies from over 26 countries spread over an estimate 5,000 square meters of exhibit space. The show though intimate in size still showcased many new products that were recently launched internationally and which offered visitors from the region the opportunity to view them up and close. Kudos too to many of the exhibitors who created visually attractive booths.

A fair number of exhibitors were present for branding purposes and of course to show their latest solutions. Dave Loh, General Manager of Mahajak SKM Electronics Pte Ltd (MSE) pointed out, “Visibility is very important. As a HARMAN distributor, we come to the tradeshow because, firstly, its market branding, all the big brands have to be here. Next because we are a Singapore distributor and because MSE is a fairly new company, my duty here is to build the company in the eyes of the industry and to gain confidence from potential clients.”

Reiterating the point was Martin Professional’s Managing Director, Soren

Soren Storm of Martin Professional

Augustine Edward of TWAudio

Storm who said, “We have an opportunity to meet new clients even though we rarely do business in these exhibitions and it’s also about branding.”

people knowing the products because we are pretty new in this part of the world,” said Augustine Edward, Technical Support for Asia, TWAudio.

PALME does continue to attract the regional crowd albeit in smaller numbers. Informa continues to put in efforts to attract visitors to the exhibition and though visitor-ship is smaller compared to the much earlier years of the exhibition, those who attend the exhibition are there with a purpose. As Menze Van Der Sluis, Managing Director at Prolyte Asia Pacific puts it best with regards to the quality of the customers, “We’re quite satisfied with the refreshing mix of customers that this trade show brings. It’s a great place to discuss branding matters and to network with existing customers. After all, face to face is always better.”

Visitors too had positive comments about the exhibition. “Overall, I found the quality and variety of vendors occupying the main space good,” said Dom Clements, Assistant Technical Manager for Scenic Fabrication, Resorts World Sentosa, Singapore. Peter Tjahjadi, Sound Engineer, GKI CIAMIS, Indonesia adds, “PALME always brings new perspectives, improves knowledge, & expands network!”

At least one exhibitor was caught off guard with regards to the exhibition. “While there isn’t much in quantity, the quality of the guests is great. We’re surprised with all the enquiries we’ve been receiving and the

Some sales were also concluded at the show floor thus helping to keep the buzz alive at the exhibition. One of those companies was Quad Professional. “Exhibitions are always helpful and overall we are quite happy with the turnout this year. Before I even signed the booth I had already made the decision that it was definitely worth it,” said Vincent Tan, of Quad Professional who sold off all the Klark Teknick DI boxes in this booth.

on knowledge upgrading This year, the organisers, Informa, had put in more effort in bringing in seminars and training programmes to help the industry upgrade its knowledge. Almost all of the seminars had very good turn up of delegates including the paid ones. This additional initiative definitely created a buzz within the exhibition and attracted a fair range of regional visitors. This initiative was further supplemented with manufacturer training programmes thus providing visitors with the opportunity to learn, network and share.

Seminar and Training initiatives

Entertainment Technology Asia got in on the mix by organising the first ever 2-day Core Principles of Audio In-person Seminar hosted

by Synergetic Audio Concepts(SynAudCon).

With an impressive attendance of 54 delegates from across Asia, the seminar was considered a smashing success. Chua Cong Wei, System Engineer of Electro-Acoustics Systems Pte Ltd, comments, “The seminar is very informative for anyone interested in audio and I would highly recommend it to anyone.” Eric Haslim of PT Citra Intirama, Indonesia reiterates the point, “This is a truly

Pat Brown of SynAudCon conducting the Core Principles of Audio seminar

Delegates of the SynAudCon seminar

excellent seminar for both beginners and also anyone in the professional audio industry looking for a refresher course. A very down to earth and honest approach to pro audio fundamentals that will provide invaluable knowledge and skills for years to come.”

The seminar was sponsored by Harman and Mahajak and saw delegates from India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines and of course Singapore.

Other seminars that were conducted throughout the three days included a one and a half day seminar on Safety in the Entertainment Industry; Eco-Solutions for the Entertainment Industry; Room Acoustics Fundamentals by David Marsh of Kinsella Marsh Group, USA; Houses of Worship Technologies; Architainment Lighting Technologies and AV Technologies for the Hospitality Industry which saw a decent turnout of AV managers from the hospitality industry turn up for the talk by Ranjit Singh, CTS-D, CTS-I.

Robert Soo conducting the Houses of Worship Technologies seminar

Ranjit Singh, CTS-D, CTS-I conducting the AV Technologies for the Hospitality Industry seminar

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The Safety in the Entertainment Industry panel discussion

The Safety in the Entertainment Industry conference and panel discussion was held for the first time in PALME and it is a very timely conference as more events are held in the region which need to be held to the highest standards. The experienced speakers from Australia, New Zealand, USA, UK and Hong Kong shared their invaluable views and experiences with the delegates. The added bonus was the 9 Safety Development Units (SDU) awarded to Singapore delegates by the Singapore Institute of Safety Officers, which is accredited by the Singapore Ministry of Manpower, thus helping the delegates with their yearly license renewal.

training workshops throughout the 3 days of the exhibition to familiarize the industry with their new LiveCore series. Distributors from Indonesia, partners from Malaysia, Brunei and other parts of SEA made the trip to Singapore to welcome the new series. At the end of every day, Analog Way’s VP for Asia Pacific, Willian Roddes performed a demo of the products and also allowed guests to have their very own hands-on sessions. “The point is to show them the LiveCore series as well as educate and explain to them the difference between the LiveCore series and the traditional range of our products,” said William.

The Rational Acoustics Smaart Live V7 training presented by Electronics and Engineering Pte Ltd and conducted by Chris Tsanjoures

Roy Lee, Marina Bay Sands’ very own Rigging and Staging Manager of Entertainment who attended the conference and panel discussion comments, “It was useful personally and it was much needed, because there was a lot of information shared in regards to what other people are doing around the region and world. It would be futile to develop something that is specifically for Singapore without taking into consideration what is happening around the world because we are receiving shows from all over the world.” He continues, “Just the exchange of ideas and learning from people who have threaded the paths before and learning what you should avoid, to me, were the key takeaways.”

Electronics and Engineering Ptd Ltd (E&E) held an introduction to Rational Acoustics Smaart Live V7 by Rational Acoustic representative Chris Tsanjoures. Smaart v.7 Di (Dual-Channel Interface) is a simplified, streamlined, two channel version of the standard Smaart v.7 analysis software. Di is a quick, efficient, single transfer function analyser; which is perfect for nimble and precise measurements without the need or demands of multi-measurement and multi-mode complexity. Chris explains, “The cool thing about DI is it’s a bit more of an affordable version and its definitely an easier first step into measurement software for a majority of people. There are many technicians that are doing day to day measuring of systems where you need something fast to get the job done quickly and you can’t necessarily afford the time or have the need to go and measure things like impulse response and so, even for me, DI really covers 95% of the work that system engineers will need to do. For Asia as well as the rest of the Pro Audio community, DI just offers more of a fighter jet version of version 7.”

William Roddes of Analog Way conducting the LiveCore series training workshop

Keeping an Eye on the future

From industry seminars and training to product specific, Analog Way and Electronics Engineering got in on the action. Innovationdriven manufacturer, Analog Way, held

Another huge step that Informa took for this year's exhibition was to engage the young and those just coming into the industry. Coined as the Education Hub, within the exhibition hall, six schools

Education Hub

represented by students and alumni profiled their various industry related education programmes. These were the Singapore Institute of Technical Education, the Republic Polytechnic, Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Nanyang Polytechnic, SAE, and SSR from Indonesia.

These enabled visitors to understand the various certificate and diploma programmes that are specially tailored for the industry and to take the opportunity to upgrade themselves if they so wished.

Also within the Education hub was an open area set aside for a series of talks by renowned industry kin to inspire the new generation set to enter into the demands of the profession. The informal setting and presentation provided for interactive sessions. One of the presenters was Music producer and owner of recording studio Snakeweed Studios, Leonard Soosay who says, “I was here on behalf of the School of Audio Engineering and I was trying to inspire the visitors especially the younger ones. Many ask me what to do after they finish school or they think the music scene in Singapore is too small and there's no chance.

What I’m trying to tell all the young people is that there are opportunities out there and there are a lot of avenues you can go into. It’s how you use your knowledge, how you use your education and how you use your skills to actually do something with your life,” he stated.

Open talks helds at the Education Hub

Keeping the Beat

Pioneer helped continue the tradition of the DJ Battles that have been part and parcel of PALME Asia. This year it wasn't just about the battle of the DJs but clinics and performances helped to offer that much more for the visitors. There was the Electronic Dance Music Production Clinic presented by Industry producers Case Woo, Akien and Zushan as well as Tips and Tricks of Digital Scratching which was presented by DJ toMU. Performances to inspire the next generation of DJs was also showcased by DJ Pucuy from Indonesia who was the Pioneer Asia DJ Champion 2012.

The winner of the Apprentice Staging Design Competition: ITE College Central with the Managing Director of Informa Exhibitions Pte Ltd Rosalind Ng

Keeping the focus on the young, Informa also held the first PALME / ITE Apprentice Staging Design Competition. Students from related courses of the ITE namely; Performance Production and Electrical Technology (Lighting & Sound) were involved in this inaugural staging design competition, with the support of industry partners and exhibitors. Held in tandem with the Exhibitors cocktail reception on the first night of the show, students pitted their skills against each

other with their audio and lighting mixing skills. For many of them this was their first hands on experience in front of a crowd.

Said Anna Cheong, Exhibitions Director, Informa Exhibitons Pte Ltd, “It provided the participants with an excellent opportunity to understand the rigours of the industry and experience first hand the buzz of being involved in a live event. We hope that this will inspire them to improve and come into the industry.”

Beat Box entertainment at the PALME/ITE Apprentice Staging Design Competition cum Cocktail reception.

The runners up of the Apprentice Staging Design Competition: ITE College West with the Managing Director of Informa Exhibitions Pte Ltd Rosalind Ag

The crowd at the PALME/ITE Apprentice Staging Design Competition cum Cocktail reception.

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FROM THE SHOW FLOOR

Meditec focuses solely on Mipro

Analog Way features its full LiveCore platform range demonstrating their new LiveCore series.

This was supplemented with the LiveCore Series training seminar that was held at Level 3 of the convention centre.

Meditec offers a complete spectrum of audio products for both consumer and professional markets in Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei.

They are the sole agents for Mipro, FBT, KEMPTON, Tach, Sherwood, BSD, AV-Jefe and TVS products within these countries.

On their strategy for this years’ show, Lionel Lim, Managing Director at Meditec shares, “We decided to only showcase the MIPRO brand on its own for this year as we think this is the most cost-effective way towards brand building; as opposed to presenting a broader range of only a few from each of our distributed brands.” He continues, “The student crowd was especially heartening as they are our “future market”. It’s a great way to promote and spread the word about the MIPRO brand.” www.audio.com.sg www.mipro.com.tw

VSL Audio and Visual highlights dBTechnologies

Incorporated in 2002, VSL Audio & Video Sdn Bhd is a distributor and supplier of commercial audio, visual, stage and lighting equipment for the hospitality industry in Malaysia and South East Asia Region. The booth’s main product focus was based on Italian audio manufacturer, dBTechnologies speaker system of which VSL is the appointed distributor. www.vsl-group.net

Analog Way went all out to make their presence felt. They had one of the largest booths not only on the show floor but in their history of exhibiting at PALME Asia.

