TOTAL PRODUCTION INTERNATIONAL LIVE EVENT DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY • DECEMBER 2018 • ISSUE 232
DAVID BYRNE
The unorthodox virtuoso embarks on his most ambitious production to date.
WE’RE ONLY TOURISTS IN THIS LIFE, ONLY TOURSISTS BUT THE VIEW IS NICE...
GEAR HEADS: BARCO’S IMAGEPRO-4K • CHILDISH GAMBINO MEETS L-ISA • SLAYER’S FIREY STAGE • PSI SOUNDS OUT ADAMSON • MARKET FOCUS: POWER GENERATION • A LOOK INSIDE FBN STUDIOS
DECEMBER 2018 #232
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EDITOR’S LETTER
PROTOUCH STAGEOPERATOR
HAPPY FESTIVITIES FOLKS! And, just like that, 2018 is almost over. I’m not sure how the months have flown by so quickly, but alas, here we are! It’s been a huge year for TPi - and the world of live production and touring tech. We’ve gained new team members, launched a new Awards [the TPMEA Awards which take place in Dubai] and, somehow, managed more live event coverage than ever before. In short, it’s been a very busy year. We couldn’t do this without all of the support and hospitality we’re greeted with at the doors, production offices and catering departments of your events. So, thank you! I hope you’ve enjoyed this year as much as we have. In this edition, you’ll find the inside scoop from the professionals behind David Byrne’s incredible American Utopia tour. The enchanting performer brought some audio tricks with him and left all eyes on the perfectly lit spotlight, not to mention his wardrobe... (Pg.24). I caught Slayer’s last ever arena tour - and had my face suitably melted - while Rick Astley made an appearance with some brilliant visuals after some years away. Read about the return of the ‘80s pop icon on Pg.48. Production Services Ireland put the kettle on while I made friends with the office dog (ok, I was there to talk about the Northern Irish company’s new audio investment, but I did love that pup’s banter...). Find out why they’re flying the flag for Adamson Systems on Pg. 60. As we close this issue, voting for the TPi Awards 2019 is coming to an end. I’m excited to see what such a telling year has left you all thinking when it comes to choosing your favourite people and service companies. I wish you lots of luck and prosperity for the year ahead, and hope the morale, safety and innovations continue at speed. Until next time, I hope you’re able to have a well-deserved break this Christmas. If your downtime is an altogether different beast, and you need someone to talk to, don’t forget the wonderful people at Music Support. And remember; You Are Not Alone. 0800 030 6789 Kel Murray Editor EDITOR Kel Murray Tel: +44 (0)161 476 8360 Mobile: +44 (0)7738 154689 e-mail: k.murray@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
ASSISTANT EDITOR Stew Hume Tel: +44 (0)161 476 8385 Mobile: +44 (0)7702 054344 e-mail: s.hume@mondiale.co.uk
GRAPHIC DESIGN & PRODUCTION Dan Seaton: d.seaton@mondiale.co.uk Zoe Willcox: z.willcox@mondiale.co.uk
STAFF WRITER Jacob Waite Tel: +44 (0)161 476 8385 Mobile: +44 (0)7592 679612 e-mail: j.waite@mondiale.co.uk ADVERTISING EXECUTIVE Lauren Dyson Tel: +44 (0)161 476 9119 Mobile: +44 (0)7415 773639 e-mail: l.dyson@mondiale.co.uk ADVERTISING EXECUTIVE Lyndsey Hopwood Tel: +44 (0)161 476 8360 Mobile: +44 (0)7800 557094 e-mail: l.hopwood@mondiale.co.uk COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR Hannah Eakins Tel: +44 (0)161 476 8360 Mobile: +44 (0)7760 485230 e-mail: h.eakins@mondiale.co.uk www.tpimagazine.com www.tpiawards.com
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DIGITAL EDITORIAL ASSISTANT James Robertson EDITORIAL INTERN Keisha Spencer COVER David Byrne by Abigail Lester PRINTED BY Buxton Press • www.buxpress.co.uk Issue 231 - December 2018 Annual subscriptions (including P&P): £42 (UK), £60 (Europe), £78/$125 (RoW). Subscription enquiries to: Subscriptions, Mondiale Publishing Limited, Strawberry Studios, Watson Square, Stockport, SK1 3AZ, UK. Tel: +44 (0)161 476 5580 Fax: +44 (0)161 476 0456 e-mail: subscriptions@mondiale.co.uk
TOTALPRODUCTIONINTERNATIONALisacontrolledcirculationmagazine,published12timesayearbyMondialePublishingLimitedunderlicence. ISSN1461-3786Copyright©2018MondialePublishingLimited.Allcontentsofthispublicationaresubjecttoworldwidecopyrightprotectionandreproduction inwholeorpart,inanyformwhatsoever,isexpresslyforbiddenwithoutthepriorwrittenconsentofthePublishers.Everyeffortistakentoensureaccuracyinthe preparationofthispublicationbutneitherMondialePublishingLtd,northeEditor,canbeheldresponsibleforitscontentsoranyconsequentiallossordamage resultingfrominformationpublished.TheviewsexpressedarenotnecessarilythoseofthePublishersorEditor.ThePublishersacceptnoresponsibilityforthereturn ofunsolicitedmanuscripts,photographs,illustrations,advertisingmaterialsorartwork.TotalProductionInternationalUSPS:(ISSN14613786)ispublished12times ayearbyMondialePublishingLimitedUnitedKingdom.The2018USannualsubscriptionpriceis117USD.AirfreightandmailingintheUSAbyAgentnamedAir Business,C/OWorldNetShippingUSAInc.,155-11146thAvenue,Jamaica,NewYork,NY11434.PeriodicalspostagepaidatJamaicaNY11431.USPostmaster: SendaddresschangestoTotalProductionInternational,AirBusinessLtd,C/OWorldNetShippingUSAInc.,155-11146thAvenue,Jamaica,NewYork,NY11434. Subscription records are maintained at Mondiale Publishing Ltd. Waterloo Place, Watson Square, Stockport, SK1 3AZ, UK.
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ITINERARY
EVENT FOCUS
08
36
08
FBN Studios Kel talks to FBN Studios’ Manager, Scottie Sanderson, about the TPi Award- winning space.
12
Thursford Christmas Spectacular Christmas comes early for DiGiCo.
14
Tom Odell Philips Signify shines for the singer.
16
Childish Gambino Britannia Row deploys an L-ISA system for the artist’s latest production.
18
The Ehrlich Brothers Movecat plays safe with the German magicians.
20
Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes The high-octane band choose Shure Axient for their 2018 festival season.
22
Pete Tong Presents Ibiza Classics ER Productions tours with a DJ legend.
PRODUCTION PROFILE 24 David Byrne Jacob talks to the heads behind the ambitious American Utopia tour. 36 Slayer Kel visits the team thrashing through venues on the band’s arena curtain call.
48
60
Kel catches up with Adamson’s first Northern Irish re-seller, Production Services Ireland. And their dog...
68
Second Warehouse unveils its new CashBack feature. Can you earn more?
MARKET FOCUS 70
TPi profiles the innovations in power generation.
IN PROFILE 78
Stew pays a visit to the Lang HQ to talk about 40 years in the industry.
PRODUCTION FUTURES
60
82
Highlights from Production Futures 2018 with TPi Talks host, Stew.
GEAR HEADS 88 Kel talks to Barco’s Abbe Westerlundh, Senior Product Specialist, about the ImagePRO-4K.
PSA: THE BIGGER PICTURE 90 A roundup of the PSA’s busy meeting diary.
INDUSTRY APPOINTMENTS
88
92
The latest movers and shakers.
BACK CHAT 98 Diablo Digital’s Greg Price takes the hotseat.
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INTERVIEW
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48 Rick Astley Mark Cunningham chats to the team powering the artist’s latest incarnation.
ARRAN
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EVENT FOCUS
GIGS GALORE AT FBN STUDIOS In the two years since FBN Studios opened its doors, the purpose-built rehearsal facility has welcomed over 100 clients, and won a TPi Award. Studio Manager, Scottie Sanderson, discusses how it all began, and more importantly, why it’s all working out rather nicely… as the Smashing Pumpkins crew load-in pre sold-out Wembley gig.
When Fly By Nite’s transport company - which has an ever increasing fleet of over 160 trucks of varying sizes - bought a new site as an ideal parking solution, MD David Coumbe and Company Director, Carl Reed, came up with the idea of using some of the space to develop a rehearsal studio. The result? Middle England’s purpose-built pre-production dream. This way, FBN could further supports the clients they supplied transport to... with a state of the art facility. TPi spoke to Studio Manager Scottie Sanderson: “With very few options across the UK, and nothing in the immediate area - it seemed the obvious route, and so FBN Studios was created!” he beamed, from within the shiny new walls of the building. “The only other two purpose-built studios for production rehearsals are in Yorkshire and London, and we have been fortunate enough to offer futher options close to Birmingham. “David and Carl worked closely with the architects to agree on the final build, as we wanted to create something spectacular. If something wasn’t right, or didn’t ‘fit’ in the real world, we changed it, ensuring FBN Studios
was the ultimate rehearsal space.” He continued: “The underlying process was to make it right, without cutting corners. Having never been a facility or venue manager before, I set up a dozen or so whiteboards in a large, empty office. There were days were I simply wrote down lists of ideas and doodles, and gradually, the writing became less and less, and the project started to take shape with great support and guidance from key industry players, as well as local firms. We tried to supply a space that was easily adaptable, and importantly, immediately easy to use. Loading docks, roller shutters, cable traps to name but a few are all designed for the client to be able to use - not chase down the in-house staff for help. “To be given an opportunity such as this doesn’t happen every day, and I hope the skills I learned on the road as lighting crew, stage managing and production managing - plus for a rental company - has stood me in good stead. I spoke to touring chefs, audio suppliers, lighting services - where did the dimmer guys want their power - and more importantly, how much 08
FBN STUDIOS
of it did they need? “Knight Rigging Services had a massive input into the roof and how that would work, and worked closely with the architects to make sure it was able to deliver. None of this was done in a vacuum, there was a lot of conversation and discussion to arrive at what clients need, and hopefully, it’s obvious we’ve catered for this upon arrival. I believe this is another contributing factor to the success of the studio - people automatically feel that it is right as soon as they walk in, as if they have played a part in its design,” Sanderson enthused.
- and know how demanding it can be. The camaraderie of the right mix of people is second to none, and adds a great feeling to life on the road. I always look forward to seeing who is on the crew list for incoming shows, and there are always old faces to catch up with, such as on this experience.” Sanderson noted that the studio sells itself. “We are very adaptable and accommodating, and that makes the studio extremely versatile. For example, our core clients have, up until this point, been pretty much musicbased, concert touring productions. Whilst we are gaining interest from the TV market, we are also getting a lot of advance bookings from previous clients, and those that have been recommended to us, to the point where we sometimes struggle to fit them in the calender. I think our record booking is 13 months in advance of the show coming in. That speaks volumes about our space. We have also had numerous automotive events visit us, from new car launches to top secret car clinics.” When TPi visited FBN, US alt rockers Smashing Pumpkins crew were rehearsing for their only UK date on a recent tour; a sold-out Wembley gig. Sanderson said of the team: “I first worked with Production Manager, Greg Dean about six years ago when he was looking after Green Day, and I was working for PRG as a Senior Account Handler. We have been trying to get him in here a few times, and with his chosen supply companies being nearby, I think it helped! That said, I have every faith he will be back as soon as the need arises.” The band’s Stage Manager, Sean Robinson told TPi about his experience: “FBN Studios is a great place to rehearse. The facilities are
IN GOOD COMPANY The first client through FBN’s doors was A-Ha, closely followed by Hans Zimmer, and today well over 100 satisfied clients, ranging from a single-day users to cross load containers for 4-week residencies for the more intricate productions have all come away happy. The repeat customer numbers speak volumes for the success of the studio, which Sanderson believes is due in part due to the most left field of requests being answered. “Plus, it’s great working closely with my old touring friends...” he smiled. Before Kylie’s recent tour hit the road (see TPi November cover story), the production spent two weeks at FBN Studios. “The number of technical elements that make up that show meant the production needed a bespoke space to ensure the crew and equipment were up to speed in advance of the tour. FBN Studios is a state-of-the-art facility with onsite accommodation to maximise productivity during the rehearsal period. “I spent 20 years on the road myself - including four tours with Kylie!
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FBN STUDIOS
Below: Scottie Sanderson, FBN Studios Manager, proudly wearing his 2018 TPi Awards trophy for ‘Favourite Rehearsal Facility’.
second to none, a lot of thought went into the design. Only a short distance from Birmingham Airport means you can fly straight in and cut out the hassle of Heathrow. Simple things like having accommodation on site is a big plus for me too, and the rooms are more than adequate, and very comfortable. The things that really make a difference are: the loading docks; they’re safer, require less man power and fewer forklifts. The Rigging system for the bridles is also very fast and efficient. Fewer riggers are needed when rehearsing here. A strong roof means FBN can accommodate the weight of the biggest tours. And then there’s the space... Ample space inside and outside. The catering was brilliant too, and the catering area itself is large and bright, with a nice little sun deck. The chef is a star! In fact all of the staff at FBN, from Scottie down, are always helpful and happy to help with anything. It’s a great place, run by great people.”
which can really speed up immigration for inbound US clients. There is a major rail hub at Birmingham International too, and we’re on the main HS2 feeder line. Nearby motorways such as M40, M6, M5, and M42 mean we can get our trucks to any part of the UK (and Europe) very quickly.” Then there are the 21 bedrooms. “There are USB charge points in sockets, by the bed! The laundry room is never quiet, and catering being on the top floor keeps traffic to a minimum. It also has a UDL (uniformly distributed load) in excess of 500 tonnes. Riggers can work in a completely safe, self-contained area, without the need to wear a harness. Once the floor is chalked, the roof can be spiked. All of the bridals required and loose rigging takes place above the grid, so there are never any steels or shackles to litter the floor, or to be kicked around. The load-in can continue in conjunction with the rigging call - a real time saver. Also, being able to walk freely speeds the process up - we had a recent production that had almost 150 points - the house team had them all hanging within 90 minutes. Whilst hard to replicate in many UK venues, it does give the rehearsal a kick start, and possibly enough a little more time for the lampies!” For those less familiar with Redditch - we’re looking at you, America perhaps it’s time to pay a visit to suburban middle England… TPi Photos: FBN Studios & TPi www.fbnstudios.co.uk www.flybynite.co.uk
A SUM OF ALL PARTS Praise indeed. The main studio is intrinsically a large, empty 1600sqm room with underfloor heating. And 6 x 400a services “along with more Ceeform services than you can shake a stick at” in all four corners of the studio. “We have fantastic load-in access, and lots of light throughout the building. This has been mentioned plenty of times to us, and I do believe daylight helps the enjoyable vibe of the studio as a whole, when you’re potentially stuck indoors for long days. There are also lovely views of the neighbouring countryside. We are also fortunate to be served by an International Airport, 10
ARENA SIZE REHEARSAL VENUE PRODUCTION & PERFORMANCE SPACE 3 year winner of … TPi Awards Favourite Trucking Company 500 tonne UDL Roof Capacity
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FLY BY NITE REHEARSAL STUDIOS | BROAD GROUND ROAD, LAKESIDE, REDDITCH, WORCS B98 8YP
EVENT FOCUS
ALL THURSFORD WANTS FOR CHRISTMAS IS DIGICO Audiences totalling over 100,000. A cast of more than 150. Eighty performances in two months. A creative team of almost 30. A stage more than 130ft wide. A Wurlitzer. A carousel. A non-stop extravaganza of music, dance, humour and variety. This is the amazing spectacle that is the Thursford Christmas Spectacularm as TPi discovers...
Founded by George Cushing in the 1970s, the Thursford Collection in North Norfolk houses an extensive collection of steam engines, organs and fairground attractions. Three generations of the Cushing family have been involved with the Collection and it was John, son of George, who decided to put on a little carol concert for the local area. The concert grew over the years and 42 years later, with John as producer, director and CEO - alongside sons George and Charlie - the Thursford Spectacular has grown into one of the most popular Christmas events in the country. Thursford’s existing mixing consoles had served them well, but they were starting to creak under the strain of the show’s ever-expanding requirements: there are 70 channels of Shure radio systems accommodate the dynamic nature of the show, including 28 head mics, 10 handheld transmitters, and 26 body packs for the orchestral players who can carry their instruments around the stage, and front of house sound
reinforcement is delivered by a substantial Meyer Sound system, along with RCF surround loudspeakers for delivering reverb and effects. Head of sound, Kieran Lowe was well aware that the time to upgrade was due and looked to the power of DiGiCo. In consultation with DiGiCo’s Tim Shaxson and Dave Bigg, they specified the flagship SD7T for front of house, an SDTen with SD10-RE for monitoring duties, 3 SD-Racks loaded with 32bit I/O cards to provide for 166 input channels and 52 output channels, along with an Orange Box with DMI optics / DMI MADI for virtual soundcheck (every show is also recorded and, after the run of shows has finished, a CD is produced for the audience to buy) all on an Optocore loop for full redundancy, with OpticalCON connectors. “Our SD-Racks are full to the brim,” said Lowe, who has been working with Thursford for the past 11 years. “For the past 10 years we had a different brand of console. They’ve been 12
THURSFORD SPECTACULAR
great, but as the show has progressively grown each year, they’d become increasingly limiting. We needed a system that was more powerful, more integrated, reliable and up to date. For our monitor system, we have the SDTen programmed with over 60 Snapshots and running 36 mixes for our Aviom systems, foldback loudspeakers, IEMs and headphone mixes for our backstage vocal booth. This booth is really useful for additional singers and string players when the choreography is demanding for our performers who are huffing and puffing onstage. “The SDTen looks and feels light-years ahead of the old monitor console. We now have all input channels available at this console, so there’s no compromise anymore. We’ve got an SD-Rack located at FOH feeding our 7 XTAs which manage the Meyer Sound system and 2 full SD-Racks backstage, providing outputs for our monitor system and inputs for our 70 radio channels and wired microphones for instruments such as the drum set, tuned percussion, keyboards, the double bass, cellos and other static instruments such as the Wurlitzer.” By the way, the Wurlitzer was rescued from the Paramount Theatre in Leeds and has 1,339 pipes and is the fourth-largest in Europe. It’s quite a sight to see and has its own humidity control to keep it from drying out. “We use 10 mics to capture the organ. There are foot pedals controlled by the player from the organ console that widen and close slats in the wall here to make it louder and quieter, but because of all the stuff that’s in front of it, it does tend to dampen it down a bit so we’ve mic’d it with 2 microphones outside and 8 inside,” explained Mark Rogers, who mixes FOH, alternating with Mike Cox and Lowe. “One great thing that I have noticed since we installed the DiGiCo kit is that, although the consoles can do a great deal more than our previous ones, the physical system as a whole has been hugely simplified,” Lowe smiled. “It’s now much easier to use and we’ve got rid of masses of copper cabling, ageing multicores and active splitters. “We have allowed for a few spare cards and a MADIpod. We’re literally in the middle of nowhere and can’t exactly nip down the road to hire in spare kit. DiGiCo’s built-in redundancy was another really important thing for me. If we do have problems, we know that there are redundant systems in place all the time. With minimal fuss and the touch of a button we can be running on alternative systems.” The SD7T, which handles 166 input channels, has been a revelation for the team, delivering more flexibility and eliminating limitations. “With the nature of this show there is a lot of live mixing,” said Rogers. “We have got a huge cast and it changes every day. Because there are so many variables, John rightly wants consistency. So, to get the show the same you have to mix it differently every time and I’m sitting with my hands on the SD7 all the time, adjusting things.” Lowe added: “The DiGiCo system is fantastic. The very first time I plugged all the Optocore systems in I cranked the fader up and I could immediately hear the clarity and a complete difference in the PA. The combination of 32-bit in and output cards has also contributed to this, along with the system’s simplicity, meaning way fewer pieces of hardware in every signal path. Everything is much, much cleaner.”
