Now providing loudspeaker systems for events on the scale of Peter Gabriel’s 2010 performance at the Verona Arena, the recent Glastonbury Festival and Milwaukee’s Summerfest (the world’s largest music festival), Outline’s roots can be traced back to 1973, and founders Guido Noselli and Giorgio Biffi.
From modest roots, Outline has undertaken quite a journey: ‘We started out as an electronics company building FM tuners, little mixers and power amps primarily for the hi-fi market,’ EMEA Sales Director Chris Hinds says. ‘When the hi-fi market changed, we had to diversify. About the same time that this was happening, we were being approached by club owners in Italy to design loudspeakers. These were very successful, and that momentum carried us into being primarily a loudspeaker manufacturer. Today, we operate in the top end of the market; we make high-value, low-volume equipment, all manufactured in Italy.’
Unsurprisingly, there is rather more to the story, but it’s a good summary of the company’s direction.
Outline is now being steered by Giorgio Biffi and Guido Noselli’s sons, Michele and Stefano, Guido having passed away in 2006. ‘Outline is a family-owned company and is in charge of its own destiny,’ Hinds asserts. ‘Michele, Stefano and Giorgio are the three directors and major shareholders. Under their guidance, we’ve made quite an impression around the world. And we can back that with use by some high-profile acts and PA companies – the Good Ship Outline is steering a good course.’
By the late-1990s Outline had gained international recognition and distribution, and was on a journey that would carry it into the same waters as other pioneering high-end loudspeaker system manufacturers. One of the waypoints on this course was the development of the DPRWG (Double Parabolic Reflective Wave Guide) in July 2002, which is the key acoustic element in Outline’s mini-Compass, Mantas, GTO and GTO C-12 line array systems.
‘The Butterfly was our first line array with patented technology – the DPRWG,’ Hinds confirms. ‘That was the catalyst to becoming what we are today and demonstrates our engineering integrity in the face of competing manufacturers’ systems.’
Following the development of the DPRWG, Outline has assembled a number of proprietary technologies and systems – among them are its Open Array acoustic simulation software and its iMode DSP technology. Adding a single DSP card to the mini-Compass, FlySub and DBS subwoofers, DVS full-range systems or iSM stage monitors adds remote-controlled optimisation via iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch. Using 64-bit FIR filters, this provides control over level, delay, EQ, mute and network configuration.
‘I’d invite anybody to take a look at our mini-Compass,’ Hinds offers. ‘That is a single box that has all of our technology inside it – acoustics, electronics and software. That shows what we’re capable of.
‘If you move away from the mechanics of paper and glue and transducers and rigging, where is the funky stuff going to happen? It’s in DSP,’ he continues. ‘For example, we have a software update coming along that will include warped FIR. That will allow stuff like the use of hundreds of parametric filters without adding latency.
‘We’ve just gone through a long period of development and are pretty much settled on a line of products that will facilitate professional use – from an installer equipping a bar to the Rolling Stones and Glastonbury. We are seeing the seeds of our labours coming to fruition. The signs are that we could expand very rapidly, but have solid foundations in place.’
Counting Australia, Japan, China, America, Russia and – obviously – Italy as strong markets, Outline has identified Europe as one of its targets for expansion in the next few years. ‘The key to that is putting the right distributors in place, and having products that distributors want to distribute and that end-users want to use,’ Hinds says. ‘We’ve identified that more and more people want a systems approach, but to set yourself away from the crowd you have to offer solutions. That’s what is up our sleeves…
Return to main feature
More: www.outline.it
Taking Grammys for the Best Engineered Album, Classical and Best Contemporary Classical Composition categories, Elmer Gantry is a new American opera based on Sinclair Lewis’ satirical novel from 1927. The sound, however, is all 21st century…
The stunning recording is the work of the Korean Soundmirror (사운드 미러) team – Byeong-Joon Hwang and John Newton were the session team responsible, with Lewis creating the Grammy-winning master. Soundmirror’s producer on the sessions, Blanton Alspaugh, was also nominated in the Producer of the Year, Classical category.