They made full use of it by exhibiting and

By the third day of the exhibition the response to the LiveCore series was widely positive. “We had some enquiries from interested parties and the strategy of the booth worked great because we had the systems on-site to allow them to get a feel of the series and allowed us to answer any and all of their questions, both visually and verbally,” said William. www.analogway.com

Prolyte showcases its newest hoist range Lifting, drive and control solutions from ProLyft make productions happen, on stage, on tour, in theatres or sports arenas. They ensure safe object or performer movements and protect performers in their daily work.

Following its recent launch in Palm China, and earlier back in Frankfurt, Moscow, Dubai, and Malaysia, Prolyte's newest hoist range, the ProLyft AETOS finally reached the shores of Singapore.

The AETOS range is fully equipped to meet future demands in lifting equipment and offers clever features and carefully engineered product attributes. The AETOS

range comprises of a standard 500kg and 1000kg hoist and will be expanded in the near future. www.prolyte.com

Audio Technica showcases System 10 digital wireless system One of the highlights of the brand's booth was the System 10 Digital Wireless System which targets musicians and end-users who want an uncomplicated system. Operating in the 2.4 GHz range, immune to TV and DTV interference, System 10 offers amazingly accurate sound and extremely easy operation with instantaneous channel selection, sync and set-up. System 10’s official ambassadors, Brandon Khoo and Simon Yong were on site to demonstrate the wireless system on the show floor. www.audio-technica.com.sg

Sindo brings latest solutions from its Principals to the exhibition Sindo who are distributors of Allen & Heath, QSC Audio and KV2 Audio, among others, featured a booth fully supported by their big name brands.

Proudly displayed at the booth were the latest offerings: QSC Audio’s AcousticPerformance Series Loudspeakers (AP Series); Allen & Heath's QU-16 compact digital mixer and KV2 Audio’s ESD 1.15 series speakers.

Total Solution dedicates a stand to coolux Total Solution is a veteran distributor of many of the top of the range lighting, truss, hoists, wireless and media system solutions.

As always the whole range of solutions were showcased at the exhibition. However this year Total Solution decided to dedicate an entire booth space to Coolux. “This year, we did it differently for coolux. The brand has a dedicated stand due to its popularity and over the last 4 years, we have been having great success with the brand,” said Glenn Wong, Managing Director of Total Solution. It is not surprising as Coolux has made a huge impact within the industry.

Quad Professional sells off all its Klark Teknik DI Boxes

Vincent Tan, Quad Professionals’ Sales Director called the new DN200 Dual-Channel Active DI Box a testament to, “Klark Teknik quality”. The team had brought in only 12 units for the show and by the first day, a customer had already offered to relieve them of all their units. Vincent explains, “We wanted to use the show as a platform to introduce this product but surprisingly the demand was quite high and it caught us off guard.” www.quadpro.com.sg

Robe showcases the MiniMe

www.tsm-int.com www.coolux.com

Harman’s Martin showcases its Viper and Rush series Strobe and more. The MAC Viper Wash™ and MAC Viper Wash DX™ with internal framing are full-range wash luminaires capable of performing at the high level you would expect from a professional wash light. Both luminaires feature the same compact form, impressive speed, superior light quality and beautiful colours of the MAC Viper Family and use the same 1000 W HID source.

Displayed for the first time in Asia was the entire Viper series which includes the Viper Profile, Performance and 2 wash lights and the Rush series which features Beam, Wash,

First launched at Prolight + Sound Frankfurt, RUSH is Martin’s new, costeffective line of installation effects. www.martin.com

Featuring the MiniMe effects lighting luminaire for the first time in Asia, the team from Robe were represented by their own booth combined with their distributor in Singapore, Lighting & Sound Distribution (LSD). The luminaire features a full video output with colours, gobos and beam shapes that are all digitally generated by the onboard micro-media server. Custom artwork, still photographs and video can be simply uploaded for projection, whilst live video can be streamed through the HDMI input.

Another hot favourite at the stand was the Robe Robin Pointe which is now very popular among international touring bands. www.robe.cz www.lsdsingapore.com

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LSC Lighting makes a sale with its new LSC LX600 Clarity console

The Australian manufacturer showcased its solutions at its distributor booth, Lighting & Sound Distribution and went off pleased with the sale of its new LX600 Clarity console.

Louis Teo of LSD, made the sale to AIMS Productions LLP. Edwin Tan, Business Development Sales and Marketing for AIMS Productions LLP shared, “We’ve been avid users of the Clarity VX20 since its first launch and it has been serving us pretty good.

However, our company has also grown bigger over the past few years. There’s a need for more features, which the old board does not support. Thus, it’s only natural that we went ahead with its much bigger brother.”

Laservision at home at MBS Partly why the company exhibited at this year’s show was due to the fact that their flagship project highlights the Marina Bay Sands venue every night.

The company had a large part to play in the conceptualisation of the laser light show that frames the venue when the sun goes down. Unfortunately, this is not public knowledge. That was where PALME Asia came in by helping provide a good opportunity for the team to make contact with many potential clients and explain exactly what it is that Laservision does – create and connect.

On display at the booth was the company’s XHD-54 LED fountain light that can be used as an outdoor light and comes equipped with 8000 lumens, full RGBW and a wide range of lenses. As well as the XHD Video Server which was brought to the market specifically because there was no other product like it. A server that is able to handle the complexity of large

scale 3D architectural lighting such as that of the Venetian Carnevale in Macau which the servers software is based off of.

Summing up the philosophy of Laservision, Shannon reminds everyone, “We sell turnkey solutions so instead of selling a product, we sell an attraction then we design the technology that we implement into that attraction.” www.laservision.sg

Sennheiser demonstrates its solutions with live performance Sennheiser got down to the basics by demonstrating how its solutions can work together to offer harmonious melody. Local guitarist Syltra Lee performed to an enthusiastic crowd over the 3 days of the exhibition. The rounded live stage was lined with the K-array Anakonda KAN 200 speakers around the sides of the stage, with the Sennheiser Digital 9000 Series microphones, as well as other K-array speakers including the Cheesebox (KRM 33) monitor speakers, Anakonda and the KR 202 portable Redline speakers.

The LX console allows seamless integrated control of conventional, LED and moving lights, media servers, and even audio playback from a single device. www.lsclighting.com www.lsdsingapore.com

Audio Light Asia presents solutions from GUIL

www.sennheiserasia.com

Mahajak SKM Electronics showcases full Harman range Showcased and represented for the first time at the show was the latest range of stage, lifting and trussing products from GUIL. Audio Light Asia is the exclusive distributor in Singapore for GUIL, who specialise in the design and manufacturing of staging, lifts, trussing, crowd barriers, modular structures for audio and lighting equipment. www.audiolight.com.sg

Taking up a huge stand at the back of the Exhibiton Hall was Mahajak which showcased the whole range of Harman solutions. Mahajak had also set up a mini stage to showcase the range of their solutions with performances from artistes.

The busy booth got busier during their own VIP drink sessions period. Personnel from Harman were also at the stand to assist Mahajak and one of them was Harman's newest additon, Vince Perreux who is the Tour Sound Market manager for Asia. He assisted with inquiries and the

overall management of the booth as part of his welcome to Harman’s crew.

Acoustic & Lighting System brings to market an alternative lighting console

MDG provides effects at the exhibition

The Acoustic & Lighting booth was one of the few booths that was almost fully furnished with products new to the Asian market. The main draws to booth this year were the new Clay Paky Sharpy Wash light and the new TT range from RCF. Also on display was the new MQ16 lighting controller from Chamsys.

“The MQ16 allows the market to consider another brand when it comes to choice of lighting consoles,” stated Eugene Yeo, asistant sales manager, Acoustic & Lighting System Pte Ltd. 4 sets had already been sold before PALME Asia opened its doors. Chamsys is jointly distributed by A&L and Malaysian based Stage Lighting Technology Asia (SLTA) within Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia. SLTA was also present at the booth to help out with queries through its General Manager Sebatien Juromwich.

www.mdgfog.com

www.acousticandlighting.com

Electronics & Engineering launches Shure GLX-D and BLX line

Always prominent at PALME Asia, E&E once again took up a huge space at the front entrance of the exhibition to showcase the many solutions from its various principals. EAW's recently launched Anya made a debut as well. E&E also took the opportunity to showcase Shure's GLX-D Digital Wireless Systems as well as the BLX Wireless System that was launched at NAMM this year. The revolutionary Shure GLX-D Digital Wireless Systems combine leading-edge LINKFREQ Automatic Frequency Management technology with best-in-class intelligent lithium-ion battery rechargeability to define the new standard for seamless operation and digital audio clarity. The GLX-D system features a wireless receiver (GLXD4), a handheld transmitter (GLXD2), and is well suited for front and back vocal and small performances as well as for guitars, bass woodwind and percussion instruments. www.enepl.com.sg www.shure.com/asia

A booth without walls allowed the products of Canadian manufacturer, MDG to be displayed proudly. A smart move considering the main highlight of the company’s booth was their ICE FOG Series. Extremely quiet and low fog products that come in a self-contained unit on wheels for easy transport, the ICE FOG series products are compatible with remote control timers and DMX interfaces. The Ice Fog Q- the quietest low fog generator on the market has a low fluid consumption of 0.09 L/3oz per minute at full output and has been sold to international acrobat act, Cirque Du Soleil amongst others.

(L-R) Hugh Chinnick from Pacific Lighting (H.K) Limited with Sales Director, Theirry Pouliot of MDG.

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Talented local pop/rock strings quartet, VOX at the Audio-Technica booth.

Winner of the Pre-event Seminar Delegates’ Lucky Dip with Anna Cheong of Informa.

Fahmi Pitono, Director of PT. Sentra Niaga Perkasa (SNP) Indonesia with the official plaque pronouncing the company as Analgo Way's new distributor. With him is Lawrence Wai, Regional Sales Manager for AnalogWay.

Winner of the Opening Reception Special Lucky Draw with Rosalind Ng of Informa.

JR Chai of Philips Varilite sharing his knowledge.

Dave Croxton of KV2 Audio with Koh Huimin of Sindo Exports.

Consultants, Distributors, Manufacturers, System Integrators...we are all one happy family.

Dina Menon of E&E with Chris Tsanjoures of Rational Acoustics.

Starting the party early:)

Glenn Wong of Total Solution.

68

EXHIBITION REVIEW September - October 2013

PALMM Philippines stronger than ever Entertainment Technology Asia exhibited for the very first time at this year's PALMM Philippines and the response was fantastic. Almost all our magazines were snatched up in a matter of hours on the first day! Before we delve into the review of the show, held at the SMX Convention Centre in Manila, the ETA team would sincerely like to thank everyone who showed their support for us and for the warm reception we received at our booth. And even though the exhibition for the professional Sound, Light and Visual industry was combined with other ongoing exhibitions this year, it still managed to stand out from the crowd. With exhibitions from the F&B and cosmetic industries going on at the same time and in the same area, it looked like a disaster but may have actually been a blessing. Not only did it create broader awareness for our industry, guests were also treated to a perfect chaos of entertainment with lighting, visuals and audio. By speaking to attendees on the show floor, it became clear that there was a little of something for everyone to be found at halls 1-4. Now read on, for the must-see highlights of the 2013 edition of PALMM Philippines!

