TPi June 2020 - #250

TOTAL PRODUCTION INTERNATIONAL LIVE EVENT DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY • JUNE 2020 • ISSUE 250

JAMES ARTHUR The UK’s final arena tour before lockdown

I

SAFE INSIDE...

BACK TO THE FUTURE: THE MUSICAL • DRIVE-IN CONCERTS • IN THE FIELD: MIDAS HD96-24 • PSA KATY PERRY • LINDEMANN • CAGE THE ELEPHANT • MARKET FOCUS: IEMS • INTERVIEW: PROLYTE

JUNE 2020 #250

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EDITOR’S LETTER

D8plus Ultra 250 - 2 000kg We will remember them...

For me, the start of June means one thing: stockpiling a shedload of antihistamines to take the edge-off of an annual bout of hay fever. For the past five years at TPi, I’ve typically tackled this annoying allergic reaction while in a field full of fellow metalheads at Download Festival. It’s a strange and sad thought that this year, my annual bouts of sneezing and itching will be confined to the four-walls of my flat. Maybe if I tune into Download TV – the festival’s online alternative – it may feel as though nothing has changed.

However, with the tent remaining firmly in the cupboard this year, there’s no doubt that it won’t be the same.

These are uncertain times for all involved, but there is a small glimmer of hope that all is not lost for the outdoor live events market in 2020. Far from being a novelty ’50s throwback, drive-in shows are attracting a lot of attention across the globe, with rental houses and manufacturers turning their hands to this new yet old form of outdoor entertainment. We spoke to a collection of companies involved in this latest trend on page 34.

Elsewhere in the industry, it seems that each passing day brings a new streaming project, and we’re excited to bring some in-depth case studies in upcoming issues of TPi. But, before we completely throw ourselves into the new world, there are still two more live productions from pre-lockdown that deserve their time in the spotlight: James Arthur’s The YOU Tour (page 28) – the last arena show to take place before the ban on large-scale gatherings; and Back to the Future: The Musical – an epic reimagining of the ’80s film classic, specially adapted for the stage. Take your own DeLorean adventure on page 20.

To close, I – and the rest of the TPi team – would like to spare a thought for our absent friends. It’s easy in these strange and unstable times to get lost in our own little worlds. As many of the live community can attest, this month we had to say goodbye to two outstanding gentlemen – Video Director, Ben Farrey and Lighting Designer and Programmer, Jonathan Rouse. Both were familiar faces within the pages of TPi, not to mention TPi Awards regulars. For our June edition, we have handed the editorial real estate to those who knew them best...

To the family and friends of both Ben and Jon, you have our deepest sympathy.

Till next time Stew Hume Editor

EDITOR Stew Hume Tel: +44 (0)161 476 8385 Mobile: +44 (0)7702 054344 e-mail: s.hume@mondiale.co.uk

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TOTAL PRODUCTION INTERNATIONAL is a controlled circulation magazine, published 12 times a year by Mondiale Media Limited under licence. ISSN 1461-3786 Copyright © 2020 Mondiale Media Limited. All contents of this publication are subject to worldwide copyright protection and reproduction in whole or part, in any form whatsoever, is expressly forbidden without the prior written consent of the Publishers. Every effort is taken to ensure accuracy in the preparation of this publication but neither Mondiale Media Ltd, nor the Editor, can be held responsible for its contents or any consequential loss or damage resulting from information published. The views expressed are not necessarily those of the Publishers or Editor. The Publishers accept no responsibility for the return of unsolicited manuscripts, photographs, illustrations, advertising materials or artwork. Total Production International USPS: (ISSN 1461 3786) is published 12 times a year by Mondiale Media Limited United Kingdom. The 2020 US annual subscription price is 117USD. Airfreight and mailing in the USA by Agent named Air Business, C/O WorldNet Shipping USA Inc., 155-11 146th Avenue, Jamaica, New York, NY11434. Periodicals postage paid at Jamaica NY 11431. US Postmaster: Send address changes to Total Production International, Air Business Ltd, C/O WorldNet Shipping USA Inc., 155-11 146th Avenue, Jamaica, New York, NY11434. Subscription records are maintained at Mondiale Media Ltd. Waterloo Place, Watson Square, Stockport, SK1 3AZ, UK.

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ITINERARY

OBITUARY 08

We remember Ben Farrey and Jonathan Rouse.

Trade Hire EVENT FOCUS 10

16

Smart Shelf Techies Freelance lighting technicians turn to supermarkets in the wake of COVID-19.

14 Katy Perry

disguise makes XR history during Katy Perry’s American Idol performance.

16

Cage the Elephant ER Productions looks back on two headline shows with the US rockers.

18 Lindemann

Lighting Designer, Bertil Mark illuminates

Rammstein frontman’s live exploits.

PRODUCTION PROFILE

18

20

Back To The Future: The Musical Stew chats to key players powering the stage version of the classic film.

28

James Arthur A retrospective on the final UK arena tour to take place ahead of lockdown.

DRIVE-IN FOCUS 34

Manufacturers and technical suppliers from the touring industry turn their hands to drive-in concert solutions.

MARKET FOCUS 42

20

The latest in-ear monitor offerings.

PRODUCTION FUTURES 47

Freelance Programmer and Designer, Morgan Evans shares his story.

IN THE FIELD 48

Nat Hopking mixes Mabel’s latest tour with the Midas HD96-24.

INTERVIEW

28

50

Prolyte’s Eric Laanstra discusses the acquisition by Area Four Industries.

FUTURE INSIGHTS 52

The latest product releases.

PSA: THE BIGGER PICTURE 58

PSA’s Andy Lenthall talks next steps.

INDUSTRY APPOINTMENTS 60

34

The latest movers and shakers.

BACK CHAT 66

TPi Award-winning VJs, More Eyes, take the hot seat.

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OBITUARY

We take time to remember our absent friends…

BEN FARREY 1981 - 2020

Ben was one of those people you meet in your life and realise that you are in the company of someone uniquely gifted.

He used to call me Boss, which always made me laugh as 50% of our conversations I really didn’t understand what he was talking about. Ben had an amazing way of being able to explain something very technically complicated so even I could understand. He was without doubt the most gifted visual director I have ever met. His work on Coldplay’s Ghost Stories

shoot was beyond genius, it was otherworldly.

The other part of Ben was that he was an amazing human being. He was a devoted husband and father and a great champion of causes. To say that he will be missed is a complete understatement. He was universally loved by all and I will always have a place for him in my heart.

Words: Production Manager, Bill Leabody Photo: Matthew Miller

08

OBITUARY

JONATHAN ROUSE 1980 - 2020

“Hang on, do you think we should have put sunscreen on” said Jon – four hours into a long drive through the Nevada, Las Vegas, desert in a convertible. We both looked at each other realising we were already toast. But this isn’t the heat I’m referring to…

Jon’s company was called ‘Light Without Heat’ – a nod to his skill of remaining calm, collected and good humoured through all situations.

Every single post I have seen on social media about Jon since his passing has nailed what he was like. A precise and talented professional but one who was always a pleasure to have around.

Jon started in theatre and brought high theatrical standards and ideas with him to his work in rock ’n’ roll and large events.

I’ve been lucky enough to have so many adventures with Jon for over 10 years. We met as MA programmers and I soon was employing Jon, using him as a programmer and lighting director on a number of projects over the past decade.

Jon’s first big concert with me was at Twickenham Stadium, London, lighting A Concert for Heroes – a huge live show on BBC1 with headline act, Robbie Williams. Four years later, he began working for Robbie under Mark Cunniffe and travelled the world as his touring Lighting Director on The Heavy Entertainment Show – a tour he loved and was very proud of.

I’ve sat in FOH towers, control rooms and pop-up tents overnight all over the world with Jon for many years. He had a knack of lightening the mood with a killer comment that would make an entire team belly laugh and remind us why we do this job.

Long stints on the Beyoncé Formation World Tour and the Commonwealth Games 2014 really cemented our friendship and saw us take care of each other and others within a team when the sh*t hit the fan.

Jon has counselled me over chicken wings and beer in dive bars and in the

ebb and flow of big production processes we always equally reciprocated and supported each other. We’d talk about our kids and how hard this industry was on having a family and we’d sit and work it all out. Sitting in catering at 3am and realising the only thing to eat all night will be the box of 5,000 fortune cookies which we gave a good shot at, or the trip to a latenight Tesco in Glasgow with Tom Young to buy soft furnishings and candles to zsush the terrible digs we had been given – we always laughed.

Jon’s battle with illness was long but he dealt with it like everything else – calm, measured and with good grace. We last worked together in October 2019 at Wembley Arena on his return to work. I can remember nothing but joy at being able to hang out with my mate outside of a hospital or his home, properly again, doing what we both love. He was still a coffee snob and turned his nose down at standard catering coffee or a Costa, but his humour hadn’t wavered and his attention to detail remained unfaltering.

His work took him all over the world, from a Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show in China to the MTV EMAs, which he did regularly, and came back to work for last year in Seville, Spain. We’ve popped to Paraguay together for a recce, lit up Horseguards Parade with Muse and done jazz hands on a Ball & Boe TV special and, at every turn, it’s been an honour to have him there as a darn amazing programmer and a great mate.

Jon’s reputation meant he worked repeatedly with many well-known LDs, as a right-hand man to Al Gurdon, Mark Cunniffe, Woodroffe Bassett, Pete Barnes and Tom Kenny to name but a few. All of them, without exception, are going to miss the reason why they booked Jon – Light Without Heat.

Miss you mate, sleep well.

Words: Lighting Designer, Tim Routledge Photo: Philip Norfolk

09

EVENT FOCUS

SMART SHELF TECHIES As touring productions across the globe grind to an abrupt standstill, TPi’s Jacob Waite speaks to a pair of freelance lighting technicians now working at supermarkets to weather the economic shock of the lockdown.

Before the temporary closure of live events spaces across the globe, Todmorden-based Tom Soltau was working on a range of high-profile touring productions, primarily as a Lighting Technician – 12 miles down the road in Bury – Rick Carr was working a similar gig in the UK and the Middle East. However, once events were cancelled, the now-out-of-work duo found themselves lending their talents to stacking shelves and delivering essential goods for supermarket giants, Morrisons and Tesco.

Speaking to TPi the evening after a midnight shift at Tesco in Haslingden, Carr said: “I was doing a lot of work in Saudi Arabia and Dubai this year with Katy Perry, the Saudi Cup, and MDL Middle Beast as Dimmer Tech,” he reminisced. “I was due to work on Peter Kay’s Dance For Life and a range of festivals with Westlife and Little Mix for Lights Control Rigging.”

The pair met through LCR and have collaborated on several projects.

Soltau picked up the story: “I had two gigs cancel in the space of a few

hours, and I began hearing rumours of further, widespread gig and event cancellations. I envisioned that there would be a mad rush of people to other jobs, so I figured that it was the best course of action to get my foot in the door first,” he recalled. “Before I knew it, everything I had on my calendar had been cancelled and I started working at Morrisons in Todmorden, driving delivery vans and stacking shelves.”

Carr, who also operates in corporate spheres, was working on Blue Peter when he overheard camera operators discussing event cancellations.

“I approached Tesco in Haslingden on Saturday morning at 10.30am, completed the induction at 12pm, and worked the nightshift that very night,” he laughed.

“I was told by my supervisors that they, quite rightly, didn’t want me to work too hard. I then informed them that I worked around 140 days without being home last year alone.” With two decades of experience in the 10

We want to personally reach out to all in our entertainment technology and production community as we face this unprecedented health challenge.

All of us – manufacturers, rental companies, venues, broadcasters, festival and event organisers, production managers, artists and of course our vast pool of highly talented individuals, designers, engineers and creative freelancers – to everyone working in all disciplines and across every each sector making this incredible industry go round – we offer our solidarity, strength, thoughts and positive energy.

together our strength will shine.

We are all facing an incredibly tough few months ahead. Cooperation, empathy, humanity and mutual respect should be paramount and in the true spirit of this great industry … please be kind and considerate to others.

When we come through, we will be stronger and more united, and our industry will be more dynamic than ever.

Josef Valchar

#togetherwearestronger

Ladislav Petrek

Harry von den Stemmen

at the heart of our community

SMART SHELF TECHIES

Tom Soltau and Rick Carr.

industry, collectively, the pair approached the task at hand with the same amount of professionalism required in the touring sector.

“If you can get on with other people, work is work. It’s a means to an end as opposed to a passion or a career, and I think if you keep that mentality at the forefront of your mind, it makes it easier,” Soltau explained. “Morrisons has opened its doors to anyone who has lost work. Last week alone they brought onboard 15 new members of staff, who all came from various walks of life.”

Carr concurred: “I’ve met people from a range of industries; a stylist who runs her own business in Haslingden, dressmakers, dance teachers and a lot of people who worked for themselves. These are pragmatic people who want to be proactive and working, rather than being sat at home and worrying about their next payslip.”

Soltau pointed out the “amazing” job that Morrisons was doing at taking health and safety measures so customers and staff are safe in store. “They are doing everything they can to make you feel safer,” he commented.

According to Carr, all staff are provided with antibacterial hand gel and gloves – even if they are not in a customer-facing role. “Although I’m not in a customer-facing role, they abide by the rules set by the government.”

A Tesco spokesperson told TPi: “Our temporary colleagues continue to play a crucial role in our business, ensuring customers can get the food

and essentials they need in store and through our home delivery service.

We are very grateful to them, and to all our colleagues, for their continued contribution during this unprecedented time.”

Carr also acknowledged the often-negative connotations associated with working outside of the events industry from peers. “I think some people feel ashamed and believe it’ll damage them as a techie when we go back to work.”

He pointed out the good work of an industry colleague, Aaron Buck, who has started a podcast called Monitored World on the Ancroo Live network, to spread awareness of mental health in the touring industry during these uncertain times. “Listening to his podcast at night has got me through the uncertainty, because he says it like it is, from a touring perspective,” he shared.

Keen to get the show back on the road, though realistic and aware of the essential measures enforced by the government to keep touring personnel and concertgoers safe, the duo were keeping occupied during their downtime, by spending time with family or tending to a beloved Cricket Club, in Carr’s case. He quipped: “This is probably the longest time I’ve ever spent at home!”

TPi Photos: Rick Carr and Tom Soltau 12

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EVENT FOCUS

KATY PERRY XR Studios and visionary partners push the boundaries of storytelling and create new possibilities for remote virtual production with the help of disguise xR.

XR Studios leveraged the latest technology from disguise to bring the future of broadcast to primetime American television when Katy Perry performed her new single Daisies during the season finale of American Idol. The project relied on the collaboration of XR Studios, content creators Silent Partners Studio using Notch VFX, directed by Silent House Productions and PRG North America.

“Having disguise for delivery of this content was crucial… there’s simply no other solution out there that I would trust with this,” explained JT Rooney of Silent Partner Studios, who was the Screens Producer and led all the creative content creation.

Chief Technology Officer at disguise, Ed Plowman, commented: “At disguise, we are building the technology platform to enable creative and technical professionals to tell stories in new and innovative ways for the world’s leading brands and artists. This show was just the beginning of disguise and xR – we can’t wait to show you what’s next.”

Beginning in an American Idol-branded studio, the physical walls around Katy Perry suddenly dissolved away, bringing viewers into a fantastical world where she interacted with virtual elements such as oversized props, a pair of giant hands and masses of floating daisies.

“From a creative perspective, the actual look and feel of the piece was a deceptively difficult effect to achieve. The graphics’ solid flat colours and simple textures actually made it difficult to complete the illusion of making the physical LED backdrops disappear and magically combine with a virtual environment,” explained Rooney. disguise xR integrated with an array of technologies including camera tracking and real-time content engines, directing each element, extending the physical space into a virtual world to deliver a unique visual experience.

