TPi April 2021 - #260

TOTAL PRODUCTION INTERNATIONAL LIVE EVENT DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY • APRIL 2021 • ISSUE 260

BONA FIDE BME STAGE IN OLD BLIGHTY INSTEAD OF SUNNY TEXAS…

BME: SXSW ONLINE 2021 Premium production for the best British breakthrough talent

I

LINDSAY ELL: #LIVEREDESIGNED • SYDNEY GAY AND LESBIAN MARDI GRAS • UNREAL ENGINE • PSA MIYAVI: VIRTUAL 5.0 SYNTHESIS • AVOLITES ONLINE LEARNING PLATFORM • TPi AWARDS 2021

APRIL 2021 #260

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EDITOR’S LETTER

YOUR PARTNER FOR STAGE & STUDIO LIFTING EQUIPMENT AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 VIDEO CALLS… No doubt, as this month marks over a year of COVID-19, we have all developed our own varying opinions on video conferencing. Disregarding the usual gripes, one of the advantages we’ve enjoyed at TPi is the ease of communication with live events professionals from across the globe. While we pride ourselves on being an international and outward-looking publication – hence the little ‘i’ – this edition is especially far-reaching.

This month’s issue takes us across the pond to the USA, where Nick Whitehouse and the team from Fireplay created a livestream boasting arena-standard production values – all in the name of raising money for fellow touring personnel. With artist Lindsay Ell at the forefront of this stunning production, it certainly showcased the aesthetic possibilities of a virtual gig. Read more on p26. Staying Stateside – in spirit, at least – and gracing this edition’s cover we have an exclusive look at the multi-site production put together by the British Music Embassy for SXSW Online 2021, which saw artists performing up and down the UK, from London to Wakefield [p20].

Meanwhile, Jacob spoke with the team behind the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade, which welcomed over 35,000 revellers to the city’s famous cricket ground for an awe-inspiring, ceremonial-style concert. Although Australia is in a slightly better situation than many other countries, COVID-19 put an end to the usual festivities, forcing organisers to think outside the box in order to create a production in-keeping with the spirit of Mardi Gras in 2021 [p38]. Also this issue, Jacob interviewed the creative team that helped Japanese rockstar, MIYAVI pull off an innovative collaboration with Amazon Music [p34].

In our April offering – a time of new beginnings, fresh starts and reinvention – we also take some time to speak to a number of companies that have used this unprecedented time to carve out a niche in this ever-changing entertainment landscape. From French start-up Swapcard [p46], now the go-to platform for conference and trade show organisers transitioning to a virtual format, to Unreal Engine [P42], which has made greater inroads into live entertainment in the past 12 months with software offering the ability to create new virtual performance spaces as well as workflows for show creators. The Metaverse might be closer than you think.

We also have some exciting news about TPi events. Firstly, planning for Production Futures Online is well underway and we look forward to hosting our next virtual rendition from 25 to 27 May. Registration is now open for all students and young freelancers. We are also excited to announce our plans for this year’s TPi Awards. It will not be our usual affair at London’s Battersea Evolution, but rest assured, we’ll be back again in 2022 all guns blazing – and in the meantime, turn to p10 to take a trip down memory lane and find out more about what’s in store this year.

Until next time, Stew Hume Editor

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

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

CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Peter Iantorno Tel: +44 (0)161 476 8360 Mobile: +44 (0)7763 233637 e-mail: p.iantorno@mondiale.co.uk

ACCOUNTS Lynette Levi / Sarah Miller: ar@mondiale.co.uk

DIGITAL CONTENT MANAGER James Robertson Tel: +44 (0)161 476 8360 Mobile: +44 (0)7725 475819 e-mail: j.robertson@mondiale.co.uk

COVER British Music Embassy’s shoot for SXSW Online 2021 Credit: TyneSight Photographic Services

COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR Hannah Eakins Tel: +44 (0)161 476 8360 Mobile: +44 (0)7760 485230 e-mail: h.eakins@mondiale.co.uk CHIEF EXECUTIVE Justin Gawne Tel: +44 (0)161 476 8360 Mobile: +44 (0)7768 850767 e-mail: j.gawne@mondiale.co.uk GRAPHIC DESIGN & PRODUCTION Dan Seaton: d.seaton@mondiale.co.uk Mel Capper: m.capper@mondiale.co.uk

MONDIALE GROUP CHAIRMAN Damian Walsh

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TOTAL PRODUCTION INTERNATIONAL is a controlled circulation magazine, published 12 times a year by Mondiale Media Limited under licence. ISSN 1461-3786 Copyright © 2021 Mondiale Media Limited. All contents of this publication are subject to worldwide copyright protection and reproduction in whole or part, in any form whatsoever, is expressly forbidden without the prior written consent of the Publishers. Every effort is taken to ensure accuracy in the preparation of this publication but neither Mondiale Media Ltd, nor the Editor, can be held responsible for its contents or any consequential loss or damage resulting from information published. The views expressed are not necessarily those of the Publishers or Editor. The Publishers accept no responsibility for the return of unsolicited manuscripts, photographs, illustrations, advertising materials or artwork. Total Production International USPS: (ISSN 1461 3786) is published 12 times a year by Mondiale Media Limited United Kingdom. The 2021 US annual subscription price is 117USD. Airfreight and mailing in the USA by Agent named Air Business, C/O WorldNet Shipping USA Inc., 155-11 146th Avenue, Jamaica, New York, NY11434. Periodicals postage paid at Jamaica NY 11431. US Postmaster: Send address changes to Total Production International, Air Business Ltd, C/O WorldNet Shipping USA Inc., 155-11 146th Avenue, Jamaica, New York, NY11434. Subscription records are maintained at Mondiale Media Ltd. Waterloo Place, Watson Square, Stockport, SK1 3AZ, UK.

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ITINERARY

OBITUARY 08

Remembering constructivist, Bill Harkin.

TPi AWARDS 2021 10

16

Trade Hire

Reflecting and moving forward, a celebration of 20 years of TPi Awards.

EVENT FOCUS 16

Lockdown Q&A Arvydas ‘ABlight’ Buinauskas shares his take on the Lithuanian live events sector.

18

PGL Tournaments esports firm invests in Blackmagic PPU to support its global gaming schedule.

PRODUCTION PROFILE

20

20

BME: SXSW Online 2021 UK-only production powers a COVID-19 secure platform for breakthrough artists.

26

34

Lindsay Ell: #LiveRedesigned A live performance at PRG’s Nashville Digital Studio in support of Crew Nation.

38

Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Sydney Cricket Ground welcomes over 35,000 revellers to the 43rd annual party.

MIYAVI: Virtual 5.0 Synthesis Japanese rockstar’s LA creative team craft a virtual live performance series.

INTERVIEW 43

26

Unreal Engine Ben Lumsden and Patrick Wambold share their bold vision for the future.

46 Swapcard

CEO, Baptiste Boulard recalls the journey

to becoming a ‘go-to’ virtual event space.

IN PROFILE 48

Motor Stage Automation Christian Vigso and Blake McNally roll out staging and automation solutions.

PRODUCTION FUTURES 50

34

Avolites Online Learning Platform Titan Training Manager, Gordon Clarke previews the firm’s learning resource.

PSA: THE BIGGER PICTURE 51

ERP results are key to predicting the UK’s return to live, writes PSA’s Andy Lenthall.

GEAR HEADS 52

MAC Ultra Performance and Wash Head of Product Development, Peter Skytte reviews the new lighting fixtures.

INDUSTRY APPOINTMENTS 54

38

The latest movers and shakers.

BACK CHAT 58

The Manual London’s Eric Allen and Rich King take the hot seat.

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OBITUARY

BILL HARKIN 1938 – 2021 A tribute by son, Will Harkin Bill Harkin, constructivist. His work could leave you with more questions than answers, but it always excited and captivated – whether it be his geometric carvings etched into Welsh slate or his iconic stage and set designs.

His lightweight, tensile designs had a lightness to them, as like a single pencil stroke, enough to define the shape, but not too much as to ruin the lines. Nothing in nature comes in straight lines, he would say. In contrast, Bill would also use strong geometric shapes in his work to give strength to its structure and resonate harmoniously with the patterns of sacred geometry; this was present in both his carvings and his stage designs.

Bill was passionate about classical and world music. He loved the complexities, rhythms and timeless sound of Middle Eastern music, he cared greatly for the plight of the peoples he loved so much, caught up in relentless, senseless conflict after conflict.

Bill, as a father and a friend, was a kind, gentle and inspiring man who had a way of leaving you feeling more enlightened, empowered and loved than before.

If you would like to do something in his memory, then please make a donation to www.islamic-relief.org.uk/yemen-emergency-appeal

Tony Andrews of Funktion-One Bill Harkin was an inspiring human being who introduced me to the omnipresence of cosmic geometry during the time we were involved in the founding of Glastonbury Festival 1970/71. We also worked together again on Glastonbury designing and implementing the first permanent Pyramid Stage some 10 years afterwards.

When I first met Bill at the foot of Glastonbury Tor, he appeared out of nowhere bearing tea and looking just how you would imagine the wizard Merlin to look. The whole effect was greatly enhanced by a crystalline starry sky that he seemed to be at one with. He was an inspiration and became a great friend. I hope he found me to be the same.

TPi Photo: Ron Reid www.pyramidstage-glastonburyfestival.co.uk 08

Discover the Future of AV. Join us Live & Online Fira de Barcelona | Gran Vía 1-4 June 2021

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TPi AWARDS: 20 YEARS OF INNOVATION To celebrate two decades of technical production excellence, TPi invites readers to gather in a virtual capacity to reflect on the past 20 years of TPi Awards winners as well as pick some of their personal favourites from years gone by.

As the disco ball stopped spinning on the 19th TPi Awards in February 2020, the question of how we’d celebrate the 20th year of the TPi Awards was already being considered. Of course, the unprecedented year that followed meant that the kind of celebration that we originally had in mind simply was not possible. However, as curators of the industry’s premier networking night out, we would be foolhardy to let a chance to celebrate the talent and efforts of the industry pass us by.

So, by popular demand, we have released a complete historical list of all the winners over the past two decades.

Although award titles and criteria have changed over the years, we are proud to have this archive that documents 20 years of touring excellence.

We invite you to vote for your personal favourites from all our individual categories, as well as your favourite Production of the Year winner, for the 2021 Reader’s Choice.

Also, to acknowledge the truly devastating effect that the global pandemic has had on this industry, we are reintroducing the Unsung Hero Award. This is your opportunity to put

forward an individual, group or company that has gone above and beyond in 2020/2021 and exemplified the grit and determination of the live events industry even in these troubling times.

This is your chance to discover which engineers, technicians and creatives have led the way for the industry over the years and look back at which tours deserved the much-lauded Production of the Year accolade.

The individuals with the most votes will be invited to reflect on their time in the industry at the TPi Awards 2021 Online, set for broadcast on 23 June. This online event will comprise a series of exclusive features paying homage to two decades of technical production excellence, as well as looking forward to what the tours of the future will look like as the return to mass gatherings draws ever closer.

It’s been a fantastic trip down memory lane for us at TPi HQ – sifting through the TPi archives and having a good laugh at some of the photos captured over the years. There may well be a gallery coming out in the next few weeks…

Readers Choice voting opens – 13 April

Reader’s Choice revealed – 24 May

Readers Choice voting closes – 27 April

TPi Awards 2021 Online – 23 June

Scan todeo watch vi

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02/07/2020 15:49:37

THE INDIVIDUAL AWARDS THE DENNIS SHEEHAN TOUR MANAGER OF THE YEAR AWARD 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002

TREVOR WILLIAMS DAVID LAWRENCE TREVOR WILLIAMS GLEN ROWE JAKE RYAN FOLEY EMMA EDGAR GLEN ROWE MARGUERITE NGUYEN DOMINIC ANDERSON CRAIG DUFFY ANDY FRANKS TIMM CLEASBY MIKE DARLING ANDY FRANKS MAGGIE MOUZAKITIS HENRY MCGROGGAN ANDY FRANKS SEAN FITZPATRICK HENRY MCGROGGAN

FOH ENGINEER OF THE YEAR 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002

PAUL COOPER MIKE WOODHOUSE SIMON THOMAS COLIN PINK ROB SADLER DERRICK ZIEBA SNAKE NEWTON ROBBIE MCGRATH GARY BRADSHAW MARC CAROLAN PAUL ‘PAB’ BOOTHROYD JON LEMON BIG’ MICK HUGHES GARY BRADSHAW DAVE KAY MAX BISGROVE ROBERT COLLINS PAUL ‘PAB’ BOOTHROYD ROBBIE MCGRATH

LIGHTING DESIGNER OF THE YEAR 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002

TIM ROUTLEDGE TIM ROUTLEDGE SAM O’RIORDAN FREDRIK JONSSON ED WARREN TIM ROUTLEDGE OLI METCALFE DURHAM MARENGHI OLI METCALFE IAN TOMLINSON WILLIE WILLIAMS BRYAN LEITCH PATRICK WOODROFFE AL GURDON WILLIE WILLIAMS DAN HARDIMAN BARRY HALPIN WILLIE WILLIAMS NICK SHOLEM

PRODUCTION MANAGER OF THE YEAR 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002

JOEL STANLEY FRANKIE TEE OMAR ABDERRAHMAN OLA MELZIG CERI WADE DICK TEE ANDY COTTON KEITH WOOD STEVE IREDALE NEIL MCDONALD JAKE BERRY RICHARD YOUNG CHRIS VAUGHAN WOB ROBERTS DICK TEE ANDY COTTON JAKE BERRY CHRIS VAUGHAN BILL LEADBODY

MONITOR ENGINEER OF THE YEAR 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002

BEN KINGMAN SAMANTHA WHITE MIKEY GIBBARD AMANDA THOMSON JAC NOTT ANT CARR OTTO KROYMAN JAMES NEALE ADAM TAYLOR JON LEWIS JAC NOTT BEN BOOKER JOHN RODEN ANDY ‘BAGGY’ ROBINSON JOHN ‘JJ’ JAMES JOHN RODEN CHRIS TRIMBY GRAHAM BLAKE JOHN RODEN