Walking into the hall, one of the first things you would have seen was StageCraft Internationals' large booth. Placed right in front of the entrance to the halls, StageCraft went with a 'Summit' theme for their booth and displayed their products on a makeshift round-table with laptops and conference microphones. Corporate Communications Officer, E-Anne Enriquez stated, “Every year we have a theme and this years 'Summit' represents the different industries we cater to. We pair them with laptops to provide a visual description of our products while our sales reps are on hand to add that extra touch of support.”

(L-R)StageCraft International's Corporate communications officer, E-Anne Enriquez with Sales lead, Sheila.

Among the brands displayed were Barco Projectors, Vari*Lite fixtures, Robert Juliat, Panasonic screens and Sennheiser's D9000 series. “With our theme,we are promoting an integration of an entire system and clients benefit by gaining more insight about what they are purchasing,” she added. Daniel Lagdameo, the Business Development Manager for the Philippines arm of Sennheiser, was on hand to show his support and by the second day had catered to many inquiries from inquisitive attendees. The D9000 series includes the SKM 9000 digital handheld transmitter which carries the tag

of having 4 exclusive 9000 series microphone heads with lowest possible handling noise and pop sensitivity.

the exhibition hall. Reynald stated, “Even though we distribute over 100 brands, the systems we chose at this show had to cater to our theme. We chose EV because we wanted the full concept of broadcast to be seen and felt.” By the end of the second day, Robin was pleasantly surprised at the enthusiasm of the guests. “We have had so many inquiries and advance orders which is great, because now we can gage the response even before the official launching of the series,” he said. The official launch was said to be held later within the month.

System 5-B large format digital audio console from Avid/Euphonix seen @ the EVI Distribution Inc booth

Delving further into the throngs of exhibitors, a booth shared between Red Tech System Plus (Red Tech) and Stage Riggers was found.

Showcasing the latest offerings from the Prolyte Group, they were also assisted by Prolyte reps who were on hand for every day of the show. This was the first time that Stage Riggers and Red Tech worked hand in hand to display various products from the European manufacturer. The two main product focuses of the booth were Prolyte's i-line range which includes the standard X and H 30 and 40 range truss inclusive of the corners, connectors and other related accessories as well as the full StageDex’s staging range with

Parallel to the StageCraft booth and also going for a theme approach was EVI Distribution Inc, who steered their booth towards the broadcast market. According to Reynald Rodil, EVI's Product Manager for the Pro Audio division, the team chose the same prime spot (right at the entrance) and size (one of the largest) as last year's show.

Showcased at their booth was the System 5-B large format digital audio console from Avid/Euphonix. In fact, Robin told us that EVI were the pioneers who brought the brand and the console into the Philippines and had already sold the mixer to one of the largest churches in the Philippines, though he declined to name names. The console itself boasts famous users such as Cable News Network(CNN) in America, ABS-CBN a major news network in the Philippines, R&B artist Jay R Sillona and engineers from the Lord Of The Rings movie franchise.

As the official distributors of Electro-Voice in the Philippines, EVI also displayed the ZLX series of loudspeakers. With the series displayed right in the front of their booth, it was no surprise that those were the first products to be seen when one walked into

Prolyte's Managing Director for Asia Pacific, Menze Van Der Sluis (centre) with reps from Stage Riggers and Red Tech System Plus

accessories and the MPT Tower systems.

The i-line range inquiries were handled by representatives from Red Tech while Stage Riggers had a little bit more on their plate.

Not only were they showcasing the new ProLyft Aetos range of manual chain hoists, but they also held a seminar entitled 'Rigging Safety in the Entertainment Industry'.

According to Prolyte's Managing Director for Asia Pacific, Menze Van Der Sluis, the seminar was very well received. “We had close to 50 people show up and I think that was great.”

The seminar was used as a platform to also introduce the new hoist range to the market.

Aetos, which is Greek for Eagle, consists of quality in 2 versions. The manual chain hoists are available in a standard version and a rotable hand chain guide. Both versions off a 1000kg and a 500kg SWL capacity. According to the Prolyte Group, the new hoists are a must have for any elementary rigging needs in a variety of applications.

Italian manufacturers, FBT were also featured through their official distributor in the Philippines, One World Music and Sports, Inc (OWMS). Speaking to Export Manager for FBT, Roberto Mataloni he told us that he delayed his summer vacation in order to come down and show his support. “We have a lot of followers in this region, thanks to OWMS. They have managed to raise the awareness of our brand and provide us with a lot of important contacts,” he said.

The widely successful booth saw 20 confirmed sales of speaker systems by the last day of the show. Roberto gave the award for the booths biggest draw to the VERTUS CLA modular line array system, created for both live and fixed installation. Comprised of two products: the CLA 604a bi-amp two-way active column speakers and CLA 208Sa active subwoofer, the range was created with the thought of integrating professional line array technology in an extremely compact and elegant speaker column. Having attended the show in the past, Owner of OWMS, Allan Chua commented that the show was..

“Definitely growing fast in terms of brand quality and especially in the high-end range.

Clients are now more demanding and are learning more about what quality can offer and that helps us to help them.”

Also seen at the OWMS booth was D.T.S. Illuminazione srl. Exhibiting for the first time at PALMM Philippines, VP Sales Franco Zaghini and his team was quick to roll out their big guns MAX, JACK, RAPTOR and the NRG1201 and NRG501 moving heads – better known as ‘The Dream Team’. He shares, “This

D.T.S.’s Franco Zaghini and his team

A new addition to this year's exhibitor list was the Esco Pte Ltd booth. Headquartered in Singapore with regional offices spread across APAC, Esco has over 25 years of experience with technology services. While this was the first time the company exhibited at PALMM Philippines, Regional Manager, Jeffrey Reyes told us that they had received many positive reviews from clients and partners who had come from overseas to support them and their products. The company has just transferred their Philippines office to the City of Makati, which is one of the sixteen cities that make up Metro Manila. Their presence at the show according to Regional Manager, Jeffrey Rayes signalled their move into aggressive marketing and engaging of different vertical markets and industries.

“This year we just wanted to show our presence and prepare for next year where we plan to go all out.”

is definitely an interesting show. As we’re not quite known around here (in the Philippines), we’re really pleased with the crowd turnout.

I definitely see a lot of potential in this growing market.”

Keeping up with appearances, retailer and distributor, JB Music & Sports, Inc had one of the largest booths on the show floor. On display at the booth, among others, was Allen & Heath's latest rackable digital mixer, the Qu-16 aimed at the live, studio and installation market.

A&H representative, Alex Schlosser (centre) and Jericho Fernando, JB Music’s VP of Sales & Operations/Marketing Director (right) seen at the JB Music & Sports booth.

According to A&H representative, Alex Schlosser, the console has been receiving rave reviews in the Philippines and at the show itself. Jericho Fernando, JB Music's VP of Sales & Operations/Marketing Director told us that they had already sold out whatever mixers they had on hand and were trying to bring in more in order to cope with the demand from clients. “We have to bribe them(A&H) for more, we are trying to twist their arm”, he joked.

Regional Manager, Jeffrey Reyes (right) with the Esco team

One of the main things on the exhibitors minds this year was the growth of the show as compared to previous years. As stated by JB Music's Jericho Fernando,“This shows that the market in the Philippines is getting stronger and more prominent.” A statement concurred by representatives from One World Music and Sports, Inc and EVI Distribution.

E-Anne from StageCraft, like Jericho, felt the the show has finally started receiving the attention it deserves. She considered the show, “The best opportunity for us to showcase the brands we carry and the different possibilities that we can provide.”

As for the future of the show, there are optimistic views all around and though it has been said that many have not taken the show seriously in the past, that could not be said for this year's show. The PALMM Philippines exhibition is gaining momentum and is definitely something we should all keep an eye on. www.gesi.com.ph

70

INSTALL September - October 2013

SINGAPORE

Fernvale Primary School upgrades its audio system KV2 Audio, QSC and Allen & Heath solutions provide clarity The QSC AD S282H Speakers that acted as delay speakers

The KV2 ESD12 FOH speakers

Situational Awareness

Announcements are part and parcel of typical school environments. These could be announcements about specific events, a message from the school principal and more critically it could be safety announcements.

Thus it is important that students know what to do and where to go as well as understand other vital information with regards to the nature of the announcements made. In these situations having complete, accurate and up to the minute instructions is essential.

As children generally have a short attention span it is also important that the message is delivered clearly and loud enough for them to hear it. For this reason, Fernvale Primary decided to implement a technologically advanced audio system to address this as well as to ensure the security and well-being of the school children.

Designing and implementing the audio system was Singapore-based Creative Elifestyles Pte Ltd. With the new audio system in place, announcements and messages are delivered with extreme clarity to the listening ear, and more importantly

delivered clearly over the noise of the entire school.

Project Implementation

The solution Creative Elifestyles proposed for Fernvale Primary School Project consists of some new technologies like the Allen & Heath QU16 Digital Mixer Board and the KV2 Audio System ESD12 Two Way Full Range Speakers.

Prior to the KV2 Audio ESD 12 Front of House speakers that was chosen for the Government bid, the dimensions of the School Hall was sent to KV2 Audio in the Czech Republic to have an EASE acoustic simulation. The input of the KV2 Audio ESD 12â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s specifications into the EASE simulation software had been done and a few acoustic simulations were emulated to achieve the best possible firing angle and sound

dispersion for the School Hall, taking into consideration very carefully the Noise cancellation areas to cancel or at least minimize unwanted sounds.

With the innovative pursuance of excellence, the KV2 ESD range encapsulates multiple disciplines, with a time aligned two way passive network in mid hi enclosures.

Building block flexibility in full system design and accompanied by electronics specifically designed to obtain superior audio performance, the ESD range offers genuine ease of set up and operation in a wide spectrum of applications.

For the delay speakers, two units of QSC AD S282H was also incorporated with a further two units installed at the second level balcony area. An additional two units of QSC AD S82’s are used as monitors in the control room. All the speakers are powered by the QSC GX3 and GX5 Power Amplifiers.

Having taken care of the high sound pressure level needed, the next “want” on the list from the school was to have the system doubling up for music and drama performance as well. Which meant that the whole spectrum of the audible frequency range was needed.

To achieve this, Creative Elifestyles installed Allen & Heath's latest digital mixer, the QU16. Allen & Heath’s QU-16 Digital mixer takes compact digital mixing to a new level with innovative design and exceptional functionality combining to create a superb professional mixing experience. Bristling with all the features you did expect from a top of the range digital console and incorporating technologies pioneered on the GLD and iLive digital mixing systems, Qu-16 has the power

Allen & Heath QU16 – 16 Channel Digital Mixer

and pedigree to deliver class-leading audio performance.

Creative Elifestyles Team took the bold move to propose a digital mixer to a Primary School as it had understood the requirements that the School had and to understand how best to eliminate the issues the School had with the current analogue mixer board it had. The issues faced were that they were unable to control the right volume of a particular event such as during the Assembly or Flag Raising Ceremony. This in turn also raised an issue on the specific microphone volume by individuals such as the Principal, Vice Principal, Discipline Master, whereby they had to always correct the individual faders to find the correct volume & EQ levels required. The Allen & Heath QU16 Digital mixer did the trick as “scenes” were created to each individual event itself. Just by recalling a particular scene which had been programmed and stored, all they would

have to do is to recall a programmed scene, which triggered the QU16”s motorized faders to move into the preprogrammed level and EQ’s. This saved a lot of time and hassle compared to the analogue mixer board.