Along with librettist was Hershel Garfein, Robert Aldridge began working on the score in 1990. Elmer Gantry follows the adventures of a fraudulent, womanising evangelist. Elmer, a small-town football hero with the gift of gab, falls in love with and becomes business manager for a beautiful traveling evangelist, Sharon Falconer. He helps her realise her dream of building a magnificent tabernacle before his misdeeds bring ruin to them both.
The music for Elmer Gantry places traditional operatic forms – arias, duets and large ensembles – into a boldly American, vernacular, and ‘roots’-based musical language. Original hymns and gospel choruses help to tell this quintessentially American story of religion, love and corruption.
The Opera was given its first complete performance by the Nashville Opera in November 2007. The recording was made on 19 and 21 March 2011 at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts in Milwaukee. It was conducted from the pit by William Boggs and the performance was directed by John Hoomes, with its release following in July – and being listed by Opera News as one of the top ten opera recordings of the year.
The recordings were made and postproduced on Merging Technologies’ Pyramix DAW system.
‘Pyramix is really the only solution for us,’ Soundmirror’s John Newton says. ‘It just sounds way better than any other digital recorder and what is great is we can deliver clients masters in the best quality PCM or DSD.
‘We are really excited about the Horus Networked Audio convertor,’ he adds. ‘This is going to be perfect for the way we work and the ability to control the units remotely will be ideal for this type of recording.’
Return to Sound for the 2012 Grammys
More: www.soundmirror.co.kr
More: www.merging.com
with 60 piece orchestra in the Live Room
Return to main feature...
We are the artists and business professionals who help make the movie business great. We produce and direct movies. We work on the business deals that help get movies made. At the end of the day, we are also simply big movie fans.
Lately, there’s been a lot of talk by leaders at some major studios and cable companies about early-to-the-home ‘premium video-on-demand.’ In this proposed distribution model, new movies can be shown in homes while these same films are still in their theatrical run.
In this scenario, those who own televisions with an HDMI input would be able to order a film through their cable system or an Internet provider as a digital rental. Terms and timing have yet to be made concrete, but there has been talk of windows of 60 days after theatrical release at a price of US$30.
Currently, the average theatrical release window is over four months (132 days). The theatrical release window model has worked for years for everyone in the movie business. Current theatrical windows protect the exclusivity of new films showing in state-of-the-art theaters bolstered by the latest in digital projection, digital sound, and stadium seating.
As a crucial part of a business that last year grossed close to US$32bn in worldwide theatrical ticket sales, we in the creative community feel that now is the time for studios and cable companies to acknowledge that a release pattern for premium video-on-demand that invades the current theatrical window could irrevocably harm the financial model of our film industry.
Major studios are struggling to replace the revenue lost by the declining value of DVD transactions. Low-cost rentals and subscriptions are undermining higher priced DVD sales and rentals. But the problem of declining revenue in home video will not be solved by importing into the theatrical window a distribution model that cannibalizes theatrical ticket sales.
Make no mistake: History has shown that price points cannot be maintained in the home video window. What sells for US$30-a-viewing today could be blown out for US$9.99 within a few years. If wiser heads do not prevail, the cannibalization of theatrical revenue in favor of a faulty, premature home video window could lead to the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars in annual revenue. Some theaters will close. The competition for those screens that remain will become that much more intense, foreclosing all but the most commercial movies from theatrical release. Specialty films whose success depends on platform releases that slowly build in awareness would be severely threatened under this new model. Careers that are built on the risks that can be taken with lower budget films may never have the chance to blossom under this cut-throat new model.
Further, releasing a pristine, digital copy of new movies early to the home will only increase the piracy problem – not solve it.
As leaders in the creative community, we ask for a seat at the table. We want to hear the studios’ plans for how this new distribution model will affect the future of the industry that we love.
And until that happens, we ask that our studio partners do not rashly undermine the current – and successful – system of releasing films in a sequential distribution window that encourages movie lovers to see films in the optimum, and most profitable, exhibition arena: the movie theaters of America.
We encourage our colleagues in the creative community to join with us by calling or emailing NATO [The National Association of Theatre Owners] at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Sincerely,
Paid for by the National Association of Theatre Owners
Landmark albums as producer
This year’s event sets the scene for a strong return to Earls Court in 2012. Events Manager Sophie Atkinson commented: ‘Exhibitors have been enthusing about the high-quality of visitors and the rate of sales enquiries, and with hundreds of new products being launched, there has been a great return on investment for them. We expect to see many back here at Earls Court next year.’
