TPMEA #007

FEBRUARY 2017 • ISSUE 007

DAVID GUETTA

LIVE FROM NASIMI BEACH, DUBAI

ILEA COLUMN • UAE NATIONAL DAY • IN PROFILE: WICKED • SHEIKH ZAYED HERITAGE FESTIVAL INTERVIEW: UNFAZED PRODUCTIONS • FOCUS: SPECIAL EFFECTS IN THE MIDDLE EAST

Philips Entertainment lighting

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www.lighting.philips.com/main/products/entertainment-lighting-solutions

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TPMEA

WELCOME...

TO TPMEA

And just like that, it’s February! This is an even busier month for team TPi / TPMEA than usual as our annual awards ceremony is soon approaching. It’s an event during which we recognise all kinds of talent in this industry and celebrate with one big party. In short, you should be there!

Back to the present though, and we’re proud to deliver some recognition in print.

Our introduction in issue 007 comes from the brilliant and talented Robyn D’Alessandro from Gearhouse SA, our very first from the African continent. It sounds as though Africa is going to be an exciting place for us to visit in 2017 as the local entertainment technology economy enjoys some rewarding times in business ventures.

We also speak to South Africa’s Unfazed Productions’ Jean-Pierre Willson about living and working in the region. In July this year, Ste will be visiting Mediatech for the first time to learn more about the market place and meet local sound engineers and lighting designers. If you’re going to attend the show, please let him know!

As for this issue, we have lots of live event coverage from the last couple of months in the Middle East. Our team has worked so hard during this extra busy month - thank you guys and gals! - to ensure we we able to cover some huge concerts. Cover star David Guetta played a pre-NYE show in Dubai, and we round up National Day highlights, the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, and get a taste of culture at the Sheikh Zayed Heritage Festival.

In business, we talk to Wicked, and two of the UAE’s special effects titans Martix Laser and SNAP. As always, MEA, it’s been a pleasure.

www.tpmeamagazine.com | www.tpimagazine.com | www.tpiawards.com

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THE COMPLETE

EVENT SOLUTION IN THE MIDDLE EAST At Byrne Events we can offer the complete site package for any event, whether that be a concert, festival, beach party or sporting occasion.

Dubai +971 4 454 4800 Jubail +966 13340 4888

Abu Dhabi +971 2 614 0100 Dammam +966 13814 5856

We offer power generators with all the accessories, temporary accommodation including offices, security huts, tickets booths, toilets and f&b outlets, along with lighting and fencing. We’ll provide you with expert advice from the start, a full installation service and be with you for onsite support during your event.

Fujairah +971 9 222 816 Yanbu +966 14321 1666

Doha +974 4460 2320 Riyadh +966 11810 8931

Muscat +968 2689 3082 Jeddah +966 12641 1860

byrnerental.com

CONTENTS

CONTENTS 16 - TECH PROFILE

National Day TPMEA talks to some of the suppliers that made last year’s events across the region possible.

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20 - TECH PROFILE

Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship For its 12th year, Abu Dhabi Golf Club played host the the European golf tour.

26 - TECH PROFILE

David Guetta Backstage at the EDM DJ’s New Year show at Nasimi Beach.

30 - TECH PROFILE Sheikh Zayed Heritage Festival Protec supports the annual festival in Abu Dhabi.

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48 MIDDLE EAST 06 - FIRST LOOK AFRICA

Gearhouse’s Robyn D’Alessandro looks to the future.

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08 - REGIONAL ROUND-UP The latest news from the Middle East.

14 - ILEA COLUMN

34 - IN PROFILE

TPMEA meets Wicked’s General Manager, Julie Doucet, to talk about the company’s growth.

38 - INTERVIEW

Kelly Murray speaks to some of the special effects companies who have set up businesses in the UAE region and found ongoing success.

AFRICA 44 - REGIONAL ROUND-UP The latest news stories from Africa.

48 - INTERVIEW

Bruno Marx provides his essential safety tips.

Unfazed Productions’ Jean-Pierre Willson speaks to TPMEA about life and work in South Africa.

EDITOR Kelly Murray Tel: +44 (0)161 476 8360 Mobile: +44 (0)7738 154689 e-mail: k.murray@mondiale.co.uk

ASSISTANT EDITOR Ste Durham Tel: +44 (0)161 476 8385 Mobile: +44 (0)7891 679742 e-mail: s.durham@mondiale.co.uk

STAFF WRITER Stewart Hume Tel: +44 (0)161 476 8360 Mobile: +44 (0)7702 054344 e-mail: s.hume@mondiale.co.uk

GENERAL MANAGER - TPi MAGAZINE & AWARDS Hannah Eakins (on maternity leave until 17 July).

Tel: +44 (0)161 476 8360 Mobile: +44 (0)7760 485230 e-mail: h.eakins@mondiale.co.uk

ADVERTISING SALES Georgia Guthrie Tel: +44 (0)161 476 9357 Mobile: +44 (0)750 1597 837 e-mail: g.guthrie@mondiale.co.uk

EVENT MANAGER - TPi AWARDS Mo Naeem Tel: +44 (0)161 476 8360 Mobile: +44 (0)775 9272 313 e-mail: m.naeem@mondiale.co.uk

GRAPHIC DESIGN & PRODUCTION Dan Seaton: d.seaton@mondiale.co.uk Zoe Willcox: z.willcox@mondiale.co.uk

MONDIALE GROUP CHAIRMAN Damian Walsh

ACCOUNTS Lynette Levi / Sarah Miller: ar@mondiale.co.uk CHIEF EXECUTIVE Justin Gawne Tel: +44 (0)161 476 8360 Mobile: +44 (0)7768 850767 e-mail: j.gawne@mondiale.co.uk

COVER PHOTOGRAPHY David Guetta at Nasimi Beach, photos courtesy of eclipse.

PRINTED BY Buxton Press • www.buxpress.co.uk www.tpmeamagazine.com www.tpimagazine.com

www.tpmeamagazine.com www.tpimagazine.com www.tpiawards.com

@tpimagazine facebook.com/TPiMagazine youtube.com/user/TPiMagazine

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FIRST LOOK AFRICA

LESS IS MORE A CHANGING PERSPECTIVE WE HAVE STARTED 2017 WITH THE INDUSTRY LOOKING A LITTLE LIMP, BUT BY NOW WE KNOW THAT LOCAL AND GLOBAL UNCERTAINTY HAS BECOME THE NEW NORM IN THE EVENTS INDUSTRY. WE NO LONGER RELY ON HISTORICAL PEAKS AND TROUGHS; WE SIMPLY SURF THE WAVES WHEN THEY COME AND PADDLE A LOT HARDER WHEN THEY DON’T.

None of us can predict what’s in store for the African events market in 2017. We have survived a tough 2016 buffeted by political and economic instability; shrinking budgets, lowered event attendance volumes, reduced lead times, Brexit, Trump, local governmental austerity measures, Ebola scares and stringent local visa amendments have all left their mark - who knows what’s next?

What we do know is that it will be volatile and exacting, and we will need to move forward with positivity to meet the challenges head on.

Even in an increasingly tough environment, it is not all doom and gloom. Africa has continued to see growth in the events industry over the past few years, particularly in the business tourism and exhibition sectors and the outdoor event market in the region is still strong. Across all levels from professional conference organisers and promoters to venues and service providers; increasing revenues in 2016 was difficult but achievable. It required intense focus, versatility and out-of-the-box thinking.

Nowadays, our clients want more bang for their proverbial buck - lower budgets and heightened expectations. The trend is towards partnerships formed around trust rather than traditional buyer/supplier transactions. Our clients seek authenticity, innovation, engagement and immersive experiences - a trend that has engendered a spurt in creativity and innovation amongst technical suppliers like ourselves as we work towards providing what they want, at the available budgets, without compromising on ‘wow’ factor or quality.

In fact, for us, this less is more approach has had some very positive spin-offs. It has led to the events sector reassessing their offering. All around there is renewed interest in growing the African events industry in a variety of ways.

The South African National Convention Bureau and SA Tourism continue to ‘Advance Africa’ as an events destination with world class standards and sustainable solutions - the pride in our continent as an events destination is palpable.

The focus on Black Economic Empowerment is ramping up with revised scorecards demanding more genuine transformative measures and the results, although slow, are becoming evident.

Technical and event management training is no longer restricted to tertiary institutions and is now offered by andustry associations such as South African Communication Industries Association (SACIA), the Southern African Association for the Conferencing Industry (SAACI), Association of African Exhibition Organisers (AAXO) and the Exhibition and Events Association South Africa (EXSA) and commercial companies like ours, which runs an annual learnership from the Gearhouse Kentse Mpahlwa Academy premises countrywide and produces around 45 work-ready industry entrants each year.

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FIRST LOOK AFRICA

The year 2016 made us look more closely at what our clients need and listen more carefully to how they want to achieve it. As a result we have significantly changed the way we operate for the better.

Recognising the value of a united front from bid to delivery - has resulted in venue, PCO / event manager and supplier working together to present a holistic, competitive solution on par with standards around the world.

Gearhouse is the technical sponsor for the premier business events trade show Meetings Africa in February 2017, as well as the advanced media and entertainment technology trade

show, Mediatech, in July. Both expose our live events industry to international players from different arenas. As the industry leader in our field we have been quick to support these platforms on a technical level and work together to showcase our continents’ capabilities.

Despite these turbulent times however, the events industry in Africa is large and in some instances we have only scratched the surface. There is still a lot of work out there for everyone. External influences will always have an effect, but overall we will each be just as successful as we deserve to be.

One of the Gearhouse tenets is to look

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for the ‘devil in the details’. We believe that if you focus on the particulars, and meet those requirements to the fullest extent, you will close the business and retain the client in a relationship based on mutual respect. So we will head into 2017, working with what we have in an intelligent way and aim to learn from the experience at the same time.

Less can be more and with a bit more effort we can surf 2017 and enjoy the ride. It really is as simple as that.

Robyn D’Alessandro National Marketing Manager Gearhouse South Africa www.gearhouse.co.za

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REGIONAL ROUND UP

SENNHEISER INTRODUCES AMBEO VR MIC IN MIDDLE EAST FOR VR/AR CONTENT CREATION REALISING A GAP IN AUDIO SOLUTIONS FOR THE RAPIDLY GROWING VIRTUAL REALITY (VR) AND AUGMENTED REALITY (AR) MARKETS, SENNHEISER HAS INTRODUCED AMBEO VR, A COMPACT EASY-TO-USE HANDHELD MIC THAT IS THE IDEAL TOOL FOR ANY PROFESSIONAL VR PRODUCTION.

Up until now, VR productions had to record immersive audio with quite complicated microphone set-ups. However, Sennheiser have believe they have come up with a solution with its latest release, the Ambeo VR. “3D audio is an integral part of an immersive experience but up until now, the complexities associated with this have been daunting,” stated Mig Cardamone, Director of Sales and Marketing at Sennheiser Middle East. “In creating Ambeo VR, we conducted extensive field testing with VR content producers. This helped us identify and address key pain points and thus make the mic as intuitive and user friendly as possible.

