TPi March/April 2022 - #268

ENTER SHIKARI A triumphant return to the live arena with a headline show at Alexandra Palace

LUZIA Cirque du Soleil’s technical team discuss their return to the Royal Albert Hall

TOURING FAMILY Bryony October and Jake Vernum detail life juggling touring and parenthood

CARRIE UNDERWOOD REFLECTION: THE LAS VEGAS RESIDENCY

MARCH/APRIL 2022 • #268

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EDITOR’S LETTER

Viva Las Vegas…

Issue #268 March /April 2022 Editor Stew Hume Tel: +44 (0)161 476 8360 Mobile: +44 (0)7702 054344 e-mail: s.hume@mondiale.co.uk Assistant Editor Jacob Waite Tel: +44 (0)161 476 8360 Mobile: +44 (0)7592 679612 e-mail: j.waite@mondiale.co.uk Digital Content Manager James Robertson Tel: +44 (0)161 476 8360 Mobile: +44 (0)7725 475819 e-mail: j.robertson@mondiale.co.uk

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the team at TPi began stretching the boundaries of the subjects we would tackle within our pages.

During the lockdown months, this inevitably led to coverage of hybrid and virtual events, but now that in-person live events are returning, we’re keen to continue to push ourselves when it comes to what falls under the TPi remit.

One topic of interest has been the Las Vegas Residency.

Having not done a Production Profile on one of these larger-than-life events during my time with the magazine, when I got the opportunity to chat to the creative team behind Carrie Underwood’s first ever residency in the city at the newly opened Resorts World Arena, I jumped at the chance. Suffice to say, what I discovered was a production that utilised the very latest in events technology.

Not to mention a collective that was able to pull the pieces together despite many of the team still working remotely, along with the myriad supply chain issues brought on by the pandemic. You can read the full story on p46.

A little closer to home, Enter Shikari’s longstanding touring family spoke to us about the run of shows they completed at the tail end of last year, including a spectacular headline performance at Alexandra Palace [p46]. As has become common practice with Enter Shikari, not only were the band hands-on with all elements of the production, but they were looking to decrease the environmental impact of the tour. One of the moves they made was bringing in Jamal Chalabi of the TPG Sustainability Group as production manager, who has become an industry authority on this very important topic. So much so in fact, he also features on p94 as the results from Bring Me The Horizon’s Post Human carbon impact experiment have been released.

Elsewhere in the issue, Jacob sat down with new parents, Bryony October and Jake Vernum, who spoke about the realities of becoming a ‘touring family’. An enlightening read and one that suggests how, as we return to normal, the industry as a whole must look into new practices to ensure a healthy work-life balance.

We also have several conversations with businesses eager to get their teeth stuck into a busy 2022 – from SLX’s recent rebrand through to Just Networking’s remote connections offering to make technical production more connected, irrespective of location.

Finally, before I leave you to enjoy our March/April edition, I would just like to remind you to mark 23 May in your calendar, as we look forward to the TPi Awards 2022. We are so excited to welcome you back to London’s Battersea Evolution once again, along with this year’s host, Suzi Ruffell. Don’t forget to keep an eye out on social media, as it will not be too long until you get to cast your votes for this year.

Stew Hume Editor

Account Manager Fran Begaj Tel: +44 (0)161 476 8360 Mobile: +44 (0)7852 336728 e-mail: f.begaj@mondiale.co.uk Editorial Director Peter Iantorno Tel: +44 (0)161 476 8360 Mobile: +44 (0)7763 233637 e-mail: p.iantorno@mondiale.co.uk Chief Executive Justin Gawne Tel: +44 (0)161 476 8360 Mobile: +44 (0)7768 850767 e-mail: j.gawne@mondiale.co.uk Accounts Lynette Levi / Sarah Miller: ar@mondiale.co.uk Mondiale Group Chairman Damian Walsh Graphic Design & Production Dan Seaton: d.seaton@mondiale.co.uk Mel Capper: m.capper@mondiale.co.uk Cover Photo Carrie Underwood.

Reflection: The Las Vegas Residency Photo: Jeff Johnson Printed By Buxton Press • www.buxpress.co.uk Annual subscriptions (including P&P): £42 (UK), £60 (Europe), £78/$125 (RoW).

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TOTAL PRODUCTION INTERNATIONAL is a controlled circulation magazine, published 12 times a year by Mondiale Media Limited under licence. ISSN 1461-3786 Copyright © 2021 Mondiale Media Limited.

All contents of this publication are subject to worldwide copyright protection and reproduction in whole or part, in any form whatsoever, is expressly forbidden without the prior written consent of the Publishers.

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CARRIE UNDERWOOD

American singer-songwriter, Carrie Underwood and her crew take residency at Resorts World Las Vegas.

EVENT FOCUS 08 IHEART RADIO ALTEREGO

4Wall deploys Elation Professional Artiste Mondrian LED profiles.

12 ANIMAL FARM

Birmingham Rep’s puppets come to life with d&b Soundscape.

16 RAVE REBELS XXL WEEKENDER

ds, We'll be at the TPi Awar again we can't wait to see you

Lust for Live supplies 200 Robe Pointes for 30,000 techno fans.

20 LUZIA

TPi visits the Cirque du Soleil team at Production Park.

24 ERIC CHURCH

American singer-songwriter returns to stages with BlackTrax.

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EnVisio helps curate the ‘crown jewel’ for the DJ and producer.

PRODUCTION PROFILE 46 ENTER SHIKARI

British rock band hit the road with an environmentallyconscious production.

IN PROFILE 58 SLX rebrands and reintroduces the sector to its 360° solutions.

62 ER Productions partners with Pyrojunkies post-lockdown.

INTERVIEWS 66 Live events safety experts unite to launch the GCMA.

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72 KB Event announces its new MD, Richard Burnett.

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IHEART RADIO ALTER EGO 4Wall equips Production Designer, Patrick Dierson of The Activity with an extensive lighting package, featuring Elation Professional Artiste Mondrians.

Photos: Skye Morse-Hodgson

Taking place on 15 January at The Forum in Los Angeles, iHeartRadio ALTer EGO was a much-anticipated affair with raucous energy reflecting the sold-out crowd’s joy to be back at an in-person live event. Tasked with illuminating some of the biggest names in alternative rock, Production Designer, Patrick Dierson of The Activity, relied on an extensive lighting package which included Elation Professional Artiste Mondrian LED profiles, supplied by 4Wall Entertainment.

Coldplay, All Time Low, Imagine Dragons, Kings of Leon, Måneskin, Twenty One Pilots and Willow were among the performers, including a surprise appearance from Avril Lavigne. Presented by Capital One, the show was streamed live on LiveXLive and broadcast on iHeartRadio stations. The Activity was first engaged with the event back in 2017 in what

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Dierson dubbed “one of the most fun shows in which we were ever involved”.

The Activity handled the overall production design of the show, which included the scenic, video, staging, and lighting elements. Justin Cheatham handled lighting director duties on this latest iteration, working directly with each of the guest lighting designers.

4Wall’s Hayden Katz handled video and media server needs, while The Activity’s John Ellar assumed the role of Project Manager.

Besides the management and scheduling of the guest lighting designers and VJs, The Activity spent a lot of pre-production time liaising with the various equipment vendors, including close cooperation with 4Wall Entertainment and C2W Rigging, to make sure all details were covered. All of these elements were perfectly choreographed with Stage

Manager, Seth ‘Berger’ Goldstein. Seeking a powerful, full-colour LED profile unit, Dierson hearkened back to a fixture he had test driven in early 2021 but had not yet used on a show.

In the middle of the pandemic shutdowns, the designer was able to get a sneak peek of Elation’s Artiste Mondrian much earlier than most of the public when he produced a demonstration release video that introduced the fixture to the world.

“We filmed it over the course of several days at the studios of AG Production Services in Las Vegas and it allowed us to get a first-hand look into all of the intricacies of the fixture,” he recalled. “In the end, we were extremely impressed with the unit and were looking forward to being able to utilise it on one of our concert productions en masse.” Dierson and the team at The Activity eventually got their

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chance to put them to the test in the real world when, in anticipation of the 2022 ALTer EGO event, they started creating a base design in October of 2021.

“When it came time to start designing iHeart ALTer EGO we naturally shifted into looking at finally being able to take the Mondrians for a spin and they sure didn’t disappoint. The unit is feature-packed with a ton of great gobo options, lots of effects, beautiful colour mixing ranges, and a very fast shutter system that lends itself well to aerial beam effects.”

A total of 26 Mondrian units were used in a design consisting of multiple pods of equipment that combined both lighting and video elements.

“Given how feature-packed the unit is, we decided to use it as the main profile unit for this show,” said Dierson. “We placed them in

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symmetrical fashion at varying heights and angles to produce as versatile a rig as possible, as well as on the deck as low ‘shin kickers’ that allowed all of the LDs to really model up their acts,” Dierson explained. “They also shared duties with other instruments to create some truly unique aerial focuses.”

Given the amount of LED video elements on shows these days, Dierson believes that output is always the feature that he looks to first.

“With 51,000 lumens of output from an LED light engine, the Mondrian solved that concern immediately,” he remarked.

“Next up is colour mixing and the Mondrian’s SpectraColor system delivered that in short order. Once we had those basic needs covered, everything else was just gravy.”

Another of the Mondrian’s features that the designer was interested in seeing put to work

is the framing system. “The Mondrian’s 360° rotating framing shutter system combined with the very fast speed at which the shutters can operate, lends itself very well to some incredible aerial effects.”

The Activity handled its role expertly and despite trials like The Forum’s single, narrow chute loading dock combined with a show produced on a 48’ turntable that allows for set changes of less than five minutes, the show came off without a hitch, including Dierson’s reunion with Artiste Mondrian lighting fixtures.

“In the end, the show was a success, and we were impressed with the real-world performance of the Mondrians,” he concluded.

“They looked great and didn’t give us a single issue the entire run.” www.4wall.com www.elationlighting.com

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ANIMAL FARM Birmingham Rep’s Animal Farm puppets come to life with d&b Soundscape.

Photos: Manuel Harlan

The Children’s Theatre Partnership and Birmingham Rep’s new stage adaptation of George Orwell’s classic novel, Animal Farm has opened to rave reviews with a d&b audiotechnik Soundscape-powered sound design curated by Tom Gibbons.

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The production sees War Horse puppeteer Toby Olié’s beautifully crafted horses, pigs, birds and more revolt against their human farmer master. Pre-recorded dialogue is played back live, with on-stage actors moving the mouths of the puppets. A key aspect to the

realism of the surreal piece was accurately positioning the audio script parts to each puppet as they speak.

“I knew from early conversations with the Director, Robert Icke, that there would be very little live dialogue in this production, meaning

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that almost all of the audio parts needed to be mapped to the puppets within Soundscape wherever they were on the stage, and even when they moved,” said Gibbons, who is an Olivier Award-winning Sound Designer.

“The audience needed to believe that the voices were coming from the puppets’ mouths to captivate them, connect them with the animals and create the magic. To achieve this, the d&b Soundscape system was at the forefront of my thinking right from the start.”

Gibbons road tested the capabilities of Soundscape at d&b audiotechnik’s Nailsworth UK base. He was aware of its two software modules, En-Scene and En-Space, the former of which would enable him to perfectly position each piece of pre-recorded dialogue to each puppet. “Soundscape was the only viable solution with the object-based positioning power to programme the complex on-stage dialogue as we needed,” he said.

Gibbons’ audio team comprised production sound engineers James Melling and Andy Josephs, along with Sound no.1, Johnny Edwards and Sound no.2, Raffaela Pancucci.

They worked with d&b EAS Adam Hockley to specify a Soundscape-optimised loudspeaker array, to complement Birmingham Rep’s installed d&b delays and surrounds.

The main system comprised five d&b Y10P loudspeakers, flown and evenly distributed over the top of the proscenium arch. On front fill duty were seven d&b 44S loudspeakers, with two d&b B22-SUBS adding authoritative bass.

These were all supplied to the production by Cardiff-based, theatre specialist AV company, Stage Sound Services. At the heart of the system was the network controlled and Danteenabled d&b DS100 Signal Engine.

“From a loudspeaker placement perspective, it’s important to try and cover as much of the audience from every sound source, and repeat with all of the others,” explained Hockley.

“The Birmingham Rep has quite steep raked seating, so we needed to think about dispersion. This is why we chose the Y10P with its wide horizontal dispersion as the main upward and downward firing loudspeaker.”

With Soundscape, according to Hockley, the front fill is a really important part because that’s what really helps to pull the audience’s attention back down to the performance on stage from the larger, main loudspeakers, which are flown above. “This area needs a higher resolution because they’re closer to the listener, and the 44S fitted the bill. Subwooferwise, the B22-SUB left and right of the stage really helped to achieve that dynamic in the low frequencies and resulted in some memorable moments,” he stated.

Gibbons recorded the actors playing the parts of the animals in an acoustically dead environment in London, in the months leading up to the Birmingham Rep première. He used the d&b En-Space room emulation tool to add in reverberation signatures in post-production.

“We auditioned a few of the En-Space settings, ranging from a small, to a medium theatre, and then large,” he said.

“I was keen to recreate the sound of the theatre we were in, taking into account its size,

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shape and variables, so that it sounded like the animals were speaking live in that space.

Recording it dry, we didn’t get the acoustic energy that you get in a theatre, with a live voice in front of an audience, but En-Space managed to add that in really well. It gave the dialogue life and realism, along with complete consistency across all of the pre-recorded parts.”

Support came in the form of Adam Hockley’s visits, both to rehearsals and get-in at The Rep. “My background is theatre, so when a show uses d&b products, I feel like I’m not only working for the manufacturer, but also as part of the production team. Soundscape is exciting new technology, and I want to learn how people are using it and help them to achieve their creative vision.”

Gibbons enthused: “I would very much use Soundscape again. Once you set up the system and the sound objects, assign them to the puppets and input the dimensions of the stage, it really is very easy to programme.” www.dbaudio.com

Sound Designer, Tom Gibbons.

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EVENT FOCUS

RAVE REBELS XXL WEEKENDER Production Designer, Thomas Boets specifies 200 Lust for Live-supplied Robe Pointes at the epicentre of a lighting rig for 30,000 techno music fans at Palais 12 in Brussels, Belgium.

Words: Louise Stickland Photos: Rave Rebels / nachtschaduw

Staged at Palais 12 in Brussels over the course of two days, the Rave Rebels XXL Weekender celebrated a welcome return to live events with production design by Thomas Boets, featuring some 200 Robe Pointe moving lights.

The show design brief from organisers, Jens Grieten and Nick Ramoudt, was to keep the production design “industrial” – raw, stark, high tech and with a massive impact – like the club’s vibe, but on a super-sized scale to enthral 30,000 techno music fans.

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Boets collaborated with several creatives on the project, including Head Content Creator and VJ, Rene van Dijk; Lighting Programmer and Operator, Kristof Blancquart as well as Automation Designer and Operator, Rik Uytersprot of Gravity.

Planning this project started months ago – when live shows still seemed on a distant horizon – and it was equal parts exhilarating and satisfying, according to Boets. “Not just to create a truly amazing space and moments, but even to be working on an actual live event

again, with a fantastic musical line-up and a real audience to entertain and impress!”

Movement underlined the entire visual concept, with 66 axes of automation installed around the venue.

A 7m by 7m ‘picture frame’ centrepiece which tracked over 54m from the ‘home’ position just upstage of the DJ booth, out to FOH – and back – was constructed from trussing with a holo-LED surround and filled with a selection of lighting fixtures, in addition to a central blow-through screen for laser 3D logo projections and other animations.

Helping make the frame 3D was a six by six back-light matrix of 36 Robe LEDBeam 150s, with 20 Robe Tetra2s framing the trussing periphery. “When this impressive structure started to move, we could literally create a tunnel of light through this matrix of lights,” Boets remarked.

The show’s visual cues were linked via a network running Art-Net and PSN (PosiStageNet) protocols, designed so lighting, automation and video worked seamlessly, allowing synchronous looks involving lighting content, motion and two industrial robots rigged on special 2m plinths situated either side of the stage.

Two large ex-automotive industrial robots – the result of a research mission by the creative team and Lead Robot Engineer, Bram van Hansewijck – were decorated with LED strips.

Programmed over several months in their native protocol, this was also decoded and integrated into the show control architecture by networking specialist, Roel Apers and Systems Engineer, Joost Potters, allowing the robot motion to be triggered from the MA Lighting grandMA3 console.

“We wanted to take the audience on a full visual out-of-body experience to match

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the musical one for the hours they were in the venue, pick them up and spin them around,” explained Boets. “Lighting was a vital component of this very big visual picture, and while there were obviously a lot of lights on the show, the Pointes at the core set the scene and underlined everything.”

Out in the arena rigged on 16 moving trusses were 128 of the Robe Pointes attached to custom brackets so they could attain the exact angles Boets required to get the beam geometry shooting correctly across the venue.

“These were the bedrock for all sorts of crazy effects,” he noted.

These trusses also contained strobes pointing up to light the massive roof, plus some helix lights pointed down to light the audience.

The structural elements of the fixtures and metalwork itself was highlighted by helix lights beaming down from the mother-grid above.

