PRODUCTION PROFILE: Chase & Status
CHASE & STATUS MARKING THEIR 10TH ANNIVERSARY AND INTRODUCING THEIR NEW ALBUM BRAND NEW MACHINE, CHASE & STATUS BROUGHT THUMPING BASS AND A HEAP OF SPECIAL GUESTS TO MANCHESTER ARENA. The audience bounced in unison - as did the FOH team - as Chase & Status served up a hybrid of ‘90s EDM inspired highoctane percussion, low-end frequencies interspersed with a string of hit singles. In your face, super loud yet super clear, the tour is a rollercoaster tribute to nostalgia dance music, peppered with hip hop and the occasional nod to UK garage, jungle and house. This tour kicked off with a new designer, in the form of Andy Hurst, 10 brand new pieces of video content from Immersive and top notch audio from Rampton. CURVED TRUSSES AND TREADPLATE Andy Hurst’s audience embracing set and beat sensitive lighting design set the tone. This is the first time Hurst has designed for Chase & Status. It’s also the first time C&S has scaled up their powerful, high impact club style show for arenas. The larger scale has allowed the drum and bass duo to spread out on stage and it has enabled Hurst to bring in some bigger, more multi-tasking scenic elements. 28
The drummer and the C&S duo each have their own circular platforms. Each platform is fronted with a light-up initial and each edge of the circular platform is highlighted with colour changing LED. “The tour promotes the new album Brand New Machine, noted for it’s references to ‘90s EDM, house and garage music,” explained Hurst. “I wanted to reflect that in the design.” His response is a seductive and curvaceous set that pulls in the eye and embraces the audience with outward facing lighting and two seven-metre curved LED wing screens comprising Martin Professional LC40 LED product, which stretch out from a central eight-metre diameter circular screen, which is a Martin Professional EC-20 screen. The design focuses the eye to the centre stage and maintains the all-important, intimate relationship between C&S and their audience. Cohesively full, yet not cluttered, the layered, multi-dimensional set rises above the audience to provide the perfect club style atmosphere. The show design had to be both scalable and work alongside the already existing video content, filmed and produced by Immersive.
For lighting, Hurst employs a carefully chosen collection of fixtures, all supplied by rental house HSL. “We didn’t have much time to get this show together and I relied on the skilled team from HSL. We had five days in WYSIWYG and one day of production rehearsals. The HSL team included Crew Chief Simon ‘Piggy’ Lynch assisted by Jason Dixon, Mark Callaghan, Jake Jeavons and Jack Gambino. They were invaluable in making sure we were road ready in time.” Hurst used several different beam fixtures to realise his hard-hitting show. A total of 64 Robe LED Beam 100 moving heads were hung below the side video screens to provide the main wash and effects, while 34 Clay Paky Sharpys brought their own distinctive punch to the party. “I chose the Clay Paky Sharpys because I needed to box through the video at a high point. The front truss is hung at 13-metres but the Sharpys have excellent throw - I don’t lose them when I put video behind.” Providing key light for the band were Clay Paky Alpha Beam 700’s. In addition the three band members were back-lit with Philips VariLite 3015LT’s and GLP Impression 120 RZ zooms,
PRODUCTION PROFILE: Chase & Status
Opposite: BPM SFX & Production supplied the tour’s lasers and pyrotechnics. Below: Screens comprised Martin Professional EC-20.
