TPi January 2019 - #233

TOTAL PRODUCTION INTERNATIONAL LIVE EVENT DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY • JANUARY 2019 • ISSUE 233

YEARS & YEARS All salute the ‘anti pop’ production design behind androgynous entertainment for the androids.

I’LL BE REDEFINED...

SERIOUS STAGES CELEBRATES 35 YEARS • NITRO CIRCUS LIVE • SENNHEISER’S EVOLUTION SERIES • FLORENCE + THE MACHINE: HIGH AS HOPE • GARY NUMAN’S ORCHESTRAL FEAT • PSA: THE ESA 2018

JANUARY 2019 #233

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EDITOR’S LETTER

WWW.CHAINMASTER.DE

WELCOME BACK FOLKS! I hope you had a brilliant seasonal break and are starting the new year with a fresh sense of road ready excitement.

There’s already some great events on the horizon this year, with interesting show designs and intricate audio configurations being discussed for potential coverage.

Not to mention that we’re heading straight into TPi Awards season. Our own event which takes place on 25 February - is set to be our biggest networking party to date, so if you haven’t already booked your tickets, please make sure you do to avoid disappointment.

Back to the present, and this month’s cover story is one which hopefully resonates with many of our readers. British trio Years & Years ended 2018 with a message of hope and inclusion. The show was a great example of working in unison both on and off stage. Turn to Pg.32 to find out more.

On Pg.46 Stew covers the stunningly thought-out High As Hope tour from Florence + the Machine (genuinely, so beautiful to watch!), I visit Nitro Circus’ adrenaline junket and Gary Numan’s dystopian orchestra has a lasting effect on Jacob. Numan’s Production Manager, Luke Edwards, also spoke to me about tour life following a tragic event. It’s not typical, but it’s an interview I wanted to deliver on these pages. Pg. 72 if you’re interested. Luke, thank you so much for sharing your story. This is a special edition for TPi to start the year on, and I very much hope you enjoy it!

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

ACCOUNTS Lynette Levi / Sarah Miller: ar@mondiale.co.uk MONDIALE GROUP CHAIRMAN Damian Walsh DIGITAL EDITORIAL ASSISTANT James Robertson EDITORIAL INTERN Keisha Spencer COVER Years and Years by Tony Woolliscroft PRINTED BY Buxton Press • www.buxpress.co.uk Issue 233 - January 2019 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

TOTAL PRODUCTION INTERNATIONAL is a controlled circulation magazine, published 12 times a year by Mondiale Publishing Limited under licence.

ISSN 1461-3786 Copyright © 2018 Mondiale Publishing Limited. All contents of this publication are subject to worldwide copyright protection and reproduction in whole or part, in any form whatsoever, is expressly forbidden without the prior written consent of the Publishers. Every effort is taken to ensure accuracy in the preparation of this publication but neither Mondiale Publishing Ltd, nor the Editor, can be held responsible for its contents or any consequential loss or damage resulting from information published. The views expressed are not necessarily those of the Publishers or Editor. The Publishers accept no responsibility for the return of unsolicited manuscripts, photographs, illustrations, advertising materials or artwork. Total Production International USPS: (ISSN 1461 3786) is published 12 times a year by Mondiale Publishing Limited United Kingdom. The 2018 US annual subscription price is 117USD. Airfreight and mailing in the USA by Agent named Air Business, C/O WorldNet Shipping USA Inc., 155-11 146th Avenue, Jamaica, New York, NY11434. Periodicals postage paid at Jamaica NY 11431. US Postmaster: Send address changes to Total Production International, Air Business Ltd, C/O WorldNet Shipping USA Inc., 155-11 146th Avenue, Jamaica, New York, NY11434.

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ITINERARY

EVENT FOCUS

46

10

Sennheiser: 20 years of evolution A look back at the company’s famed microphone series.

16

DJ Hardwell Robe gets symphonic with the electro DJ and the Metropole Orkest.

20

B3 Funktion-One provides audio reinforcement for the underground rave.

22

MØ DPA Microphones ensures vocal clarity is met for the Danish superstar.

24 HSL Invests in Chauvet Professional The Blackburn-based rental company

takes stock of 100 Maverick MK3 Washes.

58

26

Leeds Castle TW AUDiO provides a sound sensation for some festive fireworks.

30

5 Seconds of Summer Adlib supplies a Coda Audio sound system for the Australian quartet.

58 Gary Numan Jacob experiences the Godfather of electronic music and his orchestra, live.

72

Mental Health Exclusive Kel chats to Gary Numan’s Production Manager, Luke Edwards, about the aftermath of trauma on the road.

74

Nitro Circus With pyro, FMX bikes and production values in abundance, Kel visits the crew powering the performance.

GEAR HEADS 86

Stew talks to d&b audiotechnik’s

Matthias Christner about the KSL System.

IN PROFILE 90

86

Battery-operated fog generators to be built into costumes and props, powerful Haze- and Fog generators from 650 W to 3 kW, a 9 kW machine to fill big halls and stadiums, a powerful low fog machine as a low power or high power version and an attachment to produce low fog: We have the right machine for any effect.

Cobra 3.1 Fog generator, 3100W, extremely silent nozzle, Ethernet, Touchscreen available in Summer 2018

PRODUCTION PROFILE 32 Years & Years Kel visits an androgynous, android- inspired planet. And loves it!

46 Florence + the Machine Stew was on site to witness the band’s elegant new live offering.

74

Fog is our passion!

Jacob pays a visit to Serious Stages to help celebrate 35 years in the industry.

PRODUCTION FUTURES 96

Lighting Technician Tom Bexon, 24, discusses his first year as a freelancer.

Tiny S, Tiny FX, Tiny CX, Power-Tiny Battery-operated fog generators, 30 W/70 W/400 W Unique 2.1 Haze generator DMX, 1500 W Viper S, Viper nt, Viper 2.6 & Orka Fog generator DMX, 650 W, 1300 W, 2600 W, 3000 W & 9000 W Cryo-Fog Low fog generator 2300 W, low pressure or high pressure version Cryo-Gate Attachment for low fog, to be connected to any normal fog generator Look-Fan DMX Fan 850 W, DMX controllable

ROAD DIARIES 98

Steve Bewley talks about the realities of ‘living the dream’.

PSA: THE BIGGER PICTURE 100 A roundup of Andy’s trip to the Event

Safety Alliance in Lititz, PA.

INDUSTRY APPOINTMENTS

90

106 The latest movers and shakers.

BACK CHAT 114 TXRX Sound Solution’s Mick Shepherd

takes the hot seat.

Look Solutions Fog machines made in Germany Buenteweg 33 · DE-30989 Gehrden Phone +49-(0)5108 - 91 22 10 · Fax 91 22 111 www.looksolutions.com · info@looksolutions.com

EVENT FOCUS

SENNHEISER: THE EVOLUTION OF EVOLUTION The microphone giant invites key players to discuss why the evolution has such staying power.

2018 marked the 20th anniversary of Sennheiser’s evolution microphone series, which has become a global industry standard for live microphones and Sennheiser’s most successful microphone series to date.

The family business of Sennheiser is one of the world’s leading developers and manufacturers of microphones and headphones for the music and entertainment industries. Wherever people are passionately recording, transmitting or playing back sounds, Sennheiser is there.

Along the way, Sennheiser has been responsible for many technological milestones: the first shotgun microphone in the 1950s, open headphones in the 1960s, infrared transmission technology in the 1970s and multichannel wireless transmission in the 1980s. The 1990s saw the development of head-orientated surround systems, intelligent audio information systems appeared for the new millennium and today, the company continues to drive digitalisation of the audio world forwards.

And now, 2018 is characterised by the letter ’e’, evolution, Sennheiser’s most successful microphone range ever, celebrates its 20th anniversary. To celebrate and say ‘thank you’ to all the musicians, sound engineers, rental partners and content creators who have made evolution such a success, Sennheiser hosted an exclusive event of audio storytelling at the London EDITION Hotel in Fitzrovia, where stories about the evolution series were told by the people who were there.

e602, e604, e608 and e609 instrument mics and proves a resounding success.

• In 1999 evolution wireless follows, which remains Sennheiser’s most popular radio microphone series to date, fulfilling the needs of artists, musicians, speakers, videographers, corporate users.

• 2000: The e 865 is launched as the first condenser microphone of the series. Sting and his sound engineer Vish Wadi helped in the fine-tuning of its sound.

• In 2003, Sennheiser launches the evolution 900 series with the e 935 and e 945 vocal microphones. Their great-sounding capsules contribute immensely to the success of the 900 series and, later, the MD 5235 and MD 9235 microphone heads.

• 2003 also sees the launch of the second generation of evolution wireless: G2 offers improved audio and RF properties, new user interfaces and a scan function, along with smaller bodypacks.

• 2004: The range of evolution 900 series microphones is expanded with the e901, e902, e904, e 905, e906, e 908 and e 914 instrument microphones.

EVOLUTION: A HISTORY • 1998: Sennheiser launches its evolution microphone series to the music market, covering artists’ every conceivable microphone need.

The series includes the e825, e835 and e845 vocal microphones and the

• With the new e965, Sennheiser introduces the flagship microphone of the evolution series and its first true condenser, large-diaphragm microphone in 2008. The e965 has a dual-diaphragm transducer and 10

20 YEARS OF SENNHEISER’S EVOLUTION SERIES

Talking shop: Monitor Engineer Joe Campbell and Guitar Tech, Pete Malandrone.

can be switched between cardioid and super-cardioid pick-up patterns.

During an evening of discussion, debate, storytelling and educational anecdotes, Jamie Gosney (Host) invited Sennheiser specialists and end users to talk in front of a live audience. Gosney himself has worked in the pro audio industry for over four decades. He has toured with such artists as The Jackson Five, Dolly Parton and Donna Summer, owned and run recording studios and designed audio systems for prestigious venues including Glyndebourne, the Royal Opera House and Bristol Hippodrome.

But his real claim to fame is that he was the last person to mix Freddie Mercury live.

Joining the host was Michael Polten, former Director, Customer Relationship Management at Sennheiser, currently in retirement but still in expertise! He has a long history of experience in the music business as an active musician, producer and sound engineer, and in the sales and marketing sector. Polten was substantially involved in developing the microphones which contributed to Sennheiser’s brilliant entry into the music business.

Also on the panel was Martin Fische, a Senior Product Manager for Sennheiser’s professional division. He has been with the company for nearly 32 years and is one of the most knowledgeable experts when it comes to wireless microphone systems. His knowledge and experience was imperative in developing evolution wireless series. Fische has a technical background and his favourite hobby is playing music in a band.

Andrew Lily-white is currently part of the European Customer Development and Application Engineers team at Sennheiser, Andrew was previously Chief Engineer for Sennheiser UK for twelve years, heading up the technical team across all professional audio applications (including the broadcast, audio for video, touring, theatre and corporate installation market segments). Life before Sennheiser included roles at the BBC and The National theatre.

• In 2009, Sennheiser launches evolution wireless G3. The third generation brings a new level of convenience to the wireless series, with features such as IR synchronisation, Soundcheck mode, frequency coordination via the Wireless Systems Manager, wider audio range and interchangeable microphone heads for the hand-held transmitters – including the sound of evolution 900 capsules.

• 2011: Sennheiser is the first manufacturer to launch wireless microphone systems that transmit in the 1800MHz range. In response to the decision to close UHF frequencies from 790 to 862MHz for wireless microphones in Europe, the evolution wireless ew100G3-1G8 systems move to a higher frequency band that is reserved exclusively for wireless audio transmission in many European countries.

• 2013: Sennheiser launches the evolution e835fx, which supports TCHelicon vocal effects units.

• In 2015, Sennheiser launches evolution wireless D1, a series of radio microphones that lets bands go wireless the easy way with digital transmission in the 2.4 GHz range that is license-free worldwide.

• In the same year, the SL DI 4 XLR Dante interface makes all evolution wireless systems ready for integration into Dante audio-over-IP networks.

• 2018: With the launch of G4, Sennheiser further improves and expands its most successful wireless microphone series.

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SENNHEISER EVOLUTION

Host of the event, Sound Designer Jamie Gosney; The speakers included some of the biggest names in live event engineering; Guests enjoyed microphone making and the all imprtnat birthday cake!

After a (birthday cake eating) break, a second panel made up of live music professionals began. Pete Malandrone is a guitar technician to Dr Brian May CBE, and since 1994 has been a Sennieiser advocate for many years.

Joe Campbell is a Monitor Engineer who has worked with IEMs since the mid ‘90s. Studio life was not for him, and he has been a touring engineer now for many years. He has worked on countless tours with artists such as Chris Rea, Placebo and currently Adele.

Chris Denman has been at Global Radio (formerly Capital Radio Group and GCap) for 18 years. He produces the live sessions across allof their radio brands, from Radio X (Xfm past) to Classic FM, via Capital, Heart and Capital Xtra (Choice past).

over the years was transmission reliability – it just has to work – ease of use and flexibility are very important, and rental companies demand compatibility, so they don’t have to change everything when they move from one generation to the next.

“Over the last couple of years, there have been additional requirements.

One is spectrum efficiency. The available spectrum is shrinking because it is being sold to other mobile services, so the microphone industry has to look for alternatives. The pro market sees this as they move from country to country; each country has its own regulations and take frequencies away from microphones and give them to the mobile industry, so this is a very important aspect that we have to take care of.

“What is also important is ease of use: smart workflow. We see there are more and more situations where less people are involved in setting up systems and it has to be done faster. The workflow is very important, taking into account that there are more and more complicated devices used in live shows, such as digital mixing consoles, and the IT infrastructure is being used more in these type of applications. There is more complexity, less time, less manpower and shrinking budgets, so the equipment that is used in these big shows has to be a reasonable price and it becomes more and more difficult to replace expensive equipment in the field.”

Monitor Engineer Joe Campbell added: “Over the past 20 years Sennheiser has been brilliant with its support and has set the standard for RF. Without Sennheiser’s support it would never have happened. I’ve used every evolution series up to 9000 Digital on the Adele tour.

“Dave Hawker was heroic and absolutely fearless. I think he liked finding the solution, even though sometimes the solution wasn’t obvious. He knew the law and the rules and it was very difficult for anyone to argue him. He got me going on many occasions when I didn’t think it was possible.”

As far as live sound goes, that’s what we call an evolution…

TPi Photos: Sennheiser www.en-uk.sennheiser.com

PANEL HIGHLIGHTS Fische stated: “The success was down to the distribution network. For the dealer, it’s all about the margin point. Our competition was in a very comfortable position. For instance, they were already established in the market and could sell their mics at a very low dealer margin. To get to the dealers, Sennheiser knew it had to give them a better margin than the competition. This was the first step. The other was achieving market penetration. To achieve this, the sales team presented the microphones, and did countless comparisons and demos.”

Host Jamie Goswell asked: “Was there a particular time or event that took place that meant the market really sat up and took notice of these microphones and knew that they were serious competition to the brands that were already there?”

Fische replied: “Yes, when Elton John started using them. He was the first serious artist using evolution and this was one of the key turning points as he is a well-respected musician for musicians, so people always look to see what he’s using.”

So what does the future hold for Sennheiser according to Fische? “There has been a change in the last few years. What was demanded by customers 12

Blackmagic Video Assist 4K adds professional monitoring with HD and Ultra HD recording to any camera!

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Blackmagic Video Assist 4K includes HDMI and 6G-SDI inputs so you can record from virtually any camera or DSLR. The HDMI and SDI video outputs let you view shots on larger screens or even projectors! You also get a built in speaker, headphone jack, LANC, 12V power and two LP-E6 battery slots for non stop power!

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3/12/18 9:09 am

EVENT FOCUS

ROBE GETS SYMPHONIC FOR HARDWELL LD Andre Beekmans of The Art of Light and operator Jaap Kamps assisted in the delivery of DJ Hardwell’s Symphony: The Global Revolution of Dance.

The live performance and collaboration between electro DJ and GRAMMY-winning Metropole Orkest at the Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam celebrated three decades of dance music, staged to coincide with the renowned Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE) conference.

Beekmans and his Eindhoven-based creative visual practice The Art of Light were approached by organisers Fourmation Events and MOJO to create a memorable and appropriate ligating environment. Beekmans specified over 200 Robe moving lights, including: Robe Pointes, Spiiders,

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FROM A CORNER BLOCK TO A COMPLETE ROOF SYSTEM

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After May 2020, the 700 MHz band of radio spectrum will no longer be available to PMSE users.

Owners of PMSE equipment that use this spectrum may be eligible for funding from the Government to help with the costs of replacing this equipment. The funding scheme will be run by Equiniti on behalf of Ofcom.

The website for online registration - www.pmsefunding.co.uk - will be available from 4 February 2019.

DJ HARDWELL

BMFL WashBeams and BMFL Blades.

The show presented a lintany of challenges for Beekmans and Kamps, who is Hardwell’s regular LD on the road. A key starting point were the main set elements, designed by Freek Cornelissen of 250K, which included a large pyramid shape upstage comprising four equilateral triangles each filled with LED screen. A skeletal trapezoidal shaped lighting sculpture made up from multiple triangles outlined with pixel-mapped LED battens was flown just in front of pyramid, manned by the lighting department, which fed content via a Green Hippo Hippotizer media server.

The back wall featured a large triangle filled with additional LED screen and another flown triangle downstage, positioned above DJ Hardwell’s booth. The orchestra platform on the deck involved several layers and was also outlined by LED strips arranged in triangular sections.

The roof was filled with flown trusses - two main ones also triangular in shape to maintain thematic continuity - which provided key lighting positions. As the LD, Beekman’s brief - in addition to lighting the Symphony show – was to create a rig that could be used to light a hardstyle evening on the Saturday night, hosted by Q-dance, so he needed to produce a flexible solution that would work for both.

Symphony was divided into three parts - and the primary need was to produce a hugely dynamic range of looks - to cover all the musical genres featured in the history section, giving each one and the overall whole performance an epic edge. A total of 63 Robe Spiiders were all rigged on the over-stage triangular trusses where they were ideal for top and back light on the orchestra.

The triangles making up the flown pyramid were outlined with Robe Pointes, with the balance of the 115 Pointes - in total - dotted around the other trusses. In addition, Beekmans positioned 8 BMFL WashBeams each

side of the stage on the Ziggo Dome balcony ring to augment the options on orchestra cross lighting. Topping off the Robe line-up for this show were 16 BMFL Blades, used to key light Hardwell, the conductor and the orchestra.

Lighting equipment, which also included other profile moving lights, lots of LED strobes and the LED battens on the triangular sculpture, was supplied by rental company Phlippo, with Virtue Projects taking care of the lighting technical production and support for all the 2018 ADE associated events at the Ziggo Dome.

The programming and the LED mapping was completed via media server, which was run by Beekamans together with the camera and key lighting, while Kamps ran the main show lighting, utilising an MA Lighting grandMA2 full size consoles. The combination of timecode and manual operation. All the basic ‘building block’ looks were timecode triggered – with signal received from the DJ mixer - with all the fine tuning, accents, details and specifics run live - manually - on the night; a process that required plenty of quick thinking, rhythmic fluidity and improvisational skills.

Hardwell and Metropole Orkest spent time together rehearsing in the studio, so while the lighting team had constantly updated versions of the music for their programming, they only had one full live rehearsal at the venue on the afternoon prior to the show.

Video equipment was supplied by Faber, with content and control

by Eyesupply, while the event’s technical production was delivered by Backbone international.

TPi Photos: Jorrit Lousberg www.djhardwell.com www.robe.cz 16

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EVENT FOCUS

FUNKTION-ONE MEETS B3 IN MELBOURNE Sheltered in the concrete underground of the Etihad Stadium carpark in Melbourne’s central business district, B3 arrived on the city’s clubbing map in late-2018 with the promise of three special events per year, each one welcoming around 7,000 people.

B3 is the brainchild of Daniel Teuma, Director of Novel Tours & Events.

In the lead up to its launch, Teuma explained the rationale behind the pop-up nightclub: “One aspect sorely lacking in Melbourne’s nightlife is an inner-city location suitable for largescale, indoor events,” he said. “To ensure each occasion is truly special, B3 will only host three events per year and feature artists who have transcended their respective niches to become full-blown scene icons.”

The first of those events featured DJ Koze, Charlotte De Witte and Gerd Janson, as well as a Funktion-One Vero sound system from Full Throttle Entertainment. Full Throttle’s Managing Director, Adam Ward, explained: “We’ve been providing audio to Novel for over five years now and we are always happy to support them in their projects. B3 was one of the most interesting events yet. The concept was to hold a dance party in an underground car park. We needed to take a unique approach to the sound in order to deal with the acoustic properties of the space as well as the

extremely low ceiling while at the same time delivering high fidelity audio to the 7,000-plus patrons.”

Before the sound system went in, Full Throttle highlighted how important acoustic treatment would be to the audio quality. Ward said: “The ceiling went up and down in waves from 3.8m at the lowest point to 4.3m the highest and oscillated between these two heights all the way down the room. Needless to say, the reflections were atrocious and would have been a nightmare if left untreated.

We sought out the help of Greenspec Solutions with a new acoustic product. Thankfully the promoter was gracious enough to give us the latitude with the budget to do the job properly. Greenspec Solutions hung almost 4,000 linear metres of acoustic panelling that ranged in a depth from 300mm to 1200mm. It was a massive undertaking but completely worth it in the end - the deadness of the space was astounding and the final response from the crowd made it all worth it.”

20

B3

Full Throttle devised a ground stacked Vero system, in order to get in under the ceiling with a traditional left/right stack either side of the stage.

Ward and his team configured the Funktion-One ground stacks with two Vero V60 at the top, then a V315, four BR218 and two V132 super subs. The stacks reached up to around 4.2m, just 100mm below the ceiling.