“The seamless extension of the real-world LED screens to the virtual world environments could only be done by disguise’s xR camera registration workflow, allowing switching between camera perspectives and the LED content. Multi-camera switching between perspectives also allowed us to switch cameras, and the LED content,” explained disguise xR Workflow Specialist, Scott Millar. Using disguise xR Spatial Mapping, the team were

able to accurately keyframe the position of real and virtual worlds into one coherent place where choreographed action could take place. Combining Notch with disguise technology, the team could edit the XR content over a network while it played back live on stage.

“Using Notch as the render engine and being able to embed that into disguise for seamless integration is a huge benefit. We get all of the power, support and control a disguise server brings, with the ability to render in real time, across multiple synchronised machines,” added Scott. disguise xR also made it possible for teams to collaborate in a social distancing environment at PRG Studios’ custom-built xR stage in LA. The disguise xR workflow is perfect for avoiding non-essential contact, mitigating the risks posed by traditional approaches to filming immersive visuals which would involve high-level, real-time in-camera shoots, green screen and other VFX. Combined with carefully co-ordinate working processes established by XR Studios, everyone involved in the project was able to work safely together and apart.

“We consulted on workflow, investigated issues, during testing and then provided completely remote support for the shoot using remote machine control and video calls throughout set up, calibration and the shoot itself to get all the information needed just as if we were onsite in LA”, said disguise Senior Support Specialist, Jamie Sunter, .

The performance was produced by XR Studios, with direction by Baz Halpin of Silent House Productions. Content creation was led by Screens Producer, J.T. Rooney of Silent Partners Studio, while PRG provided production resources and technical collaboration at its LA studios. Lighting Designer, Cory Fitzgerald; Video Programmer, Charles Dabezies; Video Creative Director, David Fafard and xR Technical Director, Scott Millar made up the team, while choreography was by The Squared Division.

TPi Photo: disguise www.disguise.one www.XRstudios.live www.silent-house.com 14

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EVENT FOCUS

CAGE THE ELEPHANT ER Productions provides astounding SFX and pyrotechnics to two UK headline dates of the band’s Social Cues tour…

Cage The Elephant returned to European shores in February with an extensive touring schedule, following the release of their acclaimed fifth album, Social Cues. ER Productions provided special effects and pyrotechnic intensity to two headline shows in the UK. “This was my first-time touring with Cage the Elephant,” ER Productions Project Manager, Natalie Frew began. “ER Productions was invited onboard early on in the design process to discuss what the team typically tour with and to devise a suitable SFX and laser package for two headline shows.”

Leading the tour for this run was Production Manager, Chris Fillery. “He was great to work with – helpful, approachable, knows what he wants and is open to new ideas,” commented Frew. “I quickly discovered that the production team consistently delivers audiences the best show possible.”

ER Productions brought a laser designer onboard to sift through archive material of prior shows, and tracks from the Social Cues tour dates, before settling on a look that the band, management, and crew were happy with.

For the headline show at Alexandra Palace, ER Productions provided 10 ER Kinekts and four ER AT-30s to deliver an amazing laser display, controlled by Pangolin. “The previous shows involved four lasers at the

back. We brought onboard 10 ER Kinects for the Ally Pally show, and because it’s such a long venue, we were able to stretch the reach and throw of the beams to look truly mesmerising in the venue.”

During both UK dates that ER Productions were onboard, the team provided astounding special effects, which included fiery Flame Projector pyrotechnics and confetti shot from two Stadium Blasters situated in front of the stage in the pit.

Frew walked TPi through the Flame Projector pyrotechnics, which when activated burned chemicals to emit an array of colours. “The Flame Projectors deliver a ‘pyrotechnic effect’ on stage; we had one red and a natural orange-coloured flame and one vibrant, blue effect, which were used during selective moments in the show,” Frew commented. “The red and orange unit shot from a one-and-a-half to a 6ft flame for a few seconds, while the blue unit was larger and shot much shorter and brighter flames, bringing a level of intensity to proceedings.”

The pyrotechnic effects were controlled by a Galaxis system. “There were six, 10-way units on stage in different positions for wireless control,” Frew explained. “This means I can stand in the pit, check that the sight lines 16

CAGE THE ELEPHANT

are clear and ensure that everything will be OK from a health and safety perspective – It also means I’m not stuck at FOH, if something goes wrong.”

The SFX and pyrotechnics were in the same place each night, and a member of the ER Productions team performed a walk-around with the band, so they were aware of the lines of fire. “For the Ally Pally show, we moved the positions a bit closer to the lead singer, and I showed him where to avoid. For each show we also make sure that we have at least two members of staff when pyrotechnics are involved for health and safety.”

Although the tour was part of a wider album campaign, involving festival appearances across Europe which were sadly cancelled in the

wake of the global pandemic, Frew enjoyed every minute on site. She commended her team and the wider touring camp: “I really enjoyed working with the crew and the band,” she concluded.

“The artist really engages with the audience in the way I’ve not witnessed for a long time. I’m sure there will be queues forming outside as soon as they announce their next tour dates.”

TPi Photos: ER Productions www.cagetheelephant.com www.er-productions.com

17

EVENT FOCUS

LINDEMANN Rammstein frontman, Till Lindemann, and his musical partner, Peter Tägtgren, bring their unique live performance style to audiences throughout Russia and Europe, prior to lockdown.

TPi’s Stew Hume chats to Lighting Designer, Bertil Mark.

It’s unlikely that anyone who walks into a Lindemann show expects a conventional live performance. The duo’s latest live offering certainly pushes the live experience to a new level, with a number of concertgoers finding themselves coated in water, cake, and even on a few occasions, raw fish – decorated by an impactful lighting design, crafted by Lighting Designer, Bertil Mark.

Having been part of the Rammstein camp for several years, Mark received the call to design Lindemann’s first off-shoot performances at a theatre in Hamburg – a dark interpretation of Hansel and Gretel. Since then, He’s manned the faders several times for this unconventional project.

The LDs latest collaboration with the project was in support of the duo’s latest album, F&M. “As the project garnered momentum, the demand from audiences increased, as did the venue sizes, which is when I was brought in,” reflected Mark. “They went from 2,500 to 5,000 across Europe and even topped out around 7,000 in some spaces.”

The LD described the vibe of the show: “The whole performance is very much a theatrical piece, with Till at the centre, assuming the role

of the Director. There is a great level of improvisation, especially during rehearsals, so as an LD, I have to pick up on any changes and meld the lighting to the onstage action.”

Touring a range of different-sized venues, Mark attempted to keep the same vibe throughout the run, with a large LED backdrop used to stream original footage and push the narrative of the show.

One of the main workhorse fixtures present on the lighting rig was the “invaluable” GLP JDC. “The whole show is very much a rock-metal opera with a number of staccato elements,” stated the LD. “We needed a fast fixture that could also create an impactful wall of lights combined with the fog. We were going for an almost ‘film noir’ look with the combination of the fog and the bright lights with some dominant silhouettes of the band.”

A number of Robe MegaPointes and the Vari-Lite VL 5000s were also present on the rig. “I’m a big spot guy and really enjoy creating 3D looks with both of them,” he stated. “The advantage of the MegaPointe is that I can do my normal spot-effects using the gobos but, at the same time, they can produce a really narrow, tight beam to create impactful ‘light sculptures’.

18

LINDEMANN

Lighting Designer Bertil Mark.

Photo by Claire P on Unsplash

Fixtures that can fill several roles are always good in my books,” he added. “The JDCs are similar in that respect in that they can be a powerful audience blinder but can also be used in a very ‘emotive’ way.”

Mark outlined the importance of lighting the audience throughout the show. During each show, there was a great deal of “audience communication” between the band and the crowd, not to mention a number of things being thrown out to them. “There was even a time in the show where Till went out into the audience in a giant bubble,” laughed Mark. “For all these elements, the audience became an extension of the stage. I have a few conventional eight and four light blinders as well as the JDCs to ensure the crowd are visible.”

Black Box Music provided a full turnkey solution from lighting, video and audio, having collaborated with both Lindemann and Rammstein for a number of years.

With the tour all wrapped up, Mark told TPi: “We were very glad that people got to experience the show before everything was shut down,” he concluded. “I think we created something special and memorable. It was a fantastic project to work on.”

TPi Photos: Paul Gaertner www.lindemann.band.com www.bertilmark.com www.black-box-music.de

A Ghostlight burns in empty theaters as a beacon against the dark and as a promise to soon retake the stage.

We will all return to the stage. Until then, GLP will keep its own Ghostlight burning for all of you.

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19

BACK TO THE FUTURE: THE MUSICAL TPi catches up with some of the key players behind one of this year’s most talked-about musical productions – a reimagining of the Robert Zemeckis classic, Back to the Future. Stew Hume reports…

PRODUCTION PROFILE

BACK TO THE FUTURE: THE MUSICAL

Like most people in the UK, with the lockdown in effect, I worked out a running route from my front door that would allow me to complete an hour’s worth of exercise. On nearly every jog I’ve done so far, I have passed Manchester’s Opera House, which is still adorned with posters promoting Back To The Future: The Musical. Each time I went out for a run, I was greeted with giant images of Marty and Doc posing next to the famed DeLorean. Having been open for just a few short weeks, the show’s run was cut short in line with government regulations. However, if you were able to get through the now-locked doors, you would find all the elements of this re-imagined cult film still in place – from the DeLorean, to the costumes and all the technical elements that brought this beloved story to life.

With this in mind, TPi was keen to go on our own time-travelling experience and talk to the department heads who faced the gargantuan task of translating a cinematic classic into a stage production, for the enjoyment of film fans and theatre-goers alike.

Studio.” Although his official title was Set and Costume Designer, Hatley explained to TPi that his role was all-encompassing. “Theatre is such a collaborative effort and you have so many skilled people heading up each department,” he said. “My goal with any production is to make sure that the set comes alive and therefore I want to make sure it integrates with every other element of the show.”

The scenic elements were built by Souvenir Scenic Studios, employing the talents of Founder, Simon Kenny. Meanwhile, all the automation and electronics used to bring the DeLorean to life came courtesy of STC. “They did all the electrics in the floor and all the automation,” commented Hatley.

“They are the best when it comes to this standard of project.”

HEY, DOC. YOU’D BETTER BACK UP During the initial discussion phase of the project, the creative leads were aware that video was going to be integral to bring the sci-fi elements of the cinematic classic to life. For the project, the tour deployed two video solutions – a front projection wall as well as LED elements with a large ROE Visual Black Onyx LED screen upstage.

Unlike the world of live touring, where the use of large upstage video elements have become commonplace, in the world of theatre, the inclusion of LED is still in its infancy. “This is my second show using LED video as a dominant element,” admitted Hatley, who had used the medium during the Life of Pi performance last year. “I was keen to ensure that the video didn’t replace scenic design.”

He explained that his goal when it came to video was to ensure it worked “in conjunction with the physical set”. One of the most challenging

GREAT SCOTT The design concept for Back To The Future: The Musical [BTTF] had been on the cards for some time. One of TPi’s first chats about the project was with Set and Costume Designer, Tim Hatley.

“It began around two years ago,” Hatley said, pinpointing the integral talks he had with Director, John Rando. “Early on, I knew I wanted to have Tim Lutkin, our Co-Lighting Designer, on board – he worked alongside Hugh Vanstone in the initial stages of the production. Also, as soon as we knew video would play a key role in the design, I called up Finn Ross of FRAY 22

BACK TO THE FUTURE: THE MUSICAL

elements of this project was that so many of the key moments within the storyline were so iconic and ingrained in the audience’s memory, that simply playing video assets from the movie would draw the audience away from the stage experience.

“The ‘clock tower’ scene was key in capturing the attention of the audience,” reflected Hatley. “It’s one story element which leans into Finn’s video content. The end result was an incredible combination of screens, lighting and video with all departments moving at the same time. There was a real mystery on the audience front with how we achieved it.”

Joining talks with the rest of the production 12 months prior to opening night, Ross was brought on to oversee the video elements of the production and in his words, “send the DeLorean back in time”. He said: “The only way to approach this kind of show is to outline the key moments that you know you are going to have to recreate from the source material.

Once you have those points, the rest of the show begins to emerge.”

For the backend of the video setup, Ross put his faith in disguise gx 2s running Notch. “At FRAY Studio, we were fairly early adopters of disguise,” he confirmed. “It has been my go-to for a number of years.”

The automated movement of the car – such as the jumps to ‘88mph’ to go back in time – presented some of the most interesting challenges for Ross to create corresponding video footage. “One way we could have gone was to build a virtual 3D world and key frame all the parameters. Sadly, I don’t think there is enough maths in the world to pull that off,” he quipped.

Instead, Ross lent on Notch, which was able to adapt to changes in automation and create a much more fluid and flexible creative experience while working out the finer points of the production during rehearsals.

Ross went on to highlight the technical aspects of the LED screens. Along with the ROE Visual Black Onyx, the LED elements relied on Brompton Technology processing, which produced some “spectacular colours,” according to Ross. “With Brompton’s beautiful processing, along with disguise and the really good NotchLC Codec, we were able to stand back and agree – this was something different,” he added.

The Video Designer has already become accustomed to Brompton processing during his work on another theatrical adaptation – Frozen.

“From a designer’s eye, it’s simply leagues ahead of others on the market,” he said of the technology. He was also quick to complement ROE Visual during his tech run down. He admitted that LED is not always well-suited to dark theatres. “ROE has stood up,” he enthused. “The products even have a Dark Magic setting, which really helps push the low end. I’ll admit I don’t really know how it works, but it makes a huge difference to the image quality in the theatrical setting.”

Ross also oversaw the projection elements of the show, which relied on three Panasonic PT-RZ31K Series fixtures. “The three of those just look after the downstage transparent surface,” he explained. With one situated face on from the stage, the other two were on the left and right of the theatre creating a “dark triangle” which, according to the director, meant elements could move around while projections were happening without being caught in the lights of the projectors.

“The whole experience has been quite a special challenge,” concluded Ross. “Working with Tim and the rest of the crew has been fantastic, and it’s been interesting to take perhaps the best three-and-a-half minutes from ’80s cinema and successfully bring that to the stage.”

23

BACK TO THE FUTURE: THE MUSICAL

THIS IS HEAVY Co-Lighting Designer, Tim Lutkin picked up the story: “We wanted to create a neat rig with as few fixture types as possible,” he stated. “The reason for this was to keep the show as low maintenance as possible. We also looked back at some of the most successful rigs of previous years, many of which often tended to have limited fixture types.”

Most of the rig was made of Martin by Harman MAC Aura and MAC Viper fixtures – with a combination of Viper Spots and Profiles. Upstage to downstage, there were also several GLP impression X4 Bar 20s, which provided Lutkin with a number of light curtain moments. Finally, controlling the rig was an MA Lighting grandMA2.

The LD understood that the rig was going to have to create a number of different environments. “The style of lighting we have created is lean and simple and covers a whole range of looks, from vintage 1950s scenes all the way to a super futuristic concert environment.”

For spots, the lighting team put its faith in zactrack and the company’s new SMART system, all of which was supplied by Ambersphere Solutions.

“This is the latest offering from zactrack,” Lutkin explained, comparing the new offering to the zactrack PRO. “I think we were the first theatre production to use them.”

Lutkin was very happy with the results. “There were a number of moments where we had people going from upstage to downstage; naturally, we wanted to follow them with a spot, which was very simple with the zactrack system,” he stated.

Having the automated system in place also proved useful in backlighting the performance a number of times during the show. “Rear

spots were never a consideration, as you wouldn’t dream of having an operator upstage in the lighting rig,” he said. “But with systems like zactrack, you suddenly have a new tool to sculpt out actors on stage.”

WHERE WE’RE GOING, WE DON’T NEED ROADS Moving the conversation skyward, TPi sought out the people responsible for the elaborate rigging overhead. Brought in by Production Manager, Simon Marlow, Unusual Rigging handled the complex rigging requirements of the show.

