TPi September 2014 - Issue 181

TOTAL PRODUCTION INTERNATIONAL

www.tpiawards.com

TOTAL PRODUCTION INTERNATIONAL

WWW.TPiMAGAZINE.COM SEPTEMBER 2014

ISSUE 181

LIVE EVENT DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY • SEPTEMBER 2014 • ISSUE 181

OSHEAGA

FESTIVAL DE LA MUSIQUE ET DES ARTS

THE FRENCH CONNECTION....

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: NEXO • COLDPLAY AT THE RAH • QUEEN + ADAM LAMBERT • ON THE ROAD: MONTREAL PSA • MONTY PYTHON LIVE • SPACE TURNS 25 • CALLING FESTIVAL • STAGING MARKET FOCUS

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IS LIVE PUSH YOUR SOUND AS FAR AS YOU WANT

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PUBLISTING Total Production International Seo. 2014 Issue Creative: LYON Live / August DA Unit:

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WE DON’T KNOW WHY WE POINT SO MUCH IN PHOTOS It’s a funny old thing, poutine. I’m not entirely sure how or why both the northern English and the French Canadians decided that cheesy chips and gravy was a combination worth pursing to such a degree, but we certainly did. Alright, one you might eat post club in Manchester’s pouring rain at 3am and one you may demolish in a modern restaurant surrounded by a selection of Californian wine in Montreal, but, the basic ingredients are still there, the wine was simply consumed hours earlier in case of the Brits.

As you’ll see throughout this month’s magazine, we’ve got a distinctly Canadian flavour to some of our pages. It’s been a little while since I’ve written an On The Road feature, but I couldn’t think of a better territory in which to resume the article.

Montreal is home to some of our industry’s most creative, challenge-relishing, incredible innovators and established manufacturers. Everybody we met greeted us with open arms and open minds to discuss the current touring and live event climates. It was an experience of unique culture and festival bliss as we also got to grips with our cover story, Osheaga, which is run by Evenko. The Solotech / Meyer Sound / Stageline feat welcomed 135,000 guests over three days and Hannah and I were lucky enough to be there. We’re pictured here with Solotech Project Manager, Eric Labbe.

I’m sure Haim didn’t mind… The bottom line is that any country which turns maple syrup into an alcoholic shot is probably worth visiting, right?

“The first opportunity to Right. Canada, thank you so much for having us!

Back at TPi HQ, we have some exciting news meet our new Advertising of our own. For the first time in the magazine’s Sales team member, Charlotte history, three out of its four staff are female. On Goodlass, will be at the our return across the Atlantic, we welcomed Charlotte Goodlass into the fold in an Advertising brand new BPM PRO Show in Sales role. Although she’s not experienced an Birmingham...” industry tradeshow before, fret not, for she’s already one of us. Just ask the recycling man who has to empty her glass bin; it’s a wonder the North West has any prosecco left. I’m sure you’ll all get to know her in the coming months, with the first opportunity to do so being at the brand new BPM PRO Show in Birmingham (don’t blame us if we’ve already formed a girl DJ troupe...) The whole TPi team will be walking the floors of the NEC between September 13-15, so we look forward to discussing this fresh new tradeshow in all its glory very soon.

The rest of this issue details the productions behind Monty Python’s live extravaganza as Patrick found out in London, Queen + Adam Lambert live from Madison Square Garden thanks to Sarah Rushton-Read and Coldplay’s visual triumph at the RAH. Plus, we report on SSE’s sound design with an L-Acoustics rig at Clapham’s Calling Festival. Not forgetting our staging feature, and a chat with Kinesys MD, Dave Weatherhead, about the motion control company’s new American adventure.

Hopefully, that’ll keep you busy until next month...

Kelly Murray Editor

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ITINERARY

CREW

a member of

Editor Kelly Murray Tel: +44 (0)161 476 8360 Mobile: +44 (0)7738 154689 e-mail: k.murray@mondiale.co.uk

CONTENTS 09/2014 EVENT FOCUS 10

TPi reports on Funktion One’s live gig design.

14 Assistant Editor Patrick McCumiskey Tel: +44 (0)161 476 8385 Mobile: +44 (0)7929 249169 e-mail: p.mccumiskey@mondiale.co.uk International Advertising & Sponsorship Hannah Eakins Tel: +44 (0)161 476 8360 Mobile: +44 (0)7760 485230 e-mail: h.eakins@mondiale.co.uk

Graphic Design & Production Dan Seaton: d.seaton@mondiale.co.uk Mel Robinson: m.robinson@mondiale.co.uk

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Contributors Sarah Rushton-Read

THE BEAM & MOVE THE CROWD!

...with Elation Professional’s family of Beam Fixtures

Global Infusion

The Rise of RFID We explore 2014’s hot topic: Radio Frequency Identification at Festivals.

PRODUCTION PROFILE 28

Osheaga TPi goes backstage at Montreal’s premier music festival for a look at the event’s continued success.

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RAYZOR BEAM 2R

PLATINUM BEAM 5R EXTREME

Queen + Adam Lambert We profile the classic rockers’ show with a new twist at NYC’s Madison Square Garden.

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Monty Python Live (Mostly) The highly anticipated final shows from the ultimate masters of comedy reach arena status.

CLOCKING OFF 60

The ladies of Le Mark have so far raised £1,300 for breast cancer awareness...

ON THE ROAD

Printed by Buxton Press Annual subscriptions (including P&P): £42 (UK), £60 (Europe), £78/$125 (RoW).

Subscription enquiries to: Subscriptions, Mondiale Publishing Limited, Waterloo Place, Watson Square, Stockport SK1 3AZ, UK; Tel: +44 (0)161 476 5580; Fax: +44 (0)161 476 0456; e-mail: subscriptions@mondiale.co.uk

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Issue 181 / September 2014

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TOTAL PRODUCTION INTERNATIONAL is a controlled circulation magazine, published 12 times a year by Mondiale Publishing Limited under licence. ISSN 1461-3786 Copyright © 2014 Mondiale Publishing Limited. All contents of this publication are subject to worldwide copyright protection and reproduction in whole or part, in any form whatsoever, is expressly forbidden without the prior written consent of the Publishers. Every effort is taken to ensure accuracy in the preparation of this publication but neither Mondiale Publishing Ltd, nor the Editor, can be held responsible for its contents or any consequential loss or damage resulting from information published. The views expressed are not necessarily those of the Publishers or Editor. The Publishers accept no responsibility for the return of unsolicited manuscripts, photographs, illustrations, advertising materials or artwork.

Total Production International USPS: (ISSN 1461 3786) is published 12 times a year by Mondiale Publishing Limited United Kingdom. The 2014 US annual subscription price is 117USD. Airfreight and mailing in the USA by Agent named Air Business, C/O WorldNet Shipping USA Inc., 155-11 146th Avenue, Jamaica, New York, NY11434. Periodicals postage paid at Jamaica NY 11431.

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MASTER

Global Infusion Group receives the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in International Trade.

www.tpimagazine.com • www.tpiawards.com Cover Photography Osheaga by Arcouette&Co.

Clapham Calling Festival SSE employs its L-Acoustics K2 Line-array to satisfy stringent noise pollution regulations.

General Manager Justin Gawne Mondiale Group Chairman Damian Walsh

Coldplay at the RAH Coldplay’s visually stunning promo concert shines at the Royal Albert Hall.

24 Advertising Sales Charlotte Goodlass Tel: +44 (0)161 476 8360 Mobile: +44 (0)788 0208 226 e-mail: c.goodlass@mondiale.co.uk

Space turns 25 in Ibiza

Montreal TPi visit Solotech, 4u2c, Cirque du Soleil, Moment Factory, Stageline, Geodezik and VYV in Montreal.

COMPANY PROFILE 74

Acorn Event Structures We talk to Acorn after its recent involvement with the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT NEXO

NEW PLATINUM BX

NEW PLATINUM SBX

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featuring the new MSD Platinum 17 RA Lamp

by PHILIPS™

TPi examines the new Geo M6 Compact Line Array.

MARKET FOCUS 80

Staging We deliver the latest in staging trends.

PSA 86

VISIT US!

The PSA talks job satisfaction.

MOVERS & SHAKERS 88

A round-up of the industry’s latest appointments.

VITAL VITALSTATS STjhATSVITAL STATSVITAL STATS 94

Dave Weatherhead of Kinesys answers our questions.

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EVENT FOCUS: Space Turns 25

SPACE’S 25TH ANNIVERSARY SPACE IBIZA HAS BEEN IN BUSINESS FOR 25 YEARS. ALL THOSE PEOPLE, ALL THAT MUSIC AND ALL THOSE EUPHORIC NIGHTS THAT HAVE TUMBLED INTO BLISSFUL MORNINGS. AFTER TWO-AND-A-HALF DECADES, THE MOST FAMOUS NIGHTCLUB IN THE WORLD IS AT THE TOP OF ITS GAME; RECENTLY CROWNED DJ MAG’S ‘BEST CLUB IN THE WORLD’ FOR THE FIFTH TIME IN EIGHT YEARS, ADORED BY CLUBBERS ON EVERY CONTINENT AND AN INSPIRATION TO VENUE OPERATORS ALL OVER THE GLOBE. TPi SAW THE PARTY. In celebration of reaching the quarter century milestone, Space organised a 14hour party, which encapsulated so much of what makes the venue great. To help make that happen, they called on some old friends, who brought their technical knowhow and pioneering equipment to a special outdoor stage.

Following a format that is usually reserved for the club’s acclaimed opening and closing parties, the Space 25th Anniversary saw the club’s usual six-room offering extended with the addition of an outside space. It transformed the already exuberant venue into a carnival-like setting.

Funktion-One’s Tony Andrews travelled out to Ibiza three days before the event - this was his second trip of the summer. In May, Andrews led an update of the venue, which included 10

upgrades to the existing systems and a new installation for Sunset Terrace. For the first time in its history, every room in Space has a Funktion-One speaker system. The last days of that trip were spent preparing for the Opening Party, where he introduced a completely new generation of products to the outdoor stage.

Space has a special meaning to him and to Funktion-One. “Pepe Roselló - the owner - and I have this commonality,” explained Andrews.

“We both share a desire for the people to have as much of a good time as possible. He really enjoys seeing the people happy and dancing and so do I. “For me, having all these different rooms and different challenges and being personally involved has allowed me to experiment. I’m trusted. I do what I think is necessary and every time I do what I want, it works, so these days

EVENT FOCUS: Space Turns 25

Opposite: Funktion-One’s loudspeakers were the PA of choice for the dance island’s Space celebration. Full Fat Audio’s FFA-6004 and FFA-10000 amplifiers powered the main PA system.

Below: The space technical team with Funktion-One’s Tony Andrews during set up for the 12-hour long gig.

it’s not even a question. Through it, I’ve learned quite a lot, which I’ve applied to other projects.

“It’s somewhere we can try out new things, and we do, and Space gets some of the newest ideas first. In that respect and for many other reasons, it is a very important venue for us.”

Andrews worked closely with Full Fat Audio’s Dave Millard, the Space technical team and Project Audio, who supplied all the sound equipment. The system, which was customdesigned using some of Funktion-One’s latest products, was shipped over from the UK specifically for the event.

Due to its open nature, there was a pressing

need for the outdoor sound to be as defined as possible. While the event rightly expected plenty of energy and impact in the audience area, the sound needed to be as contained as possible, in order to avoid disturbance of the surrounding environment. Both of these aims would be achieved using the performance attributes of the new Funktion-One mid-high loudspeakers.

Each side of the stage had four Funktion-One Evo 7 EHs, configured like two inward facing ‘L’ shapes. A single Funktion-One Evo 6 SH on either side provided near field coverage for the front rows of the audience. Bass reinforcement comprised a central mono-block of Funktion-

One F121 single 21-inch enclosures and four F215 Mk2s on either side.

Delays consisting of four Funktion-One Evo 7 EHs and six BR121 bass reflex speakers were positioned about halfway up the space - the point at which the audience began to fan out to wider area. On stage, a Funktion-One PSM318 system, driven with FFA-6004 and FFA-10000 amplifiers, took care of monitoring.

Funktion-One’s Evo 7 EH and Evo 6 SH both combine an axehead-loaded, custom 10-inch driver and a horn loaded 1.4-inch compression driver. While the Evo 7 EH is an enclosure with a 35° dispersion angle, the Evo 6 SH is a skeletal

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EVENT FOCUS: Space Turns 25

Below: Full Fat Audio’s Dave Millard with a Cadac CDC4 console; Fat Boy Slim with Space owner, Pepe Roselló.

speaker with 50° dispersion.

Project Audio’s Jason Bacon discussed the set-up: “It came to light earlier this year that we were in a position to start using the new speakers that Funktion-One have been working on - the latest products have blown me away.

With some up to date modifications done, we are now potentially in possession of the most potent sound system on the planet. If there was ever a ‘next level’ we have certainly arrived at it this year.”

Four FFA-6004 and six FFA-10000 amplifiers powered the main system, while a Cadac CDC4 console was used at FOH and XTA processing controlled the system, managing the crossovers. Also specifically requested was a new XTA DP544 dynamic audio management system to tune part of the system.

XTA flew out Richard Fleming to help with the tuning. “I flew in ahead of the opening party to assist with the tuning of the sun terrace system, specifically the dynamic EQ

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sections. I worked with Dave [Millard] and Tony [Andrews] - got the 544 on-line on the laptop and ended up with the most awesome DJ sound I’ve ever heard. You could have pointed them at the crowd and used them alone they were

too. All the equipment performed as it should, with no technical issues to report. The system proved very powerful, with effortless sound across the whole arena. This produced an excellent atmosphere from the dancing crowd.”

“There was a great deal of praise from all the production team and party people thanking us for such an amazing sound system...”

so powerful and clean!” Project Audio holds a large inventory of FFA product and has used the amplifier manufacturer’s kit since it started out 11 years ago.

FFA’s Dave Millard commented: “The local crew were a joy to work with and the high temperatures of the Balearic island made a change from the UK climate we are accustomed

As show time approached for the live gig, Andrews took control of the FOH desk for the opening performance and ended up mixing the entire show. Though he was unfamiliar with the layout of the Cadac CDC4 desk, he was impressed with its performance. “We had the joys of a Cadac digital desk, which sounds very good. It’s a mini digital desk and it sounds

EVENT FOCUS: Space Turns 25

Below: XTA’s Richard Flemming with Project Audio’s Georgi Yankov; The 25th birthday went off in style as dancers adorned the stage; Cadac was the desk manufacturer of choice; Tony Andrews’ longstanding affiliation with the island has allowed Funktion-One productcs to be embraced in Ibiza’s headonistic but now highly technical dance music culture.

decent - it’s one of the few. We liked it. I actually mixed the whole show, including the flamenco dancers, who were stupendous.”

The flamenco dancers’ performance was one of many highlights from the show. They performed to a house backing track that had been arranged without percussion. Their movements were captured by the mic’d up stage, forming a beat that was then mixed into the track. “Re-mastering is too pompous a word,” said Andrews. “But it was bloody good.

The fusion of traditional Spanish flamenco with the modern Balearic beats that Space is so well known for worked brilliantly.”

For Space’s ‘Opening Fiesta’ in May, the Funktion-One club rig was fronted with a Cadac LIVE1 analogue console. Project Audio’s George Yankov stated: “We used the LIVE1 on the opening party but for the 25th Anniversary we needed to wireless mic a troupe of flamenco dancers on stage and use some effects on them, so we went with the CDC four for that.

“It was a real pleasure to use both the analogue LIVE1 and digital CDC4. The audio

performance of both consoles is equally excellent. I cannot recall another desk so transparent and with so much drive and finesse.

The CDC4 really allows the audio to breathe and just does not sound digital at all. Every nuance of a recording or live input can be heard, with even subtle changes to the controls.

Bass performance is exciting with every note precise. Build quality is also first class and user interaction is straightforward.”

The final performance of the outdoor show came courtesy of owner Pepe Roselló, who chose three tracks to finish with. In order, they were: The Wall by Pink Floyd, The Fifth Dimension’s Age of the Aquarius and, finally, Imagine by John Lennon. “Somebody said to me at the end of it, well that was an Ibiza moment,” recalls Andrews. “When it stopped, nobody left.

Everybody was quite happy where they were - it was quite uncanny. They knew it was over but they just hung around with each other for a while, which was a good indication that people had enjoyed a good message.“ Reflecting on the event and particularly the

audio performance, Andrews said: “The sound was more contained, a lot more powerful, more transparent and spacious. I didn’t feel like there was anything lacking anywhere. We are able to work at a decent level, which is something that’s not happening in the UK.” Project Audio’s Jason Bacons added: “There was a great deal of praise from all the production team and party people thanking us for such an amazing sound system. It’s always a pleasure to work alongside Tony and Dave as we have done so for many, many years. To arrive at the point of it being the best you’ve ever heard is a milestone for us and the audio industry. It certainly puts a lot of pleasure into something that we have a lot of passion for.”

Here’s to the next 25 years of euphoria...

TPi Photos: Ana Ruiz De Villota www.spaceibiza.com www.funktion-one.com www.fullfataudio.com www.cadac-sound.com www.audiocore.co.uk

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EVENT FOCUS: Coldplay

COLDPLAY’S PRODUCTION FIRST GHOST STORIES, COLDPLAY’S SIXTH ALBUM, WAS RELEASED WORLDWIDE ON 19 MAY. THE NEW ALBUM MARKS SOMETHING OF A DEPARTURE FROM COLDPLAY’S PREVIOUS SOUND; AND WHILE NOT ALL CRITICS HAVE RECEIVED THE ALBUM POSITIVELY, REVIEWS OF THEIR RECENT BATCH OF LIVE SHOWS IN SUPPORT OF THE ALBUM HAVE BEEN MUCH MORE ENCOURAGING. THE BAND PERFORMED SIX INTERNATIONAL DATES IN COLOGNE, GERMANY; NEW YORK, USA; LOS ANGELES, USA; PARIS, FRANCE AND TOKYO, JAPAN BEFORE ENDING THE TOUR WITH TWO SPECIAL CONCERTS AT LONDON’S ICONIC ROYAL ALBERT HALL. TPi INVESTIGATED HOW THE IMPRESSIVE VISUAL PRODUCTION WAS REALISED. XL Video played a major part in supplying equipment to add to the overall visual landscape of Coldplay’s Royal Albert Hall Performances, and also to Coldplay’s promotional tour, which included a televised album launch on NBC in America on 18 May and a global album launch event at the Sony Pictures Studios in Los Angeles, California.

The concerts leading up to the two sell out dates at the Royal Albert Hall in London on 1 and 2 July were all supported with a core video package from XL Video, which was tailored to suit the different selection of supporting venues by XL Video. Said Phil Mercer, Group Head Of Concert Touring at XL UK: “The fluid and dynamic nature of these assorted promo events meant we often had to react to special requests at very short notice, which is 14

always an exciting way to work! Some great teamwork and communication between our various international operations ensured that all expectations were met worldwide”.

The package, specified by Mixed Emotion’s Video Director Ben Miles, featured 6mm LED screens from XL Video in front of which Miles hung a BP screen made by Hangman to soften the appearance of the LED and make it more like a projection.

A Catalyst media server ran the entire playback footage with six mini-cams which were fed into one of XL’s new Roland V1600 mixer / switchers. The cameras employed were three Bradley Engineering Robocams and three Gnat HD mini-cams - the latter more commonly used for medical and military applications - which XL Video has customised to make them tour-able.

When the tour arrived at the Royal Albert Hall, Miles decided that the projections would be projected onto the venue’s iconic acoustic mushrooms hanging from the ceiling. Installed in 1969, the mushrooms were a long overdue measure to curtail the bellowing reverb that had plagued the concert hall since its opening in 1871. Surprisingly, this was the first time that the mushrooms had been mapped for a concert.

Describing the opportunity as “a bit of a nobrainer”, Miles thought it would be an ideal way to continue the immersive projection thread from the album launch show.

XL Video also supplied 16 Panasonic projectors for this, all offering 1920 by 1200 HD outputs and the images were again mapped using four of the latest AvoIites S8 media servers (two live and two backup), chosen for their

EVENT FOCUS: Coldplay

Opposite: Video content was projected onto the venue’s iconic acoustic mushrooms. “A bit of a no-brainer”, according to Mixed Emotion’s Video Director, Ben Miles.

superior mapping capabilities and because each one offers eight HD SDI outs.

The projectors were rigged in various upper level boxes and focussed into the roof. Each one covered between four and six mushrooms and the playback content used in LA was reformatted for the RAH shows.

“Mapping the show was quite complicated due to the various height aspects of the mushrooms,” explained Miles. “However with the Ai’s 3D Visualiser we were able to constantly tweak the model to ensure that we got the projection points exactly right.”

“It looked fantastic,” added Miles. “It was great to be working with XL as always. A serious amount of hard work went into all the shows and the RAH in particular to get it looking as good as they did. All credit to Phil and Gareth and all the XL crew on site.

Avolite’s 3D Visualiser feature was exploited to its full creative and technical potential for the show. Miles continued: “When we originally started planning for this project in the LA studio we didn’t know where the projectors would be positioned in space. The Ai Visiualiser came in incredibly handy as we were able to build the entre model in the virtual world. The 3D Visualiser also allowed us to show the band and the other technical departments how things

would actually look on the day. Furthermore, because we could build the show in an output that we were going to use to feed the projectors, it meant we never had to ‘doubleup’ on any work.”

In addition, XL Video supplied a Kayak switcher and PPU for Miles mix - to which seven operated broadcast-quality Sony HXC-100s were added to the six minicam feeds, bringing the total number of operational cameras to 13.

