TOTAL PRODUCTION INTERNATIONAL
TOTAL PRODUCTION INTERNATIONAL
WWW.TPiMAGAZINE.COM NOVEMBER 2015
ISSUE 195
LIVE EVENT DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY • NOVEMBER 2015 • ISSUE 195
FALL OUT BOY SUGAR WE’RE GOING DOWN SWINGING...
BEHIND THE SCENES OF THE AMERICAN BEAUTY / AMERICAN PSYCHO TOUR
INTERVIEW: TUPAC MARTIR • JAMES BAY: PART 2 • STEVEN WILSON • DAVID GILMOUR FROM FOH IN PROFILE: LEISURETEC & BLACKOUT • RUSH R40 TOUR • IN THE SPOTLIGHT: BROADWEIGH • OPETH LIVE
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SWORD-WEILDING ILLUMINATI AND POTENTIAL BROKEN BONES It’s been another whirlwind of a month here at TPi HQ, after going straight to Oktoberfest in Munich (turns out that a litre of beer - ok, two litres of beer - is more difficult to carry than one first anticipated). When I’d mustered up my strength however, I then flew into London to attend the Knight of Illumination Awards. This year saw some very worthy winners weilding their swords of glory - a potentially dangerous move by LD Tom Campbell’s own admission due to his penchant for Game of Thrones... Congratulations to The Fifth Estate for putting on a great event. Here I am in the lovely company of Vari-Lite’s Teresa Vallis and Gemma Oldfield of Richard Martin Lighting enjoying the first of many cold tipples. Weird how that keeps happening. A full list of winners can be found on Pg. 18 and our backpage interview looks at the career of KOI Judge, Coral Cooper. This issue also brings you a rather eclectic mix of features, starting with an audio interview with David Gilmour’s FOH Engineer, Colin Norfield. There’s something quite otherworldly about experiencing live music in a historical setting. Colin, I hope you had a happy birthday. Thanks “This year saw some very for the interesting chat! worthy winners weilding We’ve got some exclusive coverage of The Chemical Brothers, Rush and Steven Wilson. their swords of glory - a For our in-depth tour coverage this month, we potentially dangerous move turned to cover stars, Fall Out Boy and their team by LD Tom Campbell’s of techs led by PM Chad Olech, and deliver part two of our James Bay documentation. This time own admission due to his we follow the progression of his young crew, penchant for Game of who are touring a PA system for the first time Thrones…” courtesy of one of the industry’s youngest rental company directors, Nitelites’ Jamie Moore. Not forgetting a look inside Swedish metal band Opeth’s latest outing, on their only UK date. And in business, two 25th anniversary celebrations are in motion with Blackout and Leisuretec (Pg. 70 and 78). I can’t sign off without mentioning my interview with multimedia experimentalist, Tupac Martir. It’s not very often that we run fashion lighting content, but when we do, it brings a whole new dynamic to our live event production thinking. The words ‘atmospheric effects’ have stayed with me and are conjuring up ideas for our own awards. Sci-fi scenes at the ready! We’re now in the final stages of voting for the next TPi Awards, so speak now or hold your thoughts on who you’d like to have seen win until next year. 1 Night. 27 Awards. 1,200 guests. Don’t miss it. That’s all from me, as I’m now leaving for a surf camp in Portugal. 30 is as good an age as any to break some bones, right? Kelly Murray Editor
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Editor Kelly Murray Tel: +44 (0)161 476 8360 Mobile: +44 (0)7738 154689 e-mail: k.murray@mondiale.co.uk Assistant Editor Ste Durham Tel: +44 (0)161 476 8385 Mobile: +44 (0)7891 679742 e-mail: s.durham@mondiale.co.uk Editorial Assistant Stewart Hume Tel: +44 (0)161 476 8360 Mobile: +44 (0)7712 607419 e-mail: s.hume@mondiale.co.uk General Manager - Magazine & Awards Hannah Eakins Tel: +44 (0)161 476 8360 Mobile: +44 (0)7760 485230 e-mail: h.eakins@mondiale.co.uk Advertising Sales - TPi Magazine Charlotte Goodlass Tel: +44 (0)161 476 9126 Mobile: +44 (0)788 0208 226 e-mail: c.goodlass@mondiale.co.uk Event Manager - TPi Awards Mo Naeem Tel: +44 (0)161 476 8360 Mobile: +44 (0)775 9272 313 e-mail: m.naeem@mondiale.co.uk Graphic Design & Production Dan Seaton: d.seaton@mondiale.co.uk Zoe Willcox: z.willcox@mondiale.co.uk Accounts Donna Barlow / Sarah Miller: ar@mondiale.co.uk Chief Executive Justin Gawne Mondiale Group Chairman Damian Walsh www.tpimagazine.com • www.tpiawards.com Cover Photography Fall Out Boy by Shirlaine Forrest Printed by Buxton Press Annual subscriptions (including P&P): £42 (UK), £60 (Europe), £78/$125 (RoW). Subscription enquiries to: Subscriptions, Mondiale Publishing Limited, Waterloo Place, Watson Square, Stockport SK1 3AZ, UK. Tel: +44 (0)161 476 5580 Fax: +44 (0)161 476 0456 e-mail: subscriptions@mondiale.co.uk Issue 195 / November 2015 TOTAL PRODUCTION INTERNATIONAL is a controlled circulation magazine, published 12 times a year by Mondiale Publishing Limited under licence. ISSN 1461-3786 Copyright © 2014 Mondiale Publishing Limited. All contents of this publication are subject to worldwide copyright protection and reproduction in whole or part, in any form whatsoever, is expressly forbidden without the prior written consent of the Publishers. Every effort is taken to ensure accuracy in the preparation of this publication but neither Mondiale Publishing Ltd, nor the Editor, can be held responsible for its contents or any consequential loss or damage resulting from information published. The views expressed are not necessarily those of the Publishers or Editor. The Publishers accept no responsibility for the return of unsolicited manuscripts, photographs, illustrations, advertising materials or artwork. Total Production International USPS: (ISSN 1461 3786) is published 12 times a year by Mondiale Publishing Limited United Kingdom. The 2014 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 Publishing Ltd. Waterloo Place, Watson Square, Stockport, SK1 3AZ, UK.
EVENT FOCUS 08 David Gilmour
Kelly Murray talks to FOH Engineer Colin Norfield about mixing on the road for the Pink Floyd legend.
12 HSL Extends The Family
Lighting and visual rental specialist HSL has partnered with GLS and Video Illusions.
18 Knight Of Illumination Awards
The 2015 winners are revealed.
22 The Chemical Brothers
MIDI expert Matt Cox on the dance duo’s unique Soundcraft package.
24 Rush
After four decades with the band, LD Howard Ungerleider explains his current design.
28 Steven Wilson
LD Matthew Jenson delivers a visual feast for the prog heavyweight with the help of Hawthorn.
PRODUCTION PROFILE 32 Fall Out Boy
TPi hops onto American pop punk quartet Fall Out Boy’s UK tour, designed by Robb Jibson.
48 James Bay
More crew, more kit and more determination: part 2 of our feature on the live production of UK’s biggest selling album this year.
60 Opeth
Swedish heavy metal at its finest, and this time, they’ve brought video.
INTERVIEW 68 Tupac Martir The ‘Light Magician’ and Moschino team up to
create a high fashion fever.
IN PROFILE 70 Stewart Hume visits Blackout for a special
anniversary.
76 Ste Durham talks to Leisuretec as the
company reaches its 25th year.
DAY IN THE LIFE OF... 80 Chris Griffiths of City & Moon Backline Hire lets
us into his diary.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT 82 Uncovering BroadWeigh’s new wireless
loadshackle system.
MOVERS & SHAKERS 86 The latest industry appointments.
PSA 90 A look at safety progress on a global scale.
VITAL STATS
94 Vari-Lite Trainer and KOI Judge Coral Cooper
stops by for a chat. 07
EVENT FOCUS: David Gilmour
DAVID GILMOUR FROM FOH LEGENDARY GUITARIST AND THE FINAL MEMBER TO JOIN PINK FLOYD, DAVID GILMOUR, IS CURRENTLY SUPPORTING HIS BRAND NEW ALBUM, RATTLE THAT LOCK, WITH EXTENSIVE LIVE SHOWS MIXED BY HIS LONG TIME FOH ENGINEER, COLIN NORFIELD. IN LATE SEPTEMBER, ON THE EVE OF THE ALBUM’S LAUNCH, TPi’S KELLY MURRAY VISITED THE TOUR’S MOST MAJESTIC VENUE - THE ORANGE THEATRE ANTIQUE IN FRANCE - TO HEAR THE DIGICO AND L-ACOUSTICS ENSEMBLE PROVIDED BY BRITANNIA ROW PRODUCTIONS, THE PA COMPANY THAT WAS BIRTHED FROM PINK FLOYD’S FIRST TOUR... Sat in the autumn sunshine, sipping an espresso and marvelling at the hoards of fans that flood the quaint streets surrounding the Orange Theatre Antique - one of the best preserved Roman amphitheatres in Europe - FOH Engineer Colin Norfield has a thing or two to celebrate. Not only is it the eve of David Gilmour’s latest album release (the following day the album went to No.1 in 16 countries) - an artist he’s been working with for an impressive 21 years - but it’s also his 65th birthday. Norfield began his career as a Sound Engineer with Motown hit makers The Temptations and went on to work with a multitude of stars ranging from Toto, to Iron Maiden and ultimate soul diva, Diana Ross. During his time, Norfield has worked very closely with audio supplier Britannia Row Productions, which for his current mix is supplying 08
a DiGiCo SD7 and an L-Acoustics K1 / K2 system depending on the venue. “I absolutely love Brit Row,” he said with a smile. “They’re very passionate about what we, as engineers, do. I worked for Cliff Richard for 26 years and that’s where Brit Row gave me my first break. Before Mike Lowe [Co-Director of Britannia Row, alongside Bryan Grant] started working for PA companies, he was actually a roadie for my band.” Lowe added: “Every David Gilmour tour is extremely special to us. He, along with the rest of Pink Floyd, was responsible for starting Britannia Row, 40 years ago this year. Without him, there would be no Britannia Row Productions. David sold out to a management buyout in 1984, and we have continuously tried to live up to his legacy. It is a great feeling to know that he had the confidence to keep us as his sound company ever
EVENT FOCUS: David Gilmour
Opposite: Britannia Row supplied audio requirements to David Gilmour’s tour as it has done since the company’s inception. Below: FOH Engineer, Colin Norfield with David Webster of DiGiCo; The Orange Theatre Antique played host to the L-Acoustcis K2 rig.
since. My personal music tastes are very varied and David Gilmour is a giant artist within that spectrum. He is a master craftsman. “His sound engineer Colin Norfield and I go back even further. When I moved to London in 1969, Colin’s band at the time, Crew, was one of the first London bands that I worked for on a regular basis. As one did in those days, I did the lot - drove the van, set up the backline and PA, mixed the band, collected the money, packed up and took them all home again! Colin is a man of zany humour and sharp wit and has been a good friend for over 45 years now.” CONSTRUCTIVE, PASSIONATE MIXING Norfield himself is somewhat of a pro audio legend, firmly ranked in the school of ex touring musicians turned engineers who mix by ear and take minimal notice of the latest technology presented to them. This method holds Norfield in expert stead to choose the tools of his craft, and although it may not be commonplace in
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fantastic live engineer and probably unique in his approach, in his musicality and in the soul he brings to a live performance.” Norfield has been using solely DiGiCo for the last nine years; he chose an SD5 last year, and has opted for an SD7 on this tour. He continued: “It’s the most user-friendly, fast desk out there. I can get to two places at once. Even though it’s a digital desk, it comes at you like an analogue console; the multiple screens make it very easy to understand.”
younger generations, is invaluable. “I said to the crew at the beginning of this tour that they might find the way I do things a bit ‘different’, shall we say. I’m here to create sound, and the artistic side of me must create something on the night. I’m not technically minded at all; I simply mix as a musician. For me mixing really is a passion, and in those two hours that I’m mixing, I can be constructive. For example, I run the subs on an aux because I can be more creative with it that way.” Lowe added: “Colin was a good bass player, but he gradually moved over to sound engineering and has has a great ear, musically speaking. He can talk with musicians about what they’re playing and gets the very best out of their live sound. I have seen him more than once in rehearsals or during a sound check, offer a different arrangement for harmony parts to a lead and backing vocalist. Every time I have seen him do this, his arrangement has been gratefully adopted as the better option! He is a
A GREAT OUTDOOR SYSTEM He continued: “For the main tour we’re using K1, and a K2 at this venue. It’s a superb system; it sounds great. I wanted to use L-Acoustics because I knew we would be playing a lot of outdoor venues, and it’s a great open-air system; the throw is unbelievable. It’s very direct and solid, which is what I need. I have worked with other systems but for me, this is the bestsounding system for outdoor use.”
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EVENT FOCUS: David Gilmour
Below: System Tech, Chris Keirle, described the tour as issue free while utilising the DiGiCo / L-Acoustics rider; The rather unique FOH setting in France; The venue gained UNESCO status in 1981.
Due to the weight restrictions of the roof at the Orange Theatre Antique - the incredible venue was built in the early 1st Century AD, and in 1981 it became an UNESCO world heritage site - the main system today is a K2. The open-air setting is breathtaking, conjuring up images of historical events, augmented by the feel good riffs of Gilmour’s guitar. “It’s flown slightly wider than I’d like perhaps like, but we don’t have a choice at this venue. The venue has been great considering it’s an
processors. The outboard for the SD7 comprises four analogue and four digital lines running via an SD minirack. “We’ve had no issues at all, from start to end, DiGiCo has been very reliable,” concluded Keirle.
see Gilmour perform new material in an enchantingly old venue, yet it was the strength and longevity of the relationships between the artist, supplier and touring engineers backstage that really created an atmospheric show on the surface. Lowe concluded: “The whole of the David Gilmour camp is just brilliant to work with everything comes from the top. Phil Taylor, who has been David’s right-hand man on the road since before the inception of Britannia Row, Production Manager Roger Searle, who I first worked with in 1972, and the superb Marc Brickman to name just three key crew, continue to make every David Gilmour a great experience.” So, with a wealth of live production expertise under his favourite DiGiCo desk, will Norfield be retiring in the near future? “I might cut down my workload a little bit, but I won’t be retiring any time soon,” he smiled. “I love what I do and in a business with a lot of frogs, David is a prince among men, he’s a rare diamond.” David Gilmour plays South America in December before a North American tour begins in March 2016. TPi
EVERYTHING COMES FROM THE TOP The show in Orange was met with monumental appreciation from loyal fans - some of which had travelled by plane to France - to see
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“As far as PA systems go, L-Acoustics is definitely my system of choice, it’s been designed to have a good thrashing!” The system comprises 12 boxes of K2 per side, running in pairs with six KARA utilised as sidefill. At a more hospitable venue, the rig would comprise 12 K1 per side and six K1SBs for the main hang with 12 K2 for sidefill and some additional KARA as the centre hangs. Stage monitoring is via d&b audiotechnik M2 wedges, d&b D80 amplifiers and L-Acoustics LA8’s. Distribution is though Lake LM26 and LM44
“Every David Gilmour tour is extremely special to us. He, along with the rest of Pink Floyd, was responsible for starting Britannia Row, 40 years ago this year. Without him, there would be no Britannia Row Productions...” Mike Lowe, Britannia Row Productions amphitheatre. They can be very difficult but besides the weather this morning, [there was a slight rain storm] this one has been very easy.” “We’ve got a really good set of guys out here with us too,” said Norfield. Namely, FOH and System Tech Johnny Keirle who is Norfield’s number one. He said: “I landed in the UK from New Zealand a couple of years ago and started working for Brit Row as a freelancer the very next day. They certainly keep me busy! 10
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EVENT FOCUS: HSL Extends the Family
HSL EXTENDS THE FAMILY WITH GLS AND VIDEO ILLUSIONS NEW PARTNERSHIPS SEE THE LIGHTING AND VISUAL RENTAL SPECIALIST MOVE INTO A STRONG NEW ERA.