“We wanted to build a dance stack like no one had built before,” said Ward. “It was somewhat of a homage to the New York Club stacks of the early ‘90s using the latest technology from Funktion-One.” With the front covered by the Vero stacks and some Evo 6EH speakers on top of F215 Mk2 enclosures for infill, Full Throttle addressed the challenge of getting even coverage further down the space by using four positions of two upgraded Resolution 5s on top of two F218 Mk2 bass enclosures.

Ward continued: “It was a very unusual setup. I think this was the first and, so far, only time it has been set up like this - the performance was mind-blowing. The sub bass foundation created by the V132s coupled with the transient response of the BR218 front loaded boxes was something beyond words. Once everything was correctly time aligned and time aligned with the Vero boxes on top, I realised we had kind of created a monster.”

Over the last two years, Funktion-One founder Tony Andrews has pioneered the asymmetric bass configuration, which he was able to do thanks to breakthrough products like the F132 and F124. While FTE would normally look to use this technique, the restrictions of the space demanded otherwise.

“With the limitations of the space we really couldn’t do an asymmetric sub bass set up and needed to do a more traditional stereo sub bass array.

We put the left and right boxes out very wide and used the power alley as tool to drive the sub bass down the room. The F132 subs were doing 20Hz to 45Hz. We were worried that the bass reflex speakers wouldn’t have the dynamic to project down the room, so we set up four V221 subs behind the main array in an end fire array.

“We time aligned the F132 to the BR218s and then time aligned that whole stack back to the V221s behind. Driving this bass down the room like this meant we only had the delay stacks working down to 80Hz. It took a lot of time to get everything aligned correctly yet the end result was really something.”

Full Throttle acquired its Vero system in late-2017 and has deployed it on a wide range of events over the last year or so. As the company gears up for another busy summer season, Ward reflects. “The reaction to Vero has been great,” he said. “We still get people carrying on about Funktion-One and live music, yet when you put Vero in front of them they quickly quieten down.

We love it in that it gives us the ability to go after jobs that have traditionally been for the black line brigade. We’ve also seen our corporate market open up lately and we believe we’ll see even more growth here in the next year.

“My opinion of the system… wow, where do I start? We have taken on major stadium shows, through to intimate club events and now an underground car park… Vero’s versatility is incredible - it deploys very quickly, which assists in keeping the labour costs down and, above all, it sounds amazing. I just need to now buy more of it to support the growth of the company.”

TPi Photos: Funktion-One www.funktion-one.com 21

EVENT FOCUS

MØ GOES ON TOUR WITH DPA FOH Engineer, Jon Schumann used DPA microphones to ensure the Danish singers vocals, live guitar and drums integrated seamlessly with electronic elements and samples.

Danish singer/songwriter Karen Marie Ørsted Andersen, better known by her stage name MØ, has a distinctive musical style that combines electronic elements and big samples with live drums, guitar and vocals.

For her long time FOH Engineer Jon Schumann, transporting her music into a live environment was always a challenge, bringing some very modern production issues to the fore – not least how to best amplify MØ’s voice and the live musicians so that they integrate seamlessly with the electronic samples.

The answer, an arsenal of DPA microphones. According to the Engineer because of the transient response and character of DPA’s products, help him to blend the live sources into a heavily processed electronic soundscape with ease and confidence.

“DPA mics have always been a benchmark for a lot of my studio work and when I had the opportunity to take a larger pack out on the road, I was amazed at just how well the DPA sound translated to live duties,” he explained. “Doing FOH is a different beast to capturing a performance in a great sounding studio where you don’t have to worry about things like wedges and a roaring PA. But the response from the mics was just such an incredible help in shaping my drum and vocal sounds. Finding a ‘pocket’ for the individual channels is so easy when I’m making decisions about what goes where. I also find myself dialling in a lot less for ‘fixing’ issues and a lot more just for creative uses - and I have become a lot braver with the processing because I can rely 100% on the sonic quality at the first point of contact. The fact that DPA mics are so tiny is also a joy because they are so easy to position.”

Schumann, who is also an award winning producer, has worked with numerous bands including Kashmir, Mew, Carpark North, Kent, Ginger Ninja, D.A.D, Guano Apes and The Raveonettes. He began working with MØ in March 2013 and now handles all her live performances.

To ensure that the live instruments and MØ’s vocals cut through the electronic wall of sound, Schumann is using DPA microphones to cover virtually everything on stage. He cites transient response, flat EQ, portability and size as the main reasons for his choice.

“We are carrying a full DPA mic locker that weighs less than my laptop bag and the sound that comes out of them is so clear and transparent that it’s a joy to place the drums in the mix,” he said.

The selection included d:vote CORE 4099 instrument microphones for the kick, toms and second snare; d:dicate 2011C Twin Cardioid Microphones for hi-hat and percussion; a d:dicate 4011 Cardioid Microphone for underheads and a combination of d:dicate 2011C and d:dicate 4018 Supercardioid Microphones for the snare.

“MØ uses a linear d:facto Vocal Microphone on a Wisycom wireless body for her vocals because she feels 100% comfortable with the dynamics and frequency response of the d:facto,” Schumann said. “I can clearly hear her leaning in to the mic in a more controlled way and it is such a great help for me at FOH and Jeppe Andersson on Monitors. We can both focus on making her feel and sound great without spending too much time on carving out a space for her to cut through. The d:facto does most of that work for us, but without sounding forced.”

Schumann added that he also used d:dicate 4017 Shotgun Microphones as ambience mics for in-ear mixes and a d:dicate 4091 small diaphragm condenser microphone for measurements at FOH. “This combination of microphones works really well because my EQs are more or less flat on the snare, toms and cymbals and I get the wonderful punchy response I always dreamed of having in a live situation,” he said. “For in-ear monitors we have also found that we can drop the level of the mics significantly in the ears and still retain the clarity we need without the spill “junk” or oversaturation of the mixes.”

Following last year’s Europe tour dates, MØ, in 2019, will be heading to the US, Asia, Australia and South America before taking on next summer’s international festival circuit. Although this hectic schedule is keeping Schumann busy, he is also keeping busy with product development ideas for the live and studio markets.

“The advances in audio technology are progressing at such a fast pace that I’m spending a lot of time trying to be at the front of that evolution,” he said. “It’s an exciting time in the world of audio - I just need some more hours in the day!”

TPi Photos: DPA Microphones www.momomoyouth.com www.dpamicrophones.com 22

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03/10/2018

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EVENT FOCUS

HSL GROUP INVESTS IN CHAUVET PROFESSIONAL Blackburn-based HSL Group Holdings expands its inventory with 100 Chauvet Professional Maverick MK3 Wash fixtures.

HSL Group Holdings acquired the hefty stock of Chauvet Professional Maverick MK3 Wash fixtures at the LDI Show in October 2018. During last year’s holiday season, the supplier of design, technology, crew and production services to the entertainment industry, utilised the fixture at three pantomimes, the 2018 Liverpool Horse Show, and on the Arena Cross Tour.

Managing Director of HSL Group Holdings, Simon Stuart, commented: “The immediate response has been very positive. We’ve even had a certain renowned theatre LD comment that he didn’t want any other fixture except this in the future!” he exclaimed.

“We spent a great deal of time chatting with some of our strategic partners in the USA, and with various LDs,” he said. “Everyone was extremely positive about Chauvet and this fixture. We needed more large LED washes, and it became clear that the MK3 has all the bells and whistles.

It’s extremely bright, is pixel mappable, has a great zoom, and its colour mixing is excellent.”

Looking beyond the specific features of the Maverick MK3 Wash, Stuart stated he was confident that Chauvet Professional’s philosophy meshes nicely with the principles that have guided HSL Group Holdings to success.

“We like to offer our clients the best, most creative and flexible options,” he said. “From a commercial perspective, when we commit to acquiring a large number of units like this, we need to ensure that we get an efficient ROI. We also need to know that the quality of the product is exceptional, and that it has a reasonable longevity. I have personally spent several enjoyable evenings with Albert Chauvet and his team. They have the same values that are at the essence of HSL, so I feel really positive about developing relationships, both in the UK and USA.” Albert Chauvet, CEO of Chauvet, shared this enthusiasm. “HSL has built a successful business and established a sterling reputation by following the same core beliefs that have always guided Chauvet,” he said. “Having an industry leader like HSL show this level of confidence in the Maverick MK3 Wash means a great deal to me and our team members who have worked to develop this product. We’re looking forward to moving ahead with HSL in the future.”

TPi Photos: Chauvet Professional www.hslgroup.com www.chauvetprofessional.com 24

A Legacy Redesigned

NEW 3000 Series •

NEW 5000 Series

60 MHz UHF tuning bandwidth

•

Transmitter’s multifunction button can quickly switch to a backup frequency

• Antenna cascade output allows a single pair of antennas to feed up to 16 channels of wireless

•

Handheld transmitters feature interchangeable microphone capsules using industry-standard thread mount

230 MHz UHF tuning bandwidth

•

•

Transmitter’s multifunction button can quickly switch to a backup frequency

• Handheld transmitters feature interchangeable microphone capsules using industry-standard thread mount

Visit us at Pro Light & Sound: Stand E51, Hall 3.1 eu.audio-technica.com

EVENT FOCUS

TW AUDIO LIGHTS UP LEEDS CASTLE FIREWORKS WITH SRD TW AUDiO overcomes a challenging environment to deliver a big sound.

As rockets erupt in the sky and a thundering score fills the air, the last thing on most people’s minds at a major fireworks show is the quality of audio coverage. Yet every year during one of the UK’s most prestigious fireworks displays, Stuart Roberts, Managing Director of regional events specialist SRD Group, can be found paying close attention to everything but the explosions above.

The event in question is the Leeds Castle Fireworks, an annual celebration hosted in the grounds of the castle which, despite its name, is located not in the North of England but deep in the Southern county of Kent. Dubbed “the loveliest castle in the world”, it stands on an historic site to the East of the ancient village of Leeds, where a fort of sorts has stood since 857 AD. In the centuries since, a succession of castles has risen and fallen, with the current, beautiful building having been completed in 1823.

Few sites offer such a spectacular or quintessentially British setting for fireworks.

Perhaps not surprisingly, during the course of that history, little thought was given to how the combination of a large moat and uneven topography would affect the positioning of line arrays in years to come.

“The brief with Leeds Castle is always to cover the crowd with a ‘big’ sound,” explained Roberts. “It’s one of the top fireworks displays in the whole country in terms of its prestige and attendance, plus for us it’s important to maintain our close relationship with a famous Heritage site.

But the only way we can achieve that big impact is to fly the PA next to the castle itself, which in every other sense is the wrong thing to do because it places the system too far from the audience, firing over the moat. The closest audience member is more than 100m away, and then the audience extends a further 300m beyond that.

“Then there’s the ground; the topography naturally rises and falls, sloping up from the moat in some places and down in others, so it’s extremely difficult to cover consistently. Finally, it’s a very wide site, requiring approximately 180-degree coverage.”

Over the course of a number of years, SRD Group has experimented with different solutions. Prior to SRD’s involvement, another company’s subwoofer deployment caused plaster to start falling from the Castle’s ceiling, so every step that SRD takes is carefully considered in advance. “We looked at options to go around the moat, but then you have to have lots of 26

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delays, because otherwise you won’t achieve the necessary coverage,” said Roberts. While audio quality has always remained the priority, compromises have been unavoidable.

For the 2018 edition of the event, however, SRD Group turned to a new solution in the shape of the Germany’s TW AUDiO. Having initially invested in and been impressed by the manufacturer’s compact M10 enclosures, Roberts was cautiously receptive when Sim Ludwell, Managing Director of TW AUDiO UK, suggested using the German brand at Leeds Castle.

“I pointed out that it wouldn’t be the best demonstration of TW AUDiO’s sound quality, because we would be over 100m away from the PA at the closest point, but Sim was very confident and now I appreciate why. We worked together on a design that used TW AUDiO boxes throughout.”

Ludwell also remembered the conversation, he described it as a tough brief. “From the main rig at the castle we were throwing 110m over water and the audience started even further back than that. But I was certain we could provide the performance that Stuart was looking for and, ultimately, that’s exactly what we did.”

Forming the main array were 16 VERA36 enclosures with low-end support from 12 S33 subwoofers which were configured in an end-fire array with rear cancellation. “The end-fire array gave us the control we needed to deliver the right impact to the audience without damaging the castle, despite the subs being located right next to it,” said Roberts. A total of seven delay positions were established, the first four of which comprised a T24N enclosure with two B30 subs flown beneath. Delays five and six were made up of six VERA10 with two M10s and dual B18 subs, while delay six featured six VERA10 with 28

two B15 subs. Finally, delay seven comprised two T30i enclosures. With the bulk of the speakers having been sub-hired in from fellow UK production company ASYS Events, SRD Group used its own Powersoft X4 amplifiers to drive the system, the entirety of which was run over Dante using an Allen & Heath dLive Console.

“Everything was operated from a FOH position at the side of the moat and the performance was instantly, noticeably better,” Roberts enthused.

“The sound was far punchier. The site can present a number of challenges in terms of timing and coverage, but TW AUDiO did a great job in solving the problems we’d encountered previously. Most importantly, the client was very impressed.”

He continued: “I was pleased with the level of control that we had over the whole system, partly thanks to using Armonia software from Powersoft, and partly because all of the TW AUDiO boxes have such a consistent sound, which is great. In the past when we’ve worked with other brands, as you walked on site from one location to another, you could hear a noticeable change. With the TW AUDiO solution, the location didn’t matter because the performance and coverage were constant.”

With plans already underway for the 2019 event, SRD Group is celebrating having delivered a sonic experience that was every bit as breathtaking as the fireworks above. “I believe we delivered the best sound quality the event has ever had, I was very impressed,” he concluded.

TPi Photos: Steve McManus www.twaudio.de

L-ISA_Advertising_210x297_ TPI.indd 1

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EVENT FOCUS

ADLIB ON THE ROAD WITH 5 SECONDS OF SUMMER The event technical service company hit the road with pop rockers 5 Seconds of Summer (5SOS) - fresh from winning the 2018 ARIA Award for ‘Best Australian Live Act’ - supplying a Coda sound system, monitors and a top crew to work alongside the band’s engineers Phil Gornell and Pavan Grewall.

Richy Nicholson project managed for Adlib, Sam Proctor was the Systems Engineer on the road and he worked alongside Marc Peers another talented Adlib engineer - who co-ordinated all things in monitor world.

Gornell and Adlib have worked together before on several previous tours including All Time Low and Bring Me The Horizon; the Liverpool based company has been his preferred equipment supplier for the UK and Europe since around 2010.

The decision to specify Coda was a joint one made by Gornell, Nicholson and the Adlib team. Adlib has used it very successfully on numerous tours, events and installations covering various genres of performance – from comedy to rock – and it has proved especially appropriate in theatre style environments.

Gornell was very happy to go with that, as he needed something “flexible and easily scalable whatever the situation” to deal with the differences in venue size and shape.

The Coda speakers are extremely light and easy to rig, so they were an ideal practical solution, and their sonic excellence has been proven many times over. The main hangs were Coda AiRAY. A total of 28 were carried on the tour giving 14-a-side for the largest configurations, plus up to four Coda

ViRAY downs per side.

For in, out and front fills, there were a mix of Coda APS and HOPS8s together with the option of four SC2-F low frequency extension boxes that could be either added to the arrays if needed – according to the height and depth of the room – or ground stacked, leaving all options open. Twelve ground-stacked Coda SCP subs provided a solid, robust and attitudinal sub array ideal for the 5SOS sound.

These were all powered by Coda’s Linus amps which also dealt with the processing, running over a LINET distribution network.

Gornell and the band were delighted with the results. “Sam is an incredible systems tech,” he commented, adding, “his love for the Coda philosophy and huge general enthusiasm” helped achieve “exactly what I wanted,” day-in-day-out.

Gornell spec’d a Midas PRO X console. Midas has been his preferred mixing platform since 2012, and he reckoned that it offered sonic characteristics that are still “unrivalled” in other products. The sound and capabilities of the PRO X suit his style of mixing perfectly, and integrate seamlessly with his Waves effects and processing, all allowing him to attain the exact sound he desired.

In addition to the two Waves servers, he ran a MiniMac and a KT DN9650 30

5 SECONDS OF SUMMER

Production Manager, Karen Ringland; FOH Engineer, Phil Gornell; The touring crew of Pavan Grewall, Sam Proctor, Marc Peers & Phil Gornell.

for recording, in total a very expedient footprint at FOH and great for the theatre venues on this itinerary.

Mixing 5SOS has some really unique challenges elucidated Gornell.

For many of their young fanbase, it could be their first show, so it’s essential to make it memorable. While their intense excitement and screaming can engulf the room… he can’t mix too loudly “or their fragile hearing is toast”. He also needs to compete with that shrill 115db wall of screaming and still deliver the recorded quality mix that they’re so used to hearing!

“That’s another reason why the Coda AiRAY was such a treat to work with - controlled dynamics, impressive bass response and a crystal-clear top end,” he emphasised.

The monitor console was a DiGiCo SD10, also running with some external Waves plug-ins. The band were all on IEMs, with just a couple of d&b QSUBS for atmosphere around the drums. There was a total of 10 channels of Shure PSM 1000 IEMs, coupled with some Shure P9 hardwired packs, so a very neat-and-tidy package. The full mic set up included six Shure Axient radio systems for the hand-helds, plus more Shure’s as part of an assortment of standard mics.

Adlib built one of its ‘wardrobe’ arrangements to accommodate all the accompanying I/O kit and stage racks, mic splitters, for the DiGiCo and Midas consoles, so all that needed adding and plugging in onstage each day were the 240V and 110V power distros.

The tour’s Production Manager was Karen Ringland, “who is incredibly organised, and we really enjoyed working with her and her whole team again to help deliver a great sounding and looking show” commented Nicholson.

Adlib Client Manager Phil Kielty stated: “We’ve worked with the band since 2014 and it has been fascinating to watch them grow up and into an incredible live act, as their ARIA Award confirmed. Phil Gornell is one of the best young engineers out there, and he has them sounding incredible every night. Thanks to Ant, Karen, Phil, Pavan and everyone at Modest Management for all their help over the years … we really do appreciate it.”

TPi Photos: Steve Sroka www.5sos.com www.adlib.co.uk 31

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PRODUCTION PROFILE

YEARS & YEARS: PALO SANTO When British electro-pop trio Years & Years - Olly Alexander, Mikey Goldsworthy and Emre Türkmen – returned to the UK charts with their second album, Palo Santo, the band had a strong concept to deliver. The dystopian, fictional world populated by a majority android nation sees gender blending and sexual ambiguity in full force. TPi’s Kel Murray visited the live ‘dark cabaret’ show only to discover non-conformity and inclusion can rule as one.

Following 2015’s smash hit, debut album Communion, Years & Years had but 18 months to deliver the second coming. The result, Palo Santo, is not so much biblical, but an empowering display of otherworldly confidence named after a South American woodland which wards off bad sprits. As mysterious as it sounds, the message is simple: be in touch with who you are, how you identify and what you believe in because one label simply cannot fit one species and your emotions within that are totally valid.

A heavily choreographed series of music videos (led by the band’s choreographer Aaron Sillis) would carve a path for the spectacular live embodiment of the new record, which also resulted in a huge step forward in the band’s production values.

Long-term Production Manager, Steve Down, has worked with the band for four years, ever since their rapid growth required an experienced tech guru. In conjunction with the band’s Tour Manager, Tom Nicol, he formed Helix, a new era of production management service. Down began: “I actually met Tom at the TPi Awards three or four years ago when we were introduced by Jo Beirne [formerly of XL Video & PRG, now with Colour Sound Experiment],” began Down. Now, if you don’t know Beirne, let’s just say she has the kind of magical little black book that’d make a Wizard jealous.

“She knew we’d get on, and we do; we’ve worked together ever since!” he confirmed.

“We think there’s a gap in the market for a production / tour management team that understands what certain artists require. Fundamentally, we help band managers with putting who we think are the right people in place, with advancing and budgeting, even if we’re not on the actual tour itself.” The pair currently work with Amy Macdonald, Friendly Fires, James Arthur, Fat White Family and Jungle.

For the Palo Santo experience, the campaign began in the early summer on 2018.

As the album dropped in May, the festival bookings were coming thick and fast, and 33

YEARS & YEARS

the culmination had to end in a headline O2 Arena show. “The routing was tough on this one from a production POV, but it worked, and had to happen the way it did to ensure the shows sold out. Planning the summer through to the indoor winter shows meant we had to figure out how to go from a field to an arena, with the biggest show in London including a wider and taller video wall, far more lights and the addition of a cat walk.

“Our production designers, Chris ‘Squib’ Swain and Dan Hill from Cassius Creative have worked with the band for years. Squib was with them before I was, and so has a very close relationship with Olly and a genuine understanding of his creative vision. Matt Bull of All Access Staging & Productions in turn has a great working relationship with Squib and Dan and was able to make the stage design become a tourable structure that would become a rolling stage practical for 20-minute festival changeovers,” he said, citing their biggest festival slot as Radio One’s Big Weekend which became a really good starting point for the show.

“They all worked in Vectorworks so they could show me the 3D renders in an online portal which I could look at, delve into and really envisage,” said Squib. “It’s a really very helpful tool to be able to access as a production manager.”

Once the festival season drew to a close, the tour headed Stateside before entering production rehearsals at LS-Live. “It was the first time I’ve ever used the facility,” admitted Down. “It worked out so well; having the accommodation on site meant that we could program well into the night and tweak then and there. There was quite an undertaking as we were taking it from an hour-long summer show up to 80-minutes, as well as expanding it to an O2 Arena sized show. There was quite a lot to do, from choreography to musical direction, which was led by Max Cooke,” he reminisced.

