Photo: Olivia BastonePhoto: Olivia BastonePhoto: Olivia Bastone(L-R) Josh Osmond, FOH Engineer; Ryan Cornelius, Systems Engineer/Crew Chief. Photo: Olivia BastonePhoto: Olivia BastonePhoto: Olivia Bastone(L-R) Ryan Cornelius, Systems Engineer/Crew Chief; Josh Osmond, FOH Engineer; Tyler Harris, PA Tech; Kevin Hu, Monitor Tech; Tucker Arbuthnot, PA Tech; Francois Pare, Monitor Engineer. Photo: Olivia BastonePhoto: Olivia BastonePhoto: Olivia BastonePhoto: Olivia Bastone
Cementing their status as one of this year’s premier concert draws, The Lumineers zigzagged across the continent this summer on the North American leg of their “Brightside World Tour.” Playing a mixture of sheds and arenas along with the occasional baseball stadium, the band delivered their trademark blend of alt-folk and Americana through a Meyer Sound LEO Family reinforcement system supplied by Escondido, California-based Sound Image.
Production Manager Sara Full, a pivotal player on The Lumineers’ team since 2013, emphasizes the key role of audio reinforcement in maintaining the band’s popularity. “The Lumineers’ music transitions between stripped-back moments and momentous builds, and capturing those dynamics in a way that translates uniformly — from the first fan in the pits to the last in the upper 300s — is essential to fulfilling expectations and making sure fans will come back for more. Our collective desire, band and crew, is to produce amplified sound in an arena that is comparable in quality and clarity to what the audience would hear acoustically. Simply put, the Meyer Sound system reproduces what the band is doing with purity but translates it to a large audience.”
Full also gave a tip of the hat to Sound Image for their role. “Jesse Adamson, our Sound Image representative, has been working with us since 2016 and has been diligent in making sure we have the best technicians with the proper training and skill. Sound Image also has done a great job of supporting us overseas, helping to ensure that we have access to the same Meyer Sound boxes worldwide.”
The Lumineers’ live mix benefits from the experience and practiced ears of veteran FOH Engineer Josh Osmond, who has also been with the band since 2013.
“The most important factor for me is consistency,” says Osmond. “The mix itself is subjective, and once the band and I are on the same page as to what the show should sound like, then it’s up to me to make that sound as consistent as possible, night in and night out. That’s where using the Meyer Sound systems has really paid off. With the linear phase response of the LEO Family and the flexibility available through Compass control software, Meyer has given me all the tools necessary to achieve this goal.”
Osmond is also a fan of Meyer Sound’s inherent self-powered architecture. “Self-powering has a number of benefits, including requiring less truck and floor space. It also eliminates long speaker cable runs from the amplifier on the ground to the speakers in the air. As a result, there is a transient response that other boxes don’t have.”
As configured for most shows, The Lumineers’ touring rig comprises left and right main hangs of, per side, 12 LEO line array loudspeakers over six LYON-M line array loudspeakers. Side arrays are 16 LYON each (eight LYON-M and eight LYON-W), the 270 hangs each deploy 14 LEOPARD compact line array loudspeakers, and six LEOPARD loudspeakers form the center array. Nine 1100‑LFC low-frequency control elements are flown per side as steerable cardioid arrays.
Locally sourced delays were added for most baseball stadium shows, though the final show at Chicago’s Wrigley Field posed a particular problem as venue management would not permit delay towers, only limited ground-stacked systems on roll-in carts.
“Those delay stacks had limited uptilt to reach the steep upper levels, so the main system had to do more work to cover those seats,” says Osmond. “I received several comments from band management and friends who listened from these areas, and they said it sounded as if they were down at front of house. The LEO Family is known for doing a fantastic job in long-throw situations, and it really proved itself on this show.”
For optimization and signal distribution, the system utilized eight Galileo GALAXY Network Platform processors, all linked on an AVB network running the Milan protocol. The fully redundant network, implemented on a quad-core fiber link, has a primary network with AVB only and a secondary network carrying AVB, RMS system monitoring, and Compass control. The quad-core link allows connection of both the stage right and stage left racks to the FOH master processor with no additional switch hops.
“The biggest advantage of AVB over analog or AES3 is having fewer connections,” says Ryan Cornelius, the tour’s systems engineer. “I can route our entire drive signal flow over two cables. It’s also more flexible, as I can reroute or add inputs to the GALAXY processors with a couple of mouse clicks, rather than digging through the back of the rack for tie lines.”