Two custom-built 30ft wide by 10ft high IMAG screens were installed either side of the venue’s famous organ, each fed by two more Panasonic projectors. Miles used the Catalyst media server used to specifically treat the IMAG feeds, applying desaturation and colour effects and creating other ‘ghostly’ ethereal style effects to make the images more interesting.

XL installed an extensive fibre system for control data, involving an enormous amount of cabling. At the helm of the 24-strong XL crew was Phil Johnson. Johnson also oversaw the projection installation at Sony Studios in Los Angeles and looked after all Ben Miles’ requirements on tour. Working alongside Johnson, Clarke Anderson crew chiefed all the other elements for the gig at the Royal Albert Hall; including the camera system, data network and IMAG screen installation.

The Roland V-1600HD Multi Format Live Video Switcher played an integral part in the Coldplay shows.

“XL Video suggested the V-1600HD to me while I was on the road with Elbow, and I liked the sound of its functionality, so I did some reading on the specifications and XL sent one out to me on tour to test” said Miles. “I was keen to check the latency between input and output and how fast one could cut between feeds as well as the usability of the menus. All of these functions performed really well and the size of the console was excellent for the type of tour we were doing where I needed to compress the amount of kit being flown around and also real estate onstage. We played some tiny theatres and shoe horned tonnes of equipment in, so it was essential my control setup was small but still had all the required functionality.”

The V-1600HD was used as a hub to take in all the camera feeds and a feedback from the Catalyst content server. Four broadcast quality, manned cameras were supplied locally at each show and plugged into BNC connectors via their PPU at either 1080i or 720p, at either 50 or 60Hz. The three Bradley Engineering Robocams toured with the V-1600HD which were connected via BNC connectors at 720p

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EVENT FOCUS: Coldplay

Below: A sky full of mushrooms. XL Video supplied a Roland V-1600HD Multi Format Live Video Switcher for the Coldplay shows. “The size of the console was excellent for the type of tour we were doing” said Mixed Emotion’s Video Director, Ben Miles.

as well as two Gnat Minicams on BNC at 720p.

The Catalyst content server was plugged into the DVI input on the V-1600HD. One of the Minicams was connected via DVI from a scaler so that the content could be resized and the scaler properties utilised. The V-1600HD was also used to output tallies to the four manned cameras with no need for extra converters. On some of the shows the V-1600HD was used to generate the Ref Sync whilst on others an external reference was used to sync up. The output was mostly at 720p in order to feed the Catalyst to mix with content, which was then outputted to the LED screen in front of which was a rear projection screen.

The loop outs of the eight HD BNCs were used

16

to feed a multi viewer giving pips of the camera and then the V-1600HD screen as preview and TX monitor.

‘The ability to take in different sources at different resolutions and frame rates on different connectors was a massive bonus” continued Miles. “I would have needed quite a few scan converters to perform the same task. Plus knowing that I could take in most broadcast resolutions directly meant a lot less conversations in advance of shows prepping kit as I knew that the V-1600HD could deal with most variations. As we went between the UK, US, Australia and Japan that just about covers all the different power, frame rate and frequencies out there and the Roland had all the options

covered. The built in preview monitor is really handy to get you up and running quickly to test feeds and make sure the system is running without the need for everything to be up and running.”

The 16 inputs of the V-1600HD provide connectivity to HD / SD-SDI, DVI-D / HDMI, RGB, Component, S-video, and composite formats - as well as still images assignable via USB memory. The 14 mixing channels provide built-in scalers and frame syncs for worry-free seamless mixing regardless of the resolution or format. The ‘all in one’ design of the V-1600HD features a built-in preview monitor that provides a convenient monitoring solution when external monitors are not available or

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EVENT FOCUS: Coldplay

ideal. Dual independent multi-format outputs provide a number of innovative multi-screen output options including the ability to Span the mixer output to two projectors with the ability to edge-blend the centre. In AUX mode, the outputs can be set to different resolutions - ideal for sending the program out to a record feed.

Additional features such as Downstream Keyer, Composite Keyer and Picture-in-Picture can be controlled with simple operation with 64 memory banks enabling storage and instant recall of setup parameters. Span, Dual and Split modes offer a variety of output configurations.

With the Multi Zoom function, one camera can be used to create multiple perspectives for virtual multi-camera production. The V-1600HD can be plugged in to an LED wall directly which much less latency without the need for peripheral products.

“The size of the kit on tour was a big consideration. We had to fly the gear in and out of shows with a quick turnaround and having an ‘all in one’ box was a massive space saver. Also the onstage space was very limited and I like to see the screen as well as the band which means I need to be on or near stage.

If I had a bigger desk I doubt this would have been possible. I tended to put the local PPU backstage somewhere and send the feeds to and fro remotely. I was concerned that all this functionality in one small unit was going to get really hot but we didn’t find this at all. The V-1600HD ran smoothly without a hitch at every gig and some of the shows it was really hot in the venue and the kit was up against it,” Miles explained.

Lighting Designer Paul Normandale turned to the effects experts at Strictly FX of Chicago, USA, for lasers, of which seven were employed within the show. “I’ve been working with Strictly FX for the past 10 years; I’ve found

18

that they’re always willing to explore any new creative options that I present to them,” Normandale explained. “We had four 30W lasers from Kvant, two laser harps using Arctos high powered lasers and one laser hanging from the center of the venue doing a 360 degree effect manufactured by HB Laser of [BadenWürttemberg ] Germany,” explained Laser Programmer David Kennedy of Strictly FX. The 360° laser is a new effect that Normandale utilised: “It was a 360 show, so it’s natural to have a 360 effect.” The 360 laser was located above the band, while the four Kvants were located in pairs at either end of the hall. “The look of the 360 laser, which was featured during ‘Clocks’ was amazing, and when you’re in the venue it’s incredibly immersive.”

Kennedy with Pangolin’s Beyond software.

Normandale said: “David just gets it- on every project with every cue.”

The production also featured custom cut biodegradable star shaped white tissue confetti from six Strictly FX’s Confetti Cobra cannons and four Strictly FX a/c confetti units. The stars floated down onto the band and the audience during A Sky Full of Stars. “With the confetti we had our regular blowers, but given that the RAH is such a historic venue, we didn’t want to make a disaster of their balcony seating area which is exceedingly challenging to clean up, so we made sure to focus the push of the large cannons towards the center of the house and used some a/c blowers near the edge of the stage to give a solid confetti hit where

“Describing the opportunity as “a bit of a no-brainer”, Miles thought it would be an ideal way to continue the immersive projection thread from the album launch show.”

Coldplay also used the laser harps for two songs: Midnight and Always in My Head.

Normandale explained: “The laser harps are incredibly interactive and provide a nice visual crescendo as well as what I call a wonder moment - as the light goes out, it leaves just (frontman) Chris Martin and the harp for the last note.” The laser harp controller manufactured

by Prolight of Zagreb, Croatia, is rarely seen on tour. Kennedy added: “It’s one of most stable of the ones that we tested. The beams go up and there’s a small photo sensor that can tell when you’re breaking the beam, and the breaking of the beam triggers a midi note. It’s really cool.”

Programming of the lasers was done by

they were at the right timing in the song,” said Kennedy. The confetti is an exciting and beautiful effect in a production filled with those moments. Normandale concluded: “One of the things I like about Strictly FX is that they’re a one stop shop - they have lasers, effects, pyro and they make everything easy to coordinate within the production.”

TPi Photos: Scott Davies www.coldplay.com www.xlvideo.tv www.rolandsystemsgroup.co.uk www.avolites.com www.strictlyfx.com

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EVENT FOCUS: Calling Festival

CLAPHAM CALLING FESTIVAL SSE HIRE ACHIEVED SOUND LEVELS WITHIN THE LICENCE THAT OTHERS SAID WAS IMPOSSIBLE...

For 2014, Live Nation’s Calling Festival moved to its third venue in three years, Clapham Common. The Common is situated in the middle of residential South London and was therefore subject to strict offsite noise restrictions as part of the licence granted by Lambeth Council. The noise limits were so stringent in fact, that many within the industry doubted whether the event could be staged there without breaching them.

It was at this point that event promoters, Live Nation, approached SSE Audio Group.

SSE’s Project Manager Miles Hillyard set about the challenge of designing a system that would provide the required SPLs at FOH and even coverage across the audience listening area, while keeping off site noise to a minimum. Live Nation’s Chief Operating Officer, John Probyn: “When other companies were doubtful they could deliver a solution within the noise limits required for Clapham Common, we contacted 20

SSE, set them the problem and they came up trumps.”

“To achieve a result as close to the licence conditions as possible was a tough challenge and meant nothing could be taken for granted,” Penn continued. “We had to exploit every feature of the L-Acoustics K Series system, and we planned to deploy it to the full.”

In fact, the system performed throughout the weekend exactly as predicted and no offsite noise limits were breached. In addition there was very positive feedback from various visiting FOH engineers, who were impressed with the sound of the L-Acoustics system and the amount of headroom available. Hillyard noted, with a certain degree of understatement, “System performance was as per design.” Throughout the design phase, Hillyard liaised with sound consultants, Vanguardia, which was responsible for monitoring sound levels at the event for the promoter and the local authority.

Vanguardia was heavily involved with the

site layout and sound system design on behalf of Live Nation. The goal was to maximise sound coverage within the arena whilst minimising the sound breakout to the local environmental officers. Jim Griffiths, Director of Vanguardia, stated: “We worked closely with engineers from SSE Audio who pulled out all the stops to work with us to find a solution. Following various optimisation techniques developed through Vanguardia’s acoustic modelling software in conjunction with SSE / L-Acoustics modelling tools, we specified the precise stage location, orientation and L-Acoustics sound system design. The designs were implemented for the festival and the off-site LAeq noise levels were met whilst achieving a good front of house level of LAeq 98dB over 15 minutes with one minute LAeq values reaching 100dB(A)’.

Huw Richards, FOH Engineer for charttopping songstress Paloma Faith stated: “I was extremely impressed with smooth coverage of the arena during the day. The clarity and the SPL

EVENT FOCUS: Calling Festival

Opposite: Clapham Calling Festival was deemed a success by the local council thanks to the L-Acoustics sound design from SSE. Below: The L-Acoustics rig achieved noise levels wihtin the licence, to great effect. Stevie Wonder’s FOH Engineer, Danny Leake was impressed with the PA system.

achieved during my artist’s set given the off-site limits and also the inclement weather conditions made my day a lot easier than I had anticipated.

Thanks for a great show!”

In SSE’s final design, the main stage system was reduced to just 12 L-Acoustics K1 per side. These hangs were supplemented with L-Acoustics KARA nearfield underhangs. Two further hangs of L-Acoustics K2 were flown on each side, offstage to the screens, to achieve wider coverage in the main arena area and three more K2 hangs were deployed as delays ensuring good coverage across the site. A new design of sub array was deployed specifically to reduce the throw while ensuring an even bass punch in the listening field.

“The new K2 enclosures were vital to achieving the overall result, thanks to their closely controlled vertical coverage pattern” continued Penn. “The cabinets feature the new PANFLEX technology, enabling us to accurately control the K2’s horizontal directivity down to 300Hz. This is a significant factor in optimising coverage and reducing noise pollution.”

All of the flown hangs were fitted with the SSE Prosight inclinometer system, a laser alignment system that ensures that actual flown angles of the speaker arrays exactly conform to the design plan. Further L-Acoustics KARA and KIVA enclosures were deployed to provide coverage in the VIP grandstand and the disabled viewing area. All amplification was L-Acoustics LA8, running in AES digital mode on a full digital network with an SSE Drive Rack at FOH providing overall system control and routing. For control and monitoring, Smaart and L-Acoustics Network Manager were run wirelessly to enable the SSE PA techs to make fine adjustments out in the field.

The final L-Acoustics rig provided by SSE was a clear success with Calling Festival’s visiting FOH engineers who at the top of their game, look after some of the top-touring artists on the scene today. Danny Leake, FOH Engineer for Stevie Wonder told TPi: “I had a great time mixing on the L-Acoustics system. It was big, focused and ‘in your face’. I was worried about the ‘volume police’ but the SSE system sounded really ‘big’ at the volume limit as opposed to just

loud; big is always better than just loud. This was one of my favorite mixing experiences.”

This sentiment was echoed by Mark Woodcock, of Richie Sambora’s sound team: “The show went great and the rig sounded awesome. It’s always a pleasure mixing large festivals on the K1; it makes my life so much easier with that in front of me at the mx position.”

John Penn believes that SSE’s considerable investment in L-Acoustics systems has paid off.

“We’ve proved that the L-Acoustics K system, with its range of very flexible enclosures, can

without compromise. The L-Acoustics K1 and K2 delivered to the Clapham Calling Festival audience the musical experience and journey I was desiring to take them on… and they did it quite well in fact.”

But no system alone is able to deliver the results: “Crucially, it is how the whole package is put together” Penn continued. “Over the years we have provided outdoor audio for more shows than anyone else in the UK. As well as system design, we have learnt how to use predictive software effectively and know what enclosures to site where.

“I was extremely impressed with smooth coverage of the arena during the day. The clarity and the SPL achieved during my artists set given the off-site limits and also the inclement weather conditions made my day a lot easier than I had anticipated...”

Huw Richards, FOH Engineer, Paloma Faith.

produce the necessary sound levels in really tricky environments. As well as Clapham, we’ve deployed systems on other challenging sites such as Finsbury Park and Hyde Park with great results.

Scott Ragsdale, FOH Engineer for Joe Bonamassa enthused about L-Acoustics’ dynamic abilities, regardless of genre during the festival: “The live blues rock sound that comes from Grammy-nominated guitarist Joe Bonamassa and his band, will one minute be explosive, powerful and lighting fast and the next gentle, soft and ever so delicately detailed. A dynamic musical journey, if you will. So, I need a PA system, that can handle all of those sonic needs and interpretations,

“It’s also crucial that the on site crew implement the planned design to the letter.

If a change has to be made on site for some logistical reason, this must be coordinated with the system designer to minimise any potential issues. Finally good communication with the client and their sound consultants isreally important in order to deliver a successful outcome. It’s the sum of the whole that is critical to the overall delivery; technology, sound design and skilled people.”

TPi www.callingfestival.co.uk www.sseaudiogroup.com www.l-acoustics.com http://vanguardiaconsulting.co.uk 21

EVENT FOCUS: Global Infusion Group

GLOBAL INFUSION WIN QUEEN’S ENTERPRISE AWARD GLOBAL INFUSION GROUP (GIG), ONE OF THE UK’S LEADING CATERING, LOGISTICS AND BRAND SUPPORT COMPANIES, HAS RECEIVED A COVETED QUEEN’S AWARD FOR ENTERPRISE IN INTERNATIONAL TRADE. THE PRESTIGIOUS AWARD WAS PRESENTED TO GIG’S FOUNDER AND CEO TONY LAURENSON BY SIR HENRY AUBREY-FLETCHER, THE LORD LIEUTENANT OF BUCKINGHAMSHIRE, AT A SPECIAL CEREMONY AT THE COMPANY’S HQ IN CHESHAM. Congratulating GIG on its award, Sir Henry Aubrey-Fletcher said: “Global Infusion Group began trading in 1984 and provides event catering services, including bespoke food and beverage, consultancy, supply, logistics and brand support services. It wins

22

the Queen’s Award for International Trade having grown overseas earnings over the last three years consecutively.

“GIG has established niche catering subsidiaries which cross-pollinate trade as well as making strategic acquisitions to support

sales and supply chains. Its largest market is Europe but with new markets China and Qatar, the second and third largest. International expansion has seen the company grow in the last three years from employing 41 to now employing 58 staff in the UK, and it has

EVENT FOCUS: Global Infusion Group

Opposite: The prestigious award was presented to GIG’s Founder and CEO Tony Laurenson by Sir Henry Aubrey-Fletcher, the Lord Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire.

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operations on four continents.”

Sir Aubrey-Fletcher added: “The Queen’s Awards differ from the personal honours, OBEs and MBEs for example, in that they are given to an industrial or business unit as a whole and recognise management and employees working as a team benefiting not only the enterprise but also their local community and country by their achievement.”

GIG was one of just 162 award recipients from across the UK in 2014 who, earlier this month, were invited to attend a reception hosted by the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh at Buckingham Palace.

Sir Aubrey-Fletcher added: “Buckinghamshire businesses have won three of these. This is testimony to the ambitions of business and to the skills and commitment of those who work in these successful enterprises. They are an example to us all and they add to the prosperity and vitality of this county, the Entrepreneurial Heart of Britain.”

business. Repeat business from happy clients who value what we do, and understand the relationships developed with our people to new clients being able to feel confident in what we provide through the experience and reputation of our company name and our team.

“So this award is first and foremost a tribute to the entire team here at GIG, both those in the offices and onsite at locations globally. It is the ultimate recognition of our commitment and dedication over many years, and we want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has worked with us and supported us.”

Laurenson added: “Our company has catered functions at iconic locations, from Buckingham Palace and 10 Downing Street to the Great Wall of China and the more remote Ice Fields of Inner Mongolia. GIG were also on site providing catering at London 2012 and the Winter Olympics at Sochi 2014.

“The Queens Award for Enterprise in International Trade is a reflection of the global

“So this award is first and foremost a tribute to the entire team here at GIG, both those in the offices and onsite at locations globally”

GIG’s CEO, Tony Laurenson said he was deeply honoured to receive the UK’s highest accolade for business success in recognition of GIG’s outstanding international trade results which have seen the company, which was formed 30 years ago, expand into a global operation. “As a local lad, I’m extremely proud of my Buckinghamshire roots. And it has been an exciting journey from when I launched ‘Eat to the Beat’ 30 years ago, to where we are now… a truly global enterprise.

“I had never considered that I might be standing before you as the founder of a company that is now the proud recipient of The Queen’s Award for Enterprise in International Trade. We really feel that it’s a great achievement and honour! GIG is a ‘People Business’. Our team and family are inspirational, immensely creative and incredibly hard-working - with a reputation for reliability, friendliness and for quality of service. As a team we always go that extra mile to ensure our clients are well looked after and to help create a great ‘home from home’ ambience backstage or wherever we are working. Our team really are the recipe of our success. They are the reason why so much of our business, year after year, is repeat

growth of our business, possibly the clue is in our name! Over recent years the business that we started here in the UK has evolved worldwide. We now have offices on the East and West Coast for the US market; Qatar for the Middle East; Shanghai - catering across Asia and the Far East. Soon we will be opening a branch in Brazil to service the South American market.”

Rt Hon Cheryl Gillan MP for Chesham and Amersham, who also attended today’s ceremony, said: “I am delighted that the enterprise and innovation of the Global Infusion Group has been recognised through this major award.”

Originally launched as Eat to the Beat - an artist, production and crew catering business specialising in backstage catering services for music, entertainment, film and TV industries the company has catered many of the biggest names in the entertainment world. Eat to the Beat provides backstage catering support for international tours, major festivals such as Glastonbury and Reading, concert venues and TV and film locations.

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EVENT FOCUS: The Rise of RFID

THE RISE OF RFID TECHNOLOGY AT FESTIVALS RADIO FREQUENCY IDENTIFICATION (RFID) IS 2014’S HOT TOPIC WHEN IT COMES TO EVENT TECHNOLOGY, AND IS QUITE LITERALLY, MAKING WAVES ACROSS THE LIVE EVENT AND FESTIVAL INDUSTRY. THIS YEAR, BOTH THE USA AND CANADA HAVE SEEN THEIR FIRST EVER FULLY CASHLESS FESTIVALS AND EVENT ORGANISERS ARE SINGING THE PRAISES OF THE TECHNOLOGY FOR ERADICATING FRAUD AND ALLOWING THEM TO CONNECT WITH THEIR AUDIENCE. TPi TAKES A LOOK AT HOW FESTIVALS ARE INTEGRATING RFID, AND EXPLORE JUST WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS. RFID, in its simplest form, is a tag which submits low level radio waves to a reader, sharing information with a central computer system with a simple tap or wave. Usually integrated into wristbands, one company at the forefront of the RFID revolution is Intellitix.

Head pilot and CEO Serge Grimaux talked us through the main uses: “We are an innovation company. Every year since we started our operation we launched a series of main applications. In 2011 we launch access control. In 2012 we launched social media and brand activation. 2013 was the year which saw cashless payments became possible through our application IntelliPay. We’ve seen significant growth in all areas since we launched the business, which is a definite sign of the trust that is building with the technology.”

Cashless payments are perhaps the biggest innovation in RFID so far. Intellitix’s IntelliPay system officially launched in July last year at the Harley-Davidson Open Road Festival in Hungary, and it’s been used at numerous events globally since then and is proven to increase sales from 15%-30%.

24

“2014 is the year of cashless, and it’s been a long time coming,” explained Grimaux. “Every other aspect of festivals have been innovating for years; the staging, the lighting, the use of WIFI and mobile apps. But the way that we buy and sell food has remained the same. Now that’s changing and the benefits for organisers, vendors and festival-goers are huge; faster queues if any at all, improved security as there is no need to carry cash, the eradication of theft; the list goes on.”

It seems these benefits have definitely been noticed. This year, thanks to Intellitix’s technology, Mysteryland USA became the first fully cashless festival in America, Digital Dreams became Canada’s and Majáles festival became the Czech Republics’.

Whilst cashless payments have been flirted with in these countries before, ‘fully cashless’ is the ultimate step when it comes to showing trust in the tech; every single item from beer to hotdogs and merch to any other type of products sold on an event site are paid for with the tap of a wrist.