The tour’s visual suppliers comprised Neg Earth Lights, “always one of my first choices”, and new kids of the video block, Universal Pixels (UP). “I’ve always dealt with Jay Mobbs-Beal, our account manager, even when he was with PRG. I like dealing with him, so we went with that relationship when

he joined UP. The company also benefits from a great working relationship with Colour Sound Experiment, so they have access to a lot of products too.

“Our video content was created by an artist called Adam Young of FRAY Studio, who I’d worked with before on Bombay Bicycle Club with Squib,” he added.”

Audio provider SSE provided the summer’s festival control package, and with nothing to complain about, the logical step was to bring in Wigwam Acoustics to supply a d&b audiotechnik rig, the preferred PA choice. “Dan Bennett from SSE is afirst rate acount handler; he always looks after me!” noted Down.

Elsewhere, Popcorn Catering fueled those grueling dance moves, Fly By Nite moved the Santo Palo components and Phoenix Bussing housed the troops between shows while special effects supplier BPM SFX provided a magical keepsake in the form of Palo Santo tarot cards. More on that later…

It must be noted, that backstage in London, there is a lot going on.

Although the crew is calm, and the atmosphere is friendly, there are people littering the hallways, mainly showing anyone walking by what an education in denim and spandex looks like. Upon entering catering to find a kettle, I’m greeted by a giant smile and even bigger hug from frontman Olly Alexander. “Hiiiii!” Goodness, I wasn’t expecting that… “That’s just how I say hello to people,” he said, whilst picking a flavour of tea. [Yorkshire, surely?]

“Oh yeah, that’s just Olly,” said Down. “He’s genuinely the loveliest person you’d ever want to meet, and that filters right down. The band is lovely all the time and it makes everything so easy. Olly’s very communicative and open about what’s going on; he’s all about the performance of the show and how we can make it better. If an idea needs to be budgeted for, you’ll get a decision on whether we run with it very quickly.

It’s his art. He’s simply a very straight forward for an artist and that in itself is refreshing.”

The army of people [or androids!] backstage turn out to be a new addition to the London show. Nothing like a last-minute mini festival style support act at the biggest show of the tour, right? “Years & Years are putting 34

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YEARS & YEARS

Production Manager, Steve Down; Tour Manager, Tom Nicol.

on a curated LGBTQ+ festival - named Rendezvous - this summer in London, which will have some big names attached to it. It’s inclusive of all genders, ages, backgrounds, sexual identification, it’s for you, all of you basically. The O2 served as a taster for this, but there’s going to be a lot more to come.”

dystopian Blade Runner style neon laser-filled route, but we chose to get rid of lasers and most of the beam looks and went for quite a lot of colour with soft lighting instead. This helped us to create big sheets of light using the same colour which works really well with the video. Lighting really takes a back seat on this show and we simply keep the performers lit. There’s a few rock ‘n’ roll pieces, but its far more theatrical looking given the big, block elements.”

For moving lighting fixtures, the London show was the ‘big’ one, showcasing 96 Martin by Harman MAC Quantum Washes, 14 Robe BMFL Spots, 12 Robe 150 LED Beams, 18 Robe BMFL Wash Beams (for framing), 3 Robe BMFL Blades, 3 Robe BMFL FollowSpots and 18 GLP JDC Strobes. For effects, Cassius opted for 13 TMB Solaris Flares (backline and side light), 32 Philips Color Kinetics TRX, 117 Martin VDO Sceptron (1M) and 15 Martin 0.320 VD) Sceptron. Atmospherics of note was a Look Solutions Viper unit.

The console was Cassius’ own MA Lighting grandMA2 running software 3.4.0.2 (Neg Earth supplied a backup.)

Other show stoppers included the BPM SFX tarot cards, multi-coloured confetti and blasters. “It becomes a sort of dark cabaret part of the set, where you don’t know what your fortune in this dystopian future might be.

Yet saying that, there’s not loads of gags, it’s all about the band bringing you this sort of ‘anti-pop’ pop show that’s fun and different but quite dark and moody.”

The lighting was operated by Lighting Director, James Washer. Now, we don’t want to say the TPi Awards is the only place to network, but it’s probably not a coincidence that team Cassius met their Op there. Between this union and the formation of Helix, no wonder the essence of Palo Santo feels strangely unstrange...

SHOW DESIGN AND OTHER WORLDY CONCEPTS Co-Production Designer, Dan Hill, took up the story: “Olly came up with the idea of this Palo Santo world, that depicts an androgynous feel and planned all the characteristics of this world into the show. We go through these deceptions of entering the world, its landscape and interiors with the androids - trying to establish how Years & Years even fit into it via the Santo Palo Entertainment Network.

“The show is otherworldly, and in this fake broadcasting realm, it becomes sort of like a dystopian, MTV-esque sequence. As part of the audience, you get brought into it, so it’s conceptually immersive,” he explained.

The video content is a gargantuan element of this notion. “We worked very closely with Adam Young of FRAY Studios on the content. He’s amazing. There are such great cinematic moments in the visuals, it’s really impressive.”

Akin to the mesmerising LED screen backdrop of conceptual visuals, there’s lots of raw metal style elements to the stage. Hill continued: “We worked with Matt Bull at All Access to ensure the concept could be delivered for festivals and that the symbolism within the content could be shown within the stage. There are parts of the video that show the [fictional] language of Palo Santo.

“There’s a lift in the middle of the stage which we had built into the set and this is interesting because it becomes part of the evolving set involving a costume gag. The lift rises 3.5m up into the screen, and Olly essentially then appears to be in the middle of the moon. This moment marks the half way point where an unexpected moment and reveals a transition from the real world / landscape driven content to the moon rising and creating the PSEN world next. Suddenly there you are, watching the entertainment.”

A further creative partner was found in Neon Circus, creators of the show’s neon signage. “We could have, going off the brief, done something a lot more obvious for the show and designed something along the lines of a

CUSTOM STAGING All Access Staging & Productions’ Matt Bull took up the story: “I had worked with Steve Down and Cassius Creative on smaller versions of Years & Years tours, and at the beginning of this year, we met to discuss how they wanted to tackle a festival season followed by a short tour later in the year. We had previously used a similar style system for Jessie J, whereby; it allows the video elements to be attached to a custom-made cart which became the base for the stage risers. The carts - when not in use - also carry the stage 36

YEARS & YEARS

Sean Pagel, Tour Rigger; FOH Engineer, Sam Parker with Chris ‘Squib’ Swain, Production Designer; Stage Manager, Simon Lutkin.

decks. This concept enables fast deployment at festivals and uses very little real estate.

“Once this method was decided upon, production designers, Squib and Dan then came up with a design from which the carts, fabricated stairs and frames for the front of the risers would complement.”

Once the creative aspects had been signed off, fabrication of the structure took about two weeks. The carts are made from steel with a discreet section to hold and secure the video products within them. The stairs and facia were also manufactured in steel which was lacquered in order to give a raw metal aesthetic finish as part of the android-esque finish. Set Carpenter, Ross Burkin, visited All Access for two days to learn

how to set up and get to grips with the construction of the set and its hydraulic lift gag.

Bull concluded: “It’s been great working with Cassius on this project; we have a good relationship and can work through the possibility of their wonderful ideas at ease. Steve is a consummate professional too, he’s one of the new generations of production managers who I know will be making progress in the industry for a long time to come.”

VISUAL ENTERTAINMENT TPi spoke to Young, who first became involved with Years & Years back in 2014 when Squib asked the artist to design the video for the first album

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YEARS & YEARS

campaign. “Since then, I’ve worked with Dan and Squib on lots of other projects and formed a video design company - FRAY Studio. When this campaign came around and we knew what the rough concept was, it seemed like a natural fit to work together again.

“Olly sent a very detailed PDF with the concept about the world of Palo Santo; rules, the inhabitants, mythology and its language. Beyond that, the brief was very open - there was a desire to set the first half of the show in the city of Palo Santo and to set the second half of the show in a TV network called PSEN. We went away for a couple of weeks and pulled together some very broad concepts, looks and styles that weren’t attached to any particular songs. Generally, it was a very open and accepting team who took on-board our own interpretation of the world of Palo Santo.

“Unlike the last tour, where I was a freelancer - we were a studio full of people with different talents and ideas. Norvydas Genys, our 3D specialist was the first one to start work by exploring how to build a city from scratch in Cinema4D that looked retro-futuristic and had a clear identity of Palo Santo. He had to work on all levels of scale - from back alleys with paper lanterns and wooden crates against the wall - to full aerial shots with road layouts specifically shaped into the Palo Santo symbols. Alongside Norv’s development was mine and Ash Woodward’s - we were looking at what actually makes something look authentically like a Japanese kid’s show from the 90s, how to recreate a theatre in Thailand that was used in the music video - amongst a long list of other things. This initial research and development phase probably lasted for a month or so, and once we knew we had most of the building blocks in place, we shifted into an intense fourweek production period to produce the show.

“The opening of the show is one of my favourite moments for sure. As an introduction, it feels big, cinematic and unexpected. I think it sets up the world in which we are about in inhabit nicely within a short moment and we get to introduce every visual language we use throughout; 90s CRT, filmed footage, text and 3D animated locations.

“I want the audience to feel like they have really been presented a complete world on stage. At FRAY, we think narrative is crucial to a successful show - not in the sense that we are telling a story - but we always hope to present something that visually flows and feels like it’s all come from one mind rather than every song being a stand-alone piece. I don’t think it’s something an audience would consciously think about - but I

would hope on some level the creation of such a consistent and cohesive world elevates their experience.

“Palo Santo is a real highlight - the moon and Olly on the lift just create such a hero moment and image that I think a lot of people walk away remembering. I always think it’s simple ideas that are well executed by all departments that really create those moments.

“It’s always such a pleasure to work with people who have a very strong concept behind what they want - it allows you to really invest in what you are creating specifically for that moment or song in the show rather than making content just because there needs to be something on the screen,” he said.

Young concluded by explaining something which, stood at FOH at the O2, was very apparent for a lot of people; the sense of community amongst the children, the teens, the parents, the lovers, the friends and the curious was rife: “I have always been a fan of Years & Years personally, and as a queer man myself, I think they offer the world of pop something diverse, celebratory, unashamed, honest and open - which is often missing.

I love being part of the team who is helping to spread those messages to everyone who comes to see the show.”

VIDEO DIRECTION As a relatively new company - headed up by Phil Mercer - video vendor, Universal Pixels (UP) only began working with the band in 2018, but the company’s Project Manager, Jay Mobb-Beals knew team Helix from way back. Since its inception, UP has worked with some seriously high-profile and challenging designs, and the 2018 Years & Years tour was something Mobb-Beals was keen to delve into. He began: “I’ve worked with Steve and Tom on quite a few projects over several years now, starting on a Years & Years tour on their first album campaign and they wanted to keep that continuity within video. We first began talking about this particular tour in April when we knew it was going to be so video-heavy throughout. Over the summer, UP provided a variance of shows from a complete video package to a flyable server system in a couple of Pelican cases, and everything in between.

“As the band had festival shows during the summer run, followed by indoor headline arena shows towards the end of the year, we had to come up with a package that was low-maintenance enough for Robin Senoner 38

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YEARS & YEARS

(Video Crew Chief) to tour the servers and look after the risers over the size, and the comms system was also really good. They key thing on camera summer on his own. The screen also needed to match the high-res content was capturing movement on stage, and the interplay between the dancers with a system that was scalable enough to pull off various different versions and Olly.” of the show around the world. Attention to detail is always key with Cassius Woods continued: “This was my first time working with UP on a tour; and there is never an element left to chance or not meticulously thought they had great, new kit and delivered a very practical system to the tour through.” as their PPUs are compact and fit into any venue easily. I’ll look forward to Video Director, Charles Woods commented: “With the live cuts, I try not working with them again in the future. to make it too much about Olly, and include Emre and Mikey as much as Mobb-Beals, who knew Woods prior to joining UP added: “I knew possible to get a full picture of the talent on stage. It’s a really nice gig to Charles’ personality would fit well with this touring team who have worked shoot as there’s such a lot happening, and Olly is of course a very natural together for many years, so having him on board was a no-brainer. frontman. The dancing within the show is very well “As for the band, it’s been great to support them choreographed which always helps when cutting to in various ways over the years; I first saw them live music.” at In The Woods Festival in 2014 when they were Woods specified for two manned cameras (a midway up the bill, so seeing them grow over time long lens at FOH and one in the pit with a 22:1 lens) being able to support their video needs now, for and two robo cameras each side of the stage to their biggest show to date, has been an absolute “I have always been a fan shoot across, offering alternate angles. “This helped pleasure.” The video team was completed by Video of Years & Years personally, to cover the movement of the performance as it Engineer: Connor Dexter, Projection/Camera, Anish went up and downstage,” he noted. Another robo Patel and LED Tech / Camera Op, Gareth Manicom. and as a queer man myself, cam was placed on the drums that also did crowd I think they offer the world shots and two fixed mini cams for Emre and Mikey SPECIAL EFFECTS respectively.

BPM provided a plethora of special effects for the of pop something diverse, In total, UP provided an upstage LED wall colourful show. Firing from an MA Lighting grandMA celebratory, unashamed, comprising ROE CB5 tiles in touring frames which onPC software using Timecode, the TPi Award went up to 195sqm for the London O2 show. Barco winning company delivered stadium shots, confetti honest and open - which is UDX 30k Projectors were chosen for IMAG, a For-A blasters and pyro hits to the party. often missing. I love being HVS 100 video switcher, two Hitachi 1200E cameras, The tour’s SFX Technicians were BPM’s Josh three Agile ARC 360 PTZ cameras and three UP Corkerton & Blake Harward. Corkerton told TPi: “In part of the team who is Block Mini Cams were utilised. The media servers my role as SFX Tech, I programmed, operated and helping to spread those were disguise Solos, and the bespoke stage LED installed all of the special effects. We timecoded panels were made of Leyard CLM 6mm - both recent the show using an MA Lighting grandMA onPC to messages to everyone who investments by UP. ensure consistency across all of the shows.” comes to see the show” Woods expanded: “The HVS 100 is a small but Senior Project Coordinator, Katie Strickland powerful switcher, perfect for a production of this added: “This method is becoming more and more Adam Young, Visual Artist 40

he only you need

YEARS & YEARS

popular within special effects. Squib always has these great designs in mind, so we help to facilitate and execute these concepts.

“It’s an amazing team to work with, and this tour has an exceptional design from the Cassius,” noted Corkerton. The full BPM rig comprised streamer hits from stadium shots on Shine, a pyro lift of gold glitter mines for Meteorite, a pyro chase of red mines for Desire, a pyro lift of gold strobe mines for Ties, pyro lift of gerbs for If You’re Over Me, pyro lift of gold glitter mines on All for You a huge confetti hit from stadium blasters during the chart-topping single, King.

Corkerton continued: “Each pyro cue fitted nicely with the visuals and concept of each track and there just has to be a big hit in King, what a way to finish a show with firing loads [at 84Kg] of confetti across the audience.

We love using confetti - especially custom confetti as it really gets the crowd involved.” No doubt the crowd loves it too, with treasures and trinkets of tarot cards designed to take home, enabling an analogue aspect of a very digital concert.

“It is always a pleasure to work with the Cassius team and Steve; we have had a great year working with them and look forward to more exciting projects in the new year,” Strickland concluded.

Murray had been using a range of Midas consoles for about 10 years but cited the availability and support from DiGiCo as a key turning point.

He explained: “I had used SD7 or SD10s a few times over the past five years, in fact with Years & Years in China last year I had to jump onto DiGiCo for a couple of shows when the promoter couldn’t find a Midas. A few weeks ago, before this UK tour, The Warehouse in Edinburgh kindly set up their SD10 for me so I could refine the file I’d built on the offline software, and that was a real help in moving the show over. The more I use DiGiCo, the more I like it…

I think I’ll stick with it from now on.”

The band use Sennheiser 2050 IEMs, with 12 channels across two ranges, plus two channels of 3732II with DPA d:facto heads for Alexander’s main and spare vocals. There are two channels with the Sennheiser 2000 Series with e935s for BVs, and two Shure UR4D for bass and guitar. It’s a mixed bag on moulds; Jerry Harvey Audio JH16s, Ultimate Ears UE11s, UE5s and some Cosmic Ears models. Murray himself uses UE11s “so at least two members of the band should be happy with their mixes!” he joked.

Including tech and guest mixes, there’s 9 IEM mixes plus spares and cue, stereo sidefills and two subs. For the stage wedges, Murray specified two SB18s with two ARC Focus per side (as sidefill) for the dancers.

He noted that the main challenge is the difference in the sound and levels from Midi and playback, from song to song. “I have all the electronic elements automated with drums and vocals scoped out and the DiGiCo desk is great for that. The Relative Group function is a game changer. That’s always a head scratcher for me on a new board; the mixing part is fine on most of them, but automation is where I trip myself up until I find my feet!”

He declared.

“My monitor tech, Paul Keeble, was actually a great help in rehearsals as he also uses an SD10 with Jamiroquai. We had a couple of days’ rehearsals in London, with just myself and Max Cooke, the Musical Director, the techs and the band, so going forward into production rehearsals meant I was in a pretty good place. Once the mix is settled, I don’t get asked for much. It’s pretty refreshing!”

Murray was also tasked with frequency scanning via an RF Explorer spectrum analyser which is then exported into Shure’s Wireless Workbench programme.

So, to sum up the last 18 months with this camp? “They are some of the nicest folks I’ve toured with. I’m looking forward to six weeks off over the holidyas, but it won’t be a chore to go into Europe with this bunch in January,” he smiled.

PALO SANTO SOUND FOH Engineer, Sam Parker was brought on-board by Steve Down in 2017. “It was for their 2017 summer festivals, and we’ve worked together ever since,” he stated. This tour has saw Parker request a DiGiCo SD10. His reasoning?

“It has enough I/O and processing paths, and when - or if - I run out of I/O on the surface, the addition of an SD mini rack in the optical loop gains the extra AES sockets I need to mix at FOH.” The engineer, who mixes on the fly, also praised the SD10s macros for being “very flexible.” Parker is running over 50 channels from the stage and a dozen FX returns. For processing, he opted for a TC Electronic M6000 and the SD10’s on-board dynamics for control.

For vocal effects, Parker opted to use his own TC M5000. “My go-to vocal verbs are the Gold Plate and 5000 Hall,” he noted.

The chosen vocal microphone is a DPA d:facto capsule on a Sennheiser 5000 transmitter for frontman Alexander. Backing vocals are via Sennheiser e935s and the drums take in a mixture of Shure, Audix, BeyerDynamic & Neumann models.

The sound system design was left with SSE / Wigwam System Technician, Mark Pantlin. Parker continued: “Mark & I have worked together previously, and he opted for a d&b audiotechnik J Series due to its suitability for the theatre venues and the arena shows alike.

“This was my first time using the with d&b B22 subs; usually, I would have had J SUBs on the floor, but the decision was made to fly the J SUBS for the London show, and go with B22s on the stage deck,” he added.

RIGGING RIGORS The tour’s rigging division is headed up by PSI’s Sean Pagel. As a director in a full-service rental company in Belfast, Pagel’s own area of expertise is rigging. He began: “I’d worked on Liam Gallagher’s summer shows during the festival season, and that’s how I met Steve. I don’t tend to tour often these days, but I like to keep my toe in touring as I think it keeps you current, as a company director!”

This may only be a short tour away from the day job, but every venue, he explained, had its own rigging challenges. “This show is designed for an arena-sized production, so taking it from our rehearsals at LS-Live into

MONITOR WORLD Steve Murray, Monitor Engineer, came on board in May 2017. He said: “I knew Steve and Simon Lutkin, our Stage Manager, [whom Down described as a ‘hero’] before this tour, as we are all Foals veterans, albeit at different times.”

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YEARS & YEARS

an arena in Birmingham, then into the Manchester Apollo, to the Brighton Centre - with little roof height and some roof restrictions - then back to Manchester and into London, has been interesting.

“Ben Love - the in-house rigger in Brighton was brilliant. We had a roof capacity of 16 tonnes and our cut down show [as in everywhere bar London] weighed in at 15.7 tonnes. So, we were fine. Just!” he laughed.

“In Manchester, we had to shrink the screen to 12m for the hanging weight of the building, but it didn’t affect the look of the show at all; it still looked brilliant. It’s such a good-looking design no matter where you saw it,” he enthused.

Throughout most shows, the lighting team utilised Robe followspots, but in London, extra truss and cable bridges were required to streamline the look on a bigger scale. On the audio front, there were few extra points due to the flying subs.

“Other than these small alterations, everything has simply moved out and become a bit wider to fill the O2 stage nicely,” he added.

Under Pagel’s watch, the HUD 10m lighting trusses [from Neg Earth] hang EXE Rise chain hoists, the PA is on CMs from Wigwam and the video is rigged via two-tonne CMs. Pagel concluded: “The tour worked out really well; the team are lovely and relaxed. I come in and do my rigging points with the local crews and in the afternoon while they sound check, I can put my PSI hat on and catch up with emails,” he noted. After all, how many directors like to climb high and dabble in tour life!

around 4-5 years ago, even before Helix were involved. When Steve and Tom took over, I was fortunate enough to have had a good relationship with both of them, having worked with them on previous projects. Therefore, when they came in, it was a simple, smooth transition for the band’s trucking needs.

“This was a very straight forward tour; big venues within the UK that we were able to put a team of familiar drivers on. We had five trucks on the tour with a sixth added for the O2 Arena show, plus we transported additional gear for the Brighton and London shows on behalf of the special effects supplier, BPM SFX. “It was great to be involved with the tour as it’s always a pleasure working with Steve and the team. It’s been good to see the band’s progression from the early days of needing small bits moved to where they are today, culminating in their biggest ever headline show. It was a great note to end the tour on. We are due back out with the band in January, this time heading out to Europe, so we look forward to picking up where we left off and see what else lies ahead.”