With this new product, we hope to engage with VR production agencies, VR content creators, the Ambisonics community as well as studio engineers and owners.”

The Ambeo VR microphone is an Ambisonics microphone that uses four carefully selected, matched capsules in a tetrahedral arrangement.

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It‘s fully balanced and powered by four 48v phantom powering. The handheld microphone comes complete with a split cable with four colour-coded and labelled XLR connectors according to the capsule position, a Rycote suspension mount and a foam windshield.

Also included is the necessary encoding software that translates the A format file generated from the recording of the four microphone channels into a B format file W, X, Y and Z.

This format is recognised in the Ambisonics world, the W component being the omni and the X, Y, Z components being figure of eight capsules along three spatial axes. The A to B format encoder will be available in VST, AAX and AU plug-ins for the customer’s preferred digital audio workstation, and as a stand-alone version for Mac or Windows.

The company’s has also created a dedicated website which has helped users

explore how to mix and deliver live music as a true 3D experience. The site offers also offers three blueprints - Ambeo for loudspeakers, which details recording for 9.1 loudspeaker reproduction; AMBEO for binaural, which covers 3D playback on standard headphones; and Ambeo for Virtual Reality, which focuses on 3D Ambisonics audio for VR applications. Each of these has been created by a team of experts to provide straightforward information on recording set-ups and microphone positioning, on mixing with additional spot microphones and on delivery and playback for a 3D listening experience.

Furthermore, each blueprint is complete with expert voices, equipment rental options, sound examples, video material and free plug-in downloads, giving seasoned engineers, aspiring recordists and streaming specialists guidance on how to record and mix immersive 3D sound. http://en-ae.sennheiser.com

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REGIONAL ROUND UP

MEET D3 DUBAI DESIGN DISTRICT HOSTED ITS MEET D3 FESTIVAL FOR ITS SECOND YEAR. MATRIX LASER PARTICIPATED IN THIS FASCINATING CELEBRATION OF ALL THINGS DESIGN, ART, CULTURE AND CREATIVE EXPRESSION.

This years D3 Festival saw over 50,000 visitors of all ages enjoy immersive activities, installations and experiences throughout Dubai Design District.

Matrix Laser supported various acts on the main stage with: three 20w RGB laser Systems and four 20w single colour Laser Systems

Managing Director, Michael Hilgemann, said: “The Laser Systems utilised for the stage acts blended to spectacular effect. The experiential nature of some of the music performed was a perfect fit with the laser effects.” He added: “A huge thank you to Done Events for managing a great event and bringing Matrix-Laser on board.” www.matrix-laser.com

SAVE THE DATE Wednesday 5 April

Awards evening taking place at Prolight+Sound, Frankfurt 6.30pm Room Panorama 2 HEADLINE SPONSOR

SPONSORS

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REGIONAL ROUND UP

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N&M HELPS CONNECT THE MICE PROFESSIONALS AT IBTM ARABIA 2017 THE REGION’S LEADING MICE (MEETINGS, INCENTIVES, CONFERENCES AND EVENTS) INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS ONCE AGAIN GATHERED IN THE CAPITAL FOR THE 11TH EDITION OF IBTM ARABIA, ON A THREE ACTION-PACKED DAYS OF NETWORKING, MEETINGS, KNOWLEDGE AND UNLIMITED BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES, WITH THE TECHNICAL SUPPORT OF NEUMANN&MÜLLER EVENT TECHNOLOGY (N&M).

As the Middle East’s growing popularity for the global MICE market continues, and with Expo 2020 Dubai happening just three years down the line, meeting the right people at the right time in the ideal environment is more crucial to business than ever before. IBTM Arabia 2017 brought the industry’s finest buyers to meet one-to-one on scheduled appointments with leading industry suppliers, a tried and tested format where time is focussed only on meeting with people there is a very high chance of doing business.

For the fourth consecutive year, N&M was asked to provide technical production and solutions for the event, included cutting-edge

audio, video, rigging and lighting equipment starting off with their newly purchased d&b audiotechnik Y7P loudspeaker system series.

Its compact, high performance point source loudspeaker with high directivity and rotatable HF horns is perfect for this medium scale conference. In addition, N&M installed a AOTO 3.5mm LED screens for the main conference room, to aid the presentation for the Discovery day. For the main lobby, N&M set up a number of NEC X552S MultiSync LCD Display 55 inch, which the sponsors and exhibitors can use to demonstrate all its products and services.

Commenting on its participation, N&M’s General Manager, Rick Wade said: “This year

marks our 10th year anniversary in the region and what better way to kick-start the celebration than to be seen in this key event. We have to make sure we are connected with the MICE professionals through ibtm arabia as it is a very important market for us.”

He added that booming tourism, influx of people and completion of important projects and venues in the UAE all contribute to the rapid growth of the MICE market and these present ample opportunities for AV companies.

As one of the hosted suppliers, N&M will showcase its two interactive communication tools, come2present and come2interact, applications specifically designed for conferences and meetings. These are customisable technology that intends to simplify the presentation and enable audience interaction in real time, which can be the helpful tools the event organisers have been looking for.

The role of event or audio visual technology in the growing MICE market is extremely important and should not be underrated. If executed properly, AV solutions enhance human interactions and can leave a lasting impression on the audience.

AV pros provide substantial value and help in overcoming the challenges the event require to deliver a favourable result, a sentiment expressed

by Reed Travel Exhibitions Manager, Shinu Pillai: “With the ever changing technical requirements of an event such as ours, an event technology supplier needs to have an understanding of the entire event, not just their area of specialism; this is what we get from Neumann&Müller. We chose them as we were confident that the team could deliver a seamless experience for us. They offer a truly consultative service, offering us advice on the best use of digital and AV for our event and to ensure an optimum attendee experience.“ www.neumannmueller.com

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REGIONAL ROUND UP

COLDPLAY TEAMS UP WITH DELTA SOUND THE BRITISH BAND PLAYED IN THE NEW YEAR AT DU ARENA ON YAS ISLAND WITH AN L-ACOUSTICS RIG, SUPPLIED

BY DUBAI’S DELTA SOUND.

The year 2016 was capped off in style as Delta Sound Dubai delivered one more concert at its second home, du Arena on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi. This time the company provided audio support for Coldplay.

The company provided audio and comms solutions for the team at Flash Entertainment, ensuring the success of the biggest night of the year.

Project Manger Robert Eatock took up the story: “We supplied the main PA and delay systems and two of the four delay towers for the concert set up. We also supplied show Motorolas for local production, as well as liaised between

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touring production for RF licensing with Flash entertainment and the TRA. Additionally, the company supplied the audio for the Plasa stage where local acts warmed up the crowd for Coldplay.”

The band’s Head Full of Dreams tour played to a sellout crowd of 25,000 in the arena. Delta Sound worked tirelessly with Coldplay’s Audio Crew Chief, Tony Smith, to provide the audience with the best concert audio by ensuring the right positions for the delay towers, not to mention finding solutions to work around the foggy conditions of the last day of 2016. With a little bit of creative thinking the team were able to tackle

the heavy condensation by leaving the system elements covered and powered over night, generating the heat and internal airflow needed.

For the show Delta provided its flagship DiGiCo consoles which were used for the stage and FOH support acts, along with its very own customised system design comprising of L-Acoustics K1, K2, and V-DOSC speakers which produced seamless results. Along with Robert Eatock the Delta team on site included Ethan Curry, Rayno Spies, Nadim Ali, Kashif Majeed and Haroon Sajjad. www.deltasound.uk

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ILEA COLUMN

BRUNO MARX ON KEEPING EVENTS SAFE IN THE MIDDLE EAST AFTER MORE THAN 30 YEARS IN THE EVENTS INDUSTRY, I HAVE MET VARIOUS INNOVATIVE PEOPLE WHOM HAVE TAKEN THE INDUSTRY TO NEW LEVELS, ENABLING US TO CREATE INFLUENTIAL EVENTS, REGARDLESS OF SIZE. THE CONCERN NOW, IS WITH THE ADVANCING CREATIVITY OF EVENTS THAT PEOPLE HAVE FOUND THEMSELVES STRUGGLING WITH THE RESPONSIBILITY OF SAFETY FOR THEMSELVES, THEIR STAFF AND THEIR GUESTS. I’M SURE SOME OF YOU SHARE MY CONCERN.

1. A RISK-BASED APPROACH In international standards, a risk assessment is the basis for a safe event. Now, I know you’re thinking, ‘here he goes, droning on about writing a risk assessment’.

However, the simple reason for this kind of approach is that the person responsible actually sits down and thinks through what risks are likely to arise. Based on what risks are identified, and who can be harmed by them, you can then establish measures that can be made to reduce the risks to an absolute minimum.

In this article, I will give you some precautionary safety tips in areas that I feel, if followed, will contribute to improving some of the biggest issues we face in the regional events industry.

I would like to start by answering the one question that almost everyone asks in relation to event safety, and that is, ‘Do we have any event industry specific laws or regulations we have to follow?’ The answer is no; we don’t. And while the irresponsible person will say ‘Great, I can do what I want,’ the reality is, you must be responsible, and say ‘Ok then, I have to follow my instinct and do what I can do to keep everyone safe’.

We have no laws or regulations in this region to govern event specific health and safety; we only have very ambiguous laws that tell us how a company should take care of their staff. Therefore, we all sort of ‘guess’ our way through by using the best practices from different countries like the UK, US, Australia and Germany.

We all must take responsibility for improving our standard of health and safety in the region. To start with, here are four essential best practice tips for you to follow:

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2. QUALIFIED AND TRAINED PERSONNEL I’ve seen companies that have qualified and welltrained personnel, and then I see companies that don’t.

Guess which one takes longer to get the job done, who has more accidents on site and endangers others unknowingly? The solution to this is to take some time to find out if a company invests in qualified people and keeps them up-to-date by investing in annual training.

These companies might cost a little more, but they will save you and your client time, money and mean fewer headaches.

If you’re an event organiser, visit the supplier you’re thinking of using. Ask them about their training programmes and what qualifications their staff have.

For instance, do they have their riggers certified to either European, UK or US standards? These small precautions can mean a world of difference in the long run.

3. IMPLEMENTING TECHNICAL SAFETY SOLUTIONS You’ll see this concept executed to the highest degree in aviation, and flying is by far the safest way to travel.

A plane is loaded with safety equipment that works automatically without any human interaction. For example, all passenger planes have two engines, although they are designed to fly and land safely with only one engine. In the event industry, we do the same.

When we install lighting fixtures or audio systems we always use safety rope to prevent anything from falling should the first holding mechanism such as a clamp or a screw fail. The result of these precautionary measures, although more time consuming, could save lives.