Ian Savage, Ed Mackay and Ciaran Moriarty, tucked away backstage in RF world, fit wireless microphone system to singers and players over 10,000 times during the run of shows throughout November and December. They use Shure Wireless Workbench to manage their daily RF diagnostics. “Historically, it was a nightmare trying to find a noisy fault, a splat, a loss of RF or an audio peak during the show,” Lowe continued. “With all these miniature mics live in the PA at any one time we inevitably get the odd failure, with potential audio peaks disrupting the show, our performers on stage and especially players with IEMs.” Rogers added: “But now, using our DiGiCo systems and Shure’s Wireless Workbench, often these faults are efficiently spotted and dealt with by our fantastic RF team backstage before the culprit has loaded on stage. The technology is so much better now, and we have it at our fingertips. This show is very, very, different to any other show and the SD7T is brilliant for it.” Lowe explained: “Sometimes I pinch myself when I remember back to last year. The desk we had before was reliable and it did a great job for 10 years, but we’re way ahead of that with DiGiCo for the next 10 years. The DiGiCo team has been fantastic and we’re delighted with the whole experience. We even got a DiGiCo Christmas jumper each!” ˇSo, with DiGiCo in control this year, Thursford’s Christmas is truly spectacular. TPi Photos: DiGiCo www.digico.biz www.thursford.com/christmas-spectacular
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EVENT FOCUS
PHILIPS VARI-LITE VL10 BEAMWASH DELIVERS FOR TOM ODELL Signify’s intelligent effects luminaire, the Philips Vari-Lite VL10 BeamWash, delivers a dynamic performance for British singer-songwriter’s Jubilee Road tour.
Lighting Designer Joe Beardsmore is among the first to have used the VL10 BeamWash on a touring show. With a set ranging from gentle, solo ballads to big, high energy rock numbers, he looked for lighting fixtures capable of producing endless effects versatility. The Philips VL10 BeamWash delivered this, along with the brightness, beam quality and colour palette typical of the Vari-Lite brand. “The VL10 honestly blew me away,” Beardsmore said. Beardsmore has worked with Odell for two years. “Tom trusts me to complement his show with my best design ideas,” said Beardsmore. “For this tour, I wanted to add some more theatrical elements, to supplement some of the quieter songs in particular. On the UK leg, I used 6 VL10’s on the rear truss for big looks, scaling down to single spots for each band member, and punching up for big beam looks and bright washes for the rockier songs. I love that Tom is happy to have a dark stage. I like dropping down to a blackout between most songs, and then building again.” The Philips VL10’s flexibility helped Beardsmore when he delivered
the shows which were rich in contrast and atmosphere, a fitting visual complement to Odell’s varied musical palette. And, when the UK tour transitioned to Europe, Beardsmore experimented further with the Philips VL10’s impressive battery of effects. “In Europe I’ll be aiming for more flexibility.” Beardsmore said: “On some shows they will go onto back- or mid-trusses in the air, while for others I’ll place them in an arc on the floor, for a mixture of mid-air effects and silhouette looks.” Beardsmore concluded: “Other fixtures come nowhere near to the precise subtlety of this light. When we drop down to maybe one or two lights for a solo number, if I have a gobo rotating or animating, it needs to be super-smooth to not detract from the music – and the VL10 just delivers.” TPi Photos: Fifth Estate www.tomodell.com www.signify.com 14
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EVENT FOCUS
L-ISA BRINGS WIDE-EARED WONDER TO CHILDISH GAMBINO’S THIS IS AMERICA TOUR Britannia Row Productions supplies a hyperreal L-Acoustics system for Donald Glover’s latest run.
Although Childish Gambino’s This Is America Tour has been announced as his final trek, Donald Glover is far from slowing down as a prolific dynamo of originality. As a producer, director, writer, comedian, DJ, recording artist and live performer, the modern-day Renaissance Man is absolutely at the top of his game and, according to Variety, “on an upward trajectory that’s rarely seen for a musical artist, let alone an isthere-anything-he-can’t-do polymath who channels so much creativity into so many different projects.” The same relentless pursuit of creativity that makes the Emmy and GRAMMY winner one of the most relevant and important artists of our time also carries over into the tour’s tech; how his art is presented was recently underscored by the use of L-ISA Hyperreal Sound technology for his latest North American tour run. Childish Gambino’s Tour Director, Christian Coffey, additionally served as Tour Director for Run the Jewels. He first heard L-ISA when the hip-hop duo went out on Lorde’s North American Melodrama World Tour earlier this year.
“Lorde’s tour sounded incredible - really full and panoramic,” Coffey recalled. “Childish’s management was at her Staples’ Center show and felt the same way, so that’s when our discussions began. Everyone wanted an immersive experience with a non-traditional arena show, and we felt that the L-ISA system could be a great fit.” To widen the sonic panorama and add dimension to the 20,000-seat, sold-out arenas on this tour, the L-ISA Scene system - provided by Britannia Row Productions - comprised three centre arrays of 15 K2 flanked by a pair of 21-enclosure KARA arrays. For increased horizontal spread, a further four arrays of 15 KARA were flown (two per side), outside of the Scene system as an additional L-ISA Extension system, while two arrays of 13 K2 were deployed to provide coverage to the seats on the extreme sides of the stage. Palpable low frequency coverage was delivered by two adjacent centre hangs of 8 KS28’s each, flown in a cardioid configuration, while an additional 8 ground-stacked KS28’s provided LF reinforcement to the near-field audience; 6 KARA spread across the stage lip provided front fill, 16
CHILDISH GAMBINO
Opposite: Donald Glover’s This is America tour receives the immersive audio treatment.
and the entire system was driven by LA12X amplified controllers housed in LA-RAK II touring racks. With Gambino unquestionably in his prime as an artist, and his This Is America tour being hailed by the entertainment press as both a culture-defining ‘work of art’ and a ‘religious experience’, the extraordinary production values did not go unnoticed. “Despite the large venue, the performance still felt intimate,” wrote University of Maryland’s Diamondback newspaper, also describing the concert as “an immersive show.” According to Boston’s WRBBradio.com: “In that moment, nearly 20,000 people became a part of something greater, something closer, something visceral. With our hands in the air, and the bass vibrating our bodies… we could feel community.” NJ.com shared: “A booming six-piece band was hidden in pits on either side of the catwalk and, unlike many modern hip-hop shows, you could actually hear them!” Dan DeLuca of the Philadelphia Inquirer called it ‘the show of the summer,’ further emphasising that he had “seen a lot of good
ones, from U2 and Radiohead and Elton John... If I had to pick one to go back and see one more time, though, it would without a doubt be the This Is America tour.” “The L-ISA system has the capability to improve the overall breadth and dynamic possibilities for a live concert experience,” Coffey noted. “It can really widen and improve the aural experience in a multitude of settings and shows.” Coffey also praised the people behind the technology: “Everyone at L-Acoustics has been excellent to deal with. They went above and beyond to provide assistance and help wherever they could to make sure that we had everything possible for a successful show.” TPi Photos: Greg Noire www.childishgambino.com www.l-isa-immersive.com www.britanniarow.com
Technical design from concept to reality www.wonder.co.uk
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THE EHRLICH BROTHERS RELY ON MOVECAT’S KINETIC SOLUTIONS The company’s product range helps burst the boundaries of physics by teleporting individual spectators across the venue for the magician’s latest groundbreaking production.
To realise a production of such complexity, the Ehrlich Brothers relied on chain hoist systems and controllers from Movecat. To replace in their entirety the kinetic systems previously used, Ehrlich Entertainment invested in Movecat’s VMK-S chain hoists, V-Motion-E variable motion controllers and I-Motion Basic-C show controllers. The Movecat VMK-S chain hoists, which comply with BGV C1, DIN 56950:2012- 05 and EN 61508 SIL 3, are notable for its innovative technology
and ultra-flexible handling whilst meeting the highest safety standards. Henceforth, Ehrlich Brothers productions will employ seven special versions of the VMK-S-1000 model as climbing hoists capable of lifting loads of up to 1,000kg safely through distances up to 24m. In combination with the VMK-S chain hoists, the Ehrlich Brothers are relying on 7 Movecat V-Motion-40-E-SIL3 variable motion controllers in their “E” configuration. Unlike the basic version, these are equipped with special 18
THE EHRLICH BROTHERS
Opposite: Ehrlich Brothers Fascination Tour. Below: Movecat I-Motion Expert-T III.
integrated network and motor filters and a dual processor for scenic runs over people in mobile, decentralised operation as defined by SIL3-EN 61508. The I-Motion Basic-C II show controller functions as a compact system controller for the systemic control of kinetic drives. The intelligent controller console is equipped with an integrated 12-inch touchscreen, a key-based input unit, a user ID card reader, a speed ratio encoder and a drive lever with a ‘dead man’ function, for the dynamic control of runs performed by up to 24 VMK-S chain hoists in conjunction with the V-Motion controllers. To ensure the smooth and safe operation of their newly acquired chain hoist systems, the Ehrlich Brothers’ technicians attended a training course at the Movecat Academy. In the seminar, Movecat I-Motion Operator Super User, participants are given comprehensive and certified training in the legal and technical fundamentals governing use of the Movecat I-Motion system; the syllabus covers not only the regulations and standards applicable, risk analysis and system configuration but also the structure of the hardware and setting up of components. TPi Photo: Ralph Larmann www.ehrlich-brothers.com www.movecat.de 19
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SHURE AXIENT IN THE CROWDS Frank Carter turns to Shure’s Axient Digital for more on stage freedom and reliability. English punk rock outfit Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes turned to Shure’s Axient Digital Wireless System technology in synchronisition with the band’s popularity and transition to larger venues and high profile slots at festivals. Live Sound Engineer, Mike Woodhouse, explained why the Axient Digital units became very appealing to their setup. As a Shure user for over 10 years, Frank Carter has a whole collection of Shure microphones on all aspects of the setup, ranging from the classic Beta91a & Beta52 combo on the kick drum to a SM57 on guitars. Most noticeable is Carter’s vocal microphone, the tried and tested SM58. Carter is such a fan of the SM58 that he actually has one tattooed on his leg! “The thing about the SM58 is, it’s not just a microphone to me,” explained Carter. “When I’m in the crowd, sometimes it’s literally my only way back.” The move to Axient Digital was a natural progression for the band, having known about Axient Digital for a while, Woodhouse had never worked with an artist that needed an upgraded wireless system. However, after seeing how lively Carter and the rest of the band were on stage, switching them to Axient Digital meant the band could perform with such high-energy and not worry about any potential dropouts or loss of sound quality. Woodhouse explained: “Nearly two years ago we switched both guitars and bass to Shure GLX-D wireless units, allowing Dean, (Richardson, guitarist), and Tank (bassist), to have maximum movement on stage at all times. These units proved perfect for the band’s needs, however the band’s fanbase is growing quickly, and so have the stages. To ensure we didn’t lose any form of signal quality on the larger festival and high-profile support slots, the new Axient digital units became very appealing to us and in turn we had to try them out over this summer’s festival season.” Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes are known for getting up close and personal with their fans and joining them in the crowds. Woodhouse needed a system which was reliable and gave the entire crew more faith in the signal chain. They cannot risk signal degradation when the band decide to jump in to the crowd. Woodhouse furthered: “The crowd has always actually been the biggest hurdle with our wireless systems but the range on the Axient is flawless. We’ve had the guitar over 200m away from the stage in the London Stadium, without losing connection. That blew me away. I’d never seen anything like that before. The sound quality is like what you’d expect from
a cable connection. Full of depth and clear as day from the PA. I’d actually challenge anyone to try and tell the difference between the Axient vs. a cable signal.” Richardson added to this explaining: “I’ve played guitar standing on top of thousands of people, upside down and buried when they drop me and from the back of stadiums – and this wireless system has never lost my signal. Trust me when I say it’s the best wireless system available.” Woodhouse explained: “This is the first time I have used Axient Digital and there have been zero challenges, it just works! For our IEM units (PSM 1000) we use it in conjunction with Workbench 6 when we get to each venue, so we can usually see the problem frequencies in each venue and problem solve to ensure minimal signal disruption. However, even doing that with some wireless units you still get interference from timeto-time. With Axient Digital that’s not been the case once, the system is simple and easy to use, it’s seamless. I’ve been so impressed that I’m now recommending this technology to every band I work with. The quality is just better than anything I’ve used in the past.” Shure work hard to ensure that their customer care is second-to-none. Woodhouse stated: “Tuomo George-Tolonen, (Sr. Director, Pro Audio) is the most hardworking man in the business, he is a lovely guy and always on the other end of the phone, if needed. He certainly has an influence on me favouring certain microphones, just because of the outstanding service. Setup was one phone call to Tuomo. He went through exactly what we needed and how to set it up. Once in front of it, it makes sense. Any musician or engineer could set it up.” George-Tolonen added: “I’ve known Mike for some years now from his work with other UK bands and when he asked me about wireless for larger stages I knew Axient Digital was perfect for them. Big stages, harsh RF environments, band members jumping into the crowd, that’s what Axient Digital was designed for. It needs to sound good, RF be super reliable and the product has to be robust. I like punk rock myself so it’s been a personal and professional pleasure to see Axient Digital work so well for Frank Carter and The Rattlesnakes.” TPi Photos: Tom Green www.andtherattlesnakes.com www.shure.co.uk 20
EVENT FOCUS
PETE TONG’S LASERS ARE A CLASSIC WITH ER PRODUCTIONS BBC Radio 1 Legend, Pete Tong, and the 65-piece Heritage Orchestra were back on tour with Ibiza Classics and ER Productions, is delighting audiences with dazzling laser choreography.
The incredible blend of dance anthems and classical music first came together in 2015 at the Ibiza Proms, and has since produced two hit albums and a number of sold-out shows across Europe. Having successfully collaborated over the years, ER Productions had the pleasure of working with Pete Tong, Jules Buckley and the Heritage Orchestra on the Ibiza Classics Tour, throughout 2018, and are pleased to have been invited to continue the EU arena tour in 2019. The winter tour kicked off at Newcastle’s Metro Radio Arena on November 22 (ending on December 8 at the Cream Weekender in Minehead) with its breath-taking, energetic music, reworked by Artistic Director, Chris Wheeler. The live shows were graced with an array of singers and guests, including The Heritage Orchestra and Jules Buckley, plus special guest vocalists Sinead Harnett, Becky Hill and Mysdiggi. ER Productions’ lasers, which included 28 BB4’s and 4 Storms, created a jaw-dropping visual display during re-worked favourites, and are programmed by ER Productions’ Laser Technician, Alexandru Oita, to ensure a unique look for each track.
During ATB’s 9pm Till I Come, blue and white lasers filled the arena; amber and white lasers appeared for Swedish House Mafia’s One, green and white lasers were cued for Faithless’ Insomnia, and pink, blue and white lasers provided stunning party vibes during Robin S’s Show Me Love. The atmospherics were provided by 1 Look Solution’s Unique Hazer and 4 Viper deluxe, controlled by Pangolin Beyond software. Laser Technician, Ollie Jenni was the one-man crew responsible for the incredible run. “Pete Tong is famous for bringing amazing shows to the masses, so it is a complete honour to be a part of creating the party atmosphere with ER’s lasers. “It’s brilliant seeing the laser cues bring out even more energy in the crowd. I’m looking forward to the upcoming shows in 2019, Pete Tong live is hard to beat!” he confirmed. TPi Photos: ER Productions www.petetong.com www.er-productions.com 22
E R P R O D U C T I O N S P R O U D T O S U P P LY
PETE TONG IBIZA CLASSICS E U R O P E A N A R E N A T O U R 2 018
2 8 x B B 4 | 4 x S TO R M S | 4 x U N I Q U E H A Z E R | 4 x V I P E R D E LU X E | 1 x B E YO N D C O N T R O L
For more information or a demonstration contact: info@ er-productions.com UK +44 1322 293 135 | USA +1 702 330 8530 | AUSTRALIA +61 403 703 731 | SPAIN +34 938 000291
www.er-productions.com
DAVID BYRNE: AMERICAN UTOPIA Back by popular demand, the unorthodox virtuoso returned to the cottonopolis of culture 134-dates into his marathon American Utopia tour - gracing Manchester Arena with an ambitious and technologically advanced production. TPi’s Jacob Waite was on site…
Having passed through the city at the more intimate O2 Apollo in June, David Byrne returned top-to-barefooted-toe with a dapper troupe choreographed by Annie-B Parson, the driving force behind St. Vincent and David Byrne’s on-stage routine for the Love This Giant tour. Fittingly, the brainchild of the latest American Utopia show, which has since been upscaled to arena and stadium venues across the UK, opened proceedings with a handful of pink cerebral matter clutched firmly in his grasp. It was the only element of colour on an otherwise grey, virtually naked stage; illuminated by a single spotlight and boxed-off by a metallic KriskaDécor Snina Babylink scenic curtain. And you may ask yourself, “Well... how did I get here?” ONCE IN A LIFETIME Assigned with ensuring the unyielding artistic project ran reliably and efficiently, was Production Manager, Mark Edwards, whose relationship with David Byrne and his management team spans over two decades. “The initial idea of the tour was germinated back in 2016, while David was in the process of developing the American Utopia record. I was then called and asked if I’d step in and do some budgeting in October last year,” he began. “David is prone to collaborating. During the R&D process, he found a
whole new set of collaborators, which pushed the entire tour back between 8-12 months but improved the overall show, I believe.” However, the unique production came with a testing set of challenges. “The main challenge came with the percussion elements of the production, with the stage being completely wireless, we needed six percussionists; which meant we had to contact a manufacturer of American college marching bands who ultimately created a harness which could hold the instrument and simultaneously project sound. It took months to get the harness modified for each individual drum, a trying process of trial and error, which eventually worked.” The result was an impressive collection of 12 musicians in perpetual motion with percussion at the focal point: a fusion of American high school marching band come Brazilian carnival procession. The tours travelling backdrop, a KriskaDécor Snina Babylink scenic curtain, also provided a litany of challenges. “For the chain, I was given two vendors, there’s really only two people that could make it. We went through the motions of finding it and getting enough of it, because we needed miles of it! Friends at Litestructures provided one side of the chain, and the rest came from a Las Vegas-based company, Daisycake. “We set-up a rental version of the chain two months prior to the tour
PRODUCTION PROFILE
and brought in a Clair Global rig to test it in every variation to make sure the vocal mics, in-ear monitors, and guitars could work through the chain, including antenna placement; it was definitely trial and error.” He continued: “It’s the lightest material to freight around the world, and it’s durable. The chain was never intended for touring use, so I was informed I’d get around 70 shows out of it, and here we are... 130 plus shows later, with just 11 shows left. I’m hoping it makes it until the end!” Edwards praised those responsible for supplying wares to the mammoth undertaking. “I’ve worked with our audio vendor, Clair for many years, and they’ve been great. They, and Britannia Row Productions - now part of Clair - in the UK and Europe, became our audio supplier because they were the only one which could put in the Shure Axient Digital rig required to counteract the chain’s RF interference,” he added. “They were literally unboxing brand-new products out of the cardboard and shipping it over to us an hour before its arrival at their offices.” Neg Earth Lights in Europe and the UK and Upstaging in the United States supplied the lighting elements. “Neg Earth and Upstaging are longstanding relationships; we’ve been going to them for many years so Rob Sinclair approached me to ask about vendors. It was a case that we had mutual preferences and contacts in-mind. We knew that the products would be correct and available from those vendors.” A wireless stage called for BlackTrax software to be drafted in as a solution. “It was determined from the outset that with 12 musicians moving on the stage, followspots were never an option, so BlackTrax it was. Oli Metcalfe, who owns Dark Art Creative, visited us as a fan and ended up covering the first six shows of the tour for us while our Automation Engineer, Sam Augustus, was touring with Queen + Adam Lambert in Australia,” Edwards mused. “I found it incredibly humbling to have Muse’s LD, and the owner of a company was putting up cameras in tiny theatres in America during the early shows of this tour.”
