TOTAL PRODUCTION INTERNATIONAL
TOTAL PRODUCTION INTERNATIONAL
WWW.TPiMAGAZINE.COM SEPTEMBER 2015
ISSUE 193
LIVE EVENT DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY • SEPTEMBER 2015 • ISSUE 193
ARCTANGENT THE BRITISH MATH-ROCK FESTIVAL ON THE IMPORTANCE OF INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION
MISS MACHINE...
ZZ TOP • ED SHEERAN • MEA SUPPLEMENT • BOOMTOWN FAIR • CODA AUDIO AIRAY LAUNCH SUMMER SHOOTOUT • FESTIVAL SPECIAL • IN THE SPOTLIGHT: MARTIN PROFESSIONAL
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FESTIVAL FEVER It’s not often - well, it’s actually never happened before - that I can say one of my favourite bands today and when I was growing up are gracing our front cover. American math-core outfit, The Dillinger Escape Plan, are best introduced in a live environment and not near your sleeping baby, your pet goldfish or your gran. Better still, they’re gracing the cover via one of my absolute highlights of the summer, ArcTanGent (ATG) Festival. The award-winning and niche British event was such an enjoyable experience - even as I’d almost reached the end of a very busy and wet festival season, I mean it! I hope the story (which starts on Pg.34) will reveal a fresh approach to festival organisation. The editorial team (pictured above: Stew centre and Ste to the right) went on the road trip to ATG and returned with a collective smile. Ahhh. Nice one team! Speaking of festivals, I’m delighted to remind you that WOMAD founder, Peter Gabriel, will be honoured with this year’s UK Festival Awards ‘Outstanding Contribution’. The event will take place at London’s Roundhouse on 26 November. Well done Peter! Also in this issue, we have some exciting news from Production Park. The brand new Yorkshire“Inside you’ll find our very based multi-purpose facility is about to step first TPMEA - Middle East things up a gear for concert touring professionals, and we’ll take you behind the scenes very soon. and Africa supplement There is also a look at Coda Audio’s AiRAY which is a new area of the launch in Germany, the lighting design behind magazine dedicated to the Zac Brown Band, a look at Ed Sheeran’s audio and backstage access from the mighty showcasing the companies, Boomtown Fair. events and talent in the An interesting talk I had this month was with region.” Lighting Designer Tim Routledge, who recently held his first Summer Shootout event at LH2 Studios. By all accounts the day was perceived as a success, and is set to be replicated in the near future. Learn the thinking behind the day on Pg. 78 or take to social media to have your say, where it all began. Now, you’ll no doubt have noticed that this issue is rather heavy? Inside you’ll find our very first TPMEA - Middle East and Africa supplement - which is a new area of the magazine dedicated to showcasing the companies, events and talent in the region. Stand alone copies will be distributed at various events over the next couple of months and if you would like to be involved in the December edition of TPMEA, please get in touch! There’s an abundance of festival stories coming up next time too, including Festival Number 6 which I’m just about to set off for. So until the next issue lands on your tour bus, console or desk, I hope to see you at the PRO tradeshow in Birmingham (Sept 12-14). We’re throwing a party, of course… Join us on Sept 13 in the city centre at the Nuvo Bar from 7.30pm. Our sister publication mondo*dr is celebrating its 25 birthday and Production Park is kindly sponsoring. Congratulations dr - here’s to hoping we remember it! 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 Assistant Editor Ste Durham Tel: +44 (0)161 476 8385 Mobile: +44 (0)7891 679742 e-mail: s.durham@mondiale.co.uk Editorial Assistant Stewart Hume Tel: +44 (0)161 476 8360 Mobile: +44 (0)7712 607419 e-mail: s.hume@mondiale.co.uk General Manager - Magazine & Awards Hannah Eakins Tel: +44 (0)161 476 8360 Mobile: +44 (0)7760 485230 e-mail: h.eakins@mondiale.co.uk Advertising Sales - TPi Magazine Charlotte Goodlass Tel: +44 (0)161 476 9126 Mobile: +44 (0)788 0208 226 e-mail: c.goodlass@mondiale.co.uk Event Manager - TPi Awards Mo Naeem Tel: +44 (0)161 476 8360 Mobile: +44 (0)775 9272 313 e-mail: m.naeem@mondiale.co.uk Graphic Design & Production Dan Seaton: d.seaton@mondiale.co.uk Mel Robinson: m.robinson@mondiale.co.uk Accounts Donna Barlow / Sarah Miller: ar@mondiale.co.uk Chief Executive Justin Gawne Mondiale Group Chairman Damian Walsh www.tpimagazine.com • www.tpiawards.com Cover Photography The Dillinger Escape Plan by Joe Singh Contributors Brooke Nolan Printed by Buxton Press Annual subscriptions (including P&P): £42 (UK), £60 (Europe), £78/$125 (RoW). Subscription enquiries to: Subscriptions, Mondiale Publishing Limited, Waterloo Place, Watson Square, Stockport SK1 3AZ, UK. Tel: +44 (0)161 476 5580 Fax: +44 (0)161 476 0456 e-mail: subscriptions@mondiale.co.uk Issue 193 / September 2015 TOTAL PRODUCTION INTERNATIONAL is a controlled circulation magazine, published 12 times a year by Mondiale Publishing Limited under licence. ISSN 1461-3786 Copyright © 2014 Mondiale Publishing Limited. All contents of this publication are subject to worldwide copyright protection and reproduction in whole or part, in any form whatsoever, is expressly forbidden without the prior written consent of the Publishers. Every effort is taken to ensure accuracy in the preparation of this publication but neither Mondiale Publishing Ltd, nor the Editor, can be held responsible for its contents or any consequential loss or damage resulting from information published. The views expressed are not necessarily those of the Publishers or Editor. The Publishers accept no responsibility for the return of unsolicited manuscripts, photographs, illustrations, advertising materials or artwork. Total Production International USPS: (ISSN 1461 3786) is published 12 times a year by Mondiale Publishing Limited United Kingdom. The 2014 US annual subscription price is 117USD. Airfreight and mailing in the USA by Agent named Air Business, C/O WorldNet Shipping USA Inc., 155-11 146th Avenue, Jamaica, New York, NY11434. Periodicals postage paid at Jamaica NY 11431. US Postmaster: Send address changes to Total Production International, Air Business Ltd, C/O WorldNet Shipping USA Inc., 155-11 146th Avenue, Jamaica, New York, NY11434. Subscription records are maintained at Mondiale Publishing Ltd. Waterloo Place, Watson Square, Stockport, SK1 3AZ, UK.
EVENT FOCUS
08 Coda Audio’s AiRAY.
TPi visits the German launch demo.
12 Zac Brown Band UK’s Okulus joins the Zac Brown Band in the US
to push the limits of live music.
16 Production Park
The 300,000 sq ft multi-service site has been under wraps for 12 months... until now!
18 ZZ Top
The American blues-rock legends roll back the years at the Bluetone Festival in Germany.
20 Tosca at Masada
Deep in the Judean desert by the Dead Sea, Masada hosts another technical feat.
24 Ed Sheeran
UK rental company Major Tom is eager to keep its digital audio systems up to date.
28 Jesus Christ Superstar
Glen Beckley and the Cadac CDC eight perform touring miracles.
30 Roland Launch
Roland launches its O.H.R.C.A. M-5000C digital mixing console.
PRODUCTION PROFILE
34 ArcTanGent
The only UK festival dedicated to math-rock was back again for its triumphant third year.
46 Boomtown Fair
The Matterley Estate is transformed into a live production spectacular of pirate ships and dragons.
FESTIVAL SPECIAL
54 In this instalment: Bloodstock, Palais En Jazz,
Radio 1 Ibiza 20, Cambridge Folk Festival, T in the Park, Secret Garden Party and Wacken.
INTERVIEW
78 Tim Routledge discusses his recent Lighting
Shootout and plans for its expansion.
A DAY IN THE LIFE...
82
Backline Tech Michael Whalley shares tales from a West Coast jaunt with Echo & The Bunnymen.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT
84 Martin Professional introduces its new JEM ZR
fog machine.
CLOCKING OFF
86 Martin Audio staff subject themselves to a
50k Challenge, organised by Action Challenge.
MOVERS & SHAKERS
88 The latest industry appointments.
PSA
90 PSA looks at what the YPN can offer.
VITAL STATS
94 President of Group One, Jack Kelly, talks about
his career as a pro audio and lighting distributor. 07
EVENT FOCUS: Coda Audio
CODA AUDIO LAUNCHES THE AiRAY STOOD ON THE GRASSY BACKDROP OF AN OUTDOOR DEMONSTRATION AREA, WITH THE SUN SHINING DOWN, A BBQ IN TOW AND THE RAW GUITARS OF ALTERNATIVE ROCK BAND PLACEBO ROARING OUT, IT WAS EASY TO FEEL A FESTIVAL-LIKE VIBE AT THE CODA AUDIO AiRAY SYSTEM LAUNCH. THE DEMO, WHICH TOOK PLACE IN MID-JULY, WAS HELD AT THE FACILITIES OF CODA’S GERMAN DISTRIBUTOR, AUDIOVATION, IN WENDENGERLINGEN. Initially previewed at Prolight + Sound 2015, Coda officially launched its new AiRAY system at the two-day event that TPi attended. The concept of the event was to provide customers and distributors alike with the opportunity to hear, see and feel the AiRAY system, and understand the thinking behind its creation. The fullyintegrated, compact, 12-inch, three-way line array is being marketed as a completely unique system. Featuring Coda’s most advanced technologies, it includes Dual Diaphragm Planar (DDP) wave drivers, the unique AiCOUPLER, sensor-controlled subwoofer technology and linear phase DSP processing. At 40kg, the AiRAY is half the weight of conventional 12-inch system, and half the size too, measuring in at 674mm by 356mm by 555mm. 08
An introduction and technical explanation by Coda founder, Svetly Alexandrov was followed by a live demonstration by Coda’s Eddi Krueger, Bjoern Marek, Marcel Pitann and from UK distributor Adlib Audio, Ian Nelson. After this,
why the AiRAY is different to other systems on the market: “Coda did a lot of research into PA company usage, application and other existing systems based on sound. And what we found was a need for change. What we could see
“We realised that we could make a product in a much smaller enclosure with improved performance against existing systems.” Paul Ward, Coda’s Sales and Marketing Director attendees were invited to hear their own choice of audio through the system during a hands-on session. Speaking at the demonstration, Coda’s Sales and Marketing Director, Paul Ward explained
was that rental companies in particular were suffering from profitability issues due to large PA systems and the amount of trucking and manpower required for touring duties. These costs were escalating and the revenue stream
EVENT FOCUS: Coda Audio
Opposite: Held at the facilities of Coda’s German distributor, Audiovation, the AiRAY launch took place in July. Below: Attendees were shown multiple demos on the day where Coda’s new technological innovations were explained.
coming in from festivals, live concerts and tours appears to be flat-lining or even decreasing. From a business perspective this is a big issue.” The AiRAY combines the size, weight, rigging, flexibility, amplification and cabling of a compact system with the high SPL of a large system. Making it suitable for both small and medium-sized applications such as corporate events, clubs or theatres, as well as large-scale
arena shows and outdoor events. The AiRAY only requires two amplifier channels and multicore cables making set-up considerably quicker than conventional systems but without compromise on its output and bandwidth. With one Coda LINUS RACK40, one cable and 12 AiRAY elements per side, the system can cover 8,000-10,000 capacity venues. “At Coda, we are not a company that makes
products purely on a commercial basis, the passion is in the sound,” commented Ward. With that in mind, at the heart of the AiRAY are two six-inch DDP wave drivers. Each driver is a two-way coaxial system employing two concentric annular ring diaphragms. Each diaphragm covers a smaller frequency range for increased power handling, high dynamic and low distortion.
09
EVENT FOCUS: Coda Audio
Below: “Coda did a lot of research into PA company usage, application and other existing systems based on sound. And what we found was a need for change” - Paul Ward, Sales and Marketing Director.
“We looked at the technology and assessed what we could do that would be beneficial to the client. From here we realised that we could make a product in a much smaller enclosure with improved performance against existing systems,” continued Ward. “A product that would give all the associated benefits but with no compromise on the sound.” The AiRAY also contains double 12-inch neodymium ultra low distortion cone drivers with four-inch voice coil. The newly-developed long excursion drivers have high flux linear motors with four demodulation rings for constant inductance, low distortion and reduced power compression. The carbon fibre diaphragm minimises the moving mass while improving cone stiffness and internal damping to achieve high sensitivity and clarity. The AiCOUPLER sums the energy from all transducers into a large mutual horn that performs as a single source, without phase destructions, achieving a coherent and uniform wavefront. The two 12-inch cone drivers are symmetrically loaded to the AiCOUPLER using multiple, optimally spaced slots to increase the distance between the acoustical centres, providing consistent coverage down to 250Hz and additional sensitivity of 6dB over 200Hz. Backwards, the two cone drivers are port loaded to extend the low range of the system down to 50Hz. “There are a lot of key players in the market which have been around for a long time and we realise that the perception of Coda is that it’s quite a new brand, but we do have a lot of respect at grassroots level,” explained Ward. “Although Coda has a growing reputation for excellent sound, this alone is not enough to compete with some of the established competitors. We need innovate using the unique patented Coda technology plus offer distinct advantages over the other companies without compromise to the performance.” The large waveguide for the two DDP drivers enables acoustical loading down to 350Hz with horizontal pattern control through the mid and high range. The two DDP drivers cover the
range 350Hz to 22kHz while the double 12-inch work from 50Hz to 700Hz. In the 350 to 700Hz range all drivers work together, dramatically increasing the maximum SPL output capability of the system. “As a product we are incredibly excited about it, its very impressive,” said Ian Nelson. “Having just toured with Placebo using an LA12 system, it was interesting to run the multi-track mix we’d been using for virtual sound checking through the AiRAY system. It sounded amazing. Coda’s Eddi Kruegar ran the system at 100% for 30 seconds and it was peaking at 115dB A-weighted at the FOH position!” “Coda’s idea behind AiRAY was to create something new, which had true benefits and
wasn’t a marketing gimmick. I believe that’s what we have done,” summarised Ward. “Initially, people were concerned that we wouldn’t be able to pull it off, but after listening to the system the general consensus is that it was a success, which we are really happy about.” The AiRAY system is a firm indication of Coda’s abilities, its promise as an audio manufacturer and its willingness to run along other established competitors. It will be interesting to see how the market responds to AiRAY concept and if it will shape future line array designs. TPi www.codaaudio.com
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EVENT FOCUS: Zac Brown Band
ZAC BROWN BAND OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS, ZAC BROWN BAND HAS BECOME ONE OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL BANDS IN THE US. FOR THEIR JEKYLL + HYDE NORTH AMERICAN STADIUM TOUR PRESENTED BY BAI, THEY EMPLOYED THE SERVICES OF THE UK-BASED CREATIVE LIGHTING COMPANY, OKULUS. TPi’S STEWART HUME SPOKE TO PRODUCTION DESIGNERS LOUIS OLIVER AND JAMES SCOTT TO FIND OUT HOW THE DUO HAVE PUSHED THE LIMITS OF WHAT IS EXPECTED FROM A LIVE MUSIC EXPERIENCE. The Zac Brown Band has secured themselves as one of the most successful artists in the US with a long list of successes including three Grammy awards, 14 number one singles and over seven million albums sold worldwide. The release of their fourth studio album, JEKYLL + HYDE, meant the band were back on the road filling arenas, amphitheatres and stadiums for thousands of fans. The decision to employ Okulus’ Louis Oliver and James Scott was based on the work that Scott did for the band back in 2014 for their Great American Road Trip tour. Scott talked about the 2014 run of shows: “The first tour I did with the band was before we formed Okulus (under Scott’s fomer company, Times Design Ltd). The concept for those shows was to have an earthy, almost rustic sort of feel but also high-tech to bring it into a modern design.” 12
With the success of his work in 2014, Scott and his Okulus partner Oliver were given the chace to explore new realms with Zac Brown Band that reflected how their latest album explored a number of new musical styles and sounds. “The new album dictated the change in the live show,” explained Scott. “Following from the different sounds explored on the album we had to move away from the rustic ‘wood and slacks’ and into new realms when the music did.” Production for the show started back in October last year. Oliver talked through the process: “We programmed between 50 and 60 songs that ranged over the entirety of Zac’s catalogue. There are a wide variety of styles, so we had to design something that we could adapt the change to the different nuances of music that Zac has experimented with. After 11 concepts we got to the finale piece that was
accepted, which is an absolute beast of a piece of staging!” What makes this staging so impressive is the freedom that was given to all the members of the band. According to Scott: “Zac has always been about utilising everything that is possible on stage, meaning people have places to go. He doesn’t like band members just standing behind microphones. Hence, there are three different layers of set that they can run up and down.” Oliver added that: “He really wants to create playfulness on stage, it’s a jungle gym. Members of the band can just have a wander and can go and see the drums and percussion on the first tier of the set or go all they way to the second tier which is 27ft in the air.” As well as being given more room to move on the stage, the new design made better use of the vertical stage space. A 42 by 59ft LED screen acted as a backdrop for both levels of
EVENT FOCUS: Zac Brown Band
Opposite and Below: With the release of their fourth studio album, JEKYLL + HYDE, the band were back on the road filling arenas, amphitheatres and stadiums with thousands of fans throughout the summer.
the set, displaying full-screen IMAG with PIP windows and video content. “It’s one big canvas, the LED-clad set blends in with the up stage wall,” Scott explained. “Depth is achieved by the extensive moving truss system. Everything can be scaled and still maintain the design integrity of the production. Depending on the venue, we could lose a level of the set without affecting the band; the lighting rig can scale down and the video wall is large, but it’s built from touring frames allowing the video department to pick and choose which wall configuration to use.” This video wall was one of the main challenges for the Okulus team as Scott mentioned: “As technology has progressed throughout the years, LEDs have got brighter and more and more people like using them. So having to balance the screen in terms of the beams cutting through was a fairly major issue.” Having such a large set meant that the British lighting designers had to have a large array of several lighting brands to provide the impact necessary. The majority of the rig was made up by Clay Paky’s new Mythos and A.leda B-EYE K20 fixtures to give the band a fresh look. The designers mounted 25 Mythos
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EVENT FOCUS: Zac Brown Band
Below: Okulus was brought in to design lighting for Zac Brown’s three-tiered platform, which gave the band plenty of opportunities to move around the stage.
