News Blog

Production Resource Group, L.L.C. (PRG), the world’s leading supplier of entertainment and event technology, announces a multi-million dollar investment in assets and personnel at its operation in Saudi Arabia following the group’s strongest performing year in the region, Peter McCann, CEO for PRG in the Middle East announced today. 

Located in the Riyadh Industrial Zone, the 40,000sqft facility is equipped with high-end assets and resources in video, audio, lighting, rigging and staging technologies. 

Tom Van Hemelryck, Co - President EMEA & APAC said, “We are delighted to see our ongoing work with live event producers in Saudi Arabia evolve further and at such pace”, adding, ”This investment is instrumental in guaranteeing that  our globalclients  will have access to world-class expertise and technology when working with PRG across Saudi Arabia and the rest of the Middle East.” 

PRG’s Managing Director for the Saudi Operation, Bruce Mac Lean, commented, “Current client demand and the increasing market opportunities across GCC territories is exciting.  Over the last five years we have seen rapid growth within the event and entertainment sector in Saudi Arabia, featuring both local and international artists and an increase in world-class events.  We’ve enjoyed great success in the region to-date and our mission now is to ensure we can service the increasing customer requirement at good pace and efficiently, whilst also developing the next generation of technical expertise within the local talent pool.”

Media contact EMEA & APAC: Valérie Cuno vcuno@prg.com
Media contact UAE & KSA: Harriet Stewart hstewart@prg.com
Sales enquires in Saudi Arabia: Adam Rhodes arhodes@prg.com  

Produce. Rehearse. Go Live.

The Bridge is an exciting and unique addition to the PRG UK network, opening a hub for productions of all sizes in the heart of the country. The space has been designed to be completely flexible and has the power to support whatever your production needs. Located just next door to the PRG UK headquarters in Longbridge, the space richly benefits from a direct link to PRGs wealth of equipment and expertise onsite. From truck splits and prep to full studio productions and pre-production rehearsals, The Bridge can deliver.

Production teams have complete privacy at The Bridge, with access to the space and the resources to run their projects through from planning to show day.

Backstage, it offers a spacious 170sqm office space including: a modern kitchen, showers, accessible bathrooms, bright and comfortable green room and artist dressing rooms, plus spacious production offices, a board room and a gallery viewing space.

Downstairs, The Bridge is home to a 17m x 35m clear floor production area with a minimum 6.2m height clearance. Wall and ceiling drapes line the space and spray insulation has been provided to ensure heating and soundproofing. The space includes a 400A 3 Phase Powerlock, dedicated highspeed production internet, 24hr secure access, and parking for cars, tour buses and trailers. 

“With the introduction of The Bridge to our Longbridge location, we are harnessing the power, space, technical capability, and world-class experience of our business and people. It really is a flexible space that offers solutions for live event productions.” Yvonne Donnelly Smith, Sales Director – Music, PRG UK.

To see how The Bridge can help your production, contact the team at thebridgeuk@prg.com.

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Expo 2020 Dubai, the first World Expo to take place in the Middle East region, officially opened its doors to visitors on October 1st showcasing architectural wonders and technology innovations from more than 192 countries.
UK’s contribution to Expo 2020 Dubai is the mesmerizing cone-shaped UK Pavilion with a circular façade which was created by world-renowned designer Es Devlin. The 25-meter-high LED façade which is integrated into the wooden sculpture is designed to celebrate global cultural diversity and collaboration. The UK Pavilion uses an advanced AI learning algorithm developed in collaboration with Google Arts & Culture which allows visitors to add their word to a continuously changing Collective Message from humanity to the universe displayed on the LED modules.

PRG was appointed by Pico to deliver the engineering of the 2,000 customized LED tiles through our PRG Projects team, sourcing the bespoke LED technology via PRG China as well as the custom designed immersive audio system, designed by Polyphonia. The technology package was then installed by PRG in Dubai.

“This is one of the most remarkable projects that I have been involved with in my whole career,” says Frederic Opsomer, General Manager PRG Projects, “I have known Es for many years, and we have collaborated on several projects together. She is an amazing Designer, and I must say that this project reinforces her already stellar reputation. This breath-taking design of evermoving poetry, displayed digitally and integrated to illuminate the façade of the UK Pavilion was a beautiful challenge for us at PRG, and we are very proud to collaborate with her on this journey of innovation.”

This message of collaboration and international openness is reflected in the delivery of the project. The UK Pavilion is a truly global collaboration; designed in close partnership with Avantgarde, supported by structural engineer Atelier One and supported and executed by Pico International, delivered by our experts from across the PRG global network and finally executed on site by our dedicated PRG Dubai team.

Gavin Short, Senior Technical Project Manager for PRG in Dubai, said: “The UK Pavilion is an exceptional and unmissable part of the overall Expo experience, located in the Opportunity District and is clearly a space that will inspire visitors to the site.”

Expo 2020 is expected to attract 25 million visits, of which 70% are expected to be international visitors.