On the road to nowhere, Stagetruck navigated the kit across a series of checkpoints. “Stagetruck is the only company I’ve used over the 15 years. They’re a great company, they take care of you and they’re well maintained with excellent drivers. We’ve only got five trucks for this tour; it’s how David and I prefer to work. We don’t have the bells and whistles such as lasers and confetti, its straight-forward and simple,” Edwards explained. Will Johns, Stagetruck Manager, commented: “We have worked with Mark Edwards for many years on various tours. American Utopia was split into two parts. We supplied four 45ft mega cube tractor trailers for the UK in June and July run, while three trucks went to Europe. For the latest arena legs, we have supplied five 45ft tractor trailers,” he enthused. “We are delighted to be involved with such a prestigious artist as David Byrne. This show is truly innovative.” Phoenix Bussing was also brought into the fold to ensure that the band were on the road to paradise. Edwards added: “I go way back with Phoenix Bussing, I remember working with them when they started out, although the first wave of drivers retired, their standards are just as high and it’s a great company to work with.” THIS MUST BE THE PLACE For the creatives tasked with bringing the theatrical production to life, the brief was clear: “Fundamentally, the foundations of this tour are based on David Byrne saying: ‘I have this idea, it involves wireless musicians, we’ve done some research - make it work,’” Edwards said. So, naturally, the crew made it work, doing so with artistic endeavor that harked back to the ex-Talking Heads front man’s seminal early ‘80s Stop Making Sense concert film, in which David Byrne once professed: “…music is very physical, and often the body understands it before the head.” Lighting Designer, Rob Sinclair, whose myriad of tour credits include LCD Soundsystem, Kylie Minogue and MØ, picked up the story. “I was 25
DAVID BYRNE
David Byrne and a meticulously arranged and stylish ensemble serenade audiences.
introduced to David in summer 2017 and very fortunately we got on. Some of the fundamentals of the show were already in place ahead of my arrival, such as the mobile band, Annie-B’s choreography, and the idea of covering the walls so the wings couldn’t be seen.” When it came to the tour design, David Byrne adopted a hands-on approach. “David is very literate in all aspects of production. He’s also a very gracious collaborator who allowed me to bring many of my own ideas to the show,” Sinclair recalled: “We needed to be able to cover the edges of the stage whilst allowing the band access. We were also worried about wind proofing for outdoor shows. After looking at a series of flats and louvers and a bit of head scratching, we arrived at the chain.” However, despite the increased popularity of the tour and an upscaled production on the cards, Sinclair recounted the show’s primary focus: “We have kept the same show. It was always designed to be flexible, within limits. The show is about people and not effects or technology. Increasing the scale or adding things would have lessened the focus on the band.” A requisite of any David Byrne show design is the costume department. Notwithstanding the challenge of devising the next ‘big suit’ was Wardrobe Assistant, Abigail Lester, who, despite being a dab hand with a sewing kit, also added several feathers to her occupational cap. “I was brought onto the tour in Trenton, New Jersey. While I was touring with the crew, I started taking some pictures with my iPhone, and David and the production team quite liked them, so they gave me a camera to take professional photos of the tour for their social media channels.” The integration of textile and tech also played a vital role in ensuring the production went off without a hitch. “We had removed patches of the grey Kenzo suits, under each armpit, so David and the rest of the band can move freely and breathe easily. We also had to figure out how to tailor the suits to work in correspondence with the wearable parts of the BlackTrax system. The stringers are sewn into the suits, we currently have two sets, which we alternate and replace daily.” Sinclair echoed the importance of BlackTrax: “When I first met David,
I brought a BlackTrax stringer (part of the wearable technology of the BlackTrax system) with me. I knew the premise of the show so knew that it would have been a nightmare to light with manual followspots. I described BlackTrax to David and we spoke about some of the opportunities and pitfalls. It was the solution to a problem he never knew he had.” Monitoring the BlackTrax system, owned and supplied by Dark Art Creative, was Automation Engineer, Sam Augustus. “My first introduction to BlackTrax was with Oli Metcalfe on Muse’s Drones tour, where I looked after the wearable aspects of BlackTrax. Each of the drones had devices on them [BlackTrax Beacons] which were individually addressed and thus uniquely identifiable by the system. For this tour, each of the band has a BlackTrax Beacon in a pouch in their jacket, with two stringers (a cable with an infrared LED) sewn into the garments, one on each of the band members shoulders. The system works by having an array of cameras on the back truss and the front truss that work together to triangulate the position an object in the performance space and utilise this data to provide lighting tracking.” The BlackTrax system comprised 2 BlackTrax servers (main and spare) running the latest version of BlackTrax, 2.3.3. Power distribution and conditioning was handled by an APC 15002U smart-UPS (which can handle a wide range of input voltages – fantastic when on a world tour in so many different venues). Networking within the rack was handled by Luminex Gigacore 16xt and Luminex Gigacore 14r managed switches, while DMX distribution was achieved with a Luminex DMX8 MkII. The servers, DMX Node, Switches and UPS were housed in a custom rack mount case manufactured by Packhorse cases; which featured a support case that contained the cameras, BlackTrax Beacons, charging stations and maintenance tools, which is also supplied by Packhorse cases. The system also comprised 18 BlackTrax Beacons; 12 packs were used in the show, with 6 provided as spares. For the hardware side of the motion capture system, there were 8 BlackTrax Slim 13e cameras, of which 4 were located on the front truss and 4 on the back. 26
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Rock meets theatre, art and dance in a visually striking and technologically-impressive production.
The cables responsible for connecting the cameras back to the BlackTrax system were Cat6e spec cables, manufactured by TMB. “Since the [Muse] Drones tour, the software has come on leaps and bounds. I have recently upgraded the system to version 2.3.3, which boasts the continuous calibration feature,” Augustus delineated. “In past iterations of the software, once the camera rig (for the motion capture part of the system) had been calibrated, if any of the cameras were to get knocked or somehow moved from their intended positions then it could negatively affect the accuracy of the camera system and could compromise the quality of the lighting tracking. “The only way to effectively address an incident such as this would be to recalibrate the camera system, which in a time dependent ‘day of the show’ context could be very difficult to accommodate. However, the new continuous calibration feature essentially allows the camera system to constantly evaluate and update itself in real-time, using the tracked performers as a reference. I now use this during my shows to ensure that best possible accuracy all the way from start to finish. It really is a fantastic feature in the constant quest for high accuracy,” he explained. Augustus lauded the communication between end-user and the software developer. “If I see something suspect, I can message them saying ‘this is wrong’ or ‘we don’t have a fixture profile for this’ and they will fix it. Overall, the interaction level with them is really good and it always has been, ever since I began working with them four years ago. The software has also been integral to delivering David’s vision.” Resident Video Director, Jack Banks, joined the tour on the back of a successful run with The xx in New York this year. “David Byrne’s management got in touch and I was blown away to be asked to come and meet with David to discuss working on his show. As I find with some artists, he wasn’t overly happy about having two large visual distractions either side stage but since they are a requirement of the larger venues the video element was well worth embracing and making part of the show. He continued: “It was great to talk to David about what he wanted and how I could help translate everything that is happening on stage. Every detail is important and thought out, from small choreographed moments from Chris and Tendayi to the larger details of where on-stage members of the band are standing in relation to each other. It was also important to David to balance the informative nature of IMAG with the reactions of the performers, this is something I really like to play on. The relationship between musicians on stage is truly fascinating to me and I think you can
really get a sense of that at a more intimate sized show, so I try to use video to bring that feeling to the more cavernous arenas!” The PPU was made up of a 4k-capable 2M/E Ross Carbonite Black Switcher running through a Ross Ultrix Router also running the multiviewers, combined with a TSL TallyMan this system packs a serious punch. Banks had been using this PPU on The xx during the summer and it seemed the obvious choice for him for this project. “It’s a great PPU that CT have built, I have been using the Carbonite Switcher for a few years now and I find it to be quick and easy to use with the Dashboard software. The air support, quite literately, check their website, from Ross is great as well, there is always someone on the end of the phone who can answer questions or help you through whatever technical problem you have found yourself dealing with.” Cameras took shape in the form of 5 Sony HDC-4300 cameras. Wanting to avoid busying the very clean aesthetic of the stage Banks located 3 cameras at Front of House with with Fujinon 107 4K Lenses and two either side of stage with Sony CJ20 4K lenses. “The Sony cameras and 4K lenses are truly fantastic. The colour depth of these cameras really helped to ensure that the IMAG was true to the colour being used on stage by Rob and Doug and the depth of field in the lenses allowed focus to shift and really helped to show the performers in relation to each other on stage. Rod Martin is doing a fantastic job shading this show and has really helped finesse the finer details of the look I am after.” To add to this package there are 2 Q-Ball 3 robotic cameras and a Marshall Electronics mini camera, the Q-balls, flown, one giving a birds-eye perspective from centre stage and the other on the the top corner of the chain truss. “These two robotic positions give a view of the stage that no one in the house could possibly have! Some of my favourite moments come from the centre stage robo, the transition from Here to Lazy being one that comes to mind immediately” Projection was formed by 2 Panasonic 21K projectors with a smorgasbord of lens suitable for the arena circuit. “With colour being partially important the Panasonic’s were the clear choice. The projectionist and camera operators Lewis Quain and Steve Earle took particular care to line-up and balance these on a daily basis. “CT have been fantastic, Graham Miller and Nick Knowles really go above and beyond to make sure everything is delivered as spec’d and all bases have been covered, including the things I haven’t thought about! It’s 28
DAVID BYRNE
FOH Engineer, Peter Keppler; Lighting Director & Associate Lighting Designer, Douglas Green; Automation Engineer, Sam Augustus; Video Projectionist, Lewis Quain, Video Director, Jack Banks & Video Engineer, Rod Martin; TM, Keith Anderson; Production Coordinator, Sari Miller; PM, Mark Edwards.
the little things, which set them apart from other suppliers, for example, we had a few cables that broke, and we were very low on spares, CT sent replacements all the way to Dublin to make sure we were covered. It’s just those things that stick in your mind, that they’re willing to go the extra mile and ship some cables to Ireland rather than wait until your show sets up somewhere that’s a little easier to reach, I think really counts,” Banks concluded. Looking after the show’s lighting on the road was Lighting Director and Associate Lighting Designer, Douglas Green, who was brought in by Sinclair. “I met Doug through friends and we got on really well. I then happened to run into him at an awards ceremony in New York the day before I first met David. The next thing he knew he was crawling around on the floor with David playing at shadows in our test week in Pennsylvania and the rest is history. Doug has been a real star throughout the process and always has a smile on his face.” Before taking to the road, Green was the in-house Lighting Designer for Imagination, in New York. He drew parallels between designing in the corporate world and touring: “There are similarities and differences: colour temperature consistency and attention to minute details, for example, were a massive part of designing corporate environments, it’s the same with this show. The differences come in areas like scheduling: we might have a number of days to light an international scale exhibition stand but on tour, everything happens very quickly.” Green cut his teeth studying Lighting Design for Live Performance at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and worked mostly in theatre and dance before joining Imagination. “Being a part of this tour felt like coming around to theatre again: sitting in an auditorium staring at a proscenium arch and having discussions with musicians and choreographers. Having recently made the transition into live touring, 29
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working with Rob and David has been a really exciting opportunity to apply skills and experience from other corners of the industry. This being my first tour I really want to thank everyone who has supported me through the process and helped me navigate this very unique touring experience.” Creativity was in abundance for the lighting department – Green operated from an MA Lighting grandMA2 fullsize console with the integration of the BlackTrax system. Green said: “The show’s lighting design is very efficient, we spent a lot of time in rehearsals distilling the design down to whatever the simplest, strongest and most refined version of an idea was. It is not uncommon for a song to be lit with just one light or to have only one or two cues. Set list changes are rare because of the throughchoreographed nature of the show: so, it is programmed as somewhere between a conventional theatrical cue stack and a busked gig. “BlackTrax is integral to the design; every member of the band can be tracked by any Viper Performance in the rig. It’s really opened up a whole world of other creative possibilities and options,” Green enthused. “Many of the ‘tracking orientated’ ideas came from messing around with the software and testing its capabilities during an R&D period. The show would be completely different without BlackTrax, it’s so much more than just a replacement for manual followspots. Tracking information merges with the desk generated DMX information at the Luminex artnet nodes so I still have control of many of the attributes of the light: colour, gobo or framing shutters for example. A very cool feature is being able to cross fade between a light tracking and not tracking, we have one song where the band are all stood in static down light spots for the first half of the song, then fade up the ‘merge’ and those down lights smoothly become tracking spots.” The lighting rig consisted of 53 Martin by Harman fixtures. Specifically, 12 Martin by Harman Atomic 3000 LED’s (6 on the mid truss and 6 on the rear truss) and 41 Martin by Harman MAC Viper Performances (19 positioned on the front truss, 11 on each of the mid and rear truss). “The reason we use Performances is because the stage is very square, so the shutters are very useful,” Sinclair detailed. An additional 82 GLP fixtures were used. In particular, 62 GLP impression X4 Bar 20’s (62 situated on the U truss, 4 on the floor); 8 GLP X4S’s (fixed
to the U truss); and a further 8 GLP impression X4 Bar 10’s (make up the U truss). Green illustrated: “We utilised a combination of X4 Bar 10’s and 20’s to allow us to break the pre-rig truss for transportation while maintaining a continuous line of light and not having to re-hang many fixtures each day. The X4S situated in the corners of the rig, fill in the empty pockets of light. In the corners, we’ve got 4 X4’s because you can’t join rows of X4 Bars, so we rig them adjacent and put 4 lights in the corner to fill in the gap,” he continued: “We needed a continuous line of lights, so the X Bars were the only real choice.” Sinclair added: “I think I’m actually happiest with songs that have really simple lighting and allow the band to be prominent. I’m also very grateful to David and Annie-B for the opportunity and for welcoming me into their already tight knit relationship. I can’t let an opportunity go past to thank the amazing crew and suppliers. Doug, Mark, Robin, Tony, Upstaging, Neg Earth - I am forever grateful.” David Oldham, Tour Rigger revealed the logistical elements of the tour. “It’s my first-time touring with David Byrne. I have a very good friend who sadly left the tour while touring Mexico in April, and I was brought in to assume his role,” he reflected. “It’s a very simple and innovative rig, there’s only one Kinesys move, the rising and lowering of the chain at the beginning and end of the show, which Sam runs, and I set it up to get it going. “It’s a nice show to be on. We began touring theatres that’s why the aesthetics are very theatrical. This time we’ve got a series of versions across the UK and Europe, because we play differing sizes of venues. We’ve a splayed version, which we’ll be taking to Amsterdam and France to get a wider viewing angle. The stage perimeters shift between 35ft wide x 22ft-deep and 65ft-wide x 32ft-deep versions. Our standard in building like tonight is around 55ft-wide x 32ft-deep. It’s also a really light rig; I think we’re only up to about 26 tonnes. Neg Earth have been great and have invested a lot.” EVERYBODY’S COMING TO MY HOUSE FOH Engineer Pete Keppler began working with David Byrne in Australia during the early 2000s on a project called Here Lies Love, a musical 30
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DAVID BYRNE
RF Coordinator, Jamie Nelson & Monitor Engineer, John Chadwick; Rigger, David Oldham; Wardrobe Assistant, Abigail Lester; The Sarah’s Kitchen catering crew; The bespoke marching band harnesses each musician wears with a grey Kenzo suit (pictured above).
documentary about Imelda Marcos. In 2012, Keppler again worked with Mr. Byrne to deliver Love This Giant, the collaboration between David Byrne and St. Vincent, which resulted in a record and two tours in 2012 and 2013. “I officially started prepping for the American Utopia tour in July 2017, we started rehearsals in February. I’ve been touring for a few years and have never had a tour that’s condensed such a vast amount of dates into such a short period of time. Most of the tours I’ve been on are 150 shows or less per year… This one will be 144 shows in 7.5 months.” Keppler wound back the clocks. “The original schedule had the tour ending in August, but it sold ridiculously well, and the tour was extended not only in length, but also from theatres to arenas. The shows and the people are great. I’ve been mixing anything from clubs to arenas for a long time, so you get used to the transition. My take on it is this: my mix is my mix. As long as the PA is decent and well-maintained it should translate, but it doesn’t always play out that way,” he chuckled. Keppler utilised a Waves SoundGrid Extreme server with a Waves card and network switch (MOD-DMI-SOUNDGRID, DMI Waves SoundGrid 32-channel I/O card). “I started using waves in the late ‘90s, and I’ve developed quite a relationship with them. I use them is because, quite simply, the plugins sound great. One plugin of theirs I’m using which has absolutely saved the show is called F6. We have 6 headset vocal mics on stage, and a lot of percussion. F6 allows me to get rid of most of the spill from that into the vocals.” Several microphone brands came into play for this tour including DPA, Sennheiser, Audio-Technica, Shure. “The DPA 4088 headset vocal mics we’re using sound amazing. There was no way we could have used handheld microphones; there’s too much choreography involved.” The entire control package and PA was provided by audio vendor, Clair Global, which utilised its partnership with the Britannia Row in the UK, to supply the tours wares. “One of the reasons we use Clair Global is because they’re exactly that: global. Basically, it’s a one-stop-shop - you give your spec to the guys in Pennsylvania and they’ll send it on to supply everything
around the world. The main speaker arrays comprised 32 Clair CO-12’s Cohesion line array. The side hangs boasted 24 Clair CO-10’s new Cohesion 10-line arrays (12 per side flown per side). In fill duties were covered by (4) Cohesion 8 per side on the downstage corners. Clair Audio Technicians Elad Kleiner and Stephen Tang joined up for the UK/EU portion of the tour. “Elad goes through and time-aligns the system and then I do the system EQ, which is my usual workflow and something I’ve gotten used to doing over the years.” Keppler avowed: “Clair spent a year working on calculations for the CO12’s and 10’s on paper and in the computer before they ever started actual construction, and their hard work really shows. You can tell that it was designed by audio engineers.” In the caverns of monitor world, John Chadwick, Monitor Engineer and ‘custodian of the Shure RF system design’ was joined by RF Coordinator, Jamie Nelson. “It’s my first time working with David. I was brought into the picture towards the end of 2016, when the idea was formulated. Jamie was brought in during the rehearsal process in February 2018. However, we started properly working on the tour in May 2017, to see if we could come up with an audio concept of making David’s vision for the show work. Of course, at that particular time, the technology used in this show didn’t actually exist.” Chadwick opted for a wireless RF system solution in the shape of Shure Axient Digital, which was still in its development stages in mid2017. “Nowadays most musicians and productions are using wireless microphones and in-ears, but to the best of my knowledge, this is the first time we’ve had a full band stage, which is totally wireless. All of the inputs from the band are completely wireless.” The challenge of utilising the technology was equal parts thrilling and daunting. “The remit was: the stage is going to be empty. No mic stands, cables, pedal boards, or speakers. The stage had to be completely blank. The brief became reasonably daunting at that point, meaning everything 32
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DAVID BYRNE
The talented troupe of musicians successfully burn down the house.
had to be wireless including the drums. There are six percussionists, and because they switch instruments throughout the show, our input count sits at 44 - 32 of which are just wireless drums. The guitars, bass, mic packs all run via Shure Axient Digital, coordinated by Shure’s Wireless Workbench 6 software. All but 4 channels run in High-Density mode which radically reduces the amount of bandwidth needed to around 25% of what would be needed with a traditional system.” Ingenious in concept, however, as mentioned, the KriskaDécor Snina Babylink scenic curtain threw up a series of RF hurdles. “As if the high RF channel count wasn’t tricky enough, the next challenge was when David and the scenic department informed us that they were going to hang aluminum chain around three sides of the stage which would get in the way of the RF. To tackle this, we spent a couple of days myth-busting to come up with a solution. We put the chain up in August 2017 and spent two days putting crosses on the floor, swapping between different antennas in different positions and gathering hard data. At the end of that, we came up with the solution of mounting them on the truss inside the chain and pointing them downwards.” The wireless RF system was made up of 4 antenna points (3 on the truss and 1 on the sides), which boasted a 48 channel Shure Axient Digital system with 56 transmitters, 18 channels of Shure PSM 1000 IEMs (10 channels of G-10 and 8 channels of J8) with 36 beltpack receivers. He continued: “There’s 100ft of BNC cable that carries the antenna signals backwards and forwards, so we have to wait for the lighting truss to go up to trim and the chain to be hung before we can even start thinking about coordinating the wireless. So, once that’s up it can be anything between 4 and 20 minutes to co-ordinate depending on how aggressive the RF environment is on the day. “In the UK, we’re running on licenced TV channels because we’ve got so many frequencies it is cheaper to rent 4 complete TV channels than on a per frequency basis, which gives us little space to hop around. In the US, Latin America and some parts of Europe, it’s a bit of a free-for-all. The main thing is, this tour couldn’t happen without Shure Axient Digital,” Chadwick attested. “There are people who think I’ve had a bang to the head when I tell them the same RF system has been around the world and through plenty of festival sites.” For control, Chadwick relied on his faithful DiGiCo SD5. “I’m using an SD5, and both myself and Pete [who used an SD10] are ardent DiGiCo users. We share the racks to minimise space and cabling more than anything. All the Shure Axient D connections are via AES so really the ‘traditional’ control
for the head amplifiers are within the RF units themselves. I like the SD5 because it allows me to see more of what’s going on quickly seen as I have control of the gains, be they AES or the few analogue inputs we have. Jamie and I are at the tweaking end if there are any RF, mic or level issues. For me, the SD5 is quicker to get around than a smaller surface, having 12 people on-stage. This entire package has travelled the world with us since we picked it up in February. We just picked up racks and stacks from Brit Row, who have been excellent audio suppliers for the UK and European legs of the tour.” MORE SONGS ABOUT BUILDINGS AND FOOD Entrusted with feeding the troops was sarahskitchen. Chef, Ann-Marie Summers gave TPi the inside scoop. “I’ve been doing this job for 27 years, and Mr. Byrne has been one of the easiest people I’ve ever worked with, there are no special requirements involved and he and the crew are lovely. On tour, the crew usually eats dinner early and Mr. Byrne often comes in with a modest Tupperware container, which he washes down with a cup of coffee, while scanning the newspapers.” Very relaxed indeed! Live, American Utopia is one of David Byrne’s most-frenetic and simultaneously well-executed productions of all time, distorting the conventions of a rock show to contain elements of theatre and dance. Boosted, by contrast, by a minimalistic approach to stage design, albeit achieved by a technologically-advanced wireless solution, the tour is a feat of shared ingenuity; from the truck drivers to the lighting, video, audio and catering departments; every cog in the American Utopia touring machine is unyielding and meticulous. As Keppler summed up: “If I wasn’t out here having fun and being creative, I’d find something else to do.” Everyone is welcome in David Byrne’s house, it seems, and American Utopia is no exception. TPi Photos: Abigail Lester & TPi www.davidbyrne.com www.clairglobal.com www.britanniarow.com www.phoenix-bussing.com www.stagetruck.com www.negearth.com www.darkartcreative.com www.ct-group.com 34
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SLAYER: THE FAREWELL TOUR Formed in California, 1981, by lead guitarist Kerry King, vocalist and bassist Tom Araya, and the late, great Jeff Hanneman, Slayer has become one of the world’s most iconic thrash metal bands. In 2018, the US mayhem makers set about touring the world for the last time, and with a core crew of fans on the road with them, the final curtain call certainly brought the fire‌
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Still throttling his signature six string, Kerry King is far more to this production than a tattooed axeman; his input into the show design - which included more flames and fog than your usual metal gig – is evident. During their 6-date reign of UK arenas, Slayer, which is now completed by Paul Bostaph and Gary Holt, was supported by Lamb of God, Anthrax, and Obituary. If you like your venue rooves roared down, there was only one place to be this November. Camp Slayer was led by Production Manager, Patrick Dickinson, a road veteran with the necessary expertise to handle a touring thrash metal brigade. “My call for Slayer tour came somewhat out of the blue. An old friend and colleague, Mike LaTronico, had signed on as their Tour Manager at the beginning of 2012, and he recommended me for the role of Production Manager. After a few interviews with management and the band, it was a done deal, and here we are – almost seven years later!” he began. Dickinson’s chosen suppliers? Christie Lites, Eighth Day Sound, Pyrotek Special Effects, Gallagher Staging, Grosh Draping, TransAm Trucking and the luxurious Beat The Street tour buses. In Manchester, local catering was provided by Bittersweet. When it comes to road crew, there were a few new faces. “There was a bit of training to do at the very beginning,” he stated. “But all of the people we hired were highly experienced, just not with this band. It helped to hand-pick people that we had already worked with closely for the key positions.” Dickinson also held existing relationships with every vendor, the only exception being Christie Lites. “Some of those relationships go back to pre-Slayer, others were already in place when I signed on with the band. My opinion on choosing vendors is that if a company has done consistently good work, there is no real reason to change unless there is a large difference financially.