The new audio system has been embraced with open arms by the school. “The upgraded hall system provides clear output during assembly and other events. The ease of the digital mixer allows for the best projection of audio during assembly regardless of users,” said Mrs Mable Soh, Subject Head, ICT of Fernvale Primary School “Creative Elifestyles is able to design and successfully install this project because of the experience and dedication of its people as well as effective open communication channels with the school,” highlights Robert Adrian, Business Procurement Director, Creative Elifestyles Pte Ltd. The KV2 speakers as well as the QSC Audio solutions and Allen & Heath mixer was supplied by the local distributor Sindo Exports Pte Ltd.

EQUIPMENT

1 x Allen & Heath QU16 – 16 Channel Digital Mixer 2 X KV2 Audio ESD12 Speakers (FOH) 2 x QSC AD S282H Speakers (Delay) 2 x QSC AD S282H Speakers (Balcony) 2 x QSC AD S82 Speakers (Control Room) 3 x QSC GX5 Professional Power Amplifiers 1 x QSC GX3 Professional Power Amplifiers

The QSC GX5 Professional Power Amplifiers

www.creativeelifestyles.com www.kv2audio.com www.allen-heath.com www.qscaudio.com www.sindoexport.com

72

INSTALL September - October 2013

DUBAI

TURBOSOUND, focus of attention at Café Del Mar The three-way TA-500s proved to be up to the task of achieving that goal, capable of outputting up to 141dB peak SPL, and were arranged in a four-point configuration that concentrates very high definition audio on the beachside dance floor.

Under each TA-500, a B-18 neodymium driver bandpass subwoofer from the NuQ series delivers low end punch down to 40Hz. Additionally, the club is equipped with a further eight TA-500 plus B-18 delay combinations, providing a balanced sound and completing a surround four-way system all over the venue. The system is designed as only one zone with the purpose of keeping the sound equally distributed everywhere.

The loudspeakers were specially treated to IP67 at the factory to withstand all possible weather conditions that can occur at the beach and in any season.

A

TURBOSOUND Aspect loudspeaker system has been installed at the Café Del Mar in Meydan Beach, Dubai by audio designer Joe Chidiac of Pulse Middle East, creating a focused, high energy dance floor sound field.

Chidiac was invited to design the entire audio, lighting and rigging system based on the solid reputation he has built up in the UAE region, and by the high profile of his stunning audio-visual and lighting design at the Diablo nightclub project in Dubai, which is owned and operated by local celebrity DJ Cowboy.

Buoyed by the success of Diablo and the confidence he places in the technical support of the brand, Chidiac decided on a fourpoint configuration of TURBOSOUND Aspect TA-500 three-way point-source loudspeakers to provide high level, low distortion sound quality where it really matters.

As the Café Del Mar venue is within the boundaries of Meydan Beach’s up-market Jumeirah Beach Residence, a major consideration of the project design was to minimize sound spillage into the nearby residential areas.

“The entire venue could have easily been covered by two small line arrays,” says Chidiac.

TURBOSOUND RACKDP-50 four-channel amplifiers with built-in DSP power the whole audio system.

“But as the DJ booth is facing the residential buildings, it became clear that line arrays wouldn’t be sufficient in this case because I realized that potentially a lot of uncontrollable sound could be generated and directed toward the residences. We also had to take into account the wind speed and direction, which can be unpredictable."

“The DSP-enabled amplifiers provided a simple and speedy solution for programming and tuning the audio system,” says Chidiac.

He continues, “One solution was to enclose the audio system in order to try to keep the sound within the venue, but that was not ideal. So I looked to TURBOSOUND’S Aspect point-source loudspeaker systems for a better solution.

“The TA-500 series was the best choice for this venue as the 50° horizontal by 25° vertical dispersion is conveniently focused, and once you step out of the speakers’ hot zone and off the platform the sound level drops by around 10dB — a very useful noise reduction which made the operation easier by keeping the sound from reaching the residential buildings.”

“The project was completed in record time, taking only 12 hours to install and configure the entire system including the lighting and rigging.”

“It was really impressive for a large system like this to be installed in such a short period of time,” he adds.

So concludes another successful project for audio specialist Joe Chidiac, lighting designer Rami Haber, and the Pulse Middle East engineering Team.

“It has been a great experience with TURBOSOUND,” says Café Del Mar’s owner Mr. Umesh Amarnani.

“I was very pleased with the short delivery lead time, product quality, and support.” www.turbosound.com

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74

INSTALL September - October 2013

JAPAN

coolux Pandoras Box brings Ninja Magic to Eiga Mura

T

oei Eiga-Mura, Kyoto’s famous movie theme park, now houses a popular Ninja themed action show, that combines acting, stunt work and projection mapping with the help of a coolux Pandoras Box system.

The name of the show ‘Jiraya’, refers to a popular folk hero with the ability to use magical formulas in order to reach his goals.

Thirty minutes would seemed like a long time for only four characters to fill, but the actors manage to brilliantly combine charisma, humour and many visual references to both popular anime culture and ancient traditions.

Eiga Mura (literally “movie village”) is both a working Film- and TV studio, as well as a tourist attraction. Countless famous Japanese period dramas were and are still being shot here.

The setting is comparable to Western towns in American film studios, since it can easily be adapted to new projects by changing the different house and shop fronts ever so slightly.

The Jiraya show is one of the most popular attractions at the Kyoto Eiga Mura. Visitors can enjoy the performance three times daily.

A shoji-screen style border frames the stage on three sides, which has a white projection

screen as its main background. Ambient content sets the mood for the different scenes of the adventure narrative.

Due to the actors’ precision when it comes to hitting their marks on stage, it becomes possible for them to seemingly interact with some the projections behind them.

needed to make the exciting story come alive and turn it into true family entertainment.

Both content and the technical implementation were realised by the Japanese event and projection mapping specialist, Takenaka.

From the audience’s perspective, the effect is very entertaining indeed!

Old legends, modern technology and classical stage craft have been combined in an aesthetically beautiful show that will make adults think of their childhood heroes and will also resonate with children used to a steady diet of modern Dragon Ball style animation series.

Two soft-edged EPSON EB-Z10005 projectors, placed at the back of the theatre, and a coolux Pandoras Box system is all that is

www.toei-eigamura.com/en www.takenaka-co.co.jp www.coolux.com

In one scene, the red outlines of mystical Ninja appears, and in another, one of the heroes shoots energy balls at his opponent.

NEW ZEALAND

Meyer Sound Constellation brings great lyric to ASB Theatre operations for THE EDGE, the umbrella group that operates Aotea Centre and other Auckland venues.

“Management has been pleased. And I’m relieved that we now can provide concert hall acoustics for orchestral presentations. It’s also enhanced what we can offer for opera, both for singers and what we hear from the pit orchestra, which is vastly improved.”

At the heart of ASB Theatre’s Constellation system is a D-Mitri digital audio platform with three core processors, 12 input/output frames, one core matrix, and six dedicated processors running the patented VRAS™ acoustical algorithm.

T

he principal venue of Aotea Centre in New Zealand, the ASB Theatre has installed a Meyer Sound Constellation acoustic system as part of its recent renovation.

By subtly augmenting the theatre’s reverberant characteristics, Constellation creates an immersive acoustic atmosphere and enhances the audience’s sense of envelopment.

The improvement was noted by New Zealand Herald music critic Brian Rudman, “From the opening rumbles of the orchestra it was obvious that something magical had happened during the interior upgrading.

Instead of the underwhelming ‘mono LP’ sound, there was volume, bloom, and the stereo-like envelopment you get in a great lyric theatre.”

The 2,068-seat hall’s original acoustics were optimized for amplified events.

To provide acoustics that support ASB’s orchestral and operatic performances, Principal Consultant Chris Day of Marshall Day Acoustics specified a balanced approach blending both structural and active electronic solutions.

On the structural side, Day added new side and overhead hardwood reflector panels and parquet flooring.

To provide the ideal acoustic support for classical music, ASB decided against the costprohibitive option, which required raising the ceiling to add room volume. Instead, ASB chose Constellation as a cost-saving option that provides a broadband extension of the reverberant envelope.

The system also allows room operators to tailor the acoustics for any event with the press of a button.

“We’ve had good feedback from patrons, particularly during the recent opera,” reports Kerry Griffiths, head of technical

Forty-four cardioid and 32 omnidirectional microphones provide ambient sound pickup, while the enhanced acoustical response is precisely reproduced through a total of 268 very small self-powered mid-high loudspeakers including Stella 4-C installation loudspeakers, MM-4XP self-powered loudspeakers, UP-4XP 48 V loudspeakers, UPJuniorVariO loudspeakers, and 24 MM10XP subwoofers.

The Constellation system was provided and installed by Bartons Sound Systems of Auckland under the project supervision of Robert Waddell and Tony Wehner. www.meyersound.com

LIVE September - October 2013

Singapore

76

Put On Your War Paint!

Fans of Fall Out Boy heaved a collective sigh of relief after the news of the band’s return to the music scene was released. Backed by Clay Paky, D.T.S Lighting, Avolites, Digidesign and L-Acoustics, Titans Music Productions rocked Singapore’s Fort Canning Park with a concert that declared war on bad music.

W

hen American pop-punk band Fall Out Boy(FOB) rolled into Singapore as part of their Save Rock & Roll tour, organisers Live! Empire hit the ground running to ensure a great show. They quickly called upon the expertise of local rental company, Titans Music Productions (TMP) to provide not only the entire technical support for the show but also to ensure the fans of FOB would be getting a show worth their money.

Held in the country's visually stunning, Fort Canning Park, there was an added pressure for the team from TMP as this would be the band’s first return to a Singapore stage after a three-year hiatus.

Known for their lengthy song titles, e.g 'My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark(Light Em Up)', the band is back with their fifth studio album,the tongue-in-cheek titled "Save Rock and Roll," which debuted at the No. 1 spot on iTunes. Quite a considerable feat for a small town band that have managed to become a household name in the international pop-punk arena.

When walking into the venue, the main advantage for the audio was clear to see.

The 2 layer stage was set at the bottom of a hill in a 45degree incline. According to the

Main Protagonist of TMP, Taufiq Suratman, the incline and the fact that the FOH was set less than 15m from the stage were some of the unusual bonuses that the concert would produce.

Wanting to get that extra 'UMPH', FOB management spec'd a full L'Acoustics system consisting of the Kudos as the main FOH with 10 units flown left and right. Along with the 14 SB28 Subs, 4 Arcs , 4 SB18 and the 6MTDs

which were used both as front fills and monitors.

Taufiq told us how the L-Acoustics' Soundvision software, used by countless engineers around the world, was a 'big help' during his initial planning as it “..did most of my work for us, it plans out the where and how you should angle the speakers, making our job so much easier.”

As much as the software helped his allocation of the equipment, he went for a more human touch for the final tune-up sessions a day before the actual show.

Employing the help of Freelance Sound Engineer, Wahab, together with main Sound Engineer Mahdi from TMP, Taufiq explained, “A computer can only do so much, it can't appreciate the surrounding trees or depth of the stairs. You need trained ears to truly understand what needs to be done.”

