TPi October 2020 - #254 by Mondiale Media

TOTAL PRODUCTION INTERNATIONAL LIVE EVENT DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY • OCTOBER 2020 • ISSUE 254

HOT CHIP

Fans gather online and in person for a dazzling hybrid event

A HYBRID SHOW STREAMED ‘OVER AND OVER’ THE WORLD

VIRGIN MONEY UNITY ARENA • LIVERPOOL DIGITAL MUSIC FESTIVAL 2020 • BIFFY CLYRO • ANYBRAND NOTTING HILL CARNIVAL • KAIZEN COLLECTIVE • TPI BREAKTHROUGH TALENT AWARDS • STREAMLY

OCTOBER 2020 #254

EDITOR’S LETTER

D8plus Ultra 250 - 2 000kg For those that allow us to rock (we salute you) It’s the first time in almost half a year, I’m sitting down to write a leader with some travel stories to tell. It may be baby steps, but this month, both Jacob and I ventured out to witness events in the flesh, rather than what has now become our ‘new normal’ of Zoom and phone interviews. While earlier this month, I made the trip to Newcastle to meet the team powering the Virgin Money Unity Arena (p28), Jacob headed to Liverpool to witness Liverpool Digital Music Festival 2020 (p36). After our respective trips, we both had the same reaction – ‘It’s so good to hear live music again.’ Attending a show after so long really made us appreciate the importance of keeping this industry alive to ensure that others can once again have the hairs on the backs of their necks stand up with the first ring of a guitar through a PA system. You have to applaud any production that manages to pull together the pieces of a show in these trying times. No one is kidding themselves that any of these projects offer a solution to the current state of the live events industry, but the work they are doing is vital to offer a solution to how a gig could possibly exist in 2020 – to both the industry and the government at large. There is no way of sugar-coating the fact that with yet more regulations coming into play, specifically in the UK, we are facing an incredibly trying time, but what this month has proved is that our industry is one that truly lives up to the mantra – never say die. It would be easy to say that nothing is possible, but as the stories in these pages show, there are crew out there who are continuing to find a way to keep live music in the world. Take our cover story, for example, where Hot Chip and their loyal crew presented a hybrid show, inviting 300 of their fans to enjoy a socially distant event, which was simultaneously streamed across the globe (p44). This month, we’ve examined those offering solutions to the events market by giving organisers the tools to keep venues COVID-19 secure. AnyBrand’s chemically treated material which kills the virus (p14), to MovementPass – an app that can verify ticketholders’ COVID-19 status (p21). Away from innovation in the face of adversity, this month has once again seen the global network of touring personnel take to the streets for the #WeMakeEvents campaign’s Global Day of Action, bringing awareness to the plight of the entertainment sector, who still are unable to work. The PSA is also working tirelessly – launching an effort to gather a COVID-19 Crew Relief Fund, which recently claimed a grand total of £100,000 for the PPL Performer Board, all of which will be put back into our industry to aid the worst affected by the global pandemic (p56). To those still pushing for innovation and to those making the plight of the industry known – you have TPi’s respect and we’ll continue to tell your stories. Till then, stay safe out there. Stew Hume Editor

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

ASSISTANT EDITOR Jacob Waite Tel: +44 (0)161 476 8352 Mobile: +44 (0)7592 679612 e-mail: j.waite@mondiale.co.uk

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COVER Hot Chip courtesy of Only Helix

COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR Hannah Eakins Tel: +44 (0)161 476 8360 Mobile: +44 (0)7760 485230 e-mail: h.eakins@mondiale.co.uk

Issue 254 – October 2020

CHIEF EXECUTIVE Justin Gawne Tel: +44 (0)161 476 8360 Mobile: +44 (0)7768 850767 e-mail: j.gawne@mondiale.co.uk GRAPHIC DESIGN & PRODUCTION Dan Seaton: d.seaton@mondiale.co.uk Mel Capper: m.capper@mondiale.co.uk

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

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ITINERARY

EVENT FOCUS 08

Biffy Clyro The band embarks on a Glasgow Barrowland Ballroom livestream.

Trade Hire

14 AnyBrand Founder, Colin Graham proposes solutions for a safer live environment.

16 Streamly A platform for users to create their own unique livestreaming experience. 18

Rider Friendly Meets Eco Friendly d&b audiotechnik launches a Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) programme.

MovementPass Norwegian creators develop an app that verifies ticketholders’ COVID-19 status.

Notting Hill Carnival 80six oversees production and the deployment of an xR stage.

Kaizen Collective: Lockdown Projects The wellness-obsessed production team reflect on projects in lockdown.

PRODUCTION PROFILE

Virgin Money Unity Arena Stew speaks to the crew behind one of the UK’s largest events of the year.

Liverpool Digital Music Festival 2020 Jacob meets the team bringing music to four otherwise empty Liverpool venues.

Hot Chip The band revive their touring production for a global stream.

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PRODUCTION FUTURES 50

TPi Breakthrough Talent Award winners reflect on the past six months.

CHANGING HATS 52

Two creative minds harness the capabilities of Notch in lockdown.

PSA: THE BIGGER PICTURE 56

PSA’s Andy Lenthall responds to the Winter Economy Plan announcement.

FUTURE INSIGHTS 58

The latest product releases.

INDUSTRY APPOINTMENTS 60

The latest movers and shakers.

BACK CHAT 66

Pearce Hire Managing Director, Shaun Pearce, takes the hot seat.

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EVENT FOCUS

BIFFY CLYRO: ‘A CELEBRATION OF ENDINGS’ – LIVE FROM GLASGOW BARROWLAND BALLROOM To celebrate the release of their latest album, A Celebration Of Endings, Biffy Clyro embark on a livestream with all the hallmarks of a live show at an empty Glasgow venue that shares a storied history with the band and the production crew. TPi’s Jacob Waite reports…

To mark the release of their eighth studio album, A Celebration Of Endings, Biffy Clyro performed a one-off, live show at The Barrowland Ballroom Glasgow on 15 August. The livestreamed performance saw the band play their new album in full for the first time across a range of spaces in the empty Glaswegian venue – creating a bespoke experience for live music fans in lockdown while simultaneously providing much-needed work for production crew at the height of UK’s festival-less summer. Biffy Clyro were on the verge of beginning a 24-month album cycle when the lockdown of live events came into force. “We had an inkling for a month prior to the announcement, that things were going to slow down or stop, so we began to cautiously slow down on purchasing equipment and holding off confirming flights and hotels for the year ahead to protect ourselves,” commented Tour and Project Manager, Neil Anderson, who has been on the road with Biffy Clyro since 2001. Following the release of the album, the Scottish band were set to embark on a busy calendar of promo, live shows and music festivals, including visits Stateside – one of the first ventures that the team put the

brakes on as the COVID-19 pandemic developed. “The cancellation of BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend and Glastonbury sounded a death knell for our summer of festivals.” While he was well into the advancing process for summer, Anderson was able to release the various holds the band had on travel, accommodation, production and logistics. “I did so with a heavy heart in the latter two areas, knowing that our long-time suppliers would be suffering adversely through it all,” the PM reported. “In the case of one of our main suppliers, I believe over the span of a week, they lost 90% of their bookings for the entire year. Thankfully, we’ve been able to develop some other Biffy-related projects in that time, and I’ve been able to spend time working from home on those, which has kept me grateful and just busy enough to not be climbing the walls.” The Barrowland livestream arose from the band’s desire to do something with their newfound wealth of time in lockdown, and frontman, Simon Neil’s vision for the show. “Right from the first conversation, his idea was crystallised, and the ambition in the early stages through to the delivery 08

BIFFY CLYRO

Tour and Project Manager, Neil Anderson; Lighting Designer, Richard Larkum.

of the show, was off the scale,” the TM said. “It quickly became apparent that to put it together would be a huge team effort, such were the many moving parts of the production.” Anderson called upon the expertise of film company, Forest of Black; Scott Munro of SM Lighting, Neg Earth’s Sam Ridgway and Rigtek at Barrowland for lighting and rigging proficiencies. Trucking was handled by Natasha Highcroft at TransAm Trucking, Scotia Events supported staging and local crew, while Rock Steady oversaw venue and artist security, with the catering serve by the Really Delicious team. Simon Neil’s original concept was to utilise more than one performance space and embrace the possibilities of an audience-less venue, while maintaining the same energy as a “proper” live show. Anderson explained: “The band wanted to really push the envelope and deliver something to their fans well beyond the expectation of what a livestream could be.” The livestream was split into sections. The first was a brief soundcheck performance of a handful of the band’s older songs. The second was a series of acoustic tracks in the backstage dressing room, utilising Neumann KU-100 binaural microphones to generate an immersive audio experience for viewers with headphones. The third, and main section, was the band’s performance of their new album, A Celebration Of Endings, which was the headline concept of the livestream. “The most important thing was to highlight the main event, so the earlier performances were presented almost as a precursor to the main show with a countdown clock onscreen, counting down to the beginning of the album performance,” Anderson pointed out. Creative / Video Director, Oscar Sansom of Forest Of Black conceptualised the presentation of the livestream, grading two earlier

sections in monochrome, presenting the main performance in full colour. Art Dept Lead, Alice Walker, DoP, Jamie Quantrill and Production Assistant, Kenneth Campbell joined Sansom and Producer, Sarah Allan in the visual team. “The way the show developed through the 11 tracks of the album enabled us to keep elements of the developing production completely hidden, until their reveals as the show progressed,” Anderson said. The band began on the stage at the Barrowland before frontman, Simon Neil and pianist, Richard Ingram moved into the centre of the room, flanked by the six musicians from the Cairn String Quartet. From there, the performance areas expanded, revealing a ‘mirrored cube’ located at the back of the room, in which the band performed. In another corner of the venue, Stage Manager, Richard ‘Churd’ Pratt arranged every possible amp cabinet from the band’s warehouse stock to create a wall of amps to surround the band during the performance. The show finished with every band member in a different area of the venue, including a portion of the song where frontman, Simon Neil left the main room of the venue, travelled down the stairs of the Barrowland and outside of the venue, before returning to the band upstairs to finish the song and set. “That was a wonderful moment,” Anderson remarked. ‘A 52-PAGE RISK ASSESSMENT’ The spread of COVID-19 presented an entirely new challenge without a blueprint during the planning stages. “I began with a blank piece of paper, that became a 52-page risk assessment by the time we were finished. Initially, I approached it by taking our existing risk assessment, and applying it to the legislation, medical and governmental advice as to its mitigation,” Anderson recalled. 09

BIFFY CLYRO

Biffy Clyro frontman, Neil Simon; Richard ‘Churd’ Pratt, masked, inside of the ‘mirrored cube’.

The core Biffy band and crew existed in a bubble, throughout the rehearsals and the show itself, as well as in the week prior. While Scotia Events local crew were isolated entirely, the production load-in and build occurred in isolation, prior to the core crew arriving. “The nature of the Barrowlands dictates a difficult load-in,” Anderson conceded. “We distanced local crew where possible, and had every case sterilised and wiped down upon entry to the venue. We established oneway loading routings within the venue, as well as minimising the instances of multiple-person lifts, using the winch for the bulk of it. It took far longer than it would have done generally, but it was entirely necessary for both the protection of the personnel involved, and for the integrity of the production.” Excess and plentiful PPE, courtesy of Tiger Supply, was supplied and available throughout the venue, crew temperatures were scanned upon entry, and everyone was asked to fill out and supply health declarations in advance and every morning. “We employed a cleaning crew who remained onsite, constantly cleaning and sterilising every communal and touch-point area of the venue,” Anderson explained. “Individual departments were also issued with cleaning and sterilising materials, and when the band and crew were onsite, they would continue to keep their own areas clean.” Catering was moved to outside of venue, situated on the street in a filmset catering van, to avoid and minimise any indoor communal areas. “Forest of Black Producer, Beth Allan and I worked closely to keep everything tight, I can’t express how helpful Beth was throughout the entire span of the project, it’s always a huge privilege to work alongside her and Forest of Black,” he said. “We also employed Lee Worrall from DF Concerts in Glasgow to further assist us on the days we were in the venue.” It was apparent as the project progressed how much of a hurdle

COVID-19 mitigation was on proceedings, and above all, the purse strings. “It massively increased the financial burden, as well as adding many further logistical formalities in deploying the production,” Anderson explained. “Even the obvious aspects, such as the enforcement of masks, visors, and in some cases gloves and aprons, became problematic – making the crew members physically uncomfortable as they performed their tasks. It took some getting used to.” He credited the professionalism of the crew involved in proceedings. “It is to the credit of everyone involved, that everyone took on these restrictions admirably, without complaint or contradiction,” Anderson enthused. “We were incredibly lucky to have had such a diligent and professional group of people involved with this production.” The band were very clear that they wanted to perform the set start-tofinish, which meant the entire show had to be in place throughout without much option to re-use or re-purpose individual elements of the production, such as lighting, monitoring and backline equipment. “It would have been far simpler from a production and filming point of view to simply film every song a few times, then reset to the next song, but this would have completely undermined the band’s intention to perform a proper show,” the TM hypothesised. Lighting Designer, Richard Larkum specified the equipment for the live shows, working in tandem with RigTek – the in-house rigging firm at Barrowland – to hang four separate rigging areas, situated above the stage. “The ‘mirrored cube’ was probably the most difficult, trying to create it in a way that enabled us to do what was needed technically, in terms of backline and lighting without compromising the clean and minimal aesthetic,” Anderson reflected on the feat of engineering. Stage Manager, Richard ‘Churd’ Pratt, Monitor Engineer, Dan Speed, 10

BIFFY CLYRO

and Drum Technician, James Wiffen oversaw five different backline and monitoring setups, with the band moving constantly between these positions. “They didn’t stop moving throughout the entire show. FE Audio in Glasgow were incredibly helpful throughout the process,” Anderson stated. “It was most certainly not a controlled video shoot – it was a live show in a very unique circumstance.” The only thing missing, Anderson said, was the energy of the crowd. “I can’t express how peculiar it was, doing ‘the walk to stage’ without the audience noise. Especially in that room, the audience at the Barrowland is something quite beyond what we tend to experience anywhere else,” the TM continued. “There’s something about the electricity in that room, especially with Biffy, that just can’t ever be replaced so whilst I think our stream showed that you can still feel the vibe and the intensity from the artist, it was still missing a crucial, and irreplaceable element – the interaction of the band and the audience, and the way that elevates both the performance and the reaction.” In summary of his newfound livestreaming experience, Anderson commented: “The lockdown has forced us to begin to think about how to communicate and share new music with the world. I know Simon felt compelled to present something for the fans, and the constraint put on him was a huge part in shaping his way of thinking.” However, despite getting as close as possible to portraying an authentic live experience amid a global pandemic, he believed that livestreaming is certainly not a “viable replacement to the unique energy of a show with an audience” when live events can return safely with audiences in tow. In fact, the response received from viewers of the livestream was “overwhelming”. “It felt like the show gave people the same sort of timeout from reality that a real show would have – the ability to shut off from the outside world for a couple of hours, and to live in the moment. In the context of the pandemic, I think that’s huge, given how it has inflicted such suffering on the world, and how much it has flattened the ability of people to communicate and to be together in a communal moment,” Anderson

suggested. “Uniting people in something, even for an hour, seems like a hugely positive achievement.” The TM explained that the band’s decision to perform the show live allowed the entire process to feel more authentic than a video shoot or studio session. “We’ve done a lot of Zoom-style acoustic performances this year, as well as low-key performance streamed on social media, but this felt like we were preparing for a proper tour,” Anderson summed up. “The number of hours put in by everyone, in the month leading up to it, would be comparable to the sort of advancing for an entire summer of festivals, so it definitely felt different from the other things we’ve done this year.” The long-standing Biffy Clyro tour personnel comprised Stage Manager, Richard ‘Churd’ Pratt; Lighting Designer, Richard Larkum; Monitor Engineer, Dan Speed; Drum and Logic Technician, James Wiffen; Bass Technician, Rory Sakalas; Guitar Technician, Lee Birchall; Venue Liasion, Lee Worrall; Artist Assistant, Francesca Neil; Audio Producer, Adam Noble; RED TX’s Ollie Nesham and Tim Summerhayes; FE Live’s Ryan McIlravey and three on-site technicians. Additional support came in the shape of DF Concerts’ Dave McGeachan; Skan PA’s Chris Fitch; Neumann/Sennheiser’s Andy Egerton; Fender’s Neil Whitcher; Ashdown’s Dan Gooday; Marshall’s Joel Manan; London Drum Company’s Simon Jayes and ESP Rentals’ Raymond Wilson. The overall livestream was produced by Driift Live. “Once we were all on the same page about how we’d approach the performance, it felt far closer to a real show than it would have done, had the performance been dictated by production or filming logistics,” Anderson concluded. “I think that, more than anything, it made it feel closer to a proper show than any of us necessarily expected, though it was peculiar not having to do the usual ‘predoors-open’ operations.” TPi Photos: Kevin J. Thompson & Neil Anderson www.biffyclyro.com www.barrowland-ballroom.co.uk 12

EVENT FOCUS

ANYBRAND In a bid to provide another tool to both the entertainment and hospitality sectors, Anybrand offers a range of solutions to make public spaces safer – from chemically treated face masks to disinfectants. TPi speaks to AnyBrand Founder, Colin Graham, about the company’s offerings.