THE MARK FISHER SET DESIGNER OF THE YEAR AWARD 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002

MISTY BUCKLEY NICK WHITEHOUSE MARK CUNNIFFE ROB SINCLAIR OLI METCALFE OLI METCALFE MISTY BUCKLEY MISTY BUCKLEY ES DEVLIN ES DEVLIN ES DEVLIN RAY WINKLER BART CLEMENT BILL LASLETT ROY BENNETT MARK FISHER ALAN CHESTERS HATTIE SPICE LIZ BERRY

RIGGER OF THE YEAR 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002

SVEN KNIGHT PETE ‘THE GREEK’ KALOPSIDIOTIS SVEN KNIGHT PETE ‘THE GREEK’ KALOPSIDIOTIS PETE ‘THE GREEK’ KALOPSIDIOTIS YOSE LAWSON SVEN KNIGHT YOSE LAWSON PETE ‘THE GREEK’ KALOPSIDIOTIS SVEN KNIGHT JOHNNY ‘HOTPANTS’ ASHTON GIANLUCA ‘GANA’ GANAPINI JON BRAY DANNY SPRATT JEZ CRADDICK PHIL BROAD PHIL BROAD CHRIS HIGGS PADDY BURNSIDE

BACKLINE TECHNICIAN OF THE YEAR 2020 2019 2018 2011 2010 2009

BOB MUNRO GERT MARCKX JOHAN ERICSSON SVALA JOHN ARMITAGE DALLAS SHOO HUW ‘SID’ PRYCE

LIGHTING OPERATOR OF THE YEAR 2020

JAMES SCOTT

SOUND SYSTEM DESIGNER OF THE YEAR 2020 2019 2018

COLIN PINK LIAM HALPIN SIMON HONYWILL

STAGE MANAGER OF THE YEAR 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007

EMMA REYNOLDS-TAYLOR DAVE ‘CHALKII’ WHITE MATT CALEY EMMA REYNOLDS-TAYLOR MIKE GROVE MIKE GROVE JOSH ROSEN CRAIG FINLEY MIKE GROVE CHALKII WHITE RICHARD ‘WEZ’ WEARING JOSH ROSEN GARY COOPER-BURROWS RICHARD ‘WEZ’ WEARING

PRODUCTION COORDINATOR OF THE YEAR 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004

HELEN ‘HELS BELLS’ SMITH HELEN ‘HELS BELLS’ SMITH NICOLE ERIN MASSEY HELEN ‘HELS BELLS’ SMITH DEBBIE BRAY HELEN ‘HELS BELLS’ SMITH HELEN ‘HELS BELLS’ SMITH CARA GRECZYN JULIE CHENNELLS HELEN ‘HELS BELLS’ SMITH HELEN ‘HELS BELLS’ SMITH HELEN ‘HELS BELLS’ SMITH

THE DES FALLON VIDEO VISIONARY AWARD 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2010

MORE EYES RICHARD TURNER STEVE PRICE OLI METCALFE OLI METCALFE BLUE LEACH RICHARD TURNER JUSTINE CATTERALL DES FALLON WILLIE WILLIAMS

BEST VIDEO DIRECTOR THE UNSUNG HERO AWARD 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006

2005 2004 2003 2002

JOHN JONES (JOHN PEEL AWARD) JOHN CORR (JOHN PEEL AWARD) ROGER THOMAS PETE HOWARD CHRIS RUNCIMAN MARK ARMSTRONG, CHRIS HIGGS AND ERIC PORTER CHRIS HANNAM CHRIS COATES PENNY MELLOR PAUL MACCALLUM

BEST LIVE EVENT OF ALL TIME 2002

LIVE AID AT WEMBLEY STADIUM 1985

MY GENERATION AWARD 2011 2010

JAMIE TRANT LUKE JACKSON

2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002

BLUE LEACH RUARY MACPHIE BLUE LEACH DICK CARRUTHERS NICK WICKHAM BLUE LEACH CHRIS KEATING NICK JEVONS

THE EDITORS AWARD 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003

2002

CROPREDY CONVENTION STEVE & DUCHESS IREDALE JOHN PROBYN THE AHMET ERTEGUN TRIBUTE CIRQUE DU SOLEIL STEVE JONES PHIL TAYLOR DICK CARRUTHERS PAUL MCCARTNEY 2002 PRODUCTION CREW U2 ELEVATION TOUR PRODUCTION CREW

LIVE PRODUCTION OF THE YEAR 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004

2003 2002

THE OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION AWARD

STORMZY: GLASTONBURY ROGER WATERS: US + THEM ONE LOVE MANCHESTER COLDPLAY: A HEAD FULL OF DREAMS ARCADIA: METAMORPHOSIS BRISTOL THE KT FELLOWSHIP PRESENTS BEFORE THE DAWN ARCADIA STAGE: GLASTONBURY LONDON 2012 OLYMPIC OPENING CEREMONY TAKE THAT: THE PROGRESS TOUR GORILLAZ: ESCAPE FROM PLASTIC BEACH WORLD TOUR U2: 360° TOUR KYLIE: X2008 TOUR GENESIS: TURN IT ON AGAIN TOUR TAKE THAT: THE ULTIMATE TOUR LIVE 8 AT HYDE PARK METALLICA: MADLY IN ANGER WITH THE WORLD TOUR ROBBIE WILLIAMS: WEEKENDS OF MASS DISTRACTION (THE ESCAPOLOGY TOUR) KYLIE FEVER 2002 ROBBIE WILLIAMS: WEDDINGS, BAR MITZVAHS & STADIUMS TOUR

2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002

PAUL HATTIN PAUL HARTLEY JOHN AND HEATHER PENN NOREEN O’RIORDAN HEDWIG DE MEYER MIKE LOWE AND BRYAN GRANT CHRIS MOUNSOR PETE EDMONDS DEL ROLL BOB DOYLE FRED HEUVES CLAUDE NOBS MARK FISHER ROBBIE WILLIAMS DICK BELL MICK KLUCZYNSKI CHARLIE KAIL HAROLD & BARBARA PENDLETON MICK UPTON

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EVENT FOCUS

LOCKDOWN Q&A: ABLIGHT Lighting Designer, Arvydas ‘ABlight’ Buinauskas reflects on the prognosis for the live events industry in Lithuania and shares his optimism for 2021.

Design studio, ABLight boasts a diverse portfolio of projects – from illuminating live concerts to nature sites and buildings throughout Lithuania. Following a difficult 12 months wrangling with the COVID-19 pandemic, Lighting Designer, Arvydas ‘ABlight’ Buinauskas sits down with TPi – virtually – to reflect on the state of play regarding live events in the region and his optimism for 2021.

scenography and the lighting plan of a 360° stage. It was a difficult task because I had only a month to think of an idea, design it and even program the lights. However, in the end, it was by far the largest and the most massive event that ABLight played a leading role.”

What separates ABLight from other companies in Lithuania?

“It is the principle that an event does not simply require lighting and sound equipment. ABLight sees every event as an opportunity to tell a different story. We work really hard to find solutions for new projects – it is never about the quantity of equipment. We discover subtle ways for everything to work as a whole. Everything on stage or in our specified scenography has its purpose.”

When was ABLight formed and how many people are a part of the organisation?

“In 2014, I was working as a light designer and I had an idea to start creating custom lighting projects for events. Soon, the name ABLight was created and it helped to accelerate a substantial growth for the future. From that moment on, I have created exceptional projects for concerts, festivals, operas, theatre and even for architectural lighting projects using the guise, ABLight.”

What services does ABLight provide for the live events sector?

“As a design studio, we create custom scenography and lighting projects for different types of events. As the head of ABLight and the primary designer, I often curate a plan of what the project will look like. Afterwards, I program the lighting equipment to fulfil the brief and concept of the scenography.”

Do you have any preference on what type of show you design lighting for?

“Before the COVID-19 pandemic, I was mostly hired by musicians and their solo concerts in different venues. 2019 was our busiest year to date, having worked on most of the concerts held in Žalgirio Arena with some of the biggest performing artists and music acts in Lithuania. I create a story using the music of an artist. It starts slow as a rising wave and ends in a spectacular show that combines music with lighting. It is a sacred bond that has a sole goal to emphasise emotions for the audience.”

What have been some of the biggest live music projects you have worked on over the years?

“Without a doubt, I would say the Okean Elzy solo concert in Ukraine that had an attendance of almost 100,000 people. I was hired to create the

How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected ABLight and the wider events sector in Lithuania?

“It is no surprise that COVID-19 has affected the industry the world over.

Lithuania is no exception. Thankfully, we have not lost the opportunity to 16

LOCKDOWN Q&A: ABLIGHT

continue working. It is most likely because of the philosophy of how this team sees the event industry and every single event as a separate opportunity to create something unique that led to interesting projects even during the COVID-19 pandemic.

While it is not permitted to organise large-scale events that attract thousands of attendees at any one time, different cities around Lithuania are beginning to organise lighting projects for their buildings and nature sites for all different occasions and national holidays. During the COVID-19 pandemic, ABLight has, thankfully, shared the opportunity to light up the castle of Trakai, the hills of Kernavė, the town hall square in Kaunas, Gediminas castle tower in Vilnius, the theatre square in Klaipėda, the baroque style church in Tytuvėnai, and the newly built church in Vilnius Pilaitė district, among other landmarks in the country.

What’s next for you and the team at ABLight?

“It is quite exciting to see what happens in 2021. We are having discussions with the National opera house of Lviv for a new ballet premier. Of course, there are new projects waiting in Lithuania.

At this time ABLight is planning and searching for partners to organise lighting festivals in different parts of Lithuania.”

How do you believe the events industry will recover as we move through this year?

“It is difficult to say. Although it is the same virus that is spreading around the world, the situation in every country is different. All we can hope for is that the vaccination process will accelerate and it will help us to get back to normal. This is something that ABLight wishes for everyone around the world.”

TPi Photos: Ignas Avižinis & Rūta Verseckaitė www.arvydasbuinauskas.com

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EVENT FOCUS

BLACKMAGIC POWERS PGL TOURNAMENTS PGL invests in a series of Blackmagic Design PPU to support its international esports schedule.

Considered as one of Europe’s biggest esports companies in the live events sector, PGL has recently invested in four custom flyaway kits, built around Blackmagic Design URSA Mini Pro G2 4.6K cameras and ATEM Constellation 8K, to support its global esports events schedule.

PGL delivers big screen, livestream and broadcast content for its range of international esports tournaments, including the 2021 Singapore Major, the first offline Dota 2 Major since the start of the pandemic.

PGL’s 2021 schedule will be a hybrid of online and offline events, as restrictions lift. With such a varied and complex schedule, the team needed a robust, modular live production solution that could deliver the highquality, multilayered esports content that PGL’s audiences expect, whether taking place online or in a venue.

“The bar for esports production is raised with every tournament; people want to see new features at every event, and we strive to create memorable

live experiences for our fans,” explained PGL CEO, Silviu Stroie. “The global pandemic meant that we had to rethink how to deliver a balance of exciting entertainment formats with incredible video quality, whether that be the gameplay or the players and casters in action. We’ve always put our trust in Blackmagic Design to help us maintain our reputation as innovators in the esports arena, and this was true throughout the 2020 restrictions.”

The four identical kits form the foundation layer for PGL’s live productions, with bespoke playout and graphics packages devised for each specific tournament.

“All of the kits are based around a fleet of URSA Mini Pro 4.6K G2 cameras with B4 mounts for a range of broadcast box lenses. The live content is captured in 4K at 59.94fps, so that all of our PGM feeds are consistent and of broadcast grade quality,” Stroie continued. Each kit allows for SDI and fibre connectivity, with all cameras controlled from the 18

BLACKMAGIC DESIGN

production gallery through an ATEM Camera Control panel. The ATEM Constellation 8K is an integral component for creating PGL’s visual identity that audiences have come to expect from the franchise’s tournaments.

“Our success rides on our commitment to the beauty of competitive gaming, so we need intuitive and flexible production desks that allow us to create seamless coverage that brings audiences into the game alongside competitors,” Stroie explained.

“With this new workflow and approach, we can create even more compelling stories around our tournaments, drawing on live gameplay,

as well as player reactions to events as they unfold around them,” he concluded. “When we combine this with our real time graphics, analytics, reactions and slow motion replays, as well as unique event production features, we’re able to cement our reputation as one of the best production teams in the world.”

TPi Photos: Blackmagic Design www.pglesports.com www.blackmagicdesign.com

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BRITISH MUSIC EMBASSY: SXSW ONLINE 2021 The British Music Embassy provides a COVID-19 secure platform for 35 breakthrough acts to showcase their talent with UK-only production and equipment at Production Park Studios as part of SXSW Online 2021. TPi’s Jacob Waite reports…

PRODUCTION PROFILE

BRITISH MUSIC EMBASSY: SXSW ONLINE 2021

Since 2009, The British Music Embassy has transformed a corner of Austin, Texas, into a platform for burgeoning UK artists to travel overseas and perform in front of key figures and decision makers from the music industry as part of the annual South by Southwest (SXSW) arts schedule. With the COVID-19 pandemic rendering in-person proceedings impossible, Production Park, Backstage Academy students, Subfrantic and Wild Stag Studio joined forces to curate a virtual solution harnessing UK-only production and equipment as part of SXSW Online 2021.

The British Music Embassy is supported by AIM, BBC, BPI, the Department for International Trade, PPL, PRS for Music and PRS Foundation, with further support from ATC, media partner DIY Magazine and Belfast City Council.

“For our supporters, the output of British live music is fundamental,” said Production Manager, Ant Forbes. “British Music Embassy is the ideal platform for burgeoning UK artists to travel overseas and perform in front of international bookers, agents and talent managers, and prove their metal.”

Forbes began working for Production Park in 2016 as part of Cato Music.

“We had been running BME stage since 2012, taking over a local venue in Austin, bumping up production value and creating a space for British artists to perform,” he reflected. “However, when COVID-19 struck and SXSW was cancelled at short notice last year, we put together a behind-closed-doors event in London at Production Park’s The Mill Studio [see TPi #248]. This year, however, we’ve curated a full, bona fide BME stage in old Blighty instead of sunny Texas.”