As well as super quick fixtures with a battery of available effects, Boets needed the Pointe’s brightness to compete with two large columns of LED that flanked the picture frame at the stage. He specifies Pointes regularly for techno events as “they are the most awesome fixtures for lighting techno – especially with the beam and shuttering effects that are achievable”.

Running all the way down the two sides of Palais 12 were two continuous 54m trusses – also on motion hoists, dubbed the ‘Anacondas’ as they snaked down the venue.

Rigged on these were a single Robe BMFL WashBeam at each end and 760 LED strips in between. The beams from these four BMFLs produced a massive square of fat shafts of light framing the whole arena with lighting.

“We simply needed huge beams in these positions, so BMFL WashBeams it was,” Boets

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“We wanted to take the audience on a full visual out-ofbody experience to match the musical one for the hours they were in the venue, pick them up and spin them around.”

Thomas Boets, Production Designer

reported. Over the stage above the DJ booth were five 2m trusses – also on the automation system – each with two Pointes, a Tetra2 moving LED batten, a moving bounce mirror as well as a colour laser which was automated up and down.

Six motion elevators positioned in between the subs stacks each had two Pointes attached, which worked in tandem with the fixtures on the five short trusses.

In addition to Robe fixtures, around 400 other light sources completed the lighting design, which was operated by Blancquart using an MA Lighting grandMA3 console with

a GM3 light for back-up. Lighting, video and sound equipment was supplied by Lust for Live. The wider team comprised Technical Manager, Sam Elitas; Head Rigger, Rene Bruisten; Systems Engineer, Joost Potters; Data Processing Specialist, Roen Apers; Video Operator and Content Creators, Rene van Dijk and Rodrigo Guzman; Laser Operator, Jeroen Claes; Audio Operator, Memet Ekici; Sound Engineer, Manfred Kedde; Production Assistant, Joris Bensch and Stage Manager, Thomas Moon. The on-site team was led by Nick Levens and Ilse Wilcox. www.robe.cz

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CIRQUE DU SOLEIL – LUZIA TPi visits the Cirque du Soleil – LUZIA team during rehearsals at Production Park to discover how they are resurrecting the show from the ashes of COVID-19, primed for a grand return at London’s famous Royal Albert Hall.

Words: Stew Hume Photos: Cirque du Soleil

You know it’s a strange day in the office when you’re conducting interviews with acrobats performing somersaults several feet in the air off a Russian Swing. Ahead of the Cirque du Soleil’s residency at London’s Royal Albert Hall with their show LUZIA, the production team kindly welcomed TPi to one of their rehearsal dates at Production Park to lift the lid on some of the intricacies of this latest touring big top show.

This was the second time LUZIA made a temporary home at Royal Albert Hall, having opened the show in the iconic venue back in 2020. Following a successful run of shows, the big top performance headed east to Moscow.

Sadly, just as they were about to open to the general public, the COVID-19 pandemic stopped the production in its tracks.

Almost two years later, TPi was sat in the production office of LUZIA Technical Director, Craig McGregor, who gave a first hand account

of the days preceding the 2020 cancellation.

“We found ourselves having to pack down the show into 90 trucks, which after some time found their way to the Netherlands to be stored.” This meant that everything from the production – such as stage sets and costumes all the way to PA systems – didn’t see the light of day for many months as Cirque du Soleil, along with the rest of the sector, assessed when they could get back on the road.

Once the green light was given to the production in the summer of 2021, an enormous effort was made to assess the equipment that had been laying dormant for the entire first part of the lockdown. “Some of the equipment definitely fared better than others,” mused Set Carpenter, Dylan Farrell, who spoke to TPi on the side of the large bespoke stage. “It was snowing when we were packing down in Moscow, meaning equipment was getting dusted with snow while loading

into the trucks. Surprisingly, many of the big set pieces held up well, but some of our more technical elements – from motors to anything with batteries – had to be looked at,” he noted.

“We’ve nicknamed that show ‘the phoenix’,” chuckled McGregor as he talked through the months of painstaking work to have this production rise from the ashes of COVID-19.

LUZIA is arguably one of the most technical productions that Cirque du Soleil has ever put on, due to its inclusion of an impressive water system. This was used several times during the performance. Cyr wheel artists perform an unprecedented feat of rolling and spinning under the rain, while an aerialist suspended from a trapeze flies and twirls through pouring showers. “The water system has many bespoke parts and is truly a unique set piece,” commented McGregor.

Before drenching the performers on stage, the water travels through a multi-stage

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process from a filtration system to remove any impurities as well as heating to a temperature to ensure performers did not get ill.

“We go through a lot of water every day due various factors such as evaporation, splash as well as being lost during the filtration system,” explained McGregor.

Water on stage in any form of entertainment is never ideal, but when you have acrobatics performing a death-defying stunt on stage, any water on stage becomes even more of a potential hazard. “We have a number of ways in which we’re dealing with water on stage,” stated Farrell. “One way is with our custombuilt zambonetts as we call them. Actors roll these out on stage and underneath they have a super absorbent material. They also act as set props in the transition stage between a water scene and the next act.” The presence of water also required the inclusion of specific IP67 or 68-rated lighting and motor equipment.

“The other massive set piece we have to deal with each day is a giant treadmill for the hoop diving stunt,” added Farrell. The treadmill in question weighed almost four tonnes. “To move the pieces across the stage we had to

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ensure the stage was incredibly strong and then also work closely with the team at the Royal Albert Hall when we first went into the venue back in 2020 as we were bringing in some very heavy set pieces.”

McGregor was clearly excited to have the performance return to the famed venue.

“This year actually marks 25 years of Cirque du Soleil in the Hall, not to mention the 150th anniversary of the famed venue. With two landmark celebrations, I’m proud it’s LUZIA we’re bringing back to the Hall as it’s the flagship of Cirque du Soleil touring shows. With this show, we’re really announcing to the world stage that we’re back and still on top.”

The return to the Royal Albert Hall also acted as somewhat of a reunion for the local suppliers who are always on hand to aid in Cirque’s incoming productions – namely Britannia Row Productions. “We’ve been supporting Cirque du Soleil for two decades of Royal Albert Hall productions,” said Britannia Row Productions Director, Lez Dwight. “Playing in the Hall is very different to playing in a big top and although they have their own audio system we always come in to provide audio support to cater

for the unique aspects of the venue. Having supplied LUZIA on its last UK visit, Brit Row then sent equipment to Moscow only to see it sit in a truck for months as the pandemic took hold.

We got to the stage where we thought we’d never see it again,” he admitted.

Happy to see the production return to the venue, Dwight explained what was being provided this time round. “Each time they come to the Hall, we always make a point to provide them with the latest equipment,” he said, detailing the finer points of the L-Acoustics system supplied for the run of shows. “This time for example we added some of the latest models of subs with the KS21S along with some A15s. On the whole, it’s a similar design to the show in 2020 with just a few small tweaks.”

Overall, Dwight explained that as part of Brit Row’s service, they’re always on call for any issues that may suddenly arise. “A day or so before opening night, the audio department needed 70m of Cat5 cable, which we were able to get to the venue within hours.” www.cirquedusoleil.com www.royalalberthall.com www.britanniarow.com

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EVENT FOCUS

ERIC CHURCH: THE GATHER AGAIN TOUR American singer-songwriter, Eric Church celebrates the return of live music touring with his core touring crew harnessing the creative capabilities of BlackTrax.

Photos: Anthony D’Angio

American singer-songwriter, Eric Church set out on his The Gather Again Tour with the intention of uniting fans and celebrating the return of live music touring, following the release of his Heart & Soul album. For this latest tour, Church no longer had to worry about designated mic positions during the show, thanks to BlackTrax.

The Gather Again Tour shows took place in arena-sized venues, the stage was set up in an intimate, in-the-round style where the audience surrounds the performer from all sides. The design brief mandated that 64 automated Robe BMFL follow spots simultaneously tracked the eight different targets; eight fixtures allocated per target.

Production Designer, Butch Allen collaborated with TAIT to develop the Navigator camera system, a new flying camera solution.

BlackTrax sent positional information to TAIT via RTTRP-M, so the flying cameras could automatically track Eric Church in real-time.

Throughout the show, the Navigator camera

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system flew the length of the arena, capturing a 360° view of the stage and the audience surrounding the stage while also tracking the performers via BlackTrax.

“We love working with BlackTrax,” said Touring Lighting Director, Gavin Lake. “The whole team was surprised by the degree of accuracy. In the preliminary talks, we thought ‘millimetre’ accuracy was a marketing ploy but it was not – I’ve never seen anything in entertainment lighting this precise.”

Typically, Lake dedicates two to three hours each show day to update key position focus’ that can’t be left in the hands of a spotlight operator. Now he doesn’t have to worry about any of those, he has confidence the BlackTrax system is going to work, allowing him to focu on the flow and look of the show.

The Gather Again Tour has an extensive setup and tear-down regime, in addition to having a short window between weekend shows. The crew has limited time to get ready, to change the network, and they do it twice a

weekend. Christie Lites Account Executive, Robert Roth calls it ‘typical’, but it still requires an extensive amount of work noting the ability for the team to pivot, “seamless”, despite any obstacles met.

“Once we decided to use BlackTrax, the hardware support in terms of helping us detail the network was 110%. The software support, the same thing, the field technician we hired through the BlackTrax team, John Taylor, was a rock star,” he commented. “There was a time crunch across the whole show and the BlackTrax team integrated well, exceeded expectations and they did it in a short time frame with some logistics pressures. Very happy with the service.”

Roth believes BlackTrax products and support have exceeded expectations. The Gather Again Tour continues through July 2022 with BlackTrax. Roth anticipates future BlackTrax use by saying “when the product matches the vision of the design team they are working with, they will be including BlackTrax in

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those future productions,” he remarked. Lake praised CAST Group staff and support within a limited time frame. “The product support and training we received was amazing. They guided us through the setup and integration process every step of the way. They were all very quick to respond to any question that arose every step of the way. All of us jumped headlong into BlackTrax implementation with very short notice, and if it wasn’t also for them, I don’t think we could have pulled it off.”

The core production crew comprised Production Designer, Butch Allen; Touring Lighting Director, Gavin Lake; Christie Lites Account Executive, Robert Roth; Touring BlackTrax Technicians, Robert Harrison and John Fields; BlackTrax Onsite Installation Technician, John Taylor.

The BlackTrax team featured BlackTrax Interactive Channel Manager, Dekkar Densham; Technical Team Lead, William McDaniel as well as Training and Product Support Specialist, Nicholas Lau, who oversaw 12 BlackTrax SX13 sensors, eight BlackTrax beacon, 64 Robe BMFLs and a TAIT Navigator camera system. www.ericchurch.com www.taittowers.com www.blacktrax.ca

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EVENT FOCUS

BLACK COFFEE HELPS DRAW THE CURTAIN ON DRUMSHEDS LONDON EnVisio helps Lighting Designer, Eran Klein curate the ‘crown jewel’ in a unique lighting installation for DJ and producer, Black Coffee’s three-hour curtain call at north London’s now-defunct Drumsheds.

Words: Jacob Waite Photos: EnVisio and Lindsay Cave

From open air festivals to warehouse music marathons, north London venue, Drumsheds, has played host to some of dance music’s most influential artists, collectives and imprints during a four year residency at Meridian Water. Helping draw the curtain on the famed 10,000-capacity venue was a unique pixel fixture devised in part by Lighting Designer, Eran Klein and crafted by EnVisio for South African DJ, record producer and songwriter, Nkosinathi Innocent Sizwe Maphumulo, better known by his stage name, Black Coffee.

The three-hour long event was coproduced with Imma.nence by Oren Heknin – a longterm client of Lighting Designer, Eran Klein – Live Nation Israel, Metropolis Music and Shaked Minuskin. Klein’s lighting design took full advantage of the venue’s 20m trim height, with an impressive 11m diameter trussing circle centrepiece flown above the DJ booth, complete with a ‘jewel’ in the middle and a laser.

The design and concept of the unique flown pixel structure was the brainchild of Klein.

CAD drawings were completed by the Ox

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Event House crew and sent over to EnVisio.

“We were originally contacted as the project’s brief specified a custom pixel fixture which is something we have a great reputation for,” EnVisio’s Max Middleton began, reflecting on the evolution of the project. “The brief stipulated the client wanted a 3m tall by 4m wide pixel fixture, which we originally thought was free standing, but we soon discovered that it was to be horizontally flown with a laser shining out of the front!”

A unique concept was presented to EnVisio

by Ox Event House’s Ben Levitt and Tech LED. As one of the few specialist pixel company’s able to meet the brief, EnVisio were given the tight timescale of four days to achieve the complex task. “It was hectic in our workshop, we may have obstructed the car park somewhat and had to get one of the gazebos out but it was an enjoyable challenge. We didn’t have time to outsource any of the build, which we often do, depending on the complexity.

Instead, we dusted off the ring rollers and phoned our local aluminium importer and got to rolling,” Middleton recalled. “The ring roller,

by far the least technical piece of equipment we used, but there is no way we could have built that structure without it, as well as MADRIX software.” While EnVisio typically harnesses a range of hardware and software on projects, however, according to Middleton MADRIX is the ‘perfect’ tool for interfacing pixel installations with lighting desks. “We had 18 universes of lighting on that single fixture, which is relatively small for a pixel project, but we were able to give [Laser Programmer and Operator] Naor Bonomo full control over 18 universes from an MA Lighting grandMA3 desk on just 16 channels of DMX,” he reported. “This is exactly how we do our projects for broadcast. We take the mapping/processing and control strain off the desk and the desktop can just treat our whole install like a single fixture.”

The structure was made up of aluminium flat bar rings rolled and joined together by rolled square aluminium profile. The complex undertaking was compounded by the challenge of having to transport the giant pixel fixture from EnVisio’s Darwen workshop to Drumsheds in north London. “We had to make it breakdown

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EVENT FOCUS

fairly easily for transportation. Rather than hiring a wagon, it became apparent that we could probably build the rig so it collapsed into one of our Transit Custom vans, which was ideal,” he explained, referring to structure, which with 162m of aluminium extrusion bolted to it, only weighed in at a modest 35kg. “It was crazily light given the complexity of the build.”

While the project itself was, in Middleton’s words ‘insanely unique’, the workflow and technology behind the machine was not too dissimilar to most EnVisio projects – a control system, a power distribution system, a structure, and a whole load of LED bolted to it. “We already have a close relationship with Tech LED and Ox Event House but getting to meet a whole bunch of professionals on the job was fantastic!” Middleton exclaimed, going on to praise lighting vendor, Siyan, and the rest of the crew, particularly Lighting Crew Chief, Karl Lawton; Lighting Systems Technician, Matt Child; Laser Programmer and Operator, Naor Bonomo, and Stage Manager, Jack BewisLawes. “It was a challenge,” he said, elaborating on the trials and tribulations of the project.

“Once we painted the structure, figured out its orientation and were about to disassemble, we discovered it was meant to be hollow as ER Productions planned on firing one of their lasers straight through it like some ‘crazy huge pixel cannon’.”

After a few frantic messages, some angle grinder magic, and running some mirrored perspex throughout the laser cutter, EnVisio managed to fabricate a laser bracket and an aperture in the front of the fixture for the laser to fire through. “When we got on site at Drumsheds, ER Productions got stuck in and like the rest of the team involved, made the whole thing a reality,” he concluded. “After all, teamwork makes the dreamwork!” www.realblackcoffee.net www.envisioav.co.uk

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PRODUCTION PROFILE

CARRIE UNDERWOOD’S REFLECTION: THE LAS VEGAS RESIDENCY Carrie Underwood and her team take residency at the new AEG Resorts World Las Vegas. Despite the challenges brought about by COVID-19, the team still demonstrates the highest of production values while championing the latest and greatest technology the events industry has to offer.

Words: Stew Hume Photos: Ralph Larmann

PRODUCTION PROFILE

At TPi for a long time, our primary focus has been the technical innovations within the live touring and festival industry, but alongside our redesign last year, we were keen to push our remit to other corners of the entertainment sphere. With that in mind, when we were given the opportunity to cover one of Las Vegas’ most-anticipated residencies, we jumped at the opportunity. Carrie Underwood’s latest Las Vegas engagement marked the first residency to grace the newly created AEG Resorts World Theatre – Las Vegas’ newest and tallest stage.

Although Celine Dion was scheduled to open the venue, due to illness, the responsibility fell to Underwood to break-in the city’s latest and biggest performance space.

After a sold-out initial run, the production crew loaded out their show into storage to lay dormant until they would revisit the show in early 2022. Amid this downtime, TPi sat down – virtually – with the key players of the production to learn how, notwithstanding a global pandemic, a team of creatives joined forces to curate one of the biggest and brightest shows ever to grace the so-called ‘entertainment capital of the world’.

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REFLECTION In the lead-up to opening night, the singer promised the show would “reflect the amazing journey I’ve been on for the past 16 years, as well as offer a glimpse into what lies ahead.”

With this being her first Vegas residency, there was a feeling in the camp that this show had to go one step further than any other previous production. The singer once again surrounded herself with a loyal team including Production Manager, Graham Holmes.

