STADIUM TRIO

to avoid, many would give the top spot to water. However, over the years, Cirque du Soleil has bucked this trend, incorporating water into several of their acts. Helene Fischer’s latest production took this to a new level with a water effect that could create images within a cascade rain effect produced by Crystal.

“Crystal has been providing fire effects for the touring industry for a long time,” began the company’s Business Development Director, Ysabel Vangrudenberg. Up until this point, Crystal had supplied its fire and water effects as a manufacturer, selling them to other suppliers or productions. “We design and build our products in-house and can offer tailor-made solutions for the creative teams and quickly answer the demand,” continued Vangrudenberg. “We already worked for Helene Fischer tour in 2017 for which we designed and built a unique water dress.”

The effect deployed for this production was what the Crystal team refer to as a Pixel Fall. Looking after the system on the road on behalf of Crystal was Astrid Coral and Stijn Lerat. “It’s much more than a waterfall or water curtain; it’s a display on which you can have images,” outlined Coral.

“T he PLC of the system interprets the pixels of the image stored onboard and transfers the information to the solenoid valves. These 800 small solenoid valves integrated into the circular Pixel Fall system in the mother grid reproduce the images with the water, playing with the speed and frequency of the opening and closing of the valves.”

Cr ystal took a more hands-on role with this tour, acting as a direct supplier and providing a crew to look after the system on the road. “As much as we had supplied tours with equipment, we never took to the road with a project,” Vangrudenberg explained. “The preparation and complete integration of the effect and the team was a significant difference. There were certainly some challenges, but it has been a successful learning curve for us, and being on tour has allowed us to understand the challenges productions face in more depth and enable us to design even better tourable systems for the future.”

Both Coral and Lerat were new to the world of touring. In fact, Coral’s last job saw her install a water feature in Vietnam – the largest of its kind in Asia. “It’s been an adjustment, but we’ve learned a lot through the tour and our build times are always getting quicker,” she commented.

The circular Pixel Fall system comprises five modules that can be quickly assembled and dismantled. “It’s also a closed system, therefore we do not lose water and can use the same water each day,” added Vangrudenberg. “The Pixel Fall is connected to the water tanks that contain the pumps and to the electrical cabinet located under the stage by three hoses. Power and data cable looms of 100m running through the underworld up to the catwalk with two sets of cables and hoses have been delivered to allow the advanced setup and save time.”

In each city, the production was dealing with 4,000 litres of water that was reused each night and headed to 33° C to avoid adversely affecting the health of performers on stage.

Understandably, the effect required a great deal of collaboration with WICREATIONS. “For Crystal and WICREATIONS, each detail counts to guarantee the best possible effect that will give goosebumps to the audience,” stated Vangrudenberg. “We worked with WICREATIONS to integrate our system into the made-to-measure stage. We’ve also ran tests in their warehouse before fully integrating with all vendors. It was a must-do to ensure a wellintegrated and tourable system.”

Not Forgetting The Robot

Before moving on to speak to the audio, lighting and video teams at FOH, TPi had one more stop on the tour of the set, and that was the robot arm in the middle of the arena... Yes, you read that last sentence correctly!

David Evans, one of the automation team, was there to explain how this element came to be utilised on the tour. “It’s a fairly off-theshelf Yaskawa robot arm that you would find in any production line,” began Evans. “You’re more likely to see a spindle motor or paint gun attached to these, but we’ve opted to put a platform on ours and we strap in Helene for one of the songs during the show.” During this moment, the singer glided through the air with a full 360° of motions controlled by Evans.

The robot was supplied by Ulik Robot Circus. “With the dolly, it all comes in at 2.5 tonnes, so it must sit right on the back of the truck,” continued Evans. “We’ve risk assessed the system in accordance with EM 17206 –the latest standard for stage machinery. As the robot is designed to work in a precision manufacturing setting, the programming is accurate to about a hundredth of a millimetre. When you program the moves of the arm, it is designed within a 3D space and can only ever move within its predetermined parameters.”

Evans explained that the performer is kept safe by a position-based safety controller. “We utilise a safety controller that allows us to create a 3D world whereby we can plot the positions of the stage, the barriers, the floor etc; and so long as we build everything in the same place every show, the system will never permit a collision between the performer and those objects.”

He also cited additional safety controls, integrated in accordance with the EN 17206 Risk Assessment; and a substantial 3-phase UPS protects against power loss in the arena. “We also have a rescue harness that comes down if we had to stop the act and get her off the arm manually. Helene has also been a huge help in integrating the arm, giving us a lot of helpful feedback and memorising the robot choreography so she can lean into the turns and reduce the stress on herself”

Lighting Design

Making his second appearance in this month’s issue, Tim Routledge was brought in to create the lighting design for the show operated by Lighting Director, Dave Wolstenholme. As this production was one part pop show and onepart theatrical circus, Routledge explained the duality of designing for two shows in one.

“We often found that we’d design the show based on the music then would adapt in rehearsals to also emphasise the theatrical dancers,” he explained. “One of the biggest challenges I had was due to there being so much aerial activity in the roof, there were not many options to hang lights in the mother grid.” This required Routledge to find other solutions including fixtures hung off a dasher truss.