GLS Lighting is set to join Blackburn, UK-based lighting and visuals rental company, HSL. The partnership will see GLS’s business continue to function exactly as normal but with access to HSL’s vast resources of equipment, personnel, knowledge, expertise, backup and support. The GLS day-to-day operation will further benefit from sharing HSL’s administration infrastructure. “It’s fantastic to welcome GLS as part of our healthy and growing family,” said HSL’s MD Simon Stuart. “We are all like-minded individuals, passionate about what we do, dedicated to provide the very best and highest quality services and solutions for all our clients worldwide and ensuring that the HSL Group stays at the forefront of a fast-moving, peopleorientated industry.” Stuart emphasised that there are numerous 12
synergies between the two companies, and that fundamental to the deal was that GLS will not be absorbed or disappear into the ‘vortex’ of a larger parent company. He commented: “GLS is simply joining a bigger family full of positive energy and forward thinkers who share the same core values and future visions for success in the industry.” GLS Director Ian Turner added: “There are so many parallels in attitude and style between HSL and GLS and, while spiritually it is a highly logical move to join forces, most importantly for our client base, it frees up all of us to do what we love best - being out there on the front-line and building strong, productive and enjoyable relationships.” The deal gives HSL the geographical advantage of now having a facility located on
the south coast in addition to the Blackburn HQ and satellite operations in Belfast and Dublin. This will further streamline HSL’s physical structure, provide more opportunities for growth and be an ideally-placed operational base to service London, the south of England and Wales, as well as parts of Western Europe with access to nearby ports. Elsewhere, HSL has also announced a strategic working partnership with live event video designers and specialists, Video Illusions. Based in Canterbury, Kent, Video Illusions was formed in 2006 by brothers Dave and Nick Whiteoak and has rapidly built a reputation for imaginative and innovative video solutions - from hardware to content creation - for all sectors of the entertainment industry encompassing live music, touring, theatre
EVENT FOCUS: HSL Extands the Family
Previous page: GLS Lighting has joined forces with HSL. Below: HSL has also announced a strategic working partnership with live event video designers and specialists, Video Illusions.
productions, special events, corporates, and sports competitions. Prior to this, the brothers started their industry careers as freelancers working in the world of corporate AV on high profile events, which constantly opened doors to new and interesting projects. Simultaneously, they were honing their live video and VJing skills, which were unleashed on the underground club scene working with a series of collaborators including a collective called ‘Inside Us All’. This is when they also started purchasing kit and offering bespoke show designs. Recent clients have included the Arcadia Spectacular, Nitro Circus, Gravity Thailand, Knife Party and many others including a project involving Chase & Status, David Rodigan and Shy
14
FX which won last year’s Red Bull Sound Clash. On the equipment front, this collaboration gives HSL access to a full range of HD camera and projector packages, PPUs, switching and processing and an additional 400 sq metres of LED screens as well as production facilities. In turn, Video Illusions can use over 500 sq metres of HSL’s LED video screen which has been purchased in the last two years, plus a massive amount of softLED products, and an enormous rigging department. Between the two companies all the popular tour and event media server platforms including Ai, Catalyst and Green Hippo - are supported. Stuart specifically chose to work with Video Illusions, because they have, “the right attitude
and dedication to pushing the envelope, whilst sharing the same attention to detail and high quality standards as HSL.” He continued: “It’s all about forming partnerships and Dave and Nick are the right people and personalities to fit and work with the HSL family.” Dave Whiteoak added: “We have a great working relationship with HSL via Andy Hurst who introduced Video illusions to Simon Stuart, and this opportunity means we can move forward as a team offering clients a ‘next level’ on show designs combining lighting and video.” TPi www.hslgroup.com http://videoillusions.net www.glslighting.com
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GUARANTEE YOUR PLACE! The TPi Awards will be held on 22 February 2016 at Battersea Evolution, London. Since 2002, the TPi Awards has been celebrating those who have made a positive impact in the world of concert touring. 2016 will mark the 15th consecutive year that the TPi brand has honoured the winners, as voted for by you. To book tickets please visit: www.tpiawards.com
EVENT FOCUS: Knight of Illumination Awards
WINNERS ANNOUNCED AT KNIGHT OF ILLUMINATION AWARDS THE EIGHTH KNIGHT OF ILLUMINATION AWARDS (KOI) CEREMONY WAS HELD ON SUNDAY 4 OCTOBER AT LONDON’S GLAMOROUS ART DECO VENUE, TROXY, TO SPARKLING SUCCESS. Once more the KOI saw representatives from the professional entertainment lighting and video industry come together to celebrate the creative achievements of lighting and video professionals working on shows across the UK. The event, organised by The Association of Lighting Designers (ALD), The Society of Television & Lighting Design (STLD), The Fifth Estate Ltd and Clay Paky, was established to offer public recognition for outstanding achievements in touring, television and theatre lighting and video design. The evening was hosted by prolific international LD Mark Jonathan and the winners were announced as: THEATRE Dance: Lucy Carter for Woolf Works, Royal Ballet. 18
Musicals: Amy Mae Smith for Sweeney Todd, Harrington’s Pie Shop Opera: Alessandro Carletti for Guillaume Tell, Royal Opera House Plays: Tim Mitchell for Taken at Midnight, Minerva Studio, Chichester Projection Design: Paul Barritt for Golem, Young Vic TELEVISION Small Studio: Andy Cottey for Election 2015 Wales Light Entertainment: Gurdip Mahal for The Voice Final Drama: John Daly for Up the Women Events: Nigel Catmur for Young Dancer 2015 Competition Video Graphic Display: David Newton, Alberta Torres and Jessy Wang for Strictly Come Dancing
CONCERT TOURING AND EVENTS Concert Touring Arena: LeRoy Bennett for Lady Gaga Concert Touring Stage: Will Potts for Sam Smith Club: Tom Campbell for Anna Calvi Live Events: Terry Cook for Secret Cinema - Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back Video Electronic Content: Nina Dunn for Alice’s Adventures Underground The judging panel for the Concert Touring and Events category was: Philips Vari-Lite Trainer, Coral Cooper, Financial Times Arts Pages Production Journalist, David Cheal, Fly By Nite’s (and ex PRG) Scottie Sanderson, and TPi Editor, Kelly Murray. The line-up was completed by Sarah Rushton-Read, Concert Touring and Events Chair, who commented: “We saw a huge number of submissions for Concert Touring and Events this year and a stunning array of
EVENT FOCUS: Knight of Illumination Awards
Opposite: KOI was organised by The Association of Lighting Designers (ALD), The Society of Television & Lighting Design (STLD), The Fifth Estate and Clay Paky. Below: The Concert Touring and Events winners, L-R: Tom Campbell, Nina Dunn, LeRoy Bennett (collected by Charlie Lightening), Terry Cook and Will Potts; The event took place at London’s Troxy and was attended by professionals from various lighting and visual sectors.
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EVENT FOCUS: Knight of Illumination Awards
Below: London buses carried the masses to the event; Fred Foster greatly received his Lifetime Recognition award; Sarah Rushton-Read and LD, Durham Marenghi.
creative work. To be able to see many of the shows personally and meet the designers is always a pleasure and a privilege. As ever I was delighted to be reminded of the creative talent, innovation and often collaborative approach that characterises our industry.” There was also a Lifetime Recognition award, won by CEO of Electronic Theatre Controls (ETC), Fred Foster. Foster commented: “It’s a great honour to receive this award. I’ve always been proud to work with ETC and within this great industry. The most important people, however, are you,
the lighting designers, who make the industry so good. Thank you to you all, and to the KOI Awards.” Behind the Scenes - the charity that supports entertainment technology professionals in times of need - received a £5,000 cheque at the awards thanks to a donation from Clay Paky. The company’s CEO Pio Nahum presented a cheque to lighting designer Rick Fisher for Behind the Scenes UK. Fisher commented: “Once again Clay Paky is supporting Behind the Scenes UK at the annual Knight of Illumination Awards. Their generosity
recognises the collaboration required to create our work, and the fragile nature of those working in our industry. “Behind the Scenes UK is now fully up and running and supporting people, coping with extreme hardships in all aspects of the entertainment world and the supply of the technology we all use. We welcome this generous support for Behind the Scenes UK and urge all to join Clay Paky by contributing and alerting us to those who may need assistance.” TPi www.knight-of-illumination.com
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EVENT FOCUS: The Chemical Brothers
THE CHEMICAL BROTHERS CHOOSE SOUNDCRAFT ON STAGE WITH A HEAVY 2015 TOURING SCHEDULE, THE CHEMICAL BROTHERS HAVE UPGRADED THEIR ONSTAGE RIG WITH A PAIR OF SOUNDCRAFT GB8 32 MIXING CONSOLES, SUPPLIED BY HD PRO AUDIO. Formed in Manchester, The Chemical Brothers, made up of Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons, became one of the most wellknown electronic acts in the world with a career spanning almost 30 years. But with an incredibly busy 2015 the electronic musicians have decided to retire their Mackie 32:8 mixer for a new Soundcraft GB8 32 mixing console. Matt Cox of iMatt, the Live MIDI Tech and Touring Programmer for the band, explained the reasoning behind the move to the Soundcraft GB8: “For a long time we used a Mackie 32:8, it worked great and lasted all the way up until their last tour in 2011. However, Mackie hasn’t made that desk in a while and we were starting to get slightly worried about the consequences if it got damaged. We probably couldn’t get the spare parts. So, we thought it was the right time to find something more current.” Andy Huffer of HD Pro discussed how both he and Cox decided the GB8 was the way forward, with the added benefit of it being 22
in mass production. “The band are effectively operating a mini-studio live on stage so the analogue format and familiarity of operation were essential factors. Together with Cox and the band’s long term audio supplier Skan PA, we looked at all the options available to replace their existing console and narrowed it down to the Soundcraft. The GB8 32 expanded the capability to meet their spec, while maintaining the operational fluency. To enable the band to evaluate the options fully, we arranged a Soundcraft for one of their rehearsal sessions, along with several other consoles for them to compare.” Cox talked about the trial process stating that almost immediately, the band were drawn in by the GB8. “It really is a modern day Mackie,” he said. According to Cox, the new consoles have seen action throughout this year. He stated: “We did production rehearsals back in May and then started the festival run at the beginning of June. Nothing of a technical nature has cropped up in any of the shows. I am happy with the
sound it produces too. The consoles get driven quite hard at times and, at some points through the set, several channel inputs are overdriven. The GB8 distorts this brilliantly.” Another added bonus that the band has found with using the GB8 is the function of muting grouped channels on the desk at the same time. Cox elaborated: “This function has been very useful to the band when they are doing their live arranging and they want to produce DJ style cut effects where multiple channels drop out. When you have 32 channels it’s impossible to do this manually. The first few times after using it when they came off stage, both of the guys commented on how much they liked this particular feature.” In the midst of their busy summer, the band released their new album, Born In The Echoes - their first in five years. The Chemical Brothers are currently touring South America to give their new GB8’s even more mileage. TPi www.thechemicalbrothers.com www.soundcraft.com
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4/30/15 4:04 PM
EVENT FOCUS: Rush
RUSH R40 LIVE TOUR SUCH IS THE ENTHUSIASM OF RUSH’S VETERAN LD HOWARD UNGERLEIDER, IT IS EASY TO FORGET THAT HE IS SPEAKING FROM 41 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE WITH THE SAME BAND. TPi’S STE DURHAM TALKS TO THE MAN HIMSELF TO FIND OUT HOW THE PRODUCTION TEAM INTENDED TO BEND SPACE AND TIME FOR WHAT IS EXPECTED TO BE RUSH’S LAST LARGE-SCALE TOUR. As well as being a journey through Rush’s musical history, the R40 Live Tour was something of a trip down memory lane for the band’s long-serving Lighting Designer, Howard Ungerleider, who made his first tentative steps into the touring industry as an aspiring musician in New York, though he admits he knew nothing about it at the time. Following an impromptu meeting in The Who’s agent Sean LaRoche’s office (to which he wasn’t necessarily invited), it was kindly suggested that he learn more about the industry from a different perspective. Working his way up from delivering coffee and documents at booking agency Action Talent, Ungerleider grew into a busy role as an agent with American Talent International. Eventually finding himself under the tutelage of 24
Deep Purple’s Manager Bruce Payne, he learned the truths of the business and, in 1974, was asked to take then-rookies Rush under his wing and teach them how to tour. “The rest is history,” Ungerleider laughed. “I liked the guys so much that I decided to take on the positions of Road Manager, Tour Accountant, Travel Agent and Lighting Director, as they didn’t have those available at the time. Lighting in particular came easy to me as I had studied theatrical lighting books and put shows together at school. “Touring with the other bands before Rush, I was often asked my opinion about the shows and was actually able to observe what they were doing, lighting-wise, and create my own ideas. I would make suggestions and I really enjoyed it as we were basically inventing the
industry at that time.” As a great deal of bands were restricted to using house lighting at the venues they played, it engendered a great deal of creativity in this still fledgling corner of the touring industry. Even the biggest bands only had access to large trusses of PAR cans, but Ungerleider maintains that he loved using them, all the while attempting to artistically mix them with in-house theatrical fixtures. This passion has followed him throughout his career, also becoming a huge part of the playful concept at work in Rush’s latest spectacle. A FAREWELL TO KINGS R40, as with many of the Rush tours that preceded it, was a team effort from its inception. Bassist, keyboardist, and lead
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10/6/15 4:43 PM
EVENT FOCUS: Rush
Opposite page: Rush’s R40 tour which was lit by long-serving LD, Howard Ungerleider
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vocalist of the band, Geddy Lee, spearheaded this council, along with guitarist Alex Lifeson; drummer, percussionist, and lyricist Neil Peart; Geddy’s brother and Video Producer Allan Weinrib; Creative Director Dale Heslip; and Ungerleider himself. As the group knocked around ideas at a conceptual level, Heslip came up with the notion of making the band appear as if they were going back in time through the course of their prolific musical career. This meant starting the show with the most recent Clockwork Angels album and deconstructing the band over the course of the evening, eventually culminating in what appeared to be a 1974 high school gymnasium performance. Ungerleider explained: “Once we have a coherent concept, Dale will produce a storyboard, which will then be shipped off to the creative artists. Using our guidelines they will create their ideas for each piece. We like to use different artists for every section so nothing looks the same. “Once all this is approved, then it is my responsibility to make sure the colouration of all the videos and what I am doing lighting-wise on stage will work with the concept.” This required a lot of homework on Ungerleider’s behalf, mainly sifting through his old lighting plots, some of which were so timeworn that most of the ink had disappeared. He added: “The more recent ones I had on CAD and they were quite fresh in my head anyway. Basically they gave me carte blanche with the lighting so I just had to make sure it was indicative of the time periods and that they would transition smoothly from one to the other.” Although they are known for providing equipment and content for clients like Cirque du Soleil, Montreal-based lighting and video rental company Solotech provided all the fixtures and screens for this Rush tour. Ungerleider justified this by explaining how the crew wanted to keep the presentation on a more “theatrical” level. This, in effect, dictated his choice of fixtures for him. “I tend not to have long relationships with lighting brands as I just try to use the lights that I think are the best for the job. On every tour I will change my lighting fixtures around. I haven’t used Vari-Lite in a long time bar a small amount on the last two tours, but on this tour I was up to between 60 and 120. I really enjoyed its new fixture, as it was powerful and did what I needed it to do,” he stated. Ungerleider used 66 Vari-Lite VL4000 spots, 15 VL4000 BeamWashes, 14 VL3500 FX spots, and 12 VL3500 washes. He commented: “The colours are very different than the old Vari-Lites fixtures, even the 3500’s and the 3000’s. They leaned towards TV lighting for a while, which employed a lot of pastels, but the saturates come out a lot louder with the 4000 and that’s what I love.” In addition to the Vari-Lite fixtures, Ungerleider employed 40 Clay Paky Mythos,
seven High End Systems Showguns, 54 TMB Solaris Solar Flares, 50 GLP Impression X4S Zooms as side washes, 12 Color Kinetics ColorBlaze 72’s, 50 ColorBlaze 48’s, and 16 Altman Lighting PAR 64’s. Lighting was controlled by three High End Systems Hog 4’s, with two expansion wings, along with three Pro Systems Group Catalyst Media Servers. Ungerleider counteracted any unwanted motion on some of the moving fixtures by employing 12 RSC Lightlocks. He explained: “It is difficult creating ‘oldlooking’ lighting with new fixtures, and even stranger to go backwards and loose your power lighting. When we went to the gym section I had two sticks of vintage PAR cans on the floor, and no spotlights. We even dropped in a four ft mirror ball to keep it authentic! We employed the kind of heavy, vintage fixtures that you would cut your hands on, at one point we even considered letting the crew hold them up! Even so, it was really fun lighting the stage not in colour but in 3200, which is your natural PAR can light temperature.” For the more modern lighting designs, Ungerleider employed a number of laser fixtures that were designed, built and provided by his company, Production Design International. These included 28 Automated PDI custom blue laser diodes and three High Power PDI custom Optical Laser Projection Systems with scanners. The displays were created with Pangolin’s BEYOND laser control software. One of the locations represented by the team was reminiscent of the proscenium-style theatres that Rush used to play in years gone by. Ungerleider wanted the red velvet curtains and proscenium arch to appear as if from nowhere. “The stage was set up with three video screens, upstage centre, and downstage right and left. The downstage ones were small enough that they could become the pillars of the proscenium, also serving to conceal the curtains hidden behind them. We had the crew pull them on stage when the time came and the video screens created the environment. It looked beautiful,” he said. Despite becoming a huge undertaking for the crew, Ungerleider admitted that it was a very interesting and enjoyable experience. He added: “It was a very nostalgic experience for me personally. I was lighting each section and getting really vivid memories of all the crazy things we were doing way back when. It was making us laugh but at the same time we became aware of how effective these techniques were. In the end people loved the production and the lighting changes in particular got an incredible response.” TPi Photo: Richard Sibbald www.rush.com www.pdifx.com www.solotech.com
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21/09/2015 11:37
EVENT FOCUS: Steven Wilson
STEVEN WILSON AT THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL AFTER A BUSY YEAR OF TOURING, STEVEN WILSON CONCLUDED HIS 2015 LIVE DATES WITH TWO NIGHTS AT THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL. ONCE AGAIN HAWTHORN SUPPLIED LIGHTING AND VIDEO TO BRING THE PROG STAR’S MUSIC TO LIFE. Steven Wilson has had a very successful year. Since the release of his fourth solo studio album, Hand. Cannot. Erase., the British musician has toured the world, treating fans to a fully immersive musical experience including tailor-made video content that was played throughout every single show. The set on the first night of the Royal Albert Hall show was almost identical to the rest of the Hand. Cannot. Erase. tour, while the second night was geared more towards fans of Wilson’s whole career - where he and his band played through a back catalogue including several songs from his former band, Porcupine Tree. 28
Before the tour began earlier this year, Wilson’s hope was to create a show that would raise the bar both musically and visually from any of the previous tours he had put together. Raising the bar in this case meant having bespoke films created that were played throughout every performance. To make this ambitious project come to life, Matthew Jensen was assigned the job as Lighting Designer. Speaking with Jensen after the Albert Hall event he recalled his experience with the tour. “I have been with Steven since earlier last year,” said Jensen. “It’s been great to work with Steven because
he has such a distinct vision for his show.” Jensen decided that the best way forward for the tour was to work with Hawthorn who supplied lighting and video for the tour. “Video definitely came first when deciding to go with Hawthorn,” he explained. “I have never personally worked with Hawthorn but I have know Mick Freer [Concert Touring Manager at Hawthorn] for a long time. I was impressed with what Hawthorn had to offer in terms of LED solutions. Jensen decided to use the Glux 10mm screens for the tour, which provided a canvas for the various films that are played throughout the show. Jensen explained: “The whole show
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16.9.2015 15:55:27
EVENT FOCUS: Steven Wilson
Opposite: Steven Wilson and his band played two nights at the Royal Albert Hall on 28 and 29 of September. Below: Matthew Jensen at FOH at the Royal Albert Hall.
itself is time sequenced, which is vital due to many frame-specific moments where the video has to tie-in exactly with the music. Obviously having a large LED screen is a large investment but it certainly made an impact.” This is not the first time that Hawthorn has supplied services to Steven Wilson. It first
head office and demonstrated a whole range of equipment including our LED wall. Originally the production team behind Steven Wilson was thinking of using projections for the tour. But when I showed Jensen the Glux video he began to change his mind. The product is semi transparent which means you can put lights
“The whole show itself is time sequenced, which is vital due to many frame-specific moments where the video has to tie up exactly with the music. Obviously having a large LED screen is a large investment but it certainly made an impact.” Lighting Designer, Matthew Jensen
supplied a small lighting package for Wilson’s European jaunt in April 2012. Mick Freer of Hawthorn spoke about its involvement with the 2012 tour: “During that tour we got to know Dave Salt, Wilson’s Tour Manager. When I saw the recent dates of Steven’s tour I got in touch with Dave to see if we could be of service.” After this, Freer was put in touch with Jensen who he was already firm friends with: “We brought him up to Leicestershire to our 30
behind it which Jensen did using Clay Paky A.leda B-EYE K10’s.” Jensen went on to state that the ground support system for the screen, that was also supplied by Hawthorn, was one of the clinchers of the deal. “It had a very small footprint and it allowed me to guarantee management that we could use the screen in every venue on the tour which, given the cost of the screen, helped to convince them to allow us to take the
production up a level. We have done some very small venues on this tour but we have always managed to get the screen in.” It wasn’t just video solutions that Hawthorn supplied but also the lighting fixtures for the tour as well as the final Royal Albert Hall performance. For the final performence the rig included 24 Clay Paky A.leda B-EYE K10’s, 16 QWO 800 ST spots and 10 Clay Paky Sharpy Washes. It also supplied nine SGM P5 LED Washes, 10 Pixel Line 1044 LED Battons, four James Thomas Engineering LED Pixel PAR 90’s and two Avolites Art 2000 48 Way Hot Racks. At FOH Jensen used a High End Systems Road Hog 4 for control, along with and Catalyst Media server for the visual content. Trussing was via by Prolyte’s S52Vs and H30Vs. Jensen spoke about his experience with the Royal Albert shows: “The height of the Albert Hall is always the issue, not to mention the height that people sit at. We had to ensure that we didn’t shine anything into the audience’s eyes at the side of the stage. On the floor under the screen, we swapped the SGM P5 LEDs for James Thomas Engineering Pixel Lines. The pixel lines have a tighter beam so it didn’t dazzle the audience in the higher seats. The remaining P5s were used as audience blinders. Also added for the shows were two side trusses with four Clay Paky Alpha Spots QWO 800 on each. These
EVENT FOCUS: Steven Wilson
Below: For the first night of the shows Wilson and his band played a set that was very similar to that of the shows played throughout the Hand. Cannot. Erase. tour with the second night seeing the band play through some of Wilson’s back catalogue.