The differences in experience and sound were clear to see by the bands different strategies to portray their crafts. Empra, a rising semi-Australian band (the lead singer is from Singapore) that are quickly winning fans all across Asia, used the L-Acoustics' Mtds monitors on stage while FOB decided on in-ear monitors by Sennheiser A choice that, according to Wahab, enables a band to get a better “feel” of the music and is now, “quite common with younger bands”.

While the bands shared the Avolites Pearl for lights, they went with two very separate heavy-weight brands for their audio console.

Empra relied on Allen & Heath's iLIVE T112 console controlled by local Sound Engineer/ Music Producer, Leonard Soosay, who also happens to be the mentor of Empra's lead vocalist, Sanny Veloo.

On the choice of the Allen & Heath console, Leonard commented, “I was quite surprised

the board was chosen because most of the time for other shows you have the main act with a more advanced mixing board but in this case, Live! Empire have given me a board that is equally as good as the main acts. That means they don't want the opening act to be inferior to the main act as long as they sound as good and people have a good time.”

On the quality of the console, he added, “Even though I have used this board many times in the past, I didn't have to spend much time refreshing myself because the functions are quite basic. This gives me more time to spend on getting a better sound rather than figuring out what knob does what.”

For the main act, a Avid Digidesign console was chosen and was supplied by TMP. Assisting FOB Sound engineer during the show, Wahab commented, “The mixing was very nice and everything was done very well.

The Digidesign was everything the band wanted and I think the people who have been in the industry long enough know how to appreciate a great console.”

The night really got started when FOB took the stage with their own brand of unapologetically high-energy rock sound.

Riding the wave of the audio, the mood lighting had to hit the audience hard as well.

TMP's Lighting Engineer, Masyadi, utilised 24 units of the Alpha Beam 700 by Clay Paky to highlight the band and really put the fans

in the mood. Framing the band in cyan, magenta and yellow were 14 units of Clay Paky's Alpha Wash 700. Robb Jibson, FOB's Lighting and Video Designer personally spec'd the Clay Paky fixtures. He stated, “Clay Paky fixtures are second-to-none, they are always my first spec.”

Further complimenting the main lighting, as per rider request, TMP supplied 12 units of D.T.S Lighting's XM 1200 along with 36 ParCans and 8 Molefays.

78

LIVE September - October 2013

Both bands requested for the same lighting console, trusting in the quality of an Avolites Pearl 2010, a console which never seems to stay in any company's storage for long.

Riders in Asia and around the world have been known to request this bestselling console from Avolites. Robb also personally brought in his own Pearl, stating, “I typically travel with my own console because it's easy to bring around and it gives me a familiar interface every day. Its versatility also allows me to travel and plug into systems whereever we go.”

With more than 4000 fans expected in the field behind the Fort Canning Green building, TMP placed 2 projector screens from Dalite.

The somewhat confined area worked out well for the audience since the left and right screens were so close, some teenage fans were seen singing to the band when their faces were displayed on the screen via Panasonic projectors. An immersive experience, to say the least.

Robb Jibson, FOB's Lighting and Video Designer

The backdrop for both bands was a hoisted 5m by 3m LED wall, fed by a Catalyst Media Server that spat out some of Fall Out Boy's newest video's like 'The Phoenix' and even a Rock 'n' Roll montage that paid homage to rock legends like Freddie Mercury of Queen and Kurt Cobain of Nirvana.

Media was controlled via a Jands Vista console on which Robb commented, “I'm a big fan of the Jands Vista console. It's a completely different way of thinking about programming shows, it’s all timeline based and it's all like working in [the] after-effects so it’s very seamless to go from one video program to your lighting program. It's basically like you're making a timeline of the events the way you want them to happen, all you have to do is hit 'Play' and it happens.”

Helping Robb ensure display video was smooth and under control was TMP Video Engineer, Abdul Aziz.

Freelance Sound Engineer, Wahab

A night of supercharged spirits and euphoric sing-a-longs ended on a note as high as it had begun. The venue mixed with the fist pumping that never seemed to end, made one feel transported to the large open-air festivals commonly seen in Europe.

Taufiq, who seemed very pleased with himself and the crew, stated that if he could change one thing, “It would be the lights.

We wanted to add more but we didn't want to complicate things after the rider. We definitely wanted more...You know how it is, there are never enough lights.”

The overall experience of the show was very personal and the band even took the time to personally explain why they left and why they had come back – to Save Rock 'n' Roll. If the saviours of Rock 'n' Roll are armed with such powerful equipment, it kind of makes you feel sorry for the bad guys, doesn't it? www.titans.com.sg

TMP Director, Taufiq Suratman with (L-R)TMP Lighting Engineer, Masyadi, Sound Engineer Mahdi and Video Engineer, Abdul Aziz

Indonesia

G-Dragon blazes through Mata Elang International

Clay Paky and Vari*Lite fixtures light up South Korea's G-Dragon worldwide tour.

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ollowing the success of South Korean boy band, Big Bang's fifth mini-album, Alive, and their subsequent world tour, G-Dragon,the leader of Big Bang, decided to release a solo album. Entitled, One of a Kind, the album was critically and commercially acclaimed, selling over 210,000 records as well as being nominated for the 10th Korean Music Awards, among others, and winning accolades such as Record of the Year from the Seoul Music Awards.

Riding on the success of his release, G-Dragon took to the road to promote his record with his worldwide One of a Kind tour consisting of 26 shows in 8 countries and 13 cities. For his Indonesian leg of the tour, the mega star chose the Mata Elang International Stadium (MEIS) located at Ancol Dreamland in Jakarta,Indonesia, for its size and capabilities.

Guided by veteran Lighting Designer/Adviser, Bernard Chew, along with G-Dragon's own lighting designer, Jihae Hyun, the lighting

set-up consisted of 50 Vari*Lite VL 3000 Spots together with the ever-present Clay Paky Sharpy's of which, 35 units were used.

All were specified by G-Dragon to begin with due to their reliability and presence in the worldwide touring scene.

On the combination of using the VL 3000's and Sharpy's, Bernard comments, “It was a great mix of the two best lighting manufacturers in the world which in turn, produced a spectacular lighting showcase unlike any other”.

At the FOH, Hyun along with great help from Chief Lighting Designer, Deddy and Lighting Engineer, Hassan controlled the attitude of the show via a grandMA2 light console which is able to control all kinds of lighting genres such as conventionals, moving lights, LEDs, video and media. Lighting control was complemented further with two grandMA2 full-size consoles which represent MA Lighting's most powerful console.

Taking a breather before the show, G-Dragon's lighting designer, Jihae Hyun, along with Lighting Designer/Adviser, Bernard Chew.

The massive success of the show was testament to the cohesion of the devoted team to bring the 'Dragon' to the many fans that made the trip to the stadium. All this for the superstar that has been placed on the list of “50 Reasons Why Seoul is the Best City” by worldwide news network, CNN. Delighted after the show, Bernard sums up, “It was everything I wanted and I am very proud that the choice was made to combine both the VL 3000 and Sharpy's to produce a light show befitting the Dragon!” mataelang.com

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Dubai

Robe Lights Watan Al Ahlam Event delivered to Lighthouse in super-quick time for this show. They were used as beams and washes as well as shuttered down tightly for specific scenes. They were also used for spotting and gobo work.

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AE-based Lighting Designer Terry Miranda specified over 120 Robe fixtures to realise an eye-catching design for “Watan Al Ahlam” (Country of Dreams), a musical performance staged by the UAE Ministry of Education at the Dubai World Trade Centre. Students from schools across the UAE participated in the event directed by a team of Emirati professionals.

This enabled them to showcase their talents in front of an invitation-only audience comprising high ranking government officials and locals.

The Robe lights – along with the complete technical production - were all supplied

by Dubai based Lighthouse Productions of which Miranda is also a Founder / Director.

Lighthouse has a large rental stock of Robe, and Miranda is one of the leading LDs in the country, working on a diverse selection of productions. The stage design was based on a futuristic theme, with video projection mapped to a large backdrop setting the scene with dramatic visuals. This set up was also Miranda’s starting point for the lighting.

The trussing lines mirrored the wedged shaped stage arranged in triplicate decreasing perspective, with each run of trussing a slightly different size all adding to the depth and perceived height of the performance space. All the moving lights in the rig were Robe. The fixture count included 12 x ROBIN MMX WashBeams, 24 ROBIN 300 Beam Classics, six ColorSpot 2500E ATs, 12 ColorSpot 1200E ATs, 28 ColorWash 575E ATs, 18 x ColorSpot 575E ATs and 24 x ColorMix 240s. The lighting was split into five sections.

The rear truss followed the curve of the backdrop and was rigged with 14 of the

ColorWash 575E ATs, 12 ColorSpot 1200E ATs and 16 of the ROBIN 300 Beams. On the largest 18 metre triangular truss above the stage were four more ColorWash 575E ATs, six ROBIN 300 Beams, two of the MMX WashBeams and another four ColorSpot 1200E ATs. On the smaller 12 metre triangle were ColorWash 575s, the remaining ROBIN 300 Beams, a couple of ColorSpot 1200E ATs and four ROBIN MMX WashBeams.

On the smallest 6 metre triangle were four ColorWash 575E ATs and two ColorSpot 575E ATs. The front truss featured six MMX WashBeams, the six ColorSpot 2500E ATs and eight ColorWash 575E ATs. All the trusses were toned by Satellite LED bricks which accentuated the architecture of the rig very effectively.

Miranda especially liked the MMX WashBeams, a relatively new addition to Lighthouse’s hire stock. He saw the WashBeam in action for the first time at the 2013 PALME Dubai exhibition, and placed an order on the spot! Robe’s Middle East office headed by ME Regional Sales Manager Elie Battah then ensured that the new units were

“It’s the first time I have been able to achieve so much from one fixture,” Miranda declares.

“They are hugely versatile and I’m delighted with them,” he enthused, adding “They are an absolute dream to work with – so multifunctional and so light in weight!” In fact, he could easily envision producing an entire lighting design with MMX WashBeams as the designer can effortlessly move between a spot, a wash or a beam fixture and achieve so much more dynamics … with fewer lights.

He was impressed with the intensity, the beam shaping and the shutter framing, which allowed artists to be pinpointed almost anywhere on the stage. His only regret was “Not having enough MMX WashBeams on the show!”

The lights were programmed by Adrian Guzmann using Jands Vista T2 and L5 consoles. The show’s Production and Video Content Designers were Lighthouse’s Mohammad Tameem & Rizwan Zafar.

The operetta was televised live on Dubai TV & Sama Dubai and attended by His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. Lighthouse subsequently received an Award from the Ministry of Education for their ‘Outstanding work’ on this event.

Miranda and Lighthouse’s relationship with Robe dates back to 2003. He reckons that investing in the Robe brand has helped Lighthouse maintain its reputation for award winning lighting and production designs over that time by “Supporting us with outstanding products and service”. www.robe.cz

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India

SOUND.COM and Optocore mastermind opening of IPL

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ince 2010, SOUND.COM has been at the forefront of some of the biggest sporting and entertainment events in India. Therefore when the company embarked, at the beginning of the new financial year, on the Opening Ceremonies for Indian Premier League (world-leading Twenty20 cricket championship) they were confident they could put on an audio spectacle to match similar ceremonies, such as the Commonwealth Games in 2010.