on trusses and staggered 18 more around the set and some in custom sunken cut outs around the drums and percussion area. Scott commented: “Their versatility attracted us, and Louis had already used them on a UK arena tour earlier this year, so we didn’t hesitate to add them to the rig even though they’re new to the market.” A total of 30 B-EYE K20s, carefully integrated with Mythos, were hung on the moving trusses where they delivered “beautiful parallel beams in saturated and pastel colours,” said Scott. Also added to the rig were the Philips Vari-Lite VL3500’s and SL Nitros. “The VL3500 Wash luminaires give us a very bold base colour,” he explained. “I love the sheer power that comes from them, and the fact that you can drop in a saturated colour and it still punches through an LED wall.” Also added to the rig were Martin Professional’s MAC Vipers. Both Scott and Oliver felt that with so many beams already present what they needed was a solid backbone of a profile. Oliver said: “There were 12 MAC Vipers that we used for effects and back light pickups and then we have an additional 12 for key pick ups when we aren’t using a follow spots. The Viper held its own across the board even though it’s one of the oldest lights in the rig.” Finally, GLP’s popular X4s fixtures were brought back after playing a heavy role in the 2014 tour. “We have a full 60ft stage wraparound gauze automation truss that totally 14
closes off the stage,” explained Scott. “We needed a lightweight fixture that could be attached to the moving element of the gauze truss but needed to make sure that the fixture had a central movement pivot.” Throughout the show there were several moving elements, which were controlled by a Kinesys motion control system. The system was specified by the tour’s rigging contractors Atlanta Rigging Systems (ARS) and ran 39 axes of movement facilitated by 38 Lodestar one tonne chain hoists as well as custom screen element. 10 of the axes ran with Kinesys variable speed Elevation 1+ controllers while 28 ran with encoded fixed-speed hoists. The system also features eight pile-wind winches, which were custom-fabricated by ARS to control a gauze screen in front of the stage to be used as a projection surface at integral moments throughout the show. Scott commented: “Kinesys, I feel, is definitely the industry standard. It is something that no matter where you travel they’ll always have Kinesys.” Oliver added: “It allowed us to change the space for a number of songs. Out of 60 songs, 20 of them have movement in. So we have been able to sculpt around content and the way the stage looked just by bringing a few trusses here and there.” Special Event Services (SES) provided both MA Lighting grandMA2 full-size and grandMA2 lighting consoles. Two grandMA2 full-size
consoles run the lighting for the tour; while two grandMA2 Lights, one active and one back up, run the video system with a handful of MA NPU (Network Processing Unit) distributing. “Okulus is 100% MA,” said Scott. “We stick with one brand so the console becomes an extension of our brain path. We don’t have to think about how to create effects; we look at the stage and don’t worry about the hardware. Every day we unlock a new feature, and the consoles are very robust too.” “The programming Scott and Oliver did for the tour has been masterfully done utilising the great power and features of the grandMA2 consoles. The show is a lot of songs and a lot of cues but the grandMA2 is very fast and efficient,” said Jeff Cranfill, Vice President of SES. “We have purchased quite a few grandMA2 and will probably purchase more any day now,” he reported. According to the Okulus’ creative duo, the feed back to this recent project has been 100% positive. Scott concluded: “The band love the space they have to play on and they are really enjoying going out every day and performing.” TPi Photos: Andy Sapp www.zacbrownband.com www.okulus.co.uk www.specialeventservices.com www.kinesys.co.uk www.atlantarigging.com
EVENT FOCUS: Production Park
PRODUCTION PARK IN A SMALL MINING TOWN BETWEEN LEEDS, DONCASTER AND WAKEFIELD, UK, SOMETHING HUGE HAS BEEN UNDER SECRET DEVELOPMENT FOR THE PAST 12 MONTHS. SPANNING OVER 300,000 SQ FT AND INCORPORATING FIVE REHEARSAL STUDIOS, THREE OF WHICH ARE MEGA-SIZED SPACES EACH OVER 17,000 SQ FT, IT IS A MIRACLE THAT THE WORK HAS MANAGED TO STAY UNDER THE RADAR FOR THIS LONG. Production Park will be making its debut as the headline sponsor for PRO performance and venue technology show at the NEC in Birmingham from 12 - 14 September. The new park is a colossal extension of an existing site, which currently houses 17,500 sq ft arena rehearsal facility LSLive, resulting in an area that is more than four times the size of the original plot, and growing. The Co-Founder of Production Park is Lee Brooks, former Chief Executive of Prolyte Group. Having grown up in the industry, Brooks has spent the last five years running various operations for the international truss and staging manufacturer before leaving in 2014. Following that experience, Brooks welcomed the opportunity to return to his family’s roots back in the heart of the industry, and collaborate with a strong team including his brother Ben, who has been developing the LSLive studio model since 2005. Brooks explained: “Production Park began to evolve around last summer, when we got some space to start thinking about the industry need for a central creative hub for live events technology and production. Film and TV both have their own creative clusters at Pinewood Studios in London and Media City in Salford, respectively, but our industry doesn’t currently have anywhere in the UK it can call home.” “The end of 2014 presented an opportunity 16
when we bought extra space adjacent to our existing site to expand our studios as well as accommodating the relocation of Brilliant Stages and Perry Scenic to Wakefield. Bringing these two highly-respected brands to this area is extremely valuable to us, but also to the region and the wider industry because it means that productions visiting the LS Live studios will have these guys on site, everyone is in one place and that offers something completely unique, a one-stop shop.” This got Brooks thinking about the reality of a live events cluster. His next move was to start making enquiries within the industry in order to ascertain how many brands would want to be involved. He continued: “It seems that everything is aligning as the industry support has been phenomenal and we had brands wanting to join the park straight away, at the same time another huge plot next to the new extended site became available so we decided to go for it and Production Park was born.” Phase One of the development has seen the addition of two new 20,000 sq ft academy studios, two smaller rehearsal studios, 25,000 sq ft of workshops, 12,000 sq ft of design and production offices, one floor of office rental space and a 15,000 sq ft drive through rental facility. Phase Two, which begins in October 2015, will see the development of seven more units
ranging from 4,000 sq ft to 40,000 sq ft and two floors of office rental. A green space is also being developed which will include a restaurant and bar and space to hold events and festivals. Perry Scenic Creative has already moved into its new 15,000 sq ft workshop on the park and Brilliant Stages will be joining them before the end of the year alongside existing tenants Litestructures, Advanced Profiling Services, LSLive and Backstage Academy. The latter is now training a cohort of over 250 students in live events degree programmes on site, and this is seen as a key driver for the park, both in terms of new talent and creative ideas. Key tenants confirmed for the launch are J&C Joel, Knight Rigging Services, Pyrojunkies, and Brian Yeardley Continental Transport. Phase Two industrial units, hot desks and office space will be available to rent from launch at PRO 2015. Brooks added: “Tenants are attracted by the unique mix of environmental and economic conditions. We are in the centre of the UK, yet our close relationships and local support mean that park residency is very cost effective. That, coupled with the opportunity for collaboration with neighbouring companies, the new student generation, and a steady stream of productions coming through the studios, will ensure that residents get real value.” TPi www.productionpark.co.uk
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EVENT FOCUS: ZZ Top
ZZ TOP AMERICAN BLUES ROCK LEGENDS ZZ TOP ROLLED BACK THE YEARS ON THE BLUETONE FESTIVAL’S MAIN STAGE THANKS TO HIGH-POWERED SUPPORT FROM ELECTRO-VOICE’S NEW X-LINE ADVANCE LINE-ARRAY SYSTEM. The Bluetone festival has undergone quite a metamorphosis since its humble beginnings as Jazz on the Danube, moving away from a family-orientated, jazz-based environment towards the framework of a more traditional pop festival. This year, the five-day event saw rock royalty ZZ Top dust off their Fenders to take the position of Sunday headliners, following polished performances from Lionel Richie and Gregory Porter earlier in the week. Freelance Sound Engineer, Rüdiger Nürnberg, and the rest of the team at the event encountered very few problems and this was thanks, in part, to the standard of kit available. The set-up for this year’s festival was based on the new Electro-Voice X-Line Advance Line-Array. The crew used 12 Electro-Voice X2-212/90 line-array elements as main hangs on the left and right side of the stage along with further three line-array elements for the delay line on each side. 18
The X2 is equipped with two Hydra planewave generators: a Mid-Band Hydra for superior box coupling and an Advanced Pin-Diffraction Hydra for controlled linear HF performance. For fills, Nürnberg and the rest of the team relied on four ETX-12P speakers rigged in the truss as in and out fills along with four ETX-10P speakers as front fills. A total of 26 X12-128 subwoofers were ground stacked as a sub arc. The system was powered by six Electro-Voice X-Line Advance system racks, each consisting of four TG7 amplifiers with RCM-28 remote control modules as well as an audio / OMNEO / power distribution panel. A NetMax N8000 digital matrix with IRIS-Net software provided control and supervision. On stage, two Dynacord VL212’s and a corresponding pair of Dynacord Sub28’s served as sidefill. These were powered by three H5000s, as well as another RCM-28. Monitors for the stage were 16 Dynacord CXM15 bi-amps powered by an LX3000 and DSP600. Two
additional Dynacord PSD218s acted as drum fill. Nürnberg commented: “Naturally, the X2 line-array elements and the X12-128 subs were new parts in the rig. Their performance was really great. The system delivered high sound pressure levels, an extended high frequency response, and a linear low frequency output. “Additionally, the HF quality of the new transducers is fantastic, the Mid-Band Hydra is excellent, and the power of the new subs results in a really big sound. Bluetone’s rig will definitely be same next year and I’m looking forward to the next shows with the Electro-Voice X-Line Advance system.“ According to Nürnberg, everyone from the crew to the crowd was impressed by the huge sound from the X-Line Advance system, but he reserved special praise for the way in which it allows him to work efficiently, despite his own personal idiosyncrasies. He explained: “Maybe I’m a little bit of a control freak. The Electro-Voice system allows
EVENT FOCUS: ZZ Top
Opposite: ZZ Top rallied the Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers. Below: Bluetone has moved away from its jazz-based roots; Sound Engineer Rüdiger Nürnberg is keen to get reacquainted with the X-Line Advance system.
me to be in control of every parameter in the system and the system is able to give me feedback on any parameter of each component, at every single moment.” This achievement is largely thanks to the IRIS-Net remote control and supervision software that was used, along with the NetMax N8000 digital matrix. Control freaks of the audio world rejoice.
Nürnberg concluded by saying: “For sure, ZZ Top is a famous band as were other acts at this year’s festival, but we did our job in such a way that we are able to cover all wishes and needs of every band, musician or technician.” TPi
www.zztop.com http://bluetone.de www.electrovoice.com
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EVENT FOCUS: Tosca at Masada
CLEAR-COM TALK TOSCA AT MASADA MASADA, DEEP IN THE JUDEAN DESERT BY THE DEAD SEA, HAS HOSTED YET ANOTHER TECHNICAL FEAT WITH ITS 2015 OPERA FESTIVAL. TPi SPEAKS TO CLEAR-COM ABOUT HOW THE FREESPEAK II WIRELESS SYSTEM HELPED ENABLE THE SUCCESS OF THE 1887 ITALIAN OPERA, TOSCA. In the tradition of the productions held at the Masada National Park in Israel, Giacomo Puccini’s Tosca, directed by Nicolas Joel and conducted by Daniel Oren - with the Israel Opera Chorus and the Israel Symphony Orchestra, Rishon Lezion - took place in June as part of the popular opera festival. Tosca is a musical tale which boasts the kind of dramatic storylines that modern-day Hollywood would be proud of: torture, murder and suicide to name but a few plot lines. The classic opera tells the story of prison escapee Angelotti and the painter Cavaradossi who hides Angelotti in his villa much to his lover Tosca’s dismay. A tale of jealousy, passion and criminality ensues until Angelotti kills himself. Tosca then commits a murder, Cavaradossi is executed during the Franco-Italian war and Tosca throws herself to her death, naturally... As well as bringing this challenging show to life, the festival site itself is also a difficult environment to handle. Technical rental partner, 20
Kilim Electronics, has been providing sound and light to live events in Israel for over 65 years, and has worked at this remote setting for the opera festival for some time. This year Kilim was looking for a suitable wireless intercom solution for comms set-up at Masada, and owner Mier Kilim found it at a European tradeshow. After seeing Clear-Com’s FreeSpeak II system at ISE in Amsterdam, it was clear that a good solution to the opera’s needs could be met through the product’s implementation. FreeSpeak II was primarily used by the show director to give cues to the lighting department and the backstage crew, allowing for seamless communication during the busy show. Clear-Com’s UK Regional Sales Manager, Damien Egan told TPi: “We discussed the specific wireless needs for the opera, and they wanted a reliable solution that would work outdoors with high audio quality. It had to be a lightweight solution which didn’t use much rack space, and belt packs that could last longer
than six hours without recharging. FreeSpeak II was chosen because it fulfilled all these requirements.” The package chosen for the event comprised one FreeSpeak II BaseStation, 14 FreeSpeak II beltpacks, four FreeSpeak II Antennas, two EF701Ms and AC60 FreeSpeak II battery chargers. Rom Rosenblum is an application engineer at Clear-Com, based in its Alameda, California HQ. He was on-site for technical support throughout the duration of Tosca. “The Kilim team were using a legacy 2wire Party Line comms system which we interfaced with their own system through two EF-701M 2wire to 4wire interfaces. There were dozens of wireless mics and ear pieces that we shared the RF space with, but the 1.88 to 1.90GHz DECT spectrum was totally open and we all played nicely together!” he smiled. “We were able to co-locate our DECT transceiver on the same mounting arms as their Bat Wing RF-mic antennas. Since we are mostly alone in the 1.88-
EVENT FOCUS: Tosca at Masada
Opposite: The event site is remote and renowned for technical challenges. Below: The technical team utilised Clear-Com for the frst time.
1.0 spectrum, there was great peace of mind on the day. “The obvious additional challenge is the sheer size of the outdoor open space we had to cover - the terrain and the geographic issues were quite interesting! There’s an abundance of talc and mica in the area which we thought would be an issue for the RF, but it was never an issue with our newly-refined transceiver comb filters and the signal reached far beyond the expected coverage range,” added Rosenblum.
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Last minute additions of belt pack programming were met with ease too, giving the Stage Announce features to the main stage managers. “We were able to not only meet the required channel expectations, but as the users got accustomed to the system, we were able to show and apply more features. There is always the compulsion not to give users too much to get lost in, but the simplified design of the system made it an easy sell to the end user. Plus, Damien’s on-site presence was
much appreciated by Onset, Clear-Com’s Israeli distributor.” Egan concluded: “The opera was a success and it was suggested that both Kilim and the opera would like to use the same Clear-Com wireless solution next year.” TPi www.tosca-at-masada.com www.clearcom.com www.kilim.org.il www.onsetsys.com
EVENT FOCUS: Ed Sheeran
MAJOR TOM UPGRADES TO OPTOCORE FOR ED SHEERAN STADIUM SHOWS WITH A LEADING ROSTER OF ARTISTS ON ITS BOOKS INCLUDING SINGER-SONGWRITER ED SHEERAN, UKBASED RENTAL COMPANY MAJOR TOM WAS EAGER TO KEEP ITS DIGITAL AUDIO SYSTEMS UP-TO-DATE. In the face of constant development in the audio world, Major Tom’s Andy Banks believes that the Optocore system is the next stage of the company’s development. Banks commented: “We had been looking at investing in an Optocore system for a while. We have been massive DiGiCo users since they started out, and as such have always used the Optocore products within the DiGiCo set up.” However, the company recently purchased its own independent system, comprising multiple X6R and V3R converters with Mic In, Line Out and AES boards. Banks explained that this was a co-ordinated move from both analogue and AES copper to fibre: “We knew it would make FOH runs smaller and lighter and give greater efficiencies, with the requirement for far greater channel capacity over far less cable.” The purchase, which gives them separate V3R and X6R stand-alone systems, can thus be 24
deployed as conventional return racks while giving the option to combine the systems and run larger delay rings as the site demands. Although the system debuted on a UFC Fight Night, Andy Banks confirmed that the Optocore system was always purchased with the Ed Sheeran dates in mind, where Optocore was used to distribute audio from Meyer Sound Galileo Callisto 616 array processors. Banks explained: “With UFC being an ‘in the round’ style event we could simply have two tiny fibres running from the venue roof grid and take all audio, with minimum impact on sight-lines. On the other hand, the Wembley shows with Ed Sheeran were a major challenge, especially as we were using a system design that had never been tried in the venue before. However, it was a massive success, offering improved coverage for the upper seats. This wouldn’t have been possible without the
longer cable runs we can now use over a fibre network, and it made set up and control of the system really simple. “It means that in stadiums we can easily run one small optical cable to our delay positions hundreds of metres away with no signal loss and have data control to all of those positions over the same single cable. The Optocore system is not only lighter and more compact to run but the fact that it is scalable to each job is also a massive benefit.” Banks is pleased to report that the Optocore system was also given the thumbs-up by Sheeran’s technical team. “The system worked faultlessly and with transparent audio quality,” he said. “Head of audio, Charlie Albin, System Engineers Dave White and Malcolm Giles, and FOH Engineer and Production Manager, Chris Marsh, all really appreciated the ability to have such long cable runs without having to worry
EVENT FOCUS: Ed Sheeran
Opposite and Below: Sir Elton John made a guest appearance with Ed Sheeran at Wembley, where Major Tom used its Optocore system.
about signal loss or cable paths. In any case, they already run their whole stage on an Optocore loop with the DiGiCo SD racks for all input and outputs as well.” The team progressed from using the Meyer Sound MILO to the LEO, which Marsh fell in love with at one of Sheeran’s soundchecks. He said: “The guitar and vocal hit me like never before, because there was no front-end compression.
there are no fireworks, there are no other distractions. It’s all about hearing his songs like he’s right there in a small room with you.” Optocore supported the sale of the system with a full day’s training in the control software and potential usage, administered by Applications Engineering Manager, Maciek Janiszewski. Going forward, Banks said he sees plenty of opportunity for future deployment of the Optocore
“The Optocore system is not only lighter and more compact to run but the fact that it is scalable to each job is also a massive benefit.” Andy Banks, Major Tom
“LEO manages to hit every seat as if it were in the near field. Whether you’re at FOH or at the back of the stadium, you feel like you’re mixing with near-field speakers. That’s the difference. Other systems can bring the sound out to you, but with LEO, you genuinely feel like you’re in it. That’s incredibly important with Ed, because there are no dancers, 26
system. Not only on their regular UFC events, but also with other regular acts, including Judas Priest, who will be touring over the coming months, with other exciting projects still under wraps. TPi www.edsheeran.com www.majortom.cc www.optocore.com www.meyersound.com
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18/06/2015 16:32
EVENT FOCUS: Jesus Christ Superstar
JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR ALTHOUGH JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF WAS CENTRE STAGE, IT WAS SOUND DESIGNER GLEN BECKLEY AND THE CADAC CDC EIGHT THAT PERFORMED ALL THE MIRACLES. TPi’S STE DURHAM SPOKE WITH BECKLEY TO DISCOVER HOW HE DEALT WITH LINCOLN CATHEDRAL’S DISTINCTIVE ACOUSTICS. Telling the story of Jesus Christ’s final days from the point of view of Judas Iscariot, Jesus Christ Superstar was performed in Lincoln Cathedral as part of the city’s Magna Carta 800 celebrations, commemorating the 800th anniversary of the sealing of Magna Carta - one original copy of which is owned by Lincoln Cathedral and was on display at Lincoln Castle during the show’s run. While on a sabbatical from his day job as a Head of Sound for Cirque du Soleil, Glen Beckley received the call from hire company Wigwam Acoustics to act as Sound Designer and Engineer for the production, resuming a relationship that was forged on the musical theatre circuit 17 years previously. While Lincoln Cathedral served as a draw for Beckley, its sonorous nave also presented something of a gauntlet to run before he could begin to think about designing the show. He said: “The venue drove a lot of the decisions really. It’s an incredibly impressive structure. The first thing I asked was what they were planning to do with the band. They hadn’t decided, so I suggested trying to silence them. I thought that if we could remove them from the equation acoustically then we might have a fighting chance.” The decision was made to place the 28
orchestra behind and underneath FOH, which was at the opposite end of the cathedral nave from the main stage, at the back of a raised seating stand. This structure gave Beckley and his team a roof and walls to adapt into isolation booths for the musicians. These booths were reserved for anything that couldn’t be reproduced electronically, such as woodwind and percussion, and everything else was routed through a DI - including the drummer, who was using a Roland TD-30KV V-Pro Series electric drum kit. With the band under control, Beckley needed to find a way of having multiple audio sources around the audience so that he never had to work with deafening volumes and the associated difficulties. “We achieved this by having loudspeakers placed at every pillar position down the length of the building and had them on delays. This way we could minimise the impact of the room.” Another issue for Beckley was the fact that the show was designed to be an immersive experience. The ensemble, which numbered around 250 people, regularly moved between the main stage and secondary stage, as well as all the way up the sides and behind the audience at the back of the cathedral. Beckley explained: “We placed even more
speakers facing back towards the stage and used quite a complicated matrix system to enable me to position the audio where the ensemble was at the time. It ended up becoming something of a ‘surround sound’ experience. Obviously I didn’t use any reverbs as there is not a reverb made that can compete with the one that was already there. I didn’t want to fight with the space, just compliment what was already provided in order to keep everything intelligible.” Altogether the team used 34 channels of RF. Beckley used DPA-4088 headsets for the 12 principles and then distributed just over 20 Sennheiser MKE 2s amongst the ensemble. The MKE 2 is an omni-directional capsule so, rather than with the principles where the team wanted to focus on one voice, the MKE 2s were used to pick up as much of the surrounding voices as possible. Beckley added: “We divided it up chorally - bass, baritone all the way up to alto and soprano to balance and reinforce the sound. To be honest, 250 people singing at the top of their voices in a cathedral makes a pretty good noise as it is!” As well as overcoming the obstacles posed by the venue and production, Beckley also opted to trial Cadac’s new CDC eight digital live sound console at the event - despite having free rein in
EVENT FOCUS: Jesus Christ Superstar
Opposite: Everyone has used ‘cathedral reverb’, but Glen Beckley had to deal with the real thing. Below: The Cadac CDC eight more than lived up to the hype; The production had a cast of hundreds.