“My decision to use Christie Lites came from feedback from other touring production managers. I didn’t have a go-to UK-based lighting & rigging vendor, and with the tour routing being what it was, I definitely wanted to use a UK-based company, and not one based in mainland Europe. Christie have not disappointed; they’ve provided a rock-solid crew chief and well-trained crew all around, and the gear is exactly what we were looking for to mirror the look that we had on the North American legs of the tour.” DESIGN DUTIES Dickinson also played a big part in the design of the farewell tour. “I kept Brian [Lareau, LD], Reid Derne, our project manager at Pyrotek, and AK [FOH] well-informed, not to mention Kerry and Tom, and definitely asked their opinions before locking anything in, but for the most part, the set, pyro, and lighting design came from me. This being the band’s final world tour, we were going for a classic Slayer look, but larger-scale than usual, and of course we had to incorporate a few new tricks. The separate elements have to play well with each other, otherwise the show doesn’t work as a cohesive whole. “One tricky part with designing this rig was the schedule and line-up we had to work with; there are three support bands in Europe / UK, and for the North America leg of the tour this summer we had four! It basically made the tour a rolling festival, with doors opening between 3:30 - 4:00PM every day. Therefore, not only did the set have to be easily pushed back to make room for all of the other acts on stage, but the entire show needed to be able to go in and out of the venues quickly and easily, to avoid issues with the routing we were up against.” Having worked in various roles over the years, Dickinson’s own rigging background came in handy here. “My lead set carpenter, Josh Jenkins, 38
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is also a highly qualified rigger, so between the two of us, we take care of all rigging duties on the tour. I, of course, focus more on the advance and layout, and he runs the local rig crew during load-in and load-out.”
Manchester, the design utilised 35 Martin by Harman MAC Viper Profiles, 36 Martin by Harman MAC Quantum Washes, 18 Martin by Harman Atomic 3000 LEDs, 12 Martin MAC Auras, 7 Antari DarkFX UV Wash 2000’s, 4 Antari DarkFX UV Spot 670’s, 6 4-Lite and 6 2-Lite Blinders, and for effects, 3 ZR45 Foggers and 3 HZ – 500 Hazers. As backdrop reveals and downstage kabuki effects are also a large part of the show, there are also 98 Electro-Kabuki Drop units in use, for a total of 7 soft goods cues. For control, Lareau opted for an Avolites Pearl Expert console, with an Avolites Expert Touch Wing added. “For me, it’s the fastest desk out there for a very fast-moving show. Slayer shows are all busked; there is no click track or tape in use – the band is in 100% in control of the pace of the show - so whatever I use must be very responsive and have an intuitive user interface.” With just one day of tech rehearsals when the tour reached the UK, the tour could have hit some time constraints, but the LD described the production as “a well-oiled machine”, partly because Pyrotek has long been the vendor in the US, and that’s a huge part of the look. “It’s a very relaxed tour. It’s become very easy every day, because we’re well into the swing of things and everyone knows just what they’re meant to be doing. Plus, everyone gets along so well; it’s a very fun tour to be a part of!” he beamed. Supplier support has also been noted. On his UK vendor, Lareau commented: “We’re using Christie Lites in the UK and it’s actually the first time I’ve ever worked with them. Saying that, after this tour, I know it won’t be my last; every day I come into the venue and my rig is up and running
LIGHTING THE LEGENDS Brain Lareau, Lighting Designer to the prestigious metalmen, began working with Slayer by chance, as a fill in LD for four shows - the success of which eventually led to a full-time gig. The tricky task of designing a lighting plot around a rather consistently-lit-by-fire stage was where Lareau began: “There really are a lot of pyrotechnics in this show!” he smiled “And this naturally dictates where we’re able to put the lighting fixtures, and what kind of looks I can create within that, so as not to compete with the flames and cause confusion.” He noted how Production Manager Pat Dickinson and himself had to decide early on in the show’s pre-production where the lights would sit, and decided to use ‘truss fingers’ to house them. It was also decided around this time that there would be no video at all, bar a few outdoor ‘sheds’ during the festival run in the US. The trusted fixtures were mainly Martin by Harman units, which dominate the rig. Lareau continued: “The looks I wanted without competing with any of the fire gags on stage, meant that we had to choose the lighting products carefully; it all has to be perfectly balanced and complimentary, and Martin were great for aiding with that.” The full rig - which is used in various configurations depending on the venue size – is mainly comprised of Martin by Harman fixtures. In 40
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with no issues at all. It’s all working perfectly, well-maintained and just how I want it.” Christie Lites’ Roy Hunt commented: “Working with Patrick, Brian and the rest of the team on this has been a real pleasure and a very smooth process. The show is very well thought through and planned around the venues it serves. With three different designs for any size scenario, it ensures that at any given date you are guaranteed that the all lighting fixtures get used in any of the combinations needed, with absolutely stunning results.” FLAME THROWING FUN Heading up the highly-regarded pyrotechnics of Slayer’s live performance is Pyrotek’s Rory Jones. Not only is making fire for Slayer a pretty cool job as touring goes, but it also happens to be Jones’ dream gig. “I was working as a chef, when 10 years ago I decided to really follow my dream. I joined Pyrotek and began to learn the business. In 2012, I was given the opportunity to work with the band, and at that time, the show design was already in place, so I was given the honour to tour it. These days, I’ll talk to Kerry King, who is very involved with the show cues, Brian, and Pat to see what we can create. The main thing that Kerry says is to just ‘have fun’; I think that’s very important to him. “I’m actually a big Slayer fan myself, so I always think about what I’d want to see from an audience member’s point of view. One key thing is that we like to keep them on their toes; you don’t want them to get used to the pyro straight
away! That said, during the show, the band want hell on stage, and I’m lucky enough to be able to give it to them!” he laughed. “For example, when Hell Awaits starts, that’s the big wall of fire gag, and we want the crowds to be in awe of it. I like to deliver that face-melting experience.” For the hell on stage, propane accumulator units named ‘Dragons’ (a propane-fed device that emits a controllable flame column or fireball effect) are used to control 4 ‘Dragon Tails’. Each of these is a 7 ft. wide flame bar unit, which expels a 2-3 ft. tall line of fire for a steady burn effect, and up to a 10 ft. tall blast on cue for the endearingly named ‘Wall of Fire’ effect. Then, behind the Dragon Tails, we have 4 Remote Dragon Heads, focused at a 45º angle to shoot large fireballs over the band members. In addition to all of this, a combination of Le Maitre Explo units and Five Master single-flame units create straight jets of flame, positioned to simulate inverted crosses, and, of course, the famous Slayer fire pentagram. Lastly, to round it all out, there are two custom Slayer ‘Eagle’ set pieces, rigged with flame bar to silhouette the timeless crossed swords and band logo that has been a standard since the band’s inception. Firing up the hell squad of effects is a Jands Vista lighting console. H&S is of the utmost importance to any live show, but here, there’s more fire than is typical. Jones and “When I started out doing the Pyrotek crew go through all the protocol daily. He continued: “We do the safety checks manually before pyro a decade ago, I wanted I even think about firing, to ensure nothing can to work with Slayer… it’s a physically go wrong with any of the propane units. If the band gets too close, or if any unit is not operating dream job!” as expected, I don’t fire. I’m here to give them a great Rory Jones, show, but first and foremost, I’m here to ensure their Pyro Shooter safety on stage. 42
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Above: Lighting Designer Brian Lareou; Monitor Engineer Matthew Kogle; Production Manager, Patrick Dickinson; System Tech, Kevin Lehman with FOH Engineer, AK; Pyro Shooter, Rory Jones; Stage Manager Ashley Groom.
the band gets too close, or if any unit is not operating as expected, I don’t fire. I’m here to give them a great show, but first and foremost, I’m here to ensure their safety on stage. Jones concluded: “When I started out doing pyro a decade ago, all I wanted was to work with Slayer, and now I’m at my Apex. It’s a dream job because this is where I wanted to reach in my career. I guess I made it!”
get their own buss into a compressor, and the guitar buss goes into an EQ. Vocals and bass get bussed and have analogue compression as well. “The Wes Audio pieces are AK’s pride and joy,” noted Lehman. “They have a fully analogue signal path, but with complete digital recall, making them easy to control and save three nightly settings via a laptop at FOH. It’s the best blend of a warm, analogue transformer sound, but with a modern, digital user interface.” The tour uses exclusively d&b audiotechnik for PA. The typical set-up is comprised of 16 d&b J-Series boxes per side, with 12 V-Series boxes per side used for the side hangs. The ground subwoofer array is made up of 20 J-Subs and 4 J-Infra Subs, evenly spaced in 2-high stacks on the floor, along the downstage edge. He continued: “We try to keep the sub arc the same every day, so that the band are familiar with the stage. They’re a very easygoing group, despite how loud they are!” he confirmed. The band are using their own microphone package from Heil. It must be quite the task, mixing FOH sound for Slayer, especially on their final live tour where three generations of fans are listening? “The band are living legends,” noted Lehman. “I used to have a job mixing in clubs, and Slayer would be the band to come through. I never thought I’d be going on tour, let alone with them. As this is their last tour, they want to give it their all, all over the world, and so do we. We’re out here doing our best for them, and the fans, and I think the mix is true to that.” Over in monitor world, engineer Matthew Kogle (Five Finger Death Punch, Marilyn Manson) is the man with the mixing powers. In 2015, he replaced the band’s long-term monitor engineer and hasn’t looked
AUDIO FOH Engineer Chris Paccou and System Designer Kevin Lehman were waiting at FOH to explain what mixing one of the metal genre’s most influential names is all about. Belgian native Paccou - known as AK around these parts - joined the camp two years ago and kept the Midas PRO X he inherited in use. [Albeit with a newly fashioned lid to keep that mosh pit beer at bay.] “I’ve always used Midas, and I’m very happy mixing on it,” he began. “It sounds good to me, and if there are no complaints from the top, then I’m happy!” he joked. “I’ve also brought some analogue gear from home, for my outboard choices, which create a nice mix of old and new, which is good as the band began touring in the 80s and they like that sound.” Slayer is feeding analogue L-R into the system. PRO2 L-R, into the API master buss compressor, into the LM44. And the other bands are all feeding L-R, Sub, and front fill. Analogue gear at FOH included AK’s personal 500 Series pieces from Wes Audio, a few analogue stereo compressors and a pair of analogue EQs. These are used as inserts from the Midas for his various buss groups. Drums 44
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back since. “It is very loud in monitor world,” he enthused, about the hot and heavy stage sound. “I’m on a Midas PRO2 console, because of its convenience; it’s size and its output options are both perfect for this tour. It’s small, so I can keep my footprint compact without having to compromise on sound quality. “I’m mixing 10 sets of d&b audiotechnik M2 wedges, and a handful of inears; the drummer, our pryo shooter and two guitar techs use Jerry Harvey JH Audio molds with Sennheiser wireless transmitter packs. “It’s a busy show, but it’s not difficult to mix. They’re a simplistic band in the fact that they know what they want in their wedges, and they’re all well-versed and know their positioning on stage, and when to get out of the ‘loud spots’”, he said. “Importantly, there are no egos here; the show is so loud and so busy, you can’t afford to have anything like that going on. We’re metal heads, but we’re professionals,” he smiled.
“And what a team; the rigging is immaculate, the audio engineers are incredible, the lighting rig is beautiful but simple. I always say, you don’t need to take all the weapons to the fight, you just need to be good at what you have, and this show looks so good! Brian’s done a great job. Skippy [Nigel ‘Skippy’ Monk, Lighting Crew Chief] from Christie Lites, is a rock ’n’ roll legend too, who wouldn’t want to work with him!” The last word goes to Production Manager Pat Dickinson. “It has been an honour to work for such a legendary band,” he concluded. “And even though we are all a bit sad to see it end, it will continue to be an epic experience for all involved, from the fans to myself, until the last house lights call has been made!” Slayer’s Farewell tour continues throughout 2019. Catch the farewell flames while you can… TPi Photos: Andrew Benge, TPi www.slayer.net www.christielites.com www.grosh.com www.gallagherstaging.com www.8thdaysound.com www.pyrotekfx.com www.beatthestreet.net www.transamtrucking.com www.bittersweetcatering.co.uk
STAGE SENSE & SAYONARA And making sure everyone keeps in check on stage is Stage Manager Ashley Groom, who has spent the last 15 years with Iron Maiden. As no stranger to a loud, busy, fire breathing stage, he told TPi: “The secret to stage management is to have a plan, and stick to your guns with it. This is a particularly easy tour because the bands already have a method going. Pat’s great to work for; he’s so organised, he’s a dream production manager. He checks everything twice, which is how it should be done! 46
PRODUCTION PROFILE
RICK ASTLEY: RENAISSANCE MAN Touring his first arena production in decades, the ’80s pop icon-turned-recluse has emerged from his dark years to complete a remarkable career transition. Mark Cunningham reports…
RICK ASTLEY
There was always more to Rick Astley than the shy boy who shot to fame with Never Gonna Give You Up and string of Top 10 follow-ups. As well as possessing one of the richest baritone voices to ever grace the charts, he had already learned the ropes of live performance as a pro drummer well before becoming a product of the Stock-Aitken-Waterman pop machine. Frustrated with the business, however, he retired in the early ’90s to concentrate on family life, keeping out of the public eye for the next 10 years. Returning to the live scene through ‘80s nostalgia tours, his fortunes soon changed for the better when he decided to mark his 50th birthday by recording the aptly-titled 50, playing every instrument himself. One of the biggest sellers of 2016, the self-written album saw Astley become a household name all over again. But this time, it was on his terms. Certified platinum, the album’s response contributed to over 100,000 ticket sales last year, resulting in his first full production tour since the late ’90s, which coincided with 50’s successor, 2018’s acclaimed Beautiful Life. The boy from Newton-le-Willows did good. With support from soul star Gabrielle, Astley’s October-November tour spanned 18 dates in both arenas and theatres across the UK, reestablishing him as the consummate modern showman – a charismatic performer with impeccable vocal delivery and a rare human touch, as well as a brand of humour that would be at home in Northern clubs. Resisting any pressure to launch his set with a blast from the past, he bravely kicked off with the new single, Try, and – as with so many of his more recent songs – was rewarded with a rapturous ovation. Covers were also thrown into the mix: Astley managed to make George Ezra’s Shotgun his own, twisting it imaginatively around Paul Simon’s You Can Call Me Al, thanks to an incredibly tight band. Much of the success of this latest tour can be attributed to awardwinning production manager Tony Gittins who, fresh from Depeche Mode’s Global Spirit tour, accepted (SJM’s) Simon Moran’s invitation to jump onboard. “Simon and Rick’s film producer wife Lene Bausager are the co-
managers behind this new resurgence,” said the PM, “and I was delighted to accept the job not least because Rick is such a hugely talented guy and so rewarding to work with.” Astley had already toured North America this year before a run of European shows. Gittins, who worked closely with Tour Manager Julian Hickman and Stage Manager Reuben Warnes, said: “As soon as they returned, everyone piled into LS-Live for two days of production rehearsals and then hit the road straight away with the first date at the SEC Armadillo in Glasgow on 25th October.” A variety of venue sizes, from Manchester Arena to Southend’s Cliffs Pavilion, saw Gittins’ team scale the systems accordingly. The PM explained: “We identified A, B and C versions of the rigs, and it was sometimes a bit of a shoehorning exercise. Nevertheless, the show’s looked great everywhere we’ve played.” Travelling in four TRUCKINGBY Brian Yeardley trucks and three crew and band buses supplied Beat The Street, the Beautiful Life UK tour also saw Gittins working with HSL (lighting), Universal Pixels (video) and Popcorn (catering). One of the companies he inherited from previous Astley tours was Hampshire’s BCS Audio, whose package included an L-Acoustics line array system. Powered by the brand’s LA12x and LA8 amplifiers, processed with Lake LM44’s and LM26’s, and configured daily by FOH System Tech Oli Crump, the complete system featured main left/right hangs of 16 K2 boxes, 2 outhangs of 12 KARA, 4 ARCS infill cabinets, 12 KIVA lipfills and 16 KS28 subs. “I don’t have complaints about any of the current major line arrays but K2 is my preference,” claimed Kevin Sefton, the former pro musician who turned to engineering in the ’90s, and became Astley’s FOH Engineer in 2015. “They are very ‘musical’ loudspeakers and the mids are particularly good especially on pop shows when you have to drive it. If you can get detail settled down in the mid-range, the mix just seems to sit better.” In the smallest venues, the KARA element became the main PA while 50
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RICK ASTLEY
at Hammersmith Apollo, the resident K2 rig the convenient option. One of the constants, however, was Sefton’s Avid Venue S6L console, a recent upgrade from his former Profile. Supplied with a 32D control surface and 192-channel engine, it was outfitted with both the MADI-192 and WavesWSG option cards, and Waves Server One and Multirack licences. “With the S6L,” explained Sefton, “I have everything a Profile gave me before but with better sound and more user-friendly features that interface with Waves, which is a fantastic transition. We’re running at 96kHz so that’s increased the clarity to some degree but it’s really about functionality and how much it won’t interfere with my workflow. I’m very much a musician mixing bands rather than a technician, and that’s the way I approach a gig. It’s a very personal thing – I need the desk to be my instrument, not my office and the way this desk allows me to organise the show means that I’m hardly ever having to change layers.” BCS also provided a Mac Mini-based AVB / ProTools system for recording and virtual soundcheck. Sefton continued: “The way the desk integrates with ProTools makes it especially useful for virtual soundchecking because I can instantly access a multitrack playback on a touchscreen. It’s not life changing but it is very handy.” Sefton looked after around 44 inputs on the S6L, including some supplementary BV and percussion tracks from an onstage Ableton DAW under Tori Lucion’s control. He said: “It always makes life easier if you’re working with a great band, and these musicians are impeccable on all counts. There is occasional processing at my end but what comes off the stage is largely what you’ll hear through the PA, only louder.” When Astley’s European dates began in early September, he changed his vocal mic from a Shure Beta 58 to a DPA d:facto 4018 supercardioid model at Sefton’s request. The engineer, who has also been Gilbert O’Sullivan’s FOH mixer for 15 years, clarified: “In some small venues,
everyone is crammed so close together and a 58 wouldn’t help because of the risk of audio bleed. The d:facto is a much better option in those conditions. We still have Beta 58’s for our BVs [Dawn Joseph & Lauren Johnson] but I knew from using the d:facto in the past that it would be a good fit for Rick. It offers a little more definition and is gentler on his voice – and what a voice it is!” A fan Audix mics, Sefton positioned several of the brand’s D-series models around Simon Merry’s drum kit along with Neumann KM184’s for overheads, a Shure SM91 inside the kick drum and an SM57 underneath the snare. There is also a DPA 4099 miniature mic reserved for a marching snare cameo. Sefton receives a self-mixed stereo feed from keyboard player Rob Taggart while guitarist Adam Evans’ output comes directly from his Two Notes Torpedo modelling system. Jay Cox’s bass is DI’d but Sefton took some time over its FOH processing, as he explained: “I like to have a bit more control over the bass, rather than simply relying on the source, and the amp modelling software within the Waves package is one of the great advantages I enjoy. Jay is happy with his stage sound and he trusts me to get it right in the house. I wouldn’t entertain that approach with a guitarist but bass is the foundation of the sound and it needs to be rock solid. “I also like to have left, right and sub control at the desk. Some engineers aren’t quite as concerned but it’s just another of my preferences. It’s just part of achieving the objective of putting out a great sounding show, and if I’m not satisfied myself, I don’t expect anyone else to be.” MONITORING Sefton was joined on the crew by Monitor Engineer Samantha White, whose remarkable achievements over the last 10 years have included a variety of roles with Mariah Carey, Nicole Scherzinger, Natalie Cole, Jay Sean and 52
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RICK ASTLEY
Above: Lighting & Show Designer, Andy Hurst; Video Director, Ben Farrey; FOH Engineer, Kevin Sefton; Lighting Operator, Mark Jones-Roberts; FOH System Tech, Oliver Crump; Production Manager, Tony Gittins.
