TPi January 2021 - #257

TOTAL PRODUCTION INTERNATIONAL LIVE EVENT DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY • JANUARY 2021 • ISSUE 257

LIGHTS, CAMERA, STREAM The 2021 live experience

BETTER AND THEN SOME...

NIALL HORAN: LIVE AT THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL • LIAM GALLAGHER: DOWN BY THE RIVER THAMES ARCHITECTS • POST MALONE: THE 2020 BBMAS • FUTURE YARD • PANASONIC L.I.V.E SERIES • PSA

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JANUARY 2021 #257

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EDITOR’S LETTER

D8plus Ultra 250 - 2 000kg Here’s to 2021…

I was on a Zoom call with some friends at the end of last year when someone joked: “Is anyone even bothering with a new year’s resolution?” A notion that made us all laugh. I think rather than making any lofty claims of a better diet or improved fitness, the entire global population will be content with a ‘normal’ 2021.

Sadly, as we roll into January, this hope seems a long way off. At the time of writing, the UK has now entered the second week of another lockdown and, although vaccinations have been distributed to those who need it most, we still have a long journey ahead of us.

Like many of you reading this from the UK, I watched the PM’s announcement of the latest regulations with that sinking feeling in my stomach, as that imaginary date when live shows will return seemed to move even further away. That’s before we get into the ramifications of Brexit… I’ll let PSA’s Andy Lenthall in his latest editorial column tackle that one [p58].

So, how do we approach this new year which, from the offset, seems to be just as uncertain as the last?

Well, speaking for die-hard music fans that make up the TPi team, we are still incredibly passionate to keep telling the stories of people who are ensuring that live performances still live on. Despite all the hardship, it truly has been inspiring to see how the creative forces behind the world’s biggest artists are continuingly one-upping each other, with ever more engaging live performances for the enjoyment of an-at home audience. While we are not shoulder-to-shoulder in a physical sense, what this period has proven is that music is still one of the few ways that we can bring people together.

This month is no exception, as we delve behind the scenes of digital productions from the likes of Niall Horan [p20], Liam Gallagher [p26], Architects [p16] and Post Malone [p8]. Alongside these shows, we have taken some time to consider where burgeoning technologies – from XR stages to streaming platforms – could be leading us. I speak to representatives from Panasonic [p50] and disguise [p46] – two companies at the cutting edge of the digitisation of live performance. It’s a subject that we explored throughout 2020 and one we are excited to keep covering, not just in the next 12 months but beyond, as these technologies will undoubtedly have major effects on the industry, even when audiences can return to the masses.

With that in mind, as we always have been, TPi are always on the other end of the phone and email to discuss the various projects and experiments that our loyal readership is involved in. So, don’t be a stranger.

Happy New Year one and all and let’s all hope for an improved 2021.

Until next time, Stew Hume Editor

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Issue 257 – january 2021

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ITINERARY

EVENT FOCUS

08

08

Billboard Music Awards 2020 Post Malone scoops nine awards and performs a unique set at the 2020 BBMAs.

14

Vibra Radio T&M Drive In Festival Adamson Systems Engineering sounds a series of drive-in shows in Colombia.

Trade Hire

16 Architects

British metal band and crew broadcast

live from the Royal Albert Hall.

18

London Welcomes in 2021 UK industry creatives join forces to bring some magic to London’s skyline.

PRODUCTION PROFILE

16

20

Niall Horan The singer’s latest livestream raises awareness and funds for touring crew.

26

Liam Gallagher The rock ’n’ roll star sails through his setlist down London’s River Thames.

PRODUCTION FUTURES 34

Future Yard A volunteering initiative for 16-24 year olds on the Wirral and in Merseyside.

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CHANGING HATS 42

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Video specialists turn their hand to the rising demand for virtual experiences.

INTERVIEW IN PROFILE 46 disguise

CTO, Ed Plowman talks 2020 and his

predictions for the future of live events.

IN PROFILE INTERVIEW 48 Prozaar

Girts Pütelis launches a trading platform

and supply chain management app.

50

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Panasonic L.I.V.E Series A new series of tutorials offering advice to virtual studio users.

FUTURE INSIGHTS 53

The latest product releases.

PSA: THE BIGGER PICTURE 58

PSA’s Andy Lenthall talks Brexit.

INDUSTRY APPOINTMENTS 60

26

The latest movers and shakers.

BACK CHAT 66

Cirque Bijou Senior Producer, Kate Lanciault takes the hot seat.

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08

POST MALONE: THE 2020 BBMAS

POST MALONE: THE 2020 BILLBOARD MUSIC AWARDS In addition to taking home nine awards, including accolades for top artist and rap tour, Post Malone performs a unique set at the 2020 Billboard Music Awards. TPi’s Jacob Waite looks back on the culmination of creativity and technical proficiency…

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POST MALONE: THE 2020 BBMAS

Perhaps the most decorated of the modern-day era of rap music figures, Post Malone graced the 2020 Billboard Music Awards with a unique performance befitting the nine awards he scooped for top artist and top rap tour, among others on 14 October 2020. Behind the curtain of the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, California, there is an equally important success story – a core group of technically-proficient creatives joining forces for the first time since the COVID-19 outbreak in March 2020 to present a unique BBMAs performance.

The last time TPi met the team behind Post Malone’s live shows was during the artist’s inaugural arena campaign in 2019. Speaking from the caverns of what was then known as Manchester Arena, long-time creative partners, Travis Brothers and Lewis James recalled the singer’s rapid rise in popularity. “It has been like a rocket ship,” James said. “Within the space of two years, we’ve gone from playing sold-out amphitheatres to stadiums – headlining Coachella and creating Posty Fest last year at AT&T Stadium with 60,000 people attending.”

Two years on, having made a name for himself in stage design and performance direction circles as one half of Post Malone’s show design collective, James sat down with TPi to reflect on the BBMAs, recalling a ‘factory reset’ to his creative process following the COVID-19 outbreak, leading him to explore new ideas resulting in the one-off performance.

“The expectation for Post Malone shows is a lot bigger than it used to be,” he began. “Thankfully, the team involved are all hard working and I don’t think there are many teams that can get things done in the timescales we are usually up against.” Case in point; the BBMAs performance was assembled in just over a week.

“We found this location 45 minutes outside of Los Angeles, which is essentially a large industrial wash plant,” James explained. “We wanted to explore a space that was beautifully unannounced – bringing life and energy to something that is otherwise raw and rooting itself in Industry.”

James walked TPi through the multifaceted structure spanning three tiers with a staircase. Using the topography of structure in the simplest way was key as the creative team didn’t want to overcomplicate processes. “We wanted to embrace the location as opposed to the scale of the structure, until the very end, when the pyro was launched.”

The unique nature of the location posed a series of technical and logistical hurdles, such as getting the gear into the space and setting the kit up. Production Manager, Dennis Danneels and Tour Manager, Angela Warner enlisted the technical prowess of PRG for audio and lighting, PYROTECNICO, Star Power, Big Finn Productions for local labour and Ahern Entertainment as technical suppliers.

“The team loaded in within a day and worked through the night to get the handheld lights on to the structure,” James explained. “It was a difficult task, but the crew stepped up to the mark. There was a big explosion of energy from the crew who were unable to tour amid the lockdown. Not only did we want to bring this project to life, after several months off the road, I think everyone wanted to make it as good as possible.”

With most Post Malone projects grounded for the foreseeable, the luxury of time imposed by the COVID-19 lockdown provided the designers with increased creative parameters to explore. “We used to be constrained to whatever staging the TV show had. Whereas now, you’ve got the scope to explore way broader approaches to the design process, be that large scale or more intimate productions,” James said. “There’s not so much of a framework in place currently, so it naturally leads to a lot of scope on what a live performance can be.”

Operating remotely, Lewis and Brothers were able to tune into proceedings courtesy of modern spyware. A series of cameras were rigged across the site and structure. Recording software, Qtake allowed James and Brothers access to the cameras and they were able to communicate via Facetime and Zoom. “It’s very much like a bat cave for the live feed,” he 10

POST MALONE: THE 2020 BBMAS

remarked. “It’s one thing seeing it in person and being on set, but when you’re sitting behind a screen thousands of miles away analysing the camera feeds, you are constantly seeing it in its near final form, which is surprisingly helpful and rewarding.”

could understand the artist blocking and movement, sourcing Telescoping Fork Boom Lifts, supplied by Ahern Entertainment, which were used to get the GLP JDC1 pods high enough,” he explained.

The challenge with this performance, James outlined, was unlike a traditional “broadcast stage”, the structure had no set direction in terms of framing; Post Malone and Tyla Yaweh walked through and around the structure much like a maze led by the camera, so pre-visualisation was key.

“We recreated the entire machine in 3D and used virtual cameras to enable us to time the performance out and place atmosphere and pyro so they would shoot off in sync and in frame.”

Using Syncronorm previsualisation software, Depence², Norman was able to try out a few fixture types, beam fixtures, spots, other wash lights, but discovered that the GLP JDC1 with the RGB plate and strobe strip was the best option for light output. “We needed bright colours to wash the structure from the pods, but also a crisp white to pop on the hits, often visible through the pipework and machinery,” Norman noted. “Brightness was essential with such a large surface to cover. Using the Aggressive Mode, I was able to get the high output needed.”

PRG Bad Boy HP Frames and a GroundControl Followspot System was chosen due to the power output of the units. A PRG Bad Boy HP Frame was situated in each pod position. “We didn’t want many moving heads on the show, so larger brighter units were the way to go. We filmed on the front and back, so they were used as key lights shuttered to the back platform for parts and building washes for other moments,” he added. “GroundControl with remote operators made the operation of the show easy. I like having control of colour and intensity, giving the operator P/T plus Iris made it great to hit all the timecode moments without complicated cue calling.”

Walking TPi through the rest of the lighting rig, he noted: “Solaris Flares were undoubtedly the workhorse fixtures. They are bright, simple, but they deliver wonderful colours. We wanted a fixed colour wash to put into the

‘PROVIDING NEW CONTENT IN LOCKDOWN’ Lighting was considered in layers. “We made use of external rear lighting to cast the entire structure into silhouette against the backdrop of the atmosphere we made, while at moments revealing the frame in a contrasting way,” James explained, adding that the role of lighting was reduced to a ‘specific mood’ to highlight the structure in a way that wasn’t initially obvious. “We made a lot of decisions going back and forth through multiple lighting looks like the structure itself creates so many interesting shafts and shadows based on where you place light.”

This was a particularly challenging process with the team in constant battle with the sun. “We only had a few hours to figure it all out, program, focus and finalise the entire performance,” James recalled.

For the project, Brothers and James enlisted the support of Lighting Director / Programmer and Stage Design Assistant, Dan Norman, who James dubbed as an ‘MVP’ of the project. “He was our eyes on the ground and in the air.”

PRG provided 48 Solaris Flares, 48 GLP JDC1s, four PRG GroundControl Followspot Systems with four Bad Boy HPs, eight Bad Boy HP Frames, 12 Jem ZR45s, 12 AF 2 Fans, a pair of MA Lighting grandMA2 full size consoles, an MA2 light console and Tyler GT Truss. A further trio of GLP JDC1 pods and FOH spot truss were suspended on 55’ Telescoping Forklifts.

Norman oversaw site visits, created 3D models of the structure in Cinema 4D, drafted plans in Vectorworks and coordinated with PRG on staging areas, crewing, and cable paths. “I helped the director and film crew with the walk through of the space the night before load-in so they 11

POST MALONE: THE 2020 BBMAS

sand pit, so we didn’t have to worry about mechanical failure due to sand getting into motors or belts and Solaris Flares were the perfect choice.”

For control, Norman needn’t look elsewhere. “MA2 has been my ‘goto’ for years, I’ve always been able to accomplish my designs efficiently and quickly using their MA2 software. The hardware is easy to set up and configure, we had no issues with the network or hardware.”

During the load-in, Norman marked out the lighting positions to help expedite the gear placement. He then programmed the show using timecode on an MA Lighting grandMA2 console, with James and Brothers providing notes via FaceTime. “Lewis had a clear idea of what he wanted the performance to look like. Very bold operatic gestures of light, washing the entire structure from a few key angles,” Norman stated. “We never tried to hide the location, we embraced it. Using shadows, bright and dark shafts of light, and always lots of fog and atmosphere.”

Norman and the team hand placed lights inside the structure in ways that would allow enough light to pass but also generate interesting shadows. “There is so much grating, pipework, ventilation shafts and machinery of all shapes and sizes to work around… It is such a unique structure to light; it’s not every day you get a set with so many angles for light and shadow to dance on.”

While virtual performances are gaining popularity, Norman believes that it is still important to showcase the physicality of live music. “There are so many virtual productions using XR stages at the minute that when you see a production that uses real equipment and locations, it’s really refreshing. Being stuck at home, we still need new content to help ease the boredom and mundanity of lockdown,” he underlined. “It is so important to provide audiences with new content to help keep them inside.”

wonderful stuff for us to play around with,” James reported, including lighting mines, shells and 400ft comets. “It was key for us to be playful with the atmospherics; these were all delicately picked and considered together to form an ever-changing and evolving backdrop, as well as, of course, bringing the spectacle that is a pyrotechnic display.”

The various looks were all masterfully operated by a Pyrodigital control system. Keeping it simple and almost picturesque, the design team opted for a muted colour palette of white, red and some silver tails on the comets.

The delicate palette was chosen to create a cool and refined composition as opposed to a raucous firework show – all while maintaining the signature, smoky and foggy atmosphere of typical Post Malone shows.

The Pyrotecnico team deployed a series of products from its Spanish vendor. “They make some unique and beautiful effects, which are not traditionally seen in stage show performances and, based on the fact we had a lot of real estate to work with at this venue, we were able to put forth some cool effects, including a red lighting effect and motor mines.”

Despite the unique nature of the task, Vitale was not unnerved by the quick turnaround. “We live in a very fast society; technology has pushed us to that and one of the things we pride ourselves on is our ability to turn around a project fast with distribution networks across the States.”