ILEA COLUMN

4. TAKING RESPONSIBILITY Here, in particular, the German regulations are very clear. They place the responsibility for the safety of all present at the event in the hands of the owner or operator of the venue. If the venue does not have the qualified personnel to manage the responsibility, they can then delegate it in a clearly defined way to the event organiser. In the Middle East, the responsibility for event safety is regularly placed in the hands of the event organisers, but this is not clearly stated anywhere. In most cases, the event organisers will take the responsibility to protect their client, and because no one else will. In my opinion, an event organiser who doesn’t have the qualified staff to manage the health and safety of the event must then delegate this responsibility to a qualified H&S professional. This is for their own sake.

There are many instruments event organisers need to delegate responsibility. For instance, a certificate of completion for structural elements such as tents or temporary structures that are used at the event. This certificate proves that the event organiser has made sure that the supplier that built the structure has done so per safety regulations, the structure is used in the way that the supplier has intended, and that no changes have been made without the supplier’s approval. Also, a certificate of completion keeps the supplier safe from litigation should any unauthorised changes be made to the structure.

Our aim with standardising the level of health and safety with the rest of the world ensures that no matter the size and

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complexity of the event, international organisations coming into the region can expect the same level of event safety that they’re accustomed to.

To help raise and regulate the level of event safety in the region, the Middle East Chapter of the International Live Events Association (ILEA) has created guidelines for you to follow, specific to this region. I am proud to say that as VP for Health and Safety for ILEA, I have been heavily involved in the creation, and annual updates of these guidelines, which anyone can download from the ILEA website.

For details on ILEA membership please email: admin@ilea-me.com www.ilea-me.com

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A NATIONAL CELEBRATION

TPMEA LOOKS AT THE PRODUCTION VALUES OF THE MIDDLE EAST’S NATIONAL DAY CELEBRATIONS A HUGE HIGHLIGHT IN THE UAE EVENTS CALENDAR, THE ANNUAL NATIONAL DAY ENTHRALS THE NATION AND CALLS FOR AN ABUNDANCE OF EVENTS TO CELEBRATE. TPMEA SPOKE TO SOME OF THE COMPANIES AND SUPPLIERS THAT MADE THESE CELEBRATIONS POSSIBLE IN DUBAI, QATAR, AL AIN, OMAN AND ABU DHABI...

FLASH ART

Special effects goliath Flash Art was kept busy throughout the National Day celebrations, with three separate shows in the UAE. On 1 December in Ras Al Khaimah, the company helped to produce a musical close-proximity effects display complete with 21 firing positions along an arch approximately 40m high and 100m wide. Flash Art also provided a massive burning logo of ’45 UAE’ to remind spectators exactly what they were there to celebrate.

The following two days saw a pair of events in Abu Dhabi, firstly at the Yas Marina Circuit on 2 December where the company put on a musical fireworks display that was shot from 17 firing positions along a 500m line. The public event is attended yearly by around 10,000 people.

Elsewhere in the capital, at Emirates Palace, Flash Art provided its services for a V-VIP conference that had a number of foreign heads of state in attendance. The company launched a musical aerial fireworks and close-proximity effects display from 11 positions that were floating 50m apart just off the palace’s beach strip. https://flashart.com/

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A NATIONAL CELEBRATION

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MATRIX LASER

In celebration of the 45th UAE National Day, Matrix Laser proudly lit up the Abu Dhabi skyline for the seventh consecutive year. From 28 November until 5 December, laser beams were projected from the iconic Emirates Palace Hotel’s rooftop, with beam visibility reaching the Abu Dhabi Corniche, Al Reem Island, Saadiyat Island and Yas Island.

Equipment used included 6 Coherent Taipan Lasers and 2 Coherent Viper Lasers. As usual, safety was of the utmost importance, hence laser beam directions being decided on in conjunction with Abu Dhabi Air Traffic Control.

The end result was truly spectacular. Michael Hilgemann, Matrix Laser Managing Director, said: “Every year it is really impressive to see the number of hobby and professional photographers on social media outdoing each other in capturing the perfect Emirates Palace laser show photograph. It has slowly become something like an annual tradition and we are very happy to play a small role in that.” www.matrix-laser.com

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A NATIONAL CELEBRATION

PRG GEARHOUSE

Production Resource Group LLC (PRG) worked with Balich Worldwide Shows (BWS) to supply a huge multi-surface video projection for the United Arab Emirates National Day celebration in Abu Dhabi.

The event, held at the request of the Crown Prince’s Court, celebrated 45 years since the unification of the United Arab Emirates, and took place in the presence of a selected crowd of dignitaries.

Fabrics & Flooring Drapes & Shapes Stage Engineering Tracks Consumables

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Fabrics & Flooring

A NATIONAL CELEBRATION

Tom van Hemelryck, VP Global Sports and Special Events was contacted by BWS to provide both the technical expertise and technology for this special commemorative show.

He brought together video and technology specialists, Yves Winand, from PRG in Belgium and his counterpart Bill Ainley from the group’s UAE operation, to work with the design specification from BWS. Starting with the mapping of the surfaces, d3 Technologies was identified as the media server for this project.

It was used to design and previsualise the projection beforehand, as well as lining-up and playback of the content created by Charles Darby and the team at Clonwerk.

Winand explained: “We needed a strong partner for this challenging project and we worked closely with d3 to improve some processes on site in order to save time in the line-up. We had to share preparation nights with lighting programming and rehearsals, and waiting for the arrival of large moving elements, so time for the set-up was limited.”

The projection covered over 6,500sqm of floor, which was a particular challenge due to the flat angle and positioning of the projection towers. Either side of the stage, two 600sqm wing screens were also covered with projection. Four sand dunes, each measuring 35m x 8m, tracked across the stage, and a rising sun measuring 16m x 8m appeared to rise from behind them, all

of which was also projection mapped and covered perfectly as they moved during the show.

Panasonic PT-DZ21KE projectors were used for the floor and wing projections, and a combination of Barco HDF-W30 and HDF-W26 projectors covered the dunes and rising sun. In total 126 projectors were used across the event to create the spectacular effect.

Ainley commented: “While this event presented many challenges, we are proud of our team’s ability to seamlessly draw upon design, technical and logistical expertise from three PRG operations across three countries to ensure our approach at the design phase would achieve our client’s expectation on site.

This, along with the team of expert technicians who worked very hard in a challenging environment, ensured we could deliver the project to an exceptionally high standard.”

Added van Hemelryck: “We are delighted to continue our working relationship with Balich Worldwide Shows, and honoured that they chose PRG as a partner in delivering this prestigious, high-profile show. Everyone involved in this show worked in great collaboration to deliver a show that looked truly spectacular.” www.prg.com/ae Photo: Luca Parisse

Did You Know?

Drapes & Shapes

Stage Engineering

J&C Joel are one of the world’s leading manufacturers of flame retardant fabrics & flooring, drapes & shapes and stage engineering solutions for the entertainment and event industries.

www.jcjoel.com

uaesales@jcjoel.com +971 (0)4 884 7801

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TECH PROFILE

TECH PROFILE

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ABU DHABI HSBC CHAMPIONSHIP TPMEA SPOKE TO SOME OF THE SUPPLIERS OF THIS YEAR’S ABU DHABI EUROPEAN GOLF TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP ENSURING THAT EVERYTHING WAS UP TO PAR.

Sited as one of the best attractions in the region, the Abu Dhabi Golf Club has cemented itself into annual golfing calendar. This year was the 12 anniversary of the club put on the competition which regularly attracts many of the world’s most accomplished and exciting golfers to the region.

Each year, TCA Abu Dhabi (tourism and cultural authorities), in conjunction with Championship organisers IMG and Abu Dhabi Golf Club, introduce improvements to the course to keep challenging the world’s best golfers. This year, the players found a few new strategically positioned bunkers and a new 18th tee, which has been elevated to the left of the old tee giving a new and more challenging perspective to the closing par five. However, it wasn’t just the golfers that were faced with new challenges as TPMEA found out while speaking to the suppliers who

provided the technical backbone for the event.

HARLEQUIN Having been involved with the Championship since 2009, Harlequin Arena Group has become an established part of the framework for the event, providing the main hospitality pavilions along with several other of the key infrastructural elements of the event.

Harlequin’s General Manager Jonathan Hills took up the story. “Aside from the world-class players, the Championship has developed into much more than a golf event, now boasting some of the best and intriguing entertainment off the course, opening up the world of golf to a wider audience including the incredible Championship Village, the 17th green Hospitality area and the famed Championship Pavilion on the 18th green.”

From start to finish the build took just under two months including the creation of the Championship Pavilion and the 17th Green hospitality area. The team of 12 included tent specialists, carpenters, tailors and electricians with the build managed by two project managers. The in-house design team and production team provided technical drawings and managed suppliers throughout the build.

Both the deck and structures where put together under the guidance of Arena’s structural engineer to ensure all H&S requirements were met.

For this years event, Harlequin rolled out one of its more recent product, the Arena Super Deck. Hills commented: “The benefits of this product is the flexibility it offers making it ideal for a broad spectrum of applications from temporary stadium conversions, sporting arenas, showrooms, grandstands and various other

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temporary structures. It’s extremely fast to install, boasts a high weight loading capacity and can be built up to four stories high.” The Arena Super Deck has been used across the Arena Group for events such as the Abu Dhabi National Day, Abu Dhabi ITU Triathlon, Al Ain Air Show, World Air Games.

For the Championship Harlequin also provided a fresh look for the hospitality pavilion.

Over 3800sqm of hospitality space was provided across two floors of a 20m x 85m structure.

The fully shaded balcony was extended by 2.5m to 7.5m wide and ran along the entire 85m structure, allowing more outside space for guests. One of the most unique features of the CP was the 2.5m wide x 85m long cantilever balcony on the first floor. Pillarless viewing allowed guests an unobstructed view over the 18th green and along the fairway and allowed spectators to get close to the players. A unique atrium was created inside the structure by removing flooring and supports in the middle section, providing space for a striking central feature bar.

Harlequin’s design team incorporated clear roof PVC for the entrance and central atrium to bring light inside the structure and create an impressive entrance. Harlequin also provided the 2,700sqm understructure for 2017 which gave a

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much more permanent feel for the build. It also enabled it to be built on a very uneven surface from 1m to 4m heights.

Hills gave his final thought on the event: “The Championship’s ongoing success is laying the foundations for Abu Dhabi’s emergence as an international golfing destination, playing to a cumulative global television audience of 400 million. Since the partnership with HSBC in 2011 the competition has only gone from strength to strength with the headline sponsor and the Abu Dhabi Sports Council both committed to hosting the event’s most impressive playing field. Harlequin Arena is proud to have worked with IMG Middle East to develop the hospitality and sponsor offerings over the last eight years, helping to grow the tournament to where it is now.”