ID&T’s inaugural Mysteryland USA festival, held at New York’s iconic Bethel Woods Center

For The Arts - home to the legendary 1969 Woodstock Festival - featured headliners Kaskade and Steve Aoki.

Every member of its 20,000-strong audience could be seen waving their RFID-clad wrists in the air, safe in the knowledge that they could enjoy themselves without worrying about losing money - or worse still - having their money stolen if left behind at the campground.

Adam Richman, Operational Manager ID&T North America (a special effects entertainment company), Mysteryland (New York), TomorrowWorld (Atlanta), explains that the time was right: “After years of reviewing and closely following RFID cashless technology, we thought it was finally ready for the primetime. With the first Mysteryland edition in the United we thought this would be the perfect festival to make its debut. It’s in the Mysteryland DNA to be cutting edge, and to be pioneers of the festival world. The introduction of RFID Cashless Payments further proves that.

“Working with RFID cashless technology has benefits for the entrance procedures and it improves the quality of the festival experience

EVENT FOCUS: The Rise of RFID

Opposite: RFID technology is making waves throughout the global festival market place.

for our visitors.

“For instance it ensures shorter queues at the entrances of the festival, helps eliminate fraudulent tickets and we receive better knowledge and statistics on our crowds which improves the overall safety of the visitors.

“In terms of paying for items on the festival via their cashless wristbands we see faster transactions which means less queuing, it gives the organisation real time reporting on all sales (and thus better stock control), and it improves theft reduction.”

One of the big questions was how the audiences would react to the new technology? Richman stated: “Since we were the first electronic music festival to go cashless we had to first really educate ourselves before we communicated the system to our visitors. As we announced the new RFID wristbands people were excited but also curious to how it would work. Would it be better?

Safer? Faster? And what happens to the money on the wristband that I don’t spend? A lot of questions, which we had prepared for with Intellitix and pro-actively answered via an information package which we sent along with their wristbands. We created a dedicated mysteryland.us/ wristbands website which included a tutorial video, our customer service, online communication and info points on our festival grounds.”

Richman expresses his view on RFID and cashless payment is the future of music festivals: “As a promoter your number one priority is the safety and well being of your visitors. RFID wristbands provides us with so much information that it can eliminate problems before any of the visitors will notice.

Besides crowd safety, RFID can grow into a really fun gadget with social media integration and technology advancements (such as Tomorrowland’s 2014 wristbands).

“Cashless payment will be the future of music festivals, for all the above mentioned reasons. As a visitor it will be in no time that you will become actually annoyed with carrying and paying with cash, losing your credit card or standing in line for tokens. All you’ll have to do is top up your wristband at home, put it on automatic top

up, enjoy your festival and get the money not spend refunded.

“THAT IS THE FUTURE!” Customers could add funds to their account pre-event, set up automatic top-ups and, crucially, receive refunds automatically on any remaining balance post-event.

One country which has always been well ahead of the curve in terms of cashless is Norway.

Three years ago a country-wide cashless system for festivals was adopted, using RFID cards for payments. The first festival to embrace the IntelliPay system was Stavernfestivalen.

The first Stavernfestivalen took place in 2001 with four bands and an audience of 175. Now, it features three days of music from national and international artists, drawing 30,000 people.

Brynjar Løkke, Finance Director at Stavernfestivalen, commented: “We were the very first event in Norway to implement 100% cashless. The main reason was simply the efficiency of the trade.

We practically don’t have lines now. People buy a beer and get back to what they’re here for; enjoying great music with friends and family.

“The Norwegian system was already very good in terms of cashless but it didn’t offer the benefits of access control and social media integration.”

Working with Intellitix, this year it used the Intellipay system for cashless, access control and social media; adding photo booths across the site, which allowed people to take sponsor-branded photos and upload straight to Facebook.

“It was only a small step.”

Løkke expressed. “We’re only just starting to explore the creative possibilities and it’s something we’ll be doing more of next year.

You need to keep innovating and this technology lets you do that.”

Perhaps one to aspire to when it comes to social integration is the epic Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. Over 90,000 people per day descended upon the iconic Empire Polo Club in Indio, California across two weekends, with Coachella dispensing with paper tickets for the fourth year, instead using RFID wristbands.

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EVENT FOCUS: The Rise of RFID

Below: Festivals such as Coachella have championed the integration of RFID at its event.

additional experiences and maximise experiential spend. One sponsor to take advantage of this and integrate RFID into its activation was Spotify.

As Coachella’s Official Digital Music Sponsor, Spotify introduced its Spotify Social tent which became a well needed place to relax in the sought-after shade, recharge and get involved in Spotify’s #WeWereThere campaign, which aimed to encourage festival-goers to ‘connect, collect and share’.

Spotify worked with Intellitix to add 17 RFID ‘hubs’ across the site, in prime positions next to various stages, for people to ‘check in’.

At the end of the festival, those who engaged were sent a digital postcard which aggregated all of the data distance travelled in footsteps, number of artists seen, photos and stage visits - it was ‘My Coachella Story’ which was instantly available to share online.

There’s no doubt that RFID is proving its worth in the industry. But as with any new technology there are barriers.

Stavernfestivalen’s Løkke said: “There was some concern from my colleagues when we first went cashless as it was

26

such a big change, and of course there will always be some customers that do not like it. But they tend to be the ones that just don’t like change in general.

They are the minority. In general people are very happy and in my mind there is simply no way back. Even our vendors say they couldn’t cope without the system.”

Intellitix Head Pilot Grimaux takes the final word: “I describe the reactions of the innovative aspects of the business we’re in as a pool party. You’ve been to a pool party? You have a bunch of people around the pool, and you’re all waiting to see who is going to be the first one to jump in. Two things might happen; you have a brave person who jumps, or somebody gets pushed.

Results are the same though. After five minutes the pool is full. That’s what happening with RFID and many new technologies today. We are the future.

Our pool has just started to fill up and no one got pushed in. Jump in, the more the merrier!”

TPi www.intellitix.com

StudioLive AI speakers are available in three full range sizes and a matching 18-inch subwoofer. ©2014, PreSonus Audio Electronics, All Rights Reserved. Sceptre, CoActual and StudioLive are trademarks of PreSonus Audio Electronics. Temporal EQ is a trademark of Fulcrum Acoustic.

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PRODUCTION PROFILE: Osheaga

CANADIAN RETREAT: OSHEAGA SINCE 2006, THE VIRGIN MOBILE SPONSORED OSHEAGA MUSIC AND ARTS FESTIVAL - OR THE FESTIVAL DE LA MUSIQUE ET DES ARTS TO MONTREAL NATIVES - HAS ESTABLISHED ITSELF AS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT FESTIVALS OF ITS GENRE IN CANADA. WITH SIX OUTDOOR STAGES LOCATED AT PARC JEANDRAPEAU ON MONTREAL’S SAINT HELEN’S ISLAND, OSHEAGA 2014 ATTRACTED 45,000 FANS PER DAY FOR THREE DAYS. TPi’S KELLY MURRAY HEADED WEST TO SEE THE FESTIVAL’S 9TH EDITION. The weekend event is dedicated to music and visual arts, and Osheaga has given itself the objective of discovering local and national emerging talent offering the opportunity to play alongside some of the biggest international artists in the business.

Before now, the green manmade island (it was formed from the soil which was dug up to create the local metro line) has seen the likes of Iggy & The Stooges, Sonic Youth, The Roots, Rufus Wainwright, Arcade Fire, Eminem, Beck and Mumford and Sons play in the past, and this year the three main headliners were Outkast, Arctic Monkeys and Jack White. Osheaga also held a series of concerts and exhibitions in several locations around the city during the week leading up to the main event, which this year held its ninth successful weekend festival.

This year, Osheaga welcomed around 28

135,000 fans into its gates to see 114 acts (which provided 30 hours of music), while the site required 4,500 employees. Interestingly, over 60 percent of festival goers came from outside of the local Quebec province, with visitors coming from the UK, Japan, USA and Europe.

Although a bustling festival site, the atmosphere at Osheaga is very relaxed; cups of rainbow fruit and freshly squeezed traditional lemonade is sold throughout the crowds of enthusiastic teens as the dusty floor defies the early August weather reports of potentially show-hindering thunderstorms.

For a six-stage festival to run smoothly, event producers, Evenko, rely on some of Montreal’s best-known production companies to ensure that Osheaga is again completed without a hitch. AV integrators and high-end rental company, Solotech has been supplying technical

PRODUCTION PROFILE: Osheaga

Opposite: Arctic Monkeys headlined Osheaga on Saturday; Childish Gambino was one of 114 acts chosen for the 2014 line up. Below: Chromeo delivered a crowd-pleasing set; Moment Factory created 2D and 3D graphics for Outkast’s Friday night performance; 135,000 fans attended the festival throughout the weekend; The Solotech crew behind the main stages.

equipment and skilled staff to the site since Osheaga’s inception nine years ago, with audio support from Meyer Sound. Stage and lighting design was handled by 4U2C and mobile stage manufacturers, Stageline, supplied most of the festival’s various sized stages for the ninth year running. The stages have appropriately scenic names: Green, Tree, River, Mountain and Electronic Picnic.

THE PRODUCTION PARTNERSHIP Solotech’s Eric Labbe has been project managing the majority of technical aspects for Osheaga the past three years. Today Osheaga has five mobile stages and a new tent structure for up and coming acts. On each of these stages, Solotech has provided audio, lighting, video and rigging solutions. The partnership with Osheaga is one which Labbe enjoys working on, as he explained the company’s role at the event is much more than a rental supplier.

“Besides having gear in great quantity and diversity, being with the customer from start to finish and providing professional, quality service is definitely one of the strongest assets we have at Solotech. We are more than a ‘user manual’; we go beyond the standard technical support service.

“Our technicians working and playing in the field are devoted, flexible, quick to react in an unforeseen situation and always ready

to collaborate where needed. When it’s time to deliver the final product, no matter what challenges are faced or what energy is spent, Solotech staff will do the impossible for you. At the end this shines during the live production and it’s gratifying for us all. It’s the reward we all look forward to at the end of a long stretch!”

As with any production, especially one which is from a long-standing relationship, Labbe enthused that Solotech is always looking for ways in which to improve upon the previous year’s success. “Osheaga is a dynamic opportunity for us to better what we do. This year, putting two Stageline SAM750 mobile stages side by side is a good example of how we have improved on building the show. And as a consequence, having one FOH position for both stages changed our usual workflow, so a new approach was needed. Solotech prevails when the limits are pushed,” said Labbe.

The 2014 three-day event saw 35 full-time technicians from Solotech working on site and preproduction to the festival included four days of prep at Solotech’s Montreal HQ. Another new addition to the festival, this time from Solotech’s inventory, was Meyer Sound’s Lyon line array system. Continued Labbe: “Since the festival is located in an urban area of Montreal, the audio design had to be able to contain the festival sound in a delimited area, and to reduce the impact outside the festival site. On the main

stages, I know the Lyon was a perfect match with the Meyer Sound Leo line array.”

The sound system design and configuration for Osheaga’s various stages was handled by Solotech. Besides the Meyer Sound choice (more on this later), Solotech provided Arkaos media servers, Solotech’s own SL-Pro8 panels, 8mm LED IMAG screens for the main stages and half tonne, one-tonne and two-tonne Liftket chain hoists were utilised. For audio, artists often brought in their own microphones but the Solotech choice was a Shure package comprising UR4D wireless receivers and PSM-1000 in-ear monitors. At FOH, consoles comprised SSL (Live) Avid (Profiles) Meyer Sound Galileo AES (main system drive), and a Yamaha DM-1000 digital mixer. For monitor desks, Avid Profiles and Midas H3000 consoles were chosen.

With regards to the lighting design, Solotech worked closely with its in-house set production company, 4U2C. “It’s like being in a big family.

Working with your usual partners, you get to know their habits, strengths and reactions.

During collaborations every partner creates a unique bond leading to success and renewed partnerships,” explained Labbe.

“The festival keeps growing and so does Solotech. Every year, we adapt by providing new equipment, skilled expertise, design concepts and turnkey solutions throughout 29

PRODUCTION PROFILE: Osheaga

Below: Stageline provided two SAM750’s for the double main stages, River and Mountain; Shlohmo performed on the Elektric Picnic Stage in front of a scrim designed by a local artist.

the whole process. Next year will be the 10th edition, and it will be no exception!”

SINGING TO THE RIGHT TUNE Solotech’s PA manufacturer of choice for Osheaga, Meyer Sound, has also worked closely with the event for some time. Touring Liaison

chief, Lee Moro has been attending the festival personally from his Nashville base for the last three years. “My job is to support Solotech and interact with the visiting engineers. This year was really amazing; the Meyer Sound Leo / Lyon system was received very well. Last year was more of an introduction to Leo, but this

year I feel many were very comfortable and had gained some valuable experience with the system,” said Moro.

“All the engineers walked away happy with their shows, so there were honestly very few challenges for me this year. Well, other than the endurance of heat and non-stop shows for

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PRODUCTION PROFILE: Osheaga

Below: Solotech Project Manager, Eric Labbe; Meyer Sound’s Touring Liason expert, Lee Moro; Pierre-Luc Rompre, Commercial Director at Stageline.

three days! It was an honour and privilege to be involved again.”

Festival support can be a challenge for a manufacturer, as many visiting engineers have their own preferences, but for Moro it’s always interesting to observe those who may be experiencing Meyer’s new products for the first time. “They’re under pressure since many artists don’t soundcheck. The direction of our new systems has been received really well and allowing touring engineers to just do their job, which is to mix without having to worry about

the system at all.”

A big plus point for the Osheaga promoters was Meyer Sound’s virtual prediction software, MAPP, which is very precise and in turn allows sound designers to provide a solution that meets the needs of the festival. This software combined with the Leo / Lyon set up for the two mains stages became a real feature of Oshega’s production this year. Moro continued: “This year was a split system with four hangs of eight Leo over six Lyon. It worked so well that the same system was used for the following weekend’s

festival on the same site, Heavy Montreal. We’re also reconfiguring it for ilesoniq.”

In effect, the Meyer Sound Leo self-powered linear systems and Lyon line array combination has been welcomed by three different types of event on the same site, which must adhere to the same noise licenses. Osheaga is the mainstream indie and hip hop event, Heavey Montreal is the hard rock / metal festival and ilesoniq offers an urban EDM lineup, proving that this system combination is an ideal choice for any genre when supplied by Solotech’s audio

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PRODUCTION PROFILE: Osheaga

Below: New Zealand teenager Lorde captivated crowds; Solotech utilised a Meyer Sound rig which comprised both the Leo and Lyon loudspeaker systems; 35 full time technicians from Solotech worked on the staging the event; Awolnation were a popular choice with the audience. Opposite: The afternoon sunshine came out for Shlohmo’s set.

team. In addition, Solotech also provided a Meyer Sound rider for the main stages including 12 700-HP subwoofers in two rows of six behind each hang, 36 1100LFC low-frequency self-powered loudspeakers (nine far left, 18 centre and nine far right), and MSL6 High-Q loudspeakers for frontfill.

“Meyer Sound has had a fantastic long standing relationship with Solotech. They have been involved in so many different types of events around the world and have very specific requests and needs. Their audio team is topnotch and very educated too. They push the

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limits of what is possible and work closely with Meyer Sound products to create new features and even work on the R&D of potential new solutions.

“To me, Osheaga is a great event to work with them on as it attracts the current top touring acts who come with some of the top touring sound engineers in the industry. No one will accept less than amazing results from the systems on those stages and those results were achieved with the combination of fantastic staff at Solotech, our products, great artists and their engineers. Plus, it’s always impressive to see

the full, complete production supplied by one company, flawlessly. Solotech really has carved a path in the industry for full service solutions.”

GREEN AUDIO K-Array, in partnership with Sennheiser Canada President Jean Langlais, has developed the concept of the Green Stage PA system for the last four years. In the 2014 edition of the festival, Sennheiser Canada in collaboration with Sonorisation Ranger supplied the PA systems for the Green stage and the Sennheiser VIP area.

These two different, yet high demanding set

PRODUCTION PROFILE: Osheaga

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ups, were exceptionally managed with the use of the K-Array Concert Series (main stage) and K-Array Portable series (VIP area).

“The Green Stage concept has an environmental spin to it. High SPL PA systems have to conform to low emission, more sustainable power sources.” said Marcel Savard, Production Manager for Sennheiser Canada. “More so, festivals all around the world are becoming the new trend in the Live Entertainment Industry where established artists share the stage with upcoming and local artists, raising the bar for a high-quality reproduction of the live performance”. This was the perfect scenario for the flexibility, high SPL, low power consumption and high-fidelity of the K-Array systems.

The K-Array Concert Series was the PA of choice for the Green Stage. The main L/R systems comprised one cluster of five KH4, mid / high speakers, side-by-side to one cluster of five KS4, low-end speaker units, flown on either side of the stage. Twin stacks of six KS4 units were positioned on the ground level underneath the main clusters. The subwoofers system of eight KO70 (two 21-inch self-powered) was installed on the ground in front of the stage. For front fills application four KH15, mid / high speakers were placed on top of the subwoofers.

The K-array PA system was designed by Vaino Gennaro, Business Director for Sennheiser Canada. “The setup of the complete system was incredibly fast,” commented Gennaro. The KH4 / KS4 clusters in combination with the subwoofers KO70 and KH15 yielded exceptional results with SPL to spare and perfect coverage.

“The precise tuning and time alignment of the system gave us the opportunity to perfectly match the PA system with the needs of the entire venue” added Gennaro “Amazing results for an amazing sound experience,” he added.

When singer Travis Scott missed his live performance on the main stage due to travel complications, he decided to surprise the VIP area and the crowd with an improvised mini live gig. The K-Array KR202 system, installed in the VIP, was called into immediate action. Gennaro continued: “It’s always exciting when an artist

can surprise and entertain the audience but it’s a big challenge for sound engineers and event organisers. Thankfully we had the K-Array KR202 on hand and everyone was delighted with the results.”

STAGING SAFETY Like Solotech, Stageline Mobile Stage Inc has been involved with Osheaga since its inception in 2005 but the business relationship started in the 90s. As this festival’s popularity grew so did its stage requirements. “This is not a flat land and the leveling requires some work which is easily done with Stageline hydraulic stages,” explained Stageline’s Founder, Yvan Miron. In addition, our logistic team is on it from the beginning and liaise with Evenko every step of the way to ensure that everything goes flawlessly.

“Promoters and event organisers have so much work to do, often attend to last-minute situations and we believe the stage should not be one of them. Our vision is that a stage is equipment that has to simplify the technicians, creative designers and artists’ jobs. In fact, it should be a tool for the success of any production large or small, bring efficiency, save some serious time and money.

“Furthermore, as Stageline stages are selfstanding equipment that don’t require the use of ballast, stabilising cable or any type of ground anchoring, they have very minimal impact on the environment as sites are left undamaged,” he told TPi. This year, Stageline provided five performance stages and an exclusive VIP area structure. The Elektric Picnic Stage was a SAM 440 (sponsored by Honda) the Tree Stage an SL260 (Galaxie), the Green Stage a SAM 555 (Garnier, Sennheiser) and the twin River and Mountains stages utilised two SAM 750’s, (sponsored by Virgin Mobile and Molson Canadian). It took a total of just 30 hours with 12 stagehands to build the double SAM750 structure. In addition, two VIP Areas (Molson and Garnier) comprised Stageline Promobile stages with a mezzanine level. “Our smaller stages are also good options for VIP areas. The

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PRODUCTION PROFILE: Osheaga

Below: Californian sister act, Haim jammed through the weather threats on the main stage; An Avid Profile console was chosen for the main stage monitor duties.

Promobile is our largest marketing unit, but we have done multiple projects with smaller stages over the past years. The SL50 and SL100 stages are being utilised more and more for marketing purposes,” explained Pierre-Luc Rompre, Stageline’s Commercial Director.

Stageline has over 25 years of experience in providing staging solutions to outdoor events.

“Our engineering criteria is based on the Canadian and International Building Codes for wind loading (90 mph or 140 km/h) whereas the industry follows lower criteria, which we think, are too low.” Besides the “conscientious design” based on the International Building Code (IBC), Miron cites great manufacturing by certified and experienced workers, quality control, Stageline’s in-house training, on-site inspection programs, product development, and most importantly, safety as the imperative ingredients for a successful outdoor event.

And then, there is the weather factor. During the festival, local weather reports predicted thunderstorms with heavy rain and wind.

What actually occurred was a mild shower

innovating products…. From a staging point of view, it went perfectly.”

SET AND LIGHITNG DESIGN 4U2C’s Karl Gaudreau, a partner in the new visual design company, has also been involved with Osheaga since the festival’s humble beginnings. For three years he was the event’s Head of Lighting before growing into the role of Visual Director as the festival expanded and its production needs blossomed. “I think we started out with just three small stages utilising PAR cans and moving heads. The challenges to turn this into a world class festival in Montreal and be part of the global festival family mean that after all these years the production team has a very close bond,” he told TPi. Design challenges ensued for Gaudreau with the double main stage addition, but he loved the ambitious situation: “We needed to minimise the overnight change over and create the looks needed for all of the headliners. I always try to make new concepts on each of the stages to bring a new experience to the fans.”

“I have the best team from Solotech to back me on all my crazy ideas, especially with all of the lights around the site which make a great experience all over the place. I will certainly be there for next year for Osheaga’s 10th anniversary!” and nothing more than a breeze that might have knocked your fringe out of place. Yet the Stageline team was still in tune to the possible climate change. Continued Rompre: “In addition to our emergency procedures, we have our own meteorologists providing weather forecasts around the clock.” All of Stageline’s mobile stage models are designed with the unpredictability of the weather in mind.