As we move into Autumn, event organisers and hospitality managers are continuing to think of new ways to make customers and staff as safe as possible during this uncertain time. With a number of years in the hotel industry, Colin Graham – like many – faced a trying time from March onwards as business ground to a halt. However, in the search for a solution for his hotel, Graham’s research brought him to HeiQ, and its Viroblock NPJ03 technology – a tested and proven COVID-19 barrier which, when applied to face coverings, significantly counteracts the airborne transmission of the virus. “HeiQ’s technology was developed over five years ago during the SARS outbreak, but there hasn’t been a huge amount of interest until this year,” stated Graham. HeiQ Viroblock-treated materials destroy viruses on contact, significantly reducing the chance for re-transmission through touch, also increasing the effectiveness of face coverings by a factor of 20. Intrigued by the company’s offering, Graham found his way to the CEO in Switzerland and from there, AnyBrand was formed. Currently, one of the company’s main offerings is treated face masks that come in an array of designs and are manufactured in Italy. “On top of

the masks, we wanted to look at how we could use the technology to treat surfaces that people might come into contact with,” stated Graham. “The result is a surface technology that can give any surface three months of residual disinfecting properties,” he explained, adding that they are working with major industrial manufacturers to incorporate the technology in production lines, giving lifelong protection with early testing already underway. Although many of the ideas created by AnyBrand had originally been formed with hotels in mind, Graham explained that he and the team quickly realised the potential reach of the technology. “Early in my career, I worked in the events sector – specifically in motor sports – and I have a lot of experience with various different styles of events,” stated Graham, going on to explain how he saw the potential for these products to be used in event spaces. “For a number of weeks, we have been speaking directly to the DCMS to explain what this solution could do for the events sector,” he added. Although they are intended to have a major impact, Graham was quick to state that AnyBrand’s offerings are not the whole solution to provide a 14

ANYBRAND

Opposite: AnyBrand Founder, Colin Graham.

COVID-19 safe event. “We’ve had a number of conversations with John Davie, who’s product, Test Box, offers a testing solution for events,” he revealed. “Collaborating with this or a similar kit on entry, gives another major impact on the space being COVID-19 safe, combined with our Viroblock treated masks, and surfaces – barriers, bathrooms, seats etc – also protected with Viroblock technology, you are substantially decreasing the risks.” As the name of the company suggests, the masks also provide a promotional opportunity, with all masks being customisable. “For a gig, we would customise the masks for the band or show sponsor, which will then be 100s or 1,000s of travelling billboards for weeks after the show,” stated Graham. “Our masks are reusable and can be washed 30 times with the HeiQ Viroblock technology still destroying the virus.” He added that the masks are made from recycled material, and are recyclable, offering a far more environmentally friendly solution than disposable face masks. AnyBrand is set to do some live event and show testing, although pushed back by organisers due to new guidance until early next year. However, the company is already working with a number of companies to roll out the solution to universities and student accommodation in the coming weeks. “Along with these field tests, we are continuing to collaborate with companies providing complimentary solutions to create a united front and a full holistic solution to create safe events.” TPi Photos: AnyBrand https://anybrandmask.com

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EVENT FOCUS

STREAMLY 12 South Creative’s Rich Allen develops a new streaming platform that provides live music fans with a personalised and interactive experience. TPi reports…

The idea of Streamly is simple; a platform for live events, which allows fans to choose which camera they view in real time without any interruption of the audio feed, providing users a unique live experience. The brainchild of 12 South Creative’s Rich Allen, the app – which dates back pre-COVID-19 – has now taken on a new dimension following the growing demand for interactive, live music experiences in lockdown. “I’d had the idea for some time,” reflected Allen, who explained that the goal of Streamly was orginally targeted at performing artists as an extension of their touring campaign. “We were not trying to take away from the live experience but add to it.” Allen, who currently works in the film and broadcasting sector, has a vested interest in the touring industry, having worked in lighting for a number of touring acts over the years. With this knowledge – not to mention the backing and support of major industry names such as U2 Lighting Director, Alex Murphy – Streamly has been created to be the ultimate streaming companion to the touring setup. “One push back we had initially while pitching the app was the chance of Streamly potently cannibalising live ticket sales,” stated Allen. “However, we have considered this, and we have the capability to geo-lock the platform down to 10m of any area. Hypothetically, if a band was touring around the UK, we can make it so each region can’t access the show until the band has completed those dates.” Allen explained that the app had the potential to give management and promoters useful data such as hotspots around the globe where the music was streaming, which could mean that touring schedules could be planned

to reach audiences performing artists were unaware they had. For each show, a number of cameras are set out in the performance space, which are then streamed simultaneously to the app. “We also take a separate broadcast mix,” said Allen. “All the feeds are synced via timecode. This is a necessity in the development of the app to provide a seamless experience with continuously synced audio as the viewers can flick from one camera to another.” The app is currently available on the App Store and it will soon be available for Android. “The next stage is then to ensure the platform is also on Apple TV and Amazon TV,” Allen continued. “It’s one thing to watch this type of performance on a phone or a tablet but watching it on a big screen in HD with high-quality audio is something else entirely and something we want to ensure Streamly can offer.” During the lockdown of live events, Streamly’s service has naturally sparked the interest of those looking to stream a show behind closed doors. “The gigs we have been doing during lockdown have been very different,” he explained. “In many ways it’s a different chain, with artists and managers coming straight to us rather than through a promoter. With this style of show, I often find we become a tech provider rather than utilising our platform. Although this was not our intent, it has meant more people are interested in our service than before.” In a bid to promote the capability of the platform, Streamly organised a behind-closed-doors show with a roster of eight artists on the bill. Alex Murphy was brought on to handle the lighting for the show and discussed his experience on the event. “I’ve been really impressed with what I’ve seen 16

STREAMLY

of the app so far,” began Murphy. “I’ve known Rich for a while. I think he called me as he knew I could handle doing lighting for this many bands in a single day.” As well as working on the road with the likes of U2, Murphy also has a great deal of expertise in the broadcast world. But, as he expressed, this type of show was somewhat of an amalgamation of both worlds. “Over the years, I have done some shows where we have streamed performances where I’ve been handling key light for both the live audience and the people watching the stream. However, for this show, I ignored the live gig and focused on the monitors and all six of the camera feeds,” he expressed. To light the show, the LD made use of what he dubbed “the lighting

package of lockdown” – namely, Astera Titan Tubes. “They are bright enough to be used as key light and, between performances, we were able to quickly move them into different configurations to give the set a different look.” To close, Murphy gave his thoughts on the exponential increase in streamed events: “There is no doubt that we are going to see more of this type of show in the coming months and I think a lot of LDs are going to have to embrace this style of show very quickly.” TPi Photos: Streamly www.streamlymusic.com

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EVENT FOCUS

RIDER-FRIENDLY MEETS ECO-FRIENDLY d&b audiotechnik Certified Pre-Owned programme Director, Robert Trebus explains how distributing premium sound quality with a drastically reduced carbon footprint through remanufacturing is helping the industry realise the concept of ‘rider-friendly meets eco-friendly’.

As part of the company’s ongoing support of The Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) blueprint, d&b audiotechnik has established a Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) programme, which offers customers the chance to purchase remanufactured systems to reduce rising greenhouse gas emission and the consumption of raw materials. The CPO programme is one part of d&b’s commitment to sustainability. Other initiatives include the signing of the WIN-Charta – an initiative of the State of Baden-Wuertemberg – in which d&b audiotechnik has committed to meeting far-reaching sustainability projects. “As part of this, we have expanded the electric car charging infrastructure in our company headquarters in Backnang, Germany, to help reduce harmful nitrogen oxides,” d&b audiotechnik CPO Director, Robert Trebus said. “We are also proud to hold the EMAS Certificate of Registration, an EU system for voluntary environmental management and auditing.”

d&b audiotechnik’s first CPO programme offering is the J-Series, an established large-format system which was touring globally before the lockdown of live events in March. At a time when the entire industry is facing its biggest challenge to date, Trebus believes that remanufacturing not only significantly reduces environmental impact but also makes products “economically attractive” given the uncertain landscape. PRODUCT The CPO system comes with new energy-saving amplification and electronics and accessories, including new D80 amplifiers, which have a 40% lower energy consumption and heat-build-up than the previous D12, meaning customers receive the benefits of buying new with a reduced carbon footprint. “In terms of manufacturing, this process extends the life of the loudspeaker, saving energy and carbon emissions,” Trebus explained. 18

d&b AUDIOTECHNIK

Certified Pre-Owned programme Director, Robert Trebus.

“This new programme is a small but powerful way of delivering premium audio while helping to reduce the consumption of raw materials,” Trebus acknowledged. “d&b products are designed to last, and this process extends that life even further.” The CPO process takes place on a special production line in Backnang and Ashville, utilising tools and processes from the original J-Series production line to build a specialised remanufacturing line with processes stipulated by the British Standards Institute (BSI). “As with every product that is manufactured by d&b, CPO products go through a rigorous quality control process,” Trebus stated. “As part of the d&b remanufacturing process, each CPO system goes through an exterior, mechanical, and acoustic check. The exterior check includes a full-system inspection to confirm there is no damage, then all foam and seals are replaced, and the exterior is repainted with the original d&b topcoat.” During the mechanical check, pins, rigging, links, wheels, latches, frames, and chains are all inspected for damage, tested, and replaced where necessary. Finally, the product goes through the same rigorous frequency and impedance checks as new systems and is subject to a listening test for performance qualities.

explained that there is a common misconception among organisations and customers that sustainability incurs additional expense. “Our studies find that remanufacturing not only significantly reduces environmental impact, but also makes products economically very attractive,” Trebus commented. ON THE ROAD TO A GREENER BUSINESS In 2013, d&b received its first environmental certificate and the company has been committed to achieving long-term sustainability goals by participating in several initiatives promoted by the state, the federal government, and the international principles of the United Nations. “Extending the life of our loudspeaker systems is just one part of d&b’s overall sustainability initiative,” he stated. “At d&b, we’re conscious of the impact that the entertainment industry has on the environment. We know the industry consumes an enormous amount of resources and we still have a long way to go to ensure that touring and festivals are more environmentally friendly.” Trebus highlighted the importance of the small steps that can have a far-reaching impact. “Everyone has a part to play in ‘greening’ the entertainment industry and you don’t need to compromise on sound to do it. Often, the opinion is widespread that an ecological product cannot have the same quality as a newly developed test. With the CPO J-Series, we show that an ecological product can also meet global touring and concert standards,” he concluded. “Extending the life of our loudspeaker systems is a small but powerful way of providing premium audio while protecting the natural world.” TPi Photos: d&b audiotechnik www.dbaudio.com/certified-pre-owned

SUSTAINABILITY – DRIVEN BY THE MARKET “Many of our customers now take sustainability into account when making purchasing decisions and so we are delighted to produce a solution that will satisfy partners and artists alike,” Trebus enthused. “We have seen over the past few years many artists voicing concern that touring is damaging to the environment. So many of our partners are opting for these remanufactured systems as a way to address this.” Trebus 20

EVENT FOCUS

MOVEMENTPASS Norwegian creators join forces to establish an app with an ‘immunity passport’, targeted at the free movement and access of concertgoers following the COVID-19 crisis.

Spearheading the launch of a COVID-19 verification tool, Norwegianbased creators have developed the MovementPass app to ensure the industry is prepared and ahead of the game, when live events can operate again, with corroboration that ticket holders are COVID-19 free. The mobile phone-based app provides an end-to-end solution that is “simple” and “effective” for users. Designed to be used across the globe, the main feature of the app is to verify whether a concertgoer has COVID-19 antibodies. MovementPass then becomes the user’s ‘immunity passport’, providing confidence in the ability to move freely and gather together safely with those who are not infectious or at risk of contracting the virus. “We need as many tools as possible at our disposal to get events back to at least 90% occupancy, or the risks are too high for large-scale events,” stated David Norris, the UK spokesperson for MovementPass and Director at Beyond 90. “MovementPass is unique as it is a global solution to a worldwide problem, with my team covering Europe, US, Brazil, Australia, the UAE and South Africa thus far.” Importantly, Norris underlined, MovementPass is not a testing app. “As vaccines and antibody tests continue to be developed, the app will become the technical resolution to support the medical solution – an authentication tool to certify that people have taken a vaccine or have tested negative for COVID-19, meaning industries can get moving once again.” According to Norris, verifying each person’s immunity to COVID-19 would be provided by approved medical suppliers in each region. “The MovementPass app connects with medical suppliers to allow them to upload test results into the MovementPass secure blockchain database,” and, Norris noted, without the requirement of additional verification beyond ensuring that any medical partner is properly approved to do these tests and issue the results. “The app provides the technology solution for people to prove they’ve had tests and to share the results of those tests in a way that cannot be tampered with or falsified.” Norris coined the MovementPass app as a “tool for the future”, making sure the events industry is prepared to provide audiences with safe entry to concerts, festivals, gigs, stadiums and more, with the ability to verify

an individual’s COVID-19 status, as part of an easy entry procedure. “The companies that sign-up to MovementPass’ verification system pay a minimal per-use fee, which allows the app to be free for the end user,” he said. “Whenever they receive a vaccine or antibody test, the medical staff upload the results directly into MovementPass’ secure blockchain database, along with information about the duration of the immunity that the individual has.” This information is then made available via the mobile phone app to registered companies and service providers when the user wants to gain access to a public event. “MovementPass is a positive step in the right direction to get our economy booming again and our much-loved events back open.” Director at Engine No.4, John Drape, who is among the key decisionmakers calling for the events industry to unite and sign-up for an app that verifies ticket holders’ COVID-19 status, shared his thoughts on the app. “The pandemic has hit the events industry extremely hard, but MovementPass is exactly what we need to help us get back quicker and safer – a pioneering tool that can provide reliable data on a ticketholder’s COVID-19 status,” he added. “I’m calling on my event industry peers to get behind this system. Once it’s in place, individual users can sign-up and access the app as their safe, immunity pass to attend future gigs, festivals and concerts, once again.” Starting with music promoters and like-minded individuals, the app will focus on a global problem that requires a global solution. “We need to get as many people signed up as possible so when antibody immunity is proven and the vaccine is widely available, we have an international secure way of getting the world back together as quickly as possible,” Norris concluded. “I really believe that the Norwegian team that has created this, and their international working together constructive outlook is what we all need and aspire to.” TPi Photo: Ricardo Nunes www.movementpass.com 21

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NOTTING HILL CARNIVAL Following the cancellation of this year’s event, Notting Hill Carnival organisers enlist 80six to provide production and a state-of-the-art xR stage for a reimagined version of the annual festivities. 80six Director, Jack James speaks to TPi about the project...