As the performance drew to a close, frontman Olly Alexander declared the London show as “the best night of my life.” If the energy in the beautiful, dystopian Santo Palo was anything to go by, we certainly believe it. Here’s to the next, ahem, Rendezvous…

TPi Photos: Tony Wooliscroft, Roy Brown and Joe Okpako. www.yearsandyears.com www.onlyhelix.com www.cassiuscreative.co.uk www.fraystudio.co.uk www.sillismovement.com www.neoncircus.com www.unipix.tv www.negearth.com www.sseaudiogroup.com www.flybynite.co.uk www.phoenix-bussing.co.uk www.allaccessinc.com www.popcorncatering.com

TRANSPORTATION MISSION Phoenix’s Stuart Scott has also worked with Steve Down for many years.

“Working with these guys is fantastic for me; they’re happy to talk about everything they need, which makes it very easy to handle on my side. I visited the team at the O2 Arena show and must say, they make you feel so welcome. This is a camp who make time for you, which feels great.”

Phoenix provided Palo Santo with three buses; a band bus, which was one of the travel expert’s newer, 16 berth Star buses, and a further two 16 berth buses for the crew.

Fly By Nite’s Matt Jackson was tasked with the kit commute: “We have worked with Years & Years ever since they first needed a trucking company 44

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FLORENCE + THE MACHINE Much to the pleasure of their loyal fans, the eclectic indie powerhouse returned to UK arenas for a seven-date stint which manifested as one of the most sophisticated and elegant productions of 2018. TPi’s Stew Hume met the innovative crew behind the enchanting High As Hope tour…

FLORENCE + THE MACHINE

It’s nearing the end of the show and the band launch into Delilah off the album How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful. With a spotlight silhouette on Florence Welch, the formidable frontwoman builds excitement within the crowd with but a few arm gestures. One swift motion later and the singer is running down the barriers which surround the floor of Manchester Arena and, before we know it, stands on the FOH barricade in a long flowing Gucci dress supported by the outstretched hands of her fans. The moment represents trust and seemingly disregards any notion that a stage could separate them.

Since forming in 2007, Florence + the Machine have become one of the UK’s most successful exports; yes, even in America. Their latest campaign - supporting the release High as Hope - maintains the crafted reputation.

By the time TPi met up with her road team, Florence + the Machine and their extended touring family had already completed a run in the US before returning for a selection of UK dates. Revealing that her two-year-old niece was in the audience and furthermore, that she is indeed half Mancunian set Florence’s Northern conglomerate into further approval. This, it seems, is a charmed evening.

The tour also acted as a bit of a reunion for TPi, as many of the main players on the roster split their time with a little band called the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Catching up with Production Manager Narci Martinez on the show floor, the stunning stage set was an ideal backdrop. “My relationship with Florence + the Machine began on their last album cycle,” began Martinez.

“They have the same agent as the Chili Peppers so when they needed someone to fill the PM role midway through the last tour, I got the call.

Clearly they like how I work as I’ve been able to stick around!” he joked.

This time, he’s been involved from the tour’s inception, and therefore entrenched himself in the decisions during the creative process. “The profitability of the tour is something I’m very interested in,” he explained.

“It’s something I pride myself on as a production manager; I don’t want to speak to management and just give them a price because I really look at all aspects to ensure the artist is getting the best value for money rather than simply throwing a load of cash at the production.”

Alongside Martinez, a lot of familiar faces joined the Florence + the Machine crew list. The PM brought many of his loyal Red Hot Chili Peppers team to join the ranks. “There’s a lot of familiar characters - from Philip ‘Big Daddy’ Dannemann my Stage Manager, to my Head Rigger, Gabriel Wood.”

The PM also signed on many of his previous RHCP trusted suppliers including Premier Global Production for lighting, Upstage Video, Beat The Street, Sarah’s Kitchen (crew), Rockpool Tour Catering (band), Five Points Productions, The Power Shop and Xpeditions Unlimited. New to the camp were Clair Global, BPM SFX, TRUCKINGBY Brian Yeardley, ShowFX and Wickley World Wide (draping).

Before diving into the intricate details of the High as Hope tour, TPi reminded Martinez how he’d described touring in the past “as a mixture of joining the marines and running away with the circus.” He laughed: “I stand by that! This tour is a very different vibe but it’s still the same principles and as PM, my main prerogative is to keep my crew happy. It’s simple, but a happy crew is an efficient crew.”

HIGH AS HOPE Those who have witnessed the band live will know how mesmerising Florence Welch is as a performer. Between each song she spoke to the crowd in her dulcet tones, but upon singing, takes on a different persona with non-stop energy and a voice the operatic Gods wouldn’t reckon with.

The creative team made it clear that the inspiration for this tour design came from the singer herself - where else? Leading the design was Creative Director Willo Perron. His initial idea was to create a stage which “mimics Florence’s organic performance by using natural scenic elements and 48

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FLORENCE + THE MACHINE

materials.”

The set, created by ShowFX, was an asymmetrical wooden topographical stage which would’ve looked more at home in high-end theatre than a world tour. David Mendoza, Founder and CEO of ShowFX spoke of the company’s involvement with the tour. “Willo and his team were very specific on the woodgrain finish, tone and sheen of the set and asserted that they really wanted the end grain to be prominent,” he began. “The wood surfaces needed to be as realistic as possible. But after exploring a few ideas, in the end it made more sense to use real wood with stain and protective coating.” The risers were an aluminium framed structure with wood cladding attached, and the edges of the risers were designed to look like three-inch laminated plywood. As this would have been tricky to tour, ShowFX created a front lip of laminated plywood that was only two-inch in depth. The lip was laminated to the riser decks of three quarter-inch ACX plywood, integrated with the aluminium structure.

The entire set was built with casters to roll in larger sections for quick deployment and storage during festival performances. “I ensured all the set elements could be broken apart and scaled down so we would be able to roll into festivals during summer,” said Martinez, as we walked on the wooden boards which the band would occupy just hours later, overseen by Head Carpenter Raymond Hardy. Each day Hardy and his team of two had the imposing task of slotting all the pieces of this beautifully crafted jigsaw together. “It’s a challenging set to build,” he admitted. “The main thing we have working against us is the wood, which can be affected by both humidity and dryness. Some days it fits together perfectly but others it’s a bit of a fight.” Despite the challenge Hardy expressed his enjoyment. “My touring life before this gig was actually as a backline tech, most notably for Dolly Parton,” stated Hardy, who has worked for the country legend since 2005. “This is a different animal altogether! Prior to my life on the road, I was a carpenter by trade, so I’ve been able to use those skills on this project

and, as Dolly was taking a break from touring, this worked out perfectly.”

As the stage was such a peculiar shape, conventional barriers were never going to suffice, Martinez recalled: “I brought in Guardian Barrier Services to ensure I had a safe barricade which suited our needs.”

Beneath the set, Brilliant Stages supplied extra risers. “We have a longstanding relationship with the Florence crew and Production Manager,” stated Brilliant Stages’ Adam ‘Bullet’ Bettley, who was contacted by Martinez earlier this year to help out with staging for a couple of warm-up shows in the UK and Europe. Bettley continued: “Upon their arrival back to the UK, for the arena tour, Narci got in touch with us to supply a 5ft high rolling house stage - 60ft wide x 28ft deep - that they could sit the current touring stage on and attach their thrust. It was only a short, two-week run but we were more than happy to help.”

Turning our attention to the roof, the PM pointed out elements of the rigging, the domain of a mainstay within his crew, Head Rigger Gabriel Wood, who worked alongside rigging supplier Five Points Production Services. As well as the notable array of lighting fixtures in the rig, there was one element fairly new to the world of live touring - 12 automated fabric roll drops placed in three rows. Part way through the show, the drops would descend from the roof creating a ‘sail’ effect. “We had meetings with several of the world’s major staging companies asking who might be able to create this design put forward by Willo,” stated Martinez. “But, conscious of the budget, I wanted to see if anyone already had the roll drops in stock.”

Thankfully, after some searching, the PM came across Texas-based Wickley Worldwide.

“Delivering a ‘wow factor’ while staying within a reasonable budget is always a challenge, but it’s a niche we fit into well,” commented Wickley Worldwide’s Melinda Wickley. “We developed a great relationship with Florence’s team which allowed us to participate in the brainstorming phase of this project. We love the opportunity to innovate and create one of a 50

FLORENCE + THE MACHINE

kind elements in our fabrication workshop - truly more of a creative lab that includes a metal forge, 3D printer, screen printer, among other things, than a workshop” The company also produced the animation elements to align with the energy and flow of the performance. “We were able to work through several rehearsals and performances, and it was really rewarding to see it all come together,” commented Wickley. “We believe the stage should merely align with the energy and flow of Florence’s performance, and create a beautiful and memorable engagement.”

Finally, to round off TPi’s tour of the physical staging elements Martinez gave a nod to his loyal power supply company, The Power Shop, which was once again onsite to oversee the electrical needs from day to day.

and design subtlety to compliment the artist. “This tour does not have a massive light show,” asserted the LD. “The entire look, down to the colour pallet, was very much based on Florence. If you look at her wardrobe for example, you can see the design is an extension of her and the inspiration for the tungsten, peach and pale rose tones.”

The show was split into four acts: the first showcased the wooden stage; act two introduced the sails which billowed overhead; act three saw the laser drape boasting over 44 Robe BMFLs shooting through miniscule holes in the backdrop to create a starfield effect; and act four brought all the elements together with a confetti shot which gradually descends in the crowd for 15 minutes, courtesy of BPM SFX, and fired in lighting world.

Collectively, the special effects supplier provided six XL Confetti blowers which dropped 200lb of confetti over the audience below each night.

“A large portion of the lighting budget went on the upstage BMFLs,” continued Routledge. The notion of putting the better part of your lighting fixtures behind a drape might seem odd but, according to the LD, it created the standout moment in the show. “The drape has a total of 1,600 2mm

(LIGHTING) SPECTRUM Tim Routledge, the tour’s LD, was sold as soon as he saw the initial plans, as he told TPi. “Recently, I have worked on a lot of shows which have been very LED panel focussed and this production was a real palate cleanser.”

The theatrical tour allowed Routledge to stretch his creative muscles

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FLORENCE + THE MACHINE

holes. When we shoot the BMFLs through the drape it creates an effect that appears to come from nowhere. Since the tour has been out on the road, many LDs have contacted us asking how we achieved the look.” It is, in a word, stunning.

Elsewhere on the rig, above the musicians, was a selection of Martin by Harman MAC Vipers Profiles along with TMB Solaris Flares and Martin by Harman Viper Performances for side lighting. Also present were SGM P10s, which were deployed throughout the wooden set. On the floor, surrounding the various musicians, lay Robert Juliat Dalis 862s. “The Dalis 862s along with the P10s were integral in building the intensity of the show,” stated Routledge. “Although neither of them are moving lights in the traditional sense, when they ‘arc and vibrate’ as the tracks build, it creates both subtle and extreme energy without relying on simply strobing or blinding the audience. I’ve use Dalis in three of my designs this year and are simply one of the most useful products around at the moment.”

Keeping a performer as energetic as Welch in the spotlight presented a challenge. Routledge used the Robe RoboSpot with three controls communicating with one rear BMFL and two front facing spots to keep her illuminated. “Florence has never really toured with a back spot but it’s one look I was keen to capture,” stated Routledge. “The image of her silhouetted is used several times at the start and end of songs, bookending the tracks perfectly.” Routledge joked how the spot operators certainly had their hands full following the singer as she travelled between every nook and cranny of the stage.

During the creation of the show, Routledge again called upon programmer James Scott and current LD of the Year (TPi Awards 2018), Sam O’Riordan took on Lighting Director duties and operated for Routledge on the road. “Tim and I had previously collaborated on the design of the last Royal Blood tour,” recalled O’Riordan, as we enjoyed the comfort of a Beat The Street tour bus. “Once it came across his desk, he asked if I’d be interested in overseeing the tour. I must say, both Willo and Tim have created a really beautiful show and certainly one of the best I have ever had the privilege of working on.”

In speaking to O’Riordan about his responsibilities, it became clear that they went further than your standard touring LD; from his MA Lighting grandMA2, he was charged with of all the show’s automation and special effects elements, as well as overseeing all the lighting cues. This included the automated roll drops, the DMX fans which ensured they continued to billow, and the confetti gag during the band’s encore. “There is certainly a lot to think about compared to your standard touring LD role,” stated O’Riordan. “Although we can treat the automotive elements as a lighting fixture - in that it’s another DMX element - the main difference is the physical moving part which has dire consequences if it goes wrong.” To ensure the set is safe, O’Riordan also calibrated the moving parts each day and guaranteed the elements were at safeguarded heights.

them up and get an answer.” For her set-up, the engineer was overseeing 80 inputs utilising two racks.

Excluding the guitar and bass amps, the rest of the Florence + the Machine stage was silent, with the entire band and crew opting for Sennheiser in-ears along with Ultimate Ears UE-18 moulds. The audio department brought in the Sennheiser SKM 6000 for microphones. “With the reduction of the RF spectrum available, we, as an industry, need to be moving over to digital. For us, the 6000 has been a Godsend!” she enthused. The capsule used for Welch’s voice was the MD 9235 which is a progression from the MD 5235 previously used. “While I was at Coachella with Marina and the Diamonds in 2015, I heard Florence on the microphone and immediately wanted to know what it was. I put Marina on that capsule

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NEVER LET ME GO Dubbed as ‘the brain’ by many of his fellow crew members, Toby O’Pray took on the title of Playback Technician. Along overseeing various playback elements, O’Pray was responsible for distributing the timecode to all the other departments. “Essentially, if the band misses a cue or decides to play for a few extra bars, Toby can manipulate the playback and timecode which in turn interacts with my lighting cues keeping the whole design in sync,” explained O’Riordan.

“Each song is launched from the drummer,” began O’Pray while explaining his playback and timecode setup. The Playback Tech’s rig consisted of two Apple MacBooks, both running Ableton Live, which gave him the flexibility to manipulate the playback in real time. “That’s the true beauty of Ableton,” he commented. “It was developed for electronic musicians to manipulate tracks in real time to give some feel and expression, which is why it’s perfect for my rig as a playback tech.”

O’Pray also utilised a new piece of kit, iConectivity’s PlayAudio12, a dual-USB audio and MIDI Interface for the live environment. “One of its key features is its redundancy. Instead of having an audio interface and a switching DI, I am able to plug both laptops in the PlayAudio12 and switch from one to the another. So if one laptop crashes I can simply move to the b-system.”

SKY FULL OF SONG Situated next to O’Pray on stage left was Monitor Engineer Annette Guilfoyle, who has made a name for herself handling monitor duties for other female fronted indie bands such as Goldfrapp and Marina and the Diamonds.

Guilfoyle opted for her console brand of choice – DiGiCo. “For this tour I’ve chosen an SD5, I’ve been using DiGiCo’s for awhile now and the company’s support is incredible. If I ever have a problem I know I can ring 53

FLORENCE + THE MACHINE

Stage Manager, Philip ‘Big Daddy’ Dannemann, Production Manager Narci Martinez, Head Rigger, Gabriel Wood and Production Coordinator Luke Bell; Touring Lighting Director, Sam O’Riordan; Playback Technician, Toby O’Pray; Monitor Engineer, Annette Guilfoyle.

as soon as possible as she has a similarly strong voice which the model replicates perfectly.”

The use of RF was also necessary thanks to Welch’s animated stage performance. “Admittedly, I didn’t realise quite how much she gets into the audience,” laughed Guilfoyle. “I was prepared for her to run around and jump up on the barrier but she also gets right into the crowd. I spoke to Clair Global about what they could do to provide me with the most coverage.

The antenna system they have has given us given us ensures incredible range and next to no dropouts for both in-ears and handheld.”

Brad Madix, of Diablo Digital, handled the FOH mix. The engineer first crossed paths with Martinez while covering the FOH seat for a Weezer gig.

When it came to building the team, Madix was on the top of the PM’s list.

“The man’s a legend!” enthused Martinez. “He’s a GRAMMY-nominated sound engineer, and a cool guy to boot.”

Clair Global, the tour’s audio vendor and its Cohesion CO-12 PA, were already in place before the engineer joined the tour, but, according to Madix, it was a good decision. He’d already used the Cohesion several times prior - including the very last Linkin Park tour - although he admitted this was the longest time he had spent on the road with the system. “There are plenty of great PAs out there all with their own qualities,” he stated.

“The CO-12, for example, has a really natural sound to it with nothing exaggerated or over-hyped in either the low or high end.” He said these characteristics made it perfect for Florence + the Machine. “It’s really hard to pigeonhole this band in terms of musical genre, but one common trend through their music is that they are fairly organic and natural-sounding.

Throughout the show they go from stripped back acoustic tracks to full-on rock songs, but the CO-12 handles all aspects really well. The system also works with her voice - which obviously was of paramount importance.”

Although the audio crew carried a delay system on the road, for their Manchester date they opted to simply use the L-R system consisting of 16 boxes deep of CO-12 per side, with a side hang of 16 CO-10. Due to additional seating which surround the stage, Madix and the team deployed a further rear hang of 6 CO-12 in Manchester. “Florence + the Machine are

not a sub-heavy band,” continued the FOH Engineer. “As such, we have only needed 3 CP-218s either side on the rig. We did toy with the idea of placing subs on the floor but due to the asymmetrical shape of the stage it didn’t make sense.” In fact, there were no speakers at all on the stage save a small CP-6 for those few barrier dwellers.

The Avid VENUE S6L was Madix’s desk of choice. “I’ve been a long time Profile user and the S6L was the next logical step. Personally, I always want to keep everything right in front of me at my fingertips. Avid’s platform is very programmable, easy to use and easy to get around.”

In terms of effects, Madix explained he likes to keep everything “on board”. He elaborated: “During the Linkin Park run, I began to move away from plug-ins and external effects, opting to use all the desk’s onboard effects. One of my favoured plug-ins on the Avid is their Pro Compressor. I use it more and more. It’s incredibly versatile and I currently have it on all the guitars and BV with two on Florence’s channel.”

Similar to the lighting department, Madix was also taking a timecode feed which had become integral to his workflow. “I haven’t counted but there must be close to 150 snapshots per show. Some of the songs are relatively simple, but others have several playback elements integrated along with several instrument changes where various lines have to be muted at specific points. Essentially, I use timecode to switch through the snapshots, which gives me the ability to have my hands on the faders and stay on top of the overall mix, with the peace of mind that everything else is managed.

TPi asked the engineer what it was like to mix a singer who wasn’t necessarily going to stay on the stage for her performance. In response, Madix pulled out his phone and showed a photo of Welch standing on the barrier inches from his console from the London show the night before, laughing: “With many singers, running in front of the PA could present a whole host of issues. Thankfully, Florence has a very strong voice so I’m not having to gain her up too much to begin with, putting me in a safer position during those moments and meaning we are less susceptible to issues such as feedback.”

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FLORENCE + THE MACHINE

System Technician, Elad Kleiner with FOH Engineer, Brad Madix; Video Director Corby Anderson; The hard-working team from Sarah’s Kitchen.

Not just a well-respected FOH Engineer, Madix is also known in the industry for being one half of Diablo Digital. Partnering with Greg Price back in 2013, the duo has been developing their range of high-quality easy-toimplement touring multi-track recorders. As you might expect Madix made some space on the rack for one of his Diablo systems. “Personally, I think it’s invaluable to have a digital multitrack of the band you’re working with.

Honestly, I’m not sure why every crew doesn’t do it. As great as it is to blast a rock song out of a PA during setup, nothing compares to a real recording of your band while tuning the PA. It also gives you the option to not need a sound check, allowing the musicians more time to prepare for the show with the assurance when they get on stage the system will sound its best.”

BREAKING DOWN (THE VIDEO RIG) Overseeing the IMAG screens which flanked the stage was Colorado native and Video Director, Corby Anderson - a role TPi soon discovered to be his dream job. “I’ve been working as a director for several years, mainly in the corporate and sporting word. For example, due to where I’m from [the capital of extreme sports] the X Games has been a regular project for me over the years… but working in live music has always been my passion!”

Anderson’s entry into the world of live music came thanks to Mark Haney, Vice President of Upstage Video. “The short version of the story is that Pearl Jam were making a rare appearance in Colorado. I wasn’t even working the event on the video team but I knew instinctively I needed to be there. After getting myself in as regular crew, I managed to introduce myself to Mark and we hit it off. Sometime later, this tour came across Upstage Video’s desk and Mark put me in the chair - I’ve been pinching myself everyday since.”

The conceptual look of the IMAG treatment came from Haney and original engineer, Daniel Scalzo. “The brief I was given was one of a very cinematic feel,” explained Anderson. “They didn’t want LED screens, instead opting for projection which presented a more ‘earthly’ and less crisp image which mirrored the overall look of the stage and lighting.”

The projectors chosen for the job were Panasonic 31K laser projectors.

Panasonic was also the brand of choice of Anderson’s switcher – an AV-HS6000. The camera package consisted of two FOH long lenses with two hand held pit cameras operated by Upstage Video operators. Also at Anderson’s disposal was a robo camera and two POV units for the drummer and the violinist.

“My primary directive is to cover Florence throughout the night,” stated Anderson, joking, “we very much go with the, ahem, Flo.” With so many dynamic moments in tow, the Video Director wanted to make sure his cuts kept pace with the singer. “Over the months, we have been able to create some beautiful moments where we are able to cut to a drum fill or music section in-between one of Florence’s dynamic runs or spins as she resets for either a vocal line or her next movement. She is pretty well choreographed so at this stage, we have an idea of what looks we want to get each night.

“It’s been a delight to work with Upstage Video,” concluded Anderson.