EMEA – April 20, 2021 • Production Resource Group LLC, (PRG) is known as the entertainment industry’s go-to production solutions provider for music, TV, film, corporate events, and theatre. Over the last year, the company has created a worldwide network 20 of studio environments, including locations owned and operated by PRG Alliance partners. Ideally suited for efficient, scalable production of pre-recorded and live content, each location is equipped with the most sophisticated gear and engineering to service its local market. These studios offer artists, brands and other creators a COVID-compliant setting and the resources to bring their visions to life. Beyond their responsiveness to today’s need for safety, they represent the future for digital and hybrid events.

“The studio environment has never played a more significant role, not only for legacy TV and film creators, but in music, corporate events and emerging fields like esports,” said Jere Harris, PRG Chairman & CEO. “Over the past year, we transformed spaces within our facilities—with every expertise and technology at hand—to serve that surge in demand, and we are seeing a very strong response from our customers.”

PRG Virtual Production Studios are located in Hamburg, Paris and Los Angeles. The PRG Digital Studios can be found all over the globe, including in "The EGG" in Brussels, London's trendy "Saatchi Gallery", Madrid, Dubai and Buenos Aires, Chicago, Las Vegas, Nashville, New York Metro, Orlando and PRG Alliance Partner Studios are in Budapest, Lisbon, Milan, Athens, Sao Paolo, Singapore and Zagreb.

Studios are strategically housed in the immediate vicinity of major facilities, putting both PRG’s inventory and technical expertise within reach, businesses, brands, musicians, filmmakers, and advertising agencies are given the opportunity to realize their projects with maximum security, expertise and cutting-edge technology.

Each studio has its own character, catering to the markets it serves such as music, TV/Film production or corporate event. An expert team is in place to supervise and staff each location, which all offer a variety of solutions for realizing productions and online events. PRG Digital Studios provide the perfect studio environment for pre-recorded or live broadcasts of a wide variety of digital event formats. 

Select locations within the network are PRG’s Virtual Production Studios, which seamlessly combine the physical and digital worlds. Advanced technology solutions—including extended reality (xR), mixed reality and proprietary Enhanced Environments and Ncam® technology—are used to add virtual environments onto real stages. These Virtual Production Studios are equipped to host green screen, standard capture or xR shoots, depending on the needs of production. Here, limitless creative possibilities are available to cinematographers, advertisers, event producers and DPs. From entirely imagined worlds to realistic scenery and backdrops, any environment can be brought into the studio with options for real-time visualization of virtual elements. As a result, talent can interact with their setting in real time, while producers realize major savings in post-production and travel costs.

Whether a simple livestream, an online product launch, a virtual session, elaborate film, television spot or advertising production, our studios are suitable for almost any digital production. High-quality technology, expert engineering for multi-purpose suites and spacious guest amenities characterize the studios. 

“What makes these studios so valuable is their location near the world’s major business and production centers, the range of technologies and people skill sets immediately available and our ability to bring all these technical solutions and workflow expertise elements together in-studio to realize the project vision of our customers,” said Stephan Paridaen, President & COO.

Visit our new microsite for all the details and info on our digital studios: studios.prg.com
 

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About Production Resource Group
PRG is the world's leading provider of entertainment and event technology solutions and has the largest inventory of rental production equipment. PRG provides comprehensive and discreet services to an array of clients in the live music, TV/Film, Broadway, sports, gaming, corporate experiential, and live events markets. Clients and partners depend on PRG's innovation, experience, and depth of experience in audio, video, lighting, rigging, staging, virtual production and extended reality, and scenery and automation systems to bring their stories to life. With 65 offices across North America, South America, Europe, Middle East, Asia, and Australia, PRG has capabilities to provide services worldwide. PRG is owned by The Jordan Company and GSO Capital Partners and PRG Management. For more information, please visit prg.com.

PRG has already proven its expertise and know-how for the smooth logistics and set-up of COVID-related major projects in a very short time, with the provision of the technical infrastructure for the temporary COVID- 19 treatment centre, in two halls on the Berlin exhibition grounds. Following this, PRG Germany has also been entrusted with the set-up of a similar technical framework for the temporary vaccination centres at Tempelhof Airport and the Arena Berlin Treptow.

PRG is supplying the complete infrastructure for this, including:

• Rigging
• Video
• Lighting
• Audio
• IT and power cables
• Floor plan & AV/IT planning
• Special software solution: Management system for inoculation booth assignment
• Digital signage (route guidance system via LED displays)

 
The rigging, which consists of a total of approx. 1.4 km of truss for both locations, is used to attach the fixtures for the comprehensive lighting, to lay and provide the IT and power set-up for the vaccination booths and the reception and care areas, as well as for the distribution of audio and video signals. As a special software solution, PRG supplied an automated vaccination booth management system, so that the booths are efficiently utilised during operation, minimising waiting times for patients and providing medical staff with an overview of occupancy at all times. PRG also developed a digital signage system using LED screens to help visitors find their way around. An area-wide public address system ensures that announcements can be made.