Wigwam’s stock room. He commented: “One of the things that struck me most on first meeting the desk was the fact that the surface is really well thought out. I didn’t delve too far into how it sounded at that point as I was in a warehouse, but as a piece of kit it ergonomically looked and felt like something I could be comfortable on. “Some other people whose opinions I value had already said some really good things about the actual fidelity of it. If nothing else it was another interesting twist to the experience- as if there weren’t enough already!” With two stage boxes and two independent MADI streams going to and from the console, Cadac had to do some custom engineering for the team. As well as these logistical reasons, there was also a soundscape designed to immerse the audience in the feel of a Middle Eastern marketplace of the time, played for the 45 minute walk-in before the show stared. This involved a number of channels, and Beckley confirmed the team was using “well north of 100” by the time it was ready. He added that he believes the CDC eight
could even play a part in moving the discussion on from the “old and boring” analogue versus digital debate. “With a good analogue console, often you can just set your pre amp gain, lift the fader and then move on, rather than having to tweak to compensate for what the audio circuit is taking away from the source. The CDC eight is the first digital console I’ve used that’s behaved in the same way, allowing you to start from scratch with a pure signal. The debate is irrelevant, it’s just a great sounding console,” said Beckley. While the CDC eight is still in the early stages, developmentally, Beckley confirmed that he would be pleased to arrive on another job and get the opportunity to take the console for another spin. As well as this glowing review, it seems that the audience was also impressed with how the team dealt with the challenges posed by the cathedral’s rare acoustics. Beckley laughed: “You don’t really want to judge your work on how few bad comments you get, but this was something of an exception. In short, a community musical theatre production
in a cathedral is obviously going to draw a certain demographic, and that demographic might not necessarily be predisposed to listening to loud rock ‘n’ roll music. “I was very conscious of that fact that feathers could be ruffled if we didn’t get this right so, from that perspective, I consider not receiving any complaints as a bit of a success! Beyond that, any feedback that I did receive was almost universally positive. Many people couldn’t believe we managed to do it!” However miraculous Beckley’s methods appeared to those in attendance, it is clear from one conversation that attention to detail, experience and pride in his work goes a long way. He concluded: “The space and the feel of the environment was very much a part of what the producers wanted the show to be about. So we weren’t viewing the room as a drawback, just a series of challenges we had to negotiate to work in a space like that.” TPi http://superstarlincoln.co.uk www.sseaudiogroup.com/wigwam www.cadac-sound.com
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EVENT FOCUS: Roland’s M-5000C
ROLAND LAUNCHES COMPACT M-5000C ROLAND HAS ANNOUNCED THE GLOBAL LAUNCH OF THE O.H.R.C.A M-5000C DIGITAL MIXING CONSOLE. THIS EAGERLY-ANTICIPATED CONSOLE CLOSELY FOLLOWS THE LAUNCH OF THE AWARD WINNING O.H.R.C.A M-5000, WHICH WAS LAUNCHED GLOBALLY IN NOVEMBER LAST YEAR.
Earlier last month, TPi was lucky enough to attend an event at Roland’s Swansea HQ. The event was attended by several industry insiders as well as various representatives of the AV branch of Roland. Along with a tour of its impressive office and warehouse, TPi was also given a first look at the M-5000C. Measuring under 74cm in width and weighing just 32kg, the compact M-5000C offers all the flexibility and power of the M-5000 console (winner of the ‘Best Mixing System (Live) award at the pipa/Prolight + Sound International Press Awards) but in a smaller footprint which makes it the ideal choice for touring, broadcast, theatre and live performance. The M-5000C will make its debut to the European market at the forthcoming IBC Exhibition in Amsterdam. During the presentation Simon Kenning, 30
Sales Manager of AV, described the success that Roland has seen with the M-5000 and its O.H.R.C.A (Open High Resolution Configurable Architecture) Platform. The more compact M-5000C will use the same O.H.R.C.A platform, and hopes to bring a new dimension of user configurability to consoles of this size at an affordable price. The O.H.R.C.A. platform delivers 128 freely definable audio paths, expandable protocols and multi-format I / O choices combined with a flexible user interface and workflow, all at a pristine 24-bit / 96kHz sound quality. This open audio architecture supports Dante, MADI, Waves Sound Grid, and REAC audio protocols, as well as audio delivery over video using SDI, DVI and SFP cabling. Along with a 96kHz sampling rate for superb sound quality, M-5000C has a 72-bit summing bus, newly designed, discrete analog circuitry
and redundant power supply. In addition to 16 inputs and eight outputs on the console, the M-5000C also features two expansion interface slots that can accommodate REAC, Dante, MADI, Waves SoundGrid and other XI-Series expansion cards. An intuitive and flexible workflow is key to the design of the M-5000C with an abundance of user-centric features such as the 12-inch colour touchscreen that is controllable by multipurpose knobs below the screen. A total of 16 of the 20 available faders are divided into two banks of eight that can work together or isolated, each can be assigned with a total of four different workflows; Scroll, Spill DCA, Anchors and User Assignable Layers. The remaining four faders can be freely assigned by the user depending on their requirements. Also free to be assigned by the user are three banks
EVENT FOCUS: Roland’s M-5000C
Opposite and Below: First look at the compact M-5000C using the same O.H.R.C.A platform that has made the larger M-5000 so popular with engineers.
each with four knobs and eight buttons (total twelve knobs and twenty four buttons) ensuring the M-5000C truly meets the demands for compliancy that professionals now expect. Naturally, the extensive family of existing Roland products integrates seamlessly with the new platform, knitting the M-5000C into thousands of systems already running worldwide. Scores of digital snake options already exist for I/O, but the Roland M-48
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Personal Mixer offers a particularly powerful solution. Hybrid monitoring takes the lead performers’ mixes off the console busses in the traditional way, while the rest of the musicians use M-48 Personal Mixers. Connecting M-48 and M-5000C via the powered REAC port on the console, the engineer can seamlessly mix between those artists on aux busses and those musicians on personal mixers. Finally, the R-1000 48-channel Player / Recorder completes
the family of devices fully integral with the M-5000C. The console will also be compatible with the new Version 1.1 software update released last month for the larger M-5000. This new update equips the console with the latest M-48 Personal Mixing management and new GP I/O functions from the built-in 25-pin port on the rear of the console. TPi www.proav.roland.com
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4/30/15 4:04 PM
PRODUCTION PROFILE: ArcTanGent Festival
ARCTANGENT FESTIVAL AS THE ONLY UK FESTIVAL DEDICATED TO SHOWCASING THE VERY BEST IN MATH-ROCK, POST-ROCK AND NOISE-ROCK, THE AWARD-WINNING ARCTANGENT FESTIVAL WAS BACK AGAIN FOR ITS THIRD EDITION. TPi ROLLED OUT IN FORCE TO BRAVE THE WILDS SURROUNDING BRISTOL AND DISCOVER WHY MORE AND MORE PEOPLE ARE FLOCKING TO THIS BOUTIQUE EVENT. Despite capacity being strictly limited to 5,000 attendees, word hasn’t stopped getting out about what ArcTanGent has to offer. The event has gained the backing of a powerful sponsor in Orange Amplification, and continues to see fresh recognition namely its appearance on the shortlists for Best New Festival, Grass Roots Festival and Best Small Festival at the 2014 UK Festival Awards (winning Best Toilets) as well as this year’s AIM awards for Best Independent Music Festival. Following on from sister event 2000trees, ArcTanGent was set up to provide an intimate festival environment, focusing almost entirely on the music itself, while attempting to cut out many of the negative aspects usually found at larger mainstream events. With four stages for festivalgoers to choose from, this year’s event 34
offered three days of pure math-rock indulgence with bands on show such as 65daysofstatic, Alright the Captain, The Dillinger Escape Plan and Cult of Luna to name but a few. Perhaps as a result of ArcTanGent’s focus on experimentation and musicianship, the event has tended to draw a slightly older demographic than some of its more conventional rock and metal counterparts, with very few of those in attendance falling below the age of 23. Although many of the faces behind the scenes at the festival would have been familiar to those who attended 2000trees, there remains the conviction that ArcTanGent upholds its own, distinct ethos. BRIEFING THE CHAOS The inital idea behind of ArcTanGent came from Festival Director Goc O’Callaghan along with
two fellow business partners James Scarlett and Simon Maltas. O’Callaghan talked about how ArcTanGent found a niche within the already saturated UK festival scene: “We were very conscious of not just putting on a generic indie rock festival. We have seen a lot of those sorts of festivals go bust over the years, so we specifically looked for a very niche corner of the industry to create something that hadn’t been done before.” O’Callaghan saw that there were no other festivals dedicated to this genre, with its closest competitor being ATP festival - an indoor event that recently went bust. She also went on to state that ArcTanGent has found a home in Bristol: “The fact that Bristol didn’t really have an outdoor camping festival, as well as the city having a great music scene, meant it made sense that ArcTangent should be based there.”
PRODUCTION PROFILE: ArcTanGent Festival
Opposite: The Dillinger Escape Plan brought their usual high-energy show to the Arc stage. Below: Deerhoof provided a break from the norm; With four stages for festivalgoers to choose from, this year’s event offered three days of pure math-rock indulgence.
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Over its three years in existence, ArcTanGent has seen significant growth - with this year exceeding the 4,000 mark for festivalgoers and organisers predicting it reaching 5,000 for next year’s event. “We do have the capacity to grow to 20,000 if we wanted to,” stated O’Callaghan. “But we have discussed that we will not go any bigger than 10,000.” It is clear that ArcTanGent is keen to hold on to its independence. O’Callaghan added: “Keeping the festival smaller means we create an intimate vibe that attracts a certain type of crowd. We have had so many compliments on how friendly the crowds are and what a nice environment it is. I don’t think that you can really do that with a big festival.” It is clear that the organisers behind ArcTanGent are passionate about keeping the festival relevant and it is very much ‘all hands on deck’ for all aspects of the festival; from initial set up to pack down. However, it is also not uncommon
to seem them in the crowd with the rest of the fans. As O’Callaghan said: “We are making our dream event to attend. It just so happens that we are running it rather than buying a ticket.” The festival is based on a farm a short drive from Bristol city centre and, although exposed to the elements, the site has proved to be perfect for holding the annual event. “One of the main reasons that we chose Fernhill Farm was that there are hard standing roads throughout the site,” commented O’Callaghan. “Apart from our smallest stage, the PX3, every single one of our stages backs on to a hard standing road. This was very much a tactical move on our part so that, if we were to get even more apocalyptic rain than we did this year, we are still able to drive trucks in!” Just as with any festival, health and safety is always a concern. However, as well as the usual festival concerns, ArcTanGent also has the added issue of catering for acts renowned for the energetic live performances. The
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PRODUCTION PROFILE: ArcTanGent Festival
Below: The Dillinger Escape Plan’s Ben Weinman during their headline set; Peak Hire’s Karl Ashman has been involved with ArcTanGent since its inception; Festival organisers Goc O’Callaghan, James Scarlett and Simon Maltas can often be found in the crowd; Nathan Clark’s Complete Tours could be even more involved next time around.
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@peakhire
Dillinger Escape Plan, New Jersey heavyweights of the math rock world, have made a name for themselves over the last 20 years as having one of the most intense and death-defying live shows within the alternative world. Their ArcTanGent slot was no exception as they entertained the crowd with their usual antics of jumping off guitar rigs and crowd surfing, reaching a climax as their singer, Greg Puciato, scaled the centre king pole and launched himself into a sea of brave fans below (see front cover!). On the subject of preparing for their set, O’Callaghan commented: “Security was important to us. Not necessarily from the perspective of controlling the band but more from the stance that we wanted Dillinger to do what they do best, put on their live show and therefore make sure our security were briefed accordingly. This is probably not apparent to many people on site but there was a team of 30 people overall that made sure Dillinger were kept happy.” This involved a great deal of communication between artist liaison teams as well as ArcTanGent’s stage managers.
O’Callaghan added: “Credit to ESP, who are the security company we use. They are very much on side with the festival. I think in three years they have begun to get a good grasp on what our crowd is like. The crowd are not at all troublesome and security is also aware that we are going to book these extreme bands that are going to do some slightly obscure stuff. For them it’s a nice development in their opportunity to act as security for something that is slightly out side the norm.” STAGING Dave Fuller and the team from G Stages has worked with ArcTanGent from its inaugural year in 2013, providing all the staging for the event. Fuller explained: “We first met as they were looking for a unique main stage option. We liaise with A&J Big Top Hire on load in and load out, and also with Peak Hire to make sure everyone is happy.” G Stages starts its building process with three staff on site, though this increases to a team of five when it comes time to sheet the main G2 stage. According to Fuller, it usually takes six days to build and three days to de-rig and
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PRODUCTION PROFILE: ArcTanGent Festival
Below: As a sponsor of the event, Orange Amplification supplied the main backline for each stage, with London-based John Henry’s acting as facilitator for a lot of its loan stock.
clear the site. He continued: “We provide three small tent stages and the G2, along with a deck and FOH. The main challenge is building the G2 on such a slope as the framework is ground-mounted and each arch base needs to be level.” The G2 Stage, which also serves as the Glade Stage at Glastonbury Festival, is a hexagonal arched structure 28 metres in diameter, with a seventh arch stage pod. The arch can accommodate a 10 metre by 10 metre stage and any configuration of stage deck can be
on are really professional and do all they can to make it easy for us to work. As for the bands performing on the stage, we always try to build each of our structures to the highest possible standard so, hopefully, there is no problem with whoever is performing.” BACKLINE As a sponsor of the event, Orange Amplification supplied the main backline for each stage, with London-based John Henry’s acting as facilitator for a lot of its loan stock.
“We are making our dream event to attend. It just so happens that we are running it rather than buying a ticket.” ArcTanGent Director, Goc O’Callaghan
built inside the main structure. The side arches are over seven metres high and, despite being partially enclosed, offer good site lines for large audiences extending well outside the structure. To secure it, the structure is ground-pinned or ballasted on base frames. Just as ArcTanGent’s health and safety team prepared for all manner of stage-diving and truss-scaling, Fuller and his crew were sure to maintain their usual level of attention to detail in securing the G2. He said: “Although ArcTanGent is a relatively small event, the team that put it 38
Endorsement Manager at John Henry’s, Jamie Henry, explained: “We hold an awful lot of Orange stock, and they took the request to supply each stage with a set of amplifiers and cabinets. We were obliged to prep it all, load it onto our trucks and deliver it to each of the stages on site.” The ArcTanGent Orange backline consists of 17 amplifiers and 23 cabinets, which serves as gear for all of the stages and a supplement of back-up gear in case anything fails during the festival.
Henry continued: “We did the same thing for the 2000trees festival, in that Orange sponsored it and we provided 20 amplifiers, 25 cabinets, and trucked them to and from the site. This is the first time ArcTanGent has been on my radar, but it worked so well for Orange at 2000trees that they asked us to get involved again. “Its difficult juggling events at the busiest time of year but Orange stockpile so much gear at John Henry’s that we are flexible to supply anyone at any time. I’ve got other Orange endorsees coming to collect gear in dribs and drabs while we are loading trucks at the same time.” John Henry’s is also the main supplier for major summer events like V Festival, Reading and Leeds, as well as having an involvement with Glastonbury, Bestival and Latitude. Where these mainstream events require a backline tailored to each individual performer, rock and metal-based festivals such as ArcTanGent or 2000trees can be attacked in more of a blanket fashion. Henry said: “The bands will obviously bring their own gear when needed, but as soon as they see the festival rider listing so much Orange backline, they know they just need to rock up, plug in a guitar, and they’re away.” Aside from the Orange backline provided by John Henry’s, any ArcTanGent artists that have either other branding commitments or further requirements are covered by Complete Tours. Managing Director of the company, Nathan
PRODUCTION PROFILE: ArcTanGent Festival
Below: The Dillinger Escape Plan’s Greg Puciato later scaled the centre king pole and launched himself into a sea of brave fans below; One of Cult of Luna’s two drummers - a challenge for Complete Tours to solve; Deerhoof favoured the Orange backline on Saturday afternoon.
Clark, explained: “We used to supply all the backline for both ArcTanGent and 2000trees, but then Orange came in with a sponsorship offer that the ArcTanGent organisers couldn’t refuse, meaning we moved into a more organisational role. We coordinate the backline, along with the Natal gear from Marshall, from set up to breakdown and supply the additional equipment the bands need.” While Natal provide a drum kit per stage at ArcTanGent, there are further requests from bands such as Cult of Luna, who need two drum kits and have very specific requirements in terms of size. Clark commented: “We will find out before what gear will be available, but you will always have to accommodate bands that have very specific needs.” As well as seeing to these requirements, 2015 will also see Complete Tours running the press area at ArcTanGent for the first time. Clark said: “Last year I spent two days in the press area and I noticed nothing was happening there. I brought this up to the organisers and they were good enough to entrust it to us this year. We are trying to get as much coverage as possible for all the bands as well as the festival itself.” On top of branching out into PR, Clark 40
revealed that Complete Tours could also move into providing merch services at the event in the future. If that was not enough, he added that warm up rooms akin to the ones Complete Tours used to run at the Download and Sonisphere festivals could also make an appearance at ArcTanGent 2016. Clark said: “We used to take a varied backline and set up so that bands could come in and jam - it was really good fun. The ArcTanGent organisers liked the sound of this and are seriously considering letting us do the same kind of thing for them next year. The bands at this festival will get more out of it than most, as they are all phenomenal musicians and so serious about their jobs.” Whatever Complete Tours’ involvement is in next year’s edition, you can be sure that it’ll be present, as the relationship forged three years ago is going from strength to strength. “The people that run it see it as less of a money making scheme and more a way of promoting and supporting the music. You can quite often find the organisers in the crowd, just watching the bands. It is this kind of attitude that makes ArcTanGent one of my favourite festivals,” Clark added.