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gave some sidelight as well as beamage to fill the width of the venue.” Freer added: “The video wall we supplied for the Albert Hall was much bigger. A 13 by 7.5 metre screen to be exact. Wilson wanted to get the biggest wall he could. This meant that we had to swap screens and bring in the Glux 12mm.” Daniel Oswald, Lighting and Screen Technician for both the tour and the Albert Hall performance, spoke about his experience using the Glux product: “I had never actually used the Glux Screen before. It is very user-friendly for touring. I could build the whole screen in about half an hour during the tour. The Royal Albert Hall we had to use a slightly different product with the 12mm screen. The panel connected together in a slightly different configuration as they have an internal locking mechanism.” As well as a bigger screen, the larger scale of the Royal Albert Hall allowed Jensen to really play around with some ideas that had developed through the tour. Throughout the year the Lighting Designer had developed a
design that resembled the top part of an eye. For the Royal Albert Hall, with its larger scale, Jensen and his team were able to expand this concept so the whole lighting design gave the appearance of an eye. Another piece of the live tour that made a welcome return to the Albert Hall performance was the White Gauze Kabuki drape that fell in front of the band and acted as a semi transparent projection screen that the band played behind. To close Freer wanted to express on behalf of Hawthorn that: “It has been a great pleasure to work with Steven Wilson and be part of such a beautiful design. We had a great working relationship with the production team and are really looking forward to working with them once again on next year’s tour.” TPi
Photos: Twobytwo www.stevenwilsonhq.com www.hawthorn.biz
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PRODUCTION PROFILE: Fall Out Boy
BEAUTIFUL PSYCHO SINCE THE MID 2000’S, FALL OUT BOY HAVE BEEN ONE OF THE MOST WELL-KNOWN NAMES TO HAVE EMERGED FROM THE AMERICAN MAINSTREAM POP PUNK EXPLOSION. AFTER A BRIEF HIATUS - BEFORE RETURNING IN 2013 WITH COMEBACK ALBUM, SAVE ROCK N ROLL - THE BAND CONTINUES TO GO FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH. LATEST RELEASE AMERICAN BEAUTY / AMERICAN PSYCHO IS BEING SUPPORTED WITH A TOUR OF THE SAME NAME. TPi WAS AT MANCHESTER ARENA TO SEE HOW THIS LIVE SHOW TRANSLATES ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ATLANTIC... Throughout their career, Fall Out Boy despite their name - has had a fairly good level of crew retention, many touring with the band for several years. When TPi went backstage at Manchester Arena, one thing that was striking was the level of calm in Production Manager Chad Olech’s command centre. Although this may have been down to the fact that the crew had just had a day off, the positive attitude of Fall Out Boy’s crew is possible thanks to Olech’s work ethos. “For me, the biggest thing is for people to get along,” he explained. “This whole experience should be fun. This is not an office job where life has to suck. Life out here is very good. We get treated well, we get to see the world and get paid for it. Most people 32
that we have out here share that mentality. I find that with a lot of tours misery starts at the top. If the band are miserable then it trickles all the way down, but we are really lucky that our band is very easygoing with everything.” Olech, who hails from Boston in the US, came into the Production Manager role thanks to Fall Out Boy’s Show and Lighting Designer, Robb Jibson, as they had already worked together for American metal band Deftones [covered in TPi’s March 2013 issue]. Despite Olech working with similar bands throughout his career he has also had a fair amount of experience in the pop word, working with acts including Demi Lovato and Robin Thicke. He stated: “With Fall Out Boy’s recent transition into a more pop world, I think that might have helped me get this job.”
PRODUCTION PROFILE: Fall Out Boy Opposite: Drummer Andy Hurley performed a drum solo to begin the second part of the show. Below: Production Manager and FOH Engineer, Chad Olech with his Clair Brothers-supplied DiGiCo SD7; Production Assistant, Tessa Greiman.
PRE-PRODUCTION For this UK run of the American Beauty / American Psycho tour, the crew had very little pre-production time. Olech explained: “We usually do somewhere between three days to a couple of weeks but because this was an exact replication of the last US tour that finished four weeks earlier, so we had almost the exact same crew who knew how it all went together. For prep we had two days at Millennium Studios.” Millennium Studios Operations Manager, Nina Mallivoire, commented: “We were able to step in at the last minute and help Fall Out Boy with the technical rehearsal space they needed. They chose to use the A Stage at Millennium, which could fit their arena package in. When bands from outside of the UK visit us, we offer a full package. In this instance we sourced four riggers and 20 Stage Miracles crew as well as a fork lift operator and runner to complete the set up.” To recreate the exact US show, the Fall Out Boy camp had to transport a lot of equipment from overseas. Olech described how they were able to recreate a massive arena show on a different continent. “We sent three shipping containers and air freighted our backline gear over. We tend to air freight backline because we end up having shows too close either side of the trip.” Some of the shipping was also necessary as their UK lighting vendor Neg Earth did not supply all the pieces necessary to recreate the lighting rig the crew had toured with in the US, where the team used Neg’s US partner, Upstaging. For this tour, Olech filled five trucks to the brim courtesy of Fly By Nite. “We have had no issues at all, I never even think about changing vendors,” he said. I won’t change vendors until they give me a reason to change. Either price or personnel.” 33
PRODUCTION PROFILE: Fall Out Boy
Below: Monitor Engineer Kevin Dennis and Systems Engineer and Crew Chief, Jerrell Evans.
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Long-term tour bus supplier to Fall Out Boy, Beat The Street, supplied tour buses for the band and crew and Rock-It Cargo was entrusted with freight duties, managed by Los Angelesbased Joseph Pacheco. Pacheco spoke of his involvement with the tour: “I’ve worked with Fall Out Boy in the early-2000’s and have known Chad since I first started working with Rock-It about 15 years ago. He’s extremely good at providing me with a schedule in advance and then communicating possible tight moves.” Pacheco continued stating: “I am responsible for shipping Fall Out Boy’s gear from the US to
“Coming in to this camp, everyone is so genuine. They’re very professional but very laid back in the way they approach things. Overall it’s a very comfortable production to be involved with.” Production Assistant, Tessa Greiman
Europe and back. We also provided the ATA Carnets as well as planning and consulting on the best and most cost-effective way to ship their gear.”
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After a phone call in March from Tour Manager Josh Scott, she hit the road the very next day, spending the rest of 2015 on a bus. “Anything non-technical - that’s me. My mornings usually consists of setting up the office space and crew radios, Wi-Fi as well as the band’s dressing rooms.” Despite being fairly new to the Fall Out Boy camp, Greiman is very optimistic about her potential longevity in the team for which she handles the daily schedule. She also maintains the band’s wardrobe and assists with any special requests. “Coming in to this tour, everyone is so genuine. They’re very professional but very
DUAL ROLE Somewhat unusual for an arena-size tour is that Olech has two roles: he is also the FOH Engineer. “Part of the reason this is even possible is that this band make it so easy; I’m not running around trying to do lots of different things that really someone else could be taking care off. I also have a great Production Assistant in Tessa Greiman who takes care of a lot of dayto-day stuff so I have a clear schedule to run the technical side of the show.” Greiman found her way into the Fall Out Boy family via Kris Martinez, a former crew member.
laid back in the way they approach things. It’s a very comfortable production to be involved with. For years I aspired to be out on tour, I just love it. I can’t imagine moving on from this band because the crew, the band and their label and management are all wonderful to work with,” said Greiman. AUDIO Despite Fall Out Boy dipping a toe into the pop realm with their recent releases, Olech explained the band still demands a full rock mix. “It’s a little on the pop side as the vocals sit just on top but the guys were keen to still have big drums and a lot of air movement. The mix is not as slick or glossy as the albums and that is by design.” For the line array, Olech chose sound supplier Clair’s I-3 configued with a main hang
PRODUCTION PROFILE: Fall Out Boy
Below: The band on their B Stage mini-set; Frontman Patrick Stump and the band are endorsed by Shure microphones; For this tour the production team chose Clair’s I-3 PA system.
of 20 boxes per side, 16 boxes per side for the side hang and eight CP 218 subwoofers per side. “Clair Brothers has been my vendor of choice for over 10 years and it has been Fall Out Boy’s vendor since they were a professional touring band,” stated Olech. When discussing why chose this particular PA, he explained: “I like the sound of the I-3 a little more over the I-5 box. Last summer we did use the I-5 but the I-3 is smaller and weighs less so it goes up and down quicker and packs into the truck easier.” He went on to say that Clair has a new box out called the Cohesion 12 that he is particularly keen to use. Olech will tour that system on the US winter tour. System Engineer and Crew Chief Jerrell Evans gave his take on the audio package: “We were concerned at the beginning of the tour about whether the I-3 boxes would reach the back of an arena because it is such as wide dispersion, but so far we have had no issues reaching the farthest seat in the highest balcony!” Olech also pointed out that tech support on the Clair front had been great. “With offices in the UK, Switzerland and three in 36
the US, we are never too far away from any one of their shops.” As well as Evans, there are three representatives from Clair Brothers out on the road including; Kevin Dennis Monitor Engineer, Brian Sleven, PA Tech and Chris Trimby, Monitor Tech. The mixing desks for the tour are both DiGiCo. Olech furthered: “I’m using a DiGiCo SD7 for FOH and Kevin Dennis, our Monitor Engineer, is using a DiGiCo SD10. I moved over to DiGiCo about a year ago because it sounds amazing and it’s easy to work with. DiGiCo have been very helpful during the time I’ve used them too. Anytime I have had a question, I can call or email and get an answer really quickly.” Dennis also spoke highly of the brand: “The tech support is so good for DiGiCo products. And of course, it sounds great. I can be anywhere in the world, phone them up and I know I’m going to get somebody who is going to talk me through any questions. They have actually been better than any other console company I have worked with. You need that when working in live environment.” On the mixes he’s generating, Dennis said: “There are four people
PRODUCTION PROFILE: Fall Out Boy
Below: Lighting and Show Designer, Robb Jibson, provided his own Jands Vista control package.
on stage and they all have their own independent mixes, which are duplicated for their techs as well as talk-back radios mixed in.” Dennis went on to say how this really cuts down the need to run around the stage and means if he hears something strange he can let one of the techs know. “Both myself and Chad are sharing a rack,” Dennis stated. “I have full control of the gains and then Chad has control of the trims to get it where he needs it to be. For in-ears we are using the Shure PSM 1000’s, no wedges on stage.” Dennis explained how he tried to give the bandmembers each a full mix: “For the lead singer and rhythm guitarist, Patrick, I make his sound full by splitting his guitar channel into two and panning it.” For microphones, Fall Out Boy are endorsed by Shure - the only brand of mics that were used on stage. “For vocals we are using the Shure ULX-D,” Olech stated. “I have pretty much used Shure products my entire career. They
are one of the few companies that I feel I can take their product and use it across the whole stage. It’s all stock stuff which is nice because if something breaks I can find it in any local music store. The fanciest thing we use is the 3:13 ribbon mic on the guitars. It’s a really good sounding mic and we are really happy with it.” AN INTEGRATED VISION Fall Out Boy’s Lighting and Show Designer, Robb Jibson, has been working on the tour since 2013. He explained: “We grew it from Academy-sized venues up to where we are now. Every iteration has had a different theme and we are doing lots of big video content now.” A large LED screen at the front of the stage served as a backdrop for the support acts, and later as a focal point for the headline set. While it is being flown, the screen serves as a substitute for the side IMAG screens that would be expected in a venue 37
PRODUCTION PROFILE: Fall Out Boy
Below: Edward Romack, Strictly FX Pyrotechnic Operator and Shooter was supported in the UK by Le Maitre’s Asher Heigham; Head Rigger Steve Belfield also handled automation; Bassist, Pete Wentz; The band wanted to keep audience interaction at the forefront and did so with special effects including ballons.
such as Manchester Arena, which has a 20,000 capacity. Jibson continued: “The guys really like to make an entrance and, whether it’s a kabuki drop or a centre lift, they don’t like to be seen coming on stage. With this we do a reveal gag
where the band perform a mini acoustic set. As well as getting closer to the fans en route to the B Stage, the band like to keep the masses well-lit throughout the set. This includes a huge lighting package, even going as far as rigging fixtures on top of the flown PA stacks. Jibson
“We like to light the crowd evenly so the band can see them, and the perch of the PA stack is a great way to do that. People thought it was crazy and we had to spend some money on a custom bracket but it works really well.” Lighting Designer, Robb Jibson
where the screen goes up, but halfway through the set we will close that back down while the band goes to the B Stage.” This break allows the crew to change the set behind the screen while the audience’s attention is diverted to the second stage, situated at FOH, 38
explained: “We like to light the crowd evenly so the band can see them, and the perch of the PA stack is a great way to do that. People thought it was crazy and we had to spend some money on a custom bracket but it works really well. I try not to inhibit myself. In the UK and Europe,
touring spotlights are quite common but that’s not the case in the US because most venues have them. Part of the intensity I like to deliver needed moving lights from FOH, and that also lets me light the back of the bowl from the delay position.” The lighting rig consisted of 33 Clay Paky Mythos in total (though three were modified with spotlight handles), 33 SGM Q7 strobes, 36 Ayrton Magic Panels, seven Ayrton Magic Ring R9s, and 12 Clay Paky A.leda B-EYE K20’s. Jibson provided his own Jands control package. To ensure the show runs smoothly from start to finish, the lighting system is subjected to what Jibson called a “pretty hardcore” networking setup as the support acts each required different control systems. “Professor Green’s LD used Chamsys control, while Matt and Kim are controlled using an MA Lighting grandMA console, meaning three consoles had to be quickly switched throughout the night,” he said. Jibson explained that he had experienced Neg Earth’s revolutionary method of networking
PRODUCTION PROFILE: Fall Out Boy
Below: The set was faced with Screenworks’ proprietary LED product, built into the set by All Access Staging; One-time Fall Out Boy photographer, Jack Edinger, now serves as the tour’s Video Director; The audience even provided the lighting design for one song by using their phones.
consoles on festivals in the past and requested they employ the same tactic for the triple desk challenge of the Fall Out Boy tour. He added: “Neg Earth owns most of the kit we have but we had a bit of an availability issue. All the Magic Panel screens are from Upstaging but the rest of the fixtures, apart from the modified Mythos’, are Neg Earth’s.” Although Jibson had a prior relationship with Screenworks from a 2011 Incubus tour, it was the company’s innovative technology that brought it into the fold for Fall Out Boy in the UK. He commented: “We wanted to face the set with LED surface and the set company recommended Screenworks’ proprietary product. As soon as we saw it, we knew it would fit the purpose perfectly. The 7mm we have here looks amazing and it’s super-reliable.” While still retaining the complete structural integrity of Jibson’s original design, All Access 40
Staging & Productions was able to incorporate NEP-Screenworks’ Magnetic tile for the finished product, enabling a customised look for the live shows. This bespoke set was comprised of ten individual pieces with the capability of being quickly locked and rolled into position, ideal for busy load in and load out schedules. Additionally, these video tiles travelled within the set pieces in order to ensure a swift and seamless set up could occur. This concept also saved valuable space when being transported form venue to venue. BRIDGING THE GAP One-time Fall Out Boy photographer Jack Edinger, who serves as Video Director on behalf of Screenworks, was keen to bring the crowd into the production as much as possible. He was given a great deal of creative freedom by the band and was trusted to keep the visual
intensity of the set as high as possible. He explained: “I hate it when everyone is stood watching the IMAG screens at the side so we decided to put the main video screen on the brow of the stage. This meant the people far away could still see but everyone else has to stand facing the band. “During my photography background I used to live in the pit, so I felt that give and take between the fans and artists. A lot of directors just service the nosebleed seats but we wanted to present something more watchable beyond just close up shots of each band member.” As well as more traditional manned cameras at FOH and at the side of the stage, Edinger made use of three GoPro cameras facing out into the crowd. These were positioned inside the kick drum and at the front of the stage to further incorporate audience shots and give dynamic angles. He also used small security
PRODUCTION PROFILE: Fall Out Boy
Below: In addition to video, lighting and pyrotechnics, the crew created a balloon gag with a difference, which came as a surprise from the FOH position..