These temporary installations are carried out in close cooperation with the Berlin Senate Administration for Health, Care and Equality (GPG) and the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), which ensures that the vaccination centres (also in accordance with the Covid protection rules) are ready for operation as efficiently as possible and within a short time. The challenge for all parties involved, but especially for PRG as the technical service provider, is to ensure planning permission is in place, plan the movement and disposal of large quantities of equipment and also personnel, and ensure the installation is managed on site within a very tight time frame. The two temporary vaccination centres are expected to be completed on schedule by mid-December. PRG Germany will then support the vaccination centres with technical staff on site for the entire duration of the vaccination process.

December 19th to 21st, 2019, are dates that EDM fans in Saudi Arabia will not easily forget! The very first edition of the MDL Beast Fest held in the capital, Riyadh, was an immediate hit. The stellar line-up included 28 International music acts, such as Tiesto, Steve Aoki, David Guetta, Martin Garrix, and 24 home-grown Saudi Arabian DJs including DJ Duo Dish Dash and EDM DJ Cosmicat. PRG is proud to have provided 360° technology support and production services to this.

From a creative dream to technical reality

The record-breaking festival took place at a purpose-built venue on the outskirts of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Entertainment offerings were split across five stages delivering a truly spectacular event. PRG was the proud provider of 360° technology and production services for this remarkable first of its kind and it proved a real showcase, demonstrating the collective capabilities of the PRG teams from Dubai, UK, Belgium, Germany and France and their ability to collaborate in making that creative dream a technical reality!

MDL Beast is a festival of superlatives. The PRG team set up a total of 480 tons of equipment on-site — audio, lighting, video and rigging for the five primary stages — but it’s not all about the gear!

For this world-class and amazing first in the region, PRG has come together as a global team to deliver production excellence across all disciplines. This is what PRG is all about…it’s all about our people!

 

5 stages, 1 big immersive experience

More than 400,000 visitors immersed themselves across the 5 performance arenas, each of them beyond spectacular in terms of scale and visual impact! This, together with a mix of art & cultural zones, fashion activations and food & beverage outlets created a fantastic festival setting.

“We delivered over 3000 square metres of high resolution LED Screens across the festival site, from the impressive and Guinness World Record winning main stage, reaching some 37 metres high, to the immersive 360 degree video performance zones, the scale of this event was truly mind-blowing ”, explains Niel Beelen.

PRG in the Middle East

The supply of state-of-the art equipment was simply one aspect of our scope of work for MDL Beast. Added to this technology was the supply of a diverse range of technical specialists from the across the PRG world.

“PRG is all about technical production services. In a short time-frame our teams across three continents were able to come together team to deliver a truly mega event. MDL Beast was a great festival and we are really proud to have played a part in making this a success!” says Stephan Paridaen, CEO of PRG Group, who was in Saudi Arabia for the occasion. Paridaen continues: “We are really proud to be supporting the vision of 2030, delivered by the Saudi Arabian Leadership, has a focus on culture and tourism, sports and entertainment and what better example than this amazing event, MDL Beast!”

PRG wants to thank and congratulate MDL Beast LLC and Sela for this incredible achievement and to our fantastic global PRG Team.

In June 2019, the time had come again: 3,000 participants from all over Europe gathered in Berlin for Tableau Conference Europe, organized by US software company Tableau. The conference offered training with Tableau's latest software products. PRG provided a comprehensive service package: In addition to lighting, sound and video technology as well as rigging, PRG also took care of the stage design, construction drawings and seating plans for the event, which extended over various rooms. We equipped the keynote hall with a total of 224sqm of 3mm LED screens, which ensured crystal clear presentation of the lecture content.

 

“In the end, it was a 360-degree solution we delivered to our client.” Simon Rist (Senior Account Manager PRG) concluded. Nick Barton (Director Global Accounts PRG) described the coordination of the various vendors within a tight timeframe as the greatest challenge in equipping this complex event – the largest conference ever organized by Tableau – ” The largest challenge would have been coordinating with all the vendors to ensure that everybody stayed on schedule which we ended up doing.” For years, Barton has been responsible for the organization of Tableau events around the world.

The client turned out to be happy with the result as well: “Having a technical partner like PRG all over the world makes doing our conferences very easy.” said Beau Beckner (Senior Event Infrastructure Manager, Tableau Software).

We would like to thank Tableau for the trust in our work over the years and look forward to continuing our cooperation.


List of installed equipment:

• 224sqm - 3mm led screen in the keynote hall
• 5x cameras (1x wireless) incl. broadcast direction
• Recording of all cameras and 7 breakout rooms
• Intercom system incl. wireless connection and digital radios to cover the entire event area
• 30x 55" monitors on tripod
• 12x Panasonic wide-angle lens
• More than 60 audio radio links for microphones, in-ear monitoring and wireless speakers
• More than 400 lamps for stage and room lighting
• Set construction (stage) incl. branded lectern

 

An inspiring event designed to bring together all our regions from around the world in one location, to share and develop our unique global offering.