“On this tour, I’ve got to work with some real industry pros such as James ‘Coach’ Malone, our Video Crew Chief; he’s worked with everyone from AC/ DC to Metallica. Honestly, it’s just amazing to be surrounded by such people and I hope for it to continue!”

HUNGER (AND TRAVEL) The conjoined forces of Beat The Street and TRUCKINGBY Brian Yeardley ensured the crew and stage got to each venue. In total, the tour had five tour busses and 14 trucks. “I first came across the team from TRUCKINGBY when we built the first Florence show in 2014,” recalled Martinez. “I was very impressed with their work ethic and attention to detail.”

The PM extended the same compliment to his regular freighting supplier, Xpeditious Unlimited. “Paul Stacey [owner] is my go-to guy for all international travel,” smiled Martinez. “Not only is his attention to detail incredible, he is a very fair business man. I think it’s fair to say that international freighting can sometimes be somewhat of a mystery in terms 56

FLORENCE + THE MACHINE

of why you are charged certain rates. With Paul, it’s all very black and white and above board and he gives me lots of options to get the fairest price.”

“The Florence + the Machine project was a fun one,” commented Stacey.

“We moved the entire show from Newark, New Jersey to the UK and then back to the USA. From there we are moving it to Austrailia with a back-toback move from New York to San Jose via LAX,” he stated. “Maybe then I’ll finally see some daylight.” With freighting handled, RIMA Travel was also on-hand, providing all the logistics for the touring A and B parties which included both Welch and the rest of the band.

Finally, nourishment throughout the tour was split between Rockpool Tour Catering, providing for the band, and Sarah’s Kitchen taking care of the hungry crew. Sarah Nicholas, owner of Sarah’s Kitchen was onsite with her four staff. She commented: “This is the second time we have toured with Narci, having also worked on the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ The Getaway tour,” she began, sitting on one of her famed blue flight cases. “Each night we are feeding about 80 people, but there really hasn’t been too many special dietary requirements. This camp really love their food which makes our job more enjoyable.” In fact, the band’s touring schedule had the crew working throughout Thanksgiving and - much to the delight of the Americans on the tour - the catering crew rustled-up a full roast dinner. We’re sure those

heralding from the UK didn’t mind either…

With only a few dates left on the crew’s 2018 touring calendar, a selection of the team headed west, back the US for a few smaller radio and TV promo appearances. In 2019, the touring family will be back in action bringing High as Hope to Austrailian fans.

TPi Photos: Luke Dyson and TPi www.florenceandthemachine.net www.willoperron.com www.timroutledge.co.uk www.premierglobalproduction.com www.fivepointsproductionservices.com www.clairglobal.com www.upstagevideo.com www.bpm-sfx.com www.beatthestreet.net www.brianyeardley.com www.xpeditiousunlimited.com www.rockpooltourcatering.com www.thepowershop.eu

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PRODUCTION PROFILE

GARY NUMAN A fleet of ‘Numanoids’ flocked to The Bridgewater Hall in Manchester to witness their industrial electronic hero perform cult tracks from his genre-defining back catalogue and latest album, Savage (Songs from a Broken World), accompanied by The Skaparis Orchestra and Kantos Chamber Choir.

TPi’s Jacob Waite reports...

Lauded among critics and fans alike, having charted at number two in the UK, Gary Numan’s latest body of work tells the story of a postapocalyptic world whereby the future is equal parts terrifying and uncertain. Backed by The Skaparis Orchestra, which brought a wealth of string-led emotion and cinematic quality alongside the soaring Kantos Chamber Choir, the frontman’s industrial synth sound and show design juxtaposed the show’s post-global warming, Mad Max aesthetic.

elements we import into this production are lighting and video based, it made sense for me to adopt the role of production manager as well.”

Edwards also praised the Savage tour’s suppliers. “Adlib, our audio vendor, are the only suppliers on this tour which Gary and I have never used before, and they are great. From a logistical standpoint, having Adlib on-board has also worked well because they’re based in Liverpool and we were rehearsing 45-minutes down the road at Manchester’s Royal College of Music.”

PRG XL Video supplied lighting, video and rigging on the tour. “Our Account Handler, Rob Watson, really looks after me and understands the importance with building relationships with people. PRG is wholly people-based and it’s lovely. They have supported us endlessly to make this production happen. For me, that relationship and level of trust is invaluable.”

Watson commented: “I really enjoyed working with Luke; his design was spot on for this show. He made great use of the PRG Icon EDGEs and the GLP impression X4 Bar 20s in his design. We’ve worked with Luke and the Gary Numan team on a lot of shows, but this particular tour stands out for me. We’re looking forward to working with both Luke and Gary again in 2019.”

DOWN IN THE PARK Ensured with delivering the British synth-rocker’s dramatic end-of-days vision was Production Designer and Production Manager, Luke Edwards of Cue Design. His relationship with Numan spans over five years. In that time, the young creative has evolved from a 23-year-old LD to fully-fledged Production Designer for the iconic, self-managed artist. A debatably astronomic feat which Edwards modestly attributed to hard work, dedication, and in some part, luck. He began: “I remember getting a phone call at 9am asking if I could be in Belgium by midday. If I’d never picked up the phone, or made the effort to get there in time, I wouldn’t be in the extremely fortunate position I’m in now.”

He recollected: “Gary and I have a very close relationship, when I’m in Los Angeles [where the London-born artist currently resides] I’ll stay at his house. If there are any issues with the tour, I can approach him and explain the situation at ease. He’s always understanding; we’ve built a level of trust where he’s interested in what I’m doing but doesn’t micromanage.”

As an integral part of Gary Numan’s live set-up, Edwards was tasked with designing the lighting, video and lasers package. “As 80-90% of the

THE GHOST NATION SHOW DESIGN Savage foresees a cataclysmal world, and, for Edwards, the challenge was to strike a delicate balance between “keeping everyone lit while still creating a dark and moody atmosphere on stage” at The Bridgewater Hall, where a live DVD was being filmed.

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“At its core, this production is a high-impact rock show but with the addition of The Skaparis Orchestra and Kantos Chamber Choir, there is so much emotion added. There is also an entire spectrum of feelings as a member of the audience. It’s electronic rock with classical romance... think robot romance,” Edwards laughed.

“I still get goosebumps every night that we perform. The band are incredible, and with the orchestra combined, they all put in so much effort.

You can feel and hear the emotion with which they’re playing. From an audience’s perspective, it’s so powerful. So many people consider the Gary Numan classics such as Cars, Down in the Park, Are ‘Friends’ Electric? but this show is so much more than that.”

When it came to show design, Gary Numan adopted a hands-on

approach. “There is so much respect and trust between us. Gary often wants to see renders. During the R&D process, I showed him the design for this show and there was nothing that he wanted to change.

Among the wears, Avolites’ brand-new, landscape-shifting Synergy lighting and video integration software made its worldwide debut. Edwards’ two Avolites Sapphire Touch consoles and dual Avolites Ai Q3 media servers were loaded with the new Synergy software.

“Synergy is the future and as a designer it’s very exciting,” said Edwards.

“One day, the term ‘Lighting Designer’ is going to be a thing of the past, Synergy integrates lighting and video so beautifully, simply, and powerfully.

I believe the role of Multimedia Designer will replace the old guard. Synergy has truly changed the way we, as designers, put a production together. The

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GARY NUMAN

words ‘game-changer’ and ‘ground-breaking’ are used far too often, but Synergy really is both of those things,” Edwards stated.

The result of years of R&D by the Avolites team, Synergy allows users to stream Ai video colour data through any fixture group, to instantly integrate them into a larger video canvas.

“It would be virtually impossible to programme the fixtures to display what Synergy can feed them from the video content,” Edwards continued.

“This means that I can achieve an array of effects that before now were not available. Using Synergy, the video content can programme the lights for you.”

He added: “There were incidences of flames in the video content and Synergy took this signal and fed it to the fixtures, meaning they all flickered with exactly the same colours and intensity – it took the 2D video screens into the 3D space, so the entire stage looked like it was on fire. It was amazing and changed the atmosphere completely. With Synergy, the show looked more together, neater, like one giant art piece. And it’s so simple to use.”

Avolites Technical Director, JB Toby, was onsite. “Synergy is all about making the video and lighting control really transparent and not having technical difficulties hampering the creative elements of a live touring production. This is the first application, with light map being used exclusively on the Gary Numan tour and there’s more to come.

“For years, there’s been two teams working side-by-side and there have been beautiful examples where people have had the budget and equipment to really synchronise lighting and video, and the whole show is lifted by the improvement in the creative look and how tidy it is. But why should that only be applicable for the million-dollar tours? Why can’t we make that for the small tours too? That’s my passion. I call it democratising media. We need to make these possibilities accessible.”

Edwards enthused: “For me, Avolites have always been one of the

kindest manufacturers of lighting consoles. They support young people.

The team talked me through their plans for the software over the next couple of years, and the technology has come on leaps and bounds. It’s a relationship that has built and built. In fact, I went out to Prolight+Sound 2018, and programmed their stand in Frankfurt, and I did the same thing at LDI. So, there is definitely a nice two-way relationship.”

The performance at Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall saw the British synth-rocker’s dramatic video content emerge from LED screens into the 3D space as the multitude of German Light Products and Philips Vari-Lite fixtures pixel-matched its colour and effects.

Edwards made sure there was plenty of inventory from GLP to highlight both the theatrical and more dynamic electronic elements. In particular, 72 GLP impression X4 Bar 20s (a further 24 X4 Bars were utilised as part of the backdrop, with a further 12 of the fixtures as side lights, and 36 on the overhead rig).

“Our last few tours always featured X4 Bars as Gary loves the look of them. For this production, we wanted to upscale and try something a bit more creative, so we’ve taken a risk as our main rig in the air has no spots or washes, but the X4 Bars make it look incredible. As it tapers in, it’s almost like a centrepiece that draws your eyes into the stage. Also, as we’re using Avolites Synergy, it’s an obvious choice to go for a fixture we’ve used before and sync with the video elements of the production.”

The X4 Bar 20s kept company with 8 GLP impression X4 washes and 24 GLP JDC1s. “The X4 Bar, for instance, is something that in my opinion is the only thing of its kind on the market. As for the JDC1, at the moment for me it is the best LED fixture out there. It provides the best of both worlds, the big colour plate and the white LED beam.”

Edwards also entrusted eight Philips Vari-Lite VLZ Profile luminaires to meet an unusual variety of stage lighting demands. “To light the orchestra, we needed something with a really nice light quality. But with so 62

GARY NUMAN

Coda AiRAY compact line array loudspeakers.

many tuneable instruments on the stage we also needed a light that wouldn’t throw out loads of heat onto the orchestra. The VLZ Profile was a great option: the optics are beautiful, the colours and the colour temperature are beautiful, and it keeps the orchestra members and their instruments cool.”

An additional three Philips Vari-Lite VLMB custom mirror balls added diversity to the show. “Part of my job as a lighting designer is to make everyone feel comfortable on the stage. If I can light them without making them really hot, that’s a massive benefit. To be able to use technology to achieve that, and not to have to compromise at all in what that technology can do for us, has been incredible.”

Placed on pre-rigged PRG high side-trusses either side of stage, the VLZ Profiles gave side-light, colour and texture for the orchestra and choir in the upstage area, as well as for Numan and the band downstage. “Mostly, we’re using the gobos and prisms to put textured light on the orchestra, to light them in an interesting way,” said Edwards. “But I’m also using the VLZs a lot in open colour, just frosting it slightly to soften the light and get everyone lit really beautifully.”

In covering such a broad area, Edwards was helped considerably by both the output and wide zoom range of the VLZ Profile. “Output-wise, they’re one of the brightest things I’ve seen with an LED source,” he said.

“Being able to light that big a surface area with a minimum number of fixtures, with that zoom range, is a big plus. I can point them forward and have these nice, tight beams coming from the side trusses, or they can go extremely wide. They’re amazing fixtures to have on the show. Of course, truck space, rigging space and weight all come at a premium, so to be able to do that with such a small number of fixtures is great.”

With its stable, long-life LED source, Edwards acknowledged the Philips VLZ Profile also scored high on reliability in comparison with conventional discharge lamp moving heads. “We’ve not had to swap a 63

GARY NUMAN

Avolites’ Synergy makes its world premiere on Gary Numan’s Savage tour.

single one out,” explained Edwards. “That’s great from my point of view, but for the lighting techs it’s even more important, because the last thing they want to be doing is changing fixtures during load-in while they’re trying to get the rig in the air.”

Discussing his experience of using the Vari-Lite brand, Edwards said: “I suppose I always have a kind of predisposition to Vari-Lite because they were the first moving lights I ever used - I grew up with VL2500s. Vari-Lite was the standard, and I think their new fixtures reinforce that again. For me, they have some of the best glasswork, some of the best colours, some of the best clarity in gobos that you see across every brand of moving light, so I’m really happy to see that they’ve come out with new products that are so useful to people like me.”

Laser Technician, Daniel Briggs of AC Lasers operated the tour’s special effects duties with the company providing lasers, projectors and control to the tour. “Luke looped us in at his design stage and wanted four really bright lasers to put on top of the towers. We’ve known each other for several years having worked on a range of shows before and it’s really nice to work together on another tour.”

Briggs set the scene: “There’s some really big, bold punchy moments and there are some very subtle, sweeping effects - and there’s not really an in-between - on our side of it. It’s two extremes, which has worked really well with the classical backing of The Skaparis Orchestra.”

The lasers provided a litany of looks for Metal, Everything Comes Down to This, Down in the Park, Jagged, Are ‘Friends’ Electric?, The End of Things, A Prayer for the Unborn, and It Will End Here.

Briggs concluded: “All of the cues utilise the same four fixtures; we’re using the RTI NANO AT6 and they’re a 30W OPSL projector. They’re insanely bright for these sized venues so it should be really nice and sharp. Overall, I’ve had a great time on this tour with the lighting and video team. The PRG guys have been really good.”

Edwards was also assisted in programming the show by Pete Budd.

Other members of the team were PRG’s Lighting Crew Chief Bradley Stokes, Dimmer Technician Daniel Everitt and Video Technician Tom Prew.

Everitt said: “The design, I’ve noticed from day one, is a very back and side lit show, which is something Luke and Gary have worked hard to achieve during a DVD shoot. Specifically, for the Manchester Bridgewater Hall gig, because we’ve got an in-house broadcast team, the cameras are looking for on-face lighting instead of a blob on-stage that nobody can see; and under the guise of Luke, we facilitate that as best we can.”

24 PRG Icon EDGE fixtures made up the rig, Stokes said: “They’re a very good hybrid fixture, they can go from a beam to a spot and can also double quite well as a wash. Everything on the rig works quite well. They’re multiuse, such as the JDCs, which are insanely bright. The new Vari-Lite VLZs are used as key light for the orchestra. They’re quite weighty but we’ve had no problems with them. The same fixtures have gone up on the rig since day one of the tour. For us, it’s all about getting them up and hoping they do the job, which they have done.”

5 PRG Super Nodes powered the vision, while a total of 128 ROE MC7 7mm screen panels were rigged to portray shattered glass using the PRG touring frames. “For me, I liked how the LED is split up because it’s like a broken window into a broken world. Initially, it was a bit of a challenge because Gary Numan likes it quite dark on stage and moody and content in the desert is much brighter, but it’s worked brilliantly,” Edwards reflected.

Prew concluded: “It’s been great working with the lighting guys, and because it’s such a small crew everyone has been chipping in, especially laser Dan, who has been brilliant for going that extra mile. The MC7 is great, we’re using a mixture of PRG touring frames, which is the hanging element at the back and on the riser there are ROE Magnesium frames which are easier to adapt to different size risers, and when we need to ground stack we’re using the PRG touring frames with a truss support.”

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GARY NUMAN

Production Manager & Production Designer; Luke Edwards; Laser Technician, Daniel Briggs; Avolites Technical Director, JB Toby; Drum Technician, Jimmy Lucido; Monitor Engineer, Michael Glines; Tour Manager and FOH Engineer, Dave Dupuis; Guitar/Playback Technician, Oren Karpovsky; Dimmer Technician, Daniel Everitt; Video Technician, Tom Prew & Lighting Crew Chief, Bradley Stokes.

DO OUR FRIENDS SOUND ELECTRIC? label) as a special guest during a string of dates. “I’ve been a sound engineer For Edwards, following the devastating events of Gary Numan’s otherwise for almost 20 years now, and it’s my primary role. However, I quickly became successful US run [see pg. 72], it was vital to surround himself with allies.

Gary’s Tour Manager, support act, and sound engineer because I’m naturally Step-forward Audio Crew Chief, AJ Sutherland. “He’s a really good friend of a people manager with good organisational skills.” mine and he’s really taken charge. It’s been great to work with him because Dupuis mixed on an Avid Venue Profile with various built-in plug-ins. he’s actually taken a lot of stuff out of my hands, audio wise.”

His console of choice. “The Avid Venue Profile console works great for this Sutherland confirmed: “I’ve been undertaking a lot of tour management application. I always ask for an Avid console while touring because it fits recently and so it was really good to get back and get hands-on, unloading with a rock ’n’ roll show. My usual approach is to mix using my ears and EQ trucks and plugging things in… I’ve really enjoyed to make it sound even more awesome. From my this tour,” he confirmed. perspective, I want a live show to just wash over Sutherland specified a Coda Audio PA system and make it an experience for the ears and the from Adlib which consisted of 24 Coda AiRAY mind. Luke then takes over from there and makes it compact line array loudspeakers (12 per side); 6 an immersive, visual experience.”

Coda APS curved wave drivers; 8 Coda HOPS8T, When it comes to mixing the sound in a live situated alongside 8 Coda SC2-F and 8 Coda SCP-F Dupuis is hands-on. “I’m a very active “Dave and I approach the task setting, subwoofers. Edwards added: “It was a gamble to mixer, especially with the orchestra; I’m riding the bring the Coda Audio system on-board because faders quite a bit and playing the parts. I think of creating good audio by I’d never heard it before. I went off AJ and Adlib’s that comes from being a musician as well. I prefer getting the sound right at the recommendation and must admit, it sounds to actively mix as it gives me creative freedom. fantastic. I also worked with AJ during our last Because I’m a Tour Manager most of the day, the source, before even putting festival run, so I fully trust his recommendations.” two hours per day that I’m at FOH and actually a mic on. Then putting a Tour Manager, FOH Engineer and Nightmare Air have the ability to actively mix is the one time of guitarist Dave Dupuis’ introduction to Gary Numan the day I can get really creative.” standard mic in a good spot is enough to make any electro goth fan weep: the He continued: “Gary Numan is the Godfather and building from there, is key. of electronic pair joined forces after meeting at a Nick Cave after music, so it’s really important that party in Los Angeles, where the duo instantly hit It’s that old analogy: you can’t his sound reflects his true abilities. I’ve got a lot of it off. Now, in addition to mixing live sound, the Engineering DIs on stage, and I think they’re build a house on sand theory.” Radial Beggars Banquet labelmate has also supported the unsung hero of this production; they’re such Michael Glines, Monitor Engineer. the new-wave icon (and founder of the record good quality, they never fail. I always tour with 66

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tonnes of Radial stuff because it’s so durable.”

He also commented on the choice of vendor: “The entire Adlib team has been great, in particular AJ Sutherland (Audio Crew Chief), Fabrizio Colucci (Monitor Tech) and Hassane Essiahi (System Technician). I also couldn’t do this without our Monitor Engineer, Mike Glines. Especially on this tour, he brought a wealth of knowledge having regularly worked with an orchestra back in Long Beach. To watch him capture audio with that many open mics has been wonderful.”

Glines picked up the story. “My approach is minimal as far as processing goes on digital consoles because you lose resolution when you start processing too much. The cleaner you can keep it, the better it sounds. You can keep your resolution if you steer clear of over processing. Dave and I approach the task of creating good audio by getting the sound right at the source, before even putting a mic on. Then putting a standard mic in a good spot and building from there, is key. It’s that old analogy: you can’t build a house on sand theory.”

For the audio engineers involved, the inclusion of The Skaparis Orchestra on-stage presented a myriad of challenges. Sutherland stated: “We have got a lot of DPA 4099 microphones. We specified 4099s for all the strings and found that they are very good on the violins, the violas, and the cellos. For the double basses, we had to play around with the mic position quite a lot, but it was very satisfying to finally get that clean, full sound. In the absence of a Schertler pickup, micing the harp was the biggest challenge as it’s so quiet and the spill from the nearby percussion would obliterate the signal. After trying a DPA, C414, C451 and even a shotgun mic the harpist, Steph Halsey, suggested a kick drum mic and lo and behold a Beta91 in the bottom of the instrument got the results we were looking for.

One thing we’ve learned on this tour, is that mic position and choice is very important. These factors have always been crucial with bands, but I think they are especially important when you’ve got so much going on-stage with an orchestra.”

Shure 57s, SM81s, Beta 52s, Beta 91s alongside Sennheiser 604s and 904s made up the mic numbers. Glines germinated: “We’ve gone back and forth on some of the mics, and we’ve actually switched out some of the bass mics and cello mics for something a little tighter. A little more cardioid in some places. My principles mainly stem from assisting some of the greatest engineers around in the legendary Capitol Records Studios, and just absorbing all their principles. When you’re lucky enough to get an education from really good mentors it just drives that ‘keep it simple’ or ‘less is more’ approach to audio a bit deeper.”

An Allen & Heath dLive S7000 provided control for monitor world.

“The dLive is great, I love it,” quipped Glines. “We chose the Allen & Heath dLive as our monitor console because it’s very good for having multiple operators. It’s also not just the core of the monitor system but it is the core of the show. It handles the communications for everyone. There’ve been times on the tour where I’ve thought ‘wouldn’t it be really nice if it could do something really niche or unusual’, and I’ve generally found a way to be able to do that on the dLive in a user-friendly way. It’s more powerful than the other consoles I’ve used before. When I tour, I normally keep a list of things to feedback to the manufacturer and my list from this tour is so short, which is quite impressive for the first time I’ve toured something like this,” Sutherland explained.