cameras behind the drumkit and at FOH that lead into a Blackmagic ATEM2 switcher. Edinger added: “The whole show is almost like an EDM performance where the artists are part of a bigger interactive experience. The
SHOCK AND AWE To accentuate the intensity of Fall Out Boy’s video and lighting show, Jibson also wanted to go full tilt with special effects. Chicago-based Strictly FX shipped the same arsenal that backed
“Special effects are like the cherry on top of the show design. Robb Jibson has designed a beautiful looking show, where everything just works seamlessly, so whatever we can do to accent the show for him is a pleasure; I love being a part of the shock and awe moments!” Edward Romack, Strictly FX Pyrotechnic Operator and Shooter content is all integrated, and when we have chance to take over the whole screen it looks great. With a song like The Kids Aren’t Alright, which is nothing but live crowd shots, I think it really helps to bring back that dialogue between the band and their fans.” 42
the band’s US tour over to Europe, and Jibson claimed. Edward Romack, Pyrotechnic Operator and Shooter headed up the special effects department on the road having been introduced to the band in the US, and was supported in the
UK by Le Maitre’s Asher Heigham. Romack said: “The effects here in the UK are a translation from the last US run. This is mainly because the band are very comfortable with the effects in the show now, and they really like the looks we’ve created - especially for the opening and closing of the set. Special effects are like the cherry on top of the show design. Robb Jibson has designed a beautiful looking show, where everything just works seamlessly, so whatever we can do to accent the show for him is a pleasure; I love being a part of the shock and awe moments!” The stage was set alight with 120 of Le Maitre’s 30ft Virtually Smokeless Red Comets. Other Le Maitre effects incorporated into the design included six Salamander Quad Pros, a flame unit that sees single flames reaching up to eight and a half metres high, and four Flash Reports. These are used to produce an audible bang, a white flash and a puff of smoke. In addition to the pyrotechnics, the crew
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PRODUCTION PROFILE: Fall Out Boy
Below: Long-term tour bus supplier to Fall Out Boy, Beat The Street, supplied tour buses for the band and crew; Snakatak’s Stephen ‘Knuddy’ Knudsen (right) headed up the catering team; Fly By Nite provided five artic trucks for production logistics.
created a balloon gag with a difference. Shortly after the B Stage performance, a total of 30 three ft white balloons (with 17 inch-black balloons placed inside), each with a penny inserted for weight distribution, were thrown out from the FOH position on the arena floor. “That’s a really cool look in the show, the crowds really enjoy the interaction during that part,” explained Romack. Though this gag did not necessarily reinvent the wheel, it did warrant a fair amount of trial and error when it came to deciding how to weigh the balloons down. Jibson explained: “My first thought was rubber bouncy balls, but then when the balloons pop they becomes a slip hazard. Jello or water was an idea but with everyone having expensive phones now, we thought a water gag was out. We came up with pennies - its just enough weight and when it breaks, you get a little memento!” HEAVY LIFTING With a production this size, some serious rigging was unsurprisingly on the cards. Steve Belfield, Head Rigger and Automation Operator, explained how the process had taken two hours at Manchester Arena using the house crew. He said: “I come out in the morning, mark out the stage and liaise with the house riggers. Once we’ve put all the points up and done the safety checks, then we can float the video trusses for the video crew. I then plug in and test the automation and load cell systems, as we are monitoring all the loads on the automation points.” Belfield chose a Kinesys automation system, building on the 11-year relationship he has already established with the company. Kinesys also manufactured the load cells that he used in Manchester, which were a sub-hire from Rigorous Technology, as all of Neg Earth’s cells were busy on other projects. He continued: “Once all that is good, I can hand the trusses back to the video guys and they fly them. I can then reference it all, check my top heights, set all my limits and run it up and down for the show. I supervise load-out and make sure everything is in the right 44
place and everyone is safe.” Belfield used various CM-ET Lodestar products including seven 0.5 tonne, four one-tonne and four two-tonne chain hoists as well as nine 0.5 and six one-tonne Kinesys-adapted Liftket addling with 15 Elevation 1+ for control. He also used 30 Litec EXE chain hoists. Belfield deployed house riggers; six up and three down for the load-in and eight up and four down on the load-out. Prior to starting the process, Belfield submitted the rigging plans, including the drawings and load calculations, which the venue then signed off. In addition to his rigging duties, Belfield is also in charge of automation for the show, the majority of which involved moving the huge downstage screen up and down at various points during the evening. He explained: “At the start of the show the downstage screen is in, just off the deck, and there is a video that starts up. At a given cue point during that video, we fly it out to the roof nice and fast to reveal the band. The screen comes back down when the band goes to the B Stage, then we lift up the rear screen so the stage manager can do a set change. We land it back down when that is set up, and when the band make their way back to the stage for the drum solo, we fly the downstage screen again.” Although the smooth running of these set pieces is largely down to Belfield’s experience, he claimed that the system and associated support network make his life a lot easier. He said: “Kinesys is the best system out there as far as I’m concerned. It has its ‘isms’ but it’s a precise system that is being used in a robust touring industry. If you don’t look after it, it won’t work. If you do, you can do almost anything. The support I get from Neg Earth and Kinesys is invaluable in helping me to do that.” FEELING THE LOVE Snakatak’s Stephen ‘Knuddy’ Knudsen heads up the catering needs of the American Beauty / American Psycho tour which involves feeding 65 mouths at the
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PRODUCTION PROFILE: Fall Out Boy
Below: The video screen was flown to the brow of the stage to keep the auidience’s attention on the band themselves, rather than facing out to the side with traditional IMAG.
height of dinner servings. He told TPi: “I’ve worked with this band and crew before, and I have to say they are genuinely lovely people to cook for. We’re doing our usual menu design by trying to go across the whole world and back! From Asian, to health foods, Italian and Southern style American favourites, such as the specially requested buffalo chicken wings; they get to try it all! The Buffalo chicken went down a treat as it’s quite hot with some nice spices thrown in, I can’t give you my recipe in print though!” “We also have the contrast of sourcing really good quality health food and vegan items, which can be slightly trickier because supermarkets only cater to a certain degree. Andy Hurley, Fall Out Boy’s drummer, is a vegan, so we make sure he’s well looked-after, especially at dessert time; there’s always a fruit salad on offer but we always go that extra mile for Andy and make sure he’s well fed for the show.” Keeping the family theme in tow, Knuddy is keen on bringing the crew together as to celebrate birthdays too. “It’s my birthday on this tour and although I won’t be baking myself a cake, when it’s someone else’s birthday 46
I’ll try to find out what their favourite dish is and make sure they still get to eat their favourite meal when they’re on the road. I can’t stress how much of a great vibe there is on the entire tour,” he concluded. THIS AINT A SCENE... IT’S A FAMILY Throughout TPi’s tour of Fall Out Boy’s latest live venture, the camaraderie of the crewmembers was jovial, with all aspects of the production slotting together like a well-cut jigsaw. Production Manager Chad Olech had the final word: “The band are such nice guys, they’re easy to work with and they treat their crew properly so it would be quite difficult for us to complain.” TPi Photos: Shirlaine Forrest www.falloutboy.com www.rockitcargo.com www.lemaitreltd.com www.kinesys.co.uk www.upstaging.com www.negearth.com www.snakatakcatering.com www.clairglobal.com www.strictlyfx.com www.flybynite.co.uk www.beatthestreet.net www.allaccessinc.com
…A Powerful Performance from Fall Out Boy &
Photo © Jack Edinger
When Fall Out Boy show designer, Robb Jibson needed to control more than 30 universes of DMX, he specified a Jands Vista lighting & media control system featuring two D1 Playback Processors - giving him all the processing performance he needed to realise his creative vision for the show.
“The D1 processors are needed due to the high parameter counts, and I have to say they are performing amazingly well. They simply sit on the network and work - that is the beauty of them! I also really love Vista’s visually-based control, being able to think less of fixture numbers and ordering, and more about the overall show goal!” Robb Jibson, show designer
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PRODUCTION PROFILE: James Bay
CAN’T KEEP HIM AT BAY IT’S BEEN SIX MONTHS SINCE WE WALKED INTO A LOW KEY SHOW IN AN 1,800 CAPACITY VENUE TO TALK TO A YOUNG LD ABOUT HIS SHOW DESIGN FOR A SINGER ON THE CUSP OF INTERNATIONAL STARDOM. A NORTH AMERICAN TOUR, 37 FESTIVAL APPEARANCES AND 12 COUNTRIES LATER, WE’RE BACK TO SEE WHAT IT TAKES TO HANDLE A RELENTLESS TOURING SCHEDULE WITH A FULL PRODUCTION PACKAGE IN SUPPORT OF THE UK’S BIGGEST SELLING ALBUM OF 2015, JAMES BAY’S CHAOS AND THE CALM. Clichés are often called clichés because they’re true, and if the first rule of journalism is to never assume, I’m about to drop a monster of a cliché, because it is relatively safe to assume that playing your own headline show with Rolling Stone six string maestro Ronnie Wood, is the kind of dream-like scenario that most 25-year-old guitarists can only pine for. Yet, it happened to Bay, and was met with audience reactions of jaw-dropplingly good shock / approval at the Brixton Academy shows. Bay continues to win a reputation as a solid live performer the world over, I mean, Ronnie Wood doesn’t exercise his fingers for just anyone. Behind the scenes however, the question is, how are the fresh-faced crew of June’s cover story handling a travel schedule that would have even Santa asking for tips? They’re doing just fine, as it happens, even with 14 people living on a 14-bunk bus, thanks in part to their associates from rental 48
company, Nitelites. Take the first tech rehearsals of this tour for example, in order to make sure it went as smoothly as possible when Bay was suddenly booked to play at the I Heart Radio festival in Las Vegas (two days before his biggest headline tour was due to start), the official tour crew received some royal rental treatment and returned from the US to find the tour ready to go. LOYAL PARTNERSHIPS “We’re loyal to Nitelites and they’re loyal to us,” explained Tour Manager Ross Lewis, who is thoughtfully sipping on a personalised mug, a gift from Bay’s superfans, no less. “I find that it’s better to be a small company’s biggest client than a big company’s smallest client.” This determination to seek out the best service he can find during the delicate early stages of a first full production package has also extended to the ever-growing freight needs
PRODUCTION PROFILE: James Bay
Opposite: James Bay is continually developing his live show, and on his recent UK headline tour was joined by the likes of Ronnie Wood and Ed Sheeran. Below: The band’s newest member, Andy Cortes (pictured right), is said to have fitted straight in, despite having only had four rehearsals before the debut show at Manchester Apollo.
of this artist. “Harry Calthorpe from Sound Moves won the freight contract quite brilliantly,” laughed Lewis, still with a lingering sense of satisfaction. “This industry can be worse than insurance companies for cold calling as soon as a band gets a name for itself. As a Tour Manager, I get hounded! “When Harry came to us I asked him what he would he do if all of our gear went missing and he came back to me with a PDF list of how he would handle all these ridiculous, unlikely situations - and he had a solution for them all! Despite the amount of freight companies asking to work with us, nobody else came back with that kind of attention to detail so Sound Moves got the job straight away.” The same level of comfort was found when the need for trucking surfaced. “Matt Jackson looks after us at Fly By Nite. We only had a trailer on the back of our bus on the last tour and we have two 45ft artic trucks; one full of lighting and one full of audio. Nitelites already knew Matt, and if they were content with his company, then so was I.” The 37 festival sites visited during the summer season surprisingly required very little in terms of production logistics. France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Gibraltar, the US, Canada, Australia, Belgium, Holland, Denmark and Switzerland were on the agenda, but the tour went back to basics for one clear reason: continual progression. Lewis continued: “During the festival run we made the decision to carry nothing but our custom backdrop, a DiGiCo SD11 monitor console and our inears. I think it’s important for a band to get used to being the best they can be instead of relying on expensive production. Working with James and his live band is very special; they
don’t hide behind anything and still blow people away. We’re very proud of that.” Blowing people away is something the crew are also good at. On the way to a headline performance at Blue Balls festival [I know, I know] in Switzerland, for which Bay was chosen as the poster boy, their transport broke down 10 minutes away from the Euro Space Centre in Belgium. “Just to explain,” sighed Lewis, “It was quite remote!” Probably not an ideal postcode to be situated in when the artist you tour manage has been the promotional face of the festival, then? “It was anything but ideal. Armed with my appauling GCSE French, [Editor’s note: all attempts at the French language did indeed come out with a strong Geordie twang] I managed to hire two cars but I’ve never struggled so much as I did that day, and somehow still got there in time to play. “The festival was so impressed that they even paid for our flights home instead of letting us drive the 20 hours back to the UK. They were incredible. But if fans have paid what could potentially be the last bit of money they have to see your show, you’ve got to do absolutely everything in your power to get there for them - that has to be part of our job or else we have no job!” ON POINT AUDIO “My festival season was bliss,” chuckled Production Manager and Monitor Engineer [and level 9 Dungeons & Dragons Orc if you believe their rider], Marc Graham. “I had my little DiGiCo SD11 and my own line system and in-ears. It was perfect for me!” 49
PRODUCTION PROFILE: James Bay
Below: Lighting Designer Liam Tully was the youngest LD to be nominated for a 2015 KOI Award, which featured his work with the artist.
The summer workload was eased somewhat when Nitelites Patch Tech Martin Wann was brought on board in time for Glastonbury. “He’s from Nitelites, and James really likes him, so he was requested personally. He’s really helped out because as we’re growing, a lot of my time now is being taken up by my Production Manager role. As for the UK tour, the Nitelites cavalry also stepped in: “When we unexpectedly went to Las Vegas, the Nitelites team prepared everything for us, from trusses to rigging plots. They’re a good set of lads to have out here with us,” said Graham of Nitelites’ Jamie and Shaun Moore, System Tech and Lighting Tech respectively. This tour has required Graham to move onto an SD9 for his extra channel count. “We made a conscious effort to do everything from scratch so nothing was taken from previous shows. It was hard work but very refreshing at the same time,” he said. Not only has the crew grown, but the band has added extra guitarist, Andy Cortes. “He fitted in straight away; he’s got the right attitude. Considering he’s never used in-ears before, and he only had four band rehearsals before the tour started, he’s doing incredibly well,” noted Graham. The monitor package also comprises eight Sennheiser EW300 IEM’s,12 Sennheiser G3 IEM packs and the entire band is on Ultimate Ears UE18’s. Two L-Acoustics ARCS and two SB28’s are used for sidefill. For support acts four d&b audiotechnik M4 wedges and QSub line array speakers have been provided. “We’ve had the pleasure of mixing some very interesting and terrifyingly famous guest stars on this tour,” said Graham. As well as Ronnie Wood, Taylor Swift’s best pal Ed Sheeran made an appearance in his hometown of Cambridge for a 50
surprise duet with Bay. The other new addition to the audio setup is the PA system, FOH Engineer Rob Sadler’s first full touring rig. He said: “We’ve chosen an L-Acoustics K2 system because it’s the best line source option available.” “And it sounds really good in every venue I’ve ever heard it in,” added Graham. “Rob’s smashing it out of the park every single night, and I’m very proud of him. He’s doing so well that one day I’ll stick him on monitors and see if he can really cut it!” Judging by Sadler’s reaction, his immaculately-combed retro quiff doesn’t want to try just yet. “I’m learning every day,” said Sadler. “I’ve worked with Nitelites a lot in the past but because I’ve never toured with full production before. I’m doing the load-ins with Jamie. He’s a good teacher too, which makes it good fun.” Lewis offered his take: “People are often waiting for young people to fail, but no matter what the situation might be - a massive festival one day or playing on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon the next, they do their jobs and they do them very well. I’m pleased to report that they’re taking it all in their stride. “I used to work as an in-house sound tech in a small venue [The Cluny in Newcastle] and I’m still very vocal in my opinion that I think people should work their way up at every stage they can, and enjoy it. It has to be exciting and fun for the artist and we should be pushing ourselves every day too. After this album cycle, we’ll all have to get work again so we should be able to go back and be happy working at any level doing the job we love.” For the London shows - the biggest venues on the tour - the PA system comprised 24 boxes of L-Acoustics K2 for the main hang with 18 L-Acoustics SB28’s, eight L-Acoustics ARCS and eight L-Acoustics KARA flown for side and frontfill.
PRODUCTION PROFILE: James Bay
Below: Tour Manager, Ross Lewis with his fan-made mug. Yes, really!; Monitor Engineer and Production Manager, Marc Graham with his DiGiCo SD9; The core audio crew; FOH Engineer Rob Sadler with Marc Graham and Nitelites Patch Tech, Martin Wann; Lighting Designer, Liam Tully with his MA Lighting grandMA2 light console.
