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…
Author: Alicia Pollitt
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…
Halwani Audio Visual (HAV) and HARMAN Professional Solutions has opened the inaugural HAV/HARMAN Experience Centre in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. This collaboration between HAV and HARMAN Professional marks a significant milestone in enhancing customer experience and expanding operations within the region. The Jeddah location joins a network of HARMAN Professional’s global experience centres situated in key international hubs such as Los Angeles, London, Singapore, Shanghai, along with other distributor-led experience centres in separate regions worldwide. Additionally, HAV’s decision to also relocate its headquarters to this dynamic new space underscores its commitment to delivering unparalleled service to clients. As a partner of…
On 2 December 2023, the UAE celebrated its 52nd Union Day with a spectacular ceremony at Expo City’s Jubilee Park. Wonder Works were delighted to have been invited back for a sixth consecutive year to provide technical direction, production management and CAD design services for the show. Aligning with COP28 and the Year of Sustainability, the ceremony was an exploration of the UAE’s sustainability journey. Working alongside Creative Director Es Devlin and creative agency People, Wonder Works was responsible for bringing Devlin’s creative vision to life, which combined captivating performances and innovative production technology to tell the story of the…
Martin Audio has announced the appointment of Atempo as its new Turkish distributor. Established in 1985 from a base in Ankara, with offices in Antalya and Istanbul, it today has more than 145 personnel and provides full technology packages across all market segments. According to co-owner and CEO, Volkan Konuralp. “We have recognised the constant improvement of the brand and development of the Martin Audio portfolio since their acquisition by Focusrite and we believed the products would fit perfectly with our current portfolio and customers.” Thus back in late November they initiated talks with the British manufacturer, proposing the idea…
Qatar hosted the Opening Ceremony of the AFC Asian Cup at the 88,000-capacity Lusail Stadium. The ceremony comprised a full-size stage in midfield with a set featuring sand dunes, colourful costumes, and visuals around a central motif of giant mirrored petals. Broadcast internationally across the Middle East, Asia and Australasia, the 21-minute visual extravaganza, Mirrors, The Lost Chapter from the Book of Kelileh Wa Demneh, was a triumph of theatrical story-telling. It was struck in just 27 minutes by 700 stage hands, in choreography as coordinated as the performers who preceded them, before the first match of the tournament kicked…
DirectOut announced that it has entered into a strategic partnership with 7Hertz. This collaboration emphasised DirectOut’s commitment to providing audio solutions through an innovative and forward-thinking distribution partner in the Middle East region. John Parkhouse, Senior Live Audio Consultant at 7Hertz, expressed his enthusiasm: “We are very happy to welcome DirectOut to our portfolio at 7Hertz. The alignment of our core philosophies has seamlessly paved the way for a straightforward and exciting partnership.” Lorenzo Sassi, Business Development Manager at DirectOut commented on the partnership: “DirectOut is delighted to join forces with 7Hertz to bring our innovative audio technology solutions to…
Istanbul-based Sound Creative Technics have made a substantial investment in an Outline loudspeaker system. The acquisition included 24 GTO line-array elements, 24 DBS 18-2 subwoofers, 24 Mantas compact line-array enclosures, a Newton FPGA processor and a complete, ready-racked power, rigging, accessory and cabling solution. Company Director and Partner Sarper Ulusel described the selection process and why BCT have chosen Outline: “Our goal in choosing a new audio equipment brand was to find something unique and impactful for the Turkish market, not just another popular name. We spent about a year evaluating different brands, looking for one that offered us more…