Aiding Vitale in the project was the experienced crew of Bob Mays, Alex Smith, Christine Bernat, Spencer Lowry, Josh Smith, Dave Yarbrough, Marc Domings and George Zamora.

Vitale concluded: “One of the beauties of this situation we’re all in, people in the production and creative industries are finding ways to entertain people. Whether that is as a livestream of a film shoot in a rock quarry somewhere. The industry isn’t allowing the pandemic to dictate the narrative. It may look and feel different, but the show must go on.”

James, concurred, stating how it is more important than ever to provide live music fans with new experiences. “Many people crave live music more so now than ever and with all that’s going on, attempting to make memorable performances that strike a connection is what it’s all about.”

TPi Photos courtesy of Lewis James www.postmalone.com www.lewisjames.com www.prg.com www.pyrotecnico.com

‘THE SHOW MUST GO ON’ Pyrotecnico VP of Live Events, Rocco Vitale oversaw those responsible for handling pyrotechnics for the performance. “Lewis and Dennis reached out with a concept of filming a performance in a quarry in California. In addition to SFX and lasers, we also have a large firework display division; with that, we were able to provide some innovative solutions for the look they were going for with the show.”

As soon as they received reference photos, Vitale and SFX Designer, Ron Bleggi began hammering out ideas, which resulted in the landmark performance. “Pyrotecnico did an excellent job of finding some weird and 12

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VIBRA RADIO T&M DRIVE IN FESTIVAL Adamson Systems Engineering provides audio reinforcement to power a series of drive-in shows in Colombia – the first large-scale performances in the country since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Live music in Colombia returned in a surprising way in September 2020, with a weekend of drive-in shows situated just outside of the capital city, Bogota. Vibra Radio T&M Drive In Festival was held from 25 to 27 September and featured performances by legendary Colombian music acts such as Monsieur Periné, Siam and ChocQuibTown. The event marked the first large-scale live music event held in the country since COVID-19 put a stop to shows in the country.

Traditionally, drive-ins rely on an FM frequency to transmit sound to car stereos at the event. That’s what concert goers were led to believe was happening when they arrived and were asked to tune their radios at Vibra Radio T&M Drive In Festival. However, with production providers C Vilar and Sonic Design ready to start the party, fans were to asked to lower their car windows and instead of car speakers, the crowd was blown away by a full Adamson Systems Engineering PA system experience.

The Adamson array comprised 15 E15s and three E12s per side, eight E119s flown behind the main hang in a front-back configuration, a ground sub arc array comprising E119s and T21s configured in an end fire pattern, as well as eight S10s used as front fills. Concert attendees were delighted by this surprise twist, as the Adamson rig provided a full sonic experience that could never be replicated on a simple car stereo.

C Vilar and Sonic Design have been providing the production for Vibra T&M Festival since 2015, and were excited to adapt their sound, stage and lighting equipment to current site needs. System Engineer, Mauricio Vilar chose to deploy Adamson speakers because of their great coverage and consistent low-end response. Before the crowd arrived, Vilar drove the site and was extremely satisfied with PA coverage, even in the far parking positions located 160m from the array.

To provide clear sight lines for the audience, the FOH position was moved off-side and off-axis from the main PA. Instead of having to rely on reference monitors, FOH engineers were treated to a reference Adamson PA made up of eight S10s stacked on top of four E119 speakers. FOH engineers

were extremely satisfied with both the reference and main system’s reach and tuning. FOH Engineer for Monsieur Périné, Antonio Villamizar said: “I like the sound of Adamson a lot – even if you’re very far away, the sound is very present. The sub-woofer is super powerful and detailed, mids and highs are distinguished by clarity and presence, and the system maintains its quality sound, even over distance,” he remarked. “Adamson makes one of my favourite systems and is always on my rider.”

FOH Engineer for Santiago Cruz and Head Director of the Audio Engineering Department at Javeriana University, Juan David Garcia agreed: “I really liked the Adamson PA,” he said. “It has really good definition, a nice top end that is not harsh at close distances and maintains a nice air and presence at long ranges. The subs are fantastic, powerful but clear.

It is really easy to get superb results when you have talent on stage and Adamson projecting all that power and feeling.”

The drive-in event was the first step in a partnership between C Vilar, Sonic Design and the Jaime Duque amusement park. As Colombian government officials discuss the possibility of developing a cultural district outside of Bogota, the partners have been working hard on creating an immersive audio-visual experience.

Upcoming installations include a projections dome, an illuminated jaguar statue highlighting the importance of fighting climate change, as well as a new outdoor venue. General Director of Vilar group, Leonardo Vilar envisions this new cultural district as providing visitors interactive cultural and educational activities with social meaning. One thing is for sure: the care taken by Sonic Design and C Vilar in the design and implementation of this new site is sure to guarantee a surprising and delightful experience to audiences.

TPi Photos: Adamson Systems Engineering www.tym.vibra.co www.adamsonsystems.com 14

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ARCHITECTS To celebrate the release of their forthcoming album, For Those That Wish To Exist, the British metal band and crew put together an exclusive livestream performance from the Royal Albert Hall.

TPi’s Stew Hume chats to Production Manager, Kenny Macleod about the project.

One of the common complaints that you often hear about livestream performances is that they lack that ‘excitement’ you get while being shoulder-to-shoulder with a room full of fans. Although I’m somewhat biased, I think nowhere is this truer than in the world of metal, where so much of the live experience is fuelled by the energy of the crowd.

Despite being unable to call for any circle pits, we have seen a number of groups from the genre take to virtual stages to present raucous live performances to their fans at home. Most notably, in September 2020 Wacken Open Air reinvented itself as a virtual show [see September 2020 issue of TPi]. The latest band to adopt to the virtual transmission of live performance is none other than British metal band, Architects.

On course to release their ninth studio album, the group have secured themselves as favourites among the genre’s biggest followers and have become known, in recent years, for their groove-laden riffs and crushing breakdowns. Having worked with the band during their previous Holy Hell tour, Production Manager, Kenny Macleod was familiar with the musicians and their longstanding touring crew. “I was brought in to start pulling the

pieces together for this show two months prior to the recording,” the PM began. Admittedly, this was quite a long lead-time, the PM explained that working during COVID-19, where vendors, suppliers, travel agents and venues are on reduced hours made for a “slow and drawn-out” process.

This was not Macleod’s first experience with a livestream show, having PMed for Scottish band, Mogwai’s performance due to be aired later this year, as well as collaborating with electro singer, Elisabeth Elektra. “This particular project with Architects is by far the most ambitious livestream I have had the pleasure of working on,” he explained.

“We were hoping to bring all the excitement and energy of an Architects show to the livestream, with production values that rival most live concert DVDs,” he explained, outlining the initial brief from the band. “We have all seen other livestreams during 2020 and, while some were inspiring, it was clear that we could do something really special that could stand alone as an excellent show.”

Production Designer, Paul McAdams made use of the vast space, creating a high-energy design to showcase the venue and ensure viewers 16

ARCHITECTS

watching the livestream could experience that same live energy from behind their screens. Tech support in visual department came from PRG, which supplied lighting, rigging, disguise media servers and LED for the performance, which was livestreamed globally by Veeps.

PRG shares a longstanding relationship with the camp, having provided a video and lighting package for the band’s prior European tour. “Jackson Warner from PRG has been integral to Architects choosing PRG as their go-to AV supplier,” explained Macleod. “He came in initially as a video operator and has toured extensively with the band since then as part of our core crew. His knowledge of our desires allowed us to move between Paul’s ideas and the restrictions due to time and budget, and end up with the compromises we need in order to deliver on time and on budget.”

Martin by Harman Sceptron LED fixtures were used to create a flown triangular set-piece, which was situated above the band. These were also used to edge the band’s risers. To complete the look, PRG supplied the lighting floor package, which comprised PRG Icon Edges, GLP JDC1s, Ayrton MagicBlade Rs and TMB Solaris Flares, as well as ROE Visual CB5mm LED panels, which made up the video wall.

SSE Audio provided an audio and riser package, with trucking courtesy of Fly By Nite – both of which have previously worked with the band. Stage Miracles provided local crew for the load-in and out.

To keep the consistency and feel of the band’s live shows, the full touring family was also brought back for the Royal Albert Hall performance, including their FOH Sound Engineer, Jonny Burgan, who moved to recording duties for the show.

“As the show marked the start of a new album campaign, it required the same pre-production as would be required if we were doing a full run of shows,” stated Macleod. “From video wall footage synchronisation, to IEM

monitoring presets for the new songs and a full new lighting and set design, there was plenty to be getting on with.”

Along with these numerous obligations, there was further preparation of health and safety considerations to make the show a COVID-19 secure environment. “I felt that it was important to understand industry best practices, so I put myself through the Safe Sets COVID Awareness training and the full COVID Supervisor course from First Option Training,” stated Macleod. With the learned knowledge, both the PM and representative of the venue, Jane Colenutt, were able to put together a plan for the shoot.

All the teams were housed in ‘sub-bubbles’ with everyone who had been working with the band in rehearsals in one bubble then the film crew, vendors and production in their own. “Working in masks all day takes some getting used to,” stated Macleod, adding: “If it gets us back to work, it’s a small price to play.”

Macleod concluded by giving his final thoughts on the performance.

Although very happy with the show, he admitted that he hoped he didn’t have to resort to another livestream for Architects and that “we can get back out there with an audience sooner rather than later”.

Speaking late last year, he concluded: “I have another livestream before the end of the year and have just finished an ambitious livestream with another band. While livestreams have become the ‘new norm’, there is no replacement for the excitement of a physical audience.”

TPi Photos: Ed Mason www.architectsofficial.com www.prg.com/uk/en www.sseaudio.com/Group www.flybynite.co.uk

SATELLITE MODULAR LASER SYSTEM

(r)evolution

SATELLITE MODULAR LASER SYSTEM

Every once in a while, something comes along that tears up the rulebook and revolutionises an industry. This is one of those moments: the Satellite Modular Laser System from the Visionaries of the display industry – Digital Projection.

1996

3,000 lumens 60 kg

2003

16,000 lumens 113 kg

2016

27,000 lumens 132 kg

2020

> 40,000 lumens < 40 kg

The Visionaries’ Choice www.digitalprojection.com TPI Magazine March 2020.indd 1

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04/03/2020 11:18

EVENT FOCUS

LONDON WELCOMES IN 2021 Global brand experience agency, Jack Morton develops a remarkable citywide display, working in partnership with the Mayor of London’s office and a dedicated team of experts.

In a break from regular tradition, the team from Jack Morton and some of the live event industry’s best-known companies and creatives joined forces to produce a 10-minute New Year’s Eve show, designed for home-viewing and created in collaboration with the BBC. Jack Morton’s creative team worked with On the Sly for music production, Titanium Fireworks for pyrotechnics, and SKYMAGIC for the swarm drone sequences. Lighting was designed by Durham Marenghi, with Paul Cook assuming the role of Associate LD and Programmer.

Marenghi called on the expertise of Lights Control Rigging, ER Productions, the Signify team, Atelier Ten and the Illuminated River project, Armadillo and Tower Bridge, Stadium FX at Wembley and Woodroffe Bassett Design at The Shard to integrate the citywide effects into a memorable light show.

The origin of the project dates back to September, when the Mayor of London announced the New Year’s Eve fireworks display at the London Eye, which Marenghi had been creating with Jack Morton Worldwide since 2004, was to be not going to be taking place due to the impact of COVID-19.

Instead, the GLA Events team asked Jack Morton to support them in developing an alternative format for broadcast, in order to publicly thank the NHS, care staff and key workers for their efforts over a very challenging year. The brief was for a light show beamed across the city’s skyline and landmarks across London.

WYSIWYG aficionado, Pedro Marcé Socias was commissioned to develop a model of central London, including The Shard and both banks of the river as far as Tower Bridge, and create a virtual fly around the site showing lights and lasers in action for an imagined event. An additional key operational

element was to ensure the lightshow – utilising expertise from SKYMAGIC, ER Productions and On the Sly – was delivered safely, limiting the attraction of crowds in these days of social distancing.

The planning was deployed in secret and spanned several sites. The combined GLA and Jack Morton operations team established permissions on various public sites active for short periods of time so, should crowds gather, the extent of the show would not be revealed. This required complex timecode synchronisations across all sites to ensure a seamless broadcast output. This was not a singular lighting design effort.

At a very early stage the GLA and Jack Morton contacted Real Estate Management (UK) Limited, the asset manager for The Shard to seek their involvement. They sat down with Woodroffe Basset Design to discuss how they might incorporate their annual seasonal ‘Shard Lights’ display into the event. Here, they came up with the idea of using The Shard spire as a clock face. Lighting and lasers were added to levels 67 to 87 and controlled using a GPS timecode clock to sync The Shard to Big Ben and the other landmark sites in the show.

Through the GLA’s introduction, the Illuminate River project was approached as its installations from Westminster Bridge to London Bridge were approaching completion. All bridges were illuminated in NHS blue, programmed by Atelier Ten, and London Bridge had its own specific time coded sequences to match the light array above it on the bridge pavement.

The lighting sources had originally been spread across the central London area bridges. As the design developed and became subject to some ‘value engineering’ LCR was commissioned to create a demo system of 84 fixtures at a site in Docklands where aspirations for an aerial display could manifest.

18

LONDON WELCOMES 2021

The figure of 84 came from Marenghi’s calculation that for a seven-colour rainbow, at least 12 high-power sources per colour were needed.

Tests gave proof of concept and proved an important factor in the event’s success would be the correct camera and light focus angles to maximise visibility – so the BBC engineers for the night were also invited to the test. After much discussion about permissions and practicalities of deploying this number of fixtures in central London, and the need to keep things under wraps, the eventual system saw all 336 fixtures mounted in an impressive line across London Bridge.

A total of 168 Claypaky Mythos 2s – in weather domes – and 168 Elation Proteus Hybris fixtures were rigged by Lights Control Rigging and managed

by Rob Watson. The fixtures were arranged on top of a steel deck across the bridge in a staggered line – like the Svoboda light curtain concept – 160m long and controlled by Paul Cook on his ChamSys MQ500 console.