The Allen & Heath dLive console was partnered with DM64, DX32 and IP-8. “I was at Audio Technica’s HQ in Leeds to program the dLive and I was introduced to this wing function. After playing with it, I asked if I could steal it for two weeks and they lent me the IP-8; which is an amalgamation of eight faders, eight LCD screens and 23 buttons. If the laptop or iPad gets a little slow, then I can replicate physical faders and buttons to mute channels, PFL channels, listen to mixes and route my talkback to chat to individual musicians as if I have my own little mini desk; which is such a great feature from a systems tech point of view because I’m not leaning over the shoulder of my monitor engineer or getting in the way, I can just do my 68

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GARY NUMAN

job without having to interrupt him.”

Sutherland also expressed his gratitude: “It has been fantastic fun, everyone is really nice, and it’s been one of those instant dream-team tours.

In terms of suppliers, I’d love to thank Allen & Heath and Audio-Technica for their support. I’ve got a contact for both of them in case I run into any technical trouble. I haven’t had to use it, but to know there is someone on the other end of the phone is very reassuring.”

The Skaparis Orchestra Conductor, Simon Robertshaw, joined the conversation: “I’m very privileged to be involved in this project with Gary and his band, and the incredible tech crew. Every day I’m blown away by the sheer brilliance of the production. It’s unreal. The great thing about this show is every element of the setup has layer-upon-layer of cutting-edge technology developments. I think Gary is very astute and I believe he’s always picked brilliant people in-order to achieve the best results. He’s been innovative within the realms of production design for 40 years, so it’s been a privilege to work with Luke and the rest of the team.”

Meanwhile, Gary Numan, the band, and the orchestra were all on Sennheiser 2000 Series IEMs with 38 receiver beltpacks. “Everyone is onears, sometimes we use sidefills but with the orchestra, there’s just too much on stage. We try to keep it as minimal as possible considering with have like 40 open mics on that stage right now.”

Robertshaw concluded: “The players in the orchestra are still very young and they’ve never really encountered in-ear technologies and Luke and the team have really performed a clinic in providing the best in equipment for the musicians. I found during the tour that these young players who weren’t brought up on Gary Numan are suddenly becoming ‘Numanoids’. It’s been an absolute privilege.”

some things coming and going but I’ve never heard their truck drivers moaning, they always help us pack. Sometimes it can be difficult, but they’ll always be there with a smile on their face. It’s a breath of fresh air to have enthusiastic, happy truck drivers on tour with us. It makes such a big difference when you think of all the elements of the show, the difference between a truck driver with a bad attitude and a truck driver with a helpful attitude in the grand scheme of things really doesn’t matter, but it does affect your day if you’re loading that truck at 4am and everyone is flagging.

The last thing you need is a truck driver moaning,” Audio Crew Chief AJ Sutherland noted.

FOH Engineer Dave Dupuis also praised the tour’s transport: “CSUK have been fantastic. We’ve been using them for quite a few years and when touring on other continents, I miss the size and comfort of their double decker busses.”

IT WILL END HERE Notwithstanding the comfort of reissue, reissue, repackage culture, Gary Numan continues to evolve as a perennial performer supported by a crew impassioned by pioneering cutting-edge technology developments and innovative show design. Dupuis summed up: “The resiliency of Gary Numan and his band to do whatever it takes and trust us to make it sound good is huge, and a big part of its success.”

Donning the mummified rags of an arbiter of an anti-utopian paradise, on-stage, Gary Numan alongside The Skaparis Orchestra and Kantos Chamber Choir, conducted to the electrified crowd with consummate professionalism. Edwards concluded: “I’m incredibly fortunate to work with this crew and, of course, Gary Numan. He’s the pioneer of electronic music yet he is still very grounded and is so easy to work with - that’s all that matters.”

TPi Photos: www.thefifthestate.co.uk & TPi www.garynuman.com www.cue-design.co.uk www.prg.com www.adlib.co.uk www.aclasers.co.uk www.csuk.coach www.brianyeardley.com/truckingby

CARS (AND TRUCKS AND BUSSES) On the road, CSUK Bussing navigated the crew while TRUCKINGBY Brian Yeardley transported the kit across a series of venues, some much tighter than others. “CSUK and TRUCKINGBY Brian Yeardley have been brilliant.

I’ve always looked for suppliers that can help, support and care. I’m an extremely ambitious person, so it’s nice to be surrounded by companies that want to help you reach a higher level,” Edwards reflected.

“TRUCKINGBY Brian Yeardley truck drivers are amazing. The truck packs have been pretty intense; we’ve got two trucks absolutely rammed floor to ceiling with kit. Some shows have been tighter as we’ve had 70

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6/5/2018 9:38:28 AM

INTERVIEW SPECIAL

MENTAL HEALTH ON THE ROAD: WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU EXPERIENCE TRAUMA AND WHAT HELP IS AVAILABLE?

Luke Edwards, Production Designer and Production Manager for Gary Numan’s latest UK tour, talks to TPi Editor Kel Murray about dealing with an unpredictable, and sudden tragedy.

“It’s important to have people around that you can rely on, especially when something really tough and upsetting happens on tour,” the words of a man rawly dealing with the after affects of an accident.

“Our tour bus unfortunately struck a pedestrian and killed them,” he said with an evident, fresh emotion. “We were on the bus at the time, travelling to the next venue in America. As a Production Manager, it was one of the toughest things I’ve ever had to deal with.”

Unfortunately, being first aid trained, Edwards’ first reaction was to jump off the bus and inspect the accident. The scene - which proved instantly fatal - was one of devastation. The deceased was a very elderly man. The bus wasn’t speeding, it was just horrifically bad timing which resulted in the loss of a life.

“Luckily, I was the only person on the tour who witnessed it. After the shock began to die down, it became clear that this was going to be one of the toughest things I’d ever personally experienced too.”

Weeks later, during the UK leg of the tour, Edwards informed TPi that talking about it is the only way forward. “It’s one of those things; yes, I’m still struggling with it and I’m still dealing with it, but I’m also really glad that all the crew and all the band were told to get back on the bus, as they didn’t need to see what the aftermath was.

“After a couple of days, during some downtime in the States, the band and crew acknowledged that the best thing for us to do was to be on tour and be with each other. I’d have felt horrible if we had all just gone home and separated with nobody to talk to who had gone through the same emotions. It was almost like trying to get back to a state of consciousness, collectively. I remember we were at the scene for nine hours, but it felt like 20 minutes to me because I was so busy trying to keep these people

Photo: The Fifth Estate

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MENTAL HEALTH

safe and trying to deal with press fall out and cancelling shows. It was a haze.”

At just 27, Edwards has come a long way since his LD schooling days, moving up the ranks with Gary Numan’s camp and going on to lead its technical elements. Yet, this kind of experience doesn’t come with age, it comes from pure bad luck. “When you’re a production manager, you’re the person who fixes problems for the crew, but when you actually sit down for a minute after something like this, you have a sudden realisation of ‘ahhhhh’. Because in the face of tragedy, who is looking after you? Luckily, all the band and crew stuck together and were there for each other and myself in those troubling times. “

fans were really supportive, and all of the in-house venue crews had obviously heard what had happened and they were also really supportive. It has been nice to witness people in the industry be so sympathetic. The amount of calls and texts I received afterwards was nice too, so thank you to everyone who was there, even though I couldn’t type of the words to reply to them all at the time, I read them. This whole mental health thing is becoming more openly discussed, and the recognition from the industry has come on significantly, luckily for me. I’d like to say a big thank you to Gary, his Wife Gemma and all the band and crew for being such incredibly supportive human beings.

TPi

MUSIC SUPPORT “We’ve been in-touch with music support quite a bit, and they’ve actually put me in touch with a therapist who I went to see for the first time just before this tour started. They think there’s a real chance I have PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) because seeing a human being’s life end in that state is not natural. Music Support have actually been wicked, and I recommend them to anyone dealing with an issue while they’re on tour.

On Cue Design and Gary Numan’s Facebook page, we’ve shared helpful links. Touring can be tough enough, without anything like this happening , so it is important for people to know there is help out there and that it works. I want people to feel like they’re not on their own. You might be reading this and decide that you don’t want help… but sometimes just knowing help is available, is enough.

Stagehand, the original charity for production people, is keen to help our industry improve its approach to mental wellbeing. Part of their work is to encourage touring crew to become Mental Health First Aiders, to that end, Stagehand is offering to fund half the cost of the two day course for self employed members. We all know that it’s OK to not be OK, we know it’s OK to talk, we now need more people who are even more OK to talk to.

Drop a line to the PSA office gm@psa.org.uk for more details.

Check out www.mhfaengland.org/ for information about Mental Health First Aid.

IT’S OKAY TO NOT BE OKAY “As a production manager, I had to tell my crew that I wasn’t okay.

I’m leading by example because there is nothing wrong in asking for help. I was trying to reinforce that sentiment; ‘look, we’ve all been through something incredibly traumatic while at work, and I hope nobody ever goes through this again’. Meanwhile, if anyone needs help in dealing with this, there is support in place. I openly said: ‘I am going to have to go to therapy for this’. It was time to reassure people and let them know that you can talk to me, you can talk to anyone, you can talk to a therapist - you just need to talk it out.

Within our core crew, I’m actually the youngest but still trying to be there for everyone and making sure everyone know that they are not alone and that there is help available.

“I’ve got no issues with letting people know my situation; the whole mental health thing, for me, always needed to be addressed on tour and I think it’s important that the conversation is ongoing.

Another side of this, was processing what I believe was guilt, because after going through something so traumatic, and then trying to do something joyous each night,” he paused, “I struggled with that; someone’s life had just ended and here I was trying to put a show on. It’s one of the things which is difficult in our industry, because it is so glossy and lovely sometimes, that perhaps for younger people reading, they should know that emotional struggle - for whatever reason - can be a reality too, and we do cool stuff on tour, but there are also 18-hour days.”

The mission of Music Support is to make sure that nobody in the UK music industry is left to suffer alone. Its founders are veterans of the music industry and are all in recovery themselves, from various mental health and addiction issues. The organisation believes that those in our industry who are susceptible to, mental, emotional and behavioural health disorders (including but not limited to alcohol and drug addiction), are particularly vulnerable due to the environments, lifestyles and stresses that exist within. Stigmas surrounding these conditions are still so strong that they can go ignored, unrecognised or untreated until it is too late.

The charity operates a 24/7-telephone helpline offering peer support from volunteers with personal experiences of the music industry and mental health and addiction matters. It does not give advice or offer clinical services but offer signposting to certified and accredited professionals in the fields of mental health and addiction. It also offers information and resources via our website.

Call on: 0800 030 6789 Email: helpline@musicsupport.org

THE SHOW MUST GO ON “For me, it was really important to make this next run a success.

We had some time off following the accident in America, but our first show back was highly emotional. There’s a song at the end of Gary’s set, and it’s quite emotional as it is, but that night, I was sat crying at the end of the set. Our merch guy was there, and we hugged each other and were literally balling our eyes out. All of the

73

NITRO CIRCUS: YOU GOT THIS FMX and BMX, skates, scooters and screams…

TPi’s Kel Murray ventures into the wild world of whirring wheels.

PRODUCTION PROFILE

NITRO CIRCUS

Production Manager, Joel Stanley; Production Assistant, Izzy Lo Iacono.

“Nitro Circus is turning me loose!... I’m throwing all of my best, and worst, ideas into one incredible two-hour show. Everything I’ve ever wanted to see live; we’re taking on the road. Expect bigger, brand-new ramps, even crazier stunts and so much more. It’s going to be unreal.

Look out, though. There might be a few rough landings.” The words of Nitro Circus head honcho, Travis Pastrana certainly got the troops riled up when the multi-continent operation came to UK shores.

There were some familiar faces, sorry, familiar exploits on the ramps too, following TPi’s 2016 summer stadium coverage. This time, the Nitro family came indoors, and turned up the fire. With the likes of Andy Buckworth, Brandon Schmidt and Aaron ‘Wheelz’ Fotheringham - surely the world’s most pioneering wheelchair user – performing the kind of stunts that would have you grounded beyond a reasonable age (I did ‘fall’ into a wheelie bin once, but without the speed and applause, can assure you it doesn’t gauge the same, crowd-pleasing reaction, not from your mother or Manchester City Council.)

Anyway, where were we… ah yes, a team of adrenaline-pumped pro athletes taking to the stage to wow and (momentarily) worry audience members seem to be a rather popular form of entertainment. Not least for the crew involved, as motorbike maestro Production Manager Joel Stanley let on: “I told Kevin Hopgood [most recently out with Kylie] that it is my

dream gig, so if he ever needed me to cover him, I would, in a heartbeat.”

Following the culmination of Stanley’s regular gig - Gorillaz, last year followed by Kygo – he jumped (goodness knows off what object) at the chance.

“Wob Woberts actually put me up for this gig, and recommended to the team that I’d be a good fit,” stated Stanley. And it’s true, he is, but, by his own admission, he’s also on a very real learning curve. “There’s always a different team in the UK, and that also changes when it tours the world, in America or Australia; it’s just how they work, by bringing new people in. It’s always been my dream gig, as a biker, and so I couldn’t say no. I flew out to LA to meet Michael Long - Nitro Circus’ Global Head of Touring Productions & Operations - and we took it from there.”

So why, exactly, has there been such a steep learning curve for an experienced PM? “Well, you probably wouldn’t think it, because I didn’t, but it’s very non-rock ‘n’ roll. Yes, it’s moving people and parts around, but there no backline department for example, there’s no A party and there’s no stage!” he exclaimed. There is, of course, a lot of giant structures, but not the kind he’s used to dealing with.

“In order to make it a smooth transition, I needed to have some of my regular team with me, such as my lighting crew chief, rigger, stage manager and production assistant. Even when it’s a short run, just knowing that you 76

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NITRO CIRCUS

have you guys with you, makes all the difference on a new project.”

This was also the case for suppliers, with Stanley bringing in Video Design for score board, cameras and control (video is one of the biggest depts. On this production, and has an eight-person team.) BPM SFX are his “go-to” special effects supplier, then there was TAIT, Fly By Nite and Phoenix Bussing. The tour may be short (just eight dates in six cities) but it’ll certainly be comfortable. Mission Control provided the tour’s RF duties, Rock-It Cargo freighted the mammoth constructions from the US and in Manchester, Yorkshire’s Snakatak fed the fuel fiends, and Mission Control allowed them to talk.

For lighting, Neg Earth Lights was another favourite of Stanley’s, and Clair Global has an international deal as the worldwide vendor, with Mike ‘Robbo’ Burdett in tow. Not simply tasked with the live mix, Robbo is also the Nitro Circus Video Playback Op and live Show Caller, as well as the Audio Director. Stanley continued: “There’s a huge show call on this, it’s obviously a very, very important part of the show, as we have so much going on, all at once. All of these moments that need to be captured and are so well curated, not to mention the H&S aspects that come along with it.

“TAIT make the inflatable lander ramps especially for the tours and the stage is built by their carps. The scaffold system by NoNonsense is also a key part of the show, and Stanley credit’s the company’s Liz Madden [formerly TPi Awards PM!] as his brilliant Structural Consultant. Each day, there is 10 track crew, with its safety efforts led by Trevor ‘Brooksie’ Brooks, the Track Manager. “Health & Safety is becoming such a big part of touring, that there actually is a similarity between this and your standard rock ‘n’ roll show. You have to be so vigilant in every area. We have a really good evacuation plan for every venue (as there’s pyro galore on the show floor), and we also have some advanced venue security in place too. Pat Fegan has really impressed me; he’s there, walking around on load out with me, making sure everyone is wearing high vis jackets and hard hats. I’ve never had that from a security manager before.”

The tour takes a whopping 15 trucks from Fly By Nite to move between cities and features a custom made double decker. “It’s pretty cool,” noted Stanley. “Fly By Nite designed this truck especially for Nitro tours. You can drive your bikes in, lift it up high and then pack the rest of your gear underneath it. It’s a clever little device, and you can use it for heavy rigging gear too.” Now, every time Nitro come to town, as of four years ago when it was made, this double decker comes back out.

For tour buses, Phoenix provided seven busses (although there were people flying in and out on various days) in the form of four crew busses, an athlete bus and two star busses for Travis Pastrana, his wife Lyndsey “Lyn-Z” Adams Hawkins Pastrana, (who also performs in the show), their children and nannies etc. “It’s very family-orientated in more ways than one!” enthused Stanley.

However, the vehicles of note don’t stop there, during rehearsals and on show nights, there are two ambulances on standby. In the UK, they’re provided by St. Johns Ambulance. “We have to have people on site who are able to perform tracheotomy - which at a medical level is essentially the next stage down from a hospital itself. We need people here who can give specialist medical attention if needed should an injury be very serious.”

We’re happy to say, that despite the flames, the heights, the objects of choice and the speed, St. John’s Ambulance did not have a busy night during TPi’s visit…

Also in Stanley’s office is Production Assistant, Izzy Lo Iacono. The pair first met at Wales’ Festival Number 6, where Lo Iacono impressed with her organisational skills as part of the busy artist liaison team. “From then on, Joel nabbed me for bits here and there, such as the Gorillaz pre-tour show at the Printworks in London last year. I was filling in and it’s been a bigger gap than usual, so we’ve actually been working together all year.

“I wanted to do this tour because I’m really intrigued by the theatrics of it all; the way the riders act for the show and feed off the crowd - it’s so much fun!” she said.

Prior to moving to London, and in her native NZ, Lo Iacono acted as a 78

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NITRO CIRCUS

Athlete Manager, Ricky Melnik; Audio Director, Robbo; Lighting Designer, Nico Riot; BPM SFX Tech, Danny Brelsford.

touring promoter rep and tour manager but didn’t truly get to grips with the scale of touring until the other side of the world beckoned. Despite her own experiences, she too found live action sports production a whole new game. “It’s a completely different beast; it’s not working with music where you know which department to go to for which thing, or those staple go-tos like monitor engineers. But it is a lot of fun, performers egging each other on is like being with a tonne of brothers, in one big, loud family!

“A show like this alters the dynamics of how tours, as I knew them, work. All the boundaries are shifted. The biggest learning curve for me was not being able to organise everything down to a T. That’s how it goes in the music world, but here, it doesn’t work quite the same… things can change every five minutes. That’s been an adjustment in terms of how the production office would run but it’s also great because we like being busy and it keeps you on your toes. I just wish it was longer than a two-week run because by the time we’re getting into the swing of things, it’s going to be over!”

what trick they’re going to perform throughout the entire show. The most gruelling aspect of this is on the track team who build everything and break it down. I think the most challenging part for me is getting here; the choreographing, the show creatives, all the branding to make sure it’s consecutive.”

Melnik began snowboarding at eight years old and turned pro. Follwing a 40 MPH knee injury, he stopped competing and ran away with the circus.

“Getting back to action sports and the youth is pretty special,” commented Melnik. “It’s my passion and it’s come full circle.”

VIDEO Part of Nitro Circus’ magic is the fact it brings the action within touching distance of the crowd. It’s not uncommon for rider and bike to be virtually detached mid-flight, and for what seems like seconds. But at least part of that perception is an illusion. As Camera Director, William ‘Billy’ Robinson, explained, it’s an illusion carefully wrought. “Nitro Circus is defined as a live extreme sport event. It is shot to fulfil a TV style production in a touring environment. Fundamentally, the show relies heavily on slow-motion replays and a number of competitions within the show.” Watch the thrill, then have the pleasure of examining it in every detail as they say.

“Video Design supplies our complete video package, for slow-motion, they have provided us with an EVS version 14:0, three in / three out facility.

That has proved to be a solid solution to a quite demanding and instant operational requirement. It’s a flight cased patch-and-go system and requires a very proficient operator, and a thorough understanding by all video operators regarding replays and how they fit into the show. That is crucial to enable good acquisition and supporting vision. The Video Design crew have responded extremely well to that demand, especially given that touring is largely a music production environment.”

The package from Video Design comprises a team of seven to install and operate a four-sided central scoreboard display of ROE CB5 LED, each

ATHLETE MANAGEMENT Ricky Melnik, Athlete Manager has been with the team for four years, himself an adrenaline ace. “I’ve worked in actions sports for over 20 years now, so it was a natural fit when Dave Mateus from Red Bull became the Global Event Director. In four years I’ve been around the world about six times... which is pretty insane.

“I look after the performers’ physical well being as well as manage them on the track. I deal with everyone from doctors to physios, and I also manage the MCs who host the show, plus the mechanics that work on all the athlete bikes. I need to know every piece of the puzzle to get the athletes on the road, whether it be wellbeing or health and safety, all the way down to the mechanics and bikes,” he began.

Melnik also choreographed the segments throughout the 2.5 hour show. “Every trick is documented and written down so every athlete knows 80

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screen being 5.4m wide, plus six camera PPU; two long lens; two hand-held; and two BR Remote robo-cams.

“Since they were appointed as video vendor they have provided an excellent service,” commented Robinson. “My contact was Alex Leinster, the company MD, who personally handled the pre-production some weeks before the start of the tour. That’s important, he found solutions to Nitro’s quite specific characteristics in terms of required equipment and operational methods.”

Robinson, a resident of Austrailia, though originally from the UK, has a long career in video, starting on cameras in broadcast television eventually moving to director and freelance status. “Billy has been the Video Director at Nitro Circus Live for many years,” said Dov Ribnick Vice President of Nitro Creative. “He has improved the video experience for the fans since day one.

Billy is always looking for ways to increase the level footage in the show, from different camera angles to new camera positions that were never thought of before. Since his arrival our show has improved significantly.”