One of the highlights of London’s summer events calendar, Notting Hill Carnival is a chance to showcase and celebrate the diversity of the country’s capital, attracting millions of people each year throughout the August bank holiday. Despite the inevitable cancelation of this year’s event, organisers still wanted to give loyal antendees a chance to enjoy the festivities with a streamed digital-only event. Key to the project was an elaborate xR video stage that was used throughout the weekend. Steve Jelley, MD of Dimension Studio – producers of this digital version of Carnival – approached Jack James of 80six to provide all the technical crew and hardware required to broadcast three days of content from Malcolm Ryan Studios in South London. A week after the show, James spoke to TPi about his experience on the project. “The creative brief was to create a virtual set to be reminiscent of Notting Hill street without it being so realistic that people would decide to attempt to go looking for the location of the broadcast,” explained James. Throughout the show, the main xR stage displayed the ‘London street’ with a full camera tracking system along with another green screen stage for other performances. There was also a roaming camera to capture footage

of the cooks who had set up in the car park to showcase cuisines from across the globe. One of the biggest challenges presented to the 80six team was the sheer amount of content that was to be streamed during the show. “There were two streams that were broadcast over three days for up to 15 hours a day, showcasing content from around the world delivered from the xR studio in London,” James explained. “A cause for a concern was the tracking system and the high likelihood of it losing calibration. However, the Stype RedSpy system proved to be rock solid throughout the two days of install and three days of live show, meaning we never needed to revert to the static backup camera.” For the LED screen, 80six deployed ROE Visual Diamond 2.6mm for the rear wall and Black Marble 4.6mm for the floor. “We chose the ROE DM2 and BM4 due to their exceptional performance on camera,” said James. “This was reinforced by a fully redundant Brompton SX40 processing system to ensure there were no issues with the signal being sent to the LED.” A pair of disguise gx2c media servers running Notch provided the backbone of the project. To capture the content live, 80six utilised Blackmagic Design URSA broadcast cameras, with the Video Director, Glenn 22

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High Fidelity High Output True Colors For Stage & Studio highend.com/solahybeam

Austin, cutting the show on a Blackmagic 2 M/E PPU. VT Playback was handled by Jeremy Langley of Bullfrog Limited with his VMIX servers and streaming and on site editing services were provided by Zest4TV. For the creative direction and content used during the show, the team called on Lewis Kyle White of Pixels & Noise. “We brought in Lewis with very short notice,” James explained. “He and his team created all the Notch set design, animation and also a stylised graphics package to blend with existing assets from the carnival.” With little to no time for changes, White managed to nail the design requirements immediately, impressing the clients all round, which enabled the project to move forward. “That, coupled with his team’s tireless efforts working nights and weekends, meant the deadline was achieved and everything was ready to go for the first day of install on site,” stated James. As well as providing the video technology to make this project a reality, 80six was also responsible for bringing in all the other departments to make this event a success. “Both Dan [Hamill, Director] and I both came from a production background before starting 80six, so we are quite comfortable looking after the wider ranging elements of technical production if need be,” explained James. James explained how the project expanded quickly, which meant it was important to bring in more crew. “In total, we had over 20 technical crew working on the show, which was great as some of the guys hadn’t worked a day since March.” To provide lighting for the show, the team enlisted Light Fantastic and contracted Sound Engineer, Andy Carrington to provide a small audio package. Jib services were provided by Lammo. Although xR has been a part of 80six’s offering for some time now, the demand for this solution has been exponential since March. “We had already been involved in xR before COVID-19, having supplied Scott Millar on the HP Omen Challenge tournament,” concluded James, while musing about the current upsurge of interest in the field. “Since then, we have continued to work in xR and now have a small studio space in our new warehouse in Slough to demo the technology to clients.” With further restrictions enforced during the past few weeks, it is likely that more event organisers are going to be exploring how extended reality might be the solution to keep audiences engaged during this difficult time. TPi Photos: 80six, Ryan Dinham www.nhcarnival.org www.80-six.com

etcconnect.com highend.com

EVENT FOCUS

LOCKDOWN PROJECTS: KAIZEN COLLECTIVE The wellness-obsessed production team behind a stripped-back reworking of Mabel’s latest album and virtual fitness classes for events professionals in lockdown.

Kaizen Collective, a creative company set up by Ashton Miranda and Thomas Totten, operates in the live music, song writing, production and visual content realm with a strong belief in taking care of your body and mind. During a unique and unexpected time for the music industry, the collective has uncovered new spaces for focus when it comes to creating music and planning for the return of live shows. Speaking to TPi over Zoom, the duo reflects on a series of landmark lockdown projects. Following the lockdown of live events, Miranda and Totten worked closely with BRIT Award-winning artist, Mabel and her team to devise the plan of a stripped-back album, reimagining her debut album, High Expectations, for her existing fans and opening doors to a wider audience. The reworked album was released on the one-year anniversary of its initial release on 31 July to rave reviews. The project was completed in 25 days during the lockdown of live events, marking the first time Mabel’s artistry has been stripped back and completely reworked from scratch. “The idea to re-work the album came from a new focus on making bespoke

live performances with the lockdown restrictions,” Miranda explained. “We tailored a stripped-back version of Mabel’s last single, Boyfriend, for The Graham Norton Show and a bespoke performance for BBC Radio One’s Big Weekend that were both received with high acclaim.” During the BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend, the collective enlisted the services of Videographer, Oli Kane to devise a split screen and flashes of VFX during Mabel’s virtual set. “It was a new version of these songs for her fans. The easy route would have been to film her miming to a track, instead, we created a new performance, which was essentially a bespoke set, shifting her demographic from young teens to a mature audience,” Miranda noted. The producer and instrumentalist team of Miranda and Totten, along with Vocal Director, Mike Hough; Backing Vocalist, Yasmin Green; Vocal Producer and Mix Engineer, Cameron Gower Pool and Ben Totten, providing additional support on bass, had 25 days to arrange and produce, including backing and lead vocals, with everything, mixed, mastered and approved – quite a task, given the fact that everybody was recording in separate 24

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spaces. “When I look back 10 years from now, I want to make sure that everything we created during this historic period was true to this pandemic,” he commented, explaining the reason for this low-key version of Mabel’s artistry. “She has a phenomenal voice, which often gets lost behind the flashing lights, video screen and backing dancers. Tom, Ben and I jumped on a Zoom call to put together a song and rehearse. It was difficult because you can’t play at the same time.” To deal with the latency issue, Miranda created a Logic project with the tempo, click, and marker across the top, such as keyboard plugins, guitar, and bass. “We used an app called Audiomovers, which is a plugin for the stereo out of a Logic project, which transmits everything from the project up to the server.” Once the team was sent a link, a page with “crisp, studio-standard” audio appeared. “We all sent each other links and took turns of recording our sections, while muting the rest of the chat, and we jammed,” Miranda reminisced. “It was a long-winded process and difficult in parts, but our passion saw us through. I’m a firm believer that show production doesn’t bring people together – it’s the music, and I think that’s what sometimes gets forgotten about in this industry.” Once each part was done, the collective took turns to record their parts separately, and Miranda mixed the entire thing. “We were afforded total creative freedom, which was refreshing,” Totten explained. “There is a high level of trust involved.” ‘STRUCTURE IS IMPORTANT IN LOCKDOWN’ The collective understands the importance of keeping healthy and on top of wellbeing during extended periods of time on the road. Having worked as part of Ed Sheeran, Anne-Marie, Mabel and James Arthur touring camps, Miranda has spent his time in lockdown bringing the

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KAIZEN COLLECTIVE

Thomas Totten and Ashton Miranda at their Tunbridge Wells home studio.

same energy to music industry folk with a HIIT class three times a week. The fitness enthusiast even hosted a class open to the public in May on DICE to raise money for Help Musicians UK. “Tom and I work out a lot on tour. We toured the world with Ed Sheeran for two years, with a trunk of gym equipment, so I began hosting a few classes on the road,” Miranda recalled the organic foundations of the classes. “As soon as we went into lockdown, I was racking my brain for things to do. Given the lack of industry work, I needed a focus, and structure is very important when you’re at home 24/7.” Figuring that touring personnel might crave structure, every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 1pm (GMT), Miranda began hosting virtual HIIT classes. “Essentially, you see me for an hour, and we work out together – musicians, management, booking agents, crew members, technicians, friends and family getting fit and having something to focus on.” Aired live through Zoom and presented by Kaizen Collective and Only Helix, Totten recalled the importance of the HIIT classes. “Mentally, knowing you’ve got something to look forward to was great, as we’re not used to being home for so long. Mental health is something important to look after in the music industry, given the dynamic, fast-paced nature of touring.” Having toured extensively with Anne-Marie for the best part of four years, Miranda described himself as starting to “burn out”, mentally and physically. “I was getting to the point where I needed to stop and reassess myself. I’d been talking about launching this company for quite some time,

but never really had the chance to get my teeth stuck into it. When you’re touring, you’re running around the world to a ridiculous time schedule.” For Miranda, lockdown brought about a much-welcomed pause to reassess everything that is of value, as well as affording him time to lay the foundations and future plans of Kaizen Collective. “The luxury of time has afforded us the chance to decide where we want to take the company, what our ambitions are and who we want to create art with.” Totten has also enjoyed the time at home. “Personally, I don’t think this company would have started without this downtime. I’ve spent time to grow as a person and, of course, garden,” he laughed. Uncertain of the future but excited for the return of live shows, when it is safe to do so, Miranda had the last word: “We want to push the boundaries and move forward. At times like this, it’s time to sink or swim and I’ve been swimming this far that I’m not drowning yet. This is the perfect time to show what we are capable of.” Having wrapped up a recent project with Clean Bandit, as well as sewing the seeds of another Mabel offering, the duo shows no signs of slowing down. “It’s important for the company to show what we can do, not only for music fans, but for the industry.” TPi Photos: Kaizen Collective www.kaizencollective.co.uk www.mabelofficial.com 26

PRODUCTION PROFILE

VIRGIN MONEY UNITY ARENA TPiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Stew Hume travels to Newcastle to meet the team behind one of the few socially distanced outdoor events to take place in the UK this year, discovering how the project came to fruition and reflecting on the lessons learned from the large-scale experiment.

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At the start of the summer, it seemed that a number of events would take place, with professionals from across the sector offering innovative ways to socially distance crowds and keep people safe. Sadly, only a handful of these events made it out of the planning stage due to ever-tightening constraints as well as the feasibility of putting on an event during this trying time. As TPi rolled up on the Virgin Money Unity Arena, headed through the production entrance and looked up at the festival-sized stage setup, for a moment we were transported to a pre-COVID-19 world. The day TPi was there, Van Morrison was set to hit the stage – much to the delight of the crowd. Sadly, a few weeks after our visit, and with just three more show days left on the calendar, new local lockdown measures in the North East meant that the final scheduled shows of Virgin Money Unity Arena could no longer go ahead. Despite the slightly bittersweet ending to the project, it’s worth reflecting on the scale of this event, having welcomed over 50,000 people through its gates in August and September, employing a crew and staff of over 200 people along the way. Not to mention, giving artists a platform to perform live and provide their loyal crew a few working days this year. As we now live in a world with increased regulation, it’s important to take a look at the lessons learned from these large-scale live events and what conventions can be adopted for the months ahead. Event Organiser, Steve Davis gave a statement following the cancellation of the last few shows: “It is extremely disappointing to have to cancel these final shows at the end of what has been an incredible six-week run of successfully socially-distanced concerts,” he commented. “We’re honoured to have been able to provide a little happiness and joy to thousands of music and comedy fans throughout the region and the UK in what has been such a tough 2020 for everyone.” Greeting TPi at the entrance were Production Manager, Dave Weeks and Site Manager, Jim Gee from Engine No.4. Prior to the national lockdown,

the Manchester-based production company had been prepared to take the trip up north to lead the charge on This Is Tomorrow – a festival organised by promoters, SSD. However, with that event suffering the same fate as others in 2020, both SSD and Engine No.4 put their heads together to devise a concept that would still enable a live event to happen within the city this year. Having thrown around the idea of putting on a drive-in show, eventually the team opted for a far more elegant solution, with groups of up to six patrons enjoying their own socially-distant pod to enjoy the event. Having been operational from 11 August with an opening-night set from Sam Fender, the event continued for a five-week run, offering residents from the North East a wide range of entertainment, from musical performances from the likes of The Libertines, Frank Turner and Chase & Status, to comedy sets from Jimmy Carr and Bill Bailey and even sold-out nights of Bongo’s Bingo. Helping SSD and Engine No.4 bring the event to life were a number of long-time suppliers, including: Kingdom Services, R&M Productions, ESG, Arena Group and Dr Loo. FESTIVAL SETUP IN A COVID WORLD “Operationally, the drive-in concept proved to be somewhat of a nightmare,” explained Gee, while discussing the origin of the event. “We always planned to have the pods, which would have been situated next to each car, but the amount of space needed just wasn’t feasible. This system is much simpler and it leads to a much better experience for patrons.” Gee went on to explain the process he and the team went through in the build-up to the show. “We were following each new announcement from the government on a weekly basis,” stated Gee, reminiscing how each of the organisers would pore over each new announcement, while simultaneously speaking to each other over WhatsApp ensure the event was up to date with all the latest COVID-19 regulations. “We ended up delaying the launch by a few weeks due to the limitations on ‘mass gatherings’,” he explained. 30

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It became a case of keeping up with all the regulations and adding them to the site plan. “Face masks are a good example,” stated Gee, “Prior to opening night, face masks were still not enforced in shops, but we knew that regulations were coming in so we opted to include them on our site plan.” Anytime a gig-goer was walking around the site, they were instructed to wear a mask and only remove it when they reached their designated pod. Adding more information to the site’s infrastructure was Operation Manager for Engine No.4, Kate Doyle. “Key to making this event safe was having a solid ‘customer journey’ in place,” she began. “What I mean by this is taking into account everything that a customer would go through, from the point they leave their house to the point they leave the arena. Prior to their ticketed show day, before they even got on-site, we sent customers all the relevant track and trace information as well as everything they would need to know once they got through the gates.” To ensure a smooth and safe ingress to the site, each attendee was given a specific arrival time so as to stagger the arrival of attendees. Each car parking space was set at 2m apart as well as the entire queuing system. “Another of our concerns were to keep people moving until they got to their individual pods,” Doyle said. “The last thing we wanted was people standing around creating a bottleneck, so as soon as they went through the scanners, we directed them straight to their pitch.” During their time on site, all patrons are encouraged to stay in their pitch with individuals going to the bar or the toilets by themselves rather than in big groups. “In each of the pitches, we had signage stating the house rules, which were also repeated via a ‘voice of god’ before and after the show,” stated Doyle. “One of the major rules was that people could not go into another group’s pod – a rule we enforced strongly with a ‘three strikes and you’re out’ policy.” Aiding Doyle and the rest of the Engine No.4 team with their crowd managment plan was Showsec, who helped craft the effective egress plan.