All crews had to fill in a daily health declaration and were COVID-19 tested before and after the event. Strict social distancing was observed and face masks were worn throughout. Trucks were even flat packed by LCR specially to allow socially distanced handling of equipment.

Other lighting elements included Tower Bridge with some time coded show cues programmed by Armadillo and a rainbow on the Wembley stadium and arch programmed by Stadium FX. There was a complication in sending broadcast from Wembley and the O2, which involved a one second and three frames offset due to the satellite link delay. However, “Delta did an amazing job keeping everything connected”.

Using WYSIWYG, the team created animations of lighting preprogramming for the Jack Morton storyboard as the show developed to include fireworks and drones and an impressive array of lasers from The Shard and Tower and London Bridges from ER Productions. Cook also created multi-view animations of the various camera views, which were rendered to allow the BBC to create an accurate camera script for the event, given the team was relying on trying to fire lights and lasers as close to the

camera angle of incidence as possible.

It wasn’t just the lights on the various buildings in the capital producing eye-catching looks, with a fleet of drones also playing a pivotal role in the production. SKYMAGIC used a staggering 300 drones for the performance, which now stands as the UK’s largest drone show. The display over London’s River Thames featured a series of key design motifs including: The Nightingale, Captain Sir Tom Moore and Sir David Attenborough’s turtle, as well as a humorous nod to the all-too-common phrase from a year of videocalling, “you’re on mute”.

SKYMAGIC Creative Director, Patrick O’Mahony, commented: “It is an honour and privilege to play a part in this most special of New Year’s Eve shows. It has been a long-held ambition to bring our drone light show to London and working with such a great team at Jack Morton to deliver this has been an absolute pleasure.”

Jack Morton Production Director, Jim Donald, added: “This spectacular and moving experience was only made possible by the outstanding collaboration and dedication of the entire extended team. I am delighted that we were able to work with SKYMAGIC, who have demonstrated why they are one of the world’s leading drone light show companies.”

The display across London’s skyline was a poignant message of remembrance, hope and optimism, both for the coming year and for the future of our planet.

TPi Photo: Patrick Straub www.jackmorton.com www.skymagic.show www.durhamld.com www.lcr-rental.com www.titaniumfireworks.com www.er-productions.com www.woodroffebassett.com

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19

20

PRODUCTION PROFILE

NIALL HORAN: LIVE AT THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL TPi’s Stew Hume speaks to the crew behind the singer’s latest livestreamed show broadcast live from the Royal Albert Hall – a performance raising awareness and funds for the live events workforce.

While some may argue that too few artists have done their bit to raise awareness for the people of the music industry who since March 2020 have been forced to stop practicing their profession, one artist who has stepped up to the plate is singer-songwriter and former One Direction star, Niall Horan. Joining forces with the crew-led organisation, We Need Crew, on 7 November 2020, the singer welcomed fans from around the globe to bear witness to a one-off performance from the eerily empty Royal Albert Hall, with all profits going to his touring family and technical entertainment charity, Backup.

In the lead up to the livestream, Horan could be found on almost every television network, promoting the show and explaining why the performance required the attention of all music lovers. In his own words: “I’m putting on this gig to raise awareness of the immense value they bring to an industry enjoyed by so many and do something to help them and their families. I ask all my fans to support them with me and buy a ticket if you can, and I encourage all artists to do the same.”

With several weeks passing since both artist and crew took over the RAH, TPi caught up with the crew behind the project and to get their thoughts on this very special event.

founders of We Need Crew explained to Carr that the goal of We Need Crew is, in association with #WeMakeEvents, to raise money for touring professionals who have fallen on hard times due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“What really appealed about their organisation was that it was created by crew, for crew,” Carr said. “Around the same time, I was having conversations with Niall, who had already seen a few peers doing livestreamed performances, and we discussed the idea of performing in an iconic venue to raise awareness for the plight of the industry.”

With these two conversions in mind, Carr began to pull the pieces of would become Horan’s streamed performance together, as well as a big launch for the We Need Crew campaign. Carr and the rest of the Modest! team got to work reforming his touring family, whose album cycle had been stopped prematurely in March 2020.

“We were in LA when everything began shutting down,” stated Carr, who explained how he and the rest of the crew were in their last few weeks of promo before heading into rehearsals for Horan’s world tour. “We were finishing up a week on James Corden when the announcement came that the borders were due to be shut, so we all had to head back to the UK pretty quickly.”

After several months with no work, both Carr and the rest of the crew were all enthusiastic about getting back together to put on a very special performance.

“In many ways, it was like we had never been away,” explained Production Manager, Andy Colby. “There was a part of me that thought

PRODUCTION ORIGINS… “I remember it was a Monday morning when I got the call from Karen [Ringland] and Alice [Martin], who explained the concept of We Need Crew,” reminisced Ant Carr, Head of Production for Modest! Management. Both 21

NIALL HORAN LIVE AT THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL

it might have been a bit strange with it being so long since we worked together, but 30 minutes into the first rehearsal at SW19, it was like we had just got off the plane from LA.” Colby was one of many familiar faces from Horan’s touring family who got the call to help with the livestream, alongside several technical suppliers including Wigwam and midnight:lights. KB Events provided a Megacube Artic for rehearsals in SW19 along with a Tech Kit for the show, oversaw by Lead Driver, Steve Crawley. Pulse Films and promoter, Driift were brought into the fold to make the event a reality.

In total, some 127,000 tickets for the performance were sold to 151 countries. “The response we had from fans was fantastic,” enthused Carr.

“The funds raised are going to be able to help a good number of touring crew and their families and we kept this in the forefront of our mind in all aspects of the show.”

Carr was also quick to complement the attitude of the man in front of the camera. “Niall was very involved in every step of the process. He really gained a full grasp of the situation and during the promotion of the show, he really wanted to educate the public, and his fanbase, about what was going on in the sector.”

piano on the venue’s stage, before walking down to the centre of the room to play the rest of the show in 360° in the centre of the hall. A top priority for the visual team was putting both Niall and the venue in the spotlight.

Bull elaborated: “Although several dance shows utilise the centre of the room, Paul’s Dugdale’s suggestion to do this for a music act felt fresh and was a strong starting point for the design,” she noted. “Having Niall and the band in the centre gave us a few options to really show off the building and take advantage of the fact the whole space was empty.”

One of her design ideas to make use of the space was to fill the empty boxes of the hall with lights. “It really ‘shined a light’ on the fact that there was nobody in the space,” she commented.

Aiding her in both the programming and running the show was Richard White of midnight:lights. “In total, we built 114 bespoke plinths for the audience boxes,” he stated. “On these sat a combination of Robe LED Beam 150s and Robe Spiiders.” The arrangement of these fixtures and boxes created a 360° backdrop of the central stage, with fixtures focussed into the room as well as back on themselves to flood the boxes.

The other key lighting elements included three Robe BMFL Robospots for keylight, which were placed in the venue’s gallery level. “We kept most of the control of these at the console with it being a 360° shoot,” stated White.

“We were then able to shift the keylight/backlight across the fixtures as the camera tracked.” Around the central stage, the lighting team deployed SGM Q2s to provide some glowing footlights, along with Litepanel Gemini Softlights for Niall’s microphone position. “From the beginning, I knew I didn’t want there to be any rigging or trussing in the shot,” explained Bull.

SETTING THE STAGE… A few weeks from the broadcast date, a small group visited the Royal Albert Hall to make a start on planning how the show would come together.

Lighting and Show Designer, Emma Bull and Director, Paul Dugdale led the creative vision. The livestream began with Horan performing a song on the 22

NIALL HORAN: LIVE AT THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL

“We didn’t want anything to distract from the key elements of the shot – Niall and venue – to produce a clean look.” This is also why the visual department moved away from the idea of a backdrop and instead showed off the immensity of the famed venue.

Aiding both Bull and White in their endeavours was Lighting Programmer, Dan Young. In the lead up to the show, both Young and White spent several days in the previs suite at midnight:lights using Syncronorm Depence² to plan the show. “I have worked with both Dan and Richard several times and they have a great understanding of my aesthetic,” praised Bull. “I like things to be quite static in terms of colour palette with refined looks.” During the show, White oversaw the key lighting with Young programming all the moves. This gave Bull the freedom to act as a gobetween between both the lighting and the stage to ensure the integrity of the design for the broadcast.

“The main challenge for this show was to provide consistent lighting over the different shooting styles,” mused White. “On one hand, we needed to have soft beauty lighting for close-up shots and steadycam work, but we also needed to make sure that the stage was physically as clear as possible for all the wide room shots and overhead wire-cam.” To add a level of accuracy, most of the live show was programmed to timecode because the visual team were situated outside of the room during the shoot.

developed by Emma Bull and Paul Dugdale,” Parsons began. “From my side, it was a case of getting all the video and visual elements and working out some of logistics of how we’d get the event to the finish line.”

Parsons has collaborated with Horan several times over the years. “The fact he came from the TV world means he has much more of a grasp than many of his peers of what goes into this style of performance and how to connect with fans through a camera,” he enthused.

Speaking a few weeks after the event took place, Parsons reflected on what he and the team achieved with the livestream. “We always knew we had an opportunity to do something different with this show,” he commented. “The end resulted was big and beautiful, but it was still ‘live’.

It had the feel of a real show and didn’t come across prescriptive or dull.”

Parsons went on to describe the collaboration between himself and Driift, having worked together several times during 2020 on shows for Kylie Minogue and Sleaford Mods. “Ric Salmon and the rest of the Driift team are the kind of broadcasters I really like collaborating with in that they just let you get on with your work,” stated Parsons plainly. “They were obviously interested in the initial conversations and in the creative, but once it was all in place, they left us to it.”

Driift CEO, Ric Salmon offered his two cents on the project. “The fact that Niall ended up selling 127,000 tickets for the event is such a huge achievement, made all the better as it was all for such an amazing cause,” he stated. Unsurprisingly, 2020 was a busy year for Driift as the company offered livestreaming solutions for several artists. “There are almost too many benefits with this format of show,” stated Salmons while discussing

LIGHTS, CAMERA, LIVESTREAM… Jim Parsons was brought in by Pulse Films to assume the role of Producer.

“By the time I got involved, the concept had already been fairly well 23

NIALL HORAN LIVE AT THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL

the progression of livestreaming solutions that have only expanded in the past few years. “As we move forward, I think you’ll find more people opting for this style of event over, say, music videos,” Parsons described what it was like working in the RAH. “It’s a beautiful venue, but we have all seen it thousands of times and there’s no denying that making it look different is quite a challenge. So, hats have to go off to the visual team for making this livestream look so unique.”

A Luna Remote System Junior 5 Telescopic remote compact dolly on a circular track along with a Dactylcam Pro point-to-point wire camera system captured the magic of the livestream. The spanned the periphery of central stage to present virtual audiences with a 360° view.

Camera Supervisor and joint Owner of Luna Remote Systems, Dean Clish discussed what it meant to be involved in such a prestigious show. “It was an honour to be involved in Niall’s show,” he commented. “It was for such a great cause and it’s always good to be in the Royal Albert Hall – you can’t go wrong with such a beautiful location.”

He continued to discuss why the camera selection was ideal for this type of performance. “The Junior 5 and the Dactylcam Pro are perfect for this kind of shoot because of the need to socially distance and, of course, with this sort of intimate production, they are both really unobtrusive and discreet systems,” he explained. “We’ve rigged the Dactylcam in the Royal Albert Hall before. It’s a brilliant system to use in there as you can really capture the essence of the hall from a height, in flight, in a way that you can’t with static systems.”

be the right fit,” he commented. However, with Horan’s solo music citing influences including Fleetwood Mac and Bruce Springsteen, the Engineer explained how it had been a fruitful partnership over the past three years.

“Niall is really quite involved with the audio production and often during rehearsals will listen to the mixes to get a feel of what is being produced.”

Having been put on a hiatus since the tour’s cancellation in March, Kettle described what it was like to pull the pieces back together for the tour. “It’s really quite a different process producing a mix for a livestream compared to a live show,” he mused. “I have always had massive respect for broadcast engineers as it is such a different craft. When you’re mixing live in a venue, if anything goes wrong, you can fix it for the next performance. However, with a broadcast, everything is under much more of a microscope and under a great deal of scrutiny. Not only that, but you only have one shot at a show.”

Kettle explained that once he and the team entered rehearsals, they soon found their rhythm. “The approach to mixing was not too dissimilar to what we had already been working on for the tour. Just like the visual department, we didn’t want the production to be too flashy, aiming to simply reflect the intimacy of the performance without too much embellishment,” he commented.

For this reason, both Kettle and Campbell virtually replicated their audio setups they had planned to use for the world tour, featuring two DiGiCo SD5 consoles for monitors and FOH, along with Shure Axient Handhelds with Sennheiser 2000 Series IEMs, d&b audiotechnik wedges and a V-Series for side fills.

The console setup was not significantly different from the touring configuration, with multiple inputs from various SD-Racks in different parts of the stage and performance areas going to the broadcast SD5, all connected by an Opticore loop and shared with Campbell’s SD5 in monitor world. “The SD5 is my favourite console in the world,” said Campbell. “I love it and, because DiGiCo products are well proven and rock solid reliable, we rarely have to include them directly in what we do.” Cambpell was initially concerned in the lead up to the show, having not touched a desk since

SOUNDING OUT...

The production brought back the audio double act of FOH Engineer, Matthew Kettle and Monitor Engineer, Joe Campbell to oversee the mix for the livestream and the band on stage. Having started working with Horan on his first solo album cycle, Kettle gave an overview of his time with the artist. “I didn’t really know what to expect before I’d heard the debut record and, as I was more known for working with rock music, I wasn’t sure I’d 24

NIALL HORAN: LIVE AT THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL

March. “Thankfully, Wigwam had kept the desks in pristine condition – so much so that our show files were even still loaded on the desk from the tour.