Marlow elaborated: “Unusual’s Emily Egleton was at the helm of the project. We have a great relationship, having worked closely on a number of shows together including & Juliet and Bat Out of Hell: The Musical. She was tasked with designing all the diversions and the hanging plot and yet again squeezed more than would seem possible into an extremely tight space.”

The show relied on some very complex auditorium rigging as well as a challenging onstage rig as Egleton explained: “At FOH, we’ve created an environment around the audience in the form of giant circuit boards that extend into the auditorium. To do this, the proscenium was extended so that the audience is almost enclosed by the circuits. This in itself was quite a challenge because hidden within the circuit boards is a significant amount of equipment, like LED lighting and speakers. While the capacity of the roof in Manchester is pretty good, it changes across the roof, so balancing the load in the right places was no mean feat.”

On stage, there were a number of flown elements, some of which were too heavy for the house flying system. Egleton continued: “Manchester is a wooden grid, which means that you have to think about the best way to 24

BACK TO THE FUTURE: THE MUSICAL

spread the load. We also had to come up with a way of storing a lot of the a-half ago,” reminisced Headlam. From the outset, Headlam knew that no set in the wings. There are several large bits on this show, so we fabricated matter what, this production had to be “really good”. He elaborated: “It’s some bespoke storage frames at our facility in Bugbrooke that are stored in the big problem when you are bringing such an iconic film franchise to the the air when not in use.” stage. We all grew up with it and know each movie back to front.”

With FOH presenting such intricate challenges, it was vital that all work Despite the gravitas of the challenge, it was one that Headlam was very was done in the correct order. “The circuit boards had to be built in one excited to undertake. “What personally excited me about BTTF was that it piece and flown, so we had to ensure that the infrastructure behind them was new and exciting. And the end result of what we created in Manchester was right because, once up, there was no way we were going to get them was just a fantastic night out for all who were able to witness it.” down again,” said Egleton.

Thankfully for the Orbital team already had a head start on the Marlow added: “Fortunately, because Unusual production, having deployed a speaker system Rigging and I have done so much work at the for a show in Manchester Opera House in the past Manchester Opera House over the past few years, year-and-a-half. “We had worked on Bat Out of Hell: we managed to install everything with only minor The Musical, so we knew what we were dealing with “Back To The Future: The changes to the venue. in terms of the venue, as well as what to expect “We had a team of five riggers from Unusual from the Mancunian audience,” grinned Headlam.

Musical is the show that the doing the load-in, headed by Gavin Snelling, who The PA deployed was a d&b audiotechnik GSL commercial musical theatre all did an amazing job and should be proud of what line array. “We anticipated that the show had legs they achieved in a very tight load-in schedule.” and would likely have longevity and therefore industry really needed. It wanted to use a system at the start of its product moves everything on a step I GUESS YOU GUYS AREN’T READY FOR THAT cycle,” stated Headlam.

Sound Designer, Gareth Owen worked closely The Managing Director expanded on the and it’s a great night that I with supplier Orbital Sound to provide the audio capabilities of the GSL – and its impressive rear defy anyone not to have a backbone for the musical adaptation. Talking TPi rejection: “Whenever we are discussing theatre through the audio elements of the production sound, it always boils down to omnidirectional great time at.” was Managing Director, Chris Headlam. “The BTTF microphones,” he commented. “With this in mind, Chris Headlam, Orbital Sound project came across our desks around a year-andany improvement in rear rejection is a good thing 25

BACK TO THE FUTURE: THE MUSICAL

as, in simple terms, it gives you more gain before feedback with a greater level of freedom with the mix and vocal EQ.” On the topic of microphones, the show’s audio team put its faith in the Shure Axient Digital system, including 32 ADX1M micro-body packs and six ADX2 handhelds with SM58 capsules. Shure was also the brand of choice for the cast’s in-ears, utilising PSM1000s.

“Shure is definitely ahead of the pack when it comes to technology and their ideas, and Axient Digital is, without a doubt, the best digital wireless system available on the market,” commented Owen. “The system gives a clear and noticeable improvement in sound quality. It has been a game changer for us.”

He continued: “We work very hard with the wardrobe department to hide bodypacks under wigs so that there are no visible wires. The curved construction of the Shure ADX1M bodypacks, and the fact that they are so lightweight, has allowed us to place them under the wigs much better, especially for those cast members who need to wear two bodypacks.”

Headlam was equally impressed with the micro packs. “The fact that there is no transmitter aerial is a huge benefit,” he commented. “Having everything internal has got rid of a whole host of problems; if it’s not there, it can’t break – and they do! The new bodypack is very performer friendly with it’s all round edges, it’s like an old bar of soap.”

To handle all the RF management during the performance, the audio team used Shure’s Wireless Workbench. “There is a huge amount of other wireless kit involved,” commented Owen.

“We utilise huge video walls, a large video portal, a variety of wireless communications, around 70 2.4GHz WiFi access points and lots of channels of wireless DMX lighting. All in all, there is a colossal amount of technology being used to deliver a great experience to audiences and it’s been working

seamlessly.” Shure Regional Sales Manager, Peppe Mallozzi, added: “We’ve spent a great deal of time listening to the theatre industry, and in Axient Digital, we’re pleased to see increasing numbers of shows finding success with the platform, from sound quality gains to RF stability. We’re delighted to see the real-world benefits of new transmitter form-factors, such as the ADX1M Micro Bodypack. The Manchester trial was a roaring success, and we look forward to seeing where the show can go from here.”

Finally, controlling the mix of the show was an Avid S6L 32. “As well as the 32 faders on the desk, Orbital also provided a custom 16-fader to give the engineers even more room to work,” enthused Headlam. The show control system was a mixture of QLab and Orbital’s own Nemesis Audio hardware and software.

WHEN THIS BABY HITS 88 MILES PER HOUR The iconic flame trails of the DeLorean once it successfully hits 88mph is an image that is burned into the memory [pun very much intended] of everyone who has seen the movie.

To create this iconic look, the production employed the services of Encore SFX. Discussing the project was SFX Director, Anthony Earles. Before forming Encore SFX, with fellow Director, George Baker, Earles had already worked closely with the Production Manager on Before The Dawn and gave them the chance to get a seat at the BTTF table.

“Our original brief was to recreate the iconic flaming tracks of the film’s famous time-travelling DeLorean,” outlined Earles. “We created two tyrewidth tracking flame bars that ignite downstage, chasing upstage. These had full customisation of height, speed and duration of flame.”

This effect was then programmed on-site with input from the wider creative team. Once set, it was fully automated and ran identically every 26

BACK TO THE FUTURE: THE MUSICAL

show. Creating the custom flame bars that ignited fast, had adjustable duration and stayed lit after ignition for as long as needed was a complicated undertaking. “We had to create a balance speed and stability in order to fulfil the original brief,” stated Earles. He explained that a conventional fuel source does not ignite fast and, when you have a fastigniting fuel source, it will not stay lit after the initial fireball. “To create that effect in the film, they sped up the footage of a naturally slow-igniting fuel source – something we obviously could not recreate on stage.”

Once the team had finished creating the DeLorean flame tracks and demonstrated the effect to production, the duo was then asked to add a “phase two” – to have a live flame pulse from upstage to downstage, the opposite direction from how the system had been designed. “We were working against air turbulence as we had just completed a large flame pulse chasing upstage,” said Earles. “This required a bit of on-site testing and reconfiguration.” But despite the time pressure, the Encore team was successful in its venture.

In addition to the DeLorean flame tracks, Encore provided all pyrotechnics for the production. “An example would be the model box fire, from the scene in the film when Doc creates a model of the lightning hitting the clock tower resulting in the model car setting alight,” stated Earles. “We also did a lot of electrical sparks and explosions throughout the set.”

Although joining the project later than the other departments, Earles was happy to report that the Encore team enjoyed the collaboration.

“We had to develop a strong working relationship quickly with the rest of the team,” he explained. “This involved communicating with set and production to work out how we could incorporate our custom flame system within the existing design elements of the show. Everyone could not have been more accommodating.”

Earles gave his final thoughts on the production: “We couldn’t have been supported better by the production. It was a great show to work on, and a great show to watch.”

ARE YOU TELLING ME YOU BUILT A MUSICAL… OUT OF A MOVIE? Like the famed movie, most reading this know how this chapter of Back To the Future: The Musical ends – the inevitable cutting short of its run time.

“Sadly, in light of the COVID-19 situation sweeping the world, we have had to turn the lights off on the show for a little while,” concluded the PM. “We lowered the curtain on 16 March, but like the rest of the industry, we hope that we’ll be able to re-open our doors again in the not-too-distant future.”

Despite the main run being cut short, many people still managed to see the end result before lockdown. “We previewed the show for three weeks prior to the main press event, followed by a further three nights for the general public,” Marlow confirmed. In total, this came to close to four weeks of performances which, as Hatley pointed out, meant that a number of theatre owners and producers got to see what they had created – and the response was “incredibly positive”.

Orbital’s Chris Headlam concurred: “Back To The Future: The Musical is the show that the commercial musical theatre industry really needed,” he stated. “It moves everything on a step and it’s a great night that I defy anyone not to have a great time at.”

Having spoken to all the various departments, not one of them seemed to doubt that – when the industry jumps back from its current state – this show will live again. But short of an eccentric scientist knocking on our door with a few flasks of plutonium, I guess we’ll just have to be patient.

TPi Photos: Sean Ebsworth Barnes www.backtothefuturemusical.com www.hawthorn.biz www.orbitalsound.com www.encore-sfx.com www.unusual.co.uk www.souvenir.co.uk www.fraystudio.co.uk

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JAMES ARTHUR: THE YOU TOUR TPi’s Stew Hume reports on the final arena tour to take place in the UK ahead of lockdown.

PRODUCTION PROFILE

JAMES ARTHUR

Entering the public consciousness after winning season nine of The X Factor in 2012, James Arthur has spent the past eight years honing his craft, with three studio albums and six arena tours already under his belt.

His latest release, You, promised to be less of an introspective record, with the focus being on other people – hence the album title and the resulting mirrors incorporated into the set design for The YOU Tour…

With the rising tide of COVID-19 entering the UK, many in the touring world were anticipating an announcement that large-scale events would come to an abrupt end. The call was eventually made by the Prime Minister on 16 March 2020 – the same night that Arthur was set to take the stage for the final night of the run.

“The fact that we were even playing that night was a bit of a fluke,” reflected Production Manager, Gareth Russell, who spoke to TPi from his home in Scotland. During the UK tour, Arthur postponed a few shows due to health reasons, leading to the rescheduled Leeds date on 16 March.

The entire album campaign was split into two sections; a theatre tour at the tail end of 2019, which then expanded into the larger arena run. Having been brought in by production house, Helix, Russell pulled together a team which would eventually become the touring family.

“I have worked with Helix a number of times as a Production Manager for First Aid Kit,” Russell explained. “With the band taking a break, I was looking for my next job and The YOU Tour was brought up. At the time James was going into BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend, which I oversaw, and I have looked after the production ever since.”

The PM went on to explain how due to a break in touring, many of the crew who had previously worked with Arthur had moved onto other productions. This gave Russell the opportunity to bring back many of the familiar faces from the First Aid Kit team. As for suppliers, there was

a combination of Helix regulars and those who had worked with the PM before, including: SSE Audio, Neg Earth, Transition Video, Hangman, All Access Staging, Popcorn, Stagetruck, Phoenix Bussing and Beat The Street.

‘THEY THINK OF EVERYTHING’ With the goal of creating a theatre show that could be expand out to arenas, Helix brought in Cassius Creative to oversee the conceptual design of the show. “The ball really started rolling on this one in June last year,” stated Russell. “We sat down with the Cassius team along with James himself and key members of management to go over ideas and concepts.”

Talking through the goal of the set design was Cassius Creative’s Dan Hill. One of the first pieces they had to work with was the album cover, which is a simple, metallic, mirror surface – a concept that all relevant parties wanted to include in one way for the live show.

“Incorporating mirrors into the show was an idea we had very early on,” stated Hill. “There was this overarching theme that James wanted to include the audience within the set to parallel the album name.” The end result was five upstage set pieces with one metallic side, with a mirrored rear that could rotate, courtesy of Hangman.

As most show designers will concur, mirrors can be tricky to work with.

Hill explained: “The thing is that mirrors don’t actually look like anything; they simply reflect, which can sometimes be hard to get across to clients.

With this project, we focused for a long time on the angles to ensure we were able to get the looks we were shooting for.” With two sides at his disposal, Hill had one final trick up his sleeve: set elements that contained an LED element to produce an “infinity mirror effect” during the show.

“Cassius has such a clear understanding of what concertgoers want to see,” stated Russell. “They think of everything down to the smallest detail, 30

JAMES ARTHUR

including how the show will look through a phone and social media – all of which is included in their initial pitch.”

for the first part of the set behind the mirrored set elements upstage. “We held them back until later in the set, which really accented some ‘rockier’ moments,” explained McDade. “Some of his music really has a heavy edge ‘STRONGER SILHOUETTES’ and it was good to have those halogen moments at the back of the stage Having been another regular from the First Aid Kit camp, Russell brought creating stronger silhouettes.” over Lighting Operator, Franki McDade to the James Arthur team, marking The rest of the rig comprised 21 GLP JDC1s, 10 Claypaky Scenius Unicos the first time she had collaborated with Cassius Creative. From FOH, and 13 Khamsin-S – Ayrton’s newest moving head fixture. “I’ve become a McDade operated the show on an MA Lighting grandMA2 light console. big fan of the Khamsins on this run,” enthused McDade. “The zoom is so He, alongside the Neg Earth crew, oversaw the operation of over 124 wide and they are so bright when you are looking down the barrel, but at Robe Spikie LED WashBeams. “We used this fixture extensively on James’ the same time, it’s not overwhelming for the audience.” previous theatre run,” stated Hill. “In the early For spots, Hill and the team selected the Followdays, we had been looking for a fixture that was Me system, which was used in tandem with the versatile and we would be able to get in high Claypaky Scenius Unicos. “During the show, we quantity. In theatres, you don’t necessarily require had options for seven spots to follow James, a high-output fixture, but when we moved it into which gave us the options of front light and/or arenas, we needed more impact.” Hill recounted a back light variations as we needed it,” stated Hill. nice change of pace using fixtures that didn’t have “We only ever use remote followspots now. What “Incorporating mirrors into to compete with a rear LED video element, which it gives you over more conventional followspots allowed the Robe Spikie fixtures to control the positions is that it’s much more sympathetic light the show was an idea we brightness of the stage. on performers, rather than just blasting them from had very early on. There was McDade commented: “A number of times your standard flat arena position.” during the show, we were able to use the ‘flower

this overarching theme that effect’ to get the fantastic fragmented looks. It ‘THE FINAL PIECE OF THE PUZZLE’ James wanted to include the really pushes you out of the usual spot/wash rig As the tour expanded from theatres to arenas, with some really different looks.” it was natural that a video element would have audience within the set to Another notable fixture present on the rig was to be incorporated into the mix. However, Hill parallel the album name.” an entire rear wall made up of Portman Lights P2 and the Cassius team were keen to not divert Dan Hill, Cassius Creative Hexalines – 44 in total. The fixtures were hidden the audience’s attention to left and right flanking 31

JAMES ARTHUR

screens, opting instead for a crowned video element hung above the stage.

“We had committed to the physical set ideas from the outset with the mirrors and the elements in the wings,” stated Hill.

“The only issue is that when scaling from theatres to arenas, the defined set pieces were not exactly scalable. With that drawback, we worked on a number of ways to alter th design, with the angle of the stage adding more layers to the stage footprint. The final piece of the puzzle was to introduce a flown video element, which gave a header and roof to the overall stage image and maintained the stage architecture with its geometry and lines.” Most importantly, according to Hill, it kept the crowd intimacy and structure that Arthur was keen to have, in line with the album title.