Girls Aloud. She had just finished a tour with Emeli Sandé when she entered Astley’s orbit. She explained: “There was definitely a plan to take things to a more substantial level with the 50 album and that’s when I was asked to mix monitors. I’m really glad they did because it’s such a lovely vibe – everyone is super cool and Rick is a sweetheart.” White’s console was a DiGiCo SD10, supplied with an SD Rack and backdated to run Waves natively. “It’s been DiGiCo all the way since I started with Rick and the SD10 is the ideal desk for me in this situation even though I’m maxing out the matrix. People may differ but I see very little difference between the functionality of SD10 and the SD5, except the SD5 weighs a tonne and has nowhere to put a laptop or a shout speaker.” Running 56 input channels and generating 32 outputs, White presided over 10 channels of Shure PSM1000 IEMs. “The stage is a wedge-free zone,” she noted. “JH Audio was already supplying in-ears to me for Nicole Scherzinger, so we did a deal for Rick and everyone is now on JH apart from one of the backing vocalists. We also have a dedicated ‘guest’ stereo IEM send that can be macro’d across any output. “Although we have a couple of L-Acoustics SB15P subs, our drummer Simon hardly has them on. He just relies on his Jerry Harvey Audio JH 13 ear molds and that’s enough for him. He doesn’t even like using a buttkicker, unlike our keyboard player, but he does have a preference for a crazy amount of kick drum in his mix.”
“The Aston mics sound great and they’ve give a new dimension to the IEM mixes,” said White. “The Starlights have a laser that helps with accurate targeting and I put them heavily in anti-phase so they sound very wide. When you introduce the Spirit centre mic – which is in phase – and time align them, the difference is astounding. “They are blended into a stereo group on the monitor console where it is fed into everyone’s IEM mix via a ControlGroup for overall level, and I have a Waves C6 multiband compressor keeping control of the dynamic range.” Although a prolific monitor engineer, White spent many years at FOH, notably for Mariah Carey. “I think FOH mixing is more creative; it’s like painting a picture whereas mixing monitors is like bricklaying. What the artist wants is ultimately what needs to happen, regardless of what you as an engineer thinks. “Having now spent a while on monitors, it’s also been interesting to see how the so-called ‘shout’ system has evolved into quite a science. We have up to 10 tech mixes on this tour and it’s ridiculous what you can do on the SD10. I’m activating the equivalent of an Excel spreadsheet before I even start on mixing the band, and I can achieve it all on the same desk using smart keys.” DESIGN Renowned for his work with the likes of The Prodigy, Chase & Status & Pendulum, Andy Hurst was the Lighting and Show Designer behind the Astley set, which presented an impressive blend of LED sources to form an unusual ‘chocolate box’ concept, given shape by GLP impression X4 Bar battens along the perimeter. “There was no brief for the design to start with so I looked to Rick’s new album for inspiration,” Hurst commented. “The idea for the box came from a movie reference really – ‘life is like a box of chocolates’ [from Forrest Gump] – and a box of light is where we ended up. “I have used video and lighting in similar ways many times, having
AMBIENCE The required content of an IEM mix can differ wildly from one artist to another but many, like Astley, prefer to integrate an audience feed to avoid a sense of isolation. To deliver a crisp ambience mix, White used a selection of Aston microphones – a matched lef t/ right stereo pair of Starlight pencil cardioid condensers and a Spirit, a large diaphragm studio condenser with switchable patterns. 54
RICK ASTLEY
THE SHADOWING PRINCIPLE Throughout the Beautiful Life tour, Samantha White, a proud ambassador of the Women In Live Music movement, created the opportunity for aspiring females to join her in monitor world as part of the Shadow Me Women incentive established on Facebook. “We want to introduce women who want to get into the industry or are already active within it but want to access a different aspect of the business,” she explained. “The idea is for a member of crew to put themselves forward as being on tour and able to welcome someone to join them and oversee the role in a working environment. No money changes hands but there’s also no expectation of free labour. “We’ve done this all over Europe and try to get someone for each venue, so that almost every day we have a ‘shadow’ come in. They are given an in-ear mix and they see the soundcheck. The shadow can stand with me, ask questions, look around and learn things, be involved as much or as little as suits them, and apply the experience as they choose.” At Hammersmith Apollo, White was joined by Gertie Steinacker who, having gained experience in production, is now pursuing live sound. “I’ve been on a few shadow shifts now and it’s been very valuable,” she said. “I usually work much smaller shows so it’s interesting to see how live sound is handled at a higher level. Shadow Me Women is a really cool organisation run by women for women, and I’ve met some very helpful people through this who lead by example.” fb.com/groups/ShadowMeWomen
Below: Shadow, Gertie Steinacker.
video above the front truss for IMAG and a screen at the back with a lighting rig above it, but this was going to be different as I wanted the look to be connected as if it was one structure unfolding. We started with more Kinesys motors, allowing the rig to move more, but we also had to be on budget. Therefore, while in WYSIWYG programming, Mark and I agreed that we could get away without the lighting rig moving so we decided on the final optimum position for the back screen and rig, with just had the front screen moving.” Hurst left the lighting operation and programming to Mark JonesRoberts with whom he attended Croydon School of Art & Design over 25 years ago. “Mark and I have remained friends ever since, and he has become a well-known LD in his own right [Levellers, The Specials, Shane Filan], so I was delighted when he agreed to take on this project.” At Hurst’s request, Jones-Roberts went to Copenhagen to witness
the working chemistry between Astley, his band and the audience, while familiarising himself with the artist’s latest material. “Rick loved Andy’s design,” he said. “His only concern was that he didn’t want the show to have an ‘80s flavour. That’s understandable because he is a modern artist with excellent contemporary songs. There is, of course, one very ‘80s number that we light in full colour – She Wants To Dance With Me – and it’s very vibrant. The rest of the show Andy wanted us to keep the colours to a minimum, using one or two colours, even his most popular number from the ‘80s, Never Gonna Give You Up, which we lit in blue and white to great effect.” The flown rig comprised 48 Martin by Harman MAC Viper Spots, 63 Martin by Harman Sceptron 1000mm linear LED tubes, 35 GLP impression X4 Bar 20’s and 2 X4 Bar 10’s, and 12 Philips SL Nitro 510C strobes. On the floor were 13 Martin by Harman Viper Performances, 44 additional
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Sceptrons on the front of the drum and keyboard risers, 15 Claypaky Sharbar LED effect lights, 12 Martin by Harman MAC Aura XB on 2m of upright scaffolding, and an extra 15 Philips SL Nitro strobes. Jones-Roberts explained their deployment: “Generally speaking, everything is regimented into blocks of three, six and nine fixtures. The Sceptrons make their entrance mid-show and really come into their own for the brief disco portion of the show with matching tube graphics on the lower and upper screens. Otherwise, they are used quite sparingly, like many of the other fixtures. It’s a gradual build. We have the Vipers in rows of six with Sceptrons in between them in three banks of three. The Viper Performances on the floor give us a neat corridor of light that Rick moves in and out of at the start of the opening number. The Sharbars are in a row at the back to add a little sparkle and fill the stage with multi beams on a couple of numbers, while the Nitros provide an attractive glowing wash to blend the lighting and video. They act as Molefay with the added ability to mimic the main stage colour. “Our rig for Hammersmith was our A rig which we discovered would be the best system to fit most of the venues on the schedule, thanks to the work of our amazing tour rigger, James Heath. For the three smaller dates, we cut it down to a B version, losing two of the horizontal trusses which got us down to 30ft wide, but it still looked impressive.” Assisting Hurst with the finer detail of his design, Astley and his wife / co-manager Lene, offered some input with content ideas that the designer believes worked very well. He elucidated: “I wanted the show to unfold from the beginning and Rick agreed to start on his own, downstage of the screen, with his latest single Try. It gave us a great way to start the show. Holding things back, the first songs feature only lights [one box frame of IMAG for the front truss]; the next four numbers concentrated on video graphics to a black screen. We then use all the screens for She Wants To Dance With Me, showing all the 3D Sceptron tubes but only for a lighting effect without giving the rear screen away until the next song, Beautiful Life, when we go to
full video.” Since Peter Barnes and Vince Foster encouraged Hurst to investigate High End Systems’ Wholehog 2 console in the ’90s, he has remained a loyal Hog user. “It does everything I need it to do and they have always given me great support over the years,” said Hurst, whose feelings are mirrored by Jones-Roberts. “I was briefly tempted to cross over to MA,” the latter commented, “and I do like the MA2 but it involves a lot of button pushing before you get anything out of it, whereas both Andy and I already have the muscle memory, so I didn’t have to think about where anything is.” The choice of console for this tour was the Full Boar 4, the mid-level console in High End’s Hog 4 family, which more than earned its place during programming sessions at HSL’s premises in Blackburn. “Andy and I had a very short period in which to get this show prepared in WYSIWYG, and it made sense to work on a desk that we both knew inside out. I’m running 14 universes on it and the Sceptrons and X4 Bars are eating the channels!” Headed by Ian Stevens, the lighting crew also included techs Jake Jevons, and Ethernet / Hognet / dimmer man Andrew Whittaker. Representing HSL as Project Manager, Jordan Hanson said: “After working previously with Tony Gittins on Depeche Mode, to have the chance to work with him again, and Andy Hurst, who designed the show, has been great. It’s a fantastic show and Andy’s design is incredible.” Of all the show scenes to choose from, both Hurst and Jones-Roberts appeared to favour the opening sequence. Hurst observed: “The start of the show sets the tone for the whole performance and watching it unfold for the audience is my favourite thing.” Jones-Roberts agreed: “I’m very, very happy with it. The full-on, syncopated strobe look behind Rick completely blows the audience away. But there are some other dramatic moments such during Angels On My Side with the regimented Viper beams and Sceptrons tapping out the underlying beat. Shivers, at the end of the main set, is when the front screen comes down behind the band and we back light them with the X4 Bar 20s. It’s simple but so effective. 56
VIDEO ILLUSIONS
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RICK ASTLEY
“The great thing has been repeatedly hearing the phrase, ‘Wow… I didn’t expect that of a Rick Astley concert!” – for me, that has summed up the whole tour.” VIDEO Originally a lighting programmer, Ben Farrey (né Miles) eventually specialised in video after several years as a media server tech. A regular member of Coldplay’s touring crew for 10 years, Farrey was pleased to break away from editing content for the band’s new concert film to tour as Astley’s Video Director. “I came into this quite late,” he said, “by which time all the video content had been sourced so I went to work on manipulating it with some colour grading and other processes to make it sit within the set. Some content is from Rick himself. Shotgun has a time-lapse of a journey across the US that I edited so it worked as a slick backdrop for the song. “Despite budget restrictions, I think we’ve all worked together to produce something of substance, making the video look like set pieces. One of the things that makes this interesting is Andy Hurst’s idea of housing the content within different styles of 3D frame, using the outlines of the LED fixtures to help connect the 2 screens. They were always keen to get someone like myself to fill the screens, without knowing too much in advance about what the screens would be doing.” Provided by Universal Pixels, the screens themselves were two 12m wide x 4m high sections of Leyard CLM10. “It’s a brilliant product and in a couple of the songs we use its semi-transparency as an effect by shining light through it,” commented Farrey. “The Leyard’s incredible light weight has also been a very important factor, given the smaller venues. I don’t know if we could’ve rigged a screen in half of those places! When we scale down, all I really have to worry about is reorganising the mapping so that I can proportionally reduce the image.” Farrey’s colleagues in video world were programmer Robin Haddow, Video Engineer Joe Makein and Hammy Patel who ran cameras. A total of four cameras were in use – a 40x long lens at FOH, a pit camera and 2 onstage robocams – with Farey taking the uncommon step of cutting the visuals within a disguise 2 x 4 media server, using an MA Lighting grandMA2
lighting desk wing as a trigger to activate cues as one might for a theatre show. He said: “We’ve deliberately ensured that this was a very compact system and have taken an unconventional route that required intensive programming. The server has a 3D work surface that allows me to visualise everything. In order to preview and cut the cameras, I set up some virtual screens in that 3D world. I’m more familiar with larger systems, but it’s quite fulfilling when you approach something in a different manner, and this has given us the intended results.” After many years of working with Phil Mercer through XL Video, Farrey has finally enjoyed the opportunity to team up with him through Universal Pixels, the company he founded two years ago. “I’ve been very impressed with the quality and preparation of the kit,” he commented, “and they’re all good guys who approach the job correctly. It’s been a real pleasure.” True to his word, Astley never really gave us up. Admittedly, he ran around and deserted us for a while, but his astonishing return to the mainstream has been the stuff of fairytales. It was inevitable that he would end each show with his ‘rickrolling’ chart-topper, leaving everyone in the best of party moods. Astley will be back on 20 December to headline The Ultimate Christmas Party, a BBC Children In Need fund-raiser at The O2, with Tony Gittins in the PM’s chair. The star reverts to his core crew when he is special guest on Take That’s 30th anniversary tour. Meanwhile, Mr Gittins will have plenty on his hands as he prepares to spice up his life with a notable reunion that is reportedly the fastest selling tour ever, according to Ticketmaster. TPi Photos: Andrew Benge, Mark Cunningham, Oli Crump & Samantha White www.rickastley.co.uk www.hslgroup.com www.unipix.tv www.bcsaudio.com www.popcorncatering.com www.beatthestreet.net www.brianyeardley.com 58
INTERVIEW
L-R: Audio Project Manager, John ‘Hesky’ Hesketh; PSI Director, Sean Pagel; Head of Audio, Adam Collins. 60
PSI
PSI ENTERS THE WORLD OF PRO AUDIO WITH ADAMSON SYSTEMS PSI - Production Services Ireland – has been at the forefront of Northern Irish and Irish production rental, service and training for the last 18 years, initially focussing its efforts on lighting, followed by rigging and then training. This year, the company took on pro audio in far more than the sub hire capacity it was able to provide previously. In just 8 months, it seems apparent why and how its latest venture is working‌
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PSI Director, Sean Pagel; With son Zac Pagel who works in the company’s rigging department; Head of Training, Rainer Pagel.
There’s a well-known sentiment in this industry; that business deals are born out of relationships, and the tie-adjusting, bank-approaching conglomerate cash converter route never ends particularly well. Ironically, the numbers rarely add up. What does add up, however, is approachability, authenticity and passion (most likely dressed in a polo shirt and smile). This is the exact scene (combined with the office dog) that greeted TPi at Belfast International Airport upon arrival to meet PSI Director, Sean Pagel. There are two other PSI Directors - Founder, Brian Reilly and Ciaran Tallon, who runs the Dublin facility. The dog is still deciding on his title. Pagel himself came from an audio background, moved into lighting, and took a detour to supply special effects to film, before going into production management for various events, venues and festivals. When he joined PSI 13 years ago, he became a Director, with a focus on rigging, the business development of which is still his personal priority.
their faith in the name. So, from your global touring act to your village fete, you can reap the benefits of production excellence – and the industry clearly agrees. Today, we‘re here to talk about the new audio department, originally set up to cover its own in-house requirements, but kicked into sudden action following the insolvency of a local audio rental house. Suddenly, PSI clients were in desperate need of a replacement sound contractor. Pagel began: “Someone needed to take on the audio needs in the area, but it wasn’t me, directly!” he laughed, as despite starting out in audio, he hadn’t sat behind a mixing console since 1998. “Personally, PSI is the best in the country at what we do; we’re the most qualified, we’re safely trained and ethically operated, and we have a reputation within that. When it came to sound, we used to sub hire it in when we provided full production to an event. When the opportunity to better manage the standard of audio arose, we wanted to match the quality of lighting and rigging we were delivering.” Yet it was a big task. “Lighting is different because new fixtures come out yearly, and LDs want new toys to create different effects for their shows all the time, but in audio, when a manufacturer makes a good product, it seems to have much, much more longevity. Therefore, you need to get the investment right...” Enter PSI’s new faces: Head of Audio, Adam Lee Collins, and Audio Project Manager, John ‘Hesky’ Hesketh. Pagel continued: “Adam’s
A NEW FRONTIER PSI is an NRC (National Rigging Certificate) endorsing company, and Pagel is a member of NRAG (National Rigging Advisory Group), and an NRC Assessor. In effect, there’s a lot of expertise at PSI. Historically, the multiservice success that has become synonymous with the company is evident; not only does it service incoming touring acts to Ireland, its rigging, lighting, and training offering sees a large number of local, community events put 62
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PSI
The PSI team offers lighting, rigging, training and now audio services throughout Northern Ireland, Ireland and beyond.
