Simphiwe “Smooth” Mhlanga spent years training and honing his skills as a freelance sound engineer for both broadcast and live music, and his hard work has paid off. As Sub-Saharan African music has recently seen a surge in music sales and an increase in streams on all popular music platforms, Smooth’s experience is needed now more than ever. When Smooth gets tasked with mixing live shows, the engineer knows he needs a high-quality solution that highlights both his and the performers’ skills. Whether performing for 2,000 people or 10,000, the artists require a mic that offers sound replication and the…
Author: Alicia Pollitt
The inaugural Qatar-UAE Super Cup football tournament kicked off in Doha, Qatar on 12 April 2024. Qvision (Qatar Vision), the Doha-based event production and management company, was charged with bringing the organising committee’s vision to life in opening ceremonies featuring a large complement of Claypaky lighting fixtures. For the opening ceremony’s show, Qvision Artistic Director and Executive Producer, Sharif Hashisho, devised a mesmerising display at Al Thumama World Cup stadium where storytelling laser animation highlighted the development of football in the GCC region and the significance of the newly established championship. “The technical prowess behind the show was…
The Masked Singer kicked off its second season in South Africa in April 2024 with 16 celebrities battling it out in costumes to hide their identities. The production team ramped up the staging, lighting, and visuals for the 2024 contest using tvONE’s Green Hippo brand of Hippotizer Boreal+ MK2 Media Servers alongside a grandMA3 console to create projections and LED screen animations. On stage, a 11m by 4m 2.9 pixel pitch Absen LED main wall backed each performer, displaying custom-made content designed in collaboration with The Masked Singer South Africa Creative Director Barry Pretorius, and Set Designer Michael Gill. In…
NMK Electronics announced its strategic partnership with Surgex, Microsoft and 7th Sense following discussion at Saudi Light & Sound Show. The agreement between NMK and Surgex came about through a meeting of minds between Mr. Justin Peyton, Director of Sales EMEA & APAC from Surgex, and Mr. Dino Drimakis, Director of Strategic Development from NMK. With Surgex’s strong collaboration with our Parent Company Midwich and NMK’s reputation as a AV distributor in the region, the decision for a long-term partnership was mutual and enthusiastic. NMK will serve as Surgex’s authorised distributor for the GCC region, leveraging its regional presence in…
Prestige Chameleon International (PCI) has joined forces with local UAE concert promoter MAC Global to bring even more live event experiences to the Middle East. The strategic alliance, formed between the two companies on Wednesday 8 May 2024, is great news for audiences throughout the Middle East who can expect even more choice brought in from London’s West End theatre scene and touring productions from the UK’s regional theatres. PCI, is known for annually producing and touring over 2,000 shows in more than 35 countries, including the United Arab Emirates. MAC Global is already in discussions with several venue partners…
Months before hundreds of thousands of attendees descended on Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for Soundstorm 2023, the team at PRG was busy planning the rigging, audio, lighting, and video networks for the biggest of the eight stages on-site. Named “Big Beast”, the stage featured one of the largest LED screens on the planet, measuring a staggering 189 metres wide by 43 metres high: over 200 million pixels broken up into 28 UHDs. James Morden, PRG’s lead video engineer for the event, puts it in context: “If you’re in a big stadium, the pitch is about 100 metres long – imagine placing…
The opening ceremony of the AFC Asian Cup at the Lusail Stadium in Doha, Qatar, on 12 January 2024 was a feast for the eyes thanks to the lighting design by Roland Greil and his team. The brief was to develop an overall theatrical design that not only provided the visual spectacle of a huge stadium show but also fulfilled all the requirements of a 360° broadcast. In collaboration with Technical Director Shannon Gobell, Greil succeeded in creating a rig that satisfied the complex requirements. Greil chose a grandMA3 system to control the lighting. This consisted of four grandMA3 full-size…
Theo Papenfus, founder of Stage Effects Group purchased 24 of each TetraXs, and 24 Tetra2s from DWR Distribution. This makes him the first in South Africa to own TetraX. “We’ve been in the market for a linear fixture,” explained Papenfus. He was familiar with Robe Lighting’s Tetra2 and was impressed with the units, but it was the TetraX that grabbed his attention. Developed from the Tetra1, the TetraX adds pan movement with high-speed continuous rotation, increasing sweeping effect possibilities of the fixture. Generating an 4° beam from each of the 9 evenly spaced pixels, they combine to produce a bright,…
Nearly 60 Digital Projection laser projectors, including 46 TITAN Laser 37000 WU and 13 M-Vision 23000 WU, were behind the displays at the recent Sharjah Light Festival in the Emirate of Sharjah, UAE. The 12-day festival showcased the history, heritage and architecture of the eponymous emirate with a carnival of lights, colours and music. The largest festival of its kind in the region, invited internationally renowned artists to celebrate the city’s built and natural environment, using large-scale projection mapping to illuminate and reimagine landmarks such as the Sharjah Mosque and the spectacular Hajjar Mountains. For the 2024 festival, Dubai-based video…
The Emnotweni Arena in Mbombela was the venue for the “Art of Legends” event March 2024, honouring the luminaries of music, arts, and literature from the Mpumalanga province. The Department of Arts and Culture hosted the celebration, with JVR Events providing essential technical support for sound, stage, lighting, and design. The JVR Events team was spearheaded by System Engineers Sakkie Coetzer and Anthony Jenkinson, alongside Audio Engineer Steven Capuli. The event featured a main PA system of six FBT Muse 210 Line Array Speakers and four 18-inch FBT Muse 218SA Subwoofers, ground-stacked with 3 speakers on each side for optimal…
ChamSys has appointed Audiosure to be the exclusive distributor of its line of lighting control consoles, software, and networking devices. “We are very familiar with the excellent level of professionalism and customer service that have become trademarks of Audiosure, given that they are one of the oldest distributors of all Chauvet brands,” said Stéphane Gressier, International Sales Director of Chauvet and ChamSys. “Over the years, we have witnessed firsthand, how the Audiosure team has gone the extra mile to ensure customer satisfaction.” Audiosure was established over 20 years ago to address the needs of the professional lighting and audio market.…
Gamers8 has become a globally recognised Esports tournament. Taking place in Riyadh over eight weeks, this year’s ‘Land of Heroes’ event kicked off on 6 July, bringing together gaming enthusiasts who competed to take home cash prizes and the Gamers8 trophy. The production behind Gamers8 consisted of a host of live concerts, attractions, and entertainment shows. A line-up of artists and DJs, including Afrojack, Macklemore, Iggy Azalea, Imagine Dragons and more. bright! studios were responsible for the media playback and virtual production of the gaming tournament elements of the event. bright! worked alongside other production companies and a pool of…