With an average of 15,000 events staged globally throughout the year, Stageline has certainly earned a place as a serious staging contender. “Our staging technology is proven, and given the expanding awareness to provide a safe staging environment, we will continue to do our best to serve the industry with safe and 36

Solotech provided a lighting rider at Gaudreau’s request, which comprised MA Lighting grandMA2 full size and grandMA 1 and 2 light consoles with a PC wing for control.

Fixtures included Philips Vari-Lite VL4000 Spots, VL-3000 Spots, VL-3500 Wash FX Clear Lens, V-L500 80V Washes, VL-2500 Washes, VL2500 Spots, Clay Paky Sharpy Spots, Martin by Harman MAC 600 Nt Washlight, Martin Atomic 3000 DMX Strobes and Martin Color Changers.

Additional visual effects comprised MDG’s The One Atmospheric Fog Hazer, MDG Atmosphere Haze Generator, Robert Juliat Cyranos 2500W Followspots, Mole Richardson Mole Strip 4 Lites, Showtec Active DMX Sunstrips, Chromlech Elidy LED Panels, Chromlech Jarag 25 Blinders, Elation

Professional LED 180 PARs and TMB / Firefly’s LED Marquee / Festoon lighting system.

“For the Elektric Picnic Stage, I merged between video and light by using Clay Paky Sharpy Spots and Chromlech Elidy LED panel fixtures behind the 25mm screen with a custom scrim paint by a local artist hanging on the curved truss. On the Green Stage, the idea was a tungsten effect with Philips Vari-Lite VL500’s and more Chromlech Elidy LED panels.

“For the Tree Stage, I primarily used a mixture of Chromlech Jarag and ETC 10 Deg Source for big ‘ACL’ looks, and to get powerful backlighting during daylight shows. For the two main stages - River and Mountain - the idea was to merge the main LED screens so the public felt as though it was just one huge stage. We could do this by using Stageline’s SAM750.

“I also have the best team from Solotech to back me on all my crazy ideas, especially with all of the atmospheric lights around the site which make a great experience all over the place. I will certainly be there next year for Osheaga’s 10th anniversary!” he smiled.

THE FUTURE’S BRIGHT The success of the festival’s 2014 production was clearly felt by all parties as Nick Farkas, VP Concerts and Events, Evenko, explained to TPi: “Every year we aim to provide the best festival experience to our fans. We work with the best teams to deliver a top of the line production with the best sound and lighting available on the market, impressive stage and video set ups, and an unforgettable site layout. I’m very proud of the work we did this year and we will prepare something even better for our 10th anniversary next year!”

With this production team behind it, Osheaga 2015 will surely throw a birthday celebration worth attending. Get there if you can.

TPi Photos: Pat Beaudry, Eva Blue, Evenko, Arcouette&Co. and Kelly Murray www.evenko.ca www.osheaga.com www.solotech.com www.meyersound.com www.stageline.com www.4u2c.com www.k-array.com

PRODUCTION PROFILE: Queen + Adam Lambert

GENTLEMEN OF ROCK EARLIER THIS YEAR, QUEEN + ADAM LAMBERT HIT THE ROAD IN THE USA TO GLOWING REVIEWS AND SOLD OUT ARENAS. AS SPECIAL AS THE TOUR IS FOR THE BAND AND ADAM LAMBERT ALONG WITH THEIR COLLECTIVE HOARDS OF FANS, ITS SIGNIFICANCE ALSO EXTENDS TO THE BAND’S ROAD CREW. WHY? BECAUSE FOR MANY THE EVOCATIVE STORIES AND UPLIFTING ANTHEMS OF FREDDIE MERCURY AND QUEEN FORMED A SIGNIFICANT CHUNK OF THEIR EARLY LIFE SOUNDTRACKS AND FOR THAT REASON ALONE IT’S A THRILL FOR MANY TO BE TOURING WITH BAND. SARAH RUSHTON-READ CAUGHT UP WITH THE TOUR IN NEW YORK CITY. On a hot humid afternoon in New York - where Queen had played before many years ago - today a very excited, again sold out crowd waited at Madison Square Garden: “Unbelievably Queen has not played Madison Square Garden since 1984,” explains busy Tour director Juliette Slater.

“It’s an emotional return for them.”

Slater has toured with Queen, on and off, since 2005 and understands more than most the boundless energy the band has for touring.

Brian May shows no sign of tiring; he told iHeart Radio that while he knows the tour can’t go on forever, he wants to keep going until his “fingers stop moving”.

The pairing of Adam Lambert and Queen has proved to be a successful symbiotic blend both musically and in terms of the audiences they attract. Lambert is clearly a big fan of both Mercury and Queen, and makes a vibrant and revitalising foil to the super accomplished 38

gentlemen of rock. So successful has this tour been that they’ve already added dates in Asia, Australia and New Zealand with likely further touring in 2015.

Contributing to the success of the show’s delivery is the simple yet effective way it has been staged. Summoned by the creative minds of the creative team at Stufish and lighting designer Rob Sinclair, the concept has been built around the ubiquitous line drawing on the back of a fag packet - or napkin in this case - created

by Roger Taylor and Brian May. The result is classic rock, cleverly and discretely served up with some of the latest developments in entertainment technology. As with any Stufish design it’s stagecraft at its best, deceptively simple, yet able to deliver a plethora of looks.

A huge ‘Q’ shaped backdrop, frames a 30” square of WinVision 9 LED screens, supplied by VER. The squiggle of the Q curves around the

front of the main stage to resolve in a B stage.

The concept is smartly balanced by Rob Sinclair’s rocktastic lighting, which bursts from the stage at all angles and heights.

Queen and Adam Lambert are effectively touring two entirely separate acts. For Slater this brings its own set of challenges as she explains: “We’re dealing with two separate management arrangements. The artists have great creative ideas, which we have had to accommodate within a budget, which then has to be agreed by all parties.”

However nothing really seems to phase Slater, as far as she’s concerned the success of the tour is all about the team you put together in the first place. “Rick Lipson and the team at Stufish with Rob Sinclair have been fabulous.

They’ve offered realistic creative solutions from the start. Rob and I have worked together on many projects so we understand one another well.”

PRODUCTION PROFILE: Queen + Adam Lambert

Opposite: The Stufish design wowed crowds in NYC. Below: Queen guitarist, Brian May.

Slater says the band is a joy to work with: “Queen’s manager, Jim Beach, has been with the band for 40 years plus. He’s a force of nature, and a wonderful mentor. Collectively I can honestly say Queen are true gentlemen of rock. Adam is a delight to deal with and the principles have a great vibe together both on and off the stage.

“In addition we have a great support team on the tour from head of security Dave Sauter to Brian May’s PA Sharon Ashley, Adam’s PA Rob Valenti and Tour Manager/ PA to Roger Taylor, Justine Ellis,” continued Slater. “I was also delighted to introduce Production Coordinator Jil Aram to our Production Manager Joe Sanchez - she runs the office for Joe and is a great team player to have on board.”

Slater says one of the most rewarding aspects of being part of this tour has been seeing the evolution of the stage design from the napkin drawing to the physical stage show. “The initial ideas have been realised in an elegant way by Stufish. Rob’s lighting has slotted in seamlessly and we have some stunning effects.”

LA-based Production Manager Joe Sanchez heads up Slater’s dream team and has assembled a relaxed team of professionals who make the technical complexities and logistics of a 13-truck tour look more like a day trip to the beach.

Both Slater and Sanchez have an impressive roll call of top international touring acts tucked firmly

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PRODUCTION PROFILE: Queen + Adam Lambert

Below: LD Rob Sinclair is touring his design with the band.

under their production belts and you can tell: “We started band rehearsals in May at Cato Music in Wandsworth,” Sanchez explained.

“Then we moved over to LA for production rehearsals. The band have been great to work with, they understand how touring shows work and they have a lot of time and respect for the professionals behind the scenes.”

Like Slater, Sanchez’s key ingredient of a successful tour is his team. “I’ve worked with a core group of 10-15 guys for the last 10 years: carpenters, stage managers, head riggers. These are the people who get me in and out with as little fuss as possible. Key to me are Technical Stage Manager Roger Cabot, Show Stage Manager Jim Webb along with Head Rigger Todd Mauger, Rigger / Automation Operator Frederic Jacques Head Carpenter Tom Keane” And when it comes to suppliers Sanchez regularly works with John Bahnick of Upstaging: “John does a brilliant job. Upstaging supplied the lighting for the three year Rihanna tour I just finished and the Pet Shop Boys before that.”

Audio comes from Clair Brothers, video from VER, while UK based ER takes care of Lasers, Quantum Special FX takes care of special effects and 5 Points is doing the rigging and automation.

Like many of the crew touring with Queen, the band was an important part of Sanchez’s early life: “I saw Queen at Wembley 40

Stadium when I was 16. It still amazes me that 20-plus years later I am production managing their tour!”

SHOW STOPPING DESIGN Entertainment Architects Stufish has been involved with the band for a long time. Old friend of the band, Mark Fisher, designed most of Queen’s early tours including tours alongside Paul Rogers. He also created the set for the Queen Extravaganza. However Rick Lipson and Ray Winkler have taken over since Fisher’s death last year.

Rob Sinclair joined the team more recently: “I first met Queen through their official tribute show The Queen Extravaganza. I also designed the Queen and Adam Lambert Shows in 2012 so I was delighted when they asked me back.”

Sinclair approached the design from a number of perspectives: “The band wanted a easily identifiable yet epic signature look.

I wanted to reference the Queen legacy, it was important for the feel to be clean and old-school.

I’m using a lot of Molefays and a fair few hard-edged sources including a floor package of Clay Paky Sharpys, a big wall of Martin MAC Vipers and SGM X-5 strobes which span each side of the Q. Much of my key light is provided by Philips Vari-Lite VL 3500 Wash FX luminaires.

Featuring a sumptuous palette of warm reds, golds purples and

PRODUCTION PROFILE: Queen + Adam Lambert

Below: Video Effects Chief, Nev Bull; Camera Director, Steve Price; Lighting Designer, Rob Sinclair; Queen’s Monitor Engineer, Kerry Lewis used a DiGiCo SD7 desk; Production Manager, Joe Sanchez; Adam Lambert’s Monitor Engineer, Gary Stokes with a Midas Pro 6 console.

blues, the look is clean, sharp, crisp and epic.

An almost architectural positioning of fixtures supported by sensitive cuing and perfect timing ensures the show journey is seamlessly smooth and increasingly exciting.

“Originally the set was going to have a more industrial feel, but Adam wanted it to be gold and we all thought - why not? The gold gives us a very unusual look from some familiar materials” said Sinclair.

Sinclair uses four house follow spots on the principlals all the time. “The band want to be seen. Originally we had a lot of video content made by Really Creative Media to chose from, before management and the band selected the elements they liked, some of which was

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replaced with IMAG, however it was mostly cut during rehearsals and the first show. The consensus was that the band should be the complete focus of the show.”

Lasers play a massive part in the design: “ER Productions, especially Marc Webber and Ross Marshall, have been very helpful on this tour,” explained Sinclair. “We’re using TriPan 21W lasers, rigged across the back wall and upstage edge of the stage, while 24 of ER’s new - and rather brilliant - RGB Burst Boxes are rigged around the Q.” “Everyone’s been delighted with the colour mixing of the Burst Boxes,” added Marshall. “It’s just one beam that can be changed to a rotating burst effect. Also thanks to the increasing

portability and reliability of lasers they’re often a big part of the show. The burst boxes are controlled from a HedgeHog 4. This is the first tour that they’ve been used so there’s been quite a lot of programming to pin down the personality of the fixture, however it paid off as the show looks amazing.”

Sinclair continued: “We have a few Magic Panels around the oval of the Q and we’ve had some new software written - which makes the beam look round rather than square. For me the ever-present challenge is always holding enough back, every song needs to start big and get bigger!”

Unusually Sinclair he has chosen to go out on the road for the whole run of this tour: “It’s

PRODUCTION PROFILE: Queen + Adam Lambert

Below: Poppy Lauer of the Wardrobe Dept; Feedback Event Cuisine’s Pete Bailey; Queen hasn’t played MSG since 1984. Opposite: ER Productions’ Ross Marshall in action; Queen’s Tour Manager, Juliette Slater.

the only tour I’m programming and touring with this year. It was originally meant to be a two week USA tour but then it became a month long tour, then two months and now I’m off to Asia and Australia!”

On the other side of the stage to lighting is Camera Director Steve Price. “I only started this element of my career eight years ago. All the way through my 30s I was a music video director.

This last year has been amazing. I first saw Queen when I was 20, 1984 - The Works tour, it was the first arena concert I ever went to. If somebody had told me then I would be doing this 30 years later I wouldn’t believe them!”

Most live camera directors are ex-engineers, Price is not and while he admits his engineering skills are limited what he does know a lot about is how to cut music to cameras, which for this show is essential. Originally Price came on board to cut IMAG but as the pre-recorded content was discarded Price’s skills were increasingly relied upon: “I was told that around 25% of the show would be my cameras and the rest would be pre-recorded content. However I now cut cameras to the centre screen for about 95% of the show! As it’s 2.5 hours long it requires a lot of concentration. I get a small break when Brian sings Love of my Life but that’s pretty much it.”

Price is mixing five live-operated Sony Page GX3 100’s HD cameras plus three remote on the drum kit. “On Fat Bottomed Girls we have a ninth RF camera positioned on Brian’s guitar neck, which films his hands. When he walks down onto the B stage he bends the camera out and films the audience. Then he comes back and films Roger and Adam, it’s a great effect.”

Price’s eye for a good shot, his ability to get the right camera

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PRODUCTION PROFILE: Queen + Adam Lambert

angles from each camera and his perfect timing reflect the pace perfectly: “I decide the shots, the angles, the placement. For me cutting a show is primarily about the pace at which you cut from camera to camera. That changes for each song. My favourite numbers are the proper rock anthems and also I love ‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’ because Spike gets a piano solo in that as well - it’s a busy song and everyone is doing something.

VIDEO WORLD Back at FOH alongside Sinclair and in charge of video effects is Nev Bull: “We have three screens on this show, one LED central screen and two side IMAGS with back projection. I take the line cut from Steve Price and then we process it, colour it up, play around with it and mix live content with pre-recorded. Basically I am the last stop before the video hits the screens.”

“Our focus is the treatment of live camera output ie colourising, black and white, adding in overlays, boarders.”

Bull favours the Catalyst media server: “It is more about the amount of inputs we have access to and the amount of layers.

We’re using two HD inputs on each server but then we can split those into many more layers.”

Bull’s favourite part of the show is Radio GaGa - the whole look is from the Metropolis film. “We had to match the IMAG in with the old film style. We use an overlay of film scratching and de-saturate the images to black and white. We also added a shutter effect to match the old footage, it looks great.”

Bull takes one main feed from Price and uses the Catalyst to control the Matrix: “I can choose what I take from Steve and I then use an MA Lighting grandMA 2 desk for control and speed. It’s a very quick way of programming. My background is lighting anyway so it is a natural progression to use this programming method with video.”

CONTENT IS KING Jack James from Really Creative Media produced video content and although much of the pre-recorded content was cut, what was left was a crucial element in the narrative of the show. “It’s always better to have more content than you need. We used a lot of archive footage of the band and Freddie Mercury, which we then had to filter and cut together with the audio the band wanted to use.”

Rob Sinclair didn’t want to pin too much down before tech rehearsals so James flew five animators out to LA to work with

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PRODUCTION PROFILE: Queen + Adam Lambert

the band and Sinclair during rehearsals: “We originally had a lot of content to deliver in a very short space of time, we were cutting old existing footage together, shooting bespoke film and creating 3D animations - it was full on.”

Queen doesn’t play to a click or track that video can be sync’d to so James and his team broke the video content down into components for different moments in the show. For us it is about giving Rob enough building blocks to be creative so if the band decides to do an extended solo they’re ready for that. Rob knows exactly what he wants, he is the driving force behind the overall concept, however the band also have final veto over what is included,” concludes James.

RHAPSODY IN SOUND Crucial in delivering Queen’s signature sound is FOH engineer Robert Collins. Collins has worked with the band since 2012, when Adam first joined and says: “With this show there are no hard drive vocals, click tracks and definitely no dancers! This is Rock’n’Roll - no fluff.”

Collins chooses to use a Digico SD7 console: “I use it in the same way as I would use an analogue desk. It’s an awesome console. What I love more than anything else is that it’s so musical, I still feel like I’m physically connected to the stage, it’s so responsive.”

Collins uses a mixture of on-board processing

46

and his normal little rack of Summit TLAs, which he uses on Adam’s vocal and some DBX 160 SLs plus a TC Electronic M6000 digital reverb.

The joy of the project for Collins is that he knows all the songs of old. “It’s a real privilege to mix Queen, so much so that sometimes I forget I’m in charge! Madison Square Garden is a great gig; I’ve done many shows here and there are few gigs round the world that are as special as this one.”

On stage Collins has a good mix of old and new microphones. “I like to use Audix, AKG and DPA on drums, AKG 414s, Shure and various Audio-Technica models on percussion plus Sennheiser 421s on guitars. Brian’s been using the Sennheiser mics forever and they’re excellent, so why change? I’m using Telefunken vocal mics, for the quality and rejection, as it’s quite loud on stage.”

Adam and some of the band are on in-ears.

However, in true rock ‘n’ roll style, they’ve also got 32 monitors strategically positioned on stage. “This makes it quite hard to get the separation I would like but that’s live work for you,” Collins sighed philosophically...

Backstage, Queen and Adam Lambert each have their own individual monitor engineers.

Kerry Lewis for Queen and Gary Stokes for Adam I wondered if this caused issue: “We have a fairly clear delineation of duties. 80 inputs split to all consoles so we each have our own

independent control,” explained Stokes. “I’m focused on Adam’s in-ear monitors and have a couple of lines driving into Kerry’s console so he can send Adam’s voice to speakers as necessary.

Kerry drives all the speakers on stage - I can feed sound into them if I need to but we have a gentleman’s agreement that I won’t unless it’s an emergency!”

“Beyond that Adam might pull out an ear to hear a bit more guitar solo rather than ask me to turn something up. Thankfully he doesn’t do it when he is singing. Generally I’m riding those levels so if he’s not singing and wants to hear a little more guitar I can take care of it.”

Collins says it’s been an adjustment for Adam and himself to find a balance that works on a relatively loud stage. “Typically you would turn up the in-ear system enough to over power the stage sound, but that is problematic for Adam as he doesn’t like it too loud! Turn it down too much and the stage sound bleeds through.”

Stokes says Lambert’s mix is very similar to a full FOH mix. “A monitor mix would typically feature more references for time keeping.

However Adam likes exaggerated reference points for pitch such as a piano intro or bass line. I mix the band a little bit brighter, and a tad quieter than a full FOH mix so Adam can easily identify everything he hears.”

Lambert’s choice of in ears depends on the kind of performance he’s doing: “He has a

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PRODUCTION PROFILE: Queen + Adam Lambert

couple of pairs,” said Stokes. “The main pair is the JH Audio JH 16’s, which are great when he needs more isolation. The others - Future Sonics - he uses for media appearances. In terms of mics, Adam uses a custom gold-plated Hole RC35 capsule on a Shure wireless system, as he particularly likes the tight sound.”

Right next to Stoke’s DiGiCo SD7 sits Lewis’s Midas Pro 6: “I wanted to use Midas as I’m more comfortable on it. The SD series and the Midas Pro are pretty similar when it comes to sound quality, they’re both extremely flexible and both have powerful features. For me the Midas desk is just a touch more user friendly and it’s easier to change stuff on the fly.”

Lewis uses a mix of on-board processing and outboard. “I use an outboard Reverb TC Electronic 4000 for the primary reverb, I prefer primary reverb outside of the desk because I don’t want to have to page to it, I would rather know exactly where it is.”

For both engineers standing 10 ft from Brian May’s guitar amps is quite a buzz. Queen records are the soundtrack to my youth,” laughed Lewis who is working with the band for the first time: “I love it. We have an extensive fold back system on stage, it’s not too loud but there’s lots of it. Brian doesn’t use in ears, most of the other members do but they all have speakers as well.”

Also on tour with the team are System Techs

48

Dave Coyle and Kenneth Cubby McDowell from Clair Brothers utilising a Clair i-5 PA system. The system design comprises 14 boxes of i-5 per side, eight i-5’s per side for the side hangs and six Clair BT218 subwoofers per side.

It’s clear that the team work very well together and that Sanchez is happy to rely on every person to take care of their own domain without fuss.

OTHER KEY SUPPLIERS Beyond the core stage team he has Rock-it Cargo doing freight, Truck ’N Roll is trucking the kit. Tour buses are from D&S Coaches and Feedback Event Cuisine provided catering expertise. “We’re not touring catering,” added Sanchez. “Primarily because America still hasn’t got to the stage where it’s set up for outside catering. However we do have Pete Bailey from Feedback Catering on board who ensures what we get on the road is the best it can possibly be as well as being personal chef for the band.”

“We try and do it a little bit differently,” added Bailey. “We send suggested menus in advance and work with the in-house caterers to produce a balanced and varied diet that accounts for individual dietary needs. Not only that we look after the bands requirements when it comes to flights and hotels so I am pretty busy.”

Next door is Poppy Lauer who takes care

of wardrobe for the team: “My job revolves around maintaining the illusion of clean and new! There’s not too many costume changes.

Brian and Roger have chosen most of their own clothes, some are specially made but not that many. A lot of Adam’s costumes are custom made. He has got some Versace, styled in LA by stylist Jen Rade He also has a lot of his own ideas; he knows what he likes and what suits him. Most of the design revolves around his input.”