experience, background and history within touring [he worked for Clair need it and we don’t stock it, we’ll find it for you, and this now extends into Global & Sonalyst] and Hesky’s local knowledge of venues and engineers our sound department.” [he was at said dissolved company for 15 years], allowed us to truly build the PSI audio team with vital, key knowledge A BLANK PAGE - in the same way we’d started the lighting Collins joined the conversation: “When you’re department.” starting part of a company from scratch, you’ve Collins started in the Clair UK warehouse, got a blank page to play with, and you can make became a monitor and PA tech before turning all the decisions carefully. We’ve been able to set it freelance, which involved trying his hand at up properly, professionally and efficiently, to offer automation, working with Queen + Adam Lambert. a standard that any visiting crew would expect to When he came off the road, a position as a local find in a major city. “I love the fact that Adamson Production Manager of Belfast Waterfront Hall “I asked a few people what they thought of is owned by a bloke who beckoned. “Adam has all his contacts in the the Adamson system, including my old man touring field, and I have all the contacts locally, [Rob Collins] and Paul ‘Pab’ Boothroyd [both makes speakers because so that works great,” noted Hesky of his new live mixing legends] and they both gave it great he’s really passionate about colleague. “It’s very complimentary, like a Yin and reviews, which was very encouraging. As Sean Yang situation covering all bases,” he smiled. mentioned, I used to work for Clair, which uses sound, rather than some Pagel agreed: “Everyone in the Irish audio Lab.gruppen amplifiers, as do Adamson, so that venture capitalist who just world knows Hesky, and everyone outside it in itself was another selling point. We were very knows Adam, so it’s a perfect mix from a Company open to suggestion when we were deciding on a wants you to whip your Director POV; I trust them to run PSI’s audio, and PA, but the product’s reputation, ease of use, and chequebook out.” they’re doing it really well. Our ethos is that we its lightweight advantage meant everything just Sean Pagel, PSI Director have great relationships with everyone, so if you seemed to fit,” he added. 64
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The Adamson purchase was announced during Prolight + Sound 2018, where PSI opted to buy 24 boxes of the S10, a 2-way, full range line array cabinet, along with 12 S Series S119 subwoofers. The Adamson team also helped to sell the brand, a notion Pagel related to: “We’ve always worked with companies where we can deal with real people. In Frankfurt, we had a chat with the Warehouse team [Adamson’s UK distributor] and then we attended the famous Adamson Dinner. I love the fact that Adamson is owned by a bloke [Brock Adamson, for your records] who makes speakers because he’s really passionate about sound, rather than some venture capitalist who simply wants you to whip your chequebook out. It’s very comforting to work with people who hold those standards.” The PSI audio team has also invested in Shure and Sennheiser RF, Midas & Allen & Heath consoles, as well as VDC Stage Boxes. When probed, Collins also revealed: “When touring, I was a DiGiCo user myself and their service is incredible - second to none - so we’re now looking at investing in them too. It’s the industry standard mixing desk, and when tours are carrying their own control, it’s what we see, the majority of the time.” SOUND SUCCESS Speaking of the visiting acts, who has made use of the Adamson system thus far? Well, Scottish trio Biffy Clyro played the Helix in Dublin for a 2,000-capacity acoustic set with a ground-stacked system. Liam Team spirit and comradery are rife at PSI, born from mutual respect and Gallagher’s Audio Tech, Richie Gough, hadn’t used Adamson and wanted a clear vision that inevitably comes from the top down. Pagel’s father heads an opportunity to try it during his visit with Biffy Clyro. Johnny Marr played up training for local students, helping put globally recognised skills back at Belfast’s Ulster Hall and American metalers Avenged Sevenfold stormed into the local youth. This ethos is also embedded amongst the sound crew. the city’s SSE Arena with an Adamson system supplied by PSI. Collins said: “Making sure our freelancers are up to scratch and well-trained One of PSI’s first outings with the Adamson system was a demo for a is really important to us. For example, we’ve got training sessions on Lab. sound company in Limerick. Hesky said: “We were at Limerick Castle with gruppen, Sennheiser and Shure coming up, because those fundamentals the system, and the client would usually have used a much bigger box. I have to be there if you’re with us. We’re stocking up with the best products was sceptical myself, but it was so impressive that the client is now looking and our staff need to be the best-trained. The key is in our name, service. into purchasing their own PA.” We offer a service without any hassle.” Then there was the St. Patrick’s Day gig at Pagel agreed: “We’re also pioneering the Belfast Custom House Square, when the heavens Adamson brand here. It could be the best sounding opened. Hesky explained: “It’s modular, and the box in the world, but if you set it up wrong, you’re dispersion of the box is very good - it was throwing dead in the water. We don’t win contracts by being up to 70m during a gale! We were literally being cheaper than everyone else and cutting corners; we hit with rain and hailstone, but it just worked - it win contracts by using products we believe in, and was so easy to transport, and rig - it was perfect having friendly, expert engineers working in their straight out of the box. I hadn’t been impressed “The market’s saturated field.” with something like that since I first heard the Has there been an audio SOS to speak of yet? L-Acoustics V-Dosc.” with a couple of boxes, so “Well, there was a mix up with an American singer Collins agreed: “The market’s saturated with a to have the chance to make recently, where the client was told the tour carried couple of boxes, so to have the chance to make a their own racks and stacks, but when the load in different choice is very exciting; there’s no baggage a different choice is very came, there was no PA!” said Collins. “One phone from previous investments lingering over us that we exciting; there’s no baggage call and 90 minutes later, the system was in the have to adhere to.” venue and flown. That’s the kind of service you’re And, of course, Pagel was there, cheering them from previous investments buying from us.” on, quite literally during the stormy weather: “I was lingering over us...” TPi the burrito boy that day…” he laughed. “All I could www.productionireland.com do was keep them fed and hold onto the gazebo!” Adam Collins, Head of Audio
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INTERVIEW
SECOND WAREHOUSE’S STUART KERRISON WANTS YOU TO EARN MORE MONEY The audio pro talks to TPi about the additional revenue his company now offers the European rental sector with new CashBack feature. The new scheme will see rental companies earn money when renting equipment in…
It’s been just over a year since Australian pro audio legend, Stuart Kerrison, ventured to TPi HQ in South Manchester from his home in Norway - also the base for online platform, Second Warehouse. Kerrison’s exciting new venture for the Pro AV market, which essentially tells companies where they can find the kit they want, how quickly they can get it and how much it’ll cost, reached its initial client target by over 200% in it’s first year. In short, the uptake has been phenomenal and momentum isn’t slowing down. Clearly, Kerrison and his team of developers and researchers have created a much-needed service, and the updates keep coming. For the first time, rental companies will now earn money from hiring in pro AV equipment, thanks to the ground-breaking new feature. It will provide users with up to 3% CashBack against the amount they’ve spent on equipment hire within the system, over the course of the year. Providing a valuable
source of income for the rental sector, CashBack leads a series of new features on the platform, delivering a mixture of functionality with the potential to fundamentally change how the pro AV rental sector operates. Since its launch, Second Warehouse has reinvented the way businesses manage cross-rental. On both desktop and mobile devices, companies of all sizes are able to trade in a safe, fast, secure, monitored and costeffective environment. So, how did the incentive come about? “For a rental company, it’s a whole other, new income source,” said Kerrison. “And who doesn’t want another income source for their business? It was a no-brainer. I got the initial idea from my local supermarket; you know when you’re at the till and you see these adverts giving you reasons why you should shop there; they would add up what I was spending in a year, and at the end of the year, they’d pay me back. Not with points, or coupons, but with cash in the bank. It’s such a weird idea, but of course, it attracts loyal customers. 68
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Second Warehouse’s Stuart Kerrison.
end users, and within that, the touring professional. This sees the introduction of the third new perk of using Second Warehouse; SOS Mode, which has been designed specifically for those knee-trembling moments on the road when equipment fails and a replacement has to be located, pronto. Anyone who activates SOS Mode will be able to instantly send an equipment request via email and SMS to every Pro AV supplier within the local area to find the gear they need, within 12 hours. Are the days of pleading for help on social media at 3am UK time when you’re on tour In Japan over? They just might be! And, thanks to CashBack, you can even make money on the deal. “When we launched, Second Warehouse promised to revolutionise the pro AV rental sector, and I believe that these features, especially CashBack and SOS Mode, are very significant steps towards delivering exactly that,” added Kerrison. “CashBack offers an entirely new income stream for rental companies and our wider users. It has never been done before and it means that if you hire AV equipment through any means other than Second Warehouse, you’re literally throwing money away.” Trondheim, Norway, may be the home of Second Warehouse’s unassuming HQ, but we get the feeling it’s also about to become the holy grail of rental house know-how, and every roadie’s digital destination. TPi www.secondwarehouse.com
Why wouldn’t that translate to what we’re doing? If people rent via Second Warehouse, they get money back, no hidden small print, just cash flow going back into their business.” The CashBack system provides users with real cash payouts for the equipment they rent in. All users will receive 2% CashBack on the total value of rentals they make, while those who have rented 10 times or entered at least 50 qualifying items into their Second Warehouse inventory will receive 2.5% CashBack. Interestingly, the cash payouts will occur twice per year, providing users with time to accumulate a bi-annual lump sum. He continued: “Our users will quite easily rent tens of thousands worth of gear each month, so with CashBack of up to 3%, accumulated over the course of six months, they can expect to see significant returns when payouts occur. Equipment cross-hire has long been a life-line method of making money within the rental sector. Now with the introduction of CashBack, we’re making it possible to make money even when you hire equipment in.” The introduction of CashBack leads a wealth of new features designed to make life easier for rental companies and sound professionals. Upcoming additions include the ability to simultaneously compare rental quotes from multiple suppliers, and to search for equipment with a single button push courtesy of the new Second Warehouse Gear Finder service. “Second Warehouse is so new, that there’s no precedent for how to do this. We wanted to create an incentive and we also wanted to become an automatic, time-saving hub. Gear Finder is also a new part of the system that, if no suppliers have what you need, sends out enquiries. It’s like having a digital secretary!” enthused Kerrison. “Instead of picking up the phone and going about finding gear in the usual ways, by using us, they’re earning money, and we’re creating work for our suppliers, which is the whole point. Having been involved with manufacturers and service companies myself for years, in many different capacities, I know they have a limited budget to work with, which can be frustrating at times. This tool will quickly give you the best price, quickly, then reward you for using it.” Perhaps the most significant of all potential problems come via the
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MARKET FOCUS
POWER GENERATION With the number of outdoor events in the UK increasing, and key power companies in demand globally, TPi takes a look at some of the generator hire services on offer.
power management system and have personally designed Calculus full wireless monitoring and communication system (3G/4G, Lora, WIFI).
THE POWER SHOP
Special care is also given to environment: • • • • • •
The Power Shop clientele are putting reliability at the top of their requirement lists. Thus the company has refined its modular concept, putting mid-size generators in parallel; resulting in a line of twin sets from 100 KVA up to 2 x 600 KVA, with the twin 400 KVA generators as the most common building stone for tours and concerts. The twin 400 KVA’s fully meet the demands for the entertainment industry. They are light weight, super silent, compact and robust. Fully equipped with built in distro panels and breakers, large built in and bounded fuel tanks, fully equipped control room, fire extinguisher, external and internal lights and many other options. The Power Shop’s twinsets are also equipped with a fully automatic
Low noise level to reduce the impact for neighbours Containers with drip pans in-order to avoid accidental leakage Specially selected, low fuel consumption engines Large built in fuel tanks reduce the number of fillings and so reduce the chance of accidental leakage A modular design which allows us smooth integration of installed and running power; combined with power management electronics Important savings on fuel consumption and CO2 reduction.
The Power Shop also recently added the new twin 60 KVA to its growing range. The latest addition to the company’s increases the ease of handling and can be handled with a 5-tonne forklift, a crane or with a hook loader. www.thepowershop.eu 70
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highly-efficient diesel engine generators and are installed with electronic management panels by ComAp and Deep Sea Electronics. This automated generator technology enables the generators to respond intelligently to the ebb and flow of power demands reducing engine running hours and the number and size of generators required. The company’s generators can be transported on road tow chassis which makes them perfect for installing on difficult or environmentally sensitive production sites. Pearce Hire regularly supplies power for events in stately home gardens and areas of outstanding beauty, and in unique natural environments which are an SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest) or an SPA (Special Production Area). With increasing expectations that power generator services should be as environmentally sensitive as possible, Pearce Hire has recently introduced the use of HVO (Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil) fuel as a replacement for traditional diesel. This renewable fuel is chemically equivalent to fossil diesel fuel and can be used in all Pearce Hire’s pre-existing generator infrastructures whilst significantly reducing non-renewable CO2 emissions. 2019 will see the introduction of hybrid generator technologies to further reduce engine running time and emissions. Extensive pre-planning and attention to detail in its power generator services enables Pearce Hire to influence clients to reduce environmental impact and the carbon footprint of their event. This reflects Pearce Hire’s overall commitment to promoting sustainable production management throughout all aspects of its services. www.pearcehire.co.uk
PEARCE HIRE Pearce Hire has provided temporary power generators and infrastructure alongside technical project management consultancy, production services and dry hire for over 2,000 events per annum. The company has an exceptional reputation for providing temporary power solutions for festivals, tours, exhibitions, architectural installations, sporting, entertainment and corporate events. A particular specialism is temporary power provision for Greenfield sites. Its extensive inventory of FG Wilson and Stephill power generators to suit all requirements and is committed to using the latest generator technology to reduce emissions. Pearce Hire’s generator inventory features energy-efficient diesel generators with bespoke power management and monitoring packages which can be operated in isolation for smaller events, or as a series of synchronised generator sets for large scale productions. The crew develops consultative production partnerships with all clients, reviewing pre-existing power procedures and advising and delivering exceptional temporary power solutions. This approach ensures that power generator specifications are not only fit-for-purpose but are the most efficient, cost-effective and sustainable solutions available. All power generators installed by Pearce Hire are advanced modern 71
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change things if they need to. Step forward Aggreko, a specialist in mobile, modular power, temperature control and energy services, has decades of experience catering for the world’s biggest shows, and in 2018, it exhibited the ability to adapt to a wide spectrum of demands. The 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang had an average temperature of -4oC, and Aggreko supplied its brand of portable equipment for 20 differing venues across the event. This entailed a massive 985km of cabling, 140 MW of power and 95 Aggreko experts on the ground. Mere months later, Aggreko helped put on a show for the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in Australia, that included 34 venues spread out across a vast 1,700km. A total of 30 MW of power was adeptly supplied, so 275 separate sporting classes could take place unhindered for the 672,000 spectators. The key to success for these massive events is in the planning. From the initial stages through to decommissioning, Aggreko collaborated with event organisers to guarantee the perfect measures, and their experts were on-site to oversee all aspects. Millions watched the action unfold during these spectacles, completely unaware of the level of work that took place before, during and after all the cameras were switched off and the lights were dimmed. It proved that planning and partnerships are profound when it comes to putting on a show for the masses. www.aggreko.com
AGGREKO The more eyes on an event, the tougher it gets to entertain the crowd. The need for bigger thrills and spills rises in parallel with numbers watching. Everyone loves to be enthralled, hence the rise in event revenue year after year. Tickets become hot property and anyone lucky enough to attend is left with memories to last a lifetime. This is why events are vital, and ensuring they provide the necessary value for spectators is a process that runs throughout the lifecycle of every occasion. The old adage goes, ‘fail to prepare, prepare to fail,’ and from small to large-scale events, this applies universally. Organisers need reliable partners to lean on so they can concentrate on making sure the curtain falls at the exact moment, and in the desired way. Perhaps the most critical partnership for organisers is power and temperature control. Without these, there are no spotlights for fans to see, no cameras for the millions at home, and an ambient temperature either rocketing or plummeting. An organiser needs a partner that takes care of these fundamental aspects so they don’t have to worry about them. They want power, heating and cooling that is constant, and the flexibility to 72
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management service from the initial consultancy all the way through to delivery. For every project undertaken it listens to the individual client to gain a clear understanding of their needs and to deliver them the highest standard of service and the best value for money. Its project managers are amongst the most experienced in the marketplace and have a proven track record in delivering large scale projects on time and on budget. They are supported by reliable and knowledgeable crew who will deliver your event. Power Logistics also offers fully operational office support with a team of people behind the scenes who are vital to the logistics, planning and overall smooth running of the project. They are complemented by robust admin and account systems, so you know your entire project in safe hands. Commenting on the company’s green credentials, Managing Director Mike Whitehouse said: “Whilst we wholly recognised that temporary power is by its nature not environmentally friendly, being energy efficient is at the forefront of everything that we do. Our research into alternative fuels is beginning to yield results however there are still concerns from clients regarding the costs. We continue to investigate new and alternative methods to make the events we support and the day to day activities of our company as carbon efficient as possible. “Sustainable solutions and reducing our impact on the environment are key to ensuring our business is both efficient and cost effective for our clients.” www.powerlog.co.uk
POWER LOGISTICS Power Logistics is a customer-focused service with a well-respected track record which spans the course of two decades. Consistent in its delivery of practical expertise in stage power, site electrics, distribution, project management and lighting at concerts, festivals, exhibitions, conferences, parties, award ceremonies and sporting events. The team’s logistical and electrical safety records are exemplary. Power Logistics provide services within permanent venues as well as temporary green field events; maintaining a whole host of equipment and services in house; from a fleet of dedicated event generators, suitable for use with alternative fuels, to an extensive stock of mains cabling, distribution and lighting equipment. In addition, the crew also have the facilities and expertise to fabricate new products, as well as adapting existing equipment to meet a client’s specific requirements. Power Logistics consistently deliver practical expertise in performance and broadcast power, site electrics, distribution, project management and lighting to all kinds of events, irrespective of their size. Whatever its clients’ requirements it will work with them to provide them a full project 74
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FOURTH GENERATION As project managers, Fourth Generation specialise in overseeing all levels of power project management for events; ensuring equipment, crew, transportation, health and safety and all associated elements are taken care of. Dotting the ‘I’s and crossing the ‘T’s is what Fourth Generation do best. From sourcing and negotiating the hire of equipment nationally and internationally, to on-site and local liaison, the team is there to guide you, and has assisted such clients as the Olympic NBC broadcast team to Robbie Williams and Genesis. With 20 years experience in North and South America, Europe, Asia, Australia and the Middle East, Fourth Generation is placed globally to advise clientele on every aspect of powering event in both the domestic and foreign markets. The crew are hand-picked based on specialist knowledge and experience in the live event market. Notwithstanding a focus on the technical ability important to clients, but also the correct temperament in the support staff that surround them. A personable, unflappable ‘can do’ and ‘get it done’ attitude is what is also a requirement of Fourth Generation
(not to mention a sense of humour in the face of adversity!) As RDCO (Registered Dealers in Controlled Oils) agents, the team are able to provide fuel management, taking care of all your diesel and oil delivery needs. www.fourthgenerationltd.com
NEXT MONTH IN MARKET FOCUS For our upcoming edition, we will be looking into the word of in-ear monitors. As such, we’ll be speaking to the globe’s leading manufacturers of in-ear molds to discuss the latest product lines, developments within the field and the safety benefits of IEM use in live productions. The January issue of TPi will be distributed at ISE & The NAMM Show. If you would like be involved, please submit 200-300 words along with a high resolution image (300dpi) by 10 December 2018 to Assistant Editor, Stew Hume: s.hume@mondiale.co.uk We look forward to hearing from you!
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IN PROFILE
LANG
IN PROFILE: LANG Nestled in the quaint German town of Lindlar is an LED, projection and image processing company; which, for 40 years, has serviced the production industry by providing a backbone of stock for rental houses across Europe. TPi paid a visit to its HQ to talk about the future...
The name Lang will be very familiar to many in Pro AV. For 40 years, the ethos of this company has been to remain out of the limelight. From humble beginnings - in the living room of founders Paul Detlef and Gabriele Lang – when the company originally specialised in slide projectors, the pair realised there was another niche to be filled... Instead of competing for rental jobs, the team opted to become a mass stockist of AV products and became the one-stop shop which promises to fill the needs of any rider requests rental houses may have. The company, still very much in the hands of the family, now boasts Paul and Gabriele’s son, Tobias Lang, who stepped up as CEO back in 2008. Both the stock offering and staff quantities have grown steadily over the years, while remaining, miraculously, one of the industry’s best-kept secrets. Ian Woodall, Managing Director of Lang’s UK office, picked TPi up from Cologne airport to give us a tour of the facility and an insight into the world of Lang. “The reach of Lang is truly incredible,” began Woodall, our host as we sat in the company café. “I would say 9 out of 10 of Europe’s biggest shows will almost without a doubt have a piece of Lang gear featured on the rider. However, for 40 years we have remained relatively under the radar, only been known by a selection of top tier suppliers.” This ‘behind the scenes’ operation has been the centre ethos of the company for some time. “Our customers need to know we always have the stock available to add to their own inventory for those big shows,” stated Woodall. “At the same time, they need to know we are discreet in our dealings. They don’t need to worry about us bunny-hopping them on a quote for a show.” The guarded approach was plain to see while walking around the Lindlar facility. Among rows upon rows of grey flight cases containing the latest LED, projector and image processing technology, you won’t find a single rental house logo or artist tour scrawled onto any of the boxes. “It’s all numbers and barcodes here,” joked Woodall. “This means we can have clients visit the warehouse without fear of supplying intel on their competition.” For the uninitiated, there are several arms of Lang’s business model;
rental, sales, servicing, sales of ex-rental, development of bespoke products, and education. Nina Chen, LED Product Specialist, discussed the finer points of the company’s business. “When Lang decides to invest in a certain product, the industry as a whole takes notice,” she began. “However, our decision regarding what products and brands to invest in involves a long process of comparing what is new in the market - a process which very much involves our customers.” One of Chen’s responsibilities is the organisation of the company shoot-outs, during which various LED brands are pitted against each other. “During the shoot-outs, we keep all the brands under wraps until the end. No manufactures are present while the customers are studying the products, which enables a true blind test without the usual trade show pressure.” Following this, customers feedback via a response form, which is distributed to both manufactures and those who attended. Lang then takes this data and, from the responses, determines what will be the next line of products to fill the warehouse floor. “These shoot-outs have also fed into the development arm of Lang,” chimed in Woodall. “There will be times when a product will do really well in customer responses in terms of performance but will fall short in other areas such as mechanics. This has led to us doing joint ventures with various companies where we will have moded versions of the product with a few extra features.” One example of this was the INFiLED s1.8 LE (LE standing for Lang Edition). “The product itself is fantastic but for customers looking for a slightly more premium product, the LE edition really is the next step-up.” These developments go further than updating existing products and also create Lang’s own smart solutions. Under the brand SOLUTIONS4AV, a selection of Lang employees create innovative solutions for the AV market including bespoke display products and connectors. “One of SOLUTION4AV’s main draws is their ability to create any blackbox connector you could dream of,” stated Woodall, as he pulled one such example with the ability to connect discontinued camera connector to 79
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a modern mixer from a drawer. “Often manufacturers would not put the resources into creating bespoke connectors. So, customers can come to us and we’ll put the team on it.” This arm of Lang provides more than intuitive small solutions. Moving to another area of the warehouse TPi got to see some of the cutting edge technology the company creates. It really wouldn’t be out of place in Tony Stark’s office. Take the Tangible Object Recognition (TOR) system, for example; it creates a smart surface where objects are picked up by the LED table and can create real time effects on the surface depending on the markers position - the future is here, folks! As well as pulling inspiration from Sci-Fi, Lang has also made a significant investment in other more practical creations, including their bespoke LED flight cases. Designed to provide the best protection for the product, the cases also have a drawer system which gives customers the ability to test the screen before even leaving the box.