Having been a permanent fixture since the summer of 2016, Holmes has overseen many of her 26 truck tours. “And yet this is by far the biggest Carrie crew we’ve ever amassed,” he began. “This was the first time she’d ever done something like this, so we brought in experienced professionals such as [Production and Show Caller] ‘Nimmer’ and [Stage Manager and Head Carp] Matt McLaughlin.”

With so many unique set elements, from a burning Jeep to an enormous waterfall set piece for her finale, not to mention the fact that 90% of this set was automated throughout the show, meant that a huge number of companies were brought in to create this monolith. “We had around eight people from PRG on site to

create the waterfall, 15 from TAIT for the main set and automation along with several from Solotech providing additional lighting and video elements,” listed the PM, keen to emphasise the great effort made by all involved.

The list of suppliers reads like a who’s who of the live events industry, with show design and production coming from the team at Fireplay, TAIT, Solotech, Clair Global, PRG Scenic, Pyrotecnico and Gallagher Staging.

The production also made use of the extensive in-house lighting and video rig, along with the venue’s L-Acoustic L-ISA system.

“We certainly brought in the right mix of people and companies,” enthused Holmes, having listed the key players and suppliers.

JESUS, TAKE THE WHEEL Before even a single point was hung in the roof, there were months of preparation for this performance. Not only did the COVID-19 pandemic mean less face-to-face time happening between the core crew and suppliers, the venue was not even built when the team began designing the show. What resulted were months of Zoom calls and swapping pre-vis files to get this show in the

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PRODUCTION PROFILE

best state possible so as to hit the ground running when they finally got inside the space.

Having been brought in early 2020, throughout the pandemic, Fireplay CEO, Nick Whitehouse and his team continued to throw around ideas as well as conversing with Carrie Underwood’s Creative Director, Barry Lather, despite not knowing when Las Vegas would officially open up again.

“It wasn’t until early 2021 that we got the firm dates and we began to turn these ideas into firm plans,” he explained. “It’s Vegas, so the initial brief was really to go big or go home,” he laughed, outlining what his initial goals for the design were.

With the venue still being built, the Fireplay team had to rely even more than usual on an effective pre-visualisation workflow to get suppliers, management and artist all on the same page to realise the vision of the show.

The rehearsals took place in Nashville ahead of moving into Vegas. “As we’d be using so much of the house lighting rig when we moved into the space, we didn’t want to spend the unnecessary time and money replicating the exact same rig for the Nashville rehearsals,” explained Whitehouse. “Instead, we built the entire lighting rig, staging elements

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and automation, pyro and video into Unreal Engine. So, while Carrie and the band played in rehearsals, there was a monitor screen in front of them to track what would actually happen during each song.”

To make this seamless move over to the virtual world, Fireplay worked closely with the team at Imaginary Labs in the use of the Carbon Plugin, which enabled the entire visual departments to move their CAD drawings and designs into Unreal Engine.

“For the past 20 years, I’ve been doing some form of pre-visualisation using a wide range of software, but I was never 100% happy with the experience,” stated David Perkins, CEO and Chief Architect from Imaginary Labs, while discussing the company’s offering. “You either got unlimited flexibility but with long render times or a quick image that was limited to specific kinds of content.”

After being captivated by an Unreal Engine demo in 2014, Perkins began to see the platform as an “everything visualiser”. It was this that then led Perkins and his team to create a plug-in to connect traditional workflows within the events industry with Unreal Engine.

Perkins outlined what the Imaginary Labs team brought to the table. “We first identified

the visualisation goals to determine what could be handled natively in Carbon and some bespoke solutions that we had to craft. We knew from the outset that the artist would have eyes on the resulting video, so we had to be very detailed.”

AEG and Celine Dion’s design team provided the team with a detailed model of the venue in Unreal Engine. Perkins then optimised the model for real-time performance, as well as filling the model with all the relevant lighting fixtures using Carbon’s data-driving pipeline.

“Nick also specified a few fixtures he didn’t have in his library, so we performed a series of tests to make sure the lighting programming done in pre-vis was trustworthy,” he noted.

As one might guess from the name of the show, the set contained a number of reflective stage elements. “Unreal supports real-time raytracing, rather than typical ‘screen-space reflection’ tricks,” enthused Perkins, while explaining why Unreal was even more of an ‘ideal’ choice for this project. “We built custom blueprints in Unreal to support the automation moves from DMX along with a prototype system for three and four points to simulate automation. This will be at the heart of automation visualised in Carbon in the future.”

Commenting on this more ‘realistic’ style of pre-visualisation was Whitehouse’s number two, Brian Vaughan, the show’s co-Lighting Designer and Technical Director. “We’ve worked with every pre-vis under the sun and this setup just seems to be above and beyond all the others when it comes to detail and overall smoothness,” he enthused. “One of the benefits is that you’re able to show the end client the show and they can understand what they are looking at. With most other visualisers, you don’t really know what you’re looking at unless you’re an LD.” When it came to the duo’s workflow, Vaughan did a lot of the lighting and rig design, while Whitehouse handled the programming.

This back and forth all took place remotely with three separate desks being linked together across America. This was done via Just Networking’s BRIDGE device.

“I had a desk at my home while there was one in Nashville with the final in Vegas,” Vaughan explained. This added to the speed at which the show could be created as Vaughan and Whitehouse could work on the show at different times without even needing to be in the same state. “We’d wake up in the morning and Brian had done loads of work to the show file,” enthused Melody Tseng, Whitehouse’s

Associate Producer. Having been brought in midway through the project, Tseng shadowed Whitehouse through the tail end of the design phase and managed video content design and delivery onsite.

According to Whitehouse, the way he and the team utilised both Unreal Engine as well as the connecting desks to work remotely will now be something Fireplay takes forward into the future. “We have already used this Unreal workflow for two other shows,” he said. “It’s hard to get equipment right now, let alone the people to crew a rehearsal. With this workflow, we can cut down the amount of time we need to spend rehearsing and dialling in the show with the physical equipment. It also gives the crew more flexibility to work on other productions and not have to commit to a month’s rehearsal.”

UNDO IT Although COVID-19 is having less of a grip on the events industry with venues reopening across the globe, one undeniable strain on any production right now comes down to supply. Be it kit or crew, there isn’t one industry professional who doesn’t see this as a significant problem. “We were aware of this issue rather early on in the design phase,” mused Holmes. “TAIT had been planning on

using Perspex on the set then one day I got an email saying there was a world shortage.”

What followed was a lot of “out the box thinking” from both designers and suppliers to bring this show to existence. “Just getting plywood was an ask at one point,” added Whitehouse. “There was a lot of juggling, but I think it hit TAIT the hardest as they were due to build a lot of kit for this show.”

Working on the project for TAIT was Aaron Siebert and Emma Reichard. “We experienced material delay lead times on a few fronts and had to use creative thinking to solve some of the problems,” they said in a joint statement.

“That said, through all the delays and uncertain times, the show was able to go on and was a spectacular performance for Carrie’s fans.”

SOMETHING IN THE WATER Collectively, the show’s set elements created an ever-moving tapestry, taking fans into different worlds throughout the performance.

The secret behind most of this was the TAIT automation team. The company provided several automation assets for the show, including 60 Nav Hoists that gave movement to 20 aerial triangle set elements. TAIT also provided an upstage performer lift with two to 14ft of travel, and omnidirectional automated

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PRODUCTION PROFILE

wagons. A house axis responsible for opening the curtain, four aerialist winches and a half axis for the centre stage lift were also supplied.

“Our proprietary TAIT Navigator Automation Platform provided smooth controls throughout the performance including safely moving a large gem that was manufactured by TAIT along with the flaming Jeep,” stated Siebert and Reichard. The duo put the successful delivery of this project down to its long-standing relationships with Fireplay. “The production was the culmination of a creative team and venue team that have a 20-year history as well as the start of a new relationship with a new production team,” they said.

One of the main points of contact that TAIT had with Fireplay was via Joanna-Maria Helinurm, the show’s Production Designer.

Although AEG’s new venue is now Vegas’ largest stage and might present somewhat of a daunting task for many as such a large canvas to fill, as Helinurm is an architect by trade and just as comfortable designing skyscrapers, REFLECTION was a far smaller project for her in terms of scale.

“The scale of the AEG stage gave us a lot of options and the ability to make this a transformative show,” she mused. “Around 90% of the physical elements are movable, which resulted in a very dynamic show.” The production designer explained that the design

036

drew inspiration from the venue, specifically the geometry of the building. “It’s a subtle nod and might not be noticed by some of the audience members, but it all led to it being a more impactful show.”

Chris ‘Rock’ Glatfelter from Gallagher Staging discussed the Jeep that was flown in during the song, Before He Cheats. During the song, Underwood throws a lighter into the vehicle that then sets alight. “Originally, the Jeep was due to be mounted onto a sloped riser that would come up on the house lift until Fireplay opted to instead fly it in from the roof,” began Rock.

The model in questions was a ‘96 Jeep Renegade that was at the time being used daily.

“Not for long,” laughed Rock as he explained how they ripped out the motor, transmission and everything unnecessary before wrapping it in a chrome vinyl wrap. “At this point, Pyrotecnico was brought in, who advised on further adaptation needed to make sure it met the fire marshal code,” he explained. To allow the Jeep to fly, Gallagher reinforced and attached steel beams across the underside of the frame and attached four eye bolts, which became the fly points with steel string to connect to TAIT’s automation system.

On the subject of eye-catching set pieces, TPi managed to grab some time with Mark Peterson of PRG to discuss the waterfall set

piece that rose from beneath the stage during the show’s finale. “In our initial meetings, Nick expressed that for this to be wonderful, we needed a lot of water,” he recalled .

The waterfall is broken into four main parts – the main wall structure, Carrie’s platform, the base pools and the water plumbing. “We have done water effects before but nothing on this scale,” Peterson explained. “We have about 1,800 gallons of water in the system – some of it is just there for ballast and to keep the pumps submerged but it stays there all day. The pump system we have has a filter and heater bypass that allows us to run the pumps all day without the water effects. During the day, the water is being cleaned, heated and filtered.”

The main wall of the waterfall structure, which had dancers performing routines using poles to stay in place on the wall, utilised an aluminium truss framework to support the textured façade. The entire structure was carefully engineered in order to support itself but also the dynamic load of the performers during the song.

To close, Peterson expressed how it was always exciting to work in a new venue. “The biggest asset of Resorts World for us was the large basement space for us to set up the waterfall. The square footage down there was great and gave us plenty of room to move our large pieces around. I spent so much time in the

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PRODUCTION PROFILE

basement with our waterfall that I barely even saw the rest of the stage – next time I’ll have to walk upstairs a little more!”

THE CHAMPION “AEG really wanted to make Resorts World their flagship venue and as such have invested heavily in their in-house rig,” commented Whitehouse. “It’s a full Robe rig and we made use of the Tarrantulas and Pointes already available on the rig.”

Along with the fixtures already on site, Solotech supplied additional lighting elements, specifically 38 Claypaky Unicos as well as debuting 15 Mini Xtylos HPE moving heads.

“The Unicos were really our spot profile fixtures,” added Vaughan. “We had used them extensively on Justin Timberlake’s last tour and it was good to bring them back after such a long time.”

For control, Fireplay utilised MA Lighting grandMA3, running MA3 software. “We had an incredible amount of support from MA and ACET in the build up to the show,” enthused Whitehouse. “I’m a big fan of this new software and I will not be going back. Like many others, the team at MA really took advantage of the downtime during the pandemic to develop all

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the features. There is obviously a transition period while you work out how to do certain things in the new software in a similar way to when you change your iPhone. It just takes some time to learn the new processes.”

Giving Solotech’s perspective on the project was Director of Production Services, John Flynn. “A large part of our remit wasn’t to be a traditional vendor in a touring sense but to support and compliment Resorts World equipment and staff,” he commented. “Our Sales and Integration division actually did the install for Resorts World, meaning there were no issues at all on the infrastructure side.” Dave Evans from Solotech’s Nashville operation also provided consoles, the BRIDGE system along with lighting fixtures for the pre-visualisation setup, along with some rigging to rehearsals in Nashville prior to the team coming to Vegas.

Handling the show from day to day was Underwood’s long-standing Lighting Director of 10 years, Nate Cromwell. As well as managing the show, Cromwell looked after the BlackTrax system used during the show.

Having been purchased by the Underwood camp directly, it has been used on many of her productions over the years. “For this show, every department is utilising the bleeding

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PRODUCTION PROFILE

edge of technology in their respective field,” enthused the director, citing the lighting department’s use of BlackTrax as a case in point. “Our system deploys 14 infrared cameras that track eight people onstage with a total of 18 tracking points,” he explained. “We have 42 different fixtures that are tracking onto them at any one given time.” Having used the system for many years, he outlined several benefits.

“The largest advantage to using BlackTrax is its amazing precision. Every pickup and fade out is perfect. The algorithms correctly and expertly predict motion and it is a system I have confidence in running day in day out on a Vegas stage or an arena tour.”

Excitingly, the system will be used for several other departments, so it will also send information to the robo cameras as well as provide location information to the L-Acoustics L-ISA system to provide tracking information to the immersive sound system. “It’s easier to adapt than people realise,” he stated plainly, referring to his usage of an MA Lighting grandMA3 system.

“I used the ACT Academy courses and was able to get up to speed during tech rehearsals.

As a programmer and designer, I like the new direction they have taken the effects engine and the concepts of recipes and GDTF. As an operator, I particularly enjoy the feel of the keys

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and increased speed I get from the double encoder wheel.”

SEE YOU AGAIN With over 5,000 sq ft of house 3mm LED screen out on the stage, Fireplay brought in three content creators to produce several different looks in the show. These included BLINK Inc, Comix, and Lüz Studio.

Producing what he referred to as ‘virtual set extension’ for three songs during the set was Matt Larivée of Lüz Studio. “We created photorealistic CG looks within the screen,” explained Larivée. “We then created virtual lights to highlight the set giving control to the lighting designer. The stage at the Resorts World Theatre is really wide so we didn’t want to draw focus away from the artist, which is why creating a content of decor was perfect for the show as it’s not too overwhelming.”

This project represented quite a landmark for Lüz as this was the team’s first 16K production. “It really pushed our 3D renders to the limit and the power supplies of the computers were literally blipping overnight due to the amount of power needed,” he said.

Another long-time collaborator with Fireplay, brought in for this project was BLINK Inc. “Carrie’s Creative Director, Barry Lather, and Fireplay’s William Baker came to us with

incredible references that explored the theme of ‘reflection’ artistically,” began BLINK’s Tom Colbourne. “We had a number of great images from fashion, music and film and a detailed plan of how our content supported the show’s, staging, lighting and choreography.”

Working with her team, BLINK defined the structure and appropriate production design for the shoots which were used for the intro to the performance as well in the songs Good Girl, Jesus, Take The Wheel as well as created graphic content for Cowboy Casanova.

The team also created content for Before He Cheats along with a CG waterfall to go alongside Something in the Water.

“The big feature was designing a flexible mirrored set, which we presented back to the team. We knew we would embrace a lot of post-production and VFX, but we also knew we needed a playful physical set to shoot real mirrors that Carrie could have fun interacting with.” BLINK designed two mirrored sets and a green screen set filmed over a three-day 8K studio shoot with Underwood and a string section in Nashville.

Harry Bird outlined Comix’s involvement.

“We were approached by Fireplay in summer 2021 to provide a broad mix of content using 3D, 2D and footage compositions.” Just like the wider visual team, Bird got to utilise Unreal

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Engine for the content delivery such as in the song Church Bells. “This ethereal chapel scene was a detailed set extension that we are very proud of,” stated Bird. “This was created using Unreal Engine, the volumetric lighting and many custom ZBrush model elements of glass and architecture came together beautifully in the final show.”

SMOKE BREAK Providing everything from lasers to pyrotechnic effects, Pyrotecnico VP of Live Events, Rocco Vitale walked TPi through this latest collaboration. “We got the call for this one in the summer in 2021,” he explained. “The show in its entirety was amazing and one we were really proud to be part of.”

For lasers, the SFX supplier provided six Kvant 25W, six Light Line RGBO 12W HD Lasers and Eight Light Line RGB audience scanning lasers. “The highlight when it came to lasers in the show was during the song Flat On The Floor,” stated Vitale. The company also supplied an arsenal of pyrotechnic gear including two Pyrotecnico FX Stage Rail Waterfall Systems, four TBF 5-Master Flame Systems and three Galaxis G-Flame Flame Systems. “We had four crew on the show,” explained Vitale. “There was a Pyrodigital Firing System with two FC-A Controllers that dealt with all the pyrotechnics with all SFX being controlled by a MA Lighting grandMA Dot2 Core DMX Control with the lasers being

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controlled by a Pangolin BEYOND system.”

Lastly, on the SXF rider were 12 Master FX Atlas Foggers, four Le Maitre Freeze Fog Low Fog Systems, four Ultratec G3000 Foggers and two EFX RE II Fans.

To close, Vitale discussed the more detailed pre-vis process that went into the creation of this performance. “SFX has never typically been a pre-vis item. From our company’s standpoint, we’ve always believed that showing customers some examples of the kind of effects we’ll be producing before they get into a room makes the development of a show design much more efficient.” However, since 2020, Pyrotecnico has been working on its pre-vis offering and was more than happy to insert themselves into Fireplay’s use of Unreal Engine to give a full picture of the show to present to Underwood and her wider team.