TECH HIRE Taking on the task of supplying sound, lighting, power and rigging was Cheltenham-based Peak Hire. The company has been with ArcTanGent from the beginning supplying gear for all four stages. Director of Peak Hire and the festival’s Project Manager, Karl Ashman, was on site to talk through its involvement with the festival: “We have been involved since the festival’s first year in 2013 and have been with them ever since.” Having already worked with some of the festival’s organisers on previous events, Peak Hire has become one of the main cogs in the ArcTanGent machine and were once again present in force with a team of 16, as well as several drivers. Ashman mentioned that many of the Peak Hire crew were alien to the genres of music that ArcTanGent specialises in: “We were introduced to the term math-rock by one of the organisers and we didn’t know what it was several years ago. We are extremely familiar with it now but in the beginning it did throw up a few challenges as it requires a certain treatment on the sound front. Often we had to add a bit more sub here and there to provide the needed coverage. The artists, the promoters and the
PRODUCTION PROFILE: ArcTanGent Festival
Below: Cult of Luna’s use of back lighting meant they virtually played the whole set silhouetted to the audience.
punters alike are very astute listeners to this genre of music. It could be construed that it is fairly sort of brash and loud but in actuality, they are surprisingly attentive to the nuances of what they are hearing.” For the three larger stages (Arc, Yohkai and Bixler) Peak Hire provided various Eastern Acoustic Works (EAW) speakers while providing Mach speakers for the smaller PX3 stage. It is perhaps slightly irregular to see EAW stacks at a UK Festival but for Peak Hire there is no question of using another system. Ashman
“We like the features EAW designs into its boxes and our clients like the sound. It is very encouraging when an artist’s engineer comments that they like the system. The aim is to make the devices between the artist and the audience as transparent as possible and EAW has always allowed us to get as close to that as possible. Our stock profile means we can suit a variety of applications with the right cabinet, all scalable to the requirement.” For the main stage eight KF740 ground stacked line array along with eight SB1002 subs, two KF730 front fill and
“ArcTanGent and its sister festival 2000trees are two of the most important UK festivals out there, allowing artists’ whose genres may not fit into other festivals play to a good-sized audience.” Vennart’s Lighting Designer, Tom Campbell commented: “We are fond of EAW and we have a good working relationship. The brand is perhaps not quite as high profile in this country as it once was but I think it is making headway now, especially with its new Anya system, which it hopes to audition in the UK soon. It is testament to the quality and popularity of a line array model, which was first produced in 2003, that it is still being made today. EAW don’t forget that either. Just recently it tweaked the Resolution software of the KF730 and KF740 line array models, so are always improving. 42
10 MW15 monitors. All sound was headed up by Soundcraft MH3 (48 channels) for monitors and a MH2 (48 channels) for FOH. It was not just sound that required Peak Hire to utilise different techniques at ArcTanGent, lighting also requires a unique touch. Ashman explained: “At more generic festival stages you’ll have some good colour and some good movement. But with this particular crowd they are much more into the sort of flash and bang impact as opposed to other sites.” For the main stage system, Ashman used 12 Robe Pointes,
eight Robe Robins, a 600E Spot, four elumen8 2 cell LED Blinders, 16 Robe Robin LEDs, a Wash 600s, 12 ETC Source4 PARs, two Martin Professional Atomic Strobes and 12 LEDJ colour blocks. One of the highlights of this year’s festival was a closing set from Sweden’s Cult of Luna who, due to flight delays, had to play at the later time of 10:30pm on the secondary Yohkai stage. Despite this setback, the stage show was transposed seamlessly - a testament to the the professionalism of both the band and crew. The use of back lighting meant that the band played virtually their whole set in silhouette to the audience, an atmosphere carefully crafted by LD Alexis Sevenier. Two ETC source 4 Bar6s, four 2 cell LED blinders, four Martin Professional MAC 700Ps, two Martin MAC 700Ws, 12 Cameo 600 LED battens, and two Studio Due CS2s made all of this possible. Tom Campbell, LD for British band Vennart, was behind the lighting desk of the Yohkai stage on the Friday night. “I went to ArcTanGent in its first year with one of the headliners and was happy be back this year with Vennart. Everyone from Peak Hire were great and catered for our extra package including some additional Robe kit.” He went on to state that: “I personally think ArcTanGent and its sister festival 2000trees are two of the most important UK festivals out there, allowing artists whose genres may not fit into other festivals play to a good-sized audience.“ With ArcTanGent being situated at the top of
PRODUCTION PROFILE: ArcTanGent Festival
Below: ArcTanGent was set up to provide an intimate festival environment, focussing almost entirely on the music itself.
a hill, one concern for the festival owners when bands run late is sound leakage. Peak Hire was on top of such issues. Ashman commented: “Sound leakage on that site its pretty well policed. They have several events on the same site in an average year and they are pretty much on top of it. We have monitoring at FOH positions so that we can adhere to whatever we are given and when we have visiting engineers we can lean over their shoulders to make sure they are complying.” Ashman and the whole Peak Hire team seem more than prepared to return for round four of ArcTanGent as the director spoke about plans to perhaps make better use of vertical space at the Arc stage.
we have had around 25 students working backstage in a variety of roles. These range from artist liaison and stage management roles to backline teching, stewarding and everything in between. Students can decide which avenue they want to take and hopefully we can help them out. This year we have worked across quite a few festivals but ArcTanGent was one of our first.” Ireland and her colleagues assess the students throughout the year in order to ascertain who is ready to step up, and which opportunities they would be best suited to. More practically-inclined students like engineers might even get a full summer of experience by working on a succession of festivals. There
“The first year students are now seeing more established bands from various BIMM campuses getting festival slots, which directly inspires them to up their game for next summer. We see it as a healthy form of competition, and one that ensures BIMM and ArcTanGent go from strength to strength.” Suzi Ireland, Artist Promotion and Festival Manager at BIMM Bristol
ON-SITE EDUCATION As well as being the third year for ArcTanGent, 2015 also marks the third year of its cooperation with the British & Irish Modern Music Institute (BIMM) - a relationship that was strengthened from the beginning by the festival’s close proximity to BIMM’s Bristol campus. Suzi Ireland, Artist Promotion and Festival Manager at BIMM Bristol, said: “In the past 44
is also varying levels of responsibility for the students from shadowing roles to more handson involvement. These introductory experiences can ultimately lead to full-time work for the students. Ireland explained: “James Scarlett, one of the festival’s organisers, saw some really good work from our students at 2000trees and ArcTanGent last year and has now got them into
paying roles. If you show that you are willing to go and learn and offer your skills for free, then people will quickly notice if you are doing a good job. It is a nice model that seems to be forming quite naturally as the years go by.” Perhaps due to the fact that it caters to something of a niche in the rock milieu, BIMM’s students are not breaking into ArcTanGent’s line-up in the same way they have at other festivals. The 2015 incarnation of the event will only host one act from the BIMM stable, Patchwork Natives, but Ireland does not see this as a problem. She said: “We do have a few bands in development but I need to be careful of putting people forward when they are not quite ready. While the festivals are a good incentive for our backstage students, they act as a powerful driving force behind our artists and bands. The first year students are now seeing more established bands from various BIMM campuses getting festival slots, which directly inspires them to up their game for next summer. We see it as a healthy form of competition, and one that ensures BIMM and ArcTanGent go from strength to strength.” TPi Photos: Joe Singh of snaprockandpop www.facebook.com/snaprockandpop Ian Percival of Trash Monkey www.arctangent.co.uk www.gstages.co.uk www.ajbigtophire.com www.johnhenrys.com www.completetours.co.uk www.peakhire.co.uk www.eventsp.co.uk www.bimm.co.uk
PRODUCTION PROFILE: Boomtown Fair
BOOMTOWN EACH YEAR BOOMTOWN FAIR RISES LIKE A GIANT FILM SET, TURNING THE PEACEFUL GROUNDS OF MATTERLEY ESTATE IN WINCHESTER, UK, INTO A LAND OF ABANDONED TEMPLES, DILAPIDATED PIRATE SHIPS AND FIRE-BREATHING DRAGONS. STORYLINE IS EVERYTHING FOR BOOMTOWN, ONE OF EUROPE’S FASTEST-GROWING INDEPENDENT FESTIVALS, AND AS BROOKE NOLAN FINDS OUT, THERE’S A SURPRISE AROUND EVERY CORNER. Since its launch in 2009, Boomtown Fair has expanded from a capacity of just 2,500 to nearly 50,000 at this year’s event, held from 13 - 16 August. It is a proudly uncommercialised affair and the brainchild of founders and directors Chris Rutherford and Lak Mitchell. The festival is set up like a giant, fictional city with nine separate districts, each with their own name and theme. Linking these districts is a storyline that plunges fancy-dress clad citizens into a magical, make-believe world of evil mayors and alien invasions. More than just a music festival, Boomtown combines an eclectic line-up of reggae, ska, folk, gypsy, world, punk, electro-swing, techno and garage genres with street theatre, circus and spoken word. Acts this year included Stephen ‘Ragga’ Marley, Flogging Molly, Gogol Bordello, Squarepusher and Caravan Palace. 46
Paul Rose is the founder of Boomtown’s audio supplier Bristol-based Audio Funktion and AF Live. He also acts as Technical Production Director for the festival. He said: “In total, there are 126 venues of varying sizes (50 up to 15,000 capacity) spread across the nine districts, with 22 main stages. This year saw some major changes to the site, including the renaming and expansion of the ninth district, DSTRKT 5, the build of brand new stage Bang Hai Palace and the addition of house music stage House in the Woods, the new 5,000 capacity PSY forest stage.” These join regular stages such as the Town Centre, the Old Mines, Devil Kicks Dancehall, the Jolly Dodger and temple-themed reggae stage The Lion’s Den, which moved location and nearly doubled in size. Boomtown has a permanent team of 16 in its Bristol-based office and workshop where
it creates all of the impressive scenery. This increases to 50 during busy set building times. The accreditation system during show days processes 10,000 crew, artistes and staff. Founder Chris Rutherford said: “Each district has its own production manager who works with us full time to ensure consistency of storyline across all elements of the event. “It’s the storyline that sits at the heart of all of our decisions and there is constant communication between us, production, the theatrics team and walkabout team to create sets and characters. Everyone needs to be fully behind it, which is why having permanent staff is so important. “The plan was always to have a plot, but it was originally just for Lak and I’s creative pleasure. But people have really bought into it and it’s now central to everything that we do. “It’s amazing to see our citizens turn up in
PRODUCTION PROFILE: Boomtown Fair
Opposite: Boomtown is set up like a giant, fictional city with nine separately themed districts. Below: Simon Carroll and Will Howie kept on top of the Lion’s Den stage, while George DC supervised special effects at the Bang Hai Palace.
character, sometimes a different one for each day. The name Boomtown is completely apt as we’re all about an immersive, interactive experience.” BANG HAI PALACE The newly added Bang Hai Palace stage sits in DSTRKT 5. Rutherford said: “Our glorious leader got a bit power hungry and spent the city’s money on an extravagant palace, bringing together all of the elements of architecture from around the globe that she loves.” Rutherford, Mitchell and the Boomtown story team devised the palace concept. Their in-house carpenters built the scenic elements, which include iron robots and six metre tall pyramids. The 29 metre high stage substructure was constructed using Layher Scaffolding. Helping to fine-tune the design’s creative detail and full production of the stage, was Belgium-based BM Projects. The company has worked on many international festivals including Tomorrowland and several others. BM’s Mara Ruipers, said: “Last year we contacted festivals in the UK, looking to bring our experience across the channel. Boomtown was one of them and we just clicked with Chris and Lak. They liked our knowledge and experience and we liked their style. I love
projects that are crazy and creative, with subtle humour.” Bang Hai Palace was the ideal fit, with Ruipers getting her wish. If you look closely at the stage you’ll notice in-built tax and complaints departments, which fit with the Boomtown storyline of a public disillusioned with its leader. Boomtown was BM’s first UK project. Ruipers, continued: “There’s a lot of creative freedom working with Boomtown. They do it because they want to make the festival bigger and better each year. It’s been a really fun project to work on.” Fellow Belgian company, Phlippo supplied all lights and screens for the Bang Hai Palace stage. Crew Chief Pieter Ceuleers was supported on site by Operators Tom Derycke, Jonas Tournes and Tim de Buyser plus System Engineer Jente de Pusseleyr. Although not on site during the gig, LD Kristof Devriese prepared all technical preproduction and design. He worked closely with Boomtown to finalise the lighting and video, CAD drawings and manage the budget for Phlippo’s section of the show. The rig included 12 Philips Vari-Lite VL 300Ws, 45 Robe Pointes, 60 Clay Paky Sharpy Washes, 60 URC LED Strips, 40 URC E-Pulse
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PRODUCTION PROFILE: Boomtown Fair
Below: Belgian company Phlippo supplied all lights and screens for the Bang Hai Palace stage. Below: Jon Newman, Utopium’s Project Manager, worked closely with Howie; Stability was key for Mojo Barriers’ UK Manager Kevin Thorborn; Paul Rose is the Technical Production Director for the festival.
LED Strobes, 120 DWE Single Blinders, 20 DWE 40 Lites, 70 URC City Washes, 80 URC LED PAR Tour 800s and 320 Showtex Octostrips with a full size MA Lighting grandMA and a grandMA Light in a network with three grandMA NPU units for extra calculating power. Phlippo installed eight MDG smoke machines and four LED URC screens, using 10mm pixel pitch for the two in the centre and 25mm pixel pitch on the screens located on the stage wings. The URC fixtures are designed by Phlippo’s in-house R&D team and manufactured under its close supervision in China. Talking of the URC products, Derycke said: “These are so much lighter, more power efficient and watertight than anything else available on the market. We design and manufacture ourselves to ensure that we offer clients the best possible products. Although Phlippo has supplied gigs in the UK before, this was the first time for much of the crew. “It’s been great, it’s so different here,” continued Derycke. “You can tell Boomtown is completely uncommercial. You don’t get that at home.” UK-based George Davies-Coward (DC) was the special effects supervisor for Bang Hai Palace, working with Aardvark FX. The kit included six 15 metre high liquid flames and two moving head flames - the only two available in Europe. “They’re really cool,” said DC. “They work in the same way a moving head beam light would 48
and give so much creative freedom for pyro effects.” In the main arena and stage wings were 13 Galaxis G Flames. DC said: “The G Flames are completely wireless and battery powered and can be activated from up to a km away. This saves so much time and effort with set up. There’s no need for trenches or cables.” The FX team utilised the wireless function for the G Flames located in the Bang Hai Palace arena and hardwired those situated on the stage wings. “Everything was controlled by DMX and programmed into a desk to allow for seamless chases and cues,” concluded DC. “This also utilised the new feature from Galaxis which allows DMX to trigger the flames (and pyrotechnics if required) wirelessly via the Advanced Wireless Controller.” LION’S DEN The Lion’s Den stage has been a fixture on the festival since its first installment, but has grown in both size and popularity. This year it moved to a new, previously unused location on site and increased in width by 30 metres. Rutherford said: “The reasons for moving the Lion’s Den was to increase capacity, but also to get better levels. The natural topography results in an amphitheater that is ideal for this. The bonus is the viewpoint, looking down on the temple from above.” The new location’s natural sloped
amphitheatre meant there was a 5 metre difference in ground height across the 60 metre width of the stage. Rose said: “The incredibly steep slope provided some logistical access and build challenges, but was more than worth it. It looked great and improved capacity and sound levels.” The 60 metre wide, 16 metre high and 15 metre deep, abandoned Inca-inspired temple rises up on the horizon, nestled into the natural shape of the hills surrounding it. It was designed and built by Simon Carroll and Sam Spofforth of Temple Set Design and Construction. Carroll said: “Having worked with Block 9 at Glastonbury as a freelancer, it eventually led to myself and Lak Mitchell getting in contact with each other about three years ago. Lak came up with the temple theme for the Lion’s Den stage, which was previously located in a marquee. “The original set has been used for the past two years, but it was always built with the idea of eventually extending the stage wings either side, which is what we did this year. “I was a little concerned about the relocation, purely because I loved the treelined avenue it has been located in previously, which really added to the ‘abandoned temple’ atmosphere. “The new location worked really well though and looked very impressive. There’s a lot of trust working with the Boomtown guys, who
PRODUCTION PROFILE: Boomtown Fair
give a lot of creative freedom to us as a small, fledgling company.” Sitting behind the impressive facade is one of Acorn’s standard Dome roof stages. The company has supplied Boomtown for the past three years and also built the Old Mines and Town Centre stages, all of the indoor stages, FOH structures, viewing platforms and 28 security watch towers. This year, Acorn’s remit was even bigger than usual providing over 1km of scaffolding across Mayfair, Wild West and Old Town districts to support the temporary scenic building facades. John Hart, Sales and Marketing Director at Acorn, said: “Chris and Lak want to grow the festival through increasing capacity, not ticket prices. The sets are designed to allow that expansion. The Lion’s Den stage was designed a few years back but always with the aim of being able to extend it.” Elsewhere on the site, Acorn supplied a standard midi stage roof for the Town Centre and a completely bespoke structure for Old Mines. Nick Diacre, previously of XL Video and CPL, was the Technical Production Manager for Lion’s Den. “The Lion’s Den stage is the only one on site to feature a PPU and IMAG,” said Diacre. “I sourced the kit from XL Video and the setup uses two four metre by three metre screens
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consisting of Lighthouse R7 tiles controlled via a Panasonic HS410-based PPU.” Four Sony HXC 100s were located on a dolly on the stage and at the FOH, with a GoPro camera trained on lead vocal position. Diacre was supported by LED engineer Chris Johnson, racks engineers Andy Cox and Steve O’Mahony. Jaz Hoinka led a team of volunteers as Director and Camera Crew. Supplying Boomtown for the first time was crowd barrier specialist Mojo Barriers, providing 450 metres of aluminium barriers across the site, and 150 metres of its bar barriers. Just over 120 metres of Mojo’s barriers were located at the Lion’s Den, spanning the width of the stage and separating the audience from the towering temple. Mojo Barriers’ UK manager Kevin Thorborn said: “There is a very steep slope running across the width of the stage which made it quite a challenging project in terms of access. We also needed to ensure the barriers followed the slope precisely to remain stable at all points. “We worked really closely with the organisers looking at the crowd profile, musical genre and ground type to ensure festival-goers, artists and crew remained safe at all times. “It’s been great working with Chris and the team. Boomtown is a very unique and creative festival that’s different from anything else out there.”