This year’s British Music Embassy was originally scheduled for the latter stages of 2020, edited in time for a March airing. However, with the various COVID-19 outbreaks, the deadline was pushed back. The resulting showcase was shot over three days at Production Park’s The Mill Studio in London and a day at Studio 001 in Wakefield, during the final weekend of

January. As PM, Forbes’ remit was to advance proceedings and organise the tech, crew, transport and any exotic requests from 35 artists. He drafted the initial concept before enlisting the support of Production Park, Subfrantic and Wild Stag Studio to fine tune and make the showcase a reality.

“My biggest challenge was having 30 days to pull all the pieces together,” he conceded. “Thankfully, we were gifted with the fantastic space, resources and facilities by our supporters and in both Production Park Studios, which contributed to making this the best iteration of BME yet – employing more production than we typically roll out in Austin.”

Opting for a broadcast setup, akin to Later... with Jools Holland, the stage was made up of four circular risers, a centre circle flown lighting truss and curved video wall backdrop. “We deployed the same setup for both studios, barring a refinement of the operating and tech areas due to size,” Forbes reported. “However, from a broadcast perspective, it was identical.”

In line with the circular risers, the team wanted to incorporate a ‘disco’ aesthetic. “In Texas, we have this large, neon British Music Embassy sign.

Each year, it gets taken and stuck on the wall, as a neon beacon of good music in Austin,” Forbes said. “After an informal Zoom chat, we decided to replicate the neon sign using LED pixel strips because they’re so versatile and cost-effective.”

Along with Subfrantic and Lighting Designer, Graham Roberts, the team deployed LED pixel strips around the perimeter of each of the risers – emitting red, white and blue neon hues. “We had enough left over for the downstage edge, stage left and right, and stage edge. Although it was an afterthought, simply including the LED pixel strips made the set design feel cohesive – it was the cherry on top,” he enthused.

Forbes believes that the ‘in the round’ format provided Wild Stag Camera Director, Dave Neale and Camera Operators, Sam Morris, Al Pott and Josh Brady the ability to create unique viewpoints for viewers. “British 22

BRITISH MUSIC EMBASSY: SXSW ONLINE 2021

Music Embassy is a showcase for industry insiders, as opposed to a performance solely for live music fans, so we wanted to portray as many angles as possible. The circular set allows more access to view the performing artists in a more inviting and all-encompassing perspective as opposed to a flat edge at the front.”

‘A SHOWCASE FOR INDUSTRY INSIDERS’ The British Music Embassy line-up for SXSW Online 2021 comprised 35 of the UK’s most exciting breakthrough and emerging artists – 404 Guild, Afronaut Zu, Anna B Savage, Baby Queen, Beauty Sleep, Black Country, New Road, Chubby and The Gang, Connie Constance, Do Nothing, Drug Store Romeos, Ego Ella May, Enola Gay, Finn Askew, The Goa Express, IDER, Katy J Pearson, Lau.ra, Lilla Vargen, Matilda Mann, The Mysterines, Nayana IZ, Olivia Dean, Onipa, Penelope Isles, Phoebe Green, Porij, PVA, Ryan McMullan, Sinead O’Brien, Squid, Tayo Sound, TV Priest, Virginia Wing, Walt Disco, and Yard Act. “It was unique to witness each of the acts’ interpretation of the stage and document how each of them made the space their own,” Stage Manager, Sam Wilkinson commented. “Most of the artists weren’t accustomed to performing on circular risers and the level of production value afforded to them.”

Each act performed for 30 minutes with their performance edited down to approximately 14 minutes per artist for the broadcast.

Wilkinson explained that the question the crew were often asked by the performers, was ‘how do I interact with the camera?’ to which, they retorted, ‘whatever makes you feel comfortable’. “Everyone has their own way of interacting with the crowd at the best of times,” he acknowledged. “Let alone in a room full of techies with weapons on their belts!”

Mixing was handled by Burntwood Studio with gear from Natal Drums, Allen & Heath, Ashdown Engineering, Blackstar Amplification and Zildjian Company. An Allen & Heath dLive S3000+DM48 console

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BRITISH MUSIC EMBASSY: SXSW ONLINE 2021

was chosen as the master audio system on monitors split to a dLive C1500+DM for continuity, with 48 mic/line inputs onstage.

Stage monitoring was handled by six L-Acoustics 115 HiQs and six channels of Shure PSM1000 IEMs. While a pair of L-Acoustics KARA line array and SB18 Subs per side were chosen for side fill. A full comprehensive mic pack was provided by Shure. Lighting, power and video was supplied and operated by the BME crew.

Thanks to the supporters involved, the house backline rig comprised a Natal Custom Drum Kit (22/12/14/16f/14sn) and a full set of Natal hardware; Zildjian cymbals; Ashdown ABM-600, ABM-810H and RM-800H amps; Blackstar Artisan 30 2x12 Combo, a HT Stage 100 MkII Head, a S1-104EL34 Head, a HT 20R MkII Combo, and two HTV412B 4x12” cabs; a Nord Electro 4 HP; two Single Tier Keyboard stands; a Double Tier Keyboard stand; a pair of Pioneer CDJ 2000 Nexus 2s and a DJM 900 Nexus 2.

“All of our sponsors and supporters involved in this project chuck a lot of resources in the pot because it’s a worthy initiative for the future of the industry and for us to play our part is important,” Forbes remarked. “The beauty of BME is simply shining a spotlight of the next crop of big-name artists in the UK.” Wild Stag Studio and Ciara McMullan Photography handled filming, while Production Park and Sufrantic provided crew in London and Wakefield, in collaboration with Output Belfast in Northern Ireland.

“We originally planned on loading into Wakefield’s Studio 001 and then into London’s The Mill to reduce costs,” Wilkinson revealed to TPi. “However, with the increasing uncertainty of the global landscape, and with the England netball team taking up residency in Studio 001 in Wakefield, we had to shoot in Wakefield during the final weekend of January. This was an added bonus for Department for International Trade, who wanted representation from the North and South of the UK, as well as Scottish acts in the line-up.”

‘NO TEST, YOU’RE NOT COMING IN’ According to Forbes, Production Park has more experience than most in the country at putting together a COVID-19 secure event. “This is where we come into our own,” he said, walking TPi through the litany of procedures implemented to ensure the safety of the performing artists and the technical production crew.

“With The Mill being a smaller studio, despite COVID-19 restrictions, we have been busy with film and television style shoots, interactive streaming sessions, etc. so the team and I have developed lots of experience with COVID-19 regimes clients have brought in, add to that our own experience when it comes to hosting COVID-19 secure events, we were able to successfully perform over 200 tests over the course of four active show days with no positive test results,” Forbes explained.

“Although it was uncharted ground for some of the participating artists and crew members on site, running a COVID-19 secure environment was second nature to us.”

This involved minimal crossover of personnel, hand sanitisers across the site, frequent sanitation of high-frequency contamination areas, as well as PPE. “It’s not rocket science at all, but if you haven’t done it before, it’s tricky to get it right,” he remarked.

The team enlisted the support of The Event Safety Shop, who brought in medics to provide tests, developed quarantine testing and holding areas, one-way system and airlocks. “We are gifted with space at Production Park Studios because they are designed for hundreds of people to use, so we could create safe zones in the studios.”

Forbes reported that The Event Safety Shop’s COVID-19 Supervisors said the hardest part of their job was turning people away from both sites.

“It was amazing to witness people working around the vicinity of both sites wanting to come in and witness live music. However, given current restrictions, we weren’t able to let them in. It seems like we’ve shifted 24

BRITISH MUSIC EMBASSY: SXSW ONLINE 2021

from ‘your name is not on the list’ to ‘no test, you’re not coming in’.” In fact, testament to the benefits of their newfound surroundings, Wilkinson recalled the typical changeover between artists in Austin is done in a corridor typically used for the public toilets, with a traffic light system conducted by a bit of string by one of the SXSW volunteers, so, devising safety protocols from the comfort of Production Park Studios this year was a “walk in the park”.

On the show days, there was a minimal crossover of performing artists.

“We implemented a ‘factory line’ system,” Wilkinson stated. “Once artists were tested, we could move them safely, efficiently and comfortably through the production process. We also limited the number of performers each night to eight instead of the usual 12, to ensure everyone’s safety.”

Recalling a similar pattern to festival changeover, despite factoring in the cleaning and sanitising of kit of spaces between each act, the team had to leave more space in the running order than usual. “Once tested, the artist would drop their gear into a quarantined area, which the crew would sanitise, along with touch points such as handles, etc and case carrying parts, before bringing them through to artist areas.”

Three dressing rooms, designed not as traditional dressing rooms but more holding areas divided into sections in the main room, allowed the artists to enter safely without touching any doors. Each performer had a set performance time. Following their performance, mic capsules and kit were run through rigorous sanitising processes, with mics subject to sonic sanitising spray. “You can’t put liquid on mic capsules, so we put them into a sonic sanitising chamber for two minutes to eradicate any contamination.”

‘THE DAWN OF A NEW YEAR’ As a primary production partner, the Subfrantic team comprised Sound Engineer, James Kerr; Video Engineer, Alistair Stapleton; Lighting Designer, Graham Roberts; Recorder, Jamie Tinsley; Patcher, Guy Gerrard. “Subfrantic were enormously supportive throughout the entire production process,” Forbes said. “I would have normally thrown more crew at this, however given the impact of the COVID-19 crisis, it was about keeping staff to a minimum. It was a great feeling to give people a decent amount of work, and it was fun to see the excitement on their crew’s face and back to their core values.”

The Production Park team comprised Production Manager, Ant Forbes; Stage Manager, Sam Wilkinson; and Backline, Krystian Joachimiak. With the bonus of additional time and days, British Music Embassy was able to bring along Backstage Academy students, Ryan Bellwood, Kaylee Heckford and Toby Leadbitter, who collaborated on an intern basis.

“Having gone through the same testing regime, all three of the students were amazing and helpful,” Forbes enthused. “For a lot of them, it was their first experience of working on a live show. Backstage Academy prides itself on providing students with real-world experience, however, during this difficult time the opportunities are few and far between, so it was nice to allow them to get hands-on and build contacts on site with crew and bands who they may be touring the world with one day.”

For the wider set of crew and performing artists involved in the British Music Embassy stage at SXSW Online, the showcase marked a ‘new dawn’ following a difficult 12 months. “It was great to start the year with this

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project, with the doom and gloom of 2020 freshly lifted, it felt like the dawn of a new year,” Wilkinson concluded. “BME marked a lot of the artists’ first gig in almost a year. We were honoured to provide them a space to perform and some much-needed work for the crew involved.”

TPi Photos: TyneSight Photographic Services www.sxsw.com www.thebritishmusicembassy.com www.productionpark.co.uk www.subfrantic.com www.wildstagstudio.com www.the-eventsafetyshop.co.uk

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PRODUCTION PROFILE

LINDSAY ELL: #LIVEREDESIGNED A veritable who’s who of events specialists gather both in-person and virtually to create a stunning livestream performance in PRG’s Nashville Digital Studio to highlight the plight of those who work within the sector. TPi’s Stew Hume reports…

When it comes to the livestream format, artists, managers, show designers and technical crew across the globe have had their own approach to the medium. From DIY home setups all the way to high-tech LED studio sets, streamed events certainty exist within a spectrum.

Having watched our fair share of stunning shows over the past 12 months, few have boasted the level of stage production of Lindsay Ell’s #LiveRedesigned show that was broadcast out of PRG’s Digital Studio, Nashville.

The performance began with an opening shot of Ell and her band silhouetted in a field of haze. Then when the first song, Hits Me, kicked in, and the automated lighting rig behind the band began to raise, it felt almost as though we were back in an arena or stadium tour.

It was a level of production that, frankly, has not existed in most virtual productions due to either budget constraints or simply not having the crew available. However, there was a very clear reason why 250 men and women were brought into this production: to shine a light on an industry that had been so drastically affected by the halting of live events – and to raise money for a number of industry-affiliated charities including Crew Nation, The Roadie Clinic, and Music Health Alliance.

Before the stream began, there was even a five-minute segment where crewmembers who worked on the show introduced themselves to the folks at home, truly portraying the sheer volume of talented individuals that go into creating a performance of this scale.

Winding the clocks back on this event, TPi sat down virtually with Fireplay’s Nick Whitehouse and Creative Director William Baker to talk about their approaches to this impressive livestream.

they brought in Lindsay Ell – was to create a show that encapsulated the excitement of a true stage show.

“It was with this goal in mind that I wanted to bring in William,” said Whitehouse. “He has been behind some of the best live shows ever created.

I always point to his work as Show Director for Kylie’s Aphrodite: Les Folies Tour in 2011, which to this day many big names in the industry still point to as their best tour. Will’s approach to the story is unlike anyone else and he really dives into the album and the content to create a show.”

The duo was also keen from the outset to ensure that this show was live rather than pre-recorded. “We didn’t want to film the show and then fix things in post,” stated Whitehouse. “It meant that we had the energy and feel of a live show and I think all the crew had the same type of nerves you would have on opening night.”

With these broad strokes in place, the question of which artist would lead the charge remained. The solution came from streaming and ticketing partner, VYE. “Maggie Seidel-Laws from VYE, who was Executive Producer of this project, had done a show a few months prior where Lindsay was the support and commented how she had worked really well with the virtual crowd,” stated Whitehouse.

VYE was officially launched by Seidel-Laws in March 2020 with its first pay-per-view show airing in July. “Starting in Nashville, we’ve been working out of two streaming studios prior to Lindsay’s stream,” she began. “We’ve hosted events for artists like Jason Aldean, Needtobreath, Hardy, Lauren Alaina, and comedians such as Trey Kennedy, Heather Land and Josh Wolf.”

The VYE Founder went on to sum up her experience of the rise of streaming throughout the pandemic. “In the beginning, everyone assumed that the pandemic would last a month or two and we saw every artist jump on Instagram or Facebook Live. Then we saw a big influx of livestreams go on sale in November and December. Some managers liked the idea of it from the get-go but couldn’t wrap their heads around the best way to promote them and everyone seems to look at the downside rather than

‘STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS’ “I have to admit, many of the livestreams I have seen throughout the year have just seemed like pop videos to me,” began Baker as he discussed how he and Whitehouse’s overarching goal of this project – even before 27

LINDSAY ELL: #LIVEREDESIGNED

the upside – and there are so many upsides… No cap on ticket sales, not to mention you can do a world tour in one night and sell tickets anywhere!”