Robinson was quick to deflect praise toward the crew: “They are very professional and experienced with a high skill level and enthusiasm, even throughout the physically demanding schedule. They are proactive in finding solutions to challenges that are posed on a venue by venue basis in terms of specific arena heights and characteristics relating to equipment on the track and the set of the show. They can see the bigger picture and are considerate on how things effect other departments, attention to detail is very impressive. I can honestly say that I felt we were in good hands and was very confident, more confident on a first load in/production day than I have felt for a long time.”

different.”

Riot specified 20 generic molefays, 24 Robe Pointes, 26 Robe BMFL Wash Beams, 20 Martin by Harman MAC Viper Profiles and his trusty 22 GLP JDC 1s.

For control, it’s a ChamSys Magic MQ500 running on a Luminex network.

Having also toured the US prior to the UK shows, Riot thought the show was “a little too dark” for the kind of look he needed for the Facebook live streams and the viewing public. “When I added the GLP JDC 1s, that was it; they really came to the rescue and enabled it to look just how I had hoped with an overall wash.

“I often have to adjust position of the lights as the athletes and MCs moves around a lot, but doing this with my ChamSys makes this a piece of cake; I’m not sure another desk would allow me to react so quickly.”

Riot noted that his main brief for the overall look of the show is to roll in the colours of the American flag. Which obviously works well in the UK too. “I have to use a lot of blues and reds, as well as white, and try to make the track look good with narrow beams and different angles, it’s just an illusion!” he added.

“The two tracks need to be bright and clean with no shadows… I’m basically trying to recreate a natural sunlight during the British winter, inside!” he joked.

From metal to motors, Riot declared his biggest nemesis was lighting the huge ramp. The Frenchman continued: “It’s massive and steep - and I have to follow it perfectly when the athletes moves. That why it’s like TV lighting - there’s lots of focusing and pressure for the camera as Nitro Circus has its own TV show. There is Facebook live & the AV in the middle of the arena, and the live audience, so it has to work for every medium.”

LIGHTING Lighting Designer Nicolas ‘Nico’ Riot, (yes, that is his very apt, and very real name) of Chirac Design was also unfamiliar with the world of action sports prior to his stint with the circus. The French LD (now based in Los Angeles) has been lighting the likes of Marilyn Manson and Gojira for years.

He began: “It’s very different because you have the band on stage, and you light a show; whereas here, it’s really not about the lighting show adding to the concert, it’s about allowing the paying public to really see the stunts. There is so much going on all at once, that you have to think of this as broadcast lighting, rather than rock ‘n’ roll, because the needs are very

FUEL AND FIRE Special Effects Tech, James Waite, and BPM Tech & Crew Chief, Danny Brelsford were on site in Manchester for the fiery fun. Brelsford walked TPi around the floor: “Although we’ve not done Nitro Circus specifically before, we have worked with a lot of action sports brands, so we’re well versed in the methods of working with athletes like this. It is a lot more unpredictable than say working with music; anything can happen, that’s what’s makes it so different to just doing the live shows with bands where you have these very show-designed cues. It’s unpredictable!”

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RIGGING HOIST 4.0 SAFETY FIRST - MADE IN GERMANY

Video Director, Billy Robinson.

“As far as the pyrotechnics go, we’ve got a sterile area where the flames penetrate, so although there is a lot going on on the track, and it’s very loud most of the time, we can also shut it down through our software, plus we also have the physical e stop mechanisams too, so that we can shut down straight away if nessesary,” he said.

In total, BPM provided eight units of Inferno Flames (manufactured by Hanson) which were contorlled via MA Lighting grandMA2 on PC for control. Brelsford continued: “The first part of the show is run on Timecode during the intro and the rest of it is busked all the way through. Then for the big finale, it goes back into Timecode as everything happens so fast, so there’s only two tracks at the start and the finish that are timecoded, the rest of the show is a manual job. Sometimes we mix it up depending on the part of the show, but basically it’s a case of us chasing them when they lift and hit the ground in a show of flames. The crowds seem to love it!”

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THE SOUND OF SUCCESS In sound world, Audio Director Robbo is tackling his “quite simple” sounds within the arena. The Aussie audiophile has been with the Circus for almost a decade: “I came on board 9.5 years ago and have never left!” he said amid the sounds of practicing athletes. “Yep,” he said, with a knowing smile, “the tricky bit is battling through the sound of the engines! We’re not dealing with musicians here, so in that sense, we’re not trying to generate the best sonic sound quality that’s ever been heard for the vocals of a superstar, but we do still have to contend with a lot of engines and make sure our MCs are well heard in an arena.

“During the show, we tend to go from soft and quiet to very loud sounds, when we’re either building up anticipation or recognising a huge finish. For this, we’ve got a Clair Global i3 PA system which we can access around the world without any issues.” The core team has recently returned from Saudi Arabia for a high-end one-off show.

The system in Manchester Arena was designed by Clair UK’s Joe Stanton, who also acted as the Crew Chief. Robbo continued: “I leave it all to Joe and he does a great job. Like I say, we’re not looking after an orchestra here; but we’re also not trying to rip peoples’ heads off!” Robbo mixed on an Avid SC48 desk and specified Shure Sure UR microphones with Beta 58 capsules. He also looks after the six sets of in-ears with Shure PSM1000 transmitters.

“I’ve had a few roles in Nitro, including the Stage Manager, but I’ve been mixing solidly for the past four years, taking on more duties such as video playback and the show calling. It keeps me pretty busy…

Sometimes there’s two different shows going around the world at once!”

Radios are key to an event such as Nitro Circus being both safe and successful. Mission Control worked closely with Robbo and Clair, helping with radio spectrum planning for the European leg of the tour.

Mission Control’s Ali Viles said: “We provided the tour with a multizone set of frequencies for their walkie talkies. Our dedicated team

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then arranged all the necessary RF licenses for the tour, ensuring that all the radio mics, IEMs, wireless comms and walkie talkies were licensed and legally compliant wherever they went, and we provided a straightforward summary of all of this information, so that the production team were aware of the local RF regulations at every venue, along with copies of all the necessary licenses.”

It may have been an unusual adjustment for a dream job, but Stanley and co certainly pulled it off. We’re just off for a nice cup of tea to calm the nerves… the days of our wheelie bin exploits are long gone.

TPi Photos: Andrew Benge, Nitro Circus and TPi www.nitrocircus.com

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d&b audiotechnik KSL SYSTEM

d&b audiotechnik’s Matthias Christner, Head of R&D Acoustics, talks to TPi’s Stew Hume about the company’s forthcoming KSL System.

When did development for the new KSL System begin? Was it always the goal to have a younger sibling to the larger GSL System?

When we started the GSL project, we targeted applications that our large line array, the J-Series, would usually handle using a comprehensive system. The J-Series is used successfully in a wide range of applications from medium-to-large clubs all the way up to stadiums. The GSL had to deliver even more than the J-Series – it had to sound great and establish a more efficient workflow for these larger applications.

The work on KSL started when the GSL’s electroacoustic properties had been finalised and most of the mechanical and hardware details had been clarified. This is typically the start of the ‘industrialisation’ phase in product development. It was around the time of the GSL preview events, that we‘d mention – if asked – that we were investigating the possibilities of scaling down the GSL. The idea of making the SL-Series feature set available in a smaller system package for a broader range of applications was clearly in place from the very start. Our experience of working with GSL and its prototypes set up the necessary development tools to design

the system’s electroacoustic properties, so the knowledge was already there to understand how we might deliver these same properties in a smaller format. When we started to work with the GSL in the real world, we fully understood the practical value of its features for a huge range of applications.

One example of this was using a GSL test system in a large arena, in a mock situation that replicated a shareholder meeting running lots of table microphones. The full range directivity of the system enables a much higher gain before feedback in the low-mids, and the difference in vocal quality and intelligibility was really obvious. It gave a very clear indication of where to proceed: the features of the GSL in a smaller format.

Another example of the requirement for a little brother for the GSL was out-fill deployment: when there is a system in place that has well-defined directivity across its entire range, the out-fills need to work with that system, not against it. The KSL is great for out-fills. It became obvious that we could add an accompanying system that offers a larger splay range in order to cover an arena’s side seating efficiently. If the main system 86

D&B AUDIOTECHNIK KSL SYSTEM

Matthias Christner, Head of R&D Acoustics.

intentionally keeps its LF energy well contained, the side system must also be full range and work autonomously without any LF support from other parts of the system.

In terms of weight we could reach an attractive 58kg – even less than a J-TOP at 60kg. When it comes to maximum acoustic output, KSL is around 3dB-4dB below GSL in the frequency range above 150Hz, hence exactly in the J-Series range and exactly what we wanted to achieve. The difference between KSL and GSL in the lower frequencies is largely due to the overproportional reduction of cabinet volume, but KSL still clearly performs beyond a J-TOP. So every application achieved with a J can easily be done with KSL, plus you get the additional benefits of improved directivity, rigging efficiency, logistics and scale. These benefits are the key that opens up a wide application range for KSL, probably even wider than what we see today with the J-Series.

Which elements have carried over from the GSL System? Will you still get the ‘quiet stage’ and control that the GSL has become known for?

All the features that characterise the SL-Series have been transferred to the KSL – above all, the directivity behaviour that creates the ‘quiet stage’ experience and the massively reduced environmental impact to the side and behind the arrays. We also wanted to keep the impressive dynamic linearity of GSL down to the lowest frequencies, which allows engineers to run lower LEQ levels while the audience still has the full perception of a highly energetic performance. This implies that KSL offers a full-range performance, reducing the subs needed for many applications. Then there’s the transport and rigging system that, once experienced, nobody wants to give up…

What new features does the KSL range bring to the market? Where do you see the system sitting, in terms of d&b’s offerings to the live events industry?

The KSL is a member of the SL-Series family, so above all it has all the features that characterize the SL-Series. In addition, it offers a wider splay range – 0° to 10° – and for smaller applications that don’t need ArrayProcessing two cabinets linked in parallel can be driven by one D80 amplifier channel pair.

In terms of specifics, how much smaller is the KSL to the GSL? The most striking difference is the perceived size of the box from the audience perspective. With a width of 100cm (vs.130cm for GSL) and a height of 33cm (vs. 39.1cm) the front-facing area of a KSL is just about twothirds of a GSL. There is only a small reduction in cabinet depth (59.7cm vs. 62.7cm): the physical loudspeaker arrangement is directly linked to directional behaviour and coherence, so it couldn’t be reduced much. It’s key to the targeted bandwidth of the whole SL-Series.

How long did the R&D process take? What were the biggest challenges in creating a smaller box?

Work on KSL started at the beginning of 2017, just after the basic design of GSL had been finished. It progressed in parallel with the GSL 87

D&B AUDIOTECHNIK KSL SYSTEM

industrialisation process and field tests. The advantage of that approach was that our experience with GSL – the purpose-built simulation tools and many of the basic feasibility studies made for GSL – could be transferred to KSL. It’s trickier to design, test and build scaled-down speakers like the KSL –particularly if you have the aim of delivering the same driver excursion capability as a larger cabinet like the GSL: smaller drivers require more work on the suspension system to make them reliable. Also, a scaled-down cabinet like this one is inevitably more tightly packed, with the components and structures that deliver the performance, so the manufacturing process needs additional work.

Another interesting topic was the rigging system: with the larger splay range, the geometry of the smaller box and the dual rigging modes, you quickly run out of space for holes in certain components. A lot of work had to be done on material selection and manufacturing methods of high-grade steel.

Feedback was entirely positive, both from regional engineers and rental houses who see the advantages the SL-Series would provide on a daily basis. Our international partners clearly recognise the benefits of a smallerbrother system; one of the first comments we heard was: “Oh, they did it again...”

The system is getting its official launch at NAMM, but has already been used in the field. What has been the feedback from the engineers who have already heard it in action?

Following the field test period, some of the productions insisted on keeping it out on tour. The most frequent comments are about the lack of rearward emission and the great reduction of spill on to the stage. A stage’s sound environment is almost entirely in the hands of the monitor engineer. The SL Series gives them the opportunity to create the sound environment that’s actually needed, instead of trying to mix around the spill from the main system. The clarity and dynamic linearity over the entire bandwidth, paired with the drastically reduced room interaction due to the directivity, also caused some FOH engineers to make rapid adjustments to their existing mixes – especially in the low-mids. All for the better and ending in some big smiles, of course.

TPi Photos: d&b audiotechnik www.SL-Series.com www.dbaudio.com

Did you have any feedback from audio engineers during the R&D process?

Following the excellent experience of our test strategy for GSL, we chose a similar process; whenever possible we used a venue or festival that had already been a GSL test site, which enabled data comparisons both onsite and offsite for noise ‘immission’ monitoring. For a system of the KSL’s scale, there are several adequate sites around Germany. We didn’t have to travel that much either, which made it less time consuming overall.

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IN PROFILE

SERIOUS STAGES CELEBRATES 35 YEARS With over three decades of experience in designing, manufacturing and installing stages and demountable structures for a multitude of events, Serious Stages has established itself as a trusted, go-to supplier for some of the biggest - and most high-profile - live productions in the calendar. TPi’s Jacob Waite met the marital driving force behind the established infrastructure provider…

Situated in the quaint cathedral city of Wells in the Mendip district of Somerset, UK, a stone’s throw from Bristol city centre, MDs Steve and Holly Corfield, opened their doors to TPi to celebrate a landmark milestone.

Home to the largest stock of stages and roofs in the UK, you could be forgiven for assuming Serious Stages was a huge, potentially faceless operation. The reality? A warm and welcoming, family-orientated company.

which eventually came to be known as Serious Stages. However, it was Michael Eavis [surely the world’s most rock ‘n’ roll farmer] and Glastonbury Festival, which really put us on the map. When we helped install the Pyramid stage [designed by Bill Harkin] in 1981, it really took off, so all the credit goes to him.”

A modest view, of course, as Serious Stages has since gone on to prevail as the driving-force of Glastonbury Festival’s main infrastructure. Having grown up in the same farming village, Steve’s relationship with the Eavis family and the festival is tight-knit. Today, Serious Stages installs over 50 structures and stages across the famous site each year, simultaneously carving a reputation as a staple within the largest greenfield festival in the world. He continued: “To begin with, the Glasto stage was an 18m Orbit with a low capacity of six tonnes. When it comes to the festival now, we’re

35 YEARS IN THE MAKING Steve began the story: “In 1984, in conjunction with two colleagues, I purchased Tecta Staging from a chap called Tim Davies, who funnily enough, still works with us to this day,” he proudly recounted. “We ran a company called Outback for a few years before we set up Stage Serious, 90

SERIOUS STAGES

Opposite: Serious Stages’ Steve and Holly Corfield.

essentially building a city with the infrastructure the size of Exeter for the duration of five days when it’s open to the public. Then it all goes away, gets cleared up, and wins Dairy Farm of the Year [an accolade which Steve suggests Eavis is, unsurprisingly, most proud of].”

From its humble beginnings in Wells, Steve and Holly have indoctrinated a passion for the live event industry, which has witnessed the growth of a business that now boasts 100 employees globally, and services a total of 500 global events on an annual basis. “In the early days, we serviced four or five festivals. Nowadays, the market has expanded enormously, and we’ve been privy to that steady progression over the last 35 years,” Steve recalled.

“The really unique thing about Serious Stages is that we’ve had journey which has gone from working with a few festivals and a lot of classical events, through to working internationally on a range of different markets and sectors, in-order to try and expand the business. To be honest, the fact that we are still here 35 years later is a huge achievement for us.”

But it hasn’t been plain sailing, as he explained: “Initially, as a seasonable business, it was quite difficult to train staff and then have them disappear during the winter months when work in the UK dried up.

In 1998, we made the executive decision to find work for our employees in Australia. Our guys would often go out there and then come back having worked a perpetual summer season, which is great!” he enthused. “The one thing I have found is that the British market is very good at working in other countries. As British people, I believe we’re really adaptable to other cultures, and that’s a great strength,” Steve said.

Holly expanded on said logistical difficulties faced in the mid-nineties: “We used to ship our stuff off in containers at the end of the UK festival season, then we loaded it all onto containers in-order for the kit to arrive for their summer, and that’s how we expanded into the winter.” This approach,

despite its initial difficulties, TPi is informed, has allowed Steve and Holly to build long-term relationships across the globe, thereby tailoring staging, site structures and working practices to suit each event. Working safely and efficiently to their clients’ expectations is also vital. “It’s an operational promise backed up by a creative ethos that believes nothing is impossible,” Steve added.

Glastonbury Festival’s Michael Eavis and Serious Stages’ Steve Corfield.

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SERIOUS STAGES

GROWING WITH THE INDUSTRY massive strides in the development of its staging arsenal. “The whole Every project, Steve explained, is underpinned by Serious Stages’ in-house industry growing up and going from having an orchestra with maybe design team, structural engineers and in-house fabrication facility through a video screen to having stages which have got PA, set and video all to its project managers and on-site stage builders. The troop brings ideas integrated within it. Weight load-ins have also gone from six to 60-tonne to life with safe, efficient working practices, with a focus on pioneering new and we’ve progressed the stages to accommodate this as production technology. managers are asking for increasingly impressive show designs to be safely “One of the big things about our company is the fact we design housed. in-house and manufacture here at our Wells location, which we have “One of the great challenges as a whole is bands generating income always done. It allows us to be completely adaptable and generate more from touring, so they have a theme and a look, but at festivals you have a stock dependent on the brief,” Holly explained. standard canvas, so artists look to us to make a “We can also redesign as things change in the statement that the show will still carry an impact marketplace. The Orbit used to be put up by men rather than deliver something very generic. It’s all climbing over the structure, but then we had to about rising to the challenge,” he noted. redesign, so everything was built on the ground However, in recent years, the team at Serious “One of the big things about and mechanically, raised up, and that’s where the Stages has also gathered a vast stock of standard Supernova and Space Roof (est. 2008) came about. stages available to hire, from 12m to 35m wide, our company is the fact It’s all to do with the market changing. We build along with video screen support and PA towers we design in-house and everything here in steel because its more resilient.” to camera platforms, bridges, spot pods and VIP Serious Stages promise to continue to invest in viewing platforms. “For us, with staging you have manufacture here at our the latest technologies and processes, delivering to continually evolve. It is interesting to see how Wells location, which we have the highest quality stages and supporting festivals will develop. We’re constantly looking to structures. “Just as our stages have evolved over find the next thing that people are into.” always done. It allows us to 35 years with the market, so have its components Serious Stages also specialises in the be completely adaptable and they are very versatile and interchangeable design and installation of temporary and seminow. That’s the advantage of manufacturing your permanent buildings, relocatable film sets, TV and generate more stock own gear and that’s where we feel we’ve been studios, corporate spaces, music venues, or dependent on the brief.” really clever with our designs over 35 years.” broadcast studios. Steve furthered: “We recently Steve Corfield, Serious Stages MD. In that time period, the team have taken worked on the Bohemian Rhapsody film, where 92

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we were tasked with replicating the historic Live Aid stage level to facilitate the film’s technical crews to construct a replication of Wembley Stadium’s internal spaces to allow filming of the backstage scenes. It was fantastic to be involved… The set teams are just incredible at transporting you back in time.”

business to deliver. “We wanted to make sure everyone was working from the same script. We don’t really get chance to have periods of reflection, however, I loved working the Olympics because it was a real achievement.

It was absolutely great to contribute to something on our own turf, fighting off competition from all over the world to win the bid,” Holly gleamed.

SERIOUS ABOUT HEALTH & SAFETY Health and safety is the beating heart of Serious Stages. In addition to ensuring its work practices are safe, Steve and Holly’s passion for inspiring others in the industry to work to the same level, is evident. In April 2015, the new Construction Design and Management (CDM) regulations came into force in the UK. Ahead of its implementation, Serious Stages spearheaded an industry group, which wrote and released the Guidance for the Management & Use of Stages, which is available to download online.

“We have 35 years’ experience providing stages and supporting structures for festivals, to Lionel Ritchie, Elton John and Rod Stewart concerts; the team also focus on some of the biggest sporting events in the business from the London 2012 Olympics and the Ryder Cup 2018,” he gestured, with a wealth of knowledge.

Serious Stages also provided a series of infrastructure elements to the London 2012 Olympics, which provided its fair share of time-management challenges. “There were cost-saving measures in place so often during the design elements that we were required to create a post for both the start and finish lines of events,” he paused. “Often, we were given the brief at 5pm, which was to be designed by 8pm, and manufactured overnight ready for install the next morning. Despite the rushed nature of it all, you felt really ‘buzzy’ about it because everyone came together to achieve such an incredible feat, from both a sporting and infrastructure perspective.” Holly concurred: “It was a real high, it was great to feel that it was in your own country.”

To safely deliver the event in compliance with CDM regulations, Serious Stages invested £110,000 into training across all areas of the business and ensured its commitment has continued with ongoing development programs. From its CAD designers who are busy developing new products and bespoke stages or engineers calculating weight-loading capacities to our fabricators who work tirelessly from our on-site manufacturing workshop, to the stage-builders, riggers and project managers who you see working out on site, you can rest assured that you have the best in the

THE NEXT STAGE Bucking the recent trend of buying and selling within well-established companies, Serious Stages remains, by in large, a family-run business, investing in new products and 70m buildings and cutting-edge engineering.

“Staying independent is becoming really unique in our industry, and it’s important to celebrate that. We’re a family business and our son Max is now involved heavily in the company. We do still get really excited on the projects we’re working on and I think I like to make people happy and that’s a big part of it when we embark on these wide scale projects.”

In 2018, Serious Stages Director Max Corfield and Project Manager Simon Fursman picked up the Favourite Staging Company accolade - in front of almost 1,500 peers at the TPi Awards. Max commented: “We’re very proud that our peers have voted Serious Stages as their Favourite Staging Company. We’ve enjoyed significant expansion in recent years, which reflects clients’ confidence in Serious and this award belongs at all the amazing teams; from our staff in the office and the yard to the people on-site who have worked across the UK on festivals, tours and one-off concerts.”