A total of 18 L-Acoustics LA8’s were used for amplification and processing was via two Lake LM26’s and a Lake LM24. The show is flown via a combination of house riggers, and the tour’s very own three qualified riggers - Graham, Jamie Moore, and for lighting, Dimmer Tech Richie Russell. At the FOH position, there are two DiGiCo SD9 consoles; one for Sadler and one for the three support acts, which include the effortlessly beautiful raw vocal powerhouse that is singer Elle King. Three Empirical Labs Distressors are used for compression. Sadler continued: “DiGiCo desks just sound really cool. One of the reasons we don’t use Waves plug-ins is because it’s the best sounding console out there.” Audio-Technica’s AE3300 Cardioid Condenser microphone is the vocal weapon of choice for Bay and the entire band. “We’re still using Audio-Technica microphones but now we have more of them. They sound great, I particularly like the AE3000’s which sound awesome on the guitars,” said Sadler. ATM450’s side address condensers and AT4050’s for over heads are used by drummer Gerry Morgan, as are Audix D6 and Sennheiser e 904 instrument microphones. There’s also a splattering of Radial and Rupert Neve RNDI Active DI boxes. “I’ve just started using the Rupert Neve box, it was on demo from Tour Supply and we bought it straight away,” he enthused. “It’s my new favourite toy!” CAPTURING CREATIVITY Over the last six months, Bay isn’t the only member of 52
this team to have been award-nominated [he won GQ’s Breakthough Solo Artist, presented by Ronnie Wood, in case you were wondering]. Lighting Designer Liam Tully was the youngest LD to make the shortlist of the Concert Touring and Event Knight of Illumination awards. “It’s very nice to have been nominated, and I know some of the other designers really well to.” For this continued tour cycle, Tully is again looking towards TV-driven lighting plans. “It just works for rock shows; it gives me the looks and the kind of punch I want up there,” he said. Like the audio package, the lighting design is getting bigger all the time. He continued: “I drew this design during the April tour but I haven’t had time to change the show entirely yet due to the schedule we’ve had. Saying that, every single song has been re-programmed. “I did create a one-off look for our show at Somerset House, but I’ve essentially been programming this tour on Capture software in dressing rooms and on the bus for the last six weeks, just to make sure it would all be ready.” Tully is utilising 14 Ayrton Magic Blade Rs for backlighting, six Clay Paky A.leda B-EYE K20’s and 26 Clay Paky Mythos for effects. Eight Martin Professional MAC Viper Profiles are placed on the front truss for for key lighting. Six Space Light fixtures add a scenic element to the design, and a total of nine Martin Professional MAC Auras were chosen to generate the stage wash, configured in threes to look similar to ACLs. Furthermore, six Martin Professional Atomic 3000 DMX
the complete pre-production a n d l i v e e v e n t s c e n t r e fo r t h e u k WWW.PRODUCTIONPARK.CO.UK
PRODUCTION PROFILE: James Bay
Below: Nitelites Lighting Tech, Shaun Moore with System Tech, Jamie Moore; Liam Tully with Dimmer Tech, Richie Russell; Followspot Operator and tour driver, Russ ‘The Buss’ Green.
strobes are used for side lighting. Six 2-Cell molefays, six 4-Cell molefays are used as audience blinders and two generic PAR cans complete the floor package. The MA Lighting control package has been upgraded from a PC command wing to a grandMA2 light with the aforementioned wing is now the acting back up console. “I can get an MA2 light and the same fixtures in my design on a worldwide basis if I did need any kind of support. It’s all about consistency and making James feel comfortable with the show lighting. He knows if something did go wrong, I wouldn’t really have to alter the show,” said Tully. For the three-night residency at Brixton Academy, six 10-metre Kinesys Pantographs running on a Vector Control system was also designed into the show. The Kinesys system moved back and forth to a length of six metres during the show and also enabled a kabuki drop for Bay’s initial entrance. For the lighting support from Nitelites, Shaun Moore was drafted in to ensure the lighting was prepped to spec. “Due to the crew not getting any pre-production time, I made sure everything was exactly how Liam would want to find it,” said Moore. “It’s been great to be involved, we’re really passionate about what we do and it’s nice to be able to come out and see it all working out here.” Tully concluded: “I trust Nitelites implicitly so there were no reservations form me, they’ve honestly been brilliant; I turned up and my gear was all perfect.” RENTAL RELIANCE Jim Moore, founding father of Nitelites, and erm, literal father 54
to sons Jamie and Shaun - both of whom have been invaluable to the tour’s smooth prep - established Nitelites in 1983. In the 31 years that ensued, the family-run business has grown to become one of the Northeast’s premier tour suppliers and with 14 full time staff and 75 freelancers the company is entering into an exciting new chapter. With Bay keeping the company consistently busy, alongside Frank Turner who was the first touring client when Moore took over, and singer Ben Howard [whose FOH Engineer is the company’s Andy Magee], the rental house is developing a global presence as a key supplier. A decade ago, aged just 21, eldest son Jamie Moore bought out an original business partner and took on a directorship at the company. He told TPi: “I was six weeks old the first time I was on a stage; live music is all I’ve ever known,” he explained on the nature of touring being in his blood. “Becoming a director at that age was a funny situation because a lot of people thought I was just a kid who didn’t know what he was doing. Truth is, I’ve been doing this professionally since I was 16, so even at 21 I knew what I wanted to bring to the company.” On the company’s relationship with this tour, he stated: “We became involved through Ross, Marc and Rob who have worked with us for years. As far as James is concerned, we’ve looked after him on every step he’s taken after his show became more than one man and a guitar.” Just as the Nitelites crew has positively added to the ambitious, teamwork approach already witnessed on this tour, the company also - rather interestingly - wanted to talk about
Photo by Jordan Curtis Hughes
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PRODUCTION PROFILE: James Bay
Below: James Bay with his road brothers, who are flying the flag for DiGiCo, L-Acoustics and Audio-Technica.
the support they’ve received from fellow lighting and audio specialist rental company, Liverpool-based Adlib. “We love Adlib. Andy Dockerty [MD] has brought us up in this industry as well as our dad. You could say they’re competition but it’s friendly competition, and we work together all the time. They’re so personal and friendly, the way they work is exactly how we work,” he smiled. “We’re actually trying to set up a football match between the two companies.” Within the realms of audio investment, there are a couple of manufacturers which have made a lasting impression with Moore. He said: “DiGiCo was one of the few companies that didn’t laugh at me because they assumed I didn’t have any money. They took me seriously and it was a good job, because I was serious about buying!”
“James is doing with his talent what we’re doing with ours, and people are really starting to take notice of us...” Nitelites Director and System Tech, Jamie Moore The first SD Series investment from Nitelites was four SD7’s and today there is an additional six SD9’s in its console inventory, with some SD10’s on the horizon. L-Acoustics is his touring PA of choice: “L-Acoustics is the best loudspeaker system out there. We’ve been investing in their speakers for the last five years and they’ve supported us fantastically. Stuart Down, L-Acoustics UK Sales Manager said: “It’s been a genuine pleasure for me to witness Nitelites develop their 56
business over the last seven years. They acquired one of the first KARA systems in the UK and has always had a vision to provide outstanding services to their existing and growing clients. “Their success is a testament to the hard work and that Jamie, Jim, Andy and Shaun have invested. It’s natural that rising stars like James Bay would feel comfortable with this dedicated, dynamic team. With the addition of Ed Gamble in the management team and their early adoption of the K2 system, I look forward to seeing the continued success of the Nitelites team.” Moore concluded: “I might be younger that most rental company directors in this industry, but we know what we’re doing. We don’t act like a big corporate company and we don’t wear suits but James is doing with his talent what we’re doing with ours, and people are really starting to take notice of us. Three years ago we were much lesser known, but we’re making waves now, and there’s a lot more to come.” GREEN PARTY POLICIES When I asked PM Graham how all of these extra people may have altered the dynamics of what was a very small, tight-knit group that consistently travels and lives together, he said: “James has always wanted us to be together. There’s more of us but he still wants the band and crew to be in one bus for as long as we can be. He doesn’t like any kind of separation or segregation and that works for us,” he said. Driving the clan is Russ ‘The Buss’ Green, an ex-army driver - and now the tour’s followspot operator too! - who takes some serious pride in his bussing duties, a notion instilled in
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PRODUCTION PROFILE: James Bay
Below: The band: guitarist, Andy Cortes, pianist / guitarist, Jack Duxbury, frontman James Bay, Tom Peel, bassist and Bay’s “oldest friend in the world”, and Gerry Morgan, drummer. TM Ross Lewis sang the praises of backline techs Chris McCourtie and Art Smith without whom, the band couldn’t produce such a seamless set.
him as an army driver. “After leaving the army in ’95, I decided it was time to find a job in the real world; a pretty scary thought. I saw an advert that read ‘tour bus driver wanted’ and I thought that meant for a passenger coach taking holiday makers to European cities. I thought it’d be nice to see some of the world without being shot at!” Talk about ending up in the industry by accident… “I think the army prepared for me for what was to come; you and your comrades have things in common, just like each person on a tour has their own specific skill and must learn to live, work and play together. “When I meet bands for the first time I like not knowing who is who so that I don’t know if I’m talking to the LD or the
“James and his live band are very special; they don’t hide behind anything and still blow people away. We’ve very proud of that....” - TM, Ross Lewis singer. That keeps my own persona the same with everyone and I don’t treat anybody differently. I care about making sure that when they get on the bus, they can switch off, relax and know that they’re in their own space away from everything work-related. I feel responsible not only for their safety, but also for their wellbeing.” Green found a home at bussing vendor, Jumbocruiser, in 2006. “They had their own workshop, paint shop and carpentry workshop - I’d never seen such a set up and I was really impressed. The buses are comfortable and are fitted with a smooth gearbox. That’s important when you have people walking around inside, drinking from glasses, aiming for the toilet or just trying to get down the stairs - a smooth, comfortable ride is of paramount importance, second only to 58
safety,” he explained. Green even helped to design a bus and was honoured with a registration fitting of his nickname: RJ55 BUS. “I began driving James in May of this year, and from the outset, I was surprised by how much respect everyone showed each other; this machine has longevity. There are other crews that work well together, but this is different because some of these guys are earning their first stripes together which means they’re growing together and as a result, that makes them stronger as a unit. They respect every single person they meet too, be it the fans outside the gig hoping to see James, or the venue staff whose help and assistance is just as needed as anyone’s in order for the gig to go ahead. “My career highlight might have been driving Steven Tyler [Aerosmith], but this is by far the best tour I’ve ever worked on. Sure it’s nice to say you’ve driven your hero but this tour has given me life-long friendships.” STILL CANNY And, what about James, has he remained as grounded as was once hoped? Lewis concluded: “That was him on the phone; he’s coming downstairs to pick up his own set list so nobody has to bring it to him. What does that tell you? He’s still lovely and canny.” TPi Photos: Shirlaine Forrest Alex Alevroyiannis and Kelly Murray www.jamesbay.com www.nitelites.co.uk http://immediateaudio.co.uk http://ltully.co.uk www.flybynite.co.uk www.jumbocruiser.com www.soundmoves.com
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PRODUCTION PROFILE: Opeth
AN EVENING WITH OPETH TO COMMEMORATE 25 YEARS OF PERFORMING AS OPETH AND 10 YEARS SINCE THE RELEASE OF THE MONUMENTAL GHOST REVERIES ALBUM, THE SWEDISH METAL BAND SET OUT TO PLAY A HANDFUL OF EXCLUSIVE SHOWS ACROSS EUROPE AND THE US. TPi’s STE DURHAM VENTURED TO THE BAND’S ONLY UK DATE TO DISCOVER THE DESIGN BEHIND OPETH’S BRAND NEW PRODUCTION. Known for their trailblazing blend of metal, folk, prog, blues and jazz, Opeth have rarely strayed from underground music’s forefront since their death metal beginnings in 1990. While their rise can hardly be called meteoric, perhaps thanks to the band’s propensity for 10-miunte plus compositions and unexpected stylistic shifts, they have grown into one of the most respected bands within their genre. When the time came to celebrate 25 years, a characteristically ambitious run of shows were announced to the baying masses of the Opeth faithful. Although the sole UK date on Opeth’s anniversary tour was originally meant to take place at the London Palladium, an 11th hour change of plans saw the band proudly announce that they would become “the heaviest band to play the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in all of its 350-year history.” 60
In order to appropriately celebrate their quarter century, the band opted to shoulder the full weight of the night’s entertainment themselves - kicking off the evening with a full playthrough of their critically-acclaimed 2005 opus, Ghost Reveries, followed by a second set of classics from their eclectic back catalogue. Coming off the back of a busy festival season, the band’s feet had barely touched the ground long enough to rehearse what was perhaps the most complex production of their career - and some of the crew had no time whatsoever. Opeth’s Tour Manager, Steve Page, explained: “The night before the first show in Stockholm we had five hours to build the gig and, aside from a little pre-production, that was all we had to go on. The band was still a little bit nervous - it’s a hometown show so they had all their friends and family there - but it all went
really well. It looks and sounds great now so we’re happy.” Page has been full time with Opeth since 2009, and was full of praise for the “very lowmaintenance” band. He continued: “They don’t complain much and are, first and foremost, a fantastic band to watch as musicians. This helps as I have to do three or four jobs!” Page serves as Tour Manager, Production Manager, and Accountant, also orchestrating the VIP ‘meet and greet’ sessions for the band. He said: “I’m not stretched very often as it is quite a small production. There’s eight crew including myself and five band members - all in one bus and one truck. I’ve been doing this for a long time so its probably easier than it sounds!” Acting as Production Manager, Page liaised with Lighting Designer and creative drivingforce, Mick Thornton, to formulate a concept for Opeth’s celebratory theatre run.
PRODUCTION PROFILE: Opeth
Opposite: In order to appropriately celebrate their quarter century, Opeth chose to shoulder the full weight of the night’s entertainment themselves. Below: LD Mick Thornton and Lighting Crew Chief / Video Operator Paddy Sollitt took care of the evening’s visual elements.
Page explained: “The band focuses on getting the set together and getting the songs right, allowing Mick and I to focus on the production side. It’s not a very complicated concept, but what Mick has created is very artistic and looks great. Rather than being a budget production, I would say it is a very sensibly thought-out tour from a financial point of view. It means we can have a great show, please the audience and have a bit of profit at the end as well.” THE GRAND CONJURATION The concept Thornton suggested was basing the lighting and video for every song around
each of the corresponding albums’ artwork. He explained: “For the Ghost Reveries set, we decided to dress the stage with candelabras and tea lights, reminiscent of the album artwork. These are on stage from the beginning to create the walk-in look for the audience, then basically every song from that album is lit in sepia and CTO. “I wanted the show to be as ‘Opeth’ as possible, and that meant the Ghost Reveries set had to be very disturbing, dark and eerie - to tie in with the themes of that album. Hopefully this style of lighting is going to be something no one has seen before in an Opeth show.” All of the stage dressing is removed during
the 20-minute intermission, which then allowed Thornton to introduce full colour during the second half. For this set, he employed strict colour palettes for each track, again to make a visual link between the song and the album it comes from. Thornton added: “Although we didn’t have a chance to rehearse the show we have taken out on tour, I pre-programmed as much as possible. The change of venue hasn’t altered my plans too much as the Palladium and Theatre Royal, Drury Lane are quite similar, old-style theatre venues.” This meant that Thornton and Lighting Crew Chief / Video Operator Paddy Sollitt had to build the rig quickly each night, in order to get as
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PRODUCTION PROFILE: Opeth
Below: Thornton wanted the Ghost Reveries set to be “disturbing, dark and eerie” - to tie in with the themes of the album.
much groundwork done as possible. Luckily, this tour was not Thornton’s first outing with the Swedish five-piece. He said: “I know Opeth and the songs themselves very well and it was just a case of working out the little nuances during the first few shows. I have worked as the band’s LD on and off, and even tour managed them for a while.”
go for the lighting as well. I can be bumping everything I’ve got one minute then snapping straight to just one spotlight on frontman Mikael Åkerfeldt the next, leaving the rest of the band in complete darkness.” The main focal point of the lighting / video rig, all of which was provided by Zig Zag Lighting, was the 30ft by 12ft DMT Pixel Mesh 12mm video wall. This was split into three
“I have been lighting for over 30 years but was an art student in a previous life. The content creation is a bit of an outlet for me in that way. As with many productions these days, we are working to a tight budget, but I think we really came up with some exceptional looks.” Lighting Designer, Mick Thornton
One thing that shines through with Thornton, in addition to his familiarity with band, is his genuine appreciation of the musical, dynamic and thematic complexity that Opeth has honed over decades at the cutting edge. “They are a dream to light, given the sudden dynamic shifts, and it helps that I’m a big fan of the music as well. It is still challenging to programme these kinds of songs though, as they can change from being really in your face to almost silent in an instant. This has to 62
sections of 800mm by 400mm panels, five wide by four deep, which loomed behind the band for the duration of the show. Four vertical lighting towers separated these panels, each topped with two Robe Robin 100 LED Washes flanking a Robin 600E Spot, along with a twocell molefay further down the tower. The two LED Wash and one 600E Spot combination was also rigged at either end of the truss above, along with more molefays and Martin Professional Atomic Strobes, and at
each end of the stage for floor-level lighting. Thornton controlled this understated rig with an Avolites Pearl Expert with Titan software. He stated: “I was happy with the Robe fixtures that we chose. I would have ideally liked BMFLs, but the rig had to be minimal. I was allocated half a truck for all of the lights and video, so I had to design accordingly. The Avolites Pearl Expert is a no brainer on this tour because of the venues we are playing, the time we’ve got and my style of lighting. It allows me to be as hands-on and creative as possible.” Prior to setting out on the road, Thornton visited Zig Zag’s Leeds office in order to use the Capture lighting design software. This included choosing all of his palettes for the show and storing them within the console. FAITH IN OTHERS Although the band has never toured with such a degree of video before, it was an aspect that the team were keen to incorporate into the anniversary shows. To accentuate the song-specific lighting, Thornton also produced bespoke video content to accompany each track in the set. He created the imagery in consultation with Graphic Artist and long-time Opeth collaborator, Travis Smith. Thornton said: “I have been lighting for over 30 years but was an art student in a previous life. The content creation is a bit of an outlet for me in that way. As with many productions these days, we are working to a tight budget, but I
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PRODUCTION PROFILE: Opeth
Below: Sollitt said that his knowledge of the songs helped him to get the most from the Maxedia video control system; The addition of video provided an alternative way of adding visual flair to accompany the band’s focussed musicianship; Opeth’s Fredrik Åkesson and Martin Mendez.
think we really came up with some exceptional looks. We try to develop the feel of each song and make it so that the video content is pretty disturbing as well. “I live in a village in Yorkshire called Saltaire, which has a great deal of historically-interesting sites. There’s also some great woodland nearby so I went out and started filming. Some of the content you see on the video walls is filmed at these locations, along with manipulated versions of some of Travis’ Opeth album artwork,” he continued. The video rig for the tour takes 20 minutes to float under the guidance of either Thornton or Sollitt and two local crew. Sollitt was added to the crew for the anniversary tour to keep on top of the video content during the show, allowing Thornton to position himself and his Avolites desk out in the auditorium. Video control was provided by the now discontinued Maxedia from Martin Professional. Sollitt explained that, while the Maxedia was challenging to use, it also allowed the scope for creativity that the show required. He commented: “When it comes to using the Maxedia, knowing the songs really helps. It’s an older piece of kit but it lets you be much more artistic. We are trying to keep it quite abstract but still in line with the album artwork.” All of the content for the video screens was created at the beginning of 2015 and, even then, the intention was to keep the first set as a single entity from a visual point of view. Sollitt continued: “There’s a suggestion of 64
colour in some of the video content during the first set, but Mick wanted to stick quite closely to the theme of sepia and white light. This is really effective when we come out for the second set and the colour just hits you in the face.” As well as emphasising the sense of occasion, the addition of video also provided an alternative way of adding visual flair to accompany the band’s focussed musicianship.
anniversary tour. For consistency’s sake, the crew rented a Yamaha M7CL-48 monitor desk from another long-time associate, STS Touring, along with a custom built set of two 48-way VDM Connectors. As a result, Page claimed that the rig is that simple, “it almost runs itself”. FOH Sound Engineer Olle Sandqvist explained: “Basically all I’m carrying on this tour is a microphone pack. To be honest I don’t mind using house consoles, especially with theatre
“Basically all I’m carrying on this tour is a microphone pack. To be honest I don’t mind using house consoles, especially with theatre venues like this because there’s no real place to put it. Nowadays with digital desks it’s so easy to load up your file so that you have a place to start.” FOH Sound Engineer, Olle Sandqvist
Page added: “Opeth are a very special band to watch but the guys themselves do not move very much. Even in the past Mick and I have made sure that there was always a lot of lighting action going on above and around them. With the video, we wanted to spend a bit more time and effort to give something extra for the fans. We think it’s worth it for this tour.” HERITAGE Opeth have made a habit of using in-house PA systems and this has not changed during their
venues like this because there’s no real place to put it. Nowadays with digital desks it’s so easy to load up your file so that you have a place to start.” While taking charge of two consecutive sets is quite a challenge, Sandqvist did have chance to catch his breath during the intermission. This also allowed him to tweak the mix in order to cater for the slightly heavier first set, and prepare for the varying dynamics throughout the second. He continued: “The band wants to sound
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PRODUCTION PROFILE: Opeth
Below: FOH Sound Engineer Olle Sandqvist; Dave Price acted as relief Drum and Keyboard Tech for the London show in place of Sami Karppinen; Monitor Engineer Stefano Cassese was quick to acclimatise to the preferences of each band member.