Other key members of the audio crew are Monitor Engineer Francois Pare, Monitor Tech Kevin Hu, and PA Techs Tyler Harris and Tucker Arbuthnot.
Though with early roots in New Jersey, founding band members Wesley Schultz and Jeremiah Fraites relocated to Denver before breaking through with their chart-topping single “Ho Hey” in 2012. The 2022 tour, supporting the band’s fourth studio album, Brightside, launched with a European leg in late winter. The North American leg, spanning a total of 52 shows in 49 cities, kicked off in Jacksonville on May 17 and wrapped at Wrigley Field in Chicago on September 3. “Brightside World Tour” placed consistently among Pollstar’s top 10 tours throughout the summer.
Suzhou Bay Cultural Center is located at the shore of Lake Tai in Suzhou of China, and adjacent to the Taihu New Town CBD. It is one of the signature development projects initiated by the city through the Wujiang Lakefront Masterplan. The 215,000 square-meter center consists of two wings, the Suzhou Opera House on the north side, and Wujiang Exhibition Center on the south.
The two magnificent buildings are connected by a long rooftop ribbon-like arch. This huge ribbon waves and intertwines from the north wing to the south, forming a giant figure eight. With patterns of rotating geometry, this architectural feature is visible from afar. The ribbon represents the silk and water sleeves of the Kunqu Opera, and evokes the cultural richness of the city. It also serves as a bridge for pedestrians to enjoy the spectacular view of Lake Tai and the heart of Suzhou CBD. Suzhou Bay Cultural Center has symbolized successful economic and cultural development, marking a milestone for the city.
The north wing features an Opera House, a black-box theatre hall, rehearsal rooms, art space, cinemas, and restaurants. The Opera House is an international opera theatre which has a 1600-seat capacity. Different from the neatly arranged auditoriums of a traditional theatre, this Opera House adopts an asymmetrical design. The seating area on the upper deck is designed like several small petals stacked on top of each other. The petal-like auditorium is a unique and poetic design that brings the audiences a natural immersive and enjoyable experience. The theatre hall serves as a multi-function black-box theatre which has a capacity of 600 seats. The stage setting and auditorium will be specially arranged based on the requirement of each performance.
ETC gear including consoles, luminaires, dimmers, and networking systems are installed in the Opera House and theatre hall. Two Gio consoles with 24K outputs are installed in the Opera House, and two Gio @5 consoles with 4K outputs are used to control the lighting of the theatre hall. The venue owner was impressed by the powerful magic sheet functionality which makes managing the fixture layout, and control and programming of buttons, faders, colors, and gobos, easier. The magic sheets also provide flexibility for the user to adjust the control to fit the needs of a variety of performances.
To enjoy world-class power and dimming control, ETC’s Sensor3 ThruPower Dimmer and Relay modules are installed in the venues. These modules popular in the theatrical industry as they are famous for their reliability and stability for smoothly controlling the intensity of all types of fixtures. Using the Sensor3 ThruPower module enables users to switch freely between constant circuits, on/off switching with true air-gap relays, and dimming of the lighting loads.
Luminaries from ETC have been recognized as the standard lighting fixtures in the industry and are widely used in theatres. This is the reason that Suzhou Bay Cultural Center selected Source Four LED Series 2 and ColorSource Spot fixture with CYC adapters as the stage lighting of the Opera House and theatre hall. The lighting designer found Source Four LED Series 2 favorable as it brings high brightness from a variety of positions while having a low power consumption, thanks to the LED light engine. The lighting designer was also amazed by the rich and smooth wash of color brought by ColorSource which can enhance the moods of every scene.
To have a reliable data distribution for all lighting technology in the venue, Response Mk2 DMX Gateways from ETC are installed to securely connect the sACN network to the DMX runs. They are also interoperable as it meets the industry-standard protocols such as ANSI E1.31 (sACN) and ANSI E1.20 (RDM) using standard Ethernet cabling and infrastructure. Response Mk2 DMX Gateways once again impressed the venue owner as they offer a powerful, fast, and stable data distribution by the use of ETC’s network technology.
ETC was honored to be selected to offer a comprehensive range of lighting technology to Suzhou Bay Cultural Center and be part of the city’s cultural and artistic development journey.