This saved a great deal of time in rehearsals and certainly made it easier to get back into the saddle.”

Campbell was keen to replicate the same stage setup for Niall and the band. “During the tour, although he uses IEMs, I still have a wedge and side fills just in case he wants to take out his ears to hear the crowd,” he explained. “Even though it was a livestream with no audience, I wanted the show to feel as familiar as possible for him and the band.”

Despite a relatively “meat and potatoes” band setup, Campbell had just under 100 inputs on his desk – the result of several reverb returns and an elaborate talkback system. “Each one of the band members have a talkback mic so throughout the performance they can talk to one another and me,” he noted.

Meanwhile, Kettle’s ‘FOH’ position was slightly further away, setting up in a corridor off from the main hall. “Wigwam prepared an acoustic treatment kit so I sat at the desk with several studio monitors to mix the show and then sent my audio feed to the Pulse team,” stated Kettle. “Before going into the RAH, I was concerned with how the room would react with no audience in there to dampen the sound, but from the first sound check it sounded fantastic.”

Discussing Wigwam’s involvement with the project, Tom Bush commented: “We were all extremely proud to be supplying Niall’s livestream, especially as it was addressing the We Need Crew and #WeMakeEvents funds and highlighting what goes into putting on a production with the unseen and behind-the-scenes rolls.”

Bush went on to explain the approach to this type of performance: “A slightly different thought process can be needed – the standard positions for mixing, for example. The package wasn’t too dissimilar to the one

we had ready for the world tour, so we had a good starting point. A few additions and tweaks were needed to adhere to the show setup, but Matt and Joe’s attention to detail made sure the process was smooth. The need for trucks full of PA hasn’t been required yet, but soon hopefully. We currently have a few livestreams pencilled in that we’re all looking forward to.” #WENEEDCREW...

Looking back at the slew of 2020 livestreamed performances, Niall Horan stands out among the crowd, not only for its aesthetic, but because of everything it represented – not to mention the sizeable pot of funds it raised for the live events industry.

As we enter a new year with the live events sector entrenched in the clutches of the COVID-19 pandemic, the hope is that more musicians will follow in Horan’s footsteps to shine the spotlight on hardworking crew members that are so often out of sight and mind to the average live music lover. In the meantime, more information regarding the We Need Crew initiative can be found on www.weneedcrew.co.uk TPi Photos: Conor McDonnell (conor@conormcdonnell.co.uk / @conormcdphoto) www.niallhoran.com www.emmabull.co.uk www.midnightlights.co.uk www.kettleproductions.com www.sseaudio.com/wigwam www.driift.live www.pulsefilms.com www.kbevent.com

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LIAM GALLAGHER: DOWN BY THE RIVER THAMES One of the most recognisable figures of British music dives headfirst into the world of livestreaming with a unique performance on a barge on London’s River Thames, 43 years after Sex Pistols’ famed silver jubilee boat trip. TPi’s Jacob Waite reports…

Creativity thrives under constraint and a 21st Century pandemic is no exception. While in-person audiences in the UK are currently on hiatus, the industry has turned its attention to crafting livestream performances for musos in lockdown. Although the consensus is that virtual experiences are not a long-term replacement for the energy and excitement of live shows, the possibilities to create interactive experiences are endless. With no audience to contend with, the goalposts of a live gig are constantly shifting – filming locations are now more diverse than ever before. Over the past six months, TPi has spoken to the teams involved in broadcast performances from caves, forts in the middle of the sea and tour bus workshops. The latest artist to toss his navy woollen hat into the ring is rock ’n’ roll star, Liam Gallagher – performing on a barge sailing down London’s River Thames.

Tour Manager, Ben Pomphrett served as Event Producer and Production Manager, Davey Murphy handled project management, supervising the budget, logistics, crew welfare and health and safety of a live performance on a barge. Their trusted choice of vendors comprised Neg Earth, Transition Video, Forest of Black, MelodyVR, Red TX, EPS Events, Skan PA, All Access Staging UK, Rock-it Cargo, Fly By Nite, John Henry’s, Pearce Hire, Port

Of London Authority, Livett’s Of London, Helicopter Film Services and Headline Security.

Lighting and production design was devised by Dan Hill and Chris ‘Squib’ Swain of Cassius Creative. The duo worked closely with the artist, management and the on-site production crew to devise the visual aspects of the show on board the barge.

“The idea of a performance on a moving barge came from Liam,” the duo began. “He was keen to keep this looking very raw and focus on exactly what it was – an almost impromptu, guerrilla-style performance that wasn’t about usual show technology or making this feel overtly design led with overbearing lighting or video effects.”

A far cry from Sex Pistols’ silver jubilee boat trip in 1977 and the beer-proof consoles of his last arena tour, Down By The River Thames was presented with Hollywood-style aerial shots. “A lot of the initial references and discussions came from old punk performances, Sex Pistols, The Clash, and The Beatles’ iconic Savile Row rooftop performance,” they explained.

“We wanted to retain the authenticity and rawness of those shows and their focus on the music, performance and natural look of the location.

It was a really refreshing change in direction from the technology led 26

PRODUCTION PROFILE

Liam Gallagher livestreaming his way through his back catalogue; the lighting control hub; Monitor Engineer, Bertie Hunter.

livestreams throughout the 2020 lockdown.” Keen to retain the authenticity of the performance, the collective emphasised certain features of the barge, with the film crew capturing the scale and natural aesthetic of a “very raw and open metal barge” surroundings.

Adding enough lighting to emphasise the feel and energy of performance without becoming a distraction, the rig was kept simple and open plan to maximise the band playing live, and secondly, the obscurity of sailing down the River Thames with one of the most recognisable figures in modern music. “Naturally, a gig on a boat, in Winter, comes with its challenges – the weather, the fact everything moves and the height restrictions for bridges had to be considered,” the designers noted.

The team attended a site visit of the route the boat would take. The design duo said: “It was definitely one of the more exciting recces we’ve done. After a couple weeks of delays through various lockdowns and COVID-19 restrictions, we delivered the performance after a setup day and a late-afternoon shoot the following day.”

With such a raw setup, and the performance being all about the outside landscape – previsualisation was deemed redundant. There was some basic console preparation, but most of the work was achieved during the limited timeframe onsite. “From videos and images of the initial site visit trip, to watching the light levels and sky change during the set-up day,” Hill and Squib said. “We were able to balance the requirements of stage lighting, against making the most of the natural light and emphasise the dynamic landscape accordingly, whether that was dominant or took more of a background to the stage performance.”

his way through his back catalogue. The Neg Earth prep sheet specified an array of Tungsten Coda Cyc floods around the stage edge, Tungsten Bulkhead fittings around the boat’s circumference, and Arri Lc-7 and Lc-5 Fresnels to light the band. “We chose the Arri’s to continue a classic, technology free feel in the aesthetic while sneakily giving us the ability of changing colour,” the designers remarked.

In keeping with the brief, Cassius Creative was given access to Neg Earth’s long-term storage area to dig through its archive of fixtures. “Like any of Neg Earth’s gear. It was all well maintained and, irrespective of how old it is, it often works the first time around,” Neg Earth’s Sam Ridgway said.

In addition to the Tungsten Bulkhead fittings, the floor package featured Astera AX3s, Solaris LED SoLED W840 Strobes, and Par 56 Short Nose Cans. Neg Earth fabricated custom wooden boxes to fit the Tungsten Bulkhead fittings to the barge deck.

“This project was a great opportunity to offer some work to the freelancers who have supported us over the years and have not been able to qualify for government support initiatives or the furlough scheme,” Ridgway underlined. “Any opportunity for us to give back to them is incredibly important to us.”

The lighting team comprised Lighting Crew Chief, Antti Saari, Mark Bradshaw and Andrew ‘Jurgen’ Munford, Lighting Operator, Jon Barker and long-time Liam Gallagher Lighting Tech, Martin Golding. “Live music is a vital pastime, we’ve been hard pressed to find anything to smile about this past year so if we continue to present high-quality broadcast events at an affordable price, not only does it provide live music fans with some muchneeded respite, but it keeps the industry ticking over,” Ridgway stated.

‘LIVE MUSIC IS A VITAL PASTIME’ Lighting was purposefully kept very simple. Hill and Squib hand selected the appropriate lighting fixtures and presented them in a way which framed the band simply, yet purposefully, provided a balanced live show, which showcased the nautical backdrop and excitement of LG livestreaming

‘I’VE NEVER BEEN INVOLVED IN A PROJECT ON A BARGE BEFORE’ As well as providing fixtures, Neg Earth supplied a bespoke control package and data network system, tapping into Pearce Hire’s on-site generators, with racks situated in a container. Pearce Hire’s Jake Vernum and Jake 27

LIAM GALLAGHER: DOWN BY THE RIVER THAMES

Langham supplied a distribution package which centred around a pair of synchronised 300kVA generators. “I’ve never been involved in a project on a barge before,” Vernum laughed. “Our greatest challenge was figuring out how to get the kit onboard. In the end, we reversed a truck onto the quayside as far as the harbour master would permit and craned them on.”

After a fairly fallow year of live projects, Vernum was pleased to be back onsite. “Thankfully, we at Pearce Hire, have had quite a few power contracts in 2020, but nothing involving upwards of 100kVA generators, so it was nice to be back in an outdoor space, wrangling powerful generators and wiring them up, away from building hospitals or installing external infrastructure for Amazon warehouses, which is what we’ve spent most of 2020 doing.”

Having watched the livestream back, Vernum was pleased with the outcome. “The helicopter shots were incredible,” he summarised. “We are very grateful to be involved during this difficult time for the industry.”

and arranged the use of one of their Airbus AS355 twin-engine helicopters with a gyro-stabilised camera mount. They also supplied an Arri Alexa Mini camera, which kept the consistency of our cinematic look,” Shaw said.

Loading onto the barge the day before the shoot, the video team set up an OB unit and tested the cameras. “Driving the OB unit onto a barge was a challenge,” Shaw conceded. “However, once the OB was in situ, you could hardly tell you were on a boat.” In fact, the 50m by 15m barge is designed to hold 500-tonne cranes, so movement on the barge was minimal. The cameras connected on Wireless RF links to the OB unit where Video Director, Phil Woodhead and Video Director / Producer, Oscar Sansom of Forest of Black were positioned in the gallery.

“The direction and shots from Oscar Sansom and Phil Woodhead were stunning, and Brett Turnbull’s eye as DOP meant that by working with and emphasising what they were all envisaging, we were able to really create some stunning shots of the performance – without any individual visual element needing to dominantly take over,” Cassius Creative commented.

Having toured with Gallagher for three years, Woodhead was familiar with the artist’s back catalogue and on-stage movement, so was entrusted with the line cut during the show, while Sansom looked after the aerial, boat shots and edit with MelodyVR handled the livestream elements.

“We wanted to make it as special as possible because it was a real oneoff show,” Woodhead noted. Outside of the broadcast unit and gallery, five Arris Amira cameras, four Arri Alexa cameras, additional cinematic cameras and Luna Remote Systems’ Junior 5 Telescopic remote track and dolly system. The dolly is fully encoded and can be used for AR and VR use with

‘THE BEST THING THAT HAPPENED TO ME IN 2020’ Transition Video worked alongside Glasgow-based production company, Forest of Black to film the project. “Forest of Black was keen on a cinematic approach, so we specified Arri Amira and Arris Alexa cameras using a variation of cinematic lenses to achieve the look,” PM Rhodri Shaw clarified.

On board the barge were six cameras – a steady cam, a remotely operated track and dolly system, as well as a FOH camera and three handheld cameras. Following the barge was another handheld camera on a support boat, along with a motorbike with a camera operator picking up the shots required from land. “We contacted Helicopter Film Services 28

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LIAM GALLAGHER: DOWN BY THE RIVER THAMES

a track, which ensured all angles were covered. “We aren’t using typical touring cameras; these much higher spec cameras and lenses,” Woodhead enthused. “The glass in the lenses is top-notch, Hollywood-grade glass.”

Unable to replicate the latest incarnation of Gallagher’s stage show with no IMAG or graphics, the only elements the team could replicate from the tour was an attention to detail on capturing conventional rock ’n’ roll shots such as instruments, the band members and Liam’s signature stage presence, which included pointing at the steady camera operator and telling him, in no uncertain terms, to get out of the way.

“This was hands-down the best thing that happened to me in 2020,” Woodhead said with sincerity. “Everything about it. The premise of floating down the River Thames with Liam Gallagher was exciting. The way all the departments communicated and were pleased to see each other after such a long time off the road.”

The veteran VD was pleased to get a semblance of normality. “I know there are tens of thousands who haven’t been afforded that chance of working on a live show in 2020 and I am incredibly grateful.”

An additional support boat followed the barge with an RF link setup sending a live video feed showing the live cut. “This job took some serious planning by Ben Pomphrett and his team,” Shaw acknowledged, adding that the main challenges were organising the relevant permissions with the barge owner and the Port of London whilst ensuring a COVID-19 safe production. “Working on a boat was a little different to the norm,” he continued. “All crew had to wear life jackets along with face masks, but as soon as we were loaded in and tested, it started to feel like a normal shoot.”

Health and Safety Manager, Jake Piper was on site to ensure appropriate

PPE and necessary social distancing was adhered to, while all flight cases and equipment were sanitised by a specialist team before boarding the barge. “This shoot was months in the planning; we had intended to shoot a month before, but it got postponed,” Shaw recalled. “The actual shoot day then happened to be on the second day of lockdown. It was strange seeing the river so quiet and the streets of central London so derelict.”

While the level of production on the shoot was minimal, the focus was on the band performing live and passing famous landmarks. “Cassius Creative did a great job of lighting the band and barge. This was a streaming event without an audience, so it was all about the cameras. Forest of Black did a phenomenal job with the edit and we are proud to have been involved in this project, it is certainly one of my career highlights.”