THE POWER SWING Providing secondary power solution to the Championship was eclipse Staging Services. As the event has grown, more activations are now on offer to provide and engaging experience for the numerous fans attending. It was eclipse’s responsibility to supply secondary power to these activations, plus many other areas such as the hospitality tents on the 17th green, food trucks, the driving range, the repair shop, and

the tunnel which lead to the scorer’s room. The supply required up to 4km of cable, ranging from 16amp single phase to 32amp 3 phase.

“Working with so many other suppliers can be tricky in these situations, as we are responsible for the power which the food and berage stands run from, and keeping them operational,” commented eclipse Senior Electrician, Neal Large. “In this case, there were a number of trucks which required an overhaul of their wiring to get them up and running from the power supply. Thankfully, we were able to complete all of this before the event opened its doors. There were other small issues with suppliers declaring they needed a smaller supply of power, which we quickly found out not to be the case, and replaced their cabling to allow for a larger supply. All in all, it was a successful, smooth and enjoyable event.”

In addition to distributing the course power, eclipse Staging Services also provided 3km of cable to the 1.5km of signage leading towards the golf course in Abu Dhabi.

CAPTURING THE ACTION Long time collaborator with the Championship, Creative Technology (CT) were once again on hand to aid organisers during the Abu Dhabi leg of the tour. Speaking of its involvement was

DAZZLING

DUBAI BRITISH LASER COMPANY CREATES MAJESTIC DISPLAY TO LAUNCH DUBAI WATER CANAL

Award winning laser specialist, ER Productions, created a spectacular laser show for the long-awaited opening of the Dubai Water Canal on the 9th of November 2016.

The 3.2km canal, which leads to the Burj Kalifa and links the Dubai Creek with the Arabian Gulf, will provide 24-hour access by boat to a new development of luxury hotels, housing, restaurants and shops at the heart of the city.

ER Productions choreographed a 4-minute laser show for the opening ceremony to highlight key features of the development including six huge bridges that cross the canal. Unveiled by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the event was an electric celebration of vision and urban design.

In total, seventy-eight laser fixtures & CO2 jets were installed across the expansive location. ER Productions designed bespoke graphics for the opening segment, which was projected onto water screens on the stage to accompany a troupe of aerial performers. At the end of the opening 4-minute segment, the Sheikh lit a beacon across to the first bridge, triggering an awesome laser sequence, which travelled the full course of the 3.2km canal and beyond into the night sky. Lasers were rigged on each bridge to create a connective skyline canopy for the Sheikh, who travelled the length of the newly opened waterway by canal boat.

To find out more about ER Productions’ products, services or latest show news visit www.er-productions.com or call +44 1322 293 135.

UK +44 1322 293 135 | USA +1 214 2700665 AUSTRALIA +61 403 703 731 | SPAIN +34 938 000291 info@er-productions.com | www.er-productions.com

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CT’s Project Manager, Richard Smith. “Creative Technology have quite a long history with the tour having been contracted to provide the Tournament Television Service to all European Tour events for the last nine years.”

The Tournament Televison (TTV) is a bespoke programme, made and distributed on site at each event. Smith elaborated: “From our high definition production studio we are able to incorporate live feeds, record highlights, video edits, scores, tee times, messages and site information. We then distribute the TTV programme through our own fibre network utilising IPTV, which gives us the ability to control where the TTV programme goes, provide additional off-air channels, and additional content playout.”

Along with supply the infrastructure for TTV, CT also provided several display service with HD TV’s and LED screens. Since working with Abu Dhabi Golf Championships in 2009, CT have developed a event package which include multiple LED screens throughout the site. This year over 190sqm of LED were provided. The product of choice was the InfiLED screen which ranged from 15sqm up to 60sqm featured in several locations throughout the site. With a depth of only 68mm, the slimline InfiLED 5.9 is a high performance, creative and user-friendly display for use in both indoor and outdoor applications. Also provided were 64 TV displays ranging from 32inches to 105 inches as well as bespoke event graphics.

One of the newest editions for this year was in the Media Centre where CT placed a 42sqm high res LED Absen Screen, a product

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which boasts exceptional viewing angles of over 140 degrees in both the horizontal and vertical planes. The Absen screen this year replaced the traditional manual leaderboard used in previous years.

Smith continued to describe his experience with the event: “Believe it or not it’s not the most challenging site we work at, although sometimes it does get quite hot! Most of the equipment and personnel come from our London office but we are also well support by our local CT office in Dubai. At its peak we had 17 crew on site for the install and it took eight days to have everything in place. Feedback has been very positive. It’s a great event and one of our biggest service provisions on the Tour. The client was very pleased with the new LED screen in the Media Centre and we already have plans to enhance this in 2018. From CT’s perspective, it’s a very popular event on the calendar and I have many requests from staff to crew the event, and get some winter sun!”

set up VIP toilets in the hospitality structures, branding walls and road signage, crowd control barriers, 4km of picket fencing around the course, access bridges and ramps. So quite a bit of work!”

For the project the company deployed 40 crew on site for six weeks leading up to handover under Senior Project Manager Jack Doherty.

O’Doherty continued: “Some new elements were added this year such as a food and beverage platform at the 9th green, Etihad Airways Best Seat in the House platform on the 18th and an enhanced Skybox on the 17th. Working on golf courses always presents challenges. Getting material and crew to areas of the course in a proper manner without damaging the grass is a key factor.

“We work closely with the club staff in planning access routes and durations of build.

We also have to take into account that people are playing golf while we are building structures so adequate health and safety precautions need to be put in place.”

AL LAITH For the last eight years Al Laith has been involved in the build for the Abu Dhabi Championship.

The event, which follows on from the company’s build at Race to Dubai, and is concurrent with the build at Emirates for the Desert Classic and in Doha for the Qatar Masters. Discusting Al Laith’s involvement in the event was Eugene O’Doherty, the groups CEO: “For this year we erected all the on-course spectator grandstands, the 17th hospitality deck, the video screen supports, TV Towers, on course elevated camera platforms and leader boards, site offices and toilets. We also

HOLE IN ONE As the event came to a close, the players and staff of the European tour set their sights on their next destination, Qatar. For its 12 year the Abu Dhabi Golf Club proved why it’s fast becoming one of the most sought after golfing destination in the world.

TPMEA Photos courtacy of Harlequin Arena Group http://harlequinmarquees.com https://eclipse.ae www.ct-group.com www.allaith.com

WHERE INNOVATION & CREATIVITY

FUSE

17 - 18 MAY 2017, FESTIVAL ARENA DUBAI

THE NEWLY REBRANDED MIDDLE EAST EVENT & EXHIBITION SHOW The previously known Middle East EVENT Show, has this year been completely revamped to the Middle East Event & Exhibition Show (MEES), held from 17 to 18 May 2017 at the Festival Arena in Dubai Festival City.

SO, WHAT CAN BE EXPECTED FROM THE NEWLY BRANDED SHOW AND HOW HAS IT BEEN IMPROVED? INCREASED GLOBAL PRESENCE

EASIER NETWORKING

International buying delegations, innovative content, increased exhibitor sectors and a dedicated audience attraction campaign will aim to bring the most innovative event and exhibition companies together from both, the Middle East and internationally.

A central networking lounge will be located at the heart of the show giving attendees a state-of-the-art area to catch up with other industry professionals and facilitate new relationships.

EXHIBITOR OFFERINGS

VISITOR PROFILE

Double the number of exhibitors, a full events and exhibitions value chain will be represented at the event, allowing visitors the chance to explore the industry from A to Z.

Key industry professionals like Event/Exhibition Organisers, Event Management Agencies, Event Promoters, Marketing and Procurement Professionals, Wedding Planners and Project Managers are expected to attend the show.

Aligned to the evolution of the show will be the MEES Awards, bringing 13 new categories and covering a range of exhibition and event solutions, including Best Event Marketing Campaign, Best Music Event, Best Consumer Exhibition, Best Video Content Production and Industry Icon Award, and many more.

Check out the judges: www.me-eventawards.com/en/JUDGES.html

CALL US: +971 (0)4 407 2551 WWW.ME-EVENTSHOW.COM | WWW.ME-EVENTAWARDS.COM

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DAVID GUETTA AT NASIMI BEACH ECLIPSE STAGING SERVICES SUPPORTED DAVID GUETTA’S PRENYE GIG AT DUBAI’S NASIMI BEACH CLUB NEXT TO ICONIC HOTEL, ATLANTIS THE PALM WITH SUPPORT OF STAGE FX AND LASER FX.

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“It’s always a pleasure to hear the crowd’s reaction to the first laser cue and to see all the phones come out to record our work.”

Arran Hopkins, General Manager, Laser FX

Having worked at Nasimi Beach Club before, the team were well-accustomed to the layout and its requirements, though this gig called for the biggest set up it has seen to date. Head of Audio for eclipse, John Parkhouse, explained: “As Nasimi is a relatively small venue, we scaled the audio system down from the rider. That being said it is still the biggest event that’s ever happened at that venue, so for Nasimi, it was on another level compared to previous events we have done there.”

After working on David Guetta’s New Year’s Eve concert last year, Carlos Herreros, Guetta’s engineer, “left ecstatic with what we provided” said Parkhouse. “The aim for us was for him to leave just as happy, if not more following this one, which I believe we achieved.”

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Delivery of the audio supply was down to eclipse’s Senior Audio Engineer, Tariq AlHassan. “Following John’s design, I adapted the mechanical data in the d&b audiotechnik ArrayCalc software to fit any slight changes or discrepancies that occurred during the build.

Once Carlos and the touring team arrived on site, a few changes to the sub-array and front fill design were made to taste. We then recalculated array processing for any scenarios that Carlos or the venue may have required, including a setting that dipped -6db at the VIP area and then time-aligned and tuned using Smaart,” Al-Hassan explained. “After listening to the whole system in its full glory, it was established that this was the preferred setting as it gave such an even and smooth response across the whole venue.

The system had tonnes of headroom during the show, and Carlos had plenty of space to push it as he pleased.”

Due to the recent weather change in the UAE, Dubai has been facing some harsh condensation overnight and early in the morning, which proved a challenge with some of the kit. Al-Hassan recalled: “After sunset, the dew point was high, and condensation formed on everything, even equipment undercover. Due to the condensation forming so fast it gave us a little trouble with some of the DJ kit, but these issues were soon resolved after proper drying.

All in all, the combination of a well-designed PA and signal path lead to a very clear, full-sounding and high volume show with plenty of breathing space,” he concluded.

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The lighting was a compact rendition of the show which is due to tour during 2017. The physical space at Nasimi only allowed for around 40% of the official design, and featured 16 Claypaky HPE 1500w, 32 Claypaky Sharpys, 16 Martin by Harman Atomic 3000 strobes, 16 LED pars and 22 PixelRange PixelLine 1044. Control and networking was run from two High End Systems Road Hog 4’s over a GigaCore and Neutrik fibre backbone.