Photo credit: Suzhou Bay Cultural Center and Hangzhou YiDaShi Technology Development Co., Ltd.
Twenty years after first opening in Italy, the complete original cast of “Notre-Dame de Paris” is back on stage to celebrate the anniversary.
Following the success of the show in Paris, the musical made its official Italian debut at Gran Teatro of Rome in 2002, featuring the translated lyrics of Pasquale Panella. Produced in collaboration with Enzo Product Ltd, entirely curated and distributed by Vivo Concerti, and under the direction of Gilles Maheu, the 2022 tour will include over 180 shows throughout the Italian peninsula.
For this 20th Anniversary production, skillful and experienced sound team members were selected, including FOH Engineer Alberto Alicandro, who was part of the original crew, Monitor Engineer Simone “Zeta” Saccomandi, and Microphone Technician Andrea “Niski” Stanisci. The microphone equipment is entirely DPA, with 16 headsets, consisting of 4066 Omnidirectional and 6066 CORE Subminiature headsets, and two pairs of 2011 Twin Diaphragm Cardioid and 4018 Supercardioid microphones to capture room audio and feed IEM mixes.
“I often use room audio to make actors’ in-ear mix feel more natural, but we also use them to record ambient sounds and audience response. The pair of 2011s is arranged in A/B narrow or binaural configuration at the FOH position with a Jecklin Disk and one custom-made support that also houses a camera depending on the venue, while the 4018 in wide A/B configuration is positioned on the stage front,” comments Zeta. “I am a true DPA fanatic and use their mics for everything from classical to jazz to rock. I have a predilection for DPA accuracy. Using these capsules undoubtedly makes life easy in a complex musical like this one. It helps us keep standards high in many different theaters, from large auditoriums to far-from-ideal acoustic spaces, such as sports halls or outdoor venues. I hardly need extreme equalizations or unnatural interventions.”
Alberto also has no doubt: “DPA capsules always provide optimal intelligibility, even in the most articulated songs. Whether increasing or decreasing, EQ interventions are never harsh or dull. For example, when you emphasize high frequencies, they are always very natural. DPA is always the first choice in Notre-Dame de Paris!”
The collaboration between Producer David Zard, and Musical Supervisor, Composer and Singer Riccardo Cocciante, ”Notre-Dame de Paris” has been a global success, with 1,419 productions in nine languages, to 13 million spectators worldwide. Among the many awards the show has received, one notable mention goes to the strong partnership between the protagonists Giò Di Tonno and Lola Ponce, which earned accolades at the 2008 Sanremo Music Festival (Festival della canzone Italiana). It has also been recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records for the largest sales of tickets ever in the first year of operation, with more than one million tickets and over three million albums sold.
Fresnels have been around since the beginning of lighting design. These incandescent workhorse fixtures were known for their smooth wash and adjustable zoom. Combining all of the best features of incandescent Fresnels with the latest technology of LEDs, is a classic reimagined in Desire Fresnel.
FULL RANGE OF EMOTIONAL COLOUR
The Lustr X8 array brings subtle nuanced colours back to your stage. Colours you’ve been missing from a corner of the spectrum that has long been unreachable by LED sources. This is possible because of the introduction of deep red LEDs.
Deep red brings new life and energy to your stage, your costumes, your scenery, and most importantly, skin. Skin tones of every color find new depth and dimension with the addition of deep red. Desire Fresnel includes more of the visual spectrum that made incandescent sources warm and full of life.
Perhaps even more exciting is what happens when we add deep red to cool tones like blues and greens. It’s this nuanced color that takes a lighting design from good to great.
13-55 DEGREE ZOOM
A true Fresnel with an LED engine, Desire Fresnel has zoom control from either the front or the back of the fixture. A Fresnel is only as good as its performance with barndoors. Desire Fresnel delivers with smooth fall off and clean edges. It’s truly a cut above the rest.
BRIGHTNESS
ETC has taken the classic fixture that theatre technicians know and love and brought it into the 21st century. You get the softness of an incandescent wash light with LED colour mixing and smooth dimming. With traditional Fresnels, you sacrifice lumens depending on zoom position, but that’s not the case with Desire Fresnel. ETC has reworked how the lens and lamp work together, so your Fresnel is bright and efficient through the entire zoom range.