Doyle was keen to point out however that, despite the numerous measures to ensure the safety of the audience, the feeling on-site was very much that of a “proper gig”. She commented: “There will be a number of people who believe that half the fun of a live show is the chance to hug a sweaty stranger and be in amongst a lively crowd. But in this time, that simply is not possible.” She added: “What has been interesting is that we’ve had some comments from attendees who say they prefer this setup for a live show. Perhaps they have just got fed up of being jostled around at a live show or standing on tiptoes to see the stage. We’ve had people come to this venue who have said they haven’t come to a live show in years, but they decided to come to this because the format was really appealing.” It’s a statement that was echoed by Gee, who also commented on the response the live events industry had with the project. “Early on, we faced our fair share of negativity on social media, with people criticising the pod setup with disparaging comments referring to them as cattle pens, for example. But when you have 2,500 people in a field jumping up and down in a safe manner, it feels like a live show. Since the first performance with Sam Fender, we have seen a shift in the reaction now we have proof of concept and we’ve had very positive feedback from the people of Newcastle, which has been very much reflected in the ticket sales.” PRODUCTION LOGISTICS Aside from site planning, TPi made the trip backstage to speak to PM, Dave Weeks, who discussed some of the technical elements of the show. “As a team, we at Engine No.4 are quite used to working on shows that are logistically tricky,” he began, referring to the company that works on events such as Parklife, Kendal Calling and Lost Village, all of which present challenging noise restriction and logistically complex sites. To pull the pieces together, Weeks explained the necessity of relying on quality, local 31

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R&M Productions Robbie Baxter in the stage’s underworld.

suppliers. “We have brought in Kingdom Services and R&M Productions to handle audio and lighting respectively,” he revealed. “The two companies often work together, which made it much easier to work out the logistics of putting the stage together. Matt Simpson has been acting as something of a Crew Chief – being the glue between the two departments.” Each of the departments was bubbled for the run of shows. “Essentially, this meant we could plan a redundancy system, so if someone got ill in the bubble, a new team could come into their place and the show could continue,” Weeks explained. “We have done the same on the production side for Engine No.4. Anyone could step into my shoes and simply carry on with what I had been working on.” Weeks, whose main responsibility was to liaise with artist management, explained some of the noteable changes in booking acts in pandemic. “With artists not having a show since March, we have found that all band management were almost over prepared with advances,” he laughed, saying how they were getting information for a September gig back in May. He also commented how great it had been to talk to touring engineers and crewmembers coming through the site. “Although it’s been great to catch up with everyone who has been passing through, it has been souldestroying to have so many talented people explaining that this will be their only gig of the year,” he stated. “One thing that can be taken from people’s reaction to coming here is that we need to be doing more than opening pubs – we need experiences within society.”

due to safety measures, required a very spread out load-in. “We split each department completely, with rigging rolling in on the first day, followed by us in audio, with video taking day three and lighting setting up on the fourth,” said Smith. “With so much time on our side and not having to work over one another, we were able to be really methodical with this setup, with a team of four employing the whole system.” The PA in question was a d&b audiotechnik KSL system comprising two hangs of 16 KSLs with a further two delay hangs of eight KSLs. For the low end, 16 SL subs were deployed along with eight Y7ps from front fills. “ArrayProcessing has been essential in this project,” Smith stated, while nodding towards the stage and the custom underworld, which carried an impressive 42 D80 amplifiers. “The reason for the large quantity is down to what we were trying to achieve with the system,” continued Smith. “The variety of performances taking place on the stage and the demands of the show meant that every single section of the site had to be covered by the system. At your traditional show – pre COVID-19 – the most dedicated fans tended to be those that ran to the barriers at the start of the show, whereas here due to the random allocation of pods, the most loyal fans could be at the back of the field. We wanted to make sure that even people at the back had the best audio experience possible.” In the same way, with the FOH pushed to the edge of the site, the issue of sight lines also affected the placement of the delay towers. “Obviously, we would have preferred to have the delays right in the middle of the field, but instead we had to move them to the sides.” That said, Smith was happy with the result they achieved with the system. “Even though timing has not been ideal with the delay setup, I think it sounded great. With us being situated on the left of the field, it’s 10dB quieter than in the centre, but most of the visiting engineers have been more than happy to work around that. As most of these days there has only been one act, they have plenty time to sound check while the site is empty and get everything sorted before doors.” The audio engineer also

CONSISTENT SOUND Moving across the festival site towards FOH which, due to site-lines and space issues, had been moved to the left from the traditional central position, TPi met up with John Smith of Kingdom Services, who oversaw the audio deployment for the site. Having been in the planning stages for three months out from the show, Smith discussed some of the considerations that had to be made with this particular PA setup which, 32

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The FOH team with R&M Productions’ Peter Shorten and Robbie Baxter along with Kingdom Services John Smith; Production Manager, Dave Weeks and Operation Manager Kate Doyle.

emphasised that that the overall dB of the site was much quieter than a standard festival show – around 88 dB – by design. “We have a lot of local residents around here and as this show was going on for such a long period, we wanted to ensure we were being respectful.” For onstage sound, Kingdom provided a selection of M2 and M4 monitors along with V/B22 side fills, plus a Sennheiser 2000 IEM setup. Sennheiser was also the house microphone of choice, with the 6000 handhelds being made available for performers. For both ends of the system, DiGiCo SD10 was selected for control. However, a few of the touring musicians opted to bring their own desks. “Two thirds of the travelling engineers have been using the house desks. That said, since we’ve opened, we accommodated a whole range of brands, including Midas and for Van Morrison, they have brought their own SD12 here at FOH.”

minute. But despite this fear, the duo explained how they endeavoured to make the environment as safe as possible for all those entering FOH. “We clean all the consoles regularly and have sinks throughout the site to wash after moving flight cases or working with cables,” expressed Baxter. “It’s the cleanest festival-style site you could imagine.” Moving the conversation over to the lighting rig, the two highlighted some of the key elements of the design. “We were looking to create a standard festival stage with the versatility to deal with the range of artists,” said Baxter, giving the highlights of the spot, wash and beam setup. The stage held a traditional three-truss festival rig. The top rig consisted of 18 Martin by Harman Viper Profiles, 24 Claypaky Mythos 2s, 26 Robe 600 LED Washes and 16 SGM Q7s. A further 20 SGM Sixpacks were spread across the video goalposts and front truss to frame the stage, with Mythos units placed on additional side trusses with drop bars for the LEDWash. The festival floor package included an additional eight Mythos upstage and 12 Colorado1 Quad Zoom Pars on mid and downstage towers. “We wanted to put together a well laid out festival rig, that was easy to merge any show into, but with some extra fixtures in addition to the standard overhead offering. With most artists not currently touring a festival show, many are coming through without a floor package or with minimal kit,” said Shorten. “As an LD with a show file but without a package, I’d like to take advantage of some floor fixtures. The extra floor Mythos, side washes and side trusses provide exactly that, and so far the response has been great.”

VISUAL SUPPORT Moving the chat over to the others in Smith’s fellow FOH bubble, TPi grabbed some time with R&M Productions’ Peter Shorten and Robbie Baxter, who oversaw the lighting for the Unity Arena. “I remember when we first started hearing about this show; we were in the midst of quoting a few other projects – all of which sadly fell through,” began Shorten. “One thing that has been key for this has been Newcastle Council having been really on side and supportive with the idea.” Even with the support from the council, Baxter expressed how during the setup, there was the worry that the event could have been pulled at any

VIRGIN MONEY UNITY ARENA

With the rig being in place for a number of weeks in the elements, IP65rated Colorados were selected for a static side wash with their motorised zoom lens making them a “great choice for a budget-friendly wash fixture,” stated Baxter. Complementing the predominantly intelligent rig were 24 Generic 2 and 4 Cell Molefays and some traditional ACLs. Extra Q7s were also provided for audience lighting on the delay towers. “The SGM fixtures are ideal for a festival scenario like this. LDs love them and their robust build makes them ideal for spending five weeks in all weather conditions,” added Baxter. To rig the show, the lighting department made use of 40 Columbus McKinnon Lodestar hoists, with a custom 40 Way Guardian Control system. The entire rig was pre-rigged using Litec PRT to minimise load-in time and crew requirements, therefore reducing social contact on stage. Just like the audio team, R&M wanted it to be as simple as possible for any of the artist LDs to fit themselves into the system with their desk. The data distribution for the rig was a full Luminex system, consisting of Gigacore 10 Switches, Luminode 12 XT Nodes and Lumisplit Buffers. Utilising the Gigacore switch at FOH, R&M are able to provide LDs with a temporary central FOH position for programming before shows by extending a further 80m Artnet multi-core, before returning to the main FOH to the left of the field. For their side, the lighting duo used an Avolites Tiger Touch to set up the show. Finally, completing the video package were two IMAG screens that were supplied by the promoter, SSD. “There really isn’t a bad word I can say about this show,” concluded Baxter, reflecting on the past few weeks working on the site. “It’s worked really well and it’s been put together fantastically.” Shorten added: “It’s quite intense in many ways as the whole industry has had its eye on us and are very interested in the project. I told people throughout the run how good it’s been; we have found a way to make

an event happen and one that fans have really enjoyed.” Shorten also admitted that he had a number of “pinch yourself” moments during the successful run of shows. “The novelty never really wore off that we were back on a site, especially while walking onto the stage,” he remarked. “It’s an experience I’m very grateful we got to be part of.” LESSONS TO BE LEARNED Being able to attend a show like this in a time when live events are so sparse was a privilege and it certainly re-enforced the importance that live music has in our society. Not only that, it also showed why events like the Virgin Money Unity Area are going to be so vital as we head towards winter. With the live events industry looking at the guidance and regulation, showcasing how the industry can still band together to create elegant solutions during this trying time will be what sees the sector survive. “From our standpoint, it’s been fantastic,” concluded Gee, clearly proud of what he and the team had achieved. “We’ve managed to create work for some of SSD and Engine No4’s regular suppliers, and local freelancers. Clearly, these are unusual times, but everyone has pulled together to support the project and deliver it on a budget that wouldn’t have been realistic in a normal year. It’s just been amazing to be out here and working in this industry.” TPi Photos: Thomas Jackson www.tynesight.co.uk www.virginmoneyunityarena.com www.ssdconcerts.co.uk www.engineno4.com www.rm-productions.co.uk www.kingdomservices.co.uk 34

PRODUCTION PROFILE

LIVERPOOL DIGITAL MUSIC FESTIVAL 2020 TPi’s Jacob Waite meets the socially-distanced production crew, volunteer technicians, student photographers and touring engineers involved in Liverpool Digital Music Festival – a free online festival in support of Claire House Children’s Hospice, Mary Seacole House and Merseyside Youth Association, bringing grassroots music to four otherwise empty venue spaces across Liverpool.

LIVERPOOL DIGITAL MUSIC FESTIVAL 2020

The Peach Fuzz performing at M&S Bank Arena, Liverpool as part of Liverpool Digital Music Festival (LDMF) 2020.

Taking place over the bank holiday weekend, on 29 to 31 August, Liverpool Digital Music Festival (LDMF) 2020 transformed empty city centre independent venues – Jacaranda Phase One, E.B.G.B.S and The SAE Institute – into livestreaming spaces, with a headline stage at the region’s largest indoor venue, M&S Bank Arena, Liverpool. The free online festival raised funds to support three local charities: Claire House Children’s Hospice, Mary Seacole House (Granby Community Mental Health Group) and Merseyside Youth Association, with donations for the organisations handled by Ticket Quarter. Following a successful inaugural ‘lockdown’ event in May with 10,000 online viewers, which raised over £2,000 for the NHS and The Music Venue Trust, Liverpool Digital Music Festival Director, Ben Roberts of Polyphonica, set about creating the region’s first free, multi-venue livestreamed music festival. To deliver this ambitious project amid the COVID-19 crisis, Roberts enlisted the services of SAE Institute Liverpool, Adlib, and Luminous TV, as well as a band of volunteer technicians, student photographers and touring engineers – spearheaded by Production Manager, Mike Prosser of BOOM! Production Services. Performers included a host of emerging Merseyside talent including: Zuzu, Natalie McCool, The Peach Fuzz, Tokky Horror, Phil Jones, The Merchants, Ask Elliot, The Heavy North and Lauren Lo Sung. “This is a celebration of Liverpool’s music scene, bringing together artists for a unified good cause as well as delivering a fresh perspective to live music during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis,” Roberts began. “At any other time, there’d be 10,000 people in this arena, but they can’t be, so we’ve created an engaging production which presents live music to fans in lockdown.” Digital Marketing Executive, Ian Duke was among the M&S Bank Arena team involved in the project. “Live music helps us connect, celebrate and enjoy ourselves. As the largest music venue in the city, it’s great for

us to host this and say ‘look, we’re still here – we still love live music and entertainment – and we’re doing all we can to make sure that stays’,” he expressed. “The arena has been operating as a food and PPE distribution centre for Liverpool City Council during the past few months, and so with their support, we were delighted to have been able to give access to Ben and his team over the bank holiday weekend, making the M&S Bank arena the heart of the festival. It’s great to see local talent showcased this way, creating a platform for them to flourish.” The resulting production was fairly stripped back for both COVID-19 management and budgetary reasons. “Although the setup is very different to a typical arena show, the feedback regarding the production values from the performers has been excellent – they’re really pleased, and in some cases, overwhelmed with the opportunity to perform in the region’s largest indoor venue,” explained Roberts, recalling the “massive team effort” involved in proceedings. “As soon as we discovered that we had access to the M&S Bank Arena, we realised a traditional arena stage setup wouldn’t make sense given the context. To look at a stage and production and act like everything is ‘normal’ felt false,” Prosser commented. The PM went on to explain that by setting up the stage in the centre of the arena and harnessing the curvature of empty seats as a backdrop, the team were able to create an aesthetic reflective of the uncertain climate, while still looking and sounding “fantastic”. He added: “It has boosted the confidence of performing artists and the young crew involved. We were half an hour late getting out of the venue on the first day because the headline artist sneaked off to the dressing room to watch their stream back – praising everyone involved.” Alongside the main stage, Jacaranda Phase One functioned as an acoustic stage and the SAE Institute Liverpool’s recording studio was 38

LIVERPOOL DIGITAL MUSIC FESTIVAL 2020

Zulu performing at Phase One, Lauren Lo Sung performing at EBGBs, The Peach Fuzz and Munkey Junkey performing at the M&S Bank Arena, Livepool.