On the video side of things, eclipse supplied 70sqm of ROE 9mm LED screen and two Green Hippo Taiga media servers. The video team were met with the challenge of maintaining a high visual impact show in a compact venue. This challenge was met by splitting the LED up into sections; these sections were then pixel mapped by the touring server. Video was managed and delivered in real time, providing video content that complimented the audio tracks. Head of eclipse’s Video Department, Lee Worthington, commented: “From eclipse’s point of view, it was very important to communicate with the touring video team to ensure a smooth handover on their arrival. Making sure that all pixel maps were to specification, so system handover was faultless.”

In true David Guetta style, the night was taken to new heights with the addition of special effects from Stage FX and impressive laser supply from Laser FX. Stage FX delivered a combination of bursts of CO2 and flames to ensure that the show would be one to remember. Arran Hopkins, General Manager of Laser FX said: “It’s always a pleasure to hear the crowd’s reaction to the first laser cue and to see all the phones come out to record our work.”

Project Manager, Duncan Shortt, added: “The final result was spectacular, with razor sharp timing on the queues. When you consider how much kit is normally used on this show, a full size set up is something I would go to see should the opportunity present itself.”

Photos: eclipse Staging Services www.davidguetta.com www.eclipse.ae

Helping you build great things

WWW.PROLYTE.COM

Official distributing partners Middle East:

Follow us on:

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SHEIKH ZAYED HERITAGE FESTIVAL PROTEC SUCCESSFULLY PULLED OFF ONE OF ITS MOST DEMANDING PRODUCTION SUPPORT CHALLENGES EVER AT THE ANNUAL SHEIKH ZAYED HERITAGE FESTIVAL IN ABU DHABI.

The event, which was held at the Al Wathba race track, celebrates the UAE’s cultural inheritance as well as the diversity of other cultures around the world. The festival offered a variety of educational platforms, interactive performances, fountain shows, a tribal parade and a dazzling fireworks display each night.

Protec was engaged for the fourth consecutive year to provide state-of-the-art sound and lighting reinforcement for the 30,000 sqm site.

Not only was the scale unprecedented, but such has been the event’s success that a late decision was taken to extend the duration of the event to two months, from early December 2016 to 21 January 2017.

Protec provided site-wide inventory, deploying an Optocore dual redundant fibre network to transmit audio to all the locations, which required 2.6km of cable and was all managed from a central control hub. The

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deployment enabled them to carry out a range of tasks, from servicing 40 live interactive shows daily in dedicated traditional souks and time-coded fountain and firework displays, to providing an emergency announcement system and programmed call to prayer across the entire festival site.

Immersed in their own unique cuisine and culture, each of the souks presented four shows per day, amounting to over 2,000 live performances over the 52-day duration of the festival alone. With additional sound coverage required for the kids area, horses and Union Circle, Protec’s audio department had no fewer than 14 separate sites to manage over the vast festival grounds.

In addition, the company dipped further into its inventory to provide a separate sound system for an independent one-day event, Union March, in which tribes from across the Emirates marched to signify unity as part of the National

Day celebrations.

To oversee the deployment and operation of the massive technical infrastructure, Protec fielded an experienced crew under the project management of Simon Travis. Daniel Dignan and John Francis took charge of the audio for the Heritage Festival with Tim Allison looking after the Union March, while lighting was in the capable hands of Geronimo Abad, Nelson Noche and Ferdie Caloy.

Travis stated that, in order to convert the site plan provided by the Ministry of Presidential Affairs into a reality, heavy investment in equipment had been required, notably the acquisition of 76 x Electro-Voice SX300 loudspeakers.

MAIN ENTRANCE In addition to the audio, Protec specified a number of industry standard lighting fixtures from its fleet, including 24 Claypaky Prima Super

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Sharpys, which were placed on the lighting towers to produce aerial effects, while no fewer than 100 Studio Due CityColor fixtures washed the outside walls. Once inside, the lighting magic further reverberated around the personalised souks.

UNION CIRCLE The Union Circle was the main hub of the event where the firework display and fountain show which had been added for the first time - took place. Many people used this area to set up blankets and picnics on the grass surrounding the water.

Ten towers were set up around this area in the Union Circle, each supporting 12 PARcans facing out towards the festival, along with four molefays, (two each side of the tower to provide a wash) and six Claypaky fixtures (three Sharpys and three A.leda B-EYE K20’s) facing into the centre circle of the fountain to add both beam and general colour effects, and highlight the UAE flag. All lighting was controlled from an Avolites desk.

Audio for Union Circle, all of which was triggered by timecode, was via 32 JBL VerTec 4889 line array elements, powered by Camco Vortex 6 amplifiers - again fed from the Optocore X6R network converters. A Soundcraft Si Compact

digital mixing desk took inputs from a wireless Shure Beta 87 and a single channel from a Pioneer DJM900 Nexus mixer and CDJ2000 digital DJ deck, used for the fountain music, while the remaining channel provided the timecode.

All channels, including two further firework inputs, were taken individually back to a DiGiCo SD9 for local playout in the centre circle area.

Protec was also tasked with lighting the rear pathways and areas around the mosques with LED floods and LED PARs, while Pixelline 1044 LED battens and molefays were used in the kids area.

In this massive deployment of industry standard spots, profiles and washes, including 1,000 conventional PARcans, all fixtures had been detailed mission critical tasks. Since the location was a racetrack the terrain was fairly uneven.

“With more than 75 truss lighting towers it was necessary to ship in prefabricated concrete blocks,” explained Travis. ”We made steel plates so we could mount the truss on top. As a result, everything was rock solid.”

HERITAGE SOUKS The biggest challenge for Protec was equipping 10 of the 11 souks with concert grade lighting and sound. Each souk represented a specific country and their purpose was to showcase their heritage

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and culture by selling traditional clothes and authentic food as well putting on performances four times a day to show case traditional dancing and singing.

Lighting in the souks was largely derived from PARcans, boosted by 4-lite molefays, which gave a wider colour wash to the surrounding pathways.

“Our task was to ensure that each of the souks’ performance stages was lit perfectly,” explained Travis. “There were more PARcans than I have ever used split between the main Union Circle main site and various souks. We used 144 par cans in one souk alone and 126 in another.”

For these centre stages, Protec supplied 10 small Mackie ProFX12 desks as well as a number of mic stands, DI boxes and aux cables.

Six more Electro-Voice SX300’s were attached to the truss towers, over which Protec maintained master control in order to monitor levels and insert the pre-programmed prayer times and emergency announcements. All limiting and compression took place within the SD9 to ensure no sound bleed between souks.

In addition to the stages, Protec also lit the surrounding grass area.

It had been Dignan’s task to maintain audio consistency across the zones, including the general site-wide announcements, with all

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signals running back to the master control room via the elaborate fibre network. To accomplish this Protec deployed 76 of their new EV SX300’s, powered by L-Acoustics LA48 amplifiers, distributed around the souks and various event areas, and mounted on Total Fabrications XO lighting towers.

“In total we took 29 lines from the site out of the LX4B and into an DiGiCo SD Rack and a Digico SD9, and sent 15 lines back out to the individual systems around the site,” explained Dignan. Other inputs into the SD9 came from QLab cue-based software, which triggered the announcements.

A further 16 outputs were supplied over the Dante platform by two Four Audio DBO1 Dante breakout boxes (for the souks), and allowed an extra channel to deliver important site wide announcements (and prayer), cutting all other inputs by 15dB as it did so.

The fibre network comprised five Optocore X6R-FX interfaces, linked to the master control room where the signals ran into an Optocore LX4B FOH unit. Outputs to the Optocore X6R’s would automatically cut the QLab play back via a ducking gate on the SD9, and return to the preexisting state at the end of the set.

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UNION MARCH Union March was a one-off event attended by a host of dignitaries including the leaders of each of the Emirates and the King of Saudi Arabia and was broadcast on several channels throughout the Middle East.

Tim Allison took charge of the PA and playback, as well as the microphones for the main grandstand. With a large parade ground to be covered, his PA included 40 L-Acoustics K2 elements, with LA racks, again running over an Optocore fibre network and DiGiCo SD21 digital desk with D-Rack. Eight towers consisting of four L-Acoustics K2 were used to cover the grandstand, while a VIP area in the middle was served by a pair of K2, carefully positioned to preserve sightlines.

In terms of sources, shotgun and lectern mics were chosen to pick up the speeches and tribal chanting. “We had Shure VP89L mics behind the stacks of K2 to ensure what the tribes were actually singing was audible,” said Allison.

“We also had some Schoeps Mk4 lectern mics down there for any speeches.”

Expressing his satisfaction with the show, Allison stated: “I have done many types of similar

show - the difference with this show, as in the case with any show that involves animals, is that it makes it more challenging for the show cues.”

Summing up the event as a whole, Travis paid tribute to his team - and the sophisticated design they had managed to execute. “This gave us full control over the entire site from a central position, and by using a lot more automation, it made the event less engineer-heavy. The new speakers we purchased for the occasion were perfect for the conditions and the audio distributed clearly and evenly over such a large site by the Optocore system provided a logical solution.”

Dignan revelled in the unconventional nature of the sound design, stating that this was the first time he had experienced such a large fibre system. “This has to have been one of the most cable-heavy jobs our audio department has ever done and we made it as efficient as possible; there were a tonne of speakers, often a million miles away from the amps. It may not have been rock and roll but I’m certainly proud of this one.”

Photos: Claire Louise Armes www.productiontec.com

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WICKED THIS DUBAI-BASED SUPPLIER HAS MADE ITS NAME IN THE REGION AS THE A-TEAM OF STRUCTURAL SOLUTIONS. TPMEA’S STE DURHAM MEETS GENERAL MANAGER, JULIE DOUCET, TO HEAR ABOUT THE RISE AND RISE OF THE INDUSTRY MAVERICK.

When company CEO Alistair McDonald originally toyed with the idea of launching Wicked, the UAE was enjoying a time of unbridled prosperity. Although this meant a proliferation of live events and installations to cater for, McDonald felt there remained a distinct lack of innovative structural solutions in the market.

It was this niche that served as the catalyst for him to establish a firm capable of making the seemingly impossible a reality - thriving on challenges and remaining open-minded to all shapes and sizes of public and private functions.

General Manager at Wicked, Julie Doucet, has

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spent half of her 14 years in the UAE at the company, and in that time has seen relentless progress on all fronts. She explained: “We are a big family here that started from just a handful people, a lot of whom are still with us. I used to be on site with the guys, as did Alistair, and that is one of the main reasons why it’s worked so well ever since. New people coming into the company know that we’ve all done the real work and that makes the team feel really special.”

As well as evolving from a staff of three to over 80 people, Wicked is currently enjoying a growth in business of around 25% per annum – a respectable achievement by any standards.

Doucet continued: “We have always been very much driven by the events being offered to us.

We work a lot with event production companies that are super creative and will quite often give us the kinds of challenges that we thrive on.

Sometimes we can do it, sometimes we can’t.

If its possible, we can be creative and make it happen.