DON’T FORGET TO REMEMBER ME Having both started with Carrie Underwood in 2018, FOH Engineer, Tim Holder and Monitor Engineer, Travis White were excited to be working on yet another live show with the artist. Throughout 2020 and ‘21, despite live gigs being out on hold, the audio engineers kept themselves busy with several TV and video shoots with Underwood. With a few post-lockdown projects under their belts, Holder and White went into band rehearsals in October 2021 to begin pulling the pieces of the residency together. “In the early stages of

the rehearsals, the band came in and began working out timings of the show, accounting for wardrobe and set changes and coming up with creative transformations,” began Holder.

“Some of these transition movements ended up becoming some of the most dramatic elements of the show.”

Although this was new ground for the artist, entering the world of Vegas residencies, there were many aspects of the audio setup that remained the same from previous touring campaigns. Both engineers opted to once again mix on Yamaha desks with Holder opting for a RIVAGE PM7 while White used a PM10.

“I’ve been on the PM10 since I started with Carrie,” stated White. “It’s incredibly reliable and in my opinion is the best sounding digital console. Scene control is very detailed in regard to different parameters that can be controlled, especially with the latest firmware.”

As well as offering a level of familiarity, one of the reasons why the PM7 was an ideal choice for Holder was its ability to fit seamlessly into the in-house L-Acoustics L-ISA system with the console’s Desklink function. “This was my first experience mixing a live show on the L-ISA system,” he commented.

With limited time to do the training, L-Acoustics came to him and in Nashville during the rehearsals the engineer was set up with a small demo rig. “With the L-Acoustics team I was able to set the basic placement of the inputs and had a mix in minutes.” Holder

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PRODUCTION PROFILE

also had a few days with Resorts World’s L-ISA system before the band arrived in Vegas. “The depth and clarity is amazing, even if you’re not using the surrounding features,” he enthused.

“This opens a new door for FOH mixers. You have to make creative decisions on how and when to use surround aspects of the immersive audio system. You no longer use the master bus for outputs, instead sending a direct out for each input to the L-ISA controller.” He went on to explain that it was somewhat of a ‘leap of faith’ jumping into the world of L-ISA – especially as he’s an engineer who prides himself on his hand-built analogue op amps in his stereo bus compressor. “This system behaves differently than a conventional left and right stereo rig giving you an unveiled sense of the mix.”

Despite all the new elements with the L-ISA system, other aspects of the audio department remained more familiar, with the audio team once again putting its faith in the DPA 401VL for the singer’s vocals. “It’s the right mic for her dynamic style of singing,” explained Holder. “It’s just as robust at arms length as it is close up.”

With the nature of the show involving a lot of scene and costume changes, there was a need for a number of different colour microphones.

To deal with this roulette wheel of microphones, Holder and White introduced a GPI switcher.

“Both Travis and I use outboard analogue gear on her vocal chain so the switcher activated and the monitor desk meant we could select

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the correct signal to send the splitter,” explained Holder. Each of the microphones had its own frequency and Shure Axient Digital receiver channel.

White broke down some more facts about the singer’s vocal mix. “One change we brought into this show was that her vocal chain is now analogue the entire way through to her IEM mix,” he stated. “I’ve been using an API Channel Strip with Rupert Neve Designs 5045, ELI Lil’ Freq EQ and a Tube-Tech CL1B for some time.

But this time it now goes into an SSL summing unit as opposed to converting it to digital. I’ve wanted to try for a while to eliminate latency on how she is hearing her vocals. The result is almost an 8db reduction in vocal leaving in her mix. Less vocals mean less ambient noise which leads to a cleaner mix.”

Underwood and her band were on Jerry Harvey Roxannes all driven by Shure PSM1000 with the exception of the drummer, who used an Albatros Audio PH9B headphone amp.

“We used to have a very loud wedge set up for Mark the MD and our bass player,” commented Holder. “In the interest of having a cleaner look and a quieter stage, we found the Porter & Davies KT Concert Platform. It did not disappoint. It could rattle your teeth loose if needed. Mark had a giant smile the first time he stood on it.” When the show goes back, it’s not just going to be business as usual for the audio team who hope to continue to push the boat out as Holder explained. “During the song

Wasted, we have two fiddle players soloing back and forth while they move down stage and cross and swap positions,” he stated. “I will be introducing BlackTrax to track the panning of the two players’ positions into the audio system.”

ALL-AMERICAN GIRL With the sold-out debut run gaining praise from fans and critics alike, this hard-working production happily ticked off this first run of shows with the excitement of bringing it back to life in March 2022 and beyond. Once again, Las Vegas showcased why it is the epicentre of big, bold and striking stage shows. There is no doubt that with AEG’s ambition to make this one of the live events spaces for the world’s biggest artists, it will not be the last time TPi covers a production in Vegas’ latest home for live music. www.carrieunderwoodofficial.com www.rwlasvegas.com/entertainment www.fireplay.com www.imaginary-labs.com www.taittowers.com www.prg.com www.solotech.com www.clairglobal.com www.gallagherstaging.com www.pyrotecnico.com www.blink-inc.com www.luzstudio.net www.thisiscomix.com

CONGRATS TEAM FIREPLAY! WE ARE SO HONORED TO HAVE SUPPORTED YOUR SPECTACULAR LAUNCH OF CARRIE UNDERWOOD’s “REFLECTIONS” RESIDENCY AT RESORTS WORLD IN LAS VEGAS

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ENTER SHIKARI: LIVE AT ALEXANDRA PALACE With COVID-19 putting an abrupt end to a touring campaign for their latest album, Nothing Is True & Everything Is Possible, Enter Shikari return to the stage almost two years later with an awe-inspiring live set at Alexandra Palace, followed by a tour of the UK built on environmentally conscious practices.

Words: Stew Hume Photos: Tom Pullen @tompullenphoto and Lloyd Winters

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It’s sad to think how many albums released in late 2019 to early 2020 never got to have their time in the sun with a supporting touring campaign. Enter Shikari were one those unfortunate groups, having released their latest album, Nothing Is True & Everything Is Possible, in April 2020. Famous for their raucous live shows, it comes as little surprise that any chance that came their way to perform, the four-piece jumped at the opportunity. From their headline performance at Download Pilot 2021 to a UK run at the end of the year, they brought a high-energy show to fans who had been starved of live music for such a long time. Even when bassist, Chris Batten had to step away from live duties due to catching COVID-19, the band still took to the stage with the ill member coming in through the PA via a live multitrack recording of a previous show.

With the Ally Pally performance well behind them, some of the key crew spoke to TPi about how the pieces for the band’s elaborate show came together and how the Enter Shikari team stuck to its guns when it came to making the show as environmentally friendly as possible.

NOT RED LIGHTS Enter Shikari’s long-time Manager, Ian Johnsen spoke of the strange predicament of planning a show in the midst of endless COVID-19

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regulations and the ever-present chance of shows being pulled. “There was never a ‘green light’ moment when we knew this show was definitely going to happen – that said, we never saw a red light either, so we just kept working towards the shows and hoped for the best.”

Despite the uncertainty, the camp made a concerted effort to focus on every detail of this production. “There has always been a ‘hands-on’ attitude within this band,” explained Johnsen. “A lot of bands get their hands taken off the wheel after a considerable amount of commercial success, but through each campaign, all the guys have always been interested in the production.”

From singer, Rou Reynolds speaking with the visual team to guitarist, Rory Clewlow creating video content for the tour, Enter Shikari take the term DIY to heart. There seemed to be a feeling of ‘no holds barred’ when it came to the Ally Pally show, with a unique lighting rig, sizeable laser package and projection mapping down the length of the venue to showcase the famed room.

“It was certainly an important show for the band,” began Production Manager, Jamal Chalabi. As a newcomer to the camp, the PM had thought the band might want to save some money, but as he explained, “the band wanted to return with a bang”. Frontman, Rou Reynolds explained as much on stage at Ally

Pally, speaking of the importance of human gatherings and that live music was going to be key in reconnecting humanity. “It was for this reason that he and the rest of the band wanted this show to have all the bells and whistles,” explained the PM. It should be noted at this point that although the band wanted to throw everything at this production, this was done with the caveat of being environmentally conscious. This will come as no surprise to those who have followed Chalabi’s career for the past two years. Leading TPG’s Sustainability Group, he met Reynolds earlier at COP26. “I was introduced to Rou while I was at the event and I must admit I didn’t realise he was the singer of Enter Shikari. We had a deep conversation about touring sustainably.”

A few weeks later, Mandylights put Chalabi’s name forward for the PM job. “When I spoke to the band and Tour Manager, Keith Reynolds about sustainability, there were some easy wins straight away,” stated Chalabi. “Bringing in KB Event as our trucking supplier was a no brainer.

With their own tank of HVO at their yard, they could handle the whole tour using their own supply, which presented a huge carbon saving.”

“Over the course of the past two years, KB Event has been working very closely with Jamal as part of the TPG group to investigate and implement more sustainable events,” said

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PRODUCTION PROFILE

Lighting Director, Tom Edwards and FOH Engineer Andy Russell; Pixeled Director and LD for Trash Boat, Lucy Harrison.

KB Event’s Stuart McPherson. “As is often the case, good intentions get lost in the reality of tour budgets and schedules, but we’re fortunate enough to work with some tour managers, production managers and artists who are determined to put these intentions into practice – Jamal being one.”

McPherson went on to express his excitement to be back on the road with Enter Shikari. “The band and their management are leading the way in touring in a more sustainable way,” he enthused. “HVO Biofuel may be more expensive and has a direct impact on tour costs, but it is 100% renewable and shows a 90% reduction in CO2 emissions.”

It’s worth noting HVO Biofuel does not use palm oil in its production. “If we wish to safeguard the future of touring, we have a responsibility to our audiences and to the environment to do it in the most sustainable way,” concluded McPherson.

There were also some other quick wins on the carbon front with catering company, Saucery providing vegetarian meals with no red meat on the menu. There was also no singleuse plastic used backstage with everyone on the crew having a personal water bottle. “I’m fully supportive of the band’s wish to be as sustainable as possible,” explained Manager, Ian Johnsen. “That said, it’s always tricky due to the level Enter Shikari exists in. Tickets for their shows are still really affordable compared to some other bands who will charge over £100 for an arena seat. They are often able to go

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further as they have the budget to do so, but we do what we can and it’s always on the top of our priorities when we start a new project.”

Mandylights, Christie Lights, Adlib, 80six, Observatory London, AC Lasers, Pixeled and Crosslands were also on tour with the band for this run of shows.

“By the time I came on board, most of the suppliers were fixed, although there were certainly some stumbling blocks with a shortfall of equipment available,” stated Chalabi. He also explained that performing in a Victorian building brought the usual issues that you might expect. “As we were going in there in winter, we had to account for snow weight.

Outback Riggers were very helpful in the build up to the show, as were the management team at the venue,” he remarked.

Crewing was another issue that had been thrown into flux since COVID-19. Being as COVID-compliant as possible, the PM explained how they changed usual shift patterns, with crew doing blocks of five-hour shifts, meaning bringing in fewer people for longer. “It has the double bonus of being more COVID-19 compliant as well as being more sustainable,” he noted.

ARGUING WITH THERMOMETERS “It was a classic case of having the biggest London show as the first date on the run,” chuckled Stage Manager, Harry Ford. “We then went to Manchester’s Victoria Warehouse, followed by a number of smaller venues. As

such, we had three different rigs out with us,” he stated. With this being Chalabi’s first time with the band, he wanted to bring on an experienced stage manager who was experienced with complex load-in and outs – somewhat of a specialty for Ford, who was also involved in ensuring the COVID-19 protocols were followed, specifically for the incoming local crew. “A big priority for us was keeping the band as separate as possible and keeping our core crew healthy. I ensured that all our local crew had been tested each day and implemented mask wearing and social distancing where possible,” he commented.

This went as far as rethinking some loading and unloading protocols such as opting to forklift equipment rather than have a large number of crew in a confined space.

THE SIGHTS Following the band’s Download performance [TPi Issue #263], Mandylights designers, Steve Bewley and Tom Edwards discussed the strange situation they found themselves in. “Although the plan was to go out on the road again at the end of the year, there was still a feeling of unease and a question mark over whether it was even going to happen,” explained Bewley. “Because of this, we found there were a few last-minute changes and things that would have usually been handled over a much longer period.”

Thankfully, Mandylights had already put in several hours in preparation for the set, which

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provided them with a decent starting point for the Alexandra Palace show. “This performance was very much an evolution of that headline show,” Bewley stated. “We were having to think on our feet as suppliers were changing due to demand and companies’ ability to source the necessary kit.” Eventually the team locked in Christie Lites, which was able to cater for all the lighting needs.

The core component of this show was the diagonal truss lines at the top of the stage made up of Martin by Harman VDO Sceptron 10s. As well as being used architecturally, the design-duo was also excited to make use of the Sceptrons’ ability to take a video input. “All the Sceptrons on stage were video mapped and we had a media server sending content to them,” outlined Bewley.

Also on the rig were 24 Claypaky Xtylos, as well as a number of GLP JDC1s. “We also had some GLP impression X4 Bar 20s for some side and key lighting as well as Martin by Harman MAC Viper Performances,” listed Edwards.

As well as a stunning stage design, the entire room was incorporated into the design, thanks to a large laser rig provided by AC Lasers and video projection on the walls of the venue, done in collaboration between 80six and Observatory. “We wanted to include the whole venue in the look of the show,” explained Bewley. “We had various bits of content that were projected on the walks including one which demonstrated climate change with the

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melting of ice caps as well as one showing deforestation,” outlined Edwards, while also remarking that they had filmed some content of frontman, Rou Reynolds singing.

Enabling the seamless integration of visual and audio came down to timecode. “It was timecoded to death,” laughed Bewley. “Every element coming out of the music, we worked with the band as they were always working on little touches we could implement.”

According to Edwards, it was a very collaborative experience. “Each side would prompt each other, with us hearing something and suggesting adding a sound effect and in turn the band would point out bits in the track they wanted to highlight,” he reported.

As you might imagine, such an intricately designed show meant plenty of programming hours. “Thankfully, we had made a start in the build up to Download where we put in around 102 hours each in the week leading up to the performance. Using that as a base, we then crafted this show file.”

After the Ally Pally show, the collaboration between band and design team did not end there, with Edwards tagging along for the rest of the tour and continuing to tweak the show file in conjunction with notes from the group.

Mandylights’ investment in Syncronorm Depence² also came into its own in the build up to this show. “We invested heavily in Depence² as it’s streaks ahead of everything else on the market,” stated Bewley. “Especially in the lead

up to Ally Pally show, Tom was able to hit the ground running as soon as he got on the site and knew exactly how everything should look.”

THE PRESSURE’S ON Providing visual content for the production was Observatory London’s Ben Sheppee. “This was the only show that was held in Alexandra Palace in December and to be involved at all was really quite an honour,” he began.

The team at Observatory have worked with Enter Shikari many times since 2014 and as a result, Sheppee was already familiar with their back catalogue. “They are a great band to work for as they are independent and make a lot of their own decisions. When we talk about art direction, it’s quite a quick conversation as to where we want to take the show,” he explained.

Sheppee reasserted the importance of being environmentally friendly when it came to the production of this show, with the band requesting Observatory to explore the theme in the content. “I’ve already done a number of climate-focused pieces over the years and therefore had some assets I could start working from,” he reported.

To maximise the impact of the projection mapped elements of the show, they only appeared a few times during the band’s set. “Many times, so as it was not having to compete with the large lighting rig, we used the video mapping in the transitions of songs,” stated Sheppee, explaining how the content

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worked almost as a timeline linking songs.

Driving the content were disguise gx 2c media servers with projection coming from Barco 32K laser projectors, all of which was supplied by 80six. The company also supplied ROE Visual CB5, as well as a package of Blackmagic URSA broadcast cameras and Micro cameras.

“Timescales and the budget were tight but the result was an eye-catching display of graphics produced by the team at Observatory,” commented 80six Project Manager, Ben Annibal. “A full camera package was used to capture the band on stage with individual additional mini cameras for each band member and added camera effects being overlaid on the ROE CB5 portrait IMAGs. RABBLE ROUSER Overseen by AC Lasers’ Daniel Briggs, the laser rig for the Ally Pally show comprised four RTI Nano 30s along with six AC-MFL. “The MFLs were on the diagonal trusses so they fit in with the overall look of the show,” stated Briggs. “Then we had the Nanos upstage shoot over the band for some high-impact sweeping looks.” Briggs went on to explain how it was nice to collaborate with the team and Mandylights once again on this project. “It was a great dynamic working with Tom [Edwards], translating their design intent to looks tuned for laser projection,” he noted.

Like the rest of the visual department, Briggs benefitted from the timecode to ensure looks were as tight as possible. “Rou sat down with Tom one evening and we went through each cue. It makes such a difference when a band really cares about the detail and there is almost less pressure as you are having too much fun collaborating.”