which provided more general stage washes and key light. “The Vari-Lite VL3000 has been my spot of choice for 10 years now, so I was delighted when Ryan Hopkins at HSL offered me a few of the new Vari-Lite VL3015LTs. I really like the colour, gobos and the consistently good beam and output that you get from a VariLite. The VL3015LT certainly lived up to those expectations,” said Hurst. Hurst also positioned 12 Martin Professional MAC Air FX with quadray lenses attached, around the central circular screen and used them to deliver some retro style break up effects. A total of 40 Martin Professional Atomic DMX strobes were randomly scattered around the rig - including the circle and also behind the side screen hangs. Hurst relied on the LED fixtures to maintain the high-speed momentum of the show. “I can make the whole rig move at phenomenal pace. The LED fixtures will do it every time as there are no shutters to hold things up.” For control Hurst used a High End Systems Road Hog Full Boar console with a Wing and a fully redundant backup system and has
laid the show out across the desk: “With shows like this I tend to play live. There is just too much going on to do it any other way. It all comes down to timing really - it’s pretty full on.” VISUALS Working direct for C&S was design team Immersive. Immersive, which has developed an unprecedented reputation for delivering concert visuals for many of the UK’s most respected EDM stars. The company’s reliability, approachability, and experience working with audio artists to transfer their vision into animation and film has seen the studio work with over 10 EDM stars across all genres of dance music. “Immersive has been working with C&S for a while now,” explained Managing Director, Mark Calvert. “We provided directors, producers, project managers and technicians to deliver 10 brand new films, edited and timecoded to the 10 new album tracks from Brand New Machine. We met with the band about a month before the tour was due to kick off and brainstormed the themes of the album. We then went away and storyboarded our ideas. We were
Channel 4, SU2C Live. Photo Courtesy of Immersive Ltd
DEFINING THE FUTURE
Ai Infinity Media Server
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PRODUCTION PROFILE: Chase & Status
Below: The larger scale of the tour has enabled scenic elements to be incorporated into the show design; HSL supplied High End Systems Road Hog Full Boar; The lighting plot used a combination of Philips Vari-Lite, Martin Professional and Clay Paky fixtures; Lighting Designer, Andy Hurst with his desk of choice.
on a tight deadline, so these sessions with the band were vital. They enable us to understand C&S’s concepts and plan realistic milestones for delivery.” Immersive had three weeks to direct and produce the films. Each demanded a wide range of skill sets and the imagination to engage in a diversity of styles. However the result was well received by band and audience alike. Content is a combination of animation, live footage and film, which grab the audiences’ attention and pulls them into the music. It also goes a long way in establishing the live atmosphere and mood for each track. In addition to the content Immersive supplied the hardware in the form of two Avolites Media Ai Media servers and a rack for timecode, along with Ai Media Server Technician and Programmer, Dave Whiteoak. “We used the Avolites Media Ai Media Server to Pixel Map the content to the five LED screens,” explained Calvert. “The Ai Media servers are linked to Ableton via a MIFF4 timecode interface, which is built into the main video racks. The show is then synced to the audio. Dave gets sent a midi time code and we build our timeline in the server. All the graphics and content are time-coded to the audio and we can adjust the video off-set in the server so the video content runs perfectly with the audio.” The new show’s custom LED screens, 30
designed by Andy Hurst, meant that Whiteoak had to edit and pixel map the original content from previous tours to the new video screen format using the sample texture region feature in the Ai v7 software. This involved taking sections out of the full frame image and rerouting that same content to the LED wing screens upstage. During the live show Whiteoak has full control of the content feeding to the wings. “I can fade the screen opacity and add effects. I can also adjust the sample texture region positions with the pre-programmed scene selections I built during the project build,” he explained. “In fact the Ai Media Server makes it simple to make changes on the road and the possibilities are endless.” Because C&S like to keep things fresh the team sometimes have to cut, edit or re-pixel map whole sections of the video and re route content to new areas of the LED screen. “We can pretty much edit or re-program on the Ai’s interface by either using the visualiser on the server or a laptop. I don’t actually have to be connected to the LED screens to see what I’m doing. This is an amazing feature; the visualiser is also a god send during studio preparation. Primarily because it enables the whole production team to see what the show will look like in the real world before it goes out on the road.” Most of the show is pre-programmed
but if Andy Hurst doesn’t like the look of something while the show is live, Whiteoak has the capability to change it. In addition to the custom LED screens the tour production also ran two large IMAG screens with five live cameras. In fact Dave Whiteoak had a dual role on this tour with his own company, Video Illusions supplying IMAG screens, cameras and crew. Business partner Nick Whiteoak managed the day-to-day elements of the tour. He said: “Video Illusions supplied projectors, screens, PPU racks, cameras, and camera operators and our best video technicians and camera ops were looking after the IMAG installation, rigging and sponsor video playback. The Video Illusions crew included Director, Dave Irving, CCU Operator, Glen Gardiner and Camera Chief, Bruce Selkirk.” Another aspect of the visuals came via the numerous special effects used throughout the tour - supplied by BPM SFX & Production. They included RGB OPS lasers and blue beams, which created a jaw-dropping laser display, and a stage-based CO2 jet system which created pulsing bursts of CO2 along with the mighty 15 metre chameleons and six metre flamaniacs flame systems. The spectacular effects elements were topped off with a huge pyrotechnic display and massive shower of confetti and streamers. LOST IN MUSIC Equally busy is FOH Engineer Rampton - a man so connected to the music that it’s hard to know
PRODUCTION PROFILE: Chase & Status
Below: (L-R) Ai Media Server Technician, Dave Whiteoak; FOH Engineer, Rampton with his Soundcraft Vi6; System Tech, Nick Pain; The Video Illusions team.