PRG Unite has been devised with the specific intention of gathering all of our international teams together, to discuss our global offering for the future. PRG globally is the leading technical solution provider for the event industry and is constantly looking at how to best assist our clients across the world, helping them grow and develop exciting activations. The PRG Unite event enables us to discuss future challenges and strategies while combining our resources and expertise as one team.

The event will enable each of our regions (United Kingdom, Belgium, Germany, France, Spain, Netherlands, Japan, China, UAE and United States) to showcase their very best corporate projects, detailing to our clients the processes from strategic planning to event delivery, allowing our clients the unique opportunity to share our knowledge and best practice which enable us to hold such a world-renowned standing within the industry.

This insider view is sure to be a unique and inspiring insight into the future of how PRG will work with its clients on a global scale. Speaking about the upcoming PRG Unite event Richard Williams - PRG UK Chief Executive Officer commented:
“We felt this would be a fantastic opportunity for our UK customers to meet and talk directly to all our global PRG colleagues in one place. Allowing them to understand how PRG can help support and work together to provide global solutions.”

End of press release.

 

About Production Resource Group:
Production Resource Group UK Ltd.
(PRG) is the world’s leading supplier of entertainment and event technology to a wide range
of markets, including corporate and automotive events, concerts, special events, theatre,
television and film, trade shows and installations, such as theme parks, museums, retail stores
and performing arts centres. PRG provides integrated services and equipment, including audio, video, lighting, rigging, staging and scenery and automation systems, for these markets from more than 40 offices in North America, South America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Australia.

52 000 visitors - 12 000 more than last year! - 400 exhibitors and 300 speakers! That was the Online Marketing Rockstars (OMR) Festival 2019 and that rocked again!
But not only the number of marketing enthusiasts has increased, also the technical volume has increased considerably! A total of 613 tons of material were installed, and that in just 4 days!

PRG provided a 360-degree service this year, in addition to rigging, lighting and video technology, the team also installed the complete audio technology, the scenic elements and deco. 62 truckloads of equipment, packed in over 3,000 cases, were delivered to the Hamburg exhibition venue, unloaded and then installed in six exhibition halls. A stringent logistics system developed over the years led to a smooth process.

 

But before the first lamp could be installed and the first video screen was set up, a whole of 328,000 meters of cable had to be laid. More than 1,000 motors were used to install the trusses, lamps, loudspeakers and screens in the hall roofs.
A total of 6,621 lighting fixtures were installed for the various areas of the festival. These not only illuminated the exhibitor stands and conference stages, but also created a party atmosphere - in addition to the many lectures and masterclasses, the after-party was also exuberant! Scooter, Casper & Marteria, Trettmann, Dendemann and Oli P. brilliantly entertained the visitors.

And the whole of the PRG team was on the starting blocks, because this year's OMR Festival was the biggest so far. A total of 581 square meters of LED walls were installed and around 1,200 square meters of projection were set up. In addition to that, whether you believe it or not, 649 loudspeakers were part of this great event.

 
PRG audio-expert André Aspelmeier explains among other things which challenges had to be mastered at the OMR Festival 2019.

One can say that the OMR Festival 2019 was once again an event of superlatives! The biggest challenge for the PRG team this year was the extremely tight schedule for the installation and that amount of technology that needed for a flawless implementation.

But how can an event service provider master such a mammoth project, with such an enormous amount of technology and in such a short time frame?
Christian Unger, PRG Account Manager, has a clear opinion on this: "The OMR Festival is a very special project for us because of its enormous size. This results in big challenges: one is the delivery and implementation of the whole amount of equipment, perfectly coordinated logistics and in addition the necessary manpower. I would like to take this opportunity to thank our whole team, who made the whole thing possible and thus realized a perfect OMR Festival 2019!"

Facts:

 

• 71 Trailers
• Total weight 613 Tonnen
• 3.245 Flightcases
• 196.480 articles
• Value of delivered equipment approx. 34.5 Mio €


• Mandays on site 2.250
• Mandays warehouse 400
• Total hours 26.500

With a 40 hours working week and 25 days vacation per year, one single person would need about 14.5 years to implement this project.

• Cable length total 328.000m
• Trussing & Pipes 14.875m
• Hoists 1.098
• LED total 581m²
• Projection total 1.190m²
• Lighting Fixtures 6.621
• Speakers 649

 

Post Malone, who has captured the zeitgeist through his unique genre-blending musical style and introspective songwriting, is on a global tour. PRG is supporting the superstar worldwide by providing 360 concert touring services, including sound, video, lighting and rigging.