AUDIO The audio set up at Boomtown hasn’t been without its challenges. In 2013, the festival breached its license with local authority. 2014 saw much lower levels on site, which kept the local authority happy, but visitors were hoping for a much louder experience. Rose said: “We spent a lot of time this year planning how we can keep everyone happy. One of the things we looked at was the programming of the stages. With 126 venues, making sure that all the main stages aren’t playing at once makes a big difference. The Lion’s Den and Town Centre now go off at 11pm with the smaller dance venues coming on afterwards. We tried to balance it out.” Rose brought in audio consultant F1 Acoustics. Working together, they remodeled the site, changing the location and direction of the stages and adding shipping containers, silage bales and barriers to absorb sound. Audio Funktion specced and supplied the audio equipment across all 126 venues. Bang Hai Palace, Lions Den, PSY Forest stage and others utilised L-Acoustics K2 and KARA systems. At the newly-added Bang Hai Palace, main stage hangs left and right consisted of 12 L-Acoustics K2 and outfil hangs, six L-Acoustics KARA, supported by 24 L-Acoustics SB28 bass, delay towers of KARA and three SB28 per position, 115xt Hi Q stage monitors and dV-
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PRODUCTION PROFILE: Boomtown Fair
DOSC L-Acoustic monitor stacks and DV subs. This was controlled via a Midas Pro 2 FOH console and powered via LA8 amplified controllers. Meanwhile, on the Lion’s Den, the two main hangs used 12 L-Acoustics K2, with nine KARA per outhang. 18 Sb28 bass, Midas Pro FOH control and LA8 amplified controllers completed the setup. The City Centre and PSY Forest stages also featured an L-Acoustics setup, including Arcs and LA8s, but with the addition of a Yamaha PM5DRH monitor desk with two PSU for City Centre. Funktion One Resolution was the system of choice elsewhere, used for the Boombox stage, Poco Loco, House in the Woods, Tribe of Frog, the Opera House and Space Port among others. The main hangs of Boombox stage, a replica giant boombox, consisted of 18 Funktion One Resolution 5t and six Resolution 4D Down fill plus two stacks of eight Funktion One F221 bass, eight Funktion One Resolution 4T and F218’s for frontfill and backfill, two Funktion One PSM 318 DJ Monitors and a Digico SD8 FOH control. System design and project manager was AF Live director Huw Clee and all main stages were supported by kit from BCS and SSE Audio. Void Acoustics was on site for the first time this year, supplying Circo Baseline following a demo to Rose and the Boomtown team earlier this year. Also new to the festival was Wingnut Production Lighting, which supplied the majority of main venues in Downtown. Meanwhile, Production Audio supplied EV XLC and XLE systems to the Jolly Dodger and Hidden Woods. LIGHTS Mitchell leads the lighting production across the whole site. He called in LD Will Howie to design the rigs at many of the main venues, including Lion’s Den and Town Centre. Howie said: “I’ve designed the rigs to be fairly generic so that they will suit all of the different acts. A few bands like Flogging Molly have bought in their own touring packages, which
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we’ve accommodated, but nothing too complex. “There’s a few new items of kit on site this year such as the Clay Paky Mythos which are really, really bright search lights. They can do all sorts of stuff but I’m using them just for beams. They cut through really well.” The theatrical lighting located across the site and stage lighting is supplied by a huge variety of suppliers, one of which is Utopium. The Bristol-based company supplied Howie with equipment for Lion’s Den, Town Centre, Old Mines, The Jolly Dodger, The Ballroom, Rusty Spurs, Crazy Calamities and woodland and forest lighting. The Lion’s Den specification featured 10 Clay Paky Mythos’, 10 SGM P-5s, four Color Kinetics ColorReachs, four IPIX BB4s, six Martin Quantum Profiles, 12 Chauvet Q-Wash 419zs, 16 Legend 230 SR Beams, seven SGM X-5 strobes and nine 8 Lite Molefays. The Town Centre utilised eight Martin Professional MAC 700 Profiles, six Chauvet Q-Wash 419zs, eight Showtec Sunstrip Actives, four Martin Atomic 3000s, four 4 Lite Molefays, plus window lighting that can be individually controlled at each of the 30 windows dotted across the enormous set. Jon Newman, Utopium’s Project Manager, said: “This year we installed lighting and rigging throughout the different districts and worked with Howie to ensure that each installation was in keeping with the style of the stage and the district it sits within.” The Old Mines stage required careful theming, using an old school traditional three straight truss system with five six lamp bars, five beam effect movers, six moving spots and six moving washes. The set was lit using six SGM P-5s. Desks included Avolites Pearl Experts and Quartz and other venue rigs included Clay Paky Sharpys, Mk 5000 strobes and One Light Molefays among other models. All woods were lit using LED pars and LED floods. LD Howie continued: “Lak has lots of input into the designs, which need to suit the artistes’ requirements but also suit the set and follow the natural lines of the structures. It’s an amazingly creative project to be involved in.
“All while being weather-proof - which can be tricky when you’re hanging them on a stage that’s an old pirate ship. Last year we lost some kit after the tail end of Hurricane Bertha swept through.” With so many venues on site Rutherford, Mitchell and Rose have a tight build schedule, individual production areas and crews for each section, all kept satiated by Red Radish catering. It was the company’s first time on site, and the first time they’d ever had a FOH food concession, a very busy Mac n Cheese pitch. Director Wayne Brown said: “It was our first time at Boomtown and we were feeding nearly 1,200 people breakfast, lunch and dinner across Uptown and Downtown. “What a hardworking bunch of people. Lucy and I were blown away with how creative the festival was and could certainly see why people say it is hot on the heels of Glastonbury.” THE FUTURE This year saw Boomtown add its first visible brand sponsorship, through the addition of Jägermeister’s Jägerhouse, a venue hidden away in the secret forest. “We’re remaining proudly independent,” said Rutherford. “We’ll only ever work with brands in a subtle way when it’s a natural fit and feels right.” “We have headroom at Matterley to increase capacity, but this will never be done at the detriment of the festival. “We spend a lot of time backstage working on the flow of the streets, the capacities of venues, the journey in and out of the car park, every single detail. Then when you’re in the festival, we blow your mind.” TPi Photos: Tom Martin www.acorn-events.com www.production-audio.co.uk www.mojobarriers.com www.aardvarkfx.com www.xlvideo.com www.utopium.co.uk www.phlippo.com www.f1acoustics.com www.boomtownfair.co.uk
TPi FESTIVAL SPECIAL
FESTIVAL SPECIAL BLOODSTOCK OPEN AIR
This year marked the 10th anniversary of Bloodstock Open Air, the UK’s largest independent metal festival. The event once again supplied a large array of acts from black metal rising stars 1349 to grindcore kings Napalm Death and death metal heavyweights Cannibal Corpse. Despite the music certainly not being for the fainthearted, the organisers of this family-run event are always determined to provide a festival where all attendees can feel at home. Sitting down with Festival Directors (and brother and sister) Adam Gregory and Victoria Hungerford, TPi talked through how Bloodstock has continued to grow year-on-year the way it has. “It started as a family event run by myself, Adam, our sister Rachel Greenfield and our father Paul Gregory,” stated Hungerford, as TPi sat backstage in catering while symphonic groove machine Xerath played on the main stage only several ft away. Speaking to the siblings it is clear that they are not afraid to get their hands a little dirty to give Bloodstock fans the festival they deserve. Gregory explained: “We keep our hands and feet firmly on the ground with the event. We are out in the crowd all the time. In a single day I do God knows how many circuits of the site just to make sure that everything is how we want it. We want the experience to be what we would expect to receive.” Hungerford agreed, stating: “You’ve
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got to experience it. You don’t want to get to a stage where it’s very corporate and no one gets to see you.” In terms of production for this year’s festival, Gregory commented that not too much has changed. “Last year was quite successful in what we did. The year before last we moved from one screen to two on the main stage which may have been an obvious thing.” Hungerford added: “This year we made the disabled platform a bit bigger in response to fan requests. But because of the way that we have grown we have changed gradually.” The site now consists of a large main stage supplied by Serious Stages with the PA supplied by Stage Audio Services and lighting via HSL. There are also two big top stages supplied by Carlinden and a marquee supplied by Monnow Marquees. The whole site is compact, meaning that moving between the stages is relatively easy. One thing that Bloodstock always takes seriously is asking festivals goers to answer surveys once the event comes to an end. Gregory explained: “You have to constructively take that criticism and turn it into something more productive for the following year. So if they don’t like something then we have to change it because the collective voice of the fans is saying that something wasn’t good enough. Alternatively if they loved something we have to think if there is any way that we can make that aspect better in some way. So
it’s not just a money-making scheme, if it was we would have given up some time ago. It’s a passion of ours.” Hungerford agreed: “We have got people here who have been with us for 14 years (going back to the times when Bloodstock was an indoor event). They see Bloodstock as ‘their’ festival so it’s important to respect their feedback.” The feedback taken on board goes down to the smallest detail such as what drink will be served behind the bar. As Gregory stated: “This year we put 120 different ales and ciders behind the main bar and a lot of those are fan-chosen. We ask the fans what they want to have. So if there is a local beer and a few people ask for it, we will try and get it for the weekend.” As well as providing a fantastic weekend for the UK metal scene, it is evident that the directors of Bloodstock see it as their mission to groom up and coming acts to perhaps find the next mainstay headliners. As Adam explained: “We want to find the next Metallica, Maiden or Slipknot and we know they are out there. As the older acts hang up their microphones, we have got to decide who is going to take their place.” Hungerford added: “You’ve got to be willing to find them. What’s happening at the moment is that people are recycling the big acts. But the issue is simply that people are going to get bored.” This year the Friday night headline slot was given to Florida’s Trivium
FESTIVAL SPECIAL: Bloodstock Open Air
who, according to the organisers of Bloodstock, more than earned their place at the top of the bill. But it is not just giving crowds new headline acts that Bloodstock has become renowned for. With their year-round event, Metal 2 the Masses, they conduct nationwide searches for new talent who, after partaking in battle of the bands style events, are given a chance to play at the festival. “I don’t think people sometimes realise how big Metal 2 the Masses is,” commented Hungerford. “We are in 30 different venues across the UK with some of those being over 1,500 capacity. This year some even sold out. To have an event where
unsigned bands get to play to a sold out show is something pretty special. The support of the underground and the fans has been huge.” With yet another successful weekend under its belt, the Bloodstock family have got their sights set on next year. When asked when the planning starts for 2016, Adam laughed: “Months ago! We start the work for next year well in advance of the show the year before. But what we tend to do is lick our wounds a little from this year and take on negative and positive feed back then sit down relatively quickly and decide, from an infrastructural point of view, what needs to change or what can we add or
take away.” With bands Venom and Behemoth already confirmed for next year’s Bloodstock, you can guarantee that the loyal hoard of metalheads will again descend on Catton Park in Derbyshire for yet another weekend of strong beers and heavy metal. TPi Photo opposite: Rob Fenn, www.stages.co.uk www.stageaudioservices.com www.carlinden.co.uk, www.hslgroup.com www.bloodstock.uk.com www.monnowmarquees.co.uk
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FESTIVAL SPECIAL: Palais en Jazz
PALAIS EN JAZZ The fourth annual Palais en Jazz event was held recently at Paris’ Imperial Palace Compiègne. Co-sponsored by Amadeus loudspeakers and Solid State Logic, the performances were all supported with the Amadeus’ PMX, Diva and Maestro products, with an SSL Live L500 console at FOH. Following in the footsteps of Manu Katché, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Peter Cincotti, and Michel Legrand, among many other performers at past events, this year’s Palais en Jazz presented Marcus Miller, the American jazz composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist, best known as a virtuoso bass guitarist, performing on the opening evening and kicking-off his French Afrodeezia summer tour. The former residence of the kings of France and Napoleon, the Imperial Palace Compiègne has been home to Palais en Jazz since its inception. Founded in 2012 by Emmanuel Starcky, Director of the National Museums and the estates of the Compiègne and Blérancourt castles, along with producers Hugo Brugière and Gaetan Byk, the festival aims to blend different time periods and cultures in an effort to create one synonymous jazz sound. “I found the evening mesmerising and intoxicating, all the emotions and vibrations of the music created a moment that was simply magical,” said Starcky. “The close relationships that we maintain with SSL and Amadeus are fundamental, considering the acoustical and technical constraints of the Cour d’Honneur performance area, in which the Palais en Jazz festival takes place. “The quality of the solutions, services and technologies implemented by SSL and Amadeus makes this great sonic and artistic adventure
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AMADEUS & SSL
also a technological one!” With the superb quality of SSL Live and Amadeus loudspeakers a perfect match for Miller’s impeccable music, the Palais en Jazz engineers could not have been happier with the sound they achieved. Olivier Olry, the festival’s Sound Engineer, said: “The development philosophy of these two prestigious brands, Amadeus and SSL, and their rich heritage and reputation from the studio, offer a parallel experience in live sound mixing and monitoring, but on a very large scale! As a FOH sound engineer working at the newly-opened Philharmonie de Paris concert hall, I am lucky to work daily with a combination of the SSL L500 console and the Amadeus DIVA Series line array speakers.” Grover Washington III, FOH Engineer for Marcus Miller, commented: ”Mixing on the SSL was a first for me, but it was simple to get around on, especially with the help of two knowledgeable techs from both SSL and Amadeus. Combined with the Amadeus PA system the sound was warm, with great presence.” Commenting on the SSL L500, Washington added: “The EQ was smooth and functional. I was intimidated, at first, by the many ways to customise ‘your’ desk, but within a few songs I felt right at home. The on-board effects sounded great as well. I wish I could have this console for every show I mix, FOH or monitors!”
As a premier manufacturer of high-end sound reinforcement systems, Amadeus has been used for the event each year. From SSL’s perspective, the Palais en Jazz could not have been a better indication of the capabilities of the L500. “The SSL Live console is designed to help highly-skilled operators deliver outstanding performances in the most demanding applications, and this festival is definitely an example of this,” said Philippe Guerinet, Director of International Sales for SSL. He went on the state: “The high calibre of the technical set up and excellent on site team made it possible for us to reproduce these great performances with immaculate natural detail. I feel everyone, from the musicians and engineers to the audience and hosts, really appreciated the quality of the whole event.” TPi Photo: Antoine Delaporte www.amadeusaudio.fr www.solidstatelogic.com/live www.palaisenjazz.com
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FESTIVAL SPECIAL: Radio 1 Ibiza 20
RADIO 1 IBIZA 20
XTA, MC2 & FUNKTION ONE Way back in 1995, the bosses at BBC Radio 1 gave the go-ahead to what would become a legendary yearly pilgrimage to the summer dance capital that is Ibiza. From a 120-minute single set broadcast live at 2am from then dance DJ Nicky Holloway, to a full on 24/7 streaming extravaganza, the BBC has been reporting from the White Isle ever since. This summer was the 20th anniversary of the initial live broadcast from what was then Manumission (now known as Privilege) and although the venue may have changed many times, as well as the DJ line-up, the constant throughout has been the pursuit of the very best in dance music, coupled with the highest technical standards for audio. So back to the present day and the BBC was keen to celebrate the 20th summer of dance in some style back at Cafe Mambo this year, complete with its amazing sunset views over the bay. XTA has been an even bigger part of this year’s dance season with the introduction of the Adaptive Processing Amplifier (APA) making its presence felt across the island. Following on from the undeniable success of the Space opening party early this summer, using five amplifiers to power the entire outdoor party area (totalling 100kW) the dedicated team at DMT AV Production, based in Ibiza, were
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keen to get APA involved again, and the BBC were happy to agree. Olly Wayman, Managing Director of DMT, explained how high profile this event was for both the BBC and DMT: “Not only was there a live audience of clubbers into the thousands, but Radio 1 were broadcasting the entire party live on Saturday night and online via iPlayer so we couldn’t afford anything to go wrong!” Funktion One, a name synonymous with dance music systems, was the speaker system of choice and APAs were used to power the entire system, along with XTA DS8000 splitters to provide feeds for FOH, monitors and the BBC broadcast feeds themselves. The main system consisted of eight of the recently launched Evo7 boxes with 12 F121 Subs and a pair Res2SH fills. A single delay was set up with two Evo7SH, an F215 and two more F121 subs. This system was controlled and driven by five APAs. Also in use were the mammoth PSM318 DJ monitors, driven by an MC2 E100 and E90 combination and controlled by an XTA DP224. Richard Fleming, who enjoys a trip to Ibiza as XTA’s resident dancer (and part time Sales and Applications Support Manager), was on hand to help with setup and configuration. “The pressure was well and truly on this time! With only an hour until kick-off, we still had no power and hadn’t been able to
soundcheck. Luckily I was able to edit all the required configurations back at the warehouse and we could just load them into the APAs via a USB stick. Total lifesaver.” A collective sigh of relief could almost be heard as Radio 1 DJ Annie Mac took to the stage and started the early evening’s event rolling. With such dance luminaries as Erick Morillo, BBC’s very own Pete Tong, not to mention a surprise appearance from Eric Prydz, and Gregory Porter ment it was a non-stop party on into the small hours celebrating the great and the good in dance from the past 20 years. The event was closed by a live set from British drum ‘n’ bass act Rudimental. The last word goes to Wayman: “The APA is fast becoming my choice as the best sounding amp to be partnered with the most precise, accurate and powerful speakers such as Funktion One’s latest Evo systems. The levels and audio quality achievable with so few boxes is astounding. This is a killer combination! We couldn’t have hoped for better sound, and the APAs have yet again performed amazingly. ” TPi www.bbc.co.uk/events/epbmbp www.xta.co.uk www.dmtaudiovisual.com www.mc2-audio.co.uk www.funktion-one.com
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FESTIVAL SPECIAL: Cambridge Folk Festival
CAMBRIDGE FOLK FESTIVAL XL VIDEO
Each summer the great and the good of folk music visit the picturesque university city for the Cambridge Folk Festival. This year, the site at Cherry Hinton Hall saw the 51st festival, with main stage headline performances including Joan Baez, The Proclaimers, Frank Turner, Joan Armatrading, and Passenger. With three days of sunny weather, the central arena outside the main stage tent was packed with festival-goers. To ensure that those outside the tent had an excellent view of the artists onstage, the event organisers, Cambridge Live, called on XL Video to supply a pair of outdoor LED screens. A pair of nine sq metre screens were requested, as in previous years, and XL’s Project Manager, Paul Wood provided the company’s own ROE Visual MC-7 7.5mm resolution, indoor / outdoor LED. The screen was selected for its good visibility in daylight, weatherproofing, and high resolution, giving the audience great image quality, even at relatively close distances. The screens displayed a mixture of IMAG content from the cameras in the tent, festival logos, social media links, information, and sponsor advertising. This is the sixth consecutive year XL Video
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has supplied video equipment and services for the Cambridge Folk Festival. Wood commented: “It’s always a big pleasure to work at this special festival, and the 7.5mm high resolution outdoor screens, used
here for the first time, were a success!” TPi Photot: Alison Barclay www.cambridgelivetrust.co.uk/folk-festival www.xlvideo.com
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FESTIVAL SPECIAL: Tones on the Stones & T in the Park
TONES ON THE STONES CLAY PAKY
Tones on the Stones has renewed its partnership with Clay Paky for the third year running, charging it with illuminating the event at the White Montorfano Quarry, near Verbania in Italy. The main attraction this year was Cavalleria Rusticana, directed by Alberto Paloscia. Sergio Licursi was Theatrical Director and Lighting Designer. Lorenzo Pagella, who stood out in last year’s lighting designer contest organised as part of the festival by Clay Paky, worked with Licursi. He said: “There were problems with the
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power supply, so we had to give up on using high positions. Our first choice was therefore to put all the lights on the ground and leave the backdrop completely clear so that it could be used as a screen for video projections from a powerful 30,000 ANSI lumen projector. “Our second choice was to limit our scope. Since the quarry shelves mark out a natural, almost theatrical, stage within the quarry itself, it was automatic to limit the set design to that area and place the lights away from the walls. In this way, it was also possible to illuminate the surrounding walls themselves.”