One advantage Routledge had in his corner was Wolstenholme, who had toured with Cirque in the past and was very familiar with their world. “I’ve worked with Tim and Lighting Programmer, Tom Young on ELO for several years and with my previous work with Cirque, this was a perfect storm of a show – a shiny pop show with numerous aerial looks.”

Sat at FOH behind an MA Lighting grandMA3, Wolstenholme detailed the design process. “We had a two-week delay just before opening when Helene had an injury and when we got back to the final few days of preparations, Tim was already on Eurovision

[which you can read more about on page 22]. I was helping with the final adjustments with the creative team. Thankfully, for the most part we were in a good spot from extensive rehearsals before the postponement.”

As one might expect with such a prevalent water feature on the show, many of the fixtures selected were IP rated. “As well as being able to deal with the water effect, having so many of our units being IP rated has meant we don’t have to do nearly as much maintenance,” commented Wolstenholme.

While the lights all stood up to the punishing environment, Wolstenholme explained how there was a learning curve in that they needed to also deploy IP-rated DMX cable. “There was also a mandate on the tour to only use LED fixtures, which has been great for me due to the consistency of colours.”

Key light was achieved by Robe iFORTE units hung in the diamond mother grid as well as on the dasher truss. “They have been working really well as general key light as well as illuminating the acrobatic looks.” The lighting department used nine RoboSpots to control some of the iFORTE to ensure Fischer was kept illuminated throughout the show.

Also on the diamond structure were GLP FR10s and hundreds of Martin VDO Sceptrons to emphasise the architecture of the rig. Elation

Professional Proteus Maximus provided beam effects on the roof and the floor. Meanwhile, Robe Spiiders created a selection of looks in combination with the blow-through LED video wall and a sizeable amount of ACME Lighting PIXEL Line IP fixtures. “This has become one of my favourite fixtures in some of my latest designs,” Routledge said. “They create really clean lines within a stage.”

The production also utilised LED Creative tape. “Using LED Creative’s Byte Controller has been amazing as it works as an inbuilt server so we can do a number of effects such as chases without it chewing up our universe data,” Wolstenholme stated.

To light the water feature, CHAUVET

Professional Storm BeamWash 2s overhead and Colorado Panel Q40s Professional IP units were placed on the stage and shot upwards during those moments with Astera AX2 wireless bars covering the B-stage. “The fact they are battery powered and controlled wirelessly meant we could still maintain the control of the look within the need of extra cabling,” he added.

‘Ravey looks’ on the C-stage around the robot were achieved by a litany of GLP JDC1s. Lastly and providing Fischer with that all- important audience light were SGM Q7s. “She’s really keen to see the crowd and there is quite a lot of interaction, so to be able to light the whole arena was essential,” stated Wolstenholme, going on to praise Solotech’s involvement.

“Having everything from audio, video and lights coming from one place has been nice. If we need something specific, there’s every chance one of the audio companies might also be able to help us out and being able to have one truck come over to aid all three departments if we need anything has also proved useful on several occasions.”

Video Innovation

Like most other aspects of the production, the video element of the show certainly pushed boundaries. “We’ve got two new disguise gx 3s to deal with all the various Notch effects,” explained Media Server Programmer, Dan Bond. “One of the most exciting elements on the video side for this show was the use of Ai live background remover, which has been interesting to experiment with.”

Taking real-time camera information, Bond could cut out the outline of the singer, with that information then sent to the LED screens. The blank space around the singer’s images was then filled in by Robe Spiiders on the rear wall.

“It’s another example of what can be achieved when video and lighting are working on the same system,” enthused Bond. “The only thing that holds these collaborations back somewhat is the complex networking that is needed to be achieved and getting two systems to talk to each other. It’s becoming necessary to have a technician on the road where that is their sole job.” Content was created by Lüz Studios and prior to the tour, Bond travelled to the company’s Canadian HQ to work on the show. “I spent several days programming with the Lüz team, with us all taking it in turns to program certain songs. They also brought in a Notch team to create the various effects. It was a great collaboration.”

ROE Visual Vanish 8 was used for the show. “It’s a nice screen and the automation on it has been very effective – the WICREATIONS team have done a great job,” Bond closed.

Special Effect Integration

ER Productions was brought in to provide an integrated special effects package to sit alongside the already complex staging setup. Speaking about the company’s role in the production was ER’s Mark Payne. Having been approached about the show in early January 2022, Payne worked closely with Cirque Du Soleil’s technical team including Simon Lachance and Tracey Rivard along with Tyler Scallon from Live Nation.

It was an extensive package including ER’s own AT 30W Lasers and eight Kinekts. Also on the rig were six MagicFX Confetti Stadium Shot MK3s, nine Sparkstats, and 12 Galaxis G Flame units. ER also supplied six 2m custom flame wall units along with a bespoke flame ring around the water pool in the centre of the stage.

“The pool could be filled and drained with water when required. In its drained state, valves can be opened and we could flood the pool with low fog via our HP XLs in seconds,” stated Payne. “To prevent water ingress into the flame ring channel, there was a small drainage channel between the pool liner and the flame ring sections.”