Video world was manned by Project Manager, Rhodri Shaw; Video Engineers, Ben Mason and Carl Stage; Remote Dolly Operator, Dave Nixon and Remote Dolly Assistant, Lukas Rusek. “It was fantastic to be back working on a live show. After months of planning, the job ran seamlessly, and the product couldn’t have looked any better. This project will certainly stay with me forever and I’m proud to have been involved,” Shaw concluded. “This project was very different to the usual Liam show. We normally supply vast amounts of LED screens, media servers and a camera package for his touring arena shows, however, this show was all about getting the appropriate camera package and positions.”

‘CATHARTIC TO PREP A SYSTEM, LOAD A TRUCK AND GET BACK TO WORK’ Skan PA supplied an audio solution for Monitor Engineer, Bertie Hunter based on a single DiGiCo SD7 Quantum monitor desk featuring an SD-rack 30

LIAM GALLAGHER: DOWN BY THE RIVER THAMES

and an SD-mini-rack with 32-bit cards. As the monitor desk was housed half the world away from the traditional side-of-stage, Skan PA supplied extensions for all sub-multis.

While the location posed no logistical problems, using RF open air and moving was particularly challenging in the middle of a large city with plenty of the PMSE spectrum already in use. “With our colleagues at Ofcom PMSE, we devised a solution and Skan PA’s on-site RF expert, Liam Tucker, made it all work,” Skan PA Director, Chris Fitch commented.

On site, Tucker oversaw 16 mixes, Shure PSM1000 IEM systems, six d&b M2 wedges and a Reaper multi-track system for virtual soundcheck and archive material. Although Skan PA are not specialist recording engineers, the technology is such that the team routinely supply multitrack record and playback for tours, which have been used on major concert film releases in the past. As one of the UK’s largest audio equipment rental outfits, surprisingly, Down By The River Thames was one of Skan PA’s first major contracts in eight months. “Without doubt, it was cathartic to prepare a system, load a truck, and get back to work,” he enthused. “It was great to be involved in successfully delivering this show for Liam and to do some of what we are good at!”

Guessing ‘what’s next’ for Skan PA requires understanding the reorganisation required to reach the other side of this latest lockdown, while retaining operational capacity. “I’d like to say something optimistic about the future, but it feels bleak now,” Fitch admitted. “We have already closed one warehouse, disposed of 15% of our inventory and have 40% less staff but, with zero income, the future is a constant and unknowable anxiety.”

Although it remains slim pickings for the live events supply chain in comparison to prior years, Down By The River Thames marked a welcomed crescendo to a torrid 2020 for some of the crew members.

“This was my first and only gig of 2020,” Woodhead told TPi. “I have since opened my own craft beer and cider delivery service in my local in town of Shoreham to weather the economic storm of COVID-19, but nothing beats the thrill of live events – it was fantastic to get back in the director’s chair and do what I, and all the team involved, love to do.”

TPi Photos: Forest of Black, Liam Tucker & Jon Barker (@professorbubbles) www.liamgallagher.com www.cassiuscreative.co.uk www.negearth.com www.transitionvideo.com www.forestofblack.co.uk www.melodyvr.com www.pearcehire.co.uk www.skanpa.co.uk www.red-tx.com www.epsevents.co.uk www.allaccessuk.com www.rockitcargo.com www.flybynite.co.uk www.johnhenrys.com www.headlinesecurity.com 31

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PRODUCTION FUTURES

FUTURE YARD

FUTURE YARD: SOUND CHECK

TPi’s Jacob Waite meets the brains behind a brand-new volunteering scheme from Future Yard, designed to teach 16 to 24-year-olds the theoretical and technical skills required to pursue careers in the live music industry.

In a bid to return to some semblance of normality following an incredibly difficult 2020, armed with a facemask, dictaphone and hand sanitiser, TPi made the short trip to Future Yard’s work-in-progress music venue and artist hub on Argyle Street in Birkenhead. Meeting at a suitable social distance, TPi chatted to the organisers, tutors and guest speakers behind Sound Check – a brand-new volunteering scheme designed to introduce 16 to 24-year-olds in Merseyside to the skills required to pursue a career in the live music industry.

Following the success of 2019’s inaugural two-day music festival – which saw a series of local landmarks play host to a plethora of grassroots and emerging artists – Future Yard outlined its ambition to shape a new music future for Birkenhead in style. “Future Yard as a concept has been kicking around for a good number of years,” began Co-Founder, Christopher Torpey. “Not only is the brand of Future Yard encapsulated in this building, but it is in everything that we do going forward.”

In the months since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Torpey and the Future Yard collective – Craig Pennington (Co-Founder), Cath Hurley (Mentor), and Matthew Hogarth (Booker) – have devoted their time to transforming an old Birkenhead watering hole into a thriving music venue and artist hub, playing host to a series of ‘Near Normal’ socially-distanced gigs and livestreams, artist-focused ‘Direct Input’ live webinars and now, Sound Check.

“We’ve all had patchwork careers and we are products of our prior experiences and ideas,” Hurley said, joining the conversation. “The fact

that we’re able to provide people in the community a pathway into a competitive and sometimes closed-off industry is a privilege, because that’s not how a lot of people, including ourselves, have found their feet in the industry.”

From sound engineers to festival bookers, lighting designers to concert promoters, the Sound Check programme introduces young people in Merseyside to a range of job roles and skills required to make a head start in the live music industry. “We want to spot the young people tenacious enough to put on their own show and put the framework in place to facilitate their vision and drive,” Hurley said.

The volunteering scheme is accredited through Arts Award. In completing Sound Check, graduates achieve a Bronze level qualification accredited by Trinity College London and Arts Council England.

As well as arming students with theoretical and practical skills, Hurley believes that Future Yard provides a safe space for young people to experiment, where getting things wrong is par for the course.

“Right now, there’s so much focus on ethics and fairness among artists and professionals. There has been a real change when it comes to inclusivity; by doing this programme alongside all the other activities with Future Yard, we’re embracing the new future of the industry and preparing ourselves for the ‘new normal’.”

The free-to-access programme concentrates on two areas; Technical Production and Live Music Event Management – both of which are delivered

by Future Yard’s experienced team of tutors and industry insiders. The 35

FUTURE YARD

course boasts a broad range of guest speakers from across the industry.

With financial support from Youth Music, Wirral Council, Forum Housing, Magenta Living and technical support from Adlib.

“Adlib is tightly knitted into the programme, so the students learn from the best,” Hurley remarked. “Due to the scale and variety of events they’re involved in, it’s an inspiration for the students to learn from those who operate at the very best level in the region.”

Future Yard Co-Founder Craig Pennington enlisted the support of the Adlib team to advise the layout and specifications of the venue. “When Craig approached me about this project, his passion and desire to provide something music related for the community of Birkenhead and the Wirral was beyond admirable and exciting,” commented Adlib Managing Director, Andy Dockerty. “We have been delighted to see this project grow from Craig’s idea to develop into probably one of the best 250 to 300-capacity venues in the country.”

Dockerty believes that Pennington’s desire to utilise industry professionals with many years of touring experience to head the educational courses run by the venue provides the students an excellent grounding for the future. “This is an amazing community project and one that Adlib is proud to be a part of; we truly wish Craig and his team the best of luck and much success as we progress out of these awkward times.”

During TPi’s visit, Adlib’s Kenny Perrin and freelance lighting specialist Stuart Gray joined Sound Check technical mentor, Jez Wing as guest speakers to oversee the technical side of the programme.

Having been on the touring circuit as a keyboard player for Echo and the Bunnymen, the Liverpool-based musician turned Future Yard mentor was pleased to see creativity encouraged and developed on his doorstep. “It’s great to see a venue start a volunteering scheme for young people looking to break into the industry – Sound Check is a great mix of education and industry taught in a really unique and dynamic real-world setting, which allows students to shadow on gigs and livestreams,” Wing informed TPi. He credits the Sound Check course for highlighting interlocking roles in the industry, which all depend on each other. “The microclimate of the music world is a support system, but you also must be multidisciplined and skilled. It’s important now, when the industry is more precarious than ever, that the adaptability of people’s skills needs to be broad – as does everyone’s in performing arts, because it’s a tricky world to navigate.”

While Sound Check arms students with a wide skill set, according to Wing, it’s up to the graduates to decide how to harness their newfound knowledge in the future. “I believe that vocational training is the answer for young people. Presenting a schedule which is more apprenticeship based, skills based and practical for young people is a preferable way of learning,” 36

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FUTURE YARD

Sound Check Technical Mentor, Jez Wing; Future Yard’s first cohort of students; Adlib’s Kenny Perrin and freelance lighting specialist, Stuart Gray.

he furthered. “Academic learning isn’t for everybody and something like to run the show. After all, the more skills you have got, the fuller your diary this, which is unique to the area, should be happening across the board.” will be.”

A familiar face to TPi for his touring exploits, Perrin was equally pleased Gray referred to a recent practical session which involved a handsto lend a helping hand to a local initiative. “It’s great to put this region of on opportunity for the students to build a truss, perfect their moving the UK on the touring map and make it a hub for a musical community truss calls, and adhere to the health and safety elements involved with which has been ignored for quite some time,” he said, gesturing to his operating on a stage – including intermediate terminology such as stage surroundings. “This takes us back to our roots left and stage right. “It all starts at this kind of as house guys in venues. If I was to walk into this level – can you count to four? Have you got a sense venue as a touring engineer, I’d be very happy!” of rhythm? Do you understand song structure?

Shadowing people, setting mic stands and This is the starting point for anyone in lighting,” cables was how both guest speakers, Perrin he commented, adding that “there’s only so much “I believe that vocational and Gray, made their start in the industry. “The you can do” in pre-visualisation software. training is the answer for best advice we were given was to keep plugging “It’s difficult for students coming out of degree away, learn as much as you can and ask lots of courses, where they get a lot of hands-on technical young people. Presenting questions. It sounds silly, but there is no such thing experience and programming on a console, but a schedule which is more as a stupid question,” Gray supposed. “The more they don’t have any real-world gigging experience. you learn, the more useful you are to people. This They graduate not understanding the staging apprenticeship based, skills is the perfect opportunity to work around a stage or putting a truss together, because based and practical for young aspects and get an idea of what it is like on site.” they’ve never had to do it in a limited time frame The veteran LD believes that building when it needs to be up and running within a few people is a preferable way of relationships with people on site is integral. hours,” Gray sympathised. “The more handslearning.”

“Asking questions of the band, what they want to on experience people can get, the better for Sound Check Mentor, Jez Wing. see from the show, gives you a better idea of how everyone.” Perrin echoed the sentiment: “Don’t 38

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FUTURE YARD

limit yourself. With Adlib, I’ve had the opportunity to work across all roles such as stage tech, system tech, engineer and I’ve managed to forge a 22year career out of it. It’s the best job in the world if you want to do it, but the worst job if you’d rather be at home.”

He recalled the “heart-warming” experience of witnessing the next generation of engineers and production crew coming through. “With the lockdown of live events, I’ve seen a lot of my friends move out of the industry, and there’s a worry that there is going to be a skills gap, so to see younger people come through and develop and hone their craft is brilliant.”

Equally as enthusiastic, Gray concluded: “I love walking away from here because I leave with a big smile on my face. To see their confidence grow in a matter of weeks is really encouraging.”

THE FUTURE IS BIRKENHEAD Following several weeks of training, the students are invited to devise and host their own event at the end of the course. “We’re not an educational institution, nor will we ever be, however, what we can do as well as teach the theoretical and practical skills of live events is give people a chance and facilitate their vision,” Torpey outlined in an earlier conversation.

Striving to break down pre-existing barriers and eschewing industry gatekeeping, the application process was open to all backgrounds, capabilities

and levels of experience. “We were overwhelmed by the response and were met with a mixture of those experienced and inexperienced,” Torpey recalled. “Above all, they all share a passion for live events.”

Donning crew T-shirts emblazoned with enormous pink letters which read ‘CREW: THE FUTURE IS BIRKENHEAD’, the first cohort of Future Yard students included Ryan Boyd, James Muat-Dodd, Felipe Chapman-Fromm, Katie Ehlen, Benjy Greenhalgh, Vuyokazi Mtukela and Ellie Collier.

Boyd said: “The biggest thing I’ve learned so far is to be open-minded to any job role and any genre of music to get my first steps into the industry and progress. If you can learn to set up venues, arrange an audience safely, you can apply those skills in your toolkit on future jobs.”

Muat-Dodd commented: “My biggest takeaways have been on the marketing and branding side “We’re not an educational of the course – how you communicate with other institution, nor will we ever be, professionals in the industry and draw an audience with a cohesive brand. I’ve learned that the more however, what we can do as you get yourself out there and network, the better.” well as teach the theoretical Chapman-Fromm said: “I worked on the Future Yard festival last year as a sound engineer. and practical skills of live However, it’s great to develop an insight into events is give people a chance lighting and the branding/marketing side of the industry, looking from a different viewpoint and and facilitate their vision.” discovering how professionals do it.”

Future Yard Co-Founder, Ehlen added: “It’s great to get some hands-on experience on the sound and lighting desks. This Christopher Torpey.

40

FUTURE YARD

course has been taught well and I have gained experience on the technical side in a relaxed, real-world environment. I would recommend the Sound Check programme because it’s a well-rounded course, with technical, marketing and branding as well as the hands-on skills required to break into the sector.” After completing the course, students are given the opportunity to join Future Yard’s ongoing volunteering scheme to further develop their skills and experience.

Following the latest lockdown restrictions, Sound Check will continue with weekly online sessions until April, then participants will be invited back in to the building for Tuesday and Thursday sessions as they work towards a live event on 30 May. “We thought that it was important for the course to

continue in some form while we can’t gather in the building because it’s become really important to us,” Torpey concluded.

Full listings for Future Yard’s 2021 live programme and Sound Check training programme can be found on the Future Yard website. The next round of Sound Check will be taking applications in the Spring. Artistfocused Direct Input live webinars take place monthly and are free to attend.