Cassius Creative worked in partnership with Paul Gardner, who made some animated frames as well as a short intro at the top of the show to add alternative looks to the IMAG-led video content, while Transition Video provided the hardware.

The LED product of choice was a ROE Visual MC7, which measured in at 15.5m by 4.8m. Managing the IMAG cut, which comprised a HyperDeck Studio Pro 2 and an ARME 2 M/E Production Studio 4K, was Blackmagic Design. Three Panasonic AWUE70 PTZ cameras captured the action.

Russell was pleased to bring the Transition team onboard. “I had not worked with them previously; they were put forward by the Cassius team, who had just worked with them on Liam Gallagher. Rhodri and the team provided a great service.” The PM was also keen to complement the work of Video Director, Richie Shipman, who produced the IMAG cut for the show.

Despite jumping in at the deep end, Williamson was pleased with the end result. “It’s safe to say that there is some snobbery with an act like James due to his talent show background,” stated the Engineer. “But the lad has got a hell of a set of pipes! Not only that, a lot of his new stuff is really quite rocky, backed up with some great lyrics.”

Williamson explained how his input list was slightly smaller than you might expect for a show of this size, with only 40 channels to handle, all of which he did via a DiGiCo SD12. Meanwhile, Monitor Engineer, Jono Dunlop, mixed his show on an SD10.

“I use DiGiCo for almost every project I work on,” stated Williamson.

“The Waves integration is excellent, which is my preferred workflow. Above all, their customer services is fantastic. Regardless of my location, I can call them safe in the knowledge that someone will be on the other end of the line, ready to answer my question.”

He went on to point out some of the highlights of his Waves integration.

“Over the years, I’ve collected my go-to presents that I know I can drop into any situation or act and I’ll be in the right ballpark. Usually I have a selection of outboard gear with me as well, but as this show was a bit last-minute, I went with my typical, nice and simple setup.”

SSE Audio provided a d&b audiotechnik GSL/KSL system. The PA system comprised 28 main hangs of 28 GSL8s and four hangs of GSL12s, with a flown sub system of 18 SL-GSUBs. Side hangs were made up of 24 GSLs, with an additional four KSLs. Finally, four V7Ps were used for in-fills, with 10 Y12s purposed for front fills.

The sound system was already selected prior to Williamson joining the tour, chosen due to its notable rear rejection. “Gareth, our PM, explained when I was brought on that on the previous run, they had real problems with on-stage noise and spill from the PA,” stated Williamson, going on to explain how the characteristics of the GSL/KSL made it invaluable to the singer’s performance. “I had already used it a few times, but this was my first-time touring with the boxes and I’ve been really happy with them. I’m a

‘A HELL OF A SET OF PIPES!’ Having taken the reins from John Delf – who had taken up the FOH position for Louis Tomlinson – FOH Engineer, Andrew Williamson explained that the early day of the production were nerve-racking. “The initial rehearsals had to be postponed so all I had for reference was some older live recordings to create a mix before going into our first show in Dublin,” he explained.

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JAMES ARTHUR

Video Director, Richie Shipman; Production Manager, Gareth Russell; Lighting Operator, Franki McDade.

big fan of flying subs,” he continued, while going over the finer points of the d&b system. “We were able to fly the subs right alongside the main hang.”

When it came to the PA setup, the FOH Engineer was quick to pay complements to his right-hand man, System Tech, Nick Lythgoe. “He was involved in the software development of the system and knows it inside out,” enthused Williamson. “Nick was able to set up the system to my preference – specifically avoiding any of the ambiguous low-end, which you sometimes get with certain PAs.” Williamson asserted that having someone like Lythgoe on-site was an invaluable asset. “If you have a bad system tech – even if you are using the same gear and setup – it can lead to a terrible show. Having someone as efficient as Nick really makes a difference on this type of show.”

A combination of wedges and IEMs were provided for stage sound.

Dunlop utilised the Shure Axient Digital system in combination with a Shure KSM9 capsule. For wedges, the crew used a selection of d&b M2s, V-Subs along with four L-Acoustic KS28s sub cabinets and four ARCS2. “James likes to alternate between taking out his ears and leaving them in, so we provided a setup that catered for both,” Williamson noted.

To close, the FOH Engineer was keen to praise the support of SSE Audio.

“The calibre of techs we had on this one was really quite incredible,” he enthused, listing the likes of Pete Hughes and Adam Field, both veterans of the industry, with decades of experience between them.

‘THE RIGHT PEOPLE FOR THE JOB’ Stage Manager, Ross Burkin walked TPi through the complicated logistics of pulling off the tour. “The large mirrored set elements presented a logistical challenge, as each of them weighed in at 150kg, and were extremely fragile,” he conceded.

However, thanks in part to his logistical planning, he and the carpentry team were able to take the set pieces throughout the theatre run and into the area leg the next year unscathed. In line the expansion of the tour, the

arena legs took up six trucks, courtesy of Stagetruck. Getting his start in the lighting world, Burkin had taken on several carp roles, eventually leading him to take on the Stage Manager role for Years & Years, where he met Helix.

“The Helix guys have been great to me and have continued to give me opportunities,” he stated, explaining that this was actually his first arena tour with the Stage Manager title.

Having been touring for three years, Burkin admitted that he was willing to learn from all his fellow crew members. “I have toured enough to know how I didn’t want to act in the role,” he said. “I’ve worked on some shows where the Stage Manager just screams at people and local crew. We are all here to do the same job – I just need to help facilitate that.”

For a tour that faced Storm Kira at the beginning and concluded in lockdown, it’s fair to say that it has had its fair share of challenges. “Heading up this production, I really can’t say enough about the team we pulled together,” enthused Russell, collecting his thoughts about the tour.

“The fact is, even now, while we’re in lockdown, the team are still speaking about the tour on WhatsApp. It’s clearly a good sign that we put together the right people for the job.”

TPi Photos: Rahul Bhatt and Jordan McKellar www.jamesarthurofficial.com www.onlyhelix.com www.cassiuscreative.co.uk www.negearth.com www.transitionvideo.com www.hangman.co.uk www.allaccessinc.com www.beatthestreet.net www.phoenix-bussing.co.uk www.stagetruck.com www.popcorncatering.com 33

DRIVE-IN FOCUS

DRIVE-IN FOCUS With performances popping up all across Europe throughout May, the drive-in format is a popular solution for those looking to produce events while COVID-19 restrictions are still in place.

ADJ & ELATION PROFESSIONAL A range of ADJ and Elation Professional fixtures add drama to DRIVE.IN Concerts Monheim.

Live events returned to the German town of Monaheim with DRIVE. IN Concerts Monheim. Running throughout May and into June, with a variety of live acts and DJs performing, the concert series features an impressive stage setup that utilises ADJ lighting fixtures heavily.

DRIVE.IN Concerts Monheim kicked off with a live performance by Cologne-based rock band Kasalla as part of their Et Jitt Car-Salla tour of drive-in concerts. Since then, most weekends have seen two or three concerts taking place at the outdoor site, featuring artists including DJ Quicksilver, Da Hool, Moguai, TOPIC and The Disco Boys.

The spectacular festival-style light show, supplied by local audio-visual production company LaserFrame, consisted primarily of ADJ fixtures, alongside others from sister-brand Elation Professional. The spot luminaire chosen for the rig was ADJ’s immensely popular Focus Spot 4Z. Sixteen of these fixtures were hung from the roof of the stage to generate GOBO projections and mid-air effects.

In addition, 12 ADJ Vizi Beam RXONE fixtures were mounted in threes to angled floor-standing trusses that could be moved around the stage to adapt to live music or DJs. Harnessing the power of an Osram Sirius HRI 100W discharge long-life lamp, this potent fixture produces a super-sharp 3° beam of light that travels up to 100m – ideal for creating aerial effects.

Out at the front of the stage, hanging below the side screens, were six Hydro Wash X7s. Perfect for locations where they are exposed to the elements, these powerful moving head wash fixtures feature a robust IP65-

rated casing design, allowing for their safe use in all weather conditions.

Each fixture incorporates seven 40W RGBW (four-in-one) LEDs, which can be controlled individually to create pixel-mapped ‘eye candy’ effects.

Motorised focus also allowed for the creation of both tight beam effects and wide washes.

Illumination of the performers on stage was provided by six Encore FR150s. Equipped with an 8in Fresnel lens, this popular fixture is powered by a 130W LED engine. Beams were enhanced by an even coverage of dispersed fog generated by three of Entour Faze Jr machines. This compact 200W unit uses ADJ’s patent-pending rapid heater technology that allows it to be ready to produce haze in 70 seconds from the time it’s turned on.

The on-stage wash moving head chosen for the rig was Elation Professional’s Rayzor 360Z, which features an eight-to-77° beam angle and 360° continuous pan and tilt movement. Meanwhile, the front of the stage was lined with a combination of Elation Professional Chorus Line 16 motorised pixel bars and Proteus Rayzor 760 IP65-rated wash fixtures that feature Elation’s unique SparkLED twinkling white LEDs positioned inside the front lens. Finally, blinder duties were taken care of by Elation Professional CUEPIX Blinder WW2.

TPi Photo: Julian Huke www.adj.com www.elationlighting.com 34

DRIVE-IN FOCUS

NORDIC RENTALS Nordic Rentals creates technical solutions throughout Denmark and Norway for various drive-in concepts. The latest, P Scenen in Aarhus, captures headlines as one of the early pioneers of the modern-day drive-in concert...

When the Danish government temporarily suspended concerts in early March, Nordic Events went back to the drawing board to reimagine ageold drive-in cinemas as modern-day socially distanced concerts, where attendees could tune into onstage artists from the comfort of their cars, through their FM radios. Perhaps Gary Numan was right, here in our cars we feel safest of all.

Having spent the past few weeks busy building stages and expansive lighting rigs throughout Denmark and Norway for various drive-in concepts, Nordic Rentals’ initial collaboration on drive-in cinematic solutions came to head when the company began envisioning a continuous culture festival of drive-in shows, P Scenen.

“We sold around 500 tickets in minutes when we announced the drive-in concert featuring Danish singer-songwriter, Mads Langer with just six days’ notice,” Torben Pedersen, CEO of Nordic Events, recalled. The event marked the first in a planned series of drive-in concerts and events on a hastily erected, albeit impressive, stage on the outskirts of Aarhus, Denmark.

Mads Langer’s entire set was transmitted to the audience via FM radio.

“The audience also had the chance to interact with him using Zoom. Their faces were presented on the back wall centre screen, while traditional left and right IMAGs captured the artist and shots of the audience.”

Pedersen recalled a moment when Langer took a liking to one local, Signe Nygaard, who requested fan-favourite track, Fact-Fiction. “She explained to the artist that she had danced to the song as a young gymnast.

Much to her surprise, Langer invited her to join him on stage.”

The following day, Nordic Events transformed the stage into a drive-in cinema. “We recently linked up with a brewery to provide alcohol-free beer, so people can sit in their car and receive a six pack, without touching anyone or being in direct contact with other people.” For Pedersen, it’s these little details that have transformed a passion project in the face of adversity into a reality.

“The situation is currently very tough in both Norway and Denmark – we have laid off over 140 members of staff,” he admitted. “Thankfully, we are able to provide compensation packages courtesy of the government to

cover costs and labour, so that means we can push through at the moment.

However, we lose money every month, so we try to find alternative avenues to generate income. In Copenhagen, we’ve been building a corporate studio as well as hosting e-concerts and livestreamed events with Danish DJ, Martin Jensen.”

Despite the uncertainty regarding COVID-19, the team didn’t encounter any issues setting the stage in Aarhus. “We abided by the two-metre guidelines; people took the precautions set by the government,” he said. “It only took just under two days to build the entire stage. We also built up the floor so the cars could view the artists more closely, while still adhering to the social distancing guidelines.”

Tuning into the action required the organisers and Nordic Rentals to seek permission from the Danish authorities to use the FM band. “It worked fantastically well,” Pedersen underlined. “A standard PA system simply wouldn’t have worked as effectively.”

Despite the strange nature of the project, whereby usual sonic conventions are thrown out of the window, Pedersen was pleased with the outcome. “The crew are smiling more. From our point of view, there isn’t much difference – other than the omission of a standard PA system, everything is the same.”

For the staging team, the build was business as usual. “We take precautions when building the stage; the same goes lighting and LED implementation – we’re just doing another show with more distance between people involved,” Pedersen stated.

Although there was no official FOH at P Scenen, everything was mixed by engineers at the side of the stage. “There was an engineer mixing monitors and another for the FM band,” Pedersen pointed out. “Fundamentally, we try to find ways to ensure our presence is still there, pioneering new business areas as they appear.”

TPi Photo: Morten Rygaard www.nordic.dk www.pscenen.dk 35

DRIVE-IN FOCUS

CHAUVET PROFESSIONAL CHAUVET Professional fixtures add drama to drive-in projects on both sides of the Atlantic.

Injecting some much-needed laughter during these uncertain times, Drive-In Comedy Night in Phoenix, Arizona, presented the stage for Michael Longfellow’s headline show. Lighting the stage where Longfellow and fellow comics, Joe Carden and Mike B Dapper, performed was a collection of CHAUVET Professional Rogue and WELL Fit fixtures, supplied by Creative BackStage.

John Garberson, LD for the show, relied on the fixtures to help enliven the stage and create a comedy club feel, with saturated colours and a few well-chosen ballyhoo moments. At the same time, the lighting ensured that attention was focused on branding material from the evening’s sponsors.

“This was a first – a very different experience,” said Garberson of Creative BackStage. “But it was also a lot of fun. You could feel the energy in the air. People were excited. We had the WELL Fits on trees stage left and right to create a nice warm glow. The Rogue R2 Washes were also on trees, giving us evocative stage washes, in addition to creating some punchy aerial patterns at key moments.”

Garberson placed additional WELL Fit fixtures in front and behind the stage. Those in front were used to keep constant light on the prominent sponsor banner. The rear fixtures provided back lighting and also set an inviting tone by lighting the trees behind the improvised stage.

Maintaining good sight lines was critical, given the distance between the stage and the fans due to the strict social distancing guidelines. Cars had to be kept 6ft apart and fans were not permitted to get out of their vehicles.

The performances were transmitted to vehicle radios over an FM signal.

Along with providing some much-needed entertainment to fans, the event boosted Creative BackStage’s fortunes, being its first paying project since the COVID-19 lockdown began. As such, it felt good for Garberson and his team, leaving them looking forward to more such gigs down the road.

Across the pond in Germany, CHAUVET Professional fixtures were also utilised during a project in the town of Apolda. In mid-May, Studio D4

launched Autokino Apolda – a pop culture throwback to the 1960s-style American drive-in, but with a decidedly high-tech touch provided by a bright 10m by 6m LED video screen built with CHAUVET Professional F4 IP panels, supplied and installed by Materie Event Production.

Mounted on a 2m-high platform and supported by a solid rigging grid, the video panels delivered the kind of clear, crisp images that would have been unimaginable back in the glory days of the early drive-in movies.

“The panels give us brilliant colours and sharp definition thanks to their 4.8 mm pixel pitch,” said Heiko Ullrich of Materie Event Production.

“The black body of the LEDs means that we have great images even during sunlight. This was important, because the client needed vibrant colours and high contrast during the daylight as well as at night.”

Autokino Apolda offered a full schedule of movies, such as Bohemian Rhapsody, A Star Is Born, and Spiderman. The pop-up drive-in opens every day, seven days a week. Since the panels will be left outdoors for the long run, their IP65 rating is essential.

A combination of two NovaStar scalers, a Blackmagic ATEM Television Studio Pro 4K, a Sony Blue-ray player, and three Decimator MD HXs feed the video wall content. “The control we get is excellent,” said Ullrich. “We can run 120 panels on just one scaler.”

The Materie Event team arranged six Maverick Storm 1 Washes and four COLORado Panel Q40 units over the big video wall. From this position, the IP65-rated fixtures are used to create stunning effects after the screenings.