organic so I try to do as little processing as possible in terms of compression, gates and so on. For example, Martin “Axe” Axenrot the drummer is very dynamic, and quickly changes from a heavy beat to a softer, jazzy part - this makes it almost impossible to gate him. I’d rather ride the faders during a song to keep the dynamics in tact.” Although it was his first time on the road with Opeth, Monitor Engineer Stefano Cassese was quick to acclimatise to the preferences of each band member. This meant keeping on top of the in-ear levels and making sure the mix retained its vitality. He said: “I basically give a full mix to everyone plus their own instrument on top. Mikael, for instance, has a full mix, then I add some low end and mid range from the side fills just to give him more punch. The inears are great for clarity but you need more life in the mix as well.” Much like the rest of the crew, Cassese maintained that life gets easier the more familiar 66
the setlist becomes. He added: “After 12 shows the mix has improved for everyone, so I’m really pleased.” ENDING CREDITS Hampshire-based trucking company Stagetruck was tasked with transporting the gear for the European leg of the tour. Although only one
Stagetruck’s Will Johns commented: “Originally it was only going to be a 30ft trailer but, because it is the 25th Anniversary tour, they increased to a 45ft Mega Cube as the lighting rig got bigger. This is pulled with a Scania Euro 5 unit. While there is just one driver, we do use extra drivers for some overdrives on the tour.” “We have done many tours with Opeth
“The crew takes things as they come. It’s a change for us doing seated venues but other than that is just the same family feeling on tour, and it’s gone better than we could have hoped.” Tour Manager, Steve Page
truck of kit was to accompany the Beat The Street tour bus around the continent, the route had potential to become extremely challenging as the tour progressed.
and also have a long history with their LD Mick Thornton, back to the Paradise Lost and New Model Army days.” According to Johns, while most of the tour
PRODUCTION PROFILE: Opeth
Below: Tour Manager Steve Page; Frontman Mikael Åkerfeldt is the only Opeth member to have been with the band since 1990; Keyboard player Joakim Svalberg during his solo performance.
remained “pretty straightforward” from his point of view, the biggest potential problem was the overnight drive from Paris to London. With the ongoing Syrian refugee crisis causing transport disruptions at Calais for ferries as well as the Eurotunnel, Page and the team had to make contingency plans involving a duplicate rig that would be rented from the UK. Luckily these were not needed, and the crew arrived with time to spare. Once in London, Johns said that the job returned to being routine. He commented: “While it’s not the easiest venue, the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane is only one of a lot of challenging places we visit, so it didn’t pose much of a problem. Although trucking an anniversary tour is no different for us logistically, it is always nice to be involved when bands hit landmarks in the career.” The final piece in the logistics puzzle was the bussing provided by industry stalwarts Beat The Street. Page explained that he and the team chose the company it has “great buses, is very easy to deal with and offers the best tour support you can ask for.” He continued: “From the tour accounting perspective it’s great, as all the on-the-road costs are inclusive with the rental price so I’m not dealing with cash payments to drivers. The band have always said that the bus is our home so we should always go for the most comfortable option available. On this run we had a very comfortable bus with a great driver, something you always get from Beat the Street.” With this milestone now passed and the band’s quarter century all but celebrated, the crew could rest assured that the ambitious run of theatre shows was a resounding success. Page concluded: “We have had a steady crew for the last few years, though we’ve added Paddy for this tour, so it all just seems normal now. The crew takes things as they come. It’s a change for us doing seated venues but other than that is just the same family feeling on tour, and it’s gone better than we could have hoped.” TPi Photos: Marie Korner www.zigzaglighting.co.uk www.beatthestreet.net www.stagetruck.com www.ststouring.co.uk 67
Interview: Tupac Martir
THE EXPERIMENTAL DESIGNER TALKS LIGHTING MOSCHINO’S CATWALK CREATIONS AT MILAN FASHION WEEK DUBBED BY WALLPAPER MAGAZINE AS A ‘LIGHT MAGICIAN’, LIGHTING DESIGNER, CREATIVE DIRECTOR AND EMERGING MULTI-DISCIPLINARY ARTIST, SATORE STUDIO’S FOUNDER TUPAC MARTIR, SPEAKS TO TPi ABOUT SETTING CREATIVE TECH AND PRODUCTION TRENDS IN THE FASHION WORLD. MFW 2015, what are you lighting and for which fashion designer? Moschino, Pucci, MSGM and Sportmax. It’s our third year with Moschino, we started with ‘Cheap and Chic’ in London, then working with Jeremy Scott and his Menswear Collection. This season, we worked together for Womenswear. Is this a brand you’ve wanted to work with for some time? Fashion is known for being a tough industry with some characters less favourable than others and can be hard dealing with so many egos, but it’s enjoyable working with the Random, the production company, as it is Moschino. Since day one it has been a very creative and open-minded process, allowing all talent, including us, to contribute ideas with the freedom to create some very cool and unique atmospheric lighting concepts.
When you were deciding on the design for this show, did you have a clear brief or was this a collaborative effort from the outset? We have been covering fashion week for so many years, we know our clients and how the industry thinks and works. Time is tight, as are the turnarounds, so with the designers we usually get a very good idea instantly of where the fashion house is heading with the collection. With Moschino, we knew about the idea of the collection since May. Jeremy was very clear that the concept of the show was tied to his collection, and we were asked to consider various conceptual options to find the most visually effective solution for the show. Jeremy knew what the collection was going to be like and he pushed both the production and creative teams to develop and deliver a show that would truly encompass all his ideas. He wanted the show to focus around a construction site, roadworks and a carwash. He challenged first the production to find a suitable space for such a concept, and then asked us to express his ideas and create the environments to surround the collection. He wanted such a strong visual reference, that up until 30 minutes before the doors opened, we were still developing the show’s atmospheric effects.
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From what you’ve described, the show sounds like it needed a lot of trust between the creative and the technical crew. What kind of challenges did this production design pose? The amount of paperwork that was sent back and forth between production, set, lighting, decor, etc was immense. By the time the show went live we had at least 45 revisions. The key is the strength and quality of the team. From our side, on this particular job as with many of our Fashion Week clients, Muly Yechezkel looked after it as Lighting Director, he’s one of the studio’s core members. He is brilliant at managing the client’s expectations, overseeing paperwork, changes and especially the focus on site, as in this case we were doing various Milan Fashion Week shows at the same time which is incredibly demanding and requires both extreme focus but also flexibility. My role as the designer is to create the conceptual elements of the shows, and Muly makes sure the finer details are in place with all tools ready and available. The relationship we have is a very important part of the process and is how we achieve the results we do.
Interview: Tupac Martir
You describe yourself as an artist first and foremost, perhaps many fashion designers would describe themselves as such too. With events like MFW where the global mainstream press is watching - do you view it as a sort of moving art piece rather than a live event? Yes, as a form of live entertainment; it’s like watching a performance piece. The clothes, the movement, set, lighting, make-up all work together, allowing it to become a theatrical performance. The models are told to enjoy themselves, to laugh, work the room and pose as performers. Jeremy in particular with this show, wanted them to really enjoy the moment and the reaction from the audience made it very clear that this was a unique experience with a lasting impression.
Once the theme and technicalities were all in place, what were your overriding priorities during the show? FOH was situated at the top of the main truss, which meant that we couldn’t see the show from the desk! Therefore while I was on the side (the only place I could see the show from), the operator was at the back. So we relied heavily on hand signals, since there was the backstage, the carwash structure, audio and cameras to think about. The hardest part was when the carwash started moving for a gag because we lost the view of the catwalk, and then it became more about understanding the timing of where the model was. It made the event look even more dramatic because we were unveiling each new element and performance space to the audience and cameras bit by bit.
What were your magic ingredients this time around? And who did you choose as your supplier? Our Italian technical supplier was MMS. As usual, when dealing with such a long catwalk, we rely heavily on the power of ETC Source Fours in various degrees and ARRI 1K fresnels in order to achieve the even intensity that we want across the space. Knowing that we needed to create various effects, we started adding different types of lamps that would allow us to change the dynamics of the space and stay within budget. We had a main truss at the front of the catwalk with four levels of truss and a combination of 5, 10, 14, 19, 26, 36 and 50 degrees of the Source Fours, adding the four ARRI 1Ks. The two trusses above the carwash set created the front and back lighting for the rest of the catwalk. As we couldn’t get all the light coming through the carwash doors, we instead used them as a set piece to create two independent spaces. Here we placed 12 ETC Source Fours in varying degrees, and four ARRI 1Ks. A third truss was placed at the end of the catwalk to give light to the entrance and exit areas for the models. The backlight here comprised of a further eight ETC Source Fours and four ARRI 1ks. We also had eight ADB Svobodas for scenic side lighting. The catwalk also had a truss on either side which hosted the effect lighting. For this, each truss had four ACL bars, six Vari-Lite 3000 Spots and six Martin Professional MAC Auras.
How would you sum up the creative experience as part of your portfolio? It’s always interesting to work abroad. With MFW, I have the benefit of being able to speak fluent Italian which facilitates communication between all the teams without the need of a translator! This also helps in terms of creating an environment of fluid cooperation and, ultimately, friendship. It is very exciting to do work on shows like this due to the amount of attention that is given to the creative team, as well as the freedom to experiment and present ideas that will enhance the show. It’s a project that we’ve really enjoyed.
What does the future of lighting design in catwalk productions hold? Visually - marrying more into multi-sensory and live atmospheric experiences. Technically - integrating with the use of multi-faceted illuminated mediums and also more conscious solutions. This MFW saw shows like Moschino moving into the future alongside Pucci, MSGM, Gucci, Prada and many others. They have broken away from tradition. We believe that we played a part and that’s something that we feel privileged and proud of. Moschino is a big fashion house and in Jeremy Scott they have a man that has a lot of ideas on how to make fashion shows fun again. Hopefully, this has opened the doors for other fashion houses and creatives to get involved. TPi Photos: Valerio Mezzanotti www.tupacmartir.com www.moschino.com 69
IN PROFILE: Blackout
BLACKOUT: A QUARTER OF A CENTURY IN LIVE EVENTS WITH 25 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE AND NO SIGN OF SLOWING DOWN, TPi TAKES A TRIP DOWN TO BLACKOUT’S LONDON BASE TO TALK ABOUT ITS FUTURE VISION AND GROWING INVOLVEMENT IN TRAINING THE RIGGERS OF TOMORROW. It’s been over four years since TPi last visited Blackout’s London base but with 2015 marking the companys’ 25th birthday, it seemed like a perfect excuse to check in with one of the UK’s leading draping and rigging providers. With a warehouse sitting comfortably at 40,000 sq ft, just over 50 employees and turnover of about £4.5m GBP, it is amazing to see that Blackout has managed to maintain its family ethos that was put in place by owner Steve Tuck back in 1990 when he set up the company at his kitchen table. For the tour of the facility, TPi was put in the capable hands of Martin Wood, Managing Director of Blackout who has been with the company since 1995. “We are currently sitting 70
on 40,000 sq ft of warehouse space with about 6,000 sq ft of office space,” stated Wood. The site is very much split into two sections with draping and materials in one section and rigging in another. The whole warehouse is headed up by Manager Simon Driver. Blackout has grown to become one of the industry’s largest and most trusted suppliers of drapes, rigging and other related products. Its services range from straightforward dryhire to full installations and bespoke pieces. On top of these services, Blackout also has a whole fabrication department headed up by Manager Jenny Clark, which is situated on the mezzanine floor of the warehouse. As Wood explained: “It is not just the huge amount of raw materials that makes us appealing. We can offer
a solution for the best way to use the product - as sometimes what the client wants is rather complicated.” Over the years Blackout has picked up some notable clients including the MTV Music Awards, the G20 Summit and the London 2012 Olympic Games, but has managed to retain its modesty. Wood said: “For us we can’t talk about key clients or big names because everyone we work with is important to us. We worked out recently that our largest client still only produces 7% of our turnover. We have a huge base of clients and their needs vary. We end up covering everything from large events to an individual walking up our drive and asking if they can rent a drape.” Despite the variety of services that Blackout
IN PROFILE: Blackout
Opposite: Blackout’s Managing Director Martin Wood, Director Kevin Monks, and Human Resources Manager Adelaide Johannson.Below: Blackout’s London-based warehouse sits on 40,000 sq ft and is headed up by Manager, Simon Driver; The warehouse and manufacturing teams; Some of the raw materials after they have been treated; View from the mezzanine floor with some of the stock ready to be hired out.
provides, it is the service and expertise that has made the company so successful. As Kevin Monks, Director of Blackout put it: “It’s the knowledge of what our products do that is our main selling point.” As well as this, Monks said it is the work ethic of Blackout’s staff that has played a part in keeping so many loyal clients over the years. “I don’t think you can survive in this industry without some humour. The days are too long and hard. Our guys just seem to do everything with a smile on their faces.” He went on to explain that, as well as its friendly staff, Blackout is always willing to bend over backwards to do what they can for the clients. “People often say that we create our own problems because we are too flexible. Especially on the draping side, clients will come to us very last minute but we always find a way to solve the problem. It has always been our ethos that ‘we will do that’ even if it’s a Friday night and most of the staff have gone home.” Both Monks and Wood talked about how they are always willing to roll up their sleeves and get involved in loading trucks for a client in desperate need of a product. This ability to supply various services at
the drop of a hat is one of the main reasons for Blackout’s London location. Despite the increased demand for space, the company has held on to its postcode. Monks explained: “We still get a huge amount of work in town, day in day out. We need to be able to deal with last minute requests that people give us.”
have only increased. As Monks stated: “Getting a rigger at this time of year in London is very difficult. The O2 take a huge amount of people and with several motor shows the pool of riggers dries up somewhat.” Blackout has now turned its focus to developing training and apprenticeships
“I don’t think you can survive in this industry without some humour. The days are too long and hard. Our guys just seem to do everything with a smile on their faces.” Kevin Monks, Director
Blackout is a business that has grown steadily year-on-year. Wood added: “We have looked at other avenues that we could have perhaps diversified into but after deliberation we decided that we should stick to what we are good at.” Through the years, demand for the riggers and draping solutions that Blackout specialises in
for rigging services with the Trailblazer apprenticeship for the live events rigging industry, which is expected to be available by early 2016. Passing on skills to the next generation is something that Blackout, as a corporation, seem to be very keen to promote. “With the industry growing, the demand 71
IN PROFILE: Blackout
Below: Blackout, despite requiring more warehouse space over the years, still believes that being located in London is a necessity so it can offer a quick service to all clients; The ground floor is home to Blackout’s workshop.
for riggers is heightened. There is a need for employers to work together and all take on responsibility to develop a core of dedicated, highly-skilled individuals,” said Adelaide
by way of a Level 3 apprenticeship.” “It’s the structure that makes the scheme so appealing to us,” stated Monks. “This industry for many years has been fairly ad hoc in the
“With the industry growing, the demand for riggers is heightened. There is a need for employers to work together and all take on responsibility to develop a core of dedicated, highly-skilled individuals.” Adelaide Johannson, Human Resources Manager
Johannson, Human Resources Manager at Blackout. “The scheme will ensure the skills gap is minimised and competent live event riggers develop their skills and are qualified to work safely in a very hazardous and continually changing environment - becoming recognised
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way that people come into it. Most people you speak to who have been involved for 30 or more years say how they came into it accidently. But the apprenticeship scheme, from our point of view, gives us the structure to give people the right amount of training, which will then lead to
a better crop of new technicians.” During the development of the Trailblazer incentive, Johannson said that many companies within the live events industry felt there was a complete lack of formal qualification available. She went on to say: “We found that a lot of people simply didn’t know how to get a National Rigging Certificate. The Trailblazer is basically a way in alongside the trainee rigger scheme that PLASA built up that gives a fresh face to the industry.” With many exciting plans on the horizon, one final question remained - how is Blackout celebrating its 25th birthday? As is always the way with the live events industry, getting everyone under the same roof at one time for a large celebration is next to impossible. With that in mind, the company decided instead to allow every employee to have their own birthday off. A fitting thank you for all the hard work that the various members of the Blackout family have put in over the past quarter century. TPi www.blackout.co.uk
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01/10/2015 11:42
IN PROFILE: Blackout
A TRIP THROUGH TIME
Some of the major events that Blackout has worked on in its 25-year career.
MTV EMAs Blackout has provided trussing, rigging and drapes for the show for the last 20 years. During its time with the event Blackout has had to travel to France, England, the Netherlands, Italy, Ireland, Sweden, Germany, Spain, Scotland, Portugal, Denmark and Northern Ireland to cater for the event. For the 2014
event in Glasgow, Blackout were tasked with installing projectors for the main set and presenters area, which did not compromise site lines for the audience. The company also supplied all of the truss and the masking drapes across the whole arenas as well as pipe and draper with additional equipment for the after part venue. All the equipment was hung from the SSE Hydro’s inbuilt mother grid which has a total rigging capacity of 60 tonnes.
MILLENNIUM DOME For the official opening ceremony for the Dome in 2000, Blackout provided a complex Kabuki system, which was programmed to
sequentially release a 600 metre circumference of gold drape. This revealed the outer circumference of the dome to those seated in the central area.