Speaking specifically about Lindsay Ell’s stream, Seidel-Laws explained how everything came together “pretty quickly”. She continued: “Right before the holidays, Nick and I were discussing the need to show what the industry can do live. We’d all seen some cool livestreams, but there have been very few actually done live – especially with an elevated production aspect to them.”

Another aspect that was key to this project was the need for a virtual crowd. Throughout the show, between songs, audio from the at-home audience cheering could be heard with their video feed displayed on the large rear LED wall. There were even times when Ell picked out some audience members to have a one-on-one conversation.

“I wanted to showcase to the rest of the industry the technology we have in place for virtual crowds that can lead to a fan connection,” stated Seidel-Law. “I also wanted people to see the quality of streaming when it’s done with partners like Brightcove, state-of-the art production equipment and a brilliant crew. It makes all the difference.”

“For our project, we had both the audio and video teams in two separate trucks outside to cut down on the number of people inside the building,” outlined Whitehouse. “Will was overseeing things from his end via FaceTime and simply tuned in along with the virtual crowd once it was showtime. In total, I think it was 65 people on site during show day of the 250 people that made this event a reality.”

Whitehouse’s fellow Fireplay employee, Brian Vaughan, handled lighting design for the show. Like Whitehouse and Baker, Vaughan was keen to use this project as a chance to show “what is really possible in a livestream setting.” He continued: “We wanted to demonstrate that we can still bring the large-scale concert to the small screen and bring the same amount of energy to keep it engaging for the viewers.” With this in mind, the LD explained how it was important to keep the lighting rig “fluid and dynamic”, meaning that the configuration could continue to change throughout the performance. “It needed to be capable of the large looks as well as the broken down small acoustic looks,” he stated.

The rig Vaughan had at his disposal comprised Martin by Harman MAC Viper Profiles, MAC Quantum Washes, Claypaky Sharpy Washes, TMB Solaris Flares, PRG Best Boy Spots and Bad Boys, which were controlled by a pair of MA Lighting grandMA2 lighting consoles.

“The Viper Profiles are a great light for that size of room and offer really nice colour options as well as a nice set of gobos for aerials,” stated Vaughan. “The zoom range on them is one of my favourite things about that light. It can be a tight beam or a huge zoomed-out gobo look and stay consistent across them all. It gives you a lot of options to make the show feel really large without having a tonne of fixtures.”

Like most of those working in the industry, the past year has not given

SETTING THE VIRTUAL STAGE Key to this production’s success was PRG Nashville Digital Studio, which was able to accommodate all the on-site crew not to mention the technical backbone to make the event a reality. The Nashville location is one of the latest PRG Digital Studios which have been designed to produce both pre-recorded and live content to cater for productions of any scale. Along with the ability to livestream, each one of the studios follows the strictest of COVID-19 protocols, with separate control rooms and green room facilities.

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LINDSAY ELL: #LIVEREDESIGNED

Vaughan a great number of opportunities to work on site at a show. “It felt amazing to sit behind a desk again and go back to doing what you love. I think everyone has the jitters of “maybe I forgot how to do this” but it’s like riding a bike. It was amazing to be working as a crew again.”

During the performance, the lighting department had two consoles set up, with Vaughan concentrating on show lighting and Whitehouse watching the monitor and focusing on key lighting, as well as calling the show.

using Fireplay’s Virtual Crowd technology and appeared as an AR halo above the singer.

Capturing the live footage was a state-of-the-art PRG 35LIVE! camera video package. “We used cinematic cameras and lenses, which is how we were able to create a depth of field in the shots that would not have been possible with a standard live camera setup,” said Whitehouse. “It made such a difference being able to shoot on full frame 6K cameras, giving us the possibility to shoot in super low light. It elevated the entire look of the show and stopped it looking like a standard live TV performance.”

Taking on the role of Live Camera Director for the shoot was Pat Tracy, who worked alongside Live Video Switcher, Nate Fountain.

Adding the final pieces to the visual offering was Pyrotecnico. “We’ve worked with Fireplay a number of times for two to three years,” stated VP of Live Events, Rocco Vitale. Having begun the conversation with Fireplay in December, the SFX specialists supplied a number of ground fog machines, along with overhead confetti machines, which produced two effects – a rose petal drop and then a gold mylar drop.

“The show was unbelievable,” he enthused. “We’ve done some livestream work, especially from our LA office, but Nick and his team have done a sensational job pulling this scale of show together. In a positive way, COVID-19 has pushed artists and creatives into this broadcast world and I don’t think they are likely to go away,” he continued. “They give such good visibility for the artist and I’m sure we’ll see more of them in the future.”

Handling all of Pyrotecnico’s kit on site was Jenny Donaldson.

Although the majority of the set comprised a house rig, Gallagher Staging was brought in to provide the plexi top band risers for the shoot.

“Like other production vendors, getting through the shutdown of the live entertainment industry has been tough,” commented Chris ‘Rock’ Glatfelter of Gallagher Staging. “Many of us here in the Nashville shop are former touring personnel and realise the struggle when the work disappears. With a limited staff, we have been fortunate enough to keep the power on and doors open to this point. Any time we have an opportunity

VIDEO WORLD Along with the in-house lighting rig, the studio also offered the Fireplay team a sizable backdrop – namely a ROE CB5 LED wall measuring in at 48ft by 24ft. “The space is huge and can easily support an arena-sized show,” enthused Whitehouse. “All the lighting trusses are automated, which means things can be moved out of the way as and when you need them and allows you to drastically change the visual landscape of the studio.”

While on the topic of LED screens, Whitehouse was keen to complement the work of the content creators, who were able to turn around brandnew content in a two-week time frame. Creatives brought into this project included Tom Colbourne of Blink, Sebastien Grenier-Cartier from Normal Studio, Olivia Sebesky and Kyle Lollis.

“We had amazing feedback, especially from the content creators such as Tom from Blink, who expressed their joy at working within the events space again,” commented Whitehouse. “A lot of us have been doing some corporate work to tide us over, but we love the music shows the most. A few days after Will sent his treatments, Tom sent me a message expressing how much he had missed this type of work.”

Although the visuals of the show looked as though they could have been taken from a live shoot from an arena tour – the creative team was keen to implement some elements that took advantage of the streaming format – specifically, during one of Ell’s songs, which addresses her own experience of sexual abuse. During her performance, video feeds of other survivors from across the globe were beamed into the stream in real time

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LINDSAY ELL: #LIVEREDESIGNED

and are able to help out with events like this that benefit out of work industry staff, it’s a no-brainer.”

Rock went on to express that Gallagher Staging was very appreciative for the opportunity to partner with Fireplay on this project, where the net proceeds were donated to The Roadie Clinic, Music Health Alliance and Live Nations Crew Nation Global Relief – “All of which are doing good things for great people in the industry,” he concluded.

gives a bit more excitement and the band feeds off that, which is only then better for the audience at home.”

Having worked as FOH Engineer for the likes of Bruno Mars, Kenny Chesney and Lady Gaga in the live arena, Audio Engineer Chris Rabold explained how the experience of a livestream compared to that of a live show. “I’ve really enjoyed the shift to broadcast mixing,” he began, explaining how during this time he’d done some work with the PRG team as the A1 mixer for some of their other livestream endeavours.

“I obviously never would have wanted to find myself undertaking this career shift, but for me it was a pretty seamless transition in terms of how I approach a mix. For years, my client base has had me providing broadcast mixes for networks or video creation. More often than not, I’m simply in an advisory role onsite with the broadcast mixers for various TV shows, but it wasn’t wholly unfamiliar territory for me.”

When it came to Rabold’s gear selection, he revealed how it was almost a carbon copy of what he would select for a live concert, from mic selection to plug-ins and hardware – which in this case was a DiGiCo SD7. “PRG was fantastic in putting together a package that worked for us all, so, aside from the elements that were specific to streaming and broadcast, it was business as usual for everyone audio wise.”

Despite feeling confident he could pull off the job, Rabold explained some of the challenges that this style of performance brings. “I see it as twofold,” he began.

“It’s mixing to picture as well as knowing that any little flaws in the mix can no longer be lost in the din of a roaring crowd. The latter is a bit of a crutch that we all know can exist in live sound. Your work is far more exposed and under the microscope in the broadcast world.” However, the Engineer insisted that he likes this aspect of broadcast mixing. “We should be operating at that level of detail anyway and I’d like to think I do. Now, with high-end streaming productions like this one, it’s not just an ideal, it’s quite literally what’s being asked of us as mixers.”

On the subject of adding extra pressure, Rabold also had the task

SOUNDING OUT Overseeing the audio requirements for the show was Stream Audio Mixer Programmer, Chris Rabold; Operator, Kenny Sellars; Monitor Engineer, Lawrence ‘Filet’ Mignogan; with Matt Payne carrying the title of Musical Director. Filet, who is also Technical Audio Project Manager at PRG, spoke about his experience on the project.

“Doing any kind of gig during this time feels great and I’ve been lucky enough to do a variety of shows, many of which were pre-taped,” he began.

“What made this one special – as well as it being a benefit for Crew Nation – was having the online virtual crowd. It definitely added a bit of excitement for everyone, getting to see and know that you weren’t just performing in front of a camera, but that there were actual humans on the other side that you could see grooving to the music and responding in real-time.”

For control, Mignogan used a DiGiCo SD10. In total, he oversaw 16 channels of Shure PSM1000s for the band, backline and techs. The virtual crowds streamed utilised Dante over IP both up and down using Rednet devices to convert to Dante. All the musicians utilised IEMs, forgoing the need for stage wedges.

“At PRG, there is a medium-sized side fill setup, which we turned to act as a small PA for the room,” stated Mignogan. This small PA setup comprised four Meyer LEOPARDs over 900 Subs. “Even though conventional thinking is to have no speakers, giving the cleanest sound for broadcast, when projecting what is supposed to be a live show, I believe you still need to move some air in the room,” expressed Mignogan. “Psychologically, it 30

LINDSAY ELL: #LIVEREDESIGNED

of incorporating the at home audio feeds into the overall mix. “With the inclusion of live audience reaction and interaction, this now becomes part of the show mixer’s real time performance,” he stated.

He also explained that this is where the SD7’s routing capabilities really shined. “The sending and receiving of audio to and from Fireplay’s Virtual Crowd, which is supported by Clair Global’s VLA (virtual live audience) team, was fairly complex,” said Rabold. “It wasn’t an overly high channel count being sent back and forth but keeping it all tidy and bulletproof in its operation took some thinking. There were busses going into multiple matrices going into even more matrices and there’s no room for error in a situation like that. You also have to stay really on top of it with regards to what feed you’re monitoring throughout the show.” He expressed how between the team at Fireplay, PRG and Clair’s experience with VLA, it worked flawlessly.

Despite programming the mix, Rabold could not be on site for show day, handing over the files to Kenny Sellars to take the mix over the finish line – a job that Rabold said he “did with flying colours and to much acclaim”.

To close, Rabold gave his two cents on the livestream format and how he thought Lindsay Ell’s performance measured up. “To me, there are two types of livestreams that are effective; either it’s as bare bones as you can possibly get, shot through an iPhone, or it’s a production on par with this one. All the middle ground attempts in between fall short. I can’t tell you how impressed I was with Lindsay, her band and Matt Payne’s music direction. It was so nice to do what felt like a real gig with so many familiar faces in the various departments. It felt like normality and it felt like home.”

He was keen to pay his respect to Whitehouse and the team from Fireplay for pulling the pieces together. “To see Nick take on this call to arms is a demonstration to all of how we find relevance and adapt with our skill sets when the deck is stacked against us.”

only did the show raise money for various industry-affiliated charities and raise awareness in the general public about the plight of the sector – it also pushed the boundaries of what can be achieved with a livestream and proved why going virtual doesn’t necessarily mean having to sacrifice production values.

“I feel super fortunate to work with Nick and the Fireplay team because they’ve been the answer to my production prayers,” enthused Seidel-Laws.

“One of the biggest takeaways after reading feedback from Lindsay’s fans was everyone saying, ‘this was so amazing, I can’t wait to see you live.’ I’ve been saying confidently that livestreaming will not take away from live sales as nothing will replace live music. However, streaming is a completely new avenue that everyone should fit into their touring plans and I believe it’s going to help promote live shows.”

For Whitehouse, despite demonstrating the outer limits of what could be achieved with a livestream, one of his biggest takeaways from the project was that for a few weeks, he got a number of his fellow crew members back to work.

“The amount of people on site that just said ‘thank you’ was astounding.

Many of the crew expressed how they had almost forgotten why they loved their job and this has given them some hope for the future.”

TPi Photos: Ell Donny Evans @iamdonnyevans & John Shearer @johnshearer www.lindsayell.com www.fireplay.com www.william-baker.com www.vye.live www.prg.com www.clairglobal.com www.gallagherstaging.com www.virtualcrowd.live www.pyrotecnico.com

#LIVEREDESIGNED It is rare to come across a show that ticks so many different boxes. Not 31

PRODUCTION PROFILE

Opposite: MIYAVI; Pyramid3’s David Cihelna; Pyramid3 EP and Creative Director, Dylan Jong; Director, Annie Stoll.

MIYAVI VIRTUAL LEVEL 5.0: SYNTHESIS Japanese rockstar, MIYAVI teams up with Amazon Music to embark on an exclusive free performance broadcast on the Amazon Music app. TPi’s Jacob Waite discovers how the creative team merges ground-breaking technology and artistry to create a unique virtual live performance series…

After premiering on 28 December 2020 on Amazon Music’s Twitch channel, MIYAVI Virtual Level 5.0: Synthesis was re-released on Amazon Music on 26 March, available to stream as individual clips from the show or as a playlist, similar to a visual album. An evolution of the traditional live format, MIYAVI and his creative production team are eager to continue exploring the ways that technology and music coexist to create what may become the future norm for live performances.

Driven by the opportunity to redefine live production around a mindset of sustainability, the creative production team pushed the bounds of collaboration, with almost all of the personnel involved working in tandem from their homes in the United States, Japan, and Italy. For MIYAVI, the show provided an opportunity to speak out on the biggest issues facing the world today.