Visitors also relished being first to get their hands on some of the industry’s hottest new products. Over 500 products were launched at the show, including major new developments in audio, A/V, lighting and staging, plus there were a number of ‘behind closed doors’ prototype demonstrations of ideas expected to be unveiled in full next year.
Plasa 2011 also delivered an enhanced visitor experience, with a raft of new interactive features drawing substantial crowds, including the STLD’s LED luminaire shootout, the expanded Theatres Trust Ecovenue feature and the new Plasa Production Bar in Earls Court 2.
Another big success was the second Plasa Rigging Conference, attended by 175 delegates from 18 countries, some travelling from as far as Malaysia, Singapore, Sweden, Canada, the USA, Hong Kong and Australia, to share their know-how and explore best practice in a fast changing field.
Over 70 rigging professionals also turned out for the informal Riggers’ Forum on the afternoon of 11 September – an increase of 60% on expected numbers.
Conference consultant Chris Higgs, of Total Solutions Group, comments: ‘The Conference was a great opportunity to continue the important discussions first begun in 2010 and to introduce debate on wider working practices. The global rigging community shares a lot of common methods, interests and aims, and we’re keen that Plasa should be a central resource for riggers from the UK, Europe and North America. We have great plans for the next one in 2012.’
Equally popular was the expanded Education and Learning Programme, which drew over 2,200 people. Several key sessions, including the Gottelier Masterclass by ETC’s Fred Foster, ‘Lighting Visualisation at the Royal Opera House’, the ALD’s ‘50 Years of Lighting’, the RST and Stage Electrics’ ‘Transforming Theatres’, Bernie Davies’ ‘Lighting Big Events for Television’ and MA Lighting’s ‘How the Sun works and why the fixture weighs so much!’ were all standing room only.
Dave Swallow’s much anticipated session on ‘The Art of Mixing a Show’ was so oversubscribed that it was switched to the much larger Cromwell Room to meet demand for places.
Adds Atkinson: ‘The seminar programme has continued to grow in both quantity and quality, and its popularity means we are being offered ever more exciting ideas for providing unique insights and sharing knowledge across the industry.’
Exhibitors were queuing up to praise the exhibition and its cluster of supporting events.
Mark Vassallo, VP of Global Sales at ETC, commented: ‘The show just gets better and better – it’s busy from beginning to end and our distributors and customers come from all over Europe, not just the UK, to check out the new products. We actually premiere a lot of the products before they go to America for LDI so Plasa’s a very important show for us.’
Andrew Richardson, Managing Director for Adam Hall, said: ‘It’s been another great Plasa for us. The show helped to attract visitors from all over the world keen to see many new products. We’re looking forward to next year’s Plasa already.’
Michael Budmani, Bath University’s Subject Leader in Theatre Production, commented: ‘Plasa 2011 has been a huge success for Bath Spa University. As well as the opportunity to talk to potential students about our exciting BA (Hons) Theatre Production programme, it was a wonderful opportunity to catch up with friends and colleagues old and new, talk over the hot industry issues of the day, and to share best practice. Will we be back next year? Absolutely. It’s a no-brainer!’
David Faulkes, Miltec’s Sales Director, added: ‘We’ve had our best Plasa show – we’ve made substantial sales and seen lots of new faces.’
Alexandra Kozub, Communications & Creative Lab at Philips Lumiblade, was equally enthusiastic: ‘It is the first time we’ve exhibited at Plasa and we made the right choice in taking part. We’re really happy with the quality of visitors – the people we have seen have been serious buyers and we are extremely pleased.’
Clay Paky’s Pio Nahum echoed the views of many: ‘The show has been very good. We had a very strong attendance, and our stand was always full of people with our range of new products being extremely well received.’
Core Lighting’s Nick Letheren reported a vibrant event: ‘It’s been a very good show. We’ve had some really good leads and even some potentially very big orders. We’ve seen higher quality people who are actively ready to purchase – and especially overseas interest.’
At Martin Professional, Larry Beck said the company’s new products had been ‘very well received. We’ve been ecstatic with the reception to our new product, which is our big launch here at the show. And winning a Plasa award put everybody in an even better mood. The show’s been good, and as far as the quality of customer is concerned we couldn’t be happier. A great premiere to our 25th anniversary next year.’