TPi Photos: TPi & Robin Clewley (www.robinclewley.co.uk) www.futureyard.org www.adlib.co.uk

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15.01.2020 09:25:08

CHANGING HATS

CHANGING HATS: VIDEO This month, TPi examines touring video specialists embracing the new virtual music world…

VIDEO DIRECTOR, JOHNNY HAYES Accomplished Video Director for the likes of Drake, Kendrick Lamar and Maroon 5, Johnny Hayes is among the growing number of video specialists trading the physical stage for a virtual one, overseeing a series of shows livestreamed in online video game, Fortnite. Standing firmly at the forefront of the gamification of live music, Fortnite shattered records in 2020 when over 12 million players watched Travis Scott’s Astronomical concert.

Hayes and Show Designer, Guy Pavelo of Far Right Production welcomed the arrival of a further trio of artist sets on Fortnite including, Dominic Fike, Anderson .Paak and Slushii. The performances were part of the games’ Party Royale Spotlight Series, with the goal of bringing live music to the Fortnite community.

“I’ve certainly never done a show within a video game,” began Hayes, discussing his experience on the project. “This type of show didn’t exist until 2020.”

The Director described how he has altered his directing mindset from what he’d usually produce for an IMAG cut to one that would be watched on a computer and phone screen. “I always consider the display and the attitude of the end user when I’m directing,” stated Hayes. “When I’m cutting for IMAG, I’m thinking of the people in the room at a show. However, the mindset for cutting in a game is very different. Everything happens very quickly in a video game and the average ‘lifespan’ of attention is around 30 seconds, which is something you have to bear in mind when cutting for in-game shows.”

Despite his change in tack, Hayes was pleased to report that the principles and workflow of the shows were like that of a standard live performance. “From the beginning, the team at Fortnite were very concerned that the performances should be live. So at the top of every show, we had a countdown then we were live to the world.” He went on to complement the game creators, which is owned by Epic Games, for leaning in this directions to keep the shows live.

All three performances were filmed at PRG’s LA studio with the supplier also taking on the role of video supplier for the project. For all the shows Hayes made use of the Sony PMW-F55 along with Panasonic robocams for many of his POV shots. “Due to COVID-19 restrictions we were only allowed a few people on site, so I made use of a number of robocams,” stated Hayes. Specifically during Anderson .Paak’s Fortnite show, where eight musicians were on stage, with a limited number of onsite crew. “We used a Furio robotic camera system alongside a jib to get some dynamic shots

Video Director, Johnny Hayes with Video Engineer, Lewis McMillan.

without ,the need for a camera operator.”

Hayes’ camera arsenal also boasted a series of Blackmagic Design products. “I really like their products and the options they give you for POV shots, which can be clipped onto instruments and microphone stand.”

Hayes, in particular, specified Pocket 6Ks as a FOH shot along with the Micro Studio PRO cameras and URSA Mini Pro. “The 12G HDR Monitor is one of my favourite products from Blackmagic Design, I used it to focus and sort out my exposure on all three shows,” Hayes commented. “The fact you are able to record straight from it is hugely beneficial.”

With this type of performance still being a relatively new medium, Hayes offered his two cents on the future of in-game live events. “The exposure for the artists is fantastic, it’s such a big space and you can reach a huge audience – especially in times of lockdown,” he explained. “We had over 400,000 people watching live in the game, which doesn’t take into account the viewers watching the show on other platforms such as Twitch.”

TPi Photos: Seth Cuddeback www.johnnyhayes.net 42

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CHANGING HATS

CONTENT CREATORS, BOXCAT DESIGN OLLIE VANGENT AND ALEX WILSON Offering several services including content creation, show direction and laser programming, the Boxcat Design team has accrued several top-level touring clients including, Swedish House Mafia, Creamfields and Jonas Blue over the past few years. The latter of which provided the team the opportunity to collaborate on virtual show in 2020, the likes of which they had never attempted before.

“The concept of ‘virtual shows’ has always been at the back of our minds, even pre COVID-19,” began the company’s Business Manager, Oliver Van Gent. “We had already been throwing around the idea of doing a virtual event. With the arrival of COVID-19 and live events drying up, we began carving an opportunity to develop our unique interpretation of a ‘virtual show’ and have since been involved in a number of projects from green screens gigs, site location shoots to XR.” It was during the time of experimentation when Jonas Blue’s management contacted the Boxcat team hoping to put on their own virtual event. Taking place in the latter parts of 2020, the DJ’s Electronic World event promised a unique set in which the artist would perform inside of a “mind bending” visual landscape.

“From the beginning of the project, we were quite adamant that we would step away from the traditional conventions and mindset of a production and instead create an entire virtual world for the DJ to perform in,” stated Van Gent.

Responsible for creating this world was Boxcat Designer, Alex Wilson.

“Generally, when I work on a show, I’m creating content for an LED screen on stage, but this project was a complete change in tack as I was tasked with designing the whole scene along with the lighting and video.” stated

Wilson. “Working alongside Sam Tozer as creative director, It was great to push the boundaries on what people consider as a show and create these immersive worlds.”

Essential to Wilson’s workflow was real-time graphics tool, Notch, which he harnessed to construct an entire virtual world for Jonas Blue to perform in. “Notch has the power to do whatever you want, creatively, and we didn’t even need a lighting desk as the entire show is programmed via video files and was pixel mapped,” stated Wilson.

In fact, the entire show was split into six different Notch Blocks which played throughout the entire set. “It’s been great to have software developers, like Notch, pushing more than ever working to provide more tools for the market – especially the virtual events sphere,” stated Wilson.

Speaking more generally, both Van Gent and Wilson shared their thoughts on how this type of show might manifest in the future of music.

“XR might not be tourable in the near future but I certainly believe that it will be the ‘go-to’ solution for upcoming music videos,” stated Wilson.

“People are beginning to understand the technology and what can be achieved,” continued Van Gent. “If you were to suggest the likelihood of an XR performance before 2020, most people would have laughed. Now, there have been a few examples which have opened our eyes and put even greater faith in creative teams, such as ours, to produce some great looking shows.”

TPi Photos: Boxcat Design www.boxcatdesign.co.uk www.jonasblue.com/ 44

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04/08/2020 08:46:37

IN PROFILE

DISGUISE: A 2020 REVIEW disguise CTO, Ed Plowman discusses the company’s latest releases – vx 1 and vx 2 media servers – and how the rise in virtual events is likely to alter the events landscape. TPi’s Stew Hume reports...

During the trying adjustment period of 2020, whether you were involved in corporate events, sports or live music, one piece of common ground which organisers the world over shared was the move towards virtual events as a temporary replacement for their physical counterparts. From rudimentary livestream sets on social media to the involvement of more complex virtual studios with content creators, the exploration of virtual events, along with AR (augmented reality) and XR (extended reality) have added an extra dimension to the ‘virtual conversation’.

Having already worked on this technology for several years, disguise has been at the heart of many of the most notable virtual projects of 2020. Just before closing out the year, the company announced two new offerings – the vx 1 and vx 2 media servers – to help yet more individuals enter the dynamic world of virtual events. Taking some time out of his busy

schedule, disguise CTO, Ed Plowman discussed some of the lessons learned from last year, and how he predicts this new form of event delivery will affect the overall entertainment landscape. “Like everyone else, in March, all our shows in the live environment were cancelled,” Plowman reflected.

“Now, there are two things you can do in that situation – either mothball everything or pivot your focus.”

No prizes for guessing which option disguise took, especially as the firm had already been developing several offerings for some time that were about to be in very high demand. “Prior to March, we had already seen some acceleration on the xR side of the business. But post-March, the phone was ringing off the hook with a number of virtual productions getting in touch.”

Through this time, disguise has reported over 100 xR stages have been built in over 30 countries, with many more planned as the industry starts 46

DISGUISE

Opposite: disguise CTO, Ed Plowan.

to adopt and recognise the importance of immersive, remote, real-time respectively, opening the door to midsize xR stages at a fraction of the productions. Plowman pointed to some of the company’s highlight case original cost, with the option to scale up as and when needed. Working in studies from last year, which have helped spearhead xR across a variety of tandem with rx and RenderStream, the vx 1 and 2 lowers the barrier of entry applications, including the 2020 MTV Video Music Awards, along with Billie to xR, enabling uncompressed video playback and the ability to scale out Eilish’s ambitious performance. real-time generative content from leading third-party render engines like Although many of the pieces of both software and hardware that make Unreal Engine and Notch. these events possible were very much in disguise’s roadmap moving This wish to open the world of virtual events to new users is very much forward, the global situation obviously altered the in line with some of the other announcements pace at which the demand needed to be met. that have come from disguise this year – including “In 2020, we announced three massive launches,” its commitment to providing free access to stated Plowman, citing the RenderStream its Designer software licence until June 2021, software, the launch of the major xR toolkit, and alongside recently launching an e-learning hub the two new media servers – the vx 1 and 2. The with online certified training courses free to access CTO admitted that this was somewhat of a gamble for anyone interested in learning or upskilling in all due to the global situation, but it is a risk that “has seven disguise workflows. already started to pay off.”

“What we have seen so far is only the He elaborated: “Although there is some beginning,” concluded Plowman, while giving promising news out there with the development of his final thoughts on virtual events. “For the past a vaccine, in the immediate future, ‘live’ in the form year, this has been a technology out of necessity, we know it is not going to be possible during the but what it has turned into is incredible; there first part of 2021. With the innovation in the virtual are numerous time and cost benefits, with fewer “Like everyone else, in March, world, there is now another option for these types people needed on set and more able to work of performances.” remotely. We’re getting to a model where it doesn’t all our shows in the live Talking about the latest of these releases, even matter where the talent is based – a show can environment were cancelled.

Plowman discussed the original goal with the vx still be put on.”

1 and 2. “The vx 4 has been our flagship server He closed by expressing his excitement for Now, there are two things for some time, with the 4x4pro being the main several projects in 2021 and assured TPi that as you can do in that situation – workhorse people have used. However, there was far as virtual events and the shows that disguise is a real need to bridge the gap between the vx 4 and powering, “the best is still yet to come.” either mothball everything, or the smaller solo,” he stated.

TPi pivot your focus.”

With vx 1 and vx 2, disguise’s customers can Photos: disguise Ed Plowman, disguise CTO purchase a machine with one or two 4K outputs www.disguise.one 47

INTERVIEW

PROZAAR Founder of a brand-new online portal designed for the event and broadcast sectors, Girts Pütelis, discusses the origins of Prozaar – a bespoke platform which helps event organisers search for specialised tools of the trade…

PROZAAR

Opposite: Prozaar Founder, Girts Pütelis.

Following an extensive development phase, B2B marketplace Prozaar was launched in late 2020 with the aim of serving production companies, suppliers, and freelancers across the globe. The online portal enables easy access to equipment and crew, connects companies and provides a new digitised, cross rental model.

Prozaar Founder, Girts Pütelis developed the concept while working as an Account Manager at LiteCom Group. He informed TPi that the platform was several years in the making and it was not until the first global lockdown in March 2020 that Pütelis was afforded the luxury of time to turn his idea of the Prozaar platform into a reality. “I first had the idea in 2016 while I was working on the Eurovision Song Contest,” he recalled. “That year, we thought we would try something new so, instead of relying on our own stock to run the show, we utilised our vast network to source equipment.”

The end result is a business model, which simultaneously alleviates the pressure on company stock while bringing more opportunities to other companies in the sector.

After several months of development, Prozaar is now up and running.

The online platform has been designed to have an easy-to-understand interface, which provides a clear overview of offered articles and prices.

Initial predictions suggest that users can save up to 30% on production costs. While this is a good start, Prozaar suggests that a 70% workload reduction will be possible for users purchasing equipment and services.

“Whether you’re managing a major production or a small event, Prozaar will guide you through the technical jungle and connect you with the right suppliers and professionals,” asserted Pütelis. ‘There have been multiple attempts to create inventory dependent applications, but they create additional workload and complexity,” he stated. “Prozaar aims for the opposite by simplifying our complex trading processes.”

Despite offering an alternative solution for obtaining equipment, Pütelis insisted that the goal was not to displace any existing solutions such as established dry hire companies. “There are many markets and customers that have not yet discovered dry-hire services whereas other companies see dry-hire warehouses as the only source of the equipment,” he noted.

“Prozaar is not looking to displace any player in the market, but to provide multiple options to customers.”

The founder went on to suggest that Prozaar will be of optimal use during the traditional busy season of various sectors. “There are certain times of the year when everything is in demand – including the stock from the dry hire companies.”

Prozaar strives to spotlight a larger directory of companies who might be able to supply that key piece of kit. “We are not trying to solve all the issues, but rather provide a network for users to interact with other companies and in some case introduce individuals to the concept of cross rental,” he reported.

While concerns have been raised that the platform could end up resulting in price dumping, with companies undercutting one another, Pütelis was keen to point out that the Prozaar seeks to produce industry averages, “thereby giving customers the relevant information to gauge deals before they are signed”. Not only that, but Prozaar’s vast library of

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products, which is continually updated, will provide increased options and solutions for customers as opposed to favouring the so called ‘big brands’ on the market.

“We want users to open up for alternative equipment,” he stated. “If we would allow users to import their own inventory, they would most likely choose the item they are used to or that is well-known.”

Unlike pre-existing marketplaces, Prozaar is designed specifically with the idiosyncrasies of the live event and broadcast production industries in mind and promises to service the full purchasing and selling cycles – from request to offer and, eventually, to order – allowing businesses to manage the full process without ever having to leave the platform.

“Prozaar was initially designed as a cross-trading platform for equipment suppliers,” explained Pütelis. “Due to the difficulties posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve widened the usability for basically any member in the supply chain of the professional AV industry. With the current functionalities offered, we can’t see any restrictions to any industry sectors and we genuinely hope this will help businesses widen their business network and survive current crises.”

Although the platform’s early adopters have been effusive in their praise – citing its intuitive interface and usability as being key strengths – Pütelis admitted that the real test would come when regular business activity resumed.

Prozaar is currently offering a free membership during the COVID-19 pandemic. More information is available on the company’s website below.

