Philippines success for Tech 4 How
Published: WORSHIP
PHILIPPINES: Singaporean publisher Spinworkz teamed up with Filipino Audio Guys and Sonicsense to create the first Tech 4 How – Manila event on the 8th and 9th March. Staged at the SMX Aura Convention and Exhibition Centre in Taguig, the event was heralded a success by HOW technicians, church leaders and sponsors respectively. The free of charge event welcomed a cross section of industry users and suppliers. Many of those visitors paid to attend a seminar hosted by leading HOW audio consultant Robert Soo, who led a presentation on sound reinforcement and stage monitoring to an audience of 120 people.
Mr Soo flew in from Singapore to better explain what constitutes a good sound and critical factors affecting it, understanding the users’ as well as the venue’s needs and selecting equipment from microphones, cables to loudspeakers. Sponsored by Forerunner Technologies, the day one class further engaged the audience on how to plan a proper layout, put all the components together and how to optimise a system. Day two’s seminar was more technical on sound mixing and included orchestrating the mix, understanding signal processing and stage noise.
‘This is the first time I have hosted a seminar in the Philippines and so I didn’t know what to expect,’ Mr Soo admitted after his extended final session. ‘However, I’ve been overwhelmed with the response and have thoroughly enjoyed engaging with the audience here. My mission is not to tell people what to do, rather to stimulate the audience, signposting them to find their own solutions. At least 35 churches were represented here and I’m looking forward to returning in future.’
In addition, the exhibition centre hosted seven A/V exhibits. In addition to Forerunner Technologies (Avid, Mackie, Mipro, RCF), Audio Video Solutions Corporation (LD Systems, DPA, myMix, Sennheiser), Blackmagic Design, El Kapitan Pro Sound & Lights (Nexo) with Yupangco Electronics Corporation (Yamaha, Studio Master, Coneq), and Modular Display (PreSonus, Bardl, Kustom, Audiofocus) and Epson welcomed delegates and hosted demonstrations of their products and technologies.
KV2 Audio Asia’s David Williams took the eight hour flight from Sydney to support his Cebu-based distributor, in which ESD15, EX26 and EX6 speakers were on display in addition to the Czech manufacturer’s amplifiers and electronics. ‘It’s been a worthwhile exercise for us,’ Mr Williams revealed. ‘The visitors coming here want to engage with the suppliers and better understand the technology and how the products differ. We’re promoting high resolution, point source audio systems and the people we met were impressed with our range and more importantly the KV2 sound.’
Blackmagic Design has been growing increasing market share in the HOW sector in recent years and was showcasing its complete video production solutions in all scales of churches. The Atem Production Studio 4K played a central role in its exhibit, which also showcased a number of 4K production cameras. ‘We’re highlighting the flexibility, scalability and attractive price performance features of our complete solutions, including the micro cinema camera, Ursa mini and Smart Video Hub,’ commented regional sales manager, Edwin Tan. ‘It’s been quiet during the main Robert Soo seminar and during those times when other exhibits hosted one-hour demonstrations. But we’ve met some interesting customers wishing to know more about creating and switching content, streaming services and improving the workflow in their production areas by utilising our products.’
Away from the exhibitors, plenty of visitors were equally impressed with the two-day event. ‘As an audio consultant, I found the seminar both informative and practical,’ said Marci Sang-Olan. ‘Robert Soo’s approach and techniques are easy to digest and apply. Robert also corrected and clarified audio related terms and debunked some of the myths. I believe the participants are happy with their take-home knowledge.’
‘All the topics covered by Robert are useful for beginners as well as those who are more experienced,’ added Siena Marie Rostro from Every Nation Leadership Institute. ‘I am pleased because I have attended many seminars and training, but this seminar was specifically applicable to the worship environment. Robert shared practical guidelines and he was thorough in his approach.’
At the end of the two-day event, organiser Erwin Balangue was similarly in a buoyant mood. ‘It’s been a resounding success and we’re looking forward to following this up with another, possibly in August 2016 or early next year. This will most likely focus on safety standards and practices in live sound reinforcement with rigging and trussing workshops.’