Although WICREATIONS spent a lot of time getting the pool level, the splashing of the dancers during their routine had the potential to cause an issue. “We simulated splashing on the prototype at WICREATIONS, which caused the flame to extinguish. To solve this problem, we needed to purge the water from the flame ring channel. We introduced nitrogen, which is non-flammable, to purge the system. When a section was extinguished, we could quickly activate a solenoid via the console to open the nitrogen valve and blast the water from the flame channel. This would be followed by switching back to propane and reigniting the ring – all done in less than one second.”

As t his was such a busy show with multiple performers on the stage, safety was of the utmost priority for Payne. “We drew a detailed map of all the safety zones around each piece of equipment, and performers movements on stage,” stated Payne. “Our Crew Chief John

Thurston worked closely with Helene Fischer, Cirque du Soleil and the creative team. During the early rehearsal period and for the flame songs, all performers walked through each cue, making sure everybody knew what was happening.” In addition, ER spotters positioned stage left and right, armed with E-stop breakers made sure all was clear before arming the system. The crew were also linked with a private radio channel and prior to each cue, spotters would check the area was clear and the equipment was in the correct position and focus before giving the all clear to Operator Jimmy Boucher, who launched effects from an MA Lighting grandMA XT Compact.

It wasn’t just flames, confetti and lasers that ER provided, with the SFX supplier also playing a vital role in the dress gag. During this section of the show, Fischer wore a dress with fabric that extended to both edges of the stage and then billowed in the ‘wind’ with content mimicking the movement on the LED screen creating an illusion that the dress was made of endless fabric. “The Red Dress moment was also an interesting point in the show as it linked lighting, video, the costume department and us as we provided 12 RE5 Fans to aid in the look.”

Brand New Audio Solutions

Our last stop was Fischer’s audio team who were working with the latest sound system to hit the market, L-Acoustics L-Series. As well as being smaller, lighter, and simpler to deploy, L2 and L2D elements provide substantial audio benefits with significantly enhanced power density, consistency over the audience area, and improved rejection.

The system was driven by the new LARAK III platform, which provides 48 channels of amplification and DSP in a 9U touring rack package, enabling high-resolution control and power to each L2 and L2D speaker.

“I’m very happy with the new system,” stated Pichel. “One of the biggest issues we had with the show was always going to be weight and where you’d traditionally hang a PA is the heaviest part of the set. So, having a much lighter system has been a huge benefit. It’s also taken up significantly less truck space.”

System Engineer, Ulf Oeckel shared his thoughts on the new system. “It’s a big step forward in terms of SPL per kilogram,” he began. “The boxes have an impressive output and that’s before you get onto the speed of deployment and the significant weight savings.”

Oeckel has been involved with L-Acoustics for several years and explained how his role as a field engineer is to continue to send information and findings amid the pilot phase of its deployment. “The homogeneity the system has had over the audience has been a highlight,” stated Oekel. “There is a significant improvement of evenness and the balance between the lows and highs. It has really surprised me.”

As well as the impressive sonic output, Oekel explained that due to the speed of deployment of the new system, just three crew were needed to hang it. “We have three of us putting up the system including myself with a left and right PA tech,” he enthused.

Solotech’s John Probyn, Head of Live Productions Europe, was “thrilled” for the company to have been a key partner on Helene Fischer’s tour. “The complexities of the production required a 360° delivery, making us a natural fit for the job,” he commented. “We were especially proud to be the first to use the new L-Series Progressive, Ultra-Dense Line Source by L-Acoustics on tour.”

Having worked with the artist and band for 16 years, Monitor Engineer, Holger Wild now only mixes for Fischer with Monitor Engineer, Jürgen Erhard, looking after the band. “The most important thing for a monitor engineer is working with an artist that trusts you will do your best. Helene understands how Alex [Spengler, FOH Engineer] and I work and listens to us for the reasons why the audio quality is never going to be as good while she’s flying in front of a PA,” he said. www.helene-fischer.de www.livenation.de www.solotech.com www.wicreations.com www.er-productions.com www.crystal.fr www.dartnet.de www.luzstudio.net www.pietersmit.com www.efm.global

Holger and Erhard mixed on Yamaha PM7 consoles, while Spengler harnessed an Avid S6L desk at FOH. “The way these desks work with each other makes our workflow more seamless,” stated Wild.

Ultimate Ears UE11 monitors and Sennheiser 965s were once again the performer’s brand of choice for in-ear and microphone solutions, respectively. “She really likes them and they are brilliant,” Wild stated simply. All wireless elements were taken care of by Wisycom.

Although my teenage failings in German language class meant that I found myself unable to discern what was said during audience interactions, thankfully, the internationally shared language of showmanship meant I was gripped from start to finish, wondering what gag or special moment would happen next.

Despite spending the day at the Mercedes Benz Arena, there were still moments I wasn’t quite prepared for – most notably when Fischer partook in a particularly daring trapeze act. This was certainly a production I’ll remember for a long time.