Pixeled was also onboard providing confetti for the production. The company’s Director, Lucy Harrison explained that one

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of its goals was to ensure its offering was as environmentally friendly as possible. “We offer a 100% eco-friendly confetti system at Pixeled,” she began. “The machines are fired using compressed air and electro-magnets as opposed to CO2 options other productions use.

All of the confetti and streamers we fire are fully biodegradable.”

This show and proceeding tour was somewhat of a reunion for the team at Pixeled who have worked with the band since 2018.

“Alexandra Palace is always a highlight for the band as well as all the crew,” stated Harrison.

“Shikari are incredibly detailed in all aspects of their production and this show in particular has been months in the making to really create the experience they were looking for.”

As well as this Ally Pally show, Pixeled also supplied equipment for the tour, namely four MagicFXStadium Shot machines. “We use all MagicFX equipment, which is one of the leading manufacturers of stage effects equipment in the world and the quality of the equipment really withstands the heavy touring we do.”

For the Ally Pally show this was increased to 10 Stadium shots.

On the tour a total of 342kg of multicoloured paper confetti was fired. “There were 1,480 20m steamers and 60kg of confetti in Alexandra Palace alone which has been one of the largest quantities of confetti ever fired in there in a single show,” stated Harrison proudly.

“My personal highlight was seeing the band and crowd’s reaction to the very first hit of confetti on the Alexandra Palace show. The guys love it just as much as the audience do. It really does give me chills and just adds another level of dimension to the whole performance.”

OK, TIME FOR PLAN B Despite the best-laid plans, this latest endeavour, like so many shows at the tail end

of 2021, was affected by COVID-19 so much so that bassist, Chris Batten tested positive, meaning he would be unable to perform. With news coming down the line to the core crew, the long-standing audio team put their heads together to work out how they could still make this show happen.

Explaining those days leading up to the show was long-standing FOH Engineer, Andy Russell. “Joe Crouch [Monitor Engineer and Playback Tech] and I put our heads together to come up with a solution,” began Russell. “In the end, Joe took some multitrack recordings I had done previously and sent that through Ableton, which the band uses live for tracks on stage.

This then got sent back through the inputs so from my end at FOH it was as if I was mixing Chris live on stage rather than the band just playing along to a left and right stereo mix.”

Russell mused that although this solution was a quick fix to ensure the show could go on, with COVID-19 still very much being present, perhaps having a bank of multitrack recordings of each member of a band is not a bad idea to ensure shows can keep happening even if someone is ill.

Despite these irregularities, it was business as usual in terms of show delivery. Throughout the lockdown, the band kept busy with a number of live stream exploits, which Russell aided in giving advice, especially to drummer, Rob Rolfe when it came to micing up his kit.

“There was always that seed of doubt that Alexandra Palace and the following shows would be pulled but in those types of situations you just have to remain positive. Everyone in this camp loves what we do and has been with them for many years, so we just kept pushing.”

The PA of choice for the Ally Pally gig and some of the larger shows proceeding was a CODA Audio AiRAY system, courtesy of audio supplier, Adlib. Along with the main hangs,

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Russell selected the SC2-F sub along with SCP subs, complemented by extra elements from the APS and HOPS series of speakers.

CODA Audio has been Russell’s brand of choice for Enter Shikari since their last full campaign where he and the band experimented with quadraphonic mixes.

“From the first time I heard CODA, I was blown away not just by how good it sounded but by its technical specifications and the fact it could throw for miles with a super-clean high frequency,” he stated. “The band mixes up a lot of genres in the music and there is a lot of detail going on in both the high and low frequencies of their mixes. The first time we used CODA, there were elements of the mix that came out that I’d never even heard before and I’ve been working with the band since 2006.”

Keeping with tradition, Russell once again looked to Midas for control, opting for a PRO2 console. “Following Ally Pally, we were going into some much smaller rooms so I needed to have a flexible footprint, keeping it under 56 inputs,” he stated. “I also used the original XL8 digital spits – the DL431s – on account of the fact they sound fantastic.”

When it came to outboard gear, Russell explained how he liked to keep to most of the effects ‘in box’ and put far greater focus on other pieces of tech on his raider, namely a Lake Processing LM44 along with his Smaart rig. “I carry my Smaart rig everywhere I go as I’m also a System Engineer. For this tour, for example, it meant that even in the shows when I didn’t have the full CODA system and was using a house PA, I could get it in the best shape for the mix,” he added. “The one thing for me is that no matter where someone is in the venue, the sound should be consistent.”

The band has for a few years adopted Kemper amps, meaning most of the instruments are on DI. For microphones from

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vocals to drums, Audio-Technica was the brand of choice. “For Rou’s vocals, we’ve got him on an Audio-Technica AE6100. It’s a hypercardioid microphone and it’s really tight, clear and clean,” he enthused. “Rou is a very dynamic singer and in the same song can go from falsetto to screaming right on microphone and it always cuts through the mix and sits where I need it to. He even put it in a shoe once and it still held up pretty well.”

Due to the COVID-19 climate, none of the band were going into the crowd as much as they used to, Russell still had an Audio-Technica System 10 Series wireless microphone on the rig for any band to use if they fancied “taking a wonder”. He elaborated: “We’ve used that wireless set up for some time now and it’s always been rock-solid and sits alongside our hard wired mics on stage. We keep it in the central piano position and any of the guys are free to use it during the show.”

LIVE OUTSIDE Crossland provided two Setra S431 double deckers for the tour. “It was key to run a tight ship in terms of COVID-19 safety, and having separate buses for band and crew was one of the measures taken,” said Crossland Logistics and Client Account Manager, Sharon Tea. “We also offered regular bus-fogging, to be used as the party deemed necessary whereby the buses could be vacated for a short period and a disinfectant fogging solution discharged throughout.”

As every tour is different, Crossland’s drivers adapt to and adopt each party’s COVID-19 rules. “So long as our drivers feel safe, we are happy to work with each client individually to make sure they also feel confident, as we work our way out of this together,” explained Tea. The company’s first bus to leave on a tour for 2021, 15 months

after being stopped in its tracks, was actually for Enter Shikari, to take them to Download Festival. “To then also round off our 2021 with them on a full tour was equally poignant as they are one of the bands we’ve worked with the longest,” stated Tea, expressing her excitement for the next adventure with the band as we move into a new year.

CROSSING THE RUBICON It’s great that even in these trying times, as hard working crews breathe life back into an industry that has been dormant for so long, teams are still trying to push for sustainability and a more responsible touring model. It renews faith in the industry – especially as we move into what seems to be a very busy 2022.

“Everyone loved being back on stage,” commented Johnsen. “Those early shows where Chris wasn’t there, the band still enjoyed the challenge and playing the shows. I went to the Liverpool show when Chris was back and there was a tangible energy when they were all back together.”

Despite uncertainty around immediate European touring plans, there is clearly a fire burning within the belly of the wider Enter Shikari family to once again get out there and give fans a long-overdue live experience. www.entershikari.com www.mandylights.com www.backlashproductions.com www.tourproductiongroup.co.uk www.christielites.com www.80-six.com www.observatory.design www.adlib.co.uk www.ac-lasers.co.uk www.pixeledvideo.co.uk www.kbevent.com www.crossland.ie www.saucery.net

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IN PROFILE

A NEW LOOK SLX SLX’s Alastair Currie and Russell Payne discuss the company’s latest rebrand, lessons learned from the past two years and their vision for the future.

Words: Stew Hume Photos: SLX

Looking back over the past two years – specifically in early 2020 – it’s incredible to see how quickly companies have adapted to the changing nature of the world and against all odds were still able to keep working within the live entertainment sphere. One such company is SLX. Having formally been taken independent, the company moved into its new headquarters in January 2020 before the world came to a screeching halt. However, in the face of adversity, the Bristol-based firm has managed to regroup, rebrand and reintroduce the live entertainment industry to its full 360° offering – from design to delivery in multiple markets including live events, broadcast and experiential.

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“We moved quickly when it came to shutting down the office and ensuring our touring shows and freelancers were taken care off in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic,” began SLX CEO, Alastair Currie.

With all outstanding bills paid, the question remained of how the company would still keep working during this uncertain time. The answer came in the form of one of its longstanding clients, The Great British Bake Off. Having worked with the programme for the past 14 years, the team was tasked with devising a COVID-19 secure rendition of the famed television baking battle. “We had an airlock to the outside world essentially,” explained Currie.

“It was certainly another level of production for

the show. We hired a hotel and grounds for 10 weeks with staff isolating for two weeks before starting to work, with a full disinfectant system for anything new coming onto side. We even provided additional accommodation on the ground as well as dealing with power and waste to all these additional spaces.”

Far from idle, it wasn’t just The Great British Bake Off, which saw SLX go above and beyond to keep business rolling during these tricky times. From a light show on a stream train which utilised GPS technology to trigger an on-board light show in real time, through to work on some of the UK’s early COVID-19 test events, including Andrew Lloyd Webber’s London Palladium event.

With a new year to contend with, the company seems freshly invigorated having recently landed a major contract with the Birmingham Commonwealth Games 2022.

“People within SLX have been involved in the previous UK-based Games,” stated SLX Sales Director, Russell Payne. “This year, we’re involved with all broadcast sports and sports presentation lighting,” he enthused.

According to Payne, it was a lengthy bidding process, but thankfully, SLX’s 2020/21 portfolio of work certainly bolstered the company’s application for the Games. “At the time of tender, we had gone a year-anda-half without a single COVID-19 infection.

Not only that, but we have also implemented a segregated system – so, if a member of the team falls ill, business can keep running without compromising the entire warehouse.” SLX has also invested in UVC technology to disinfect equipment coming in and out of the building.

As a company that is made up of a team that has worked in multiple sectors, TPi was interested to know the company’s take on the increasing number of UK-based companies that have shifted their focus to the TV and film sector. “We differ from many others working in those markets because we are a ‘one stop shop’ and deal with everything from location

IN PROFILE

and site management to lighting. You often find that TV production managers are very comfortable in a TV studio environment but as soon as they are on a green field site, they are out of their element.”

It is for this reason that SLX remains in a strong position moving forward. It’s clear from the new website that SLX’s main focus moving forward is live, in-person events.

“As great as virtual events are, there’s nothing quite like the ‘live experience’. For us, live is going to be back and stronger than ever,” stated Payne. “SLX is not just a rental house but a creative brand. We have the people within the company who can engage with clients so it’s very much in our control to produce a show.”

Like many, during the early stages of 2020, SLX had to let some staff go, reducing its workforce to a ‘skeleton crew’ of 19 people, a number which has since doubled.

“There has been a shift of people moving away from the industry. We remained loyal with many of our core freelancers, and thankfully, we have kept many on the books but we are still looking at bringing more people through,” stated Currie. “We have developed a programme, which allows prospective new starters to experiment with various elements of the business and discover their strengths.”

Sustainability has been another key component that SLX has put forward as one of its key values. “Sustainability is something that all our customers are passionate about,” stated Currie. “In a previous season of Bake Off, we produced 53 tonnes of CO2, which we brought down to zero this year. This involved many incentives from using HVO fuel as well as hybrid generators, a feat which earned the show an Albert Certification,” Currie said.

“We are also currently working to receive a B Corp, which is considered the ‘platinum standard’ when it comes to sustainability accreditation,” concluded Payne.

With a busy year ahead, the SLX team are excited to reintroduce themselves to the industry at large both in the services it can provide and the internal ethos of the company.

“The one benefit that COVID-19 brought was a time to reflect and allow us to refocus on our goals,” concluded Currie. “We’ve given the entire brand an overdue refresh which better reflects our core values and we’re now excited for what the rest of 2022 has to offer.” www.slx.co.uk

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IN PROFILE

ER PRODUCTIONS: A NEW CHAPTER At the turn of the New Year, ER Productions revealed that Pyrojunkies was now part of its wider group. TPi’s Stew Hume speaks to ER Productions’ Ryan Hagan and Marc Webber along with Pyrojunkies’ Dan Mott about the new partnership.

Words: Stew Hume Photos: Drew Ressler of Rukes and ER Productions

As we entered 2022 and the live events industry eagerly awaited a return to normality, exciting news came out of the world of special effects, with two well-known names joining forces. As of January, Pyrojunkies became a part of the ER Production Group. Despite only being announced this year, the origins of this partnership date back to a meeting at LDI in 2019. TPi sat down with Pyrojunkies’ Dan Mott and ER Productions founders, Ryan Hagan and Marc Webber, to discover more about this brand-new alliance.

“2019 was a huge year for us with so much gear going out of the door and on the road,”

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reflected Mott. “At the tail end of that year, we found ourselves at LDI having a conversation with ER Productions about business, and some of the biggest issues the industry faces, while brainstorming potential solutions.”

This back and forth soon planted the seed that would lead to the two companies joining forces. “We obviously knew the team at Pyrojunkies and had even worked on a number of shows together,” stated Hagan.

“Dan and his team were aware that we had started working with SFX with the goal of bringing it to the same standard as our laser offering, so it seemed like a great move to

bring Pyrojunkies into the group due to their experience in this field.”

Currently, the two companies are going to remain in their respective headquarters, however, the plan is to bring the entire group under one roof at ER Productions’ brand-new facility, which has been five years in the making.

“Although we are bringing both companies into the same building, nothing will change with client experiences,” assured Webber. “Clients who have worked with Pyrojunkies will still be speaking to the same team and the same goes for those working with ER.” As one might imagine, the COVID-19 pandemic did not help the deal progress any faster as the whole industry waited with bated breath as to what the future of live events would be. “It was a bit of a roller coaster,” said Mott, adding that now was the best time to announce the partnership with the industry eagerly awaiting the return to normality.

There has already been recent proof of the seamless cohesion of the two names off the back of the work at MDLBEAST Soundstorm Festival out in Saudi Arabia [TPMEA 34].

The Middle East has become a major place of interest for both companies. In the past few months, ER Productions has opened its new Saudi Office, home of all the equipment used on Soundstorm. “It’s a great time to make this announcement as we are just off the back of Soundstorm where we worked together,” Hagan stated.

The impressive SFX and laser offering saw both companies collectively providing seven stages with a staggering amount of equipment.

The new partnership is already looking forward to a full season in the Middle East.

Speaking more generally about the new partnership, Mott explained what he believed being part of ER Productions Group would mean for Pyrojunkies. “I hope some of my day-to-day operations are going to become a lot easier,” he chuckled. “Pyrojunkies is a much smaller company which inevitably means most

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IN PROFILE

of us have worn multiple hats over the years.

Now being part of the ER Productions Group is going to help us when it comes to bigger shows and means some of our staff can really look to specialise in a specific skill rather than have to do it all.”

On the subject of the latest collaborations, Webber talked through some of the highlights of the new UK office space both companies would be moving into. “This facility has been five years in the making and it’s finally going to be ready in February this year.”

The larger premises has been designed to best facilitate the demands of the events industry including having a studio space available to hire. Nicknamed The Dock, Webber explained that he already had numerous enquiries for productions to use the space in preparation for an upcoming project.

“It’s a purpose-built black box,” stated Hagan. “There are plenty of options to hang lights and lasers and we even added extra steel supports to give clients more options to hang from the roof. Essentially, the whole space is split into two rehearsals spaces and

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in the times when one is not being used, the warehouse team will be able to expand out for further preparation space.”

Away from the new warehouse space, another point that Webber was keen to highlight was the benefit of sharing resources this new partnership would bring. “We have always designed and developed our own products when it comes to lasers. With this bringing Pyrojunkies in house and their speciality in special effects, it will be interesting to begin developing products in the field.”

Webber closed by praising Pyrojunkies forefathers, Shane Caulfield and Richard Huffam. “They started the company back in 2003 and although Dan has been running the show for a few years, they were still brought into the conversation and we talked at length about the future of the company.”

It seems that both companies are incredibly excited about what the future holds and the potential doors this latest collaboration will open for both parties. www.er-productions.com www.pyrojunkies.com

IN PROFILE

GLOBAL CROWD MANAGEMENT ALLIANCE Spearheaded by the Event Safety Alliance (ESA) and United Kingdom Crowd Management Association (UKCMA), this new global organisation provides a resource and safer environment for crowds.

Words: Stew Hume Photos: GCMA

ESA’s Steve Adelman and UKCMA’s Eric Stuart.

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As the sector makes tentative steps back into a post-lockdown landscape, several serious incidents have called into question crowd management plans. With this bleaker backdrop, it seems like the ideal time for an organisation like the GCMA to be established.

The organisation looks to pull together the collective knowledge of the global events industry and advance the crowd management and security services industry within the public and private sector. With the tagline of ‘educate, advocate, motivate’ – this new body has already sparked the interest of many within the events industry with representatives from 18 countries.

TPi spoke to two of the founders, Steve Adelman of the ESA and Eric Stuart of the UKCMA about the origins of GCMA and some of the problems facing the sector.

“The original idea of the GCMA dates back to the Events Safety Summit back in 2018 at Rock Lititz,” stated Stuart. “We were keen to join forces with the ESA, which we officially announced at the 2019 event.”

However, as soon as they came off stage, the duo was approached by several similar global organisations that wanted to be part of this collective vision. “We realised that this proposed partnership between the UK and US needed to be much bigger and far reaching,” stated Stuart. “The basics of crowd management issues are the same, regardless of location,” explained Adelman. “Granted, there can be exceptions but that is what has made this exercise of bringing people together very interesting.”