He stated: “This year, the unprecedented spread of diseases has transformed the global economy we had become comfortable in – as a result, it has become a year for musicians to reconsider the message we convey in our music. Climate change, refugee issues, hunger, poverty, inequality, and pandemic: look around. The world is on fire. How can we deal with the global problems we face? How can we commit to the future of the planet through music and art? There may be a limit to what we can do, but we may find a new way of life by fusing with technology.”

MIYAVI worked in partnership with Director, Annie Stoll; Pyramid3 EP and Creative Director, Dylan Jong; Japanese production companies, Mothership Tokyo and CyberHuman, and American virtual production studio, Pyramid3. The creative concept took place within computergenerated sets developed in Unreal Engine by artist and technologist David Cihelna of Pyramid3, who previously created MIYAVI’s music video, Need For Speed.

“Need for Speed was made entirely in a game engine, so fans expected to be immersed in similar surreal worlds during Virtual Level 5.0: Synthesis with MIYAVI’s signature energy as a performer,” Cihelna said, giving his character assessment of the artist. “MIYAVI can make any room come to life with his unique movements and guitar style. Getting fans together in a single space to watch and share their fandom is always an incredible experience.”

Cihelna handled virtual production and environment design – curating technical direction with the Japanese virtual studio team and directors.

“I worked via the company I founded, Pyramid3, to deliver all the Unreal Engine environments, visual effects, brainwave EEG interpretation with our EEG artist and technical direction,” he clarified.

Having established the design studio at the height of lockdown in early 2020, Pyramid3 is designed to curate remote, international projects. “We’ve actually never been in the same room together. Because we use game engines, much of our production can be done remotely,” Cihelna noted.

“The biggest impact has been the amount of time spent on Zoom or Google Meet – even directing on set is remote, which felt more like an airport control room than a physical production.”

Cihelna believes connectivity tools we use today – from Slack to Zoom – were built for a world prior to the outbreak of COVID-19, as a tool for remote meetings, as opposed to an alternative to in-person work. “As such, they lack spontaneity and don’t integrate into the way we work at all,” he said.

“We spent a lot of time sharing screens while working and allowing various members to remote-control screens to solve small issues like picking specific colours.”

Alternating timezones added another layer of complexity to proceedings. “The livestream lasted until early morning US Pacific time. By the end of the project, everyone on the team was used to working across 35

MIYAVI VIRTUAL LEVEL 5.0: SYNTHESIS

cultures and countries, which made things a lot easier,” he remarked. “Most constraints in this type of production come in the form of timeline, it’s important to note that the more time you have, the more you can test out new innovations in performance styles and methods.”

The event ran in Unreal Engine in real-time above 24fps on set. A virtual studio in Japan featured MIYAVI on a green screen set with three A, B and C Blackmagic Micro Studio 4K cameras and stage lighting that matched the team’s project in Unreal Engine 5.24. “We received an accurate 1:1 3D scan of the studio space beforehand and built our environments with it in mind. This meant we knew exactly where trusses existed in real life and could place virtual lights in the right positions,” Cihelna explained. “Miyavi was keyed and tracked in real-time on set and the two images composited together in real-time then fed into Twitch as a standard livestream.”

The event was based entirely around Unreal Engine in two pieces: the virtual “sets” and live production – both rendered in real-time like a video game. The sets were built in Unreal Engine as a game level. “We had scouting sessions to pick suitable spots for MIYAVI and tested out different camera positions, colour and environments before reaching the studio,” Cihelna recalled, explaining that there were 12 different prototype environments before reaching the final select few.

The second step involved a custom build of Unreal Engine by Zero Density called ‘Reality Engine’. “Since both are built on the same version of Unreal, we could easily switch between the on-set version and release version to update sets on demand,” he said. “The studio in Japan used Reality Engine to track blend virtual and real sets – from real-time camera tracking, light matching, to keying MIYAVI on a green-screen stage.”

Every scene and element in the engine needed to be performance optimised to account for the rendering, VFX, post-processing, keying, camera tracking and compositing all done in real-time.

“We initially set out to use ray tracing in Unreal Engine to improve render quality. After some initial tests, we discovered that we needed way more computing power than we had available at the time. I think it’s

definitely possible with some of the newer GPUs and CPUs that just came out, so we’re looking forward to using them next time,” he explained.

While a virtual audience doesn’t replace the energy and excitement of a ‘traditional’ live event, the possibilities available to clients in order to create a bespoke interactive experience are improving each day. “I think younger audiences and fans are just as excited about virtual interactive and livestream events as they are ‘traditional’ live events,” Cihelna theorised.

“Interactive performances are a great way to stimulate our imaginations and find new ways to provide fans with unique digital moments and connections. Sharing events like this one is critical in a time when people yearn for social connection.”

Cihelna believes that growing up with instant messaging, video games and endless virtual content means that the lines between in-person and online are completely blurred. Chats on Twitch are just as filled with energy and life as crowds at festivals and concerts.

“The biggest realisation clients can make in this era is that they aren’t constrained by physical limitations when doing virtual events – anything is possible. Want your artist to float around a giant moonscape while fans from around the world are joining to watch on TikTok? Sure! That opens up an entire new world of interactivity, fun and social engagement – worlds we’ve never seen before in live entertainment,” he added. “This space is more exciting than ever and we’re just starting to scratch the surface of what can be created.”

‘MUSIC CONNECTS US BEYOND TIME, SPACE, LANGUAGE AND EXPERIENCE’ “We developed the concept of the show around MIYAVI’s wish to highlight the urgency of climate change and worked with MIYAVI to create a setlist and corresponding visual worlds that take him through a narrative beginning in an apocalyptic burning city, a solitary reckoning, internal transformation, and then outward healing,” Stoll and Jong explained.

All of this was created without the entire team being in the same location. “I was on the East Coast and everyone else was West Coast or 36

MIYAVI VIRTUAL LEVEL 5.0: SYNTHESIS

Japan, so I operated on Japanese time for a week in order to be on call for all the rehearsals and the event itself,” Stoll reported. “The project was a great creative challenge, which the entire team embraced. I think we need constraints as they help us to solve problems and be creative beyond our limits. This leads to innovation.”

Jong’s biggest challenge was the sheer number of moving parts, as well as a new workflow for the creative team and the artist. “There were voices from the client end at Amazon, MIYAVI and his label, our producers at Mothership, the team at Cyberhuman Studios where the physical production took place, our team at Pyramid3 who handled the virtual art department, sound and music, and language, time and geographical barriers to boot,” he recalled. “We had to get everyone on the same page for every step, and Mothership handled it like champs. Needless to say, there were a lot of weekly late night video calls!”

Despite the litany of logistical challenges, the directorial duo believe that it is integral to create interactive performances and keep music alive during this difficult time. “Music connects us beyond time, space, language, and experience. We need to be connected to each other now more than ever – the virtual world allows us to remain connected in new ways and stay safe during the pandemic. Music also gives us a lot of comfort and inspiration and during these times, that’s a lot,” Stoll explained.

“My favourite moment of this project was witnessing the fans interact with MIYAVI and engage and embrace the technology. It was really inspiring to see cross cultural teams working together around the world to connect music with fans. I hope that we all keep learning and evolving as the technology progresses.”

Jong, who has plans to make a webGL virtual album listening experience and make some progress on a vinyl art project amid the lockdown, added: “Artists and clients have been more receptive to new ideas and virtual mediums during this time, and the adaptability and resilience is inspiring.”

Stoll and Jong also collaborated with EEG artist Bora Aydıntuğ to collect and interpret MIYAVI’s brain waves while he meditated on the future of the world. These visualised brain waves appear during the performance, where MIYAVI calls upon his fans to join him in healing the world with their united wills. By creating space for this conversation within an interactive medium, the performance highlights the ability of humans to empower

each other to take actions within our community that can expand into a worldwide movement. “As professionals, we can sometimes get too caught up in execution, camera movements, colour, transitions, et cetera, and it’s always a wonder to see the final piece come together through the eyes of the fans,” Jong commented. “I was thrilled to be able to bring on Bora, the EEG artist who we collaborated with to interpret MIYAVI’s brain waves.”

Cihelna was equally excited by the integration of EEG brainwaves into the live performance. “It took a lot of R&D to figure out how to turn raw brain waves into usable data in 3D space, but we developed a method using formulas that turn the raw data into animation data that ultimately controlled a particle system in Unreal Engine. The result looked great and brought with it an intriguing story and conceptual exploration.”

‘CONCEPTUAL EXPLORATION’ As Founder and Technical Director of Pyramid3, Cihelna strives to push artists and clients into using up-and-coming technologies to create new experiences for their fanbase. “We’re going to continue to work on projects that blend virtual and real using game engines, machine learning, DIY motion capture and more.”

Having successfully merged ground-breaking technology and music to create a virtual live performance series, Cihelna is confident that the skills and expertise pioneered in this project will be harnessed in the future, even when shows can return to the masses.

“I don’t think this type of performance will stop when in-person events return. I think the market will boom over the next 10 years. The benefit is both creative and market – you can design any world or interaction you like but can also get anyone around the world to join in at any time,” he said, noting the expansion of the market for live shows, providing access to fans in all corners of the globe.

“We’d love to bring more interaction into the performance by bringing game mechanics into the show – rather than live-streaming video, we could create an actual multiplayer game for the events that fans can join as players or characters.”

TPi Photos: Nagisa Kamiya www.myv382tokyo.com www.pyramid3.studio 37

SYDNEY GAY AND LESBIAN MARDI GRAS PARADE Sydney Cricket Ground welcomes over 35,000 revellers – roughly 75% of the venue’s capacity – for the 43rd annual Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade with Rita Ora among the international headline performers at the COVID-19 secure event.

TPi’s Jacob Waite reports...

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SYDNEY GAY AND LESBIAN MARDI GRAS

Taking place at Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) on 6 March 2021 as a COVID-19 secure alternative to the event’s traditional Oxford Street party, organisers of Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade embarked on an unprecedented live broadcast event, attended by 35,000 Australian partygoers – roughly 75% of the venue’s capacity – marking one of the largest stadium events the world has witnessed following the the COVID-19 pandemic. Tasked with supplying lighting design and overall production, Mandylights sat down with TPi – virtually – to reflect on the landmark event.

Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras festival runs for a month each year, with the curtain call of the event usually coming in the form of a parade which travels through Oxford Street – considered the gay district of Sydney – closing with a large-scale Mardi Gras party, which usually takes place in multiple venues around the SCG site.

“Last year’s party was actually Sydney’s last large event before COVID-19 shut everything down,” Lighting Designer and Owner of Mandylights, Richard Neville informed TPi. “The party typically attracts around 20,000 people, while the parade features upwards of a couple of hundred thousand in the city.”

This year, given the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on communal gatherings, an in-person party was off the cards, despite the proactive response of the nation to the crisis. “The parade is 43 years old and has become a fabled tradition in Sydney – you grab a milk crate and stand shoulder to shoulder with the community. However, that was no longer possible with COVID-19,” he said.

The result was a stadium spectacular, with 600m of parade area, two stages for artists to cavort and thousands of revellers turning out for

Sydney’s first-ever COVID-19 adapted Mardi Gras Parade. “The Mardi Gras organisation set out to take the best bits of the parade and the party and bring them together at Sydney Cricket Ground, all while retaining the community element of the parade,” Neville explained. “With the COVID-19 restrictions changing by the week, we thankfully ended up with a 75% capacity of the venue, which saw over 35,000 people come together to celebrate. It was somewhat an alien experience after a year in exile.”

Having lit the party for the past 16 years, Mandylights was chosen to supply lighting design and overall production to the entire parade this time around. “I worked closely with the creative team, broadcast team and organisers, to curate the aesthetics of the stadium environment,” Neville commented. “Sydney Cricket Ground is a great venue because of its history and size. However, it isn’t the best venue in a technical capacity.”

Built over a century ago, Neville explained that the stadium featured no rigging positions. “Every centimetre of the turf in the SCG is hallowed ground. There are certain areas in the centre of the pitch where we were simply unable to put any lights,” he said, recalling the “holistic” approach to lighting, with each piece of kit, from broadcast to live, operating symbiotically. “Our limited budget forced collaboration and it was a unique environment for everybody involved.”

‘A LEAP OF FAITH’ Jumping from a corner of Oxford Street to an entire stadium was a leap faith for those involved. “It was an interesting design process. We understood that due to budget restrictions, our lighting design was always going to be considered as an overlay instead of a ceremony-style lighting design,” Neville acknowledged. “We ran the stadium lights at their lowest 40

SYDNEY GAY AND LESBIAN MARDI GRAS

setting (‘training level’), which gave us enough white light to satisfy the broadcast. Additional moving lights were added on top of that to make everything else look huge, with tonnes of eye candy looks.”

Capturing the enormity of the broadcast were a litany of spider and steady cameras on the field. “We needed to create ‘big looks’, allowing the broadcast team to shoot from a range of angles.”

Mandylights collaborated with the venue to present a mixture of varied existing field of play lights and a cohesive lighting overlay, having been granted permission to block out banks of seats in the stadium. “We created 30 lighting positions in the audience, which was the first time, apart from a U2 concert, the stadium had brought in external lighting,” Neville said. “The venue staff were really receptive to the idea and greeted our plans with enthusiasm.”

Mandylights employed over 100 mBeam IP-rated beam fixtures, 50 mFlood 2.9 and 8° long-throw dual cell LED floods and around 150 Hex LED pars floods in addition to stage effect lighting, atmospherics and followspots for the lighting overlay. Control was provided by two MA Lighting grandMA3 consoles and PRG MBox media servers, with data driven around the stadium by the company’s proprietary outdoor DMX nodes.

Additional Robert Juliat followspots, JEM fog machines and MDG hazers helped set the scene.

Norwest Productions deployed an L-Acoustics K2 system for this year’s Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, with ARCS and SB18m combos on the grass, to sound out the celebration.

Over 20 members of Mandylights were on site manning lighting design, programming, overlay, pre-visualisation and production elements of the event. “We’ve been operating at full capacity since November in Australia,

which has been amazing for the team. To be back to doing what we love, curating live experiences and trucks leaving the office was an emotional experience,” Neville stated. “I believe this event was probably one of the largest events and one of the first few stadium gigs post COVID-19.”