 

One PRG team

The initial contact and contract in the USA was taken care of by VER, which recently joined the PRG family. Their expertise with big productions in the USA has been indispensable for this tour. Thanks to its unique global presence and network, PRG is able to provide worldwide 360° touring services and apply the same high standards in all countries, across continents.

The crew comes from both the US and Europe and can count on local support and gear in any of the countries on the tour’s agenda.

Production Manager for Post Malone, Dennis Danneels, put it this way: “The PRG team, between Los Angeles, Vegas, Germany and the UK, were basically just taking the project and handing it off like an assembly line all the way down. We were taking advantage of all these different time zones to be able to complete this project in time. People were working right until the last minute of load-in.”

Global reach, local support

For the European part of the tour, our UK and German teams joined forces, working closely together, with UK providing video and light and Germany being responsible for the sound. Thanks to their ample experience in cross-national productions and great communication, this resulted in a seamless and smooth collaboration in which the client benefits from both the scale of PRG Group and the local presence and understanding of the market in each country the tour passes.

Stephan Paridaen, President and COO of PRG says: ‘from day one, this project has been about a collaboration to define the best, most fully integrated technical production solution that realizes the artist’s creative vision. We take that even further and service the tour globally on the ground with local, highly experienced crew and state of the art gear. It’s a service and a 360-degree solution.’

Video Crew Chief ‘Topher’ (Christopher Davidson) was delighted about the seamless support in the various countries. “One advantage of having a worldwide support system, like you have with PRG, is that I am confident that I can go anywhere on the globe and have the same caliber of people, gear, and the same support virtually 24/7 that is required in this industry.”

A new standard in large-scale concert touring

This cutting-edge approach to servicing large-scale concert tours on a global level is made possible by PRG’s unique ability to combine high standards of gear with specialists who work seamlessly together.

“There is incredible skill level with the PRG crew. The gear has been consistent day in and day out. We’ve had very, very few failures, and this is all the stuff that we ran for almost 24 hours a day for three weeks,” Danneels adds. “I’m really pleased with it from a financial stand point, it made a lot of sense, and it saved a lot of money.”

PRG wants to thank our client PostyCo and PM Dennis Danneels. We would like to extend our appreciation for our own Burton Tenenbein, responsible for the overall AE and lighting kit, Brent Dannen, who took care of the tour’s sound, and Mike Drew, supporting the tour’s video package. Also, a big thank you to the whole

This year it is in Tel Aviv that the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 will choose its’ winner. And – as in many previous years– PRG will be part of it again, delivering customized show solutions for rigging and video that will ensure an efficient roll-out of the show and offer the audience an unforgettable show. 

 

"Florian Wieder, the set designer, created some unique elements for this year’s show", explains Ingo Rehnert (Head of Sales & Account Management Sport & Special Events PRG). On one hand there are the triangles in the ceiling of the main stage. On the other hand, we have the LED strips in the ceiling of the Green Room. The customized triangle structures, which were developed by our special construction department, integrate the VER Blades.
According to John van Look, Head Rigger Production PRG Germany, the weight distribution and static calculation, in function of the suspension capacities of the venue, was the biggest challenge, considering the amount of automation technology that needed to be integrated in the ceiling.

The main elements at the back of the stage are the rotating LED panels, which are composed of ROE CB5 and mounted on turntables with customized metal frames in which the LED panels are integrated.

Another great element for the show is the LED floor on the main stage, which consists of Black Marble 4 modules, which were integrated in the Domino developed by PRG for fast and time saving assembly.

Ola Melzig, Head of Production ESC 2019, resumes: "Our job is to highlight 41 songs and for them to be unique. There are not that many companies in the world that can deliver that amount of high-end products – and that is delivered by PRG!"

We would like to thank:
KAN – KAN Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation
Meytal Cohen (TV Producer)
Shay Bonder (Head of Video & Technologies)
Avishay Giladie (Technical Director Show)
Tarmo Krimm (Senior Technical Director)
Johannes Schau – (Head Rigger EBU)

M&M Production Management AB
Ola Melzig (Head of Production)
Tobias Aberg (Head of Production)

Florian Wieder – Wieder Design (Set Designer)

We would also like to thank all the parties and people involved whom we had the opportunity to work with on this great production and our PRG Alliance partner Sincopa.

PRG Tech Facts

Video:

• 450m2 ROE CB5
• 100m2 ROE Black Marble 4 with PRG Projects Domino LED Frames (LED Floor)
• 16 x Panasonic PT DZ-21 Projectors
• 2.200 VER Blades - 90cm
• 4 x Disguise d3 VX4 Media Server
• 4 x GrandMa2

Special Construction:

• triangle aluminum frames (250x250x250cm) for VER Blades in the main stage ceiling
• triangle Pod for VER Blades for main stage kinetic section ceiling

Rigging:

• 3.800 m truss
• 650 hoists BGV D8 / D8+
• 300 m horizontal live line system

340 tons of material in total
Production period: 21st March – 03rd June (almost 11 weeks)
Crew: 35 Riggers + 18 Technicians
Number of Trailers: 32 x 40" Containers

EDM meets technology. For Etienne de Crécy’s new tour, Space Echo, PRG Projects integrated their unique highly transparent PURE10 screens within the SpinIt, a custom developed rotating frame solution to meet the design needs for this specific tour.