The multi-purpose Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata was chosen to host the opening ceremony of the cricketing franchise this year with the inauguration promising to be one of

the most spectacular events ever witnessed.

Built in 1984, the stadium is the largest in India and the second largest in the world with a capacity of 120,000. With its astroturf surface the facility primarily caters to football matches and has also hosted athletic events in the past.

But according to SOUND.COM MD, Warren Dsouza, it wasn't an easy venue to design and deploy an audio system. “It takes a lot of experience, and one has to work through a lot of infrastructure related obstacles in order to put a system together.”

With bases in Mumbai and Delhi, SOUND. COM sent a proposal to main contractors Dutch based, Poly Worldwide Entertainment setting out their credentials. “The belief that they had chosen the right audio company in India was established as soon as we opened our flight cases,” he said. “We had everyone inspecting and admiring our Optocore digital transport system and our self-styled OptoRacks,” he said.

The latter combined a large number of Optocore devices with Dolby Lake processing, and the Optocore network was wired in a redundant ring for fibre failure back-up.

Additionally there was an analogue back-up to each amplifier position.

“This technology has allowed SOUND.COM to scale to any level of audio production, no matter how big the stage is. But nothing takes away from the human element — and

the ability to integrate all this is the ultimate key to a successful show,” said Warren.

“The successful cooperation between SOUND.COM sound engineer Sunil Karanjikar and co engineer, Poly Worldwide’s Fred den Dulk, with their respective teams, was the underlying reason for a successful show,” he adds.

A large JBL VerTec PA system was rigged, driven by Crown ITech-HD 12000 and LabGruppen PLM10000Q amplifiers, with every loudspeaker element networked and controlled using the Lake controller and

Harman’s Performance Manager. Sound.Com deployed 4 OptoRacks, each consisting of 1 x DD32R-FX and 1 X6R-FX (16 Mic In) units.

One each was positioned at the console, stage left, stage right and at a central delay position for the delay arc. Also available were Optocore DD32R-FX, DD4MR-FX, DD2FR-FX MADI interfaces, although on this occasion, the event was not multitracked.

Finally, the racks also housed a network switch that ran via a spare fibre link in the cabling, to help provide network control over the Dolby Lake devices. “Optical isolation allowed us to run the various positions on different gen-sets without having to worry about power induced issues,” stated Sunil.

Considering the stadium would get extremely hot and humid — as high as 38°C — all devices had to be continually monitored for overheating. And here Optocore came to the rescue, as Sunil explained.

“Though the network switches developed a communication error because of the heat, the Optocore devices performed flawlessly and we were able to use the System Ethernet option on the Optocores to regain control of the Lake devices which we had lost.”

For the headlining act Pitbull, the touring engineers had specified Avid consoles and SOUND.COM supplied the entire kit and backline gear for the act as well. The consoles were patched into the PA and monitors using Dolby Lake devices and the input matrix

feature on the devices helped to match multiple consoles.

Summing up, Warren says, “The main challenges were really logistics — weather, rigging, getting the gear into the stadium with West Bengal waybill bureaucracy. Actually the business of putting the kit together and executing the show was a breeze.”

Sunil adds, “As for the Optocore, the visiting engineer specifically commented as to how the network seemed a lot faster using this system than on a dedicated IT network switch.” www.optocore.com

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Taiwan

ACME “2Gether 4Ever” with S.H.E

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ince releasing their first album Girls Dorm in 2001, members Hebe Tian, Selina Jen and Ella Chen of the Taiwanese pop girl group S.H.E have grown leaps and bounds in the entertainment world, a feat that they credit to their strong friendships.

While members have left from time to time to pursue other projects, they never fail to return to what they call, a 'big family'.

And a 'big family' is what they got when they arrived at the Taipei Arena in Taiwan. Their sold out concert resulted in a showcase of superb lighting effects along with a seamless mix of the perfect stage performance and great singing which brought fans to their

musical heaven during the concert.

Various lighting effects from different the LED lights combined with a unique atmosphere of the show corresponded to the theme of the live performances of which ACME provided 44 units of the XP 1500 SZ stage lights which feature 3 modes of DMX 512 control channels: 24/ 24/ 32 along with a DMX wireless receiver built-in that is unique to the fixture. Another useful control is the fixtures lamp power save mode that occurs automatically during a black out.

Also used to light up the performance were 40 units of ACME's XP 1500 WZ professional

stage lights. The Xperior 1500WZ Wash is an exceptionally powerful moving wash with a soft, clean, and even beam. It comes with a rich CMY colour mixing system, variable CTO, 2 colour wheels, a motorized zoom, a combined dimmer/ shutter design, and optional DMX wireless receiver, making it ideal for all kinds of big venues.

During the concert, the 84 sets of lights performed with excellent quality and great reliability, proving the company's reputation for being well received by stage designers, directors and celebrities alike. www.acme.com.cn

Chna

Fine Art Shines at Jay’s Concert in Shanghai

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ay Chou’s “Opus” world tour concert opened on May 17 this year in Shanghai, to an overwhelming crowd of fans who enjoyed themselves with the music of their favourite entertainer.

The latest staging technologies were implemented to produce a fantastic concert with special 4D effects. Jay Chou performed his classic hits in a warm atmosphere amidst the virtual fantasy elements. And part of the lighting rig was filled with Fine Art’s lighting fixtures, such as the Fine Xtreme 230 and Fine II-1500E Spot HPE. These Fine Art lights brought striking visual effects to the concert.

The concert began with a 3D film called “Time Track”, a sci-fi like setting where Jay Chou emerged as a warrior from a blue light spiral aircraft that landed in the ruins of a city. Later, he showed up in a carved bronze

armour suit with red and gold floral details, and he sent thousands of fans screaming wildly. Jay divided his performances into seven chapters according to different styles.

There were also movie clips that detailed Chou’s 12 years of his music journey. Overall, the concert was a blockbuster success, which certainly left Jay Chou and his fans with great memories. www.fineart-light.com

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Indonesia

‘Ariah’ basks in

Where art and technology meets – 3D projection mapping can make any surface come alive. And while there is no doubt that live performance visuals are the norm right now, the true boundary-pushing work comes when you want to transfer these visual sketchings on stage. From June 28 to 30, the stage musical ‘Ariah’ radiated with energy as all of its 200 dancers pranced around the gigantic stage, brilliantly mapped with intrinsic visuals, grooving to the zestful music played by the 120-strong orchestra. The audience were spoilt by the magic that Jay Subyakto did as the artistic director, who transferred his visions onto a massive 72-meter wide ‘valley stage’.

As part of the month-long festivities to celebrate Jakarta’s 486th anniversary in June, all eyes turned to the National Monument (Monas)’s square where the colossal dance musical ‘Ariah’, left the crowd in awe with its performance on the biggest and most spectacular stage ever in Indonesia.

Ariah itself tells the story of a simple peasant heroine who struggled to uphold the honor and dignity of the Indonesian woman during the Dutch colonial era in 1869, back when

Jakarta was still known as Batavia. Her courage to escape from poverty and her determination to follow her heart in the matters of love and friendship, were a running theme in the musical. The historical account of the story coincides with the Farmers Rebellion in Tambun in 1869.

Backed by the talented director and scriptwriter Atilah Soeryadjaya, alongside artistic and stage director Jay Subiyakto – the same people behind the classic Javanese musical drama ‘Matah Ati’, the story of ‘Ariah’ managed to resonate soundly with the audience thanks to its dynamic cast and vibrant portrayal of Ariah, who shone through the whole play with her strong spirit and soul.

And this commitment to detail extends beyond the theatrical stage as the production team worked tirelessly through two weekends to construct a stage design – that was equally, if not more extravagant, befitting that of the brilliant ensemble cast.

the Betawi spirit

Visual Mapping & Multimedia Designer Taba Sanchabakhtiar and his Jakarta-based This and That Design team, were intrigued to create something novel and experimental for Ariah’s 3D Visual Mapping.

Taba elaborates, “Ariah is a dance musical with a clear plotline that needs to be clearly conveyed, not just by the players, but also by its visual. Visual mapping for Ariah in this case, is to highlight the ambiance, sentiment and the mood of each scene, and to aid in the change of settings that were repeatedly occurring throughout the story.”

An Augmented Reality

Set adeptly in front of the iconic National Monument, which towers over an approximate 132 meters, the 72-meter wide stage boasted an innovative stage design consisting of three different levels – with two levels on the sides, sloping between 15 and 35 degrees; and a three-sided pyramid perched in the middle – at heights of three, seven and 10 meters respectively.

PT Sima Agustus, a local audio visual multimedia production company in Indonesia, upon awarded the large scale

stage projection project, was quick to call in AIMS Productions (AIMS) – a Singapore-based Barco Rental Partner who’s well-versed in the art of mapped visual, to collaborate and blaze life into the performance through sophisticated projection mapping.

To support this multi-sensory project, PT Sima Agustus managed the technical integration of the multimedia control system and projection system with audio and lighting control.

For hardware alone, PT Sima Agustus supplied twelve units of custom Dataton Watchout media servers and deployed a fleet of six units of Barco HDFW26s large venue projectors while AIMS reinforced with a further four units of Barco

HDF-W26s and twelve units of HDX-W18s large venue projectors. A total of eleven units of Barco large venue projectors was deployed for the show with the rest maintaining as a central reserve and spare.

Pretty impressive, I must say considering the level of difficulty it must be to project animated graphics in real-time on a multidimensional canvas, with only 11 projectors in sight!

As Taba shares, “The physical setting of Ariah did provide a few creative challenges for the multimedia and 3D mapping team.

3D visual mapping had to be projected on two strikingly different canvases. The Monas Monument, apart from its slim 132 meter build, a mere width of 8 meter serves as the only backdrop for the performance. The unusually large and distinct 72-meter stage required five extensively far-ranging points of

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focus – all of which needs equal attention in visual projections.”

Skillfully projecting the video art onto the elaborate stage were five units of Barco HDF-W26 and three units of Barco HDX-W18 Three chip DLP large venue projectors; whilst three units of Barco HDF-W18 Three chip DLP large venue projectors covered for the 132-meter Monas façade – all of which were projected from a throw distance of 70 meters.

Edwin Tan of AIMS adds, “This is the first time in South East Asia that a show organizing committee truly understand how projection mapping really works. For Ariah, the visual aspect was the main character, while audio and light waited on the back seats. Video mapping is finally given priority, as opposed to being secondary or merely to complement.”

The application of projecting these, was a heartening sight as it effectively portrayed the mood and situation of each dramatic

“The complexity of this project is much higher as we have got more depth to cover. What really excites us most is transferring of a flat canvas into 3D space,” - Edwin

scene perfectly, further cementing projection mapping’s importance as a medium in smoothening the social dialogue between art and technology.

“The key to success is the close collaboration between all involved and it pays to collaborate with an experienced projection company. Video projection which began its surge in popularity a few years back has yet to reach its peak potential,” he adds.

Lighting Fiesta

Adding to the slack-jawed gawping factor at ‘Ariah’ was the striking lighting effects and visuals orchestrated by Lighting Project Manager Iwan Hutapea from ETCetera Lighting and his team, consisting of lighting

designer Axel Morgethaler and lighting programmer & operator Tony Anzalone.