where he ends and his Soundcraft Vi6 console begins. Although Rampton doesn’t have any direct involvement in the creation of original content, in rehearsal and when C&S are on the road, he drills down into the detail with Saul Milton (Chase), and in particular Will Kennard (Status), to get the desired sound for each venue. “When I started with C&S I showed Will how to use my console of choice - the Soundcraft Vi6. It’s easy to learn and by watching Will choose his frequencies, cuts and boosts etc, I better understood what he expected his audience to hear.” Rampton is a firm user of snapshots: “We can overwrite a scene or multiple scenes in each song, either during soundcheck or live. We also often work on new content during soundcheck, but other than that my role is essentiality the traditional FOH role. “I have to confess I didn’t know that much about C&S music before I started. The live show is very different from the recording work they do. Although the core of the show centres on the original song structures and the content is recognisable, dynamically it’s much more extreme live.” The duo gives Rampton the freedom to run the show the way he chooses: “I’m at liberty to exaggerate or push certain dynamics. I see my job as creating a picture with sound. I apply the usual rules but once the tweaks are made and we feel we’re in the right place pre gig, depending on the vibe on the night.” The nature of EDM means that things can 32
radically change, in terms of audio content, from song to song. Something as seemingly simple as the electronic kick and snare drums can be different for every tune as Rampton pointed out: “How they’re set up can lead to big differences in the sound of the song. I couldn’t do this show as just one scene on an analogue desk - for some songs I use up to four different snapshots.” And once the show kicks off Rampton is clearly part of the C&S machine. The speed with which he moves to the music makes you wonder how he can make any tweaks to the mix at all. However, he knows his console intimately and C&S could not have sounded any better than they did in the Manchester Arena. “I’ve never been able to stand still,” Rampton chuckled. “As a live sound engineer I have to inhabit the music 100%, it’s the only way I can make the right connection and represent a band the way they’re meant to be heard.” SYSTEM DESIGN Rampton’s supplier of choice is SSE. “The guys at SSE are always amazing and the support is excellent. At a show at the Capital Arena, Nottingham, my desk took two direct hits from thrown pints. Before we’d finished loading out, System Tech, Nick Pain, had got a new one shipped straight to Nottingham. It arrived as we finished loading out - incredible!” Rampton chose the L-Acoustic K1 system for the main hangs, 12 L-Acoustics SB28 subwoofers at the sides as well as K1 subwoofers for frontfill and VDOSC arcs for sidefill. “L-Acoustic’s really
suits the music, especially the bottom end. The SB 28’s cover it really well, all the way down below your standard human hearing range. The K1 does exactly what I want it to do, across all frequencies, and it’s super clear,” continued Pain. Miles Hillyard, Senior Project Manager for SSE Audio Group added: The L-Acoustics K1 PA was chosen because it’s the only system capable of producing the high SPL and wide dynamics needed for C&S. The style of music and the rich mix from Rampton means more detail and headroom is needed from 80 to 200Hz than normal. The input from stage is extremely high quality, so the PA needs to be just as good.” OUTBOARD Although Rampton has eight Lexicon multieffect engines onboard the Vi6, he’s only using four. The principle sounds and effects are coming from a D2 delay, two Yamaha SPX2000 - both Midi’d up to the desk, so that when he runs each snapshot it recalls each pre-set. “The Vi6 doesn’t have the facility to utilise plug-ins, however, ironically, one of my favourite bits of kit is a Waves plug-in - the MAX BCL. Fortunately, it’s available as rack mountable hardware. It’s inserted over the console’s main left and right outputs. I use the front-end compressor. However, the thing I mostly use it for is as a mastering limiter, because musically it doesn’t squash things or alter the sonic content.” Rampton also uses a couple of DCL 200 valve compressors: “They’re not doing much in the
PRODUCTION PROFILE: Chase & Status
Below: The sound system was supplied by SSE and inlcuded was an L-Acoustics K1 rig; Lighting fixtures, design and direction came from HSL.