The relaxed happy vibe and positive energy on this tour is palpable; every individual involved seems genuinely thrilled to be part of it. Backstage the sense is that this excitement comes as much from the artists as it does from the technical team that supports them. The Australian leg of the tour has been aptly named The Once in a Lifetime tour - it’s certainly felt like that to me.

TPi

Photos: Sarah Rushton-Read www.queenonline.com www.clairbrothers.com www.verrents.com www.trucknroll.com http://www.stufish.com www.feedbackeventcuisine.com www.dandsclassiccoach.com www.rockitcargo.com www.upstaging.com www.er-productions.com www.q-sfx.com

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PRODUCTION PROFILE: Monty Python

MONTY PYTHON

SINCE MONTY PYTHON’S FLYING CIRCUS WAS FIRST BROADCAST ON BBC IN 1969, MONTY PYTHON’S SKETCHES HAVE BECOME WOVEN INTO THE NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS - IF SUCH A THING EXISTS. FROM THE MINISTRY OF SILLY WALKS TO THE DEAD PARROTSSKETCH, MONTY PYTHON’S REVOLUTIONARY HUMOUR IS REVERED BOTH AT HOME AND ABROAD; ITS INFLUENCE CAN STILL BE FELT TO THIS VERY DAY. PERHAPS IT CAME OF LITTLE SURPRISE, THEN, THAT TICKETS FOR THE FIRST NIGHT OF MONTY PYTHON LIVE (MOSTLY) - ONE DOWN FIVE TO GO, SOLD OUT IN A RECORD 43 SECONDS, PROMPTING NINE MORE DATES TO BE ADDED BETWEEN 1 AND 20 JULY. NOT WANTING TO MISS OUT ON THIS LAST HURRAH, TPi’S PATRICK MCCUMISKEY WENT BACKSTAGE AT LONDON’S O2 ARENA TO TALK TO THE CREW RESPONSIBLE FOR THE MAMMOTH PRODUCTION. “Who’d have thought 40 years ago we’d be sitting here doing Monty Python?” asked Eric Idle as The Four Yorkshiremen sketch opened to a rapture of applause and laughter. While the Pythons may have morphed into the ageing millionaires they once mockingly depicted, their unique brand of humour has not lost its appeal throughout the ages - despite some sketches feeling, frankly, quite dated. Such instances, however, were not enough to dampen the enjoyment of seeing Monty Python again on stage.

Production Manager Matt Towell guided TPi around the wings of The O2. “The only arena stuff I’ve done before is the Batman Live tour, so it is quite refreshing to be working on an 50

arena show.” Continued Towell: “I normally do musical theatre in the West End, so it’s been a bit of a different approach. Having said that, we’ve got a theatre stage management team working on these shows - the show is, after all, a musical - so I suppose in a sense it’s a continuation of what I am normally used to, albeit in a slightly different form.”

Rehearsals took place at LH2 in London in the weeks prior to the premiere. Getting the whole entourage packed up and transported across London, however, was no easy task.

Continued Towell: “We needed 24 trucks in total, but because the show was not prepared and built as a tour, physically shifting the set in a very short space of time was a delicate process. Not only did we have to move from

LH2 to The O2, but also we had to shift everything out again for Robbie Williams’ show on 8 July, and then back in for the rest of the dates. If this were a musical in the theatre, you’d have two weeks on stage to do all the technical side of it, but here, we’ve got three days.”

I asked Ric Lipson, Set Designer at Stufish Entertainment Architects to elaborate on the challenges of designing the Monty Python Live (mostly) stage design: “From the onset we started to think of the stage as a pop-up theatre book.” Continued Lipson: “The design had two main requirements. The first was to adopt a big look for The O2 audience to be used in the large chorus numbers; while the second requirement was the smaller scale,

PRODUCTION PROFILE: Monty Python

Opposite: Spam anyone? Stufish worked closely with Eric idle and Terry Gilliam to create a multi-scened ‘pop-up theatre’ set. Below: Sound Designer, Rory Madden selected Shure’s Axient wireless microphone system - comprising 16 channels - for the Pythons.

intimate comedy sketches that would be filmed in close-up and for image magnification as well as for the live broadcast.” Continued Lipson: “The overall design took many elements from the vast archive of Terry Gilliam and from the styling of the original Flying Circus TV series sets. We worked with Terry to make sure that the show was designed to be faithful to the Python style whilst using our experience of large scale shows to make sure the production delivered at the scale of The O2.”

The stage consisted of a ground level and a higher level. The higher level provided for various backgrounds on tracks to be pulled across for the large scenes. Three large openings under the high level provided entrances for the various sets, which were rolled onto the stage. Each set was created for a specific scene or sketch, while a pair of rolling staircases provided different configurations for the choreography that was extensively used during the show.

“The whole direction of the

show was headed up by Eric Idle,” continued Lipson, “Once we understood the various locations required in the script, myself and Ray Winkler began to develop the set with the requirement of catering for the needs of 20 dancers on stage as well as intimate sketches between the Pythons.”

The design also had to incorporate a live orchestra at the front of the stage, requiring the designers to incorporate a traditional orchestra pit, adding to the theatrical look. “The world of Terry Gilliam’s art provided such a rich environment for the scenic style that the rest of the main set almost developed itself,”he said.

Amalie White was Lipson’s Assistant and developed the individual scenic looks that included the packages and drawings for vendors. The Stufish team worked together with Malcolm Birkett who provided the overall technical drawing for the project. Birkett was in charge with liaising with the other departments and making sure that all of the rigging, scenery, lighting,

51

PRODUCTION PROFILE: Monty Python

video, costume and sound departments were all coordinated. Furthermore, Lizzie Frankl and her team at Lizzie Props helped Stufish source and build many props for the stage including a Llama to a ‘Cockroach Cluster’ was created by Lizzie’s team.

Choreographed dance routines were a major feature of the set; quite a feat given that the Pythons are old enough to receive free bus passes. “Our good understanding of stage choreography allowed us to suggest an elevated catwalk area that would allow 20 dancers to be elevated at times,” said Lipson.

Lipson contacted Steel Monkey Engineering with regards to fabricating the set. “Steel Monkey’s amazing team helped to create all of the pieces of scenery in intricate detail. The set was hand painted with a high level of accuracy by their scenic painters directly from the Gilliam original artwork.”

“Manufacturing good old fashioned painted scenery proved to be one of the highlights of working with the Pythons,” declared Annie French, Co-Founder of Steel Monkey. “We provided the 30-metre by 10-metre rolling stage, 16.5-metre high by 26-metre wide scenic painted proscenium arch, over 30 different scenes all scenic for the various sketches, a fourmetre by 21-metre chicken run on wheels to support dancers, and various props.”

A couple of these props drew particular

52

attention from the audience. French elaborated: “We created a pair of seven-metre tall selferecting fibreglass penis cannons which blew fake sperm bubbles over the audience and stage for the Every Sperm is Sacred musical number.”

Quantum Special effects were tasked with creating the ‘sperm’, which was unleashed onto the first few rows of audience members.

Inside were two remotely controlled Snow Boy machines fixed to the metal framework that then had the snow guided out of the ‘tip’.

Two bubble machines were positioned left and right side of stage, producing 140 solid white bubbles per minute, up to 40cm in diameter.

LIGHTING Lighting Designers Patrick Woodroffe and Adam Bassett of Woodroffe Bassett Design lit the show with Miriam Evans acting as Associate Designer and Pryderi Baskerville programming the show on a High End Systens Whole Hog 2 console Woodroffe had an inkling that Eric Idle would contact him in the event of a Monty Python reunion: “I’ve known Eric Idle for some years so there was always an understanding that this might happen one day. And when it all came together I was delighted that he asked me to join the gang!” Illuminating the Pythons to correspond with the musical-theatrical theme was no easy task. Continued Woodroffe: “It had

to be a spectacle that suited both the scale of stage set created by Stufish and also the size of the huge audience in The O2. But it also had to be treated like a smaller theatrical show on occasion as the setting for most of the comedy sketches was more contained.

“Lighting for comedy means you have to use really strong front light on the faces at all times and this was sometimes difficult to do from such great distances. And you also want to keep the audience dark so they don’t feel intimidated and this was a challenge when we came to film the show. But I think we found the right balance in the end.”

To achieve this effect, Woodroffe called upon the services of PRG Nocturne, with whom he had worked previously on the Olympics opening and closing ceremonies. Woodroffe requested 30 Philips Vari-Lite 3000 Spots, 25 Vari-Lite 3500’s and six Vari-Lite 2000 Spots, 58 Robe Pointes, 58 PRG Best Boy Washes, 20 Clay Paky Sharpy Beams, 40 Vari-Lite 3500 Washes and 76 Robe Robin 800’s. Further LED fixtures employed were 34 IPix BB4 Washes, 63 Colorkinetics ColourBlast 12’s and 18 PixelRange PixelPARs. A further Showtec 48 PAR 64 Long Noses, 79 2-lite Molephays, eight ETC Source 4 ERS and 19 Sunstrip Active DMX fixtures were utilised.

“There’s a mix of large wash and smaller lights for effect, and a variety of practicals

PRODUCTION PROFILE: Monty Python

Below: The FOH crew preseding over their DiGiCo SD7 consoles. Note the traditional theatre-like stage design in the background.

that fit each of the stage settings,” concluded Woodroffe.

VIDEO Old footage from Monty Python’s Flying Circus was played to keep the audience entertained during set changes, and during sketches Imag video of the pythons adorned the VER supplied Revolution Display RS5 LED video screens.

In total, the main screen measured in at 16.8-metres wide and 10.2-metres high, giving five million pixels of output. The left and right camera imag screens were Win Vision 9mm LED screens.

Important to note, however, is that the placement of the three video screens was done strategically so as to incorporate video within the set design. Continued Stufish’s Ric Lipson: “We wanted to avoid having a video background behind the dancers or the Pythons when they performed at stage level. This meant we could keep the design feeling that it was real and illustrated rather than just being a digital backdrop.”

VER’s Scott Russell commented: “We knew that the RS5 would work well for an event of this scale because we had a good run out with it at the Superbowl half time show back in January. The main challenge was to get the

54

main LED Screen up and out of the way so Steel Monkey could roll the stage in underneath us.

We had budgeted to get the main screen up in four hours but achieved it in two and half hours.”

The Monty Python show was recorded on Saturday 19 July for a future 5.1 DVD release,

and in addition, the show was beamed out live to cinemas worldwide on 20 July. As a result, the show called for a very high specification of HD video. Continued Russell: “VER provided six Sony HDC-1500 camera channels which you would only normally see on a broadcast TV shoot but VER is deploying more and more on

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PRODUCTION PROFILE: Monty Python

Below: Matt Towell, Production Manager.

live shows that we work on. Because of the camera positions at the London O2 we had to go for long lenses and we asked to supply three Fujinon 101x Lenses along with two Cannon 86x Lenses.”

The entire video playback onto the LED screens was fed via three d3 Technologies media servers, with content coming through Sam Pattinson at The Third Company. “We created the animated screen content and researched and prepared the flying circus archive material,” said Pattinson. “We worked with producers John Goldstone and Holly Gilliam to find the best quality footage. This mean trawling through the various Python archives which was just fascinating and great fun. Once we selected the footage we had to clean each frame and re-grade it for the LED screens.”

Russell continued: “It was great when Matt Towell, Production Manager, got in touch with VER to see what we could do to help out on Monty Python. Anybody who works in this

56

industry always wants to work with big artists and when it comes to comedy, I guess you don’t get much bigger than Monty Python. I will have to chalk this one up with The Stones and The Who, and I will certainly look back in years to come and say I was lucky enough to be involved with the last time the Pythons were together. I mean, when was the last time you had to walk around a large stripy penis backstage to get to catering?”

AUDIO Rory Madden, owner of audio supplier Sonalyst, also performed the role of Sound Designer for the shows.

As Madden works on 15-20 shows at The O2 Arena each year, the Python shows benefitted from his finely tuned acoustic knowledge of the venue. A Meyer Sound system was implemented, controlled via three DiGiCo SD7s, each dealing with approximately 140 inputs; one on monitors and two at FOH position sharing six SD-Racks between them.

The Meyer system comprised 72 Mica compact curvilinear arrays, 16 600-HP bass subwoofers, 24 M’elodie ultra-compact curvilinear arrays for monitor side fills and 16 UPM loudspeakers for front fills and monitors, all managed by four Meyer Sound Galileo systems.

In fitting with the meticulous attention to detail given to the theatrical set build, Madden required a system that could deliver quality sound while remaining hidden from view. “The set designer and producer were very keen that the PA could be flown clear of the set, which we managed to deliver without compromise to the audio coverage and quality,” said Madden.

“I think the downside of more powerful systems for shows like this is that when somebody starts speaking, you look up. Although you can hear it clearly and powerfully, it actually takes away from the imagery of where it’s coming from and thus the audience experience is compromised.

That’s why I chose this PA: the Meyer system has a really nice clarity to it, and has great imagery without even trying.”

Looking after monitors was Bill Birks, with Dave Dixon mixing the band and Simon Fox on vocal mixes and special effects at FOH. “The reason for the two operators is because there was quite a lot happening in the show with vocals and the band,” explained Associate Sound Designer, Toby Chester.

“With over 60 channels of radio microphones, it’s hard for one person to be across both areas quickly at the same time,” Madden explained. “So having two engineers working together at FOH gives us accuracy and full control of the production.”

The wireless system used by the Pythons comprised Shure Axient microphones and Countryman H6 headsets in combination with Shure UR1M bodypack transmitters. Madden selected Shure’s Axient wireless microphone system - comprising 16 channels - for the Pythons plus their longtime collaboratoress, Carol Cleveland, with each one double-miked for redundancy. The remainder of the cast, chorus and dancers were equipped with Shure’s UHF-R wireless microphones (equating to 40 channels), while the production’s in-ear monitor requirements were dealt with 16 channels of Shure PSM1000’s.

“I’ve tried all of the available systems, and own a lot of them,” commented Madden.

“The sound and features on Axient are great, and the support from Shure has been second to none - our special thanks must go to Shure Distribution’s Tuomo Tolonen in that respect.

The pressure on our RF Tech Graham Colley was intense, because there were an awful lot of people watching in the theatre and internationally on the final night if anything went wrong, but in RF terms we had not a single glitch.”

RF Tech Graham Colley, previously controlling

PRODUCTION PROFILE: Monty Python

the wireless microphone rigs during the London and Sochi Olympics, added: “I’m pleased to say everything was rock solid! UHF-R and Axient worked really well together - UHF-R’s compact UR1M transmitter packs were perfect for the dancers - and it’s been great being able to monitor everything through the Wireless Workbench software.”

Another integral aspect of the sound design at the Python shows were Roland’s M-48 Live Personal Mixers, of which a total of 12 were employed for the nine piece orchestra. Madden first utilised the M-48’s for Queen’s We Will Rock You musical, making him one of the first engineers to do so for a live musical production.

Said Madden: “They proved to be robust and problem free both with We Will Rock You and The Commitments and above all the musicians liked using them. I had no hesitations in using the M-48’s in the design for the Monty Python shows.” He added: “The M-48’s were a lot better in terms of sound quality than the competition. They had lots to play with and loads of cool features.”

While the Pythons and dancers on stage used conventional monitors, the Roland M-48 Personal Mixers were used by the nine piece band for personal monitoring and mixing, giving each musician control over individual sound levels, enabling each monitor mix to be adjusted by the musician to their exact preferences with

58

volume, pan, three-band EQ and built-in reverb all instantly adjustable. Additionally, the monitor engineer and monitor technician each had their own M-48 pack to listen and remotely adjust the musicians’ monitor mixes without disturbing the musicians during the show.

The M-48’s in this particular setup were connected to the DiGiCo SD7 via a Roland S-1608 Digital Snake 16 by eight Stage Unit, which fed into a Roland S-4000D Splitter and Power Distributor.

LIVE BROADCAST AND RECORDING Outside broadcast specialists RedTX delivered a live feed of the finale to televisions and cinemas around the globe. The company’s trucks were fed full MADI streams - as opposed to adding active analogue splits in-between - ensuring viewers received a direct feed of the event.

Madden utilised the MADI split technology of the DiGiCo SD Racks in his design to its full potential for the live recording, as opposed to utilising the conventional active split setups.

In anticipation of a 5.1 DVD release later this year, a Pro Tools rig and a JoeCo BlackBox recorder captured the MADI feeds.

“It’s a really good show and it’s all worked very well,” added Tour manager Tony Harper.

“There have been moments where gremlins have crept in. There’s always going to be something where you say that’s not quite right

and it gets changed and improved. It’s been a process, but we’ve been lucky and the results speak for themselves.”

“There was very little rehearsal, comparatively,” added Associate Sound Designer Toby Chester. “After the first week, the Pythons were still forgetting things and it was quite stressful. But they were still having a laugh and enjoying it. In fact, when it goes wrong, which it does sometimes, it’s even more entertaining. They’re relaxed enough to joke around with each other on stage which makes it the best show.”

Ultimately, it is refreshing to hear from the production side of proceedings that the rigorous show schedule didn’t dampen the humour of the Pythons. Although it may be the last time we see the pythons together on stage, at least - thanks in no small part to the great job done by the production team - the British treasures ended on a high note.

TPi Photos: Dave J Hogan / Getty Images, Sarah James and Patrick McCumiskey www.stufish.com www.steelmonkey.co.uk www.q-sfx.com woodroffebassett.com www.nocturneproductions.com www.verrents.com www.treatmentstudio.com www.sonalyst.co.uk www.red-tx.com

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CLOCKING OFF: Le Mark’s Race For Life Below: The Le Mark girls ran the Race For Life in support of breast cancer awareness, and have so far raised £1,300. Well done ladies!

LEANNE BAKER, LE MARK’S UK SALES TEAM LEADER HAS ALSO LED HER TEAM MEMBERS INCLUDING LAUREN ARNOLD (EXPORT SALES COORDINATOR), SAM COOKE, (UK SALES) AND HANNAH ATTFIELD, (EXPORT SALES TEAM LEADER) ON A FITNESS JOURNEY WHICH HAS RAISED FUNDS FOR THE NOTABLE BREAST CANCER AWARENESS CAMPAIGN. THEY REPORT FROM THE FRONT LINE...

Many of us here are not gym lovers, I think that’s fair to say. We don’t mind admitting one of the main incentives is to spot toned men! But, if we get to raise money and awareness for an amazing charity then it’s a win-win situation.

Fundraising has become a bit of a regular thing in the office. Usually it’s done through in-office events like wearing pink days, product promos and other business-linked stuff.

For Race for Life, we needed to put some effort in and break out the running shoes! The toned men spotting … sorry, the ‘training’, started in February 2014, with just a few of the girls from the office. We started light with a few boxercise classes but it was the badminton that got the other girls from the office interested. Before we knew it , there were seven of us getting involved. Some, unfortunately had to drop out along the way but others quickly stepped up to take their place. Like many offices, we all work in our own departments and welcome the chance 60

to spend time together.

Leading up to the event, fundraising wasn’t exactly easy; a lot of people don’t have the spare cash they used to. In a conversation with the MDs the question “how is everything going with your fund raising?” was asked. When they heard it wasn’t quite going as planned, the company

It was a hot day in Cambridge for the race itself, and there was a lot of emotion in the air but it was so incredible to be involved. We all did so well, with the first of us finishing in just 28 minutes! Words cannot express seeing thousands of women looking up as they crossed the line, saying the words “I love you” to their

“Within a short space of time we smashed our original target of £400 and were well over £1000.” decided to get involved. They made a few calls and we managed to put together an amazing promotional video which went out to the entire customer base through email, social media and the press. Within a short space of time we smashed our original target of £400 and were well over £1,000. We had donations from all over the country and some from our industry friends and colleagues all around the world.

supporters. That’s motivation and inspiration for anyone. We’re currently sitting at £1,300 which is amazing. Thank you to everyone that has helped us to support the fight, and please donate if you’d like.

TPi http://raceforlife.cancerresearchuk.org https://www.justgiving.com/peasinapod1 http://www.lemark.co.uk

Uniting the audience

As a FOH engineer and master of ceremonies, you want the entire audience, front to back, in tune with your mix.

Every lyric, symbol, bass and high note in glorious definition.

So do we.

That’s the Martin Audio Experience.

Unite your audience at www.martin-audio.com

ON THE ROAD: Montreal

OH CANADA! TPi’s KELLY MURRAY TALKS TO MONTREAL’S TOURING AND LIVE EVENT PROS. CAUTION: THIS MAY HAVE INVOLVED A MOLSON BREWERY AND MAPLE SYRUP SUGAR RUSH. The South West island of Montreal is the largest city in the province of Quebec, Canada, and boasts the largest speaking French population outside of Paris.

Québécois French is based on an early version of the language after the French settled in the early 1600’s in search of a new life outside of Europe.

The historical district of Old Montreal today is somewhat unusual; the language is met with European architecture, backstreet bistros and horse and cart transportation.

It’s both beautiful and extraordinary when thinking about one’s geographical location.

Rooftop bars provide skyline views where as menus describe traditional French cuisine, modern twists on poutine (that’s chips, gravy and cheese to you and I) and regionally vinified wine.

Modern Montreal is a green, clean and industrious city. It’s brimming with live 62

events, environmental initiatives, creative industries, technological innovation and manufacturing plants which think outside the box. From experience, its residents are warm and welcoming, its festivals are rather well-behaved and its passion for development is rife, yet it still maintains the culture of its roots. The locals will bestow their hospitality upon you, soak up your humour and enthuse about your exploration of their hometown.