The team brought in an extensive lighting rig that comprised of 48 units of Clay Paky Alpha Spot 1500 HPE, 48 units of Vari-lite 3500 Spots, 60 units of D.T.S. XR3000 Beams, as well as 121 units of Fine Art Beam 2500s, 24 units of Fine Art Spot and Wash 2000s and 11 units of Syncrolite SXB-7ks.

Iwan shed some light on his equipment of choice, “As the size of the stage was way too big, we had to choose lights with very narrow optics and beams. The Clay Paky 1500 HPE Spots, Vari-lite 3500 Spots and DTS XR3000s fitted our requirement perfectly.”

Naturally, having to light up such a massive stage with such an elaborate ensemble and design was not without its hiccups. In fact, it posed quite the challenge for the Lighting team.

“Lighting the stage without front light was an immense challenge,” Iwan elaborates, “Our

creative director, Jay didn’t want any lights to shine from the front or back as it would distract the audience and quite possibly wash out the video projection. So, that only left me with two towers at the left and right sides of the stage to work on, thus eliminating a whole range of fixtures.”

A further unit of grandMA2 full-size and a grandMA2 ultra-light, together with 4 units of NPUs and 6 units of grandMA 2Port Nodes complemented the whole setup.

Much More Than A Musical

Not forgoing the “music” in the word ‘Musical’, Clair Brothers Indonesia provided for the entire sound system.

Together with their majestic visuals, Atilah and Jay sure possess the knack for re-imagining urban folktales and bringing the magic to life.

‘Ariah’ has effectively path the way for future music and theatrical performances as producers push the boundary to explore the aesthetic wonders that projection mapping can bring to the table.

After such an extravagant 486th celebration, it sure leaves the citizens of Jakarta with much to think about! www.sima-agustus.com www.aimsproductions.com www.thisandthat-design.com

THE ‘ARIAH’ TEAM Multimedia Production Team: PT Sima Agustus Projection Team: AIMS Productions Visual Mapping & Multimedia Designer: Taba Sanchabakhtiar Promoter: GLOBAL 3L Production by: Etcetera Entertainment Producer: Mdm Atilah Soeryadjaya Art Director: Jay Subyakto Production Manager: Inet Leimena Technical Director: Toto Arto Lighting Designer: Axel Morgenthaler Lighting Programmer & Operator: Tony Anzalone Lighting Project Manager: Iwan Hutapea Music Director & Conductor: Erwin Gutawa Costume Designer: Chitra Subyakto Designer and Technical Director for Visual Multimedia: Taba Sanchabakhtiar

LIVE September - October 2013

Singapore

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Succulent sound and luscious lights for major food festival Universal AV relies on Meyer Sound, Yamaha and D.T.S to keep up tradition of excellence. equipment that would be used over the 10 days. Just a week after receiving the final confirmation for the event, the team from UAV set to work setting up the systems.

Vinod comments, “There weren't many challenges for us on this project as we were working cohesively with Q's Advertising & Sin Hiap Mui Pte Ltd (the other companies responsible for the focal point) and we also planned out our movements and executed our timing precisely.”

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here’s no better way to enjoy being in a food paradise than to be part of the 20th edition of the Singapore Food Festival. Celebrating the country's vibrant dining scene, the nationwide festival featured home-grown culinary talents alongside traditional cuisines with their own unique modern twists. One of the key elements of the Food Festival, spearheaded by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), was the Food Festival at Little India, an ethnic neighbourhood that pays homage to the Indian community in Singapore.

Together with STB and the Indian Restaurants Association Singapore (IRAS) the festival has been growing steadily over the years and has attracted hundreds of thousands of tourists from various parts of the world. IRAS has established 2 Guinness World Records for ‘the Longest Table In the World (2011) and the Most number of Curry Fish heads (2012) served in a single dinner (2012) during the the festival itself.

Over 10 days, guests were treated to various games such as the 'Amazing Food Race' where much like the American reality television game show they were challenged with racing around the venue to find clues which led them to attractive prizes. A chef competition where six teams of professionals were paired with culinary students to come up with the best full course meal, family challenges, wine tasting and multiple food

inspired challenges. As the festival was ongoing, IRAS felt it best to have a focal point of entertainment. They appointed local R&S company, Universal AV (UAV) to provide and set-up the technical requirements for the focal point which would, on the last night of the festival, play host to a full concert as well as a celebrity appearance from India.

Behind the scenes and ensuring the smooth sailing of the event, UAV have built a strong reputation of technical expertise for themselves since their inception in 2000.

Taking into consideration the (approximately) 15000sqft venue, Project Lead, Naresh Thiagarajan worked closely with Technical Director, Vinod Sivapillai, to hand pick all the

For the main PA, the team, led by Technical Manager, Surin Venugopal and Crew Team Leader, Arivind Mohan flew 16 units of Meyer Sound's M’elodie. The ultracompact highpower curvilinear array loudspeaker with its 100o horizontal coverage is Meyer Sound’s latest addition to the celebrated M Series family line. These were complemented with 4 units of Meyers' 600-HP compact high-power subwoofers which feature two specially designed high-power 15-inch cone drivers, engineered to provide optimal performances

The team from Universal AV

along with high-excursion, back-vented drivers that have 4-inch voice coils rated to handle 1200 watts (AES*) each. Tuning of the systems were placed in the hands of 2 units of Lab.gruppen's Lake LM26 and 2 units of Lake LM44 processors. Completing the audio set-up, a total of 16 units of T-Audio's PS15's were supplied as delays, front fills and monitor speakers.

Audio engineers, Feroz Mya Aye and Benjamin Wong ensured the perfect pitch with the help of Yamaha's M7CL-48 Digital Mixing Console, a 48- channel system that has been said to be easier to use than a conventional analogue console. With its Centralogic interface, the M7CL-48 doesn't try to simulate the feel of an analogue mixer, instead it utilizes the strengths of digital technology to bring users digital operation that's as intuitive as analogue. A touch-panel display combined with Yamaha's selected channel concept and a straightforward navigation system lets users focus in on any operation directly and instantly.

With the expectations of 700,000 people riding on their shoulders the audio along with the visuals and effects had to be just right. UAV supplied 8 units of D.T.S Lighting's XR3000 Spot CMY complemented with 8 units of the XR3000 Beam. Both of which are high-output moving head projectors equipped with a 1200W discharge lamp and are capable of delivering a massive luminosity of 85.000 Lux (Spot) and 283.500 Lux (Beam) /5m, giving an exceptional balance between performance and power

consumption. In charge of the lighting were Lighting Engineers, Ravi Subramanian and Thurai who operated via an AVOLITES Tiger Touch console, a hybrid console of the powerful Diamond 4 functionality coupled with the friendly Pearl interface.

For the entrance display into the main hall where the stage was housed and as a backdrop of the stage, UAV set up a 4m by 3m and a 6m by 4m GAMMA AIR LED screen, respectively. Both of which have a pixel density of 9216 dots/m2 and module sizes of 250mm x 250mm. Under the watchful eyes of Video Engineers, Maddy and Yacob the screens were complemented via 2 units of Coolux Pandoras Box Servers which synchronized all video and audio sources. Equipped with on-site 3D rendering, composition and editing, the Pandoras Box has become a popular choice for live events.

Offering technical conceptualisation and consultation UAV's unique take on the festival made it something that will be hard to top in the years to come. According to Naresh, UAV has already been requested for next year's festival. He comments, “We always offer generous insight and understanding with our own extra personal touches and that makes us the preferred choice for clients from all walks of life. Another aspect that makes this company unique is its ability to form partnerships rather than to act merely as a vendor to our clients. With all this in mind, Universal AV is well positioned to enhance the communication, collaboration and presentation needed to the client, so as to empower them to connect their brands with consumers.” http://www.youtube.com/universalavpteltd www.uav.com.sg

LIVE September - October 2013

Hong Kong

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Shure delivers flawless audio over water at Harbour City Outdoor venue hosts opening ceremony for maritime exhibit with support of Shure PSM 1000 and UHF-R Systems

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arking the city’s first maritime art exhibit, Hong Kong’s busy Victoria Harbour recently welcomed a 16.5-meter inflatable “Rubber Duck,” a floating creative project that signified youthful optimism in the form of free public art. To celebrate the exhibit, Harbour City, a large outdoor shopping centre, organized a public ceremony—filled with music and entertainment—to honour and draw excitement around the community’s new art installation.

Before the opening ceremony commenced, Harbour City needed a wireless system that could support the event’s performances to ensure the large number of attendees scattered throughout the complex could hear and experience the entertainment.

Challenged to find a solution, Harbour City

tapped Amek Services Co., a Hong Kong audio rental company, to select audio gear that would not only deliver clear sound to a large crowd, but had the ability to transmit audio signals from performances to ceremony attendees located across a bend in Victoria Harbour. Wireless microphone setup was complicated by the fact that many attendees were separated from the performance area by a large gap of water.

Understanding event requirements, Amek Services opted to use a point-to-point wireless configuration—equipped with Shure PSM 1000 Personal Monitor Systems and UHF-R Wireless microphone technology—to combat the issues posed by the harbour’s challenging environment. Anson C.W. Wong of Amek Services, who previously relied on Shure technology for large-scale events

with successful outcomes, turned to Shure systems for their high-fidelity sound, stable RF signal coverage and ability to operate reliably via AC power.

Wong explains, “A Shure point-to-point wireless setup was the solution needed to allow secure and safe wireless transmission.

With the ability to transmit high-fidelity audio from one area of the harbor to another area—separated by water— we were able to address a difficult challenge and execute ceremony performances with the level of sophistication needed.”

A point-to-point configuration is recommended for applications that require audio transmission in large outdoor and temperate environments where laying long audio lines is not feasible. With help from

the Shure Asia Applications team, Wong and his team added not only two channels of PSM 1000 and six channels of UHF-R to the point-to-point setup, but also four UA874WB active directional antennas and two HA8089 helical antennas, which improved RF performance and allowed for audio signals to be distributed over a longer range multidimensionally.

Commenting on the important placement of the UA874WB and HA-8089 antennas, Owen Leung, Applications Engineer for Shure Asia, noted: “Because the ceremony’s environment had large pillars that could potentially block the audio signal’s line of sight, we had to position antennas on both sides of the harbour very carefully, making sure they were raised up high, pointing directly across from each other.”

Once the antennas were set, the technical teams relied on Shure Wireless Workbench® 6 software to efficiently scan and coordinate frequencies of the wireless systems directly from a computer, which helped maintain the RF signal strength throughout the ceremony.

Welcoming a large crowd, by relying on the expertise of Amek Services and Shure, Harbour City was able to produce a flawless

public ceremony that effectively celebrated art and music, instilling smiles and laughter among the urban community.

“The opening ceremony was executed without a hitch. The ability to transmit audio through our point-to-point wireless configuration meant there were no signal

interruptions during the event—something we always strive for,” explained Wong.

“During a live event, we only have one chance to get it right, so we needed top-ofthe-line audio gear that we could trust. Shure technologies exceeded our expectations.” www.shure.com/asia

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LIVE September - October 2013

China

Sennheiser & UNICO present Bund No Shakin’ Vol 2 pace for an active and wonderful experience in Shanghai.

