Catfish And The Bottlemen

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CATFISH AND THE BOTTLEMEN

One of the indie scene’s brightest sparks once again hit the road with a striking show design to impress their legions of fans. TPi spoke to the visual team that help pull the pieces together.

Formed in North Wales, the Llandudno four piece have become a staple within the UK indie-rock scene, making the steady rise from academy sized venues to arenas. With and exciting year ahead including the release of their anticipated third album – The Balance – the band hit the first part of 2019 running with a full UK arena tour.

One of the band’s goals from the outset of this touring cycle, was to make it a very video heavy show. Drafted in to provide all their needs was video specialist Transition Video alongside long-time supplier Nitelites that supplied lighting and audio. Director of Transition, Rhodri Shaw, talked to TPi about this latest collaboration.

“We were approached by the band’s Production Manager Ian Martin last summer to come on board as the video supplier,” Shaw began. “They really wanted to concentrate on live camera shots for their performance with a stylised black and white look rather than relying on any content.” With live footage being at the heart of the show design, one of Transition Video’s first tasks was to find a Video Director who was up for the challenge. “We’ve had a very longstanding relationship with Julien Hogg who was the obvious choice for the Video Director position,” commented Shaw. For the tour Hogg specified a Blackmagic ATEM 4k 2m/e switcher which allowed him to cut a different camera mix on the upstage LED wall and the pair of IMAG screens.

“Having to cut two separate camera mixes for the upstage and IMAG isn’t an easy job,” commented Shaw, while complementing the work of the Director. “He worked really well with the camera team and really brought the band’s vision to life.”

For the rear LED and IMAG screens the Transition team spec’d a ROE Carbon series CB5 5mm. “Our ROE CB5 really is the Ferrari of the LED world,” enthused Shaw. “Having the CB5 in touring frames and dollies makes building the screen easy and minimises load in times. The guys were loaded in before lunch each day ready for sound check.”

Transition Video also supplied its broadcast Ikegami camera system with one Ikegami HDK 79 EX III camera at FOH on a Canon XJ95 Box Lens. “This was really for our ‘safety shot’ of Van McCann, the bands frontman,” commented Shaw. “The show on the whole was based around a selection of different camera cuts,” explained Shaw. “We decided to add a couple of Panasonic PTZ cameras to get interesting shots of the band that we couldn’t get to with a manned camera.”

However, there was another notable inclusion to the video package to give Hogg even more in visual options with Polecam’s SkyJib system. The tour marked one of the first road-tests for Polecam’s latest product – which also made an appearance at this year’s TPi Awards. The SkyJib is Polecam’s latest remote camera crane system and very much the evolution from the

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CATFISH AND THE BOTTLEMEN

industry proven technology of the IntelliJib. Essentially it gives video crew the ability to have an un-manned remote camera jib which is lightweight, modular, quick rig system suspended from any stage or studio lighting truss, bringing a host of inventive and creative filming angles typically unseen before.

During the Catfish and the Bottlemen tour, the jib was mounted on the front truss which, according to Shaw, gave “impressive boom shots over the crowd without having a massive jib on the ground obstructing the crowds view of the stage.”

Setting up and operating the SkyJib throughout the tour was Bruce Selkirk.

“The SkyJib was very effective at getting all the classic jib shots you normally expect with the added advantage of being able to go much higher than traditional set-ups,” stated Hogg. “It has a more natural dynamic range as it was on the front lighting truss and offered more unusual vantage points.

“We used it to great effect on a screen for a ‘feedback’ look that the band loved. Having no floor space or sightline issues really helped with the look from the lighting and audience viewpoint.”

Giving his final thoughts on the tour, Shaw spoke of Transitions experience. “I’m very proud of our team for pulling off a great run of shows for the Catfish and the Bottlemen tour and very much looking forward to hitting the road again in the summer.” The band are due back in the UK for follow-up dates in yet more of the UK biggest venues throughout May. TPi Photos: Peter Hayes from HAZE Photography www.catfishandthebottlemen.com www.transitionvideo.com www.polecam.com www.nitelites.co.uk

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