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THE COLLECTIVE SESSIONS A collection of touring veterans join forces for a new venture, providing a space for artists to perform and stream live shows from Millennium Studios at an affordable price. With the preparations well underway, TPi gets the inside scoop...
From the time lockdown was announced, artists have been releasing footage of themselves to their fans across the globe – but as we move into July and measures begin to relax, most will agree that there is now somewhat of an expectation of a higher production values. As much as a smartphone on a tripod of books filming the front room might have cut it back in March, fans are increasingly looking for something a bit more professional. First out of the gate during the pandemic were several solutions from major rental houses, re-purposing their warehouse spaces for multiuse streaming solutions, which could be used for everything from corporate, religious ceremonies and, of course, live performances. But now there is a new incentive in place that has been put together by a number of touring veterans for the world of live music: The Collective Sessions. The brainchild of Production Manager and Video Crew Chief Simon Schofield [Noel Gallagher and Marina] and Tour Manager, Suzi Green [The Chemical Bothers and Placebo], the idea was to create a functional performance space in which an artist could take over for a day with its inhouse flexible visual package and produce a live show to either be streamed or recorded for later release. Housed in Millennium Studios, Bedford, The Collective Sessions has been built on two core principles: firstly, a festival-style setup, which will enable any artist to roll-in and produce a good-looking show; and secondly, a reasonable price point, to open the streaming world to a larger range of performers. “As soon as we started to lose work, Simon and I put our heads together to come up with some
ideas of what we could do,” stated Green, who has worked with Schofield a number of times over the years. “It was very much an idea that was built out of the frustration brought on by lockdown. But once we had the space at Millennium and the other suppliers on board, all the pieces fell into place really quickly.” Schofield interjected by discussing the importance of the venue. “The real advantage of using Millennium is that it’s designed for this job,” he stated plainly. “Some of the other solutions that have cropped up in the past few months are very much converted warehouse space – here, on the other hand, we have a roof that can take weight, a 60ft stage, and high spec’d dressing rooms with toilets and showers, making social distancing a very simple process to implement.” As part of the project, Millennium has also handed over the use of the other building space as well as the main studio, giving even more options to place elements such as broadcast and control to take place in an entirely different room. “We jumped at the chance to be part of this,” enthused Nina Malivoire, Studio Sales Manager for Millennium Studio. Malivoire explained how the project’s main base would be ‘A’ stage. “Not only is it a huge space, but there is so much external space near the stage to be utilised for the project.” The plan is that during the project, the team will create “space bubbles” throughout to ensure everyone is able to keep their distance. “The team that Simon and Suzi have put together will make a real success of this project and it’s exciting to be involved as the studio space.” As well as being a state-of-the-art rehearsal facility, the other major benefit for the Millennium campus is that it is also the site of a major 14