To draw attention to the drive-in, the Maverick fixtures are also used to create aerial effects, which can be seen from great distances. The fixtures served another marketing function by creating captivating images of the venue to use in advertising material.

TPi Photo: CHAUVET Professional www.chauvetprofessional.com 36

DRIVE-IN FOCUS

VL5LED WASH THE RETURN OF A LEGEND

ALL ACCESS The staging and production specialist puts itself forward to provide the structural support for drive-in staging elements, with the launch of VersaPlex.

Global staging and event production company, All Access is among the many companies looking to work towards the goal of bringing back live events safely – specifically, with the use of its innovative VersaPlex Drive-In Events capabilities.

The pioneering VersaPlex system provides an outlet for in-person event interaction, while adhering to social distancing regulations and safety practices.

In working with leaders both inside and outside the entertainment industry, All Access created a mobile and adaptable drive-in screen system. Combined with its event management expertise, the company hopes to empower organisations to host live events like concerts, tournaments, church services, movies and gameday tailgating. VersaPlex provides this, with event logistics, management and weekly operations.

VersaPlex was created to keep people safe, keep people connected, and to help communities navigate the new pandemic normal. VersaPlex’s turnkey services and innovative screen system work together to make that happen.

TPi Photo: All Access www.allaccessinc.com

VA R I - L I T E .C O M 37 VL5LED_legend_A4_half-page_portrait.indd 1

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DRIVE-IN FOCUS

MEYER SOUND The loudspeaker specialist powers New Hampshire Drive-In Experience with a LEOPARD system.

Tupelo Music Hall in Derry, New Hampshire, transformed its business operations to create Tupelo Drive-In Experience, playing host to some of the first concerts in the United States under the new social distancing requirements. The music venue’s debut shows in mid-May were powered by a LEOPARD system provided by Meyer Sound rental partner, UltraSound, showcasing one of the early innovations that explores new ways to deliver performances to a safely distanced live audience.

UltraSound’s Scott Tkachuk has been working alongside Tupelo Music Hall’s Owner, Scott Hayward, and Production Manager, Paul Higgins since the conception of the drive-in shows in March. “About a week or two after the shelter-in-place order was issued, we began brainstorming,” stated Tkachuk. “When the first phase of re-opening New Hampshire included drive-in theatres, we thought why not concerts? It had to happen.”

The Tupelo Music Hall team implemented creative methods of enforcing safety measures, while Tkachuk worked on providing an audio solution that was right for the job. Each “carload” is provided with two parking spots – one for the car and an adjacent space to stand or lounge in lawn chairs.

One challenge the audio team faced when setting up the audio solutions for the drive-in experience was addressing delay issues between the sound system and the car’s radio frequency. Although patrons had the option to sit in their car’s adjacent parking space, it was imperative that the PA system align with the local radio station’s output.

“We’re only about a mile from the radio station and are on the same network node, so we used a web browser extension, Cleanfeed, that transmits high-quality digital audio,” stated Production Manager, Paul Higgins. “We managed to get the roundtrip, point-to-point audio measured to around 70 milliseconds and, naturally, matched the latency to the second row of cars.” Higgins went on to explain how it is not possible to match exactly, but that the team could make it early for everyone else,

so, if the radio is turned up and could make noise before the PA hits the audience, they “won’t notice the latency”.

With the new social distancing format, the venue’s outdoor capacity holds about 75 vehicles. The UltraSound-provided system consisted of four flown LEOPARD compact linear line array loudspeakers per side with two 900-LFC compact low-frequency control elements ground-stacked per side. Two MSL-4 reinforcement loudspeakers served as L/R side hangs.

“I talked to Scott [Hayward] and said, ‘If we are doing this until the snow falls in October, we should do this right.’ LEOPARD is tight, light, and has a compact footprint, but it’s very powerful. It is the most versatile speaker enclosure out there. I call it the Swiss Army knife of PA,” Tkachuk said.

In response to a successful first weekend, Tupelo Drive-In Experience now has events scheduled for every weekend through to mid-June, with more shows to be added. In addition to concerts, comedy performances and more are on the horizon for the summer. For those unable to attend, the venue livestreams each performance on their website.

“The shows turned out fantastic. It’s really the best-sounding outdoor concert venue,” Tupelo Music Hall Owner, Scott Hayward, reflected. “There is something about going out and hearing live music. People were tearyeyed because it was a stress relief to sit in the sun and enjoy live music. It gave people hope and something remotely normal, so it was a big success.”

As the entertainment industry adjusts to the changing landscape of live performances, Tkachuk and the UltraSound crew plans to “collaborate with production companies, promoters, and artists. The good thing is we deal with very creative people who think outside the box and we will work together to think of solutions during this time.”

TPi Photo: Meyer Sound www.meyersound.com 38

DRIVE-IN FOCUS

PRG Faced with the magnitude of event cancellations, PRG pools its skills into the growing demand for innovative concert solutions…

Known for live event, entertainment and scenic production capabilities, PRG is leveraging its know-how to facilitate the growing demand for multimedia shows in lockdown, by putting together livestreaming packages and tailored drive-in solutions for clients.

“We’re fighting and trying to stay creative; in some ways it’s amazing how much creativity exists in the touring community, and the skillsets we’ve built up in the live industry have now turned into productivity, getting it done in these difficult times,” PRG President/COO, Stephan Paridaen, began. “New people stand up, which is interesting.”

PRG Chief Sales Officer, Udo Willburger, joined the Zoom conversation.

“It’s a challenging time for us in Germany. A lot of business has been lost, so we’re trying to make the best of a bad situation.” According to Willburger, due to the nature of event cancellations and postponements, the demand for content has risen during lockdown. “Despite all of our major touring productions ceasing to exist in the past couple of months, we have noticed that there is growth in other markets – such as the TV industry, which looks to keep producing content.”

PRG name this ‘scripted’ and ‘non-scripted’ content – the latter being mainly gameshow-style productions such as televised talent shows, while scripted is defined as content produced by streaming network giants. “We have continued to see activity in the gameshow market, with no audience as well as the scripted content, which seems to be coming back faster than any market for us,” Willburger stated.

PRG has also played a key role in the rise of livestreaming concerts.

“Audiences want to see more production values than your run-of-the-mill livestream,” Paridaen explained. “We’ve put together six standard packages from basic to full, stage-integrated production, which is effectively a livestreaming studio, by building a broadcast studio for live events, with a great level of understanding of concert, stage lighting. The broadcast studio comes with full lighting rig, an LED backdrop and green screen capabilities.”

Willburger concurred: “We’re constantly learning and trying to develop our knowledge, despite having the technology, learning what works and what doesn’t work is key. Major music producers are beginning to enquire about drive-in solutions in Germany, so there are creative links and ideas being shared constantly.”

On the topic of drive-in concert solutions, Paridaen acknowledged the refreshing prospect of reimagining the old-age concept of drive-in cinemas.

“This is something new for us, specifically in Germany and the UK, we are

working on upcoming, concrete projects and orders for drive-in shows, which will soon materialise.”

Noting the resumption of the Bundesliga in Germany, Willburger predicted: “The car parks for professional football teams double as multipurpose event locations; at least one team will set up a drive-in stage with LED and lighting, where they’ll show the match or a performer on game days. It’s like tailgating in some ways.”

With roughly five projects contracted, and more in the pipeline, Willburger reminisced: “What began as a couple of small, cinematic projects has evolved into designing large multipurpose venues for 1,000 cars, multiple screens and large stages for bands to perform. We have multiple technical solutions, including FM server transmitters as well as lighting and audio packages, so the bandwidth of services we provide is extensive – we’re helping a lot of clients develop their services.” He told TPi that around 95% of the venues accounted for FM transmitting: “We provide the transmission service as well as taking care of the frequencies, in line with state permission. I guess you could say we’ve gone back to the future!”

The team has also reworked traditional production line assembly to adhere to social distancing guidelines. “We ensure all equipment is sanitised and take care of social distancing and all the measures in the warehouse,” Paridaen shared. “The same can be said with loading equipment – instead of a stack, we want a flat load so when you take it out on location, it doesn’t require two people in close confines, taking out the flight case.”

As well as a turnkey technical solution, PRG now provides a safety and sanitation package, PRG SAFE – recently introducing a hand, microphone and headset sanitation on site, to ensure all technical equipment packages are protected by housing them in single-use plastic bags. “The health and safety of our employees and clients is of paramount importance. While it incurs added costs, it’s a necessary step to guarantee everyone’s safety.”

In summary, Paridaen delivered a rallying cry. “This is going to be one of the biggest challenges the events industry will face. Although we can’t guarantee safety, we can put processes, procedures and best practices in place to mitigate and avoid the spread of the virus,” he concluded. “We were the first in and we’ll be the last out as an industry, so we need to put safety measures in place to ensure we come back as fast as possible.”

TPi Photo: PRG www.prg.com 39

DRIVE-IN FOCUS

ADI.TV The screen specialist turns its attention to a drive-in solution for German DJ, Moguai.

Providing a drive-in solution across nine sights in Germany, ADI.tv has supported these projects with a number of LED solutions. One such project took place on 30 May at Autokino Recklinghausen.

The venue, which was already an established outdoor cinema space, has had a resurgence in popularity, with a number of screenings taking place during lockdown. However, the 30 May event was an entirely different affair, as German DJ, Moguai played a two-hour set to an audience of over 800 people in 400 vehicles.

“We were approached about this project in the middle of April,” commented Business Development Manager, ADI.tv, Thomas Taylor. “Most of our rental focus in Germany historical has been centred around horse racing, Bundesliga and other sporting events.” Although a vastly different event, Taylor explained how ADI was able to deliver a much larger LED screen than usually seen at the venue, which had the knock-on effect of allowing a greater number of vehicles on site.

The screen in question was ADI’s iCONIC 100 mobile LED screen, which was located behind the main stage to offer live footage, atmospheric content to enhance the electro-beats and project lighting effects across the venue with its huge 100 sq m display.

“The iCONIC 100 is one of the world’s largest mobile LED screens,” asserted Taylor. “The screen can be rotated through 360° and it provides full pixel mapping. The unit is 13,700mm in length and 11,576mm maximum height in operation. It features an on-board generator and can be set up or

de-rigged within an hour.” For this event, the ADI screen technician took an HD-SDI feed from the on-site production unit. Due to the event beginning at dusk, he also managed the screen brightness throughout the duration of the event.

“It was hugely positive to be out delivering live entertainment and working again after the onset of the pandemic,” stated Taylor. “With a vast outdoor venue, social distancing was fairly easy. A huge benefit of the iCONIC range is the fact only a single Screen Technician is needed to drive, build and operate each unit, which minimises the need for on-site staff.”

Taylor spoke more generally about the drive-in concept and what it could mean for the events industry moving forward. “The drive-in format makes delivering a live event possible while ensuring social distancing,” he asserted. “The public can collectively enjoy live music, DJ nights, raves, comedy – they are even looking to hold a drive-in circus at this site later in the month. Organisers are getting creative with what’s possible within the current restrictions and screens like ours provide a versatile and costeffective solution for large outdoor audiences and venues.”

The final word about the drive-in show went to non-other than DJ Moguai: “I’ve been able to experience many different appearances, but something like that is a completely new experience for me, too.”

TPi Photo: ADI.tv www.adi.tv 40

DRIVE-IN FOCUS

ORBITAL SOUND The UK-based audio system throws its hat in the ring, offering a range of audio solutions for drive-in shows.

Boasting a whole range of audio solutions, from FM transmitters and receivers all the way up to its unique Nemesis Car-Link audio and concessions in-car solutions, Orbital Sound is no stranger to the technology needed to cater to the recent influx of drive-in shows.

“Just using FM direct to a car stereo is a far from perfect way to approach these types of show,” stated Orbital’s Managing Director, Chris Headlam. “There are a multitude of reason for this, including the chance that you’ll be left with a field full of cars that won’t start with dead batteries; the danger of being next to a fellow patron with a pimped-up 1,000W stereo plus the audio quality is less than ideal in this modern world.”

Along with the practical considerations, Headlam explained how modern soundtracks need a high-quality transmission system in real time, stereo and full frequencies – perfect without complex and expensive site licensing.

The MD stated that Orbital’s Nemesis Car-Link ticks all of these boxes.

“Car-Link box delivers both HQ Stereo audio with a touchscreen for retail concessions ordering,” he said. “In the future, we can add an upgrade for ‘rear surround’ plus 1:1 communication with the central organisers.”

Headlam explained some of the practical implications that might crop up

for an engineer walking onto site at a drive-in show. “Mixing for ‘in-car’ is more akin to mixing for television or radio,” he commented.

“Dynamics need to be watched carefully and the placement of the vocal should be in a different position within the mix. It’s a slightly different approach, a different skill set.” Fortunately, with Nemesis, the car-end is thoroughly high quality, and it’s the same quality in every car so the mix won’t appear different in a Nissan Micra than a luxury Mercedes.

To close, Headlam seemed optimistic that this form of entertainment would only continue to grow in popularity – especially in light of the recent global health crisis. “We have been working with small drive-in events and outdoor cinema for two decades, but there has been an understandable surge in interest due to COVID-19,” he stated. “We have drive-in car washes and takeaways, so why not drive-In entertainment? It saves loads of grief having to trudge from a remote car-park, its warm, friendly and highly convenient for a busy family.”

TPi Photo: Orbital Sound www.orbitalsound.com 41

MARKET FOCUS

In association with…

Tel: +44 (0) 1992 719078 www.handheldaudio.co.uk This month’s market focus is sponsored by Hand Held Audio, in-ear monitors are in the company’s DNA. Established in the late ‘80s, Hand Held Audio has been involved in the development of IEMs from the beginning with the likes of Garwood and Future Sonics and they have carried on through the years providing the dedicated personalised service required when supplying custom IEMs to the live events industry. Hand Held Audio also keep a comprehensive hire stock of IEM systems from Shure, Sennheiser and Wisycom as well as providing highly specialised frequency planning in a world of ever decreasing spectrum. www.handheldaudio.co.uk

IN-EAR MONITORS A selection of IEM options to suit every project...

COSMIC EARS Cosmic Ears is a Manchester-based custom in-ear monitor company, renowned for exceptional in-ear audio products and customer service.

Clients include Arctic Monkeys, Stormzy, Royal Blood, Tom Walker, Freya Ridings, JLS and Rag ’n’ Bone Man, to name a few.

Not only is the brand trusted by the artists themselves, but also by tour managers, FOH engineers, monitors engineers, backline crews, recording studio engineers and theatre professionals alike.

The range includes one-driver models, to six-driver models (per side), and the company’s online shop stocks accessories including Bluetooth cables, cleaning kits and protective cases. www.cosmicears.com

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IN-EAR MONITORS Tel: +44 (0) 1992 719078 • www.handheldaudio.co.uk

EMPIRE EARS The flagship of the Empire Ears’ X Series, the Legend X takes in-ear monitor performance to the highest possible point. Pushing limits at every turn, the Legend X is a world-class, prestige IEM from a new era of uncompromising design and ground-breaking engineering.

Every facet of this IEM is extraordinary, from its armament of seven drivers – including twin sequential Weapon IX 9mm subwoofers – to its state-of-the-art 10-way synX Crossover Network.

Energetic and addictive, the smooth treble rides across a deepreaching, impactful low end. Top-tier transparency and separation dance across one of the largest and most three-dimensional sound stages on the market. www.empireears.com

FUTURE SONICS For more than 30 years, as the pioneers of the first custom ear monitors brand, Future Sonics builds on the idea that longer, healthier careers can be achieved by relieving vocal fatigue and reducing stage volume.

Future Sonics designs its own proprietary award-winning MG Voice Coil Dynamic Transducers in all models. The age-old multi-driver service issues have been eliminated, so no mini vacuums or dryer devices are needed.