This provides more lumens regardless of angle, making it up to 25% more efficient over traditional Fresnel optical systems.
FULL FEATURE SET FOR ANY STAGE
INTUITIVE UI
The user interface was designed to improve the efficiency of your workflow. The four backlit encoders change colours to correspond to the attributes they control on the screen. Both new and seasoned users can quickly and accurately adjust settings.
WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY
CONSOLE CONTROL FROM FAR AWAY
ETC has partnered with City Theatrical to bring you a patent-pending wireless DMX/RDM technology that enables scalability of wireless lighting data like never before. Multiverse® will change your entire approach to lighting by allowing larger wireless DMX/RDM systems to be expanded even further. Used in conjunction with your console, City Theatrical’s Multiverse can broadcast as many as 10 universes of DMX from a single transmitter without excessive radio energy. This frees up precious wireless bandwidth in your space. Multiverse plays well with others but is robust enough that other signals won’t interfere.
Over a decade of research comes together for the market that has inspired ETC for over 45 years. The Source Four LED Series 3 brings the brightest light to the stage with the Lustr X8 array for the most nuanced colors and the Daylight HDR array for tunable white light.
We’ve added wireless DMX/RDM by integrating City Theatrical’s Multiverse® protocol, and easy NFC configuration using your mobile device and ETC’s Set Light app.
Get the brightness you need from every distance, the color you’ve been craving, and the control you deserve for the most efficient workflow. Like all ETC fixtures, Series 3 is backed by an unmatched industry warranty.
The colour of emotion
When ETC added lime to the x7 array in 2014, it was a revolutionary step forward for colour mixing. Lime green increased the lumen output in open white and lighter tints making them brighter and livelier than other LED mixes. It was a step closer to matching the tungsten output of a conventional Source Four fixture. It also enriched colour-rendering by better marrying the red and blue ends of the colour spectrum
Click to learn about ETC’s Advanced Research Group
Well, we’ve done it again. This time we’re adding Deep Red to the mix. With the eight-colour Lustr X8 array, Series 3 renders skin tones and sunsets with new depth. With the tunable white Daylight HDR array, you get a wider range of warm and cool whites. All, without sacrificing brightness.
Hang this fixture in a box boom, overhead, or from the farthest back-of-house position and be amazed at how bright your stage is. Source Four LED Series 3 truly brings brightness from every position.
ETC’s R&D department developed a way to give you fixtures that output a surprising number of lumens while maintaining the nuanced colour control you need to enhance every set, every stage, every venue. We’ve reached further into the corners of the CIE colour space to grab a red that is essential to accurately capture the life within every shade of skin, the warm glow of firelight, and the romance of sunset.
Two arrays to cover every stage
One array for emotional colors and soft pastels and a second for the widest range of whites. Lustr X8 brings a new depth to your colours and, in turn, emotion to your stage. Designers know that the best white light is made of the richest colours which is why our tunable Daylight HDR redefines how you use white light.
Ready for the professional stage
Wireless technology
CONTACTLESS COMMUNICATION FROM YOUR MOBILE DEVICE.
The built-in near field communication (NFC) hardware gives you the ability to configure your fixture with your mobile phone or tablet running the Set Light app. Amazingly, this works even if the fixture isn’t powered, allowing you to config while you rig. Ready, set, light!
Next generation DMX
ETC has partnered with City Theatrical to bring you a patent-pending wireless DMX/RDM technology that enables scalability of wireless lighting data like never before. Multiverse® will change your entire approach to lighting by allowing large wireless DMX/RDM systems to be expanded even further. Used in conjunction with your console, City Theatrical’s Multiverse can broadcast as many as 10 universes of DMX from a single transmitter without excessive radio energy. This frees up precious wireless bandwidth in your space. Multiverse plays well with others but is robust enough that other signals won’t interfere.
Intuitive UI
The user interface was designed to make your workflow as efficient as possible. It is intuitive without compromising on feature set.
Quickly and accurately adjust settings.
The physical UI lock prevents unintentional bumping from changing settings
Powered USB port for software updates and configuration backup
Settings menu accessed through the menu button
Toggle through operational modes using the function button
The four backlit encoders change colors to correspond to the attributes they control on the screen
Want to experience Series 3?
Contact anyone of our Re-sellers for more information and to organize a demo. Click the link below to see ETC dealers for Southern Africa.