Sennheiser provided all the audio equipment and set up support on-site for the event and also prepared the stage backdrop. DJ Amar, musical director at UNICO warmed up the crowd as guests lay in wait for the band.

Once Tony Allen and Afrosonic kickstarted the evening, there was no stopping guests and staff alike as everyone danced the night away.

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NICO, Shanghai’s premier Latin tapas lounge and bar by Michelin-starred Argentinian chef Mauro Colagreco and Sennheiser, the world’s most recognized microphones and high end headphones brand presented the Bund No Shakin’ Vol 2. A showcase by Tony Allen and Afrosonic featuring Theo Croker, Grammy award winning jazz trumpeter, singer and band leader from Leesburg, Florida. Grandson to Doc Cheatham, Theo Croker was exposed to jazz music early in life and attended Douglas Anderson School of the Arts in Jacksonville,

Theo Croker gets the crowd going

Florida. He graduated from Oberlin College in 2007 and has called Shanghai home in recent years while performing all around the world.

UNICO catered to a full house when Croker performed contemporary jazz and good ol’ favourites like “My Funny Valentine” with the house band, Tony Allen and Afrosonic.

Guests, who were treated to a feast representing various regions of Latin America including Patagonia and the Caribbean, were doubly lucky as Croker’s performance set the

Tony Allen on drums

Legendary Jazz critic Nat Hentoff wrote: I first got to know 23-year-old Theo Croker after he returned from a gig in China (Shanghai’s House of Blues and Jazz) and he was so impressive. On first hearing his trumpet on the immediately distinctive recording, I was struck by his “signature sounds” — personal and indeed “in the tradition,” but also contributing to its future. His voice speaks directly to the listener, and his avoidance of showboating technique reminded me of what Count Basie once said to Buck Clayton: ‘I’d give a thousand dollars to find a trumpet player who doesn’t play so many notes.’

Furthermore, listening to Theo on ballads, it was at first hard to believe someone so young was able to sound as if he’d had extensive experience with affairs of the heart, gaining and losing love.” www.sennheiser.com

Australia

Robe has a Vivid vision

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obe got behind UK based Lighting Designer Simon Brockwell of SBLD to assist the facilitation of his innovative interactive work ‘The Nocturnal Pianola’, one of the eyecatching exhibits at the 2013 Vivid Festival of Music, Light & Ideas in Sydney, Australia. The Festival featured around 60 major lighting installations all located in and around the downtown area of the city after dark. It attracted approximately half a million people who came to enjoy and experience some of the wonders and thought-provoking and imaginative properties of light as a live art form.

the way he thinks generally about light and lighting – it’s something from which we can all learn”.

Keen to support the project in the most practical way possible, Josef put Simon in touch with Robe’s very proactive Australian distributor, The ULA Group. They in turn helped him source equipment to use for The Nocturnal Pianola installation via their local rental partners. Robe then funded a student bursary which allowed Simon to take an assistant to Australia. From a myriad of applicants, Simon selected Jaz Hewitt, a first year Lighting Design student at London’s Central School of Speech & Drama.

Simon Brockwell, Lighting Designer

Robe has always been interested in creative arts projects, and Simon’s initial contact with Robe was with Ashley Lewis, Key Account Manager for Film, Theatre & TV from the UK office. The two have worked on some previous projects together. Ashley put him in touch with Robe CEO Josef Valchar to whom Simon explained his ideas and intentions for Vivid 2013.

Says Josef, “We feel it’s really important to encourage people who are engaging with lighting in imaginative and dynamic ways, and apart from Simon’s passion for the project, I was really impressed with

Simon expands, “Robe agreed that the opportunity to exhibit at Vivid and to share the experience of Vivid 2013 with a potential young LD of the future was invaluable, and so a big thank-you to them for finding the bursary”. Josef adds, “Encouraging the next generation of emerging industry talent is an area to which Robe is fully committed”.

Both Simon and Jaz really enjoyed working on Vivid 2013, and producing ‘Nocturnal Pianola’ which was incredibly well received by the public, the event organisers and other artists.

Simon sums up, “What I really enjoyed most about exhibiting at Vivid was the transition

from being a lighting designer to artist.

While most LDs are artists, they are often not seen or appreciated as such – so it was a fantastic opportunity”.

For Jaz, attending Vivid was enough of an experience in itself, but working alongside ‘Nocturnal Pianola’ enabled her to expand both her creative vision and practical knowledge. “Having seen how the interactivity of our installation could bring happiness to so many people and bring a community together through light and music has been hugely inspirational” she enthuses.

Robe continues to be a keen supporter of visual arts and performance projects worldwide. Other recent activities include working with the Zip Zap Circus in South Africa and The Caravan Stage Company in Canada and Italy. www.robe.cz

LIVE September - October 2013

Singapore

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The Hidden Ones: Riedel MediorNet, the fiber backbone behind Kingdom Invasion 2013 data, and audio signal between the different locations, specifically the FOH and the stage.”

“It saves us a lot of time and manpower during setup and also, eliminates the need for external devices.

More importantly, it greatly reduces cabling effort!”

- Haung Muen, Technical Director, Illuminate Productions Pte Ltd

Fueling the supremacy of the intercom, was the Performer digital partyline system, which was seamlessly integrated with the Matrix intercom installation.

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n the last Kingdom Invasion Conference, the event saw over 4,300 believers, 266 churches and 25 nations coming together for the Holy Spirit in the area of healing, signs and wonders.

“Riedel is no longer just an intercom provider, it is a solution provider,” – Joe Tan, General Manager, Riedel Communications Singapore Pte Ltd

He elaborates, “We have a central Intercom Matrix stationed at the front, where it links up all the audio inputs and intercoms, together with a Performer digital partyline intercom system through 11 digital partyline beltpacks via four-channel master stations.”

So it was with much enthusiasm when Randy Clark, Heidi Baker, Tom Jones and Bill Johnson – the four leading voices from the different ministries came forth to stir the hearts and testimonies of the mass, at the Singapore Expo in late March this year, duly organized

by Cornerstone Community Church.

In partnership with Riedel Communications, the new system, with two MediorNet mainframes at its heart, gathered plenty of positive vibes for its first-ever event showcase.

To provide the broadcast infrastructure and the signal distribution backbone for all video, audio and communications signals, Illuminate Productions was called in to install a comprehensive system based on Riedel Communications’ MediorNet, a fiber based multipoint network solution providing integrated transport for 3G/HD-SDI video, audio, data and communications.

As expected, MediorNet truly manifests as an efficient fiber backbone with a real-time network approach that goes beyond single point-to-point links.

Knowing that all the signal distribution is being well taken care of, it definitely makes things easier for the floor, allowing the technical team and the audience to concentrate on what's most important: the service.

Jonathan further enthused, “With just one cable, we are able to link all the videos,

www.illuminate.sg www.riedel.net

Technical director Huang Muen, who was involved in the stage design, visualization and content creation phase, was on site to provide technical support.

MediorNet, The heart of the system

Indeed, the ease of setup, flexibility and the overall integration of the Mediornet is definitely a plus.

HaAvve U met...?

September - October 2013

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Anthony Chow AV Consultant & Sound Engineer – K.L., Malaysia

Born and bred in Malaysia, Anthony Chow holds more than 25 years of experience under his belt and is conspicuously known as “drsound” in his home state. Over the years, Anthony has been the sound engineer of choice in Malaysia, where he was the Systems Engineer for Air Supply’s World Tour 2011 and the MLTR Concert, as well as other major concerts and festivals. He was also notably crowned with the “Best Radio Jingle” Award at the 2003 Kancil Awards, while acting as Producer & Sound Engineer for NADA Studio.

ETA: Let's go back to the beginning, how did you first get started?

Anthony: All the way back to 1986 the interest started when I was a member of the sound & lights team in High School (St. Xavier’s Institution’s), As part of the school co-curriculum we were made to do what I have now made into a career.

ETA: Do you remember your first show and how was it like?

Anthony: It was an awesome experience back in 1989. The first time I saw 48 full range cabinets and 24 subs, I was doing sound for a nine-piece band with a horns section called “Heavy Machine” at an EXPO in Malacca.

Anthony: Covering all aspects of the industry and now am able to facilitate and also watch my son excel in my footsteps.

ETA: Do tell us more about your son, Walter.

The system belonged to Cahaya Audio and as We've heard that he's the the owner of the system, the late Mr. Francis youngest sound engineer in town (Malaysia).

Yeo quoted “the engineer for ‘SEARCH’ the day before never had sound like this!”

ETA: What has been the most memorable aspect of your work so far?

Anthony: Well I started training him at the age of 9 when I saw the interest developing as he wanted to follow me on all my GiGs and little did I know he was paying much attentions to all the workshops I facilitate.

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HaAvve U met...?

September - October 2013

for Video, next step is plans to open an Academy in Show Touring and Production.

ETA: How long have you been with MegaUltimate?

Anthony: 10 years on a part time basis and currently 2 years on a full time basis

ETA: If your path in life had been different, where do you think you would be today?

Anthony’s son, Walter.

At the age of 12 I started giving him personal attention and now at the age of 14 he is my most trusted assistant on the Innovason Eclipse and Concerts that I do, In addition to that he is getting gigs on his own.

ETA: I don't think I can ever forget the epic quote you gave us at the Penang Concert, about how sound is the art and science, and if we get it right, it can hit the audience's senses through mind, body and soul. Very insightful and poetic, i must say. So where did all that philosophy come from?

Anthony: Through my past experience I came to discover that the body is a living vibration and in order for the Human Being to enjoy sound one needs to make sure that all frequencies are projected, the Low Frequencies hit the inner part of one’s body and one can feel the vibration while the Mid

Frequencies is what one’s ear’s projects to the Mind and the High Frequencies that is so fine can actually make one’s hair stand on ends now that’s the part with soul.

So an Engineer that gets the right MIX and Blending of frequencies will make the audience feel really Good!

ETA: What would you consider your "big break"?

Anthony: On the 27th of March 1992, I did FOH sound for the first time for an International Guitar Legend “Buddy Guy” at the Hard Rock Café and I remember the date so well as it was my birthday.

ETA: What are your favorite tools of the trade?

Anthony: Currently, good user-friendly digital mixers, one of it being the Innovason Eclipse.

ETA: Describe the most creative show you're ever done.

Anthony: Discovering Psycho Acoustics, I did 6 months research with a hall in Malaysia that was fitted with the LCS audio system.

I must say, an awesome piece of hardware & software! It’s my first experience of doing audio simulation that goes beyond the 7.1 surround, which was back then, a new dimension for sound.

ETA: What are you most happy about with your current work?

Anthony: I get to explore all aspects of the audio Industry from Live Sound with International Artiste to recording and producing albums not forgetting Soud Design

Anthony: Who knows there is still time and never too late to start preaching the word of God.

ETA: Do you have any hobbies?

Anthony: My work is my Hobby!

ETA: Is there anyone you feel that has had a great influence on your career?

Anthony: Quite a few actually. First of all, God for the gift. My mom and my great grandmother, my high school, as well as Mr. Renato De Guzman, the sound reinforcement owner from the Philippines, and the late Mr. Jude De Cruz.

ETA: And finally, what advise do you have for the boys on the ground that are just joining the entertainment industry?

Anthony: If you do not have passion for the job, don’t waste your time.

To get in touch with Anthony, drop him an email at drsoundproductions@gmail.com Like our last page features?

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