Future Sonics Ear Monitors models offer a stealthier profile, secure recessed cable connectors, sweat and moisture resistance, solid build quality and dynamic energy natural studio-grade audio signature at a reasonable price. www.futuresonics.com

SENNHEISER High-resolution sound with precise, accurate soundstage, even at extreme sound pressures the Sennheiser’s IE 500 PRO combines huge power and clarity for any stage. Thanks to the twisted pair cable, it can be operated comfortably at high volumes. Sound professionals can keep even the finest details under control with the dynamic 7mm driver works with the newly developed TrueResponse technology. It refines the natural strengths of the diaphragm and eliminates stress factors that occur with other systems. The distortion factor has been optimised to a previously unimaginable 0.08%. A miniature design also permits a formerly inconceivable, flat construction, fitting comfortably and securely. www.sennheiser.com

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IN-EAR MONITORS Tel: +44 (0) 1992 719078 • www.handheldaudio.co.uk

HIFIMAN The HiFiMAN RE800 breaks away from the typical solution for stage monitors. It doesn’t come in custom-moulded acrylic, nor does it try to use as many drivers as possible. It uses a single, full-range dynamic driver and is enclosed in a simple, small aluminium alloy housing. No unnecessary crossovers, phasing issues, no only fitting properly if you don’t move your jaw.

The driver make’s use of HiFiMAN’s special ‘Topology’ technology, where its coated in special nano materials to control diaphragm distortions. This allows the RE800 to offer unrivalled purity while discretely remaining out of sight. www.hifiman.com

SHURE The Shure SE846 Professional Sound Isolating Earphones are precisionengineered in-ears, which deliver excellent clarity and performance, whether you’re on stage or on the move.

Four high-definition drivers work together in a powerful three-way configuration – two of which handle the deep, defined bass for true subwoofer performance. This powerful sound, coupled with phenomenal articulation and detail, ensures every frequency from 15Hz to 20kHz is reproduced with absolute precision.

With an expansive list of accessories, including multiple sleeve types and unique interchangeable nozzle inserts, finding the perfect fit and sound has never been easier. www.shure.co.uk

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IN-EAR MONITORS Tel: +44 (0) 1992 719078 • www.handheldaudio.co.uk

JERRY HARVEY AUDIO

A funky, smooth, yet electric IEM, the Jimi Custom IEM is the first of Jerry Harvey Audio’s all-new ICON Series – a celebration of legendary rock ’n’ roll icons. Configured with seven balanced armatures, Jimi is loaded with JH Audio’s newest advancements in IEM technology, including a latest sevenpin cable design and built-in Acoustic Sound Chamber.

The seven-per-side driver configuration is powered by SoundrIVe dual low, single mid, quad high technology – making it the first custom IEM to use JH Audio’s all-new premium seven-pin litz wire cable. The high-purity OFC 4N silver-plated cable has been designed in order to stop oxidisation.

The German-made seven-pin connector is made from military-grade iridium, designed to create a tight grip at the connection to simplify install and removal. A built-in O-ring keeps the connection between the cable and earpiece dry in even the harshest of environments. The cable also features

an improved memory wire around the ear for a more secure fit. With patentpending variable bass output, adjustable from cable; user-controlled low-frequency drivers with the adjustable bass (0 to +12db), Freqphase’s patented technology ensures the correct phase and time alignment of all frequencies, resulting in the most accurate music reproductions.

JH Audio’s Acoustic Sound Chamber’s 3D-printed, recessed tubing system, is the first of its kind, keeping sweat at bay, which alleviates the need for excessive cleaning and boasts a gold-plated input connector spanning 3.5mm.

With a frequency response of 10Hz to 23kHz, input sensitivity of 117dB @ 1mW and impedance of 17 Ohms, with noise isolation reaching to -26 dB, Jerry Harvey Audio’s latest IEM may be its greatest yet. www.jhaudio.com

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IN-EAR MONITORS Tel: +44 (0) 1992 719078 • www.handheldaudio.co.uk

lower distortion. The audio-grade capacitor delivers fine detail sound. Plus, audio grade solder also helps minimise any loss in signal path. With an integrated magnesium inner housing and optimised sound paths, the IER-M9 headphones deliver balanced tones and every nuance of every performance. A highly rigid housing keeps the BA units firmly in place, helping to eliminate vibration and keeping sound clear without losing even the most minute detail.

Silver-coated oxygen-free copper cables, a natural silk braid cable insulator with non-magnetic undercoat plug and a 0.17in standard balanced connection cable separates left and right sound signals completely, which minimises cross-talk that results in sound deterioration.

The wire minimises resistance and signal-transmission loss. The result is less sound degradation, finer detail, and smoother treble sounds.

Vibration is absorbed by the silk braid cable insulator to minimise rustling when the cord is touched. A gold-plated plug with non-magnetic undercoat preserves signal purity.

The cable can be replaced if needed, or to fine-tune the monitor sound through a different cable. www.sony.com

SONY With a Penta Balanced Armature system including magnesium super tweeter, integrated magnesium inner housing and an optimised sound path, these stage monitor headphones faithfully reproduce even the most subtle sounds and emotions. Sony’s original T-shaped Balanced Armature directly drives the diaphragm for more linear motion, and clean high notes.

The IER-M9 super tweeter diaphragm is made of lightweight and rigid magnesium alloy to deliver the fast dynamic transient of performance. The unique BA unit design also benefits from extremely low resonance thanks to high internal loss. Internal wiring is upgraded with a silver-coated copper voice coil and gold-plated terminals, reproducing sound without sacrificing even micro signals so pitch, harmonics, and emotion are portrayed. The custom audio-grade film capacitor in the crossover circuit delivers much

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PRODUCTION FUTURES

Morgan Evans Rose Bruford College student and aspiring lighting programmer and designer, Morgan Evans shares his experience of breaking into the fiercely competitive world of live events…

with in-the-field experience was the best way forward. “University enables students to learn and practice their craft in a safe space, as well as gain the confidence to apply these skills and knowledge in the professional world.”

He pointed out Rose Bruford College’s specialist training as “integral” to his development – the programming of lighting desks and media servers, as well as learning about power and network distribution. “I’ve gained a wealth of insight from visiting guest lecturers and industry practitioners as part of my BA (Hons) Creative Lighting Control course.”

Evans recently collaborated with TPi Awards Lighting Designer of the Year, Tim Routledge. “I was very fortunate that Tim took a positive interest in my Depence2 conceptual project and we have worked on a number of visualisation projects ever since,” he said. “Tim’s design of Sam Smith’s The Thrill of It All Tour completely changed the way I saw concert lighting. It was a very theatrical, pared-down and considered light show. It was subtle and beautiful.” He also pointed out James Scott’s work on AJ Tracey’s Live and Direct shows at Alexandra Palace, as another big inspiration.

Acknowledging the fact that live events is a close-knit industry, Evans has worked hard as a freelancer to be trusted as a competent worker at a young age. “It’s important to make a good impression; a lot of my leads have been through mutual contacts,” he said. “It’s all about getting your foot in the door, and if you have a good work ethic, hopefully people will remember you when opportunities arise in the future.”

He highlighted a recent project working as a Video Operator and Content Creator on JPEGMAFIA’s House of Vans London show. “It was a commercial as well as a live concert with an audience, so the project had the challenge of needing to look good for the audience as well as the cameras,” he explained. Using Adobe After Effects and Cinema 4D with Green Hippo media servers, Evans oversaw the content design of an overhead transparent video wall with lights piercing through.

“Freddie Bonfanti’s design was quite abstract, so I was afforded the chance to be creative with the overhead video screen content. As it was such a narrow venue, a lot of the lighting came from the video panels and made for a more immersive show.” To compliment the video screens, Evans provided custom bitmaps for 40 on-stage Martin by Harman VDO Sceptron 10s, which were operated by Hudson Daly.

Following the lockdown of live events, Evans is using his time wisely to develop his creative and technical skills in both programming, previsualisation and content creation software, specialising in Depence2.

This training has led to Evans working on some exciting new visualisation projects for various clients such as Cassius Creative and Tim Routledge Lighting Design.

“There’s a lot of content and webinars available on the internet to help with skills training, so I’ve taken advantage of this these past few weeks but I’m looking forward to the time when lockdown is lifted and the industry can gear up again. I’m excited about the future and all I still have to learn.”

TPi www.morgantevans.com www.productionfutures.com

Developing his skills in lighting and video through academic studies and professional hands-on work, freelance Programmer and Designer, Morgan Evans sat down with TPi – remotely – to discuss the challenges he’s faced breaking into an extremely competitive industry, and what skills he has picked up along the way.

Like many of his peers, Evans’ initial interest in live events was sparked during his involvement in school productions, working backstage rigging and operating the lighting. “All my skills at this time were self-taught, but I had caught the lighting bug. I began looking into live music as a possible career path, as I felt these shows were becoming more creative, theatrical and technologically advanced than the world of theatre.”

Evans attended The BRIT School of Performing Arts and Technology in 2017, studying Production Arts. “BRIT School was an inspirational place to study the backstage arts for free, gain a great grounding in lighting skills and work alongside like-minded students,” he said. “It afforded me the opportunity to be mentored and learn from active figures working in the industry – such as Louisa Smurthwaite and Martin Locket – and to develop an insight into different career pathways within the sector.”

His time at BRIT School also afforded Evans some useful work experiences. “I’ve found that, through using small opportunities, you can turn them into something bigger.” One crowning example, he said, was his work as a Lighting Technician at The BRIT Awards 2019. “I was able to interview for a placement through BRIT School with PRG, and since then I’ve been asked back to work with PRG on several productions as part of the lighting team,” he enthused. “It has been invaluable to accumulate on-the-job practical knowledge and witness how large-scale live events come together.” He suggested that combining educational training along

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IN THE FIELD

IN THE FIELD: MIDAS HD96-24 Having worked with the likes of Stormzy, Wretch 32 and Leanne Rimes, Monitor Engineer, Nat Hopking is a big fan of Midas’ latest cutting-edge console, the Midas HD96-24.

Following the recent lockdown of live events across the globe, Monitor Engineer, Nat Hopking sat down with TPi to talk through his workflow, favourite effects, sound quality and the innovative time-saving features of the Midas HD96-24m during his time on the road with BRIT Award winner, Mabel.

Having worked with the artist a number of times since 2017, Hopking coined Mabel as a “fantastic person to work with” and part of “a really easy-going” touring camp. Following Stormzy’s headline Glastonbury performance, Hopking went on to pursue work on Mabel’s TV appearances and festivals, including a recent stint on the artist’s latest tour, specifying a Midas HD96-24 in monitor world.

Although he initially planned on using an alternative desk, fortuitously, a Midas HD96-24 beta became available. Jumping at the chance, Hopking found himself whizzing down the motorway to Midas’ Manchester HQ to try his hand on the company’s latest mixing console.

“Midas opened the office on a Sunday for me, as that was the only date I had free, which was amazing,” he recalled. “I then went the following week to pick up the console, had it in rehearsals all of December, and it’s been

with me ever since.” As a long-time user of Midas, Hopking was aware that the console wasn’t typically marketed at the average pop act.

“There is a lot of stereo stuff that you want on one fader without having to do custom layers and Midas hadn’t quite got there with its previous models,” he conceded. “However, with the HD96, they’ve nailed it!”

Hopking dubbed the desk as the ideal choice in the much sought-after “pop board” market. “It’s a creative board, which wouldn’t look out of place on a spaceship – there are so many colours. The vibrancy of the board is really what I find interesting. When you use something like the HD96-24 day to day, it makes the job much more exciting,” he enthused. “Plus, it’s got the signature Midas sound, which is unrivalled and can’t be replicated.”

Hopking worked closely with Mabel’s Musical Director, Ashton Miranda, during the project, who he said was a “genius”, he elaborated: “Even before mixing the show, we worked extensively on approaching the sounds and the ideal drum skins, mics and studio-level kit required to replicate everything right at source,” he added.

“If you couple that with the Midas HD96-24 and the way the console works, the result is astonishing. There’s no need to slap 500 plugins-in post 48

MIDAS HD96-24

Monitor Engineer, Nat Hopking.

rehearsals. If you look at my show files, there’s barely any EQ involved.

Granted, there are a lot of tracks along with live instrument, but the only real processing is on her vocal.”

His inputs in total reached around the 49 mark, with 16 channels of track and click and timecode. “They’re not all full-stemmed, they’re reinforcement, however, the bass is on track,” he went on to explain his initial reservations. “Going in, I wasn’t entirely sure it was going to be the ideal desk for the application, but the HD96-24 really nailed it. It’s everything I’d want a board to be regarding size and channel count. From a monitor engineer’s perspective, the footprint is perfect for touring because you can wheel it into a 600-capacity club, which we had to in Switzerland, and it doesn’t take up much space.”

He pointed out the quality and durability of the console. “I’ve looked inside, and the way it’s put together is really exceptional. All the faders and pots feel really nice and the speed is excellent,” he continued. “It feels like the new top-of-the-range Midas console, which is not only affordable, and so much bang for your buck, but also trustworthy.”

Although he isn’t much of a fan of faders on screens, Hopking enjoyed the visibility and option to see the fader and a pots on the built-in display screen. “It’s ideal for presenting information during a show. Everything is right in front of you, and you’re not nose deep in the console constantly changing pages,” he noted. “You can do everything in the overview screen, which is ideal and because it’s so big and vibrant, it’s easy on the eye.”

One of Hopking’s favourite aspects of the console was the ability to store and locate your default console setup stored in the cloud, so if you wanted to use the same desk for different jobs but have a specific workflow or requirements, you can save templates, which are stored on the cloud.

He explained further: “When you walk up to a console at Music Bank, for

example on day one, you put the console online and login to your cloud.

You’d look up your saved presets and you’re good to go,” he added. “This means you can access them anywhere, which is ideal for when you need someone else to set up the show, like I had to during Mabel’s tour, due to working on a BRITs performance.”

He highlighted the direct line of communication with Midas. “If you have any problems, Midas can access your show file and analyse it in the office or troubleshoot any issues,” he said. “If there’s a bug or a software issue, you can export files and they can fix it remotely… they’re ahead of the game in that regard.”

While the console can handle 600 channels, processing 144 inputs at a time, and 96 mix busses, on one console – Hopking said: “I’ve learned, if you’re doing all that on one console, you’re a psychopath!” he laughed.

“Regardless, it’s nice to know that the option is there.”

There’s also a built-in shout mixer, which doesn’t take up the channel count in terms of DSP. “There’s a 16 in 12 out, built-in shout mixer, which you don’t need to patch – you simply assign it to an output and send it. This allows you to mix all your shouts really quickly in vibrant, ‘Midas-y’ colours,” he said. “We used it a lot on the Mabel tour; you can buss on your IEM mix as well, so if there’s a pandemic, I can hear what’s going on stage.”

In summary, Hopking said the great thing about this console is the fact that although it’s complex in its software capabilities, “it’s a very intelligent console for a very unintelligent engineer like me – it looks like it’ll be complicated, but trust me, it’s not!”

TPi Photos: Midas www.mabelofficial.com www.midasconsoles.com 49

INTERVIEW

ERIC LAANSTRA, PROLYTE Prolyte’s Product Manager Staging and Trussing Systems, Eric Laanstra, discusses the new landscape since the company’s acquisition by Area Four Industries…

Back in October last year, the news came through that Prolyte had been acquired by Area Four Industries and it was to take its place among the group’s other brands, including Milos Structural Systems, Litec, TOMCAT and James Thomas Engineering. Over six months since the announcement, TPi caught up with Prolyte’s Product Manager Staging and Trussing Systems, Eric Laanstra, to talk about the new setup for the company and the developments going on behind the scenes.