“We like a challenge, so if someone tells us they want to make something crazy then we will always be the first in line! That helped us develop as well as allowing us to increase our stock.”

Since its inception, Wicked has not strayed from its ethos to create new, different and

COMPANY PROFILE

exciting structures that surpassed event organisers’ expectations. The first such product was the Saddle Span system, first introduced to the region in 2007, which has since become so important that its likeness serves as part of the company’s logo.

While Wicked doesn’t manufacture any of its structures in Dubai, it has cultivated a solid relationship with its manufacturing partners that are spread out everywhere from Canada, to Germany, to China.

“You find out who has the best materials and the most expertise,” said Doucet. “We have different weather conditions here than in Europe with the sand and sun so we always have to be very meticulous when investing in new stock.

To build structures wouldn’t be necessary at the moment so the ability to take from experts is great.

“It’s great to have partners that we trust enough to suggest new systems to them or ask them to tweak to basic products - they will always make it work for us.”

While the initial boom in Dubai meant that Wicked could invest in new stock with minimal risk, the global economic downturn did, as it did in much of the world, create some concern.

However, while many corners of the industry battened down the hatches (to some extent at least), Wicked was able to adapt to the fact that the opportunity to do business in Abu Dhabi actually increased.

Doucet explained: “Events such as National Day, Commemoration Day, and Mother Of The Nation really grew in stature and the number of sporting events also increased; this created business for us that we have retained to this day.

It all balances out - the key is to concentrate

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on the side of the industry that has the most business to offer and target the right clients.”

The nous to seek out opportunities such as this has been another factor that has contributed to Wicked’s rapid ascent, allowing the company to provide its structures for high profile events like the Abu Dhabi Tour cycling and Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies Open. Doucet laughed: “We love sporting events as they are quite often televised and give us great exposure – my mother in France even noticed our tents on the cycling coverage!”

This foray into the world of sport has since yielded repeat contracts for Wicked in many other parts of the region, such as the NBO Golf Classic and sailing in Oman or the DP World Tour closer to home in Dubai. Doucet explained: “The DP World Tour was our first big contract and we’ve been able to retain it for six years.

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“Our competitors have always pushed us on this side of things, which has helped us to develop it into another advantage.”

Julie Doucet, General Manager

It’s always been a key contract for us and has become something of a flagship event. It’s also become a very personal job to us because we worked so hard pitching for it in the first place.”

Despite having this solid business to draw confidence from, the company hasn’t lost its sense of adventure, as Doucet elaborated: “We are working on a project in Saudi Arabia at the moment and we have even done one in Basra, Iraq - I told you we like a challenge!

“We built a permanent solution for a client there and one of our guys even got stuck for a month due to paperwork! We get asked to do projects all over the Middle East, and Africa too; we’ll always consider whatever comes our way.”

As well as sporting ventures, corporate shows and providing mainly back of house structures for live music events, Wicked has

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also built relationships with some of the most distinctive events in the region. Chief among these is Middle East Film and Comic Con, held in Dubai, which brings pop culture fans from all walks of life together to share their interest in all things cult.

“Comic Con is great for us,” said Doucet. “We provide loads of structures and they have to look pretty! It’s one of the great examples of when our clients drive us to do more. We also provide décor, interior fabrications, air conditioning and so on. Our competitors have always pushed us on this side of things, which has helped us to develop it into another advantage. We now have carpenters, painters and a furniture warehouse in house to make life easier during the run-up to these more multi-faceted jobs.”

Throughout this admittedly broad range

of clients and events, Wicked has ensured that its key goal remained – do things well, stay competitive, and be different.

Doucet concluded: “This was always the key for us. We didn’t want to have the same products as everyone else, but as you grow you become aware of the competition. In order to compete you still have to have similar stock – you can’t always be unique – and that’s the way events work. There are certain restrictions and rules to follow, but every time we invest we make sure to do it our own way.

“The word ‘unique’ is one we like to use, that’s what separates us. Challenges make us think and that is what has pushed us to improve.

The name suits us perfectly, we like to be creative, innovative and Wicked!” www.wicked.ae

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INSIDE LOOK

SPECIAL EFFECTS IN THE UAE TPMEA SPEAKS TO TWO LEADING COMPANIES IN THE MIDDLE EAST ABOUT WHY THEY CHOSE TO SET UP SHOP IN THE REGION, AND HOW THEIR AREAS OF EXPERTISE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO PROGRESS AND FLOURISH AS THE INDUSTRY’S DESIRE FOR INNOVATIVE SHOW DESIGNS INCREASES.

MICHAEL HILGEMANN, MATRIX LASER Can you tell us how and why the company was established?

I joined the technology company, TARM, in Germany in 1984 when I saw my first laser beam in their workshop. All of the possibilities fascinated me and I became addicted to it.

The funny thing is that at this point in time we are talking about water-cooled laser systems with output power of a mere 1W-3W.

Thanks to TARM, I completed an intensive training course on lasers at Coherent and Spectra Physics in Palo Alto, USA. Subsequently I was tasked with fixed laser installations worldwide, eventually being responsible for installations and after sales service globally.

During this time, my current business partner Dieter Hartzsch was working in the TARM’s Electronic Development division. He was notably at the helm of the development of a new laser controller based on Pangolin QM 2000 boards. He went on to develop controllers like the Key Desk 1, Key Desk 2, and Key Desk 3, which were incredible live controllers at the time. At the same time, he also developed the VIDAL3 which was a playback system for pre-programmed laser shows, based on a Tascam Dat Player.

After the unfortunate insolvency of TARM Laser Technologies in 2003, we decided to combine our various skills and experience within the laser industry and established Matrix Laser GmbH in Witten, Germany in 2003.

We were able to provide to the servicing requirements of our old and new clients as well as apply our own ideas and concepts to enhance the wellknown service and quality we were accustomed to within the industry.

Why did you choose the ME market as your next location?

Opportunities soon emerged, mainly bringing us from primarily a fixedinstallation sector, to the rental business. Owing to a good relationship with the former Avolites representative in Abu Dhabi, we were able to supply lasers to shows within the GCC well before opening a branch of our company here. More and more requests started pouring in from this region. As everyone quickly learns, it is near impossible to do business in the GCC from a desktop in Europe and we started toying with the idea of possibly opening an office in the UAE.

Dieter and I made the decision that I would move temporarily to the UAE in 2006, with the aim to physically meet key players in the industry and look closely at the possible ways of opening an office here. The plan was to find somebody to run the business locally on our behalf. Let’s just say this six-month plan did not exactly work out. I realised that I was really enjoying working here and enjoying the lifestyle of the UAE, mostly the fantastic sunshine and all the opportunities to be outdoors and not freezing. I started looking forward to establishing myself here after

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years and years of travelling. We officially founded Matrix Laser (Michael Hilgemann Lighting) in early 2007. Soon, I met my wife over here and started a family. We have now happily been living in Abu Dhabi for over 10 years with our seven-year-old daughter, Isabella. Moving here was definitely the right decision and one that I have never regretted.

Since this time, Dieter has been taking care of Matrix Laser GmbH in Germany. He simultaneously develops several products for Pangolin, which is one of the world market leaders in Laser Control Software. This gives us the added advantage of testing new products under the extreme condition here in the Gulf such as extreme heat, humidity, sand and dust.

Can you tell us about your inventory and key products?

In the GCC market we are very much focussed on the rental market, which is the biggest contrast to the German market. Sales to the GCC are still controlled from our German office, with myself as local support and contact.

We offer Laser Systems in the Power Range from 3W-30W and higher for specific functions. We focus mainly on using Coherent Laser for our systems, which are state of the art laser sources worldwide. We absolutely do not compromise on power, colours, brilliance and reliability.

INSIDE LOOK

Our biggest target is always to satisfy our customers. According to the requirements for each specific event, we decide which controllers to use for the laser show. Pangolin and the DSP Mark2 both have their pros.

For live events, we normally choose the Pangolin Beyond 3.0, which is very good software for live controlling. The DSP Mark2 is for us more of a ‘corporate’ show controller, but we have both systems available and can react to the needs of the customer.

Our big advantage is that a team of creative people surrounds us, and we can offer every customer a complete package starting from custom designed storyboards, to producing music tracks, until the final product. The customer remains part of the creative process and is updated throughout the process.

Over the years, how have you seen the Middle East develop in terms of both technology and health and safety?

In 1985 TARM worked closely with a University in Germany to learn about

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the dangers laser light poses to the human eye. As mentioned before, at this time we were dealing with lasers with a maximum output of 1W3W; conservative compared to what we are working with today. It was shocking to discover what this could do to the eyes and even skin. We subsequently always worked with the German TüV guidelines to create laser shows that were first of all safe for the audience, and still fascinating and impressive.

Nowadays we receive requests that require laser outputs of 20W and above, and we have to ensure that all installation follow strict regulations to avoid laser-related accidents. All our programmers and technicians whether employed by us, or freelancers hold a Laser Safety Certificate that is mandatory to work with us. Additionally we host bi-annual in-house Laser Safety Courses, and even more frequently where special or unusual show setups come our way. With the potential yet avoidable risks the events supply industry faces using lasers, special effects, and so on. For Matrix Laser, safety is always first!

Show Laser and Special FX Solu ons

www.matrix-laser.com m.hilgemann@matrix-laser.com

@matrixlaseruae ME

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INSIDE LOOK

Do you think laser design changes much from country to country? Are there certain trends you’ve noted in Dubai?

Most international live acts are very much restricted to a technical rider to keep a touring show exactly the same wherever it is performed. Shows for bands and DJs are controlled and directed by their lighting designer according to their rider, leaving very little room or deviation. Here and there we come across exceptions, but this is generally the norm. With corporate shows on the other hand, we have more creative input and freedom compared to Europe and the chance to do things differently. Here in the UAE the customer tends to come to us for ideas, basically giving us a blank slate to work with in comparison to Europe where a storyboard is more or less completed by the customer even before approaching us to execute it. I guess this is one of the reasons why our creative people enjoy working here.

In general I think our Industry here in the UAE has taken huge steps in terms of Health and Safety over the past years. This of course means lots of additional paperwork, but if this proves to ensure the safety of crew and spectators then we are satisfied. In the UAE we are reaching a level on par with most Western countries regarding Health and Safety and this is an impressive achievement compared to 10 years ago. Health and Safety is being taken seriously in our industry now and that is helpful for everybody, especially considering that any negative incident reflects poorly on all of us.

For this reason everybody has to do their part in ensuring impressive yet safe events for every kind of production.

What kind of events are paving the way at the moment in the UAE? Is it mainly live event or corporate led?

The UAE hosts many world class live acts, concerts and festivals regularly, making the live events sector a very important source of activity for us.

I would estimate live events to be 50% to 60% of our annual business.

Where corporate clients are carefully weighing their options and budgets for events, live public events become more and more. This remains luckily quantity without compromising quality, and this is exactly what we want to provide.