Holly exclaimed: “It was the very first and only award we’ve ever had!

We’re often so busy with work that it’s difficult for periods of reflection and accolades. The TPi Award was a life-changing moment for us in getting recognised by the industry.”

Steve mused: “I think 35 years is a pretty good innings! People always tend to think there are glass ceilings, but history has shown us that there is consistent progress. Everybody wants to be entertained and have experiential moments, and the new generation coming through might do things differently.”

Holly concluded: “It’s all about helping making memories for the audience. When you think about it, what we do is incredible!”

TPi Photos: Plaster, Serious Stages & TPi www.stages.co.uk 94

TOM BEXON Since graduating from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, this 24 year old has made great strides into the world of professional lighting having been part of Jack Whites’ latest European tour.

Like many of his peers, Tom Bexon’s career origins can be traced back to senior school working on plays and live performances.

“During that time I threw myself into lighting, volunteering at local battle of the bands type events,” reminisced Bexon. “While I was still as school it moved from a hobby to something more serious as I began working for a local company – AV Matrix – on a casual basis on corporate events to weddings.”

It was at this moment when Bexon realised that lighting could be more than a glorified hobby. This dream in mind, he signed himself up to a BA in Production Lighting at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.

“I opted for the production BA rather than a design focused course as I have always been interested in the technical aspects and the fine details of how everything fits together,” explained Bexon. He also asserted how the course set him up to have a “quicker transition” into the industry then a more design-weighted course.

He explained, “As I was going down the production route, there was a lot of opportunities available.

Even while I was studying I did a lot freelance work for the likes of Blinding Light and DCLX working on various corporate shows as a Lighting Tech.” In fact, due to his work with Blinding Light, immediately after graduation he began working full time for the company.

“I think the biggest shock when I graduated was how much I still had to learn,” laughed Bexon, while looking back at his first few years in the industry. “Not only that, one of my greatest discovery was just how important relationships are in this world. There were so many people I met in those first years who were so helpful and willing to share their knowledge.”

The burgeoning lighting specialist was certainly thrown in the deep end during his first year with Blinding Light, working in the world of eSports. “My first gig was in a League of Legends event in Rotterdam. This event was so big and was a real learning experience. To give you and idea of scale, a similar event we would after had close to 1000 fixture in the roof – it certainly was a hell of a load-out.”

With a vast knowledge being garnered at Blinding Light, Bexon made the leap at the start of 2018 to go freelance and peruse his dream of going on tour. “One of my first moves was to have Dom Main from Blinding Lighting introduce me to Neg Earth Lighting. Neg put me on a tester gig – WE Day (a charitable event for young people) at Wembley - which went really well. For the rest of the year he started to put more work my way.” One such shows was a one off gig with non other than Jack White in Islington. “It was just a small show but I got on really well with the crew. Down the line Neg asked if I fancied joining the crew on tour.” A question that TPi is sure required little-to-no thought.

What followed was two, one month European runs. “Life on the road has been a slightly bigger transition then expected,” admitted Bexon. “The level of planning and preparation is unreal although, it makes complete sense as there is little time to tweak things on the road. Also the day schedule is much more extreme then in the corporate world. That said, my time with Blinding Light certainly gave me a good bar to aim at in terms of prepping a show. Thankful the Jack White crew were amazing and certainly showed me the way.”

His time with White also gave Bexon the inspiration to pursue a new career path. “Operating, for the longest time, has always just been a fantasy. But while on the tour I was given the opportunity to operate for the supporting band, Demob Happy. Jack’s incredible LD, Michelle Sarrat, gave me so many tips and pointers when it came to programming and working the MA Lighting grandMA2. It’s certainly something I am looking forward to exploring in the future.”

With 2018 done and dusted, the young lighting specials reflected on the year. “It’s been very busy but that’s exactly what I wanted for my first freelance year. I’m sure I’ll have to figure out a work life balance at one point but for now I exited to keep working.”

TPi www.productionfutures.co.uk

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ROAD DIARIES

STEVE BEWLEY Lighting Designer

unable to catch a moment where I’m not sweating from every crevice, looking up from behind a plethora of laptops, lighting consoles and various bits of essential touring technology. It’s mouse down time so I can continue the day job and do the day-to-day housekeeping of the 5 Seconds of Summers’ Meet You There tour.

I get a call from the Production Manager: “the bands wants to come and view some bits and pieces and maybe change a few things”. No worries, I respond, as they’re sent my way.

I jump back in to what I was doing to get the show ready for the night’s performance. The phone rings: “Steve, can you jump on a call to Australia?

We have some TV promo they’d like to discuss.”

“Sure!” I respond, “Loop me in and I’ll take the call right now.”

When the phone call ends, I save my notes in the Dropbox of doom, all the while ensuring to make the title a obvious, so I won’t forget it in a hurry.

Email chimes! “Steve have you got that plot for the venue tomorrow where we needed to move the trusses a metre each?” Sure, no problem.

“Steve can you please take a look at this other TV show we have in the UK next week? We really need a design for this ASAP!” Flag that one red.

Back to the house keeping, and I really must get this finished before anything else so that we can deal with some more of these curve balls.

Back at my console, I hear: “We have a light out on the mid truss, second from the left. Can someone check that out please? We’ve also just lost the media servers. Can someone take a look please and come back to me?”

I receive a group message from one of my new Mandylights business partners, It reads: “Can we all jump on a call ASAP to discuss Steve joining the company, the seven site art installation we have on in the next couple of months and the five bands we’re pitching for right now… Oh and the current tours that we have going on, just to ensure we are all on the same page.”

Sure.... I check the time zones everyone is on. It’s 2am my time… I won’t be in bed at a reasonable hour tonight then!

The radio bellows: “Steve, are you ready for the band members?”

“Sure!”, I respond…

Days are consistently pretty hectic in my world right now. Joining Mandylights - a collective of lighting designers - has only made this more evident; trying to run a new project while touring and desigining promo on the go. But, I think we’re on the verge of something amazing with this new venture. Suddenly, I’m reminded why touring and travelling was the dream in the first place, being an LD is still the best job in the world.

Steve Bewley Be a lighting designer, they said! Tour the world and get to live like a rock star!

I remember those words as I sit in a sweltering hot venue in the States

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PSA: THE BIGGER PICTURE

THE ART OF GOOD SAFETY CONFERENCING The PSA made the transatlantic journey to Lititz, Pennsylvania, for the annual Event Safety Summit…

I’m not a big fan of safety conferences; they’re generally populated by people with a propensity for out-acronyming each other, usually ending with nods of violent agreement and not a lot learned. The best safety conferences are the ones populated with those with something to learn and delivered by those willing to speak their language. This year’s Event Safety Summit (ESS), assembled by the Event Safety Alliance (ESA), delivered all that and much more.

To grow an audience is a challenge in itself, but when you’re drawing on a diverse pool of potential delegates, to achieve patrons made up of suppliers, vendors, event organisers, safety specialists, production managers and venues and keep them engaged with relevant content that expands knowledge and understanding is a monumental task. It’s simply not enough to have people leave agreeing that something must be done; the real achievement is when people leave knowing what they need to do and how they can do it.

To that end, the Event Safety Summit, held once again at the ultra impressive Rock Lititz campus (now with an added hotel!), with an overall theme of planning for safety, delivered a more interactive event, with subject sessions pitched at different levels of understanding. Simply put, those that had attended previously could learn more than before, whilst others could engage at entry level about new subjects. The interactive approach delivered the added advantage of learning from shared experience with all the benefits of meeting new, like minded people.

From its inception, the ESA has reacted to the issues of the day and who’s going to blame them. When I first learned of the initiative at Tour Link a few years back, it was simply a gathering of people who thought that stages falling down and killing people shouldn’t happen and they were determined to put together guidance on how to stop that happening, but worker safety, fire prevention, evacuation and hostile actions were soon on the agenda. This year’s conference was notable in its holistic approach

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PSA: THE BIGGER PICTURE

ESA Vice President, Steve Adelman and Content Architect Dominic Housiaux welcomes delegates who were probably still staring in awe at the curved screen.

to all things safety, with enough focussed content for those interested in single elements but enough access to a variety of sessions for those wishing to learn across the full spectrum.

As mentioned, interactivity was a key element this year, with very few sessions, even those full audience presentations on the main stage, delivered as simple lectures. Of course, you can’t get more interactive at a safety conference than a full evacuation, planned during a session on Wednesday and executed in the middle of a keynote session on the Wednesday. Got to love those windy, freezing late November Pennsylvania days.

As our gallery illustrates, it looked like a great event. As attendees will confirm... it was.

No production conference write-up can go without name checking suppliers who supported the cause above and beyond all expectation:

• Facilities - Rock Lititz • Catering - TFB Catering • Screens/Cameras - Upstage Video (that screen!)

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PSA: THE BIGGER PICTURE

Audience engagement was designed to challenge thinking as well as encourage interaction with new people; Hotel Rock Lititz and its appropriately named Per Diem restaurant provided a brand new hub for delegates. Road case lids for bathroom doors, naturally; Danielle Hernandez, safety specialist and Director of McAlister Auditorium and Dr Donald Cooper, ESA Executive Director proving that sometimes, photo captions are best left to the reader.

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PSA: THE BIGGER PICTURE

Itzel Molina shared 15 years of top level management and cultural transformation experience; Taitâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Sam Hillyer and Tim Roberts take audience participation a little far in its Automation Hazard Hunt session; Want to demonstrate how wind affects structures? Use pasta and marshmallow, naturally. The hairdryer test proves that riggertone would have been better than spaghetti.

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INDUSTRY APPOINTMENTS

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Solotech acquires SSE Audio Group; Solotech VP of Finance, Nicolino Iannotti; RCF Group’s Arturo Vicari; K-array’s Rusty Waite.

Solotech has confirmed the landmark acquisition of SSE Audio Group.

Martin Tremblay, President and CEO of Solotech, commented: “We are thrilled that SSE is joining the Solotech team, especially given their well-known expertise in audio services. The transaction will enable us to definitively pursue our expansion strategy in the European market and consolidate our unique position as a global player offering full-service sales, rentals and integration of audiovisual technologies.”

SSE Audio Group’s founder, John Penn, will continue to head the group in the UK and the established brands of SSE Audio, Capital Sound, Wigwam and Sigma Products will be maintained. “Our clients will continue to benefit from the excellent reputation of our brands, but over time they will also eventually have access to a broader service offering on both sides of the Atlantic, as Solotech offers a complete range of Audio Visual and Entertainment Technology services,” added Penn.

Solotech also welcomed the appointment of a new VP of Finance, Nicolino Iannotti. The latest Solotech recruit, will actively contribute to the development of the Finance Department as a Manager and key player in the management, forecasting and analysis of financial growth.

K-array has announced the launch of K-array USA. With a new facility located in the greater Boston area, the Italian manufacturer will directly oversee operations of the sales, marketing and service of K-array’s unique audio solutions in the US.

“It is the right time for us in regards to the company’s growth to invest more of our resources into the expansion of K-array in the United States,” explained K-array Global Business Development Director, Rusty Waite of the structural update and distribution change: “It increases our accessibility and provides us with the opportunity to build stronger relationships with US customers, which is crucial for long-term success in the US.” Although the newly-formed entity is currently building a team of experts, it is still a great opportunity to meet the Italian members of the K-family, including K-array President.

RCF Group has signed a definitive agreement for the acquisition of DPA Microphones from The Riverside Company.

The acquisition of DPA represented a second important milestone on RCF Group’s recent growth.

Arturo Vicari, CEO of RCF Group stated: “Since my early days, I have been fascinated by the world of microphones. Our portfolio already represents excellence in pro audio and we are very proud to add to our roster DPA – a company that also represents excellence in the microphone industry. We can now offer the complete audio chain, from microphones to speakers for the satisfaction of professionals around the world.

ETC has appointed three new employees in their continued effort to grow a dedicated team to evolve the High-End Systems brand.

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INDUSTRY APPOINTMENTS

High-End Systems Regional Sales Manager, Markus Farncombe-Fischer; Field Project Coordinator, Konstantinos Vonofakidis & Brand Manager, Tania Lesage.

Tania Lesage has been appointed to the High-End Systems Brand Manager position; Markus Farncombe-Fischer to the Regional Sales Manager position and Konstantinos Vonofakidis to the Field Project Coordinator position.

In his new position, Vonofakidis will be responsible for High-End Systems projects in the Southern European, African, Middle Eastern and Indian territories. He will manage sales arrangements for key accounts in these regions and work in cooperation with distributors and dealers.

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INDUSTRY APPOINTMENTS

Absen’s inaugural Head of Brand and Marketing, Alex Couzins.

Lesage’s role will involve working closely with product managers to oversee successful product releases and market introductions in EMEA sales territories. Lesage will be based out of Belgium but will cover several key regions including Russia, Middle East, Europe and Africa.

Farncombe-Fischer joined ETC in 2008 after working as a freelance console expert for the company. His new role will see him looking after the sales territories of Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Eastern Europe, Russia and CIS countries.

ETC welcomed Vonofakidis, Lesage and Farncombe-Fischer to the team and hope the appointments will help to deliver great results in their EMEA

sales regions and drive the business forward.

Absen has bolstered its European operations with the appointment of Alex Couzins. Couzins’ appointment to the newly-created position of Head of Brand and Marketing for Europe is a move that sees the company underline its commitment to the region.

Couzins, who joined from systems integrator AVMI, will be part of Absen’s corporate marketing team. Where he will be responsible for European brand marketing and providing local marketing support for the group’s VAPs, referring to Absen’s ecosystem of highly trusted and experienced distributors and systems integrators.

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INDUSTRY APPOINTMENTS

AED group’s new Hong Kong team; White Light’s Stuart Porter.

Eastern Acoustic Works has welcomed Jim Newhouse after he was promoted to Vice President of Global Sales.

Newhouse has served the company as North American Sales Director since 2015 and established a strong direct sales team, dramatically increased the installation market revenue, and initiated a highly successful dealer incentive program.

“The key to winning is building a great team, and the key to any successful team is an extraordinary leader,” commented EAW president, T.J. Smith: “Jim has repeatedly demonstrated his ability not only to create relationships and sell but to rally the best out of those around him. I am pleased to welcome Jim to the executive leadership team at EAW.” White Light, recently appointed as Master Distributor in the UK for Hog 4 products, marked the occasion with the appointment of Stuart Porter as Hog 4 Product Manager.

“I am delighted to be joining WL. I am fully aware of the company’s reputation as a leading supplier of lighting equipment, having drawn on them myself for over three decades. This feels like a natural progression for me and I’ve been delighted with the immediate response by both the company and customers alike”.

AED group has officially opened its new branch in Singapore, which consisted of Ruben James in the role of MD and Feroz Mya Aye as Commercial Director. Senior CCO Remo Martufi represented the Belgian parent company.

James commented: “I faced many challenges in our industry, most of all the lack of quality support for big productions in our region. When I visited AED group in Belgium for the first time, I was perplexed by the professional management and the immense qualitative material fleet. Together we have drawn up a realistic business plan and I have decided to make the commitment to represent and expand the AED brand in our region. In the past ten months, we have already rented out equipment to more than 25 local production companies. Now that our building has been fully operational, we are ready to serve the professional audiovisual market in Southeast Asia.”

Riedel Communications has appointed Kristof Vanden Eynde as Sales Manager for Belgium and Luxembourg. Reporting to Wilbert Kooij, Riedel’s General Manager for Benelux, Vanden Eynde will work to expand Riedel sales and rental opportunities in both countries.

“It’s a pleasure to welcome Kristof to our team,” Kooij said: “His deep

experience in systems integration and channel marketing, coupled with his extensive knowledge of the regional broadcast market, will be a huge asset as we continue to build our sales operation in Belgium and Luxembourg.”

Xenian has become the exclusive distributor for MADRIX LED lighting control products in Australia and New Zealand.

“We are delighted to have Xenian as our exclusive partner for the distribution of MADRIX products in this region. We believe that our experience in LED lighting control, continuous releases of innovative products combined with Xenian’s strength and reputation will produce a strong relationship and the right market share. We look forward to the opportunities this partnership will bring in Australia and New Zealand,” said MADRIX Sales Manager, Christian Hertel.

Andrew Plunkett has joined POLAR Integrated Solutions as the new Business Development Manager for Public Address and Voice Alarm.

An experienced Project Manager, Andrew has worked across markets including; industrial, leisure, education and most recently, on large-scale stadium installations. He joined Integrated Solutions to develop these areas of its business.

Stuart Leader, Director of POLAR Integrated Solutions welcomed Andrew’s appointment: He said: “It’s clear that Andrew’s know-how in this field marks him out as an excellent asset to POLAR. He’s an outstanding professional and we’re delighted to have him as part of our team.”

Steve Bewley has joined Mandylights as a director and full-time designer at the company’s UK office.

Having enjoyed a close working relationship with existing team members Tom Edwards, Richard Neville and Liam Tully over recent years, the addition of Bewley will further strengthen the worldwide team.

The move comes just over a year since Mandylights began operating in the UK as a related entity of the company’s highly successful Australian office.

Bewley told TPi: “Over the last few years my business has really taken off and has been phenomenal but that comes with constraints as the business is essentially just me. Joining Mandylights and harnessing the worldwide power and support that this brings will allow my clients to reap the benefits of having half a dozen of the best designers out there involved with their projects as well as continuing the relationship with myself.”

TPi www.tpimagazine.com/category/industry-jobs/ 110

MONDO | STADIA presents AGORA - a new event for 2019 focussing on sporting venue technology, the latest developments in the industry and future projects.

Through panel discussions, case studies and expert keynote speakers, AGORA will explore the benefits of the latest technology, trends and techniques - analysing the impact it has and will have at modern stadiums and sporting venues around the globe.

From enhancing the fan experience and modernising stadium infrastructure, through to the planning of cerem aonies and events, AGORA will provide valuable insight that will help to increase knowledge and performance for stadium and sporting venue projects in the future.

Taking place at ISE 2019, Amsterdam, AGORA will offer sporting venue managers and event organisers the chance to network with technology innovators and industry experts.

THURSDAY 7 TH FEBRUARY ISE, RAI AMSTERDAM PRE- REGISTER HERE: WWW.MONDOSTADIA-AGORA.COM Opening Remarks Sam Hughes, Editor, MONDO | STADIA

Keynote From Avixa Sean Wargo, Senior Director Of Marketing Intelligence, Avixa Low, Little, Loud, And Lucid - Raising The Audio Performance Bar In Stadiums And Sporting Venues Mike Hedden, President, Danley Sound Labs

Case Study: Stade De France Jonas Djian, Venue Manager, Stade De France Panel Session: How Technology Enhances The Fan Experience Chair: Martin Izzard, Red Lorry Yellow Lorry | James Keen, Group Marketing Manager, Tripleplay | Lukas Buhl, R&D Acoustics, TW Audio | Stephen Hogg, Head of Sports Projects, d&b audiotechnik | Thierry Chapiteau, Global Segment Director, Signify Case Study: Anoeta Stadium Juan Iraola, Head Of Digital, Real Sociedad Keynote From Auditoria Scott Willsallen, Director, Auditoria

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TPi PRODUCTION GUIDE

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BACK CHAT

MICK SHEPHERD Sound Engineer & Director, TXRX Sound Solutions

(470 - 694Mhz) is becoming ever more congested with Digital TV Transmissions as the broadcasters re-locate out of the 700Mhz band. PMSE uses the spectrum not taken

by TV transmissions - so availability varies on a regional basis. In some UK cities there will virtually no spectrum available for PMSE use.

What services do TXRX provide?

TXRX provides a consultancy service covering the whole field of wireless audio including venue assessment, frequency planning and licensing as well as offering advice on equipment utilisation and investment, before and after the 700MHz clearance. We also operate an equipment bank offering very good, quick response subhire facilities for the best new digital radio mics and in-ear systems.

How did you initially get into wireless audio?

Touring with various bands (The Stranglers, Average White Band, Eric Clapton, Meat Loaf) as Monitor Engineer led me to The Undertones, who were my first experience of working with a radio mic when Feargal Sharkey was using a VHF Nady. Afterwards, I toured with the Thompson Twins who used quite a lot of wireless and it became obvious that wireless audio was a discipline in itself. Then Garwood came along with the first in-ear systems. Wireless audio was evolving quickly.

What is the plan for the future?

The technology used by digital radio microphones has now matured. New-generation systems are super-reliable, sound great and are much more spectrum efficient than analogue kit. By maximising the use of digital wireless systems, complemented by careful frequency planning, wireless audio in the entertainment industry can be sustainable going forward.

With Erasure I had radio mics and in-ear systems both in UHF and I realised what a production could achieve when the wireless systems were problem free.

What is the biggest concern in regard to the shrinking spectrum?

The biggest concern has to be that there just won’t be enough spectrum for major events - which sometimes require a 100 plus channel count. The proposed alternative “Airband” is a UK only solution and will be very site specific.

I’d worked with Nick Bruce-Smith on the Thompson Twins and after putting our heads together on a tour bus one day we came up with the idea for Hand Held Audio. Hand Held has been running successfully ever since and now I’ve started TXRX as my own venture, focussing on digital wireless systems.

How can events be safeguarded?

Thinking further ahead into major events than is current practice will be important – allowing for communication between all suppliers and for spectrum issues to be identified and addressed in time. Scrupulous frequency planning and licensing is a great safeguard against interference. Digital wireless systems have encryption which gives security against wireless piracy.

Why is it important to focus on the future of wireless audio?

Ofcom is reducing the PMSE (Programme Making and Special Events) spectrum for radio microphones & inear systems. The 700MHz band will be cleared for use by mobile service providers by May 2020. The challenge is severe for PMSE users as the spectrum remaining to them 114