In the end, he opted to install some Alpha Wash 1500s behind the control desk to colour the front lighting, in addition to some Alpha Spot HPE 700s and 2000W incandescent lights. A total of 12 Sharpys were placed around the edges of the natural stage, as well as some Alpha Spot HPE 700s and A.leda Wash K20s, which also served as background lighting. “I put together the most varied possible assortment for the front lights, so that I could have wash light, spotlight and key light options,” Pagella added. “The A.leda Wash K20s and HPE 700s
FESTIVAL SPECIAL: Tones on the Stones & T in the Park
allowed me to play with diffuse lighting also as side lighting and back lighting on the audience, while the Sharpys were mostly used to create tangential side lighting that lit up the staircase of quarry shelves in an unusual way.” It is clear from the set that installing and positioning the lights cannot have been easy. Pagella continued: “The quarry floor slopes both forwards and to the right. The shelves are different widths and heights and even the light beams created false optical perspectives. The light from a spotlight pointing downwards seemed in reality to converge upwards. It was therefore necessary to calculate a different angle for each light so that it made the set look level. “Arranging the lights absolutely symmetrically over the entire available area helped me in this, not to mention the great versatility of Clay Paky lights, which are perfectly reliable even in extreme conditions, such as in a quarry, where they were exposed a lot to dust clouds and high temperatures.”
One noteworthy creative idea was to frame the conductor with light and project his moving shadow onto the facing white quarry wall. The equipment was controlled using a Compulite Vector UltraViolet and Playback Wing for the upper quarry and a Pathway Cognito 2 for the small stage in the lower quarry. Saturday was the evening of Nextones, the section devoted to the digital arts and new music, especially electronic music in its many forms and combinations. It also included the light show contest for young lighting designers, organised by Clay Paky together with the festival production team. It is the only project in Italy that aims to offer young lighting designers a training opportunity and help them start on their professional careers. During the evening, the four finalists, selected during the workshops held two weeks earlier at Clay Paky’s headquarters, competed in a lighting effects contest before the watching eyes of a prestigious jury. The audience was also
T IN THE PARK
Although it was the 22nd year of the major Scottish music festival, this was the first time it was held at its new site in the grounds of Strathallan Castle in Perthshire. T’s former home at Balado
airfield a few miles down the road was finally vetoed last year after long-running health and safety issues about pipelines that run directly under it. Some of the biggest names in music made their way to Scotland
able to vote for their favourite lighting designer, who turned out to be Federico Caroli from Cernusco sul Naviglio, Milan. The festival ended with American Sweet. This event consisted of the Tones on the Stones brass band, conducted by Maestro Stefano Seghedoni, together with the Roberto Olzer Trio (Roberto Olzer on the piano, Yuri Goloubev on the double bass and Mauro Beggio on drums). The result was an unusual combination of symphonic music and jazz improvisation. Clay Paky’s lights helped enhance the setting for this prestigious show as well. The Tones on the Stones festival is increasingly seen as a landmark event on the Verbano summer calendar and as a breeding ground for new talent among young lighting designers. TPi Photos: Ilaria Triolo and Arianna Ricotti www.tonesonthestones.com www.claypaky.it
GREEN HIPPO for the three day festival. Jessie J, Labrinth, The Libertines, The Script, Noel Gallagher, Stereophonics, Ella Eyre and Twin Atlantic to name a few. Twin Atlantic headlined the Radio 1 Stage at T in the Park. Lanz Short, Content Designer and Programmer for the band explained: “I set up VideoMapper and made custom DMX personalities and programmed the Hippotizer Ambas so that the lighting designer could trigger presets with his desk.” He used a V4 Amba unit with Datapath HD-SDI capture card and another Amba unit as backup on stage. Short also ran Zookeeper FOH. He continued: “To be honest
the gig was big but the Hippotizer media servers made it easy. The only challenging point was no sleep as we had to work through the night for the load in and out. “Hippotizer simply performed, the new VideoMapper, DMX component and reset manager were quick to set up and did the job well. The live capture also ran without noticeable latency.” Short concluded: “The atmosphere at T in the park was electric. We smashed it, and the Hippotizers ran like a knife through mud butter!” TPi www.tinthepark.com/home www.green-hippo.com
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FESTIVAL SPECIAL: Manchester International Festival
MANCHESTER INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL
DBN
Manchester-based lighting and visual specialists dbn worked for two of their regular clients, the Warehouse Project (WHP) and the biennial Manchester International festival (MIF), supplying lighting and visuals to 10x10: Day & Night. The event was staged in the historic Mayfield Depot, a charismatic ‘found space’ and site of the former Manchester Mayfield railway station, active as a passenger terminal from 1910 to the 1960s, after which it became a warehouse and parcels depot. Since the 1980s it has been completely closed and derelict until its resurrection as an entertainment venue for the 2013 MIF. WHP, whose regular venue is just the other side of the railway tracks in a car park beneath Piccadilly Station, took over the whole ground floor of the Mayfield Depot and asked dbn, their regular lighting providers, to create a production lighting design for two rooms. Pete Robinson, dbn’s Project Manager, commented: “We were really excited to be
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FESTIVAL SPECIAL: Manchester International Festival
working in the venue and for this landmark occasion. There were plenty of challenges associated with working in a disused building and turning it into the must-go destination of the weekend. But we set out to compliment the unique location with plenty of visual magic!” A big part of that visual magic was the chance to show off the new i-Pix db1 fixtures, used for the first time in this context as a highimpact special effect. The db1, i-Pix’s hybrid lightsource that combines elements of video and lighting was the special effect for the second evening. A stage was set up at one end of the cavernous main space with a four-legged ground support above, cantilevered at the front to provide PA wings as there was no flying. A number of vertical truss sections were strapped to the pillars down the room and smaller ground supports were erected over the bar areas. The void above a row of old offices and the ceiling was utilised for additional lighting positions. Five short truss sections were sub-hung from the back of the ground support forming a cross shape, and between these and the front truss, the dbn team deployed 24 of their new Clay Paky Mythos moving lights and 24 CP a.leda K10s fitted with B-EYE lenses, 20 active Showtec Sunstrips, 18 Atomic strobes, 12 CP Alpha Wash 700s and 24 2-lite Moles. These made a highly effective upstage wall of light effect. The first night was headlined by Four Tet, who brought in his own innovative visual element in the form of a grid of golf-ball LED pixels on strings, suspended over the stage on 24 catenaries giving 4192 DMX controlled pixels run from a laptop. The scaffolding towers and catenaries were supplied by dbn so digital art specialists Squidsoup could install this immersive environment. The second night was headlined by Carl Craig and Mike Banks, and for this dbn added the 24 i-Pix db1s, which were arranged in four
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pyramid shaped stacks of six units. These were fed video content from an Avolites AI Infinity server controlled via an Avo Tiger Touch, run by Chris Ewington, the fixtures’ inventor. The LED light cells in the db1s were mapped and activated by dbn’s Edwin Croft’s Avo Pearl Expert, with which he was also controlling all the other fixtures in the room. Working closely together the two of them created some truly awesome visual moments which really put the units through their paces. “The db1s looked incredible,” declared Robinson. “They presented something completely different, their vibrancy and power was really striking. They were the highlight of the event!” To light the dancefloor and make sure everyone felt involved in the energy and atmosphere of the music, dbn strapped eight short truss sections to the room pillars and rigged these with a total of 16 CP Alpha Spot QWOs, 16 Spectral LED Zoom PARs and 16 Atomics. For décor lighting, clamped onto the pillars were another 20 Spectral LED PARs and 12 SGM P5 LED floods. Along one side of the room above the old office rooms seven City Color LED RGBW units were ensconced, illuminating the arches of the room. Towards the end of the night they were also used as a strobe effect. The second room featured a smaller stage in a long and interesting space that had the glass windows at one end painstakingly blacked out by dbn’s Nick Todd resulting in a proper sense of underground clubbing. According to dbn, the entire crew took their spirited ‘can-do’ attitude to the event and relished the challenges presented by the building, all helping the organisers achieve their end goal TPi Photo: Decoy Media www.mif.co.uk www.thewarehouseproject.com www.dbn.co.uk
The Café D’Anvers installation comprises the GS-WAVE series 3-metre dance floor stack with GSA technology, and the XY Series in-fill speakers. All powered by Powersoft’s high performance K Series amps with built-in DSP. This comprehensive line-up guarantees versatile installations that deliver superb sound and complete coverage throughout venues of every shape and size.
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17/08/2015 09:31
FESTIVAL SPECIAL: WOMAD Festival
WOMAD FESTIVAL BRITANNIA ROW PRODUCTIONS Every summer, the country seems to be awash with an increasing number of festivals all looking to attract a particular type of festival-goer. The WOMAD Festival at Malmesbury in Wiltshire is succinctly described by Britannia Row Productions’ Crew Chief for the event, Colin Pink: “The WOMAD Festival is just a wonderful, four day ‘family’ festival, with an eclectic mix of music from around the globe and great food. Britannia Row provided the audio equipment and crew for all six of the main stages, including the Taste The World Stage, which featured cookery demonstrations and the best crew food in the South West.” Two of the stages served by Britannia Row deliver a fair illustration of the diversity on offer. The big Open Air stage featured a miscellany of acts from Molotov Jukebox to Atomic Bomb! and Mahmoud Ahmed, attracting the biggest audiences of the weekend and served by a sizeable L-Acoustic K1 system. At the helm was FOH Engineer Richard Sharrat: “Having both the Midas H3000 and the SSL Live at FOH worked really well, though sometimes, not knowing a guest engineer’s preference, both consoles had to be prepared for an act. Tom and Nathan from SSL were brilliant with this and provided sessions for every act based on a template of I/O, FX, Playback, presenter mics etc that we had settled on. If a band didn’t come with and engineer I got to mix and opted for the SSL. I really enjoyed working from scratch and having to get a mix together in a festival environment. “I was very impressed with the console’s flexibility and great sound. All bar two of the visiting engineers opted for the H3000 which also still sounds great. My weekend was made even more enjoyable by the great team we had to run the stage, supported by Colin Pink and Josh Thomas. Along with James Collee on stage and Maurizio Gennari on monitors they made long days run smoothly and
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cheerily.” Tucked away in a wooded copse was the Ecotricity Stage with veteran WOMAD engineer, Bob Lopez, on the faders. “This area of the festival is slightly different to the main site. As soon as you cross the perimeter road you step into tranquility city, far from the madding crowd. Despite the appalling weather every act in this area drew good crowds of between 500-1200. This was my third year at WOMAD so I was well-versed in what was required. I used an L-Acoustics ARC system with subs; the secret for this roof is placing the system outside the long arms of the tent. This allows for the huge amount of headroom that is necessary for delicate instruments like a sarangi, sitar, or sardar tanpura to be compatible with modern electronic instruments. “There was one act that featured a string instrument I’d not seen before called a geomungo and hails from Korea. Four strings and emitting a relatively quiet bass sound. Of course the rest of the band consisted of loud drums, electric guitar and a raging laptop and wouldn’t you know it they wanted the quiet Geomungo to be most prominent in the mix! Thanks to the system being out of the tent, cunningly time aligned and EQ’ed, the Geomungo led the sound above the electronic background and their show was a resounding success. Our changeover times were generous enough to cope with some head scratching while micing up some really unusual instruments.” Many of the artists who graced the stages run by Lopez and Sharrat went on to exhibit their skills on the Taste the World Stage where Britannia Row supplied L-Acoustic 112s and L-Acoustic SB15s. Here the day would begin with a Children’s Cookery workshop and continue with artists bringing recipes as varied as flying fish from Zimbabwe to Momo & Po cha from the Tashi Lhunpo Monks of Tibet. As Pink said: “It was the place to be for
nourishing both body and mind. We had a good couple of setup days and the festival opened with a great atmosphere in the sunny countryside. The following morning we woke up to what was being billed in the press as a “month’s rain in a day”. Rain always makes it a lot harder on a festival site, but the crew all came together brilliantly, helping each other out across the site. The festival crowds still came out to enjoy the music and I can happily say that the rain couldn’t dampen
the atmosphere. The rest of the weekend had mixed weather but everyone worked hard to make it one of the happiest festivals of the year.” “Its always a pleasure working with a great crew.” Pink concluded: “This one proved the skill, teamwork and humour to make even the muddiest field a great (and fun) place to work.” TPi www.womad.co.uk www.britanniarow.com
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7/6/15 9:46 AM
FESTIVAL SPECIAL: Secret Garden Party
SECRET GARDEN PARTY COLOUR SOUND EXPERIMENT Colour Sound Experiment continued its frenetic 2015 summer festival season supplying lighting to 12 major stages, 24 smaller performance areas and eight bars at the 2015 Secret Garden Party (SGP) event staged in Abbots Ripton near Huntingdon, UK. This tightly planned and executed operation, which this year battled with inclement weather for the first time in the festival’s recent history, involved the supply of nearly 500 moving lights, 228 high powered Dragon LED PARs and a heterogeneity of other kit, including LED screens for the main stage and other areas. Colour Sound’s crew of 22 was chiefed by James Hinde and Alex Ryan, while Stuart ‘Woody’ Wood, oversaw the whole operation during the show days. Colour Sound regular Jon Rickets was working as Technical Production Manager directly for the festival’s producers, The Dark Horses. Lighting included 20 Robe MMX Spots and 20 LEDWash 600s plus 20 Clay Paky Sharpys, molephays, and 12 Atomic Colours, complete with an Avolites Sapphire Touch as the house desk, with Avolites dimming. An upstage LED video screen was made up from 50 square metres of Colour Sound’s proprietary BT-6 six mm high definition product. The content and cameras were all supplied by Immersive running through an Avolites Ai media server. Taking care of all the Colour Sound elements including guest LDs and lighting acts that didn’t have their own designers were Chris Brown and Frankie McDade.
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The second Where The Wild Things Are stage lighting also made great impact with a rig of 10 Robe Pointes, 12 LEDWash 300s and eight SGM XC-5 LED strobes, a selection of molephays and Chauvet Professional COLORBand PiX LED battens. This was run from an Avo Tiger Touch with Wing by Haydn Williams and Sarah Payne. One of the most challenging areas of the site to light was the Little Horrors all night rave venue. An environment that is right at the heart of Colour Sound’s roots. The crew installed a large ground support system built from Litec QX30 trussing around the stage to provide all the lighting positions for 12 Robe Pointes, 12 LEDWash 300s more Chauvet COLORband PiX and strobes, all controlled from a Tiger Touch Pro console. A total of 16 sq metres of BT-20 screen was part of the package, together with one the company’s Green Hippo media servers. Ben Everitt and Edward Blackwell ran after the lights, with Tom Harding from AV3 teching the video. On Saturday night, a site wide UV reveal was extremely popular where people wearing UV active paint came alive in the central areas with a big UV switch on. This was one of the
reasons they needed so many Dragon LED PARs, featuring RGBAW chipsets, they can produce a stunning UV. A total of 50 of these units were positioned either side of the lake with more dotted around various other key positions. Lighting set-ups ranged from 16 PAR cans on stands and tank traps as well as 12 - 16 moving lights for the bigger areas. Hinde commented: “We love working on this event and it’s been great to see it go from strength to strength in terms of success. It has a loyal following, a fantastic vibe and a unique and different approach to presenting music and art which is so accessible - all without selling its soul to commercialism!” TPi Photos: Danny North www.secretgardenparty.com www.coloursound.co.uk, www.immersive.eu
FESTIVAL SPECIAL: Larmer Tree Festival
LARMER TREE FESTIVAL SHURE
Festival attraction the Tree Top Troubadour, otherwise known as Ben Trevor, has begun using a Shure QLX-D wireless microphone system for his guitar and vocals on his summer dates, most recently at July’s Larmer Tree festival. As his nickname suggests, Trevor, an arborist in his day job, is well-known for playing his concerts from the branches of trees, which somewhat limits his options for amplification to wireless-based systems. The Shure QLX-D’s extended battery life and efficient spectrum usage have proved a boon at his festival gigs, given the heavy usage of the RF spectrum at modern festivals, and the fact that replacement batteries and charging facilities are not readily available when you’re performing high up in an oak with only a Chesterfield sofa and a glitterball for company, as Trevor was at Larmer. Many musicians turn to charitable endeavours if they’re lucky enough to be successful at their art, but Trevor has been involved with charity work from the beginning,
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alongside his successful work with the band Bommerillo. His first treetop gig was played entirely as a one-off fundraiser for the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity, in recognition for the help the charity gave his mother. He gave scant thought to amplification. “It was just me up a tree with a guitar,” he admitted. But the concert was so successful, and received so much media coverage, he decided to continue the theme. “I went on to play up the tallest tree in Britain, a Grand Fir, and that was a great fund-raiser too. Also, performing up a tree in front of a crowd can’t help but highlight the magnificence of trees, their importance to us and our environment.” Already, Trevor has plans to go one better. “I’m thinking about playing a gig in the tallest tree in the world: Hyperion, a 380ft Coast Redwood in California… but you need permission for that.” Trevor has always used Shure mics for traditional, non-treetop gigs.
He explained: “I have the QLX-D bodypack on my guitar, connected via a short cable to the pickup, and I wear a Beta 54 headset mic for vocals. Both of those transmit to the QLX-D receiver at the base of the tree, and that routes to a PA operated by my friends down there. It sounds terrific.” Following his two slots at the Larmer Festival, Trevor is planning pop-up gigs at festivals that will see him ranging all over the branches of a variety of tall trees, emboldened by the lack of wires on his guitar and reaching a climax by stepping out from the branches and flying over the festival audiences in a harness. “The only worry is a health and safety one. I have to be careful that the wireless transmitters don’t fall off me and into the crowd below. So we’ll be lashing them to me with gaffa tape!” TPi Photos: Andrew Walmsley www.larmertreefestival.co.uk www.shure.co.uk
The Serious Alternative for the Audio Professional
Intuitive: Gesture navigation allows all channels to be accessed via a simple swipe of the screen.
Low Latency: Less than 400µs from input to output including full automatic latency management to maintain the highly acclaimed Cadac sound.
Waves on board: CDC six features an integrated Waves interface card which provides direct connectivity to Waves SoundGrid technology.
I/O Options: Local I/O consists of 4 x AES3 inputs and outputs, alongside 8 x fully programmable mic inputs and outputs plus a choice of I/O stageboxes.
Integration: 3072 channels of audio can be provided via a MegaCOMMS router. MADI and Dante Network Bridges allow seamless third party integration.
CDC six Introduction
CDC six Features
CDC six is the latest in the digital console line up from Cadac, featuring 64 inputs and 48 configurable busses all accessed via a 23.5” 16:9 optically bonded touch screen.