Having proudly worked under the Prolyte banner since 2000, Laanstra got his start at the company on the Sales Division following a decade of experience in the live market. “I’d been on the practical side of the industry for a long time and opted to go to the other side of business to work with a manufacturer,” he reflected. “I already knew a few of the guys who worked for the company at the time and have been with them ever since.” Over the years, Laanstra worked his way up the ranks to eventually take up the role of Product Manager, overseeing several verticals of the company.

Put simply, Laanstra directs three divisions of Prolyte: ProStructures, ProSystems and StageDEX. For the uninitiated, ProStructures specialises in truss; ProSystems focuses on stage roofing solutions; and StageDEX provides the final infrastructural elements for a performance, including stage flooring

and crowd barriers. It’s worth noting that there is also a fourth division – ProLyft – but Laanstra explained that this does not fall under his remit.

“Although I oversee the three divisions, each vertical has its own team of specialists,” stated Laanstra. “I’ve always seen Prolyte as a very innovative company and we’ve always wanted to push further and come up with new solutions for the market – a passion that has remained through the years.” He pointed to products such as Prolyte’s Verto Truss – with its unique coupling system – as a case in point of the company working towards its goal to provide new solutions to the market. “We are always looking at new products and testing ideas behind closed doors,” he added.

There is always a fear when a company changes ownership, that the original values and innovation that it has been known for may get lost in bureaucracy or changing structures. However, Laanstra asserted that Prolyte is still open for business to provide the same service that customers have come to know, with many of the same faces still in place.

“The same goes for our distributors,” he continued. “At Prolyte, we always looked for long-term partners rather than short-term relationships. That has not changed during the Area Four deal and we are always looking for future opportunities for new distributors.” He went on to explain that being part of 50

PROLYTE

Wash light – with an Edge

the wider Area Four name also had an advantage as it meant he and the rest of the team also had the opportunity to offer more solutions to customers if there was not a product that suited a project in the Prolyte line. “Being able to suggest other brands within the group is advantageous,” he commented.

“It also works the other way, with customers being sent our way as well.”

There had been some major changes in the Prolyte house however, specifically on the manufacturing front. “Our manufacturing has moved from our Romanian base and is now split between two of Area Four Industries’ operations, with part taking place in the Czech Republic and another in Italy,” Laanstra confirmed.

As part of Prolyte’s inclusion in the wider Area Four family, Laanstra was inducted into Area Four Industries “elite rigging and trussing team” – the Rigging Commando. The goal of this group is to elevate the industry’s overall standard of practice by providing continuous educational programmes and material. “Before Prolyte joined the Area Four group, we had already produced videos on YouTube and other social media channels,” explained Laanstra. “But it’s certainly a bigger focus now that we are part of the wider group and with their A4I.tv.”

The group’s online video medium officers a whole host of video content, from product previews to demonstrations – many of which are hosted by one of the various other Rigging Commandos; Eric Porter, Norbert Tripp, Adam Beaumont, Will Todd and Adrian Forbes.

Alongside these new incentives, Laanstra was pleased to report that Prolyte plans to maintain some of the company’s other programmes for its customers – namely the Prolyte Campuses. “We have been organising these events for about six years,” stated the Product Manager. During each of the Campuses, Prolyte would pay a visit to a customer’s offices, set up a temporary workshop for customers to visit and put on demonstrations and seminars.

While all plans have been put on a temporary hiatus due to COVID-19, Laanstra explained how the Prolyte team is considering all of its options to keep the communication going between customers. As for manufacturing, although the Italian operation has had to halt temporarily due to the country’s regulations, Laansta reported that the factory in Czech Republic has remained operation during the crises. “Despite everything going on throughout the world, we have still had a backlog of orders to get through at Prolyte which, thankfully, we have continued to fulfil.”

TPi Photos: Prolyte www.prolyte.com

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FUTURE INSIGHTS

FUTURE INSIGHTS The latest product releases and announcements.

ALTMAN LIGHTING Altman Lighting has released Genesis: an affordable control console designed for the intuitive operation of today’s multi-functional automated and LED luminaires. Combining the ease-of-use of a fader-based controller with the power of an intuitive touch screen interface, the Genesis lighting console provides the programmer with a unique familiarity for the creative control of today’s complex automated and LED luminaires. Genesis control consoles can control up to 24 discretely addressed luminaires, each with a physical intensity fader and bump button, and each console is capable of controlling up to one DMX 512 Universe. www.altmanlighting.com

ADJ ADJ has released its new Focus Spot 5Z LED-powered moving head spot luminaire. Building on the success of the popular Focus Spot 4Z, the new 5Z model takes the same 200W cool white LED engine and compact body but adds additional beam-shaping tools to give lighting designers increased creative potential. Key enhancements include the addition of a second colour wheel, the inclusion of two frost filter options and a revised selection of supplied GOBOs to include more texture and breakup options. www.adj.com

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FUTURE INSIGHTS

APT Apt’s CMA range consist of two compact top packs that pack a serious punch. Ideal for install, conference and live music applications, the boxes are small yet versatile. With multiple rigging points, they fit discreetly into any space, while the horn can be rotated for more control. Deployed on top of either the SC208 (CMA44) or the SC122 (CMA82), the sound can be adapted for anything from small functions to band or conference jobs. www.apt-gb.com

BB&S LIGHTING BB&S Lighting has launched its new Compact Beamlight BiColor, which offers a range of 2,700° to 5,700°K. With 98 TLCI, CBLs are ideal for professional studio, stage, architectural lighting and broadcast news studios that require a hard shadow beam. A Single fixture produces up to 2,700 lumens and the 2x2, with its combined beam, provides up to 11,000 lumens. The beams fade from 100% at centre to 50% at the edges, cutting blinding glare so that mixing and overlapping other lights is smooth and easy. These LED fixtures have been installed for uses up to 27m distances. www.bbslighting.com

AVANTE AUDIO Avante Audio has expanded its Imperio Series by launching a collection of pre-configured systems designed to make the lives of audio professionals easier. Devised around specific applications and methods of deployment, each of the systems include everything necessary to get an Avante Audio Imperio PA up and running, including array modules, subs and rigging hardware. The largest of the new Imperio Series Systems is the Imperio Max210, which combines eight Imperio modules and a pair of Imperio SUB210s with a pair of Imperio Flybar LGs and three Imperio Link Pin Kits. www.avanteaudio.com

BROAMAN BroaMan has now offers its Multipurpose Fiber Extender for Video, Audio and Intercom (MUX22) with 12G-SDI interfaces – to support greater resolution, frame rates and colour fidelity. The 12G addition to the existing 3G support means that BroaMan will not only continue to support 4K SDI transport formats but also routing and transport of high bandwidth data streams, such as 10G IP traffic for SMPTE 2110. The company offers not only single mode but also multi-mode options for 12G fibre transport. www.broaman.com

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FUTURE INSIGHTS

DAP DAP’s Edge series wireless microphones contain a handheld system and a beltpack system. The UHF True Diversity receiver is equipped with a clear full-colour LCD-screen, which makes operating the system very easy. The main feature of the Edge-Series is the Scan feature. With this attribute, the Edge receiver shows exactly which frequencies are not occupied, giving the user the possibility to choose the right frequency without having to worry about any interference. The Edge receivers come complete with 19in brackets, power adapter and eight identification stickers to label the different microphones. www.highlite.com

MAGMATIC ATMOSPHERIC EFFECTS Magmatic Atmospheric Effects has released Prisma: a new generation of advanced UV LED lighting products with weatherproof IP65 rating. Prisma combines true 365nm UV output for long and wide throw performance with the control and efficiency of LEDs. Because Prisma uses high-quality, medical grade LEDs that emit UV light in the 365nm range, no visible light is emitted, meaning only the UV reactive material glows and nothing else.

Prisma effects use durable LEDs with special silicone lenses that are UV resistant and slow to degrade. www.elationlighting.com

LUMINEX Luminex has introduced the LUMICORE – the new addition to the LUMINODE family. Designed to allow simple, flexible control of network lighting data from multiple sources, the LUMICORE routes, merges, converts, restricts and allows multiple streams of ArtNet and sACN data from multiple sources to be managed in a clear intuitive way. LUMICORE features 64 process engines, each manipulating multiple universes of lighting data, and allowing converting, merging, routing, or backup. It is built into a robust housing taking just half the width of a single 19in 1U rack slot, or capable of being mounted on a truss. www.luminex.be

MARTIN BY HARMAN Harman Professional Solutions has introduced Zoom Lens accessories for the Martin ELP family of ellipsoidal LED light fixtures. Martin ELP Zoom Lenses broaden the functionality of ELP CL and WW LED ellipsoidal lights with two industry-standard beam ranges and two housing colours. Their innovative six-lens design delivers stunning optics, providing the ultrabright output, unmatched flat projection and crisp focus of a static lens with the speed and flexibility of a zoom lens. Lenses are engineered for rock-solid operation, featuring a mechanical anti-slip locking mechanism and a convenient service hatch for easy lens cleaning and maintenance. www.martin.com

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FUTURE INSIGHTS

OBSIDIAN CONTROL SYSTEMS Obsidian Control Systems has expanded its line of professional solutions with the launch of the NX SYNC: a powerful plug-and-play USB SMPTE timecode device. The NX SYNC captures timecode in various SMPTE formats from its three-pin XLR connection and converts it to a MIDI Timecode (MTC) stream, where it can be read into ONYX or any other MIDI Timecode compatible software. Additionally, it also has the power to take MTC and send it back out as SMPTE. The NX SYNC contains a powerful hardware architecture for instant processing and minimal frame delays. www.obsidiancontrol.com

PANASONIC Panasonic has introduced the AW-UE100 integrated pan/tilt/zoom camera, which supports a wide variety of IP transmission protocols, including highbandwidth NDI, high-efficiency NDI|HX and Secure Reliable Transport (SRT).

This new PTZ camera has a newly designed direct drive motor for smooth pan and tilt movement and offers installation flexibility, low noise and highresolution image capture. The company has also released the cost-effective AK-HC3900 1080p HDR studio camera system, which will be upgradable to native 4K 60p/50p. The new AK-HC3900 is ideal for broadcast, education and corporate markets. www.panasonic.com

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FUTURE INSIGHTS

POWERSOFT Powersoft has released new plug-ins supporting its Mezzo Series and its non-DSP install dedicated amplifier platforms ranges for the Q-SYS and Crestron control ecosystems. These free-to-download plug-ins allow for user friendly network-based control of amplifier functionality via thirdparty systems. They feature a refined, modern-looking interface, extended functionality, and a high level of user customisability, compared to legacy plug-ins for the format. In addition, a new Q-SYS plug-in supporting DSP+D versions of Duecanali, Quattrocanali, Ottocanali, X and T series is slated for release this summer with brand new functionality. www.powersoft.com

PR LIGHTING PR Lighting has released the XRLED 3000-W Framing (PR-8137) shutter blade device. This new addition to the popular XRLED moving head series features the latest advanced 1,200W white LED light source. In addition to its complete range of spotlight effects and features, the fixture’s four sets of framing blades offer endless rotation, different size and shaped graphics, and a curtain effect in a module designed and patented by PR Lighting. www.pr-lighting.com

ROBERT JULIAT Robert Juliat has launched its new 800W LED Long Throw followspot. Named Arthur, the fixture is capable of matching the lumen output of a 2500W HMI RJ Aramis followspot and delivering up to 29,000 lumens. This eagerlyanticipated move marks the arrival of the LED followspot the industry has been waiting for – one that opens up the use of LED followspots into large venues such as opera houses, musical theatre and live music venues, concert and touring venues, both indoors and out. www.robertjuliat.com

SHOWTEC With the ACT series, Showtec offers a range of compact entry-level luminaires with a high-class finish and high CRI levels. Due to their size and output, they are very well equipped for a wide range of applications and venues but also offer a lot of advantages for the rental business. The ACT series consists of five different models: 20WW and a 50WW Fresnel versions, which come complete with matching barndoors; a 60 RGBW PC unit; a 50WW Profile spot; and a Flood 80 RGBW. All except the 20WW version are controllable via 3p DMX, have easy-to-handle rotary knobs at the back for dimming and have OLED-displays for adjusting the requested settings.

The ACT-units are virtually plug-and-play and, based on the model, come complete with barndoor, filter frame, gobo holder, gobos and lens. www.highlite.com

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RIVAGE PM5 and RIVAGE PM3 systems add new levels of versatility and scalability to full RIVAGE PM system functionality. The choice of two DSP engines with different mixing capacities, plus now a total of five control surfaces, gives engineers remarkable scope to create systems ideally tailored to a wide range of applications. www.yamahaproaudio.com

YAMAHA Yamaha has the RIVAGE PM5 and RIVAGE PM3 digital mixing systems.

Joining the RIVAGE PM10 and RIVAGE PM7, the new, physically smaller

An ode to all our clients, showcasing some great projects, made with so much love and passion.

Looking forward to many more to come...

Our thoughts and hearts go out to all that are impacted by the current crisis; our clients, users, AV technicians and all others in our beautiful industry. Our passion is sharing yours. #strongertogether #yourstageourpassion

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PSA: THE BIGGER PICTURE

HUNG UP ON SPACING OUT From social distancing to sanitation facilities, PSA’s Andy Lenthall explores the issues around returning to live events post COVID-19.

We do like May with its two bank holidays. Yes, that’s right folks, those odd days off that normal people get, it generally means work for most of you, of course this year it’s just another day of enforced, unpaid leave albeit with a little financial support for many.

It makes you wonder what happened between the two extended weekends though, what with trips to beaches and beauty spots increasingly popular during the second. Maybe it was simply those people who have returned to work thinking if it’s OK to travel to work and be with people, it’s OK to nip to Southend for the day? It all gets a bit bonkers when TV journalists speak to a woman who has driven to the coast complaining that the coastal resort of her choosing is full of people that have driven to the coast. Mass gatherings galore, disorganised gatherings; if only there was a way to make gatherings more organised, perhaps by issuing tickets to those who wish to attend, tickets that could attract some kind of charge.

Organised gatherings – now there’s an idea.

Anyone travelling away from home knows the risks involved, whether a trip to the supermarket or a dash to Durham, an individual will make an

assessment of the need, the risks involved and take measures accordingly – some taking sensible precautions proportionate to the risk, others choosing to risk cross contamination via gloves or over-used masks rather than skin.

One thing is for sure; we know that we have to be 2m apart, even if it means stepping into traffic to avoid being 1m away as you pass on the pavement, right? Does anyone remember the time when it was said that transmission can occur if you’re within 2m for 15 minutes or more? Has anyone seen the World Health Organisation guidance for the public that encourages people to keep at least 1m apart?

Hearsay, conjecture, interpretation and need are all factors that affect each individual’s assessment of the risks involved in their activity and the measures they’ll take to reduce those risks. Sound familiar?

Risk assessment, the solid foundation of a safe workplace; look at everything you do, look at the risks involved, devise a way of reducing those risks so far as is reasonably practicable, write it all down; it looks like those safety folks are going to be busy once we’re allowed to organise 58

PSA: THE BIGGER PICTURE

something better than a dash to the coast. We can’t be sure when we’ll get the opportunity, but we really should have everything we need to be ready.

It’s all in the planning, right?

We’re all about worker safety; our members are workers after all. Thing is, we really do need somewhere to work and that generally involves someone getting a bunch of people into some kind of venue to witness the fruits of our labour; that’s why our government has announced a task force to oversee a return to the type of activity that will require your input.

There’s no point in listing the names – to us they’re not important – what really matters are the working groups, the parties involved in developing the protocols for a safe return to organised events.

Our involvement is confirmed, along with the key trade associations across the events divide; the key thing to realise is that the protocols have, to a large extent, already been written, several times over, by all manner of stakeholder groups.

Perhaps the first was the reopening guide from the Event Safety Alliance; all very American but the principles are sound. We’ve also seen guidance from across Europe as well as from sectors in the UK that cross over with ours. Then there are specific events that have developed their own guidance to submit as soon as there’s a sniff of a return to some kind of normal. Plans are afoot.