Despite planting the seeds of GCMA, the founders had no idea what was around the corner. As lockdown restrictions begin to ease and the sector enters a new era of live events, the existence of such an organising might prove vital.

“Look back at 2018,” mused Stuart. “The US was dealing with two of the largest mass shootings at a live event, while in the UK, our main issues had to do with terrorism and several mass self-initiated mass evacuations due to wide spread panic such as Black Friday in Oxford Street. Although vastly different issues, both of these problems were not to do with crowd management solely but a reaction to other stimuli.”

According to Stuart, now we’re in a situation where crowds have not been to events for some two years. “The 19 year old today hasn’t had the year of learning the etiquette of how to be in a crowd and instead has learned behaviour online which can be a dangerous mix,” stated Stuart.

“We saw some cases in the test events back in 2021 in the UK of people running to the front of the barricades in a show then retreating

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IN PROFILE

because it was too much to be surrounded by that many people.” Adelman concurred: “We simply have no idea how people are going to behave this year when live events return in full force. We can’t just think that it’s going to be business as usual.”

Not only are event’s organisers having to deal with this new breed of crowd behaviour, they are also out of practice and, in some cases, new to the field. “I saw a report that there are more than 600 UK festivals planned for this summer,” commented Stuart. “There are several events that are run by first-time organisers who, although might have worked on events in the past, have never headed up an entire festival site.” This is compounded by the decline in experienced personnel, with many leaving the industry over the past two years. “We’ve seen reports that close to 40% of experienced security and stewards leave the industry. Not only that, but there is also the issue of a lack of readily available equipment,” he reported.

Stuart and Adelman paint a rather bleak picture of the summer to come and were quick to highlight how the GCMA is still in its infancy.

“The situation is shifting underneath our feet on almost a daily basis,” stated Stuart. “That said, we only launched on the 1 December, and in two months, we have already surpassed my expectation of signups.”

The duo were keen to state that they were not “selling their services,” but are “open to aid organisers in any way they can” to help make their events safer. “I must admit, I have been sent some site plans that have made me incredibly worried and to those I have offered my advice and experience going over the basic maths and physics principles explaining what happens if you squeeze crowds too tightly,” commented Stuart.

The GCMA are planning on producing a quarterly web-series to further disseminate information about crowd safety and people are able to become members via the website.

“We want to continue to grow this community so there is a space for people to talk and share advice and experience and together we can make events safer,” concluded Stuart. www.thegcma.com

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IN PROFILE

TWO YEARS IN THE MAKING: ROCKIT GOES GLOBAL Rock-It Global Co-Managing Directors (EMEA), Chris Palmer and Martin Corr share what the future holds for the Global Critical Logistics (GCL) company following a post-lockdown rebrand.

Words: Jacob Waite Photos: Rock-It Global

Co-Managing Directors (EMEA), Chris Palmer and Martin Corr.

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Rock-It Global has rebranded, launching a new logo and website, harnessing over four decades of expertise in live event logistics from Rock-It Cargo, Sound Moves, Waiver, Cargo Live, and Rogers Customs Broker.

The new look outfit, along with Dietl, Cosdel, and Dynamic International are now part of Global Critical Logistics (GCL), a global holding company for mission-critical freight forwarding and global logistics providers to specialty sectors and a portfolio company of ATL Partners.

“This announcement has been in the works for two years and was largely made to consolidate the brands specific to live touring, live events, sports, tradeshows and our internal cargo and passenger charter divisions,” Rock-It Global Co-Managing Director (EMEA), Chris Palmer began, speaking to TPi following the announcement. “We took the many years of experience and talent of companies such as Rock-it Cargo, Sound Moves, Waiver, Rogers and CargoLive and combined them under the new banner, Rock-It Global.”

Rock-It Global Co-Managing Director (EMEA), Martin Corr joined the conversation: “We always had the vision that we would all be stronger together, sharing our knowledge and experiences across the board and in doing so, creating an incredibly tight, far-reaching network of offices and warehouses all over the globe to benefit our clients. While our underlying DNA and culture will not change, we believe that clarity around branding and focused messaging will be helpful for customers to grasp who they are engaging with and how they truly benefit from a global, tight knit network of experts.”

In London, Rock-it Global, has opened a dedicated 15,000 sq ft facility at Heathrow Airport, which offers 13,314 cubic ft of caged

IN PROFILE

secure storage space, as well as rack space for 300 pallet positions for long-term storage and tour merchandise.

“London has, at certain stages of this whole process, acted as a beta test for the entire company. Rock-it Cargo and Sound Moves maintained a physical distance for many years in the UK, operating and existing in separate spheres entirely, but when the time was right and both parties were in total agreement that we could make it work, we moved in together to share a facility. To say that it has been a profound success is an understatement,” Palmer commented.

“Whether we were united by our shared experience during the pandemic, the aftermath of Brexit, or the realisation that we were working to a shared goal, or simply a combination of all three factors, we have cooked up a truly wonderful team of individuals working together to create a fruitful and highly-enjoyable future for everyone involved,” he said.

In a bid to provide a holistic service for clientele, Rock-It has invested in an X-ray machine for onsite screening and installed an Explosive Trace Detector (ETD) machine for cargo too dense to X-ray, avoiding the need to rely on a third-party off-site provider.

“This provides us with more control over the handling of our clients’ goods, reducing the opportunity for damage or loss by a third party and keeping as much of the freight-forwarding process controlled by our team of experts,” Corr explained.

Now united under one banner, Rock-It Global will provide logistics and freight forwarding services for fine arts, sports and broadcasting, corporate events, film and television, power projects, and humanitarian relief sectors, in addition to traditional live entertainment and music touring sectors. “The pandemic accelerated changes and growth that we had begun to embrace,” Palmer said. “While music touring suffered hugely in 2020 and for most of 2021, we saw an increased number of films and television shows being made, even live sports broadcasts without a crowd – and we knew that our offering of critical logistics solutions fit these requirements.”

With a greater focus on sustainability in the sector, Rock-It Global has built and adopted an Environmental, Social, & Governance (ESG) programme that addresses its environmental

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impact of our day to day activities – such as green purchasing, green office practises and offsetting our own travel – and we work with our suppliers to educate ourselves and clients on what can be done to minimise the impact of freight,” Corr said, highlighting examples such as more “sustainable packaging materials, fuel efficient modes of shipping and sustainable routing schedules”, as well as “offsetting carbon emissions of the projects it executes for customers” as means to a greener end. “We hope to see the sector embrace the adoption of more fuel efficient and alternative fuel solutions faster and more aggressively, and increase the investment in carbon emission offsets – our planet cannot afford a gradual and slow phasing out,” Corr added.

As live events activity and schedules slowly begin to pick up, global freight capacity issues are making the coordination of international moves “more difficult” while at the same time increasing cost for shippers. According to Palmer and Corr, it has never been more important to have well established partners, a strong global network, and – at the heart of it – dedicated team members with several years of experience primed to tackle international supply chain challenges. “We’ve been more affected by logistics capacity issues, such

cargo costs, and the ongoing multiple issues affecting ocean freight, as we then have to work much harder to find suitable solutions for our clients to move their freight around the world in a timely and cost-efficient manner,” Palmer explained. “However, we believe we are well positioned to transparently guide our customers through the current environment and extend our legacy of delivering high cost of failure projects with the highest accountability,” he noted.

Despite the uncertain future, Palmer and Corr are optimistic that live events-related activity will pick up around the globe, despite varying degrees of restriction and limitation.

“We are more bullish on specific end markets such as sports, film, television and fine art for which large live audiences are not necessarily required but high demand persists, and a bit more reserved about the full recovery of global music touring,” Corr conceded.

“This selective excitement is equally reflected in the expectation of geographic activity levels. Incredibly positive things are happening in the live events space in the Middle East and North America is coming back relatively strongly.” www.rockit.global

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INTERVIEW

RICHARD BURNETT JOINS KB EVENT KB Event’s new Managing Director, talks to TPi about his new role and what the future might hold for the trucking specialist.

Photo: KB Event

KB Event has revealed the appointment of Richard Burnett as the company’s new Managing Director. Burnett will help shape KB Event’s strategic direction and deliver its future growth with CEO, Stuart McPherson.

During Burnett’s 37-year career in logistics, he has worked for several well-known businesses including TDG, Wincanton, Hays and Samworth Brothers, looking after some of the most prestigious high street names such as Heinz, GSK, Tesco and Adidas. His most recent prior appointment was that of Chief Executive at the Road Haulage Association (RHA).

During his seven-year tenure he transformed the organisation, working tirelessly for the logistics industry, growing the RHA’s profile and membership significantly.

“I first met Stuart McPherson while I was the CEO of the RHA and he helped facilitate meetings between the events logistic sector and government to help raise awareness of the impact of COVID and Brexit on this niche sector,” began Burnett. “After I decided to resign from the RHA at the end of December 2021, Stuart reached out and asked if I’d be interested in joining him and the KB team to help grow the business post-COVID and Brexit.

The opportunity was too good to miss.”

As KB Event continues to adapt and to overcome the challenges presented by Brexit and the pandemic, Burnett’s appointment brings with it a fresh approach and heralds the start of a new and exciting era for the event transport and logistics specialist.

Burnett highlighted what excited him most about joining the world of live touring. “I’ve always been a massive music fan and have lost count of the number of gigs I’ve been to over the years, so to be able to blend my passion for music and understanding of logistics and supply chain into the touring and event sector was an exciting proposition,” he said.

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Although excited about this new role, Burnett spoke candidly of the challenges that lay ahead. “Clearly, Brexit is a massive challenge for the whole touring industry to get it head round, but the impact of COVID-19 as well, decimating resource availability has had a major impact.

Currently, the demand for artists to tour is outstripping the ability to supply, so finding innovative solutions to solve this in the short to medium term will be the biggest challenge.”

As well as the immediate challenges due to the effects for both COVID-19 and Brexit, Burnett highlights some of the other issues facing the logistics side of the live touring industry and ones he thinks he’d be able to aid.

“There are changes to EU legislation around the mobility package – nothing to do with Brexit

– that are coming into force meaning touring fleets will have to return home mid-tour to their base countries, running empty miles for no reason apart from the legislation laid down by the EU. Using my experience in lobbying and campaigning to deal with this issue moving forward, will I’m sure be invaluable for the industry and its environmental sustainability.”

Burnett expressed that within the haulage industry and the general public, there was a serious misunderstanding about how complex putting on a tour can be. “Helping to educate here, opening up that understanding of where logistics technology and automation could streamline future operational solutions may well prove to be beneficial,” he concluded. www.kbevent.com

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JACK ROBSON Bradford-based Pro Audio Systems’ latest recruit, Trainee Hire Technician, Jack Robson.

Words: Jacob Waite Photo: Pro Audio Systems

(Children’s Hospital), Prostate Cancer UK, and Cancer UK, as well as being a keen musician in his spare time, Robson will assist with preparation and maintenance of PAS hire stock, while developing a full range of technical and customer-facing tasks – working from a grassroots role towards taking an active part in every aspect of event delivery.

Since joining the company, PAS’ latest

With a greater focus on global staffing shortages than ever before post-lockdown, sector-specific good news stories like the acquisition of young talent have never been more welcomed. One such example is Pro Audio Systems’ latest recruit and Huddersfield New College Music Technology graduate, Jack Robson, who landed a role as Trainee Hire Technician to help deal with an ever-increasing workload in the company’s busy Bradford warehouse.

Having lent his audio skills to several charity events for the likes of Candlelighters

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recruit has already played a role in the design and supply of a new sound system to Harrogate Town Football Club, a d&b audiotechnik Soundscape installation at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, as well as several hire projects, becoming level 3 Audinate Dantecertified along the way.

“Learning about Dante has been very useful as it’s a fundamental component of many modern audio systems; on the business front, the importance of delivering a quality service and building good relationships has already become very clear,” Robson informed TPi. “I’m definitely a lot more ‘hands on’ with the kit, and have worked on a few events with a number of different clients since the start of the year. I’m also actively involved in prepping the gear for the gigs which is great.”

According to Robson, education played a ‘vital’ part in a successful application to PAS, eventually helping him land the role of Trainee Hire Technician in December 2021. “My studies alongside my experience gained working in live events and with bands made me a more desirable candidate,” he supposed. “The key things I learned at college were regarding the application of products, understanding their specifications, what to use where, et cetera.”

However, the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted Robson’s studies at Huddersfield New College ‘enormously’. Having enrolled onto the Music

Technology course months prior to the first UK lockdown in March 2020, his class made the decision to adopt remote learning, something which continued throughout the remainder of his time at college. “This had a huge impact on all of the practical aspects of my course as we weren’t able to access the studio or anything else for that matter,” he recalled.

A lack of in-person experiences, he

believes, is the key challenge for graduates and young people breaking into a sector where experience matters; this was also compounded by the lack of available jobs amid the pandemic.

“The live events industry was hit extremely hard by COVID-19 with lockdown and gig postponements and eventual cancellations in the wake of the lockdown made it increasingly difficult to make important connections, network and gain valuable hands-on experience,” Robson explained.

Pro Audio Systems Business Development Director, Peter Butler recalled the ‘overwhelmingly positive’ response to the news of Robson’s appointment. “It’s always great to take on new staff members, and especially so after the turbulent times we’ve all endured under restrictions,” he commented.

“Our announcement was met with surprising amounts of enthusiasm from all quarters, which is incredibly gratifying. As a business, we’re extremely positive about the future.”

Since January, PAS has increased its head count by five people, adding new staff in their sales, accounts and hire departments.

The firm has also launched a new lighting and video division to broaden its technical horizons. “The level of interest and number of enquiries we have had has already exceeded all expectations,” Butler reported. www.proaudiosystems.co.uk

The annual event is set to hit the road and computer screens in March and April.

Having delivered four annual live shows from 2016 to 2019 and several online events throughout 2020 and 2021, Production Futures is now set to go ON TOUR with their world-leading experts and partners, opening even more opportunities to engage with young people.

The newly launched Production Futures website will also offer an ONLINE platform to promote opportunities for young people to learn, train, network and develop careers in production across all aspects of live events, music, touring, theatre, TV, broadcast and film.

Production Futures CEO, Hannah Eakins said: “All being well, the first Production Futures ON TOUR Spring events will kick off on Thursday 24 March at the University of Salford Media City

campus and then on Tuesday 12 April we will head to Rose Bruford College. We are delighted to finally start planning in-person events again with students being invited from local schools, colleges and universities, the last two years of alumni and young freelancers who might be seeking work or looking for training and networking opportunities.”

2020 winner of the TPi Breakthrough Awards and BIMM graduate Gabrielle Wilson, 21, will debut as the event’s first ever graduate Production Manager, leading the planning and logistics for delivery of the Spring events.

There will be four further events planned throughout the year touring the UK, which will be announced in the next few weeks.

If you would like to get involved, please contact Hannah Eakins: h.eakins@productionfutures.co.uk www.productionfutures.co.uk

Production Futures CEO, Hannah Eakins and Production Manager, Gabrielle Wilson.

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PRODUCTION FUTURES

INTRODUCING: CUEPOINTS TPi Breakthrough Talent Award winner, Morgan Evans and Matt Peel join forces to provide a smart way to share timings and communicate ideas with others.

CuePoints is a brand-new software for creatives developed by TPi Breakthrough Talent Award winner, Morgan Evans and Matt Peel. Having been championed by several industry practitioners, including TPi Award winners, Tim Routledge, James Scott and Ed Warren, the software can be used to plan, timecode and programme projects as well as share timings and communicate ideas with others on the production team.

CuePoints was born through Morgan Evans’ personal working frustration with not having tailor-made software to help him break down music tracks when planning lighting designs.

Evans wanted to create something that made it simple to share ideas and precise timings with others. He joined forces with Matt Peel, an industry software developer, during the UK’s COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, when they both had time to devote to kick-starting and developing the project.

“Once we had a first working prototype, we worked with programmers and designers to trial it in the field to gain feedback and make improvements. As COVID-19 restrictions began to ease and more projects started happening, our Beta testers started using the

CuePoints software on live events and TV productions,” Evans explained.

“This in-the-field feedback was vital to shaping the software to what it is today.

CuePoints development has filled all our spare time around our industry work. Both of our day jobs have given us professional insight into how this app will be useful to creatives working in theatre, live events and television.”

Targeted feedback from high-profile industry creatives has been vital to the shaping of the app and encouraged CuePoints creators to add new features to widen its functionality.

“Lighting Programmer, Tom Young’s feedback was particularly useful to us, as he used CuePoints while lighting BBC 1’s flagship show Strictly Come Dancing in 2021, and encouraged the other creatives in the video team to use it too, so that their designs could work in perfect sync,” Evans said.

As a design associate working on live music events, Evans harnesses CuePoints on a daily basis to quickly drop in tracks and add cue breakdowns. The software also has the option to generate timecode for pre-programming and can export the cues to MA Lighting MA2 and MA3.

Lighting Programmer, Tom Young shared his thoughts on CuePoints: “The great thing about CuePoints is that it’s a piece of software designed by industry professionals for industry professionals, so has been developed with total knowledge of what we do across a variety of genres,” he said.