SpinIt

Stage designer Alexandre Lebrun and artist Etienne de Crécy had a creative idea in mind where transparent screens would surround the artist in a moveable and transparent “cage-setting”. After successful collaborations in other concert tours (Maître GIMS ea.), Production Director Julien Bedane contacted PRG to turn this into a workable solution, overcoming restrictions imposed by a concert touring reality.

  

Ysabel Vangrudenberg, Global Business Development Director of PRG Projects explains how they translated the idea into a technical solution: “On the one hand, we have the PURE10, the screen with 70% transparency, which was initially developed by us for the U2 tour. On the other hand, we have today developed a custom solution, namely the SpinIt, for the specific needs of Etienne de Crécy's production.”

SpinIt consists of a + 180° and -180° rotating, DMX-controlled motorization, mounted on rolling carts. Whereas SpinIt is used here with PURE10, we can envision other lighting and video products being combined with the rotating base.

PRG Projects

PRG France has ample experience in collaborating with PRG Projects. Thanks to their vast experience in concert touring, they know all the ins and outs this specific industry requires. The development of SpinIt is optimized for a concert touring reality, where set-up and load-out times are very limited, logistical and transportation constraints apply and durability is required. Some ingenious details, such as the foldable system on the high PURE10 panels, a spacing structure to maintain the exact distance between the screens, without the need of measurement in each set-up and the installation of the motorisation on rolling carts make it a state-of-the-art product for festivals and the concert touring sector.

Julien Bedane, production director, reflects on the collaboration: “I have given a requirement list with many constraints to PRG Projects to make this set-up possible. I had the guarantee that with PRG Projects, that would be well executed. Frederic Opsomer in particular has followed-up on this project and was available directly for the artist, who participated at all these meetings. What is interesting is that the PRG team is really an integral part of the development of the product, but also an integral part of the launch.”

Once again, the scale advantages of PRG Group are demonstrated. PRG France contacted their colleagues of PRG Projects and from the conceptualization to the full execution, close contact between the client, the artist, PRG France and PRG Projects were maintained to guarantee the desired result and a successful launch of the concert tour.

PRG wants to thank Lightlab, Alexandre Lebrun, Julien Bedane, Etienne de Crécy and the whole PRG France and PRG Projects teams and is looking forward to the further course of this magnificent concert tour.

At the end of March 2019, there was a new arrival in PRG's Hamburg warehouse: state-of-the-art, high-performance and high-quality audio technology! The equipment was first used at this year's LEA Awards and went on to be used at Prolight+Sound 2019 in Frankfurt's Festhalle — and the difference could be heard! Not only did the Highlight Show impress audiences with a magnificent light show and spectacular special effects, thanks to the new technology, the sound quality was also excellent.

In the USA, PRG has been a pioneer in world concert touring for several years already, equipping large concert tours with its high-quality audio technology. It is not only the quantity and variety of the technology that is impressive, above all it is the performance! PRG in Nashville has developed a special process which is used to put the equipment through its paces before and after each use.

  

After every tour, the equipment is subjected to quality control checks, tested, serviced and cleaned. In the specially developed "Boom Room" the loudspeakers undergo various frequency and sound tests. These are used to ascertain that every loudspeaker corresponds to the specifications of the original manufacturer. In addition, the functionality of all cables is systematically tested by trained staff. With the help of unique, web-based software the quality control processes are standardized for each piece of equipment, so that all PRG locations across the world can have access to this data, ensuring uniformity among quality control testing. Packing is also an important issue: PRG guarantees packing and storage that is "tour-ready", since, above all for tours with changing locations, it is important that the technology is competently and protectively packed to ensure that the audio equipment can be loaded and unloaded quickly, without becoming damaged in the process.

Through all the standardized processes and checks, PRG ensures that the technology it uses functions without any problems, the sound is delivered in the best quality and an efficient workflow is made possible.

And the best part: as of now PRG can also offer the same service to its customers in Europe, the same quality standards and the same high-performance, modern audio products, which are suitable for every production size. Alongside Meyer Sound LEO and Meyer Sound LYON loudspeakers, PRG now has the LFC 1100 in its inventory. In addition, the console inventory has been expanded to include the digital SD10 and SD12 models. More equipment will follow. In addition to these new products, customers will also benefit of specialist knowledge and support.

With this know-how, the large pool of technology, knowledgeable personnel, and the specially developed processes, every concert, every tour and every event can be supported. The goal is to develop a first class touring and audio event division in Europe. With this extra division, PRG can now offer full 360-degree audio service in Europe too.

PRG brings fresh impetus to their moving lights range and invests in Clay Paky Scenius Unico and Scenius Profile fixtures.