THE FUTURE One thing struck TPi while walking through the vast expanse of Lang’s main office; The diversity of the staff base. People of all ages and genders were going about their day to day business. “I’m glad you picked up on that,” smiled Chen. “One thing Lang pushes is education.” Chen is actually one of the graduates who went on to become a full time employee at Lang. “During the later end of my studies I specialised in LED aging. Like the other students we have on board I was allowed to move around the warehouse and speak to all the experts to widen my knowledge base.” Although having trainees in a company’s warehouse is not unusual in this industry, what really separates Lang is how pivotal those studying are to the ecosystem within the company. For example, while walking through the testing area for projectors, Chen pointed towards a specially designed sensor board which was able to test the output across a projection beam. This particular product is the result of a student project and is now distributed across the Lang network. In line with this leaning towards education, part of the company’s offering since 2010 has been the Lang Academy. Since its inception, the Academy has developed and organised seminars to meet the increased demand for continuous training and hosts casual presentations of the latest technology for events and media installations of all kinds. The seminar program addresses technicians of the AV industry and covers the understanding and operation of professional video technology.
GROWTH OF THE COMPANY Over the decades, Lang has grown its HQ to cover 29,000sqm. However, this is all about to change, the Lang team explained as we sat in the large meeting room looking out over the surrounding Lindlar valley. “One of Lang’s most successful products is the projector frame,” stated Woodall, “Every Panasonic and Epson projector sold uses our frames.” Such is the demand for the company’s metal work, Lang has decided to begin the rapid expansion of the site with a new 35,000sqm facility, almost exclusively for this side of the business. But it’s not just the expansion of the German facility. The last two years have also seen the development of two new branches of the business in Switzerland and the UK. “Speaking on behalf of the UK office, we have opened the door to a whole list of clients who, prior to the new branch, would not have been on Lang’s radar due to distance. But now with a footprint in the UK we can offer them all the stock and the ability to look at bigger jobs without the headache of sub-hiring another rental house.” Despite the two new physical locations, Lang is keen to keep the company under one metaphorical roof. “Our entire stock system is connected to the German office,” stated Woodall. “This means we are able to get the entire picture of what is available to our customers, so we can give a quote immediately.”
40 YEARS STRONG As Lang now enters its 40s, the company shows no signs of slowing down. Just last year it passed the milestone of having employed 200 people - and with the number of students working their way up the ranks, it seems this number is only rising. “But with growth it’s important to remember that employee number one still works at the company,” commented Woodall, alluding to the family nature of the organisation. So, with a fond Auf Wiedersehen, TPi left the Lang HQ happy to have gone behind the scenes of this Pro AV industry backbone. TPi Photos: TPi & Lang www.lang-ag.com 80
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PRODUCTION FUTURES 2018 For the third time, TPi Magazine welcomed students and young freelancers to Production Park for this year’s Production Futures. With record attendee numbers the TPi team invited even more exhibitors, training session and the inaugural TPi Talks; this was certainly an event not to be missed.
It’s truly humbling to see how far Production Futures has come from the initial conversations held at TPi HQ in 2016. What began as a mission to create an event that caters for the next generation of the live events industry, has led TPi to create an entirely new awards initiative, a monthly column in the magazine, and of course – three successful events. For three of those years, we have brought some of the most reputable manufactures, rentals houses and educational institutions under one (very large) roof to pass on their knowledge. Taking place slightly later in the year then the two previous incarnations of Production Futures, TPi once again made a temporary home in Production Park’s LS-Live rehearsal studios. Moving in the day after the Mumford and Sons production vacated, TPi and the team from GoTo Live got to work to create a more ambitious production for the 850 preregistered attendees expected to roll up the following day. Working with a similar shell scheme as previous years, support for Production Futures came in the shape of Creative Technology, Green Hippo, AED, Avolites, Adlib, TAIT, Eclipse, Brilliant Stages, DBpixelhouse, TRUCKINGBY Brian Yeardley, White Light, IPS, ADJ, ISCE, Sennheiser, Pearce Hire and Hawthorn.
Commenting on his involvement with Production Futures, DBpixelhouse’s Matt Rakowski said: “We were really excited to be involved with Production Futures for the first time this year - but the reality of being there exceeded our expectations. The event was really well-organised and the students who attended were well-suited to our business and very interested in what we do.” Sitting along side those companies was a selection of the UK’s finest education establishments, including: The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, Backstage Academy, University of South Wales, The BRIT School, LIPA, BIMM, Rose Bruford College, University of Derby and Confetti. A selection of associations who provide a variety of services for aspiring techs of the future with the PSA, Women in Live Music and the Society of Television Lighting and Design were also on site. Pearce Hire’s Jim Brown commented: “Last year we met and employed a full-time member of staff and this year’s Production Futures was another day well spent out of the office. We met a good mix of young people from all over the country and we made a couple of excellent freelance connections two of whom have already worked for us since we met them.” This year, TPi was keen to have a more hands-on experience than the 82
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seen in previous years, offering a number of demo spaces and training sessions from all corners of the industry. The training sessions were held in a selection of rooms situated around the main events space. 2018 also welcomed DiGiCo, ChamSys, Sound Technology, Interfacio and Kinesys to the Production Futures fold. This quintet provided bespoke training sessions to showcase some of the latest technology being used in the industry today. Leading the charge, Kinesys set up a temporary model demonstrating the limits of automation technology. Meanwhile DiGiCo, in collaboration with Adlib, enjoyed busy sessions with students keen to get a handson experience with the S-Series of digital consoles. Hosted by UK Trainer, Tom Williams, those who attended were able to witness the speed at which the desks set up, and are easily navigated. For those with an interest in lighting, ChamSys welcomed attendees to get get hands-on with its MagicQ console range and software. During the session, the ChamSys team walked through how to patch a show, create cues and produce a myriad of effects. Later in the day, the console manufacturer opened the doors for a Q&A session welcoming specific queries on taking their lighting career to the next level. In another room, Sound Technology hosted a session to showcase a selection of products from the Harman family; which included JBL Professional’s flagship VTX A12 large format line array and complementary F-Series point source loudspeakers, all powered by Crown VRacks. Martin by Harman MAC Encore Performance and Wash fixtures, alongside the new JEM Glaciator Dynamic and RUSH range were also on display. Additionally, Interfacio was on-hand to ensure that the future generation put their best foot forward into the world of live events. But the experience continued on the show floor, with several demo spaces. Making a welcome return to Production Futures was disguise and Chauvet Professional who both provided a selection of visual feasts. New to this year’s event, and also taking on a demo space, was Philips Vari-Lite and Lucid Productions in partnership with HSL. After a successful demo at HSL’s 30th anniversary open day, the team from Lucid showed off some of its latest offerings including its immersive and interactive demonstration of the latest video technology. During the demo, volunteers could affect the content on a screen via the clever application of BlackTrax software and 3D video scenes delivered from the Notch-hosting disguise GX2 media server. For those taking a break and venturing outside – despite the very changeable November weather – got to experience life on the road with one of the TRUCKINBY Brian Yeardley’s fabled trucks. The company, in recent months, has been out on the road with the likes of Elvis Costello, Little Mix and Van Morrison. Parked along side was another staple of Production Futures, Beat the Street. Once again the company opened its doors for the attendees to get an up-close look at what a touring home looks like. Back inside, opposite the main stage performance area was the ETC High End Systems stand, which brought the final of the UK Hog Factor to Production Futures. For the competition, two teams competed against one another in a lighting showdown using High End Systems’ Hog 4 console. This year, the winning team was Two CLC’s and a Norwegian Walk Into a Bar [great name, lads! - Stew]. Each team was tasked with programming to the Foo Fighters’ Pretender showing off their skills to the crowds. Competition judges included renowned Lighting Designer Jonathan Armstrong (David Guetta, Mika and Basement Jaxx) and Senior Product Manager for Hog consoles, Sarah Clausen. Feedback for each team was positive, with Clausen commenting: “Both teams showed a real ability to break down the song and structure of a lighting show to fit the music. We were very impressed with both teams’ timing and execution.” With the day drawing to a close, all exhibitors and attendees were welcomed to join caterers around the Load Cell Rental bar for a drink along with a complementary burrito from the day’s kitchen maestros, Rockpool Tour Catering. Charlotte Dillamore-Bailey commented: “We felt privileged to be a part of such a fantastic day. We had three teams working across the event, providing a hospitality bar, and food for all visitors and exhibitors. It felt great to be a part Production Futures because of how it is helping to build the future of our industry.” TPi
Over the past few years, Production Futures has hosted several panel talks, but for 2018, opted to launch the inaugural ‘TPi Talks’. With the over arching concept of giving students an insight into their future career, we saw some well known names within the world of live events to speak to the audiences about their experiences… Starting the proceedings off was the Just Graduated? What Next? panel. Hosted by Adlib’s Al Mouat, veteran of the live events industry, he spoke to three recent graduates about the first few years in their individual fields. The graduates included Jordan Potts, previously of Backstage Academy, who is now Live Event Logistics Co-ordinator at TRUCKINGBY Brian Yeardley. Next up was David Howard, University of South Wales graduate, who spoke of his time as a freelance LD. Finally, disguise’s Ruben Garcia, who recently graduated from Rose Bruford College and now taking on the role of Quality Assurance Engineer. Through the conversation Mouat quizzed the three about how they had transitioned from students to members of the live events family as well as let the three give some advice for those about to leave full time education. Following the graduate panel, TPi welcomed keynote speaker Mark Cunniffe, Show Designer of Ed Sheeran’s Latest ÷ tour. Winner of this year’s Mark Fisher Set Designer of the Year Award at the TPi Awards, Cunniffe walked the audience through his first experience with Sheeran, and how he played his part it converting this singer’s academy show, into the Stadium spectacular he is known for today. “I thoroughly enjoyed my time at
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Below: TPi’s Stew Hume with Mark Cunniffe, Show Designer of Ed Sheeran’s ÷ tour; The Just Graduated? What Next? panel with Adlib’s Al Mouat, David Howard, Ruben Garcia and Jordan Potts.
Production Futures this year and welcomed the opportunity to speak to the next generation of designers, programmers and audio engineers,” commented Cunniffe. “It’s a must see event for anybody thinking about a career in our industry.” Next on the stage was Malle Kass and Hannah Brodrick from Women in Live Music. The organisation is a European platform and online community for women working in the industy. Both Kaas and Brodrick discussed various topics including tips on how to get along when you’re new to the industry, insecurity as a freelancer and how to ease out the gender imbalance and empower more women seeking careers in live music. Following the Women in Live Music, the main stage schedule moved to a packed afternoon of focused case study talks from all corners of the industry. This included the likes of Royal Blood’s LD Sam O’Riordan, FOH Engineer Françoise Le Moignan from Haçienda Classical and Brilliant Stage’s Toby Van-Hay discussing his involvement with the Beyoncé and JAY-Z OTR II tour. Each of the individuals discussed in detail how they came into the various projects and the challenges they faced during each. Finally, taking TPi Talks home was lighting legend Tupac Martir of Sator Studios who throughout his illustrious career has worked in various fields from rock ‘n’ roll to the catwalks of Milan’s high end fashion world. Breaking the fourth wall of traditional presentations, the LD decided to sit on the edge of the stage to give a more personal talk with the enraptured audience. The designer talked through selection of topics showing the outer limits of what can be achieved with lighting. TPi
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PRODUCTION FUTURES
To round off the mains stage line up, Production Futures once again hosted the TPi Breakthrough Talent Awards. The younger sibling of the annual TPi Awards, Breakthrough Talent was developed to put the spotlight on some of those upcoming in the industry who have already shown great aptitude to their various crafts and archived a great deal in a short number of years. For 2018’s rendition, the awards were split into four categories. The first two were Undergraduate and the Young Freelancer of the Year. Both awards required applicants to put themselves forward and to present a short case study on a recent event explaining that they had
learned from the experience. Also new to this year was the Production Rookie award. This Awards was set aside for businesses and organisations to put forward a new employee who had already shown themselves to be an invaluable member of their work force. Finally the TPi Standout Talent was set aside for the magazines editorial team to award to a young individual who had already made a significant impact in the industry and presented true endeavour in the field. All four of the winners, as well as walking away with a sought-after trophy, were given an official invite to next year’s TPi Awards, taking place on the 25 February at London’s Battersea Evolution.
AND THE WINNERS ARE... TPi STANDOUT TALENT 2018
ELLIOT BAINES Presented by Hannah Eakins The winner of this year’s TPi Stand Out talent has been on TPi Magazine’s radar for some time. At only 15, this aspiring Lighting Designer had already turned industry heads, having worked on some the UK’s biggest festivals including Glastonbury, Shambala and Latitude. Currently, he is continuing to pick up as much experience as possible under the banner Spiralstagelighting. He truly encapsulates the spirit and entrepreneurship that the judges at the TPi Breakthrough Talent Awards were looking for. “I was so happy,” commented Baines, following the announcement. “It was amazing and I was so honoured upon winning this award! Production Futures was extraordinary, and the event was fantastic for meeting new people and getting to socialise with major companies!” he exclaimed.
YOUNG FREELANCER OF THE YEAR 2018
TERRY KING Presented by Sam O’Riordan This year’s Freelancer of the Year was Terry King, a Production Manager who recently took up the mantle of handling R&B Artist IAMDDB. Leading the charge of bringing the artist’s creative vision to life and supervising the department involved in ensuring that each element of the show came together swiftly. “Winning this year’s Young Freelancer award was such an incredible honour,” stated King. “I think it’s extremely important to have such a platform to recognise and highlight the efforts and talents of the younger generation. After all, they are the future of our industry! Another great feature I enjoyed was how our awards were presented to us by seasoned professionals who seemed to have a genuine interest in what we were involved in and our aspirations moving forward. The entire Production Futures event was a very enjoyable and productive experience for me. It was such a great networking opportunity and gave me a lot of insight into some of the leading company’s and vendors within the industry. I definitely encourage anyone who’s interested in live event production to make plans to attend next year!” 86
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PRODUCTION ROOKIE
JORDAN POTTS Presented by Andy Lenthall This year’s TPi Production Rookie was awarded to TRUCKINGBY Brian Yeardley’s Jordan Potts. In a very short time, Potts has become a key member of the touring division of the freighting company. In his application Sarah Hopper, Truckingby’s Quality Director described Jordan as “invaluable to the team.” Liaising with production managers, artists and customers to provide them with quotes and information on their trucking requirements and keeping them informed during the events taking place. “I was astounded to say the least,” commented Potts. “I didn’t once even consider that I could have been nominated for any of the awards. The whole team, including Sarah, Kevin and Glenn did a great job keeping it quiet. It hit home half way through the introduction to the award, when I realised the presenter, Andy Lethall of the PSA, was actually describing me! Production Futures is one of a kind - a great event to inspire young people and give them a taste of all aspects of the live events industry.”
UNDERGRADUATE OF THE YEAR
HARVEY FITZPATRICK Presented by Mark Cunniffe This year’s Undergraduate of the Year was Harvey Fitzpatrick. For this category, the judges were looking for an individual that while being successful in their studies has also gone above and beyond to further their skills, experiences and knowledge of the industry. Fitzpatrick has shown this in spades. While working towards his Lighting Design Course at Rose Bruford College, this aspiring LD worked on one of the biggest shows on earth the Super Bowl. By managing to get himself on the Lighting Team he worked with Lighting Director Dave Grill and executed various roles, including heading up a team of volunteers to wheel out the lighting show. “It was great to receive the award, and to meet Mark Cunniffe who presented me the prize too,” commented Fitzpatrick. “Credit goes to my tutors for keeping me at university, when all I wanted to do was go out and work!” he joked.
HOG FACTOR WINNERS
CLC’S AND A NORWEGIAN WALK INTO A BAR Nick Steer, Jay Mayer and Espen Karlsen.
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GEAR HEADS
BARCO IMAGEPRO-4K Abbe Westerlundh, Senior Product Specialist, ImagePROcessing talks to TPi about the ImagePRO-4K... How long did the R&D process take in order to complete the Barco ImagePRO-4K? With LED tiles, year after year, the trend has been toward ever tighter pixel pitches and we realised large-scale events would be moving towards using more pixels than ever. To create a product that did this well - within the events production industry - we would have to adopt more devices capable of utilising the latest 4K60p signals. Early on in 2016, we began to look at developing a successor to the ImagePRO-II. Around the same time, we were very deep in development for the Event Master platform, so we needed to find a solution that fit our development schedule. R&D started looking at the design and how to support 4K60p. During the design phase of our second-generation Event Master input and output cards, that would need to support 4K60p on a single connector. Our Director of Technology, and the R&D team, came up with the idea of the Tri-Combo cards. The cards would be designed to use the latest standards (HDMI 2.0, DP1.2, and 12G SDI) and they would provide a ‘Swiss Army Knife’ approach to digital video connections. This began our development of the Event Master 4K60p Tri-Combo input and output cards, and what would be the heart of the ImagePRO-4K. Concurrently, we were also in the middle of a new low-profile stage box, one of our customers had asked of us, as a solution to use with the E2 and S3. This new chassis came to be called the EX, which is a box that both expands the capacity of an E2 or S3 signals to the stage. This new processor allowed the system to expand input or output capacity without adding another E2 or S3 processor. Using our system linking connectors, we were able to qualify a fiber extension solution as well that allowed for the stage box to be placed up to 100m away from the main processor. Realising the power and versatility of this new box, the EX became the perfect platform to start the ImagePRO-4K. We continued development of the Tri-Combo cards and the EX, putting the ImagePRO plans in the drawer until we had all the components ready. We began shipping the Tri-combo input card
in October, 2017 and the output card in February, 2018. The factory preconfigured Tri-combo variants of E2, S3 and EX are now our most popular selling configurations. With all the major components now in place, we pulled the ImagePRO4K plans back out of the drawer in January of 2018 and began the rest of the design and development work in earnest. The plan sounded simple - take new cards and put them in a new chassis, rework the mother board, and add a front panel. If only it were as fast and easy as it sounds! Not only were we working with the latest tech, but also wanted to modernise the look and feel of the ImagePRO. The first thing we did was change the readout display type from the old VFD (the green fluorescent display) to a daylight viewable colour LCD display, giving us the ability to show modern looking menus, and live video. This brought its own integration challenges with mechanics, viewing angles, and software to drive the new display. The new ImagePRO-4K was previewed to select customers at InfoComm 2018. After collecting customer feedback, we went through a few more 3D prints and software revisions to make sure we were keeping the ImagePRO look and even more importantly, the feel. In October 2018, we held our final quality review, confirming we are ready for release, and started shipping soon after. It’s was a huge team effort! Where does it sit in the Barco family of products? The ImagePRO-4K is the latest product added to our very successful line of ImagePRO products, and it is also now part of the Event Master family. These are two big reputations to protect. The ImagePRO-4K has a brilliant scaler, converter, sync generator, and is an all-around video problem solver. We see the Event Master heritage when you open up the Event Master Toolset, our control software. It is here one can really open up the power of the ImagePRO-4K and use it as more powerful switcher, or even as a multiformat scaling matrix router with up to six inputs and outputs. 88
BARCO IMAGEPRO-4K
We see use cases in most markets, but especially the live event market where extremely low latency and image quality are top priorities. In the Rental and Staging world, the flexibility of the ImagePRO-4K is key. It is a real inventory solution as you can use the same product as a break out room switcher one day, and a pre-scaler for an LED wall the next.
need arise. Mostly, the ImagePRO-4K will give the market very low latency and highquality images. The lowest latency in the live market is king. If you’re at a concert, you wouldn’t want to see live video of the drummer hit the cymbal after you’ve already heard it. With the new ImagePRO-4K we also expect to see the matrix functionality used extensively. When processing HD signals, typical for lower resolution walls in large venues, the ImagePRO-4K is the equivalent of six ImagePRO HD processors. That’s a lot of rack space to save!