For this instalment of On The Road, we visited several companies in Montreal and its surrounding suburbs, and the results were surprising, eye opening and comforting. Read on to learn about some of the island’s biggest names and the industry’s best-kept secrets. From the ultra modern offices to the artist style loft spaces, we found the best Quebec has to offer.

ON THE ROAD: Montreal

www.solotech.com

“I started out in the business at the age of 19 in 1973, today I am in 42nd year working in our industry,” declared Solotech’s Richard Lachance during our visit around the rental company’s impressive Montreal HQ. Lachance’s first world tour experience lasted from 1977 to 1984 with Nana Mouskouri, and this cemented his love for life on the road. “From 1989 to 2000, I toured extensively around the world with opera productions such as Aida, Carmen and Nabucco.

Since the year 2000, I have been with Solotech, in charge of developing the international touring market and as of this year, my title is Senior Vice President of Business Development.”

And that’s not all: “I still mix classical music using a Midas XL-4 console. My last gig was Carmina Burana with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra and choir.” The outdoor concert was attended by 45,000 classical music fans.

With such a rich touring background at the helm of its touring business, it’s little wonder that Solotech touring teams often tell TPi that the company offers the opportunity to move up the ranks in terms of technical ability and touring positions, something that Lachance feels is important: “Training and giving opportunities to our employees is paramount at Solotech, as

Solotech’s Senior Vice President of Business

Development, Richard Lachance with a Midas XL-4. we have over 600 employees at this time.”

After 14 years at Solotech, Lachance today feels that being “a real full service company that considers all departments with equal importance, innovation and our people” is what truly sets the Solotech brand apart. “We always respect our clients, respect our employees and offer our clients the best bang for their buck.”

With the likes of Michael Buble, Justin Timberlake and Cirque du Soleil as just some of its world-class touring clients, Solotech can be credited with providing high-end productions to global names with great success. Solotech currently has six locations in Montreal, Quebec, Las Vegas, Gatineau, Saguenay and Toronto. When TPi visited the 265,000 sq ft HQ in Montreal, we were graced with a huge warehouse of every kind of technical inventory you could ask for, a plethora of staff building flight cases - Solotech makes all its own inhouse - and modern offices filled with logistical wizards and projects managers.

“This is year 15 for me at Solotech, and I hope to finish what I started in the upcoming years. That means maintaining Solotech as one of the world’s top full service production companies.”

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ON THE ROAD: Montreal

www.4u2c.com

The 4U2C team.

A surprise meeting on our visit to Montreal came in the form of newly established visual content and production company, 4U2C. Founded in April 2013 by Yves Aucoin (President), a member of Celine Dion’s creative team and Lighting Designer for Cirque du Soleil’s Beatles themed LOVE show, and Vice President Stephane Mongeau, an influential Show Producer and Production Manager also from Cirque du Soleil’s alumni.

The company has some very prestigious names behind it and is based within Solotech’s Montreal HQ, (the company is part owned by both the rental company and Cirque du Soleil). Therefore 4U2C has the latest technical knowledge at its fingertips, with the resources of many touring personal working in-house. The offices are seamlessly modern and brimming with a young, creative crowd.

On our tour around the offices, VP Mongeau explained that at just 18 months old, the company is able to bring with it a wealth of expertise, and is already able to count a wide variety of accomplishments to date.

Helping to produce festivals, religious celebrations and 64

huge sport galas, 4U2C has quickly built a team of world class graphic designers and live event visual experts who are able to tackle any creative challenge - in any climate.

Igloofest for example, has been a great project for the company. Located in the Old Port of St JacquesCartier Quay in Montreal’s old town - and with Solotech on board as an official sponsor - the EDM event has grown from entertaining a mere 4,000 people in 2007 to welcoming 85,000 attendees at this year’s various dance weekends. To create a show worth raving about - pun intended! - 4U2C were asked by Event Producers Elektronic Picnic to add a new dimension to the festival with a re-design of its second stage.

“For the 4U2C team, Igloofest’s invitation to create an immersive environment in which the festival will take place represents a great challenge, both in terms of design and imagination. The prospect of working under the open Montreal sky in winter is very appealing,” noted Aucoin.

If this is just the beginning for 4U2C, expect further exciting live event innovation from here on out...

ON THE ROAD: Montreal

www.cirquedusoleil.com

Cique du Soleil’s Pierre Guillotte, Senior Produ

ction Manager.

When TPi arrived at Cirque du Soleil’s Montreal HQ, we were greeted by a giant bronze sculpture of a sole clown shoe. Perhaps representing the humble beginnings of the world’s biggest circus with a nod to where it all started: traditional street performances on the pavements of Quebec.

Today, in its 30th year, Cirque du Soleil is no longer a local performance project, but rather, a global live production specialist which not only has hugely successful resident shows in Las Vegas, but also runs an impressive touring rosta. “We currently run nine full time touring shows; five in big tops (temporary tent structures) and four in arenas. As a whole, shows employ over 300 technicians and require over 500 trucks to move around,” explained Senior Production Manager, Pierre Guillotte as he led TPi through the different departments of its HQ. After being a freelance roadie himself for some years, working as a sound tech and truck driver for over a decade before “running away with the circus”, he discovered Cirque du Soleil in the late 80s and the union sealed his fate as a technical guru at the company. In his daily job, Guillotte works with everything from the initial costs of a 66

production during rehearsals, to the tour’s eventual running costs and the need to meet technological expectations of the creative team. He described Cirque du Soleil’s latest production - Kurios - as a “refreshing show that you just have to see.”

Detailed on its official website as a ‘cabinet of curiosities, an ingenious blend of unusual curiosity acts and stunning acrobatic prowess… Kurios shows you that anything is possible through the power of imagination,’ one can only imagine that this show will be the next in a long line of triumphs for the internationally recognised touring company.

Since its inception in 1984, Cirque du Soleil has provided high-quality artistic entertainment from the streets to theatres but the design possibilities which have come with the evolution of touring technology which in the last three decades has allowed Cirque du Soleil to continually push the creative boundaries of what a touring circus production is. Highlighting Cirque’s biggest achievement to date, according to Guillotte, is still simply what any circus sets out to do: “Making people laugh… all over the world!”

Kurios is currently touring throughout North America.

ON THE ROAD: Montreal

www.momentfactory.com

Moment Factory’s Co-Founder and Chief of Technology, Dominic Audet, Head of Communications, Julie Armstrong-Boileau and Arthur Segura, 3D Modeler.

Moment Factory is a new media and entertainment studio specialising in the conception and production of multimedia environments combining video, lighting, architecture, sound and special effects. The company was quite literally a company born out of friendship, when Sakchin ‘Saky’ Bessette Co-Founder and Creative Director and CoFounder Dominic Audet created the business (alongside Jason Rodi who left in 2007), the initial dream was to push the limits of the content creation medium, and the quality level and innovation within the skill set throughout the industry. Since Rodi’s departure, Moment Factory has been directed by three minds; Saky, Audet and Eric Fournier, the company’s Strategic Head.

“We wanted to mix story telling and original content with technology, to push the medium into different territories,” explained Saky. The outwardly unassuming offices

of Moment Factory lie on the outskirts of the relaxed hipster neighbourhood of Mile End, a part of Montreal adorned with cute restaurants, independent specialist shops and lofty office blocks housing some of our industry’s most creative talents. The studio is also responsible for some of the touring industry’s content creation and can count Madonna, Miley Cyrus and Arcade Fire amongst its rock ‘n’ roll cliental.

Since its inception in 2001, Moment Factory has created more than 300 installations, events and shows across the world. Continued Saky: “Today, Moment Factory has 120 full time staff and the success of the brand is based on the team’s effort, we’re a culture of different talents and quality drives the team and pushes us through to another level; that’s the key to our success. Passion is also key and everyone who works here works on very complex projects which requires collaborations 67

ON THE ROAD: Montreal

between team members and an understanding of the multi-disciplinary elements between interactive designers, engineers, 3D animators, content creators and directors.”

For every step of Moment Factory’s office tour, there is something new to look at; the brightly coloured offices are strewn with the personalities of the co-founders meaning that skateboards can be seen every couple of metres and art sketches lace the wall. There is a workshop too, a space in which employees can test out ideas and work on the R&D of new projects. The studio also makes its own media server, X-Agora. It manages very complex and interceptive environments for live shows or primitive installations. “Making it simple enough for people to use in different situations was quite an achievement,” stated Saky.

Moment Factory is a very technical creative outfit; it shines with unique imagination and excels in involving the audience with each undertaking. He continued: “Every project has different challenges technologically, for example working in the forest posed challenges such as power distribution and weather.”

The forest is an installation which the global press were talking about when we visited the area. Coaticook Gorge Park, two hours east of downtown Montreal invited visitors to discover an enchanted trail winding 2km through the woods, creating a magical wonderland walk at night. As they walk through the mysterious forest, visitors meet characters inspired by the 68

area’s myths and legends, which draw them into an immersive adventure. An ethereal soundtrack accompanies the scenography, which combines projections and lighting.

On the other end of the spectrum, the touring / rock industry often presents new challenges to Moment Factory. A recent project, which sought the imagination of the Moment Factory team came from American rock legends Nine Inch Nails (NIN) live tour. “Due to all the interactive elements, this was a challenge but we managed to control all of the interactive elements with an MA Lighting grandMA lighting console so that we could program the show, and make it truly integrated,” explained Saky.

Moment Factory worked with NIN’s Production Designer, Roy Bennett to create the interactive stage setup that gave NIN, the stars of the show, control over the visual aspects of their performance. In effect, Moment Factory created a setup where the stage itself became an instrument that reacted to the band’s position, movements and intensity.

Moment Factory’s innovative interactive design allowed NIN to track, process and generate content in real-time. An on-stage device reacted to multiple live-capture inputs, and live visuals were displayed on giant transparent LED Stealth screens. Using its XMS platform, Moment Factory created an innovative performance environment that could survive the rigours of a rock tour.

ON THE ROAD: Montreal

www.stageline.com

Top right: Pierre Lemieux, President of Trizart with Yvan Miron, Stageline’s President; Stageline Account Executive, Raymond Belanger and Marketing Officer, Alexis Delage.

“Quebec is a small market with a very active cultural lifestyle but without the financial means of countries like the US or Europe,” explained Stageline’s Founder and President, Yvan Miron. “However, the demand to produce high standard events is strong, so we have to think outside of the box to make things happen.”

This is certainly true in the case of Stageline which pioneered the concept of load bearing mobile stages now used in over 45 countries. In addition, Stageline currently has a fleet of over 90 mobile stages in the North American rental market. The festival market has grown considerably in the last three decades and the need for covered, open air stages has grown enormously.

“Quebec’s weather patterns have always been unpredictable even in the summer.

Festivals and events are numerous, travel distances can be very long, and labour was not sufficient. This forced us to find a safe, user-friendly, reliable, time and cost efficient staging solution. The bottom line was that if it worked here, the product could work elsewhere.”

By all accounts, in the manufacturer’s early days - the company was formed in 1987 - the very concept of a ‘mobile stage’ was, for some, too much to conceive and as Miron championed Stageline’s products the industry, it seems, was sceptical. Today, walking around its manufacturing plants in the quaint agricultural town of L’Assomption, 69

ON THE ROAD: Montreal

it would be true to say that Miron’s vision has stayed in tact. The company has succeeded to great lengths during its history. Continued Miron: “I have always tried to simplify the logistical complexities of outdoor events. An outdoor stage - big or small - must have the same features; it has to work for the technicians, creatives, set designers, artists and event organisers. And that boils down to four key points: a stage has to be safe, user-friendly, reliable and cost-efficient both economically and environmentally. Of course, to realise those factors, it takes a lot of very talented people and I am lucky to be surrounded by many.”

As we walked around the latest edition to Stageline’s two buildings, this was indeed the case. Miron’s staff were energetic and incredibly passionate about their work within the company, each assigned to a specific skill set which has allowed the business to expand into what it is today.

At dinner later that evening, we discovered that Account Executive Raymond Belanger could tell you stories about his time in the industry that would make you smile from ear to ear.

Executive Account Manager, Colette Blouin, asked through a fit of giggles if we think they’re crazy for laughing together all the time. Not at all, we suggested, in fact it makes for very fun company. “Oh good,” said Blouin. “I think it’s just because we’re so happy, it’s the truth. And that’s because we really believe we have the best jobs in world.”

It seems like over the past 27 years, Miron has not only masterminded an innovative business that puts staging safety at the forefront of product development, but a business that should and does make his staff and Quebec proud.

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ON THE ROAD: Montreal

Geodezik’s Creative Director, Gabriel Contu Dumont; The Geodezik team.

http://geodezik.com

“Geodezik’s name comes from the concept of the Geodesic dome. Jimmy Lakatos, one of the four Co-Founders of Geodezik (along with Olivier Goulet, Mathieu St-Arnaud and Raymond St-Jean) was toying at the time with the idea that the Geodesic dome was representative of the main value of their collective; that each cell was strong and independent but together they created a structure that was virtually indestructible. Even after many years I can say that in spirit this ideology is still a propos. We choose people very carefully for their ability to be independent and authentic and to take on projects as stand alone units,” explained one of the company’s current partners, Gabriel Contu Demont from its loft style offices in the trendy Mile End. When Goulet became CEO of the company he approached Contu Demont to be his partner.

“At the time I was living in Berlin, taken there by my own visual art projects. After a few months of discussion I decided to move back to Montreal and see what this new chapter would bring me.”

Since the pair started working together,

Geodezik has grown from having four staff to its current employee headcount of 24 in a studio with an expertise oriented towards content creation and production for live and touring events. I myself first learned of Geodezik on Justin Timberlake’s 20/20 Experience tour, where we were immediately struck by the quality of the singer’s visual content (every five minutes for 2.5 hours).

“We are living in a really exciting moment for video,” said Contu Demont. “The accessibility to new technologies and the importance of images in our culture make video a strong medium from which to convey the artistic vision of performers. Plus, every project today somehow calls for innovation. It might be a new media server, a new LED product or some post production software, but there is always a new toy, or a new gadget to be used in a show.

“Our challenge and expertise is to create something meaningful with these ‘toys’. We have always opted for a more boutique feel to our company. The idea has always been to create custom looks and I feel we always prioritised quality over volume,” he added.

So after touring the world, living in Germany, and reaching the dizzy heights of working with some of the biggest pop acts on the planet (Contu Demont has also fitted 1D out with their current touring content), he has returned to his native Montreal, just a few blocks from where he was born, citing it as an ideal location for a base within our industry today: “Montreal is a perfect laboratory; you can focus on work and resource at the same time. There is a certain European vibe to the city and it was always very strong, creatively speaking.”

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ON THE ROAD: Montreal

www.vyv.ca

The VYV crew; TPi Award winner, Richard Turner; VYV Founder, Emric Epstein.

On a flying visit - quite literally en route to the airport as we were saying our goodbyes to Montreal - our last stop off led us to the high tech laboratories of the VYV Corporation.

Its Co-Founders, Martin Granger-Piche and Emric Epstein met whilst at university during research on augmented virtual reality and 3D reconstruction. “Some friends of ours were doing visual interactive shows and were complaining about the lack of appropriate professional tools. We were observing that there was a gap between academic technologies and those in the industry,” explained Granger-Piche.

Putting their skills to the test, after graduation the friends didn’t follow the trend of their classmates by joining the video games industry, and instead decided to found VYV to benefit the touring world. Their business idea was to bring real-time 3D graphics and computer vision to the entertainment industry and work closely with designers to provide them with custom tools adapted to their 72

production needs. The result is a very powerful media server: “Photon is the practical result of decades worth of research in 3D computer vision - and 10 years of our own R&D - which allows the product to manage very complex projection environments deceptively easily and extremely quickly. Its very unique features in the media server world allow it to run in situations where scale or complexity would otherwise be impossible in a touring environment,” he added.

VYV was in the company of another Brit during our meeting, TPi Award winner, Richard Turner, who claimed his trophy for his legendary work with Roger Waters’ The Wall. Turner was most complimentary about the innovations at VYV and recently, TPi has seen some of his ground breaking technology in practice on two very high profile tours. Epstein furthered: “On the Miley Cyrus’ Bangerz tour for instance, a single 20-minute window is available for projection setup every day - and the single press of a button is all that is needed to calibrate 14 tracking cameras and six projectors in 3D,

ON THE ROAD: Montreal

making them ready to project onto surfaces that don’t even need to be on stage during the process.” In the case of the Bangerz tour, two giant inflatables (a dog and monkey) are tracked in 3D while moving on stage. “The projection follows precisely, even when they deform or while they are deflating,” he said.

“Another example is Justin Timberlake’s 20/20 Experience tour, which requires aligning 35 Barco projectors within a very short period of time, using Photon’s latest auto-3Dalignment feature, this is done automatically in approximately 10 minutes without user intervention and while light and lasers are being focused.”

The works of the dedicated minds behind VYV are a true testament to how far media servers have developed in the last decade. The 10-year-old company has become the go-to media server for some of the most complicated live productions on the road today.

Granger-Piche explained: “Not so long ago, approaching a projection problem with 3D tools seemed mysterious and complex and some people had trouble seeing the potential benefits, since designs were made with traditional limitations in mind. Other media servers on the market are now trying to attempt the 3D approach, which is a very good thing;

the designs have caught up with the capabilities of the machines, which is great for us… we love a challenge!”

Epstein agreed: “Each new project adds more craziness to our work and we continually innovate with new algorithms and technology.

For example, Cirque du Soleil’s IRIS in 2011 pushed our mastery of automation tracking.

The following year, Michael Jackson One allowed us to show projection on freely moving 3D surfaces and the 20/20 Experience tour required us to automatically calibrate 35 projectors at the press of a single button.”

The magnitude of such shows has to be seen to be appreciated, but it’s not just the touring market which is benefitting from VYV’s technology innovations in live environments as Granger-Piche enthused: “With all the work we have put in 3D tracking tools, used in particular for automatic projection alignment, have already allowed us to do very unique things.

“One interesting next step is to make this work in real time - and then put projectors on yokes. We are currently working on the next Franco Dragone permanent show in Wuhan, China, which will definitely be the most advanced and complex video projection setup that we have ever achieved.”

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COMPANY PROFILE: Acorn Event Structures

ACORN EVENT STRUCTURES ACORN IS ONE OF THE UK’S LARGEST PRIVATELY OWNED EVENT SOLUTIONS AND SCAFFOLDING COMPANIES, ORIGINALLY FOUNDED BY ANDREW AND REBECCA NUTTER BACK IN 1996 TO PROVIDE SYSTEM SCAFFOLD SOLUTIONS TO THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY. DESPITE THIS INITIAL FORAY INTO SOLUTIONS FOR CONSTRUCTION, IT DIDN’T TAKE LONG BEFORE REQUESTS FROM EVENT COMPANIES TO SUPPLY TEMPORARY SCAFFOLDING SOLUTIONS STARTED FLOODING IN. IN 2006, THE NUTTERS TOOK THE INITIATIVE TO LAUNCH A DEDICATED EVENT-ORIENTED COMPANY TO SATISFY POTENTIAL CUSTOMER DEMAND, ACORN EVENT STRUCTURES. TPi’s PATRICK MCCUMISKEY MET THE TEAM. Since its inception, the ‘new’ operation has grown from strength to strength and now has sub-divisions dedicated to scaffold, staging and bespoke structures.

Furthermore, Acorn is a company in constant development, investing in developing and refining its products for the events industry.

Having this year opened its new northern operations HQ in Yorkshire - as well as new Scottish premises near Glasgow - the business is evidently going from strength to strength.

In short, Acorn has evolved from its modest roots to provide all kinds of temporary and permanent staging solutions for almost any event imaginable. Among the things Acorn can build and supply are: video screen supports, personnel and material hoists, full stages, rigging towers, canopies, ramps, steps, gantries, lifts, control barriers and delay towers with both modular and custom elements to name but a few.

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Acorn has worked extremely closely with German scaffold company Layher over many years to integrate within its structures. The vast majority of Acorn’s overlay solutions are based on the internationally renowned Layher system scaffold - the first to offer modular boltfree scaffold connections. Layher scaffolding reduces assembly times and labour costs while offering maximum flexibility and compliancy with all relevant regulations. Thanks to the implementation of Layher scaffolding systems, Acorn’s products serve a range of event applications, from simple back of house access solutions through to premium VIP installations.

What is the process behind ordering a stage with Acorn, I hear you ask? Well, from the initial enquiry Acorn prides itself on excellent customer service and attention to detail. The first step involves a detailed site survey to provide the necessary information to engineer and propose the most suitable solution for each individual project.

Acorn’s design engineers then create engineering drawings for each project, where necessary creating photo realistic 3D renderings and walkthroughs so as to ensure that amendments to the design can be made before the structure is physically realised.

At Acorn’s disposal is a pool of specialist engineers ensuring all structures are structurally sound and capable of withstanding the loads being placed on them. Andy Nutter, Director of Acorn, commented: “We employ a team of over 80 operational staff ranging from scaffolders through to contract managers. All our operational team are CISRS cardholders (The Construction Industry Scaffolders Record Scheme) as a minimum, trained in Layher system scaffold and have many years experience in delivering high quality overlay solutions to world-class events.”

TRAINING “There is no formulised, clearly defined or

COMPANY PROFILE: Acorn Event Structures

Opposite: Acorn’s 6 Tower Space Roof Stage configuration was employed in July at North East Live event at the Stadium of Light in Sunderland, UK.

registered structured training scheme for the events sector currently,” conceded Nutter.