GDS picked up both an Innovation Award and the Sustainability Award, and their MD Matt Lloyd was ecstatic: ‘The show’s been phenomenally successful for us. We launched two big products and Plasa is the best place to do that, without a doubt. It’s the biggest show we do, and export is a very important part of our business. At Plasa you see distributors, end users, designers and specifiers from across the world – it’s excellent.’
Highlite International’s Malcolm Burlow, said: ‘The show for us was our best for 10 years, the quality of trade leads has gone up, such a more diverse range of potential new business. We look forward to being back in 2012’
Richard Ferriday, Brand Development Manager at Midas, had the happy problem of contending with large crowds for the company’s various product launches. ‘It’s been a fantastic show for us. We launched three new products and had a crowd of people around the consoles throughout the show. We were taking orders constantly and had people from across the world – it’s been a really good mix of people.’
Karl Christmas at Yamaha commented: ‘We’ve seen a good mix of pan-European attendees and it’s good to see that there is still a lot of interest out there despite the economic woes. From a pan-European perspective, Plasa is viewed as an important show with a fair amount of international coverage as well.’
Vincenzo Borrelli, Cadac’s International Sales Manager, was savouring the launch of the company’s new live sound console. ‘This is our first Plasa Show with the new product ranges and it’s been exciting. The response from the press, the public and our distributors and retailers has been awesome. The show for us has been heaving and I wasn’t able to leave the stand for three days – so I think that’s the mark of how good a show it is.’
Jiri Baros at Robe commented: ‘Plasa is a very international show covering all parts of the world, and the response to our new products has been great – we’ve taken significant orders for some of them, so we’re very happy.’
Simon Smith, Sales Director for Christie EMEA, was enjoying the positive response to the company’s projection demonstration and to its innovative new display system: ‘In terms of footfall through the stand we’ve been consistently busy. Our stand has created a lot of interest, and we met a lot of end users at Plasa.’
Richard Moreles, a video technician at London’s Barbican Theatre, had visited the show partly to check out new products, but also had an eye on the seminar programme. ‘I think the whole seminar programme is a great thing to have, and considering that the whole industry’s here it’s a great opportunity to hear the thoughts of people that you wouldn’t if you were just looking at products.’
Sophie Atkinson adds: ‘The strength of the Plasa Show, its vibrant atmosphere, its supporting programme of events and the fact that so many exhibitors choose it as their new product launchpad, underlines its importance in the international marketplace.
‘Take up for next year is already very strong, we’re already working on the next generation of ideas and we’re looking forward to a great Plasa 2012.’
The Plasa Show returns to Earls Court from Sunday 9 to Wednesday 12 September 2012.
Gentlemen:
I am Richard Wollrich, a long time member of the AES and current Treasurer of the Los Angeles Section, one of the largest and most active sections in the society. I do not speak for everyone in my section and I may be only one person, but I assure you that I am speaking for many who feel as I do. Most of the subject matter you will read here has been kept secret by the members of the Executive Committee, and is what we have been able to uncover and currently know.
Let’s lay the cards on the table; it was not the Executive Director’s choice to leave. At your last meeting on June 20th, you told the Executive Director, you were not going to renew his personal service contract, when it expired at the end of the year. However, the current press release on July 21st makes it appear to the public, that the decision was his. He had done a good job and its business as usual. You then add insult to injury by rewarding him with emeritus status for an additional year, and it’s implied, with pay.
Let’s look at some of the facts we now know to be true.
1. In 2009, the Society’s Controller made you aware of possible financial impropriety being committed by Mr. Furness, the Executive Director, your direct employee. You chose to do nothing.
2. In February of this year, the Controller made you aware of the assault on her person by Mr. Furness, at the offices of the AES in New York. You chose to do nothing.
3. In March of this year, the Controller made you aware of the continuing possible financial impropriety being committed by Mr. Furness. You chose to do nothing.