Clay Paky, part of the OSRAM group, is a world level reference brand in the sector of professional lighting systems. Over the course of its history the Company has been awarded a total of 45 prestige international prizes, recognitions of the innovation and quality of its products and manufacturing processes. Clay Paky's headquarters are located in central-northern Italy, in one of the nerve centers of the European industrial system.

Scenius Unico

This fixture is renowned for its multifunctionality and quality of light. It can be used as a powerful spotlight as well as a beautifully performing wash light, and therefore is a top choice for lighting designers and clients in a wide range of professional sectors of the event industry. It is a highly appealing fixture for its light quality, which has a very high CRI and 6500 K output color temperature, generating a powerful beam of concentrated light with a minimum beam angle of only 5°.

Scenius Profile

The Scenius Profile is the top of the range beam shaper. Its optical reflector was especially designed to make the beam uniform avoiding herewith the typical hotspot and its focus tracking system will concentrate the light efficiency that you wish to project, including the focus that can be set to fully automatic.
With 6 rotating gobos and 8 fixed, this CMY fixture is perfect for any set, be it theatrical, tv studios or large events.

These products are now available for our clients in our PRG equipment pool.

To round up this acquisition, Clay Paky and PRG have reached a collaboration agreement testifying the evidence of the mutual respect that binds both companies, after so many years of constant relationship articulated in different forms and having supplied PRG & VER with their fixtures and know-how.
Through this agreement, PRG will benefit of direct access to Clay Paky & ADB products, dedicated technical support and technical trainings to PRG staff to optimize lighting fixture usage, maintenance and priority spare part delivery.

Pio Nahum CEO of Clay Paky states: ‘“Our Global Account Agreement, in addition to being an opportunity to strengthen the reciprocal position on the market, where both Companies already operate globally and with success, represents a unique occasion to improve our skills and offer our customers innovative solutions with higher added value”

Gary Boyd, Executive Vice President & COO EMEA of PRG adds: ‘Clay Paky has developed professional lighting fixtures since 1976. The lighting designers were increasingly wishing for the Scenius Unico and the Scenius Profile fixtures and we are convinced that this will perfectly serve our customers’ needs and add an extra dimension into the PRG fleet!”

Production Resource Group, L.L.C. (PRG), the world’s leading supplier of entertainment and event technology headquartered in New York, is acquiring the Middle East division of Delta Sound, Delta Sound L.L.C. UAE, a specialist provider of live audio and event communications technology based in Dubai and operating across the Middle East. Peter McCann, CEO for PRG in the Middle East and Andy Jackson, the Managing Director of Delta Sound, jointly announced the acquisition today.

Delta Sound LLC, founded in 2006, is the leading specialist audio and communication company in the Gulf Region and will join forces with PRG’s operation in Dubai, forming a welcomed union between the two companies who have collaborated successfully for many years across a broad range of corporate, government and large-scale special events. Like PRG, Delta Sound provides technical design and technology support to both local and international production houses who benefit from the high standard of service and delivery offered.

For PRG’s worldwide clients, this acquisition means that they will have access to additional expertise and technology when working with PRG in the Middle East and beyond. They can continue to be confident in the quality of product, experience, and professionalism whilst enjoying the addition of world-class event communications through the provision of fully scalable wired and wireless solutions.

“By acquiring Delta Sound LLC, we have bolstered our existing offering for our many customers who produce events and shows internationally”, said PRG’s McCann. “I’m also delighted that this acquisition integrates comprehensive event communications into our product offering thus ensuring that we can present a truly turnkey solution to our customers and partners. With events such as Expo 2020 on the horizon these are certainly exciting opportunities for a company that can operate at scale and this acquisition demonstrates both a significant level of commitment to the region and a continued appetite for growth.”

“As Delta Sound LLC, we have worked on some of the region’s largest and highest profile productions,” commented Andy Jackson. “We have established a loyal client base that has become more appreciative of the standard of audio production and event communications being delivered today by Delta. Having worked closely with PRG for several years across many of these events, our partnership has naturally evolved into a trading relationship and today we solidify this to the benefit of both our clients and teams.” It will be business as usual and Delta Sound will retain its existing operational format and be officially titled ‘PRG deltasound” during the transition process. 

Stephan Paridaen, PRG’s Global President and Chief Operating Officer, concluded, “PRG and Delta Sound are extremely well positioned to provide a multi-disciplined, integrated solution. Making the UAE Delta Sound team part of the global PRG family will be extremely valuable to our clients and this has been our top priority from the start.”

Paul Keating, MD of Delta Sound UK commented, “Myself, Mark & Andy go back 40 years together and Andy has been involved with Delta since our humble beginnings back in 1988. He has done an amazing job in building and managing the business over the past 12 years. We have always had a very good working relationship with PRG both here in the UK and in the Middle East and this is a great fit for Delta UAE becoming part of the extended PRG family. We very much look forward to continuing this relationship together in the future.”