way of compression, just warming things up. We use them for Rage, our principle MC, and for the other ‘shouty’ MC’s, just to give some nice warmth to their voices.” Sitting at the bottom of the rack are a couple of dbx processors: “They compress the two kick channels on the left hand side of the top unit, the two snare channels on the right hand side and stereo comp the toms on the bottom one.” MONITOR MAN Over on monitors is an equally busy Mikey Poole: “I’ve worked on Chase and Status for five years now and in that time the crew and production has grown into something really solid. We’ve also developed close relationships with supportive production providers. The job of monitor engineer has evolved from the early club shows and I’ve really enjoyed bringing the stage sound forward and creating a realm that works for everyone.” However, for Poole it’s his close working relationship with C&S FOH Engineer Rampton that is crucial. “We have worked through many changes in circumstance to get the production to where it is and we continue to work very well together. For any monitor engineer this is an absolute dream! Our close ties with SSE, who have long provided the audio for C&S production, is also a vital element in the success of what we do.”
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“The backgrounds of the musicians straddle both the club DJ style and live band arenas. From track to track there are a fair few differences to how I balance the stage. We have an almost endless stream of very different vocalists who perform / have performed with C&S over the years. Each has their own idea of how the stage should sound.” With so many performers there are many different zones onstage. Some musicians are on in-ears while others prefer the wedges and sidefill experience. This means Poole is often working on a very loud stage. Poole’s console of choice is the Yamaha PM5D: “It’s really is more that the Yamaha chose me,” he laughed. “It was one of the first digital consoles I used and despite some annoying (and maybe out-dated) functions it has been consistently reliable. I do get some stick from peers for not changing but really, it’s never let me down. However the obvious increase in the amount of mixes required means I’m dangerously close to running out of outputs.” In terms of set up Mikey said monitors are fairly straightforward. “I don’t carry any outboard. Onstage we have three pairs of wedges across the frontline, which almost act as a bank of front fills but also provide zones for vocalists. They also offer vocalists - not on inears - a hot spot or comfortable place to pitch
to in a loud environment. The stage dynamic ranges from reasonably calm to very loud and intense and I find this works well alongside the blanket coverage from the sidefills. It’s usually more than enough to fill out all areas. Apart from this we have two wedge zones for C&S at their keys positions stage left and right, Saul (Chase) also uses in-ears as he moves position from track to track. Andy the drummer uses a self powered wedge and sub for his fill and has in-ears for click.” The energy packed C&S show provides a fantastic muse for all things production. There are lots of changes in style, tempo and mood and it demands a lot, both visually and aurally. The way the technical design team has seamlessly connected with C&S and their music has successfully delivered one of the sharpest most engrossing shows on the circuit - The Brand New Machine is working well. TPi Photos: Sarah Rushton-Read and www. samneillphoto.com http://chaseandstatus.co.uk www.hslgroup.com http://bpm-sfx.com www.sseaudiogroup.com http://immersivemedia.com www.videoillusions.net http://jumbocruiser.com www.flybynite.co.uk