©WRG
G20 SUMMIT For the G20 summit that was held in the London ExCeL in 2009, Blackout offered several pieces of equipment including 500 chainhoists, 3,200 metres of truss and 16,500 sq metres of white voile. The event required a total of 11 trucks to transport everything to ExCeL. Amongst
For the 2012 Olympics, Blackout provided services for nine separate indoor and outdoor Olympic and Paralympic Venues. For the opening and closing ceremonies Blackout provided a customised black drape with appliquéd Olympic logos, to conceal the much-anticipated resting place of the Olympic Flame, The Olympic Cauldron, ahead of its unveiling after its 70 day UK journey. Blackout also provided drapes for the Olympic Park and Stadium warm up areas as well as approximately 200m by 52cm truss, 800 metres of Prolyte H30V truss and 72 cable bridges to channel 20km of cables including
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power, water, fibre optic and broadcaster’s wiring for the Horse Guards Parade. In the ExCeL London Melville (GES) once again called upon Blackout to provide black wool serge drapes across three rooms hosting the Boxing, Wrestling and Taekwondo to help create an intimate environment. It also provided pipe and drapes for the O2 Arena. Finally, for Earl’s Court, Blackout was contracted directly by the venue to install a full perimeter drape to enclose the entire auditorium, plus an extensive quota of pipe and drape to help transform the space into an indoor Volleyball arena.
many flown set pieces, Blackout also flew a 130-inch long solid passageway ceiling built by Stage One in one single lift. A crew of 23 Blackout employees took just over two days to deliver and successfully installed the main bulk of equipment for the G20 summit.
OLYMPICS 2012
IN PROFILE: Leisuretec
LEISURETEC THE PAST QUARTER OF A CENTURY HAS SEEN EBB AND FLOW IN THE WORLDS OF ENTERTAINMENT AND BUSINESS ALIKE, BUT THIS HAS NOT STOPPED LEISURETEC FROM BECOMING ONE OF THE INDUSTRY’S MOST RELIABLE AND RECOGNISABLE DISTRIBUTORS. TPi’S STE DURHAM MADE THE TRIP TO LEIGHTON BUZZARD TO MEET THE TEAM . When Founder Director of Leisuretec, Mike Henden, first started the company in 1990, he set out with a clear strategy - to serve as a wholesale distribution company for trade, and trade only. He explained: “This meant we would never be in competition with our own customers, and it is a formula that seems to have served us well.” During its formative years, Leisuretec was based out of a small starter unit in Luton, eventually moving to Leighton Buzzard in 1995. The site has since expanded significantly, mirroring the company’s steady growth over the years. The company has survived three recessions, 76
including the worst in recent memory in 2008, during which Henden completely restructured his business. Managing Director Cliff Dounting explained: “We did this by focussing on our core strengths, eventually coming out leaner and meaner than before. Although it wasn’t ideal, we chose to shed some of the products that weren’t yielding sufficient profit, and this meant dropping two or three brands completely. “We also let some customers go who were just into those brands, but this ultimately cut our overheads. If we hadn’t have made those tough decisions then chances are we would have gone bust.” Despite only having served at Leisuretec for
eight years, Dounting has known Henden for 30, giving him a well-rounded perspective on the company’s development. He continued: “It’s easy to forget that there was a lot of good companies that went under during that time. That said, we got through those tough years where the purse strings were being tightened and we are now performing better than ever, with another record year under our belts.” The revival of the entertainment industry in particular was instrumental in allowing Leisuretec to expand its customer base further into pro audio and lighting. Dounting continued: “One of our strengths is that we always try
IN PROFILE: Leisuretec
Opposite: Mike Henden and Cliff Dounting have known each other for 30 years. Below: The pair cited Leisuretec’s consistent investment in IT and commitment to marketing as being two of the company’s main strengths - along with a core group of great staff; Leisuretec exhibited at a number of trade shows in 2015.
not to depend on a narrow market sector. When there’s a wide spread of products and customers, it means you have insurance - when one is up, the other’s down and vice versa. It makes you more resilient to trends.” Henden said: “We have been selling some of these brands for many years, like Sheffieldbased Cloud, for example. We have known them for all our 25 years and even some more before that. In the very early days, people like Steve Watts from Abstract hit the market in 1990 making DJ lighting when most of it was made abroad. They couldn’t make it quick enough and we couldn’t sell it quick enough. “The fact that these products had a good margin helped us to inject capital into the business. There was also a huge ‘bedroom DJ’ boom that helped us finance our move from 500 sq ft space into a 5,000 sq ft warehouse. Once we moved, we really focussed on installation and pro audio products and companies like Yamaha, Soundcraft as they were, Ampetronic, TOA, RCF, Martin Professional, Denon, JEM, Le Maitre and Pulsar were great partners to have.” The pair also cited Leisuretec’s consistent investment in IT and commitment to marketing as being two of the company’s main strengths.
Dounting commented: “For what IT costs, it makes your job a hell of a lot easier. We also invested masses of time and effort into our new trade website. It brings all our customers and the associated information into one place. It also has all of the trade pricing and allows you to buy online. The journey of creating, developing
full-page adverts into the press, and people thought I was mad, but the client base quickly grew. This is all great, but unless you back it with good service, availability and the right price, you are wasting your time. We have always tried to have this ethos of teamwork, looking after the customer, and have always
“One of our strengths is that we always try not to depend on a narrow market sector. When there’s a wide spread of products and customers, it means you have insurance - when one is up, the other’s down and vice versa. It makes you more resilient to trends.” Managing Director, Cliff Dounting
and implementing it has been huge, but it’s a great selling tool to complement our offer to our customers.“ From a marketing perspective, Henden referenced the old adage: “If you’ve got something great then you need to tell the world about it.” He continued: “From day one I was putting
invested heavily in stock. A lot of people forget you need products on the shelf!” According to Dounting, the assured philosophy at the core of Leisuretec’s success is primarily down to Henden’s personal ethos - something that he has been committed to instil or nurture in each one of its 19 employees. Dounting said: “I believe you have to lead from 77
IN PROFILE: Leisuretec
Below: For Henden and Dounting, the key to success maintaining continual development in a happy environment; One of the companies Leisuretec represents is RCF. The firm’s UK Director of Sales Phil Price is pictured with Dounting.
the front in business, and Mike has always done that. We try to be genuine and have an interest in people. That’s how we operate and that’s how we recruit.” “Teamwork is so important. For example, if we achieve our overall targets, everyone gets a bonus. Anyone and everyone’s actions can contribute to another sale, and that means that everyone is aware of each component in the business.” Another of Leisuretec’s most important landmarks was the beginning of its 22-year relationship with Pioneer. The brand has all but captured the professional DJ market, and Henden values them as one of his company’s biggest suppliers. He recalled: “Back in 1993, when there was only two of us working at the company, we got a phone call from Pioneer’s European marketing person, who was launching the original CDJ 500. It was a risk, 78
but it certainly paid off for both parties. We’ve maintained the relationship through thick and thin and we’re still their biggest UK distributor.” As with many of business’s greatest success stories, Leisuretec’s initial objectives were decidedly more humble than the ones it quickly achieved. Henden explained: “The initial vision was to generate enough profit to pay my mortgage, car loan and have a bit of money left for a few beers at the weekend. I invested £15,000 GBP of my own money to get the company going, and said that if it wasn’t working in a year I’d knock it on the head. I didn’t know if I could do it.” Once the business’s momentum began to increase, and annual sales targets of £1-2m GBP were achieved, Henden’s horizons began to broaden. “I could see the opportunity, so then it really took off. It’s like cleaning the car: it’s so
hard to actually bring yourself to do it but once you start seeing results it motivates you to do more and more.” Despite the company achieving such targets, Henden maintained that he never wanted Leisuretec to be the biggest, “only the best”. For Dounting, the key to this is to maintain continual development in a happy environment. He concluded: “Now it’s all about the next generation. We have a fantastic and enthusiastic team including Mike’s son Charlie Henden who started in our marketing department in June of this year. He’s taken to it really well. We look forward continual growth in the future; there is no limit to what we can achieve with the right amount of planning, enthusiasm and, of course, a great team of people.” TPi www.leisuretec.co.uk
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A DAY IN THE LIFE OF... Chris Griffiths
CHRIS GRIFFITHS, CITY AND MOON BACKLINE I - pictured centre - cut my teeth in the music industry with a 10 year stint at John Henry’s backline hire in London, which was a great experience. I started off loading drum kits onto vans and polishing guitars, and by the time I left I was running the Pro Shop on the top floor of its London HQ, dedicating my days to putting together tour packages for the likes of Lady Gaga and Coldplay, Joe Bonamassa and My Bloody Valentine. Eventually I decided to start my own company, City And Moon Backline, a hire and tour support company in Bristol. My days now typically start before I even leave the house. I usually start my morning by chasing overdue invoices - something every business owner learns about once they set up shop on their own! We don’t currently have our own accounts deptartment as we’re fairly new, but I do have some great help from my team, (Paul Kitney and Amy Martin, seen above). Once that’s done, I’ll plan the day ahead in order to make it run as efficiently as possible. Planning is vital because I have to cover so many roles with my new position. I have to prioritise my time as efficiently as possible so that I can get things done. There’s usually a long to-do list (I could write a list of things I haven’t got around to yet, such as putting the company logo on the front door!) but it usually works like this in the early stages of a new operation. If we have jobs that need prepping, I prep them. It’s all hands on deck throughout the day and sometimes mine are the only hands available! I do all the obvious things such as check that the equipment is working as it should be, check the cases are all in tip top shape and then package the order. I spend a good part of my day on the phone, building relationships and bringing more business to the City and Moon client base. We pride ourselves here on providing a detailed and personal service, but on a large scale. Since setting up a year ago we’ve gone from our first hires at tiny venues such as Start The Bus (an excellent bar / venue which has a knack for booking great artists) to providing backline to a wealth of excellent local, national and international festivals sites and touring productions for artists such as Portishead, Sun Kil Moon and Gaz Coombes. From this steady workflow, in just 12 months we have doubled our warehouse space. Inhouse we’ve covered O2 Academy tours and provided everything from backline and wireless systems to techs and transport: the whole tour package. We’ve cultivated a nice creative and welcoming working environment within our small warehouse and office space. It’s common for local techs and studio owners to just drop in for a coffee, and hang out in the studio to play with our instruments, or the old school Nintendo games that just happen to make the office space even more inviting! Speaking of the studio, we have a large acoustically-treated live room. And there’s a nice little room dedicated to making electronic music too. Swing by the next time you’re in town... Chris Griffiths 80
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27.10.15 12:34
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: BroadWeigh
BROADWEIGH’S WIRELESS LOAD CELL MONITORING SYSTEM THE BROADWEIGH PORTABLE WIRELESS SYSTEM OFFERS REAL-TIME, SIMPLE, EFFECTIVE AND ACCURATE LOAD MONITORING FOR RIGGING PROFESSIONALS, SAFETY OFFICIALS AND SITE MANAGERS. SALES MANAGER JONATHAN PURDUE TALKS TPi THROUGH THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE PRODUCT. How did the development of the Wireless Load Cell monitoring system begin? Mantracourt Electronics has designed and manufactured high precision measurement electronics at our headquarters in Exeter, UK, since 1974, providing instrumentation to the construction, process weighing, lifting and crane market sectors but didn’t have any associations with the entertainment sector. Mantracourt was founded on the knowledge and expertise of taking the smallest signals from sensors and converting them with great accuracy and stability to human-friendly units. When one of our electronic engineers, who had worked as a rigger, saw the performance of our wireless telemetry system in the industrial market, he suggested we should provide a solution to the entertainment sector. Mantracourt had the technical expertise and manufacturing capabilities to offer a competitive wireless load cell monitoring solution and so BroadWeigh was born. Can you talk through its key features, from ease of use to safety? What are its various 82
capabilities and how do they benefit a busy live show? It’s wireless but doesn’t interfere with radio frequencies...this has to be a good selling point on a busy tour? The BroadWeigh system is designed to coexist with other wireless technologies. The operation of the wireless protocol allows the shackles to operate safely and reliably with other radio protocols operating on the same frequencies. It features an omni-directional antenna which improves performance in more challenging environments such as high concentrations of truss or wall. Not only that, the upgraded radio module and antenna give improved signal integrity and coverage of installations so that, in perfect conditions, a signal range of up to 800 metres can be achieved. For added security and selectivity the shackles and base stations can be assigned a Group Key. The Group Key means that only shackles and base stations with that key can communicate and as such other systems cannot see, wake or shut them down. Possibly the greatest advantage of the new system is just how flexible and easy it is to use. The BroadWeigh system can be set up in less than a
minute and, without the complication of routing cables, can potentially reduce the complexity of a rig - perfect for live, touring productions where load-ins are notoriously tight. What is it that separates this product from other competitors in the sector? BroadWeigh is one of the few wireless products of this type on the market. What sets our system apart from others is just how simple, quick and easy it is to use. BroadWeigh is a flexible system that can be tailored to each individual application by simply purchasing (or hiring) additional shackles or other BroadWeigh devices. Also unlike our competitors’ products, the shackles aren’t locked to the base station. What that means for the user is that allocating shackles to other base stations is a simple process and doesn’t involve returning to BroadWeigh for reprogramming. All our customers also have access to a free data logging software package that allows the user to view and log up to 100 channels of data from multiple wireless acquisition devices including load cells and anemometers. Thanks to a web
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: BroadWeigh
Opposite: The second version of the BroadWeigh Wireless Load Cell Monitoring System has now been unveiled. Below: Jonathan Purdue, Sales Manager at Mantracourt Electronics and BroadWeigh.
server feature, this data can be viewed remotely from a computer, tablet or any web-enabled device. As the system is designed, manufactured and tested at our in-house facility, we have peace of mind that the product we are supplying to our customers is of premium quality and safety. Since its initial release, this product has seen some upgrades. What version of the Load Cell Monitoring system is BroadWeigh currently on? Any plans for further development or additions to the product line? We have just released the second version of the BroadWeigh system, launching it at PLASA, and received some excellent feedback. This newer version is basically a ‘wish list’ item. BroadWeigh prides itself on listening to our customers’ requests and taking their comments, compliments and criticisms on board in order to help us develop the next generation of product. We feel this latest incarnation of the BroadWeigh system ticks all the boxes. Our development engineers created a new radio module giving four times the range of the previous system.
The bi-directional antenna has been replaced with an omni-directional one and we have also designed a smarter, more powerful BroadWeigh Toolkit. This provides improved monitoring of channels which now shows sleeping or not in use modules as well as rates of transmission of all visible awake shackles. For the user this means significant on site time-saving as lost shackles can be located more quickly than before. As a technology company, we are constantly developing products and BroadWeigh is no exception. We’re listening to feedback from this launch as a priority, so watch this space. Safety is naturally a feature at the forefront of any rigging creation. With this Load Cell Monitoring system, what can the end user be sure of in terms of reliability - for both the flown equipment and the human safety element? What emergency procedures are in place? These days, no event can afford to be relaxed about safety of its performers or the audience. Venues and staging companies are realising the importance
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IN THE SPOTLIGHT: BroadWeigh
Below: The BroadWeigh Wireless Load Cell Monotring System at use during the Italian singer-songwriter, Vasco Rossi’s, recent show at the Studio San Nicola in Italy .
of monitoring the loads that are placed on rigging as both static and touring productions become more complex and weigh more than ever before. The BroadWeigh system is not designed to be a replacement for a rigger’s expertise or to undermine a professional with years of experience under their belt. Rather we aim to be an aid for riggers. Our free data logging software package allows the end user to view and log up to 100 channels of data from multiple wireless acquisition devices, including load cells and anemometers. Multiple alarms can be set and thanks to a web server feature, this data can be viewed remotely from any web enabled device. Most importantly it allows riggers to prove due diligence which is vital in this day and age. The accuracy and precision of our system backs up calculation to give the customer total confidence that their rigging and trussing is more than up to the job. We have internal data checking to ensure that only reliable data will be displayed. There is a noisy RF environment mode for situations with
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high RF traffic such as large exhibitions. Do you work closely with touring personnel in order to evolve your products? We are constantly listening to feedback from our approved distribution network, some of whom rent directly to touring companies and work very closely to monitor BroadWeigh’s performance. We have many rigging friends and family at BroadWeigh who have, and still are, working professionally in the industry. Finally, could you talk through some shows or events that the product has been used in recently? Are rental companies investing? The Stadio San Nicola in Italy recently used a 20 cell BroadWeigh system for a Vasco Rossi Rock concert organised by Live Nation Italy. Predominantly a venue for football matches, the stadium had the capacity to hold more than 58,000 fans. Oswestry-based Load Cell Rental were asked to supply a way of monitoring the stage weights during the build and to ensure
the safety of the structure. Being required to prove due diligence, Load Cell Rental collated all the point loadings for the Vasco Rossi stage into a report with a certificate for each truss detailing the exact loadings and a calibrated cell reading providing the actual weights for each point. Load Cell Rental are big fans of BroadWeigh. They have been supplying customers with our system for the past year, having bought a significant amount of kit from our exclusive UK partner, A.C. Entertainment Technologies, kick-starting its wireless equipment hire offering. The system was also used just last month at the exclusive Marina Bay Sands complex in Singapore for the Ultra Music Festival via our Singapore distributor, TSB. It’s been out and about on the Sam Smith tour and is currently touring with Priscilla, Queen of the Dessert. TPi www.broadweigh.com www.ac-et.com
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MOVERS & SHAKERS
Aaron Hubbard has been named A.C.T Lighting’s new Salesperson for the Western Region in the US. Hubbard was most recently Director of Business Development for Clearwing Productions, based in its Milwaukee office. “Aaron is a rock star in the lighting industry, and we’re very lucky to have enticed him to join A.C.T,” said Brian Dowd, Vice President, Sales and Marketing. “He has been a long-time customer of ours, and his extensive experience and handson knowledge will be big assets to us as we continue to grow our brands and business.” Hubbard spent the last 13 years with Clearwing Productions. He served as Vice President of Operations and Lighting Operations Manager for a decade before his promotion to Director of Business Development for North America in August 2012. In the latter capacity, Hubbard connected new and current Clearwing clients with the company’s expert team of audio, video, lighting and systems professionals to deliver on customers’ production and installation needs. Earlier, he was a freelance Lighting Director and Programmer, Customer Production Manager for Vari-Lite Los Angeles and Operations Manager for Vari-Lite Chicago. “A career change from the production execution side of this business to that of a product provider is certainly a dynamic adjustment,” he admitted. “However, as a client of A.C.T for more than a decade, I have experienced time and time again what I consider superior customer service along with a consistent offering of innovative, industry-leading products. “Couple those elements with the passion, 86
commitment and drive I’ve witnessed from A.C.T employees and my decision to join A.C.T was made without reservation. I am both honoured and excited to now be considered part of the A.C.T family.” A.C.T has also expanded its representation with the addition of Eurotruss, one of the leading suppliers of aluminum truss systems worldwide. A.C.T Lighting is now the exclusive distributor of Eurotruss in North America. After a successful entrance into the market last year, Eurotruss opened the doors of its new Knoxville, Tennessee facility on 1 May 2015. From this location the company will supply North American customers with plated, spigotted and conical truss plus a full line of roof systems, wind-up stands and stage decks. “We’re proud to be representing the quality Eurotruss product line,” said Dowd. “Rigging is a very important component of our industry and one where we see a lot of growth and opportunity. We will offer full sales support for Eurotruss’s high-end products, and will work closely with their Knoxville-based team, led by Tray Allen. We forecast excellent sales and a strong position for Eurotruss within the US and Canadian markets.” Martin Kuyper, President of Eurotruss Group, added: “Adding A.C.T Lighting as a sales partner and opening our US facility are both very good steps toward putting us on solid footing in the US market. “I’m very proud of this partnership and excited by the opportunities it will bring us. This marks a major push for sales in the area and major support for our customer base. Short lead times, the ability to deliver custom truss and full customer support from our expert Eurotruss
team in Knoxville is what we can offer.” British manufacturer Audient has appointed Lexon Distribucion as the new distributor for its compact product range, including the eight-channel microphone preamplifiers and ADC, ASP800, which recently started shipping worldwide. Based in Barcelona, Lexon is headed up by Eva Thullen, who said: “Audient has been a highly respected brand in the pro audio field for over 18 years, and we at Lexon Distribucion are proud to be the distributor for the newer additions to their portfolio, the iD range of USB interfaces and ASP rack mounted devices. We have known the people at Audient for a long time and we are confident that we have an exceptional business opportunity with the brand.” Audient’s owner Simon Blackwood added: “Lexon has built up an exceptional distribution portfolio of complimentary brands and as such is ideally-placed to connect us to music creators in Spain - we’re proud to partner with Eva and her excellent team.” Spanish distributor Reflexion Arts will continue to look after Audient’s console sales in the territory. German sound reinforcement firm HK Audio has signed an exclusive distribution deal for Italy with Gold Music. The respected Bruino, Turin-based distributors are now responsible for the entire HK Audio range, from portable to professional live sound to install solutions, covering products from the diminutive LUCAS NANO crossover PA through to the groundbreaking new LINEAR 5 LTS A long throw system and the LINEAR L SUB 4000 A subwoofer. Gabriele Capogna, CEO / Purchasing
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MOVERS & SHAKERS
Opposite: Impact Products Europe has promoted David Jeffery to General Manager of its Staging Division; German sound reinforcement firm HK Audio has signed an exclusive distribution deal for Italy with Gold Music. Below: Adamson Systems Engineering has announced the appointment of Oscar Alberto Gamas Gonzalez; Aaron Hubbard has been named A.C.T Lighting’s new Salesperson for the Western Region in the US.