transformed into a ‘live lounge’ setup, with the live performances staggered between the three live stages, while the DJ stage at E.B.G.B.S ran non-stop throughout. The PM explained: “It’s a virtual festival in the sense you can jump into any stage at any time, although we have chosen to stagger them to avoid clashing sets – resulting in an exhausting amount of prep in the pre-production.” In fact, the most important aspect of Prosser’s workload in the PM seat, leading up to the festival, was implementing a thorough risk assessment and COVID-19 risk management policy to ensure the safety of the crew and performing artists. The crew operated in ‘bubbles’, and maintained a 2m social distance, as well as donning masks, with hand sanitiser stations implemented across all four sites. Schedules were designed to allow for an hour-long changeover time for each artist. “We’re cleaning down every touch-point on and off stage, as well as using two full sets of vocal mics rotated between acts to be cleaned and sanitised.” Prosser reported. “We’ve encouraged artists to bring their own mics wherever possible.” In each venue, designated bays and load-in and out spaces were provided for artists to bring in kit to sterilise and remain distanced from the other artists on the bill. “We’ve limited the time artists can spend at the venue, with strict arrival and departure slots, so we’ve never got too many people on site at any given time,” Prosser underlined. “It’s all built around maintaining distance and hygiene standards.” Marking her first foray into stage management for live music was Evelyn Ong. Typically involved in the business management aspects of the industry, such as organising conferences, she was pleased to assume the role of Stage Manager. “Music is completely different,” Ong highlighted. “While the time management is similar, I’ve found working with creative artists to be very

refreshing,” she added. “Everything has gone smoothly, which comes as a surprise given the level of organisation required across four venues.” Ong dubbed the quality of the livestreams as “amazing”, believing that “it would take people months, I imagine, to call people out of lockdown to come together and achieve something like this, which takes a lot of work, but the end results are a reflection of that.” As with any production, Ong said, the first day was the toughest but most-rewarding on the job. “I’m thankful to be part of such a great team and I’m learning every day.” ‘THE PERFECT GIG AFTER SIX MONTHS AWAY’ As a key partner for LDMF 2020, SAE Institute Liverpool supplied the majority of the technical equipment, as well as volunteer staff and an army of students to support the festival across all departments. “The students have had a great opportunity to learn how an event of this scale operates and to receive support and mentorship from the festival team,” Prosser explained. “We’re always keen to support young people breaking into the industry; show them it’s possible – nothing should be unattainable if you have the right attitude. With support and encouragement, they have walked into an arena gig and done a brilliant job. It’s a very vocational industry so getting hands-on is the best way to learn and, up to now, those opportunities haven’t been there for them this year.” SAE Liverpool Audio Production Programme Coordinator, James McCormick commented: “This is a large-scale event that converges all of the subject areas we teach at SAE and applies them to a real, challenging and socially responsible project. It gives students fantastic work experience of festival infrastructure at venues such as the M&S Bank Arena, at a time when access to such venues and events is extremely limited.” SAE Institute Liverpool students Joe Punter and Ellen McGovern were selected by McCormick to direct an army of fresh-faced technicians, answer 40

LIVERPOOL DIGITAL MUSIC FESTIVAL 2020

Production Manager, Mike Prosser; Head of Audio, Martin Kutcha ; FOH Engineer for local band, Spilt, Jono Tringham.

questions and troubleshoot for visiting engineers. The students were able to get hands on at every venue, with the broadcast mix at M&S Bank Arena controlled by Sam Hepworth on a Midas M32R console with a DL32 stage box, and monitors mixed from an iPad at stage left by Reggie Sequeira. Adlib provided a line system and cable package, with stage monitoring and microphones supplied by BOOM! Production Services. “It’s a novelty doing an arena gig and not having to put any points in,” the PM quipped. With no audience, the team didn’t have to worry about a traditional FOH setup. The broadcast mix was monitored on headphones, with the L&R feed sent straight into the cameras. “Only the engineer knows what it sounds like, so that’s quite a daunting experience, but being on stage at some of the big festivals, you are just hearing monitors mostly, so I had faith in the sound, checking the streams, etc.” Punter noted. As the proud owner of the Midas M32R console, Punter was happy to receive free lessons on how to use it from the audio veterans in Prosser and Head of Audio, Adlib’s Martin Kuchta. “The lessons I’ve received from Mike on festival preparation and people management can’t be taught in a classroom – you can only get that while working closely on site,” he supposed. “I didn’t think I’d be involved in another festival until next year at the earliest, so to work on this has been extremely rewarding. It’s great to bring music to people at a time when it’s not easy to do so.” Kuchta has worked for Adlib for seven years and is also a lecturer in live audio at SAE Institute Liverpool. He headed the LDMF 2020 audio team, supporting the students working across the smaller venues and leading the team at M&S Bank Arena, Liverpool. “It’s been absolutely amazing to work with young people who don’t have too much experience in live sound,” he began. “I met these guys on site and they’ve blown my mind with their enthusiasm and willingness to learn. I’ve received a few comments from my mates watching the livestream, commending the quality of the sound. When I told them it was the students’ hard work, they couldn’t believe it.” Away from home schooling his daughter during the COVID-19 crisis, Kutcha relished the chance to impart his knowledge and years of touring

experience on the team of budding audiophiles. “Hands-on experience is crucial in the touring industry. You can read all the product manuals and books on live sound, but nothing can quite prepare you for a gig and how fast you need to make decisions, other than being on site,” he said. “There is simply no theoretical knowledge that can prepare you.” Overjoyed to be back on site, the audio veteran shared his closing thoughts on the project. “I was almost in tears when I first walked on site,” he said. “Being involved in something that’s got this great vibe, team and students surpassing expectations. This is the perfect gig to walk into after six months away.” Jono Tringham of ALLO Sound, FOH Engineer for local band Spilt, summed up his experience on site: “Everyone from Liverpool dreams of playing in this arena and now we’ve done it. It’s a bit different without a crowd, but it’s still a tick off the bucket list. The band were really buzzing about doing it,” he said. “Spilt have done multiple video sessions and livestreams, and they play with the same intensity each time – the only difference is, there’s no crowd to bring up on stage!” Tringham praised the crew of volunteer technicians. “They made it all happen. All I had to do was turn up, tune the kit, make sure the mics were sound and that was it,” he quipped. “It was less stressful than most jobs I’ve worked on!” FOH Engineer, Adam Rice, who was mixing Ask Elliot’s first arena set just days after his 18th birthday, told TPi: “I had to swallow a bit when I first walked into the arena and take a step back. It was emotional to be back on site. It hit home how bad this crisis is. It’s a bittersweet experience because although it’s empty – it’s still an arena gig,” he added. “I said to the lads ahead of the gig, this is probably the biggest and the smallest gig you’ll ever play. There’s no crowd, but you’re in Liverpool’s biggest venue and there’s nobody here to judge you, so just enjoy it. Most bands don’t get this chance.” Commenting on the Midas M32, he said: “I spent half an hour before the set getting my bearings on the console and getting my mix to a point where 42

LIVERPOOL DIGITAL MUSIC FESTIVAL 2020

Stage Manager, Evelyn Ong; Festival Director, Ben Roberts; FOH Engineer, Adam Rice mixing Ask Elliot’s first arena set just days after his 18th birthday; Audio team: Joe Punter, Reggie Sequeira, Sam Hepworth and Martin Kuchta; Video team: Roan de Buitléar (seated), Kate Lawler, Ferdia de Buitléar and Ben Gladwell.

the lads could jump in. They played like any other night – they’re solid players, so it’s a joy to mix them,” he concluded. “I’ve been sat in my room on Logic in front of a set of studio monitors for the past few months, so to get behind a mixing desk has been mint.”

traditional tungsten lights presented a “nice, warm view” from the back of the performing artist, with LED systems on the front. “We’re also using some of the arena in-house lighting to bring up the level of the seats a bit,” de Buitléar acknowledged. “It’s a static lighting setup; it was a conscious decision to not make it look like a rock ’n’ roll show.” To ensure the safety of the kit and video crew, de Buitléar adapted his workflow in line with and COVID-19 safety regulations. “We don’t have direct contact with the band, so the audio side have more of those issues with new gear coming in. For us, if we’ve got five camera ops and five cameras, each is designated to their own personal camera,” he added. “It’s easiest for us to assume everything is dirty and look after our own sanitation.” Knowing that live music fans are yearning for fresh content, de Buitléar was keen to provide a way to deliver art in a safe manner. “This is people collaborating not for profit but wanting to make art and deliver live music to fans. This gig is important on several fronts – hopefully, this will give people experiencing a difficult time in lockdown an emotional lift,” he added. “Secondly, musicians and venues have experienced a difficult time because their world stopped. And finally, this project is a way of exploring how we can move along in the future. If a financial model can be coupled on to this, or even if it’s just exposure for the local artists finding new fans and outlets for music, then it’s a worthy pursuit.” TPi Photos: Lorraine Connor, Sarah Sidwell, Mike Prosser & TPi www.ldmfestival.co.uk www.polyphonica.co.uk www.weareboom.co.uk www.mandsbankarena.com www.sae.edu www.adlib.co.uk www.luminoustv.co.uk

‘A WORTHY PURSUIT’ Overseeing the look of the stream was Head of Video and Lighting, Ferdia de Buitléar of Luminous TV. “This is one of my first projects following the lockdown. We try to maintain a greater lead time on things, leaving us room to sanitise and prep kit long enough in advance, but the industry still works on a last-minute basis, so you have to ensure that the safety measures and sanitation are in place.” Five cameras were deployed at M&S Bank Arena, with two cameras at each of the smaller venues. Each venue featured a video director mixing the live video, which was subsequently fed into a broadcast control room at the arena, where Polyphonica Broadcast Technician, Alex Coupland harnessed Vimeo Studio to mix the live venue feeds, presenter and additional VT content gathered by the on-site social media team. de Buitléar explained: “For this project, we were aware that finances were tight so, from the outset, we involved SAE Institute Liverpool, who kindly provided us with a lot of the college’s own equipment resources – a mix of Canon entry-level professional kit and some Sony cameras. The route to streaming was navigated via Blackmagic Design kit.” In the arena, five feeds were sent into a Blackmagic Design vision mixer for cutting. “We’re conscious of people watching on a computer or phone, so we hope that the live feed gives a sense of what we’re trying to convey, what this space is – an empty arena, which is still an entertaining view,” de Buitléar continued. “We’ve deliberately placed the stage in the middle of an empty arena, lighting the seats enough to show that, because it echoes to the people at home the landscape of live events.” A mixture of 43

PRODUCTION PROFILE

HOT CHIP Having cut their touring cycle short back in March as a result of the pandemic, electro-indie favourites Hot Chip return to the stage to play in front of 300 hardcore fans and a global livestream audience. TPi’s Stew Hume catches up with the band’s loyal crew to reflect on the hybrid show...

By this point, I’m sure most reading this will have already seen their fair share of streamed performances and perhaps even made it to a sociallydistanced show during this uncertain time for the industry. However, since March, there has been talk of the dream scenario of a hybrid show where a band could play to both a live audience, and one at home. This solution represents the best of both worlds, in that there is the energy of a live show combined with the potential large audience that only streaming could obtain. And it was this school of thought that informed Hot Chip’s latest offering – a one-off show at Dreamland, Margate. The multi-instrumentalists played to a crowd of 300 in the open-air venue, while also being streamed across the globe for a paying virtual audience. As well as a technological feat, the show presented a chance for the band’s loyal touring family to catch up face-to-face for the first time since March. Talking TPi through this ambitious project was Director of Only Helix, Steven Down, who oversaw the production of Hot Chip’s latest touring campaign. “We have been working with the band for about 18 months,” reflected Down, “Historically, they haven’t gone too far down the production route but, for this last album cycle, their Manager, Sam Denniston, explained that they were looking to push their touring offering and make a real impact.” With this goal in mind and headline shows and festivals slots in sight, the loyal crew and key suppliers – Cassius Creative, Liteup, SSE Audio and ER Productions – created an impactful live show that entertained fans up until March this year. “A few months after the initial lockdown, the band’s management got in touch and asked us to look into a budget for a livestreamed show,” continued Down. “This wasn’t the first show like this we had budgeted for, many of which simply never got off the ground.” The team at Helix presented three potential options and waited for a response. Due to

the current uncertainty in the events market, Down admitted he was “somewhat surprised” when they got the green light and he busied himself immediately to make this a reality. ONE PURE THOUGHT In normal operating times, Dreamland is a 5,000-capacity outdoor performance space. “For this project, for the live audience, we adopted a pod system for up to six people in a very similar setup to that of the Virgin Money Unity Arena [p28],” said Down. “We implemented a one-way system in the venue for people to go to either the toilets or the bar.” Down explained the lengthy health and safety procedures that were required to bring this show to fruition. “Thinking of every eventuality was a long process,” he explained. “We had looked at everything the PSA had published and spoke to a few organisers to get their advice. George [Baker, Production Manger] was responsible for the majority of the risk assessment on top of handling his usual PM duties and even helping out the lighting department – he was a very busy guy.” Also talking about the considerations for the show was Tour Manager, Emma Edgar. “Early on, I had conversations with the band asking them what type of show they were hoping to achieve,” she began. “In the beginning, they were concerned that, with such a big venue and a limited crowd, it would be hard to generate the vibe – but needless to say that was not the case on the night. In many ways, we approached this show in a similar way to a TV shoot and when we adopted that mindset, everything settled into place.” The Tour Manager described the level of care the team took to ensure the safety of both band and crew. “For starters, our backstage was limited to band and crew only, with no other people allowed. For such a personal band, this was an adjustment but all the guys were incredibly 45

HOT CHIP

understanding.” It wasn’t just a case of limited personnel, but also realising the sheer number of potential contact points there are backstage. “We went completely riderless for the show,” she highlighted. “Just think of the number of people who use the milk for a tea or coffee backstage – you’re talking about 20 people touching the same container, which posed a potential risk.” This meant any produce that the band required for the show had to be brought in by them and kept in separate containers for the duration. “It’s little details like this that we obsessed over during the run up to the show,” Edgar explained. “It was a case of going through the whole working day and flagging any potential issues.” She explained that this process was also opened up to the whole band and crew for people to throw in suggestions about how they could make their workflow safer – from the backline crew, Mick Pryde, Ian Barnard and Mat Davie changing the process of instrument changeovers, to the band bringing extra instruments so as not to have to share. Meanwhile at FOH, in lighting, lasers and audio world, masks were worn throughout. The TM described the logistical challenge of getting all the regular faces of the Hot Chip camp together for the show. “As soon as the show was green-lit, Steve and I set about getting everyone together – which was tricky, as our FOH Engineer was based in Germany, our Keyboard Tech was in Portugal and our LD was still in Spain.” Thankfully, all three of these key crew members managed to fly over to the UK for what would be one of their few working shows of this year. “Our LD, Matt, even committed to a two-week quarantine period before the show just so that he could come and work on this one,” she enthused. “It was so good to bring everyone back and, once we were finished, all we really wanted to do was jump on a bus and do it all again.”