S Features Cadac’s unique “high agility” control surface S Highly acclaimed Cadac mic-preamps S Less than 400μs from stage through the console to outputs on stage S 32/40-bit floating point SHARC processors S 64 input channels S 48 configurable output busses plus LCR S 16 VCA groups and 8 Mute groups S Monitor Mode for unprecident speed of access to mulitple mixes S Waves integration S Multilingual user definable labelling S Optional MegaCOMMS Router gives up to 3072 channels in one network including multi console gain compensation
The screen displays the innovative and widely acclaimed “high agility” user interface developed from the CDC eight, which provides a workflow that is fast and logical without the restrictions imposed by hardware-centric designs. With a unique combination of an exceptional user interface, legendary Cadac micpre’s, state-of-the art DSP and FPGA processing with incredibly low latency, the CDC six makes an exceptional proposition for those who do not want to be limited by either audio or creative compromises.
Cadac Holdings Ltd. One New Street, Luton. Bedfordshire. LU1 5DX. England. UK Office Tel: +44 1582 404 202 www.cadac-sound.com
CDC 6 Launch TOTAL.indd 1
20/03/2015 15:53
FESTIVAL SPECIAL: Wacken Open Air Festival
WACKEN OPEN AIR FESTIVAL RIEDEL COMMUNICATIONS
When tens of thousands of heavy metal fans descended upon the small town of Wacken, Germany, for the Wacken Open Air festival held from 30 July to 1 August. The organisers were ready, having deployed a comprehensive communications solution built on Riedel Communications’ MediorNet real-time media network and Artist digital matrix intercom system. The Riedel equipment provided the fibre backbone and communications infrastructure necessary to support security, radio communications, and audio and video transport throughout the expansive festival site. “The world rocks with Wacken, and Wacken rocks with Riedel,” said Holger Hübner one of the founders and organisers of the Wacken Open Air festival. “The signal network backbone that Riedel provided in 2015 for the 26th anniversary of the Wacken Open Air festival ensured a safe and unforgettable experience for 90,000 metalheads enjoying the show. We’ve been well-satisfied with Riedel’s state-of-the-art equipment and highly competent crew and we look forward to working on with Riedel into the future.” Each summer, prior to Wacken Open Air, the small town of Wacken transforms into a festival venue with multiple stages, fields in which festivalgoers can camp, and the infrastructure required to handle thousands of fans. The communications system supplied by Riedel since 2000 plays a key role not only in supporting audio and video distribution during the four-day event, but also in enabling festival organisers to ensure the safety of each and every guest. This year, two MetroN core routers with
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a huge total routing capacity of two 640 Gb provided the heart of the MediorNet installation, adding further flexibility to the well-known convenience of the MediorNet installation and providing redundancy for the overall security concept. With its 10-Gb links, the MetroN system supported the interfacing of two MediorNet rings and, in turn, the transport of multiple HD-SDI signals, from the stages to the production compound and back to multiple screens, and several separate IP networks and audio streams. Each of the nine stages at Wacken Open Air 2015 had a large video wall, and a further five freestanding video walls were scattered throughout the grounds. Video from each stage was sent back to the operations centre via the MediorNet network so that any video could then be displayed on any screen as ‘infotainment’ for guests. A Riedel Artist intercom panel and line level audio at each stage allowed security to talk directly to each PA mixer to instruct the band to stop playing for an emergency announcement, such as a weather warning. Voice announcements could then be routed through the PA systems and any other information displayed on screen. A total of 30 remotely controlled IP-based cameras were installed throughout the grounds for security surveillance. Data transported to and from these cameras was delivered to the Wacken Open Air Security Centre through the Riedel MediorNet fibre backbone. Riedel also supplied nearly 700 TETRA radios to ensure that security staff and stewards maintained clear communications throughout Wacken and the festival grounds. The radios were interfaced
directly with the Artist system to ensure comprehensive communications. Because the mobile radios of the security vehicles patrolling the vast campsites were GPS-enabled, organisers were able to determine the user’s location immediately in the event of a problem or emergency. For fast and trouble-free accreditation of the hundreds of working crew members, the organisers arranged a check-in location at the very border of Wacken. To welcome the team members with the right spirit and keep the local staff connected to the live event, Riedel deployed the company’s new STX-200 broadcast-grade professional interface. Capable of bringing any Skype user anywhere into the professional broadcast environment, the STX200 was used to transfer live feeds from the stages into the check-in via the available public internet connection and to facilitate a Skype connection between the production compound and the staff check-in area. “Wacken is a truly spectacular event, and we’ve been privileged to be part of this immense show since 2005,” said Simon Korzen, Project Manager at Riedel Communications. “It was a great pleasure and great fun to provide the Wacken organisers with a flexible, reliable solution that met their requirements for onsite media, infotainment, and a sophisticated security concept, in turn helping to make this year’s festival a huge success for everyone involved.” TPi www.wacken.com www.riedel.net
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ENTRY CRITERIA – PEOPLE CATEGORIES To enter a person you must specify the tour / event they have worked on and the reason you believe they are a worthy winner. This must have taken place from September 2014 - September 2015. The winners will be decided by an industry vote.
The TPi Awards will be held on 22 February 2016 at Battersea Evolution, London. Since 2002, the TPi Awards has been celebrating those who have made an impact in the world of concert touring. 2016 Will mark the 15th consecutive year that the TPi brand has honoured the winners, as voted for by you.
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GENERAL VOTING Voting for the entered nominees will be opened to the whole industry from 8 October via www.tpiawards.com. Please note that this is an industry-only vote. We will accept one vote per person and have systems in place to identify block voting. As a result of the industry vote, nominees will be announced on 9 November. The winners of company awards will be determined by a combination of the academy ranking and the industry vote.
INTERVIEW: Tim Routledge
TIM ROUTLEDGE’S SUMMER SHOOTOUT ACCLAIMED LIGHTING DESIGNER TIM ROUTLEDGE - CURRENTLY OUT ON THE ROAD WITH TAKE THAT RECENTLY PUT ON HIS OWN EVENT AT LONDON’S LH2 STUDIOS TO GIVE THE LIGHTING WORLD A HANDS-ON DEMO SPACE NOT SEEN AT TRADE SHOWS. TPi ATTENDED THE VERY FIRST SUMMER SHOOTOUT. Throughout the year there are a number of trade shows for people within the entertainment technology industry. However, according to award-winning Lighting Designer Tim Routledge, these events are not fulfilling needs within the marketplace. It was this belief that lead Routledge to create the Summer Shootout, a trade event with a difference. Where other tradeshows rarely present a chance to properly compare and contrast the best offerings from the market, this year’s Shootout event offered a hands-on experience in a large space for visiting lighting experts to try and test new products on the market. “We aren’t a big established event,” stated Routledge. “There’s no shiny exhibition stands we hope to be different and engaging.” Routledge is a highly-experienced LD who works across the broadcast, concert and 78
touring, and event genres. In 2015 he added Lighting Designer of the Year at the TPi Awatds to the growing string of accolades for his work in lighting design. Routledge was brutally honest about his opinions on the current state of industry exhibition: “I think people are really tired of exhibitions, and PLASA is case in point. Lots of the main manufacturers don’t even attend any more, as it just doesn’t work for what people want to get out of it. It’s sad because PLASA has been there since I was a student.” This is how the idea for the Summer Shootout was born, a need for change being voiced. Social media, according to Routledge, allowed the platform on which this happened: “There is a forum for lighting designers on Facebook that has over 15,500 followers, many of whom regularly contribute to discussions. A lot of people on the forum were frustrated
that there are so many new fixtures out there at the moment and yet the people who want to use them don’t get the opportunity to really judge which is best for their project. You don’t get much chance to play with the products themselves at exhibitions as everyone has got their isolation booths and the emphasis is more on meeting people than seeing what’s out there.” It was this general consensus among his peers that inspired Routledge to create this event, which gained interest as soon as it was announced. “Every manufacturer I spoke to wanted in straight away. Neg Earth offered us LH2 studio and we just paid for a little bit of labour for rigging. The manufacturers then paid a nominal cost for catering and other expenses. It went from a loose event to something that needed to be organised properly.” PRG signed up to the Shootout, meaning
INTERVIEW: Tim Routledge ®
Opposite and below: Held in London’s LH2 Studios, Summer Shootout invited members of the industry to this hands-on event to trial some of the latest products on the market.
that Routledge and the organisers were able to have PRG’s Best Boy HP as a main fixture in each of its zones and then the new PRG Icon Beam as a comparison fixture. Other lighting fixtures on show included the SGM G Spot, High End SolarSpot Pro 1500, Martin Professional Viper, Clay Paky Mythos, Robe BMFL, and Philips Vari-Lite VL4000. The Shootout kicked off with a presentation of the fixtures that were being showcased at the event followed by an opportunity for hands-on comparison in four separate areas. Each area had one of the main fixtures and one special zone with some extra comparison fixtures. Attendees could operate on a choice of four different consoles from: MA Lighting, Avolites, Hog and Martin by Harman in order to review all the different features. The event was set up to be neutral with no bias given to any manufacturer, but representatives from each of the companies were on hand to answer any questions that visiting LDs may have had. Routledge commented: “We didn’t want the event swamped
by salespeople. We allowed each manufacturer to bring one salesperson and one product specialist.” Despite the event growing at a very quick pace, Routledge still wished to keep the event free for attendees. He commented: “I didn’t want people to spend money on something that was just a bit of an experiment.” Despite the oerwhelming success of the event, Routledge is keen to emphasise the importance of taking things slowly. “As it is in London, I suppose there will be primarily British guests but if people see the value in coming from further afield then they are more than welcome. There were lots of people asking on social media for one in the US. It’s still all baby steps at the moment and, for me, it’s a side project rather than the focus of my work.” It wasn’t just interested LDs that paid a visit to the Summer Shootout. Routledge commented: “We also allocated 30 student tickets that had to be applied for, which were snapped up really quickly. The thing with exhibitions is students are left on
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INTERVIEW: Tim Routledge
Below: Over 150 guests attended the Shootout along with 30 students who were given a taste of the industry in this all inclusive event.
the periphery because everyone is looking out for the big names. I felt it was important to include them, and we also had five student interns with us working on the day.” Despite Routledge stating that the Shootout is growing slowly, he did point out that the buzz around the event demonstrates that the marketplace is sorely missing this kind of hand-on time with products. “It was never meant to be a polished affair, just something informative and social. We could have easily doubled the size. People are desperate to find new ways to engage with equipment and see what’s out there. I think manufacturers are too.” Ashley Lewis, Key Account Manager for touring, TV, theatre
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and film at Robe UK, added: “The idea of the Shootout and the theme of ‘big spot moving lights’ was an amazing plan. We all, as individual manufacturers, have to show LDs our latest products, but to be able to do this under one roof together with the competition makes it easier for them to make their minds up as to which product is right for the job. To have the chance to be hands-on without being pestered by a ‘salesman’ at a trade exhibition was obviously what was required at this event. Plenty of quality guests turned up, and I think that speaks for itself. Well done Tim!” TPi Photos: Laurie Giraudeau Tim Routledge www.timroutledge.co.uk
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A DAY IN THE LIFE OF... Michael Whalley
BACKLINE TECH MICHAEL WHALLEY MICHAEL WHALLEY IS ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN’S GO-TO BAND TECH. PLUS ON A RECENT TRIP TO THE WEST COAST HE REVEALED HIS TALENT FOR ENSURING ALL BACKLINE NEEDS ARE MET WHILE STILL KEEPING EMOTIONALLY CONNECTED TO THE MOST IMPORTANT FILMS OF THE 80S...
After travelling for 26 hours from the UK, I arrived in LA at The Standard on Sunset Boulevard - a boutique hotel complete with a woman living in a glass tank behind the reception. Turns out she’s actually part of an art installation and not just a random nutter. For this short US tour I’m sharing tech duties with an American-based legend called Arthur Guedes who had already picked up a Transit van and collected our hire gear from CenterStaging. When we added our fly pack to the van, we realised in true schoolboy fashion that it wasn’t big enough, so we made a quick dash back to the hire company and did a cross-load into a bigger Sprinter. Foolish to fancy in one swift move! I’ve been touring for a few years now and, as with any role on the road, it’s always vital to double check you’re getting the rider you need. During the cross-load I noticed we didn’t actually have a drum kit! Turns out we had a classic case of bad communication (the trans-Atlantic accent barrier never fails), so once again the race was on. I have to say a big thanks to Natal Drums who really looked after us and provided great kit to the band. Our gig at Humphreys went very well - I’ve never appreciated a drumbeat so much! The only real disappointment I had that day was that the human mannequin was no longer in her glass tank when we returned. As I was contemplating luring her back with goldfish flakes, I was beginning to think she was a figment of my jet lag delirium… Arthur was driving for the entirety of this trip and on our second day we needed a mechanic. I’m sure tour transport is often cursed by greese monkey Gods. We still made it to our gig on time (as always!) at the Pacific Amphitheatre in Costa Mesa, Orange County. The sun was shining and the gig played out like a dream. Plus, support came from the mighty Berlin, the very same band that brought childhood memories flooding back via their classic Top Gun theme song, Take My Breath Away. It was just as cool live as I’d imagined it to be even if my Maverick style sunglasses were, in reality, just my Specsavers getup. The following night’s gig at Ace of Spades in Sacramento can be summed up by the names of the local crew: Lunchbox, Bubba and Beast. Seriously. I wondered if they’re in some kind of competitive eating team. They were the biggest, friendliest guys I’ve ever laid eyes on and they made my night too. One of my favourite things about touring is meeting the good folks behind the scenes and getting to know how they work. Next up, some serious six string salivating; we spent half of our only day off - at least there was one! - at Guitar Center in San Francisco. I’m not going to tell you how much my excess baggage was. Following my spree, we drove to Santa Cruz to prepare for our gig at The Catalyst. Clearly, there is an iconic 80s film theme happening here, because I finally got to see the town where one of the greatest movies ever made was filmed - The Lost Boys. Naturally I made time to visit the boardwalk in search of places I might recognise. Unfortunately, a lot has changed and it was hard to make many comparisons! I got talking to a friendly local - he could just about decipher my broad Lancashire accent - who told me that ‘Grandpa’s house’ was still standing, but had been derelict for a good few years. Still, my kids are going to be forced to watch it on DVD forever and appreciate Kiefer’s glorious fangs. Back to work, and yet again our gig went swimmingly. This tour was a little slice of success and, before I could wave goodbye to my mate in her hotel greenhouse, it was time to return home. As the sun set on Sunset, I chuckled all the way to LAX. See, even though I’m the Brit abroad, Arthur came out of this trip looking like a rookie tourist having left cash each morning for his breakfast. Upon check out we were informed that it was inclusive of the room rate. I mean, I’m sure the staff appreciated his generous tips - they wouldn’t get that treatment in Chorley! Michael Whalley 82
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IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Martin Professional
MARTIN PROFESSIONAL LAUNCHES JEM ZR SERIES OF FOG MACHINES THIS YEAR HARMAN’S MARTIN PROFESSIONAL INTRODUCED ITS NEW JEM ZR FOG MACHINES SERIES AT THIS YEAR’S ABTT THEATRE SHOW AT ALEXANDRA PALACE, LONDON. TPi SPEAKS TO MARTIN’S DAN SMITH AND PETER SKYTTE TO GET THE LATEST. There’s always new technology being released into the entertainment technology market place. Could you talk us through the development of the JEM ZR fog machines and the incentive to create the range? As you can imagine, R&D for atmospheric effects works somewhat differently to that of say moving heads. We have a relatively small team comprised of four people but as we are based within the production facility in the UK, we have a direct interface with the production and operations staff on a daily basis. Therefore, from the outset we can have direct involvement and input from all departments, which is not only essential to developing the right product for the end user but also ensuring that the product can be manufactured in the most efficient manner. From initial concept to first production run, the JEM ZR Series took approximately nine months of development time and was born out of the need to have a clearly defined family of fog machines similar to what we have achieved with the JEM Hazer range over the 84
last few years. It was also felt that the current atmospheric effects portfolio had become somewhat disjointed and therefore a clearly defined family of foggers, along with carefully considered discontinuations of older products, would provide a much stronger and more coherent set of atmospheric solutions. Finally, the key objective was to create a set of foggers which are capable of exceptional output whilst also being economical in their fluid usage. We want our customers to be impressed by what these products can do and we think they will be! How does the JEM series set itself apart from similar competition? The JEM ZR brand can be traced back over 31 years which means that we have a huge pool of knowledge and experience to draw from when developing new products. Additionally we have incredibly skilled production staff, some of whom have been with us for over 20 years, so we took their input very seriously. We
also had a fantastic relationships with many key distributors and end users meaning that we can also draw on their experience within the market and also try to incorporate any suggestions or ideas they may have. Ultimately, we want to ensure that the customer has the best experience with our products and this was a key factor as we began to develop the ZR Series. Were there any specific design features that Martin’s R&D team felt the JEM series had to posses? The three machines that make up the ZR Series were developed concurrently which enabled us to ensure that all products in the range would share a common feature-set and take full advantage of recent technological advances. From the outset, we felt that regardless of whether you own the smallest or largest product in the range, the end user should have the same experience and access to the same professional features. One of the main features
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Martin Professional
Opposite and Below: A close up look at the new ZR series with an LCD display and recognisable Martin design, the team has ensured that the new products are easy to handle and optimised with regards to weight distribution.
is a brand new digital remote interface with back-lit LCD display which is common across the range. In the past, we have sometimes received feedback regarding the older LED display interfaces, which were not particularly intuitive and looked somewhat outdated. Therefore we needed to have a rethink and provide a much more user-friendly experience whilst also remembering that these are professional products. We also put a lot of thought into the visual look and form factor of our products. Not only do they need be clearly recognisable as a Martin product but we also have to ensure that they are easy to handle and optimised with regards to weight distribution. How does the JEM series enable an on-going progression in innovation at Martin? Whilst the development of new atmospheric products is very different to that of lighting products, we are all one shared family at Martin and as such we try to share ideas and new technologies where possible. Our R&D teams all work to the same established development cycle and as such there are always potential opportunities for collaboration, whether that’s on sourcing new components or sharing new discoveries for example. This passion for pushing what our products can do enables us to constantly innovate.
What are the different members of the ZR family and how do they differently benefit the end user? The ZR Series is comprised of a small, a medium and a large product, the ZR25, ZR35 and ZR45 respectively. As mentioned earlier, all three products share the same professional features such as DMX, RDM and the brand new digital remote interface but have incrementally increased outputs relative to their size and application. The ZR25 is designed for smaller to mid-sized venues whereas the ZR45 has a 2kW heat exchanger meaning that it is capable of a huge amount of output. The ZR35 sits in-between and can be considered a spiritual successor to the well respected Magnum 2000. All three products can be used with a variety of Martin fluids to provide different types of effect and all are capable of continuous output with fully controllable output levels. Why was it decided that the ABTT Theatre Show would be the place to first reveal this new product? New product launches generally revolve around Prolight + Sound in Frankfurt and LDI in Las Vegas but on this occasion we really wanted to do something a little different for the launch. Although the prototypes were shown to key customers at Prolight + Sound, ABTT fell perfectly at the point where the development cycle of the ZR Series was nearing it’s conclusion. Furthermore, prior to becoming
part of the Martin family, the original Jem Smoke Machine Company had its roots in the theatre world and with also being a UK-based facility it felt natural to launch these products at a UK-based event. What was the initial reaction to the ZR series like after its debut? The feedback has been very positive and customers appreciate to see us coming with a complete and fresh range of fog machines with fully up to date features and performance. We have a very strong market share in the market and feedback on the new ZR Series indicate that it will make us stand even stronger. Where can we expect to see the products on the world’s stages? The new ZR range covers very broad across markets and applications. As we have recently started ramp up production and initial shipping of the ZR25 and the ZR35, we will soon see these products in night venues, on touring and live productions, in television and theatre, corporate events, house of worship, special events etc. The ZR45 will start shipping in September and conclude our new range of fog machines. TPi www.martin.com 85
CLOCKING OFF: Martin Audio Below: The Martin Audio charity walkers pushed themselves from start to finish.