And in the marketplace as a whole - is it a higher end unit? When you look at our product offerings, the ImagePRO is not our most expensive box by far, but its performance is definitely high end. With the ImagePRO family, we can reach down to some pretty basic HD applications with the ImagePRO-II Jr at a very reasonable price point, or all the way up to some very complex 4K applications with the ImagePRO4K. The ImagePRO family is not considered low end scaling by any means. No matter what format you work in, you can be sure it will be scaled and converted accurately as the signals are always processed with 12-bit accuracy, creating better scaling and conversion making it incredibly easy to get sensational results. If you need very low latency with great image quality, we think we are providing a very good value in the ImagePRO family of products and especially with the ImagePRO-4K.
Did you work closely with visual designers and engineers in order to finalise the end result? Our customers and beta testers really drive our roadmap, products and design. We are not designing the products for what we want; we’re not the end user, we focus on what the customer wants and needs to do a better job. Long before we start designing a product, we are out talking with our customers, attending their shows, and generally, listening for ‘pain points’. We tend to gravitate more towards the engineers and technicians that will ultimately be hands on with our products, but we also want to have perspective from the owners and end users. We can build the best thing ever, but if it does not provide enough return on their investment or a better total cost of ownership for our customers it won’t improve their workflow.
This video switcher is multi-functional and is aimed at both the live events sector and fixed install industry. What are the key features which will appeal to the touring / festival end user for a tough life on the road? ImagePRO has been utilised in the touring market for almost as long as it has been in existence (since 2004). Most of the time, on tours, it’s used as a pre-scaler for LED walls. We have been told by many LED technicians that they won’t take a wall out on tour without an ImagePRO in front of their pixel driver. The ImagePRO-4K brings the ability to not only take in any resolution source and make it fit to the obscure resolutions of LED, but it also has enough capacity to manage back up signals and even a still store should the
Has there been any key inventory intakes from video rental companies? We have many early adopters of the ImagePRO-4K. Right now, our largest commitments have come from AED, Lang, Rentex, Satis&Fy and VER. Most of the wholesale rental partners have placed orders as well. The ImagePRO-4K is also in high demand in the Japanese and Korean markets. TPi www.barco.com/imagepro4K
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PSA: THE BIGGER PICTURE
A MONTH IN THE LIFE PSA rounds up a busy month of meetings...
Meetings, we go to a lot of meetings, we also have meetings to discuss what went on at all the meetings and what we have to do to get beneficial outcomes for our industry from all the bloody meetings. This month, we thought it might be fun and cathartic to look back at November’s diary and give a little synopsis of some of the meetings we’ve been to, especially the ones we’re not allowed to talk about.
Are you creative? Are you a manager? Are you an entrepreneur? None of them are exclusive; you can be all 3, apparently. Thing is, out there in the world of creativity, there are people who don’t realise that they have the management or entrepreneurial potential to help grow the industry. At least, that’s what the British Council and its partners from Bulgaria, Greece, Romania and the UK think, which is why they put together Live Skills, a project which aims to design and pilot a series of original learning programmes for professionals and people looking to develop a career in the Audiovisual and Live Performance sectors, the programmes are designed to fill skills gaps already identified by research in the 4 partner countries, namely management, marketing and entrepreneurialism. The PSA was asked to sit on the advisory group, looking at the work of those developing the programmes and offering insight and suggestion for both development and deployment. This month, this involved a dash to the lovely city of Sofia to spend and afternoon critiquing their work before leaving the working groups to pick up the pieces. Our advice is, if you’re going to be on a group, be on an advisory group. Liveskills.eu is where you can learn more about the project. INSPIRING THE NEXT GENERATION
BORING THE NEXT GENERATION Mum, Dad, I’m going to be a sound engineer, say several dozen people every year. Some of them enrol on courses, some really good courses that teach real, practical skills. DbS, formerly in Plymouth but now in Bristol, has been doing that for a good few years now. As part of their professional practice module, the PSA’s GM pops in once a year to deliver a guest lecture on ‘Professionalisnm and How Trade Associations Can Help’. Not one line is checked, not one fader is moved, as students spend an hour being dazzled by facts, figures, practicalities and, well, all the other stuff they never knew they needed to know but now they do know they won’t have to learn the hard way. STANDARDISING THE BORING BITS 90
PSA: THE BIGGER PICTURE
Off the plane from Sofia, straight to Wakefield and Production Park for the third Production Futures event, and what an event it was. Take several hundred students and recent graduates, mix in a few employers looking to fill vacancies expand their subcontractor pool, add a programme of on-stage interviews with key industry figures, season with a programme of hands on technical sessions and career development advice and you have the recipe for a phenomenal event, both engaging and encouraging for everyone involved. Rounding the day off with a Burrito from on-site caterers Rockpool Tour Catering seemed to go down well too. IT’S NOT ALL ABOUT THE NEXT GENERATION We’re also quite keen on protecting the interests of the current generation, keeping healthy and safe is key to that aim and love ‘em or loath ‘em, the Health and Safety Executive are charged with ensuring we do just that, by HM The Queen, no less. To that end, we, other associations, unions and large employers from the entertainment sector get round a table under the name of the HSE’s Joint Advisory Committee for Entertainment (JACE). This month’s meeting was interesting and enlightening, especially the presentation on the machinery directive that kind of suggested that many of the moving elements in shows should be classified as machines and tested as such, something that’s not currently happening. Topics discussed included workplace stress, accident reporting and casual labour. We’re now roped into presenting our work on improving our approach to mental health, we also mentioned the work we’d done with crew companies in producing a guide to using casual labour, a document that is now getting the HSE once-over. Someone did mention chairing a guidance committee, GM ducked that one. Seriously though, JACE does give us great insight into areas of work and enforcement by the HSE, it’s no accident that we’ve developed tools and guidance to help our members improve in the areas of focus. You may even remember this column a couple of months ago covered accident reporting and the design of forms to make it easier and more effective; the author is no progressing towards the development of online systems that we can adopt and host. It’s great that the entertainment sector has an open, constructive (usually) rapport with the HSE, but it’s equally important to have the opportunity to discuss safety related matters amongst ourselves. That’s exactly what happened at the Safety Advisors’ Group for Entertainment (SAGE). This is a room full of safety advisers from venues, production companies, trade bodies, TV and film that gather to exchange information, concerns and tips on all manner of safety related issues, with conversation straying beyond the jurisdiction of HSE into public safety. This month’s meeting gave fascinating insights into many areas, especially the increase in threats to staff at theatre shows, who’d have thought it? One to keep eyes on for the future
is the notion that security measures should become a legal requirement, with agencies looking at which current regulations could be added to; way down the line but something that we’re all keeping an eye on. SCANNING THE BREXIT HORIZON We have very little to say about a move that could have profound effects on our members, that’s because we are, literally, sworn to secrecy every time we are called to discuss Brexit. All we can say is that some very hard working, very clever people have your interests in mind while agreements are written, deals negotiated and all possible outcomes and their impacts are assessed and minimised. We are one of the channels through which information will be disseminated. IT’S NOT ONLY ROCK ‘N’ ROLL BUT… If your business is reliant on live music, whatever the genre, it’s helpful to have a healthy, thriving live music industry from which you can derive an income. Key to that aim is UK Music and its Live Music Group, of which we are a founder member. They are the key to political representation for every trade body within the core live music sector, they are responsible for some key legislative protections such as the Agent of Change amendment to planning laws, protecting live venues from licensing challenges from new neighbouring developments. This month’s meeting revolved around the DCMS Live Music Enquiry, yes they have been talking about things other than the B word, as well as the development of a funding pipeline for Grassroots Music Venues. We’ll be hanging around after the Live Group meeting to take our seat at the UK Music Skills Board, another talent pipeline clearance initiative, working from protecting music education in schools to promoting the full breadth of careers available within the music industry. IT’S NOT ONLY MUSIC If UK Music is the lobbying voice for the music side of our business, then the Business Visits and Events Partnership does the same for the corporate world. Another effective association of associations, BVEP does great work in encouraging Government to sell the UK as a destination for business events, with the PSA there to remind all that our talented pool of design and technical abilities is a big part of that sales pitch. We meet this month to discuss the future structure and funding of BVEP, as well as feed into the agenda of the Events Industry Board, a government/ industry board that shares the aims of BVEP. And there’s the snapshot of not-quitea-month of meetings that we squeeze in between phone calls, admin and, well, action points from all the meetings. Next up is a jaunt across the pond to catch up on the work of the Event Safety Alliance, and a PSA Council meeting to make sense of all the meetings and work out who’s going to attend the next lot. TPi www.psa.org.uk 91
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Electrosonic’s Jon Hancock, Maurizio Capuzza, Chris Ward and Michael Harkness; The DM Audio team; ASA’s Bjorn Van Munster and Audio Brain’s Fujii Shuzo.
Electrosonic has made several personnel announcements designed to strengthen its global business. Chris Ward was appointed to the role of Group Chief Financial Officer, Michael Harkness to the role of Chief People Office and Maurizio Capuzzo to the role of Chief Marketing Officer. CEO of Electrosonic, Jon Hancock said: “As Electrosonic continues its mission to design, build and support innovative technology it is paramount that we maximise our global reach. Electrosonic is pursuing both national and international growth strategies and these appointments support that goal.” DM Audio has joined the Adamson rental partner network after they purchased an S10 line array system from re-seller Live Systems. The Edinburgh based company has the system which consists of Adamson Systems Engineering S10 line array loudspeakers with S119 subs powered by Lab Gruppen PLM20K44 amplifiers together with a full rigging package. Steve Robb, Managing Director at Live Systems commented: “DM Audio have been providing sound equipment and production services to the Scottish market for over 20 years. I know Dino and his team… they are particular when it comes to choosing new equipment. Any such investment demonstrates a return on investment while also ensuring a clear performance benefit for their customers. We are delighted that they have chosen to make the move to Adamson which further strengthens the rental partner network.” Astro Spatial Audio has entered into the Japanese market with the appointment of Japanese supplier, Audio Brains. As the official Japanese solutions partner for ASA, Audio Brains will provide training and support whilst spearheading the expansion of Astro Spatial Audio’s brand-independent immersive audio technology into the country’s live entertainment sector.
“We are both delighted and honoured to welcome Audio Brains into our global family”, said Astro Spatial Audio Managing Director, Bjorn Van Munster. “Few companies within our industry possess the experience or prestige of our new solutions partner, and I’m very confident that we will achieve great things together in Japan.” Audiologic has announced three appointments to their company to support their expansion in the audiovisual market. Audiologic recruited Richard Minter, to the position of Procurement Manager, Rhoda Warren to the position of Accounts Assistant and Anna Shahin to the post of Applications Support Engineer. Minter joined Audiologic to assist with purchasing, planning, stock control and sales support due to his extensive knowledge of products, markets and the AV industry. Sales and Marketing Director, Andy Lewis said: “We couldn’t have found an operator more experienced or better suited to the company. He will be a tremendous asset to Audiologic.” Warren joined the company from a background in accounts and bookkeeping and is widely experienced in customer accounts, VAT and payroll. Financial Director Matt Boland said: “Rhoda is a very experienced operator, with a wide range of skills, who is thorough, methodical and calm - a perfect fit for our accounts department.” Shahin joined the technical team to support and advise Audiologic customers with their projects. Adamson Systems Engineering has appointed Ben Millson as Managing Director for the Asia-Pacific region. Due to its substantial growth in the APAC region, Adamson Systems Engineering opened a new office in Chiang Mai, Thailand. In his new role in 92
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Adamson Systems Engineering’s Ben Millson, Managing Director of Asia-Pacific; Jochen Sommer & SBA Radical Sound’s Ramón Fernández .
GLOBAL TRUSS
F45 SYSTEM
the APAC offices, Millson will oversee sales and distribution operations. “We’ve recognised the potential for Adamson in the Asia-Pacific region for quite some time,” said James Oliver, Adamson’s Director of Sales and Marketing: “Welcoming Ben onboard as Managing Director to lead our efforts from within the territory demonstrates our commitment to our valuable partners and users in the region. We look forward to enjoying the successes generated by our APAC team going forward.” The company has also joined Seesound, the company’s exclusive Spanish distributor, as they welcomed SBA Radical Sound to the Adamson Network as the latest E-Series rental partner in Spain. “We decided to invest in Adamson’s E-Series ahead of a very busy festival season,” said SBA CEO Ramón Fernández. “We needed a system that sounds great, rigs easily, and will satisfy the rider requirements of the biggest touring acts, no questions asked. The E-Series checked every box, and having Adamson and Seesound behind us for support means we can confidently service even the most demanding applications.” SBA is a subsidiary of Grupo Area 51, a Madrid-based multimedia firm that, in addition, to live event production, specialises in: AV installations; recording, mixing, and post-production; music composition; and sound design for a wide range of applications in Spain and throughout the European Union. “SBA Radical Sound has a great reputation as a production technologies supplier for live events, and we’re very happy to be working closely with them as the latest Adamson E-Series partner in Spain,” commented SeeSound Founder and President Nacho Alberdi. “We look forward to supporting SBA as they continue their impressive growth.” Martin Audio has promoted Bradley Watson to the new position of
This F45 Truss is based on the F44P 400mm x 400mm truss design and is used for applications such as LED screens where balanced centre rigging of the screen panels on the truss is essential. A central chord with ladder-style horizontal bracing on the bottom face of the truss allows LED panels, moving lights and other fixtures to be clamped directly onto the centre chord. Because it is based on the F44P Truss design, F45 Truss can connect to all standard F44P junctions or sleeve blocks so you use your existing F44P Truss to build the rest of the structure!
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INDUSTRY APPOINTMENTS
Martin Audio’s Bradley Watson; ACT Lighting’s Brad Helms and Powersoft’s Gary Pace.
International Sales Director. A long-serving executive, Watson helped to build domestic sales before he left. While Watson still maintained the role of installer, he re-joined MA after being appointed, Sales Manager and has since been promoted to International Sales Director. An equally important cog in the restructuring of Martin Audio’s sales team, following its successful MBO this summer, has been the appointment of highly experienced audio professional, Peter Codron as new UK Sales Manager. Martin Audio also welcomed Peter Codron as the new UK Sales Manager after a successful summer in 2018 and began reconstructing its sales team. Codron brings 30 years of audio industry knowledge and experience with professional A/V production companies, recording studios, live music events, theatrical productions, exhibitions and conferences. During this time he has worked in pro audio sales, audio system design, audio editing and engineering and IT networking. Particularly strong on sales, Codron took over the Sales Manager’s role at SSE Audio Group in 2014, based at its Park Royal facility. “While I was happy at SSE, after 14 years of working in sales at dealer level I wanted a fresh challenge. When Martin Audio Managing Director, Dom Harter approached me before this year’s Open Days the opportunity was too good
to miss. The way the role was outlined to me was exactly what I wanted to do.” Codron said: “Martin Audio has developed a large and exciting portfolio, and so my priority will be to work with the UK dealer network to maximise our growth opportunity, while making sure that the brand is being represented in a positive way. At the same time my background in rental is very strong and that’s an area I can also tap into.” Codron will report to the recently promoted Brad Watson, International Sales Director. Watson commented: “We are delighted that Peter has joined us. His experience will be invaluable as we plan and execute our next wave of growth. His attention to detail, his belief in a brand ethos and his enthusiastic nature makes him a perfect fit for the Martin Audio family.” Brad Nelms has joined ACT Lighting as Western Regional Sales Manager, replacing Aaron Hubbard, who formally held the role but is now Central Regional Sales Manager at ACT. Nelms will be representing all of the brands distributed by ACT Lighting to clients in the Western US. His territory comprises Alaska, Hawaii, California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Nevada, Arizona and Utah. “We’re delighted that Brad Nelms has come on board; he is a fantastic addition to our team,” said ACT Lighting President and CEO Ben Saltzman.
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L-Acoustics’ Managing Director, Hervé Guillaume alongside HGP’s President & Commercial Director, Bertrand Bounoure.
L-Acoustics, headquartered near Paris, France, and HGP, based in Amboise, France have jointly announced the acquisition of HGP and its sister entity API. “This operation represents a new and extremely positive step in augmenting our R&D and production capabilities,” explained Hervé Guillaume, Managing Director of L-Acoustics. “This alliance will allow us to improve our technical skill set and market intelligence. HGP’s expertise is highly complementary to our own, enabling us to better comprehend the sheet metal trade.” President and Commercial Director of HGP, Bertrand Bounoure said: “This constitutes a natural extension of a decade-long, successful supplier-client relationship between two growing companies with shared interests and objectives. We are delighted to pool our resources and abilities.” Powersoft welcomed Gary Pace as Sales Manager of North America. Pace will be responsible for connecting Powersoft technologies to North American-based audio engineering teams. Powersoft has expanded their footprint in the US with new offices in Kearney and New Jersey and Pace will be working to introduce premium Powersoft products to more manufacturers in North America. General Manager of the North America branch, Luca Giorgi said: “Gary’s extensive experience in our industry will be an indispensable asset to Powersoft as we continue to grow our North America OEM footprint.” German Light Products has announced that Miles Dudgeon has been appointed as the company’s new Sales Manager for the North East. Dudgeon has spent many years in the industry, starting out as a lighting operator before he worked with a major lighting supplier outside of New York City, where he met GLP US President Mark Ravenhill and Sales Director Brian Dowd. Dudgeon stated: “I’ve long been a fan of GLP products. The products are edgy and dynamic, they give designers amazing tools for creating visuals.“ Since then, Dudgeon has worked as a product manager, focussed on dimming, software, and control systems, along with some sales roles and is also is a certified ETCP technician. Dowd stated: “We are very excited to have Miles join the GLP team. He brings a wealth of industry experience to the role as well as an intimate knowledge of the North East market.” 2B Heard introduced a new range of multi-channel amplifiers after it was appointed the new exclusive UK representative for Germany’s innosonix. The agreement saw 2B Heard offer full distribution and support for the manufacturer’s ranges of advanced multi-channel Class-D installation amplifiers. Markus Bätz, CEO of innosonix, added: “We are proud to have found such a competent partner in 2B Heard, who can help us lead the market in multi-channel 3D audio by focusing on these kind of projects. This appointment is a perfect fit with our on-going development of multichannel amplifiers, leading the way to ever more cost-effective and smart 3D sound systems.” TPi www.tpimagazine.com/category/industry-jobs/ 95 TPI_92.5mm x 277mm x 3.indd 1
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BACK CHAT
GREG PRICE FOH Engineer & Recordist Diablo Digital, Co-owner.
How did you initially get into pro audio? My brother and I had a local garage band. My brother Steve Price went on to become drummer for a California band named Pablo Cruise. The band hired me as a roadie at first. However, after one small two-month tour, I was in the studio with them, working with album producers, mixing FOH on live shows for them and working for a local sound company. Cory Lerios and Steve Price [Pablo Cruise band members] gave me my start as an engineer.
How did Diablo Digital come to fruition? Fellow FOH Engineer Brad Madix and myself started Diablo Digital to bring affordable and easy to use recording systems to the marketplace. It is Brad’s and I’s view that all engineers should be recording. Not just for the artists body of work, but for themselves and their growth and legacy as engineers. Which services can you offer the touring market? Diablo Digital’s company mission is ‘its live we get it’. DDI is a full service recording company providing our clients with recording systems, custom designed recording systems, consulting, and recording, mixing and producing solutions.
Where has your passion for live music taken you thus far? It’s taken us all over the world, collaborating with lots of amazing artists and musicians.
Diablo works with some big names. What’s coming up in the live production schedule? In 2018-2019, Brad Madix is FOH Engineer & Recordist for Florence and the Machine’s World tour, and I’ll be FOH Engineer & Recordist for Ozzy Osbourne’s world tour. Diablo Digital will have systems in the field and on tour with The Rolling Stones, U2, and a vast list of clients, goods and services.
Have you had a ‘career defining’ moment? Not yet, I feel that I am still growing in my 44th year. Having said that, I am most proud of my work with Black Sabbath on the project, The End. The last show by Black Sabbath in Birmingham, England, the band’s birthplace. I recorded and mixed the film, DVD and CD. During the process, I recorded and mixed the band in a local Birmingham studio. Those recordings are on the program. This was very special for the band. It was also very special for me; I got to work alongside Tony, Geezer, and Ozzy.
www.diablodigital.com 106
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