HUARACHE LIGHTS For the band’s latest touring cycle, the Helix team collaborated with Dan Hill and Chris ‘Squib’ Swain’s Cassius Creative to develop a new stage show for the band. “We’ve done a lot of work with Cassius over the years,” said Down. “Our offices are actually just down the road from one another.” Giving a design perspective, Hill talked through what they were hoping to achieve with this project. “Before we started to design the show, the band already had the artwork in place for this campaign, having worked with the artist, Jeremy Deller,” he began. “We had quite a catalogue of material to work with in terms of feel and textures. They were also looking to have some physical objects as part of the design so we began to look at materials for a setup that would be both tour and festival friendly.” Hill admitted that in the original design, there was not a huge number of lighting fixtures, relying heavily on GLP impression X4 Bars to internally light the large set pieces. “We also used the X4s for a side light then we also adopted a sizeable floor package with a number of flares and strobes that were hidden from view. The lighting rig was very much replicated when the set was revived for the streamed show, comprising; 27 GLP impression X4 Bar 20s, 10 GLP X4 Bar 10s, six TMB Solaris Flares, and six Martin by Harman MAC Aura XBs. There was also a house rig with a number of spots, LED washes and strobes – a necessity to provide further key lighting for the band – all of which was controlled by an MA Lighting grandMA2 light console. Lighting Director, Matt Waterfield talked TPi through the transition of this stage show to the streamed world. “Key light was one of the concerns, so we updated the house rig slightly to give slightly more options,” he explained. “Other than that, nothing changed too much for our side in terms of how we normally run the show.” He explained the challenge of 46

HOT CHIP

Production Manager, George Baker; Director of Only Helix, Steve Down, FOH Engineer, Parker.

running a show after six months away from the live environment. “It was a concern and, a week out from the show, it was certainly on my mind, but thankfully we had quite a long load-in – almost two days – to ensure we could build up the show safely. It gave me some time to familiarise myself with the MA. Happily, the muscle memory kicked in quickly.” The LD was also quick to thank the two members of Liteup, who also supplied the rig, for their help, along with PM, Baker, who was heavily involved with the set elements on stage during the previous tour. To make this show, Waterfield had an interesting logistical challenge, having to travel from his home in Spain and then commit to two-week quarantine before coming on site. “There was no way I was missing one of my only gigs of the year,” he asserted. He concluded by giving his thoughts on what this show could mean in the wider conversation about the live events industry at the moment. “I feel that there is a light at the end of the tunnel, but it’s not too bright right now,” he stated. “That said, streaming shows like this, with a socially distanced crowd, are a good thing and although it is not a lucrative project, it’s just brilliant to get a gig out there to the fans and showcase to the industry what is possible under these restrictions.”

the package was Laser Operator, Ben Couch, who oversaw a package of six ER Productions Storm Lasers controlled via Pangolin Beyond – a number that was upped to 10 for the band’s headline Alexandra Palace show, as well as this latest streamed performance. “When the conversation for the Margate show came up, the management and production were very upfront with the situation,” reported Couch, pointing out the uncertainty of a paid stream and the limited budget that was available. “Despite this, they were still keen to make sure that the laser package was there for this, as it is such an integral part of their show,” he added. As well as the laser package, ER Productions provided 10 Viper Deluxe Smoke Machines. “There was a bit of a back and forth when it came to haze and the streaming team,” said Couch, explaining how they had to find the middle ground of having ample smoke to make the lasers look great, yet still keep the band visible for the camera. “The guys from Spiritland, who were looking after the video, were fantastic and wanted to get it as close to a ‘live’ performance as possible.” Couch gave his final thoughts on the performance: “It was so great to be back working,” he commented. “It was really nice to hear music at a decent volume and even have a crowd.”

TAKE IT IN Key to the visual look of the band’s latest tour was its extensive use of lasers and special effects, courtesy of supplier ER Productions. Having worked with the band for a number of years, the laser specialist was keen to keep pace with the band’s more ambitious visual production. Talking TPi through

MELODY OF LOVE FOH Engineer, Parker, Monitor Engineer Mario Leal and PA Tech Brandon Reese were also on hand to reclaim their respective mantles. “Tour Manager, Emma, was vital in the lead up to this one,” began Leal. “She kept 47

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us up-to-date with all the logistics of this show, which was important as there was always a risk the entire show might get pulled at any point due to the current climate.” Three weeks out from the show, the audio duo began serious conversations with supplier SSE Audio to begin putting their package back together. “SSE has been the band’s supplier for a long time – much longer than I’ve been with the band – and there is a really strong relationship there. They had the most up-to-date spec and were able to replicate the same system we had out earlier this year, while I was able to just check in from home,” stated Leal. Both ends of the Optocore were two DiGiCo SD12s. “We both chose the SD12 at the start of the cycle last year and connected both desks via Optocore using the same SD rack,” explained the Monitor Engineer. “The Hot Chip show is rather complex with a lot of content coming from the stage,” he continued, referring to the myriad analogue and digital synthesisers of the band’s backline alongside the regular guitar, bass and drum setup. Leal added: “It’s quite an intricate mix for each song. It’s definitely not a show where you could rock up in sound check and throw together a mix.” Not only that, as the band use so many synthesisers, which they play and manipulate live, Leal has to continually ride those elements due to the varying outputs. “It’s been almost six months since I touched an SD12 and I was slightly concerned due to the complex nature of the show and the fact that we only had one shot at this globally streamed performance,” he admitted. “In the end, it only took me 15 minutes to remember my show file and where everything was on the desk; it was second nature.” For the on-stage sound, half of the band opted for IEMs, while the rest

used wedges and side fills. “It’s quite a loud stage,” admitted the engineer, while listing of the range of stage wedges and side fills – d&b audiotechnik M4, V7P and VSubs. For the band members using IEMs, Leal opted for a Shure PSM 1000 eight-way system. For the main PA, the production made use of the venue’s in-house d&b audiotechnik V-Series. Leal concluded by giving his thoughts on this event and the wider implications of what lockdown could mean for the events industry: “We work in a creative industry made up of incredibly intelligent and highly skilled individuals,” he commented. “Together, we will manage to find a way to reinvent the industry in order to make live events happen again. We just need the government to give us a chance. Being part of this show is a good test and it shows that we are all taking safety measures seriously.” LOOK AT WHERE WE ARE Ensuring that the band’s performance was seen and heard across the globe was Spiritland Productions. The company – founded by ex-BBC Live Broadcast Engineers, Gareth Iles and Anthony Shaw, was brought into the project by the promoter of the event, DICE. “Gareth and I formed Spiritland Limited around three years ago,” outlined Shaw, giving the history of the company. With a fully equipped podcast space, the duo took over the studio, which is still the home of famed shows including SAS: Who Dares Wins podcast. Soon, the two expanded the company’s offering, resulting in the creation of Spiritland One – a top-of-the-range OB truck, which was unveiled to the industry at IBC last year and used for the last Hot Chip show. “The goal was to have it as highly specified as possible,” stated Shaw, who listed some of the vehicle’s capabilities including the most 48

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friend sent me a video of the show while watching in Australia. This show has moments where we use block colours and strobes, which seemed to come across on the livestream and created a similar effect to the one experienced by the crowd that were in the venue.” Capturing the show, Spiritland deployed three Sony manned cameras – one at FOH with two on the side of stage – with an additional static FOH shot and one for a rear drum shot. “For audio, on all of our shows, we really push productions not to simply provide us with a FOH feed,” Shaw explained. “Those are not designed to be mixed and mastered for home listening and tend to lack punch and clarity. Obviously, budgets do not always allow, but where possible, it’s best for the monitor and FOH engineer to do their thing and have a separate broadcast setup.” For the show, Spiritland deployed its own SSL preamp on stage, taking a 48-line split with a few extra effects returns taken from FOH. LOVE IS THE FUTURE With critical praise and positive feedback from fans, it seems like Hot Chip and their crew managed to hit the nail on the head with this production. In a statement echoed by nearly all the crew involved – this might not be a solution to the issue of live music right now, but it’s a good showcase on what is possible to keep the live music fire burning. “People from the industry have been really positive about the show,” enthused Tour Manager Emma Edgar. “It’s such a tough time for the live events community and the last thing we would want to do is gloat. That said, shows like this act as a glimmer of hope as we head into Winter.” TPi Photos: Only Helix and Spiritland Productions www.hotchip.co.uk www.onlyhelix.com www.cassiuscreative.co.uk www.sseaudio.com www.liteup.co.uk www.er-productions.com www.spiritlandproductions.com

advanced Dolby Atmos broadcast capabilities. “When we started working on this show, we thought it would be a good opportunity to use this functionality. As well as a standard stereo feed for the paying audience, we simultaneously broadcast the stream to deliver the first livestreamed musical performance with Dolby Atmos, which was enjoyed by Dolby and AWS company employees across the globe,” he enthused. Back to the show, Shaw outlined the brief he and the team were given. “Larry Gale, who directed the show from our end, had a few chats with the visual team before the show but, on the whole, we wanted the band to do their thing and simply capture the show that they were putting on,” stated Shaw, comparing it to a festival shoot rather than a TV broadcast. “They really captured the vibe of a live show,” interjected Waterfield. “A

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PRODUCTION FUTURES

Production Futures: Lockdown Edition Taking place this year from 9 to 13 November, TPi’s Production Futures Event moves online, offering a week of free web-based learning, resources and engagement with the global live events industry. The event also marks the return of the TPi Breakthrough Talent Awards, where students, freelancers and young people can be in with a chance of winning a seat at the TPi Awards 2021. TPi’s Jacob Waite catches up with last year’s winners to discover how they’ve been occupying themselves in lockdown…

Standout Talent, Dylan Barber The first work I got after lockdown began was a series of sessions for Wordplay Magazine, which highlights new hip-hop, jazz and soul music – and these are still happening now. My role is to provide monitoring for and record the sessions – which could be anything from a rapper to a jazz or soul act – and then pass on the multitrack to another engineer for mixing before pairing with video and uploading to YouTube. Location recording prior to lockdown wasn’t something I had done loads of, but I always love the challenge of something new, so I felt, and I am still feeling, very lucky to be involved in these sessions. I was also lucky enough to work with Epic Studios a few weeks ago in their outdoor broadcast trucks at a socially distanced weekend of events including live music, movies, and the world’s first socially distanced FM and International Broadcast of MMA Contenders. The most recent piece of lockdown work I did was on 13 and 14 September, Wild Fields Festival in Norwich – one of the only festivals in the UK this year. I was lucky enough to have mixed monitors all weekend for artists such as Joe Armon Jones, Morgan Simpson, Nubya Garcia, Kokoroko, Another Sky, Anorak Patch and more. It was quite an interesting concept; all audience members sat in socially distant pods, which created quite a calm atmosphere that allowed everyone to focus on the live music – something which most had not experienced for months.

Production Rookie, Harry Boyde ER Productions has been lucky enough to get to work on a couple of projects over the past six months, including a socially distanced festival called Revival Festival, where we provided an arsenal of lasers and special effects. Fortunately, some TV work has started to pick up for us, which has included working with Blackskull Creative on an interesting project for Sigala and James Arthur’s performance on Britain’s Got Talent. We used a programming technique where we used rolling shutter cameras to create an effect with the lasers that look completely different to how the eyes see it. The ER Productions team have used the downtime productively to enhance our skills; this includes weekly programming and design tasks and video meetings for training. It has been great to pick up skills that normally we wouldn’t have time to improve on. Since restrictions have eased, we have also had more hands-on training in the warehouse on our own in-house products, online training from outside manufacturers and laser safety courses for the United States.

PRODUCTION FUTURES

Undergraduate Of The Year, Owen McIlreavy I have turned my attention to developing skills that would be applicable in the current job market, while also remaining useful/transferrable within the events industry once it returns. One of these has been a counterbalance forklift licence. Over lockdown and continuing now, I have seen a growing demand for warehouse operatives with a ‘forklift licence being advantageous’. Getting this certificate puts me in a better position for the current job market, while also adding a useful skill to onsite events work once it returns. I have also investigated learning the MA Lighting control software while I am at home. When onsite, it is always good to be competent in multiple lighting control soft/hardware brands. As it allows you to adapt to unforeseen changes in production and makes you desirable and available to more production companies that may only stock a certain brand of desk. I feel adding MA will give me a real advantage in the professional industry, with my skillset being expanded to the three control softwares: Avolites, Chamsys and MA.

Young Freelancer Of The Year, Oli Crump I was happy with a bit of a break after a busy tour, but once it became apparent that the festival season would be affected too, I started to look elsewhere. I was fortunate to find some work in a local factory assembling ultrasonic transducers, and I stayed there for a few months before moving out of the area for unrelated reasons. A few weeks ago, I started working for a company installing and wiring recording studios, so it’s nice to be back on team audio again. In the first couple of months, I followed a lot of the videos and webinars by L-Acoustics, DiGiCo and other manufacturers/freelancers – it was great to see so many great resources being put online. I wish I could say I’d done more with my time, but with full-time work and then moving to a new house, I’ve kept busy.

For more details about Production Futures Online and to find out how you can support the event, please contact Hannah Eakins at: h.eakins@mondiale.co.uk

www.productionfutures.co.uk

CHANGING HATS

CHANGING HATS Two creative minds operating in the live event realm pivot their skillsets in lockdown to cater for the growing demand for interactive experiences for live music fans – harnessing the creative capabilities of real-time graphics tool, Notch.

T2 VISUALS, TANNER THOMPSON Since 2013, Motion Designer / VJ, Tanner Thompson has been freelancing at music festivals and creating custom motion graphics for concerts and shows full time. In 2019, motion graphics studio T2 Visuals was officially established in the live event and music space. For two-and-a-half years, Notch has been integral to motion graphics studio, T2 Visuals’ workflow. “I took the training when it came to LA in April 2018,” began Thompson. “Since then, it has been a really great tool to learn and experiment with. The power, flexibility, and speed of Notch allows me to accomplish a lot in a short period of time – speeding up processes such as rendering out content and allowed us to experiment in this virtual realtime environment.” With his sights set firmly on the future of real-time content and exploring innovative technologies and approaches, Thompson shared his Notch experiments with the DJ and Producer, Tyler Marenyi, better known by his stage name, NGHTMRE, and his team, who were interested in pursuing an experimental direction. By late April, Thompson had formalised an initial game plan to create and feature as many unique Notch scenes and FX as possible with the time available in NGHTMRE’s forthcoming livestreams. The first, a private stream for students at University of California, Santa Barbara, led to the band’s first livestream with League of Legends and increased development and new Notch scenes for the Digital Mirage 2.0 YouTube Music Festival. “It has been a constant process of refinement and experimentation since this project began,” Thompson reminisced. For Digital Mirage, the T2 Visuals team created a handful of different worlds to transport the viewers as the concert was streamed. The show began in an abandoned city, inspired by the DJ’s Portal Tour poster. “We then go through a wormhole that took us to a series of other thematic lands.” After landing in a virtual city, viewers arrived in a land that was inspired by subconscious surrealism. “We took inspiration from Salvador Dali, as well as other festival experiences and seemingly random subconscious surreal elements. We go back through the wormhole and arrive in a landscape that was inspired by a balance of nature and man,” Thompson

commented, pointing the trees, plants, and hybrid human/natural elements in this landscape. “The final scene was inspired by a futuristic city and future club environment. Each land has unique elements as well as a constant stream of VJ visuals feeding the environment.” Following the Digital Mirage stream, Thompson collaborated with Pete Thornbury to create a custom TouchDesigner method to translate lighting data from an MA Lighting grandMA2 into Notch for a simulated concert lighting experience. For Lollapalooza, Thompson wanted to remain true 52

