Nitro Circus: You Got This

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

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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

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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!”

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

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

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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.”

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

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.”

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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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!”

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

18 m weight..............60 DMI....416x300x335 kg noise........< 60 dB/A

60 dB/A

T210

D8 PLUS RIGGING HOIST

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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

www.productionvalue.co www.video-design.co.uk www.bpm-sfx.com www.rockitcargo.com www.flybynite.co. uk www.clairglobal.com www.negearth.com www.taittowers.com www.nononsensegroup.com www.missioncontrolltd.com www.phoenix-bussing.co.uk www.snakatakcatering.com

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