One key factor with organised gatherings is that you can know who’s coming; remove walk-up ticketing and you have the opportunity to collect contact details for everyone attending an event; an email address and mobile phone number for each attendee gives effective communication before, during and after an event.

A simple trip this weekend, walking the dog and buying a takeaway coffee and breakfast bap was preceded by a little research into opening times, queuing and ordering protocols that all customers respected in the hope that the experiment led to more opportunity. Incidentally, I stood face-to-face with the cashier at less than 2m; we were separated by a screen – distancing doesn’t have to be the only measure. Families sat in groups to enjoy their food, respecting distancing between groups that they’d met there; with some countries opting to allow larger social groups, perhaps distance between seats in venues will switch to distance between certified groups. Workplace guidance also suggests that workers that are

in proximity could reduce risk by not being face-to-face, just like rows of seats in a venue are not face to face... Planning, shielding, management and control are all considerations that may reduce risks to a reasonably practicable level. This, of course, has to be acceptable to the consumer as well as the authorities, that pre-event communication is as much about consumer confidence as it is about following the rules.

Take the hotels sector; I’ve already had emails from major chains letting me know how their updated cleaning regimes will protect their staff and me from infection when I next stay; they’ve sent out their risk assessment and method statement as a marketing message. I’d wager that they’d soon be in touch if any guest reported symptoms to them at any point after my stay, should it be in a period that caused concern, belt and braces if I don’t subscribe to a tracing app.

Of course, we’d all like to be safe as we work, too; it’s fortunate that we have risk assessments; it’s going to take a little work to adjust those risk assessments and working methods to factor in potential crosscontamination. Perhaps it all starts with a workforce that is tested prior to starting, should testing availability increase. We will be able to borrow from construction when it comes to show builds and strikes; we already do that anyway, with CDM regulations.

One common measure amongst larger construction firms is a new role in COVID-19 monitoring; a person whose sole task it is to ensure that COVID-19 specific measures are being adhered to, that inductions are understood and that signage and sanitation facilities are in place.

We, as a sector, are awash with expertise in the design of safe workplaces and the mitigation of risk. A wider set of measures can, in some respects, lead to a narrowing of physical distance requirements, and initiatives such as test, track and trace may lead to greater public confidence in gathering in an organised fashion.

Measures that we take will, at some point, meet collective measures somewhere in the middle and create safe environments for events and a safe, sustainable return for the events industry.

Now, does anyone know when opticians open again? I sat on my glasses in March and haven’t felt safe to drive since.

TPi www.psa.org.uk 59

INDUSTRY APPOINTMENTS

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INDUSTRY APPOINTMENTS

Adam Hall Group partners Mumbai-based StageMix Technologies; Alcons Audio appoints E’Spec as Japanese distributor; On The Road Marketing’s Mark Meding and Alcons Audio USA’s David Rahn.

Adam Hall Group has partnered with Mumbai-based StageMix Technologies. The exclusive partnership includes the LD Systems, Cameo, Gravity, Palmer, and Adam Hall 19’’ Parts brands.

“We’re happy to have found StageMix Technologies as our new sales partner in India,” explained COO of the Adam Hall Group, Markus Jahnel.

“The event technology market is growing steadily in India and plays a key role in our international endeavours. As an experienced distributor, StageMix Technologies has a wide network of regional dealers and will enable us to react swiftly to the many different challenges that come with such a large country. As such we will be able to work together to continue expanding our local presence – both in the event and installation market.”

Alcons Audio has appointed Osaka-based E’Spec as its Japanese distributor. “With the high-end solutions we offer, and the specific positioning of Alcons in the market, we maintain a strict profile in our distribution policy,” commented Alcons Audio Co-Founder and Managing Director, Tom Back. “It’s not about the numbers, it’s about quality and the end-user focus in support and communication.” The company has also appointed On The Road Marketing as its representative in the New York

and New England region in the United States. “Alcons is a perfect fit for our customers, because the pro-ribbon drivers are the best on the market today. They are some of the most efficient drivers I have ever heard, able to get to extremely high output levels without degradation of the highs and mids,” commented On The Road Marketing’s Mark Meding.

Ayrton has added Kseniia Igoshkina to its international sales team.

Based in Detmold, Germany, Igoshkina is responsible for emerging markets across the Baltic countries, the CIS states and South America. “Kseniia brings a freshness and dynamism to Ayrton, which matches our team approach perfectly,” said Ayrton Global Sales Director, Michael Althaus. “We are excited to see the response from the emerging markets as she helps raise brand awareness in these new areas.”

DTS Lighting has appointed Maurizio Gidoni to the role of Technical Director. According to a press release from the company: “His background education in electronic engineering is also featured with great skills in management and process industrialisation. Moreover, Maurizio’s problemsolving attitude and experience in managing crowded technical teams, make him the perfect leader for our R&D department.”

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PROVEN INDUSTRY-LEADING

PT Goshen Swara Indonesia becomes Martin Audio’s exclusive distributor for Indonesia; Guangzhou Guidance AV Technology expands Martin Audio’s distribution network in China.

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Equipson has appointed Netherlands-based Tau Audio Solutions as its audio distributor in Benelux, with responsibility for its entire range of WORK PRO products. “We are very excited to work with Tau Audio Solutions as distributor for WORK PRO audio products in the Benelux,” Equipson CEO, Juan José Vila, commented. “Tau Audio Solutions is well known and recognised as a reference company in the territory and we are confident that their expertise and professionalism with project integrations and customer training will ensure that the WORK PRO brand is well represented in the region.”

Generation AV, the company that represents Martin Audio in the APAC countries, has appointed a pair of new distributors to target key markets in Asia. PT Goshen Swara Indonesia has become the exclusive distributor

for Indonesia, while Guangzhou Guidance AV Technology will add to Martin Audio’s distribution network in China.

Headquartered in Jakarta, PT Goshen is a well-established distribution company, with representation right across the country. “They are a great fit for Martin Audio as they cover all the vertical markets we work in, including touring and rental to all the installation markets,” explained Generation AV founder Dave McKinney.

“PT Goshen’s MD, Cunario Suriya leads a terrific team of people, and Sales Director, Franky Cahyadi runs a highly motivated sales force. They have a highly capable technical team that will be able to provide product and system training to all our dealers and customers.”

Martin Audio already enjoys a strong brand reputation and exposure within the country’s 61

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INDUSTRY APPOINTMENTS

Proel’s Sagitter Business Unit Manager, Fabiano Cammoranesi; Riedel Communication’s Lutz Rathmann; TEG’s Director of Strategy and M&A, Matthew Donazzan.

entertainment markets, and PT Goshen’s goal will be to focus on expansion into other key vertical markets. “It is a privilege to add the Martin Audio brand to our portfolio as it complements our other distributed brands,” responded Cunario Suriya. “This will now enable us to offer full, end-to-end systems to our customers.”

The changes in China mean that existing distributor, Sino Hui Feng, will continue to handle the entertainment market, under which Martin Audio has achieved great success in some of the leading nightclubs across the country. As of 1 June 2020 they will be joined by Guangzhou Guidance AV Technology which will be responsible for developing many new market opportunities on top of existing Martin Audio foundation in China, including the Hong Kong and Macau territories.

Guangzhou Guidance is a newly established Professional Audio Company, with headquarters in Guangzhou, led by General Manager, Xu (Rico) Ruixian. “The members of the new Guangzhou Guidance team have a long history in the Chinese audio industry and the company has quickly established its dealer network across the country, with a strong support network in place,” said McKinney. “Martin Audio already has a great brand name in China, and with a great distributor like Guangzhou Guidance AV

Technology now partnering with us, we feel confident Martin Audio will be more accessible to more customers across the country.”

“In an ever-changing market such as China, where we constantly need to adapt and change in order to progress, we feel we now have the perfect structure to support our Martin Audio customers in all markets,” reflects McKinney. “We are thankful to have two such great partners looking after our interests.”

“China remains an extremely important market for Martin Audio, while Indonesia offers the opportunity for growth,” concluded Martin Audio MD Dom Harter. “With the breadth of our portfolio it’s important that we can maximise sales across vertical markets. The addition of Guangzhou Guidance and PT Goshen is a reflection of that strategy and we have great confidence in both companies.”

Visionarea Events Solutions has rebranded to become Octo. Josep Arrom, Founder and CEO, explained: “The new identity comes to satisfy all the existing expectations of what our original brand stood for, while simultaneously moving the business forward to become the best event production partner by offering productivity, accuracy and attention to detail taking into account the current challenges.”

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ROE Visual’s Victor Kortekaas and Tim Hamberg.

Proel has appointed Fabiano Cammoranesi as its new Sagitter Business Unit Manager. “An important professional challenge begins,” he commented. “This role enriches me and stimulates me to pour all my enthusiasm and determination to make the brand grow.”

PROLIGHTS has named SEESOUND as its new Spanish distributor.

Paolo Albani, PROLIGHTS International Sales Manager, commented: “SeeSound’s professionalism is well known throughout the industry, and the company gained broad access to every market segment throughout Spain, from system integrators and architectural to production companies and theatres.” punQtum has become the latest company to form part of the RAVENNA community. “Using network technology for digital communication makes total sense,” commented punQtum CEO, Arie van den Broek.

“Ethernet is available in many places already, so the ability to plug into a network instantly broadens and facilitates your scope of operation. Technologies such as RAVENNA, which offers high performance and interoperability, are an integral part of the IP landscape and are

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instrumental in driving progress, so it also makes complete sense that we should be part of that community.”

QSC has appointed Mainline Marketing to represent the QSC Systems and Live Sound business in Florida and Puerto Rico. Mainline Marketing takes over from Meyer Marketing after acquiring the firm in May 2020.

“We would like to thank the entire Meyer Marketing team for their hard work and dedication representing QSC over the years,” said Frank West, Senior Director of Sales for QSC Systems. “We look forward to working with Mainline Marketing in the Southeast region and leverage their vast experience and connections in the AV industry, specifically in corporate AV, theme parks, production and retail.”

Riedel Communications has hired Lutz Rathmann as Director of the Managed Technology Division. Having previously held several management positions at Riedel, including Deputy Head of Global Events, Rathmann succeeds Kai Houben.

“I am very pleased that Lutz is returning to us – he’s a very experienced and strong leader who carries the Riedel gene. With his extraordinary sense

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INDUSTRY APPOINTMENTS

for innovation, he will help drive Riedel’s technology leadership for event and sports production into the future,” said Founder and CEO of Riedel Communications, Thomas Riedel. “I woud also like to express my highest appreciation to Kai and say thanks from the bottom of my heart for his long and successful service to Riedel. Kai turned our local rental business into a global think tank, and we are very confident this course will continue with Lutz.”

ROE Visual has completed a refurbishment of its showroom in Leek, Netherlands. With its flexible set-up, the showroom has been created with the intention of allowing clients and designers to use it for demos, try-outs or testing. “The sales team is very eager to invite customers to experience the quality of our LED screens,” commented Victor Kortekaas, who masterminded the refurbishment alongside Tim Hamberg. “It’s not only the visual quality, but the engineering and precision manufacturing, the way it all comes together, that makes the difference – you really need to see, feel and experience it.”

Solid State Logic has announced the appointment of Marc DeGeorge to National Sales Manager, Audio Creation Products. DeGeorge, who was previously US Sales and Marketing Manager, Music Products, will continue to report to Phil Wagner, Senior Vice President, Solid State Logic.

“Marc has been a key part of our sales team for almost a decade, and in his new role he will help extend our success into adjacent markets particularly for our products such as SiX and our new interfaces,” said Wagner. “Through our relationship with Audiotonix, we have been able to substantially increase our manufacturing capacity while retaining the quality that SSL is known for. In this newly created position, Marc will be instrumental in helping us reach a broader set of consumers.”

DeGeorge joined SSL in 2011 and has been responsible for managing SSL’s independent dealer network, as well as cultivating the company’s

console sales - primarily to the North American professional studio market.

Throughout his tenure with SSL, DeGeorge has also played an integral role in helping generate interest among the end-user community through sales and marketing, as well as through educational initiatives.”

DeGeorge added: “Our customers span a wide range of vertical markets and applications,” he commented. “This includes the professional studios, broadcast and live markets, as well aspirational users and hobbyists. We want to ensure that SSL is able to provide the best possible tools for each of these customers, no matter what their application is and which audio path they want to pursue.”

He continued: “Our SiX and Fusion products present a very compelling value proposition to the live audio and broadcast markets, including podcasting. A significant part of my new role at the company will be educating both new and existing customers on these and other products, so they can be more successful.”

Sterling Event Group has opened Sterling Studio – a new state-ofthe-art studio space, which offers an alternative to traditional live events.

“At this current time whilst live events are on hold, we wanted to offer our clients a solution to continue communicating, engaging, educating and entertaining,” said Richard Bowden, Founder and MD. “The studio allows clients to present their virtual events at the same high standard and production values they would expect from a live event.”

TEG has appointed Matthew Donazzan to the newly created role of Director of Strategy and M&A. “We were deeply impressed by Matt during our sale to Silver Lake and it is a testament to his impeccable pedigree that our new partners and owners have backed us in hiring him to the TEG Senior Leadership Team,” said CEO of TEG, Geoff Jones.

TPi www.productionfutures.co.uk/job-opportunities 64

TPi PRODUCTION GUIDE

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BACK CHAT

MORE EYES Pete Thornton and Matt Sharp – known collectively as More Eyes – take the hot seat.

How did you start working with each other?

We knew each other growing up, but each went our seperate ways. Years later, we bumped into each other on the dance floor at a Coldcut gig at Cargo in London.

We discovered that we had both founded our own club nights. After realising that we shared a love of visuals and were both on the same trajectory, we hosted a club night, did back2back visuals for the whole night, and have worked together ever since. In those early days, we delivered visuals for underground techno parties and jungle raves for at least 12 hours straight.

Being able to list a TPi Award on your achievements, knowing the standard of previous recipients, really means a lot to us. The golden disc is displayed proudly in the centre of our studio.

How are you both keeping busy during lockdown?

We are taking the time to reignite old skills and learn some new ones. We’ve been brushing up on Notch, disguise and AI. The More Eyes studio is still fully operational on the content creation side and we are currently working on some streaming content for online festivals, which is due to broadcast soon. We are also working a range of experimental projects using a mix of live generated visuals, VR and XR, combined with our trademark visual style and the quality that our clients have come to expect from us. With tours and live shows postponed, deadlines have been relaxed, which allows us to experiment with more artist and client content.

We’ve got some bold new projects in the pipeline and are excited to continue pushing the boundaries of tour visuals and production even further.

What are your touring highlights so far?

The Dizzee Rascal Raskit Tour was great fun. We’ve also worked at Glastonbury for many years and love being involved with Shangri-La’s Heaven and Hell stages and The Gas Tower. Performing and partying alongside our fellow VJ friends is special. The Gods of Rap Tour in 2019 was also a huge highlight for us. As two computer geeks growing up listening to jungle and hip-hop, working so closely with Wu-Tang Clan, Public Enemy and De La Soul – with total creative freedom for visuals – was incredible.

What did it mean to win the Des Fallon Video Visionary accolade at TPi Awards 2020?

It was a welcome surprise for us because the competition was so strong. Matt had just jumped off a 24-hour flight from New Zealand and we didn’t expect anything other than a cheer as the nominations were read out. The award has gone a long way to validating the sleepless nights and hard work that have gone into building up More Eyes as a recognised company in visual production.

What is the future of the industry post COVID-19?

Lots of touring personnel have picked up new skills and embraced new technologies during this strange time, so it would be remiss to not utilise these skills when traditional touring returns. Combining live streaming, VR and XR experiences could become a whole new revenue stream for artists worldwide. I think we’ll witness new types of live streaming experiences as a bolt-on to real world events, once physical touring becomes a reality.

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