Colourful and flamboyant floats are the cornerstone of every Mardi Gras Parade, however, this year floatists were limited to pushables. “People got really creative with what they could push. Each float was wheeled into the ground, lapped the perimeter of the cricket ground and then crossed the centre of the field. Once they hit the runway, as lighting designers, we were able to adapt the lighting look and feel of each float on the fly.”

Almost 150 floats took to the floor over the course of four hours along with musical performances. Neville recalled the ‘intense’ show call: “All of the lighting cues were attached to the floats, so we had to constantly switch between the two, like a game of cat and mouse – between lighting the broadcast and satisfying 35,000 people to seamlessly switch into headline performances and parade lighting.”

Key to Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade’s success was its ability to acknowledge and implement strict social distancing in the venue.

“The parade floats were marshalled into designated pens, which, in theory, accounted for no cross contamination.”

A safety margin between the first four rows of audience members was also created, allowing attendees to socially distance between parade groups. “As a production team, we minimised contact during the load in, load out, and build. At the time of the event, we were already over 40 days without a COVID-19 case in New South Wales, so the restrictions we implemented on site were more precautionary than necessary,” Neville stated. “If Mardi Gras, as a community organisation can do it, then this 41

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should be used as a template for how our industry can bounce back as we slowly begin to ease out of restrictions globally.”

Looking forward to what 2021 has in store, Scott recalled the process as an “ever moving target”, with productions being pencilled in and shortly rescheduled all the time. “I’m keeping hopes high for more industry normality nearing the second half of the year,” he concluded. “Fingers crossed!”

Despite the event being typically free of charge, tickets to the event were priced between $10 and $20 each to allow organisers to produce a stadium event. “Mardi Gras is an LGBTQI+ organisation and one of the most important things about why the parade had to go ahead this year was the thousands of kids each year who attend the parade and discover themselves, their identities and their communities at this event.”

Around 800 out of the 35,000 tickets were given to people who were able to call anonymously and gain access to free tickets to the event without fear of reprisal, by having to use their parents’ credit card. “Mardi Gras Parade is a perfect example of how to provide an experience and environment for inclusivity and diversity, which cuts deeper than any other live entertainment output. It’s so important that we can provide a space which isn’t online for communities to communicate. That’s why it was a privilege to be involved and it makes it all the sleepless nights worth it.”

Neville believes that while the situation is much rosier in Australia, Mandylights is starting to see pockets of positivity for UK operations, and the world at large. “The event was a tremendous success for both the live and broadcast audiences, melding the best of the Mardi Gras parade and party together to create an amazing experience. Thanks as always to Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras and their fantastic team; we’ve worked on the parade, party and other events for nearly 20 years and we love the opportunity to innovate and create memorable experiences with them.”

TPi Photos: Anna Kucera and Rocket Weijers www.mardigras.org.au www.mandylights.com www.suluko.com

‘AN ENVIRONMENT FOR INCLUSIVITY’ As well as spotlighting local talent, the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade featured a headline appearance from Rita Ora. “The idea of having an international artist at the moment was novel,” Neville remarked.

Rita Ora’s Production Manager, Sam Savile, enlisted the support of Creative Director, Beki Mari and Lighting Designer, James Scott for the set.

Travel restrictions and quarantine periods resulted in Rita’s core team having to work remotely to deliver this headline show. “My brief was to work with Mandylights, using their design and deliver a fully timecoded showfile for a local operator to run,” Scott said, picking up the story. “I was really pleased to be involved in a truly live show again.”

Mandylights provided Scott with a fully patched MA showfile and a “perfectly drawn” 3D Syncronorm Depence² file as a head start in the programming process. “We had a functional design to work with from Mandylights, to which we added a few extra floor beams and introduced Astera Titan Tubes to be part of the choreography,” Scott recalled.

Fully custom content created for the stadium-wide LED screens was produced by Tom Hodgkinson at SHOP. “Out of the four tracks Rita performed, we used a restrained colour palette for the first three tracks, as a crescendo to the final song, Anywhere, which closed the show with a full rainbow palette and the addition of confetti,” Scott said.

The LD trusted local Lighting Operator, Tom Wright to run the show, despite only having met him via Zoom. “We got him involved quite early, so he could be across all aspects of the show as he’d be our man on the ground when it came to running the lighting and video for our set,” Scott explained.

“Tom was suggested to me via a few industry friends, who had needed an Australian-based operator in the past. He is also known to Mandylights, so it felt like a perfect solution for Rita’s show.”

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UNREAL ENGINE Having made serious inroads into the live events industry throughout 2020, Unreal Engine’s Ben Lumsden and Patrick Wambold have a bold vision for the company’s future in live entertainment. TPi’s Stew Hume reports…

Prior to COVID-19 and the hiatus on live touring, Unreal Engine was already a name that TPi were very familiar with, although usually only in the context of the real-time rendering options the system offered for content creators on live tours. However, since March last year, Epic Games’ technology has been mentioned in our pages for a number of other functions. From its use within the world of XR studios to fully virtual performances within Fortnite, Unreal Engine is making serious inroads into the live events sector. So, as we enter the second quarter of 2021, TPi thought it was only right to speak to some of those within the organisation that are actively involved in shaping what the future of live events may look like.

“Tim Sweeney, our Founder and CEO, has stated on the record that he wants to build the Metaverse,” began Ben Lumsden, Business Development Lead for Media and Entertainment, who joined TPi virtually from London, with Patrick Wambold, Solutions Architect, also calling in from the US.

“This is not just Tim’s wish, but it is our overall goal as a company. To get to a place where the virtual and real experience can mesh together seamlessly.”

With concerts and large gatherings becoming impossible for over 12 months, it is not so surprising that Unreal has really carved out a niche for creating online worlds to simulate the live experience. Early on in the pandemic, the company made headlines with Travis Scott’s in-game performance in Fortnite, then in summer last year, the company’s engine was used to recreate Tomorrowland.

Yet, while the platform has been at the heart of creating spaces for fans to continue to enjoy live music, these temporary alternatives to live events are just the start of the company’s plan for the future.

“For a long time, before COVID-19, we’d already been developing the tools and solutions for this sector,” explained Lumsden, who noted DMX integration with Unreal as a prime example. “We knew if we were to be 43

UNREAL ENGINE

Unreal Engine’s Ben Lumsden and Patrick Wambold.

embraced by the events sector, we needed to make the system operational with a lighting console so that the fixtures that exist in the virtual world would operate in the same way as they would in a rig.”

In Unreal Engine 4.25, the company introduced its initial support for connecting the engine to external controllers and devices that use the DMX protocol. Since the release, Epic has been working with a number of end users including multimedia studio Moment Factory to further improve Unreal’s new DMX plug-in.

The company has also been working with a number of other parties to push the DMX integration, such as James Simpson of Copper Candle. The company’s plug-in provides creative manipulation of objects and actors via a DMX lighting desk.

“With our protocol via DMX we have been able to control 70 objects within Unreal Engine,” explained Simpson in a separate phone call.

“There is no reason you couldn’t be operating thousands of objects.

This is so important because an entire industry, currently out of work but who understand the process of programming a lighting desk and cuing, can now put their skills into Unreal without even having to know how to use the Engine.”

“Along with looking for a tool for end users, more recently we have also begun to employ people like Patrick [Wambold], who have an events background to aid Unreal as we move into this sector,” stated Lumsden.

Wambold had been working in the live events and broadcast industry for the past 15 years, having worn a number of hats including automated lighting programmer, media server specialist, production manager, and content producer, and is one of a number of new faces at Epic to help bridge the gap.

“One of our main focuses when it comes to live events and Unreal is to make everything very familiar,” began Wambold, describing how he and the team were attempting to bridge the gap between live production crews who, especially now, are working in a virtual environment.

“COVID-19 hit so fast and suddenly many people in the industry were out of a job. The last thing we at Epic would want to do is now ask someone to become an expert in our system because, frankly, that is a huge task.

However, we can provide the tool that makes it a familiar environment for LDs, where they are able to manipulate a digital rig in the same way they would in real life.”

What was clear however during our chat with team Unreal, was that they foresee the system being much more integrated into the live events environment than just a one-off tool to create a virtual concert.

“What’s always perplexed me is when a tour will go through three or more stages in the design process using different software tools to reach the final vision. The design created for the pitch concept is often discarded and redrawn for previs in CAD, Vectorworks, or Wysiwig, which then has to be converted when additional versions are built for media servers, Unreal, etc. That’s too much unnecessary duplication of work,” stated Wambold.

“What I propose is to do your previs work using Unreal so that the content for the show can live on in a number of different formats.”

Last year, Creative Works used Unreal Engine to create a digital music video for The Dead Daisies’ Bustle And Flow, took the assets from the video and created a bespoke first-person shooter called Daisy’s Revenge.

“I’d been looking at real-time rendering for a long time with the idea that it could really improve the service to our clients,” stated Dan Potter of Creative Works. “Working with bands like Guns N’ Roses in the arena setting helps to improve our knowledge of Unreal’s real-time rendering. From there we have really specialised in creating the hyper visuals that can then be reused in any format.”

Potter went on to explain how doing all the foundation work of visual creation made the move into the gaming world for The Dead Daisies project seamless. “We were still managing the visuals but just collaborating with different artists to help us execute the ideas for the game,” he stated Lumsden added that using Unreal as a previs tool also meant that artist 44

UNREAL ENGINE

EN W

Motor LPML250 lifting capacity 500 kg self weight 12 kg

and management would be able to jump into the virtual space and replicate the design of an upcoming tour to give final notes and suggest tweaks without the need for a powerful computer or expensive previs software and changes could be made from the designs in real time.

“We already have a number of clients from the EDM world especially who have embraced this workflow,” he enthused.

Prior to this point in our chat, many of the examples the Unreal team had discussed were projects that existed purely in a digital realm, but Lumsden explained how some Unreal users had already begun to embrace a hybrid style performance – specifically the Royal Shakespeare Company’s latest adaptation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream titled simply, Dream.

The online event had actors in a state-of-the-art studio having their movements captured, which were then translated into the virtual world, watched by an enraptured global audience.

To close, TPi asked both Wambold and Lumsden, what role will Unreal Engine play within the events sphere in the next 12 months?

“One recurring comment I always hear from clients is there is never enough time when building a show,” mused Wambold. “I think Unreal’s ability to work collaboratively on a virtual session, in real time is almost the holy grail of show design.”

Agreeing with Wambold, Lumsden furthered how Unreal’s roadmap into this space means, “things will only get better”. He explained how collaborations with the likes of disguise have helped secure Unreal’s place in the market. disguise recently announced new features for its Extended Reality (xR) software, an upgrade which enhances its integration of Unreal Engine and addressed the continued demand for immersive content of the highest quality, detail and frame rate across xR and Virtual Production.

All we can say from TPi’s perspective is that it’s exciting to see how Unreal Engine’s wealth of knowledge from the gaming world will manifest in the performances of the future – both live and virtual.

Game on!

TPi Photos: Unreal Engine www.unrealengine.com

Motor LPL500

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45

INTERVIEW

SWAPCARD As the platform of choice for SXSW Online and 1,500 other virtual events since the pandemic, Swapcard CEO, Baptiste Boulard sits down with TPi Editor, Stew Hume – screen to screen – to recall the trials and tribulations of becoming the industry’s ‘go-to’ virtual event space…

Launched back in 2014, Swapcard’s initial goal was to create a digital alternative to trading business cards at events and, in short, provide a more efficient way of exchanging personal information and connecting with attendees. Through years of trial and error, the French start-up has continued to hone the Swapcard platform with increased functionality including the ability to showcase content, book meetings and host virtual roundtables. With in-person live events no longer possible in 2020, Swapcard found itself as the ‘go-to’ solution for live events in the COVID-19 era.

Since March 2020, the company has hosted 2,000 virtual events within a number of B2B and B2C sectors, including TPi’s Production Futures Online, NAMM 2021 and more recently, SXSW Online 2021. “Before last year, we had

never done a purely virtual event,” stated CEO, Baptiste Boulard, speaking to TPi from Swapcard’s Parisian HQ. “Our goal prior to March last year was to provide solutions for more efficient networking at events.”

Since then, demand has grown exponentially, with the company producing 1,500 virtual events in five months, with 5,000 new events scheduled to take place on Swapcard this year alone. This growth has meant the Swapcard team has also grown exponentially, from 40 to 130 employees.

“We are in the midst of employing a further 80 people as we speak,” Boulard remarked.

New employees are placed strategically across the globe – no mean feat in the midst of a pandemic – to offer global support regardless of time 46

SWAPCARD

Opposite: Swapcard CEO, Baptiste Boulard.

zone. Having been picked by a number of high-profile event organisers as an alternative to postponement and cancellation, TPi asked Boulard why he believes his platform has proved so popular.

“When it comes to virtual events, everyone is going through the same challenges,” stated the CEO. “We have really focussed on our UI. Swapcard is a product that was originally made for the end user, not the organiser, so UI and UX are very important to create engagement.”

This focus on the attendees has helped Swapcard winning many clients as many other competitors focus on the organiser’s experience which, as the CEO stated, doesn’t necessarily lead to the best experience for those attending the event and struggle to achieve high engagement. While Swapcard offers an elegant solution, the question remains as to where the platform will exist in a post-COVID world.

“The conversation of the hybrid event is something that we are constantly discussing here at Swapcard,” stated Boulard. “Hybrid is the future and we have already gathered that 70% of organisers are planning on only producing these types of events in the future as opposed to solely in-person events.”

Take SXSW Online, for example. “At SXSW there is a lot of networking that happens outside the main conference in hotel rooms, bars etc. We still want to give people the ability to effectively network and book meetings so having an accompanying platform to an event is vital,” he explained.

“The event had been using the same app platform for the past few years and it was keen to find a more modern offering that pushed innovation,”

he continued. “Swapcard offers a full white label solution to help push the SXSW Online brand.”

Equally appealing to SXSW Online 2021 organisers was Swapcard’s ‘guest’ function, where non-ticket holders were able to enjoy free content.

“People could see some of the content but would not be able to take part in any of the networking – the idea being that this would lead to many people buying tickets during the event to further experience SXSW,” Boulard noted.