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to the festival experience – commissioning a 3D photogrammetry scan of the Grant Park region of Chicago where the Perry Stage would have been for Lollapalooza 2020. “Lollapalooza was our first time implementing this new strategy for lighting. We also utilised photogrammetry to recreate the Chicago skyline where Perry’s stage would normally be in Chicago,” he recalled. “It has been great to work with the NGHTMRE team to continue the developments to this project, giving us something to learn and grow from during this this strange period.” Notch has been a key tool to T2 Visuals’ workflow for the past few years. “During the initial downtime, it was imperative for us to spend our newfound free time experimenting with the available technologies,” Thompson explained. “Around this time was when Notch first started to support the newest Kinect device. I had ordered a few of the Kinects out of curiosity a few months before the COVID-19 crisis hit the United States and quickly focussed on ways to utilise this technology to expand our capabilities in the virtual space.” The NGHTMRE team afforded T2 Visuals free rein with the creative execution of the project. “We wanted to remain in sync with the existing branding and concert experience that NGHTMRE was touring with up until March,” Thompson explained. “He had to cancel the last few shows of his Portal Tour and really wanted to bring a unique experience to the fans that were not able to see him live,” Thompson said, pinpointing this moment as a turning point. Having spent time formulating a game plan and design direction, he created a document with influences for each world that he wanted to include. “His tour was themed around the idea of a portal, so that was a great jumping-off point to see what was possible,” Thompson reported. “One of my main goals was to use the portal element as a constant theme in the show, but also use it as a transitional element to progress our visual journey. The portal sucks us through a wormhole several times per streaming experience to introduce a new landscape and visual experience as NGHTMRE’s set progresses.” Thompson explained the “new set of rules and possibilities” when you are dealing with a streaming platform. “It has been great to see the live chat aspect of the livestreams and being able to see the comments and interact with the chat in real time is a unique and fun experience,” he

commented. “We are just scratching the surface of what is truly possible in the interactive streaming experience. I have seen some really great projects since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, that have been truly innovative and fun to see how people’s experimentations and projects have developed over this time.” This global pandemic has truly inspired innovation out of necessity. “It has felt as if our only real option for growth was to innovate and experiment with alternative execution options,” Thompson said. “Our year would be very different if this pandemic was not with us. It is certainly a challenge to grow and adapt, but it has been such an important experience for us – one that has emphasised the necessity to stay nimble as a company.” Thompson outlined the company’s strength is its smaller footprint. “It has allowed us to take risks and change directions very quickly,” he commented. “It has also emphasised a desire to grow the company as a versatile entity. I don’t want to get stuck in one execution or technique for too long. It has been a great exercise to navigate this uncharted territory.” The main challenges during this string of livestreams related to time constraints or technology hiccups. “During the first stream, we experienced issues with the Kinect and that was a huge headache. I found a workaround, having to rebuild my Notch scenes hours before we recorded, but I was glad we were able to power through that technical hurdle and still produce something we were proud of,” he said. “Our timelines were often rushed to execute as much as possible in a short period of time. This was strenuous on some of us and added pressure to the project, but it was great to push past those hurdles and setbacks. After all, the show must go on!” Recalling the overjoyed fan reactions to the NGHTMRE streams, Thompson was pleased to still be making art and collaborating during an uncertain summer. “It is still such a new approach that the average viewer can still be tricked into entering this space where the technology is simply magic,” he concluded. “I feel that we will continue to see bolt-on virtual experiences for live events even after this strange time is behind us. It has been an interesting shakeup that truly has propelled the AR/VR space.” TPi Photos: T2 Visuals www.soundcloud.com/nghtmre www.t2visuals.com 53

CHANGING HATS

KEV FREENEY, ALGORITHM

Since March, the Algorithm Productions team has taken the opportunity to develop new virtual production and animation projects in lockdown. “There has been lots of excitement around virtual production in Unreal Engine with nDisplay and we’ve been working on demos to publish over the coming months,” Creative Director, Kev Freeney informed TPi. He referred to similar work in Notch with a view to augmenting livestreams – exploring what a stage can be when it doesn’t need physical infrastructure. “We’ve been talking loads about why somebody watches a streamed music event – what they expect from it, how to augment in a meaningful way rather than just splashing VFX everywhere for the sake of it,” he commented. “Simultaneously, we’re experimenting with in-browser multi-user event spaces with WebGL and exploring other aspects of WebGL and various javascript libraries to see how we can leverage some of our existing skills in a web environment.” One such lockdown project Freeney referred to is a recent collaboration on the music video for The Blizzards’ Pound the Pavement. “This was a response to us being in lockdown and not being able to shoot a more traditional live performance music video for the band,” he revealed. “It’s about people using technology to connect while in isolation. We wanted to show our audience that we can all still create beautiful and memorable moments by working together – even remotely.” The concept involves two digital avatars falling in love with each other online. “During lockdown, so many of us were using technology to communicate and feel connected with our friends and family around the world – we wanted to expand this and develop it into a contemporary digital duet. “The song is also about taking back control when you think you have lost it,” he underlined. “The lyrics project a message of hope, grit and determination to overcome the challenges we are all facing today.” The

project marked the collective’s first experience with a Noitom mocap suit. “It was really enjoyable,” Freeney quipped. “It’s a great tool to use; we really pushed how far we could go with it with a very small budget. As we only had one suit, we had to practice and rehearse all the dance moves with our Choreographer, Janna Kemperman, from both characters’ perspectives.” As the band was in isolation, Algorithm delivered a suit to each member of the band, controlling remotely from the Noitom App over TeamViewer and Zoom. “This was a healthy but rewarding challenge,” Freeney recalled. “We can’t wait to see what we can do with this kind of technology in a live event environment.” For the Blizzards music video, the MoCap data was remotely recorded using a Noitom suit. “We used the data to animate some models in C4D, attaching instruments where necessary, and exported as animated FBX files to bring into Notch,” Freeney added. “We also animated the camera locations in C4D and linked that data in Notch too.” Inside Notch, most of the video was achieved with a combination of mesh emitters and particle effectors. Freeney explained: “The big challenge there was keeping definition in the characters while retaining the ‘dots in a void’ particle look so we added a few more meshes with polygons clustered around muscle groups or important bones, so we could give particles in these areas slightly different behaviour.” A nervous system model was rigged and animated with the same data, to add further definition to the characters. “This was created by tracing over anatomical drawings with the spline pen tool in C4D and putting the spline through a sweep nurbs operation,” he continued. “Adding collision with a ground plane proved a very effective way to suggest the shape of the space without showing it explicitly.” Algorithm was initially founded in the BLOCK T studios in Smithfield. BLOCK T had been founded during the last great recession as a response 54

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to the vast amount of empty properties left vacant due to the collapse. Using these spaces for studios, galleries, event spaces and other creative uses, the company thrived at a time when others could not. Unfortunately, as the marketability of these spaces came back, and the city put economic imperatives above all others, BLOCK T and so many other cultural and events spaces were not able to compete under those circumstances. “We were born in an environment that meant that we had to be adaptable in the face of uncertain conditions. Over the course of the next several years, our drive for creativity brought us through various challenges in various industries. From our beginnings in live music and events, to experiential marketing and ‘out of home’ installations, to the work we are doing now in immersive technology and mixed reality, adaptability has reinforced our creativity throughout.” Part of the benefits of being a company that is forward-facing technologically speaking, Freeney explained, is that it puts the collective in a position to explore new ideas and solutions relatively quickly, adapting to whatever set of situations may arise. “This may come as a result of our beginnings in the live events industry where things can go haywire in a second,” he said. “We are always sharing new ideas and discussing different approaches to how we can use emerging technology to develop new ideas for ourselves, our collaborators and our clients.” Asked why is it important to offer experiences for music fans during this trying time, Freeney was aware of the growing demand to recreate live

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events online, and while some of these have been breath-taking, Algorithm is keen to discover how new live experiences can be made with all the current restrictions in place. “For us, it’s not about reliving what has been, but endeavouring to create what will be,” he noted. The response to the Blizzards project, according to Freeney, blew the team away. For something that was made remotely and in total isolation during a pandemic, he believed the joy in directing something that resonated with music fans was a big, but ultimately rewarding risk worth taking. “It was such an experimental project using technology we weren’t 100% familiar with, in the middle of a pandemic, where we’re all learning how to work remotely and can’t see each other in person.” While half of the narrative in the piece was the actions of the characters in the virtual space, the other half involved the actions of the band in real life – dressing up in MoCap suits in their kitchens and bedrooms, recording data with TeamViewer. “Big ups to The Blizzards for that trust in us. This project also started a lot of internal discussions about what it means to use real-time rendering and simulation software in a film production environment – these are offline renders, but they may as well be live recordings,” he summed up. “This whole music video could be performed live, on stage, with a very high framerate, and that is cool.” TPi Photos: Algorithm www.algorithm.ie

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PSA: THE BIGGER PICTURE

VIABLE JOBS PSA General Manager, Andy Lenthall dissects the ‘viability’ of the live events sector following the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak’s Winter Economy Plan announcement.

Viable jobs. Remember those? Companies formed to make things or provide services took people on to help them achieve their goals. The revenue generated then went towards paying those people; they were called wages, fees, salaries and so on. We had lots of viable jobs; we still do – we just don’t have a viable industry to serve with them and that’s not really our fault. Our generous Chancellor has designed a support system for viable jobs. It’ll work for some, but it certainly isn’t a fix for those employed in a sector that is crawling from remaining project to remaining project, delivering a few positives, days or weeks here and there for our under-engaged freelancer pool. We await news of the support for those businesses and jobs rendered unviable by the close down of our sector. We’ll hear of the success or failure of companies’ applications to the Culture Recovery Fund by 5 October; we’ll also start to get wind of project grants that may well subsidise events that create work, with the fiscal gaps created by social distancing plugged by Arts Council support. We wait, then we comment. While we’re waiting, we don’t sit idle. Stagehand, the original industry welfare and benevolent fund, founded by PSA members over 20 years ago,

recently launched fundraising efforts to create a COVID-19 Crew Relief Fund. Raising £50k within days, the fund was bolstered at the end of September with a £100,000 grant from the PPL Performer Board in a gesture worth more than money alone – a sign that they recognise the need for the music industry to throw a line to those with the greatest need. The trustees were moved; this one got something in his eye. Conversations with management companies have led to further donations as well as fundraising offers that will lead to a fund opening for applications in October. One part of our sector that has already had success is Grassroots Music Venues, given a much-needed emergency fund along with the opportunity to apply for general funding, proving that the money was not only aimed at the ‘high arts’. The Music Venues Trust, the charity that works for those venues, is plotting the growth in activity in the Grassroots sector, encouraging a positive approach to getting their particular sector up and running. Of course, every venue with activity should need at least one person pushing buttons, so there’s a glimmer of hope. The quest for support also continues, with the three key industry groups in the shape of LIVE, Business Visits and Events Partnership 56

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and Events Industry Forum constructing evidenced reports and considered asks for the sector-specific support that is writ large in parliamentary records. These groups are the voices that we add to, rather than adding to the noise in the echo chamber.

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POSITIVES? It’s worth considering Government’s current reasoning behind its approach or lack of support for our sector. It is safe to say that there’s certainly recognition of our part in the cultural ecosystem, that doesn’t always lead to the kind of support that we feel that they need. With a Government that believes in less Government intervention, their mantra of getting us back to work is evidenced by the maintenance of our place in stage four of the road map to cultural recovery (socially distanced events allowed, indoors and outdoors) while the country as a whole is placed on a higher alert level. How many local lockdowns does it take to make a national lockdown, by the way? However, all that hard work that they’re doing to get us back to work seems to unravel in the face of local authorities and their public health officials arbitrarily banning events that have complied with all guidance and requirements. The most high-profile cancellation, Boat, in Southampton lead to an urgent meeting with DCMS officials for explanations and solutions. It seems that local public health officials are now being briefed in a more supportive, enabling approach to organised gatherings. Cancelling a well-organised event only hours before doors, citing the risk posed by attendees arriving from all over the country when the attendees are already in the city, which was just about to welcome back students to its two universities... believable explanations were hard to come by. Belief is further suspended by Southampton Council’s decision to suspend all permission for events on Council property for the rest of 2020. In the midst of all the steps forward and leaps back, do we really have any viable jobs that fit into the support offered by the Chancellor? If the answer is ‘no’, we need to focus on the viability of the sector as a whole, looking at the constant growth curve across the cultural divide, illustrating the growth in our sub-sectors such as live music or outdoor events. We’re not a sector that was suffering before the pandemic, we’re a sector that was delivering profit and wages, taxable income that, if supported now, will bounce back, repay its investment and support the economic recovery. An investment in our sector that supports businesses and our skilled self-employed worker base is a viable proposition. In our case, past performance can be an indicator of future returns, whether it be the undeniable link between live music touring or the impact that events have on business through exhibitions, conferences and product launches. We’re a country that, like it or not, is keen to reposition itself on the world stage. Events, entertainment and a vibrant cultural economy will be key to our future success; messages amplified, ideas illuminated, images magnified – it’s what we do. It’s easy to say that, whatever remains in terms of kit and people will be something to rebuild with, but such an integral part of the UK’s economy, its outlook and its future shouldn’t be expected to crawl back to the starting line; we need to be in the blocks, ready for the starting gun. This is the message for Government, an investment in a viable proposition that will deliver benefits beyond repayment. TPi www.psa.org.uk/pages/about-welfare-and-benevolent-fund

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FUTURE INSIGHTS The latest product releases and announcements.