Manager at Gold Music, said: “It’s an honour for us to be responsible for HK Audio across Italy, and we have big expectations for the brand in the growing marketplace. We’re confident that we can help grow HK Audio’s popularity and profitability together, and we’re looking forward to a long and successful partnership.” Andreas Mayerl, HK Audio’s International Market Manager, said: “We are extremely
pleased that Gold Music will now be representing HK Audio in Italy. Their enthusiasm for the brand, combined with a strong focus on marketing and a solid business foundation, will give HK Audio a big push and enable the brand to reach the next level in Italy.” Adamson Systems Engineering has announced the appointment of Oscar Alberto Gamas Gonzalez to the position of
regional operations manager in Mexico. The announcement was made by Adamson’s Director of Marketing And Sales, James Oliver. Gonzalez, who has headed up Sonotribe, a prominent audio consultant business in Mexico, is a well known and seasoned audio professional. He is a regular provider of training classes for Rational Acoustics Smaart software in the region as well.
is a leading, global provider of production equipment, engineering solutions and technology to the corporate, TV, cinema, live events and broadcast markets We currently have the following opportunities to join the growing team at our UK Lighting Division in London PROJECT MANAGER This demanding but rewarding position requires the ability to manage projects from inception through to completion. Working closely with Lighting Designers, Crew Chiefs and Gaffers to specify and deliver lighting solutions for a varied range of productions across multiple markets, candidates must demonstrate commercial aptitude plus in depth technical knowledge. The role requires excellent communication skills, a high level of computer literacy and a full UK driving licence. CAD Skills are desirable but not a prerequisite. MOVING LIGHT/TECHNOLOGY QC TECH An opportunity for a reliable self starter to join our busy team responsible for the testing, maintenance and preparation of a wide range of modern lighting equipment, including moving lights, LED and consoles. Some electrical knowledge gained by experience or through qualifications would be an advantage. The role requires excellent communication skills, a good level of computer literacy and the ability to perform well under pressure in order to meet the demands of a busy, often unpredictable industry. Salary and benefits for both positions commensurate with experience Please apply in writing enclosing a current CV to: Nick Edwards, UK Lighting Division: nedwards@verrents.com All enquiries will be handled in the strictest confidence
VER ad.indd 3
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MOVERS & SHAKERS
Below: VER and Netherlands-based RealityPartners - pioneers of reality TV production and system integration - have joined forces under the banner of VER-RealityPartners.
“Oscar brings the experience and skillset necessary to continue the excellent growth we’ve seen in Mexico over the last few years,” stated Oliver. “His knowledge of both audio and the professional audio community in Mexico are paramount to our continued success in this region. We look forward to working together.” Based in Mexico City, Gonzalez will be responsible for growing Adamson’s presence in Mexico, as well as providing support to Adamson’s current client base, with help from the head office support team. “I have had the chance to work with Adamson gear many times and I’m always impressed by the results,” added Gonzalez. “I’ve worked closely with Brian Fraser and David Dohrmann in the past and look forward to having the opportunity to continue working with the entire Adamson team to strengthen the position of Adamson in Mexico. The product is top-of-the-line and everyone who has a chance to hear it agrees.” VER and Netherlands-based RealityPartners - pioneers of reality TV production and system integration - have joined forces under the banner of VER-RealityPartners. The addition of the team from RealityPartners adds additional skills to VER’s European team and builds on VER’s strong leadership position with the reality television market in the US. VER also recently announced the acquisition of Aurora Lighting Hire in the UK, an established leader in the provision of lighting services for the television and cinema market. Steve Hankin, CEO of VER said: “We are very pleased to welcome Ivo Nebbeling and Harpert Bramervaer of RealityPartners to VER. Their knowledge and experience in international reality TV production and system design is a 88
great asset to our fast growing European team.” Nebbeling, former CEO of RealityPartners added: “VER is a global leader in the provision of quality entertainment and broadcast media solutions. It is very satisfying for us as experienced professionals in reality TV production, to be a part of VER. “Knowing the high quality and variety of equipment VER is famous for and which seamlessly merges with our clients’ demands for turnkey solutions makes VER-RealityPartners an incontestable choice.” VER-RealityPartners will operate out of VER’s Amsterdam office. Clients of RealityPartners will immediately benefit from the extensive inventory of equipment and global reach offered by VER. Solid State Logic has appointed Paul Mac to the position of Content Creator. Based at SSL’s UK Headquarters, Mac will be responsible for a range of SSL’s published content, including user stories, press releases, video content, and sales materials. He will also be the worldwide first point of contact for editorial enquiries across all of SSL’s market sectors. “We are very excited to have Paul join the team,” explained SSL’s Head of Marketing Dan Duffell. “Our in-house marketing team has grown significantly in the last couple of years as we address our increasingly diverse channels of communication with our customers. Paul has deep technical knowledge, is an excellent writer, and brings a wealth of experience in presenting creative, technical, and practical aspects of production, performance, and technology to professional users. He will significantly strengthen our capacity to create and deliver a wide range of rich media content to our
customers.” Mac was excited to be joining SSL. He said: “It’s a legendary company with a culture of integrity, staffed by fantastic people with a passion for audio.” He has a range of experience across the audio industry in operator, engineering, and media roles, including a 14-year term as the Editor of Audio Media magazine. As part of the restructuring of SSL’s marketing operations, SSL has changed its more than 20-year relationship with media agency D Pagan Communications. “We have had a long and very successful association with D Pagan and unreservedly endorse their professionalism and effectiveness,” added Duffell. “Although SSL media relations are now being handled inhouse, I have no hesitation in recommending the D Pagan team.” Impact Products Europe has promoted David Jeffery to General Manager of its Staging Division. Jeffery, who has been with the business for four years, will take up the role with immediate effect and will be responsible for the growth and expansion of the team, working closely with Keith Williams, Impact’s General Manager. His prime focus will be the growth of the LightSpace range which offers a full selection of decks, staging and trussing. Jeffery will also continue to manage the relationship with Milos UK who have appointed Impact as their exclusive UK distributor and sole stockists of the Milos Structural Systems range of truss and accessories. TPi www.tpimagazine.com/jobs/
With the 12th annual UK Festival Awards & Conference fast approaching, voting has now commenced on the nine award categories decided upon by the public. Festivals that have nominated themselves for consideration are encouraged to rally their attendees for support. Once again hosted by the renowned Huey Morgan, the UK Festival Awards promises to excel in its acknowledgement and celebration of the nation’s most beloved events on November 26th at The Roundhouse in London. In addition to honouring Peter Gabriel with the coveted Outstanding Contribution to Festivals Award, accolades will be presented across 23 categories throughout the night. Preceding the evening’s Awards, the UK Festival Conference will comprise discussions across an eclectic set of issues pertinent to the industry, reviewing our immediate past and forecasting the future. Up-to-date listings of the Conference sessions’ synopses and panellists can be found on the Festival Awards website. For the first time this year the proceedings will conclude with an official after party event at Camden’s Barfly – a hop, skip and a jump away from The Roundhouse on Chalk Farm Road. The line-up for the UKFA after party will be announced shortly.
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THE BIGGER PICTURE
THE BIGGER PICTURE EVENT SAFETY: PROGRESS ON THE GLOBAL STAGE A friend phoned the other day, he’s a safety advisor, specialising in live events, you know the type. The conversation revolved around a current, global, successful arena tour that has been overseas for a while. His colleague on the tour was bemoaning standards in... well, let’s just say another territory. One key element that we, hopefully, take for granted over here was his observation of in-house crew not wearing head protection while others were working overhead, he felt powerless to change the practice so had to settle for keeping his own touring crew out of the area until work at height had stopped. “Won’t happen when they get to UK arenas,” commented my friend. I, for one, am confident that this is true because I’m familiar with members of the National Arenas Association who have agreed, and shared policies on such matters.
The PSA should be happy about this. We like our members to be safe, wherever they work. While I’m making bold, sweeping statements, I’d probably venture to say that certain, overseas, event-related tragedies wouldn’t have occurred on these shores because of standards that have been improved during the past 10-15 years; basically since the sector sat down and got its house in order and agreed some good practice. A great sign of progress in embedding safety management into our workplaces was apparent at a recent meeting of employers who are developing an apprenticeship for live event technicians. 90
When discussing training requirements, there was a degree of insistence that safety and first aid should be mandatory, not just a string you might add to your bow later in life. There was a genuine desire for workplaces where you don’t have to ask where the first aid person is. Of course, we can’t go claiming any ownership or any moral high ground; mainly because there are areas of our sector that operate in a way that is a little shy of good practice. The biggest events and venues have the resources to implement systems, move into the middle and small areas and it becomes more of a challenge, but it can still be done. The work at height and hard hat issue is negated in the UK because of demand from venues and an understanding by those that work there. It’s no good populating a venue with safety-aware touring crew when practices differ in-house. So the challenges are both demographic and geographic. As well as having the resources to develop and work with good practice, the top end of the market is happy to share that information in the form of guidance. The same is true on an international level, those that have developed structures for maintaining guidance are happy to share it overseas and, as previously covered, in the US, the Event Safety Alliance took inspiration from our own ‘Purple Guide’ to develop its Event Safety Guide. But things have progressed from there.
Back in March, we wrote about the first ever International Live Event Safety Symposium (ILESS) and the proposed expansion of the Event Safety Alliance globally. From that symposium came the desire and embryonic plans to create a global alliance of organisations dedicated to event safety. The laying of foundations for that alliance has continued and recently, yours truly along with Tim Roberts of The Event Safety Shop have been appointed as international members of the ESA’s board. The vision for expansion is to identify and connect existing national trade bodies, assisting in the development of guidance by creating a sharing network. For those regions that don’t have an organisational structure, there’s plenty of help and experience available to set them up; in the same way that larger venues or events are happy for their good practice to permeate other market areas, countries with more developed guidance and training are happy to share. There’s no point in the UK having the safest crews being sent to the most dangerous workplaces somewhere else in the world. It’s been around 10 years since the PSA first considered the idea of Safety Passports. We can see its introduction as a success because many thousands of people have completed the course and feedback on the content has been positive. Where people have required evidence of safety awareness training, the Safety Passport has satisfied that demand. Challenges
www.psa.org.uk Opposite: Jim Digby, ESA President addresses the 2014 Summit. Below: A novel approach to conference seating or new product demonstration? You decide; Recently appointed Director, Tim Roberts, shares his wealth of knowledge with delegates at the 2014 Summit.
have arisen when venues consider demanding Safety Passports in their workplace, mainly due to the number of productions and crews that visit from overseas. Over the Atlantic, the ESA has developed its own course and certification Event Safety Access Training (ESAT), the content of which was built on similar principles to the Safety Passport over here. Naturally, there will be mutual recognition that can lead to global demand, especially with the network approach that will be developed, taking existing systems, guidance and content in the name of globally accepted good practice. What is absolutely clear is that there will be no attempt to reach a single, global standard; differing legal frameworks simply won’t allow that to happen. The challenge is to build a network of understanding where sometimes it will be an incoming production that has to know in advance about raised standards, or perhaps receiving promoters and venues needing clear requirements to ensure a safe workplace and a happy, secure crowd. The ESA mentions the elimination of knowledge barriers in its mission statement; there’s no better way of putting it. The end of November will see the second Event Safety Summit, held at Rock Lititz in Lititz, Pensylvania, where the ESA will gather
members and supporters for three days of progress reporting, educating and planning. This year will see delegates invited to ‘beta test’ the aforementioned ESAT programme; attendees of this beta test course will get the unique opportunity to provide feedback directly to the programme developers. Further sessions will cover topics as diverse as crowd safety, fireworks,
armoury. It seems, then, that this is not just a few sessions where event safety evangelists nod in agreement then divide and fail to conquer; it is designed to report on tangible progress, deliver training and knowledge and offer opportunities to engage in the growth of a dynamic, international movement with the drive to get the
“What is absolutely clear is that there will be no attempt to reach a single, global standard; differing legal frameworks simply won’t allow that to happen...”
insurance and UAVs (you know, drones), looking at how crowd behaviour can be more important than numbers, the tools required for effective risk management, focussing on the methods utilised at Rock in Rio. One particularly interesting session is entitled Insurance: Converting a Necessary Evil to a Collaborative Partnership. Judging from our experience, insurers are as interested in safer events as workers and organisers and are becoming an essential part of the risk reduction
job done. With the progress already made and the potential for more organisations to come on board, there’s every chance that my friend’s colleague will be reporting more about the quality of catering rather than differing attitudes to life safety in different territories. TPi www.psa.org.uk
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The TPi Production Guide
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VITAL STATS
VITAL STATS 176 IN PARTNERSHIP WITH
Coral Cooper Profession: Vari-Lite Product Trainer, EMEA Place of birth: Scotland, UK You’ve had quite the career and now sit comfortably as one of the most respected technical lighting trainers in the industry. Where did it all begin? I entered into the professional lighting industry after mainly being a farmer’s wife. After my marriage ended, I got a job helping out as a Production Assistant in my local venue. I gradually realised that I enjoyed the technical side of productions and lighting design really started to interest me. I picked up some part-time work in a club in Stoke-on-Trent and got the chance to operate a small lighting rig for many great live bands. In the late 1980s I was working at Light and Sound Design in Birmingham, and convinced them that I was a Lighting Designer / Operator! They believed me and the rest, as they say, is history. I was lucky enough to spend the next few years on the road touring with a lot of big name bands, where I really learnt my trade. By 1993 I was in a position to become a Demonstrator for a German console manufacturer, MA Lighting, which was in its infancy in those days. This in turn brought me into contact with Vari-Lite. It wasn’t long before I was working as a Technical Trainer and Customer Service Manager meaning I had to permanently move to London. My long-term partner also worked for Vari-Lite at the time, and a new chapter began.
“I am rather delighted to see more and more women choosing to get involved in this field. That’s a very positive change I’ve seen slowly happening over the years...”
As with many jobs in the concert touring industry, a job you’re trained in can often lead to other skills - what are some of the various roles you’ve had over the years as part of touring life? Backing Singer, Production Assistant, Lighting Designer / Operator, Customer Service Manager at Vari-lite, Training Manager Vari-Lite and PRG. At present I’m self-employed as a Vari-Lite Product Trainer. What were the key moments that you feel elevated your own career? That’s a tough one to answer... My time touring with Bob Geldof’s band and all of my international touring days were defining moments. Meeting up with MA Lighting all those years ago was also a very important occurance, because of their wonderful support and encouragement. And, of course, joining Vari-Lite was a good move. Outside of the day job, being chosen for the Knight Of Illumination Lifetime Recognition Award in 2010 was quite amazing too. Training is a huge part of our industry - how rewarding is the role of a technical educator? That’s true, and I feel that it’s very rewarding to be on the teaching end. It’s great to see the role of training finally being recognised in this industry as a hugely value-added resource. Fixtures today have so much technology involved in their design that training, in my opinion, is vital. Training is also a great investment for both company staff and end-user customers. On 94
another note, I am rather delighted to see more and more women choosing to get involved in this field. That’s a very positive change I’ve seen slowly happening over the years. You’ve mentioned that the Knight Of Illumination Awards have honoured you, and in turn, you honour other LDs as one of the judges on the Concert Touring and Live Event panel. What maintains your interest in both emerging talent and fresh lighting designs each year? It’s such a privilege to be able to see all of the shows that I get to attend. The range of designs are quite phenomenal these days. How could I not enjoy it? It’s very reassuring to see the ammount of young design talent coming into the industry and to see respected designers continually embracing new technology. It’s stunning to witness. It must be hard to choose, but was is your ultimate career highlight? Without a shadow of a doubt, recieving my own Knight Of Illumination Award - I was so very nervous! What’s the best live performance production values you’ve ever seen, and why? Recently, I would have to say Sigur Rós, which was lit by LD Bruno Poet and his team. It had breathtaking lighting, empathetic and beautiful video content and was a first-class production to watch; it blew me away. Bruno was a very worthy KOI winner [in 2013] and is a charming person too! Outside of your working life, where would we be most likely to find you? I wish I could say fishing off the Welsh coast, but my outboard motor gives me too much grief and my partner is getting sick of rowing us back to the beach! I suppose that leaves me with being a domestic goddess.
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