4. On March 22nd, following a teleconferenced meeting of the Executive Committee, you allowed Mr. Margolis, the Society’s Treasurer to terminate the Controller for “economic reasons”. According to the minutes of your meeting, held on March 21st, there was never any motion made concerning the Controller. There was never any motion made giving legal authority to Mr. Margolis to terminate the Controller. You received word, this was going to happen, but did nothing to stop it. Why not? Who’s in control?
5. Immediately following the termination of the Controller, Mr. Margolis closed an AES account (approximately $250,000.00) without authority from the Board of Governors. Opened another account in a different branch with him being the only signatory on the account. This is in direct violation of our bylaws. Who’s in control?
6. Following the termination of the Controller, Mr. Furness directed the auditors to make journal entries into the AES accounting system without any supporting documentation, allowing the British section to keep $15,150.00 for office space. The British section has no office on record and does not lease space. Who got this money? Who’s in control?
7. In 2010 & 2011 for the London conventions, Mr. Furness altered or caused to be altered, the vendor registration form printed in the journal and shown on the AES website, diverting vendor payments for convention space, to an account located in a London bank that is controlled only (not by HQ) by Mr. Furness and Ms. Heather Lane. When did you know about this and why did you let this continue? Who’s in control?
8. In July of this year Mr. Margolis transferred approximately $82,000.00 of AES funds into the very same London bank account controlled only by Mr. Furness and Ms. Lane. When did you know about this and why did you let this happen? Who’s in control?
9. Prior to 2005 Mr. Furness while being employed as the Executive Director secreted funds totaling over a million dollars, belonging to the AES, in a personal savings account in his name in Germany. In 2005, the funds were subsequently recovered through the efforts of Mr. Ron Streicher and Mr. Marshall Buck. Why wasn’t Mr. Furness terminated at that time? How can you know for certain, something similar hasn’t happened again?
10. Mr. Furness has allowed the British section for the past six years to retain the membership dues they have collected thus depriving HQ of a key revenue stream. How could you let this happen for so many years? Who’s in control?
The bylaws of the AES express intent to enforce fiscal prudence and accountability.
The diversion of two key revenue streams namely convention income and membership dues are a direct violation of this organizations bylaws. Article VI, Section 9, of the bylaws defines the responsibilities of the Treasurer. It states:
“The Treasurer, under direction of the Board of Governors, shall generally supervise the financial affairs of the Society, and shall cause all funds received by the Society to be deposited in an account or accounts designated by the Board of Governors, requiring the signature of at least two of the following for withdrawal: President, President-Elect, Immediate Past President, Secretary, Treasurer.”
I can find no articles or sections in the bylaws that gives the Executive Director the authority to cause the diversion of funds or to allow the withholding of funds belonging to the corporation.
These transactions I’ve outlined would fail all tests of prudent corporate governance. Our current financial practices are a mess. They violate Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and our own bylaws. Some transactions could even be categorized as fraud and embezzlement. It is important to make clear that embezzlement is not always a form of theft or an act of stealing, since those definitions specifically deal with taking something that does not belong to the perpetrator(s). Instead, embezzlement is, more generically, an act of deceitfully secreting assets by one or more persons that have been entrusted with such assets. The person(s) entrusted with such assets may or may not have an ownership stake in such assets. There is an old saying that if something walks like a duck, looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it is probably a duck.
The Controller of our organization, our internal watchdog, cried foul and you ignored the warnings without a formal and impartial investigation. You’ve simply accepted the word of those accused of possible financial impropriety and allowed them to maintain total control of the Society’s funds. Then you allowed our watchdog to be terminated without using the proper procedures necessary for taking such action. Where are our checks and balances for our financial system now? Who’s in control?
I’m incensed that you have rewarded the Executive Director with emeritus status, instead of marching him to the curb. In my opinion, this is the person primarily responsible for our financial mess. Your inaction (or slow action) will no longer be tolerated by informed members. We are willing to bring legal and governmental intervention to correct the financial problems we have identified.
You have been elected by the membership and entrusted with the responsibility to uphold the Society’s bylaws and protect the interests of its membership. The very survival of The Society is now at stake. These are painful distractions from The Society’s mission, and can be avoided if you are willing to take the necessary corrective action.
I implore you to stand up and be part of the solution. Use your powers now to stop further erosion and protect our assets. Please put us on the road to recovery so that we may have a better future.
Sincerely,
Richard A Wollrich