Certain changes started occurring within the market during 2015 whereby we started noticing more of a demand for special effects for live and club events.

I had a chat with Darren Hodge, Managing Director of SNAP about collaborating in the Special effects Business. Over the past few years we have had several opportunities to work with SNAP on various events at different levels of interaction, and for us it was a clear fit to partner with them in this regard. Our businesses have a similar work ethic, we value professionalism, and our combined years of experience in the Gulf meant that we are both more than familiar with the way things are done in the industry in this particular region.

A decision to team up and proceed was made, more or less on the spot, and we invested in the purchase of state of the art special effects equipment from leading brands MagixFX and Galaxis. This brought us closer to our target of offering customers a complete Special effects-Laser Package. Requests soon followed, with acts like Katy Perry and other nightclub events.

Then followed festivals like RedFest DXB and Fiesta De Los Muertos as well as the Formula 1 After Race Concerts.The Special effects collaboration between Matrix Laser and SNAP works fruitfully for both of us and has certainly extended our range of customers.

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What do you feel has been your biggest challenge / achievement to date in the region?

Shortly before the 2012 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, we received a request from Yas Marina to do a laser show inside the marina during the three race days.

The first thought that crossed my mind was this location is only 2km from Abu Dhabi International Airport - there is no possible way to realize this.

In the past we would regularly receive similar request from companies in Europe, but there is absolutely no chance to execute a laser show within 10km of an international airport. Nonetheless, we proceeded to prepare our proposals and submitted to the client. Then followed meetings with Abu Dhabi Police, Air Traffic Control and several other governmental and military bodies and we were very surprised with the result. There was not a general negative reception that we expected and that was surprising enough, but the support in terms of making this laser show happen in a safe and efficient way blew us away. We came up with a plan together and all these efforts resulted in a fascinating laser beam show, every night following the races, with zero interruptions to air traffic around and inside the Yas Marina. Special care was taken to ensure that helicopters for media, VVIP and others were safe from laser beam interference during the show days. We have now done the laser show inside the Yas Marina during the Formula 1 for five consecutive years, which is a great achievement for us.

Another project we are well pleased with is the laser beam show that we have installed and manned on the rooftop of the iconic Emirates Palace every December for the past seven years. This is part of the UAE National Day Celebrations and results in a beautiful and very impressive display, lighting up the Abu Dhabi skyline from the Corniche to Al Reem Island, Saadiyat Island, and visible on occasion as far as Yas Island. The government approval process is similar to that of the Yas Marina laser show, where again we have to communicate very closely with Air Traffic Control to avoid any unfortunate accidents or interruptions. These are incidents where you are blown away by the support from the UAE Government and getting to see how tightly everything is run to ensure the safety of the air traffic and subsequently the public.

What will will find you doing in 2017?

New year, new challenges and new opportunities‌ We are currently investing in new laser sources from Coherent called HD Laser. We are working on a project right now where these lasers would be the best solution to get optimal results. HD Lasers have much better divergence than the well-known Coherent laser. This helps achieve brilliant projections over long distances. This in combination with orange laser diodes allows us to create a brilliant colour balance. We are also investing in a wider range of special effects equipment to be able to offer our customers the best range of products. To stay on top of our game we want to offer our clients the widest range of high quality products and services at fair prices. www.matrix-laser.com

INSIDE LOOK

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ROSS MARSHALL, SNAP How and why was your company was established?

Both Darren Hodge and myself have been working in Dubai for over 10 years and have seen many changes within the live events industry. In late 2013 we saw an opportunity to combine our years of experience and decided to form SNAP. This was primarily to offer production management services, however, as we progressed we started to invest in various technical equipment to support our own projects How has the company grown since its formation?

We quickly realised there was demand for what we were offering and a structured operation was needed to enable us to work as productively as possible. Within a matter of months, we added finance and operations support to the model along with additional Project Management and technical staff. Following from there we moved into our warehouse and office facility in Dubai Investment Park to enable us to expand our range of technical equipment which now includes lighting, rigging, video, audio and our comprehensive range of special effects products. To date with have since added more project managers and technicians to bring the current staffing numbers to 15.

Can you explain some your key lines of work - do you design in-house or mainly provide special effects for rental needs?

We like to provide our clients with all the creative input we can, so we like to do our own technical designs in-house using our pre-visualisation software and CAD platforms. This enables us to provide our clients with conceptual ideas during their pitch processes and onto final delivery. We can also provide our clients with special efects products to support their own designs, for example international touring productions.

Why did you choose the ME market as your preferred location?

We have both been working in the region collectively for over 10 years.

The events industry here in the Middle East is a very dynamic and rapidly growing market which continually presents new challenges. It plays host to some of the world most spectacular productions and is a very exciting market to be involved in. Looking forward to Expo 2020 and Qatar 2022 we are excited at the prospects ahead in this constantly changing and growing region.

Do you think pyrotechnics follow certain trends in the UAE? Pyrotechnics are certainly becoming more commonplace on stage shows in the UAE which is keeping up with international trends. As technologies advance and creative design become more challenging the trends are being set all the time.

Over the years, how have you seen the Middle East develop in terms of show design? Are productions becoming bigger and better?

Over the last decade there hasn’t necessarily been an increase in the size or quality of productions although there has been a significant advancement in technology enabling productions to be more dynamic.

The region is still growing at a rapid pace and therefore more events are taking place to either showcase its achievements or to simply entertain its residents. New venues are in the pipeline and the future looks bright for the region.

What about the health and safety aspects of live events? Can you pinpoint how this has improved when using live flames for example?

Health and Safety is always the number one consideration when supplying all special effects, not just flames. We make it clear to all our clients of the dangers and limitations in using effects in their productions.

All our technicians are suitably trained on our full range of equipment and the safety procedures associated with each.

Health and Safety has improved dramatically in all areas of the live events industry over the last 15 years. Special Effects as a discipline in this

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INSIDE LOOK

industry is relatively new, therefore the awareness of health and safety has been present and implemented from the start.

two very iconic launch events utilising special effects within the creative design.

Do you host in-house H&S courses for your operators?

All our staff are given generic H&S training and are given specific training on any new products we purchase. First aid and fire safety training courses are also given to our technicians along with access equipment training.

What do you feel has been your biggest challenge / achievement to date in the region?

Getting to where we are today has had a number of challenges but we are very happy with our achievements over the last three years getting SNAP to where it is today. Building a strong team with different expertise and introducing young talent to the industry is a personal achievement for us both.

What kind of events are paving the way at the moment in the UAE that require pyrotechnics and special effects as part of the show?

With the continual expansion of the region whether it’s the expansion of the transport systems, new building launched or theme parks, they are all looking for the additional ‘wow’ factor that special effects can bring to their event. Large stage show productions and mass cast ceremonies have always been the highlights of the events calendar in this part of the world and special effects will always be a part of this. We have recently provided special effects for the Dubai Canal Launch on behalf of ER Productions and also the Dubai Parks and Resorts Grand opening for Action Impact,

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What can we look forward to in 2017 from Snap?

Over the next year we will be looking to invest in more new and exciting products and technologies, to expand our services and to provide our clients with more exciting solutions for their productions.

We are also seeking to fill new positions we currently have available to continue with our expansion. Watch this space! www.snap.ae

media & entertainment technology trade show

www.mediatech.co.za

SUN CIRCLE e x h i b i t i o n s

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REGIONAL ROUND UP

700,000 EXPERIENCE OUTLINE AT THE WORLD’S LARGEST GOSPEL CONCERT FOR THE FOURTH YEAR RUNNING, CYTECH WORLD COMMUNICATION PROVIDED AN OUTLINE SOUND SYSTEM FOR THE EXPERIENCE, WITH PRODUCTION AND CONTROL SERVICES SUPPLIED BY SUBFRANTIC PRODUCTION SERVICES.

The Experience, held annually in Lagos’ TafawaBalewa Square and organised by the House on the Rock church, is considered the world’s largest gospel concert attracted a crowd of 700,000. The latest edition featured an array of music ministers including Don Moen, Donnie McClurkin, Frank Edwards, Smokie Norful, Travis Greene.

The Experience’s FOH audio set-up comprised a full outline system, including 30 Outline GTO C-12 line-source systems and a pair of underhung GTO-DF (down-fill) modules,

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while 16 DBS 18-2, 8 Subtech 218’s and 4 LAB 21 HS subwoofers ensured the low and infra-low frequencies power and precision.

Another 18 GTO C-12 elements were selected to provide the necessary coverage width for audience areas near the side of the stage, and 32 Butterfly systems were fielded as delay units. A total of 8 DVS 12 enclosures filled in the nearfield, and 2 Doppias combined with 4 Subtech 218 handled sidefills. The whole system was powered

by Outline T-Series amplifiers.

With a limited time frame at its disposal

at the venue, the audio team used Outline’s Openarray-3D acoustical prediction software to guide the installation of the sound system, which had the task of covering the entire TafawaBalewa Square - 280m x 200m - bounded by tiered seating 20m high and 30m deep running its full length.

For the fourth consecutive year, the GTO C-12’s and Butterflys simply outperformed all the other systems used at previous editions. http://outlinearray.com http://theexperiencelagos.com

REGIONAL ROUND UP

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ADAM HALL GROUP EXPANDS DISTRIBUTION NETWORK IN SOUTH AFRICA, NAMIBIA AND BOTSWANA WITH MITECH DISTRIBUTION

Above: Joppie Maritz, Stage Audio Works Namibia, Will Deysel, CEO Mitech Distribution, Markus Jahnel, COO Adam Hall Group.

THE ADAM HALL GROUP IS CONTINUING THE RAPID EXPANSION OF ITS INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTION NETWORK. AN EXCLUSIVE PARTNERSHIP FOR SOUTH AFRICA, NAMIBIA AND BOTSWANA HAS NOW BEEN ESTABLISHED WITH MITECH DISTRIBUTION. THIS INCLUDES THE GERMAN MANUFACTURER’S COMPLETE PORTFOLIO OF CAMEO, PALMER, GRAVITY, LD SYSTEMS AND DEFENDER.

Stage Audio Works is a leading international distributor and manufacturer of complete technology solutions to the live event, houses of worship, commercial, education and industrial sectors. Since its inception in 2000, Stage Audio Works has acquired more than six companies geared in the distribution and retail markets. Its footprint extends over South Africa and into the rest of Sub-Saharan Africa.

In addition to a comprehensive portfolio of reputable audio, video, staging and lighting equipment, the distributor also has a wellestablished network of partners in the retail, houses of worship and live event markets and has become one of the biggest players in this space. Mitech Distribution, part of the Stage Audio Works Group, is the subsidiary, which will focus on the MI-market distribution in SubSahara Africa.

Markus Jahnel, COO of the Adam Hall Group, voiced her approval of the new distribution

partner: “The Stage Audio Works Group has been operating with great success in the B2B markets in Southern Africa and the adjoining areas for many years and is gaining impressing success with entertainment and installation projects as well. They are pursuing a strategy that perfectly meets the expectation of the Adam Hall Group.