MARTIN AUDIO GO THE DISTANCE FOR MIND AND MACMILLAN A COLLECTION OF STAFF FROM MARTIN AUDIO SUBJECTED THEMSELVES TO A REAL ENDURANCE TEST RECENTLY WHEN THEY TOOK UP THE GRAND UNION 50K CHALLENGE, ORGANISED BY ACTION CHALLENGE. THAT’S 31 MILES IN OLD MONEY! Encouraged by team captain Sophie McCurdy and strongly supported by Simon Bull, the team, which also included David Morbey, Maureen Hayes, Nigel Meddemmen, Debbie Moore, Andy Baldwin, Lydia Blackwood and Russell Lee, set out at 9am from Watford’s Cassiobury Park and finished at 10.30pm. The total walking time was 9.5 hours (plus rest stops) and the route took them along the Grand Union Canal through Hemel Hempstead, Tring, and Leighton Buzzard, then finishing in Stoke Hammond. “We finished together as a team and showed great morale and camaraderie throughout the walk, although we were very tired afterwards. It was an excellent team-building experience and tested both our stamina and determination,” commented McCurdy. The exercise proved well worthwhile for the company’s designated charities, as it raised nearly £5,000 for Mind, The Mental Health Charity, and Macmillan Cancer Support, comfortably smashing the £3,000 target originally set. Many of the staff participating had known Martin Audio’s popular Sales and Marketing Director Rob Lingfield, who had sadly died of cancer four years earlier, and their personal 86
walks were very much in his memory. Of her weary band of brothers and sisters, McCurdy said: “I am incredibly proud of the team and send a huge thank you to everyone who supported us along the way. Mind and Macmillan are such fantastic charities. With one in four people affected by a mental health condition and so many likely to suffer the debilitating effects of cancer, it’s an honour to have been able to contribute in a small way to their great work.” The team was well-prepared, thanks to a
coordinated (and undulating) training walk of 17 miles in the Surrey Downs with Mick Cain from Trek Hire UK. McCurdy is already promising (or threatening) another similar adventure … once the team has recovered that is. With 101 donors so far, including great support from Martin Audio in both training and fundraising, sponsorship is still open. TPi http://virginmoneygiving.com/martinaudio www.martin-audio.com www.macmillan.org.uk, www.mind.org.uk
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MOVERS & SHAKERS Tim Parry has joined displayLED as UK Technical Manager, following more than 20 years of working with companies such as Lighthouse, Screenco and PSL. He is a familiar face in the LED rental industry and will welcome many old and new friends visiting his new home at the showroom, The Pixel Depot, one of the largest LED showrooms in Europe, based in Dorking. Parry will be the key technical contact providing support for our reseller channels and on major projects. He commented: “It is great to be working with
displayLED, and on the digiLED product range. The team here have a wealth of experience in the LED screen industry and I’m delighted to become a part of that. I’m looking to complement the team with my technical knowledge as displayLED continue to grow.” CEO Graham Burgess added: “Tim is perfect for displayLED, he has a wealth of experience and fits our ethos of doing business with a smile on his face. He has a well-deserved excellent reputation in the video screen industry and brings invaluable experience and expertise to the company. We all welcome Tim to displayLED and hope that he
stays here for a long, long time.” Beijing-based company Redline has been added to d3 Technologies’ network of worldwide resellers. Redline comprises the reseller branch of the company plus a number of postproduction services, including film restoration and Ultra HD and stereo 3D solutions. Redline is deeply-rooted in the film and broadcast market in China as well as in the educational sector and the fixed and temporary install market. “We’ve waited a long time to appoint a reseller in China,” said Chris Bird, Sales and Marketing
WE ARE RECRUITING! Based just south of Manchester, VME is a growing provider of sound, light and video solutions to the live events industry. Due to continued growth and expansion we are looking for dynamic and creative people to join our team in Knutsford, Cheshire.
PROJECT MANAGERS Working on a wide variety of events from corporate conferences to outdoor festivals, we are looking for skilled project managers to join us taking our projects all the way through from initial enquiry through to leading the project on site. Ideal candidates will have previous experience within the live events industry in a similar role, be technical across sound, light & video and have a proven track record of delivering large scale events. Salary: £26,500 - £35,000 dependant on experience
DRY HIRE MANAGER Overseeing all dry hire enquiries, you will work directly with our clients ensuring all their rental requirements are met. From initial enquiry, through to working with the warehouse teams for prep and delivery, you will oversee the whole process and ensure the rental part of our company runs smoothly. The perfect candidate will have good all-round knowledge across all technical disciplines, expert planning & logistical skills and join us with experience from a similar role. Salary: £18,000 - £25,000 dependant on experience
Full job descriptions can be found at www.vme-uk.com/careers Please send your CV and covering letter to recruitment@vme-uk.com no later than 30th September 2015 VME Limited Unit 11 Longridge Trading Estate, Knutsford, Cheshire, WA16 8PR www.vme-uk.com // 01565 652 202 // recruitment@vme-uk.com
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MOVERS & SHAKERS
Opposite: Paul Williams has joined FIX8Group as Project Director; Graphics, animation and projection mapping expert Richard Kenyon has also joined FIX8Group; Tim Parry has joined displayLED as UK Technical Manager; Ampco Flashlight Group has merged the recently acquired Audiopro Netherlands with its sales companies TM Audio Holland and Lightco Netherlands in a move to streamline the department.
Director for d3 Technologies. “The most important thing for us was to find the right fit with d3’s media platform utilities - a company that shares our passion for innovation and quality. Redline definitely fits that description. We are proud to be named the d3 reseller in China,” added Jack Sun, General Director of Redline. “We represent a number of premium products and are pleased to introduce our marketplace to d3’s innovative family of media servers. We both see great opportunities in working together for the future. And we believe it will be huge potential market in China before the 2022 Beijing Olympic Winter games.” Redline not only provides pre- and post-sales support but also training services, product and technical project support, and project design and implementation. Graphics, animation and projection mapping expert Richard Kenyon has joined FIX8Group as Creative Director of its new FIX8Studio. In the role, Kenyon will be responsible for overseeing the development and integration of FIX8Studio - the company’s new digital activation facility. “Over the last few years I have completed several successful projects for FIX8Group,
warming to the company’s style and ambitions. This relationship naturally progressed to a point where it made sense for us to pursue our shared vision, to integrate the technical and creative disciplines and in turn create an industry leading company for all live event technical and creative requirements,” he said. “FIX8Studio is working on several projects utilising our extensive skill set to deliver an end to end service. Everything from the initial conceptual ideas through to design and storyboarding, planning, execution and delivery.” Kenyon was introduced to the world of live events through his interest in building hi-fi systems and DJing during his late teenage years. This evolved into him taking up professional DJing, through which his technical understanding of audio systems led to him being offered a job as a live sound engineer. Paul Williams has also joined FIX8Group, and will serve as Project Director following eight years as Managing Director of Integrated Audio Visual Ltd - a company which he built from start up to provide AV services to end clients and production companies. Prior to that, he spent five years as a freelance AV engineer. “After working closely with FIX8 on various
jobs over the past four years, it was obvious that the synergy created through those close working practices could be strengthened and leveraged for forthcoming projects,” said Williams. Ampco Flashlight Group has merged the recently acquired Audiopro Netherlands with its sales companies TM Audio Holland and Lightco Netherlands in a move to streamline the department. The three companies will now operate under the name Ampco Flashlight Sales. Audiopro Netherlands is one of the principal suppliers and installers of d&b audiotechnik and Clearcom systems. TM Audio and Lightco are system integrators and suppliers of brands such as Allen & Heath, Philips Vari-Lite and DiGiCo. Supported by its own service company Engine, Ampco Flashlight Sales will provide installation and maintenance of theatres, concert venues and museums alongside playing a crucial role in events and sporting competitions at the Amsterdam ArenA and the Gelredome. Dick van Berkum, CEO of Ampco Flashlight Group, commented: “I am pleased and proud that we can take this step with Audiopro. I am confident that with the experience and passion of our team we have an exciting future.” TPi www.tpimagazine.com/jobs/
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THE BIGGER PICTURE
THE BIGGER PICTURE WHAT WORK EXPERIENCE CAN OFFER This month we take another look at the next generation. The development of apprenticeships is all well and good, but the enthusiasm and work ethic required by employers is sometimes best tested before commitment is made. If only there were some kind of network where the youth could get involved in production. Oh, hang on a minute... The Youth Production Network (YPN) has a simple goal, to help young people with an interest in live event production get that all important foot in the door with onsite training and work experience. The live event production industry is one that is notoriously hard to get into, and while there are now a number of great courses that teach young people the basic skills you need to work in events, the one thing we’ve found lacking in majority of them is real life onsite experience, which is where we come in. Where did it all begin? The YPN first started at the World Cup Kick Off Concert in Soweto Township, South Africa. The event was an iconic stadium show globally broadcast to a billion people worldwide, featuring the likes of Shakira, The Black Eyed Peas and more. It was set to kick off the 2010 World Cup celebrations and YPN Founder Rachel Haughey had been given the task of managing the backstage areas. On arrival, Haughey realised that she needed far more crew resources than were initially available to set up and run the backstage areas, consisting of five levels of dressing rooms, broadcast and media areas, production offices and more. It was the same story as always, there was no budget left over to pay for additional crew. At this point Haughey thought to herself: “This is ridiculous, we’re about to kick off the World Cup in South Africa for the first time ever, there must be 1000s of young people wanting to be involved in all of this”. In short, over 40 young people from Soweto and other townships were selected to come onto site as work experience crew to support the backstage team. With the help of some of the other top production staff onsite, Haughey trained the crew, teaching them the basics of how to work onsite, how to manage a production office, how to work with the technical crews and after just a few days they 90
were off. In the end, they were an invaluable part of the production, and have now gone on to become successful operating freelancers in their own right. Fast forward five years, and the YPN has grown in to a worldwide organisation, connected to over 45 different countries and with offices based in London and Soweto. Although the goals have always stayed the same, the YPN has grown and developed in to something much more than initially anticipated. With its Crew Chief system, the YPN has had a 100% success rate for work experience placements on productions of the highest level in the world. So what’s a YPN Crew Chief? The YPN Crew Chief System is a way of ensuring that all YPN work experience and training crew are managed and looked after on site. All YPN Crew Chiefs begin as work experience members, having to undergo at least one work experience placement before
becoming a Crew Chief. Once a YPN member has shown that they are competent onsite and that they can train and manage a crew, they are able to become a Crew Chief. These positions are paid roles, and all YPN crews, whether it’s two people or 10 people, will have at least one. All our Crew Chiefs are operating freelancers, and while they’re onsite to run the team, they are also there to provide support and answer any questions the YPN crews have. Key to the YPN’s success is an all-inclusive attitude. While the current spotlight seems to be on training programmes and teaching, the YPN allows anybody from any background who has a passion for live events to become a member. Through her time working as an international Production Manager, Haughey has had firsthand experience of the various challenges that people are faced with in different cultures, which has driven the YPN to not put any boundaries on its members system. There is no age limit
www.psa.org.uk
CDP 2015
on becoming a YPN member (however for insurance reasons, only members over 16 are allowed to work onsite) and no matter what your background or education, there is a place for everybody. All new applicants have to do is visit the website at www.ypn.international and like the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/ YPNetwork. WHAT’S NEXT? The launch of their new website at www.ypn. international is not only a celebration of all the incredible work it have already done to help young people in event production, but also a glimpse in to what’s next for YPN. The year 2014 saw the first ever fully-managed area at a major music festival with Sonisphere Rock Royalty. A team of over 30 YPN crew not only engineered and managed the area on site, but also produced and programmed the two small stages located in the Rock Royalty barns. The YPN has also set its sights on the classroom. Over the last few months the YPN Crew Chiefs have been locked away developing a new training service, bookable by schools and colleges, that sees the YPN Crew Chiefs run a one day session taking students through the basics of working on an event site, before having them build and engineer their own event that
day. This way of training allows the YPN Crew Chiefs to bring a live onsite situation in to a classroom, with the real pressure of working on an event. Having the YPN Crew Chiefs run these sessions also gives the students a unique chance to learn from their peers and ask all the burning questions they’ve always wanted to know about working in the industry. This year’s YPN end of season Wrap Party will be moving to the South West for the first time, with the launch of YPN Frome. Taking place on 1 November, YPN Frome will be an exciting collaboration between the YPN and local youth groups to put together a fully youth-produced show supported by the wealth of high-level production mentors and suppliers across the South West. For more information, to apply for tickets or for sponsorship opportunities, email info@ypn.international With a number of other projects and plans already in the pipeline, the YPN is sure to continue to grow. Be sure to keep your eye on its website and Facebook page for more updates. TPi
www.psa.org.uk www.ypn.international.com
Live Events only come together through collaboration and the combined efforts of technically gifted individuals and organisations. To promote this core principal an exciting opportunity is emerging to support and develop health and safety competence for the events sector. The momentum begins with a unique one-day conference on 17 November 2015 at London South Bank University, covering a strong range of topical safety issues facing events. The conference will provide an opportunity to hear directly from the HSE’s Construction Division about the application of CDM2015. The lead conference speakers are: • Gavin Bull from the HSE • Chris Higgs of NRAG and LEEA • Michael Anderson of SAGE • Mick Upton of the International Centre for Crowd Management and Security Studies (ICCMS) • Emma Parkinson of Buckinghamshire New University and the International Centre for Crowd Management and Security Studies (BNU and ICCMS) • Greg Brown of IIRSM • James Eade of IET and SAGE The conference’s objective is to offer technical updates and solutions as well as to debate how we identify and support events-sector competence in health and safety. The sector needs a relevant and reliable source of competence and the reassurance that would provide events managers, promoters, organisers and the enforcing authorities. The event will be suitable for event safety practitioners, stage, tour and production managers, event organisers and promoters, students on event management courses and anyone with an interest in event safety. The lead conference collaborators are: • STAGESAFE is the trading name used by Chris Hannam, a leading events safety practitioner. • SAGE is the Safety Advisors’ Group in Entertainment and supported by most practitioners and bodies within the industry. • IIRSM is a leading professional membership body and registered charity, it works closely with risk practitioners and industry to support and deliver practical, technical solutions. • Bucks New University and the International Centre for Crowd Management and Security Studies are very well known for their pioneering work and training development in the crowd management sector. To register for the conference: www.regonline. co.uk/Register/Checkin.aspx?EventId=1736570
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The TPi Production Guide
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VITAL STATS
VITAL STATS 174 IN PARTNERSHIP WITH
Jack Kelly Profession: President, Group One Date & place of birth: 18 December 1953, New York What initially prompted the move from the US Air Force to the pro audio industry? I needed a job! I answered an advertisement and ended up working for the US distributor for Revox tape machines and Beyerdynamic microphones as a tech. I really had no knowledge of pro audio or lighting, no experience and, to be honest, no prior interest. It was just one of those opportunities fed by necessity. I got into the business and at the same time I was pursuing a more traditional university degree in business. I never left and over the years the opportunities for advancement improved. About five years into this new career, I set up Klark Teknik’s US distribution. We built a great company and took it public. We made acquisitions such as Midas and DDA and sold the KT Group in 1990. I realised that staying in the pro audio industry was always going to be more lucrative than trying to jump ship. When I began in this industry 40 years ago I really had no idea that you could have so much fun in business. Everyone is so passionate and it is never a job to them. To them, this industry is who they are, not what they do, and that makes all the difference when dealing with them on a business level.
“As a distributor we live in a zone between success and failure, either one of which can kill us...”
Outside of Group One, how do you think the market has changed on a macro level? The strange thing is that some of the greatest changes to our industry sometimes come as a result of other, external factors. The two biggest things during my career have been the changing way that people realise value from recorded works, whether that is music, movies or anything else, and how technology has evolved. For the first, take touring as an example. When I started in this industry, touring was a required by the record companies in order to support record sales, while today it is a necessity to support the band. Album sales are, for all but the biggest artists, almost negligible in terms of financial impact. They need to be in front of the customer, as that is now their preferred delivery system in terms of what they will pay for. Unfortunately for the artists themselves, technology has allowed people to access the majority of art for free. This brings me to my second point. When I came into the business, a proper recording studio had well over $1m USD invested in it, in consoles, personnel, room design and the like. Now some of the best albums released are done for a fraction of that capital investment. Everybody can afford to set up their own recording studio now, and the gear itself is so easily available. This brings about a strange dynamic where there are more people recording music but most of the major studios have all but vanished, as there is no longer enough demand. Those are the two biggest changes for me but, in reality, not much has changed in the industry at all. It is just a case of shifting sands. We were 94
selling products into the touring business in 1975, and we continue to do the same thing today - I even have some of the same customers. What is it that dictates which companies Group One will go into partnership with? With companies such as Avolites now on the roster, is lighting more of a prioritisation that audio these days? Avolites was just another opportunity that presented itself and it was a good fit for everyone concerned - this is more or less the way with every deal Group One enters into. I think we have done a good job with the brands we have handled over the years, and we often get started with brands before they are as popular as they eventually become. I have an expression: “As a distributor we live in a zone between success and failure, either one of which can kill us.” In other words - if we fail, then we lose the product line (though I don’t know that has ever happened) and if we are too successful then a brand might start to think that they can do better on their own. I think this success is partly down to the fact that I say “no” 99% of the time. We are always hoping for the next opportunity, but we don’t lose sight of the fact that the greatest of these are sometimes with the brands that we already have. DiGiCo I went after, as I needed to do something new to continue my interest in running Group One, but that kind of situation is rare. Finally, what do you make time to do if you manage to take a day off? A day off for me could be anything. I love to play ice hockey, golf, guitar – it is pretty spontaneous with me to be honest. Two weeks ago I had what we call a ‘staycation’. That has been the most relaxing week I have spent in years. I told the office I would check emails in the morning and at night and, unless it was an emergency, then they couldn’t reach me. We are all so tied to our phones that we often end up mentally responding to emails that are totally unnecessary. That act, in and of itself, was a great vacation.
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14/08/2015 18:13:21
PL1 MKII Refreshed Brighter, quieter and improved light quality
The PL1 MKII Series has been refreshed, offering fantastic benefits. Improved color consistency across the range with increased colour rendering, no color fringing, higher output, reduced operating sound along with RDM, simplified 5 channel control and a 3 year warranty combine to breathe new life into a much-loved workhorse.
www.seleconlight.com
Selecon PL MKII 210x297.indd 2
2/9/15 10:50:48