CHRISTIE Version 6.5 of Christie Pandoras Box media server comes with increased benefits for integrators and end users, including a powerful new render engine for greater performance that can handle more video files or higher resolutions at a time and avoids colour banding. The 10-bit colour depth playback delivers the Rec.2020 colour gamut for HDR applications and 4K resolution, while preserving the full colour palette (4:4:4) without any chroma subsampling for image quality. www.christiedigital.com

CLAYPAKY MINI-B PARLED AQUA is a static version of the recently introduced IP65rated MINI-B. The fixture has the same optical and electronic features as the MINI-B: a motorised 4° to 55° zoom, independent control of the central LED for effects, 2,500K to 8,000K colour temperature control, 16-bit dimmer with four different dimming curves, 25 flashes per second electronic strobe and Ethernet access. MINI-B PARLED AQUA is compact and lightweight and complements Claypaky MINI-B and MIDI-B fixtures in optical performance and colour consistency. This product release follows recent Claypaky lighting innovations – MIDI-B and the Axor Profile 600 Teatro. www.claypaky.com

ETC The Source 4WRD Color PAR and PARNel deliver soft-edges and saturated colour with no retrofit required. These luminaires incorporate the Source 4WRD Color LED engine into a custom housing, offering economical colour washes, including zoom on the PARNel version. As well as producing a homogenised beam and around 5,000 lumens, all versions of the S4WRD Color feature 12 built-in presets and five sequences in stand-alone mode. With the addition of FixtureLink, Source 4WRD Color is compatible with cable-connected fixtures (using the DMX port) including ColorSource, Source Four LED, and Desire; allowing users to trigger presets and sequences without a console. Source 4WRD Color follows the release of ETC Eos v3.0 software, bringing 3D programming and augmented-reality control to the Eos platform – featuring integration of the Augment3d toolkit into Eos. www.etcconnect.com 58

FUTURE INSIGHTS

GIS AG The LP1600 completes GIS AG’s LP series with maximum capacities of 2,500kg (D8), 1,600kg (D8+) and 1,250kg (C1). It ranges from the 13kg light LPM250 for 250kg lifting capacity in the D8+ version to the two new models, available now. The LP2500 represents a milestone in GIS AG’s 55-year history of producing chain hoists, in that it increases the highest capacity from previously 5,000kg to 6,300kg (D8). For holding loads above people (D8+) the LP2500 enables previously unattainable lifting capacity of 2,500kg in a one-fall version. For scenic use in compliance with BGV C1 regulations, the maximum lifting capacity is 2,000kg, with a static chain safety factor of at least 10:1. www.gis-ag.ch

MA LIGHTING The grandMA3 onPC fader wing is designed as the perfect hardware playback expansion to the grandMA3 onPC software. In combination with this free-of-charge software, the grandMA3 onPC fader wing offers the full playback capabilities and adds two, 048 Parameters to the grandMA3 onPC parameter count. The range of grandMA3 onPC xPort Nodes DIN-Rail are specifically designed for the ever-increasing demands in fixed installation applications to build a reliable and stable backbone of synchronised data transportation. All Nodes are remotely configurable from any console or onPC station within the session to provide easy access to DMX output or DMX input. www.malighting.com

PANASONIC KAIROS strives to significantly improve the quality and productivity of live video production and video streaming services for broadcasters and event producers of professional sports games, musical concerts and other events. KAIROS is compatible with not only baseband signals such as SDI, but also a diversity of other video inputs and outputs, including ST 2110 and NDI. Fully supporting the latest IP technology, KAIROS helps realise the remote operation of live video production. The platform also supports Precision Time Protocol (PTP) synchronisation, allowing it to capture the immediacy and atmosphere of sports events and musical performances in the live videos. https://business.panasonic.co.uk

VERLINDE Stagemaker SL5 and SL10 models feature a load capacity of 500kg to 1,000kg and 2,000kg integrate Verlinde’s latest technological developments. The new SL models are D8+ compliant with SPQ2 code of practice: the positioning of the clutch in the gear box ensures load holding by the brake whatever the operating conditions of the hoist. The CHAINFlux chain guide enables greater flexible horizontal flow of the chain on output from the lifting load wheel. SL5 and SL10 are fitted with PerfectPush, a five-pocket hoist load wheel concept designed to enhance chain guidance and prevent the polygon effect. The design provides integration with its operating environment as well as operational silence of 60 dBA. The 1,100-denier chain bucket is removable and reversible. The ease of access to the torque limiter, electrical components and to the fuse together with rapid removal of the motor facilitate maintenance operations. www.verlinde.com 59

INDUSTRY APPOINTMENTS

Sponsored by www.interfacio.com • +44 208 986 5002

INDUSTRY APPOINTMENTS

Adam Hall Group welcomes Speaker Electronic as exclusive distribution partner for China; Allen&Heath USA Field Support – Commercial Audio, Samantha Potter; Yoshiaki Yamaguchi presents Alcons Audio demo in Osaka, Japan; Barco join’s PSNI’s portfolio; Licht Produktiv becomes a CLF Lighting distribution partner in Germany.

At a press conference in China with more than 200 invite guests from audio associations, event companies, and the media, a strategic partnership between Adam Hall Group and Speaker Electronic (SE) was announced. Effective immediately, SE will take over exclusive distribution for all brands of the Adam Hall Group in China, including LD Systems, Cameo, Gravity, Defender, Palmer, and Adam Hall. In a video message, Michael von Keitz, Chairman of SE, spoke of the many years of confidence, fairness, and reliability in the now 14-year cooperation. “Our most important shared goal was and always will be to supply our customers with well-designed quality products,” said von Keitz, who is also the German owner of Speaker Factory. In his opening speech, Markus Jahnel, COO and Managing Director of the Adam Hall Group, emphasised Speaker Factory as a loyal supplier and contributor to this success. “To now have SE as an exclusive distribution partner for China is a win-win situation and a shared basis for intensive cooperation between China and Germany.” Alcons Audio pro-ribbon systems made a great impression on the Japanese professional audio market in July, as the company’s new Japanese distributor E’Spec held a demonstration event at the Abeno Ward Citizen Center in Osaka. Despite the difficulties presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, well over 100 audio professionals attended the event on 14 July, which was split into three sessions to ensure effective social

distancing. They included audio engineers, system designers, rental and sales companies. “There were many requests to hear the LR18 / LR18B and, although we didn’t have an LR24 mid-size line array system at the event, the LR18 triggered the interest of a number of rental companies in the LR24, mostly due to its successful debut at the NAMM show earlier this year. The LR7 also received special attention,” said E’Spec’s Yoshiaki ‘Yoshi’ Yamaguchi. Allen & Heath USA has made a key appointment as part of its increased expansion into the commercial and install market. Based in Kansas City, Missouri, Samantha Potter has been tapped to fill the Field Support – Commercial Audio role. “I’m excited to pair up my background with the stellar audio pedigree and install product offering at Allen & Heath and take us to the next level,” said Potter. Tim Schaeffer, Senior VP for Allen & Heath USA added: “Adding powerhouse folks like Samantha to the team will allow us to amplify this message and it goes a long way in demonstrating our goal of being the goto audio brand — not only touring engineers and live sound pros, but also for integrators and consultants who put audio quality and ease of use at the top of their requirements list. We’re excited to have Samantha on board to drive these goals ahead.” As a preferred vendor partner, Barco joins PSNI’s portfolio across the US and Canada. PSNI Global Alliance Director of Vendor Programs, 60

www.interfacio.com • +44 208 986 5002

Danley Sound Labs Director of Sales & Marketing, Skip Welch; Datapath Project Manager, Alex Taylor and Software Development Manager, Dan Rippin.

Tom Roberts said: “We are delighted to welcome Barco as the latest PVP of the PSNI Global Alliance. Barco is a brand whose products are known and trusted around the world. With a strong product range and support network, they are a fantastic addition to the PSNI Global Alliance throughout North America and we look forward to great things together.” Barco Vice President of Channels, Kurt Deyoung, added: “Barco’s core strategy is to build a community of channel partners that strive to create extraordinary experiences utilizing our full portfolio of solutions. The PSNI organisation is comprised of progressive, forward-looking integrators that are focused on building remarkable outcomes for their customers, just like Barco. These shared values made a partnership with PSNI a perfect fit.” CLF Lighting has appointed Licht Produktiv as its second distribution partner in Germany. CLF Lighting Export Manager, Martijn Gerards, commented: “From the first moment that we talked, it was clear that CLF and Licht Produktiv have a strategic fit and the strong ambition to grow,” he said. “I truly believe that we have a very good match in customer base and product range. Especially with our philosophy to create products with consistent colours, fast return on investment and a ‘never a version two’ approach.” Danley Sound Labs Director of Sales, Skip Welch will leverage his experience and perspective in that role to take on additional responsibilities as Director of Sales and Marketing. “Skip spent his first seven years at Danley in the roles of Eastern Regional Manager and National Sales Manager,” said General Manager at Danley Sound Labs, Jeff Pulliam. “He knows the audio industry inside and out and understands the unique and growing niche that Danley holds within it. That, together with his native marketing sense and artistic abilities, make Skip the perfect person for the new role of Director of Sales & Marketing.” Welch added: “I look forward to assisting the team and to spreading the word that Danley’s unique solutions are a big win-win for integrators, clients, and anyone who loves great audio. I would encourage my colleagues in the industry to be on the lookout for what Danley has in store.” Datapath has revealed two new key appointments, with Alex Taylor joining the UK-based manufacturer as Project Manager and Dan Rippin announced as Software Development Manager. “Despite the considerable challenges of 2020, Datapath has continued to grow and develop and we are delighted to welcome both Dan and Alex to the team,” Datapath Operations and Projects Director for Datapath, Dave Leat, commented. “Both bring a strong skillset that will benefit both Datapath and our partners alike. With exciting new products and offerings from Datapath on the horizon, we look forward to great things together.” The Creative Production Group – the owners behind Visions in Reading and Manchester – has confirmed the purchase of the London-based sound reinforcement company, Dobson Sound Productions. Visions CEO, Chris Norman said: “We have always looked at opportunities to expand our service to our clients and have been keen

to have a base in London. We intend to keep Dobson Sound Productions at its historic location in Deer Park Road, Wimbledon where David Lewis, Bill Woods and key members of the team will be on hand to look after customers. The acquisition allows the group to significantly expand its stock holding of sound equipment with a specialist audio provider, it also allows expanded services to Dobson clients.” After more than 10 successful years with its base in Copenhagen Denmark, eps group makes a strategic move and relocate its center of operations to Sweden. The main office will be based in Stockholm and a new warehouse will be installed in Motala. eps group Managing Director, Okan Tombulca, commented: “I am delighted to welcome Fredrik Zetterberg to our company. He brings a wealth of experience, in-depth knowledge, and an understanding of all aspects of our industry. With Fredrik in our team and the strategic relocation of the company, we will be able to better meet the needs of our customers in the growing Scandinavian market. By taking this step, we as the eps group are also consistently proceeding our path of steady growth.” The catering divisions of Global Infusion Group, GIG and Eat to the Beat have joined the brand logistics arm of the business, e2b in its brand new 84,000 sq ft warehouse at Symmetry Park in Aston Clinton. The new facility has been an intrinsic part of the global business’ plans for expansion for the last three years, along with a desire to consolidate the individual companies under one roof. Global Infusion Group’s CEO, Tony Laurenson, explained: “Our relocation plans have been in the making for more than three years. The aspiration was to create an incredible state-of-the-art facility that would serve our growing needs for many, many years to come,” he added. “Our original vision has been tempered by the ongoing situation surrounding COVID-19 and its devastating impact on the events industry. However, we remain hopeful that we can still implement many of the ideas as it is vital that we build a solid foundation for the business to bounce back from when we emerge from the pandemic. Integrated Systems Events has welcomed the appointment of Jo Mayer as Senior Director of Marketing. In her new role, Jo Mayer is responsible for overseeing the company’s marketing and content strategy across multiple platforms in the run-up to its flagship event, Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) in 2021, and beyond. “Jo is a hugely experienced trade show marketing professional, with an enviable track record of successful events to her name,” commented Mike Blackman, Managing Director of Integrated Systems Events. “Her wealth of know-how and expertise will bolster our existing team and ensure we satisfy the varied needs of our loyal exhibitors and visitors alike and drive new audiences and formats. Jo joins us at a time of significant upheaval for the events and pro AV industries alike and I am looking forward to tackling these challenges with her.” Mayer added: “I’m excited to be joining Integrated Systems Events at this crucial time in its long and successful history. The transition to Barcelona is well underway and an exciting new era for the show awaits. 61

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INDUSTRY APPOINTMENTS

The Creative Production Group acquires Dobson Sound Productions; Global Infusion Group’s new premises at Symmetry Park, Aston Clinton; Integrated Systems Events Senior Director of Marketing, Jo Mayer; Neumann&Müller Head of Venue Services, Corinna Di Pietro and Frank Haaring.

MILLENNIUM STUDIOS

The run-up to the show is a crucial period, this year with its unique conditions, and I’m very much looking forward to the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.” Matrox has merged its video and graphics division under one brand banner. The merger allows the company to become a provider of video technologies for the AV/IT, broadcast, and other professional markets requiring video capture, processing, encoding, streaming, recording, decoding, extension, switching, visualisation, and control. “Since our leadership announcement last September, Matrox has kept its promise of continued and accelerated growth in all areas of product and corporate development,” said President and Owner at Matrox, Lorne Trottier. “This is in large part due to the seamless consolidation of both divisions’ technical experience and expertise, as well as our company’s relentless pursuit of innovative solutions to help solve real-world problems.” Neumann&Müller presents a new business segment with its own market presence – Neumann&Müller venue services focuses on consulting, customised concepts and the design and development of locations and their events – the sub-brand highlights the segment’s profile and facilitates the company’s service portfolio. With its new Neumann&Müller venue services sub-brand, the company wants to carve out more opportunities in this constantly growing business segment while also expanding its corresponding range of products and services. “Thanks to our long years of know-how and quality standards, we are in a position to tailor our services for venues to the precise, individual needs of each and every customer, which gives us a solid basis for offering long-term, successful partnerships,” said Corinna Di Pietro, the Head of Venue Services. TPi www.productionfutures.co.uk/job-opportunities

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www.millenniumstudios.co.uk 62

TPi PRODUCTION GUIDE

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BACK CHAT

SHAUN PEARCE Pearce Hire Managing Director recaps the past six months since winning Favourite Power Supply Company at the TPi Awards and the impact of COVID-19 on the live events industry.

Pearce Hire Managing Director, Shaun Pearce (second left) and the team pictured in London during the #WeMakeEvents ‘Red Alert’ event in London.

What did it mean to win Favourite Power Supply Company at the TPi Awards? We’d been in the top five since the TPi Awards started, but never managed to clinch the award, so it was a relief to finally win. Not only for myself and the team, but also my son, Jake, who has been immensely supportive of Pearce Hire as far back as I can remember. I am very proud of how he has followed in my footsteps and has very much overtaken me in the industry. Winning the award was not the only surprise of the night, as Jake also announced to me that I was going to become a grandad!

Have you been involved in any alternative events? Our regular client, Deer Shed Festival, organised a socially-distanced camping weekend with 300-plus pitches, which we were involved in. My main takeaway was the viability of the project. We helped by reducing our costs and the organiser drafted in his family to do a lot of site work, but if they had to pay commercially for all the services, it wouldn’t have been possible. Deer Shed put something on against the odds, but it proved that socially distanced events are simply uneconomical to run.

Until March, what was in store for 2020? Riding the wave of the TPi Awards win, we were set for a very busy Summer and our books were already showing an increase from the previous year. We had taken on more project managers and warehouse staff, as well as squeezing in more office desks, computers and new equipment to meet the increasing demand.

Have you run any extra training during the lockdown? We have been running BS7909 courses in conjunction with James Eade. The brainchild of our General Manager, Jim Brown, most of the attendees are seasoned events people who want to update their qualifications so they can broaden their scope. These courses are non-profit making – we do them to support our industry while the warehouse is not busy.

What impact has COVID-19 had on your business? It’s been disastrous. We lost over £2m off the books in four weeks and we’ve lost 90% of our annual work. Like other businesses in our industry, we haven’t qualified for grants or any rates relief. We had to make 11 staff redundant due to lack of work and it’s not getting better. I’m concerned, not just for us, but for the entire industry. I’ve witnessed our industry become highly skilled, technically proficient and professional over the past 40 years and its future now hangs in the balance. That’s not right; the industry has paid its way, introduced standards, created training facilities, yet we are not recognised by the UK government as a ‘viable’ industry.

What do the coming months look like for Pearce Hire? We have some projects in October – power services for the antiques fair at the East of England Show ground, venue electrical testing during half-term and rigging for a Sky boxing event at Peterborough Arena. We only have one job booking in for November and one a comedy festival set for December – but that depends on COVID-19 restrictions. We also have the long-term COVID-19 facility rentals, without which we would be at risk of going under. It’s simply not enough to pay our current wages and the overheads. 66

TPi October 2020 - #254

Articles inside

Hot Chip

TPi Breakthrough Talent Award winners reflect on the past six months

Liverpool Digital Music Festival 2020

Pearce Hire Managing Director, Shaun Pearce, takes the hot seat

Virgin Money Unity Arena

Biffy Clyro

AnyBrand

Ka izen Collective: Lockdown Projects

MovementPass

Streamly

Rider Friendly Meets Eco Friendly

Notting Hill Carnival