“Acorn recognises that the structures the events sector constructs are both complicated and interact directly with the general public. On this basis and from the stance of health and safety, Acorn can see the need to ‘raise the bar’ and so consult with CISRS, Layher and industry training specialists Simian Skill, to discuss the development of an advanced CISRS training course in system scaffolding, specifically with regards to Layher systems.

“Layher are happy to support the requirement and with the popularity of Layher system scaffolding rising, it is our belief that this course is required,” he affirmed. “We are especially pleased that CISRS agreed to hold this initial pilot which IF successful and IF adopted, would complete the suite of system scaffolding courses giving the events sector a route to training for their erectors / riggers.”

TRANSPORT To ensure that its products and services are delivered on time and efficiently, Acorn own and operate a fleet of over 70 vehicles from flatbed light goods vehicles right through to articulated trucks.

“The majority of our heavy goods vehicles

come equipped with Moffett M8 three-tonne all-terrain lorry mounted forklifts which means we can be operational as soon as our trucks arrive on site while minimising down time and speeding up the build by reducing manual” said Nutter.

AN IMPRESSIVE BACK CATALOGUE The scope and variety of events that Acorn has been involved with is a testament to the company’s ability to deliver for a wide spectrum of demands. Whether providing bespoke corporate event structures for the likes of Chevrolet, Toyota and Manchester City Council or scaffolding and structures for the Goodwood festival of Speed, Frieze Art Fair and Bingley Festival; Acorn’s products and services are tried, tested and highly regarded.

For example, Colin Hook, Ipswich Borough Council’s Building Control Operations Manager, commented on Acorn’s involvement with providing the stage for Barry Manilow’s concert at Ipswich Football Club, which took place on the May 16 2014: “The information produced by the temporary structures teams was both comprehensive and complete enabling me to assess the design parameters and follow them up on site checks.’’ Hook continued: ‘’The work on site has been exemplary, professional,

efficient, clean and tidy, a pure model of how to run an event at its best.’’

For the concert, Acorn provided its popular six tower space roof configuration, giving a performance area of 20-metres by 16-metres and providing the American star and his live band with a large performance area.

Acorn worked with Serious Stages to create the stage. ‘We are very proud to have had the opportunity to work with Liz Hobbs Group, Serious Stages and Ipswich Borough Council on this spectacular event.” said Nutter.

Acorn’s relationship with both Liz Hobbs and Serious Stages has been blossoming over the past few years. Initially working on various live events for a number of years with Liz Hobbs, Acorn has recently started to work closely with Serious Stages, too. Hook added: ‘‘It was very good to see two staging companies working together. Again I would complement Acorn for a very well run build program, it was a text book example of efficiency, safety, tidiness and speed.’’

On Sunday July 22 2014 at Sunderland’s Stadium of Light Acorn’s six tower space roof stage configuration was employed again at North East Live to support performances from the likes of Jessie J and Jason Derulo.

The space roof design included a long access

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COMPANY PROFILE: Acorn Event Structures

Below: One of Acorn’s bespoke structures created especially for Toyota at the Goodwood Festival Of Speed; Main Stage Space Roof stage at Bingley Music Live 2013; Acorn’s Dome Roof Stage at the Capital FM Summertime Ball; The Main Stage Space Roof Stage at Bingley Music Live 2013.

ramp measuring approximately 20-metres by 2.5-metres with two sets of stairs and handrails to the front of the stage.

As most acts brought their accompanying bands and dancers with them, organisers wanted the Stage platform to be a generous size. According, Acorn provided a platform area of 14-metres by 15-metres giving the performing acts plenty of room to maneuver around on stage.

This will also be Acorn’s second year running building the main and second stage for Bingley Music Live Festival. Operations Manager Andy Ross said: “The professional service that Acorn Event Structures has provided to Bingley Music Live has been a welcome addition to our established contractors. Acorn’s pre event planning service has aided us as a client to easily meet the needs and requirements of a variety of stakeholders from artists, tour managers, sound and lighting engineers as well as services such as Building Control. On site Acorn demonstrated a high level of care and commitment to ensuring a safe, timely and efficient build programme.”

Last years two day build time included the installation of flying points at stage left and right for the FOH system and screens. Acorn’s revolutionary Space Roof System, which replaced an orbit stage system from previous years, also allowed more equipment to be flown as well as providing more useable stage space and superior wind loading. Acorn Event Structures’ Andy Nutter oversaw the operations 76

at Bingley and said the whole event ran smoothly. “The site access was good, with track way having been laid in advance right up to the back of where the stage was built, making for a smooth load in. We were also contracted to supply the second stage, which was a one-day build. We’re delighted to have completed our first year supporting the festival and very much look forward to working with the Bingley team again in 2014.”

COMMONWEALTH GAMES Most recently, Acorn was tasked with the responsibility of providing the screen support structure for Europe’s largest LED screen, the main structure for the opening ceremony which was built across the whole of the south stand at Celtic Park for the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

The structure, which used a custom designed Layher system, was one of Acorn’s largest to date. By using a continual scaffold wall, point loads were massively reduced and expensive and cumbersome support structures were not required meaning Acorn could install the structure within a much quicker time period without the use of cranage, which also meant headblocks could support the screen and PA much closer to the existing stadium roof.

To counter the horizontal forces being imposed on the structure, buttress bays were introduced to the rear of the structure on both the reinforced PA bays and at

10-minute intervals in between the PA bays.

All buttresses were wing braced back at a high level to maintain a working area on the stage platform. Ballast was also incorporated into the buttress structures to hold the weight of Europe’s Largest LED Screen, weighing 38 tonnes, measuring 11-meters high and almost 100-meters long.

Acorn also provided various other structures for the Opening Ceremony including two hoists, a scaffold hoist tower, nine service bridges, follow on spot platforms and ancillary decking.

“We are proud to have worked with Jack Morton and to have been given the opportunity to work on such a unique worldwide event and hope to continue their longstanding relationship with the prestigious global agency. We were also delighted to work with Glasgow Council, in particular working on the specific requirements of section 89.” said Nutter.

After winning Best Staging Company at the Event Production Awards and a having a huge success creating Europe’s largest screen support at the Commonwealth Games, Acorn are once again looking ahead to another bright year and have many more exciting plans for the future.

Acorn’s Andy Nutter concluded: “Our main goal is to secure long-term contracts with touring artists. This is something we hope to have in place in the very near future.”

TPi

Photos: Holly Jordan and Ian Taylor www.acorn-events.com

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: NEXO

NEXO’S NEW BÉBÉ: THE GEO M6 COMPACT LINE ARRAY FRENCH LOUDSPEAKER MANUFACTURER NEXO IS OFF TO A FLYING START WITH ITS NEW GEO M6 COMPACT, PREVIEWED IN THE SPRING AND NOW ENJOYING AN ORDER BOOK THAT IS UNPRECEDENTED IN NEXO HISTORY, AS TPi DISCOVERED. The new GEO M6 is the latest member of an illustrious family. NEXO’s GEO Series itself dates back to 2002 and the debut of GEO S8, a super-innovative interpretation of line array design principles presented in the smallest and lightest package then available.

NEXO product design focussed on achieving high SPL levels which were tightly consistent, homogenous throughout the audience area, and delivered high intelligibility. From day one, GEO Series has featured three patented technologies.

The Hyperboloid Reflective Wavesource Wavesource differs radically from the megaphone-variant type horns people know and love (or hate). NEXO’s HRW produces precise and predictable results by controlling the spherical expansion of the acoustic 78

pressure wave using an acoustic mirror instead of coercive sidewalls. Multiple HRWs can be combined without interference or loss of coherency since the hyperboloid acoustic mirror has a virtual source behind the speaker enclosure, as well as a real source inside the enclosure.

The Directivity Phase Device (DPD), which needs no operator input to function, enables multiple woofers to couple effectively at higher frequencies than would be possible with simple direct radiating cones. Thirdly, the CDD Configurable Directivity Device is a waveguide that allows the operator to alter its behaviour. Easy to use - once you know how and when - the CDD alters diffraction slot dispersion so that the GEO wavesources’ exponential flare controls dispersion in the non-

coupling plane.

These three technologies, so fundamental to the DNA of the popular GEO Series, are now harnessed to NEXO’s design philosophy of flexibility and scale through modularity.

The new GEO M6 is so versatile that, unlike many manufacturers, NEXO doesn’t stipulate any minimum or recommended system configurations at the point of sale. Use one cabinet in a theatre for lipfill: use 24 a side for a fully featured stage sound system, plus any variation in between.

So, how is it done? There are two cabinets in the GEO M6 category: the GEO M620 arrayable cabinet and the GEO M6B bass extension. The GEO M620 is a full-range unit for stand-alone, curved array or line array application. Extremely compact in size (191 by 373 by 260 mm) and

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: NEXO

Opposite: The GEO M620 arrayable cabinet. Below: The new product can be rigged for a variety of live events; The GEO M6 in a hang of three; NEXO Sales Director, Denis Baudier; The GEO M6 is easily transportable.

lightweight (less than 10 kgs), the GEO M620 uses a NEXO-designed long-excursion highefficiency 6.5-inch LF driver and one one-inch throat driver on a BEA / FEA optimised HR Wavesource, to deliver a frequency response of 80 Hz - 19 kHz +3dB, with nominal peak SPL of 127dB. HF dispersion is 80° or 120° horizontal, with 20° vertical coverage, 0° to 20° splay when arrayed. Using NEXO’s HRW patented waveguide for optimum HF coupling between elements; the M620 performs in a variety of configurations, facilitated by a fully integrated three-point rigging system.

The GEO M6B is a low and mid-frequency extension box, for applications which demand more powerful reinforcement, such as live music. With one 6.5-inch eight ohm longexcursion driver, the M6B weighs just 7.6kgs and shares the same physical footprint as the M620, allowing the cabinets to be arrayed together in the same column. Featuring a flare-shaped port tube to increase low frequency efficiency and linearity at high power, the M6B offers a usable

range at -6dB of 70Hz - 1kHz. Made out of lightweight polyurethane composite, the GEO M6 cabinets are available to order in any RAL colour designation. Highly cost-effective amplification is via NEXO’s NXAMP4x1 TDcontroller; with three cabinets per channel, this means that just one amplifier can power a 12-cabinet system, and (optionally) be controlled over a Dante or Ethersound network.

GEO M620 loudspeakers can be used singly, in pairs, in curved arrays of three, in line arrays up to 12 cabinets long, depending on application and enabled by a range of simple accessories that allow flying, wall-mounting, pole-mounting and ground-stacking, pairing with any of NEXO’s wide range of subbass cabinets to create a highly portable SR solution.

GEO M6B bass extensions can be deployed inside a M620 line array, allowing the user to increase line array length for improved directivity control and output in the low-mid frequency range.

In its design brief, the GEO M6 extends beyond NEXO’s traditional heartland of live music applications, towards the corporate AV sector and a wide range of fixed installation opportunities where speech reinforcement is the primary requirement. Target markets include theatre, conference facilities and auditoria, exhibition centres, function rooms, airports, shopping malls, attraction parks and all sizes of houses of worship.

NEXO Sales Director Denis Baudier told TPi: “The GEO M6 delivers many benefits to a rental house, making inventory extremely versatile and adaptable to different assignments. However, the design of this product also offers maximum potential in the permanent installation environment - whether it is a pair of M620’s wall-mounted in a dynamic retail space, or 12 line-arrayed cabinets in a house of worship, the M6 has the aesthetic and performance characteristics to appeal to many different applications.” http://nexo-sa.com TPi

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MARKET FOCUS: Staging

STAGING

ACORN EVENT STRUCTURES

www.acorn-events.com

Acorn’s Space Roof is a modular stage system that combines a traditional Prolyte Space Roof with a Layher stage platform to create the most flexible, user-friendly and economically effective stage in the marketplace.

Due to its unique design, it requires fewer trucks, less manpower, fewer days to build in comparison to competitor stages and is built at ground level without the need for cranes. The high performance aluminium roof chords combine with special node points to create a roof structure of any size or shape. Unlike a traditional truss roof the design is fully modular, so all components of the stage can be built to any size.

The Space Roof comes with a custom steel base, custom space-saving ballast design and can withstand unlimited wind speeds, complying with the latest EN regulations.

AL LAITH

www.allaith.com

Al Laith’s new platform system promises to further strengthen its position as a market leader for events infrastructure. LionDeck improves install time, requires less technicians, yet remains durable, adaptable and offers a higher level finish than current products. LionDeck substructure is highly efficient ring lock scaffolding, with quick install aluminium surface components and 24mm high quality ply, with platform capabilities exceeding 5kN per sq metre. LionDeck platforms retain the features of current products, with additional versatility. LionDeck is capable of safely and directly accommodating marquees and contributes to a much easier installation by offering the required fixing positions. Ideal for VIP seating, large platforms on uneven ground and exciting stage designs without the need for custom parts.

ALL ACCESS

http://allaccessinc.com

All Access’ Versa Rolling Stage is the strongest and safest fully modular touring stage available worldwide, redesigned to meet stringent international engineering requirements. While in development, thought was placed on the most basic needs (packaging, efficiency, and weight) while prominent focus remained that load capacity (lbs / ft sq) would meet strict global constraints. In addition to meeting strength and security requisites, under-stage area has been increased for quick costume changes and technician pathways.

Accessories such as cable hangers, shelving, and under-stage lighting are designed to work in conjunction with the stage framing. Combined with railings, stairs, and barricades, All Access has far exceeded industry expectations by manufacturing a product that can be utilised for any arena tour.

BRILLIANT STAGES

www.brilliantstages.com

Brilliant Stages is a world leader in stage set manufacture and has established its reputation of delivering complex, custom set design and fabrication projects within the touring and festival industry. It has an excellent reputation for product quality and service, with clients continually returning. It produces both static and rolling risers and bespoke set pieces. All the staging is supplied with support documentation which covers all relevant design regulations. Its staging and risers are designed to be robust yet practical for touring purposes, with the explicit aim of being able to assemble and disassemble in the quickest possible time all designed with ease and cost of transport in mind.

CPS

www.cpsmanufacturingco.com

CPS offers a complete range of demountable staging solutions which are renowned for their durability and ease of use. CPS manufactured staging products are covered by a Lifetime Warranty giving customers the assurance that equipment will stand up to heavy, constant usage. One of its latest additions is the ‘Waterproof, lightweight, anti-slip board’ which fits our Alu Rapid staging range. The new lightweight board reduces the weight of a one by one-metre Alu Rapid platform to just 14.45kg making it over 7kg lighter. With a full 765kg / sq metre load bearing, this lightweight heavy duty staging system takes the backbreaking work out of constant stage assembly.

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MARKET FOCUS: Market Focus

DAYTONA STAGE HIRE

www.daytonastagehire.com

Built to the latest industry specifications, Daytona stages are class leading. All Daytona stages are ultra strong with a quality construction providing clients with peace of mind that the job will be executed as expected, on time, without any difficulties. Within the Daytona range is the DS60, a compact stage that provides a useable stage area of 66m2 with a 14-metre stage frontage and two PA wings as standard, which add an extra six sq metres to the stage footprint. The DS60 includes 11 branding locations that were used to full effect when it was employed to provide a stage in 15 cities throughout Europe on the recent Hard Rock Rising European Tour 2014, travelling 8,300 miles in two months.

EUROTRUSS

www.eurotruss.nl

Eurotruss is specialised in transforming ideas into reality and has realised some great ideas over the past 20 years. In 2011 Eurotruss developed the PR10 Pitch Roof series, a roof system that has proven to be one of the best in the field. The very first PR10 Roof was delivered to Croatian-based rental company Eldra. This year the roof was used for the Ultra Europe festival, where the PR10 Roof with a medium size of 20-metres by 15-metres including six-metre PA Wings showed off with a stunning custom made Ultra logo on the front.

Besides this, approximately 100-metres of HD34 and HD44 was used as support beams for sound and light.

The stage also included another 220 sq metres of Eurotruss Stagedecks..

LITEC

www.litectruss.com

Litec is a world leader in manufacturing rigging aluminium structures. Its range comprises a wide selection of products such as trusses, roof systems, ground supports and PA towers, designed to respond to the specific needs of a variety of different fields of application. All the products in the range and the processes meet international production, safety and quality standards. Litec’s engineering department undertakes projects from concept to final installation within entertainment, exhibition, architectural and leisure markets. No matter how simple or complex the project, Litec is on hand to provide high-performance and innovative staging solutions, standard, customised and bespoke. Litec is a reliable partner, sharing with clients its deeply held belief in the value of product excellence, creative solutions, integrity, customer focus and collaboration.

LS-LIVE

www.ls-live.com

LS-Live has had an extremely busy first six months of 2014, with its staging rental and set build facility being kept hard at it with sets for the likes of 1D, Tinie Tempah, Paloma Faith, Lorde and Cheek - a major Finish Hip Hop artist - for his sold out Stadium gig in Helsinki. Through the Summer months its extensive stock of rental staging hasn’t spent much time in its warehouse, with venues ranging from Sonisphere to Glasonbury and Parklife to Creamfields. Radio 1’s Big weekend also featured a double ramp set for the headline act One Direction. LS-Live’s holding company also acquired Brilliant Stages, Perry Scenic Creative and Litestructures from the Prolyte Group making it one of the largest providers of staging and set products in the UK.

MEGAFORCE

http://megaforce.de

Megaforce is an international operating company, which primarily provides festival and open-air stages.

Megaforce owns more than 20 different stage-systems, which can be expanded modularly. Its experts offer gigantic stage roofs, characteristical festival-tower-stages and also Arched-Roof-Stages, mostly used for classical concerts or corporate events. In addition to Festival-stages, Megaforce provides a great deal more.

It is also one of the experts with regards to temporary event structures in Germany and Europe. Megaforce produces most of the prefabricated parts in its in-house production halls in Weingarten, Germany. In addition to a number of tangent factories, Megaforce also holds an engineering office, ensuring that all facets of production are taken care of in-house.

NONONSENSE

www.nononsensegroup.com

NoNonsense has a new decking system which has been designed to work on a modular access system which you can find most places in the world, thus cutting down on shipping costs when working overseas. In addition you can hire sub structure parts globally which cuts out bespoke manufacturing. It’s quick and easy to install and gives a weight loading up to 10kN per sq metre. All the components are galvanised giving a longer lifespan, and feedback from client and crew has been really good. The system has been used on a range of events this summer including the Temple Stage at Parklife, The Bristol Sessions, Somerset House and the Spectra Installation commemorating WWI in Westminster.

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MARKET FOCUS: Market Focus

PROSTAGE

www.prostageeurope.co.uk

Greater London-based Pro Stage Europe was formed in 1999, and for more than 15 years has created staging and set solutions for a wide variety of clients worldwide. Pro Stage provides the industry with temporary staging structures and platforms for tradeshows, exhibitions and corporate events. Director Kevin Tilley said: “We are a company that believes good relationships build a successful business. We bring ideas to life and we strive to make a difference… Excellence is a phone call away.”

RIGHT STRUCTURES

www.rightstructures.com

Right Structures has extensive experience in the global live events and production industry, supplying stages and structures to internationally-renowned music artists, corporate and sports events. Right Structure’s products have proven capabilities stemming from the innovative arch system which has been in place at the Malta Fairs and Convention Centre (MFCC) since 2007. The arches have allowed the 10,000 capacity MFCC, the TFS structure - previously used at Wembley Arena in 2006 - to increase its load bearing capabilities to over 90 tonnes. Since then Right Structure’s product range has been developed considerably, with the same modular components used in the arches now offering events, venues and brands the ability create stages and structures of any design.

SERIOUS STAGES

www.stages.co.uk

Serious Stages was formed in 1983, building on MD Steven Corfield’s involvement with Glastonbury Festival.

Over 30 years later, this family run company has expanded to become an international supplier of stages and specialist structures to events on every continent. Established Middle East and Australian businesses augment the UK head office, servicing global festivals, concerts, tours and sporting and corporate events of all sizes. A diverse stock inventory of stages, screen and PA supports, wheelchair user platforms, branding structures is supported by bespoke manufacturing capabilities and underpinned by a trusted, client-focused team, which has seen Serious become many people’s go-to staging company.

SILVER STAGE

www.silver-stage.com

Silver Stage is Europe’s largest supplier of TriSpans and the only UK supplier to offer the Triad and SL system, as well as the S2000 and S5000 DuoSpan Extended. In addition, Silver Stage’s flagship S5000 5V structure featured at Glastonbury’s Silver Hayes Sonic Stage in 2013 and 2014. Silver Stage has vast experience in the deployment of event structures all over the world, and knows only too well the pressure and importance of a stress free successful delivery from beginning to end, working tirelessly to ensure your vision becomes a reality. The adaptability of its fully brandable, visually striking acoustic tent designs has secured it some of the biggest musical festivals and corporate events in the world.

STAGE ONE

www.stageone.co.uk

Stage One is a team of more than 80 experts with diverse skills who spend their working lives bringing creative staging ideas to life, including overlays, composite materials, buildings and temporary structures.

Its decades of engineering experience and materials understanding enable Stage One to offer bespoke steel, aluminium, timber and composite structures: from an Olympic Beach Volleyball court and undercroft to a demountable grandstand; a touring polymer composite pavilion or temporary art gallery pavilion to an overlay project. Stage One can also provide a complete fit-out for structures should this be desired.

STAGECO STAGING GROUP

www.stageco.com

Headquartered in Belgium with offices in the USA, France, Germany, Austria and the Netherlands, the multiple award-winning Stageco Staging Group continues to deliver imaginative solutions for concert touring, festivals, corporate presentations and many other live events, indoors and outdoors. Supported by unrivalled engineering experience, the company’s staging systems range from 12-metres by eight-metres to 54-metres by 27-metres (able to handle 70 tonnes of rigging) and can be configured and reinforced to meet exact requirements. Stageco’s temporary structures also include mix and delay towers, camera risers, seating platforms and many types of scaffold constructions, as seen on the main stages of major dance festivals.

