Wide News
From recording, broadcast, postproduction and A/V
Other Voices, Other Rooms
A tangible effect of the pandemic’s impact on the live event industry, the growth of virtual events and the emergence of new facilities to produce them is changing artists’ reach and relationship with their audience. While the physical experience may be different, the demands placed on technical production crews and their equipment is no less exacting – but very different in some ways.
A recent example is the Other Voices, Other Rooms project, a series of performances, collaborations and happenings featuring the Lockett-Vettese Band and recorded at Lighthouse, Poole’s centre for the arts on England’s southwest coast.
Survival in the Square
Over the past five months, the #WeMakeEvents campaign has been raising awareness of the plight facing the live entertainment sector, and its urgent need for financial support if it is to survive the Covid-19 crisis. With the introduction of tier systems and local lockdowns in the UK, this means that hosting live events is even more difficult than before. As such, the campaign is continuing to make its voice heard and will continue raising as much awareness as possible, as seen with the Survival in the Square creative activation which will take place next week.
‘The Government support packages, although welcome, are not reaching those who need them most and will only benefit a small group,’ says #WeMakeEvents Lead Producer, Gary White. ‘Larger, more meaningful action needs to be taken and, until it does, we will be campaigning.’
LACM refurbishes with SSL
Having renovated the Student Recording Studio at its campus in Pasadena, California, the Los Angeles College of Music is entering the autumn term with a new Solid State Logic Origin mixing console when classes resume.
The studio will be used by faculty member Andrew ‘Mudrock’ Murdock, known for his work with Godsmack and Avenged Sevenfold, to teach the fundamentals of engineering and production.
‘I was thinking we should buy something used,’ says Murdock, who has been teaching LACM classes since 2011. ‘But Andre Knecht, Music Producing and Recording Department Head, said to look for something new ans showed me the Origin brochure… I didn’t get to drive it until it was in my room. When I did, I said, “this feels like an SSL and it sounds great”.’
Martin Audio takes a bow at Fukuoka’s Kaho Theater
Today it is a Japanese national registered cultural property, but the Kaho Theater in Iizuka City, Fukuoka, has endured many difficulties since the building appeared in1922. The predecessor to the theatre, Nakaza, stages kabuki, comedy, juggling and silent films for people working inChikuho’s coal mines.
In recent years, it has become a multi-purpose event venue, able to host audiences of 1,200. In addition to traditional performing arts, music plays, lectures, talk shows and concerts are now all staged here. Because of closure forced by Covid-19, the venue has worked with rental company, Toyo Amuse, to stream live online performances, creating a lot of impact in the media as the Yumebutai Project.
Dean St Studios installs Dolby Atmos/PMC
London’s Dean St Studios has installed Dolby Atmos in its flagship Studio 1 as part of refurbishments undertaken by Veale Associates during its temporary closure due to the coronavirus pandemic.
One of the last professional large-format recording studios in Central London – has hosted artists ranging from David Bowie and Paul Weller to Adele, John Legend and Lady Gaga. The install exceeds the Dolby Atmos standard requirements, allowing artists across all genres of music to work to higher audio standards and deliver music in a new immersive format.