 

A great symbiosis of video and lighting

Year after year, Night of the Proms surprises by its unique combination of classical and contemporary music. The show is eye candy, strongly innovating in the visual aspect, that has become “as important, or even more important than the music”, says Jan Vereecke, producer of Night of the Proms

Belgian premiere for PURE10

This year, the absolute highlight of the show is the PURE10, in a set-up of 4 rows and moving up and down on a custom-created steel suspension system, it changes the scenery time after time and does great justice to the choir.

The unprecedented transparency level of the screen, allows for the optical effect where at one time the choir is hidden and then revealed. Also semi-transparent creations provide surprising effects of visuals and live artists on stage.

 

The PURE10 has its premiere in Belgium, following right on the global premiere during the U2-Tour. Product expert Maarten Deschacht trained the Belgian team during the first week of load-in, guaranteeing smooth construction, handling and operations.

The PURE10 is ten times lighter than a regular screen, PRG’s Project Manager Jo Vaes testifies on how its fragility made the crew reluctant at first, but its performances convinced everybody and gained well-deserved confidence: “

Icon EDGE

“The Icon EDGE is a really nice effect-spot, unbelievably bright” says Ignace D’Haese, lighting designer of the show. The predominant role for the PURE10 in the show, is perfectly supported by the Icon EDGEs to make a fully PRG provided light show.

PRG GroundControl

The PRG Best Boys are controlled by 4 PRG GroundControl™ which are located backstage. The greatest advantage is safety, but they also contribute in weight restrictions, according to Jo Vaes, PRG’s Project Manager for Night of the Proms.

We look back on a great 34th edition of Night of the Proms, and want to thank the organization and Arf&Yes. We are especially delighted with the general praise for our PRG crew, as Jan Vereecke puts it: “the involvement has grown over the years, it is hard to image not having the PRG gear and especially their people, working at our show”.

 

PRG invests in Movecat motion hoists — VMK S 500 and VMK S 1250 — innovative and notable for their unusual flexible handling, whilst satisfying the highest safety level on the market.

MOVECAT

With their remarkable features, VMK-S hoists represent the elite class on the world market and are recommended for all state-of-the-art applications in locations such as in TV studios, theatres and event venues demanding maximum performance and safety combined with the widest possible bandwidth of uses.

VMK-S hoists have the possibility to move both horizontally and vertically and can move live artists; they can be controlled at variable speeds for way- and time-synchronous runs. These high-speed hoists (from 10 m/min) in combination with a V-Motion Powerpack are capable of speeds ranging from 0 to 40 m / min. In addition, its control desks are optimized visually, which significantly facilitates programming.

Gary Boyd, Executive Vice President & COO PRG EMEA comments: “Working with Movecat over the last six months we have established a great partnership in variable speed and safety technology. We have been able to create new products at a PRG specific working with Movecat here in Stuttgart and these new products and developments will lead to a great partnership across both companies!”

Movecat fulfilled PRG’s needs going forward and proved that it was a future proof product and the safest most compliant product in all markets at this time.
They are currently the only kinetic solutions on the market to have received the Safety Integration Level (SIL3), meeting the highest safety standards.
Oliver Nachbauer, CFO Movecat stipulates “Both PRG and Movecat are looking for solutions for their clients and their requirements, working together on our products and their specifications to service these unique requirements clients have. I am very much looking forward to the partnership with PRG and the challenges we might get.”

By adding these products to the portfolio, PRG can offer an even wider range of fully integrated solutions, serving clients more creatively given the wide range of possibilities as well as the most recent and safest solutions on the market!
Motion signals can now be synchronized with video and lighting cues, which will positively reflect on the cooperation between the motion operator, the lighting operator and the video operator.

A first batch is available as from November 2018 and will further be supplemented during the month of March and June 2019. The Movecats will be featured for the first time during Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of ‘The War of the Worlds’ in the UK, operated by our trained PRG crew.

PRG Netherlands has launched the PRG Crew Portal for technically qualified event specialists, in order to source employees/freelancers and to communicate with them.

The Crew Portal is already online.

Our company realizes a large number of large as well as small events and is permanently looking for skilled manpower and specialists.

By inscribing yourself and creating your personal profile on this platform, you will assist us in finding the right people for the right jobs. Our PRG Project Managers and Crewbookers will be able to assess the applicants and service providers better.
In the medium term, this will create a large service provider pool and the processing of cooperation should become significantly more efficient.

During the registration process, we will ask about your “skills” – meaning your qualifications or your expertise. You can grade yourself for each of the skills you would like to offer us. We are often looking for professionals with a range of skills; the more you’ve got to offer, the more we will work with you on a more frequent basis!

Your registration on the Crew Portal will become the future requirement for cooperation with PRG.

Created profiles are visible to the other PRG affiliates, which also creates the possibility for you to be contacted by our colleagues within the PRG Group.

Further information: http://crew.prg.com/en/faq