Its many years’ experience in the retail, installed and live-sound sectors links seamlessly with our broad, innovative range of professional audio and lighting products and accessories to perfectly complements Stage Audio Work’s services.

It was also important for us that, in addition to products, our future partner is also able to provide the appropriate technical service and training for staff and customers alike. Stage Audio Works focuses on all of these points, and this convinced us to join forces.”

Will Deysel, Founder and CEO of Stage Audio Works Group, was also convinced of the success of the new partnership: “We have become

very familiar with the Adam Hall Group and its extensive product range. As we are anticipating a long and successful presence in South Africa and its neighbouring states, it was immediately apparent to us that the best opportunities lay in a partnership. Our expert knowledge of the region coupled with a modern, innovative manufacturer that covers a spectrum of the entertainment industry will be beneficial for both the partners and of course for our customers. We were especially impressed with the way in which the Adam Hall Group has positioned itself logistically in an international market and with its futureoriented research and development facilities. We have also been extremely impressed with the quality of all the products from the respective brands. Such a product range allows us to fill the gaps in our portfolio, offer our customers great value and make us both more competitive. We are looking forward to a successful partnership.” www.adamhall.com www.stageaudioworks.com

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REGIONAL ROUND UP

CODA AUDIO AIRAY MAKES AFRICAN DEBUT CONCERT CODA AUDIO’S SOUTH AFRICAN DISTRIBUTOR, TADCO, HAS SOLD THE FIRST AIRAY SYSTEM ON THE AFRICAN CONTINENT TO LEADING RENTAL COMPANY, VIRTUAL PRODUCTIONS.

Virtual Productions, already enthusiastic users of a Coda ViRAY system that it has owned since 2013, felt that the purchase of an AiRAY system was a natural progression.

The South African market differs in many respects from that found in the UK, Europe and the US, in that there is no real established scheduled touring circuit. As a consequence, the challenges presented to Virtual Productions are highly diverse and demand a high degree of flexibility and adaptability.

Victor Van Graan, Production Manager at Virtual Productions commented on the purchase:

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“We provide every technical service to a very wide range of events and in terms of staging and lighting provision, we felt able to cover every base. In terms of audio, we felt a little short on adaptability and AiRAY has given us precisely that. The audio quality is exceptional and the weight ratio allows for great portability, but a key factor for us was that in the same hang width we can put AiRAY and ViRAY and hang our SCV subs.

We now have the ultimate modular system to cover pretty much any application.”

Virtual Productions has already deployed AiRAY in a range of events from music festivals

to political rallies and gospel meetings and more besides. Its power, flexibility and compatibility have impressed and the system looks set for a busy future.

Paul Ward, Marketing Director at Coda, was pleased: “These are exciting times for Coda Audio.

This is another ‘first’ for AiRAY and the feedback we’ve had from Virtual has been fantastic. The diversity of applications that they cover really underlines for us just what a winning concept we have created in AiRAY.” www.tadco.co.za www.codaaudio.com

REGIONAL ROUND UP

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DWR DISTRIBUTION’S MA LIGHTING TRAINING DAY DWR ARE SENDING OUT TWO OF ITS ENGINEERS TO ATTEND AN MA LIGHTING TRAINING WEEK IN PADERBORN, GERMANY WITH SOME OF THE COMPANIES LEADING EXPERTS. DWR Distribution’s Gareth Chambers and Jannie de Jager will be travelling to MA Lighting in Paderborn, Germany, for a training week. The sessions will include training in MA Networking, MA Network Switch, Fixture Library tips and tricks, grandMA2 Macros, VPU and MA3D with real world examples of getting the most out of these products.

Technical backing and service is one of the main priorities at DWR. The training will enable Chambers and de Jager, along with Bruce Riley, Head of Technical, to continue to provide product support and training.

Former DWR colleague, Nick Britz, known for his passion for MA, relocated to the United Kingdom in January. “For the past five years, I have been Nick Britz’s understudy, and at the end of last year, I underwent intensive one-on-one training with him,” said Chambers. “I am feeling confident and enjoy the challenge of being able

to help the guys in the industry with service and support. It’s really nice to have the responsibility of being the first point of contact and I’m up for the task. MA is constantly evolving which means there is never stagnation and always something new.”

New to DWR is Jannie de Jager, who joined the company a few months ago and has been job shadowing the technical support team, his knowledge and willing temperament earning him respect within a short period. “It has been great working with Jannie,” said Chambers. “He is a fast learner and has been a big help. We make a great team.”

When leaving school, de Jager started studying Civil Engineering, but while working at an engineering company for a practical he realised he did not enjoy construction. Through a friend he was introduced to the entrainment industry and was offered a position at Prosound,

where he started off working at the company’s rental division which was in operation at the time, and then moved into sales where he was an ETC representative.

“I’ve always been a geek and a gadget freak, playing around on computers, gaming, getting my head around the technical and figuring things out,” said de Jager. “Of course I enjoy lighting, design and technology but it’s the people in the industry that are so nice making it easy to be positive,” he added.

For Duncan Riley of DWR it’s an honor to have a person of de Jager’s calibre on board.

“Jannie’s humble and friendly manner have made an impression on me, and even a few years back, I remember noticing his approach and willingness. He fits in with Bruce Riley and Gareth’s admirable spirit that nothing is too big or too difficult.” www.dwrdistribution.co.za

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INTERVIEW

UNFAZED PRODUCTIONS RENOWNED LD AND OWNER OF UNFAZED PRODUCTIONS, JEAN-PIERRE WILLSON, TALKS TO TPMEA ABOUT THE UPS AND DOWNS OF LIFE AND WORK IN SOUTH AFRICA.

How did you become involved in the world of live production?

I have always had an interest in lighting from a very early age but access to any form of study involved doing a drama course, which was definitely not for me! Instead I chose to study mechanical engineering and later architecture, where my ability to visualise and think in 3D and problem solving stood me in good stead to make a start within our industry. While studying, I became vice-president of the student council, and part of my responsibilities was to look after the campus radio station, organise and run the carnival, pageants as well as other student activities.

It was during this time that I found my passion and as a result started my own business.

With the fall of apartheid in South Africa, the world started to visit South Africa and our live events industry was effectively born. I was extremely fortunate to work on many of the

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international and local concerts and events, and it was a wonderful experience as my various jobs included driving, crewing, production, and later designing and operation. All have helped to reinforce my love for our industry, and see the hard work and dedication of myself and other pay off.

Can you tell us about your business as it stands today - there seems to be many different areas of live design that you service?

Unfazed Productions is a technical solutions / production company, focusing on lighting, rigging and trussing. I’m involved in a design / programming and operation role for the events that we undertake. Our main markets are large scale weddings / corporate parties, launches, live concerts and events. We either work with other technical companies to offer our clients a total solution or just one component. I strongly believe in working with others that have a passion for

what they do, as it always improves and delivers a better product for our clients. I will never be the cheapest but always try to offer the best value together with the expertise, and creative to deliver what we promise!!

Which is your most prominent market in SA? At this point in time it is the large scale weddings in and around Cape Town. We have been very fortunate to be involved with several spectacular weddings during 2016. Several more have already been confirmed for this year. South Africa is an amazing destination for bridal events especially as the exchange rate is very favourable for overseas visitors!

As a multi-service provider, how do you approach each gig?

As we all know, budget is everything in our industry and I’m very well-known for being able to produce a technical success in a short

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INTERVIEW

timeframe. From load-in in the morning through rehearsals and then the show in the evening, it always makes me appreciate my staff as performing miracles would be impossible without them! However, every now and then it would be wonderful to have a set-up day or two.

We stock lighting / control / rigging and trussing and network with other companies that stock sound, staging, set and AV equipment that have the same work ethics and standards as ourselves. The business operates on two levels - one as a sub-contractor for design / lighting / trussing solutions and secondly offering our clients a total production or only a lighting solution.

In terms of your rental stock, what has been key for you?

Holding stock of a low maintenance product that can offer a decent rate of return - basically ‘bang for your buck’ - and being in a position to hold different products to those of our competitors, offering our clients alternative products. The products also need to suit different applications so that the equipment can be used on several types of events and has versatility. My staff knows that our equipment must always be ready for a last minute event, so reliability is key.

You have invested hevaily in Chauvet Professional lighting fixtures, how has this relationship furthered?

I have been very impressed with the product quality in the new range of fixtures but any product is only as good as the back up and servicing by the local agents. So far I have had a

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really positive journey with Chauvet. Their local agent here is Audiosure and all my dealings have been with David Moos of Cape Town. I really appreciate that they have demo stock available, and as a result I have been able to use the stock in selected events to compare it to other products and see all the features against competing products in a show environment.

I really feel that this is an important step as it allows me to ‘play’ without a salesman breathing down your neck! I look forward to adding more Chauvet products to our inventory in the near future.

What have been your most memorable gigs in terms of lighting design?

We have been involved with a singing competition Topstars, which is a talent contest for the shop workers from the Shoprite group [South African Retailer], which have been fantastic to work on.

Our client, Mynie Grove, gives me freedom to design the technical solution for the event, which takes place over a week in The Grand West Arena in Cape Town. I am also very proud of the last spectacular wedding that we did with Anne Mann Celebrates and Chris van Niekerk Botanical Concepts, which included a large truss system with 78 moving lights for a wedding in December last year.

I’m also proud of the work that we do with Making Music Productions that celebrates the musical heritage of South Africa and brings music from all over the world to the City Hall in Cape Town. It’s a beautiful building to light and we have done some memorable concerts there. Also

we lit up the Cape Town Stadium internally for an international gala dinner.

Can you highlight some recent technical production success stories?

I have lit the Miss Namibia Pageant, [which is broadcast live] for the past 10 years and last year was a great success. I also worked on the Cape Town International Jazz concert and was responsible for overall design for the Maputo More Jazz Concert in Mozambique for the last two years.

There was a wedding at the beginning of last year that was really memorable too; we turned a forest - which had been used as the wedding venue during the afternoon - into a secret, magical, silent disco afterparty.

It was memorable because of what happened - the police arrived to attend to a ‘noise complaint’ but when they arrived all they saw were people dancing in the forest with no music to be heard - they were all wearing silent disco headphones!

What can we expect to see from you this year?

I look forward to being more involved with the conceptual design process where my sometimes mad, sometimes creative concepts make it through to the actual event.

Oh... and time to programme! We are working on a conceptual orchestral event that will celebrate the works of a brilliant film composer that hopefully will make it round the world in the near future. Hopefully I’ll get some time to travel myself as well! www.unfazed.co.za

Celebrating 10 Years of delivering quality service in the Middle East

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Together we can turn your ideas into reality.

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Telephone: +971 4 88 53 55 8 neumannmuellereventtech www.neumannmueller.ae

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