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MARKET FOCUS: Market Focus

STAGELINE

www.stageline.com

The Stageline Promobile - one of several products available from Stageline - is a unique mobile marketing vehicle that features two fully accessible levels and can be set up in just four hours. It can be connected together to create an even larger promotional presence as shown in the Monster European Tour picture. The Promobile is a mobile unit with 160 sq metres of available space, designed for marketing professionals who need more height, more hanging possibilities, more space and more load-bearing capacity than traditional units. Whether it’s for a corporate event, a promotional tour, a viewing platform or a multi-level exhibition, the Promobile has unlimited applications. It offers eye-catching ways for companies to showcase their products, maximise visibility and retain close relationships with their customers.

STAR EVENTS

© Paul Underhill

www.stareventsgroup.com

In business for 38-years, Star Events is the largest supplier of stages, bespoke temporary structures and high level rigging services in the UK. The company operates the biggest rental fleet of mobile stages outside the United States. Star Events’ extensive portfolio of constructed stages includes Orbit Flexidome systems and the award-winning VerTech range, which provides performance spaces and structural support for some of the world’s leading festivals and artistes. The VerTech’s versatile roof design allows rigging capacities to be tailored to suit the demands of the heaviest productions. All products are engineered by an in-house design team, able to produce solutions for almost any application - safely, and on time.

TAIT TOWERS

www.taittowers.com

The TAIT group combines the capacities of TAIT Towers, Stage Technologies, Delstar Engineering and Navigator Automation, to offer unrivaled technology and expertise. As the world market leader in the fields of automation, staging, and engineering, TAIT spans the globe, with locations on the East and West coasts of America, Macau, Hong Kong, the United Kingdom, China, and Australia. TAIT has played a pivotal role in producing many of the largest, most spectacular, live productions, including 19 of the 20 highest grossing tours of all time. Dedicated to pushing the artistic envelope and technological bounds, the group has taken part in productions across all seven continents, and even in outer space.

THE REVOLVING STAGE CO.

www.therevolvingstagecompany.co.uk

The Revolving Stage Company specialises in quality revolving stages, offering a huge range of sizes from 300mm in diameter to 20-metres in diameter, for sale and rental worldwide. A new product addition is REVdeck Staging. The Revolving Stage Company is the exclusive and sole stockist of Revdeck Staging. These modular aluminium stage decks are stocked in various shapes and sizes, and are available for dry hire or can be delivered and installed for any event. The aesthetic design of the deck means it can be used without coverings or fascias. The Revolving Stage Company is a reliable partner, sharing with clients its belief in the value of product excellence creative solutions, integrity, customer focus and collaboration.

TOTAL SOLUTIONS GROUP

www.trussing.com

Arena Deck is a unique modular system and a staple of the TSG product range, which has recently been given a major design overhaul. Its versatility means it can be used as part of a stage set, outdoor performance area, rolling system or humble risers. Major thought has been invested in to making the system easier to put together, subsequently reducing build times and costs. Arena Deck is extremely flexible, completely backwards compatible and still retains the major selling points of the original design, such as rolling node version, under stage space, handrail systems, flat pack design, and adjustable working height, to name a few. New addition options include: Rolling Bunkers, Scissor Lift Frames and Decks, Man Lift Decks and Integrated LED.

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THE BIGGER PICTURE

THE BIGGER PICTURE JOB SATISFACTION It’s OK here at PSA Towers, this is very much an office job, generally Monday to Friday, 9-5.30 and any evenings and weekends are made tolerable by the nature of the job and the people. For those reasons, I’m not in a position to speak from experience, but the availability of a couple of blank pages and a propensity for an opinionated rant, I’m offering a view from the outside, some observations from the world of social media.

OUR SURVEY SAYS Perhaps first we should look at some figures. For the second year, we’ve asked our members to help UK Music with their research into the economic impact of the music industry, as production services are deemed to be a core part of that sector. This year, we sneaked in a few questions to our individual members, a kind of satisfaction survey. We asked a simple question about how satisfied people are with their income for the amount of days they work. 75% were satisfied.

The number of people ‘very satisfied’ was a big fat zero, but show me a person that would say no to another few quid a week. And then there are the ‘not satisfied’ and the ‘very dissatisfied’ camps, 16.7% and 8.3% respectively.

THE ANECDOTES SAY Facebook, a great place to share photos, jokes, feelings and congratulations to six year old kids on their Star of the Week certificate that they’ll see when they’re old enough to join Facebook.

Of course, for those working in production, it’s a great place to communicate with friends in the business, as work flings you to far away places.

One or two recent posts have been bemoaning the demise of job satisfaction, the ever-increasing workload, the skeletal staffing arrangements and the cheap labour on offer. Are these exceptions, or will this be the norm?

MARKET FORCES Live events are run as businesses, they generate turnover, there are costs, there’s hopefully a profit at the end. Of course some events have a budget that is fixed up front, the corporate stuff where BMW have £1m to launch their latest offer to the market. With a little realism, the production can fit the budget. The difficulty arrives when you’re not quite sure how much money you’re going to make, when you’re selling tickets for a tour, 86

now there’s a good example. Of course, agents and promoters can make good judgements and budget accordingly, but they work for the artist, so they’re not about to insist on making as much money as possible for the crew. Factor in bigger tours perhaps having bigger margins for budget errors, a little more contingency, and you have a sliding scale of budget pressure that intensifies as you work down the food chain. ‘I’m moving into corporate’ is an oft-used phrase on the social grapevine.

But why this talk of moving to another side? The corporate and touring music markets obviously have highly interchangeable skills as the switch is a relatively easy one to make but it seems to be seen by some as a move to the dark side, a compromise that needs to be made in order to get paid enough, and on time.

ANOTHER C WORD Maybe that’s not the only compromise, the trade off between the people and the camaraderie and vibrancy of the touring world and the space bar clicking medical conference market; can the touring market perceive the apparent glamour as recompense for reduced fees? Are the 25% not-so-satisfied people falling victim to the ‘if you don’t do it, someone will’ golden oldie.

Perhaps people need to get better at negotiating (on line courses available via the PSA web site).

Don’t forget, the survey relates to music related production.

SELF EMPLOYED? TAKE THE ROUGH WITH THE SMOOTH Self employment seems to be the status of choice in this business when it comes to technical crew, but HMRC pressure increases constantly. In days of old, overseas earnings were not taxed as long as you were out of the UK for a certain amount of time (sorry, too young to remember exact

details), then the general rule was that you had to work for more than one client to be deemed self-employed. Nowadays it is a little more stringent; you dictate working hours, you supply your own PPE, you pay your own expenses, you bill for the job rather than hours or days and you have the right to provide a substitute as well as the responsibility to source a suitable substitute.

If you’re not satisfying all of the requirements, you’re not self employed in the eyes of HMRC. Truck drivers, local crew, catering, they’ve all felt the pressure due to providing clothing, dictating hours or sourcing their own substitute workers.

Of course, our self employed members are highly likely to fit in with HMRC criteria, after all, they do see themselves as a business, providing a service for a total fee rather than a day rate; the recognise the entrepreneurial risk that some days will be longer than others, and their client knows that a substitute will be sourced and provided, should illness or a better paid gig arise, and they provide their own tools, insurance, PPE and pay their own expenses out of the fee they charge; of all that, we are certain.

Some companies have absorbed the entrepreneurial risk and taken the step of employing technicians, perhaps on a lower rate than some might earn, but with the rights and security that employed status provides, and a tax contribution that matches other employed individuals.

Of course, come January, many self employed crew are heaping praise on their accountants, or moaning about a tax bill far short of the total annual PAYE pinch felt here at PSA Towers. Not bitter, not at all bitter.

Another compromise; the freedom to choose where and when you work, the possibility of a lower tax bill traded against the security of employment, the lack of lump sum tax payments, not having to wait for 90 days to get paid;

www.psa.org.uk HOW SATISFIED ARE YOU WITH YOUR LEVEL OF EARNINGS FOR THE DAYS YOU WORK IN LIVE MUSIC PRODUCTION?

0%

VERY SATISFIED

75%

SATISFIED

16.7% NOT SATISFIED 8.3%

holiday, sick and maternity pay, possible pension contributions and the confidence of knowing that your neck is not residing inside a shrinking tax loophole.

Why is it that we have rental companies bemoaning a lack of skilled technicians but individuals complain that they’re working multiple roles for the same money as one and they’re constantly being undercut by newcomers?

Perhaps there are too many people willing to work for peanuts just to get their foot on the ladder, people who don’t actually value what they do as a career that can actually sustain a living, to the detriment of those that rely on their value to earn themselves a living. One recent example, harvested from social media, cites an individual who took on three roles for an agreed fee, only to be told after the tour that his fee had been cut by £200 because someone had said that

they’d have done it for less. Now, we don’t know if that was accepted and, if they were members, we’d be on the phone to the client, encouraging them to stick with their agreement. Perhaps this example is just a company chancing their arm and perhaps not as bad as a contract we once saw, claiming the right to not pay the crew if the event didn’t make any money. Of course, there was no mention of a share of any profits if things went well. And the festival that needed a sound tech / engineer, small fee but there was a free ticket included. We’d suggest a large fee and no ticket, see how that goes.

It really does only take one person to say yes in order for standards to drop; to reverse the downward trend takes much more, a cohesive effort, which isn’t really possible in the every person for themselves world that we seem to live in.

VERY DISSATISFIED

It’s worth pointing out that it’s not for the client to issue terms, it’s for you, the supplier, a bit like the sample that the PSA devised many moons ago, a little-used asset perhaps due to the fear of asking for some kind of commitment from a client. It’s only a piece of paper that says you’d actually like to be paid for the work you do, or compensated if, through no fault of your own, the gigs don’t happen.

One thing is certain: quality and reliability are given every opportunity to shine in the frenetic world of live music production. It’s the experience that counts and that’s the value that some clients are happy to ignore in order to shave a few quid off the budget. It’s not like they’ve got any glamour to offer in return, so sell your benefits and join the other 75%.

TPi www.psa.org.uk

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

MOVERS & SHAKERS Clay Paky, the Italian manufacturer, that for decades has been one of the world’s leaders in show and entertainment lighting, is getting ready for a new phase in its history. Pasquale Quadri, Founder and current President, has signed an agreementfor the acquisition of the company by OSRAM, one of the two leading light manufacturers in the world. After the acquisition, Clay Paky will continue to operate from its production and administrative head office in Bergamo, Italy. The acquisition is subject to approval by the relevant antitrust authorities.

“Integration with OSRAM, which has a great wealth of technological competence and and indepth knowledge of the lighting market, is an ideal opportunity for the further development of Clay Paky,” said Quadri.

“After 40 years crowned by success, I am delighted to be able to offer my company, my staff and our customers a reliable solution for a secure future. OSRAM plans that Clay Paky will maintain its independence to a large extent in day-to-day business.“ Key positions will remain in the company, thus ensuring continuity in management.

The DiGiCo team has spent the last 18 months consulting with Electra Partners about the possible combination of both Allen & Heath and Calrec with the DiGiCo family. The culmination of this brings together three British console companies to create a new professional audio group, while retaining their unique skills, customer relationships and the identities of each brand.

James Gordon will become Group CEO supported by a strong and talented management from across the new group. When asked about what this means for the future, He said: “We have bold plans for the group but it is imperative that each company maintains its own independence and style. None of these brands needs to trade off each other’s technology or reputation. These are three great companies and all the brands currently in the group have enviable reputations for technology, audio quality, reliability and 88

perhaps, most importantly, customer focus and care. The strategy is to share technology and resource across the group and allow some interconnectivity across the product lines.

“The combined R&D teams are about to enter a new world of possibilities and we intend to take full advantage of their resource, passion and experience. It’s an amazing opportunity for us, and just maybe the whole British Pro Audio industry.”

Elation Professional EU is pleased to announce the hiring of Allan Bagger as the company’s new Sales Representative for Denmark. As one of the founders of Music Group Denmark, a supplier of lighting and sound equipment that he helped build up since 2011, Bagger comes to the new position at Elation with extensive experience and knowledge of the Danish lighting market.

UK motion control specialist Kinesys is opening a new operation - Kinesys USA Inc. headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia and headed up by industry veteran David Martin. Kinesys and its robust, reliable, highly flexible and userfriendly products have surged in popularity in the US over the last two years, and the move is part of the company’s planned medium term expansion strategy to optimise sales, technical support and after-sales service for all Kinesys owners and users - existing and potential.

Martin will co-ordinate the technical sales and support in all these regions and work in close collaboration with the relevant departments at Kinesys’ global HQ in London, UK. Kinesys CEO Dave Weatherhead said: “I am delighted that the next step in our expansion strategy is underway and as a consequence we can provide all the benefits that only a US company can offer. With someone as experienced as David at the helm of our US operation we now have the ability to pass on knowledge of Kinesys products at a much more personal and local level.”

Leisuretec Distribution is delighted to announce its new trade partnership with SGM, the Danish manufacturer of LED lighting products.

Bedfordshire-based Leisuretec will become a key partner to SGM as a trade only distributor.

Leisuretec Managing Director, Cliff Dounting, commented on the partnership: “I’m very pleased that our strategy to grow our lighting portfolio is taking another very positive step forward. We are very proud to be partnering with SGM and to have the opportunity to provide our customers with some amazing products. The history of the brand coupled with the pedigree of the owner is a great recipe for success. A key part of Leisuretec’s continued growth and success over the past few years has been the prudent partnering with new suppliers, who complement our strong brand portfolio and enable us to offer greater value to our clients. We provide our supplier with an opportunity to sell products in to a very wide trade customer base covering many markets in the industry.”

SGM is a manufacturer of LED lighting and custom engineered solutions for the concert touring, entertainment, architectural, commercial and industrial sectors, owned by pioneering lighting entrepreneur Peter Johansen.

Martin Audio has recently appointed two key sales roles. Firstly, Andy Duffield has taken the position of APAC Account Manager, whilst Roland Morcom has replaced the long serving Martin Kelly as EMEA Account Manager, who retired at the end of July.

Andy Duffield has over 30 years of experience in the pro audio industry and will take charge of a growing region both for touring and installation.

As Simon Bull, International Sales Director, said, “China, Japan and Australia are critical territories, and there is opportunity to grow in such countries as Korea, Vietnam and Singapore, so Andy has a great opportunity to build Martin Audio’s presence and I’m delighted to have such a wellrespected manager dedicated to the region.”

Roland Morcom again has depth of experience in pro audio and will take on selected countries in EMEA, shared with Andy Weingartner who joined earlier in the year. Bull commented: “It’s obviously with great sadness that we say good bye to Martin Kelly after 23 years, but we also look forward to the future and I’m confident that Roland will bring his own style and success to the

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Opposite: Dave Weatherhead and David Martin of Kinesys and Kinesys USA; SGM has chosen Leisuretec as its new trade-only distributor. Below: PRG’s new team member, Stephan Paridaen.

region.”

Montreal-based new media and entertainment studio, Moment Factory, is delighted to officially announce that its new LA office is open. “The City of Angels is an international creative hub that’s always full of opportunities, and a city where we’ve always felt at home. It was a natural choice for the first Moment Factory office outside of Montreal. California has been very good to us,” said Eric Fournier, Partner and Executive Producer.

“Over the past few years, we’ve worked at Coachella, the Grammy Awards, LAX and the Billboard Awards, not to mention our creative collaborations with artists like Miley Cyrus and Nine Inch Nails, and our work for brands like Qualcomm, Oakley and Sony. With several new projects in development, putting down permanent roots in Los Angeles made a lot of sense,” said Sakchin Bessette, Co-founder and Creative Director.

The new office will be run by Daniel Jean from Montreal and LA-based Multimedia Director, Jesse Lee Stout. The LA Office will start with a few employees (and a skateboard or two), but the space offers lots of possibility for expansion as projects get up to speed. “Besides providing a base for our West Coast projects, this move also brings us closer to the Pacific Rim, and will

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help us stay in touch with our growing family of clients and collaborators around the world. It’s part of a broader, long-term project for strategic expansion - we’re already looking at possibilities for a European office,” said Fournier.

Italian amplifier giant Powersoft, has appointed Surgesound as its new distributor in South Africa. The announcement was made by Steve Smith, Powersoft Regional Sales Manager (EMEA) and Andrew Rowan, Surgesound Managing Director. Speaking about the new alliance, Rowan said: “We know Powersoft as a premium brand of amplification. The company is releasing some of the most technologically advanced products in the pro audio market today.

“It has always been our goal to offer our clients the latest releases, and at the same time we see a great opportunity to grow and establish the Powersoft brand.”

Production Resource Group LLC, the world’s leading provider of entertainment and event technology solutions, announced today that Jeremiah J Harris, Chairman and CEO, has promoted Stephan Paridaen to the role of President and Chief Operating Officer. Paridaen has served as PRG’s Chief Executive Officer for Europe, Middle East and Africa since 2009.

In his new role, Paridaen will apply his

management expertise and services to supervising the global operations of the company, the delivery of new technologies and services offerings, and the further development of PRG’s efforts in the corporate and global special events markets.

Leading moving light manufacturer Robe Lighting s.r.o. announces Lighting & Sound Distribution (LSD) as its exclusive distributor in Singapore. This is part of Robe’s medium term expansion strategy in the region and follows the launch of a new Asia Pacific office - also in Singapore - in January this year, which was set up in response to the brand’s growing business.

LSD’s General Manager Brenda Keung comments, “Naturally we are excited to be appointed as Robe’s exclusive distributor in Singapore, which will consolidate our existing business model and enable us to work even closer with Robe.”

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VITAL STATS

VITAL STATS 162 Dave Weatherhead Profession: Managing Director, Kinesys Date & place of birth: 1972, Hertfordshire, UK What is your background and how did you begin working in the industry?

I went to university with no idea what I wanted to do for a job and left the same way, but with a degree in Electronic Engineering. Job wise the only thing I knew was that I didn’t want a 9-5 office job wearing a suit. My school had a simple lighting rig they used for plays which I had helped out with, so I figured maybe something to do with lighting. A chance phone call led me to Unusual Rigging where they had a need for someone to help out with automation. I didn’t really know what that was, but I figured it was a good place to start!

“The Elevation 1+ is the perfect example of the right product at the right time ...”

Before founding motion control company Kinesys in 2003, what steps led you there?

I worked for Unusual Rigging for nearly five years until just before 2000.

For me it was the perfect job, a combination of design, hands-on work preparing and building equipment and operating shows. By the year 2000 I had a longing to explore the world a bit and find out how all the equipment I helped to build and prepare was used in real life. I became a freelance automation operator and worked on some amazing shows all over the world. That was also where I came across concert touring.

So how and why did Kinesys come into being?

I had been installing some automation equipment into We Will Rock You in 2002. It was there I met Andy Cave who was doing the same thing for another company. By this point I had been thinking about starting to design my own products but here was this guy who had already done it and better than I could have. We got talking and he needed some software to control hardware he was building for the Rolling Stones Licks tour later that year. I offered my services to write him a program to control it all. A few months later I had written what we now know as Vector and we both went out to Toronto to set up the tour.

The Elevation 1+ was arguably the product that put Kinesys firmly on the map.

How significant a role did this play in the development of the company?

The Elevation 1+ is the perfect example of the right product at the right time.

It embodied the continuing Kinesys design philosophy of putting complex technology into a package that was easy to use, easy to set up, easy to program and could take the rigours of touring life. The Elevation 1+ gave rental companies a way to provide automation to tours in an easy to rent and flexible way. It provided the bridge between high cost custom winches and fixed speed chain hoists. It was also one of the first automation products that you could buy as a modular product that was easily expandable, prior to that you either bought an unwieldy custom cabinet with limited re-use potential or you hired equipment in, neither very appealing options to rigging and lighting rental companies.

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Kinesys has just opened a new US operation. How did this decision come about and what do you hope to achieve in the US? While we have some very valuable and loyal customers in the USA we believe that we haven’t yet been able to effectively demonstrate both the benefits of automation and in particular of working with Kinesys for that automation to the larger market there. We concluded that the only way to give the level of service that we would be happy with was to set up an operation in the US. Kinesys USA is a US corporation focussed on providing support to existing Kinesys customers and demonstrating to potential customers what we believe is our unique combination of product, service and support that has stood us in such good stead so far.

Kinesys offers a selection of training and technical support programs for customers and users of Kinesys equipment. How important is it for Kinesys to provide this kind of educational support?

It is vital that our training and technical support resources are the best they can be. In that we are very fortunate to have Martin Honeywill, our Training and Support Director, heading up this aspect of the business. We have a dedicated training space in the UK with its own classroom and training rig with moving hoists, winches and trolleys so that we can offer training in as realistic a way as possible. I firmly believe there are two sides to training users and operators of automation. With the technology getting ever more complex to meet the increasingly stringent safety regulations knowing how the equipment works technically is vital. The other side of the coin however is teaching people how to work in a show environment. Amongst the departments on a show, automation is almost unique in the sense that the consequences of things not going to plan can turn out to be dangerous.

From Arcade Fire to 1D, Kinesys products have become a go-to technology for huge concert tours and live productions. What’s been the key to Kinesys’ success?

Two things: our understanding of how the equipment is used and the environment it is used in. This is reflected in every product that we design and from what we hear from our customers and operators it is the thing they appreciate the most. And also the support that we continue to offer customers, in some cases it’s been over a decade since the purchase.