TPi Photos: Prozaar www.prozaar.com

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49

INTERVIEW

Panasonic’s Manager of Product Marketing and Business Development, Guilhem Krier.

PANASONIC L.I.V.E SERIES With virtual events on the rise, Panasonic’s Live Integrated Video Experience (L.I.V.E) Series aims to provide advice to those looking to venture into the virtual studio. Panasonic’s Manager of Product Marketing and Business Development, Guilhem Krier, chats to TPi’s Stew Hume about the project.

Set out at as a five-episode run of tutorials, Panasonic’s L.I.V.E (Live Integrated Video Experience) Series was launched in the last quarter of 2020 with the goal of providing customers with an insight into the everexpanding virtual studio sector. Collaborating with a number of studios, including Creative Technology’s London facility and CustomProject’s Barcelona location, the Panasonic team hopes to provide viewers a glimpse into the future of virtual events and the technology behind such developments as AR, XR, robotic cameras and much more.

Speaking to TPi, Panasonic’s Guilhem Krier, Manager of Product Marketing and Business Development, described the origins of the project.

“Due to the current global situation, we were unable to get in touch with our customers through face-to-face interaction, events and exhibitions, meaning that we needed to find a new way to keep our customers informed about our new products, technology, and our direction,” he began.

Although webinars on consumer platforms such as Zoom were

considered initially, Krier and the rest of the Panasonic team felt this would not satisfy the needs of its customers. “We did not feel that simply hosting a webinar was good enough to convey our message properly,” he stated simply. “We have also found that our customers are, to some extent, expecting greater levels of production value when watching online content.”

This led to the team deciding to create a full video production and, with such a vast array of content to cover, they opted to create a five-part series, with each video focusing on a different subject. These include: an introduction to xR Studios; trends to watch out for in the broadcast sector; robotic camera systems; new workflows for video production; and an introduction to Panasonic’s Smart Live Production concept.

Although each episode covers a different subject matter, all five of them are centred around recurring themes – the usage of virtual studios, automated production, and the transition to IP. “We picked these themes 50

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PANASONIC L.I.V.E SERIES

because they are current market trends, all of which have been accelerated as a result of the impact from social distancing measures implemented globally. They also match with the concept of our Smart Live Production portfolio,” commented Krier.

From the beginning, Krier commented that to truly demonstrate the end-to-end solution that the company offered, it only made sense to partner with companies that already had studios up and running that were powered with Panasonic technology. “This led us to collaborate with Creative Technology, which are readily using our system cameras and PTZ cameras, and also had Kairos – our next-generation IP-based video processing platform – already installed within its xR studio,” stated Krier.

“The same went for CustomProject, which makes use of the AW-UE150 4K PTZ camera and the Tuning rail system installed in its studio.”

Having worked with Panasonic for a long time, Creative Technology’s Head of Vision and Integrated Networks, Sid Lobb was keen to praise the company’s latest product releases. “We were given the opportunity

by Panasonic to start some beta testing of Kairos prior to its release,” he commented.

Lobb recalled the “fortuitous” timing of having the Kairos due to the increase in virtual events that arrived in March. “The removal of the hardware limitations that Kairos brings, particularly in the number of PIPs and native IP inputs, enabled us to facilitate Zoom-style gallery calls within a Broadcast environment for one show, and turn around very quickly to mix a more traditional show but within an xR studio – flexibility that would have been extremely difficult for a traditional vision mixer,” he added. “We really value our relationship with Panasonic and their reaching out to us at that time was key in helping us develop our strategy for dealing with the impact of COVID-19.”

Krier revealed that the recent surge in interest in virtual events “hasn’t really changed” Panasonic’s marketing plan.

“This trend was already detected, and we’ve been working on solutions for virtual studios for a long time.” He added that this trend had very much been built into the fabric of Panasonic’s wider product portfolio so as to work seamlessly with PTZ and system cameras, robotic solutions, tracking systems and now Kairos, the company’s IT/IP video processing platform.

“One point that is also important to mention is that the solutions that Panasonic offers to the market have to be affordable and simple to use,” he mused. “Production budgets are tighter, so providing high-quality and high-value technology is important, but it has to fit into today’s budget requirements. Our PTZ and robotic systems offer the best value for the money, allowing customers to get much more camera angles than before.”

Krier concluded by giving his final thoughts on how he believed the interest in virtual events will manifest as we move into 2021. “We believe that going forward we’ll see a hybrid of both physical and virtual events,” he stated. “Virtual cannot replace some live events but provide an opportunity to watch content on demand easily. It also gives opportunity for a potential global rather than national audience, and so we definitely expect them to stay in 2021.”

The entire series of videos is still available to watch online via: www.business.panasonic.co.uk/professional-camera/LIVE_Video_Series TPi Photos: Panasonic www.business.panasonic.co.uk www.ct-group.com www.customproject.es www.kst-moschkau.eu 52

FUTURE INSIGHTS

FUTURE INSIGHTS The latest product releases and announcements.

64 AUDIO Nio is 64 Audioâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s latest hybrid high-driver in-ear monitor. The ergonomic shell is machined out of a solid piece of aluminium and finished with a striking blue abalone faceplate. The eight precision balanced armature drivers and one dynamic driver include one high, one high-mid, six mid, and one dynamic low. Additional specifications include a frequency response of 10Hz to 20kHz; sensitivity of 105db dB/mW; impedance of 6ohm at 1kHz; crossover by integrated four-way passive with isolation of 10db w/ mX module; -15dB w/ m15 module; -20dB w/ m20 module.

Nio comes with a personalised 64 Audio protective case; dehumidifier; cleaning tool; shirt clip; TrueFidelity eartips (S,M,L); silicone eartips (S,M,L); 48-inch detachable premium cable; m20 apex modules; m15 apex modules; mx apex modules; round 64 Audio sticker and a product manual. www.64audio.com

53

FUTURE INSIGHTS

ADJ The latest expansion of the Vision series of LED video panels, VS3IP is designed as a solution for concert tours, festivals and other indoor and outdoor events. ADJ’s highest resolution IP-rated led video panel to date, VS3IP combines image quality with a larger panel size, brightness and useful features. The VS3IP panel features a 150 by 150 matrix of three-inone SMD1921 LEDs, delivering a pixel pitch of 3.84mm for a pixel density of 67,816 per sq m. It delivers an impressive maximum brightness of 4,500 NITS with a contrast ratio of 5000:1, making it suitable for use outdoors, even during daylight hours. The VS3IP is shipping now from ADJ USA and will be available from ADJ Europe at the end of January 2021. www.adj.com/vs3ip

ALLEN & HEATH Allen & Heath’s SQ has rapidly established itself as one of the ‘go-to’ pro streaming consoles throughout 2020, and now the firm is opening even more applications with the timely addition of a new SQ MADI card. Joining the existing Dante, SLink and WAVES option cards, the 64x64 MADI (48/96kHz) interface unlocks a host of new possibilities for integration with broadcast and recording systems, OB vans and third-party consoles. The SQ MADI option card is expected to ship during December. www.allen-heath.com/ahproducts/sq-madi/

ELATION PROFESSIONAL Capable of producing high volumes of naturalistic snow with the capacity to adjust snowflake size for greater versatility, Crisp Max is a 1,250W high-volume snow machine that can project snow up to 12m with the flexibility to adjust to the occasion. An optional 120° pan motor increases coverage area. Crisp Max includes a 20l fluid tank hidden inside a road case with durable casters for extra protection and easier portability. An APF (Air Pump Fan) and an auto-clean feature lowers the risk of clogging and reduces the need for maintenance. Crisp Max includes an onboard LCD touchscreen control panel with manual and timer control options. It is industry-standard DMX-512 and RDM controllable and offers wired and wireless remote control options. www.elationlighting.com

54

FUTURE INSIGHTS

MARTIN BY HARMAN Martin by Harman ERA 600 and 800 Profiles are a cost-effective, all-in-one moving head that is both compact and lightweight but also bright, efficient and feature-loaded. The new ERA 600 and 800 Profiles deliver incredibly bright yet efficient output - 19,000 lumens (ERA 600) and 34,000 lumens (ERA 800) as well as sharp image projection with a flat field. Additional benefits include 1:8 zoom, electronic dimming/strobe, CMY/CTO, iris for beam adjustment and dual rotating gobo wheels, plus an additional static wheel, loaded with gobos from the legendary Martin MAC range. www.martin.com

Photo by Claire P on Unsplash * Original warranties expiring 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021 are extended by 12 months

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FUTURE INSIGHTS

NEUTRIK MINEA is a 2x2 stream Milan-certified audio module. It’s a ready-to-go solution that allows manufacturers in the Pro Audio market to implement Milan quickly and easily into their products, from single loudspeakers, amplifiers, microphones, audio embedders and de-embedders to complex multi-channel mixing desks and multi-port conferencing systems. With the recently announced Milan Associate Membership, companies can join Avnu Alliance at an entry-level membership costing $1,000 per year, to register products that implement Milan-certified modules and have them marketed with the Milan-certified logo. www.avnu.org/Milan www.neutrik.com

PEAVEY ELECTRONICS Aureus offers 14 dedicated encoders, nine motorised faders, and 45 dedicated backlit buttons with 16 XLR-1/4-inch, RCA, Bluetooth, and USB (A/B) inputs. Phantom power (48 V) is available for microphones on the 16 channels. Combine that with 14 outputs, including 10 XLR, USB, and AES digital. Reverb and delay is available via Peavey’s built-in FX series of digital effects. With eight busses, two mains, and four DCA, Aureus offers plenty of flexibility. Aureus includes three programmable mute groups and six mute functions, and a solo function. Data I/O includes the onboard Wi-Fi and Ethernet remote, while computer connectivity consists of Ethernet, Wi-Fi, and USB port.

The unit also includes a 1.25-inch headphone jack, is rack-mountable and measures 6.5-inch high, by 15-inch wide and 19.5-inch deep. www.peavey.com

SENNHEISER The MD 435 vocal mic features a lightweight aluminium-copper voice coil that ensures fast transient response, resulting in detailed, nuanced and transparent sound, especially in the treble. The large-diaphragm microphone boasts wide dynamics of 146 dB(A) and can handle sound pressure levels of up to 163 dB. The metal casing has a shock-mounted capsule to protect it from structure-borne noise. While a humcompensating coil protects the microphone against electromagnetic interference. For use with Sennheiser’s wireless transmitters, the capsule of the MD 435 is available as the MM 435 microphone head.

The MM 435 features Sennheiser’s standard capsule interface, ready for use with Sennheiser wireless series ranging from the evolution wireless G4 and 2000 series to Digital 6000 and Digital 9000. www.sennheiser.com

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29/10/2020 14:06

PSA: THE BIGGER PICTURE

SO LONG AND THANKS FOR ALL THE FISH PSA’s Andy Lenthall looks at what the latest Brexit deal means for live events.

We knew it was coming; leaving the EU would always mean less freedom of movement for goods, vehicles and people. There are issues to deal with, none of them insurmountable – this is event production after all.

Of course, announcing a deal on Christmas Eve was a rather cruel twist when most of us were looking forward to a bit of a break; the industry’s most ardent Brexiteers (all six of you) would point out that even the timing was midnight in the EU rather than here.

It was pointed out that looking for the words ‘music’, ‘culture’ or ‘entertainment’ in the trade deal returned zero search results, while trawling for ‘fish’ or ‘fishing’ gave a couple of hundred results. Of course, the deal is very heavily weighted to trade in goods, so a keen eye on services linked to our sector was required. It’s not so much about what we are, but what we do, and that is move people and goods temporarily using roadgoing vehicles.

The best advice anyone can give at the moment is: don’t panic. At the time of writing, there are certainly some challenges, which are major or minor depending on the type or scale of the events you’re involved with.

Here we can outline some and perhaps sketch out the plans that are already being formed by the industry groups that we’ve been working with for many years.

ACCESS FOR TRUCKS This is a tough one. From 1 January, the rules governing the amount of stops a UK-registered haulage vehicle over 3.5t laden weight could make in the EU reduced from four to two. EU hauliers may well soon be restricted to stops in each EU member state. Hauliers have been meeting regularly through the negotiation period to get updates, none of which were positive.

As it stands, the only answer is for haulage providers to relocate to an EU country; this puts UK-based technology suppliers at a disadvantage, as they’d be best located near the transport supply.

It is no exaggeration that this is a threat to our position as the go-to country for beginning European tours. This could be resolved by separate negotiations with separate member states as, believe it or not, they are not totally governed by the EU. There are multi-department meetings 58

PSA: THE BIGGER PICTURE

already arranged across international trade, transport and culture to start along the road to a solution, the issue is already flagged at high level in Government. If changes to rules for EU haulage providers come into force, that may well create an equal platform for the cultural sector to lobby for exemptions.

There is strength in the fact that 85% of EU concert haulage is currently provided from the UK. A sudden return to European touring would be stifled by lack of access; the choice for the EU is to either allow greater access or simply wait for businesses to relocate and employ EU-based workers paying tax in their new location.

Our exit from the EU means that we’re hovering over a reset button, with a delay in the imposition of contributions for all workers that hop over from the UK to work.

The trade deal talks of ‘detached workers’, which are workers who are working in an EU state for less than 24 months. EU member states are being given an opt into this detached worker scheme (reciprocal, we believe), with a deadline of 31 January. So far, four member states have opted in and the opt out rate is currently zero (at time of writing). If, for example, France were to opt out, we’ve been assured that HMRC wouldn’t expect to charge contributions on money already ‘taxed’ overseas. The mechanism for ensuring that was not explained when we asked.