“This means you can use it for very quick and simple cue breakdowns, if you just need a basic cue structure, or you can really go to town when doing a timecode show and break down every last detail and import it all as a separate event.”

Live music concerts are becoming increasingly technically advanced with greater dependence on frame accurate timecode.

“CuePoints software is not just designed for lighting professionals, other specialists such as pyrotechnicians and video designers also find it difficult to communicate their timings for productions and live events,” Evans stated.

“With CuePoints, we have found a way to bring all these disciplines together and get everyone working from the same set of timings.

It’s vital for creatives to have the ability to sync their work with everyone else.” www.cuepoints.com

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GEAR HEADS

CLAYPAKY SHARPY X FRAME Claypaky Communication Manager, Davide Barbetta overviews the benefits of the company’s newest multifunctioning luminaire.

Photos: Claypaky

What was the inspiration for the creation of Sharpy X Frame?

“We relished the opportunity to create an advanced hybrid luminaire featuring a new, powerful 550W discharge lamp. With Sharpy X Frame, we increased the output of preexisting models, made the beam more uniform and we added a professional framing system. This makes the Sharpy X Frame a unit boasting the best features of our Sharpy line while seamlessly integrating all the best features of a typical spotlight in a lightweight, compact lighting fixture.”

How did the COVID-19 pandemic affect the research and development process?

“Although we were impacted heavily and lost the business from one day to another, we have never stopped investing into people, innovation, improvement of internal processes and product development. Our R&D team has never stopped working, and in the space of two years, we have introduced over 20 products serving the needs of various applications.”

What benefits does Sharpy X Frame bring to the Claypaky Sharpy line of products?

“The Sharpy line is a benchmark in the world of entertainment lighting. Claypaky Sharpy was probably one of the most exploited and bestselling lighting fixtures ever because it offered new effects and a different way of approaching the light design concepts. Producing extremely bright light beams of only 189W, it was also one of the most representative fixtures conceived with a ‘green’ attitude. We can say that the Sharpy X Frame is the most advanced expression of this successful product range.

The perfect uniformity of the beam together

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with the framing system, the endless effects and colour options, the 2° to 52° zoom range and the heavy linear frost for wash effects make this product even more than a hybrid unit: it is a truly multi-function luminaire.”

What has the response been like since the release of the product?

“Hybrid or multifunction fixtures are popular trends in our industry. They allow a considerable return on investments, because with a single fixture you can deliver the best

lighting solutions to many different applications and markets. This indirectly entails a positive impact also in terms of green impact and sustainability. Obviously, it is very important to invest into a ‘professional light’, which perfectly enhances all features, and not a simple compromise between features. We have already received extremely positive feedback from the market, and I am sure we will see Sharpy X Frame taken in the most important international productions very soon.” www.claypaky.com

MEYER SOUND PANTHER Key to the sound design of Ed Sheeran’s upcoming + - = ÷ x Tour (The Mathematics Tour), Meyer Sound Senior Product Manager, Andy Davies highlights the advantages of the PANTHER line array.

Photo: Meyer Sound

What was the initial goal in the research, creation and development of the PANTHER system?

“PANTHER comes out of our ongoing discussions with the industry, looking at how productions are changing and importantly, what the users need out of modern audio systems.”

Has the pandemic affected the R&D process?

“The R&D and production teams have performed nothing short of a miracle in bringing this product to market in what has been a rapidly changing world. Of course, most of our rental customers and users have had their work dramatically impacted by the pandemic, possibly one of the few small benefits from that has been the opportunity to spend extended periods of time in direct communication with end users understanding what the industry needs to make the recovery long-lasting and meaningful.”

What benefits does the PANTHER line array system bring to the live events market?

“Size, weight, and performance were key drivers for the users on site.

PANTHER meets all of those needs and brings large-format performance into a package that owners can deploy every day for shows of all sizes.

Alongside that, we heard clearly that the industry is increasingly being asked to respond to concerns about the environmental footprint of live events. PANTHER offers huge environmental benefits by reducing both the amount of power needed and saving on space and weight to reduce the logistical impact of events.”

What features will end users benefit from?

“Users will benefit from PANTHER’s size and weight, making deployment quicker and easier. The new PANTHER-L horn has a smooth coverage area, something we already know our users love in the LEOPARD and ULTRA-X cabinets. Ultimately, PANTHER is redefining what the form factor for a large system should be, not just with the physical size of the cabinet, but the entire package, including cabling and rigging infrastructure.

Delivering this level of performance - in a flexible package that is ready for everyday use - gives rental owners the opportunity to simplify their inventory in a way that hasn’t been possible since line arrays became the dominant format for live productions. PANTHER is also the first line array loudspeaker with a Milan Certified input. A future-proof system starts with the right connections: Analogue XLR and Milan AVB inputs make it easy to scale up within existing infrastructures while providing a path to tomorrow’s digital platforms.”

How has PANTHER been integrated into the design of Ed Sheeran’s upcoming tour?

“It was clear to us that the desire for a lighter, more compact solution had universal appeal, but also would prove to be a key problem-solver for this incredible tour. When + - = ÷ x Tour (The Mathematics Tour) hits the road later in the year it will be clear how much of an industry-wide collaboration this production is.”

What has the response been like since the announcement and release of the product?

“We are delighted with the initial response. It feels as if all the hard work the engineers have put into this system is really proving its worth as we have had an exceptional number of users purchase the system even before we have the chance to host live demos. That shows we have a package that is compelling and a marker for what the industry needs to move forward.” www.meyersound.com

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GEAR HEADS

EPSON PU2200U Epson Europe Product Manager of Video Projectors, Dan Rose explains why ‘miniaturisation and sustainability’ is at the forefront of company’s new range of high lumens laser projectors.

Photos: Epson

What was the initial goal in the research, creation and development of the PU2200U range of high lumen laser projectors?

“Within the video projectors product segment, customers have made it clear that they want laser projection, smaller, more versatile products, interchangeable lenses, a strong warranty and pre/post-sales support, as well as frictionless trade across different regions.

Epson’s new PU2200U range embodies all these attributes and aligns with our strategy around miniaturisation and sustainability, whereby smaller products represent a smaller environmental footprint and lower CO2 emissions for the end-user.”

How did the COVID-19 pandemic affect the R&D process?

“Epson planned to launch the range publicly at ISE 2022, which was unfortunately postponed.

Instead, the PU2200U range will be showcased on a road trip at several regional events across Europe throughout February and March. We also showcased the range to key customers behind closed doors ahead of the launch.

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Epson, however, isn’t immune from the global supply issues, however, the combination of stocking our channel-based distribution model and building contingency stocks in distribution centres across different regions, will enable us to significantly reduce impacts on our customers. Epson has continued its daily investment of $1.2m into R&D before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. This investment allows us to work closely with our customers, to ensure that all new products meet the unique needs of our customers across all our different business units.”

How does the PU2200U range build on the success of its projection predecessors?

“It’s 70% smaller and 50% lighter than the EB-L20000U range and offers improved specifications and improvements compared to the outgoing EB-L1700 series. Specific improvements include easier installation and set-up, simplified maintenance and greater image quality. The range also offers significant environmental benefits including much lower power consumption, significantly reduced

packaging requirements and a lower carbon footprint. In addition to features such as mechanical shutter, SDI loop through and simple stacking, as well as a sealed design with IP5X certification for the light engine and optical system.”

Why is it important to develop an ultralightweight high lumen project range of projectors?

“One of the most common pieces of feedback we received from customers was the desire to have a high specification, high brightness projector that could allow projection to be utilised in more ways than ever before, but that was also light and compact. Sustainability is always at the forefront of our consideration and the PU2200U range offers a 38% reduction in the life cycle CO2 footprint compared to our outgoing EB-L20000U. This is because all our new installation projectors now all have a laser light source rather than lamp, as high-output laser light source has a longer service life and helps shrink the size of the optical engine.” www.epson.co.uk

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KV2 AUDIO ESM 312 KV2 Audio Head of Global Sales Strategy, Jonathan Reece highlights the firm’s latest three-way stage monitor.

Photos: KV2 Audio

achieve absolute vocal clarity, true full range performance and real instrument separation, even at reduced levels if required.”

What was it like launching a product amid the COVID-19 pandemic?

“COVID-19 has undoubtedly been a very challenging time for lots of people, both personally and at work. To try and draw some positives, it was also a period of reflection for many and this gave some breathing space for our R&D team to facilitate alternative projects such as the ESM 312, away from the usual pressures, deadlines and demands of the day to day business in normal times.”

What was your goal with the development of KV2 Audio ESM312?

“Our goal in bringing the ESM 312 monitor to market was multi levelled. Firstly, clients already using our VHD point source concert systems were struggling to find a large format high SPL stage monitoring solution that delivered the same audio quality to the musicians and stage as their audiences were experiencing.

Secondly, we saw an opening – in light of the shift to in-ear monitoring – to produce a high definition three-way stage monitor that would

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What are the benefits of KV2 Audio ESM312?

“We believe ESM 312 is one of the only threeway stage monitors on the market today that offers, rather than a shared coaxial solution, a dedicated mid-range horn for those absolutely critical vocal frequencies. If required, the ESM 312 has a high SPL giving true full range performance, with solid bass, real low frequency extension and vocal clarity. ESM 312 benefits from feedback rejection and an impressive cardioid characteristic when used in pairs. Feedback rejection has always been a great selling point of KV2 products and that is of even greater significance with a stage monitor. ESM312 is also detailed at all volume

levels – offering the same clarity, dynamics and definition.”

Why is it important to develop a product designed to withstand the rigours of touring and repeated stage use?

“Sustainability has always been a big part of our message and goal. Our ethos of less boxes to cover larger areas with higher intelligibility and lesser amplifier requirements go a long way towards achieving a very efficient, if not already green solution. ESM 312’s passive design means just one amplifier channel is required, drawing less current, to still offer a level of detail and definition rarely seen in many active driven units requiring double the amplification.”

What has the response been like since the release of ESM312?

“The response from those who have heard or performed through the ESM 312 so far has been amazing. Genuine surprise, even from seasoned KV2 professionals. To have a high SPL monitor, that is so compact yet producing solid bass lines and kick drums down to 40Hz, while retaining the total separation of all the other instruments, coupled with a vocal that whatever you do just seems to sit on top of the mix is rare. In their opinion the ESM 312 absolutely achieves all that and more.” www.kv2audio.com

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FEEDBACK

PREGNANCY AND PARENTHOOD ON TOUR Bryony October and Jake Vernum share their account of becoming tour parents, the fear of losing freelance work, as well as the unique steps they’ve taken in order to make it work.

Words: Jacob Waite Photos: Jake Vernum and Bryony October

Having toured the world for the best part of 25 years as a freelance FOH Engineer and Tour Manager, earning her stripes on the merchandise stand for The Levellers in the ‘90s, Bryony October and her partner, Jake Vernum – also a well-known face to TPi Magazine readers – welcomed their first child, Jesse, into the world last year. The baby was due on October’s 40th birthday. “I left it late because I knew it would be a huge compromise to my work and even considered it to be career suicide, but it was the best decision I’ve ever made,” she began, speaking to TPi 16 months on, having recently wrapped up production rehearsals with Katie Melua and a successful six-week touring campaign with modern country-pop duo, Ward Thomas.

“I was eight weeks pregnant when the world shut down, which afforded us the luxury of time spent at home with the baby. I had never taken time off, touring from the age of 15 without coming up for air my whole life,” October explained, having been booked to work until 27 September, with her baby due weeks later. “If I hadn’t had the downtime, I wouldn’t have been mentally, physically, emotionally prepared.

Uniquely, the lockdown set us up in the most amazing way for a baby.”

Vernum, who splits his time production managing for the likes of Fatboy Slim and George Ezra alongside project management gigs at family-run Pearce Hire, was able to spend the first six months of Jesse’s life at home before travelling to Japan to help deliver the power distribution at Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics. “The demand in our roles in the sector to meet deadlines is high,” he noted.

“We’ve had a very different and fortunate experience as touring parents to be able to

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spend so much time at home.” Following the easing of restrictions, October embarked on a handful of production rehearsals and summer shows with Katie Melua and Ward Thomas, respectively. “My 68-year-old mum [pictured above], who has lived through the ‘golden age’ of Glastonbury, jokingly always said how she would love to come on tour with me, so it seemed natural to ask her along to look after Jesse, at first just for a few festivals both in the UK and Europe and subsequently on a full six week tour, on a tour bus with Ward Thomas headlining and then opening for Tom Jones. On the big tour Jake and my mum took it in turns looking after Jesse,” she recalled.

“I went from production manager to daddy daycare overnight,” Vernum laughed. “I was on the road with Fatboy Slim, got off the tour bus

in London, made it over to Ward Thomas bus, toured with them for five days, hopped off at Aberdeen the night before I had to load into The OVO Hydro, Glasgow with Fatboy Slim. Luckily the stars aligned on that occasion. However, unfortunately for Bryony, there have been times she has had to turn down considerable amounts of work because it won’t work.”

Although it proved to be an unlikely solution to a problem which plagues most parents in the sector, both October and Vernum believe, touring with your child is wholly reliant on artist’s discretion.

“We come as a package with mum and baby at the minute, and although it isn’t forever, it’s for the immediate, at no added cost with shared facilities, but because it’s the artist’s environment, it is up to them. Thankfully,

Ward Thomas and Katy Melua have been so understanding. It’s important to them, also, as touring women – they want to make sure it’s a welcoming environment.”

‘FROM PRODUCTION MANAGER TO DADDY DAYCARE OVERNIGHT’ “I haven’t put anything on social media about having a child because I was genuinely worried people would stop making the call, and I wanted to be able to get the call to explain how I’m touring at the moment,” October admitted, coyly. “I understand it’s not feasible for most acts, however, sharing this news will be the first big ‘coming out’ to the wider industry.”

According to October, if the sector is going to encourage young women to operate in the live events sphere, there needs to be a pathway

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or vision of being able to have children and return to work.

“Let’s be honest, you’re never going to work full-time again. However, but it’s nice to be able to work for acts that have been loyal for the past few years. Don’t get me wrong, it can be a huge financial burden, but I waited until I’m old enough to pick and choose what I wanted to do, which I appreciate is an unusual and healthy situation to be in.”

A wider issue here, October highlighted, is that child care is “so much on the women and lacking in our society, but for women who do nine to five, it is also a nightmare, so what hope do we have?”

It is this frustration that inspired Women In Live Music (WILM) to release Pregnancy and Motherhood in the Live Music Industry, a survey of 317 women aged between 18 and 35+ years old from Europe, the US and Australia, in 2020, which highlights the challenges and unfavourable conditions women in the live events industry face.

According to the WILM paper, the concept of ‘sacrifice’ has scared many women away from having children, with 21% of survey respondents who do not wish to have children

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basing their decision on the potential negative implications it may have on their career.

Going forward, October and Vernum have conceded that huge, 18-month-long global pop touring campaigns are out of the question for now. Instead, they now want to work on their own terms.

“I spent an unhealthy amount of my 20s and 30s saying ‘yes’ to everything and not looking after myself or my needs – to be able to have a monopoly over that decision now is really empowering,” October explained.

“It’s really difficult for most women in the industry. Roughly, you tour around 200 days a year to make a living as a freelancer so that’s a long time to be away from home, so it’s going to be an ongoing battle for the next 20 years if you decide to have a child. I believe it’s the fundamental issue for women working in the sector and often is a barrier unless you wait later on or have a child early in your career.”

So far, Vernum added, the live entertainment industry has been wholly receptive to the prospect of touring with children.

“People certainly need to have an open mind to it, we’ve done it and shown it can work,” Vernum said, adding that crews in general need

to be much more “welcoming, inclusive, open minded and friendly” post-pandemic. “We hope there will be more touring parents with similar stories to share five years from now. There must be at least 50 to 60 tours in Europe at any one point, surely, there are more scenarios with other touring parents and role models,” he supposed.

For October, simply being back at FOH, was a ‘huge mental battle’ she had to overcome post-pregnancy. “I was worried I’d never be able to do my job again, as far as I was concerned, the moment I had a baby, I was potentially giving everything I worked so hard for over the past 25 years,” October conceded.

“It was a huge mental barrier for me to overcome, so to be able to get back on the road and touring with a baby post-lockdown, mix a show, with my baby with me along for the journey, albeit in a tour bus with his grandma or his dad, was an incredible feeling.”

Pregnancy and Motherhood in the Live Music Industry is a survey conducted by Women In Live Music (WILM) at the start of 2020. www.womeninlivemusic.eu

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LIVE: ‘COVID-19 AND BREXIT LEAD TO Q1 CANCELLATIONS’ LIVE CEO, Greg Parmley highlights the ‘perfect storm of COVID-19 and Brexit’ resulting in over 25% of live music shows being cancelled at the start of 2022.

Words: Greg Parmley Photo: LIVE and Tijs van Leur - www.unsplash.com

Over a quarter of shows have been cancelled in the first three months of 2022, leading to a loss of income for the live music industry and the live events supply chain, a snap industry survey conducted by LIVE (Live Music Industry Venues & Entertainment) has shown.