Swapcard also has the ability to archive an event so even weeks after one comes to an end, attendees can still go back and enjoy content and network with others via Swapcard’s messaging system.

“Putting on any more than two big in-person events a year is often all organisers can manage in the real world,” mused Boulard. “This gives you a platform that lives on; you could have your main event take place but then have ‘virtual only’ events that are of value to their audience and help maintain the relationship with them between events.”

Despite promising news from across the globe that events may possibly return to select regions in late 2021, Swapcard will remain as a popular alternative. To discover more about the company and, Evolve 2.0 – a broadcast curated by Swapcard early this year with the goal of providing a space to discuss the future of events – visit: www.evolve.swapcard.com.

TPi Photos: Swapcard www.swapcard.com www.sxsw.com 47

IN PROFILE

MOTOR STAGE AUTOMATION

Opposite:Motor Stage Automation’s Christian Vigso and Blake McNally,

IN PROFILE: MOTOR STAGE AUTOMATION Danish Entrepreneur, Christian Vigso and automation specialist, Blake McNally launch a brand-new operation to provide world-class staging and automation solutions to the live events industry. Both speak to TPi about the origin of the company and their hopes for the future.

Despite the uncertain time for the live industry, Danish entrepreneur, Christian Vigso saw the global pandemic as an opportunity to diversify his offering for the events market. With the help of business partner and automation specialist, Blake McNally; orchestrated by Kasper Sonberg, Motor Stage Automation was formed. Kasper made it all happen, legally formalising the partnership. From its Denmark HQ, Motor Stage Automation uses its processes of create, define, form and show.

“I’d been thinking about diversifying into the automation side of the live events industry for some time,” began Vigso, who is also the founder of Denmark’s first and only dry hire company, VIGSO. However, it was only when he came across McNally via LinkedIn that the foundation of Motor Stage Automation really took shape.

Having been impressed by McNally’s previous work with other companies in the field of staging automation, Vigso invited him out to visit his company’s HQ. Then, after a conversion on 12 August, they agreed to proceed.

Vigso sees this new partnership as a unique opportunity to combine his entrepreneurial skills and industry track record with McNally’s technical expertise and global resources in stage automation technology. Specifically customised, made-to-order solutions, not to mention electrical and mechanical engineering developments.

Yet with the event industry at a standstill, why was this the right time to provide a new offering to the industry? “Well, there have been some advantages to the current situation,” explained Vigso. “For example, with everyone being at home, we’ve had a lot of time to develop new products as well as have meetings with customers to learn exactly what they would be looking for in an automation supplier.”

Even though there are no events scheduled in the next few months,

Vigso explained that it was imperative that Motor Stage Automation was set to hit the ground running as soon as the industry opens up again. “For the Danish and Scandinavian markets, we are now the only local company that can lift designers’ needs when it comes to complex staging and automation.

Prior to this, designers’ only real option was to go to suppliers in Germany or the UK – and that can get very expensive. Now, we have a company with a warehouse in Denmark ready to serve the industry.” He believes that their ability to cater for the local market could, in turn, push the production value of events that take place within the region, while simultaneously also offering its services to larger international clients.

McNally also gave his opinion on the gap he thought Motor could fill in the market. “The pandemic could have the knock-on effect of levelling the playing field with various internal changes at major companies and therefore open up more opportunities for a company like Motor to provide service to the market. It’s certainty a time of opportunity.”

Motor has already invested in a range of motion control products and automation technology for the entertainment industry to provide spectacular production design and creative solutions to shows and venues across the globe. It is now in a position to supply stage rail systems, stage lifts, winches, rotators, horizontal movements, multi-axle movement and specifically customised solutions. It’s also offering potential clients the chance for Motor to undertake an entire automation technology production, from risk assessment to specification, supply of equipment and process automation. All services that no doubt will be highly sought after when venues and events open up.

TPi Photos: Bo Kudsk, Sweaty Finger. www.motor-stage.com 49

PRODUCTION FUTURES

Avolites Online Learning Platform Avolites Titan Training Manager, Gordon Clarke previews the company’s latest online and interactive learning resource. TPi’s Stew Hume reports…

With lockdown looming back in March 2020, Avolites Titan Training Manager, Gordon Clarke began transforming the company’s online training capabilities, crafting a new bespoke online platform which offers ‘holistic’ training for Titan and Ai software. “This was a discussion we at Avolites had almost two years ago,” reminisced Clarke, speaking at the tail end of several months of development.

The platform offers seven courses to work on from home, with even more in-depth, hands-on training courses available at one of Avolites inperson academy sites.

The courses are designed so that users can start applying their knowledge directly to examples they may be tasked with in a real-world environment, as well as build on their current level of proficiency. “From the outset, I was determined not to produce an online training platform that had users effectively reading a manual,” stated Clarke. “That is not how we operate at Avolites and neither does the industry which we serve.”

Instead of providing reams of varied content, the platform allows users to choose their own path. The platform interacts with the user with quizzes and exercises to back-up the knowledge learned at the end of each lesson. Students can also access specialist courses covering topics such as Networking, Syntax, Synergy, Pioneer Pro DJ Bridge Link Integration and Web API.

“No matter your age or experience, Avolites Academy is there to support you,” stated Gordon. “To begin any educational journey, you need a strong foundation and support system, and now users can learn with us rather than being on their own. We are with them every step of the way, from learning the basics at home, to developing specialist skills that will push their career further, faster.”

One of the elements that sets the platform apart is the intuitive backend to the website, which allows Clarke and the team to track the progress of users. “I can see if someone has spent longer on a section and therefore shoot them an email to see if they have any questions on the subject matter,” he remarked.

The Avolites Online Learning Platform is now available in the UK, with plans to then roll out the platform to other territories in the coming months once language translation and testing has been completed. To book your space, visit www.avolites.com/training and sign up to your first course. All courses are £30 and can be completed over three months at your own pace.

An Editor Avokey is required for the training, which can be purchased during the sign-up process.

TPi Photo: Avolites www.avolites.com

50

PSA: THE BIGGER PICTURE

TESTING TIMES AHEAD ERP results will be key to predicting the UK’s return to live, PSA’s Andy Lenthall writes.

No matter how things progress in the coming weeks following further COVID-19 relaxations across the home nations, our sector still has to await the results of the Events Research Programme (ERP), a series of events in various settings which, “according to the programme’s terms of reference, explore when and how events with larger crowd sizes, less social distancing, or in settings where transmission is more likely, will be able to return safely.”

With a remit including but not limited to sports events; music festivals; theatres; stadium events; concerts; large weddings; nightclubs and conferences, the research will examine a range of settings to produce generalised results that can be applied in analogous settings as well as in other sectors.

It seems to be hard to convince some local authorities to host an event that breaks current regulations, even in the name of science, ethical approval is also needed if any research is deemed to be requiring people to put themselves at risk. They are, in effect, aiming to test potential ‘super spreader’ events, albeit in a very controlled manner. Each proposed pilot will focus on four areas: transmission, environmental measures, behavioural and socio-economic.

‘Settings not sectors’ is the mantra you’ll hear across the UK Government partners involved, but the distinct lack of clarity on which settings are intended to map against which sectors leaves many in the live events sector feeling nervous. Good, then, that Nick Hytner, Theatre Director and former Head of The National Theatre, assured us during a LIVE meeting that he sees his role to see that no sector is left out as, in his words, that would be absurd, it would be a failure.

Perhaps we’re worrying needlessly too, if one comparable setting is deemed safe, legal challenges to sustaining restrictions on the other would be brought if discrimination could be demonstrated. Exactly what the tests will be we don’t know but the ERP has a lot to do in a short space of time. Events will have to take place before the end of April so a report to land on desks of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) and Government by 21 May. It’s likely that the report will inform guidance as well as decisions – guidance that may well have to be edited or produced completely from scratch.

COVID-19 testing has been at the heart of many ongoing events, perhaps proving only that gathering a lot of people that don’t have COVID-19 in one place means that nobody catches COVID-19. It works, ask New Zealand.

What happens on the way to and from the event is also of interest, but vaccination may eventually be the answer. A big question mark still hangs over the idea of a health passport, some kind of proof that you’re either vaccinated or have had a recent negative test result. It was interesting to hear one festival heavyweight suggest that they’re not considering banning

people who don’t have proof of test, they’re simply considering what to do with them once they arrive.

Back in summer 2020, Melvin Benn’s full capacity plan revolved around testing, citing live events as the driver for people to get tested. Perhaps the answer lies in convenience; rather than an outright ban, a fast track entry for those with a ‘passport’, something slightly more involved for those that have some other proof of test or vaccination and a long wait for a result for those that choose to pay for a test on arrival.

Through the partners at LIVE, the BVEP and the EIF, PSA will stay in contact with the ERP as further details emerge and the programme progresses.

LIVE recently wrote to Culture and Digital Minister, Caroline Dinenage, primarily asking that the UK Government guarantee that using other sectors, such as sport, for the ERP will not be used as an excuse for claiming there is not enough evidence to reopen live music in June.

In fact, at the most recent DCMS Committee session, when questioned on the scope of the ERP and whether festivals would be included, she responded: “The thrust of the ERP scheme is based upon settings rather than sectors. For example, one will be in the Crucible for the Snooker World Championships as this is a theatre venue that will hold a similar sort of crowd. The closest thing at the moment to a festival is a nightclub that allows unfettered free movement of people. We do plan to do a festivalstyle event, but we won’t be able to do a very large, multi-day music festival with an unstructured audience in the original April phase of pilots due to massive operational and ethical challenges with something of this scale.

Our Chief Scientific Advisor, Tom Rodden is working with festival organisers to build the evidence base around smaller scale events, and others of a similar nature where we can take the same scientific learning to ensure we have strong evidence around music festivals.”

The UK Government hopes everything will be done together to provide the full range of scientific evidence by the end of May based on the whole range of scientific pilot events.

The thing to consider is that as well as having a team of scientists at each event looking at mitigations, there are three different consortiers leading studies: one in Liverpool looking at transmission, one in Loughborough looking at ventilation and one in Edinburgh looking at crowd behaviour and compliance, as well as people’s sentiment around the mitigations. It is a case of bringing all of this together at pace.

It’s polite to give the Minister the last word before wrapping up. They seem to reflect the same setting described by others involved in the ERP, let’s hope for some positive results to these particular tests.

TPi www.psa.org.uk 51

GEAR HEADS

MARTIN PROFESSIONAL MAC ULTRA PERFORMANCE AND WASH

Born out of Martin Professional’s largest engineering initiative in over a decade, Head of Product Management, Peter Skytte explains why the brand-new Martin MAC Ultra Performance and MAC Ultra Wash lighting fixtures are set to raise the bar and amplify the impact of live entertainment...

When did development of the two new MAC Ultra lighting fixtures begin?

While the concept of the MAC Ultra started many years ago, development started two years ago. The COVID-19 pandemic has obviously presented us with some challenges at our R&D office in Denmark as staff members were in lockdown and operating mostly from home. However, the flexibility and perseverance of our engineers has made it possible for development to continue at good speed.

ago and remains an extremely popular and specified product that we keep manufacturing and selling. The MAC Viper Family was launched back in 2012 and is just another example of how fixtures live long and generate a good return to the owner. Finally, longevity is important, with the increasing relevance for more sustainable products.

What new features do you expect are going to excite customers?

The MAC Ultra Wash is a really brutal wash light with tonnes of output. We expect designers to love this return to classic rock ’n’ roll wash lights like the MAC 2000 XB. The extraordinary lumen output, bold look with big front lens, extended zoom range and Martin-signature colours will definitely excite designers. The MAC Ultra Performance is meant to be the brightest framing fixture in its class, and we’re confident that we achieve that. The extended framing system will certainly delight lighting designers, combined with the quality and sharpness of the optics. The fact that the fixture retains full lumen output in almost the full zoom range is something we are very

What was the overarching goal of the two new fixtures?

We wanted to bring real next-generation workhorses to the market, aimed to support the biggest live events. That not only means fixtures that excite designers with a lead in output, performance and enhanced features, but also sustainable concepts that remain compelling for many years. Value beyond specifications is really our philosophy behind any MAC moving light, and perhaps the reason why they stay in production and keep selling for years and years. Take the MAC Aura, for example. It was launched a decade 52

MARTIN MAC ULTRA PERFORMANCE AND WASH

Martin Professional Head of Product Management, Peter Skytte.

proud of and we can already see that excites designers and customers. The engineering team has also developed an extremely efficient cooling system and by never running the LEDs at more than 70% of rated power, we ensure extremely long life combined with a benchmark in low noise operation for this class.

and shootouts in the first three months of this year. The feedback during those previews has been extremely positive and created a big demand. I think that brought a fresh approach to product launches. We didn’t want to bring out just another product video, but wanted to convey a message around the quality that our entire Martin team puts into such a project.

Customers loved that and really appreciate and understand the depth of the work that’s gone into the product. Overall, the feedback has been positive, with many designers wanting to get their hands on the fixtures and see them up close and personal when it is safe to do so.

What gaps in the market will these fixtures fill in the live events sector?

The MAC Ultra family is really meant to be the new standard for big stages and tours. It is a spot which the MAC Viper family dominated for many years, but with demands for brightness increasing and demands for LED solutions, it was time to bring an even brighter workhorse to the market. As the development evolved, our engineers were able to minimise noise levels close to the MAC Encore. We’ve also seen a huge interest in theatrical and performance arts venues as well as broadcast.

Where can we expect to see the fixtures in the coming months?

The products are very close to shipping, with demo units going out to our distributors right now. The first customer orders will be delivered early April.

Needless to say, our R&D team is already busy working on the next MACs. A full technical product overview for the Martin MAC Ultra family is available to view on Martin Professional's YouTube channel.

TPi Photos: Martin Professional www.martin.com

What has the response been like following the virtual launch?

As with any product launch, we did a lot of previews of the MAC Ultra family to designers and customers. The global lockdown made this a lot more challenging, but our team was able to do more than 100 demonstrations 53

INDUSTRY APPOINTMENTS

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

INDUSTRY APPOINTMENTS

Adam Hall Group hires Gilberto Morejon as LATAM Businessness Development Manager; Arbane Groupe’s Chrisophe Palluat de Besset; ATG progress with Swansea Arena; CHAUVET European Sales Director, Martin Fournier leads the company’s Swiss expansion; RMS Proaudio CEO, Miguel Ángel Jiménez; PlayPass and Weezevent join forces.