ACCESS FOR WORKERS Lots of confusion here between visas and work permits, with a very BORDER ARRANGEMENTS unhelpful ‘may require a work permit’ phrase permeating all conversations It’s interesting that the popular petition doing the rounds, the one asking on this matter. Among the plethora of circumstances, we seem to be for a two-year performer and crew visa (or is that work permit?) has an required to adopt the attitude of performers and crew from any other ‘third afterthought addition asking for the removal of carnet requirements. It country’ – a status that we’ve adopted for ourselves – although when asked could be said that asking for too much may get you nothing and, in this in the past, those that tour from bases outside the EU seemed to be of the case, they’re asking to remove something that’s been in use throughout the opinion that, once you’d started in the UK, everything in Schengen fell into existence of the EU; tours do carnets, we’ll just have to do more. Of course, place. Another reason to start anywhere other than this is a question of scale; grassroots bands could the UK. successfully tour the carnet-free zone until they As far as working in the EU from the UK, there’s could afford the extra paperwork and expense. the possibility of 27 different approaches to work Then it gets to a point where the costs don’t permits for artists and crew. Initial outreach to matter relative to the money generated from a promoters in EU member states is yet to glean tour. ATA carnets are something that people may any information and Government are adamant have to get used to; it’s also something that could that they are not prepared to take on liability for benefit from a little financial support at grass producing separate guidance for each member roots level from the UK Government, along with state. As with everything, the assumption that it’s some sector-specific advice – who knows if you been OK for other third countries before so it will be have to include your towel? The COVID-19 delay OK for us could be a risky one to make. This could silver lining appears here too; it doesn’t really be a simple matter of us treating others as we’d like matter how good your paperwork is if there’s to be treated, setting clear exemptions for cultural a vehicle in front of you holding up the queue activity or live events and hoping for similar in because theirs is not in order. Tales of woe due “We knew it was coming; return, 27 times. to misinterpretation of rules exist; perhaps any leaving the EU would always border misunderstandings will be settled by the BENEFITS AND NATIONAL INSURANCE time we have to cross. mean less freedom of We’re sure many have experienced the delights of For a deal four years in the making, it’s movement for goods, vehicles surprisingly light in detail. Perhaps if it did Form A1. In essence, when you work in a country, that country expects you to pay into its benefits mention music, touring, events, entertainment or and people. There are issues system through their equivalent of National anything specifically relevant, it could have been to deal with, none of them Insurance Contributions. Many have a number of bad news. Perhaps now we have an opportunity exemptions, some requiring proof that you’ll be to influence the required detail and find the insurmountable – this is event making contributions back home and not suddenly answer: 42. production after all.” becoming dependent on a foreign country’s state TPi benefits system that you haven’t contributed to. www.psa.org.uk Andy Lenthall, PSA

59

INDUSTRY APPOINTMENTS

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INDUSTRY APPOINTMENTS

Steven Taub of Taub Sales; Cadon Territory Manager James Gast (left) and President Michael Canning; Audiologic’s Rob Davies; Black Skull Creative’s Paul Gardener; Contact Distribution’s Brandon and Bill Coons, with BroaMan Repeat48 interface.

Alcons Audio has appointed Taub Sales as its North American representative in the mid-Atlantic territory. “Alcons Audio pro-ribbon technology is ideal for Taub Sales in two respects,” said Steven Taub.

“The first is that it’s a uniquely high-quality solution that is ideal for much of my customer base, including houses of worship, performance spaces and the live concert market. Alcons systems are also ideal for dealers and consultants who work with the corporate theatre market.”

Alcons Audio North American Sales Manager, David Rahn, added: “We are pleased to appoint Taub Sales as an Alcons representative. Steven clearly understands and is enthused by the advantages that our pro-ribbon technology brings to a wide range of sound reinforcement applications. We look forward to working with him and improving the sound for audiences and congregations throughout the mid-Atlantic territory.”

Allen & Heath USA distributor American Music & Sound has announced Cadon Technical Sales as a representative in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Southern Illinois.

Cadon President Michael Canning stated: “We are confident that partnering with Allen & Heath will enhance the value that we bring to our customers.

Allen & Heath brings a reputation of quality and integrity to the market— and synergy to the family of companies we represent. We’re anxious to get award-winning products like SQ, Avantis, dLive and AHM-64 in front of key consultants and step up with the ability to put new levels of audio horsepower into our customer’s hands.”

Rob Davies has joined Audiologic as National Account Manager, responsible for engaging with the company’s customers, emphasising Audiologic’s Application Support Team and back catalogue of products.

Audiologic Managing Director, Andy Lewis commented: “We are proud to welcome Rob Davies into a role that we have been keen to develop for some time. Due to an increase in larger and more demanding projects, we are keen to ensure that every one of our customers has access to the full suite of services we can provide. Rob will be responsible for nurturing and developing our existing and prospective customers and we look forward to the value that he can add to the team.”

Davies added: “Audiologic have always put customer service right at the top of the list. This is very important to me and one of the main reasons I feel so positive about the position. I feel that I’ll be part of a very strong and 60

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INDUSTRY APPOINTMENTS

ChainMaster and Lifket’s John Jones; EAW’s Michael Palmer; eps American’s Aren Gelfond; Focusrite’s Matt Pliskin and Peter Tilley.

enthusiastic team right from the start.”

Black Skull Creative has introduced Paul Gardner as a fourth Creative Director and co-owner. On joining the business, Gardner commented: “I am delighted to be joining the Black Skull Creative Team as Creative Director and adding a new technical element to the business. After working together previously on shows and with artists like Little Mix, BTS, and Dua Lipa, our way of working and creative ideologies were perfectly aligned and now our skills complement perfectly, providing our clients a completely rounded creative service.”

Directors, Ross Nicholson, Dan Shipton, and Jay Revell added: “It is amazing to have Paul’s talent and expertise on board. After working together on various events, we knew that bringing his experience into the business on a permanent basis would solidify the offer we bring to clients and complete the holistic creative experience we can provide. Paul’s creativity and technical understanding of how to create compelling and narrative-driven visual animations are an essential asset to the team and we’re excited about what the future holds.”

BroaMan has appointed Contact Distribution as its exclusive Canadian distributor.

“When we started with Optocore, many in the industry hadn’t taken those first steps into digital networking,” said Director of Contact Distribution, Bill Coons. “We are now at a point where not only system designers and operators are more accepting of fibre solutions but fibre is a sheer necessity due to increasing channel counts, numerous different mediums and formats and the expanding production needs of events and shows to draw in and captivate audiences. BroaMan products are the next evolution of technology and people are ready to make that jump.”

BroaMan Sales Distribution Manager, Dawid Somló, assisted with the transition. “Contact Distribution is a well-known and highly-respected company in Canada,” he stated. “Due to our close cooperation it was entirely logical to also hand over the distribution of our video and data fibre solutions. The fact that BroaMan is now in the hands of a team who can be trusted, will provide great benefit to customers from the broadcast, installation, sports and other markets, which will be reinstated in the wake of COVID-19.”

John Jones has joined ChainMaster and Liftket as a UK and Ireland agent, significantly strengthening the firm’s presence in the entertainment industry. Jones has gained extensive experience in the hoisting industry and has held various senior positions throughout his career as the former Managing Director of Pfaff and Lift Turn Move. He will.

Michael Palmer has been named Eastern Acoustic Works (EAW) Director of US Sales. “We reached a point where it was crucial to strengthen our sales leadership to guide our talented sales team to the next level,” said EAW CEO, Marco Breda. “Palmer’s stellar reputation, knowledge and relationships with key decision makers in our industry make him the ideal candidate to catapult us to the next level.”

With over 30 years of experience in the audio industry, Palmer comes to EAW from Allen & Heath and L-Acoustics where he steered the manufacturers through intense growth periods as U.S. National Sales Manager and Head of Sales US and Canada.

“EAW’s commitment to bringing innovative technologies to market has long been the brand’s hallmark,” said Palmer. “I look forward to working with the team at EAW and being a driving force in their growth.”

Aren Gelfond has joined eps group as Managing Director of the 61

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INDUSTRY APPOINTMENTS

IPS Project Manager, Phil Addyman; Powersoft Brand Manager for KINOVOX, René Falshøj; Creative Technology Northern Europe Business Unit Manager, Ola Bigélius

company’s US operations. “I have fallen in love with the work and the company from day one,” Gelfond commented. “I am pleased and honoured by the faith of our shareholders to be able to contribute my knowledge and experience to this new position. I am looking forward to wading through the waters of these unprecedented times for our industry and coming out on the other side to build eps america beyond its potential.” eps group CEO, Okan Tombulca added: “I am convinced that Aren will successfully master the challenges of this time and consistently proceed with our path of steady growth in the US. I am happy that we could fill this very important position with one of our young talents.”

Focusrite bolstered its long-term strategic business plan with the appointment of Matt Pliskin as Pro Broadcast and Immersive Audio Sales Manager and Peter Tilley as Pro Educational and Post-Production Sales Manager.

Focusrite Pro North American Sales Manager, Dave Rieley, stated:

“Despite the unique challenges of 2020, Focusrite Pro’s market share is strong. Promoting these two loyal Focusrite Pro team members to their new roles will position the Focusrite Pro division for future growth in 2021 and beyond. We thank Matt and Peter for their continued passion and hard work in serving as a market resource on behalf of Focusrite Pro.” IPS has names Phil Addyman as its latest Project Manager. IPS Managing Director, James Mason commented: “The structures side of our business has helped keep everything running through what has been a very tricky 2020, and with our product range expanding with increasingly larger structures, Phil is the ideal person to help us continue to grow in what looks set to be a busy season next year and beyond.”

Creative Technology (CT) Northern Europe becomes an L-Acoustics Certified Provider for the event market. “Adding Ola and the Creative Technology team in Scandinavia to the network of L-Acoustics partners allows us to create and build closer relationships with our clients in the 62

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INDUSTRY APPOINTMENTS

PA Solutions becomes a Prolyte dealer for Greece.

region,” said Scott Wakelin, Regional Sales Manager at L-Acoustics. “The combination of their local expertise and our technical expertise means we’ll be able to offer better and more personal service.”

CT Business Unit Manager, Ola Bigélius added: “This partnership, together with our growing inventory of L-Acoustics products and increased technical knowledge gives us all the right tools to hit the ground running when the world regains a certain degree of normalcy.

We’re proud to partner with L-Acoustics as a new Certified Provider.

This is a great development for our customers and for us as a company.

We look forward to 2021!”

Kinovox is the latest distributor to join the Powersoft family in Scandinavia. “We have always been aware of Powersoft, as its phenomenal products have always been prominent in the market – for very good reason,” commented Kinovox Scandinavia co-owner, Jesper Kirkegaard Jensen. “When the opportunity came up to work with Powersoft, we knew we couldn’t pass it up and immediately accepted.”

The company has an intricate understanding of the professional AV market in Denmark. “Kinovox is a well-respected veteran distributor in the Danish market,” said Powersoft Europe, India and Africa Account Manager for Distribution, Varun Jagger. “Our products combined with Kinovox’s expertise will help offer unparalleled solutions to the clients in Denmark. Existing users and clients of Powersoft are in better hands than ever before, as they can now also rely on Kinovox’s technical support.”

Prolyte has welcomed PA SOLUTIONS as an authorised dealer in Greece. “We are thrilled to have PA SOLUTIONS join Prolyte’s family. We look forward to working side by side with Kostas, John and his team in Athens, and to seeing more Prolyte exposure in the South East region of Europe,” said Prolyte Sales Director, William Voskuil. “We are confident that PA SOLUTIONS will provide the Greece market with the sufficient knowledge and experience for the best trussing solutions.”

PA Solution CEO, Kostas Tsaganos added: “I have great respect for Prolyte products. Adding Prolyte to our Portfolio, I know that I have the best trussing system and I feel very confident about providing the best solutions and products to our customers, from rental companies to big institutes.”

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BACK CHAT

KATE LANCIAULT Senior Producer with Bristol-based showmaker, Cirque Bijou, Kate Lanciault takes the hot seat to discuss special skills in production, logistics, health and safety, and creative problem solving.

possible and shadowing experienced production crew members. As a Senior Producer, it’s now my job to make ideas happen, commissioning, managing, overseeing and realising projects.

What have been some of your career highlights?

Production Assistant at the Battle for the Winds at the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012. Production Manager for an aerial crane spectacular to celebrate Malta’s 40th anniversary as a Republic in 2014. And Producer of a series of high wire shows for the Taiwan Lantern Festival 2020, among many other projects.

With specialities in a range of areas. Does it help to be versatile and ‘juggle’ lots of moving plates at work?

We are always working on multiple large-scale projects simultaneously and it’s essential to be able to keep lots of balls in the air at the same time. I feel that I have been instrumental in the forging of Cirque Bijou’s sky-high production values.

What sparked your interest in the events sector?

I have always been interested in behind the scenes of live events – how things are organised and run efficiently.

Whenever I go to see a show, I’m always looking at how they do the rigging or thinking about the quick costume changes as much as watching the action.

How did you get your start at Cirque Bijou?

I saw a job advertised for an Arts Administrator with Cirque Bijou back in 2010. I applied and had my heart set on working there. However, due to the huge number of applicants and my lack of live events experience, I didn’t get the job. Undeterred, I volunteered one day a week for around eight months, getting involved in as many of the projects as possible. There was later a Company Manager vacancy, which I snapped up.

How are you keeping busy during lockdown?

We have been focussing on how to get artists back into rehearsal rooms safely. We’ve also been working closely with Extraordinary Bodies integrated circus company to create digital work, including What Do You See In Me? which was filmed in artists’ homes. It has been important for us to learn a great deal about the complexities of digital collaboration and work that is accessible to everyone.

In 2020, we gathered a socially-distanced group of 30 crew and performers and, using LED umbrellas, created a performance, which was filmed by drone. We are also planning to create our own COVID-19 secure touring venue for 2021 – watch this space!

How has the company developed over the years?

Cirque Bijou has grown a lot over the past decade, taking on larger and more ambitious projects in unusual locations like beaches, stadiums, festival sites and mansions. I have developed a passion for all aspects of production by getting involved in as many jobs as

What advice would you give to industry newcomers or young people at this particularly difficult time?

Be keen, be helpful, don’t be afraid to ask. Volunteer if you can’t get paid work. Learn on the job. Never stop learning.

The best piece of advice I was given when I started was that you don’t get anywhere by resting on your laurels.

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