The industry has repeated calls for a package of measures from the UK government following a ‘devastating’ two years as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Support measures would include keeping the reduced rate of VAT on tickets, amending the UK government’s insurance scheme and resolving roadblocks for transportation to enable tours to go ahead.

“We’re in fairly constant dialogue with the DCMS about support measures, this is one step in quite a long road, to leverage support for the sector,” LIVE CEO, Greg Parmley informed TPi, following the release of the survey results. “The debt burden that a lot of companies are carrying after the past two years is massive. A discounted VAT rate on tickets is crucial to allow companies to recover in the medium and long term. Most venues

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and live events companies are far worse than they were pre-pandemic. For them to properly recover, it is going to take several years of clawing back lost business from the debt accrued amid the lockdown.”

The risks the Omicron variant placed on the sector in 2021 resulted in event organisers having to make tough calls to cancel or delay shows. According to LIVE, ‘the unpredictability of COVID-19 has shown that overnight businesses of all sizes can be devastated by rapid changes in the public health situation.’

“The tax argument we’ve been making is a way of putting more money into businesses while allowing live events to go ahead. In addition, the live events insurance scheme is simply not fit for purpose, it only covers cancellation in the wake of a lockdown, which is the very last step along a very long chain of restrictions and measures,” Parmley said, highlighting that the scheme doesn’t cover the reintroduction of social distancing measures, which effectively forces small shows and venues to cancel, or cancellation due to

production crew contracting COVID-19. “In those instances, live events organisers are not able to insure their events, so the scheme which was created to drive confidence in the market is not working, we need that to be reappraised, urgently.”

A lack of public confidence, potential new restrictions and the possibility of further variants were all cited as the main causes of show delays and cancellations. Additionally, despite the UK beginning to reopen, much of Europe remains closed.

“The more support measures we have, the quicker the industry can recover,” Parmley commented. “There’s huge issues with the supply chain, and Brexit will hit us like a sledgehammer when European touring continues. We’re not out of the woods yet.” These issues are compounded by the devastating impact that Brexit is beginning to have on the industry. The introduction of visas and regulations on the trucks and vehicles that make touring possible led to 90% of survey respondents stating Brexit will negatively impact the live music industry once all markets are fully open.

“If the situation doesn’t change a lot of upcoming artists won’t get to experience touring Europe or navigate the additional administration costs required with cabotage,” he added. “Not only that but an entire generation of artists and crew will likely miss crucial development opportunities.”

The live music industry supports 210,000 full-time equivalent roles, and over 90,000 freelancers. According to Parmley, the impact of delays and cancellations will have a ‘ripple effect’ across. “Unified messaging has been super important,” he stated. “Emerging from lockdown, there’s been a focus for LIVE and other associations to campaign for sectorspecific support. Being united in our messaging to the government, we’ve been able to be clear about what the industry needs – one voice.” www.livemusic.biz

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JUST NETWORKING Just Networking shares what its remote working solutions may mean for the workflows of live events in the future.

Words: Stew Hume Photos: Just Networking

Joshua Gregoire, Nicholas Fletcher and Matthew Geasey.

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Advances in remote working solutions have grown exponentially since March 2020 and the live events industry is no exception.

Over the past few years, TPi has covered several productions that have adapted to remote production workflows, from 5G Festival through to Wacken World Wide.

Another company joining this endeavour is Just Networking. Based out of Nashville, Tennessee, the company’s flagship product theBRIDGE, provides users with a direct connection to any network around the world.

Compatible with big name protocols including MA Lighting, High End Systems, ChamSys and Avolites, not to mention disguise and Green Hippo, theBRIDGE has already proven popular within the live touring community.

Formed in September 2020 by Joshua Gregoire, Nicholas Fletcher, and Matthew Geasey, the original idea behind Just Networking dates back to April of that year.

“The three of us come from the technical production side of live events, and back in early 2020, we all still had some projects that we were asked to figure out how to do remotely, which is how the initial ‘BRIDGE’ idea came together,” stated Geasey. “We had some friends reach out in the industry who also had the same need. As word spread, we decided to make this a thing and see how we could help more colleagues around the world.”

The company’s flagship offering, theBRIDGE, was designed to be a “digital ethernet cable”, explained Geasey. “It was designed to be able to get signal from A to B without any hassle that comes with creating these types of connections one by one. If a remote LED technician needed to connect to System A and then five minutes later needed to connect to System B, they simply switched the connection inside our platform between each site – as long as there is a BRIDGE at each site.

The goal for theBRIDGE is to have anyone, no mater where they are located, to have

access to any project in the world within a matter of minutes.”

Geasey went on to explain the interesting juggling act that he and the two others found themselves in; simultaneously trying to figure out the new state of the industry while trying to create a new way for colleagues to work together remotely. “We managed to help many teams get work done while also helping them save on costs of travel. Originally, we were aiming at smaller projects that needed to be connected in the same city. However, soon enough we had designers, programmers, and technicians used to travelling to other countries for their projects, who were the ones that bought into this concept.”

One such production was Carrie Underwood’s latest Las Vegas Residency [p30].

During pre-production, the team at Fireplay brought in three BRIDGE units to enable the creative team to connect a number of lighting desks with each other from across America.

While Just Networking offered a solution to the live events industry when the world was in lockdown, TPi was keen to ask the team what they thought the future for the company would

be with the industry returning to full force. “We are really excited that live events are coming back to life and we don’t see the capabilities of theBRIDGE being overlooked,” asserted Geasey. “We have learned the need to be connected to localised systems has been more of an interest than we thought even before 2020. We see theBRIDGE being an accessory for companies, technicians, rental houses that want to be able to be remotely connected or provide simple remotely connected services.”

In short, the team believes that the concept of remote working is never going to go away completely. “Remote can mean many things,” concluded Geasey. “We are seeing a lot of live events workflows with technicians being able to update, adjust, support live events remotely instead of needing to travel for ‘simple things’ when it might not be fiscally possible, from anywhere in the world. Remote could also relate to connecting simultaneous projects, bringing seamless creative visions together.

Will live ever be replaced? It’s why we got into the live events world and why we wanted to help our friends in that world.” www.just.industries.com

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ASM GLOBAL PRESENTS: THE NEXT GREAT OPPORTUNITY In a bid to address workforce shortages, ASM Global organises the ‘largest job fair in live entertainment history’ and the first of its kind, targeting the US, UK, Europe, South America and APAC regions.

Words: Jacob Waite Photos: ASM Global

As the live events sector emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic, ASM Global has sought to address sector-specific global workforce shortages by launching ASM Global Presents: The Next Great Opportunity – an ambitious three-day international collaborative job fair encompassing four continents.

Aimed at helping address the global staffing shortage that many companies face postlockdown, ASM Global leadership hopes that this global search will surface diverse talent and expand the company’s reach within its local communities and herald the return to the

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live-entertainment experience laboured by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

With around 350 venues on its books, ASM Global is considered one of largest producers of live entertainment experiences in the world. “We set out to recruit around 1,000 new colleagues, and the results were spectacular.

We are well on our way to achieving our goals,” ASM Global Executive Vice President of Europe, Chris Bray said. “The key goal was to open up a unique global search to attract diverse talent and expand our reach within our local communities and share our confidence in the future of live events and hospitality after a difficult 18 months.”

The event enabled venues to fill a wide range of roles from hourly to salaried levels with highly skilled and diverse candidates. The jobs on offer included the areas of operations, business development finance, food and beverage, human resources, sales, marketing, booking, security, guest services, audio visual technology, catering, among others.

A bespoke digital platform allowed attendees to connect – virtually – with people across the globe and enter virtual booths to discuss opportunities with ASM Global venues

from Manchester’s AO Arena to Dubai’s CocaCola Arena. “This was a unique idea and our way of embracing the online universe, giving as many people as possible the opportunity to discover who we are, what we do, and the careers available,” Bray commented.

“Prospective recruits could even upload a CV during a conversation.”

US, Canada and Latin America events went ahead on 15 and 16 February, with the United Kingdom and APAC events taking place 16 and 17 February. Representatives from stadiums, convention centres, theatres and arenas – that host over 160 million guests annually – were among those participating worldwide.

“This is a brilliant sector to work in,” Bray remarked, highlighting ASM Global’s mission statement to address sector-specific workforce shortages. “Our current challenge is twofold, to attract young people early on in their careers to the sector having lost two years of prospective university graduateskilled recruits, and secondly, to get our message out there and share the diverse roles and opportunities we have available to create an even more skilled and diverse sector.” www.asmglobal.com

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BRING ME THE HORIZON: POST HUMAN REDUCES TOUR EMISSIONS BY 38% Bring Me The Horizon’s latest UK arena campaign reduces tour emissions by 38% with Tour Production Group (TPG), A Greener Festival (AGF), Raw Power Management, United Talent Agency (UTA), Kilimanjaro Live, and O2 arena sharing the cost of sustainability implementation advice and tour impact audit.

Photo: Conor McDonnell

Taking place from 20 to 26 September, Bring Me The Horizon: Post Human Tour is the first tour to achieve demonstrable reductions of touring’s carbon footprint, with emissions reduced by 38% through using renewable fuel for trucks, plant-based meals, food waste reduction, energy efficient equipment, and the prevention of plastic bottles.

As one of the first arena tours in the UK to take place following the UK’s COVID-19 lockdown, the intention of the project was to emerge with a more sustainable touring approach and the BMTH touring team and stakeholders took steps to put the positive words into action with a 38% reduction in touring production emissions with 27.97 tonnes of CO2 avoided, 22 tonnes of which was avoided by switching trucking fuel to HVO renewable diesel.

This was an unprecedented collaboration, all tour stakeholders shared investment and commitment to reducing negative impacts of the tour where possible, identify which reductions were not possible, share findings for future improvements in the live events industry, and finally remove unavoidable residual emissions. Raw Power Management, United Talent Agency (UTA), Kilimanjaro Live, and O2 arena shared the cost of sustainability implementation advice and tour impact audit.

The band invested into recommended mitigation efforts, reducing tour emissions and associated negative impacts. The action was championed by the Tour Production Group (TPG) and A Greener Festival (AGF)

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who are contributors to the LIVE Beyond Zero Declaration for Net Zero emissions in the Live music and entertainment sector by 2030.

AGF CEO, Claire O’Neill commented: “During the pandemic, the touring music industry came together on the important topic of sustainability. We’re so happy with the results from walking the talk with the first UK Arena Tour off the mark. The report shows a direct link between well-being, stress, and environmental sustainability. Culture change and industry restructuring is essential to achieve a green future for artist touring. There is much still to be done, but these results are undeniable evidence that we can take huge strides to reduce emissions and protect ecosystems immediately. There’s no excuse to delay.”

AGF joined the tour to provide advice and consultancy, to implement and report upon proposed mitigation actions producing this Greener Tour Report and CO2 Analysis.

Raw Power Management’s Matt Ash said: “Working with an artist in BMTH and a tour production team that was fully behind the approach to sustainable touring was something that we absolutely endorsed and are keen to implement on all future touring whenever possible.”

The report not only provides insight for the BMTH touring team to monitor achievements, areas for improvement, and required emissions removals, but is also a resource for other touring productions to use as another step on the road towards A Greener Tour. Kilimanjaro / Action! Promoter, Alan Day said: “Bring Me The

Horizon were the first band in the UK, possibly the world, to complete a full non-rescheduled arena tour after the height of the pandemic.

Their vision from the start was to produce the tour as environmentally friendly as possible, whilst still giving the audience the best spectacle achievable. From savings in plastic waste, to transport, to accommodation, to stage production and more, I am proud to have produced such a landmark tour and hopefully an example for the future”.

The O2 VP and GM, Steve Sayer added: “The O2 were delighted to collaborate with all the other partners on this important project to build back a more sustainable touring and live music industry. Venues are a big part of the live ecosystem and we are keen to learn how we can further reduce our footprint as we develop our plans to get to net zero; and support the tours do the same. Credit to BMTH for taking the lead on this and showing us the way.”

The stakeholder collaboration will continue beyond this first action, to ensure that all future tours not only implement these positive findings, but continue to find, implement and share solutions for a Greener Tour. The next step is to engage the audience. With the touring “house” getting itself ordered, artists are in a stronger position to use their voice to engender positive change through the millions of individuals who they reach every year.

To see the full report please visit: www.agreenerfestival.com/bring-me-thehorizon-post-human-tour-report

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23/02/2022 09:55:04

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CROWD DYNAMICS INITIATES SECTOR RESEARCH PROJECT A new European-wide research project, CrowdDNA, calls for event and venue participation.

Words: Goc O’Callaghan

CrowdDNA – a Horizon 2020 research project – will lead to a radically new concept in the management of crowds. Spearheaded by Crowd Dynamics International, the study calls for owners and operators of live events and entertainment environments to get involved, writes Goc O’Callaghan.

The world is experiencing rapid population growth and urbanisation. Now, more than ever, there is a need to understand crowd behaviour and implement efficient crowd management in places such as urban areas, transport hubs, stadiums and large events. Technology is becoming the cornerstone of analysing human behaviour. Thus, the scientific community and industry have come together to tackle these issues in a large-scale research project which they have called CrowdDNA. CrowdDNA research will lead to a radically new concept to assist event owners and

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operators in the management of crowds in the major event organisation, pedestrian traffic management and crowd movement analysis and decision support.

It is a project funded by the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme, with the aim to combine biomechanical and behavioural simulation in complex scenarios of interactions between many humans. The 42-month long project brings together a consortium of seven partners from three EU countries and the UK, comprising leading European research and academic institutions, and SMEs from the crowd management industry that are also leading technology providers.

The main idea behind CrowdDNA is to analyse the features of a crowd at all scales.

For example, studying crowd motion, which can reveal valuable information about

the structure of the state of a crowd. This challenges the existing paradigms in the field of crowd management by providing new crowd simulation technologies, developing new variables to help understand the parameters of a crowd to interpret and predict behaviours.

In CrowdDNA, there is a clear scientific challenge: the need for a deep understanding of the relations between the smallest scales of crowd interaction and the largest ones up to the entire crowd.

CrowdDNA technology will result in a new generation of crowd simulation models, which can predict the dynamic behaviour of crowds and associated risk factors. It will revolutionise the practices of crowd management to answer the requirements of modern society on safety and comfort in crowded spaces.

Crowd Dynamics International is the lead partner on sourcing and securing ‘observatories’, real-life scenarios in the events and entertainment environments where data on crowd movement can be captured. The importance of the observatories is to process data on authentic crowd movement outside of a controlled experiment environment.

Crowd Dynamics calls for owners and operators of events and entertainment environments to get involved in the project by allowing us to data capture for the benefit of both you and the project. The results of the data processing for each observatory will be made available to the owners and operators and can be used to enhance crowd flow from insights provided.

To find out more information about the CrowdDNA project, visit www.crowddna.eu or contact Goc O’Callaghan at Crowd Dynamics International on goc.ocallaghan@crowddynamics.com

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BACK CHAT

BRYCE JEWELL Solotech’s new UK Managing Director, Bryce Jewell takes the hot seat.

Where were you prior to joining Solotech?

“I spent the past two decades in various roles in the IT and telecom sector. Most recently, I oversaw the US and UK enterprise businesses at Global Cloud Xchange, who own and operate one of the largest subsea networks, but I have always shared an interest in professional audio, and of course, music.”

What was it that intrigued you about the role?

“Solotech has a great team in the UK and North America, and a clear vision. The knowledge, heritage, and experience of the people at Solotech is remarkable. Our teams have a passion for this industry and can bring our client’s dreams into reality. For them, this isn’t simply a job, it’s a lifestyle.

“We are proud to be world renowned for our audio expertise and honoured that the practices we have developed have become industry standards.

“In North America, we are known as leaders in lighting and video technology in the entertainment market. We are building on our legacy of audio expertise, which remains our core market, while adding lighting and video capabilities to offer 360 opportunities to existing clients and new markets. We have some huge projects underway that include audio, lighting, and video.

“Solotech is a diversified business that delivers premier audio-visual solutions to arenas, houses of worship and corporate markets through our systems integration teams. Likewise, the area that will be very exciting to see play out over the next few years

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“The demand we have seen from our live productions clients is extremely encouraging, and we have launched a large recruitment drive to enable us to deliver our impressive order book.”

Solotech UK Managing Director, Bryce Jewell

is the work we are doing with our MET (Media and Entertainment Technology) Division, following the acquisition of XR Studios.”

How is 2022 shaping up for the UK branch?

“The demand we have seen from our live productions clients is extremely encouraging, and we have launched a large recruitment drive to enable us to deliver our impressive order book. Being part of a large group enables us to leverage our resources and assets to support that demand.

“It is great to see this sector really come back to life, and we are here to support it in any way we can, as business partners and fans. I see further consolidation in the UK entertainment market. We are in a great position with the resources and skills to supply the UK’s top festivals, tours, and

events with the technology needed to create amazing experiences for the audience. These investments have advanced our industry and the things we can do.”

What steps are being taken to integrate the brands in the group?

“Solotech has acquired over 10 brands.

Integration is something that we have become good at. We have offices all over the globe in 18 strategic locations, but we work as one company. We have landed in the video and lighting world in a big way and will continue to build on this success, while continuing to invest in our audio business and the support we offer our clients.

“The demand is there, and we are ready for any challenge.” www.solotech.com

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