Adam Hall Group has named Seoul-based Sonicvalue as its exclusive Korean distributor for the LD Systems, Gravity and Palmer brands, as well as for Adam Hall 19” Parts.

“Sonicvalue has a broad dealer network as well as an extensive service offering, and that allows the company to respond excellently to the challenges of the diverse local market,” Adam Hall Global Business Development Manager, Alessio Foti commented. “Together, we will continue to expand our presence in Korea in both the event and installation markets.”

Sonicvalue Senior Manager, Richie Song added: “We look forward to working with the Adam Hall Group on strategies that are as progressive as they are differentiated to successfully enrich and expand in the Korean market. It is a great honor for us and we are ready for a new journey.”

The news comes following Adam Hall Group’s appointment of Gilberto Morejon as Business Development Manager in the Latin America region (LATAM).

“The world is going through challenging times right now, but we are already seeing the beginnings of an economic recovery,” Morejon said.

“I am convinced that, with my experience and expertise, we can set new standards for the LATAM region. By providing comprehensive attention and support to existing and new customers, we as Adam Hall Group will make the difference in Latin America.”

Foti furthered: “I am delighted to have Gilberto Morejon, who is an absolute business professional for the crucial Latin America region, on our team! With his decades of experience in audio and lighting, Gilberto will be instrumental in further expanding our international presence as an

event technology provider and, in particular, strengthening the growing installation sector.”

Arbane Groupe has hired Christophe Palluat de Besset as a Sales Director for France.

“I worked in a number of roles before founding pro-audio distribution company Perfect Sound in 2009,” Palluat explained. “At the time, Active Audio’s commercial distribution in France was given exclusively to Perfect Sound, so I know Active Audio very well.”

Commenting on the appointment, Arbane Groupe CEO, Régis Cazin said: “We’re really pleased to have Palluat on board with us after working with him extensively in the past. His expertise and approach to sales will be a great asset to us, as it was then, in growing our network across France.”

Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG) has revealed the availability of several key full-time roles following the recent appointment of Lisa Mart as General Manager at Swansea Arena. The senior roles of Head of Marketing & Sales, Operations Manager, Technical & Building Manager and Conference & Events Manager at the new 3,500 capacity indoor arena are now open for applications.

Swansea Arena General Manager, Lisa Mart said: “Opening recruitment for these senior positions is a key step in the process of getting our doors open. It is an incredibly exciting opportunity to shape the venue for years to come; establishing our operational processes and developing our offer to a variety of audiences, in particular, the local community and visitors to Swansea.”

CHAUVET will begin providing direct sales and service support for products in the Swiss market through its French and German offices.

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www.interfacio.com • +44 208 986 5002

INDUSTRY APPOINTMENTS

CHAUVET France will be responsible for the western section of Switzerland, and Chauvet Germany will look after the rest of the country. Renens, Switzerland-based Radio Matériel will continue to be a reseller and service support centre for Chauvet in the region. The new program applies to CHAUVET Professional, CHAUVET DJ and Iluminarc products.

CHAUVET European Sales Director, Martin Fournier will lead the expansion effort, while Aland Mahieu of Chauvet France and Alexander Rexforth of Chauvet Germany will oversee their respective regional markets within Switzerland.

“This is an exciting development for us,” said Stéphane Gressier, CHAUVET’s International Sales Director. “Interest in our latest products, such as the Maverick Force and Maverick Silens is extraordinarily high. Now we’ll be able to back up these groundbreaking products with an enhanced level of support, aided by Martin’s vast experience in the Swiss market and the dedicated efforts of our entire team. We’re ready to move forward in Switzerland.”

KV2 Audio joins forces with Korean distributor, Daon SD, to establish the brand in the Korean market.

“KV2 has opened up a huge number of possibilities for us,” said Daon SD Director, B.S. Koo. “We’ve been working for some time with a team that performs sound design and optimisation for venues and other multipurpose spaces using BIM design. We have found that for most scenarios, a LR stereo configuration of a high quality point source system is the best solution. Therefore, we needed to find a supplier of point source systems with good response characteristics.After much research we concluded that KV2 Audio was the only alternative that matched our thinking, and we went from there.”

Optocore has appointed RMS Proaudio as its new Spanish distributor.

Expressing his delight, Miguel Ángel Jiménez, CEO of the Sevillebased company, said: “We have known Optocore particularly from the relationship with DiGiCo, which we have distributed for more than 15 years, and we consider their technology to be excellent.”

Optocore Sales Distribution Manager, Dawid Somló, was equally

upbeat. “It is gratifying that such a serious and experienced company as RMS Proaudio has entered into this cooperation with us, and an honour for us to be an important part of their high level portfolio.”

PlayPass and Weezevent have merged to form one company, offering combined expertise to the leisure and entertainment sector. The merger will see Steve Jenner of PlayPass and Olly Goddard of Weezevent jointly head up the group’s UK division. The deal will also lead to the expansion of the group’s offices in Paris, Madrid, Antwerp, Lausanne and Montreal. The in-house development team will also be expanded with further investment to continue the development of its highly disruptive proprietary technology.

Weezevent CEO, Pierre-Henri Deballon, had this to say about cofounders of Playpass, David De Wever and Dale Hofkens: “David, Dale and their teams share the same passion and vision as Weezevent for delivering a world class cashless experience, and after eight years of healthy competition, the time has come to form a new team that is stronger, more ambitious and more confident than ever.”

PK SOUND has teamed up with Logic Systems to navigate the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and position themselves for the industry’s resurgence.

“Collaborating with partners like Logic Systems has been critical throughout the process,” commented Darryl Ross, Senior Application Support for PK SOUND. “Their industry expertise and vast professional network have been indispensable when it comes to strategizing, exploring new applications and best practices, developing our educational programming, and a lot more.”

Logic Systems Founder and Owner, Chip Self added: “PK’s Trinity robotic line source series is a game-changer in terms of both audio quality and real-time remote coverage control, offering unparalleled flexibility and efficiency. We’ve built our reputation by delivering exceptional live events for our clients, and PK’s technological and operational advantages help us set the bar even higher.”

Pro Media Audio Video has entered the European market with industry veteran Eddie Thomas.

SATELLITE MODULAR LASER SYSTEM

(r)evolution

SATELLITE MODULAR LASER SYSTEM

Every once in a while, something comes along that tears up the rulebook and revolutionises an industry. This is one of those moments: the Satellite Modular Laser System from the Visionaries of the display industry – Digital Projection.

1996

3,000 lumens 60 kg

2003

16,000 lumens 113 kg

2016

27,000 lumens 132 kg

2020

> 40,000 lumens < 40 kg

The Visionaries’ Choice www.digitalprojection.com TPI Magazine March 2020.indd 1

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04/03/2020 11:18

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INDUSTRY APPOINTMENTS

Logic Systems General Manager, Scott Foner with Founder and CEO, Chip Self and Business Manager, Raphi Hindeleh; Pro Media Audio Video Director, Eddie Thomas; Jason Lu (left) becomes a Unilumin group board member while Zhen Chu (right) steps up to become ROE Visual CEO; Artclub Live’s Joe Clegg; VITEC CTO, Eric Deniau.

“Eddie is incredibly well connected and as we begin this expansion, he is backed up by a very experienced team worldwide. Our presence in the UK will further add to our global information sharing, ultimately as one set of resources,” Pro Media Audio Video General Manager, Ted Leamy, commented.

“There will be undoubted challenges in the UK and Europe as Brexit unfolds,” Thomas added. “Yet I am looking forward to developing and working on a range of challenging technical projects. I really enjoy pushing the boundaries of what is expected from an integrator, and it’s a great feeling to know that as part of Pro Media Audio Video EU we’ll be able to achieve ground-breaking projects together.”

PROLIGHTS has appointed DLHG as a new distributor in Taiwan.

DLHG Managing Director, Jackson Yu commented: “PROLIGHTS will be a great addition to the brands we represent in the region. They are an extremely innovative company with very well-made products, I am sure our customers will be extremely impressed by their quality and outstanding performance.”

PROLIGHTS International Sales Manager, Paolo Albani commented: “We are really proud to have DLHG as a partner in Taiwan. They are well-known for their professionalism and the quality of manufacturers they represent.

I am sure we will also provide the highest level of service that their customers are looking for.”

ROE Visual Founder, Jason Lu steps into a new position in the Unilumin group, taking on an advisory role as President for ROE Visual and member of the board.

“It’s with pride and confidence that I can leave the day-to-day business to a solid and experienced team and can focus on matters that are close to my heart, such as product development and strategy,” Lu said. “I’m proud of the companies’ achievements over the years of its existence and thankful to have been able to lay the basis for its current success and foundation for a bright future.”

Chen Zhu, previously COO of ROE Visual China, is given the role of CEO, while both Frank Montero and Roelof Bouwman will continue to lead US and EU sales offices.

Solotech completes the acquisition of Nashville-based Morris Light & Sound.

“Our joint capabilities enable us to significantly strengthen our footprint in the US, and much more in Nashville, to the benefit of all our clients. It also provides assurance of our unrivaled readiness to our clients in the live

production industry, signalling our enhanced ability to offer compelling innovative services and solutions when activities resume after the global crisis ends,” Solotech CEO, Martin Tremblay said. “We continue to grow based on long-term relationships and delivery excellence to propel our footprint locally, nationally and globally.”

Mickey Curbishley, President, Live Productions Division, US and UK, Solotech, and Philip Giffard, President, Global Sales and Systems Integration Division, Solotech, will oversee a strong leadership in place in Nashville to manage all operational aspects and the transition. Morris Enterprises COO, Zack Morris added: “Morris and InteRise have always focused on delivering quality service to our clients, and our team is excited to continue providing our expertise while growing as part of the Solotech family.”

Stabal Media Group has expanded and has incorporated the live music legacy, expertise and global network of Artclub Live as a specialist division, led by newly appointed Head of Live Music, Joe Clegg.

“With the return of live music on the horizon, I’m excited to be working with Stabal to create a division focussed on the integration of live music experiences and digital content. With a global network of musical directors and audio engineers we will be positioned to ensure consistent, highquality performances on platform and out on the road.”

Stabal CEO, Steve Odart came from a digital content platform background and founded the company to leverage the power of digitisation to better connect artists with their fanbase. “I am thrilled that Joe decided to join forces with us, and I am truly excited about the vision that he brings to the team,” Odart said. “His ideas on how to enhance live tours and album launches, stretching beyond the physical constraints of geography and leveraging the power of digital, is clearly the future.”

Eric Deniau has joined VITEC as Chief Technology Officer (CTO).

“IP video streaming continues to grow across all markets as more and more enterprises harness the power of their networks to deliver and manage video traffic,” said VITEC CEO, Philippe Wetzel.

“VITEC is a market leader, and the company is poised for growth as the demand for business video applications across enterprise networks expands,” said Deniau. “I am excited to be joining VITEC as the market is rapidly deploying IP streaming solutions to support the demand for video applications.”

TPi www.tpimagazine.com/category/industry-jobs 56

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BACK CHAT

ERIC ALLEN & RICH KING The Manual London’s Eric Allen and Rich King take the hot seat to describe how LAUGHNow Comedy Club is keeping smiles on the faces of comedy fans in lockdown.

with cities or traditional brands who are looking for a platform to increase their visibility across global markets. Getting back into these venues and seeing the spaces come alive again is great. It’s something that we feel passionate about.

Is it hard to relay the live comedy experience without an audience in the room?

A comedy show without an audience just doesn’t work. Comedians require this feedback to allow the performance to flow, to do what they do. That’s why we came up with a hybrid audience solution, a mixture of live socially distanced audience mixed with live viewers from home on TV monitors in place of audience seats.

From the comedian’s point of view, they see a sea of faces – half in real life and half on TV screens. It’s a bit of a different format for the comedians, but they’ve absolutely loved it. In fact, it was amazing to watch how they revelled in being able to perform in front of an audience again!

How has the past 12 months been for The Manual?

When COVID-19 struck, we were stopped in our tracks.

Our core business centres around live events with large audiences, which meant all our client plans were suddenly meaningless. Now, it feels like we’ve reached a tipping point. Restrictions are being eased, appetite for events is high and we’re match fit, ready to jump back in. We’re already in advanced conversations with the Middle East, diversification looks promising, and we’ve just produced the LAUGHNow Comedy Club for our new client, LIVENow.

What are your plans for this format in the future?

Our heartland is live events. We’ve been forced to adapt and have been lucky to forge our partnership with LIVENow – it’s testament to our team’s perseverance and agility to embrace change and new challenges. Luckily, our global clients are still with us and have plans to reactivate their live events for the second half of 2021. Our pipeline is looking healthy and we’re ready to get back to doing what we love.

What can audiences expect from the LAUGHNow? LAUGHNow is our first ‘virtual’ event with LIVENow. It’s a six-part series featuring comedians such as Russell Kane, Ed Byrne and Nina Conti. Laughter and audience reactions are essential for comedy performances so, as the lead production agency, our challenge was to find a way of creating a live comedy club atmosphere for viewers at home. The best solution was pioneering a hybrid audience: bringing virtual viewers into the room through digital screens among a socially distanced audience of cast and crew.

Do you foresee a streaming arm being essential to a physical event in the future?

I think there’s a good chance that, going forward, events will take a different shape to what we’ve been used to. As an industry, we’ve got an opportunity to embrace that.

After all, innovation and creativity is part of what draws people to work in our sector in the first place. So, I can see livestreaming working especially when, like LIVENow, it has global power to reach other territories very quickly.

Our aim is always going to be to make our clients’ ‘impossible’ possible, by creating events that capture the minds, bodies and imaginations of their audiences. Live is our heartland, but we’ll always explore all the options – live, virtual, hybrid, immersive, livestreaming – to find the best way to help our clients own the moment.

Why is LIVENow the ideal platform for LAUGHNow? We’re really excited to work with a livestreaming partner like LIVENow, because having the ability to reach global audiences is something that’s been really appealing to some of the other clients that we work with – especially 58

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