INNOVATOR PROFILES
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JONATHAN DYSON Job title Sales manager – live events, rental and staging Company Lightware Visual Engineering
RÉGIS CAZIN Job title CEO Company Arbane Groupe
How did you get into AV? I began my career in the mass
How did you get into AV? During my BTec in electronics at college, a lecturer recommended I look at sound engineering as a career option. This led me to taking an evening course at a local studio. Soon after, I set up my own business using the studio to record demos. I also worked as a live engineer by sub-hiring PA systems and taking them to various venues. I later became the in-house engineer at a 100-capacity club, and a few months down the line found myself running the venue. Five years on, I joined a 2000-capacity venue as management to build their live events reputation. In 2013, I joined an IT/AV rental company in a sales role that focused on live events, and then a gaming events company setting up a rental department for the large number of gaming PCs and other hardware they owned. My last role in direct events was with iMag in a sales and project management role, where we worked on many incredible LED and video control projects. In 2020, we were lucky enough to be at the cutting edge of ICVFX, building temporary virtual production sets in the best-known studios in the UK. Over the last two years, I have side-stepped into the manufacturing side of things, first as virtual production, live events and staging director (UK and EU) for Absen. Most recently, I joined Lightware as live event, rental and staging sales manager, leveraging my years of knowledge of the events and AV industry. I’ve been fortunate to still work alongside many of the same amazing people for many years throughout my career. What are you currently working on? My role at Lightware is to re-engage the live events industry after several years of the company focusing on the corporate market. Listening and understanding what needs our clients have, for example, shortening lead times on our more popular products, looking at new technology and how Lightware can implement it. I pay attention to how our clients are using the present products and investigate how they can be improved to meet the many demands found within a live environment. Favourite project? It’s difficult to pick one from so many. The one I got the biggest kick out of was while at iMag. With the R&D we did in virtual production alongside Treehouse Digital in 2019/2020, we knew we were working on something new that would potentially change the
production industry, then led a large electronics design office before taking over a small, innovative company with only one employee: Active Audio, a designer of column speakers with controlled directivity. This was my first step into the AV world in 2008. Active Audio grew and eventually acquired APG, a professional audio designer and a manufacturer, margining in 2016 to form Arbane Groupe. What are you currently working on? Innovation has always been at the heart of my business strategy. Over the past 16 years, Active Audio, APG and Arbane Groupe have grown through unique and original solutions. In 2024, we patented two major innovations. One is a waveguide called Sigma, which will be at the core of our new line array Uniline Max, set to be released at the end of 2024. However, the innovation of Uniline Max is not based solely on a patent; it’s a comprehensive project that embodies the essence of innovation – a beautifully designed, easy-to-use product that delivers a powerful emotional impact to those who listen, while remaining reliable and profitable for clients. The other is a revolutionary signal processing algorithm centred around immersive technologies, which is set to garner significant attention in the coming months and years. I do not want to say too much at the present stage but, believe me, it’s a genuine breakthrough compared to existing solutions. It meets all the innovation criteria I’ve outlined: delivering emotion to listeners, ease of use for installers and users and, most importantly, high profitability for clients. Favourite project? For an innovation project to be truly ideal, it must address an unmet customer demand. Success isn’t necessarily about achieving the most advanced or complex technology; it’s about creating a solution that resonates with the market. In this regard, the Rayon range, launched in 2012, is a perfect example. It’s a product line that continues to grow, and remains unique in the market because it was designed with core values in mind: easy to install, naturally effective without complex gimmicks and aesthetically pleasing. What does the future hold for the AV industry? In the coming years, innovation in the AV industry will need to meet several key criteria. First, solutions must be
way film and broadcast could be produced. Being at the forefront of technology is what inspires me most. What does the future hold for the AV industry? I know this is a common topic at present, but personally, I believe that AI will find its place within AV, both in content creation and how it will interact with audiences in the future. This will not knock out the need for technical and artistic people. People will control how AI is implemented, and there will still be the need for human eyes and ears to artistically create the emotion in the events. What advice would you give to someone starting a career in AV tech? My career journey demonstrates the success of trying out different roles – and now, with education specialists like Confetti Institute of Creative Technologies that teach hands-on education, and Production Futures, there are a whole host of fantastic mechanisms for information on starting out in the industry. Today, there is so much more information to help find the right path. AI will find its place within AV, both in content creation and how it interacts with audiences. There will still be the need for human eyes”
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